#Judith Woods

[stelly38]

“I can’t remember how much bonking I did”  —Aidan Turner

With Ross Poldark behind him, the star of Di5ney’s adaptation of Jilly Cooper’s Rivals talks ’80s excess, intimacy coaches and beef brisket.

Here I am, avidly watching the first few episodes of Rivals, the sizzling new Disney+ treatment of Dame Jilly Cooper’s raunchy blockbuster, before my interview with dreamboat-y Aidan Turner, when my 22-year-old daughter walks into the room. “What the actual?” she cries, open-mouthed in horror. “Oh my God! What are they doing?”

I chide her prudishness. “Well, if you must know, Rupert Campbell-Black and a woman he probably just met have reached a shuddering climax on Concorde,” I explain. “Your generation didn’t invent sex, you know, darling – the Mile High Club has been around for…” but it turns out that’s not what’s triggered her.

“These people are SMOKING! On. A. Plane. Who even does that?” Everybody, that’s who. Welcome to the sassy, sexy 1980s, Missy. Double-breasted suits and taffeta skirts, booze, bonking, endless ciggies and hairstyles so fugly (the mullet, for pity’s sake?) as to have recently crept back into fashion. It’s all there: rampant sexism, social climbing and conspicuous consumption, to a banging soundtrack of Eurythmics, Hall & Oates, Haircut 100 and the rest – no idea how The Birdie Song got in there though. Did people really...? Yes, we did. Now run along. From the moment the opening credits roll on Rivals, it’s fair to say we are immersed in a very different, instantly recognisable universe.

I lapped up every transgressive minute. Why, dear readers, the last time I enjoyed a pleasure quite so guilty was when Aidan Turner took off his shirt in…  “I’m not here to talk about Poldark,” says Turner very politely, with a fabulously winning white smile, when we meet. So we don’t. At least for a bit. We are here, after all, to discuss his new role in this very different literary classic – and no, ladies, he’s not been cast as the libidinous blaggard Campbell-Black. As if. County Dublin-born Turner, 41, was a shoo-in for dashing Declan O’Hara, the saturnine Irish journalist turned reluctant chat-show host who finds himself at the epicentre of a battle royale in the cut-throat world of independent television. David Tennant plays Corinium TV boss Lord Baddingham, and Alex Hassell’s Rupert Campbell-Black has ascended to the lofty heights of Tory Minister for Sport.

I could try to explain, but that’s about all the primer you need – rest assured that with this high-budget adaptation, even the most loyal of Cooper’s fans will find themselves safe in its (wandering) hands. “Rivals is about the three things that fascinate all of us: sex, power and money,” says Turner. “That trifecta is especially potent when there’s a clash of status and class. Class informs all sorts of things, including the sex, which is sometimes completely transactional on both sides. From the very top to the very bottom of the ladder, everyone’s slightly on the make.”

Speaking of the top and indeed the bottom, the eight-part series employed not one but two intimacy coaches. “They had a lot of intimacy to coach,” confirms Turner breezily. “I think they really improve sex scenes because they encourage creativity and it all looks so much more authentic. There’s a lot of bonking. I want to say I did a lot of bonking – I can’t quite remember how much.”

Declan is very much the dark-eyed, watchful outsider, his integrity as deep-rooted as his humongous moustache – “artist’s own”, remarks Turner. (He speaks in mellifluous Irish tones and uses his own accent to play Declan.) Amid the jostling for supremacy in the first few episodes, Declan’s only crime appears to be wearing mustard socks on air and having sensuous congress with his own wife (played with exquisite brittleness by Victoria Smurfit).

Such uxoriousness appears borderline scandalous in Dame Jilly’s masterfully constructed world of egos, oneupmanship and serial adultery, which signals that despite being a workaholic, Declan is clearly a good ’un – although, to be fair, I have only seen the first three episodes.

“I hadn’t read Rivals before. It seemed very British so it wasn’t really on my radar, but it’s really fun – although later on it descends into something much murkier. I just read the scripts initially and then was really struck by how faithful they were to the book,” says Turner, who is married to the American Succession actor Caitlin FitzGerald, 41. “You get a real sense of the characters in the first 15 or 20 pages and it’s a mark of excellent writing that you feel you already know these people.”

Whether or not you like them is up to you, but it’s absolutely gripping and Turner’s character is right at the heart of the story. “Rivals is a really truthful depiction of an era that in a great many ways was hugely problematic,” says Turner. “It’s not being refracted through a modern lens and some of it is quite shocking, particularly the way women are treated. There’s also endless back-stabbing; Declan is detached, the one who sees what’s going on, and because he’s not from this class-bound world [he] struggles to understand the playbook – but he’s married to a woman who does and that causes tension.”

To research the role of a broadcasting homme sérieux, Turner trawled YouTube to watch hours of Firing Line, the US current-affairs talk show presented by conservative pundit William F Buckley Jr for 33 years. From 1966 to 1999, he verbally sparred with leading figures of the age.

“I felt it was important to look to older shows, the way they were presented and the communication style,” says Turner. “The interviewee would be given time and space to answer questions in full. These days it’s very different; the nearest we have to that now would be podcasts.”

“Once filming started, to be honest I was channelling my dad the whole time. He’s an electrician, not a journalist, but Declan is very like him – the way he carries himself, the tone of his voice, his passion. He feels very Irish and so does Declan.”

For Alexander Lamb, an executive producer on Rivals, finding the right fit for the pivotal character of Declan was crucial. “The very first person we thought about – the very first person we cast – for Rivals was Aidan. He was the lynchpin because he just felt so right; he’s got depth but also such charm and that was exactly what we wanted. A lot of the cast was built around him.” That cast also includes EastEnder Danny Dyer, Katherine Parkinson, best known for The IT Crowd, Emily Atack of Inbetweeners fame, and Claire Rushbrook, who was in the first series of Sherwood. When it came to Turner, Lamb had been impressed by his previous standout roles as a vampire in the supernatural series Being Human and a clinical psychologist in police procedural The Suspect.

“Aidan hadn’t played sexy-dad-with-teenagers or an intellectual journalist before, so that gave the whole thing a freshness. I think there’s a lot to be gained from getting actors out of their comfort zones,” observes Lamb. “I’ve never really worked with an actor before who was so conscious of his performance. He would come back behind the camera to see if he could improve on what he’d done.” Dame Jilly, adds Lamb, needed no persuasion in casting Turner. “It did not escape her just how good-looking Mr. Aidan Turner was. Let’s just say she became quite the fan.” Turner responds in kind, with unalloyed admiration. “Jilly is so sharp, perceptive and really funny – she’s very kind, but as she was seeing the daily and the weekly rushes I am quite certain that if she hadn’t liked what any of us were doing, she would have told us very swiftly.”

Later, he quietly relates a telling conversation with Cooper at a garden party held at her Gloucestershire gaff (to call it a pile would be too excessive, to call it a house too modest), one summer evening last year, after filming. “I remember a surreal moment when she took me by the arm and led me around the garden, pointing out the place where she would write and how she would look over the valley,” he says. “And then she pointed out the houses where her nearest neighbours and friends lived and said, ‘This is Declan O’Hara’s house, and that one’s Tony’s house,’ and explained how she would visualise the world of Rivals. It was a very special moment.” How magical, I say. He nods very slowly, the corners of his mouth twitching, eyes crinkling at the preciousness of the memory. He’s so unabashedly soulful, I almost have to look away. And so, to business: is Turner really as handsome as they say? Hmm. Maybe that’s what strikes you first but, in truth, it’s the least interesting thing about him.

Born in Clondalkin, a town outside Dublin, before the family moved to a suburb of the city, Turner admits he was never academically inclined. With a low boredom threshold, he struggled to concentrate at school, but when his accountant mother took him along to dance classes, he excelled; he went on to compete in ballroom dancing at national level, but lost momentum.

There was a stint working as an electrician with his father, but it was a job at the local cinema that sparked his interest in acting, entering the Gaiety School of Acting, Ireland’s national theatre school, where he graduated in 2004. After appearing in several theatre productions, including Seán O’Casey’s Easter Rising play The Plough and the Stars, he got his first major television gig in 2008 in the Irish hospital drama The Clinic.

“I was a lowly receptionist and Victoria Smurfit, who is my wife in Rivals, was a consultant,” he smiles. “Let’s just say we didn’t have a huge number of scenes together back then, so it’s great to catch up now.” Soon the BBC beckoned and he was cast as Dante Gabriel Rossetti in the Pre-Raphaelite Brotherhood drama Desperate Romantics. The six-parter failed to make a mark, but led to a critically acclaimed role in the comedy-drama Being Human, where he caught the eye of director Sir Peter Jackson, who cast Turner as the dwarf Kili in The Hobbit trilogy between 2012 and 2014.

Various other parts followed, culminating in his award-winning portrayal of Captain Ross Poldark in the 2015 revival of the BBC classic, which ran for five series and made him both a household name and a pin-up among ladies (and interviewers) d’un certain age.

After he was shown scything a field shirtless, a sheen of sweat on his ripped – sorry – torso, the Sunday-night concupiscence became so pronounced that media commentators called out the reverse sexism and denounced the reductive way in which Turner was being treated as a piece of prime meat. A decade on, he still seems mildly baffled, but not ungrateful, for the attention, if loath to dwell on it. “There are worse things to be known for than having a nice physique,” he says, philosophically. “But that was a long time ago and I’ve done a lot of fully clothed work since.” Hilariously, in Rivals, Declan finds himself sharing a schedule with a series called Four Men Went To Mow, featuring a quartet of topless hunks – with scythes. Turner almost leaps off the sofa when I bring it up. “I know! I was reading the script and when I saw the Four Men Went To Mow reference, I assumed someone was deliberately winding me up. Then I realised it was actually in the original book, so I took a deep breath and let it go.”

I can confirm he’s fully dressed for our interview, wearing a mustard top by British menswear brand Oliver Spencer, which he dryly describes as ‘drab chic’, Levi’s 501s, and a pair of trainers. He points out they are classic white Reeboks with a natural gum sole. I admit I didn’t know that was A Thing. “To be honest, neither did I,” he shrugs in good-natured agreement. “They were a present from a mate of mine – he’s a musician so far cooler than me, obviously – and he was very emphatic that the soles were a big deal.”

On his wrist is a 1969 Omega Seamaster. “It cost less than £2,000, it was an anniversary gift and the only watch I own,’”he offers, pre-emptively. “Oh, and I’m not sponsored by Omega, none of that.” Would he like to be? I ask mischievously. “Ah well, I’d certainly take the phone call. You always like to have options.” This is all the more interesting because later I ask if there’s any truth in tabloid rumours that he has variously been earmarked as the new Bergerac and the next James Bond. He denies both charges. “But you’d take the calls presumably?” I suggest. A pregnant pause follows. “You know, I don’t think I would. I have to say I think I’d pass on those.” Bergerac I can understand – but intimations of 007 are, like talk of knighthoods, not to be trifled with, much less dismissed out of hand, however cat’s-chance unlikely.

Turner just pulls a slightly apologetic face (possibly for the benefit of his aghast agent reading this). But really it should come as no surprise; Turner has built up a reputation as a protean performer, moving seamlessly between television, film and the stage in a variety of markedly different roles. Last year he appeared opposite Jenna Coleman in a minimalist two-hander, the West End revival of Sam Steiner’s 2015 fringe hit Lemons Lemons Lemons Lemons Lemons, about love and language. Director Josie Rourke says she cast Turner not just because he is ‘brilliant’, but because he has an ability to connect with his character and with the audience.

“Aidan is a very technical and focused actor who really works hard to prepare – in that respect he’s not dissimilar to David Tennant. That might make him sound dour or serious, but he’s very personable and funny,” says Rourke, a former artistic director of the Donmar Warehouse in London. “He’s acutely aware, in a lovely way, of every single person in the room. There’s something fundamentally unselfish about his performances.”

Off stage, Turner leads a quiet life with his family in an 18th-century house in east London, which he famously furnished with the table and chairs from the Poldark set in Cornwall. He looks amused when I wonder aloud if he hangs out – virtually or actually – with the slew of young Irish actors, like Paul Mescal and Barry Keoghan, who have made a name for themselves. “It sounds boring but I work, and then when a project is finished I start reading scripts again,” he says. “I’m not on social media, I don’t get wrapped [up] comparing myself to anyone else. Frankly, it’s hard enough keeping track of my own career. Since the birth of our son, my wife and I have agreed that only one of us will take a job away from home at any given time; we’ve not [had] a clash yet but we’ll have to see what happens when the time comes.”

They did, however, both have plays on in the West End at one point last year; he was appearing in Lemons while she was in The Crucible. “It worked out really well, we headed out in different directions during the day, catching up with friends and getting stuff done, far too busy to see each other,” he recalls. “Each of us did our show then we would meet up afterwards and share a cab home. It was really fun, but that sort of synchronicity is quite rare.” Like a lot of actors, Turner is guarded when it comes to discussing his personal life. Although frenzied interest from the paparazzi has calmed down post-Poldark, every so often pictures do appear in the tabloids – and Rivals will no doubt increase his bankability. It is something he accepts with equanimity.

“If I do get snapped, I don’t make a fuss or get angry, but I try to stay out of the way.” I remind him of a very striking photo of him putting the rubbish out in a frankly extraordinary receptacle. “Ah yes, maybe I should get rid of the fluorescent pink wheelie bin, a bit of an own goal,” he sighs.

I bet he doesn’t. Far too much of a compromise. I do manage to winkle a few details out of him by playing my fellow Irishwoman card and discover that he’s a ‘serious’ pool player – just this week he settled down in front of a recording of Steve Davis and his teammates taking the 2002 Mosconi Cup in Bethnal Green. He plays golf, enjoys music, and is an avowed Nick Cave fan.

“I’d have to say my favourite downtime is having friends round for good banter and food in the garden, weather allowing. I’m trying to perfect the manly art of beef brisket in my [Big] Green Egg barbecue. I think one of the reasons Rivals was such a happy show to work on was because so many of the scenes were us all together at parties. Then at the end of the day we’d kick back and half of us would still be in character.”

And what characters they are, all dressed up in their ’80s finery, jockeying for position, angling for seduction as Tears for Fears belt out ‘Everybody Wants to Rule the World.’ Gen Z won’t understand, much less approve (lock up your 22-year-olds), but as a snapshot of a bygone age, Rivals promises to be TV gold, and at its glittering epicentre, Declan O’Hara, legendary brooding broadcaster with the biggest ’tache in town.

All episodes of Rivals are available on Di5ney+ from 18 October

Interview by Judith Woods from The Telegraph; Photos by John Balsom.

[marypickfords]

Working Girls (Dorothy Arzner, 1931)

[drafthearse]

Swamp Thing #37. Rick Veitch, John Totleben (artists), Tatjana Wood (colorist), John Costanza (letterer), Alan Moore (writer).

[uwmspeccoll]

Wood Engraving Wednesday

JUDITH JAIDINGER

The print Born of Mysteries by Chicago wood engraver Judith Jaidinger (b. 1941) appears in the wood-engraving collection Surroundings: Engravings in Wood printed for the Wood Engravers' Network at the Piano Press in St. Paul, Minnesota in a limited edition of 100 copies. All the prints in this collection were pulled by the individual artists.

Judith Jaidinger, a BFA graduate of the School of the Art Institute of Chicago, began her career making commercial engravings at Sander Wood Engraving Company and Zacher Wood Engraving Company in Chicago. She told the Western Michigan University News in 2003:

I consider myself fortunate to have become interested in wood engraving at a time when wood engraving was still employed in advertising art, albeit at the end of its commercial life in the United States. Not only did I learn the craft of wood engraving from some of the last of the master engravers, but I also benefited from their generous gifts of tools, equipment and wood blocks when they retired.

Now in her 80s, Jaidinger is a longstanding member of the Wood Engravers' Network and continues to actively produce engravings. Our copy of Surroundings is a gift from our friend Jim Horton.

View more engravings by members of the Wood Engraver’s Network.

View more posts with wood engravings!

[citizenscreen]

Adrienne Ames, Frances Dee, and Judith Wood on the beach for Paramount in 1931.

[ghw-archive]

Frances Dee, Adrienne Ames and Judith Wood, 1930s

[gatutor]

Judith Wood (New York City, 1/08/1906-Los Angeles, California, 6/04/2002).

[portfollies]

[maudeboggins]

judith wood and dorothy hall in working girls (dorothy arzner, 1931)

[judeschoices]

Good Enough

A Tyler Woods story because I highkey don’t like how PB was setting up his character in the beginning. So I wanna do him some form of justice with a fanfic because he deserves better. Just to make it crystal clear, I don’t condone violence unless it’s a last resort sort of thing.

Thankfully Tyler got more character development as time passes but to satisfy my growing disappointment, I’ll create a backstory for him.

You should know I name my MCs Judith (I actually did a guy route for COP, so any male MC would be named Jude). So it’s gonna be Tyler Woods x Valentine Judith Stone (both characters are black, surprise surprise).

On with the story!

Book: Murder at Homecoming

Pairing: Tyler Woods x Valentine “Judith” Stone

Rating: Teens

Tags: Reflective, Fluff, Mutual Pining (ish)

——————————————

Tyler Woods grew up as someone who was always questioning his worth. With the life he’s lived thus far, it’s been a common thing where he would ask himself the question:

‘Am I good enough?’

His mother worked endless hours at a diner to help support the family and to get Tyler into a good school where he can get a good education. His father has been in and out of jail for selling drugs around the block. This has been happening since he was eight years old.

After seeing what his father is doing with his life and how his dear mom went through so much to put him a better position, he silently vowed to be someone great. Only… it didn’t turn out that way.

Growing up as a kid leading up to his now late teenage years, Tyler didn’t live in a safe gated community like his peers. Where he lived, drug dealing and robberies were common. His version of a lullaby was the sound of police sirens and gunshots. He didn’t wear anything flashy or brand names since his mom couldn’t afford such things. This didn’t go unnoticed by his richer classmates.

They would laugh and jeer at his hand-me-down clothes and sneakers. Whisper amongst themselves to watch their stuff closely just in case he would try to steal it. Talk down at him for what type of family he came from. He was constantly picked on for his lanky build, an easy target for bullies to vent their own anger out on.

His teachers were no better. No matter how many times he’s told an adult or even gotten his mother involved, the bullying didn’t stop. Tyler knew it was because the last thing the school needs is to lose a rich future beneficiary. They’ll gladly expel him first before even thinking about have a parent teacher conference for one of those stuffy rich kids. Gladly tell him that he would never become anyone worth remembering.

Tyler tried keeping his head down best he could but it wasn’t until one day one of his bullies slammed him against the lockers. He was already having a sour day. He missed the bus early that morning and had to run several blocks to the next bus stop if he wanted to the slightest chance to getting to school on time. He failed another one of his math tests for a third time in a row. He forgot his essay at home since he spent most of the night writing and falling asleep at his desk, thus making him miss his alarm and late for school. He almost fell asleep in his last class for the day and the teacher made a show of hitting his knuckles with a ruler with the entire class laughing at him.

With all that and now his supposed daily dose of bullying, something in the young boy snapped. His hand curled into a fist before he could think twice about what he was doing and he swung.

Tyler could never fully remember what happened. The next thing he remember was being the office, both him and the bully dawning quite a few bruises.

He and the kid were suspended for fighting. While he was upset about having to stay home and disappointing his mother, he felt a bit better that there was a bit of justice in the situation. 

That he finally stood up for himself.

He didn’t want to be other peoples’ doormat anymore. 

Granted he didn’t go looking for fights, he didn’t want to jeopardize the opportunity his mother worked so hard to give him. So he took up running. Running was his personal escape from reality. Where he felt free. Where he could be himself. Where he knew it didn’t matter what was your background or what your status was, it was about your athletic prowess. He tried out for the track team and easily got on the team. His skill made him recognizable among his peers. 

But he never got over his anger and trauma from dealing with the upper crest of society. 

It only grew worse as he entered high school. It was like no matter what he did, it was like someone was out to get him. Everyone seemed to hate him because some low life from the rough part of town could easily smoke them on the track field.

He hated what happened to Brett’s sister.

He hated that he stressed his mom about the potential expulsion.

He hated that once he was expelled, they’ll easily replace him with someone else.

He hated that he was never good enough.

When Gabbie offered to save him from himself, he took the opportunity. He couldn’t let his mom down, he couldn’t let himself down. Gabbie had an influence he could only dream of having. She was his friend.

Though he wished how the next several months played out differently. After the incident, she asked him to be her fake boyfriend. While he did want to ask why, he held his tongue. She helped him when he needed it most, the least he could was to do the same to her.

It’s not like he was interested in someone else for him to say no... or so he thought.

It was two months before Homecoming that he really noticed her.

Infamous kid detective, Judith Stone. 

It’s not like he really spoke to her before, it was by chance he even got to interact with her. 

She seemed to be in a rush somewhere, but she didn’t seem to notice that he was walking past the corner she about to round. She collided with him like a speeding bullet. After stumbling back a few steps, he was able to steady the both of them. 

“Are you okay,” he asked her, holding the girl up by her waist. The head of soft bouncy curls looked up, revealing a pair of big dark brown eyes. Tyler felt his mouth dry up as those eyes blinked slowly as him. Full lips parted as Judith spoke,

“Yeah. Thank you, Tyler.” The girl pulled away from the track star’s embrace before rushing off.

Tyler watched after her with a dumbfounded expression and a fluttering heart.

Tyler had little crushes in the past. But Judith was a different story. It wasn’t something that died in a few days or even a few weeks. It lasted for months and showed no signs of fizzling out.

Tyler tried to talk himself out of liking her. Like many of the girls he’s crushed on, they would never give him the time of day. People already look at him sideways for “dating” Gabbie. He would always hear how he wasn’t good enough for the likes of her and how she could possibly see something in him. 

Judith couldn’t possibly see him like he saw her. No matter how desperately he wished for there to be some sort of chance.

Then Homecoming night came.

When he saw Judith slide into the limo, he almost choked. The short shimmery 20′s style dress hugged her figure perfectly. Her hair was braided back and formed a low bun, revealing her face. Those dark brown eyes scanned the car’s occupants and finally landed on him. He could feel his heart kickstart in his chest as she greeted him with a small smile.

On the way to the school, he kept stealing glances at the girl detective, wishing that it was her that was wrapped under his arm...

Then the news of Gabbie’s death came crashing down on all of them. He felt crushed that his friend died, believing it was his fault. During their “relationship”, Gabbie was being highly secretive. It drove him crazy sometimes because he would have to cover for her and he had no idea what exactly he was helping her hide. He even considered following her to get some answers but decided against it, not wanting to risk getting caught.

Though he didn’t expect Gabbie’s death would lead to him talking to Judith...

...well after she broke into his locker, broke into his car, hopped out of his moving car, sent him on a wild goose chase into the woods, nearly smacked him with tree branch wielded in her small hands, and accused him of murdering Gabbie.

What a crazy start to their story.

Even when she looked ready to knocked his head clean off his shoulders, he couldn’t help but to find her beautiful. The setting sun bathe her in a breathtaking glow. He couldn’t look away from her eyes.

No matter how angry those eyes seem to be, he couldn’t help but to be captivated at how they lit up from a dark, almost black, color to a rich mahogany brown. 

They sat and chatted by the cliff side once she was through with interrogating him. Not willing to let the girl go just yet, he invited Judith to the diner where his mom used to work at. He never brought anyone else there before. Not even Gabbie.

The place was one of the few places that was near and dear to him. He had memories of sitting at one of the retro booths, watching his mom flit from table to table while he did his homework. The workers adored her, him as well.

Whether Judith knew it or not, he was letting her in on something he would never show to others.

...and he may or may not have been treating it as if it was date.

What? You can’t blame a guy for wishing for something more with the girl he’s been pining after for months.

Hearing her talk about herself intrigued him. Especially when he learned Judith wasn’t even her real first name. He knew she preferred to go by her middle name but he hoped that maybe one day he would be special enough to call her Valentine.

For her to be his little Valentine.

Though he felt his hopes were being dashed as they started working together. He almost found himself getting into fights with their persons of interests, nearly ruining their chances of gathering any intel. Judith had to step in each time do some level of damage control because his sorry ass couldn’t control his temper.

He felt ashamed with himself.

The last thing he wanted was for her to see him to be more of a hindrance rather a beneficial partner. See him as some bullhead jock.

All he wanted was to be good enough for her...

The dwindling hope he felt sparked anew when they shared their first kiss. At first, he couldn’t believe it. After she basically cornered him into confessing on why the track had it out for him and how he almost got expelled, he felt like she was going to shun him. As if the last shred of good that she possibly saw him whittered away.

Hearing her say that she didn’t hate him and she saw that he was trying to make amends to what had happened in the past nearly made him sag in relief. He really did care about how she thought of him and wanted nothing more but to stay in her good graces.

He wanted to be more than that little boy who was shunned by everyone because his social status in society was beneath theirs. More than the kid that thought that standing up for himself was using his fists first and words later. More than some fake boyfriend.

He wanted to be Tyler Woods, someone who was more than his circumstances. A young man with a promising future ahead of him and was making his hardworking mother proud. A boy who had the heart and affections of a certain girl detective. 

He remembered giving her a small smile when she shifted forward. The solid thump his heart gave against his ribcage when those full pouty lips he secretly daydreamed about brushing against his own nearly made him breathless. He immediately leaned in the rest of the way, kissing her with all the pent up emotion he’s been feeling for months. Feeling her cup his face as she kissed him back with the same energy made him melt a little on the inside. He tried leaning over on her side as much as he physically could, wanting to make the moment last between them.

As much as he wanted the special moment to last forever, they both needed to breathe at some point.

Pulling apart, he felt as if he was blinded by her breathtaking smile.

“I honestly wanted to do that for so long...” Judith raised an amused brow at the track star’s breathless confession.

“Oh? How long are we talking,” she asked. Tyler could feel his face heat up and he knew she could probably feel it, seeing how she was still cupping his face with her delicate hands.

“Since... since you ran into me that one time. Few months before Homecoming. I wasn’t sure if you would even like me and with everything that’s been going since Homecoming, it probably would be weird to confess such a thing,” he shyly admitted. The girl let out a chuckle, the sound was rich and warm. It reminded Tyler of drinking a cup of hot chocolate.

“Dork. It just so happened I like weird,” she mumbled, looking into his eyes. Tyler could see the sincerity in those dark irises and he felt a goofy grin break out on his face and he leaned in for another kiss.

Since then, Judith seemed to be opening up about her feelings towards him, and Tyler couldn’t be anymore happier about it.

The night they stayed out together to share the cheesecake they won with Donovan and Stevie was growing proof that she returned his feelings. She was going out her way to get him alone and that thought alone made him feel giddy on the inside.

He originally didn’t really want to do the trivia night. Donovan, Judith, and Stevie seemed so much smarter to him, what could he possibly contribute. But once they all got a groove of things, he found himself enjoying their company. When Donovan and Stevie left, he felt his heart flutter at the smile Judith was giving him.

They laughed at their first real interaction outside of Homecoming, she comforted him on his insecurities, and got to share something sweet with her. 

And it wasn’t just the cheesecake.

Tyler had been secretly hoping to experience another kiss with her. He hasn’t stopped thinking about their first kiss. Her lips were the softest thing he’s ever felt and she tasted like vanilla. Tasting that familiar vanilla bean chapstick mixed with the cheesecake they shared was a heady combination. He wrapped an arm around her waist, eager to have her closer to him.

The kiss was curious and sweet. As if they wanted to explore their feelings in this new tender way neither of them would have suspected months ago.

“Mmm... I was wondering when we were going to do that again,” he mumbled, gazing into those dark eyes. Judith graced him with one of her bright smiles, slender fingers fiddled with his necklace as she gazed back.

“Whenever you want,” she said, kissing his cheek. He chuckled at the mental image that popped up in his mind.

“I don’t think Donovan and Stevie would like that very much. Especially Stevie,” he challenged with a cocked brow. Judith let out a chuckle of her own.

“Okay, fair. How about this, you can kiss me any time you want to and we’re not with either of them,” she concede. Tyler leaned in, pecking her lips a few more times. When he opened his eyes, Judith could see his eyes darken with want as he slowly licked his lips.

“Oh, you’re definitely gonna regret saying that,” he mumbled, his voice taking on a more huskier edge. Judith smirked at the track star.

“Somehow I don’t think I will,” she teased, her voice coming out as a purr as she ran her fingers over the back of his neck. Tyler mentally groaned.

‘She’s going to be the death of me...’

Despite them coming together under unique circumstances... Tyler never felt like more of a normal teenager before. Some days, his basic goal was just to make the stoic girl smile she rarely lets anyone else see.

Like when she texted him hours before the party.

Well... when he mentioned “pre-game”, he was hoping for a few kisses as well.

Tyler was quickly developing a sweet tooth for Judith kisses, he is man enough to admit he melts a little when she offers him one.

Though when he notice how stressed the girl seemed to be, he was more than happy to take her mind off of it by spending time with her and her adorable fluffball of a dog, Puck.

He loved their afternoon stroll. Tyler secretly hoped when he found the courage to ask her to be his girlfriend that they could do this more often. Seeing Puck bounce around his owner, seeing her smile adoringly at him. The feeling of her hand intertwined with his. Her head on his shoulder. Seeing Judith try to hide her amused giggle behind her hand as he played with “Pucky-Poo”.

The moment between them was something he never felt before in his life...

He felt like he was finally good enough...

Good enough to be with such a beautiful and captivating girl who so happens to go by the name Valentine Judith Stone.

“I’m just some guy. You’re Judith Stone,” he remarks as he sat on the girl’s bed. They were waiting for Donovan and Stevie to show up so they could all go to the party. Judith was standing in front of him as he said this. Her dark eyes soften as she gazed at him, taking the track star runner by surprise.

“Tyler, you’re definitely not ‘just some guy’. Not to me,” Judith said softly. The air surrounding the two seemed to have shifted. As if both them suddenly realized that they were no longer co-detectives working on a case but two teenagers, alone together in a room... 

Judith stepped closer, standing in between the space of Tyler’s knees. Their hands naturally gravitated towards each other. Judith’s hands finding purchase on Tyler’s shoulders, while his hands found the curve of her hips. Their lips met in a gentle kiss, testing the waters and their resolve.

Tyler could feel Judith’s fingers dance along the sensitive skin of his neck before tangling themselves in his curly hair. Her neatly filed nails gently scratched his scalp. A low groan escaped the back of his throat as he tugged the girl closer. Judith seemed catch the hint, straddling the older boy.

“I was hoping this was why you called,” he mumbled against her lips, looking at the young detective with a hooded gaze. Judith gave him a familiar flirtatious smirk.

“Just here for the smooches, are you,” she teased. A low laugh escaped him as he spread kisses all over the girl’s face. Judith giggled at the quick butterfly kisses tickling her cheeks. Tyler gave her a kiss on her forehead, another on the tip of her nose, before finally returning to her lips. Judith let out a small moan when she felt one of Tyler’s hands run up her back, pressing against the space between her shoulder blades to pull her closer. Tyler pulled away to look into her eyes.

“I hope I’ve made it clear that I like you, Judith. Kisses or no,” he whispered in her ear. The girl shuddered at the tickling sensation on her ear. She chuckled.

“But the kisses don’t hurt, now do they,” she teased, running her small hands over his shoulders. Tyler answered her with another kiss.

Tyler knew he would never tire of this act. Getting the chance to feel his crush’s lips against his in an intimate way. Being able to hold her this close. To be surround by the scent of warm vanilla and a sweet musk scent. He let out a soft hum when he felt her arch against him, her thighs tightening around his hips. One of his hands slid in her hair while the other felt along the muscle of her thigh.

He nipped on her lower lip, coaxing her to open up to him. Just as their tongues met, there was a knock at the door.

“Judith! The rest of your friends are here,” her mom called. The pair sprang apart, blushing deeply. But there were twin goofy smiles on their face. Judith place one more kiss on his cheek before answering her mom.

Tyler stared at the teen PI like a lovesick puppy.

‘One day Valentine... one day, I hope to be good enough for you to call me your boyfriend...’

[fideidefenswhore]

it’s hard to go wrong with those Routledge biographies...compact, succint, exhaustive.

[cinemaocd]

Judith Wood and Paul Lukas in Working Girls (1931)

[marypickfords]

Working Girls (Dorothy Arzner, 1931)

[schniggles]

#Scarlet Hollow is in the Apocrypha (via hellhoundmaggie)

traumatized protagonists solving supernatural mysteries in an impoverished community gang

[citizenscreen]

Behind the scenes on set of GOODBYE, MR. CHIPS (1939): Director Sam Wood with Robert Donat and with Paul Henreid, Greer Garson, and Judith Furse.

[ejochsner]

Birds of a Feather OC Aesthetics 6/16

Judith “Jude” Jones (She/They) 🪴