#angeliki is writing

[schemmentits]

When writer’s block is over and now you pull a Hamilton and write till Im running out of time.

[seizedeath]

okay fearne's page is done! however i might spend,,,, most of the day modding my dai game bc i really want to play/write people from it again...

[ffiahh]

PROJECT PLUTO

Protect and Serve.

Sevika did her duty as knight, a bit too well, perhaps.

Pairings: Knight!Top!Dom!Sevika x Lady!Bottom!Feminine!Fem! Reader

Content Warning: Swearing, unwanted/forced marriage, mention of kidnapping, mention of death, slight description of food, jealously, slight description of blood, attempted assassination. SMUT WARNING: Degradation, dirty talk, size kink (kind of), cocks were mentioned (not real), jealously, scratching/marking, spanking, choking, mentions of overstimulation, biting.

Word Count: 5.7K

☾*:･ﾟ✧. Finally, a full Sevika fic!! Only took nearly a year, pft. As of writing this, I don't really know how to feel about it; I like some bits, but other sections I keep rewriting and it doesn't seem to get better; it feels very rushed. I was going to add hatred toward men in the content warnings, but, you know. This is a chance for me to introduce Angie, if she's popular enough I may write a piece of just her only. (She ATE). If you squint real hard, there's suggestive implications between Reader and Angie. Angie is queen, because I say so. Reader is also a whore, and not shy about it.

SEVIKA only knew two things. To protect and serve. So, when she saw you; in all your gracefulness and powerful elegancy; she did what she knew; protect and serve. Sevika took her job as royal knight seriously, so it was no surprise when the Queen gave her an even better task. She took an oath to protect you; and she did so diligently. Sevika was always there; a stealthy frame lurking around your sweet figure, towering over you as a means to make your presence a little more intimidating. She’d be there when you spend your time in the gardens; she would take stance outside your bedchambers; she would be there for any gown fitting you would attend; and she most certainly didn’t miss any meetings with your potential suitors. Sevika was there when the Council and your parents forced you to marry a man for the ruse of political power. Sevika was everywhere, and you couldn’t complain.

Sevika was standing dutifully by the Queen when she first caught sight of you at a ball. And so, her dark, broody presence simmered down just slightly once she caught sight of your glittering form through the crowd. Her eyes never left you; the way your body danced across the floor, you looked like a ghost with the brightness of your dress and the sparkles in your hair. She admired the way your hair danced alongside you, the way your dress waved and billowed after you. She admired you the way she admired the art of skilful fighting. Sevika stared at you so much; her eyes almost teared up with her subtle wide-eyed stare, so much so she could only hope that the Queen didn’t catch on.

It was no shock for Sevika to see the Queen choosing you as her favourite; you were soft and short, with a bright face and mellow features. The Queen, however was a force to be reckoned with, sharp, angular; standing with an impassive face and an impressive build that even shocked Sevika at first. There are many rumours about the Queen; rumours that paint her as the Devil straight from the Bible; cruel, vicious. Yet, you seemed to hold a certain grace, a softness. It seemed rather odd for you to mingle so closely with the likes of the Queen. You were a pleasant surprise for Sevika and getting a glimpse of you for the first time; was getting the wonderful news of protecting you.

“I request you to protect Lady Estelle’s heiress.” Sevika turned to see Angeliki looking over the ballroom with her steely blue eyes, she looked calm; her breathing was steady, her body looked lax. Sevika knew her boss well enough to understand that moments like these kept Angeliki on edge; her eyes would never stay at one place, she bristled just the smallest amount when a Lady or Duke approached her but most of all; her stature bristled when she saw you interact with another. Angeliki hated it here, yet she stayed for you. Angeliki swallowed thickly. “She is fragile, and I am worried I am not doing enough to protect her.”

Sevika just tipped her head in response, choosing not to say anything. Angeliki knew Sevika wasn’t one for reassuring words, and Angeliki understood that. In the short few years Sevika worked for the Queen; they both found a sense of respect for each other. They both had an unattainable strength and power, and maybe the ability of attracting sweet, pretty things.

You weren’t very shy when your mother introduced you to Sevika, you still felt the thrill of dancing, your cheeks flushed and eyes sparkling. You were out of breath, but Sevika’s presence tore it out of you; like inhaling hot steam. Sevika was every bit of tall, dark and handsome. She had a presence that made your knees knock, and your eyes flutter. It felt like déjà vu, because you remembered the way you nearly tripped on the steps when you were first introduced to the Queen. It seemed as though you were naturally drawn to women that enjoyed exuding their power.

You weren’t ashamed to seduce Sevika, that same night in fact. Your heart and your core stuttered at the realisation that Sevika was to be your personal knight. You were ecstatic. Just like you were ecstatic to found out the Queen took a liking to you.

You just battered your eyes at her, as you gracefully leaned against the doorframe of your bedchambers. “Could you perhaps… help me with my corset? It’s terribly tight, and we-” You just let out a small, quiet laugh. You stared at Sevika from the corner of your eye, your gaze turning to one of doe-eyed innocence when Sevika caught your subtle stare. “It’s quite embarrassing, really. I told my dresser to not tighten it too much, but-”

Sevika just stared at you, her eyes boring into you soft figure, the way your back arched softly, just pushing the soft mountains of your breasts against the doorframe; she knew not to let her face contort to compliment her feelings, so she stared at you blankly as you rambled. She was admiring you, enjoying the way the corset hugged your curves beautifully, the small intricate beads that fell around the curve of your shoulders. Sevika liked looking at you, she realised. She just merely let the corner of her mouth curl, before she gestures dismissively for you to turn. Sevika caught wind of what you were doing, seeing as your corset strings were already halfway done.

Sevika let out a low chuckle, shaking her head before her fingers took a strong hold of your laces, not wasting another moment to push you into your bedchambers. If it weren’t for the strong hold Sevika had on your laces; you would have stumbled and fell but you could feel your stomach and chest pressing inwards as the corset tightened slightly from Sevika’s heavy tug on your strings. You could feel the cold touch of her metal fingers dragging along your thigh, the soft material of your skirt curling around her metal wrist, while her other hand – which oddly enough – was cold as well; shamelessly tucked themselves away into your undergarments, smirking when there already seemed to a puddle on her fingertips.

“Didn’t take a Lady to be such a whore.”

Your mother was adamant that you marry; you tried to protest but that seemed to speed up the process and before you could even catch your breath; you were already taken to a first meeting with your would-be husband. By the end of the week, Lady Estelle announced the news of your marriage to Angeliki. Nobody knew what the Queen wore on her face, she merely sat on her throne; barely sparing a glance at Lady Estelle before you felt your body straighten when Angeliki turned to you.

“This was your choice?” Angeliki spoke; her voice was steady and calm, but it echoed throughout the throne room. Sevika could see the guards straighten in alarm at the sound of her voice, fumbling to tighten their hold on their weapons or subtly straighten their uniform.  

No, not really. You nodded, dipping your head in a slight tilt. “Yes, Your Majesty.”

You were meant to marry your husband; but your eyes kept drifting to the dark figure looming in the corner of the church. Sevika was meant to be working, making sure to keep you safe on such an important day; but her dark eyes always found you; the tightly bound, pink flowers in your hand; the delicate veil as it fell around your face. You were sparkling, you would have been beaming; if not for the hideous truth that you never wanted this marriage. How could Sevika protect you from any danger when it was standing right next to you?

The church held the same air well; thick and potent, maybe it was the eerie silence that followed the end of the organ playing when you stepped on the altar, or it might have been the way Angeliki wouldn’t keep her steely glare off of Lady Estelle. Sevika could feel it from her post, the way her broad shoulders were drawn back, the muscles in her back tightening the more and more officiant rambled on. Sevika felt sorry for the Queen’s advisor; who in her small stature; did everything she could to avoid Angeliki and her cold gaze.

You felt it as well, the officiator may have been the one talking, but you could feel and hear the steady, eery breathing of the Queen behind you; for you it felt as though her body expanded and hunched, almost creating a looming shadow and presence over your smaller stature. Oh, what eery eyes you have.   

Sevika was also there at the night of your wedding, standing outside your bedchambers due diligently before any and all sense flew from her head, and not long after; it wasn’t your husband who consummated your marriage; it was her. You had quietly requested that you keep your husband out of your room, and Sevika obliged. She was admiring the way you gracefully undressed to your bridal negligee. It looked stunning on you; the soft fabric settled wonderfully on your curves. Sevika couldn’t keep her hands off you.

“You taste wonderful, My Lady.” You could hardly get a word out when Sevika shamelessly dove back in between your thighs; the tip of her large nose nudging against your swollen clit. You let out a quiet whimper; your thighs trembling in her large hands, when Sevika hummed; the sound so low; it heard and felt like a growl. “And you look absolutely stunning. Like a fairy.”

You tipped your head back, a low breathy moan slipping from your mouth; you squirmed when Sevika pressed herself further into you; the ravenous, needy shake of her head causing her hair to tickle your glittering thighs as another low grunt fell past her mouth. You didn’t hear it, you felt it; the sound vibrating through your core.    

Sevika’s eyes ran over your trembling form; soft and delicate. She could see the way your nipples perked through the thin material of your negligee; she loved watching the way the nightgown tightened and hugged your curves. You were sparkling; a soft sheen of sweat along your skin; the glitter of your makeup; dotted across your face. It certainly didn’t help that your nightgown was adorned with sequins and beads, it looked like a shining puddle around your body. You looked every bit of the beautiful bride you were, soft, angelic, twinkling. You were all hers. All of you. Sevika felt a rush of pride at that thought; you married a man, yet you were here; your body open for her.

“Your lousy fucking husband couldn’t do this, could he?” Sevika asks, her dark lips curled in a vicious smirk. Sevika rose up to her full height, the creases of her large palm running over the expanse of your thighs, her thick fingers tightening around the delicate curve of your ankle; her thumb absentmindedly caressing the divot on the heel of your foot. You were too much in a drunken, pleasured haze, you didn’t realise Sevika’s fingers sneaking toward your entrance. “Fuck you like this?”

“I hope you don’t keep using crude language during our most intimate moments,” you scolded, a gasped moan escaping your mouth when Sevika’s thick finger pushed past your ring of muscle, jolting at the delicious burn.

A shiver ran through your body when Sevika chuckled, the dark sound rumbling from her chest and vibrating through her powerful body. “Apologies, my Lady.” Sevika rumbles, sliding the length of her fingers along your inner walls, marvelling at the sight of your entrance greedily taking her thick, calloused digits. Sevika leaned forward to taste the soft skin of your nape, sucking gently; it was almost as if she could taste the sweetness from your perfume, settling on her tongue like a thin mist; you tasted like vanilla and raspberry.

You muffled in a moan, sucking in your bottom lip when Sevika’s mouth wrapped around your pebbled nipple, sucking harshly until spit ran down the crevice of your breasts and down Sevika’s chin. You cried out when her teeth pulled and nicked your nipple, letting it stretch before letting go with an audible pop.  You couldn’t help but flush when you felt the dark, heavy gaze from Sevika’s piercing eyes trace over the curves of your writhing body, a moan catching in your throat when her fingers picked up speed.

“Do you know how pretty you look? Laying like that? With you being so greedy, so greedy. You want more of my fingers, needy girl?” Sevika ground out, the dresser creaking dangerously under her thrusts. “My cock?” Sevika offered, her dark eyebrow arched before she smirked with a light scoff, seeing the way you slightly lifted your hips, a strangled sigh falling past your mouth. “Such a slut. Is that what you want? My cock filling your pussy and stretching you out?”

You cried out, your head falling backwards onto the mirror behind you. You could feel your nails almost break and peel as you clawed at the wood under you, the same way Sevika’s nails dug into your soft skin, keeping you to stay splayed out for her leisure. It was a delicious pain, it made your skin chill with pleasure, goosebumps trailing your skin. Your heart stuttered in your chest when you felt the familiar hold around your throat; Sevika easily guiding you to stand in front of her.

You felt and looked small against Sevika, you realised. You saw the way the rolls on your body almost wilted under Sevika’s wandering hands, your skin was tugged and pulled, the enticing curves of your breasts almost melting into Sevika’s metal palm, the thin barely-there negligee melted against your skin, before Sevika pulled off your body with a disgruntled mumble. Sevika seemed to enjoy it; the way your belly seemed to lift from the strength of her hand and fall with an inviting jiggle. For Sevika, it felt as though she was moulding putty in her hands, soft and inviting and so, so irresistible.

You gasped, your back arching as Sevika dove down; sucking your nipple into her hungry mouth, before trailing her mouth down the underside of your breast. Sevika was aching for a part of you, any part of you, grunting and groaning as she opened her mouth further around your breast. Sevika didn’t let go of your breast for a while, the large curve of her nose resting flush against the underside of your breast. Sevika’s skin was warm, and the tip of her nose was hard; digging into the doughy flesh and skimming across the soft skin.

Sevika’s hand was large as well, the palm heavy as it struck your core; her thick fingers eagerly and quickly finding its way through your folds and in your squelching cunt. It covered your cunt entirely; you could barely see the way your puffy lips wrapped around her fingers, and the way they rolled. Her prosthetic arm was much larger, the metal claws creeping around the curve of your belly before snatching up your disregarded breast, squeezing the tissue.

Sevika urgently ran her mouth up your arm, along the curve of your shoulder, over the pulse points on your neck, delivering half sent kisses on your skin as if she only had a few moments with you. “You are like ice cream. I’ve never fucked someone so soft,” Sevika whispered under your jaw, breathing your scent in deeply before wrapping her lips around your chin. “Look at the way you’re melting in my hands.”

It was embarrassing that Sevika was right; you couldn’t help but buck your hips into Sevika’s hands, letting out a breathy huff when her fingers– for whatever reason – wouldn’t reach the fleshy sponge nestled deep below your belly button. Yes, your skin may as well be considered a sort of dough, or ice cream; the fat in your breasts pooled and sunk through the spaces of Sevika’s metal fingers and over the bones and structure of her cool forearm. Yes, Sevika was right. And, yes, you enjoyed the way Sevika took your body and mind, and completely fucked out any thought from you.  

“Bend over,” Sevika’s voice was gruff, desperate, and your gasp that followed was pathetic and rushed, because in a quick moment you found yourself arched over your makeup vanity. The soft globes of your breasts were moulded and shifted to press against the hardwood, and you could feel the way your belly stretched to rest on the surface without pulling your skin too much.       

You squirmed, the rough curves and joints of Sevika’s metal fingers scarping across the slopes of your ass, before you let out a hushed gasp when Sevika’s claws dug into your skin, enough to cause a shiver to run through you. “I saw the way you looked at the Queen today. Did you want her cock as well?”

You couldn’t answer, because Sevika’s pointed claws were trailing across your slit. Sevika laughed, her brows drawing in at the amount of slick that painted her bronze fingers, she had half the mind to fuck you with your mechanical hand, but that meant the chance of internal injuries. You felt the vanity creak a little under your weight when Sevika grabbed a fistful of your ass, the metal of her fingers just barely piercing the skin; she didn’t give you a chance to react before you felt the familiar round tip of Sevika’s cock pushing past the ring of muscle.

You tried to squirm, but jumped and gasped when Sevika’s fleshed palm struck your ass, the sound thundering through the otherwise quiet room. You felt the vanity creak again when Sevika pulled your ass apart, revealing your puffy, wet lips. Sevika hummed, low and throaty when she moved her hips slowly, ogling as your lips dragged across the silicone shaft. She could almost feel it, the way your pussy sucked her in, the way it pulsed and quivered as though you were going to cum.

You had nothing to hold onto, your nails scratched against the grooves of the wood, moaning against the dark, red surface and before you could comprehend; your hands flew out to catch the mirror. Sevika’s was always rough, but today – you gasped again, a strangled moan lodged deep within your throat; the silicone cock nestled so snugly, you had no way of escaping. Every roll of your hip, an arch of your back or the way you tried to squeeze your thighs; urged Sevika on more.

You squirmed again and Sevika cupped your waist tightly, using your writhing, pathetic body as leverage to slide into you deeper. The second time you squirmed, and you felt the beautiful, suffocating weight of Sevika’s hand on your back; though it did little to keep you still. The third time and her patience was waning; the wooden surface shook and almost splintered when Sevika smacked her palms against the vanity; from the corner of your tearful, hazy eyes, Sevika’s claws were cutting through the paint, soon enough the wood would start to chip away.      

You cried out, biting your lip in effort to keep your sounds muffled. Sevika didn’t bother to; huffs and grunts falling past her mouth over you. At this point the mirror was hitting the wall, and the legs were creaking, the drawers were threatening to open as they clanked and rattled. Were you about to fall? Maybe. Did you care? No. Definitely not. Your vision blurred and your thighs trembled from the onslaught of Sevika’s angry thrusts, and the pleasure that sizzled through you. “Vika-”  

“Stop talking. Going to fuck you until your legs give out.” Sevika rasped out, her hips slapping against your reddening ass. You were too far in your daze to realise that Sevika shifted, the vanity creaking with her change in position. You breathed out a low, pleasured laugh, blinking your eyes; feeling the familiar tightness around your throat. Sevika’s metal hand had warmed up at this point, so it didn’t startle you when she held you firmly under your jaw; somehow keeping your body arched and poised.

Plap. Plap. Plap. Plap.

Breathing was difficult now, your heart raced, and your pulse along your neck followed, thumping wildly. You groaned; the sound garbled, whiny and Sevika would have felt it vibrate through her hand, but her metal fingers were incapable of feeling anything. Sevika could hear it though, and see it; the way your eyes fluttered shut and the way your arousal seemed to drip down your thighs. Sevika seemed to go faster once she held you by your throat, the sound of squelching between your legs so loud.

It was humiliating that your orgasm came quickly; you hadn’t realised it until you felt some sort of dam breaking inside of you, causing you to writhe and pant, before you lifted yourself off the vanity, clawing blindly at Sevika’s thigh, feeling the muscles roll and tense as Sevika continued her thrusts. “Keep cumming on my cock. Fuck, you’re such a slut.” Sevika gritted out in your ear, her voice low and throaty, her hands were persistent, her fingers finding their way back to your hips, squeezing the skin, pulling and tugging almost off your bones. You cried out, your fingers clenching the edge of the vanity, your legs – which now were resting on the warm wooden surface – shuddered; goosebumps dusting your skin, and weirdly enough, the pleasure simmering slightly, creeping back up the more Sevika pummelled into you. “We’re going to do this again and you’re going to lay there and take it, you hear me?”

“I do not like your husband.” Angeliki states; her broad arm resting against the back of her chair. She was almost slouching; her legs spread out; the button of her shirt nearly popping and giving you an enticing view of the curves of her breasts. Table etiquette for her was long forgotten; as the Queen she had other pressing matters to stress over. You told her it was because people were far too intimidated to tell her off, but Angeliki believed it was because people were too tired to.

You just smiled sadly at her, buttering a small piece of bread. You delicately take a bite out of it; chewing slowly and swallowing it before you replied. “I don’t want you to feel bad, Your Grace. It’s the Council’s-”

“Yes. Who are they to tell me what I can and cannot do? They have no right.” Angeliki replies. “I will your end marriage. Believe me.” Angeliki’s nose twitches, as though she wanted to curl it in disgust, before her eyes drop to her small cup.

“And how are you going to do that, Your Grace?” You tried to keep your movements minimal, your back still ached, your throat burned slightly, your muscles felt tense and – to put it crudely – your pussy was still sore. You take another bite of your bread, swallowing and lightly grazing your neck, sending a quick glance to Sevika. You squirmed in your seat, wiping the corner of your mouth with your napkin. Angeliki’s stare had always been cold, calculating; it seemed as though she was analysing every bit of your soul and body, but today felt more meticulous. Maybe it was because you wore the guilt of warming the bed of your personal guard, or the fact that you didn’t warm hers last night.

“I suppose a shovel. People have told me I have a very heavy hand; one hit may be enough.”

You wait for her to monotonously tell you it was a joke, but the Queen seems too preoccupied with trying to use a dainty, demitasse spoon in her large fingers. “Your Grace. This may seem out of hand for what I am about to say, but you can’t kill my husband!” You exclaim in a hushed manner, sending a nervous smile to a castle worker who started to clear the table.

“Why not? He is a man.” Angeliki gives the spoon a look of contempt, before she reaches for a larger soup spoon. “All men are good for is to beat and fuck. You cannot do or will do neither to him. So, naturally he must go. Sevika agrees with me, no?”

You sneak a glance at Sevika; who is standing quietly by the wall; you wondered how she kept a straight face in this argument. Sevika merely tips her head; the corners of her mouth curled. “Of course, Your Majesty.”

“See?” You don’t argue, knowing the Queen; it was like talking to a wall sometimes, tall, and stubborn. Angeliki carries on, taking a large gulp of her coffee, humming once. “Men are useless. They have horrid temperament, a fragile ego. They are pathetic, ingrates. Why do you think whoever works closely to me are women?”

You let a sigh, folding your hands in your lap. You can feel Sevika’s presence behind you; it was heavy and dark. It almost feels as though she’s closing in on your back. Like last night; when she fucked you in front of the mirror. “Surely, there must be another way.”

“Kidnapping? Your husband is small and dainty, so I can easily drag him or carry him over my shoulder.” Angeliki suggests, she turns to Sevika. “Kidnapping, no?”

Sevika tips her head again, this time her mouth curled further in amusement. “I suppose that is a better idea.”

Angeliki nods approvingly, a low grunt escaping her throat as she reaches up to flick back her short hair, only to find it in the same place by her ears; she didn’t try to fix it again. “I knew I did right by hiring you. A fine choice.”

You shake your head, leaning back on your chair. “You both are impossible. My husband is a Duke, he is in politics-”

“That is why he married into your family?” Angeliki asks, her confused gaze on the small crumpets, turning it over and over in her hands as if to make sure the crumpets were actually that small. Shaking her head as she reaches over to pile more on her plate. “He is not important enough, if he married you for a better title.”

You stay quiet, focusing on finishing the piece of bread that suddenly felt too thick and dry to travel down your throat, you held it between your fingers, squeezing the bread until it melded back into a dough. “I suppose…”

Angeliki hummed, nodding once at your agreement, she swallowed the last of her food, washing it down with a glass of water. “Stay close to me or Sevika for the ball tonight. Your husband has been skittish lately, I do not want you to get hurt.”

You didn’t normally listen when either the Queen or Sevika told you to do something, you liked to see the way their muscles would hunch at the realisation, or the way their eyebrows would draw in slightly. It was fun, and it always ended up with you satisfied one way or the other by the end of the night.

Yet, you were glad you listened today, the tension between your small circle was palpable. You felt it, it made your muscles tense, and your teeth grind. You didn’t give yourself the luxury at ogling at either women’s outfits. You only caught a glimpse of Angeliki’s golden and black suit and the intricate flower patterns on the bronze metal of Sevika’s uniform.

Angeliki drew her shoulders in when your husband approached your table, bowing deeply and dutifully to Angeliki; at that sight: Sevika straightened up, her hand tight around the hilt of her sword. You smiled lightly at him, forcing away the habit of squirming away from him when he leaned in for a performative, polite kiss on the cheek. He wouldn’t dare do anything more in Angeliki’s presence, or Sevika’s for that matter.

Your husband didn’t take a seat until Angeliki gestured toward the chair with a simple gaze toward it. Though the music was playing softly from the corner of the ballroom, it was quiet, you could hear the lazy, calm breathing of the Queen, and the pitiable, panicking breathing of your husband. Sevika shuffled behind you, a slight clearing of her throat as the bronze metal of her uniform clinked against each other. Quiet. Dead silence.

Your husband laughed, the sound rushed and garbled as he swallowed thickly, he waved down a waiter, his smile widening as the waiter closed in on their table, dutifully placing glasses of chilled water in front of each of them. You flickered your eyes to it, it was lemon water, judging by some curled rind sunk at the bottom and a lemon wedge hugging the lip of the glass. “U- ch-chilled lemon water, Your Majesty.”

You were right, but you raised a subtle eyebrow at your husband. He was acting skittish, his eyes kept darting to the glass and back up at Angeliki, he was barely sitting in his seat, his chest pressed so close to the table, you could see the tablecloth sag under his weight.

Angeliki’s gaze was as piercing as ever; the icy circles of her eyes trailing lazily across your husband’s form. She reaches for the glass, her fingers wrapping around it and lifting it slowly to her mouth. Angeliki hums, her stony orbs rising to meet the man across her, blinking once, twice before placing the glass back on the table.

Angeliki arose from her seat, her suit crinkling before she uses her large hands to smooth down the silk velvet fabric. “Follow me.” Angeliki didn’t wait for an answer, or a refusal as she steps down from the table, her large form stalking to the exit of the ballroom. Your husband’s eyes widened slightly, but he scrambled to his full height, smoothing down his own suit before rushing down the steps to follow Angeliki. Sevika followed closely behind, her bulky form closing in on your husband from behind. You stood up as well, your glossed lips slightly apart as you rushed after them. What was going on?

You caught up to them after a few moments, it would have been quicker if not for the sheer weight of your dress. You stood by the doorframe, feeling your body jolt at the chilly night air. You saw Angeliki shrug off her suit jacket; your breath hitching at the way her muscles rolled as she handed the jacket to Sevika. Sevika wasted no moment to douse you in it, ensuring it covered your cold chest and arms, before standing stoically by your side. It was quiet here as well, the only rustle of Angeliki’s sleeves rolling up her forearms and the nervous splutter from your husband.

“Men are always stupid,” Angeliki states simply, her large forearms tensing as she sought herself comfortable, her steps were quiet, heavy as they trailed to your husband. “Poison? In my drink? It seems as though you were arrogant as well, considering you thought I would accept a drink from you.” You tensed, a soft gasp falling from your mouth, when Angeliki snapped her hand forward; her thick, burly fingers seizing around the man’s jaw, squeezing tightly until his lips puckered and his cheeks filled out.

Your husband clawed at Angeliki’s hand, trying his hardest to pull her fingers away, but it only made her hold on, shaking his head as if to scold him. You jumped when he cried out, his eyes almost bulging out of his head as he shook and writhed in Angeliki’s grip, before your eyes snapped to Angeliki when a sickening crack echoed through, and a shrill, panicked cry from your husband.

Angeliki merely blinked, her eyes averting to each of his eyes before they fell to his throat, it was starting to get pink, veins protruding from his skin as he struggled. Your husband managed to carve a few scratches into Angeliki’s skin, and soon enough had grasped enough of her forearm to pull her away. You heart thundered and sunk in your chest when your husband lurched his head forward with a determined cry, suddenly finding courage and smiling lopsidedly in triumphant when Angeliki’s head snapped back, a trickle of blood running from her nose and down her lip.

Angeliki sniffed, her lips curling in a snarl before her head knocked forward in retaliation, once, twice; before spitting the red, almost gelatinous blood onto his face, sending a swift, heavy punch to his throat. Your husband cried out, falling back against the grass as he choked on his blood. Angeliki loomed over him, the muscles under her shirt tensing, letting the weight of her shoe and body press into his groin, pressing harder when your husband flinched. “Do not come near me again, lest I pull the skin from your pathetic body and force you to feed on it. Sevika.” Angeliki commanded, standing to her full height and walking toward you.

You swallowed thickly, your eyes wide as they zeroed in on Angeliki, her height allowing her to tower over you. You let your eyes run over Angeliki, over her chest that rose and fell, over the way fabric squeezed along her broad shoulders, the deep, angry scratches on her rough forearm and hand, before your eyes snapped to Sevika. “She will not kill him. Merely warn him. He will do well to leave you alone as well.”

You wished you could see Sevika’s body under her uniform, you wanted to see the way her back rippled as she delivered punches toward your husband, the way her abs would tense. You felt foolish, gaping at the two women; you shouldn’t but you did. There was a tight coil in your lower belly, one that threatened to snap once Sevika rose to her full height, her armour clinking as she panted, before your eyes travelled back to Angeliki; who was already staring at you, before she nodded toward the ballroom, urging you forward.

Of course, you obeyed, especially if you were going to feel the prepotent presence of the women behind you.

[blueiscoool]

Greece Reopens the 2,400-Year-Old Palace Where Alexander the Great Was Crowned

The 2,300-year-old Palace of Aigai—the largest building in classical Greece—had been under renovation for 16 years.

On the day he was crowned king of Macedonia, Alexander the Great stood atop the intricately patterned marble floors of the Palace of Aigai. This week, the historic palace finally opened to the public after a 16-year-long restoration, report Derek Gatopoulos and Costas Kantouris of the Associated Press (AP).

At 160,000 square feet, the Palace of Aigai was classical Greece’s largest structure. Built primarily by Alexander’s father, Phillip II, in the fourth century B.C.E., it was the home of the Argead dynasty, ancient Macedonia’s ruling family. It was destroyed by the Romans in 148 B.C.E. and endured a subsequent series of lootings. Renovating and excavating this sprawling monument was a serious undertaking, costing over 20 million euros ($22 million).

The Greek government was able to maintain the “general appearance” of the site amid careful alterations to the monument’s towering marble columns, delicate mosaics and textured flooring, according to Xiaofei Xu and Chris Liakos. The palace once featured large column-lined courtyards, worship sites and expansive banquet halls, and its restoration presented a “three-dimensional jigsaw puzzle,” per the AP. Archaeologists solved it by combining stones from the structure’s ruins with replica parts to reproduce the original structures.

Archaeologist Angeliki Kottaridi started working on the renovation efforts as a university student. Overseeing the project’s progress over many years and contributing to its excavation and reconstruction, Kottardi became a leading figure in the project.

“What you discover is stones scattered in the dirt, and pieces of mosaics here and there,” Kottaridi told state television before an opening ceremony on Friday, per the AP. “Then you have to assemble things, and that’s the real joy of the researcher.”

The Palace of Aigai is located in northern Greece between what are now the towns of Palatitsia and Vergina. Its reopening builds on discoveries made in the late 1970s by Greek archaeologist Manolis Andronikos, who unearthed a cluster of royal Macedonian artifacts, including gold and silver ceremonial weapons and armor, and burials, one of which is thought to contain Phillip’s remains. The palace and its neighboring tombs are now a UNESCO World Heritage site.

Deeming it “among the most important archaeological sites in Europe,” UNESCO writes that the Palace of Aigai “represents an exceptional testimony to a significant development in European civilization, at the transition from the classical city state to the imperial structure of the Hellenistic and Roman periods.”

As the site of the first capital of the ancient kingdom of Macedonia, the Palace of Aigai signifies the onset of Alexander’s rule, which would stretch from Asia to the Middle East, and provides a crucial window into Macedonian culture.

“The importance of such monuments transcends local boundaries, becoming property of all humanity,” said Kyriakos Mitsotakis, Greece’s prime minister, at the inauguration event, per CNN. “And we as the custodians of this precious cultural heritage, we must protect it, highlight it, promote it and at the same time expand the horizons revealed by each new facet.”

By Catherine Duncan.

[c-d-p]

CS OC WEEK DAY SEVEN: LA FEMME ROUGE

(Note: I decided that for the last day, i’d write little pieces on my OC’s personal run-ins with Carmen! Really, this should’ve gone in ‘Missions’ but i hadn’t really had anything planned for that day. Also, my writing skills aren’t the greatest and i really struggled w dialogue so don’t flame me for it lmao)

Olivia/Mirrorball || Watch Your Step

Olivia never thought she’d be in this position. Jumping across rooftops in Edingburgh, chasing the elusive Carmen Sandiego, or La Femme Rouge, whatever she called herself nowadays. She wanted to prove herself to the Faculty, that she was more than capable of handling capers.

However, her train of thoughts crashed when the crimson blur ahead of her suddenly stopped.

Olivia,(codename Mirrorball) ’s footsteps also came to a stop, the sound of metal scraping across brick fading to silence. Now, the only sound was the sharp inhale/exhales of her own heavy breathing. The two are separated by a large glass skylight. In Carmen’s hands, the artifact Olivia was chasing her over - the Queen Mary Harp - sat delicately in her grasp.

“Mirrorball, am i correct? Funny, i’ve never seen you away on your own before.”

Carmen says and arches an eyebrow as she takes cautious steps back, and Olivia begins strutting forward, the clink of her metal heels scratching the cemented roof beneath her. Her eyes narrowed, glaring daggers at Carmen, her green eyes meeting her grey ones.

“Why do you care?”

“I thought your job was to protect the Countess.”

“I still have training though, and that’s still my job.”

Mirrorball has an air of suspicion around her. Why was Carmen striking up a conversation, in the middle of a chase? She looked over her surroundings before turning back to Carmen.

“It seems your ‘job’ now is failing miserably, is it not?” Carmen waves the harp around, as her feet reach the edge of the roof. “I guess you’re still inadequate.”

Olivia blinked while she processed her words, then practically growled in frustration, her footsteps getting more powerful and hurried, fueled by her anger. Her expression sours, and there’s a screech loud enough to make your ears bleed as her sharp shoes drag along the glass skylight. No one would insult her and get away with it. As she picks up the pace in a sudden burst of anger, she was practically charging across the roof.

“Inadequate? are you kidding? Who do you think you are, insulting me like-“

She’s cut off by a gasp fleeting her mouth as she halts, as well as a sharp crack from below.

“…that.”

Her bladed heels had punctured the glass, making large cracks on the pane; she was now stuck, unless she wanted to fall to her death. Slowly, her head turns down as she warily tries to lift a foot - the glass continues to split. She lifts her head up, but it’s too late - the Crimson Ghost has vanished into the night air. Olivia, exasperated, exclaims loudly.

“You little-“

As if on cue, the sharp shards of glass collapsed under her weight, sending her through the roof. Luckily enough for her and her sharp reflexes, her hand managed to wrap around the plastic frame of the skylight, despite twitching with pain when fragments of the shattered roof dig into her palm.. Maybe she wasn’t cut out for the ‘Operative’ roll just yet. Pulling herself up and back onto the safety of the brick material with a sigh, Olivia didn’t think things could go much worse. Until the first few drops of rain began to fall.

Angeliki/Nightshade || Title tbd ☹️

Angel held her breath as she stealthily weaves her way through the bushes and leaves of the botanical garden, her body hidden by the leaves. In her hands - a flower given the name ‘aniantem pulchritudinis’. This flower was the last known of its kind, and VILE wanted their hands on it. Her thumb brushed over the clay of the pot it was in - maybe she could admire its almost metallic-like white petals just for a second. However, she stops herself from getting off track. She was Nightshade, supposed to steal the flower, not gawp at it. Standing straight, she is about to turn and leave; until a twig snaps in the distance.

Her hand subconsciously travels to her belt, hovering just above her weapons. Her eyes scanned the greenery around her. Nothing, just the silent sway of the trees and plants. She took a deep breath - she probably just imagined it. So, Angel starts to walk again, keeping the valuable flower in her arms securely.

“I’d hang onto that tight, if i were you.”

Angel immediately freezes again and her heart starts to hammer. Her gaze drifts to behind her shoulder- and there stood Carmen Sandiego. Had she really been caught this fast? No time to ponder, she had to get out of here. Narrowing her eyes, she suddenly sprints off, darting between branches and thistles as she kept the flower tucked away in her grasp. She heard almost inaudible footfalls from behind her, she was still being pursued. With rapid thinking a few minutes later, after a thrilling couple moments of running in and out of the the garden’s nooks and crannies, she suddenly comes to a stop between two trees.

The red blur that was Carmen’s coat also slowed to a halt, as she stood looking as if she was ready to pounce at any moment. Angel’s idea was simple; throw a grenade containing smoke to block Carmen’s sight, and flee without having to worry about being chased.

Angel turned her gaze directly into the eyes of Carmen.

“You think i’d give up the flower that easily?” She speaks, before reach in her hand down again. However this time, she unhooks the smoke-filled grenade from her belt. In a matter of seconds, she holds it up and is ready to unpin it and send it to the ground.. until something catches her eye.

Two blackbirds happily soaring through the sky, flying and falling in circles around the two and chirping lightly. Angel winced - couldn’t possibly throw that here - she didn’t want to risk danger to wildlife. Or should she do it, and get away? It’s only two birds. She was conflicted.. at least she would’ve been, as she feels a sharp shove in her side and her shoulder making hard contact with the tree next to her, snapping her out of her distraction. Angel yelps, as the shock knocks the flower pot and the grenade from her hands. At least she didn’t take the pin out of it.

Carmen makes her way over to the pot, its fall being cushioned by the vibrant moss surrounding the area. Swiping it into her hands, she gives Angel one last statement.

“I believe this isn’t yours for the taking, Nightshade.”

Still winded, Angel reaches a hand out in a desperate attempt to grab her, to get the flower back. But Carmen hops out of the way, and before Angel knows it, she’s completely disappeared. Disappointed and exhausted, Angels sinks to the floor with her back pressed against the rough bark of the tree. She really shouldn’t let her mind wander like that.

At least she got to watch the blackbirds chirp and sail through the trees, content and healthy. And that wasn’t so bad.

Thanks for reading to the end!! Also i’ve realized i haven’t been tagging the person who made the oc week, so here it is @carmensandiego-ocweek 🫶🏻

I’m also very sorry if i mischaracterized Carmen, i struggle with stuff like that and it’s an honest mistake ����

[thedancemostofall]

andrea chu long on rachel cusk

Angeliki has discovered that her own husband and son do not need her the way she once thought they did, and this distance from their need has made her reconsider her own freedom. She does not want childbirth to be her greatest act of creation, but neither does she wish to become a desexed professional who loses touch with her female essence. The painter in her novel fails to resolve this dilemma, ultimately diverting all her artistic energy to her children.

― -

Her 2001 memoir, A Life’s Work, was savaged by the British press for its frank portrayal of the desolation of early motherhood. Then, in 2009, Cusk divorced the father of her two daughters — an experience she later described as a devastating expulsion from the possibility of narrative. “We’re not part of that story any more, my children and I,” she writes in her 2012 memoir, Aftermath, peering with envy and disgust into the lives of her suburban neighbors. “We belong more to the world, in all its risky disorder, its fragmentation, its freedom.” Out of this dispossession emerged Faye, a recessed female presence whose exile from domesticity allows her — supposedly — to view life with greater objectivity.

The results are extraordinary. Faye is not absent, like Godot; she is withheld, like a judgment, and through Cusk’s ingenious structure of reported monologues, Faye becomes the most substantial of all the characters in the trilogy. But the claim to objectivity bears the bruise of exaggeration. Divorce or no, Faye is still a bourgeois British woman who quietly goes from having a loan on her countryside home to being an honored guest at literary festivals across Europe. The parallels with the author’s own life were both intentional and carefully repressed. In effect, Cusk wished to have it both ways. She wanted Faye’s emotional distance and biographical vagueness to place her in a more authentic relationship to truth. Yet she wrote Faye as specifically female voice, one which spoke through the narrative vacuum that Cusk had come, through divorce, to associate with all women.

― -

There is an abiding interest in formal experiment: Cusk flings abstract nouns onto the page with little mediation by plot or character, much as the action painters once did with their paints. The risk in this approach is producing what the art critic Harold Rosenberg once called “apocalyptic wallpaper,” on account of its cheap facsimile of depth. “In formlessness she discovered power, and also a freedom from limitation,” a narrator says about their mother in Parade — a beautiful sentence until one realizes that any of the nouns could be rearranged without injuring the impression that one is reading an awful truth.

[isilrina]

Happy Art Monday! I'm very excited to share the finished drawing of Moon Jeong-Hui, which I completed last Friday. I'm thrilled with how it turned out! I envisioned him with the likeness of the Korean actor Song Kang. As of today, it might be my best drawing. Since last week's WIP, I've made some changes: added a watch on his wrist, and now he's directly looking at us. His shirt collar features the embroidered logo of the workwear fashion brand managed by his company, Bertrand, called Elegance. Their slogan? "For everyone. Because you matter." Jeong-Hui stands in front of the vertical slats blinds of the meeting room, where he'll spend countless hours helping Angeliki manage her huge company. I loved drawing the watch, the logo, the glass surfaces of his glasses and watch, and of course, his hair. I'll share the time-lapse in the future. A bit more about Jeong-Hui: he was promoted to be Angeliki's secretary as a trap set by his supervisor, expecting him to fail. But Jeong-Hui is exceptional at his job. Starting at the bottom and climbing the ranks, he knows the company inside out. His dedication and problem-solving skills are unmatched. Without Jeong-Hui, the company's crisis at the start of the story would have caused severe damage, and Angeliki might not have survived without losing everything. He's truly indispensable. I might draw him more in the future, so stay tuned for that and the upcoming time-lapse!

Have a little quote from Jeong-Hui that fit this drawing perfectly: "Let me know if you need anything else, Noona."

Also you can find the playlist I listen to while drawing/writing anything related to "The Heiress" on spotify

[gothicturtle]

Hyakinthos

Hyakinthos was a Spartan prince, most prominently known in Amyclae with a decent cult following. there are a couple of different people listed as being his parents, but the most popular is King Amyclus and Diomedes. if Amyclus was his father, that would also make Daphne, another of Apollo’s lovers, Hyakinthos’s sister. it seems like he would be quite simple, he has a relatively small story with one of the earliest written records from Hesiod. in this version there is no love rival, just an accident. written in the 7th century BC, it was merely one, albeit long, sentence.

”. . ((lacuna)) rich-tressed Diomede; and she bare Hyakinthos (Hyacinthus), the blameless one and strong . . ((lacuna)) whom, on a time Phoibos (Phoebus) [Apollon] himself slew unwittingly with a ruthless disk.”

however, the most famous version, and one that most will know, comes from Ovid’s Metamorphosis. written somewhere between the 1st century BC and 1st century AD, this sentence long story grew to be paragraphs long. in which Ovid describes the love Apollo and Hyakinthos have for each other — which was the ultimate demise for the young prince. with parts of it coming from the perspective of a mourning Apollo, Ovid writes how Hyakinthos was turned into a flower with “ai, ai” written on the petals to express Apollo’s sadness. and the version that we all have come to know including betrayal and jealous rage from Zephyros (the West Wind), is hinted at in Pausanias’ “Description of Greece”.

”[In the temple of Apollon at Amyklai (Amyclae) Nikias (Nicias) [painter fl. c. 320 B.C.], son of Nikomedes, has painted him [Hyakinthos (Hyacinthus)] in the very prime of youthful beauty, hinting at the love of Apollon for Hyakinthos of which legend tells . . . As for Zephyros (the West Wind), how Apollon unintentionally killed Hyakinthos, and the story of the flower, we must be content with the legends, although perhaps they are not true history.”

despite this seemingly clear-cut story, there’s a lot more than meets the eye with Hyakinthos. according to many historians the -nth part of his name is pre-Hellenic and comes from the Mycenaean era. another word like that would be Corinth — a pre-Greek polis that was destroyed and rebuilt. this leads many to believe that Hyakinthos was around BEFORE Apollo. he would have been a chthonic vegetation god — almost like the male equivalent to Persephone. this leads to a few different theories, but before I get to that, let me tell you the story of Hyakinthos as told by Ovid and Lucian’s “Dialogues of the Gods”. ═══════════════════════════

⊰ The Myth ⊱

Hyakinthos was a beautiful Spartan prince. he had many lovers, but the one that had eventually won his heart was Apollo. the god taught beautiful long-haired Hyakinthos how to play the lyre, how to use a bow and arrows, a little bit on prophecies, and gave him a swan chariot. the two were incredibly in love, but sadly, there was someone who didn’t like that. Zephyros, the west wind, was jealous for he too loved Hyakinthos. he had tried to woo him but it really was no match for Apollo. he watched the two men play again and again until he had eventually had enough of it. he ultimately created one of the most tragic love stories. like most days, Apollo and Hyakinthos were together, playing around and having mild competitions throwing a discus. Apollo wanted to show off for Hyakinthos so he could see just what a god could do. he threw a discus high into the air, clearing the clouds away and it disappeared into the sky. Hyakinthos wanted to impress his lover as well, so he chased after the discus laughing. Zephyros in a fit of rage at the two men enjoying themselves changed the course of the discus. as it came to land, the force was so strong that it bounced off the ground and smashed into Hyakinthos’s face. Apollo ran to his lover and tried every kind of medicine and healing he could think of. he even placed ambrosia on his lover’s lips but blood flowed freely from the wound. there was no way for him to stop a wound of Fate. in his despair, he turned Hyakinthos into a flower, but seeing that wasn’t good enough, he wrote his grief upon the petals. ═══════════════════════════

⊰ Symbolism From The Myth ⊱

Taking A Temple as mentioned before, it’s very likely that Hyakinthos was an older deity from the pre-hellenic period. something that many Greek writers did, was create a myth of how a deity began their worship in a specific place. we know the temple that Apollo was worshipped at in Amyclae was older than when his worship would have started. one theory behind this myth then, is how Apollo came to be worshipped over Hyakinthos at the temple and area; by killing the previous deity. it sounds sad, but it’s actually happened several times, and even with Apollo specifically. the most famous example I can think of would be at Delphi. originally the temple was in honor of the titan Gaia. Apollo came in valiantly and killed the Python (which is what gives Apollo’s priestesses their name) and inevitably took the temple over with his worship. what this doesn’t account for, is the fact Hyakinthos is still worshipped at the temple heavily, his and Apollo’s worship having mingled and being near inseparable. it is even said that upon his death and burial, Apollo said to give him (Hyakinthos) all offerings first. now, if you know a thing or two about Greek worship, the first portion of the offering was incredibly important, especially considering hero worship was probably closer to chthonic sacrifices in practice; though they were not considered to be ‘dead’. within my research so far, I have yet to find this happening somewhere else, but I will update this if I ever do. now all of this is unusual with the theory that this myth symbolizes one deity taking over. if that were the case, why continue to worship Hyakinthos? Duality some of you may not know this about me, but I am a sucker when it comes to duality, specifically with lovers. this myth may be a symbol for the growing season and harvest of the crops. while it may be a common motif, especially among the Greeks, I think it’s a sweet and somber story giving personification to an important aspect of Greek life. I also believe the duality is less about the exacts of what they rule over, but the way they were worshipped. the closest example I can think of also comes from Delphi with the duality between Apollo and Dionysos (who, shockingly enough, was the only other god historians believe was present during the Hyakinthia festival besides Apollo and Hyakinthos). as a hero, or simply for his chthonic aspect, the ritual and practice would have been far different than that for Apollo. while this isn’t exactly backed by anything I can find specific to duality, I personally feel a reason both Apollo and Hyakinthos were worshipped together in Amyclae is due to that duality between them. Hyakinthos would have been a chthonic deity probably for vegetation or agriculture, whereas Apollo here is a god of light (not the sun) representing life, health, and the ultimate grief. their worship in Amyclae was always together once Apollo was introduced (to some this hinted that they were possibly the same person representing a cycle, but most disagree with this theory). the duality is clearly a theme already for Apollo, and I think what happened at Delphi with Dionysos is the same for Amyclae and Hyakinthos. together they represent loss and mourning but also happiness and life — love. ═══════════════════════════

⊰ Hyakinthos Associations ⊱

okay, now that I have bored you all to death, let’s talk about some less heavy things. due to their worship being completely together, I would say that nearly anything related to Apollo can also be associated with Hyakinthos and vice versa. however, we love individuality in this house, so let’s talk about the things either associated with him through the various, limited texts we have and some UPG. Associations ➳ larkspurs/hyacinths ➳ swans ➳ bow and arrow ➳ summer! ➳ new spring growth ➳ chiton’s (they were offered to him by the women of Sparta) ➳ death ➳ rebirth/cycles ➳ chariot’s ➳ blood ➳ blue/purple/red colors ➳ discus (sorry) ➳ lavender ➳ lyre ➳ lapis lazuli ➳ amethyst ➳ black tourmaline ═══════════════════════════ Devotional Activities ➳ keeping a garden ➳ maybe even an indoor garden ➳ go to parks and feed the swans/birds ➳ archery ➳ sports ➳ making a chiton ➳ writing poems ➳ taking care of those around you ➳ growing larkspurs/hyacinths ➳ get a devotional journal ➳ create a playlist (sad songs for the most part) ➳ fall in love deeply ═══════════════════════════

⊰ Deity Or Divine Hero? ⊱

I don’t know if this question can be answered for a fact honestly. what we do know is that he was at least worshipped as a hero, that much can be said. anything further than that comes at a later time and from the outside perspective. a lot of ancient Greek writers didn’t write down certain things because they saw them as common knowledge. this doesn’t help us looking back now. what we can say, is that some of the offerings given to him were not common with hero worship and would have been reserved for the gods. this is according to Angeliki Petropoulou, a professor in ancient greek studies/religion, and the author of “Hyakinthos and Apollo of Amyklai: Identities and Cults. A Reconsideration of the Written Evidence” pages 153-161. Within this, she makes the argument that Hyakinthos has gone through ‘apotheosis’. this is the action of a mortal, usually a hero, becoming a god. note: ‘βουθυσία’ is a traditional oxen sacrifice.

“The βουθυσία for Hyakinthos, which is indicative of his new immortal status, should be placed on the third day too. Oxen are costly victims, the bull being the most “noble” sacrificial animal. After mourning for Hyakinthos’s death and making a propitiatory sacrifice at his tomb, they honoured him with a bull sacrificed as if to a god. Yet the geographical range in which he was regarded as god was rather circumscribed and did not spread beyond the borders of Lakedaimonia. The βουθυσία for Hyakinthos would have been instituted after the construction of the altar on which Apollo received sacrifices; for the only altar excavated, in an area filled with remnants of burnt sacrifices, is attributed to Apollo.”

so there you have it. most places will probably call him a hero, and that wouldn’t be wrong. others may call him a deity, which also isn’t wrong. I’ll tell you what I’m personally going to go with, and everyone can make their own decision based on the information listed through this post and the readings I’ll link at the bottom. no matter your conclusion, the relationship you have will be completely yours, and it’s ok! if anything, I encourage that over taking my word for it. ══════════════════════════ for me, I think I consider him a deity. I know that I heavily romanticize the story, and with Apollo being so near to my heart, him having a terrible love life hurts my soul. while I don’t exactly want to rewrite any myths, I won’t claim that they are married, I will say that I believe them to be happy. their worship in Amyclae was so intertwined and based completely around each other from the history we know, that, for me, it makes sense to also honor them together. I’ll leave you all on one more incredibly sad quote from Lucien’s “Dialogue of the Gods” (that I referenced from earlier).

”Apollon : Well, my loves never prosper; Daphne and Hyakinthos (Hyacinthus) were my great passions; she so detested me that being turned to a tree was more attractive than I; and him I killed with a quoit. Nothing is left me of them but wreaths of their leaves and flowers.”

it’s ok to cry, I do nearly every time I read that.

⊰ For Further Reading ⊱

➳Hyakinthos theoi ➳Apollo theoi ➳Hyakinthos Wiki ➳My Hellenic Research Google Drive this also contains the Sparta book I reference and a few others worth a read.

[sartejournal]

Can we still talk about a necessity of recognition of fashion as a philosophical object?

A Book Review by Angeliki Baras

Lars Svendsen,FASHION: A Philosophy, Translated by John Irons, London, Reaktion Books, 2006

After the publishing of the book "A philosophy of Boredom", the Norwegian philosopher, Lars Svendsen, introduces another book, to the public, entitled "Fashion: A philosophy", expressing the necessity for the recognition of fashion as one of the objects of philosophy. With fashion becoming important to the point where it became our "second nature", from the 15th century and the establishment of the Ministry of Fashion in France, but also with its democratization in the 18th century, its presence surpassed the part of a social group and became quite important in the degree of attention we express to it today. However, according to Svendsen, fashion had not yet become worthy of the attention of philosophers as a scientific subject, because perhaps it was not the subject of an in-depth philosophical discussion or even research. Svendsen presents a critical approach to fashion by exploring fashion as a phenomenon that requires a deeply philosophical interpretation.

The denial of the perception of fashion as an object with graveness and substance, perhaps due to the fact that, from the 80s until today, philosophical research on fashion tends to touch more on moral criticism, turning the "philosophy of fashion" into a synonym for an empty debate. This view concerns the first category of studying fashion as a general mechanism of consumption or as an ideology or as a logic. The second category concerns fashion as a garment. These two categories continue to this day to entrench fashion as an object of study. Svendsen, however, argues that through a new comprehension of fashion we will be able to understand and perceive not only our historical situation, but also the modern world.

Clothes existed long before fashion, but this does not necessarily mean that fashion is the one that always recommends the new or that it has to do exclusively with what is "worn". According to Svendsen, fashion is also related to what is not "worn" and it is not limited and influences or creates phenomena concerning art and science. At the same time, Svendsen dares to express that fashion, like philosophy, is changing to overturn traditions, yet philosophers reject such a subjective view. Among the list of philosophers who devoted a small part of their research to fashion are Adam Smith, Immanuel Kant, G.W.F.Hegel, Walter Benjamin and Theodor W. Adorno, while Nietzsche seems to avoid discussing it. The list of whole books on fashion is limited to the two names of philosophers-sociologists George Simmel and Gilles Lipovetsky something that makes us wonder even today: "why does philosophy avoid talking about fashion?"

 Svendsen seeks the answer to this question through the history of philosophy. With Plato distinguishing reality itself between depth and surface, linking fashion with beauty, but in terms of fraud, arguing that this phenomenon does not deserve serious investigation. Thomas Carlyle Sartor Resartus argued that a philosophy of fashion is a work ridiculed by imaginative writing. For several centuries fashion wavered with the distinction between reality on the one hand and its appearances on the other, between depth and surface. Diogenes Teufelsdröckh wants to read the world through clothes, an important element for the philosophical investigation of fashion. Carlyle realizes that clothes are crucial to the constitution of the human self. As Simmel has pointed out in "Philosophy of Fashion", there is a connection between fashion and identity, while Hélène Cixous stresses, then, that clothes are not primarily a shield for the body, but rather function as an extension of it.

What Svendsen points out in an attempt to overturn the existing readings of fashion, is that fashion is not universal and its roots are not about general mechanisms. At the same time, just because it first appeared in a society with increasing influence, does not mean that in ancient times there was no sense of fashion, because there was no individual aesthetic autonomy in the choice of clothes, while there were possibilities of its variation. For about 14 centuries clothes changed little, but there were variations related to the material of their production, but also to details concerning the intentions and purposes for which they were made. Clothes began to change quickly in their basic shapes after the 14th century, while new colors were introduced and variations on  the application of fabrics to the body while in 19th century  was given special emphasis to the body. The first fashion magazines such as English Lady's Magazine of 1770 are contributed to the fast spread of fashion.

Gradually it began to be introduced the issue of the perception of clothes as a means of communication and by extension as a language. The directions around this issue were first mentioned in the Roland Barthes' text "Language and Clothing" (1959). This is a reminder of the methodological deficit that exists for the study of clothing as a philosophical object. The first direction concerns the historical periodization that time sections which are restrictive, because they are presented as absolute events. The second concerns psychology, a psychology, however, that is not related to the garment as an object, nor to the artistic subject. Barthes refers to the psychology of the consumer, a psychology of motivation. The second concerns psychology, a psychology, however, that is not related to the garment as an object, nor to the artistic subject. Barthes refers to the psychology of the consumer, a psychology of motivation.  At the same time, there is also the direction of psychology that sets the garment as an object of "self-expression", an interpretation that tries to approach psychoanalysis, but only of the subject who wears the garment, that is, it does not deal with the object or its artistic subject.  

The last direction, according to Svendsen, led to some unfortunate proportions that it would be interesting to pay attention to especially, because they are presented strongly in the press and especially in fashion magazines. One of these approaches is that of Alison Laurie, who argues almost to an absolute degree that clothes can create a vocabulary, have grammar and can constitute a language, because there is a wide range, like any "spoken" language.  But doesn't this require the possession of a large number of clothes? Does a fashion designer presenting a collection with a relatively limited number of clothes, suffer from costume- vocabulary deficit? This kind of argument is a parody for Svendsen, while at the same time, it is also emphasized what Barthes had argued, that there is methodological difficulty.

In the case of the relationship between art and fashion, in several approaches, such as Svendsen’s, occurs through a limited number of fashion houses, which in many cases belong to the same group and play the role of "patron". This, of course, according to Svendsen, is not the first time and has its roots in history. At the same time, Svendseon does not hesitate to present the issue, that fashion in several cases "borrows" or "steals" various ideas, namely haute couture with a "pirate’s" and methodical tactics does so, raising the issue of "Originality".

The book continues to raise the question of whether even today we have to talk about the necessity of recognizing fashion as a philosophical object, mainly because the conclusion we can reach is that this methodological difficulty presents both fashion and vestment on the part of the person who wears it, systematically ignoring the creator and especially the object itself. Even today we observe the methodologically illustrated generality that limits the study of fashion and clothing in the traditional context of history, emphasizing the difficulty of psychoanalytic description as the central idea of ​​clothing psychology is, perhaps even today, "self-expression".

For Svendsen, "self-expression" is also a reason to study fashion through a philosophical discussion, as is its relationship to the body, art and politics. This demonstrates a gradual idea of ​​a second degree of clothing semiology, which forces the garment to always be related to something else, without in several cases separating the signifier from the signified. The stylistic pluralism of clothing in our time constantly tends to be limited to a methodological uniformity that constantly seeks the need for a philosophical discussion around fashion.

[letterboxd]

We Bought a Cryptozoo.

As their kaleidoscopic new film Cryptozoo lands in theaters, filmmakers Dash Shaw and Jane Samborski talk to Jack Moulton about misguided compassion, the beholder’s share, Akira, Watership Down and life imitating art.

“Occasionally we watch a horror movie together, but I like to do things while I watch and Dash wants the lights down. We spend so much time together working so when it comes time to relax, I want to be as far away from him as possible.” —Jane Samborski

“Jurassic Park on acid.” This is the mystical world of Cryptozoo, the new film from personal and professional couple Jane Samborski and Dash Shaw. Cryptozoo takes place in a 1960s hippie society where mythological beings—griffins, krakens, unicorns, gorgons and the like, collectively known as cryptids—live among humans, though unhappily, since people have a habit of hunting them down.

We meet Lauren (voiced by Lake Bell), a protector of cryptids, on a mission to rescue a baku—a Japanese supernatural creature that devours dreams—from the military, who plan to weaponize its powers. However, in collecting all the cryptids into a sanctuary that feels more like a mall (echoes of Disney’s Epcot are plainly hinted at), the cryptozookeepers begin to realize that those they’re trying to safeguard are likely better off without their assistance.

Loaded with clear allegories for xenophobia and colonialism, Cryptozoo has proven both a hit and a miss among Letterboxd members with the nature of its metaphors, even if we can all agree it absolutely skewers white-people-savior complexes. Shaw and Samborski placed careful focus on the casting, for example, enlisting Greek actress Angeliki Papoulia to portray Phoebe, a Medusa-esque character from Greek mythology, who assists Lauren in her journey to locate the baku, and provides an essential perspective and critique on Lauren’s overzealous activism.

Steeped in detailed and surreal world-building, the kaleidoscopic, hand-drawn approach can become pure sensory overload. More than a few of our members felt compelled to light up first and check it out again if it ever hits Adult Swim. But among those happy to be overwhelmed, Andrew found himself “captivated by its tactile imagery; its texture and sketch and color, the full-body chills and immense sense of self—it is beautiful and passionate.”

Cryptozoo premiered earlier this year at Sundance, where it picked up the NEXT Innovator Award for its makers. (Although only Shaw is credited as director, Cryptozoo uses an ‘A Film By’ credit to emphasize Samborski’s visionary contribution as animation director.) The couple had previously collaborated on Shaw’s debut feature, My Entire High School Sinking into the Sea, which is much more of a roughly sketched-out daydream, whereas Cryptozoo represents a more serious shift, and a step up in ambition and craft.

Making films is far from Shaw’s only enterprise. After graduating from the School of Visual Arts in Manhattan, he has written comic books, graphic novels, lyrics and plays. Meanwhile, Samborski has appeared in several films as an actress, and lent her animation skills to productions including Netflix’s Thirteen Reasons Why. Among their animation influences, the pair have mentioned the films of Ralph Bakshi, Suzan Pitt’s Asparagus, René Laloux’s Fantastic Planet, Takeshi Tamiya’s Astroboy and the century-old films of Winsor McCay and Lotte Reiniger (especially The Adventures of Prince Achmed).

Shaw and Samborski sat down with Jack Moulton for a chat about expanding the scale of their work, life imitating art, the “heft and violence of Watership Down” and the best comic-book film ever made.

‘Cryptozoo’ director Dash Shaw and animation director Jane Samborski.

What stuck out to me when I finished the film was your ‘A Film By’ credit; it wasn’t just Dash, it had Jane’s name as well. How were the directing responsibilities divided in order to explain that credit? Dash Shaw: It just felt like the most accurate way to describe the movie.

Jane Samborski: I make a lot of the decisions about character acting and I’m taking the voices and using them to inform my understanding about the characters. In some cases, I was able to use video reference of the actors, but most of their physical mannerisms are coming from my brain, so in that way I’m taking a directorial role. While there’s a huge amount of the aesthetic direction that’s coming from me, Dash is definitely the one steering the overall ship. There were a few instances in the film where I got a little off-message and he pulled me back.

DS: Maybe it’s even more confusing with animated movies because people are doing a lot of different things, so when it comes to crediting we talk about what we think makes the most sense. We could have written our names on the backgrounds to try and figure out who drew what, but it just seemed like a film by the both of us.

JS: Everything is by us, except this thing, and this thing, and this thing…

What I found really interesting about the film is the way that all the characters are so fallible. It demonstrates how an egocentric allyship can do more harm than good. Why was it important for you to explore that idea of misguided compassion? DS: I think that that happened while trying to do something else. I had seen this Winsor McCay short, The Centaurs, and I wanted to write something Jane would enjoy painting. My first idea was about mythological beings, and then the next idea was that they were from actual mythologies in our culture and instead of being a fantasy world, they’re in our world.

That is when my mind went to these things that you talked about, like museums attempting to take imaginations from all over different cultures and introduce them to the public, and how that often damages the power of those artworks. There’s definitely a Cryptozoo movie that could’ve been made by a different person that didn’t get into any of this stuff, but because of my personality, those things ended up being embedded in the script.

You embraced the opportunity to utilize thin lines in Cryptozoo, as opposed to the thicker lines of My Entire High School Sinking into the Sea, which opens up what you can achieve cinematically. Can you talk about expanding that scale and how that may have approached your limitations? JS: It definitely was one of the first aesthetic decisions that was made in the film. There’s a broad simplicity to High School Sinking, so we wanted to zero in on fewer but more specific drawings. I was doing quite a bit of minor puppet work, especially in the latter parts of High School Sinking. I really love working in that way, so this was a match that played to an aesthetic that I responded to for a long time. It was logistically a lot more difficult as it’s very hard to turn in space with a puppet, so there were definitely times where we would run up against a problem and then throw out our rulebook and do cell animation. But I think that is the joy of setting up your own rules—you keep them as long as they’re useful to you.

Your film acknowledges very early on that “utopias never work out”. On the other hand, perhaps utopias never work out in movies because they’re just not dramatically interesting to explore when they succeed. What are your thoughts on sculpting a utopia in commercialized fiction? DS: You kind of know that it’s going to fail as soon as the movie starts. It’s a good fall. I find utopian art very inspiring and beautiful and that’s what I like about a lot of the art of the 1960s. I would not put this movie up against that imagery.

JS: Yeah, a utopia is certainly something we all want to experience but not necessarily something we want to hear a story about.

DS: That’s something that’s famously said about what’s really powerful about early seasons of Star Trek, and seeing all of these different people working together.

I imagine it was strange to be working on Cryptozoo for so many years, and then you have a storming-the-capital scene in your film, which premiered at Sundance only a couple of weeks after it happened in the real world (for very different reasons). How did that make you feel regarding the film’s timing? JS: It was a bit of a freak out!

DS: It was strange, even if we didn’t have that line in our movie, just to see that going on. It made me think of this art school thing, the “beholder’s share”, where the artists make 80 percent of the work in their time and place, and then the last twenty percent is completed in the viewer’s mind, in their own time and their place. You have to love that hand-off.

JS: The world changed so much over the course of making the film. Dash wrote the film before Trump was elected President. We started out with a script that we thought was talking about really interesting things that felt a little bit further away. As we worked on the project, it got closer and more real, so we just hoped that we were able to talk about it with honesty. The project feels like something larger than us and that’s really exciting.

When you look at some of the reactions, you can see how it’s really easy for audiences to dismiss the movie as too weird, but I do feel there are many accessible and mainstream elements to the plot. What are your instincts for playing in and out of the comfort zone? DS: One of my first ideas for wanting to make animated movies is that they would have a pop-art quality. They would be blockbuster movies that have been defamiliarized—they’ve been messed up, disorientated, changed, altered in some way. High School Sinking is like Titanic, and Cryptozoo is like Jurassic Park. There’s a blockbuster movie inside of them, but we keep veering away or disrupting it in some way that might make it seem stranger. It was right there as one of the first missions of making these films.

JS: I feel very differently. I love the experimental stuff, but if there wasn’t a clear story through-line, I would get bored. It’s the perennial music-video problem—it’s all gloss and no heft. So we have that clear action-adventure storyline to pull you through this crazy ride. We feel differently about what it’s doing for the audience, but it seems to be working, whichever one of us is right!

Are there any hidden or background details in the animation that you’re concerned people will miss? JS: For me, if somebody felt that there was so much going on that they wanted to watch it two or three times and they found something new each time, that would be the best thing ever. The idea that I would be able to make something that is worth multiple viewings far outstrips worrying that somebody is going to miss something I did.

What was the film that made you want to become a filmmaker? DS: I wonder if Jane is going to say Watership Down…

JS: I am! That was my favorite movie as a child. I liked to torture my friends with it. It’s particularly that segment right at the beginning when they tell the myth of El-Ahrairah—it’s so expressive and less representational, but it also has this heft and violence. It was definitely the first adult animated film that I saw. My parents wouldn’t buy it for me because it was at the local library, so we’d rent it again and again and I’d watch that beginning segment over and over and it would get scratchier and scratchier, so eventually the VHS just snapped from me watching it so many times.

DS: I would have to really dive deep to come up with a really good answer to that but for some reason the one that pops into my head right now is Todd Haynes’ Poison. I saw it at the School of Visual Arts. Poison felt like a collage movie with three different parts that kept pulling a special combination of ingredients. It felt like an art film and it also had very overt genre elements that were being used in an unusual way. It was one of the key movies to me that had a great independent spirit.

El-Ahrairah faces a challenge in the prologue to ‘Watership Down’ (1978).

What animated films have you seen recently that blew you away? DS: I want to plug an incredible movie we just saw at the Annecy International Animation Film Festival, Bubble Bath, which is a restored Hungarian film from 1980. I hope it will get a US release.

JS: We were also lucky enough to see an exhibit [at Annecy] for Michel Ocelot. I had seen the Kirikou films, which are phenomenal. I really like his work.

Do you have any movies that you often watch together? DS: We really don’t watch movies together. I wish she would watch movies with me!

JS: Occasionally we watch a horror movie together, but I like to do things while I watch and Dash wants the lights down. We spend so much time together working so when it comes time to relax, I want to be as far away from him as possible.

DS: I’m really glad we saw Bubble Bath together.

JS: That one was just amazing.

You’re a comic book writer, Dash. What’s the greatest comic-book movie ever? DS: Akira.

JS: Yeah, hands down.

Related content

Our animation correspondents Kambole Campell and Alicia Haddick in conversation about the 2021 Annecy International Animation Film Festival

Letterboxd’s Top 100 Animated Feature Films, a list by Rahat Ahmed

Vulture’s The 100 Sequences that Shaped Animation list on Letterboxd

Follow Jack on Letterboxd

‘Cryptozoo’ is currently screening in select US theaters.

[schemmentits]

Wip Tag Game

Rules: Post the names of all the files in your wip folder regardless of how non-descriptive or ridiculous. Let people send you an ask with the title that most intrigues them and then post a little snippet or tell them something about it! And then tag as many people as you have wips.

Tagged by: @emily-prentits

love is an open door (with you)

all the clouds in her (are raining)

Emily Prentiss x fém!oc

People vs. Vicky Gilmore

Turning Pages

Words with strangers

Loving Meredith

Tagging: @babygirl-garcia @crime-wives @jenny-from-the-bau @drewcrew24 @jareauwalker @bishopsbambina @emilylprentiss

[ffiahh]

i want to write a knight!sevika au, how happy would you all be if oc!angeliki will also be in there? sevika and angie won't be together (because let's face it; they clash), but i think this will be a great way to properly introduce angie in this writing world (she was created for another story entirely, but no harm in adding her to others as well)

[c-d-p]

OC tober week 5 prompt 1 - ‘post a pic of something that reminds you of them’

Olivia

You probably already guessed it- disco balls!! This is because mainly her VILE code name is ‘mirrorball’, but also because she likes shiny things and looking at her reflection. I think for me disco balls are my go to symbol for her lolll

Angeliki

This may sound a bit strange but a bleeding heart dove - they are so beautiful yet have a ‘bleeding heart’ which is a whole lot of metaphors i cba to write about rn 😭😭 it was between this an a siamese cat bc Angel owns one but i bleeding heart doves are what i think of when i think of Angel.

[hadarlaskey]

100 films to look forward to in 2021 – part 1

In a year of constantly shifting release dates and shooting delays, it’s been hard to keep track of what exactly is going on in the film industry, but the short version is this: movies are still being made, and we can’t wait to watch ’em. Here’s a bump crop of projects to look out for over the coming year. Let us know what you can’t wait to see by tweeting us @LWLies.

1. Bergman Island

We’re still a bit gutted that Mia Hansen-Løve’s excellent 2018 film Maya failed to acquire distribution in the UK, but we have fingers and toes crossed that her new one, Bergman’s Island, filmed on Fårö, will once more bring her elegant, emotional dramas back to the cinemas where they belong. This one is said to be a semi-autobiographical two-hander about a filmmaking couple (Tim Roth and Vicky Krieps) who head to the symbolic island to write their next scripts. Anders Danielsen Lie and Mia Wasikowska are also in the mix. Meanwhile, the filmmaker has announced her next film, entitled Un beau matin (A Beautiful Morning) which will star Léa Seydoux as a woman caring for her ailing father who embarks on a romance with an old friend. David Jenkins

2. After Yang

Prominent video essayist Kogonada made waves with his charming 2017 debut Columbus about a Korean-American who returns to the US after his father is suddenly taken ill. His second feature is based on a short story by Alexander Weinstein, and envisions a future where robots are purchased as live-in babysitters. Yang (Justin Min) is one such android – and when he becomes unresponsive, his human family attempt to save his life. Colin Farrell, Jodie Turner-Smith and Haley Lu Richardson also star. Hannah Woodhead

3. Il Buco

It has been ten years since Italian director Michelangelo Frammartino stunned the Cannes Directors’ Fortnight strand with his goat-based docu-fiction hybrid, Le Quattro Volte (“You simply must see the goat film!” critics brayed). According to Cineuropa, he began photography on his belated feature follow-up, Il Buco, in September 2019, and follows the Piedmont Speleological Group and their discovery, in 1961, of the world’s second deepest cave. And if that’s not the perfect elevator pitch right there, then I don’t know what is. DJ

4. Mona Lisa and the Blood Moon

Ana Lily Amanpour took a bit of a critical pasting for her post-apocalyptic thriller The Bad Batch, but we’re not counting her out just yet. She’s spent the last few years directing television, and her new film focuses on a girl with “unusual powers” who escapes a psychiatric hospital and sets out on her own in New Orleans. Kate Hudson, Ed Skrein, Jeon Jong-seo and Craig Robinson are attached. HW

5. Blonde

There have been plenty of films about Marilyn Monroe, but Andrew Dominik’s new one does sound quite promising. Based on Joyce Carol Oates’ fictionalised account of Monroe’s life, it stars Ana de Armas as the blonde bombshell, alongside Adrien Brody as The Playwright (Arthur Miller), Bobby Cannavale as The Athlete (Joe DiMaggio) and Caspar Phillipson as John F Kennedy (the same role he played in Pablo Larrain’s Jackie). Oates’ novel is a whopper at over 700 pages long, and has already been adapted once, into a little-known miniseries. Oates has seen rough cuts of the film, and she seems to be a fan. HW

6. Human Flowers of the Flesh

Helena Wittmann cites Beau Travail and The Green Ray as the inspiration for her second feature, which is enough to get us excited. Shot on 16mm, Human Flowers of the Flesh is a seafaring drama and stars Angeliki Papoulia as Ida, who navigates a ship with an all-male crew from Marseille to Sidi-Bel-Abbes via Calvi. Her co-star is the infinitely watchable Denis Levant. In a director’s statement, Wittmann called the film “An unusual constellation that undermines conventional hierarchies and patterns as it shatters the attributions of class, gender and responsibility.” Exciting! HW

7. Those Who Wish Me Dead

Taylor Sheridan specialises in grim tales about the worst of humanity, so no prizes for guessing what this one’s about. Based on Michael Koryta’s novel of the same name, the story follows a 14-year-old boy who witnesses a murder and goes into the witness protection programme, hidden in a Montana wilderness camp for troubled teens. However, he’s pursued by the killers, and his only protection comes in the form of the couple who run the programme, and Hannah Farber (Angelina Jolie), a lone woman who occupies a nearby fire watchtower. Further details are thin on the ground but Nicholas Hoult, Aiden Gillen, Tyler Perry and Jon Bernthal are down to star. HW

8. France

Perennial miserablist Bruno Dumont’s mid-career pivot to comedy has been surprisingly successful, resulting in his folk-metal retelling of young Joan of Arc (Jeanne) and the screwball Twin Peaks that are his two “CoinCoin” TV serials. On paper, France (formerly titled On a Half Clear Morning) looks like he’s sticking with the funnies, as the film is said to be about a celebrity journalist (Léa Seydoux) whose life and career go into a tailspin following a car accident. We’d usually have a line here saying, “expect this,” or, “expect that,” but frankly, we’ve got no idea what Bruno’s up to with this one. DJ

9. Mainstream

Frances Ford’s granddaughter Gia Coppola made her directorial debut with Palo Alto back in 2013, and has been working on music videos in the interim. Her latest film, starring Andrew Garfield, Maya Hawke and Jason Schwartzman, is set in Los Angeles and focuses on a trio of friends who rage against the corporate machine only to find the lure of capitalism all too appealing. The film premiered at Venice Film Festival to mixed reviews, but Garfield was photographed dressed as a giant rat on the set last summer, so y’know. Considered us still interested. HW

10. Wicked Games

After opening the previous decade with his daring and profane Paradise Trilogy, then filling out the rest of the 2010s with a pair of documentaries, the great Ulrich Seidl has returned to narrative filmmaking. He shares credit with wife Veronika Franz on the screenplay about a pair of brothers returning home to Austria to bury their mother and drink to her memory. Upon returning to their respective lives in Romania and Italy, however, they find that something has changed. From this broad premise, a lifetime of regret and repression will come unspooled, if the director’s past films are any indication. One could say that this auteur… has gotten back in the Seidl. Charles Bramesco

11. To the Edge of Sorrow

Just when you thought every imaginable movie about the flickers of courage and resistance during the Holocaust had already been made, in comes Romania’s favorite son Cristian Mungiu with one more take on the material. In this adaptation of a real-life survivor’s memoir, a teen manages to sneak out of the death camps and take refuge in the mountains, where he falls in with an underground coalition of Jews spanning nations and generations. As they prepare a counteroffensive against the inhumanities raging below, Mungiu indulges in breathtaking natural-vista photography to rival that of Terrence Malick’s recent high-altitude A Hidden Life. Try not to get a nosebleed. CB

12. Come, I Will Take You There

French director Alain Guiraudie wowed Cannes with his piquant gay nudist beach murder mystery Stranger by the Lake in 2013, and then confused the same audience with the head-spinning weirdness of its follow-up, Staying Vertical. Next up is the intriguing Clermont-Ferrand-set story of a young man who begins to feel affection for an older sex worker at the time the city experiences a terrorist attack. Guiraudie has proven himself adept at fusing together seemingly ill-fitting genre elements, and we’re keen to see how this one plays out, especially as it’s also a Christmas movie. DJ

13. Impasse

There’s plenty of fresh work from Chinese legend Zhang Yimou that has yet to be seen by Western audiences: One Second, his ode to Cultural Revolution-era cinema, hasn’t played since state censors yanked it from its Berlin premiere, and he’s reportedly readied a propaganda picture called Me and My Hometown. But most intriguing of all would be Impasse, an espionage thriller that seems to be in line with his recent, excellent action-fantasy Shadow. Though it’s the first spy film in Zhang’s long and storied filmography, he’s demonstrated a chameleonic versatility that’s served him well across disparate genres. There’s little doubt he’ll figure it out. CB

14. Chocobar

Lucrecia Martel made the film that the esteemed brain-trust at LWLies towers named the finest of 2018 (Zama) and for her follow-up she’s opted to make her first documentary feature in collaboration with the Sundance Institute and London’s ICA cinema. The title refers to one Javier Chocobar, a photographer, activist and chief of the Diaguita Indian tribe who was murdered when forcibly removed from his land. Martel has been invested in his story for more than eight years, attending various trials and hearings, and her film is said to be an admonition of centuries of colonialist plunder in Argentina. CB

15. Louis Wain

We like cats. We like pictures of cats. We like weird psychedelic pictures of cats. The latter will likely feature heavily in Will Sharpe’s forthcoming biopic of the schizophrenic artist Louis Wain who made his name by producing eerie-cute paintings of anthropomorphic cats in various poses. In the title role is Benedict Cumberbatch who, per available images of Wain, will be growing a big bushy moustache, and lip-smacking support comes in the shape of Claire Foy, Andrea Riseborough and Toby Jones. DJ

ETA: Autumn/winter 2021

16. Deep Water

Adrian Lyne wasn’t squeezed out of Hollywood; he was merely lying in wait, biding his time until we were ready for his genius once again. The one-time master of the erotic thriller revives that grandly ignominious tradition with his first film in twelve years, a psychotic pas de deux between real-life couple Ben Affleck and Ana de Armas. They play spouses long since fallen out of love, now getting their jollies by playing increasingly risky mind games with one another, a sadistic volley that begins to rack up a body count. Who’s the culprit? What’s their plan? And will there be copious sex scenes of significant steaminess? On at least that final count, we can be certain. CB

ETA: August 2021

17. The Woman Who Ran

If the basic concept of time, for any reason, just stopped working, we would likely be able to roughly gauge the passing of the seasons by counting films made by the Korean auteur Hong Sang-soo, who seems to be on a rotation of about one every six months. That said, 2019 was the first year he didn’t make a film since 2007, so The Woman Who Ran could be garlanded as his big return. It premiered at the 2020 Berlin Film Festival to wide acclaim, and it’s another intuitive, ironic meditation on love and longing which stars his current partner and muse, Kim Min-hee. DJ

18. City Hall

He’s often referred to as the great chronicler of institutes, from state capitols and department stores to welfare offices and abattoirs. Aged 90, this is Frederick Wiseman’s 46th film, and sees him take his cameras and long-time cinematographer John Davey to hang out in the corridors and meeting rooms of Boston’s City Hall. As with all of Wiseman’s films, they maintain a tight focus on a single place or subject, but operate as profound and poetic meditations on society, civilisation and humanity, and it’s not hyperbole to say that his immense body of work is one of the greatest of any filmmaker living or dead. DJ

19. Blossoms

As production ramps back up in a China still recovering from the coronavirus crisis, so begins what has been projected as an eleven-month shoot for the latest epic from the peerless Wong Kar-wai. The film chronicles a young man’s travails in 1990s Shanghai while searching for love and a way to advance his status, an epochal story told on a surely staggering scale. Wong works at a famously gradual pace (the script has been in the works for five years), so it may be a good while until anyone can actually lay eyes on this project – at the soonest, it could grace the 2021 fall festival circuit, though the master won’t rush for anybody. CB

20. Eureka

One question we’ve been asking ourselves since seeing the 2014 masterpiece Jauja: when is Lisandro Alonso going to make another movie? A recent press-release about a host of titles in-development via the Locarno Film Festival suggest he’s tinkering on something called Eureka right now. All that’s known about it, via production company website Luxbox, is an archive image of the Devil’s Tower out in the South Dakota wilderness, a jutting rock that’s just a stone’s throw from a hub of movie western lore, Deadwood. Which is one hell of a teaser for the Alonso heads… DJ

21. Nightmare Alley

If you’ve seen William Goulding’s 1947 carnival-based shocker Nightmare Alley, you’ll know that the news that Guillermo del Toro has co-written (along with Kim Morgan) and directing a new version makes a whole lot of sense. The mad, mad story sees a gruff, desperate carny worker (Bradley Cooper) attempt to learn a secret mind-reading technique from star attraction Zeena (Toni Collette) in order to become part of a wider money-making scheme, but everything goes very awry very quickly. Throw Cate Blanchett, Willem Dafoe, Rooney Mara, Richard Jenkins and Ron Perlman into the mix, and at the very least you’ve got a star-spangled ensemble to die for. DJ

22. Memoria

We all agree that Apichatpong Weerasethakul’s Palme d’Or win for Uncle Boonmee Who Can Recall His Past Lives in 2010 was the single greatest event of the new century. His new film, Memoria, was shot in Columbia – the first of his films to be made outside his native Thailand – and its story is woven around the presence of the coolest A-lister going, Tilda Swinton. The film sees Swinton as a Scottish traveller who starts to question her own identity and existence, with some kind of spectral element that is par for the course for Apichatpong. Film Comment published an excellent early set diary which contains lots of images of the production, so worth heading there for a deeper delve. DJ

23. News of the World

Tom Hanks goes west in his second film with Paul Greengrass, as a Texan who brings headlines from around the globe to rural communities in late 19th century America. He agrees to escort a young girl (played by the wonderful Helena Zengel, who was cast after her stirring performance in 2019’s System Crasher), to San Antonio, but his charge isn’t so keen on the idea. It’s based on a best-selling novel by Paulette Giles, but Luke Davies and Greengrass wrote the script for this adaptation. HW

ETA: January 2021

24. Deception

Arnaud Desplechin casually announced in December that he’d finished shooting his eleventh feature film in Paris, with a cast including Léa Seydoux, Denis Podalydès and Emmanuelle Devos. An adaptation of Philip Roth’s novel of the same name, Arnaud commented that the film “takes place in a time which now seems idyllic, before the Twin Towers collapsed and before the fall of the Berlin Wall, and it features refugees, notably women from the East.” Roth’s novel takes the form of conversations between Roth and various women, some real and some imagined, so we’re intrigued as to how it’s been transformed for the screen. If Cannes 2021 goes ahead, we expect there will be a seat at the table for Desplechin, who’s debuted his work there six times before. HW

25. Shulan River

Taiwanese maestro Hou Hsiao-hsien is thought to be working on a new feature, his first since 2015’s rhapsodic wuxia epic, The Assassin. The story is said to be set in modern day Taipei and follows a man’s relationship with a water sprite who has long called the eponymous river her home, but is now left in a state of woe and confusion as the river has now been concreted over and covered with railway tracks. Hou has never made anything that’s even close to a bad or misfired film, so take our word for it when we say we’re extremely eager to catch this one. DJ

26. The Last Duel

At the grand old age of 82, Ridley Scott could be forgiven for putting his feet up and having a cup of tea, but no – he’s still hard at work. He’s reportedly working on a Napoleon biopic starring Joaquin Phoenix as the diminutive general *and* a Gucci biopic with Lady Gaga, but his latest film sees Matt Damon and Adam Driver face off as 14th century knights who come to blows when Jean de Carrouges (Matt Damon) accuses Jacques Le Gris (Adam Driver) of raping his wife Marguerite (Jodie Comer). Ben Affleck co-stars as King Charles VI and presumably the wig budget was in the millions. Originally set for a January release, filming in Ireland was delayed due to the pandemic, leaving Damon and his family on lockdown in the Emerald Isle. We’ll now see Damon and Driver duke it out in time for a 2022 Oscar campaign. HW

ETA: October 2021

27. Mandibules

Usually when people use the phrase “Kafka-esque” it’s as slightly lazy shorthand for some sort of strangeness, but in the case of Quentin Dupieux’s next project, we mean it in the sense that he’s made a film about a giant fly. The story follows two friends who find the insect in the back of a car, and decide to train him with hopes of earning some money. If you saw Dupieux’s last film, Deerskin, about a jacket that was, uh, to die for (and indeed any of his surreal oeuvre) you’ll already know that this one is likely to be every bit as odd as his past works. HW

28. The Way of the Wind

After a long wait, A Hidden Life appeared at Cannes 2019 to much fanfare, and we’ve made no secret of how much we love Terrence Malick’s last film. Perhaps it’s wishful thinking putting his next picture – formerly known by its production title, The Last Planet – on a list of films we expect to see in 2021 as he famously likes to take his time in the edit suite, but we can dream. After years of religion being a theme in his work, he’s taking on the source material this time, envisioning key stories from the life of Jesus Christ. Hungarian actor Géza Röhrig will take on the main role as the Son of God and Matthias Schoenaerts is playing Saint Peter, while Mark Rylance has revealed he’s playing four different versions of Satan. Nice. HW

29. Armageddon Time

Take away all the moon buggy shoot-outs and death-defying dances with hurtling space debris, then James Gray’s 2019 film Ad Astra was a simple tale of a father reconnecting with his son. His follow-up, Armageddon Time, may sound like a bro’d-up Michael Bay sequel, but its story is in fact ripped from the writer/director’s own childhood and is said to be a coming-of-age tale set against the backdrop of Ronald Reagan’s rise to the presidency. Oscar Isaac, Robert De Niro and Cate Blanchett top-line the cast, which makes this a must-see before even a frame has been filmed. DJ

30. The Perfumed Hill

Mauritanian director Abderrahmane Sissako stunned with his dark, politically coruscating 2014 feature Timbuktu, and it’s good to see that a new offering is on the horizon. Little is known at this point about the intriguingly titled The Perfumed Hill, other than that it is a love story set in Africa and China. Sissako is a master of visual metaphor and poetic symbolism, and also suffuses his serious, angry stories with a dry, almost whimsical sense of humour, but as with any filmmaker worth his salt, he’s also unpredictable in terms of plot structures and settings. Which makes this prospect of this one even more enticing. DJ

31. The Tragedy of Macbeth

This adaptation of Shakespeare’s classic tragedy marks the first time one of the Coen Brothers has worked alone – Ethan is taking a break to focus on theatre, so Joel’s on his own for script and directing duties. His wife Frances McDormand takes on the role of one of the great literary villains of all time in Lady MacBeth, while Denzel Washington plays her doomed husband. Brendan Gleeson, Corey Hawkins, Harry Melling and Ralph Inesen are lined up, too, with Shakespeare pro Kathryn Hunter playing the witches. All three of them, apparently. HW

32. The Zone of Interest

Jonathan Glazer has been pretty busy lately, creating a terrifying short film entitled The Fall which aired unexpectedly on British television in 2019. His second film for the BBC debuted in July and was a collaboration with Mica Levi and Sadler’s Wells, which saw some of the world’s best dancers take inspiration from an involuntary mania which took hold of Strasbourg in 1518. His next feature film, however, is loosely based on a novel by Martin Amis, about a Nazi officer who falls in love with his camp commander’s wife. Previously set to shoot in Poland over summer 2020, it may have been pushed back due to the pandemic, but we’re hopeful it’s still on the way. HW

33. Babylon

After the slight misstep of First Man, the Damien Chazelle audiences know and love – the starry-eyed kid in thrall of the passion of music and the glitz of showbiz – has softshoed back onto the scene. In this glossy new drama, he’ll whisk audiences away to Tinseltown circa the Golden Age’s tail end, just as those newfangled talkies were minting stars and putting old ones out of business. Initially Emma Stone was to lead as Clara Bow, proto-A-lister and insatiable sexual dynamo, but she has now dropped out. It remains to be seen who will replace her, but Brad Pitt will portray a fictitious figure rumoured by some to be based on silent screen star John Gilbert. CB

34. The Souvenir Part II

Joanna Hogg’s The Souvenir was the best film of 2019, so our excitement for the follow-up knows no bounds. Honor Swinton Byrne will reprise her central role as Julie, while her real-life mum Tilda will also return. Charlie Heaton, Harris Dickinson and Joe Alwyn comprise the trio of young men attached, after Robert Pattinson dropped out due to scheduling conflicts. Principal photography began on the film last summer, but things have been quiet since – we’re hoping that no news is good news, and Hogg has managed to complete production. HW

35. Our Apprenticeship

Emergent Japanese talent Ryūsuke Hamaguchi won over a new wave of admirers at Cannes in 2018 for Asako I & II, his sensitive sketch of a woman torn between two men and the divergent lives they represent. Those currents of longing and existential melancholy will likely course through his next feature, which sends a Japanese starlet to a theatre school in France for some soul-searching. The diverse array of people she meets there, and the varied perspectives they show to her, reorient her thinking about herself and her desires in life. Hamaguchi makes perfect rainy-day movies, ideally paired with some lilting thought about where we’ve gone wrong in life, and this sounds like no exception. CB

36. Candyman

When this writer was at junior school, the 1992 film version of Candyman was in cinemas, and many had to be sent home in floods of apoplectic tears if they were to hear the word “Candyman” spoken three times. Hopefully, this terrifying scare story will do the rounds of educational institutes once more as a new version of the film doomily swoops into cinemas with director Nia DaCosta at the helm and Jordan Peele on scriptwriting details. Though Peele is the big, banner name on this production, we’re very excited to see what DaCosta does with this material, particularly on the back of her lauded 2018 debut, Little Woods. DJ

ETA: October 2021

37. Siberia

The creative synthesis between expat director Abel Ferrara and his constant muse Willem Dafoe hits a new high in this free-form character study. Dafoe flees his former life by playing bartender at a dive joint in the deepest, frostiest reaches of Russia. But one night, after dog-sledding to a cave with a mystical yonic aura, he’s reborn through his own past. A mental odyssey confronts him with memories of his father, brother, wife, and child as he attempts to make sense of his choices and possible future in between transportive visions. With Ferrara, we can safely bank on some soul-scraping introspection and profound self-loathing (not to mention extensive nudity from the esteemed Mr. Dafoe, confirmed at the Berlinale premiere last year). CB

38. The Power of the Dog

Sir Ridley Scott has long been attached to a screen version of Don Winslow’s 2005 crime novel The Power of the Dog, but this one from Jane Campion is actually an adaptation of a 1967 western psychodrama by Thomas Savage, starring Benedict Cumberbatch and Jesse Plemmons as brothers on a far-flung Montana ranch. Their strict rituals and brotherly nobility is upended and then some when one brother marries a local widow (Kristen Dunst) and brings her and her young son to the ranch. Production had begun on the film in New Zealand but was halted in April due to the pandemic, but resumed in the middle of June and the film will hopefully surface somewhere on the festival circuit in 2021. DJ

39. Uppercase Print

For his next trick, Romanian envelope-pusher Radu Jude will apply his signature blurring of archival excavation, theatrical recreation, documentary and narrative cinematic forms to one ghastly footnote from national history. From all angles, the film inspects an episode in Ceausescu’s 1980s in which the secret police apprehended subversive graffiti artist Mugur Calinescu and nearly interrogated the life out of him. As a whole, this multivalent project forms an unconventional thesis on the dangers of state surveillance, the might of fascism, and the vital importance of individual rebellion. (Ioana Iacob, the mesmerising star of his last feature I Do Not Care If We Go Down In History As Barbarians, also returns.) CB

40. Annette

After years of delays, cast changes, speculation, and missing dogs, we know that Leos Carax’s first film since 2012’s Holy Motors is finished. According to Sparks’ Ron Mael (who wrote the music alongside his brother/band mate Russell) the film was supposed to be at Cannes last year. Alas, COVID had other ideas, so we’re hoping for a Cannes 2021 bow for this musical, starring Adam Driver as a stand-up comedian and Marion Cotillard as his opera singer wife, whose lives are upended when their daughter, Annette, is born with a unique gift. HW

41. Last Night in Soho

Originally scheduled for a premiere at Cannes and a September release but now delayed to next spring, Edgar Wright’s new film sees him hop back across the pond after the success of Baby Driver, and return to his horror roots. This time-travel thriller set in the heart of London stars Anya Taylor-Joy and Thomasin Mackenzie and sees the latter transported back to the 1960s: a time period she’s obsessed with. Matt Smith, Dianna Rigg and Terence Stamp co-star, and the whole thing is lensed by Chung Chung-hoon, best-known for his work with Park Chan-wook. HW

ETA: April 2021

42. Bora Bora

UK audiences have only just experienced the full rutting astonishments of Spaniard Albert Serra’s 18th-century dogging movie Liberté, but Serra is already onto its follow-up, Bora Bora. This one charts the love affair between a French diplomat and a Polynesian author on the famed Pacific sun spot and is said to be set against a backdrop of racial tension and political espionage. On paper it seems like Serra might be attempting to court a slightly broader audience than his experimental sex odyssey, but with him, you never really know. DJ

43. The Northman

Continuing to carve out his niche as the creepy historical ghost story guy, Robert Eggers’ next film is described as a viking revenge film. He’s reteaming with The Lighthouse star Willem Dafoe and The Witch’s Anya Taylor-Joy, but there’s a whole lot of additional A-List talent: Nicole Kidman, Claes Bang, and Skarsgård brothers Alexander and Bill. Production was paused due to COVID-19, but filming completed in Ireland over the summer. Could a Cannes 2021 competition slot be on the cards given The Lighthouse’s massive success in Director’s Fortnight in 2019? HW

44. Hypnotic

Alita: Battle Angel spawned a legion of dedicated fans and did pretty well at the box office, so all eyes will be on Robert Rodriguez’s next project, which was supposed to begin filming in Los Angeles earlier this year. It’s now set to film in Austin round about now. Ben Affleck stars as a detective involved in a missing persons case, simultaneously investigating a string of heists which should be impossible. Rodriguez himself has described the film as a “very modern Hitchcock-type movie”, which is quite a claim. HW

45. Elvis

A biopic based on the life of Elvis Presley has been in the works for ages, and the titular role caused something of a scuffle among young Hollywood heartthrobs keen to play an Old Hollywood heartthrob. In the end, Austin Butler won the role, and he’ll star alongside Tom Hanks in Baz Luhrmann’s undoubtedly spectacular spectacular. Production was underway in Australia when COVID hit (notably, Hanks and his wife contracted the virus) and the delay forced previously-confirmed cast members Maggie Gyllenhaal and Rufus Sewell to drop out. Due to entry restrictions currently in force in Australia, filming resumed with a primarily Antipodean cast, including Xavier Samuel and Dacre Montgomery. Is Butler gunning for the coveted Best Actor Impersonating A Beloved Musician Oscar? Only time will tell. HW

ETA: November 2021

46. After London

It was way back in 2016 that British artist filmmaker Ben Rivers would make his debut narrative feature with the assistance of the great Rook Films label, founded by Andy Starke and Ben Wheatley. Since then he has made the delightful Krabi 2562 in collaboration with Thai director Anocha Suwichakornpong, so After London may not quite technically count as a fiction debut. Beyond the title, very little is known of the project, but Rivers is someone who maintains a constant flow of productivity, and his unique, intuitive, lyrical personal style will make this one a must see whenever it finally surfaces. DJ

47. Days

Taiwanese slow-cinema pioneer Tsai Ming-liang continues to refine his legato, hyper-minimal style in a two-hander pairing his usual star Lee Kang-sheng with first-timer Laotian immigrant Anong Houngheuangsy. The film contrasts their disparate lives: the former lives in a spacious, palatial estate while the latter spends his days in a poorly furnished little apartment. But an unexpected intersection of their lives during a fateful massage has a profound effect on the men joined by this fleeting moment of shared humanity. Lyrical, poetic, meditative, it’s another key plank in the lifelong work of a significant artist. CB

48. Don’t Look Up

Adam McKay will continue his Serious Satirical Commentary phase on Netflix, with an allegorical comedy in which a pair of clear-eyed analysts must warn the American people of impending disaster. But it’s not the financial collapse, or the election of Donald Trump, or the outbreak of a worldwide pandemic – there’s a gargantuan asteroid on track to obliterate Earth, and yet no one seems fazed by this news. Some reject the information as a hoax, some can’t be bothered to care, others give up, but nobody’s doing anything. Sound familiar? The two astronomers trying to shake the world into giving a damn will be played by Cate Blanchett and Jennifer Lawrence, who would ostensibly have little trouble getting people to pay attention to them, but that’s movies for you.  CB

49. Malignant

After the massive success of Aquaman, James Wan is going back to his horror roots. Based on a story written by Wan and his wife Ingrid Bisu, the plot is a closely-guarded secret, and although the film was originally due to be released last summer, it was pulled from Warner’s slate at the start of the pandemic and hasn’t been rescheduled yet. We do know the cast though: Annabelle Wallis, Jake Abel and McKenna Grace lead the way. HW

50. Earwig

French director Lucile Hadzihalilovic doesn’t make films very often, but when she does, it is our duty to embrace them fully. She followed up her creepy 2004 debut, Innocence, with the artfully-inclined body horror of Evolution in 2015 (both are must-see movies if you haven’t partaken already), and she is currently tinkering away with an adaptation of Brian Catling’s 2019 steampunk horror novella ‘Earwig’. It involves a young girl with teeth made from ice and her nervy carer who once day receives a daunting call that he must travel with her from Liege to Paris for some unknown reason. Book us the entire front row now for this one. DJ

The post 100 films to look forward to in 2021 – part 1 appeared first on Little White Lies.

source https://lwlies.com/articles/2021-preview-100-films-to-see-part-1/

[planetarduino]

Learning Greek with an arcade-style vocabulary reviewer

Learning a new language is always a challenge, but can also be extremely rewarding. To help with this task — specifically learning Greek — Angeliki Beyko created an arcade-style review machine. Her device cleverly uses a sheet of pegboard to hold the electronics, including seven LCD screens to indicate category, level, and the actual Greek word being reviewed.

Possible answers are shown as pictures on four TFT displays, driven by four separate Arduino Uno boards that pull up pictures stored on SD cards. An Arduino Mega provides overall control for the interactive panel.

While ambitious, and a definite learning process, there’s currently some memory limitations and an issue with the screens not working when actually mounted. So as of now, it’s something of a work-in-progress, but Beyko is planning to complete the build with version two. More details are available in the project write-up and code can be found on GitHub.

Learning Greek with an arcade-style vocabulary reviewer was originally published on PlanetArduino

[schemmentits]

My 911 lone star fans, I’m thinking about writing a fic with an OC female and create a relationship with her and Tommy. Sort of deal with Tommy’s internalized homophobia that somehow applies only to her and maybe see her religiously. I don’t know if it’s a good idea and I need you to confirm. I summon you my Tommy Vega fans!