#It's also interesting that Richard wrote letters to *her* rather than the rest of the council and that she was the final deciding authority

[wonder-worker]

"As for the government of the kingdom, [Edward V] had complete confidence in the peers of realm and the queen."

"According to the Crowland continuator, [Elizabeth Woodville] seems to have taken the king's place in listening to his council immediately after Edward IV's death. It does appear that she expected to have some role in her son's kingship, and the Crowland continuator’s report of the letters sent to her by [Richard of Gloucester] indicates that she had good reason to expect to be able to work with him and the other councillors: 'the duke of Gloucester wrote the most pleasant letters to console the queen; he promised to come and offer submission, fealty and all that was due from him to his lord and king, Edward V, the first-born son of his brother the dead king and the queen'."

"[However], in what was Gloucester's first coup, Edward V was separated from his household and Woodville advisors. When the young king questioned the move, Buckingham was reported to have told the boy 'It is not in the business of women but men to govern kingdoms'. The blunt remark referred to the authority of Elizabeth Woodville as queen and the power she must have anticipated within the new political climate left by Edward IV's sudden death [...] While the veracity of this scene is questionable*, the words attributed to the duke no doubt seemed plausible to Dominic Mancini who believed they exemplified the popular sentiment held by men [...]."

-Dominic Mancini, The Usurpation of Richard the Third / J.L. Laynesmith, The Last Medieval Queens: English Queenship 1445-1503 / Alexander R. Brondarbit, Power Brokers and the Yorkist State, 1461-1485

*One of Mancini's key sources seems to have been Edward V's own doctor, John Argentine, who attended to him in the Tower. It's very likely that he was the one who recounted this scene to Mancini, which suggests that it should probably be considered more credible than not.

[cilldaracailin]

Another One Bites The Dust

Hello all my lovely Tumblr’s. I am back with the next part of the series of Robyn and Taron. It’s just a little one shot and follows on from where A Kind Of Magic left.

Hope you all enjoy :)

“Sometimes you meet a person and you just click--you're comfortable with them, like you've known them your whole life and you don't have to pretend to be anyone or anything.”

Two days after Taron had arrived home, with help from Lyndsey, he had made his press release from the comfort of his own sitting room in his home in Aberystwyth without his hat, all of his injuries on full show. Lyndsey had asked him to do so, showing that his slight disappearance had actually been for a reason, letting everyone see that he had actually been seriously injured. He read Robyn’s words along with his own, explaining briefly what had happened in the 7/11 and how his life had been saved by the quick thinking of Robyn, who selfishly came to his aid. He clarified that he would be fine and was under strict medical instructions to rest and take care of himself.

He also mentioned how filming for Kingman had been halted but would pick up when he had returned to full health and was able to film. Mathew had explained to Taron that the delay in filming shouldn’t push back the release date and he would make sure the film was released as planned as the end of April, meaning none of Taron’s press schedule had to be changed either and Taron had mentioned that in his statement too, as he knew it would be a question that would be hanging in the air if he didn’t address it. Taron had only filled everyone in on the necessary details of the last three weeks, not including anything about where he had been or who he had been with, keeping his secret getaway with Robyn completely undisclosed. Taron then asked for his privacy to be respected as well as Richard’s and Robyn’s and for everyone to understand that what they had experienced was still very raw and fresh for them and they were both still coming to terms with the whole ordeal.

He knew the story of the truth of what happened to him was going to be a headliner but he had not expected the newspapers to actually run with the truth and not try to twist the story too much. ‘Egerton on the edge of life’ and ‘Taron’s still standing’ were some of Robyn’s favourite’s and she had to find the articles online to actually read them as Taron refused to send her the English newspapers. The Irish equivalent of the tabloids weren’t as interested in Taron as the English ones and she wasn’t travelling into Dublin to get them from the big bookstore so had to find other ways to read the articles and stories that appeared after Taron’s statement. She was relieved to see that they were factual and used quotes directly from Taron’s own press release and of course her words too and her name was written right beside his, as the woman who had performed the CPR that saved his life.

Robyn had been incredibly proud of how Taron had handled his press statement and called him once he had made it, to reassure him that he had done the right thing and talk him off a ledge he was teetering on. She was worried about the backlash from the media for Taron’s sake as he had been almost making himself sick with the apprehension after his video was circulated but he was taking the attention really well and twenty four hours after he had made his statement, he wasn’t as stressed as she thought he was going to be about it and with constant support from his family, friends and Robyn herself, Taron was relieved with the positive outcome from the story

One paper tried to run with a version of how Robyn was stalking Taron and followed him from the set in New York to Florida, while another said she only did what she did to try and get into his pants. Robyn had calmed Taron down when he called her to vent by explaining to him that technically he did end up in her bed and his laughter filled the air as she pacified his annoyance and once the next edition of the paper was printed, those stories were long forgotten.

After meeting some reporters outside his home for the first few days, the news quickly changed to some other celebrity gossip and he had peace from hidden photographers and immoral journalists who snooped around his mams house too. Taron was delighted to hear that Robyn had very little fallout from the news too other than her family and friends wanting to know if the story that filtered across the ocean to her was true. Taron was so thankful that Robyn’s home country newspapers and magazines were not concerned with gossip and stories of the nonsense that came with his job and he felt slightly foolish for panicking so much in her bedroom three weeks ago and was so appreciative that everyone was extremely supportive of her in her work too.

Robyn had encountered two reporters at her gate who had travelled from the UK to try and track her down but she had actually stood at her gates and had a conversation with them and the story printed just confirmed Taron’s words and appeal for their privacy. Taron was furious with her at first for talking to the reporters but she had angrily shouted at him down the phone that turning them away was only going to ruin the hard work Lyndsey had already done to appease the media and it had done no harm to either of them. She was so angry with him, she had hung up the phone, Taron ringing back immediately with an apology. She accepted it but firmly told him she was a grown woman who could handle herself and if he didn’t realise that after what they had been through then he needed to get it through his thick skull very quickly. A bunch of flowers had been delivered to her work the next day with a card that read ‘I am sorry chicken’ along with a picture he had drawn of a rocket with stick man inside.

What had really helped Taron and Robyn with their luck was the fact that the video footage from what happened in the 7/11 had been leaked onto the internet four days after Taron’s statement and although it terrified Taron at first, it had only worked further in their favour as the media and fans actually got to see a first-hand real account of Taron being shot and knocked unconscious by the shelf as well as Robyn administer CPR on him. Taron hadn’t been able to watch that part of the video feed at first and it had really upset him mam when she saw it and then he had to watch it back for himself. Once the footage showed the seriousness of their situation, the media had almost backed off realising that Taron Egerton had nearly lost his life but was saved thanks to a stranger who was now a firm friend of his. It completely changed the emotional charge of the story and those journalists who had cheapened the story, wrote a more suited article about the footage, praising Robyn, Taron and Richard for their endurance and strength through it all.

The three had managed to get two quick skype calls together but with Richards work commitments in Chicago and the time difference, they had lasted only about ten minutes each. It was just enough time for them to talk over the lack of fall out from the media and ensure they weren’t frazzled by the papers and online platforms. Another promise had been made between them to meet up properly in person once they could arrange it to suit all of them. With Richard in the middle of filming, he had very little free time and it was unlikely their meeting would be before the year was out, especially with Taron going to back his own filming in the near future. Robyn was just as busy as them, her work schedule filling up fast and it only got busier for her the closer it got to the end of the year. They had to be satisfied with the few quick chats they had as a trio and were happy to have them rather than no contact at all.

Taron’s words and video had spread over social media initially like wild fire and Robyn took to twitter to inspect the damage the news has caused despite Taron’s desperate protests but with an ocean between them he couldn’t stop her. She had scrolled through many threads, posts and comments reading with delight, shock and horror at the words written. While the replies under his Instagram pictures he had posted of the rainbow cake and him posing with the stuffed dinosaur were positive and welcoming, once Taron’s name had been associated with her, a female woman, the attitude of some of the fans had changed and they tried to call Robyn out on stalking Taron, using the happenings in the 7/11 as a way to only get closer to him. However, despite the few negative comments, the majority of the fans had been supportive and grateful and even more so when the video recordings had leaked, most who had made a little fun of what had happened, quickly editing or adding a new comment to thank Robyn for what she did for him. However of course there was the one percent who had to be extremely nasty. After a while, Taron caved and skimmed through the judgements people had made about them and what had happened and had called Robyn every time to apologise each time he read one he found that was particularly upsetting for him.

“I am sorry about that comment Robyn.”

“If you say I am sorry once more Taron, I am going to catch a flight over to you and hold my hands so tight over your mouth to stop you from apologising to me, you won’t even be able to lick me.”

“I am sorry!”

“Funny and nice try.”

“So, when are you coming to visit me then?” He asked after Robyn had scolded him and he smiled when he heard her sigh. “Ok don’t cut me off. I just want to make sure you haven’t been reading every comment on Twitter and everywhere else. You really don’t need to be doing that.”

“Of course I have. I am making a list of who I am going to get you to write a strongly worded letter to.”

“Robyn!” Taron wished she was beside him so he could scowl at her.

“Taron you need to stop worrying about it all.”

“I know you are big girl and you can look after yourself but I do worry and I will worry and I always will worry about you.”

“If you think one little foul comment about me giving you the breathes being compared to kissing and used as an excuse just to kiss you, which by the way we actually have done, twice, is going to make me run away from what happened and our friendship, then your fans are going to have to come at me with something a little more imaginative.”

“Don’t even tempt them Robyn.”

She laughed and could imagine him frowning at her. “Maybe I should post the picture we took together at the piano on my Instagram.”

“Don’t you even dare.”

“But if it is a private one…”

“It will take about two minutes before it goes viral. I am just glad that footage in the 7/11 couldn’t be zoomed in.”

“They already know what I look like Taron.”

“Yeah I know.”

“And don’t get pissed off about it. I am not having this conversation again and again and again. It is what it is and it has been supportive and positive. Now what you need to do seeing as how it has been a week since the statement release and it has already completely mellowed out, is get into bed with a cup of tea and get some proper sleep.”

“My mam has been talking to you.”

“Of course she has.” Once Tina was able to compose herself after she watched the video footage, she was on the phone to the Robyn, thanking her once more for what she did for her son. “She has been telling me all about your time at home. I think I need to send cwtch to you to help you sleep.”

She could hear him smile on the other end of the phone but the tone of his voice was down. “It’s just been a bit stressful Robyn.”

“I know Taron but like I said, a week has passed and everything has calmed down. You can actually put your head down and get some sleep, some decent sleep.”

“Cosy in the duvet sleep?”

“Yeah that kind of sleep. You need to make sure you keep resting Taron.”

“I will and don’t raise that one eyebrow at me.” Taron might not have been able to her, but he knew her left eyebrow was raised in a perfect unapproving look. “I promise. Tonight, I will do my best to try and get a decent night’s sleep.”

“That’s all I can ask for Taron.”

It was Robyn who phoned him when he posted the picture two weeks later on his Instagram of the key lime pie he had made. ‘Learning new skills while I rest up’ was the caption he had written under the photo along with a love heart and chicken emoji.

“A chicken?”

“Well I had to get the nod to you in there somehow!” He laughed as he sat on his mam’s couch, with his sisters either side of him. He had wanted to bake something for his mam as even though he had insisted he stayed at his own home, she visited him every day and had made him many dinners he could freeze and re-heat. Once all the craziness of the media relaxed and he was able to catch up on much needed sleep, he wanted to repay his mam for all her kindness. Her hug had hurt him dreadfully when he got home but he didn’t dare let go and it was an extremely tearful reunion, his step-dad hugging him just as tight and Tina had been almost hounding him lovingly every day making sure he was resting, sleeping and eating. Taron brought the book Robyn had made with him over to his mam’s house and used the recipe she had wrote out for him for the key lime pie to make one in his childhood kitchen much to the amusement of his family. Tina was very interested in the book he was given as a present, and had hugged her son hard around his waist with one arm as she looked through it, laughing at the pictures of his and Robyn’s antic’s and giving him a kiss on his forehead when she got to the picture near the end where Robyn was leaning on his chest with her hand on his heart. Mari and Rosie had insisted that they sat together with him so he could talk to them about the book too and he had answered Robyn’s call as they drooled over the pictures of the rainbow cake. “My mam liked the pie by the way.”

“You do realise that if you keep posting chicken emoji’s someone is going to see a pattern of chicken emoji’s and wonder what on earth they mean.”

“They are just chicken emoji’s.”

“Who uses a bloody chicken emoji Taron?”

“I do and my mam loved how I baked a whole pie by myself.”

“Ok so let’s avoid the subject and I see my thorough instructions worked in your favour.”

“Very helpful.” He agreed. “Robyn I am going to put you on speaker. My sisters want to talk to you.” Taron’s sisters had hugged him tight when he arrived home and even though their arms squeezed his ribs painfully hard, he couldn’t ask them to let go. The arms were warm and comforting around him. They had questioned why his head had a big cut on it and both placed a kiss on his forehead to help make it better, Taron cuddling them both into him for a long time as he knelt on the doorstep of his mam’s house.

“Hey Robyn!” The girls called.

“Hello girls.”

“Robyn did Taron really make that cake in the book you gave him?” Asked Mari.

“He sure did.”

“And he really did throw flour at you.” Confirmed Rosie.

Robyn laughed. “I told you he was being a little bit naughty Rosie.” After speaking with his young siblings a few times on the phone over the past few weeks, she could easily tell their voices apart from each other now.

“We love the book you made for him.” She said. “You had a lot fun with Taron.”

“We did have a lot of fun.” Agreed Robyn.

“The girls want to know if cwtch can come and visit us.” Taron chipped in. “But I told them that he didn’t have a passport.”

“Taron teddy bears don’t need passports.” Laughed Rosie.

“Rosie cwtch is not a bear. He is a dinosaur.” Corrected her younger sister.

“Well dinosaurs don’t need passports either.” Rosie replied.

“Cwtch doesn’t really like airplanes.” Said Robyn.

“Told you.” Replied Taron as he watched the girls flick through the book to try and find the pictures of the plush Robyn had stuck in.

“Yes you did.” Robyn replied knowing Taron’s words were for her. She had wanted him to bring cwtch home with him but he had refused saying that his sisters would want him and how right he was.

“Taron you really loved cuddling him.” Said Rosie as she found the picture where Taron was asleep on Robyn’s bed with the dinosaur in his arms. “Robyn did you really let Taron sleep in your bed?” She asked.

“Should I not have?” Robyn asked back.

“No I am glad you let him. Mam said that we have to let Taron sleep just like you did. It is what the doctor says he had to do. Mari and I gave him one of our bears to cuddle but I think he just needs cwtch to help him sleep.”

“Oh, he does, does he? Rosie has Taron been sleeping in his bed?”

“In our house no. In his house sometimes. Mam has been telling him he needs to stop drinking coffee and sleep.”

“Taron…”

“Robyn, I need to go chicken. My mam is looking for me.”

“No she’s not Taron!”

“Love you!” He called and ended the phone call.

Robyn sent him a text with an angry smiley face followed by a bed, a rocket and a man and Taron’s reply of a love heart, chicken, sheep and a cloud made her grin.

A week later it was Taron who called her to first scold her from commenting on his latest Instagram picture and second to thank her once more for giving him CPR in the 7/11.

It had been over a month since he had left Robyn and he could finally feel his ribs starting to heal and movements that had once stung him and caused him to stop and groan, were much easier for him and he could sit and stand with an ease he had taken for granted before he was hurt. The bruises on his face had completely faded away and his forehead was finally looking healed and only a small thin scab was left as the wound fixed itself. His arm had repaired itself too and again only a skinny scab that he didn’t need to cover was left on his skin. It was taking every ounce of his restrain to not pick at the healing wounds. He didn’t want to be left with a significant scar compared to the small one he would have.

One of the first things he knew he wanted to do once he could move more freely was contact the British Red Cross and enquire about a CPR course that he could take part in and he did so during the first week of October. He had already spoken to his agent about it as well as Lyndsey, his parents and Robyn, who though were concerned with his willingness to throw himself into a course that taught the technique that saved his life so soon, they could see how much it meant to him and supported him with his choice and his need to follow through with his decision to do so.

When he explained who he was and why he wanted to learn such a vital skill to the lady on the phone, it only took three days for his team to work with the British Red Cross in Wales and organise for Taron to take a two day first aid course at home in Aberystwyth. He was extremely happy to share his experience on video for the Red Cross to use in their training, making sure it was ok with Robyn too before he donned the t-shirt with the Red Cross logo to explain how important CPR was and how it had saved his life. It was a campaign that he was proud to be a part of and the two days of training although had been very important for him, were extremely hard and he had to leave the room twice during the first day to compose himself before the instructor could actually show him and those taking the course, how to properly perform CPR. His hands shook and his breathing quickened as he took to his knees in front of the mannequin and he nearly didn’t do it but pushed himself and even when tears started to form in his eyes, he continued to push the compressions up and down. He was glad when the instructor let them take a break before they introduced the breathes as he needed to leave the room and get some air.

He quickly pulled out his phone and called Robyn needing his confident to sort his head out before he went back in.

“I am so proud of you Taron.”

“First off, I don’t know how you did that to me. I was working on a mannequin and my hands were shaking. Your hands were on a real person, on me and you did that. Second, Jesus Robyn, it takes so much energy. I am knackered and I have only done it a few times without the breathes. Thirdly, I can’t believe how hard you have to push down on a chest to ensure you do it properly and fourthly, could you have made it any more obvious on my Instagram that you are the Robyn who helped me? We are supposed to be avoiding social media contact.”

“Oh, how I am missed my rambling numbering things Taron.” Robyn wished she was there with him so she could give him a hug that she was sure he desperately needed. She thought he was crazy when he had called her to tell him what he was organising and only because it was so soon after he had been given CPR. She fully supported him and the campaign he wanted to be a part of and couldn’t encourage him enough for what he wated to do and learn. However, she really felt that learning the new skill would only bring unwanted memoires and pain back to him but he had been so insistent on learning it and she couldn’t talk him into waiting until the new year. “I am giving you a virtual hug now, rocketman.”

“Thank you because I need one.”

“Let go sort through those numbers for you. Firstly, I did it to you because I had to. Believe me, when you are faced with an unresponsive body in real life, it is a very different feeling than sitting in front of a mannequin. Adrenaline automatically runs through you when there is someone’s life depending on you and you do everything within your power that you can to help them. Second, yes it takes a lot of energy but again your adrenaline and instincts kick in and you will be doing lots of rounds Taron when you practise so you get used to the feel of it. I only did one on you but then it is good to understand how much energy it takes. You can tag team with someone else if they know how to do it too.”

“Yeah the instructor had said that.”

“Third, it’s a fair push down on a someone’s chest. You really have to put a lot of strength into those straight arms and thrust the compressions down.”

“And you didn’t break anything.” When speaking about his experience of receiving CPR from Robyn, the instructor was baffled by the fact that Robyn hadn’t broken any of his ribs.

“Still haven’t figured that one out yet Taron and thankful that I didn’t. It would have been a completely different story if I had of broken your ribs.”

“Something else I have to be thanking you for.” Agreed Taron. “The instructor told us to sing Baby Shark in our heads to help keep the beat so each compression is even and solid.”

Robyn laughed a little. “I actually did that.”

“No you didn’t.”

“Yeah I did. It’s what I was told too and it’s a great tip. Really helps you with the rhythm.”

“Everyone laughed when he said it but I think I might go back and tell them that little tip works.”

“And fourthly, you expected me not to comment on the photo you posted of the campaign? I am extremely proud of you for doing this Taron and I am going to say so.”

“You have completely offered yourself up to the world now.”

“The world already knows who I am.”

“You read the comments?” He asked as he walked up and down the car park.

“Naturally.”

“And?”

“All good Taron. You have done such a wonderful thing with this campaign.”

“Well it’s very close to my heart.”

“Nice pun.”

“Wasn’t actually a pun, Robyn.”

“You ok though? This cannot be easy for you.”

She heard him take a breath. “It has been hard. Really hard but I need to do it and I need to it now rather than later when I will chicken out or don’t have the time and I am actually enjoying it, even though it scares me shitless. We are working on the breathes next.”

“Just take your time with it Taron. Everyone understands that this is a very unusual situation for you and won’t mind how long it takes you to get comfortable. I know I am going to find my next first aid training very difficult. At least you don’t remember the CPR.”

“Ugh Robyn what a fucking mess.”

“And here we go again.” Robyn smiled as Taron used his go to phrase when things got a little hard for him and he started to get frustrated when he couldn’t figure his problem out quickly. “Not a mess Taron. Hard and emotionally horrible but needed for healing for you. Seeing the video footage from the 7/11 and watching it makes it harder for you too. Now you have seen the actual CPR, it makes it so much more real for you.”

“Even with an ocean between us you can still read my mind.”

“I told you it was my gift to you.”

Taron looked at the instructor came out and gave him a wave. “Robyn, I have got to go. We are ready to start again.”

“Just breath and take your time. Concentrate on the reasons why you would have to learn this and call me when you are done.”

“I will. Thank you Robyn.”

“Anytime.”

“Before you go, can I ask you something?”

“You know you can ask me anything.”

“Have you thought any more about coming to Elton’s charity benefit with me? And remember it wasn’t me who invited you but Elton himself and you know you can’t turn Mr Elton John down.”

“Taron…”

“I don’t want to put you under pressure but I would really love for you to come.”

“I know Taron. You have already said that to me the last four times you asked me this question over the last week.”

“You would get to wear a fancy fancy dress.”

“You said that too.”

“Please think about it. It is only two weeks away and it’s on a Saturday so you won’t have to miss work.”

“And again, you have told me this already.”

“And it was Elton who invited you, not me.”

“And yes, I know this too. I got the invite in the post.”

Robyn had been confused when the gold envelope arrived in her letter box and opened it, shocked to see that she had been invited to the auction for Elton’s AIDS foundation at his home. Taron had sworn blind that he had nothing to do with the fancy invite when she called him and that Elton had only asked for her address.

“Robyn?” He asked when he heard her go quiet on the end of the phone. He heard his name called and turned to look at the instructor and he gave him a two-minute sign with his left hand. “Hey, look, I don’t want to pressure you into it. I know it is a huge ask for you.”

“It’s only one of the most important charity events of the year being held in Elton John’s home with an array of celebrity faces. Meant to be the soirée of the year. Full of press and media.”

“It’ll be my first event since Florida.” He said quietly.

“Taron…”

“I am not guilting you into it Robyn. I promise I am not and I honestly had nothing to do with the invite. Elton wanted to invite you himself. He knows how much you mean to me and he thought it would have been a nice ‘treat’ as he called it for you.”

“You know I believe you. I just need to think about it Taron. It’s a lot and I thought we were keeping me away from the media.”

“We are and I just miss you. Today has been hard and it’s just bringing some emotions back.”

“I miss you too. I just need some more time to think about it ok and I am always here if you need to vent some emotions.”

Taron hoped Robyn hadn’t heard his sigh into the phone. “I really need to get going Robyn. They are waiting for me.”

“I don’t think you should go back to that course with your mind set the way it is.”

“I will be ok.”

“Yes you will be but you need another ten or fifteen minutes to clear your head.”

“Always looking out for me.”

“And always will be.”

“I should go.”

“Yeah I know. Please call me when you are finished ok?”

“I will.”

“I am still stupidly proud of you Taron.” She enjoyed the small laugh he gave her. “Just remember to breathe and it’s ok to stop if it gets too much for you.”

The call ended and Taron wandered slowly back towards the building where the training was taking place. He had slipped his phone into his pocket but pulled it back out when he felt it ding against his thigh. He was confused when he saw a message from Robyn and unlocked the phone, sliding the screen to open the message.

‘I will be there.’

Four little words brought the biggest grin to his face and he replied quickly with his most used emojis lately: a chicken and a heart.

[willieloomissavescollinsport]

Hawkes Harbor Review

"Surely, Louisa, you are not suggesting I take Jamie to Disneyland."

After a bestselling author's work is rejected, in a move of irony & karma, Dark Shadows finds ITSELF the subject of plagiarism. And now, brought to you by the letter 'H', here is my review of Hawkes Harbor by S.E. Hinton.

  As the legends go, the novel 'Hawkes Harbor' was originally intended to be an entry in publishers HarperCollins' Dark Shadows series. What changes were made to the storyline & characters afterwards are hard to pinpoint, but for all pretense and purposes, I chose to read this book while mentally changing each character or location to its DS counterpart:

Jamie Sommers..........Willie Loomis Kellen Quinn............Jason McGuire Grenville Hawkes...Barnabas Collins Dr. Louisa Kahne...Dr. Julia Hoffman Sophia Marie........................Josette Katie Roddendem........Maggie Evans Richard..................................Roger Lydia.................................Elizabeth Ricky.....................................David Barbara...............................Carolyn Hawkes Harbor.................Collinsport Hawkes Hall......................Old House Terrace View....................Wyndcliffe

  This comes in handy mostly because, with the exception of the 3 male leads, not many details are given regarding the other individuals mentioned in passing or who enter the storyline from time to time.

  The plot itself more or less follows Willie's storyline early on the show, with some added details & flashback accounts to his time spent with Kellen/Jason, along with a few other changes. For starters, Jamie gets more tail in a chapter of this book than Willie could ever hope to get throughout his entire run on the show. He gets it on with a rich bitch who scratches his back up; with Katie/Maggie, IMMEDIATELY after Grenville/Barnabas kidnaps her; with two girls on a cruise ship, at the same time. Hell, even the book's equivalent of Nurse Jackson climbs into bed with him to give him a pity handjob.

Whereas onscreen, I think Willie only got as far as copping a feel while holding Maggie hostage.

  And as I mentioned before, there are rather large sections of the book devoted to Jamie/Willie's backstory, which had previously been unexplored in the show's official canon. The story begins by showing Jamie/Willie, an out of wedlock child with a dying mother, being placed in an orphanage at the age of 7. There, his mother's heirloom crucifix necklace is taken away from him, hinting at his future fascination with shiny trinkets. In his adulthood, he enlists in the Navy & later befriends Kellen/Jason after defeating two Hawaiian men in a brawl.

  For the years to follow, Kellen & Jamie primarly travel together on the high seas, makin' cons, makin' scams & fightin' round the world. During the course of their adventures: Jamie is accused of rape by a rich heiress who seduced him; Kellen tells a story where the punchline involves a frozen sausage; and the two are robbed by pirates while a shark attacks Jamie as he dives for a ruby.

After their resources are dried out, the duo end up back in the states in the town of Hawkes Harbor, Delaware/Collinsport, Maine. Which, of course, is where these characters were introduced on Dark Shadows. But since this isn't suppose to be a Dark Shadows novel, some of the details have been mixed around. For starters, instead of Kellen being Lydia/Elizabeth's husband's two-timing friend, HE is her husband. They were married overseas while Lydia/Elizabeth was working as a nurse for the war. After the marriage went sour, Kellen took a buyout to produce a death certificate, vanish & allow her to go back to her family as a widow.

  Posing as the brother of Lydia's late husband, Kellen moves into the grand family mansion & collects clothes & money while Jamie stays at a boarding house nearby. There, he befriends one of the workers: Katie Roddendem/Maggie Evans, as well as her little sister Trisha(/Amy, perhaps?) & their mother, Mrs Pivens (who seems to be playing the role of Mrs Johnson, as evidenced by this line: "Well, my landlady, Mrs Pivens, she liked me. Don't ask me why-'cept she had a son around my age, he turned out bad. I guess she wanted to believe guys like us were good, deep down somewhere.") Ricky Hawkins/David also forms a bond with Jamie & later tells him of buried pirate treasures located in the caves of a nearby island, said to be haunted.

  With just that information to go on, Jamie foolishly goes a treasure huntin' & unchains a coffin revealing vampire Grenville Hawkes/Barnabas Collins. Grenville, who's sounds more like a chain of motels than a scary vampire, puts Jamie under his power & to work on restoring Hawkes Hall/Old House. Now, it is worth mentioning that some changes were made to Grenville, from the Barnabas we all know & love/hate. Most notably, Jamie describes him as being around the age of 50, with no trying to pretend that the middle aged vampire was 25 when confined in a coffin. In addition, Grenville has had *gasp* MULTIPLE wives! One of which produced an offspring named William, which is perhaps a nod to the our protagonist's original name. Guess William also dodged a bullet in that he wasn't named Bramwell.

  Some time after Gren's first wife passes on, he marries a young woman by the name of Sophia Marie/Josette. Soon afterwards, Grenville finds himself turned into one of the living dead. Sophia/Josette is all too anxious to join him in being eternally damned, but unfortunately for her, Bizarro-Barnabas will have none of that & decides chokes a bitch instead. Fast forward a few centuries and Grenville spots Katie/Maggie & makes up his mind that he wants Sophia/Josette to be a bloodsucking creature of the night after all! But here's where it gets WEIRD.

  Instead of slowly brainwashing Katie into believing she IS Sophia, he plans to have Sophia's spirit, who just happens to be hanging around Hawkes Hall for no good reason, inhabit her body. I guess just like in 'Ghost', when Patrick Swayze jumps into Whoopi Goldberg or something. So, Gren attacks Katie & leaves her alone in the Hawkes Hall long enough for Jamie to find her, allowing THIS exchange to take place:

"Jamie," she said suddenly. "Make love to me." "W-w-what?" he stammered, drawing back from her, searching her eyes. "Make love to me. Now."

  Yep, you've only got mere moments to escape, but why not do the nasty instead? I mean, it's not like an angry jealous killer vampire could walk in at any second or anything! Actually you know what? If I didn't believe it was impossible, I think Willie Loomis himself wrote this book. That's right, after hearing about his parallel time self being a famous writer, he thought to himself 'Well, why can't I do that?' And then he proceeded to write a thinly disguised biography of his life, giving everyone a different name & changing the events to the way he thought they SHOULD have happened!

Oh & here's another kicker, Katie/Maggie claims to be a virgin. Ha! Yeah, I know Joe is always shown sleeping on the couch in the show, but I've figured that was because Sam had a short fuse & a shotgun handy amidst his paintbrushes, just in case someone dared to lay a finger on his daughter. Trust me, if Maggie's a virgin, then Carolyn's in the freakin' convent. So Katie is saying that she wants her first roll in the hay to be with pretty boy Jamie instead of Count Hawkins. Actually I wonder if Grenville is even capable of performing such an act. Usually vampires in popular culture are as dead below the waist as the rest of their bodies, & Barnabas never seemed to be any exception. Sure he was interested in anything under 30 with a vagina who walked within his line of vision. But as a vampire, he never showed an interest in sinking anything except his fangs into a young lady.

  But, getting back to our story. Jamie & Katie are engaging in some fluffy coitus. They kiss, they cry, they climax together. Cherubs come down from the heavens & sing. Then Grenny shows up & doesn't seem to show any reaction to the fact that some hard core nookie just took place in that very room. But no matter to that, because Grenville has to deliver some corny dialogue to his sweetie:

  "Come, my heart, " the low voice beseeched the air. "Come and join me."

  "All right!" (All right! Let's get this party started!) Jamie shouted as he struggled back up. "You go ahead and do this, kill Katie, I can't stop you. I seen people kill before-for money, God, or country, and you with your 'necessity for existence.' I even did it myself once. But don't you call it love! This isn't love!"

  After that speech, I half expected Jamie to break out into song, but instead Sophia Marie talks through Katie, forming a ghostly glow over her body. The lovers embrace, kiss, cry, the cherubs come back for an encore & Sophia Marie/Josette basically tells Grenville that although she loves him, they can't really be together like this. A ghost & a vampire together? Might make for a decent mid season replacement sitcom, but doesn't lend itself to being very practical for real life.

  So with Katie now useless, Grenville tells Jamie to get rid of her. Maybe he just meant to dump her in the trashcan out back for pickup, but Jamie takes Katie & runs for the hills. And who should see them on their way, but a Sheriff Patterson/Joe Haskell hybrid known as Mitch Morgan. To make matters worse, Katie is Mitch's main squeeze & she's been missing for awhile. Mighty Mitch takes aim & Jamie gets 3 bullets in his back, as opposed to Super-Willie who recieved FIVE & recovered in record time!

  From there, Jamie is taken to a criminal insane ward & later transferred to Terrace View/Wyndcliffe under the request of Grenville & Dr. Louisa Kahne/Dr. Julia Hoffman. This is where the majority of the story takes place in the forms of flashbacks & remembrances while a physician named Dr. McDevitt conducts therapy sessions with Jamie. Which is an affective tool for storytelling, but I wouldn't really buy as being able to take place. Think about it. Would Julia really allow anyone to ask Willie questions, taking the risk that he might reveal something? Frankly, I've always imagined Willie as being kept heavily medicated & isolated in his room while at Wyndcliffe.

Oh, & while it's not even brought up until much later in the novel, you should know that, much like on the show, Kellen/Jason became worm food some time before Jamie got shot. Worse yet, instead of Grenville merely using Barnabas's trusted M.O. of strangling someone to death, here Grenville drinks all the blood from Kellen's body. And then orders Jamie to stake his friend to prevent him from rising as a vampire. Adding yet another thing to give Jamie nightmares at night.

  After several months of being at Terrace View/Wyndcliffe, in following the storyline of Dark Shadows, Jamie/Willie is released into the care of Grenville & Dr. Louisa Kahne/Dr. Julia Hoffman, against the wishes of Dr. McDevitt. Grenville is magically now 99.9% vampire free but it's still alluded to that he needs shovels for misdeeds, which are never fully explained in detail. Meanwhile, Jamie has become the Boo Radley of Hawkes Harbor, with small children throwing rocks at him. And on top of that, from his ordeal & time spent in the institution, he's become greatly addicted to prescription drugs.

  Following Jamie accidentally ODing on his pills, Louisa/Julia finally gets it through her thick wig that Jamie just may have problems & observes he's likely suffering from Stockholm syndrome. Although since this takes place in 1968 & that term will not be conceived until 1973, I guess Louisa took some trips to the future that we didn't know about. She suggests that Grenville should take him someplace to relax while he is gradually reduced from his meds, to which he reacts with this line:

  "Surely, Louisa, you are not suggesting I take Jamie to Disneyland."

  Oh man, I'd pay good money to see Barnabas & Willie in Disneyland! Can you imagine it? Within the first 24 hours, Willie will have beaten up Goofy & been banned for life from Mr. Toad's Wild Ride while Barnabas has already made plans to kidnap Snow White & turn her into his new Josette!

But unfortunately for us, Louisa/Julia has other plans in mind.

  "Richard was saying..." she began. His look warned her he had little interest in what his cousin had to say, but she went on. "The Collins shipping industry needed to look into passenger cruises. They are the wave of the future-You know Roger and his puns."

(That above line is NOT a typo, by the way. For two sentences they let the names 'Collins' & 'Roger' slip through without changing them!)

  "No," Grenville said. "No."   "Of course he offered to go. But you could investigate for yourself. And it's not unusual for a man of your position and background to travel with a valet."

  So, Grenville & Jamie are off to the high seas in a high class cruise ship. Jamie manages to come down off his drug dependency while he spends his vacation having nonstop threesome with 2 babes who hang on him like bark on a tree. Grenville also finds time to cheat on Louisa/Julia score with an older lady by the name of Leslie while on board. This leads to another quotable line:

  "So Grenville," Jamie said conversationally, "yours give good head?"

Greetings from Commodore Cruise Line! Wish you were here. Love, Jamie.

  Yep, Jamie/Willie & Grenville/Barnabas discussing oral sex. An area most fan fiction writers wouldn't even dare venture towards. But all good things must come to an end, including the boy's pleasure cruise & they return to Hawkes Harbor with Jamie greatly improved & more confident in himself. In time, he becomes a productive member of society, working odd jobs & donating his services to schools & charities.

  The book then flashes forward 10 years where Jamie has become Harvey Lacey & lives a content comfortable life with his former captor. That Christmas, Grenville 'Last of the Big Time Spenders' Hawkins gives him a quilt. Jamie gets to enjoy it for exactly one night before a deer crashes into the car while he's driving Grenville home. He dies moments later & meets Kellen/Jason in heaven. Kellen claims that Jamie's act of lighting a candle & saying a prayer, allowed him into a much less fiery accommodation in the afterlife, but personally I think he just had some dirt on God & blackmailed his way through the pearly gates. The two sail off into the sunset of the great beyond. The End.

  So that's the book. It has its pros & its cons, but it actually might have been much better if released as originally written, with the characters' names, places & events as we know them still intact. If you are familiar with Dark Shadows, it's impossible not to associate the book with it & become annoyed with some of the changes. While if you're NOT acquainted with the show, you're very likely to read the novel not being completely clear of the characters' personalities or motivations. It's really a no win situation.

  In general, I like the way Jamie is written. But I think he's made out to be too much of a Gary Stu in some parts of the book. For one thing, Jamie is written as being primarily well liked by anyone he comes across, whereas this is certainly not the case for Willie. Early on, he insults & gets into fights with nearly anyone he meets. Jamie acts as an older brother towards Ricky & Trisha while Willie is mostly seen just throwing David's ass out of the Old House. The character of Katie is deeply fond of Jamie, going as far to name one of her sons after him. Regarding Maggie & Willie, early on she deeply despises him as he continually comes on to her, even when she makes it perfectly clear that she is not interested. After he is shot & she comes to believe in his innocence, her feeling towards him becomes one of friendship. But it's still more of a commiserative manner rather than romantic as Willie would like to believe. Often her interactions with him come off as if she's dealing with a child or slow minded adult.

  And in turn, I think many of the secondary characters seem to have been made less likable, perhaps to make Jamie even more of the hero. The Hawkeses are described in brief as simply a family of rich snobs. Richard/Roger has to be taken to detox clinics, Barbara/Carolyn gets involved in one scandle after another. Granted the Collins themselves were far from perfect, but never near the level of arrogant highbrows as they are presented here as the Hawkeses.

  Dr. Louisa Kahne is also written as a very flawed individual. In addition to being extremely controlling towards Jamie, it is mentioned by Dr. McDevitt that Louisa barely has any medical training or knowedge & yet goes around acting as a doctor. And while I'm not gonna defend Julia's treatment of Willie which ranges from small acts of kindness to being a complete bitch, I think it's unfair to quickly write her up as an unqualified quack. Her Doctor Feelgood reputation of passing out sedatives like Halloween candy precedes her, but Julia has been shown treating vampirism & creating an artifical person, & seems able to handle whatever injury or emergency is thrown at her on a daily basis.

But while we're on the subject of the Queen of Barbiturates, I do want to discuss a subject which I thought the book did well in covering. Which is in dealing with Jamie's health & mental state. On Dark Shadows, after Willie is shot enough times to kill a person two times over & regains consciousness from his coma, he is shown as being in a great amount of pain. And furthermore, he appears to have undergone a complete mental breakdown. Showing signs of amnesia (whether genuine or as a protective defense), he seems to have regressed to his state after being attacked by Barnabas, begging for it not to be dark & for no one to hurt him.

  When we next see Willie a few months later at Wyncliffe, he claims to be physically strong as ever, but is still showing occasional signs of delusions, bad decisions, as well as sparks of his old mean demeanor that was repressed after being bitten. Miraculously, following his release, his mental state actually seems to improve over time, even while he is seen getting thrown into one dangerous situation after another. This I've always found hard to believe, especially considering Willie's parental caregivers rarely give him a thought of concern at all.

Willie: (After being forced to dig up a corpse & bring it back to the Old House) "You know, every time I touched it I felt sick. When I came back here I couldn't even go to sleep. I put it down here & I went to my room & I just lay there, Barnabas!" Barnabas: "Well, next time Julia will give you a sedative."

  Yeah, I don't find it hard to picture Willie becoming dependent on painkillers & tranquilizers with his environment or the health problems that would come from 5 bullets in the back. But by this point, Willie mainly served as a background character, carrying out duties for Barnabas & Julia, with limited insight into his own personal life, or lack thereof. After all, what reason did the writers have to give his character a story arc of his own, when the viewers seemed content with watching Barnabas repeatedly pine on a lost love or mope over his vampire state?

  But that's where its the viewer's job to watch, observe, read between the lines & ponder the untapped stories, feelings & adventures for characters who remain a mystery. And for that, despite some of the book's shortcomings, S.E. Hinton has done a respectable job in trying to make the reader better understand the character of Willie Loomis. Or Jamie Sommers, as she chooses to call him. Or if nothing else, I'm at least thankful that the author wanted to give Willie his moment in the spotlight.

[buzzedbabe]

@thewolfdragon @richard-madden @maddennfl86 @thenorthremembersalways @thefashionprofessor @robbstarkmademedoit @what-would-wonderwoman-do

story below for those that can’t read it

How much time are you spending thinking about Bodyguard? A lot, I bet. The new BBC thriller, about the relationship between an ambitious and unknowable home secretary and her PTSD-addled protection officer, was written by Jed Mercurio of Line of Duty fame, and was cynically and artfully designed to hook, obsess and fixate an audience into appointment viewing.

Bodyguard is made to steal us away from all newly acquired suit-yourself, binge-watch and content-stream habits, with charismatic heroes who might actually be despicable antiheroes and a succession of frenzied plot twists that simply must be consumed on the night lest someone catch you out with a spoiler on social media. Even if that doesn’t happen, even if your viewing isn’t partly ruined by a stray Facebook comment, watch an episode even a little late and find yourself locked out of all the best conversations, the most detailed post mortems, most frenetic speculations. Bodyguard is, in essence, a middle-aged Love Island, a reason to gather excitedly round the screen at the prescribed hour in a way that hasn’t really happened since the late Nineties.

Bloody hell, it’s good, I tell its star Richard Madden. The 32-year-old Glaswegian actor made his name as Robb Stark in Game of Thrones and consolidated it as Prince Charming in 2015’s Kenneth Branagh-directed Cinderella. Now, after playing Mellors in Mercurio’s 2015 Lady Chatterley’s Lover for the BBC, he trembles on the verge of Poldarking himself into borderline indecent, heavily fetishised glory as Bodyguard’s David Budd, the protection officer at the heart of the story.

“Oh, right,” he says. His accent is broad, non-posh Scottish; unexpected to those who remember it as generically Yorkshire in Game of Thrones. His eyes are intense. He’s arch and funny; he’d probably qualify as dangerously charming if there weren’t also something watchful and cautious about him. “Thanks very much! I enjoyed playing something a bit more adult, less boyish. I’m keen to play more grown-up roles, without actually growing up myself. Pretending to be adult. I’m done playing princes. Princes and royalty and lords. Also, it’s nice not to do an accent.” David Budd is – conveniently – Scottish. “One less thing to think about. Shall we get a drink? It is a Tuesday night, after all.”

It’s a Monday, I point out, but all the same we order a beer and wine from the front desk of the photographic studio in which we sit.

This is not the first time Madden and I have met. Three years ago, he bowled up to me at a friend’s party and demanded to know why I hadn’t featured him in Grazia magazine’s Chart of Lust recently. A placing in the list (which I compile weekly, and does exactly as its title suggests – rates the most fanciable people of that moment’s news), is deeply coveted among those who present themselves as above that kind of vanity, but definitely aren’t. Newscasters, Hollywood A-listers, national treasures, disruptive artists (Grayson Perry once told me he’d pinned his mention up on the wall in his studio), award-winning novelists … I’ve been lobbied by spads chasing mentions for their political charges on more than one occasion. But this was the first time a candidate had ever approached me in the flesh. I was both impressed and amused by his front.

“It does my frail ego good,” he’d elaborated, which, I’d thought, demonstrated a surprising amount of self-awareness in a young actor.

I remind him of our first meeting.

“Oh, God. Great start,” he says. Then, “I’m just trying to work my way up [the chart].”

Well, let’s see how this goes, shall we.

One of the reasons I think Bodyguard resonates so hard with its viewers is that it’s dealing with themes of safety – and so are we all. Terrorist attacks, suicide bombers and rooftop snipers recur from episode to episode; our current nightmares, and most catastrophising daytime fantasies, the ones that flicker through our minds every time we board a plane, go to a concert venue or swipe into a subway system, are played out in high definition on our small screens. Madden’s David Budd thwarts and buffers and foresees and repels; a hero with a fantastically of-the-moment brief. If Poldark is our ultimate historical TV pin-up – manly, tortured, good with his shirt off – then Budd is our ultimate Threat Level: Severe pin-up – manly, tortured, good in a bulletproof vest (“An actual bulletproof vest,” he’ll tell me, “which is so comfortable, for five months”).

I run this theory past Madden. How nervy is he in London right now?

“I don’t feel unsafe. I used to be more panicky, but I’m just less uptight. A few years ago, I’d get off at Tube stations because I’d have a sense of something.”

How much of David Budd’s wariness did Madden inherit through the course of filming?

“You get to a point where you clock everything. That’s what I’m doing for 12 hours a day, so …”

Walk into a room, scope it out for the nearest exit?

“I did that anyway. My dad’s a fireman, so that’s built in. Check into a hotel, first thing I do, find the fire exit.”

Richard Madden was born just outside of Glasgow, an only boy among older and younger sisters. His mother, Pat, is a classroom assistant. There were no other performers in his close family – no pub-singer uncles, no sisters at dance school.

You’re, like, a rogue luvvie.

“Yup!” he says.

How does that happen?

“I don’t know. I was fat. And shy. Crushingly shy, going to what was a fairly tough high school. Aggressive. Masculine. So I thought the best thing to do would be to go and be an actor. Ha ha! Not go and play football. Or get good at boxing. I’ll go and be an actor. They’ll love that.”

Aged 11, Madden joined Paisley Art Centre’s youth theatre programme. “And of course, they did not love that. But then I managed to dodge a couple of years of school, because …”

Because he was good enough to be cast, as a young teenager, in professional roles: in the film adaptation of Iain Banks’ Complicity, and in a kids’ TV show called Barmy Aunt Boomerang.

“So I was like, ‘I’m going to be acting, and not go to school.’ And get paid.”

Did you realise you were good? “I don’t think you ever feel good at it.”

He gave up acting in his mid-teens – “Life got a bit shit, when you’re on telly, among your peers, and you’re 14 years old”. He returned to it when he was 17, “because you have a bunch of teachers going, ‘Right, now you must decide what to do with the rest of your life,’ and 17 is of course the best time to choose.”

In 2004, he began studying at the Royal Scottish Academy of Music and Drama. “I wasn’t allowed to apply for drama school unless I applied for a ‘real’ course as well, which was computing science. I didn’t even know what it was. Had no interest. And then, luckily, the day before my first exams, I received a letter saying you’ve got into drama school, so I went to my exams and just wrote my name.”

At 22, barely out of the RSAMD, he was cast as Robb Stark in HBO’s epic, fantastically successful Game of Thrones. Stark is the noble, brave, integrity-hampered son of Sean Bean’s Ned Stark; a character with a genuine and credible claim on the kingdom’s iron throne, all of which condemned him to a phenomenally gruesome death in an episode entitled The Rains of Castamere, only fans of the show (among whom I count myself, unashamedly) call it “The Red Wedding”, on account of the blood-drenched ceremony during which Madden, his pregnant wife and his mother all die.

Madden says he thinks that early, formative brush with a TV career was both “a head-f***” and, “I was so thankful for it, because, going into the world of Game of Thrones, I’d already learnt so much from doing it as a kid, of feeling isolated, or getting arrogant because you’re on a TV show. I’d kind of done all that. I could deal with it a lot better.”

A lot better than whom, among your co-stars?

He cackles. “Wouldn’t you like to know.”

Yes! Can I guess? “No.”

Madden went into Game of Thrones knowing he would die within three series – the books on which the shows are based spelled out Robb Stark’s demise long before Madden was cast – which he thinks is a good thing, professionally speaking. “I didn’t just want to be known as that guy from Game of Thrones.” It also meant that his celebrity has, until this point at least, been tinged with pity, partly for the grotesque manner of his fictional death, partly because he was booted out of that juggernaut of a TV sensation early.

That might be about to change with Bodyguard. I am reasonably confident Madden’s fame is about to be tinged with something rather more lecherous. David Budd is in no sense a straightforward romantic hero – physically and emotionally scarred, with an undivorced wife and kids squirrelled away in a safe house – but heavens, he does brooding intensity well. His love affair with Keeley Hawes’ home secretary, Julia Montague, is as intensely sexy as it is quietly subversive, for making no reference to Hawes’ Montague being ten years older than Madden’s Budd. The whole thing is designed to charm the pants off us, and I wonder how prepared Madden is to receive the unbridled lust of thousands of women on social media.

If Twitter erupts with lechery …

“I won’t look.”

Why?

“Because if I do, and if I believe someone going, ‘Oh God, he’s hot,’ then I’ll also have to believe the person that goes, ‘He’s got pumpkin teeth.’ Do you know what I mean?”

Yes, but, you are widely considered handsome, so …

“I don’t see it.”

Truly not?

“Truly not.”

It is form for beautiful young actors to deny their looks, in the interest of seeming more humble and likeable than they really are, but I think, in Madden’s case, he could mean it. He tells me fame has made him feel less attractive, not more. “You chat to a girl at a bar, have a couple of drinks, and shy Richard is slowly going. This is going well. And then it’s, ‘My boyfriend’s a really big fan. Can I get a picture?’ And you go, ‘F***.’ You think they think you’re hot, but it’s because you’re on telly.”

I ask Madden if he thinks he’s irredeemably defined by the chubby, shy child he used to be.

“I feel like I should lie down on that sofa and give you a hundred quid.”

Were you really so scarringly fat?

“Thirty-eight inch waist when I was 12. I didn’t wear denim until I was 19, because denim is really hard to take up. My mum couldn’t take my jeans up.”

Would you say you have body issues?

“Absolutely, yeah.”

Despite all of which, Richard Madden does OK with women. When I originally met him, he’d been in the final stages of a long-term relationship with the actor Jenna Coleman, who stars as Victoria in the ITV show, and who is now in a relationship with her onscreen Albert, Tom Hughes. Since then, Madden has been gossip-column-linked to a succession of beautiful women – model Suki Waterhouse and TV presenter Laura Whitmore among them – none of whom seem notably put off by his pumpkin teeth.

“I think in the last year I was, as far as the tabloids went, dating seven different people. And when you receive a text saying, ‘Are you sleeping with blah blah,’ and you go, ‘No,’ that’s a bit weird.”

Who are you sleeping with?

“I’m not saying.”

But you are sleeping with someone?

“I am sleeping with someone. I am very happy with someone. There are pictures of it on the internet.”

If it’s the one everyone thinks you’re dating, I say – by which I mean the 21-year-old Ellie Bamber, with whom he was pictured most recently at the Serpentine Gallery summer party – then she’s another actor. Is it really a good idea to go out with other actors?

“Yes and no. Yes, because you understand what each other’s going through. No, because, there’s a certain level of self-focus you need, in order to do the job you’re doing. That’s hard on all relationships, because what am I going to talk to you about? I walk up and down for 12 hours a day, dealing with this character’s shit. That’s all I’ve done, every day, for the past three months … I really haven’t got anything to offer you as a friend.”

We return, briefly, to Bodyguard. He says he got on brilliantly with Keeley Hawes. “Love her, love her to pieces. She saved my arse, because it’s not a fun job. It’s not a comedy. But then Keeley and me, me and her, off screen, were just like two kids.”

Were you paid the same?

“No idea. I imagine she earned more. I care less about how much other people are paid, and more what it takes for me to shut up and go and do my job. The equality thing needs to be addressed hugely between male and female co-stars; I know that from friends of mine. But there’s only so much I can do for myself. Agents and lawyers, they do all that stuff. I just kind of deal with what I need to, so I don’t look a producer in the eye and f***ing hate them when they’re talking about their villas, and you’re thinking, shit, I’m getting the bus at the weekend, because I don’t have the money for a cab, you know?”

How rich are you?

“Not very. People think I am, because of Game of Thrones, but you know, when I signed up for that I was 22, with f*** all on my CV, so I was paid f*** all.”

Then, somehow, we end up talking about his body again.

“In between filming, I eat pizza, drink, don’t work out, get fat, then it’s six weeks till you have to be naked again. It’s always six weeks. Actually, that’s if you’re lucky. I have ten days till I take my clothes off again this time.”

What’s the occasion?

“I’m filming Rocketman, the Elton John film, and I play John Reid, his first boyfriend, his manager for 28 years.”

A straight man in a gay role; casting that has become contentious after Disney named comedian Jack Whitehall, who is straight, as the voice of its first openly gay hero.

“Yeah, and Taron Egerton [who is playing Elton John] is a straight man in a gay role,” says Madden, “and I think we’re all f***ed if we start going down the route of you can only play a gay part if you’re a gay actor. Diversity, equality and pay – of course we need to make sure of all that, but at the same time … I read reports that so and so’s pulled out of this role because they’re not transgender, and you go, yeah, but they’re a f***ing actor, and they’re probably really f***ing good in the part, and maybe that is part of the reason why that film’s getting made …”

We wind up with him telling me he isn’t bothered about an Oscar. “Because, who won best actress last year? Best actor? Best supporting actor? What won best musical?”

No idea.

“So what does it matter?” he says.

After which, he is beautifully mocking (off the record) about a very famous actor’s latest endeavour, before hugging me goodbye and pretending – well – he hopes to see me again soon, socially. Richard Madden made it to No 2 in the current issue of Grazia’s Chart of Lust Bodyguard continues tomorrow at 9pm on BBC One. Episodes 1 and 2 are on BBC iPlayer

[scrawnydutchman]

‘Inside Out’ Movie Review

*NOTE: The following review contains major spoilers, highlighted in bold letters for readers convenience. If you haven’t seen the film yet, skip past the bold letter segments and come back to read them once you HAVE seen the film for my full thoughts.*

Now I know what you’re thinking. Why in the hell am I putting up a review for a film that’s close to three years old now? Well, here’s a little context. Those of you internet surfers may have seen this little meme float around the web recently:

Everybody has their own opinions on this and there’s good reason why it’s trending. It’s a legitimately fun discussion to hear about everyone’s favorite movies from the “happiest” company on earth. For anybody curious on what I think, HERE’S the version of the meme I created:

*the distinct lack of any and all Emperor’s New Groove and/or Hunchback of Notre Dame is a crime against cinema*

You’ll notice how Finding Nemo beat Inside Out in the first round, and next to the bracket for Inside Out  I wrote “never saw it: may change later”. Well, after family and friends highly recommended I sit down and see it, I’m here to tell you that now that I’ve seen Inside Out . My opinion . . . has not changed. Finding Nemo beats it. Easily in fact. Let me explain why, starting with Story.

Story:

Synopsis: Inside the minds of every human being resides five emotions: Joy, Sadness, Fear, Anger and Disgust. These emotions have a duty to protect their human from danger and guide them through life. We follow the inner workings of a little girl named Riley’s psyche in which Joy has taken the leadership role to make sure every day of Riley’s life is a good one. She maintains Riley’s optimism and makes sure nothing gets in the way of her happy life by keeping Sadness on a leash. Things change though when a challenging time in Riley’s life occurs; she and her family move to San Francisco. Joy struggles to keep Riley’s optimism up and inevitably she and sadness get removed from headquarters, leaving the rest of the gang to try and do Joy’s job while she’s away (and failing at it). Can Joy and Sadness get back to headquarters in time to save Riley and make sure she can be happy again?

This movie is infinitely praised for being one of Pixar’s most creative and original films,and to be fair it’s not hard to see why. It’s a very outside the box idea that’s rarely been explored before and this movie explores it in a way only Pixar can come up with. It also has a lot of fun with demonstrating real life psychological concepts in a way that feels very fresh. 

It also has a moral lesson that’s both original for a kids film and absolutely necessary for children to learn. Accepting that sadness and other negative emotions are not only a part of life but an ESSENTIAL part of life is a pill most people, even adults, have trouble swallowing. Of COURSE everyone wants to feel happy all the time, but it’s unhealthy to bottle up feelings that are a necessity to dealing with life’s special challenges.

Also . . . the climax of this film IS very emotional. Not Coco levels of emotional, but still sad in a way that got me to tear up a bit.

That said, it isn’t ALWAYS effective in how it expresses it’s ideas. While the visuals of this film are excellent (which we’ll get into in a bit) this film often runs into a bit too much of a ‘tell, don’t show’ attitude. A lot of concepts introduced in this film are verbally explained by one of the characters when they could have just as easily been presented clearly enough with visual context clues. I get that it’s a kids movie and kids may not be as skilled in picking up nuances, and to be fair this movie DOES explore a lot of concepts a child may not be immediately keen on, but film is meant to be a visual medium in which ideas and concepts are made understandable by what the audience sees rather than what they’re being told verbally. It especially makes it a problem for how characters are portrayed because one in particular feels like she exists solely as an exposition dump for three quarters of the run time. We should probably talk about characters for a second.

Characters:

So not gonna lie, this is by far the weakest area of the movie. How can I be such a heartless monster to say such a thing? Well, the best way to explain it is to compare it to Finding Nemo, the whole reason I even saw the movie to begin with. Coincidentally enough, these two movies actually have a lot in common. They’re both “buddy road trip” movies where two characters go on a big scope adventure, come across wacky colourful characters on their path and ultimately learn a lesson not often addressed in kids films. The difference is, Finding Nemo does more to establish character motivation AND it takes more time to establish multiple character arcs, ironically within the same runtime as Inside Out more or less. Marlin’s motivation for being a strict and neurotic parent is immediately shown, NOT told, in the opening. Same thing with Nemo’s tendency to rebel. Both characters are given arcs in which they each learn a unique lesson. Marlin learns to take more risks to accomplish goals and Nemo learns to be self reliant when separated from his dad. Plus along the way they come across TONS of memorable side characters. Dory, The Sharks, the school of fish, the seagulls, the pet fish in the fish tank. It does more to establish an infinitely more appealing cast of characters.

Inside Out is focused on Joy . .  .TOO focused on Joy. She’s the only character with a truly fleshed out story arc. She’s the first character we see in the film and we’re verbally told through her perspective on why things are the way they are. She’s the only one of the five emotions who really learns anything and really changes. 

The only other character in the story with an arc is Bing Bong the imaginary friend, who appears pretty late in the film and effectively dies soon too. His arc is wrapped up pretty hastily.

Every other character in this film is a means to an end. Fear, Disgust and Anger all exist to get a major story beat going. That’s it. Their banter between each other is likable at first but is pretty wash rinse repeat. Her parents only get one entertaining scene in the film that express any kind of personality and then the rest of the time they serve the same functions as each other (seeing if Riley is okay but ultimately not doing anything about it). Sadness is the biggest offender of not serving much beyond being a means to an end because despite having the most screentime after Joy she mainly serves as exposition dumping. Every time Joy isn’t sure about how the brain works (if she doesn’t know where things are or what they are why is she in charge?) Sadness just verbally explains it to the audience. “Oh, that’s long term memory. Oh, that’s abstract thought. Here’s what we should do about it.” She also propels the plot forward in a pretty lackluster way. The reason conflict even happens is because Sadness is compelled to taint memories (for reasons they never really explain). Riley isn’t even a character, really. She’s just an outward demonstration of the ramifications of the real conflict.

And I’m just gonna come out and say it . . . .Joy is too difficult to like for a good chunk of this movie. The movie shows her as very controlling and bossy and selfish. It immediately made me sour towards her. I know, I know, the idea is that everyone wants to feel Happy more than anything else and she DOES learn the error of her ways in the end, but they could have done a little more to make her actions sympathetic than just immediately show her hog the controls once Sadness shows up. It’s weird that Joy rubs me the wrong way more than Disgust does, a character specifically designed to be bitchy. To compare to Finding Nemo again, we understand that Marlin’s actions aren’t right in the beginning, but we know WHY he does it. It’s not for any malicious intent either. He only wants to protect his son because he learned the hard way how fragile life is and he feels like he failed to protect his family before. Joy just gets needy as soon as another character shows up and seemingly for no other reason than she just wants to have the final word in what happens. Maybe they could have made her more sympathetic by showing Riley get into a hard to cope with situation like her dad being really mad and yelling at her for something she did and Joy feeling like she owes it to Riley to make sure she never feels that bad again. That way it’s at least for somebody else’s sake besides her own. This is admittedly a hard problem to articulate because you could argue everything the emotions do, they do for Riley’s sake, but while all the other emotions clearly act with Riley’s best interests in mind Joy is shown to do what she does more out of competitiveness than duty.

Acting:

Every cast member of this flick does a great job. Amy Poehler makes a strong performance as Joy, really communicating the oozing enthusiasm and the struggle to maintain a positive attitude. Bill Hader does a great job as Fear and has some of the more effective deadpan line delivery in the film. Lewis Black makes an effectively funny Anger who makes great comedic foil for pretty well every other character he interacts with. Mindy Kaling arguably does the best job as Disgust. I say that because making a character designed to be unlikable like this (the typical girl bully “shallow bitch” archetype) endearing and not annoying has to be no easy task. Phyllis Smith does an okay job as Sadness. She’s especially funny when she has to say something sarcastic. Richard Kind plays Bing Bong and does a great job as sort of a washed up but charming imaginary friend. The rest of the cast is passable but not remarkable.

Visuals (Animation & Design):

As anyone would expect from Pixar, Inside Out is yet another visual marvel. This movies greatest strength is it’s use of colour. More specifically, colour contrast. The shear opposition between the bright saturated colors of the mind and it’s deep, unsaturated grays and blacks of the sadder scenes is excellent. There are some shots in this film that are poster material simply because the contrast adds SO MUCH to the overall composition of the frame. It makes your eye all the more drawn to the colours that really pop when they’re set against gloomy atmospheres.

One shot in particular that stands out is an extreme wide shot of Joy crying in the abyss, with her glow piercing the darkness and another memory fading away in peripheral vision. 

The animation is great too. I like how while the human characters move rigidly and in accordance to real world physics, the emotions go to a cartoony extent with their dynamic poses, snappy energy and great use of line of action. The designs really showcase the best of their over the top acting, ESPECIALLY fear. the lanky, noodly armed guy has some of the most effective slapstick because of how fast and how far he stretches his limbs. In fact, all the designs of the emotions are great. As is always a necessity in character design 101, you can put them in silhouette and still be able to tell which is which.

Of course, a standout moment in the film when it comes to animation is the “abstract thought” scene. Borrowing a page from the book of Picasso, the designs in this scene are wonderfully out there and I love how it addresses such a meta idea for a kids movie. This is the one moment of the film where i think verbal explanation from Sadness is necessary.

The textures on the emotions are a nice touch too. I wouldn’t have guessed that the fuzzy, almost plush like look would have been an effective choice on characters meant to represent concepts as metaphysical as the emotional spectrum, but it’s genuinely a sight for sore eyes. I’ll admit SOME of the textures of specific location pieces seem a bit . . .dated and unpolished, but to be perfectly honest I saw this after I saw Coco so chances are the unbelievable textures of that are just spoiling me. I won’t hold it against the overall score.

Sound design (Music & Sound Foley)

As I’ve said in past reviews, this is a hard area to talk about, mainly because the film handles the sound design about as well as any other big budget film. I don’t remember anything music wise aside from one scene where I swear to God they just took the melody of Plug-In Baby by Muse. 

There’s also the scene of the movie where they’re trying to break Bing Bong out of a balloon cage while not waking up a nightmare clown. The balloon sound effects are REEEEEALLY loud; easily the most blasted up sound foley out of everything in this movie. I guess it’s effective as the point of the scene is they’re trying not to wake the clown guy up but even so I think they could have made that point without making the loudness of it outweigh any other sound THAT much.

Conclusion:

Overall, this is a serviceable Pixar film. Where does it rank as far as Pixar films go? Well, probably lower within the Top 10 if I’m honest (The best Pixar films are The Incredibles, Coco, Wall-E, Ratatouille, Toy Story, Finding Nemo and Up, not necessarily in that order). It’s DEFINITELY not better than Finding Nemo. Finding Nemo does a lot of what Inside Out accomplishes except better with a more memorable cast, more relatable main characters, more fleshed out character arcs and less on-the-nose portrayal of it’s ideas. Inside Out has greatly effective animation & design as well as a healthy set of clever ideas, but I’d say it’s weak amount of character is what drags it down. It’s definitely worth checking out at least once, but it’s effect isn’t enough to shake the decisions of my Disney bracket. You now have permission to rant to me about how wrong I am.

Score:

Story - 1/2 - Average

Characters: - .5/2 - Below Average

Acting: 1.5/2 - Above Average

Visuals: 2/2 - Excellent

Sound Design: 1/2 - Average

6 out of 10. An okay movie, but ultimately disappointing.

[silverynight]

A false impression

Percival Graves met Theseus Scamander when he was already the Director of Magical Security at MACUSA. They worked together on a case to find and bring down Grindelwald and his followers. He and some of the Ministry's workers decided to join forces to end the dark lord once and for all. During the month they were in New York, Percival became very good friends with Theseus and learned a few things about him. One of the most curious things was the fact that despite of being a famous war hero, people didn't know much about Theseus Scamander. He was very reserved when it came to his private life and only talked about himself with a handful of people. The only thing Percival knew about his family was that his parents had died long time ago. He also learned that Theseus couldn't stop himself from talking about Newt. He always talked about him. The first time he did it was after the first week, they all had worked so hard they decided they needed a rest and went to a pub. Theseus had a glass with whiskey and was turning it around in his fingers, looking at it like it was his worst enemy. "He's probably in Africa by now," he commented with a depressed expression on his face. "Who?" Percival asked, although he didn't know why he did it since it was clear Theseus had a little bit too much drink for one night and was starting to lose himself. "Newt," a smile returned to his features when the name came out of his mouth. Then he began to ramble about how Newt was the best thing that could have happened to him. He was proud of him and all the things he had managed to accomplish. The only thing that bothered him was the boy traveled too much to do his research and spent so many days away from home. "You know what he did when I told him not to follow me to the war?" "He followed you," Percival chuckled, having the weird sensation that he would like Newt if he had the chance to meet him. "He did!" Theseus nodded and frowned at the empty glass. "We used to have dragons in our regiment. They wanted to use them, but they​ have to cancel the program because the dragons attacked everyone but Newt." Theseus smiled fondly at the memory and leaned in the table. Percival found himself more interested in the story and in the wizard capable of taming dragons. "I'm glad it got cancelled, you know?" He said, looking irritated. "Because it was very difficult for me to keep an eye on Newt. Those damned beasts didn't let me near him!" Percival knew the exact moment when the alcohol hit Theseus' system completely when the auror rested his head over the table and started to sob and cry how much he missed his Newt. At the end of the night, Percival (and one of Theseus' subordinates) had to take him back to his hotel room. Percival didn't find out who Newt was until days later. Drunk or not, Theseus did really enjoy talking about Newt. And because of that Percival learned a couple of things about him. He was a magizoologist and he was the best in what he did; he loved magical and non-magical creatures and he lacked​ of self preservation. "He thinks all creatures are fluffy kittens," Theseus told him and even though he wanted to sound angry, there was a clear spark of amusement dancing in his eyes. He learned that Newt had a kleptomaniac creature that loved shiny things. "That damned Niffler stole my ring!" Theseus huffed. "I tried to cast a spell to recover it, but Newt stopped me before I could do it. He said it'd scared the Niffler." "You should've insisted," Percival commented, curious to see his friend's reaction. "No, Newt would've gone mad at me," Theseus told him. "The last time he was mad he stopped talking to me for a week." His eyebrows quirked up in surprise. Percival couldn't quite believe one of the most powerful aurors of Britain was afraid of another wizard giving him the silent treatment. But Newt was not any wizard, was he? He was different, special, at least to Theseus. Percival thought Newt was Theseus' friend, but somehow that didn't seem quite right. He knew later that Newt had a case full of magical (and also quite illegal) creatures and Theseus let him get in and out of the Ministry, with the case in hand, whenever he wanted. It seemed Newt had Theseus completely wrapped around his little finger. Percival found that rather amusing. He didn't found out more about Newt until Theseus stormed into his office, with a letter in his hands and a huge smile on his face. The auror turned the paper around to show him what it was and Percival got​ a glimpse of a elegant handwriting, but what he could see was the signature. Newt Scamander, it said. Percival blinked in confusion and looked at Theseus who was already concentrated reading the letter. "Newt Scamander?" He mumbled before he could stop himself. "Yes, I told you he sent it to me," Theseus said. "No, I meant... He's Scamander," he tried again, feeling stupid saying it because of the way Theseus was looking at him. "Of course his last name is Scamander!" Theseus rolled his eyes. "What's going on with you today? Are you okay? Have you been drinking lately?" "Not even a glass of wine," Percival said​. "Besides, why wouldn't he be? I thought it was obvious. After all he's my-" But Richards entered​ the office without even knocking first, insisting it was urgent. And it was. They had found Grindelwald's base of operations and they needed to go as soon as possible. The fight didn't last long; they captured the majority of Grindelwald's followers, the problem was the dark lord himself had managed to escape. Disappointment fell over the whole group, but they managed to cheer up a little bit when they remembered it was just a couple of days more for them to return home. And Theseus was happy, because he was going to see Newt again after a very long and exhausting month. He was so excited he started to babble about Newt... again, only this time he was heard by a wizard at the pub they were in. And the man moved his chair closer. "Are you talking about Newt Scamander?" He asked, genuinely curious. "I met him in France. He's a sweet little thing, isn't he?" Theseus didn't answer, his response was to press the glass in his hands harder than he should. "He saved me from a wampus. I haven't seen him since then," the man sighed, sad. "I wonder if any of you could tell me where he is... I really want to see him again, maybe invite him some dinner and-" Theseus leaned in and took the man's arm in a grip Percival was sure it was painful. But his smile, it was the most terrifying thing he had seen. "Listen, you... whoever you are I don't care, Newt Scamander is off limits, do you understand? Because if I see you near him, you'll miss the wampus he saved you from." Then the story about the ring came to Percival's mind and an idea formed in his mind. Of course, it was so obvious. Newt was Theseus' husband. Percival was really curious about their story together, but he was not the man that used to ask people questions about their private lives, he preferred to wait until said person is comfortable enough to tell their story. Besides, there was no time left, because Theseus was going back to England. *** They didn't see each other after that, but they kept writing. And it wasn't that Theseus life wasn't interesting but the best part of his letters was when he wrote about Newt. Percival found himself smiling and grinning the most when he read something about the magizoologist. Because it seemed Newt was as wild as the creatures he took care of. More than once he laughed out loud while reading how Newt had found another dangerous creature and took it to the house, making Theseus almost have a heart attack. After a few of those letters, Percival not only wrote about the problems in MACUSA, he also added a few questions about Newt. But they were just innocent questions. Where was Newt at the moment? What kind of creature was he studying the most? He asked and stopped himself from adding things like What color are his eyes? How does his voice sound like? Mercy Lewis seemed to have heard his prayers because the next letter came with a photograph. Theseus wanted to prove Percival Newt kept taking beasts into their house. But Percival didn't pay much attention to the little occamy in the wizard's hands, because the wizard himself was way more interesting than the creature. Newt was breathtaking. He had the most beautiful smile he had ever seen. And his eyes were shining with joy as he looked at the occamy and caressed it with his fingers. Then he turned his head to the camera and he could see lovely freckles all over his cheeks. His curls fell over his forehead and his eyes looked away from the camera in an gesture of adorable shyness. Percival kept the picture, of course he did. After all Theseus gave it to him, didn't he? There wasn't anything wrong about that. The problem started days later when Percival brought home a beautiful frame for the photograph and left it in his bedroom where he could see it perfectly before falling asleep. He didn't have time to think about it, because Grindelwald attacked him. *** It took Percival a long time to be back to himself after being rescued. Newt's photograph (that thanks Mercy Lewis Grindelwald didn't destroy) and Theseus' letters with news of Newt helped a lot. To say that he was impressed was a underestimation, he was more than that when auror Goldstein told him it was Newt who noticed the Graves that sentenced them to death wasn't the real one. He not only felt impressed, he felt relieved to know Newt didn't believe he'd do something like that to him. He'd never hurt Newt. Even though he hadn't actually met him. But he did, he met him two years after his rescue. Newt had returned New York to visit auror Goldstein and her sister and he also brought copies of his book with him. Percival already knew about that, Theseus sent him a long letter about how proud he was of Newt and how much he wanted the whole world to notice the other wizard's talents. But even though the information and the picture, Percival was not prepared. Seeing that kind and warm smile spreading slowly over those freckled features was completely different from seeing it on a photograph. Newt's presence was like a ray of sunshine, he was full of energy, an energy that was difficult to follow, but Percival did it anyway. He ignored the inner voice that warned him about getting too close, he knew what was going to happen, what was already happening and did nothing to stop it. He gave Newt all the permits he needed, he started to have lunch with him in the cafeteria and adapted his own office to make it a place more comfortable for the magizoologist, so he didn't have to leave. He knew, but ignored. Percival let himself fall little by little. He asked the other wizard to be on first name basis because he couldn't stand calling him Mr Scamander anymore. He felt guilty for putting in the president's head Newt would be very valuable for MACUSA, but he felt worse when Newt accepted, because part of him was overwhelmed with happiness. He was also curious and hopeful. Why did Newt accept a job so far from Theseus? Was there something wrong? What was happening between the two? But he didn't ask, it was not his place. He met the Niffler when the thing stole his pocket watch. And when he found out he didn't care, that he liked the way Newt's cheeks flushed or the sensation of his skin when their fingers touch as Newt returned him the watch, he knew there was no coming back from that. It got worse at MACUSA's dance. All years there was a celebration for the anniversary of MACUSA. All workers were invited. Percival had to go because he was the Director of Magical Security and because Picquery basically ordered him to go. Newt, on the other hand, wasn't a people's person and Percival knew he'd prefer to be taking care of his creatures, but he also knew Miss Goldstein was his friend and she could be really persuasive sometimes. So Percival Graves spent the night trying not to stare at Newt, but it was unfair, because he was wearing a really good suit and he looked stunning with it. The problem was that he wasn't the only one who noticed, therefore it didn't took long for Newt to be surrounded by wizards and witches who wanted to dance with him. Percival walked towards him, reminding himself he had promised Theseus to take care of him. He also conveniently ignored the voice that called him hypocrite, the same voice that was telling him he was doing that just because he was jealous. "May I have this dance?" He asked. He hadn't recalled being that flustered since he was twelve. It was almost ridiculous. And it was even more ridiculous when all his​ worries fade away when Newt smiled at him and took his hand. "Thanks for getting me​ out of there," Newt said. "It's not that I don't like them. They seem good people, but I'm not used to be around so many people." "You're welcome," Percival smirked and forgot about everything else. He took Newt by his slender waist and pulled him close. "I feel comfortable around you," he said and Percival felt warm inside. He leaned in, pressing their foreheads together, he stayed like that because Newt didn't push him away. He looked into those hazel eyes and wondered what would have happened if he had met Newt before Theseus did. Maybe he was losing it, but he felt like Newt and him fit together. But it couldn't be. It could never be. *** Percival knew it was going to happen sooner or later, but honestly he wanted more time. Theseus had arrived at MACUSA and knowing him he was going to convince Newt to leave with him. But Percival refused to let Newt go without telling him everything. He wasn't so lucky because before he could move, Theseus stormed into his office. He was angry, which didn't surprise him. "Why didn't you tell me Newt was officially working for MACUSA?" He demanded. "I thought he had told you," Percival's lie sounded weak even to his ears. "He didn't." "Maybe he had a reason to do that," he blurted out. "Where's he?" Theseus asked, ignoring him. "I don't know." Another lie, he knew Newt so well by then he was sure he was sitting on the couch at Tina's office at the moment. He sighed and looked at Theseus, he deserved to know too. "I'm in love with him," he said before he regretted it. "What?" "I've fallen in love with Newt," Percival breathed and didn't flinch when Theseus growled. He was pissed, of course he was. "You utter cock! I trusted you!" He snarled. "But if you think just because you're my friend I'm gonna let you put your dirty hands on my baby brother you're terribly mistaken!" Percival blinked a few times before he could process what Theseus had said. "Newt's your brother?" That just seemed to irritate Theseus even more. "Of course he is! But you know that already, Graves!" "I didn't," he admitted. "I thought he was your husband." "What?" The words catch Theseus off guard. But when he realised, he bursted into laughter. Percival didn't care he was laughing at him. He felt relieved. "Just to make one thing clear, no matter how funny I find this, that doesn't mean I approve your- hey!" Percival left Theseus and apparated outside Tina's office. He walked in like the desperate man he was and sat next to his magizoologist. Marry me he wanted to say, but bit his lip before saying it. He had waited so long he wasn't going to ruin it. "Do you want to have dinner with me?" Percival asked feeling his heart on his throat. "Of course," Newt responded too quickly. He looked quite calm for someone that got flustered for almost anything. Auror Goldstein cleared her throat and make a motion with her hand, like she wanted him to add something more. Then he understood. "Like a date," he added. "Oh... Oh!" Newt blushed prettily. "I mean... yes, I'll have dinner with you." Percival couldn't help himself and kissed Newt's hand and the wizard's face turned into a deeper shade of red. "What are you doing, Graves? Hands off!" Theseus entered the room. Percival saw auror Goldstein sigh. "So you thought he was married and you still were planning how to woo him?" "Don't mind him, he's being overdramatic," Newt told him, then his brother's words hit him. "You thought I was married? With whom?" "It's a long story."

[middy-de-blog]

Post #12

1. I think both statements are probably true. I think it was also extremely possible that he was homosexual but didn’t know how to admit it to himself, so he was very flirty with men and boys, but tried to be attracted to women for the sake of his kingdom. In his letters to Cosima, he would confide in her about his friendships and how his relationships with women weren’t going well, so that can make people think he was in love with Cosima. However, I think he was genuinely in love with Wagner because of how obsessed he was with him and his music.

2. Wagner initially wanted to befriend Ludwig because he was escaping his creditors, and Ludwig offered to pay off his debts.

3. Ludwig discovered two of Wagner’s treatises when he was 12. These treatises were “The World of Art of the Future” and “The Music of the Future.”

4. On February 2, 1861, Ludwig saw Lohengrin, his first Wagner opera.

5. The government confronted Ludwig and made him “choose between his love and adoration of [his] faithful subjects or [his] friendship with Richard Wagner,” because Wagner had suggested that Ludwig dismiss Pfistermeister and von der Pfordten. He was exiled to Switzerland, where he stayed in Tribschen, which is near Lucerne.

6. Wagner had to complete the Ring cycle, and he was forced to premiere Rheingold and Valkyeries prematurely. Even though he absolutely refused to premiere them early and refused to go to the performances, he owed it all to Ludwig. Without Ludwig, Wagner probably wouldn’t have been alive and his music wouldn’t have been funded.

7. I think there are two sides to this. As a friend and companion to Wagner, Ludwig should’ve supported him. However, Ludwig was not financially well-off at the time, so he shouldn’t have supported him that way. BUT, if he hadn’t supported Wagner, it’s possible that Bayreuth wouldn’t exist today and thank god it does.

8. Ludwig’s letters contain hundreds of quotations from Dante to Goethe to librettos from Wagner’s and Liszt’s oratorios and operas. He also pretended to be a character from stories and would sometimes write from their point of view. This doesn’t really change my answer to #1 because I feel like there was enough letter evidence throughout the rest of the book that he mostly stayed himself as he wrote his letters.

9. “Neo” means new or a revived form of something. I think Linderhof was the most interesting simply because of the Venus Grotto. Ludwig incorporated so many new kinds of technology and designs and it’s just astounding to me that he was able to get that kind of help. 

10. In the end, Ludwig was in a crazy amount of debt. His cabinet ministers, royal princes, and psychiatrists said he had a mental disease. On June 8, 1886, he was declared mentally deranged. The next day, he was declared incompetent, and on the 13th, he died.

1. Opera is basically a super in-depth story that’s set to music, which allows characters to seem more dynamic. 

2. I think there’s no good way to deal with language translation. One of the best ways right now is to have supertitles at the opera, but the thing that’s bad about this is that audience members may get distracted by the words and not focus on what’s happening on stage. What I think people should do is to do research before they go to the opera so they know the basic idea of what’s going on, which would let them focus more on the acting rather than the text.

[allofbeercom]

​Khizr Khan on being vilified by Trump: ‘The far right feels that their voice has been heard’

When the father of a Muslim American soldier killed in Iraq spoke at the Democratic national convention in July, he found himself under fire from Donald Trump. Since then, Khan has been bombarded with hate mail and even asked to run for office

As you look out from Khizr Khans home in Virginia, the Blue Ridge mountains sweep magnificently to one side. Monticello, Thomas Jeffersons idyllic estate, is a few miles in the other direction. And in between, still spiked into his neighbour Richards front lawn, is a plastic campaign sign that says TRUMP.

Maybe hes going to leave it up for the next four years, says Khan, with a smile that turns into a sigh. Shaking his head, he takes a sip of tea and reaches for a small box of chocolates.

It is a month since the man who taunted Khan and his wife Ghazala following their headline-making appearance at the Democratic convention was elected to the worlds most powerful office, and reminders of Trumps victory are everywhere.

But around the Khans living room, so too are mementos of having lived through much worse. Their late son Humayun stares down from one wall, handsome and steadfast in his army portrait. His posthumous Bronze Star and Purple Heart awards are nearby. Humayun, a captain who was killed defending his unit from a suicide bomber in Iraq in 2004, would have turned 40 this year. We miss him so very much, says Khan.

Still, Khan is shaken by Trumps win and a subsequent spike in hate crimes across the US. Muslim friends say their children are being bullied. A doctor from Long Island told him a new patient refused to be treated by her when he saw her headscarf. Hostility toward Muslims is more intense than at any time since Khan arrived in the US in 1980, he says.

The far right feels that their voice has been heard and they have a licence to commit these crimes, he says. I have seen the fear of immigrants heighten after turmoil in the past. But never to this degree.

Khan has taken advice from the police about securing his home. He advises the women in his family not to travel alone. He is furious at Trump for not doing more to help. These are your people, whom you have encouraged to commit these crimes, he says. You have a responsibility as a leader to end it.

Rather than move to calm the anti-Muslim fervour, Trump has made one of its most prominent advocates his national security adviser. Mike Flynn, a retired army lieutenant general who described Islam as a vicious cancer and said fear of Muslims is rational, will help Trump direct US military policy. Suggesting that Flynn is ill, mentally, Khan is deeply concerned about the implications for foreign relations.

Not that the appointment should be surprising. Having dismissed Mexican migrants as rapists and criminals in his first campaign speech, Trump told voters rattled by terrorist attacks in California and Paris that he would ban all Muslims from entering the US. He later proposed barring only those from countries compromised by extremism.

Khan doesnt expect Trump to actually implement the ban, nor a new registry of Muslims he also floated. These were more likely cynical ploys to get votes from the simple-minded people that fell for it, he says. But damage has still been done.

It was Trumps announcement of the Muslim ban last year that led a reporter to call Khan, who was quoted hailing his sons patriotism and sharply criticising Trump. Muslims are American, Muslims are citizens, he said. An aide to Hillary Clinton saw the article, and invited Khan to appear at Julys convention in Philadelphia. His six-minute speech, with Ghazala at his side, caused a sensation.

Khizr Khan gives a stirring speech at the Democratic convention in honor of his son, Humayun

You have sacrificed nothing and no one, he told Trump, who avoided serving in Vietnam because of alleged bone spurs on his feet. Waving a miniature US constitution that hed pulled from his jacket pocket, Khan asked Trump if hed even read the document. I will gladly lend you my copy, he said, to thundering applause. Khan keeps a stack of the booklets on a table beneath Humayuns portrait. Visitors struggle to leave without one.

Incapable of letting a slight go unanswered, Trump called Khan very emotional and suggested he didnt allow Ghazala to speak because of their religion. He moaned on Twitter: Mr Khan, who does not know me, viciously attacked me from the stage of the DNC and is now all over TV doing the same Nice!

Horrified Republicans disowned Trump. Khan said he had a black soul. The dispute was pencilled in as a chapter in the political obituary Trump seemed to be writing for himself.

Things turned out differently. As the results rolled in last month, the Khans were VIP guests at Clintons election night event in Manhattan, where Ghazala was treated as a rockstar by actual rockstars. A lady comes to Mrs Khan and says: Mrs Khan, can I take a picture with you?, he recalls. She pulled the hood on her hoodie down and it was Cher. Katy Perry and Lady Gaga did the same, he said.

But then, it all got quieter. Tearful supporters, who had been dancing in the aisles, traipsed out of the hall as the outcome became clear.

Khan, 66 and on a break from work as a legal consultant, has tried to stay upbeat by stepping up a speaking tour that grew out of his convention appearance. He has been preaching tolerance and pluralism to schoolchildren across the US. Never be disheartened, he tells them.

The packed schedule has exhausted him. Sniffing and coughing, he visibly drains over the course of our two-hour conversation. He is posing for photographs with a team of Japanese journalists as I arrive; an evening function beckons after I leave.

But he is energised by encounters while traversing the country as a recognisable face. Sitting in the eighth row on a recent flight home from Ohio, he was approached by two men sitting in first class. They shook his hand and offered him their seats. We voted for Trump, but we want to thank you, they told him. He politely declined.

As we speak, Ghazala, 65, is busy with one of their four grandchildren, who are between eight months and five years old. She and Khan were born in Pakistan and met at university in Lahore. They came to the US after a spell in Dubai, and live in a smart but unflashy four-bedroom house on a tranquil bluff a few miles outside Charlottesville. They have two adult sons, who advised them against getting involved in politics.

Sinking slowly into his sofa, Khan says the volume of abusive emails he received following the convention has declined, but he still deals with a couple of racist messages each day. He wont show the worst, saying he erases them. In one new arrival on his iPhone, though, a man named Scott Glover felt the need to gleefully remind Khan: Trump won the election and you, Hillary and the rest of the deplorable libs lost.

Rightwing websites including Breitbart News, run until recently by Trumps top adviser, went after the Khans with undisguised venom following the convention. One spurious story, based on a 33-year-old essay Khan wrote, claimed he championed sharia law. Another accused him of taking money from the Clintons. It was actually another lawyer named Khan.

Such was the vitriol that Clinton, who knows a bit about brutal media coverage, asked him when they met at a rally in New Hampshire: Oh my God, how are you putting up with all this? He told her it was worth it, and she assured him: Youre doing something good. He has no regrets about entering the political warzone: There comes a time when one has to take a stand.

Khan at his sons grave. Photograph: Brendan Smialowski/Getty Images

And much of the response has been cheering. Their dining room table is covered in fanmail from across the world. Letters addressed with only their names and Charlottesville now find their way to the house. Khan is particularly proud of one letter, which he pulls from an A4 brown envelope. Mayor of London, the header says.

As Salaamu Alaikum, meaning peace be unto you, the two-page handwritten letter from Sadiq Khan begins. Saying that he was deeply moved by the convention speech, Londons first Muslim mayor tells Khan it demonstrated the power of diversity, tolerance and liberty.

These great American values are also Islamic values, the mayor writes, and your determination to live by these values has inspired many Londoners of all faiths and backgrounds.

A bitter argument has broken out among Democrats since Clintons defeat about whether she spent too much time on these issues of identity and not enough appealing to struggling white males from the rust belt. Khan sides with those who dismiss this as a false dichotomy.

I am biased, he says, but sometimes a moral stand has to be taken, and its worth the cost. I am glad that she spoke up. I believe in equal dignity. We all have equal rights regardless of our gender or our preferences.

Nonetheless, Khan, a political independent who voted for both Ronald Reagan and Bill Clinton, does think Hillary also failed to stress the dangers of Trumps wild economic threats against China to the farmers and factory workers of the midwest.

You will not be able to sell your soybeans if we have a trade war with China, he says. They will rot right here, and we will have the same people who voted Trump in standing outside the White House trying to throw him out.

He makes the case better than Clinton did, but has no interest in running for office. He reveals Terry McAuliffe, Virginias governor and a close ally of the Clintons, asked him to. But it would limit me, he says. Just let me speak. He is also, he notes, still not a Democrat.

It may be the tiredness talking, or the practised search for optimism of a parent who has lived through the worst possible grief. But Khan veers from despair about Trumps election to predictions that maybe it wont be as bad as it seems. We just have to hang in there a little longer, he says. When he moves to Washington, things will surely be different.

One thing hes sure about, though, is Trump needs to come off Twitter. Khan stays away from social media, having seen its perils. In his legal career, Khan specialises in electronic evidence discovery. In one case he worked on, a driver involved in a deadly 2007 vehicle crash was told by his lawyer to erase a Facebook photo showing him holding a beer and wearing a T-shirt that read I Hot Moms. But the other side had already downloaded it. The lawyer is now serving a five-year suspension.

Nobody is telling Trump the damage it can do, says Khan. He does not, however, offer his services as a consultant to the president-elect.

At a loss for many more words of his own, Khan unfolds a printout he shows his student audiences. It is a quotation by Elie Wiesel, the writer and Auschwitz survivor, who died in July. It is what he believes.

We must always take sides, Wiesel said. Neutrality helps the oppressor, never the victim. Silence encourages the tormentor, never the tormented. Sometimes we must interfere.

from All Of Beer http://allofbeer.com/%e2%80%8bkhizr-khan-on-being-vilified-by-trump-the-far-right-feels-that-their-voice-has-been-heard/