#Movie Theaters Cinema Halls

[monkeyssalad-blog]

Miss Campton by Truus, Bob & Jan too! Via Flickr: French postcard by M.G., no. 514. Caption: Palais-Royal. Miss Campton aka Emily Campton or Aimée Campton (1882-1930), was a British-born French stage and screen actress between c. 1900 and 1930. In her obituary, the Singapore Free Press and Mercantile Advertiser wrote: “Miss Campton, a cockney originally, came to Paris as a member of one of the first Tiller troupes to visit Paris. She had personality and an accent which sent audiences at the Folies Bergere into fits of laughter. […] It was the success of Miss Campton which made Mlle Tanguy change her name to Miss Tanguy, afterwards corrupted into Mistinguett. Miss Campton married a French comedian who has played in London [Prince], but she was divorced. A few years ago she married M. Paul Derval, the manager of the Folies Bergere, where she had made her first appearance.” Miss Campton, aka Aimée Campton and Emilie Campton, was born 6 April 1882 as Emily Straham Cager in Brighton, UK. Her mother was Emily Cager of Brighton, her father was unknown, according to the birth act in Brighton. She was a little British blonde with a tiny snub nose who enchanted French audiences with her gaiety and her foreign accent. In the first decade of the early 20th century Miss Campton was a big vaudeville star at the Folies-Bergère, run at the time by the brothers Emile and Vincent Isola, On 20 December 1900 Campton married the then popular vaudeville artist Charles Prince, originally Charles Ernest René Petitdemange, who also was a star of the Folies Bergère in the early 1900s. They had one daughter Renée (1901-1993), but must have divorced not too long after (probably one year after), while Prince remarried in 1914. Miss Campton was a fashion icon in ladies’ magazines of the Belle Epoque and was photographed as vaudeville star by Valery, Sazerac, Cautin & Berger, Reutlinger, and Stebbing (with her name sometimes misspelled Miss Compton. She was also known to play cross-dressing parts as in the revue Entente Cordiale (1905) by Flers, in which she played a British Lord opposite Mlle Marville as Madame de France, performed at the Theatre des Capucines. In 1904-1907 she performed at the Moulin Rouge, in 1904 in the revue La Revue du Moulin by Oudot & Branger, with music by Goublier, in 1907 in the operetta Le Toreador. In 1906 she contributed to Une Revue au Palais-Royal, a revue exceptionally staged at the fancy prose theatre. In 1907 Campton also acted in the comedy Souper d’Adieu at the Theatre des Capucines. In 1907-1910 (and perhaps earlier on already) she performed in the yearly Folies Bergère revue by Flers, together with a.o. Marville and Louis Maurel. With Maurel she sang Entrevue de Marienbad at the Folies Bergère, which was recorded as well and betrays her typical British accent while singing in French. Around 1908 she appeared in the revue Pomme d’amour (music by P. Doubis), singing songs like Déjà!, Elle a tout pour elle, L’arithmétique, Aventure américaine, and Oh, my baby! Campton performed around 1911 at the Theatre des Ambassadeurs, and in 1911-1913 at the Cigale in La revue sans culotte (1911), the comedy Miss Alice des P.T.T. by Tristan Bernard (1912-1913) and in En scene… mon president by H. Delorme (1913), both with Claudius as her male partner. In 1913 she performed in revues at the Theatre Marigny, including one by André Barre and Michel Carré. Miss Campton probably liked a gag, because the magazine Gil Blas announced in February 1913 on the cover page, she might do a box match against boxing champion Georges Charpentier. Between 1912 and 1915 and under the name of Aimée Campton, Campton had her own comedy series at the company Eclipse with the character 'Maud’. They were all directed by René Hervil, and with Gabriel de Gravone or Hervil himself as her male partner. Eclipse had started as of 1906 but really boomed as of 1908, with its early westerns with Joë Hammann, the Artheme comic series (1911-1916) starring Ernest Servaes and the weekly newsreel Eclipse journal. Servaes continued his success in the early 1910s with his Artheme Dupin slapstick series, and also directed the Polycarpe comics (1912-1916). As of 1912 Hervil was hired, a former actor at the Lux company, who directed the Maud series (1913-1914), plus the Fred (1914-1916) series; in the latter he played the title character as well. Unfortunately only a few of the hundreds of films produced by Eclipse survive, but one is Les charmes de Maud/Le charme de Maud (1913), which is present in the Desmet Collection of the EYE Filmmuseum in Amsterdam. In Le charme de Maud, it’s all about the harassment of attractive young female office workers. Typist Maud Simpson is too beautiful , so men harass her at her work, even her boss, who argues with her and eventually fires her . At job interviews men continue to bother her, so before starting a job at Vinnay & Co., she changes her physique into ugly and spinster-like, so men stop bothering her. Some days after, the real Maud meets Jack Vinnay, the owner’s son, and they fall in love. The next day Maud goes to work without the make-over and all colleagues, including Jack’s father are flabbergasted. Jack’s father approves of the love between Jack and Maud. During the First World War Campton continued her stage career, a.o. at the Theatre des Capucines, where she played in 1915 in La Revue En Franchise, written by Berthez, Delorme and C.A. Carpentier (not the boxer), in which she imitated Charlie Chaplin and played a Normandy woman who learns British soldiers to speak French. Two years after she did Ou Campe-t-on? (1917) at the Theatre des Capucines. The title of the revue was a clear pun on the name of the leading lady of the show. The satirical magazine Le Strapontin wrote: “ Le Strapontin malgré sa restriction habituelle d’éloges vous conseille sans hésiter d’aller “camper” aux Capucines; vous y passerez deux heures charmantes.” [Despite its usual restrain from praise, The Strapontin advises you to go and ‘camp’ at the Capucines; you’ll pass two charming hours there’]. During the war Campton also contributed to charity parties within the theatre world. In 1916 for instance she did a parody on Les Mystères de New York, together with Victor Boucher, at the Theatre de Chatelet. After the war Campton’s career was less intense. In 1921 Campton had a supporting part in the revue Ça va? by Rip and Gignoux, staged at the Theatre de Paris. The leading actors were George and Pauley. In 1922 Campton was critically unsuccessful in the revue Va l’dire à… Gênes! by Max Eddy at La Cigale, in which she had the lead. Georges Schmitt in La Rampe thought her poor French was now an obstacle, while a decade ago audiences and press found this one of her assets. She also performed in 1923 with Sacha Guitry’s Blanc et Noir, staged at the Variétés, and even if her role was praised, the leads were for Jane Marnac and Raimu. In the same year, she had a supporting part in Un Jour de Folie, by André Birabeau, again at the Variétés, and again with Marnac and Raimu. By now Campton had become a society lady and the friend (most obituaries said the husband) of Paul Derval (1880-1966), the owner of the Folies Bergère from 1918 on. Emily/ Aimée Campton lived in Paris at 7, rue Albert de Neuville. Because of cancer she died on 21 November 1930 in Paris and lies buried at the cemetery of Montmartre, in the tomb of Paul Derval. Sources disagree whether she was his cousin, his wife or his girlfriend. In 1931 the jewels and furs of Miss Campton were auctioned at Drouot by actor Henri Baudin. Visitors crammed the small auction room and paid high prices for her rings and particular her string of 95 pearls, while Sacha Guitry bought a fur coat. Sources: Gallica (including La Rampe, Le Figaro, Le Strapontin, Gil Blas, etc.) , French Wikipedia, IMDB, Richard Abel, The Ciné Goes to Town, www.camptonandchicksands.org.uk/misscampton.htm. A particular thanks to Adrien Vernardin, Le musée du music-hall.

[miunachan]

Ultimate List of Business Ideas ♥ [UPDATED]

Hi ❀ʕ·ᴥ·ʔ

Today, after hours of brainstorming and collecting impressions, I proudly present to you the ultimate list of business ideas for the newly released Businesses & Hobbies pack ✧. ✲ﾟ･｡✧･ﾟ

I've categorized the business ideas to provide a more structured overview, because there are so many  (๑❛ʚ❛๑). They are sorted into the following categories: 📌 Service-based small businesses 🍽️ Restaurants & entertainment venues 🛍️ Retail & creative shops 🛠️ Craft & manufacturing businesses 🎭 Fantasy & unconventional businesses.

Also for some of these ideas, I recommend using CC or mods to deepen the immersion, but that's completely up to you — sometimes using your own imagination does the trick too~ The recommended or sometimes necessary packs are included behind the business idea as well as CC/mod recommendation markers ❀✿❀

If you feel like something's missing, please comment your idea(s) and I will happily add them to the list so that the compendium can continue to grow (◕ω◕✿)

My other story ideas ✧. ✲ﾟ･｡✧･ﾟ ✿ Soft & Cozy Story Ideas ✿ Very Dramatic Story Ideas

Please take a look at my Patreon for more cute Sims 4 stuff~ You can find the original post here.

As always, happy simming! - MiunaChan ♥

📌 Service-Based Small Businesses

💉 Tattoo Studio (Hobbies & Businesses) 💆 Wellness Studio/Spa (Spa Day) 💅 Nail Salon (Spa Day) 💇 Hair Salon/Barbershop (CC/mods recommended) 💆‍♂️ Massage Center (Spa Day) 🧖 Sauna / Onsen Retreat (Spa Day, Snowy Escape) 🏋️ Gym & Personal Training (Fitness Stuff, Spa Day) 🧘 Yoga Studio (Spa Day) 🏔️ Rock Climbing Tours (Snowy Escape) ⛸️ Ice Skating Rink (Seasons) 🎢 Roller Skating Rink (Seasons) 🏊 Pool (Seasons) 📖 Library

👶 Daycare for Infants & Toddlers (Seasons, Parenthood) 🤓 Preschool (Parenthood, High School Years) 🐱 Pet Daycare (Cats & Dogs) 🐕 Pet Training & Agility Classes (Cats & Dogs)

🏨 Hotel/Motel (Get to Work) 🧺 Laundrette (Laundry Day Stuff) 🎉 Event Planning Agency (My Wedding Stories) 🏥 Cosmetic Surgery Clinic (CC/mods recommended) 🗣️ Public Relations Agency

🏕️ Campground & Outdoor Retreat (Outdoor Retreat) 🏞️ Private Garden Maze & Fishing Lake (Cottage Living) 🏫 Lecture Hall & Public Speaking Center 🤖 Robotics Workshop (Discover University) 🎭 Improv Theater & Acting School (Get Famous, Get to Work) 📖 Creative Writing & Journalism Workshops 👗 Etiquette & Manners School (My Wedding Stories) 💻 Coding Bootcamp & IT Training 🎮 E-Sports & Gaming Coaching

🍽️ Restaurants & Entertainment Venues

💻 Internet Café 🐾 Pet Café (Cats & Dogs) 🎲 Tabletop & Board Game Café 🧋 Bubble Tea Shop (High School Years)

🍔 Fast-Food Restaurant (Dine Out) 🥐 Bistro (Cozy Bistro Kit, Dine Out) ☕ Traditional Tea House (Snowy Escape) 🥦 Vegan Specialty Store (Cottage Living) 🥘 Food Market & Culinary Stalls (Cottage Living, City Living)

🎤 Bar/Lounge/Nightclub/Karaoke Club (City Living, Get Together) 🎸 Live Music & Jazz Club 😂 Comedy Club 🎥 Cinema (Movie Hangout Stuff) 🎳 Bowling Alley (Bowling Night Stuff)

🍦 Ice Cream Parlor (Seasons) 🎂 Bakery/Pastry Shop (Dine Out) 🚚 Food Truck (Snowy Escape, Cottage Living) 🧑‍🍳 Cooking Classes & Culinary School (Dine Out, Cottage Living)

🍇 Vineyard & Wine Tasting (Cottage Living) 🍸 Barista & Mixology Courses 🏰 Medieval Tavern (Get Together, Seasons) 🎭 Movie Studio Tour (Get Famous) 🏦 Museum & Science Exhibition (Discover University)

🛍️ Retail & Creative Shops

🌸 Flower Shop (Seasons) 💐 Flower Arranging School (Seasons) 🕯️ Candle Shop (Eco Lifestyle) 🏺 Pottery Studio (Hobbies & Businesses)

🖼️ Art Gallery (Get to Work) 🎨 Artist’s Studio & Creative Workshops (City Living) 📚 Bookstore (Get to Work) 📖 Comic Book & Nerd Store (City Living, Journey to Batuu) 🖌️ Art Studio & Painting Classes (City Living, Get to Work)

🧸 Toy Store 🛎️ Souvenir Shop (Island Living, Snowy Escape, Journey to Batuu) ��� Crystal & Occult Store (Realm of Magic, Crystal Creations Kit) 💎 Crystal Workshop (Crystal Creations Kit) 🏺 Antique Shop (Eco Lifestyle) 🔥 Fireworks Shop (Seasons) 🎵 Record & Music Instrument Store (City Living) 🎸 Music School (City Living)

📷 Photography Studio & Workshops (Get to Work, City Living) 🧥 Thrift Store (High School Years, Eco Lifestyle) 👘 Costume & Formal Wear Rental (CC/mods recommended)

🛠️ Craft & Manufacturing Businesses

🪑 Furniture Workshop (Eco Lifestyle) 💍 Jewelry Design Studio (Crystal Creations Kit) 👗 Bridal Boutique (My Wedding Stories) 💡 Lamp & Lighting Workshop 🎸 Musical Instrument Crafting (City Living) 👠 Shoe Workshop (CC/mods recommended) 👜 Handbag & Leather Goods Studio (CC/mods recommended) 👕 Tailoring & Fashion Design (CC/mods recommended)

🏡 Tiny House Design & Sales (Tiny Houses, Eco Lifestyle) 🌱 Gardening & Herbalism Workshops (Cottage Living, Realm of Magic) 🔧 DIY & Handicraft Workshops (Eco Lifestyle)

🎭 Fantasy & Unconventional Businesses (CC/Mods Recommended)

🕵️ Private Detective Agency (Get to Work) 💘 Dating Agency 🧹 Cleaning Service 🧠 Psychological Counseling & Therapy 🏚️ Second-Hand Furniture Store (Eco Lifestyle)

🎨 Black Market for Stolen Art (Get to Work, Jungle Adventure) 🧑‍🔬 Secret Alchemy Lab (Realm of Magic) 🎲 Backyard Poker Club 🎰 Gambling Den or Casino (Get to Work) 💻 Cybercriminal Hacker Hideout (Get to Work) 🏚️ Brothel 💋 Woohoo Playrooms 🔮 Medium/Psychic Business (Realm of Magic) 🧪 Potion Bar (Realm of Magic) 🕍 Cemetery & Tombstone Sales (Live and Death, Realm of Magic) 🦇 Secret Occult Society (Vampires, Werewolves, Realm of Magic) 🏕️ Nudist Colony 🕹️ Arcade & Retro Gaming Lounge (High School Years, City Living) 💭 Bubble Blower Lounge (City Living) ⛪ Church

[dell213]

MOVIE: Expend4bles

>> Watch The Full Movie: https://bit.ly/3EQV3Dt

[jamesmcalover]

cinematic

Fred Hechinger x afab!reader

Warnings: fluff, awkwardness???

Summary: reader works at the cinema and a really cute blonde man walks in one day

3.5k words

Tiny pearls of sweat were beginning to run down my forehead, which I quickly wiped away with the sleeve of my work uniform. It hadn't been a busy day at all, but it was hot.

"They still haven't fixed the AC," I mumbled to Nick, my co-worker, who only shrugged his shoulders. He was busy filling up a bucket of popcorn for the customers he was currently serving.

It wasn't even a hot summer day, but it still felt like a sauna behind the counter. All the machines designed to keep the food warm also kept us warm, turning our workspace into a humid, sticky mess.

"Excuse me," someone said behind me. I turned around quickly, ready to put on my best customer service voice, only to freeze mid-sentence. A very pretty blonde man was standing in front of me. He was wearing a blue shirt with the Metro Goldwyn Mayer logo – the one with the Lion – on it. He must have really enjoyed movies. His eyes were a really pretty shade of blue that made it hard for me to focus.

I blinked, trying to shake the daze from my mind. Get it together, I reminded myself.

"Hi, how can I help you?" I asked, forcing a professional smile.

"Hey," he said, smiling. I noticed a small gap between his teeth. "Could you point me to Theater 4?"

The request was simple, but something about the way he asked it made me stumble over my words for a moment. I could feel his gaze lingering, as if he was waiting for me to answer, but all I could think was how familiar his face looked.

"Uh, sure," I said, shaking myself out of the moment. "It's down the hall, to your left. You can't miss it."

"Thanks," he said, smiling at me again. My heart skipped a beat.

He turned to walk away, and I found myself watching him go, that same nagging feeling settling at the back of my mind. Where did I know him from?

"Well that was awkward to watch," Nick's voice startled me, snapping me out of my daze.

I turned to look at him, my heart still fluttering from the interaction. "What do you mean?" I asked, trying to sound casual, though my voice betrayed me with an edge of uncertainty.

Nick gave me an amused look. "You were staring at him like a deer caught in headlights."

I flushed, feeling both embarrassed and annoyed. "I wasn't staring," I muttered, half-defensive, half-embarrassed.

"Uh-huh," Nick said, his grin widening. "So, you don't know who he is?"

I blinked, caught off guard. "What do you mean? Should I?"

Nick's eyebrows shot up. "It's Fred Hechinger, dude. You seriously don't recognize him?"

I stared at Nick, confusion written all over my face. "Fred Hechinger?” The name didn’t ring any bells, and Nick could see my blank expression clearly.

"I thought you were a film nerd," Nick said, raising and eyebrow as I struggled to connect the dots. "His face is on every poster and screen in this building right now."

My gaze instinctively shifted towards the big infor screen advertising the newest movie, Gladiator II. The bold poster featured the man that I had just spoken to, alongside Pedro Pascal and Paul Mescal.

"You really didn't recognize him?" Nick asked.

I felt my cheeks heat up as the realization hit. "I… I mean, I thought he looked familiar, but I wasn't sure," I admitted, flustered. "No wonder I couldn't stop staring. I bet he thinks I'm some weird fan."

My stomach flipped at the thought. I'd been acting like an awkward idiot in front of a pretty well-known actor without even realizing who he was.

Nick smirked. "Well, if you're gonna act like a fan girl, at least do it when I'm not watching."

"Shut up," I muttered, rolling my eyes. I still couldn't shake the feeling that I'd made a total fool of myself. "I didn't know, okay?"

The rest of my shift dragged on in boring monotony after the brief encounter. Nick had already clocked out, leaving me alone behind the counter. With the last movie nearing its end, I began cleaning up, wiping down the counters and restocking the shelves with candy.

The quiet hum of the soda machine and the muffled sound of a movie playing in one of the theaters were my only company. I tried not to think too much about earlier, but Fred's face kept popping into my mind.

I was deep in thought, wiping down the popcorn machine, when the sound of footsteps startled me. I turned around quickly, half expecting it to be my manager reminding me to lock up. Instead, it was him.

He looked slightly sheepish but undeniably charming, his hands stuffed into the pockets of his coat. "Hey," he said, his voice soft and a little hesitant.

"Oh," I stammered, caught completely off guard. "Hi. Um… Can I help you with anything?"

He smiled, one of those soft, slightly crooked smiles, and shook his head. "No just... thought I'd come back and... I don't know," he said, his gaze flickering down for a moment, like he was gathering his thoughts. "It's quieter now."

I blinked, caught off guard, then glancing around the empty lobby. "Oh yeah. We're almost closed," I replied, trying to sound casual, "How was the movie."

He ran a hand through his messy blonde hair, and shrugged. "It was good. A little intense, but I like that kind of stuff."

I tilted my head. "So, you're a movie buff?"

"Something like that," he said with a small grin. I looked at the poster on the wall behind him again. He looked nothing like the character in real life, his face was much friendlier, much more approachable. I knew that he was an actor now – thanks to Nick – but I didn't want him to know I knew.

"Have you seen Gladiator II yet? I heard it's a pretty good movie," I said, trying to act cool.

"Yeah," he replied, a slight laugh escaping. "A few times, actually."

"Oh, so you're one of those people who rewatch movies over and over again?" I teased lightly, folding my arms across my chest.

He chuckled, rubbing the back of his neck. "You could say that. It's, uh, kind of a special project to me."

"Special how?" I asked, tilting my head again, genuinely curious.

He hesitated for a second, his grin faltering slightly, before shrugging. "It's the biggest movie I've ever been in."

I blinked at him, momentarily thrown off. I wasn't expecting him to admit it so casually. "Oh. You're... an actor."

"Yeah," he said, his grin turning slightly sheepish.

"That's, um, really cool. I'm sorry, I didn't recognize you earlier. I'm… kind of bad at keeping up with celebrities. I, uh... I'm Y/N, by the way."

"Fred," he said, offering a slightly crooked smile. "Nice to meet you, Y/N. And don't apologize, honestly, it's kind of refreshing. Most of the time, people either freak out or start asking for pictures."

"Guess I missed my chance to fangirl, huh?" I joked, trying to lighten the mood. He chuckled, and for a second I was distracted by how cute he was.

He tilted his head, his smile widening just a bit. "Well, since you missed your chance to fangirl, how about grabbing a drink instead?"

I blinked, not entirely sure I'd heard him right. "Wait… are you serious?"

"Yeah," he said with an easy shrug, though there was a hint of nervousness in his expression. "If you're free after your shift, of course. Unless you have better plans, like, I don't know, reorganizing popcorn buckets or something."

I laughed, shaking my head. "Reorganizing popcorn buckets is a pretty thrilling way to spend an evening, but I think I could make some time."

"Great," he said, his smile widening. "I'll wait."

"Wait, really?" I asked, startled.

"Yeah. Unless you'd rather bail," he teased, leaning back against the counter like he had all the time in the world.

Never in my life had I gotten things done so fast. I wasn't sure if it was the adrenaline of Fred watching me doing my work or excitement of knowing I was going to grab a drink with him – or both – but I managed to close up that cinema in record time.

As I grabbed my bag and headed toward the door, Fred straightened from where he'd been leaning against the counter, hands stuffed casually into his pockets. "Ready?"

I nodded, trying to suppress the nervous fluttering in my stomach. "Yeah. Do you have a place in mind?

He tilted his head, considering. "I passed a bar a couple of streets over on my way here. Looked low-key. How does that sound?"

"Perfect," I said, trying to sound nonchalant.

We stepped outside, and the cool night air was a relief after hours spent in the sauna-like heat of the cinema. The city felt hushed, the kind of quiet you only get after dark, punctuated by the distant sound of cars and the faint hum of streetlamps.

The walk was short, but I couldn't help stealing a few glances at him along the way. Under the soft glow of the streetlights, he looked so different from the posters plastered all over the cinema. Less polished, more real. And when he caught me staring, I felt a blush creep up my neck.

"You know," he said, a teasing edge to his voice, "I think you do recognize me."

I scoffed, looking away to hide my embarrassment. "I already told you I didn't."

"Mm-hmm," he hummed, clearly unconvinced.

"You don't mind hanging out with your local cinema employee, do you?" I joked after a brief pause, trying to ease the tension I felt rising in my chest.

Fred glanced at me, a small smile playing on his lips. "Not at all. You're better company than half the people I've met."

The bar wasn't crowded, which was a relief. The dim lighting and faint buzz of conversation made it feel intimate without being suffocating. Fred held the door open for me, and I thanked him, stepping inside and scanning for a spot to sit.

We slid into a booth near the back, and Fred leaned forward, resting his arms on the table. "What would you like to drink?" He asked, so I scanned the menu quickly.

"I think I'll just go for a beer," I replied to which he nodded and excused himself to go over to the bar and get our drinks.

The faint hum of a jukebox lingered in the background, and the soft glow of fairy lights hanging above gave the place a cozy, low-key vibe.

When he came back with two ice-cold bottles of Heinecken, I thanked him.

"I could've payed myself, you know?" I said, offering him a playful smile.

He waved his hand dismissively, setting the bottle in front of me. "Don't worry about it."

"Is this what you usually do after a movie? Find a random bar and invite strangers?"

Fred smirked, shaking his head. "Nope. This is a first, actually."

"Oh, so I'm special, huh?" I teased, leaning back against the booth.

"Something like that," he replied, his grin widening.

For a moment, we just sat there, sipping our beers, and the comfortable silence felt surprisingly natural. This wasn't something that happened to me, not in real life. Actors didn't stroll back into empty cinemas to chat with nobodies like me. And yet, here he was, smiling across the table like this was the most natural thing in the world.

"So," he said, leaning back against the booth, his gaze settling on me. "You still haven't told me your movie recommendation. What's something you think I have to watch?"

I tilted my head, pretending to think hard. "Hmm… depends. Are you looking for something fun or something that'll emotionally destroy you?"

He chuckled, raising an eyebrow. "Emotionally destroy me? Sounds intense."

"Sometimes you just have to sob hysterically over fictional characters," I said, almost laughing at myself for that weird comment.

Fred thought it was funny, though, and laughed, warm and genuine. "Okay, hit me. What's the most devastating one you've got?"

I leaned forward, resting my elbows on the table, and listed off a couple of films, my enthusiasm growing as I talked. He listened intently, his gaze fixed on me, and it was only when I stopped talking that I realized how closely he was watching me.

"What?" I asked, suddenly self-conscious.

"Nothing," he said, a soft smile tugging at the corner of his mouth. "You just… really light up when you talk about this stuff. It's nice."

I felt my cheeks heat up and took a sip of my beer to hide my embarrassment. "Well, you are talking to a cinema employee. Movies are kind of my thing."

"And here I thought this was just your day job," he teased, his tone light.

"Well, it is," I said, laughing. "But it doesn't mean I don't love it."

He nodded, taking another sip of his drink. "I get that. It's nice when work doesn't feel like… well, just work."

"Exactly," I said, smiling. "And you? What's the best part of your job?"

Fred hesitated, his expression softening as he thought about it. "I think it's when people connect with something I've done. Like, when they tell me a character or a story meant something to them. That's pretty special."

I nodded, leaning forward slightly. "That makes sense. And I guess playing an emperor probably didn't hurt, huh?"

He laughed, shaking his head. "So, you did recognise me!"

I felt my face getting red and hot immediately. "I'm sorry, I just- I didn't wanna seem like some weird fan. I've probably made it really worse now, though."

Fred's smile softened, and his eyes held mine for a moment longer than I expected. "I think it's cute."

My face burned even more, and I ducked my head, letting out a nervous laugh. "You're just saying that to make me feel better."

"I'm not," he replied, still grinning as he took another sip of his beer. "It's nice. Refreshing, even. You don't get that a lot in this business – people pretending they do't know you."

I groaned, covering my face with my hands. "To be fair, I actually didn't know at first!"

"Which is even better," he teased, his voice warm with amusement. "Honest confusion. It's a rare thing."

I peeked at him through my fingers before lowering my hands with an embarrassed smile. "Well, good. I'll just keep being 'refreshing,' then."

"If you had recognized me, what would you have done? Freaked out? Asked for an autograph?" He asked with a playful grin and I laughed, shaking my head. "No way. I probably just would've stared at you more than I aready did and made it even more awkward. You know, like a real professional."

He laughed too, the sound bright and genuine. "Well, I'm glad you didn't. I like this version of you better."

The way he said it, so casual but sincere, sent a flutter through my chest. I smiled, trying to play it cool. "You don't even know me yet."

He tilted his head, his expression soft. "Then let's change that."

And just like that, I felt the flutter again, stronger this time. I leaned back in my seat, trying to suppress the goofy grin threatening to spread across my face. "Alright, Fred. What do you want to know?"

"Everything," he replied simply, his tone light, but his eyes serious.

For a moment, I just stared at him, caught off guard by his answer, but I couldn't stop myself from smiling. "That’s a tall order."

He shrugged, leaning back with a playful smirk. "We've got time."

And somehow, sitting there in that dimly lit bar with a half-empty beer in my hand and Fred Hechinger watching me like I was the most interesting thing in the room, I believe him. There was something about the way he looked at me – like I wasn't just another face in the crowd – that made me feel seen, and it scared me how much I liked it.

I don't remember how long we sat there, lost in conversation. The bar seemed to dim around us, the hum of other patrons fading into the background until it was just the two of us, trading stories like old friends.

Eventually, the bartender gave us a look that said it was time to go. I glanced at my phone, surprised at how late it had gotten. "I should probably catch the last train," I said, half-apologetic.

Fred stood with me, pulling on his coat. "I'll walk you."

"You don't have to do that," I replied, but he was already waiting by the door.

Outside, the city felt different – quieter, softer, as if the night itself had been holding its breath for us. The walk to the train station wasn't long, but it stretched just enough to let the silence settle between us, comfortable and charged.

When we reached the stairs leading down to the platform, I turned to him. "Well… thanks for tonight. I had fun."

Fred smiled, hands shoved in his pockets. "Me too." And there it was again. The way he looked at me, steady and unassuming, like he wasn't in a rush to let the moment end.

He reached a hand out to my face. I noticed it slightly shaking. He carefully brushed a single strand of hair, I haven't even noticed it was in my eyelashes, out of my face.

"Sorry," he murmured, his voice softer now, almost as if he was afraid to break the quiet between us. His hand lingered for half a second before he pulled it back, tucking it into his pocket again. The corner of his mouth twitched into a sheepish smile, and I wondered if his heart was racing as much as mine.

I swallowed, my heart fluttering at the unexpected closeness. "It's okay."

I tried to find something to say, anything to fill the space, but my mind felt blank—too full of the way his touch had made my breath hitch.

The streetlamp above us cast a warm glow, and in its light, he looked almost unsure.

"I should–"

"I want to see you again," he interrupted, his voice gentle but firm.

My breath caught, and for a moment, all I could do was stare at him. He looked so certain, like it wasn't even a question worth hesitating over.

"I mean… if you'd want to," he added, the confidence faltering just slightly.

I couldn't stop the smile that tugged at my lips. "Yeah," I said softly, my pulse quickening. "I think I'd like that."

Fred's face lit up with a grin, one so genuine it made my stomach flip. "Good."

For a moment, we just stood there, neither of us moving. It felt like the kind of moment you didn't want to break, like holding onto it a little longer might make it last forever.

But the distant rumble of the approaching train reminded me that time didn't wait. I shifted, glancing toward the stairs. "I should probably..."

Fred nodded, his grin softening into something more thoughtful. "Yeah." He hesitated, then added, "Text me when you get home?"

Before I could respond, he reached into his pocket and pulled out a crumpled receipt from the bar we were just in. He smoothed it out awkwardly, then handed it to me. I took it, unfolding the paper to find his number scrawled across it in slightly messy handwriting.

I smiled, feeling a flutter in my chest. For some reason, this felt like the sweetest thing anyone had ever done for me. It meant he’d been thinking about giving me his number back at the bar. "I will."

He stepped back just enough to give me space, his hands back in his coat pockets. "Goodnight, Y/N."

"Goodnight, Fred."

I turned and descended the steps, the sound of the train growing louder with each step. At the platform, I glanced back one last time. He was still there at the top of the stairs, silhouetted against the glow of the streetlamp. He raised a hand in a small wave, and I waved back just as the train doors slid open.

As I sank into a seat by the window, the night’s events played over in my head like scenes from a movie, too perfect to feel real. But as the train pulled away, I couldn't stop the smile spreading across my face.

. ݁₊ ⊹ . ݁˖ . ݁. ݁₊ ⊹ . ݁˖ . ݁. ݁₊ ⊹ . ݁˖ . ݁. ݁₊ ⊹ . ݁˖ . ݁. ݁₊ ⊹ . ݁˖ . ݁. ݁₊ ⊹ . ݁˖ . ݁. ݁

part 2!! <3

[neon-kazoo]

Villains I dont see very often; mute. Mute villains are the best, nothing can convince me otherwise.

One idea thats been on my mind is a mute villain confessing to the hero, either through sign language, or a perfectly executed scheme. You’re choice :))

Not sure if this counts, but I ran with it. Might try this again after I gather some ASL knowledge. Hope you enjoy :)

A Silent Movie

It wasn’t exactly easy to get Hero sat in front of the cinema screen. In fact, the planning for this trap had taken over sixth months. Not to mention the money it took to buy this building off foreclosure, and the multitude of investments into Hero-proofing the location.

It was even harder to get said hero to stop yelling long enough to pay attention to the image being projected from the back of the room. Not that their sense of hearing was needed for this experience, but Villain imagined Hero would appreciate the lack of noise-based distractions, including sounds they themselves were making.

The theater was notably large, probably the most expensive showing room of its day. That is to say, the upholstery was a little outdated. The popcorn had been swept off the floor, the swirling carpet surprisingly clean. The velvet of the seats did not appear stained, and the cupholders were absent of any discarded snacks or tickets.

The glow of the emergency exit lights were the only thing illuminating the room, and they revealed a dim image of the hero situated in the center of the third row, which was optimal seating in the villain’s opinion.

Clearly, Hero did not agree, considering how hard they were pulling at the restraints to try and exit their carefully selected theater chair.

It was futile, of course, and the hero finally stopped straining when the villain appeared a row below them, quiet as a mouse, standing with a finger pressed to their lips.

Villain retreated when the hero quieted, letting their attention shift to the screen and this special showing. Images flicked past, and Hero became engrossed in the story unfolding on the screen.

Shown was a news reel Hero recognized as the time Villain had crashed their Election Day speech. A zoomed out map of the city, marking City Hall with a red square. Grainy footage of two figures dancing around next to a dumpster. Once again the map appeared, now with two squares pasted on top. The pattern continued, and Hero was amazed.

It was an agglomeration of every moment they had spent together, every public battle, every nighttime-shady-alley encounter.

There was only one reason to collect these momentos, these reminders. It had all meant something to the villain.

The complete lack of kernels on the carpet certainly pointed to a level of dedication and commitment to this scheme.

Maybe, they were hoping it meant something to the hero, too.

Another scene zoomed out a final time, revealing all the markers spread across the city. Only, now, Hero noticed, a rather distinct pattern had formed.

Villain moved like a phantom, appearing again, this time at the hero’s side. The ropes at their wrists fell away like magic while Hero gazed at the awkwardly hovering villain. They presented the hero with a glittering object hung from a chain held loose around their fingers. It was a large ruby gem, expertly cut into the shape of a 3-D heart.

Stolen, no doubt, Hero suspected possibly from the large jewelry exhibition that had just entered town.

The screen flashed bright, and lit up the hero’s face as it contorted in surprise. They processed the scene as fast as they could.

A heart of red markers, a heart of ruby, a heart fluttering in their chest, a heart laid open in front of them.

“Oh,” Hero breathed, “Oh.”

Villain sucked in a breath.

This was it, this was the moment they got rejected because they couldn’t-

“I had no idea.”

Of course they didn’t know, it’s not like Villain had ever spoken about it.

Preparing automatically for the rejection, Villain started to withdraw their hand, cold-as-steel demeanor returning to them with all the familiarity of a security blanket.

It was so stupid of them to think that they deserved any kind of reciprocation, so stupid to think that the hero could possibly-

The hero snatched the charm from their fingers before they fully withdrew.

“I didn’t say no,” they spoke softly, and the villain’s heart skipped a beat.

They reached out their other hand, wrapping their fingers over the still-outstretched hand of the villain. Instead of elaborating, Hero pulled the frozen criminal closer, connecting their lips in a gentle proclamation.

Actions spoke louder than words anyway.

[imaginespazzi]

Can you write a Drabble where the team is at the theater but the new freshmen who is obsessed with azzi doesn’t realize that Paige and azzi are together so they sit next to azzi and talk her ear off and Paige gets more and more annoyed and kk and ice think it’s hilarious

You asked for this a week ago and I fully forgot it was sitting in my drafts, but here's the unedited, unseriousness you asked for:

KK thinks Allie Ziebell might have a death wish. It's a shame really because she hasn't known the freshman for that long, but she seems like a sweet enough girl and really, KK doesn't feel like hiding her body. But if Paige murders her, and it's looking quite likely, by that glint in her eyes, that she might, well KK can't not help her father.

It had started basically the day they'd come back to Storrs. While Morgan and Sarah had immersed themselves in the chaos immediately, Allie had been a little quieter, gravitating to Azzi's calmness. Since then, Allie seemed to have latched herself onto the redshirt junior, slowly getting more and more comfortable.

Now Paige hadn't had any problem with that, always happy to see the freshman starting to fit in but then Allie had started to break the rules. Granted, no one had even told Allie these rules, or why they existed, but still, rules were there for a reason (except CD's Paige and Azzi can't room together because really, Paige thinks, that's a dumb as hell rule and it's not like it's stopped them anyway) and needed to be enforced.

It had started with Allie sitting next to Azzi at breakfast. Paige had been making a silly tiktok with KK, and then turned around to find her spot taken by Allie. She'd brushed it off, knowing the newcomers didn't know about her and Azzi yet. no she hadn't narrowed her eyes in irritation and this totally was not the moment KK and Ice started making a bet for how long it would take Paige to blow up.

Then there had been the car incident. Allie was trying to be nice, trying to be helpful by offering to drive, seeing that Paige's car didn't have space for all of them that were going to the movies. But then she'd made a grave mistake.

"Azzi, you can come with me."

It had taken a lot of self-restraint for KK to not burst into laughter, not at Allie's innocent enough remark, but at the way Paige's hands had immediately balled into fists at the idea of her passenger princess not being in her car.

"Azzi always rides with me," Paige had bitten out.

"Oh," Allie looked a little bit like a lost puppy and KK had to sympathize. They'd all gone through what she and Ice liked to call their "Pazzi initiation", catching onto the rules quite quickly.

And of course, Azzi, never one to let anyone feel awkward or pass up the opportunity to piss Paige off had been quick to say that, "no it's okay, I'll go with Allie today."

Allie's face had lit up at that and Paige's had immediately soured, eyebrows cocked in annoyance as her girlfriend slid into the other car, sending Paige a cheeky smile through the windshield. KK had to bite her fist to prevent herself from laughing, knowing it would only turn Paige's wrath onto her. Ice, always terrible at hiding her reactions, had let out a snicker which had resulted in her being banished to the backseat. And that, KK thinks, is why she's definitely the smarter child.

It had only gotten worse the last hour. Allie was everywhere. Excitedly chatting to Azzi about everything and nothing, as they waited in line for tickets and then popcorn. Paige had sulked as she walked behind them, arms crossed against her chest as she seethed in silence at not having Azzi's complete attention on her.

But the last straw had happened mere seconds ago, when they'd finally gotten into the cinema hall and Allie had had the audacity to slide into the seat next to Azzi. Paige had glowered at the younger girl before reluctantly taking her seat in between KK and Ice who seem to be finding this situation far more hilarious than it is.

"Do you think it'd be wrong to have a stepfather who's younger than us?" KK muses, trying and failing to keep the amusement out of her voice.

"Shut the fuck up," Paige grunts, hand gripping the seat handle tightly as she cranes her neck to continue glaring daggers at an oblivious Allie.

"I think Allie'd make a great stepfather," Ice surmises, "ooooh do you think she'd let me go on live- ow what the fuck?"

"Damn well at least we know Allie would never hit us. That's child abuse you know?" KK sends Ice a symapthetic look, as the red-shirt sophomore rubs at the spot on her arm that Paige had just hit.

Ignoring the two snickering idiots on either side of her, the UConn point guards, stands up abruptly, bumping harshly against KK's knees as she budges her way to Allie and Azzi. While the freshman looks up at Paige quizically, Azzi merely raises a knowing eyebrow, a barely concealed smirk playing on her lips.

"Allie," Paige says, voice dripping with fake honey, "that's my seat."

"Oh I didn't realize we had assigned seats?" Allie asks confusedly.

"We don't," Azzi reassures

"There are rules. For example," Paige points at Azzi, "my girlfriend," ignoring Azzi shaking her head, she points to Allie's seat, "my seat. Simple stuff like that you know?"

It's almost comical the way Allie's eyes go wide, mouth opening and closing as her eyes dart back and forth between Paige and Azzi, "oh. So um- you two?"

"Yes," Paige nods solemnly, "us two. So if you don't mind..."

"Oh yeah, yeah of course," a light blush tinges Allie's face, as she scampers away to find another seat.

Ignoring KK and Ice's howling laughter, she plops down next to Azzi with a satisfied grin, intertwining their hands together. And even though Azzi rolls her eyes, she doesn't pull away.

"Was that really necessary?"

Paige gives Azzi an offended look, "of course it was! We never sit apart at the movies."

"But-"

"It's literally rule #43 on the list."

"There's no list."

"Of course there's a list."

"Paige...."

"Azzi!"

The girl in question shakes her head, a small grin betraying how amused she actually is, "were you really jealous of our teammate? Our freshman teammate? Our freshman teammate who clearly has a boyfriend?"

"No," Paige draws out the syllable, "I just like to make sure everyone's following the rules."

"Because you're really big on rules and sticking to them right?"

"Right."

"Well that's too bad," Azzi runs a seductive finger up Paige's arm making her shiver, "guess you won't be breaking CD's rules and sleeping in my bed tonight then?"

"Fuck the rules actually!"

[mariacallous]

“If it should be, and he came to London, with his teeming millions. … There may be a solemn duty; and if it come we must not shrink from it.”—Bram Stoker, Dracula

A vampire must avoid direct sunlight to avoid crumbling into ash, yet few folk horrors have been subject to more scrutiny than the transformative bloodsuckers who dominate the night. A new and absolutely terrific cinematic take on the myth, Robert Eggers’ Nosferatu, has hit theaters, and its most notable element, in addition to outstanding performances, dialogue, and production design, is that this new version really amps up the lusty goth quotient. (So much hallucinatory writhing and moaning!) However, its release so close to the inauguration of a U.S. president who has stoked fears of immigrants draws out xenophobic elements inherent to the text, and an inner tension with its own reactionary origin is part of the genius of this new film.

If you aren’t a subscriber to Fangoria magazine, you may not know the Nosferatu backstory. The first version, released in 1922, is a landmark of German filmmaking that plundered intellectual property as if it were the grave of a Victorian noblewoman buried with her jewels—a fate some of the characters in Dracula think has befallen poor Lucy Westenra, before it is revealed she is actually an accursed undead demon!

Unlike his most famous literary creation, though, Irish-born writer Bram Stoker does not walk the earth a century after his death. As such, the theater manager who wrote books on the side would likely be surprised at the strength of his legacy. Dracula, published in 1897, was only a modest success at the time. It was not even the first book about vampires published in English; how it became the wellspring for vampire iconography—to the point that is used to sell breakfast cereal—is perhaps due to vivid, dueling film interpretations.

In 1921, a German film producer with an interest in the occult created a new studio (Prana) with an eye toward making supernatural-themed films, and kicked things off with an adaptation of Dracula. He hired Henrik Galeen, who co-wrote the outstanding expressionist The Golem: How He Came Into the World, to write the screenplay, and F. W. Murnau—who would later make Sunrise: A Song of Two Humans, one of the undisputed masterpieces of silent cinema—to direct. But he did not pay for the rights to Bram Stoker’s book. Instead, Galeen changed the names of the characters (Count Dracula to Count Orlok) and the location (London to Wisborg, a fictional German city), and made some additional tweaks to the narrative. The title, Nosferatu, is a word used in Dracula to categorize vampires, meaning undead. (The etymology of this word remains debated, but it may have its roots in the Greek nosophoros, meaning “disease-bearing.”)

Nosferatu: A Symphony of Horror was released to significant acclaim, but one person who wasn’t happily chomping on popcorn was Florence Balcombe, Bram Stoker’s widow. An anonymous informant sent her a handbill from the movie’s lavish premiere at the Marble Hall of the Berlin Zoological Gardens. The promotional material boasted that the film was “freely adapted” from Dracula. Balcombe took this to court, won her case, and bankrupted Prana, which was ordered to destroy every copy of Nosferatu. Clearly, this did not happen, as you can still watch the movie today—and, despite the iffy ethical origins, you should; it’s terrific.

But what Balcombe did next was key. Springboarding off the increased interest in the story (and to guarantee proper payment on copyrighted material), she greenlit a stage production. The show ended up being a hit in London in 1927, then moved to New York later the same year. That version starred Bela Lugosi. Four years later, Lugosi reprised the role for Tod Browning’s film version for Universal Pictures, the first talkie in the Universal Monsters series. It was a sensation, and Lugosi’s sharp-toothed Transylvanian is now an early screen icon on par with Chaplin’s Little Tramp.

Other Dracula movies were soon in the works—a Spanish-language version was actually shot concurrently with Browning’s, using the same sets—and have never stopped. Hammer Studios in Britain made several classics starring Christopher Lee; there’s the Andy Warhol-presented Blood for Dracula; the disco era’s comedy Love at First Bite; Francis Ford Coppola’s stylistic version from the 1990s; and then there’s Adam Sandler’s Hotel Transylvania cartoons. Moreover, Lugosi knew a good gig when he saw it. The actor reprised his role for comedy (Abbott and Costello Meet Frankenstein—and also the Count!) and special appearances (a gig on Fred Allen’s top rated Texaco Star Theater radio show is just one example), and also starred in several Dracula-esque horror titles like The Devil Bat. While Lugosi’s lines from Dracula were instantly quotable (“I never drink … wine” is certainly my favorite), behind it all was the less hokey, dreamlike silent film version of Nosferatu, sprung from illicit origins and filled with striking sinister imagery.

Shadow of the Vampire, released in 2000, imagines that the original production was cursed because actor Max Schreck, who played Count Orlok, was truly a vampire. (Willem Dafoe was nominated for an Oscar for his performance of Schreck in this behind-the-scenes comedy, which is especially amusing because he plays the part of Prof. von Frantz, a spin on Stoker’s Dr. Van Helsing, in the new film.) Shadow of the Vampire’s premise—the cover up of an unsettling (fictional) aspect of the original Nosferatu—works because, while the intentions of Murnau and company are hard to know, it is easy to see how German audiences of the 1920s could read Nosferatu as antisemitic.

The film and its source material read like a laundry list of antisemitic tropes: The Count comes from “the East,” a backwards, superstitious land. (Transylvania, while certainly a real place, means “beyond the woods.”) He has somehow amassed a fortune despite living apart from the villagers who fear and despise him. He is a non-metaphorical bloodsucker. When he gets to civilization, he immediately starts preying on women. In most versions of the story, the first woman he assaults turns into a vampire herself, then starts draining the blood of babies and children, recalling the many examples of supposed blood libel used to excuse antisemitic violence throughout the previous centuries. When the character of Mina Harker (called Ellen Hutter in Nosferatu) is finally penetrated by the count, she declares that her blood is “unclean.” The Count’s curse demands that he sleep each night in the earth of his origin, but he comes up with a sneaky loophole by packing several coffins filled with Transylvanian dirt. One way to interpret the Count’s actions is metaphorical: The immigrants are unwilling to assimilate and they taint our family lines and drag their traditions along with them from the old country. But on a much more literal level, it is quite bluntly blut und bloden, blood and soil, a Nazi rallying cry since the 1920s that, unfortunately, persists to this day.

While these symbolic plot elements exist in the 1897 novel, it was the 1922 German film that dialed them up, adding some undeniable antisemitic visual tropes. Count Orlok, compared to the Spirit Halloween-ready Count Dracula, has a hooked nose and rodent-like clutching hands, an exaggerated reinterpretation of the Count’s features compared to how they are described in Stoker’s book. (Lugosi’s Dracula from 1931 eases up on the visual stereotypes considerably, but he does wear a six-pointed star the first time we see him.)

Murnau also added a plague element to Nosferatu’s storyline. When the Count’s ship comes to Wisborg, it arrives with rats and a rapidly spreading sickness. This “verminization” goes hand-in-hand with the notion of the “dirty Jew.” It is believed that Julius Streicher, editor-in-chief of the Nazi mouthpiece Der Stürmer, was a fan of the film, and Hitler himself, in Mein Kampf, compared Jews to vampires.

So hold on a second, you are telling me that a major motion picture studio has released a work of antisemitic propaganda, and it’s in theaters right now? Do I need to send an angry letter? No, not at all. Please do not cancel Robert Eggers, one of the more brilliant directors on the scene today, whose take on Nosferatu tamps down the antisemitism. (This is his fourth film, following The Witch, The Lighthouse, and The Northman, all very sharp plays on genre storytelling, and all worth watching.). Now, Count Orlok just has a weird and striking nose, not a hook nose. He is also less of a schemer. He is compelled to come to Wisborg, as if it is part of his burdensome curse. If one were to ask, “Why make this movie again?” I’d say that, apart from the exemplary sets and performances and cinematography, Eggers emboldens the supernatural, psychosexual connection between the Count and Ellen. Yes, the town leaders of Wisborg—ostensibly the heroes—remain understandably xenophobic. But Eggers adds a top layer of tragedy, by making the subtext text: The Count and Ellen should be able to get their telepathic freak on, but the social codes of the 1830s are so stifling that even the Prince of Darkness can’t fight them. This creates a tension to the story (and its anti-immigration strain) that feels entirely new.

Considering that hardly anyone watching the new Nosferatu will be unfamiliar with vampire tropes, Eggers is well within his rights to essentially copy-paste elements from the more problematic version and build on it. The added shading, leaving the audience wondering if maybe the Count isn’t such a villain, is enough nuance to keep this from feeling like a definitive political statement. After all, the first thing you’ll likely talk about after seeing it is Ellen’s (Lily-Rose Depp) several moments of bed-ridden, prurient murmuring “he’s coming!” from a dream-like haze. For a director who has made three sharp movies dealing with the supernatural or fantastic, this story is in Eggers’ blood.

10 Vampire Streaming Recommendations

Nosferatu: A Symphony of Horror (1922), dir. F.W. Murnau: The original nightmare.

Dracula (1931), dir. Tod Browning: The birth of a franchise. Warning: Though there are many classic moments, much of this movie is dull.

Dracula Has Risen from the Grave (1968), dir. Freddie Francis: The third Christopher Lee Dracula picture, and one that likely influenced the new one—as it was, for its time, a bit on the randy side.

Blacula (1972), dir. William Crain: An 18th century African prince is transformed into a vampire by Count Dracula himself, and ends up in 1970s Los Angeles. Released during the first wave of blaxploitation films, this was the first one to get supernatural.

Love at First Bite (1979), dir. Stan Dragoti: The Count comes to groovy New York and is faced with nonstop schtick. Richard Benjamin plays the famed vampire hunter Van Helsing’s grandson, a neurotic shrink named Dr. Jeffrey Rosenberg.

Nosferatu the Vampyre (1979), dir. Werner Herzog: Before Eggers, there was this German-language take focusing on Count Orlok. A slow-paced film that goes heavy on the plague storyline, featuring a substantial number of rats.

Bram Stoker’s Dracula (1992), dir. Francis Ford Coppola: Gen X Dracula, with Winona Ryder, Gary Oldman, and Keanu Reeves.

Thirst (2009), dir. Park Chan-wook: Not a Dracula film, but an unpredictable spin on the vampire myth from one of South Korea’s great filmmakers.

Only Lovers Left Alive (2013), dir. Jim Jarmusch: Cinema’s king of deadpan cool presents artists and rock musicians as vampires eternally on the fringes of society. (A documentary?)

El Conde (2023), dir. Pablo Larraín: Perhaps of particular interest to Foreign Policy readers, this Spanish-language picture, available on Netflix, suggests that Augusto Pinochet was actually a vampire, and takes it from there.

[putschki1969]

2025/04/14 Blog post by Wakana 『Wakana Spring Live 2025〜Little Dance〜』ありがとうございました！！＼＼\\٩( 'ω' )و //／／〜ヒューリックホール東京ともののけ姫〜

❗This is Fan Club EXCLUSIVE content❗ ❗PERSONAL USE ONLY❗ ❗Do NOT SHARE on other sites❗ ❗Join her FAN CLUB! Check out my detailed TUTORIAL ❗

Thank You 『Wakana Spring Live 2025〜Little Dance〜』！！＼＼\\٩( 'ω' )و //／／〜Hulic Hall Tokyo and Princess Mononoke〜

Here's a picture taken just after the end of my concert "Wakana Spring Live 2025 ~Little Dance~" from the other day! 🎤♪

Lots of minor happenings😂 There were many times when I felt quite nervous, but…everyone in the audience was so kind, understanding and warm so I am truly grateful for that😭✨The sense of unity throughout the entire venue was incredible, I was truly moved😭✨Once again, thank you so much to everyone‼ ︎😿✨

The name "Little Dance" that I chose as title for the concert contains the meaning of small joys and little moments of happiness, everything you feel when spring arrives. There are gentle and warm moments in the smallest things, the happiness I feel when I experience these moments is like sunlight filtering through the trees in spring. At times like that, my heart is dancing a little😊I think that if we can always find such moments for ourselves, they will bring us great joy. I want to always cherish the spirit of "Little Dance" and never forget that feeling☺️Hulic Hall Tokyo was a wonderful venue😊

It was originally a movie theater (formerly TOHO Cinemas Nichigeki)🎥In 2018, it closed after a 85-year history and was repuposed as Hulic Hall Tokyo. I found out later that the last film shown was "Princess Mononoke"😂😂I had no idea about that!! I wish I had known about it before the concert. But I feel a strange connection now and I am super happy that I sang "Princess Mononoke" as part of my setlist. 😊

All right, now let's introduce my dresses. First up is the dress for the main performance 👗💕The big flower print on the white fabric is very cute 😍🌸I also like the hairstyle ♡ It's a little sparkly, and I had two ponytail-like braids for a change ✌️

During the encore, I wore this orange dress! This one is so fluffy and cute ♡ Look at my big smile!☺️☺️🌟

Here's a series of photos of us forming our regular circle before the show started 📸 (We did it twice because the tempo was off just like last year *laughs*)

↓An excellent photo where everyone is putting their whole body into it and expressing their emotions (Grand Prize 🏅) Here we look like we are already finished even though the show hasn't even started yet 😂Some beautifully dynamic photos 😂

It was a very nice venue 😊Thank you everyone!! !!! !!!

Some time later...My wish… came true…!! !!! !!! Sushizanmai‼️＼＼\٩( 'ω' )و //／／🍣🍣🍣🍣💕

Toro Taku and a 3-piece seared set (fatty tuna, salmon, and flounder)🍣It was the best…😭♡I had the best time…😭♡ I did a big dance, not a little one🎶🕺💃🕺💃🎶

So, that's it for today! Until next time~☆( '▽')/

＊＊＊Wakana＊＊＊

『Wakana Spring Live 2025 ～Little Dance～』 Live Photos

Source

[mixtape-racha]

greenlight | lee minho

☆ part 2/8 of the 5 seconds of stray kids series ☆

words: 1.56k // warnings: soft dom!minho, dumbification (kinda)

“tell me you want me. tell me you want this as much as i do. we could have all night if you just say the word.”

and when minho looked at you with those bright eyes you’d grown to love, how could you deny him? in fact, you were sure you wanted this more than anything in the world.

your arms swung with minho’s hand in yours as you left the movie theater and headed back to the bus stop. it was your second official date after he asked you to be his girlfriend, and a movie after dinner seemed perfect - neither of you particularly enjoyed loud or flashy things anyway; your first date ever was literally just visiting the animal shelter and admiring the cute cats there.

although you had had your fair share of relationships during your early adulthood, you were sure that minho was your first real love. being with him, everything was perfect, and it made you feel like you were floating above cloud nine. you were lucky to live so close to him, too - being only across the hall in your respective university apartments - which meant you could spend as much time as you wanted with him to develop your budding relationship.

in fact, you only had one line left to cross. minho was in no rush to have sex with you - well, thats what he told himself, anyway. of course, he wanted to. everything you did was like a drug to him, and many of your date nights ended in him sloppily fucking into his palm before the scent of your perfume left his hoodie. but he was never going to rush you into it, and you had shown him no sign of needing him as bad as he needed you.

but god, he couldn’t have been more wrong. your trusty vibrator had finally given up and died from so much use after you and minho began your relationship. all he had to do was wink at you, and you were soaking. let alone if he put his hand on your thigh while driving, or leant down to whisper in your ear during a party. even during the movie - all he did was rub your arm comfortingly where he had an arm over your shoulders, and you had to clench your thighs to stop you from pouncing on him then and there. but you didn’t want to rush or push him into sleeping with you, and he seemed to have himself together a lot better than you did.

god, both of you were so oblivious.

you had decided very early into your meal - minho had insisted on taking you for sushi and stopping at a milkshake place on your way to the cinema - that you were going to stay at his dorm that night. now, with your skimpy underwear and innate craving to feel him all over you, you weren’t sure it was your best idea. i mean, after all, what was stopping you from pouncing on him like a wild animal in desperate need for a meal?

the bus ride was quiet - it was pretty busy, and neither of you particularly enjoyed that, so you situated yourselves at the back of the bus, sharing minho’s headphones as arctic monkey played. his flatmates (jisung and hyunjin) had gone out for a gig tonight, taking his car, and so you knew they would end up drunk in the backseat, parked in a random mcdonalds parking lot, leaving the entire dorm for the two of you until the early afternoon, most likely.

that thought had you craving your boyfriend even more, knowing you could be as loud as you wanted, and maybe - if he wanted to explore - not be confined to just his bedroom.

it wasn’t that either of you were inexperienced, but the idea of taking such a big step in your relationship was so important to you both that neither of you wanted it to be a rushed or impulsive decision. but god, you wanted him more and more as the bus approached your stop. you knew he wouldn’t care that you weren’t in pretty lingerie, or that you hadn’t shaved your legs. you knew he would think you were the most gorgeous woman he’d ever seen, and you knew he’d voice that too. he would do anything to make you feel special and loved, and that night what you needed was him to pull orgasm after orgasm out of you.

the bus finally reached your stop, and you were so out of it that you allowed minho to manhandle you to your feet, pulling you along after thanking the driver. he chuckled at your vacant expression, rubbing your cheek softly.

“what’s going on in that pretty head of yours, baby, hmm?” he questioned as you entered the elevator, only moments away from his apartment where you could finally have him all to yourself. your words seemed to betray you, mouth working faster than your brain as his words made you tremble.

“need you, min. just– need you.” your words came out as a whine as you nuzzled your head into his shoulder, which slightly inhibited his ability to lead you out of the elevator and to his front door, but he didn’t mind at all.

“yeah? want me to take you all night, huh?” you had previously discussed all your likes and dislikes in bed just to cover all bases before anything actually happened, and unsurprisingly a lot of your kinks lined up with minho’s perfectly. “just say the word, angel, and you know i’ll give you anything you want.”

he knew that when you were tired and needy, you almost lost the capacity to think for yourself, and that you were more than willing to submit yourself fully to him and let him do all the thinking for you. he was more than happy to indulge you like that, but he needed to be sure you were in the correct headspace to consent - especially as it would be your first time together doing more than heatedly making out or going down on one another.

he lead you gently into the apartment, kneeling down to help you rid yourself of your shoes and your jacket before pulling you into a warm hug. you both swayed gently in the entryway, your brain firing at almost 100 miles a second, hands grasping onto your boyfriend’s skin wherever they could reach.

“please, min. just wanna be good for you, want you to make me feel good.”

your words were all he needed to pull you into a searing kiss, guiding your hands to rest on his hips while his wandered upwards to cup your cheeks. without breaking the kiss - he had the layout of the apartment mapped in his head - he carefully guided you to his bedroom, kicking the door closed once you were both inside.

his tongue pressed on your lower lip, demanding dominance before you parted your lips, allowing his tongue to massage yours in the nicest way possible. all the while, his hands were nimbly working on your shirt buttons, popping them open with ease before he slipped the sleeves down your arms and discarded the item behind him.

left clad in just your cycling shorts and bra, all of your senses seemed heightened, and you whined pathetically as the material of minho’s shirt rubbed against your bare skin.

“what’s wrong, hmm?” he asked, lips barely leaving yours to mumble out the words. you whimpered and tugged at the hem of his shirt, which made him chuckle. “use your words, baby, or i can;t give you what you want.”

“shirt, min,” you whimpered, eyebrows furrowed as you pulled away from the kiss and looked up at him with doe eyes. “off.”

yet another chuckle left his lips, and he pushed you back gently until you fell on the bed, reaching up to rid himself of his shirt.

“why don’t you take those shorts off for me, love. wanna see if those pretty panties you’re hiding look as good as that bra, yeah?”

he was so condescending in the best way, and it lit a spark in your core. your body seemed to be working on its own as you peeled your shorts off and laid out on the bed to show yourself off to him. this seemed to please him as he grinned and removed his jeans, crawling onto the bed and resting above you using his arms for support.

“you’re so gorgeous, you know that?” when you whined again, he caressed your cheek with the back of his hand and a glint in his eye. “stop stressing your pretty head, baby. i’m gonna take care of you - just wanna look at you first.”

it was something he enjoyed, just looking at you. admiring you, if you will. knowing you were all for him, so pliant and willing to do anything asked before he could ever finish a sentence. it was a power trip, for sure, knowing you trusted him enough to have complete control over you like this, and he loved every second.

seeing how you squirmed under him, under his stare, had his throbbing in his boxers and he couldn’t wait to ravish you. the flush on your cheeks, spreading down your chest and across your ears. he’d never seen anything more beautiful, and he couldn’t wait a second longer to show you that.

he shushed your whines with a gentle kiss to your lips, reaching down to hook your leg over his hip.

“hush now, pretty girl. i’ll take care of you. let that pretty brain go blank, and let me do all the thinking and work for you, yeah?”

taglist: join taglists here @pretty-racha @skz-streamer @hyunjiins @backintomykpopphaseagain @demetrisscarf

[losingherface]

Cinema

Ellie x fem reader

Info: While on patrol, Reader and Ellie come across a movie theater, something they’ve only heard about in the comics, they’re not going to miss the opportunity to explore it.

Warnings: Smut, 18+ only

•

“Mmm, Mmm, Yea’.. You hummed the words of a song you’ve been listening to on repeat while kneeing down every once in awhile to rip flowers from the ground, trying to gather enough for your curious girlfriend, Ellie.

The both of you were in the hot summer sun on patrol. Ellie was 100% faithful to her belief that Summer was the worst time to be out and about killing infected. You preferred spring, the rain & and warmth gave you some sort of comfort despite the situation.

Ellie and you were walking a giant field of tall grass & hidden flowers, Ellie with a map in her hand and you with a ready-to-shoot shotgun in yours.

“You know what i’ve never told you?” You say to Ellie, smiling and looking at her thigh.

“What is it.?” She says with a smile back, getting closer and closer to your face.

“I love that holster there.” you whispered.

Ellie rolls her eyes and laughs, kissing your forehead like she always did.

“Come on, only a few places left to clear out and we can talk more about it back at home.”

Ellie never liked being distracted, sometimes you just couldn’t help but get a little distracted while on patrol. You had Ellie wrapped around your finger though, and she would literally have to stop herself from getting distracted as well.

“Ugh fine. Where to next?” You asked as she fumbled with the map.

“Mmmm….I think we’re going to the movies.”

You gasp. “The movies, like the theater? Remember that one comic?……”

“Yes. Yes, I remember. But we’re only going to go in there and kill infected, okay?”

“God Ellie you never used to be so …good. Why can’t we have a little fun just like in the comic?” You walked up behind her, hugging her waist and nibbling at her ear.

She blushed and giggled at the feeling of you there.

“Okay. Okay. Just like in the comic.”

Time had passed and the two of you finally arrived at the old and practically falling apart movie theater. Ellie searched her backpack for her gun. The two of you begin making your way in slowly and quietly.

Inside, there were old stations for purchasing tickets, grabbing candy and popcorn. You wondered what could’ve gone down here and why you felt such a huge wave of nostalgia.

The old movie posters on the wall, and the long hall to your theater seemed so fun to you. But now there were dead bodies and infected scattered over the building. Not too crazy since there were no spores but you could still feel them. So could Ellie.

You had your shotgun ready for anything as You followed behind Ellie. The two of stood quietly peaking your head in the hallway of theater rooms looking for any infected. It wasn’t until you heard loud breathing, running and sounds of a runner behind you.

“Babe watch out!” Ellie yelled as you turned around and immediately shot the runner.

Breathless you say, “I don’t know why we still get shocked when we’re on patrol.”

“Yea well, better get that gun ready, I can hear them from inside the theaters.”

You took a deep breath as you and Ellie stood beside each other watching the small horde of runners running to you two.

Only the sound of gunshots filled the theater. At some point, your shotgun ran out and you had to quickly detach your bat from yourself. You began beating them one by one, blood splattering on you and Ellie and the floor of the theater.

And Voilà! They were gone for now.

“I think we deserved this break.” Ellie nodded in agreement, the two of you still armed, walked down the long hall and picked a theater.

It was incredibly dark but luckily the embarrassingly huge flashlights Joel gifted the both of you came in handy.

“Up there!” You say. The stairs led the both of you to the small room where the film would be playing through.

“None of this stuff works.” Ellie says looking around for a way to play any movie. “I mean it’s been years since it’s all been used, you know?”

“Aha!”

“What?” Ellie looks over to you.

“I found a cute little radio.”

“Does it work?”

“…Nope.”

Ellie grabbed your hands.

“Is it crazy that sometimes I wish we were together before the outbreak? I probably would’ve gave you everything.”

It was rare for Ellie to be completely open about her feelings and you knew every time she was, it was the truth. You sat on the little desk in the room, pulling her close and wrapping your legs around her, resting your head in her neck. She made you feel so safe.

“No..it’s not crazy. I think everyone wishes this outbreak never happened- even if we weren’t even alive yet.” Your voice was muffled. Her hands caressed your waist as she pulled away and rested her nose onto yours. You press a soft kiss onto her lips but didn’t get the chance to pull away longer than a second. Ellie’s hands cupped your face as she basically devoured your lips. She was breathless and it seemed like she was starving for you. Something Ellie never liked doing— getting it on while on patrol.

Doesn’t mean it never happens but she would rather be with you at home, cuddled up in bed and in privacy. Not while trying to kill infected.

Ellie backed away for a moment to pull down her faded black jeans, revealing her beautiful thighs in her short-shorts. God, you loved the view.

You get up, walking slowly over to her and begin caressing her all over. She helps you undress and you do the same. Her boobs do a soft little bounce as you tug off her sports bra. Your mouth immediately attaches to her nipple, licking and sucking all over leaving her boobs slightly coated in your spit.

You begin kissing slowly downwards as you reach to her shorts, looking up at her for permission, she places her hand on your head basically saying yes. Slowly, you begin sliding down her shorts, revealing the beauty and warmth she possessed.

You kiss her inner thighs, never wanting to stop and you end up right where you want to be. Licking and nibbling at her skin before reaching her clit, it was your favorite. Her moans filling the room and seeing her try to find anything to grab onto for support.

She would barely let you go down on her but you could tell by how quickly it’s all going that she was the one that desperately needed you today.

You loved licking her clean and seeing yourself glow and have some of her covering your chin and lips. She helped you get up off your knees. She wasn’t done and you knew she wouldn’t let you go without getting something in return.

Ellie started to slide her jeans back on and you attempted to do the same.

“No.” She said stopping you from putting on your jeans. “I want it all off. I’ll lay down.”

You watched her as she laid her flannel out on the floor, lied down and gestured her hand for you to come near.

“Sit on my face.”

You blushed and felt the ache down there. You did as you were told and hovered over Ellie’s face, without warning she had her hands wrapped around you, holding you as close as possible to her tongue.

She ate you out as fast as she wanted and was not stopping. At some point, you could feel tears in your eyes with the way her tongue was moving inside of you. Your toes curling and body dripping loads of sweat. This was you in your favorite form of yourself.

Soon enough, her grip became weaker which allowed you to jump off of her face without dripping too much on her. You fell over to the side and laid there for a minute. Ellie sat up and looked at you laughing.

“Think you’re good to walk back?” She asked you, grabbing and caressing your hand.

“I would be in a minute.”

“So was it like the comic?”

“Kind of, too bad we couldn’t slow dance to anything.”

Ellie fixed herself and became your big spoon while the two of you relaxed before heading back home.

Patrol always ended in two ways. Either you two actually got stuff done and get home to have a large feast in bed or the two of you stay on patrol longer than usual, recovering from amazing sex.

•

a/n: another smut. will write something smut-less next time! :) sorry for any mistakes!

[enchantedchocolatebars]

Cosmic Frontier: Space Wolves Vs. Earth Ponies

Fanfic for Camila Mama Week 2024 (@camilamamaweek).

Day 6: Cosmic Frontier/Wolves

To commemorate this wonderful week, I opted to write short stories that feature Camila and her second daughter, Alma, who is one of my OCs.

This is part 2 of "Shopping For Snacks".

Summary: The family arrives at the theater together, but they encounter an irritating ticket taker.

Enjoy!

("Build-A-Bud" is a parody of "Build-A-Bear").

"Come on, come on, Mom and Alma," Luz whispered worriedly, gazing at the time on her purple Azura themed wristwatch while standing near the movie theater entrance with her stepfather.

"Please hurry." She didn't want the four of them to miss a single second of the movie.

Luz began to tap her foot, her nerves at an all-time high.

Beardo Philip brought a comforting hand on Luz's shoulder, gently patting it.

"They'll be here," he reassured, looking down at her, which made Luz take a deep breath and sigh, nodding her head.

After bringing his gaze back up, Philip's smile got brighter, his blue eyes lighting up.

"And here they come now."

Hearing this, Luz looks up to see her mother and sister hurriedly rushing over to her and Philip, with Alma waving happily at her sister, who giggled and waved back.

"Sorry we're late," Camila apologized with a sigh, adjusting her purse.

"We brought snacks!" Alma beamed, pulling out a candy bar from her skirt pocket to show it before placing it back.

"Honestly," Philip began, viewing the time on Luz's watch. "I think you arrived right on time, calabaza."

He smiled at Camila.

Camila let out a fond giggle at his adorable pet name.

She simply loved it when he called her that.

Camila then goes over to Philip and places a sweet smooch on his left cheek. "Gracias, mi amor."

...

Upon entering the cinema lobby together, the family walks to the ticket taking podium on the right side of the theater.

Luz, recognizing who their ticket taker is, cringes.

'Ugh, not him,' she groaned in her mind.

He was known to be the most annoying person in town.

Luz was curious as to how he ended up landing a job at the movies, but she doubts he'll have it for long.

He's bound to mess it up and get fired, somehow.

Jacob caught sight of the candy bar sticking out of Alma's pocket as the family arrived at the podium.

The theater didn't sell that brand.

He frowned at this and pointed an accusatory finger at the small girl.

Philip already didn't like this man.

"You!" Jacob cried. "No outside food or drink allowed in the thea--"

Before Philip could maul this ill-mannered man with his bare hands, Camila was first to make a move, narrowing her eyes at Jacob.

"Is there going to be a problem here...,"

Camila spoke in a low, threatening voice as she reached into her purse and pulled out her chancla slightly, enough for Jacob to see it and gulp.

"Mister?"

Flashbacks of the past begin to play in his mind as Jacob feels an unexpected sting on his right cheek, holding it.

The strike of her slipper was still present in that place.

He shutters.

"N-Not at all, ma'am," he answered with a frightened stammer.

"Good," said Camila, dropping her chancla in her purse and pulling out the tickets to hand to Jacob, who politely took and ripped them.

He handed her a ticket stub.

"Your theater number is 5. It's located in the center of the hall on the left side," he said before showing Camila a nervous smile. "Enjoy the show!"

"Yay!" Alma cheered as she and her family walked down the hall.

A sigh of relief escaped Jacob as he wiped his brow.

However, he felt a pair of eyes on him and turned around to see Camila squinting at him.

The mother's expression indicated that she had her eyes on him as she turned back around.

...

"Uh...," a man holding a ticket said as he approached the ticket taker podium and saw the male ticket taker silently weeping to himself while rocking back and forth in the fetal position.

...

"Wow, that movie was great!" An astonished Luz exclaimed as she and her family exited the movie auditorium and entered the hallway with the other movie goers.

"Yeah!" Alma agreed with her sister, smiling brightly. "My favorite part was when the wolves became friends with the ponies."

She turned to look at her mother, who was holding her hand.

"Mamá, can we go to the Build-A-Bud Workshop at the mall tomorrow and build a space wolf friend and an Earth pony friend?" she asked.

She remembers a commercial about it playing before the movie started.

Camila gives her daughter a smile and nods. "Of course, mija."

...

As the family walked down the theater lobby, Alma spotted the ticket taker who had pointed at her at the podium.

He was sitting on a stool at the bar by himself.

She proceeds to point at him. "Mamá, look! It's that man!"

Camila turns her attention to the bar, where she witnessed Jacob filling his shot glass with butter from a popcorn butter bottle that he had and taking a shot of it.

The bartender, who was wiping a shot glass, seemed quite disturbed by his peculiar coping mechanism.

Camila, repulsed by the sight, slowly looks back at Alma with a genuine smile. "Pay him no mind, baby. He's just a strange man."

"Oh!" Alma smiled back at her mother. "Yes, Mamá."

[ultraericthered]

Nostalgic Lookback: The Walt Disney Renaissance Era

I can proudly say that I've lived through two of the greatest era for the Disney Company and Walt Disney Animated Studios they've had in 100+ years - the 1989-1999 era and the rhyming 2009-2019 era.

I was literally born as that first one began, and so everything that it churned out was a centerpiece of my childhood as far as Disney's concerned. The Little Mermaid, The Rescuers Down Under, Beauty And The Beast, Aladdin, The Lion King, Pocahontas, The Hunchback Of Notre Dame, Hercules, Mulan, and Tarzan were the theatrical films of this era. I saw The Lion King, Pocahontas, and Tarzan at the cinema only once. Pocahontas underwhelmed me even back then (but I loved and still do love its soundtrack!), but The Lion King and Tarzan were well worth the price of admission. The Hunchback of Notre Dame and Mulan, meanwhile, I loved so much that I saw them on the big screen twice. Wasn't old enough to see any of those first four films in theaters, and Hercules slipped me by for some reason, though I loved it once I got to see it on the home video release.

Disney was also cooking with spinoff products of these particular films, such as the The Little Mermaid animated series.

The Aladdin animated series, which begin with a direct-to-video pilot movie and ended with a direct-to-video grand finale (a history that would repeat itself in the early 2000s with Lilo & Sitch).

The Lion King's Timon & Pumbaa, a comedy show centered around the titular duo. While funny, it's very off-tone from the source movie.

Late into the 90's, Disney even released two direct-to-video sequel movies that, taken on their own merits, are surprisingly really solid.

With Walt Disney World's Fantasmic and the Carnegie Hall/IMAX release of Fantasia 2000 (not to mention the fateful meetings that led to the conception of Kingdom Hearts) coming in at the decade's end, the Disney Renaissance was capped off with a magical bang!

What a time to have a childhood and become a fan of Disney!

[frodo-with-glasses]

25 Questions with Phil Dragash: YES, SERIOUSLY!

So y'all know how I was reviewing Phil Dragash's audiobook of LotR last year, but kinda fell off somewhere in the middle of Rohan?? Well, guess what! A couple weeks ago, I received a tumblr message from the man himself, saying he'd read through all my reviews, had really enjoyed the little blast from the past, and was open to answering questions if I had any!

So of course, I had LOTS of questions.

The first one being: "Are you actually the real Phil Dragash??"

But I'm delighted to say that after exchanging emails with the work email listed on his website, I can confidently say that it is the real dude, and I've had a blast chatting with him! So for those of you who urged I listen to this audiobook—especially @laurelindorenan for her glowing recommendation—and for everyone else who likes the audiobook and/or enjoyed my reviews: I am delighted to present, ladies and gentlehobbits, this peek behind the curtain!

But of course I'm putting it all below the cut, because this man rambles like I do 🤣

Obligatory disclaimer: All opinions presented by Mr. Dragash are his own, I am not necessarily condoning any of them; please do not come after me for his opinions regarding pineapple on pizza.

25 QUESTIONS, LET'S GO!

1. Tell me how you got into Lord of the Rings!

I was ten years old when my dad took me to the library, and found a VHS copy of Ralph Bakshi’s 1978 animated Lord of the Rings film. I was already a fan of the “Chronicles of Narnia” and my dad just handed the tape to me and said “Look, C.S. Lewis’s friend made this”. I watched it, and had no idea what was going on. It was so hard to understand.

Fast forward to the year 2002 when “Fellowship” was out on DVD, and we had a movie night at my older cousin’s place, and watched the film for the first time. My 13 year old self was enraptured by it. Dad bought the DVD first thing the next day, and I’ve been a fan ever since! I, my brother, and our dad watched “Return of the King” in theaters four times, which was saying something, considering we only ever saw a movie once in cinemas. Between “The Return of the King” opening in December ‘03, I picked up the books and read (as well as I could) through them. A lot of friends kept joking “tell us how the damn story ends!”, good times.

2. When and how did you decide to make this audiobook? What’s the story behind the entire project? 

I was a very ambitious lad, and my first and biggest interest was filmmaking. I used to direct short films with my friends ever since my 11th birthday, and was the youngest in class at the filmschool I attended a few years later. So it shouldn’t be a surprise that I had massive ambitions to direct “the Hobbit”, which is silly in retrospect considering I was 16 years old at the time. I even sent my portfolio and DVDs of my films to Peter Jackson’s manager (who actually got back to me with a wonderful response, despite not being able to accept my ‘completely reasonable’ offer) When I was heartbroken and torn to pieces knowing I wouldn’t be directing the movie, a few more years went by, and I decided to reread some chapters of the “Lord of the Rings” books. I remember really well that this was late at night, laying in bed, and going through “King of the Golden Hall” and seeing how close to the movies it was, but also far more expanded. I thought “my extensive home-made short movies experience with sound design and sound mixing could work here, and I could just read a few chapters and try to make the soundscape as realistic as possible. Why not try it?” 

So, the next day I tried. The first two chapters I tried were “King of the Golden Hall” and “A Journey in the Dark” (which partly answers your other question about that chapter). I was so absolutely surprised by how well it was going, that I decided to upload them onto YouTube in March 2010 I think. I got a fairly good response, and I was planning on doing a few more random chapters. I never intended to do the whole thing. But this one comment on YouTube I’ll always remember, it said: “I think you should go from start to finish, because you’ll probably get used to the characters and sounds and people can also follow along in the story gradually”.

Taking that suggestion to heart, in August 2010 I went from Chapter 1 onward. 

3. Were you inspired by any other audiobook versions of LotR (such as the BBC radio drama)?

I was not, I actually haven’t listened to the BBC Radio drama until far ahead into the project I was doing. I did some research on what other audio productions anyone did with LOTR, from The Mind’s Eye edition, to the ‘60s Hobbit Radio Play; so I felt pretty confident. I just fell in love with the way the films brought Middle-Earth to life and seeing their incredible dedication for authenticity (from the props department, to the music), you really couldn’t do any better than that visually or audibly - at least in my opinion. I just wanted to hear Tolkien’s text but with the realisation of the films. 

However, if you listen to Chapter 1 of TTT, and hear how Legolas laments their absence from not being there to help Boromir at Amon Hen, you can clearly hear the inflection from the BBC Radio play’s version. I just lifted that because I thought it was a fantastic way to deliver the line.

4. Did you have any rituals for “getting into character” before recording?

If I were to show you the raw unedited recording sessions, you’d probably be surprised at how underdeveloped it is! I had no real rituals or warmups, I just went for it. Usually went in cold, and tried reading the entire chapter and doing all the voices at once. Then I’d be exhausted, and afterwards start cutting all the mistakes, and separating each character into different tracks – and then re-recording 50%-70% of it, as I was laying in the sounds. 

I think any character just needs a few words for me to say in their voice, and that helps for the rest of their dialogue. For Aragorn it was usually: “You cannot wield it! None of us can.” for Pippin it was: “Sometimes”, just random things that make things ‘click’ in my head. If I got lost or didn’t feel like the performances were working, I’d simply just watch scenes from the films to hear the real actors again!

5. Who was your favorite character to voice? Who was your least favorite? And why?

People who know me, know I love doing the villains. Sauron, the orcs, the Nazgûl, etc. I just love the idea of personifying things that scare you. Something completely the opposite of who you are. Always a fun time! Any character I can nail extremely accurately always makes me happy, but I’m always very critical of my own work, so it’s a rare thing.

My least favorite characters to voice are: Imrahil, Denethor, Arwen, Celeborn, Galadriel, Erestor, Lindir, Haldir, Goldberry, Gildor… I think the pattern is pretty obvious if you realize that I am incapable of providing a satisfactory voice that feels unique enough. They just sound to me like “I wish I had a broader range. They weren’t done justice.” I have feelings for most of the characters in this situation, but I’m a mere mortal. I can’t do all of them as well as I wish I could. I wish Aragorn was more like Viggo Mortensen’s voice (I tried with the nasally yells you mentioned!), I wish Gandalf had a richer tone, I wish Saruman sounded more majestic, and I wish Frodo was - in retrospect- more older sounding, too. There’s so much I wish I could do better, but to hell with it, I tried.

Fun fact: my least-favorite to voice are also Orcs because they destroy my throat after a while. Which is ironic, because of my first statement.

6. I noticed that you gave the men of Rohan and Gondor slightly different dialects! Are you pulling from any real-world accents to make that happen?

I did try to listen to Anglo-Saxon, and ancient norse but I just tried to make Rohan and Gondor slightly distinct in any way I could. I never really tried to make things too obvious, but admittedly, I think I just used my intuition (smoothing the R’s for the Rohirrim, making the Gondorians more ‘proper’, etc.). I do want to emphasize that this was a one-person project and keeping things together or consistent is definitely an extraneous exercise when you’re just trying to get something finished by yourself! 

7. Some characters (like Beregond and Quickbeam, to name a couple of my favorites) aren’t in the movies, so they don’t have an actor for you to imitate. How did you decide what they would sound like?

Well, in the case of Beregond, I realized he was just “your ordinary guy”, and seeing Minas Tirith through his eyes (and Pippin’s)  is such an amazing and interesting opportunity. It made the city feel so real, and I wanted to take advantage of that. I think I started with a ‘generic’ voice, but when I re-recorded him knowing more and more of the context and what he was saying to Pippin, and as a result who he is, made me adjust what I felt were more his personality. But still that ‘ordinary guy’ idea was the bedrock, and it’s been years since I heard that chapter, but I hope it holds up! (I just remembered Bergil is in that too, another voice I wish I could have done better) 

Another fun fact: when Pippin scares the kids in Minas Tirith, the audio was from something I videotaped when I was 10 years old with my friends, it had the perfect “kids-going-aaah!” sound.

If I had it my way, I’d have a cast of dozens in this Audiobook, so a lot of times I never felt like my voice was enough to truly capture the “We’re in Middle-Earth, we just have microphones to record it” idea. So I have to make compromises since I was the only one doing the voices. That being said, Quickbeam was a fun surprise because he felt like, as you said “young treebeard”, and these things just worked out through experimentation! I think Quickbeam turned out pretty nice. I like Quickbeam.

8. HOW—I ask with great enthusiasm—DID YOU DO TREEBEARD’S VOICE? How did you get that resonance and woody sound? Did you send your voice through a wooden box and re-record it on the other side like they did in the movies?

It’s really great that you know all the behind the scenes stories from the films! Especially what Ethan Van der Ryn, David Farmer, and the late Michael Hopkins have done with their incredible creativity. I had no such resources to produce Treebeard’s sound. What I did was a digital facsimile: a special ‘room’ reverb, with some other equalizing effects to boost the bass and (maybe, I can’t remember) another higher pitched track of the same voice faintly in there. 

You won’t believe this, but I was not going to do The Two Towers audiobook unless I could do a good Treebeard voice. In 2011 after finishing “Fellowship”, I was on the fence about continuing, and only committed once I knew I could do Treebeard right. Treebeard was the key to all this. This should come to no surprise to the ones who played the game, but I used a lot of sound effects from ‘Battle for Middle-Earth’ which contained a lot of clean sounds for ents, trolls, the balrog, the ringwraiths, and other monsters from the films. I used the ent’s footsteps from the games, and recorded my own foley for some of the trees snapping and leaves rustling as well. The “fart” sounds were the low creaking of tree branches, and - as they stated in the making-of for the films - very pitched down cow moos. 

9. Tell me about the foley work! Ever since I was a kid, I’ve always been that nerd who watched the Behind The Scenes featurettes for fun, so I’m very interested to hear how you made the sound effects for footsteps and whistling arrows and jangling horse harnesses and such. 

I’m glad you are! I’ve collected sound libraries (ripped from video games, and finding and buying sound packs) for a literal decade, because I always needed sounds for the short films I made when I was younger. I just kept learning about how to mix sounds together, and it’s very creative and very enjoyable! That being said, the foley work itself is mostly recorded by me. If I can’t find a sound in the library I have, I will record it. Clothing rustles, and touch are all recorded while I listen to the audiobook playback and ‘perform’ each character. It’s a really arduous process, but I think it adds so much life into the sound. 

I went out into the woods (or backyard) with my mic to record footsteps, sometimes I would listen to the audiobook with headphones while performing the footsteps. When I would have traveled somewhere with different terrain I would be sure to record more foley (rocks being moved, or pebbles being stepped on) knowing I’ll use it for certain chapters. I do not want to reveal a huge secret about the predominant foley for the character's clothes, but an old backpack I used were 90% of the characters’ ‘movements’. Some wingflaps of the fell beasts were just my jeans. It’s a really creative process trying to find things that ‘sound’ right for an environment or action. The magic is putting them all together and hearing the result. Also, yes Sam’s pan is my grandma’s frying pan, and I know it’s sometimes annoying, but - look - Sam has a lot of stuff to carry.

I start with the background sounds (wind, tree rustles, water if there is any, etc.) lots of layers of them just to make them sound unique and not the same. Then I move to selective and nearer environmental background sounds. Then, the ‘hero’ sounds, the effects that are integral to the story (if it’s sword clashes, or an explosion, or who knows what), and finally the foley (footsteps, clothing rustles, breaths, etc.) - I had a friend record her own horses breathing and moving for a lot of closeups of the horses in the audiobooks. I think even if you can’t really hear some of their low breaths, their presence is still ‘there’. I personally think I got a lot better by the end of LOTR than when I started! 

I wanted to add, the sounds for little Elanor in the very last scene of “The Return of the King” (the baby sounds), I was not happy with the stock baby sounds I had, and asked my older cousin (an audio person too!) to send me recordings he made of his then-1-year-old daughter in a studio. So, my first-cousin-once-removed is Elanor! She’s 22 now. I feel old.

10. Do you have a favorite sound effect from this project? Mine is the “pat-pat” against cloth that’s used to denote a hug.

Absolutely, do you remember the two “watchers” before the tower of Cirith Ungol? The vulture-like statues that block the hobbit’s path out? The alarm sound is a wholly original sound design I did, and I’m really happy with it. It’s just ugly sounding, and that’s the point. I always wished I had more Nazgul, and I think the worst moments I had with mixing were the battle scenes. There’s just too much to handle and make it sound good. But I really tried.

I’m very glad you heard the ‘pat-pat’s. I try my best to perform every character when recording foley, and want even some of the sounds to convey something in the telling of the story.

11. What's the thought process behind your use of the various musical motifs from Howard Shore's score? (Read: Why do you use the Shire theme so often, and why does it get me in the heart every single time?)

I want everyone to know that this is a really important and valuable question, and one I never really get to talk about: To me, Howard Shore’s music is one of the very best things to come out of the films. He truly made an opera out of the story, and all his leitmotifs and orchestrations are a stroke of genius. They work on their own, and when reading the books as well, and as a nerd for films and all that stuff, I wanted to put a lot of care into how I’m placing the score, and for what scene, emotionally and leitmotivically, if that’s a word.

The Audiobook I did is obviously a ‘standing on the shoulders of giants’ situation, so I can’t credit myself for the majority of the Audiobook I did, but I wanted to use all my filmmaking intuition to properly use the music to enhance the telling of the story. So, just like the filmmakers had to change and mix lines from the book, or make changes to make it work as a film, I felt like a lot of instances happened with the music for the audiobook. Obviously, I used the score when applicable to the intended scenes, but there are very often cases where they won’t work. I read as much as I could in the past about what the motifs were and where Shore used them in the movies, so I followed that trajectory for the most part. Gondor is Gondor, Rohan is Rohan, Mordor is Mordor, etc. 

Changes happen when I feel the emotions for a scene in the books do not match up to the ones in the films, and then there are brand new scenes and characters not in the movies at all, that I have to figure out! Take the pause from music between Gandalf falling into the chasm with the Balrog, and the fellowship successfully escaping. It’s perfect in the film, but I knew I couldn’t put the lamenting heartbreaking music in there yet, since the descriptions all drive the idea that escape is paramount. So I treated it as a ‘shock’ moment. No music until they’re completely out of the mountain, then the grief comes in. Things like that, a lot of fun creative thinking to get those emotions working!

I recall you mentioning the ‘Gimli / Legolas drinking game’ statement and how I used the hell out of it throughout the Audiobook, which is a good example. I pitched it up and down, for different moments, and it just has that hobbit mundane and jolly quality to it. So, in it goes to fill moments from the books. 

I also edited and modified existing motifs for completely different scenes and ideas. One of my favorites is when Treebeard talks about the Entwives. I needed this melancholy yearning sound that was really essential, and found it by reversing Eowyn’s theme, and pitching it down so the violin sounds like a cello/bass. To me it just felt extremely appropriate for the sound of a long-lost relationship while portraying a larger-than-life creature. 

Let’s also say Bombadil. I made up the idea that the last statement in the credits for “Return of the King”, was Bombadil’s theme. It’s actually just a reference to Der Ring des Nibelungen by Wagner, a very verbose beautiful crescendo, but I thought “I’ll pretend like it’s Bombadil, he’s last in the score even though he’s the first in Arda”. So I used that musical progression in his songs, that’s his leitmotif now (to me, anyway) He sings in that wavy up-and-down melody. Which is why you hear a lot of that in those chapters.

I also try to use recordings not from the original score: I looked far and wide for alternative recordings, predominantly the album by the Royal Prague Philharmonic, and the “LOTR Symphony”, just to make the Audiobooks feel different. I pitched down and moved and reassembled a lot of different cues for different scenes as well.

There are not a lot of instances of music from other movies, however, they do exist! I used music from “Battle for Middle-Earth”, the game “War in the North”, and for the last few chapters, “The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey” since it just came out at the time. I used a lot of music from Howard Shore’s “Seven” and “The Game” during Shelob (I think), and for the Barrow-Downs. I used a tiny bit of underscore from the brilliant Don Davis’s “The Matrix Reloaded”, it had a really eerie choir which made me feel like it would be perfect for the fatigue and dizzying unreality of Mordor when Sam and Frodo were on their last leg, trying to get to Mt. Doom. Lastly, I used a little bit of music from Howard Shore’s “Twilight: Eclipse” for some dialogue scenes during Return of the King! And music from the independent film “Mongol” by Tuomas Kantelinen for the Woses when Theoden has to get help from Ghan-Buri-Ghan. Also the ending of ROTK has a few cues from “The Lord of the Rings musical”, lovely stuff.

It may surprise you that there is a small amount of score I actually ‘wrote’ with help from my brother (he’s a musician). It’s in the coronation of Elessar. It’s not very good but I needed something. There is also a cello version of “to the edge of night”, which I kindly asked permission to use by YouTube celloist, but I sadly don't think that video is up anymore.

Lastly, I use the Shire music so much because - just like Howard Shore said - it becomes a ‘hymn’ or an ‘anthem’ for the hobbits as they leave their comforts behind and are in a wide and unfamiliar world. Every little bit that reminds them of home, or relates to each of them, usually deserves a little ‘shire’ statement here and there. I feel if it’s in the characters’ hearts and minds, it has to be expressed in the music!

12. Out of all the chapters I’ve listened to so far on the Internet Archive, “A Journey in the Dark” is the one most plagued with editing issues; Sam’s temper tantrum over leaving Bill the Pony is cut out entirely. Which is a shame, because I was really looking forward to hearing your take on that. (Is it strange to say that I wanted to hear you break down into blubbering tears? Probably. Let’s ignore that and move on.) Is there any chance that you have a cleaner edit of that chapter somewhere?

I think you’ll be very unsurprised to know that “A Journey in the Dark” is the first chapter I ever recorded. I think you’ll also need to know that I did FOTR when I was 21 years old, and my grasp on doing better sound mixing or even getting the characters right was still a work in progress. I learned so much going chapter-by-chapter and felt that each succeeding one improves from the former. As a demo-run, I did “King of the Golden Hall '' and “Journey in the Dark” in early 2010 (in fact, I did only the first half of “JITD” back then. Stopping right after they are barred inside the mines, as the Watcher destroys the gate. I did the second half once I caught up with the story going chapter-by-chapter.)

There are so many issues with it, and I haven’t listened to it since. If you have headphones you’ll also notice that none of the voices really pan from left to right, or feel like they’re ever anywhere else except the dead-center. I was lazy back then. 

When I read the chapters, at the time, I was sharing an ‘office room’ with my younger brother, and as a teenaged younger brother does - continues strumming his guitar no matter what the other brother is doing. It was really fun, and funny and I was extremely sloppy with editing things out, and taking it too seriously. So, for sure you can hear ‘someone’ in the background during the early parts of FOTR, and I was too lazy to re-record or edit out the noises that weren’t supposed to be there.

Forgive me if this part is a lot longer, but now that you mention it, I want to get on my soap-box and rant about how many things I agree with about the Audiobook’s shortcomings and how many things have changed since the wee days of 2010: 

I didn’t really get a grasp on the characters, and I had no idea I was going to do the entire book. I did not take enough care with sound mixing (it’s a highly technical and rigorous practice, I’ve discovered. Even now, ten plus years later - it’s too technical for me to fully understand yet), and I did not thoroughly re-listen to the chapter when I was done with an edit or a sound-effects pass. Therefore there’s always been mistakes still in there, and just unpleasantly careless placement of sounds and music. I have often thought about re-recording it to get it up to scratch, but it’s been over a decade and I haven’t properly preserved all the sound stems without having to re-sound-mix the whole chapter again, and there is that little thing called ‘burnout’ which is hard to ignore. So, I apologize to everyone who has to suffer through that huge drop in quality with “A Journey in the Dark”. It quite literally was my first attempt, and it definitely shows. 

The good news is that a fan asked me the same thing about the missing piece in that chapter (the one you mentioned! With Sam and Bill!), and I’ve heard the same comments about it throughout the years. Why is it missing? I don’t know why! I recorded it, but in my loose run-and-gun past when I was a wee lad, I was careless, and just had the mp3 with that part missing. A rendering error, perhaps! Stupid 21 year old Phil just hodgepoging everything.

A Few months ago, I did get another email about that missing piece. I thought “okay, once and for all, I’m going to find that missing part.” - and I searched my old harddrives for some kind of archival copy with that part in it. Amazingly, it was a lot harder to find than I thought. Every rendered version of JITD either stopped right before that scene, or had it omitted. I actually found one half of it as a ‘demo’ piece I rendered years ago for a ‘sound trailer’, and then I finally found the original YouTube video I made - which had it intact! Now the hardest part was stitching it together with the rest. Took longer than I thought, but I finally amended this horrible incompetence. And yes, I will share the link to you! And be prepared to be disappointed at the 2010-era quality!

I don’t know if anyone knows this, but with the mp3s circling around, I have taken the liberty of re-recording and re-working some chapters from their original versions. I try my best to preserve the originals, but I also wish people to listen to the re-records. I have actually re-recorded and re-mastered “A Long-Expected Party” three times. 2011, 2013, and 2014. I re-recorded “King of the Golden Hall” in 2013, and “Shadow of the Past” in 2014. I usually try labelling the dates on the mp3 files themselves. The one I’m most proud of re-recording bits of, is “The Pyre of Denethor” as the first time I had Denethor say his last words he was mildly raising his voice, but I listened to it again one day and went “this man should be at the edge of sanity.” - so he absolutely yells now, and it’s such a night-and-day comparison.

Another addendum: I completely understand the complaints about ‘the sound/music drowning out the dialogue’. It’s been the #1 complaint over the decade. I completely understand. I never had professional sound mixing gear, nor did I have proper mixing headphones or speakers or a proper studio (most of the audiobook was recorded at my grandmother’s house!). The balance of the audio making it sound immersive, (like you are there!) and having clear dialogue to hear is - like I said - an extremely technical and complex process that I’ve never had the ability or tech to master. Let alone for a book that’s 48 hours long, and has so much sound and music to it. Nothing would bring me more joy than to work with an experienced sound mixer, and find all my audio stems, and for us to work together to clear up any and all issues. But as this project was a simple fan-made work, and I haven’t distributed it myself for a decade, who knows?

This is also why I never went on to do “The Hobbit”. Burnout is real, and I’ve never recovered from LOTR. The burnout… “it’s never really healed, Sam.”

13. What was your favorite scene to record and mix?

Mount Doom. Can’t get better than trying to make the climax as horrible and eucatastrophic as that. It all led up to this, and it was such a rush to work on. I remember how I was at the edge of my seat watching ROTK in cinemas for the first time, and how amazingly they pulled it off, and I wanted to definitely imitate that, but using Tolkien’s own writing. Just so cool.

I have two favorite chapters: The first one is “The Scouring of the Shire”. I remember well, when I was working on it, I realized this has never been ‘dramatized’ before. At least not in full. I felt so special being the first one (probably) to do it. I could imagine the entire chapter in my head like a film, and I could bring it to life with very little outside influence. Such a poignant and shocking chapter. 

I don’t think I would have done it as well without the experience I gained doing the rest of the Audiobook. Showing the strength of the four hobbits, portraying the dignity and resolve of their kind, giving that pathetic yet dangerous authenticity to Sharkey, and the ruffians, illustrating the battle of bywater with sound… this was done in 2013, so we all were able to listen to new music by Howard Shore (for The Hobbit), and I would be able to transpose motifs from that, into “Scouring”, and honestly I wouldn’t know how it would have worked out if the Hobbit films didn’t come out just at the right time. I think the score fits so well with the events of “Scouring”, there is a ‘mordor’ theme but it feels ‘unfinished’, like the remnant of an old defeated foe; there’s that wily progression for Radagast in the films, that I used for the hobbit’s rebellion and the conflict, and there’s a new ‘hobbit/shire’ motif that worked so perfectly for a ‘wounded, but recovering’ Shire. I feel so silly talking about decisions I made for this, but I always wanted to share some thoughts I had! 

Fun fact: I had a wonderful person ask if she would be able to play Rosie Cotton back in 2013, and I asked her to perform her lines. She was great, but I realized a very strange thing: when I put her in the audio mix, it would actually break the immersion, because you can hear a voice that wasn’t mine, and as a result - I couldn’t help but keep thinking - my voice for Rosie’s mother sounded like a Monty Python skit in comparison! And thus her lines had to be unused. It kind of just opened the fourth wall, breaking the illusion. Which is a shame, because I always dream of having a fully-cast LOTR Audiobook, maybe someday officially.

The other favorite is “The Tower of Cirith Ungol” just because I listened to it one day in 2014, and heard no errors. I was so proud. I couldn’t think of anything I wanted to change substantially. No one dislikes all the errors more than I do!

14. What’s your best memory from this entire project?

My late dad drove me and my brother out into a clearing at midnight in the forest. The sky was so clear and starry. And we were here simply to just yell at the top of our lungs to record material for “Helm’s Deep”. All the clear yells: “Elendil!!!” “Gúthwinë! Gúthwinë For the Mark!”etc. Etc. - I lost my voice, it was a fun time. He held the microphone for me as I splashed around a stream (for Gollum), once again at midnight since there were fewer background sounds.

I also tell this story a lot: A friend of mine who was listening to the chapters as I finished them - she hated the sound of knuckles cracking. And hated spiders. So, obviously, Shelob would have to have knuckle-cracking sounds for her limbs. So I recorded my own knuckles cracking and tried using it as much as I could for Shelob’s legs moving about. My friend was soooo ecstatic to know this fact.

15. If you could do it all again today, what would you change?

I would consider doing a ground-up re-recording of everything. With a budget, with a cast, with a lot more understanding of the story and intentions behind them. With VR sound options. With extra original music. That’s the dream. 

If we’re back to reality, I guess I’d just re-record a bunch of chapters since they could always be better, and tighten all the technical errors. But that would require a lot of assembling of the raw archived files, and re-building of sounds, and re-recording of lines. Also, as I stated before, I do not want to distribute my unofficial fan work just because I know that it’s a copyright nightmare. And burnout… “it’s never really healed, Sam.”

I like taking other people’s opinions to heart, such as the issues with Frodo’s youth or inflections and intonations for certain scenes that I didn’t quite fully grasp the first time. I would love to adjust things and make it closer to the book now.

- - - - -

And now! The Silly Questions Lightning Round!

(With thoughts from Lady Glasses in parentheses and italics!)

1. In Fellowship, long stretches of dialogue would often have someone randomly cough in the background. Tell me about the Cough. Why is the Cough there?

No one hates the coughs more than me. That’s either my brother minding his own business in the other end of our ‘office room’. I think you now know I was 21, I didn’t care, so these things are just left in because I was careless. However, sometimes there are intentional coughs to make it feel more realistic. It’s been years since I listened to it, so unless I somehow do a massive commentary stream someday (thinking about it), your guess will be as good as mine! The coughs heavily subsided once I did Two Towers, since I was by myself.

2. During the dinner scene with Farmer Cotton, someone burps. Who was that?

Mine. I have no regrets with that one. Or Pippin. I guess it could be Pippin.

(Darn! And here I thought it was Farmer Cotton, LOL)

3. How did you manage to make Bill Ferny’s voice so perfectly obnoxious?

I imagined Bill as an obnoxious guy. The image in my head gives me a good idea of what he’d sound like, and I’m so glad he’s so obnoxious that you had to mention it.

(He sounds perfectly punchable. Thanks, I hate it.)

4. Did you crack yourself up at any point in the recording?

Oh yes, in fact I have a whole outtake reel just for you!

(Warning to anyone who clicks the link: the April Fool's audio had me ON THE FLOOR)

5. Voice acting aside, who is your favorite character in LotR and why?

If you asked me in 2002 it would be the Balrog, if you asked me now it would be difficult because so many of them mean so much to me, and each of their aspects have something to aspire to. Gandalf, Aragorn, Sam, Frodo, Galadriel, the list goes on and on.

(That's beautiful, and so true. The story really grows with us, doesn't it?)

6. What’s your favorite color?

Blue. Always has been.

(Blue is a good color! 💙)

7. Political question: Pineapples on pizza, yes or no?

Yes, I still don’t get what the fuss is about

(Oooh, controversial)

8. Is a hotdog a sandwich?

No, it’s a hotdog!

(Counterpoint: A hotdog is a taco.)

9. What’s your opinion on geese?

They’re racist

(Racist against the entire human race, apparently)

10. How much would I have to pay you to say “I love boats!” in Merry’s voice? (It’s an inside joke with my friends.)

Nothing, it’s on the house!

(HOLY CRAP I LOVE YOU)

- - - - -

Thank you so much for taking the time to chat with us! What are you working on nowadays?

I’ve actually had a few people ask me if I’ll ever do more audiobooks like this, and I seem to have tapped something. Yes, in fact! I’m working with a few creative collaborators on a small company to do the exact same sonic experience with other books! Since we’re very small, we are starting with stories in the Public Domain, and have successfully kickstarted (and finished) “The Jungle Book” by Rudyard Kipling. Which will be out (hopefully, officially) by early September! I’m really excited and hope this will lead to more projects, and - hopefully- back to Tolkien someday, in an official manner. Please follow my Instagram or Facebook for more info about it. (I also have a Twitter and Tumblr and more, but they’re all completely unrelated to LOTR and are just me drawing doodles and being a nerd, very unlike the Audiobooks I did, which is a bit confusing, I admit.)

- - - - -

And that concludes our interview! As I told Phil, it was so much fun to discuss a fellow fan's passion project like this. The more I read about it, the more I realized just how similar it was to my own experiences as a fan creator. We all start out as just a noob with a few unpolished skills, making something because we love it, and we learn and grow and hone our talents along the way. It's legitimately inspiring.

Needless to say, I am stoked to finish listening to the rest of this audiobook! Is it a bit weird knowing the creator of the thing might drop in and read my reviews?? Yes. Yes it is. But I'm gonna do it anyway. No holds barred! If I hear another cough, you're gonna know about it, Phil!

Also I may or may not do something with that audio of Merry because I'M STILL DYING OF LAUGHTER HELP

Anyway! If you made it to the end of this, you deserve a cookie! Everybody say thank you to Mr. Dragash, and go check out the other stuff he's doing nowadays! Namárië!

[ghastlyvampire]

Large 1 am thought dump about the ghovie under the cut (contains spoilers) (it really is large and pretty disorganized and a bit random)

(I rewrote this at 8 am ☝️)

The theater was PACKED!! The session I went to was almost fully sold out. There were cosplayers where I went too, it was great. No merch available unfortunately, but hey I didn't even expect it to show in my country so I'm very pleased.

(downside: no popcorn because if we tried to get popcorn we would have been late. The popcorn line basically took over the cinema's entry hall. The ghovie coincided with a bunch of parents taking their kids to see inside out which made for a funny mix at the waiting line).

I basically didn't know anything about what to expect but it was so cool. I'M JUST SAD I COULDN'T GET THE LAST QR CODE IN TIME SIGH BUT IT'S OKAY!!

I went with my dad and he loved it. This is the first movie we watched in a theater that he somehow didn't fall asleep in the middle of LOL.

The downside: as usual, sexual innuendos were a bit awkward to witness when your father is sitting right next to you. That didn't stop me from enjoying anything though dkkskfkdk

I kind of wish the people in my session had been more... Idk I mean it was basically a concert right!! I was expecting more singing and stuff. I normally hate loudness but in these contexts I really like it, but judging by the wait line we were all nerds so it makes sense why no one was extroverted enough for that.

(We did all laugh sometimes and also everyone groaned at the cliffhanger which was funny) (twice, once when the screen turned black and then when the lights of the theater turned back on) (everyone waited)

I did unfortunately also conclude that there's like a 90% chance that I could not ever actually go to a Ghost concert (or most big concerts) because of the lights* 🥹 (autism). I just looked away whenever it got too much but I was also kind of transfixed but regardless I had fun.

*well, really thinking about it I would probably already be overwhelmed just by being in that big of a crowd. Then having to listen to it scream the whole time would have probably kill me so there's that

I got so scared that Copia was going to die at the end. My heart was beating so fast nearing the end and when the balloon thing start I was like It's Over. Then it wasn't!

(In my heart I kind of knew Tobias wasn't going to do that because we are all very attached to him at this point and I would imagine he is too)

THE SKELETONS WERE SO SILLY I LOVED THEM

The Mary On a Cross animation made me very happy

The costume changes were so cool to witness and I really liked Papa's (or Fráter's now, I guess hehe) little boxer outfit.

Someone brought their baby AND THE BABY DIDN'T CRY OR SCREAM ONCE! Idk how their mom did it since I'm sure they couldn't have been sleeping but maybe they were raised with Ghost so they were just as hooked into the movie as the rest of us.

Oughhh ouch now I'm craving cinema popcorn so bad I wish I could have seen the movie while eating popcorn.

It was nice to get the confirmation that Copia really is Nihil and Sister's son (even though we all knew).

When they were in that box thing I thought that Nihil was going to possess him. I was expecting for him to possess him when he did the pose too for some reason.

I was like wow I will be completely normal about this I'm not even autistic about Ghost anymore. Then I sat down on the chair and immediately was fighting back tears. Apparently I can never be Normal About Things (specifically Things That I Like a Lot).

IF YOU HAVE GHOSTS!!

The new song is great

I was sad that Sister died but she's a ghost so really it's okay.

Immediate edit: THE TWIN THING ALSO YEAH THAT WAS UNEXPECTED

I might edit this later with more thoughts but I'm too sleepy to think right now. If you somehow read everything then hiiii thank you for reading my messy thoughts

Edit #2: The ghovie had no ads before it. Like at all. I was pleasantly surprised but also feel bad for the people that went into it a bit late thinking they wouldn't miss anything because the ads usually take minutes.

Edit #3: Another reason that makes me think that I'd die at a real Ghost concert is that the music is probably very loud as well, and while my brain dislikes loud music that I like less than the other loud things, it's still not immune to it. Thinking about it, it's crazy that somehow I didn't feel overwhelmed by the sounds in the ghovie once, considering that usually that happens at least once in every movie I see on the theater. Idk if it's just me or they just made it like that, but I'm VERY pleased about that too.

If you want more specific spoilers then dm me I love rambling about things I like

[sk1bidi-n1k0-e4ts-people]

Autumn days 🍂 Dad!Tony stark x daughter!reader

summary: your feeling a bit down, so your father does something special for you.

Warnings: none <3

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You had always loved the fall. The cool wind, the mesmerizing outdoors, the rain. You loved everything about it. Your favorite being the cozy vibe it gave off. Never failing to cheer you up while in a bad mood.

tony took note of how down and upset you were feeling all of a sudden. He woke you up very early. Like 5 am kind of early that day.

"Hmmmmm" you groaned, not wanting to wake up.

"Sweetheart come on i have something planned for you" you only sighed and stretched your legs out, pulling your blanket down. Tony poked your now slightly exposed stomach, in order to wake you up more.

You hopped out of bed, going to your bathroom. You heard tony rummaging through your wardrobe. When you came out of the bathroom, you saw a very comfy outfit sitting on your bed waiting for you.

Which included a soft white tee, a comfy sweater, a hat, sweatpants, and boots. You smiled at the decent looking outfit, giggling you took it and walked back into the bathroom, you also brushed your teeth and hair, walking out you saw tony in the same spot. But he had clearly gotten up to do something.

You saw him sitting comfortably on your white sheets, with an outfit identical to yours.

You sat down next to him, Smiling to yourself.

"Come on, lets go eat" he said taking your hand and standing. Walking toward the door and into the hall, where you asked him a question.

"What are we gonna do today" you asked curiosity as you walked past the living room and into the kitchen, where there was fresh pancakes. You giggled to yourself.

After you finished your meal, tony lead you out the door, and made sure to turn on the heater on the car.

You arrived at a parking lot of a coffee shop. That was connected to the most beautiful town you had ever seen. Looking like it was straight out of pinterest.

You both walked into the small coffee shop. You sat down and simply talked to your father, about what had been bothering you. But you also accidentally just drifted off into talking about a Disney movie.

Once you finished this short activity, you both walked down a beautiful path, decorated with leafs, given that it was quite early, no one was driving. No whooshing cars even near you.

You saw a small bookstore and decided to go inside, where you were greeted with a very sweet old man running the place. And even gave you free tea/coffee.

You both bought a few books that looked interesting, you also got a few bookmarks, the price was quite average. You were glad there was finally a bookstore with affordable products.

Tony took the bag from the elderly man, and held the door for you. Walking down the same path you saw a movie theater, and tony was already prepared.

"Look! They're playing that movie we wanted to see" you said pointing toward the colorful lights coming from this cinema.

And tony waved two tickets in front of your face. You laughed at him.

After your movie was over you and tony were worn out. And walked down the beautiful path you had grew quite fond of one last time. You saw a bench and decided to sit for a few moments. You sat down patting the space next to you for tony.

You rested your head on tonys shoulder, and he put an arm around you.

"I had a really great time today dad. Thank you, i love you" you said looking off into the distance. "I love you too baby"

You both stopped at a pumpkin patch before you left. Tony promised to carve them with you this weekend. So you now had someone to look forward too.

You most definitely fell asleep on the ride home. Holding the two pumpkins in your arms in order too "protect them" in your words.

When you arrived home, tony told you to go and get a shower and you did just that. There was a pear of pajamas on your bed, that tony was definitely wearing as well. About 15 minutes later you came down to see your favorite fall movie ready to play on the large flat-screen. And a few candles lit on the fireplace in order to make a warm environment.

You sat at the couch, only to fall asleep again. With your father holding you.

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Tags

@animealways // @white-wolf-buckaroo // @tonystark-au // @yummyangy // @zebralover //

[claratompson]

Breakfast 3

Moving closer to the table, Zoller began to introduce Emmanuel to everyone present.

"Emmanuel, this is the Minister of Propaganda, Dr. Joseph Goebbels and his translator Francesca Mondino."

The young cinema owner thought to herself that the man looked like a statue of Michelangelo, if he was sadistic and armless, and Francesca was like a black panther, for which red lipstick is enough as food.

With a small smile of familiarity, they all sat down at the table. Hellstrom poured the champagne first for Emmanuelle and then for himself, then sat down next to her and took her hand, which made the girl smile sheepishly and look at him gratefully.

Goebbels willingly and without hidden arrogance asked Emmanuel about the movie theater as if it belonged to him. With each new question, her throat went dry and she wanted to end this meeting as quickly as possible. The only thing that made things better was Hellstrom's presence at her side. Emmanuelle admitted to herself that he had become a friend in that short time. Out of everyone present, he was the only one who treated her with respect.

The young owner of the cinema believed that nothing could be worse than this meeting. But how wrong she was when she felt the aura of the man who had killed her entire family behind her, and Minister Goebbels 'joyful greeting only confirmed her fears:" Ah! Landa, there you are!"

The voice of Zoller, who represented Emmanuel to the Lieutenant Colonel, was drowned out by the hum in the girl's ears, who froze like a statue when Hans lowered his gaze to her and, leaning over her and kissing her hand, said, "Charmed mademoiselle." He pressed down on her shoulder, forcing her to sit up.

It was funny, on the one hand, how unhappy Frederick was, hoping to stay with Emmanuelle, but Landa had her own plans.

The girl looked pityingly at Major Hellstrom, knowing that he would leave her now, but fortunately for her, Dieter turned to the Lieutenant Colonel: "Standartenfuhrer, if you will excuse me, before you start talking to Mademoiselle Mimier, I would like to say something to her in private."

Hans looked at the Major in his curious way as he laid a hand on Emmanuelle's shoulder.

The Lieutenant Colonel smiled, finding the whole thing amusing: "Ah, that's it. I understand everything.

As soon as Landa left, the girl exhaled deeply and looked at the Major gratefully, asking him, "What did you want to talk to me about?"

Dieter put his arm around the girl's waist, pulling her aside: "First of all, I don't want to leave you alone in Landa's arms. He's a dangerous man. I saw your mixed reaction to him and it became clear to me that you have something to hide, Mademoiselle Mimiex. "

The girl looked at him with fear and directly asked:" And now you are going to kill me? "

The Major patted her on the shoulders, assuring her: "No, no, no. That's not what I meant. I mean, I can only protect you if you trust me.

Emmanuel: "But why would you want to protect me, Hellstrom? I am… There's no point in helping me. Besides, if I tell you the whole truth, you'll definitely have a reason to kill me." - she said sadly.

The Major cupped her chin, forcing her to look at him: "I told you you could trust me and I wouldn't let anyone hurt you, didn't I?"

Emmanuel: "You did, but …"

Dieter: "But I always keep my word and I don't like the idea of anyone hurting you You, Emmanuel."

Emmanuel: "I really appreciate your concern for my safety, but I still don't understand it, Major. "

"You'll soon understand for yourself, Emmanuel, but for now Landa will think that you are now under my protection."

The girl looked questioningly at the Major: "And how exactly he will understand this?"

As soon as Hellstrom caught sight of the Lieutenant Colonel's figure walking back into the hall out of the corner of his eye, he said briefly," And here it is."

Before Emmanuelle could say anything, the Sturmbannfuhrer took her face in his hands and kissed her gently. It took her about 5 seconds to figure out what was going on and 3 seconds to relax and return the kiss with her arms around the man's neck. Emmanuelle didn't quite know what she was doing, but she trusted Hellstrom.

When he slowly finished the kiss, he looked into her eyes, stroking her cheeks with his thumbs, and she looked back at him.

They were distracted by Landa's voice coming in: "So… so… so.

Dieter put his arm around the girl's shoulder and pulled her towards him, walking towards Hans: "Yes, that's right.

Hans turned to Emmanuelle: "Well, you, Mademoiselle Mimier, I was just amazed. You've managed to get the most enviable major in all of Germany. I didn't think it would happen so quickly, but I can tell that you are in the most reliable hands."

The girl instinctively snuggled closer to the major when Hans spoke to her.

Dieter: "It seems that you, Standartenfuhrer, wanted to talk to Emmanuel.

Hans: "Yes, but don't worry, just a few questions about the movie theater. A simple nightmare."

Dieter: Good. I'll be waiting for you in the car, my love." he said to the girl, kissing her hand.

At this point, Emmanuelle was covered in goosebumps from such an address to her. ("Won't Landa know it's all fake?")

As soon as Hellstrom left, Hans and Emmanuel sat down at the table.

Hans said to her, "Do you mind if I call you Emmanuel?"

and she shrugged and said, "Yes."

Then the Standartenfuhrer ordered them two strudels, coffee for himself, and milk for her. I asked her about how she became the owner of the movie theater and other things about security at the premiere. And just as it was about to end, Hans looked at her carefully as he lit a cigarette: "You know, I wanted to ask you something else."

At that moment, Emmanuelle realized that he had made her out. She was afraid, though she didn't show it. She knew it was going to end now, but to her surprise: "But I can't remember what!"

The Colonel stubbed out his cigarette on a piece of strudel, got up from the table, and kissed her hand.: "See you tonight," and left.

The girl had never felt so tense and terrible, as if she had been run over by a car.

She slowly got up from the table, heading for the exit. It took Emmanuelle a moment to notice the Major standing by the car.

As soon as Dieter saw the girl, he immediately approached her, patting her on the shoulder: "Emmanuel, how did it go?"

The girl did not answer immediately, because she was still a little confused. She looked at the man wearily and replied, " I am.. I don't even know. He asked me about the movie theater and how I got it, and then he seemed to want to ask me something else, but…He looked at me in a way that made me uneasy, and then pretended that he had forgotten what he wanted to ask."

Hellstrom: "I see."

The girl patted his cheek and said: "Anyway, thank you for everything, Sturmbannfuhrer."

The Major didn't want to let her go just like that, so he ran up to her, blocking her path, " Emmanuel, wait! I need to know that you will be safe."

Emmanuel: "Stop it! It doesn't matter. My security had ceased to exist the moment I met Lieutenant Colonel Landa. He's already got us figured out. That kiss pack was just a confirmation to him that you and I are even more vulnerable. "

Hellstrom: "'Vulnerable'? Why? He knows that you are under my protection, he will not touch you."

Emmanuel: "But now you will also be in danger. Don't you see, Major? If we didn't care about each other, then he wouldn't care. We're both in danger. You because you are attached to a Jewish woman, and I because I trust you and will not forgive myself if something happens to you."

With that, she left, leaving the Sturmbannfuhrer alone with his thoughts and her words that kept replaying over and over in his mind.

That evening, he drove to a tavern, where he took a dark spot in the corner and got a beer. All my thoughts were on her. Emmanuelle was right about everything. During their acquaintance, the Sturmbannfuhrer had always wanted to be there to protect and protect her from anything that might pose a danger to her.

He even admitted to himself that he had fallen in love with the girl, despite the hostility of their status, but the Major couldn't help it. For the first time in his life, he felt warm and deep feelings for a woman, so simply and easily that it took all his effort to do so.

Pulling himself together, the Major gulped down a glass of beer, left the tavern, and headed for Emmanuel's house.

He got there pretty quickly. He had cherished the hope that the girl was still awake, and his hopes weren't disappointed when the Major saw a light burning from the window where she lived.

The major quickly entered the entrance, went up to the desired floor, straightened his jacket and knocked on the door.

After a few seconds, she opened the door, surprised by the late arrival: "Major? What are you doing here?" You shouldn't come here."

Dieter stepped closer to her, " I need to talk to you. I need to say.."

Emmanuelle opened the door for him, letting him in with the words: As soon as she closed the door, he walked over to her, holding her hands, and said: "I will not restrain myself and say as it is. I love you, Emmanuel."

The girl was taken aback by his admission, of course, she understood that he respected and was ready to protect her, but said:" Hellstrom, you don't need to give up everything, just because of the fact what you feel for me. You risk exposing yourself to dangers and multiple interrogations. Don't you see?!"

He abruptly wrapped his arms around her waist and pulled her towards him: "I just understand everything, but losing the woman I love for me is a thousand times more painful than my own death. I need you."

One part of her wanted to talk some sense into him and push him away, but the other part, and the bigger part, wanted to hug him and never let him go. So all Emmanuelle did was say his name, "Oh Dieter!" and hug him tightly.

The Major in turn, stroking her back, hugged her tightly in response: "My dear."

The girl pulled back slightly, but only to look into his eyes and kiss him.

The man with all undisguised passion and tenderness responded to the kiss, holding the girl even closer to him. His heart was pounding with joy and delight at being able to share everything he felt with her.

When their lungs began to burn from lack of air, they slowly and not only finished the kiss, but still continued to hold each other in a tight embrace.

The Major was sitting on the sofa, holding Emmanuelle close. They stared at each other for a long time, not closing their eyes for most of the night. They didn't want to stop this moment, but their tiredness finally got the better of them and they fell asleep in each other's arms on the couch.