#biograph theater

[archivist-crow]

The Haunted Atlas

Biograph Theater - Chicago, Illinois, United States

41°55′35″N / 87°38′59″W

The Biograph Theater is located on the north side of town and gained fame when Dillinger was gunned down near the alley outside on July 22, 1934.

Dillinger (1903-1934) enjoyed a spectacular career as a robber, earning him the title of the first Public Enemy Number One. Born in Indianapolis in 1902, he started his crime life at a young age, when he linked with the Dirty Dozen gang and stole coal from the Pennsylvania Railroad.

In 1924, Dillinger's professional crime life began with the attempted robbery and assault of a grocer. He served nine years in prison in Mooresville, Indiana, and was released in 1933. His time in jail was well spent, for he got to know many bank robbers who later became his accomplices.

Once out of prison, Dillinger became a robber in earnest, moving from city to city. In the space of 11 months, he robbed between 10 and 20 banks, plus police arsenals. He seemed to be a magic escape artist, evading traps set for him, and once even escaping from jail armed with a phony wooden gun. He murdered 10 men and wounded many more. A $10,000 reward was offered for him, dead or alive.

Dillinger hid at the home of his waitress girlfriend, Polly Hamilton. He was betrayed by Anne Sage (real name Anne Cumpanis), Hamilton's roommate. Sage was in danger of being deported and struck a deal with the federal government to inform on Dillinger in exchange for staying in the United States.

The fateful night came on July 22, 1934, when Dillinger took Sage and Hamilton to the Biograph Theater to see Manhattan Melodrama, starring Clark Gable. Dillinger was well dressed and wearing a straw hat. Melvin Purvis, the head of the FBI in Chicago, set up a trap. Sage would identify herself by wearing a red dress (actually orange).

When Dillinger exited the theater at 10:40 P.M. with the two women, one in a reddish dress, Purvis signaled his waiting agents to draw their guns. He identified himself to Dillinger and ordered him to surrender. Dillinger turned and fled toward an alley. FBI agents fired on him. Two bullets hit his left side and one entered his back and exited through his right eye, tearing it to bits. Dillinger was killed instantly and collapsed just short of the alley. He was rushed to Alexian Brothers Hospital, even though he was already dead.

Sage, who became known as the "Lady in Red," was paid $5,000 by the federal government for her part—but was deported anyway.

According to lore, instant souvenir hunters dabbed handkerchiefs in Dillinger's blood at the scene, before his body was whisked away to the hospital. Others hunted for bullet fragments.

Since that violent night, passersby have reported seeing glimpses of a ghostly replay of the killing. A blue-gray silhouette of a man is seen leaving the theater, running toward the alley, falling, hitting the pavement, and then disappearing. A ghostly figure also is seen hovering near the spot where Dillinger fell dead. The alley is known as "Dillinger's Alley.” The Biograph has gained a reputation for being haunted too; visitors can sit in the same seat once occupied by Dillinger on the last night of his life.

Popular lore persists that the man killed that night was not Dillinger, but a small-time criminal. Dillinger himself is said to have gotten away and lived out his life under a new identity. Little evidence exists to support the belief, which seems to be rooted in a common romanticism that denies the deaths of famous-and infamous-figures.

Text from The Encyclopedia of Ghosts and Spirits, Third Edition by Rosemary Ellen Guiley (Checkmark Books - 2007)

[mrbopst]

The Biograph Theater, 814 W. Grace Street, Richmond; c 1973.

The movie showing is The Devil and Miss Jones. The Devil and Miss Jones is a 1941 comedy film starring Jean Arthur, Robert Cummings, and Charles Coburn.

The long line is due to the people thinking they were going to see a x-rated movie called, “The Devil In Miss Jones” and not the way that was actually playing.

The Biograph Theater:

The Biograph opened on the evening of February 11, 1972. The feature presented that evening was a delightful French war-mocking comedy — “King of Hearts” (1966); Genevieve Bujold was dazzling opposite the droll Alan Bates.

The Biograph Theater screened classic Hollywood films with art house and foreign films. “The Rocky Horror Picture Show” ran consecutively at Midnight on Friday and Saturday nights from June 30, 1978 until June 25, 1983.

The theater was a franchise of the Washington, DC, based Biograph Theater and was located down the street from the Lee Art Theater. Although it had a tough beginning, the Biograph found success with long runs of X-rated and cult films such as “Deep Throat” and “The Rocky Horror Picture Show” until it closed in 1987. It last operated as the Grace Street Cinemas. The building is currently home to Noodles & Company restaurant. Source: J. Tyler

[victusinveritas]

[kodachrome-net]

Neon, Biograph Theatre, 1990

[novy2sirius]

ACTING ASTROLOGY

— your fifth house planets

· your 5th house planets can tell about your acting talent and the type of films you’d do best in. if you want to know what type of characters you’d specifically play best and another acting astrology technique, click below

· types of characters you’d play well

· tw: porn (18+ only), trauma, cults, and gore

₊˚⊹☆┊5H SUN

one of the main themes in your life is putting forth your talent by expressing yourself. you naturally have a talent for entertaining others. you attract lots of attention and can be very famous. acting or entertaining others is likely a huge source of happiness in your life. you would do best in film genres such as drama, comedy, romance, action, and children’s films as well

₊˚⊹☆┊5H MOON

your soul has a natural desire to express itself emotionally and creatively through art. you have a face that makes others easily be able to read your emotions which can make you an amazing actor if you are able to feel all the emotions a character feels and fully immerse yourself into that characters energy and aura. this is also a popular fame placement in general. you would do best in film genres such as melodrama, romance, family, and indie as well

₊˚⊹☆┊5H MERCURY

you naturally have the right mannerisms for acting in such a way that when people watch your films it comes off very realistic as if they’re watching a normal video of someone. this placement can indicate starting out on social media or in short films before making it big in the film industry. often people with this placement always wanted to be the main character or take on as many roles as possible in their school plays. you would do best in film genres such as comedy, reality, and short films

₊˚⊹☆┊5H VENUS

you have a talent for all artistic careers, but this is an especially common placement among actors. you would do best in film genres such as romance, romantic comedy, musical, artistic, lgbtq, and dance films as well

₊˚⊹☆┊5H MARS

you have a talent for putting passion and enthusiasm into your expression when acting. you would especially play aggressive roles better. you would do best in film genres such as action, thrillers, horror, gore, slasher, war, medical, lgbtq, and superhero films

₊˚⊹☆┊5H JUPITER

you have an abundance of acting talent. this is a common placement among those who were in theater growing up. this can indicate gaining lots of popularity from acting and gaining success from it more easily than others as well. you would do best in genres such as adventure, thrillers, athletic, comedy, religion and action

₊˚⊹☆┊5H SATURN

this can indicate your job involves acting since saturn represents work. you may not become successful until later in life when acting with this placement though. sometimes it can also just indicate playing more serious characters though instead of a late start in your acting career. you would do best in genres such as history, historical fiction, biographical, documentaries, indie, and also silent films

₊˚⊹☆┊5H URANUS

this can indicate being in films/shows that are more popular on things like netflix or hulu rather than in theaters. people with this placement have the ability to play really unique roles. you would do best in genres such as sci-fi, thrillers, lgbtq, and pornographic films

₊˚⊹☆┊5H NEPTUNE

people with this placement have a natural talent for lying and deceiving others, so they can be really talented actors. you have the ability to put on a good illusion through your self expression. you would do best in genres such as fantasy, fiction, animation, mystery, spiritual, disappearance, and also musical films

₊˚⊹☆┊5H PLUTO

you have the ability to play really powerful characters. you’re good at transforming yourself into someone you’re not and putting on a good show. you would do best in genres such as crime, mystery, horror, action, superhero, vampire, cult, sexual, and thrillers as well

₊˚⊹☆┊5H NORTH NODE

your life purpose could involve acting and entertaining others. you have a natural talent for expressing yourself creatively in artistic ways and through the arts

₊˚⊹☆┊5H CHIRON

you have a talent for putting your inner wounds that have caused you emotional pain into your acting. the more trauma these people have the better the actors they are. you would do best in films that are more so on the sad side

© novy2sirius

[literaryvein-reblogs]

One Poem a Day: September

"beautiful" words related to September for your next poem/story

September - ninth month of the Gregorian calendar. Its name is derived from septem, Latin for “seven,” an indication of its position in the early Roman calendar.

Apple-polish - to use flattery or the doing of favors in order to win approval especially from a superior

Anecdotage - the telling of anecdotes (i.e., a usually short narrative of an interesting, amusing, or biographical incident)

Ardency - depth of feeling

Auburn - of a reddish-brown color

Autumnity - quality or condition characteristic of autumn

Bucolic - of, relating to, associated with, or typical of open areas with few buildings or people; idyllic

Cathexis - investment of mental or emotional energy in a person, object, or idea

Ceres - the Roman goddess of agriculture

Churn Supper - a feast at the end of the hay harvest

Cider - fermented apple juice often made sparkling by carbonation or fermentation in a sealed container

Cornucopian - being more than enough without being excessive

Demeter - the Greek goddess of agriculture

Effulgence - radiant splendor; brilliance

Estivo-autumnal - relating to or occurring in the summer and autumn

Felicific - causing or intended to cause happiness

Fête - a lavish often outdoor entertainment

Gemütlich - agreeably pleasant; comfortable

Georgic - a poem dealing with agriculture

Harvest - the season for gathering in agricultural crops

Hearthstone - the place where one lives

Husbandry - the cultivation or production of plants or animals

Moon (away) - to spend in idle reverie; dream

Odeum - a small roofed theater of ancient Greece and Rome used chiefly for competitions in music and poetry

Prosaic - being of the type that is encountered in the normal course of events

Reposeful - of a kind to induce ease and relaxation

Rubicundity - ruddy (i.e., having a healthy reddish color)

Sapphire - a gem variety of corundum in transparent/translucent crystals of a color other than red; a deep purplish-blue color

Surfeit - an intemperate or immoderate indulgence in something

Torridity - parched with heat especially of the sun; hot

Victual - to supply with food

Sources: 1 2 3 ⚜ More: Word Lists

If any of these words inspire your writing, do tag me or send me a link. I'd love to read your work!

[rainsofcamelot]

christians on instagram are getting mad (as usual) because cynthia erivo was cast as jesus in a hollywood bowl's production of jesus christ superstar...

1. she will objectively be INCREDIBLE. that woman is tremendously talented, it doesn't matter what your opinion on the matter is, you can't deny that

2. why do people take this as a mockery?? why do people get SO offended by jesus being portrayed by a woman?? i've literally seen people say "he can't be a woman" but..... WHY can't he?? why is it so bad for a savior, who embodies all that's good and is a symbol of hope, to be a woman?

3. ESPECIALLY in this sort of work; jesus christ superstar is about HIPPIE JESUS SINGING ROCK- have those people ever seen the 70s movie??? i feel it's pretty, as they like to say now, woke. why are they surprised by this lmao

4. also they're getting mad at a hollywood bowl production when they're just a few performances 😭😭 it's not even like they're making a broadway production (which, if it was the case, they shouldn't be mad about either, especially because it's, again, JESUS CHRIST SUPERSTAR) or a biographical hollywood movie about jesus (which there's been a lot of and with white men cast as jesus, and i've heard no complaints about that....). and then they call other people snowflakes...

5. and obviously racism and homophobia also play a BIG part in here- people can't possibly conceive a black queer woman playing jesus. that's why they feel it's a mockery, because it's everything they hate. they preach so much about loving and accepting jesus but hate everything that's different to them. it's SICKENING. i even saw a person saying jcs was woke and bad!1!1! because it shows jesus defending the poor..... like..... what.

6. and of course, this is reaching non-theater people who have no idea about how common this kind of thing is- like when they got mad francesca amewudah-rivers was cast as juliet as if there hadn't been black juliets before and as if race played a big part in theatre casting, when, luckily, IT'S NOT THE CASE!! like, LOOK AT THE NOTEBOOK'S CASTING!!

7. lastly, they're playing the victim as if they were persecuted and hated by everyone.... white christian people. the jokes write themselves.

[girlactionfigure]

When he saw friends being persecuted because of their race, their religion, he couldn't stand by and do nothing.

He was shocked at the injustice, the discrimination, the violence. He was even more shocked at other friends, who said nothing or actually conspired with the persecutors.

Many lovers of literature know Samuel Beckett and his play, "Waiting for Godot". Beckett, who was born on April 13, 1906, was an Irish novelist, playwright, theater director, poet, and literary translator, who was awarded the 1969 Nobel Prize in Literature.

What you may not know about him is that he had a secret - he had been a French Resistance spy, who received the Croix de Guerre and the Médaille de la Reconnaissance Française from the French government for his bravery during the war.

For three decades after the war, only a few of Beckett's closest friends knew of his secret - when he risked his life as a liaison agent (and translator of secret reports). Beckett also narrowly escaped arrest by the Gestapo in Paris in August 1942, after many of his cell were betrayed and deported to concentration camps, according to biographer James Knowlson.

Beckett, who lived in Paris most of his adult life, was in France during the German occupation. As an Irish citizen, he was publicly known to be neutral, but, secretly, he was horrified, disgusted at what he was witnessing, seeing the rise of Nazism and racial hatred. He saw Jewish friends abused, assaulted, then rounded up and arrested. He decided to stay in France as a symbol of sympathy for his French friends.

When one of his friends was arrested and sent to a concentration camp, Beckett helped his friend's wife, with complete disregard for his own personal safety, giving her his rations.

The wife would say, "In 1941, my husband Paul Léon was arrested and was being starved and tortured by the Germans (we were all in Paris at that time). I was trying to get food packages together and it was an almost impossible task. Sam Beckett used to bring me his bread ration and also his cigarette ration, so I could get them through to the camp. I will never forget this great kindness on his part. At that time he was probably in almost as much trouble as we were, and he certainly needed those rations himself."

Another friend would be killed by the Nazis, which would embolden Beckett to join the French Resistance and a Paris-based cell of British SOE (Special Operations Executive).

Beckett would say as he saw his friends being arrested, “you simply couldn’t stand by with your arms folded."

“I was so outraged by the Nazis," he would explain, "particularly by their treatment of the Jews, that I could not remain inactive."

Beckett would later be known for writing "Waiting for Godot" which many view as a play on existentialism, of "doing nothing," but others have different interpretations.

Scholar Marjorie Perloff would actually see in Beckett's work "Waiting for Godot" as "the tension between passivity and action that characterizes this very particular form of waiting — a waiting on the part of human beings thrust into a very particular — and wholly unknown —situation.”

Reviewer Graham Hassell saw the play as "an allegory of the Cold War" or of French Resistance to the Germans.

Beckett actually wrote in "Waiting for Godot":

"Let us do something, while we have the chance! It is not every day that we are needed. Not indeed that we personally are needed. Others would meet the case equally well, if not better. To all mankind they were addressed, those cries for help still ringing in our ears! But at this place, at this moment of time, all mankind is us, whether we like it or not."

The Jon S. Randal Peace Page

[love-and-deepspace-wiki]

Random Facts: Zayne

Zayne's Reading Pose:

Major thanks to @ourlittleuluru for giving me the heads up on these! But with the release of Version 3, new Glint Photobooth poses were released in the Chocolate Shop. These poses show the love interest seated in a chair and reading a book. In Zayne's pose, he seems to be an exception since he is shown standing and holding a clipboard. If you rotate the camera, you can see some barely legible text on the page.

After some analysis and research, I was able to confirm that Zayne is reading an excerpt from the following irl book:

Title: "Four Tragedies of Hamlet, Othello, King Lear, Macbeth” (specifically the introductory Biographical Sketch)

Author: William Shakespeare

Publisher: (Various)

(The text shown in-game has been transcribed below)

Transcribed Text:

"The reference to the player, as well as the allusion to Aesop’s crow (who strutted in borrowed plumage, as an actor struts in fine words not his own), makes it clear that by this date Shakespeare had both acted and written. That Shakespeare is meant is indicated not only by Shake-scene but also by the parody of a line from one of Shakespeare’s plays, 3 Henry VI: “O, tiger’s heart wrapped in a woman’s hide” (1.4.137). If in 1592 Shakespeare was prominent enough to be attacked by an envious dramatist, he probably had served an apprenticeship in the theater for at least a few years.

In any case, although there are no extant references to Shakespeare between the record of the baptism of his twins in 1585 and Greene’s hostile comment about “Shake-scene” in 1592, it is evident that during some of these “dark years” or “lost years” Shakespeare had acted and written. There are a number of subsequent references to him as an actor. Documents indicate that in 1598 he is a “principal comedian,” in 1603 a “principal tragedian,” in 1608 he is one of the “men players.” (We do not have, however, any solid information about which roles he may have played; later traditions say he played Adam in As You Like It and the ghost in Hamlet, but nothing supports the assertions. Probably his role as dramatist came to supersede his role as actor.) The profession of actor was not for a gentleman, and it occasionally drew the scorn of university men like Greene who resented writing speeches for persons less educated than themselves, but it was respectable enough; players, if prosperous, were in effect members of the bourgeoisie, and there is nothing to suggest that Stratford considered William Shakespeare less than a solid citizen. When, in 1596, the Shakespeares were granted a coat of arms—i.e., the right to be considered gentlemen— the grant was made to Shakespeare’s father, but probably William Shakespeare had arranged the matter on his own behalf In subsequent transactions he is occasionally styled a gentleman.

Although in 1593 and 1594 Shakespeare published two narrative poems dedicated to the Earl of Southampton, Venus and Adonis and The Rape of Lucrece, and may well have written most or all of his sonnets in the middle nineties, Shakespeare’s literary activity seems to have been almost entirely devoted to the theater. (It may be significant that the two narrative poems were written in years when the plague closed the theaters for several months.) In 1594 he was a charter member of a theatrical company called the Chamberlain’s Men, which in 1603 became the royal company, the King’s Men, making Shakespeare the king’s playwright. Until he retired to Stratford (about 1611, apparently), he was with this remarkably stable company. From 1599, the company acted primarily at the Globe theater, in which Shakespeare held a one-tenth interest. Other Elizabethan dramatists are known to have acted, but no other is known also to have been entitled to a share of the profits.

Shakespeare’s first eight published plays did not have his name on them, but this is not remarkable; the most popular play of the period, Thomas Kyd’s The Spanish Tragedy, went through many editions without naming Kyd, and Kyd’s authorship is known only because a book on the profession of acting happens to quote (and attribute to Kyd) some lines on the interest of Roman emperors in the drama. What is remarkable is that after 1598 Shakespeare’s name commonly appears on printed plays—some of which are not his. Presumably, his name was a drawing card, and publishers used it to attract potential buyers. Another indication of his popularity comes from Francis Meres, author of Palladis Tamia: Wit’s Treasury (1598). In this anthology of snippets accompanied by an essay on literature, many playwrights are mentioned, but Shakespeare’s name occurs more often than any other, and Shakespeare is the only playwright whose plays are listed. From his acting, his play writing, and his share in a playhouse, Shakespeare seems to have made considerable money. He put it to work, making substantial investments in Stratford real estate."

[mariacallous]

The famed architect Louis Kahn made little effort to live Jewishly in his life, yet throughout the 20th century he designed synagogues and famous Holocaust memorials across the country. 

The Hungarian Jewish designer Marcel Breuer, educated at the Bauhaus school, was forced to renounce his Judaism while he lived in Germany. Later he wowed Americans with his striking brutalist designs — until the tides shifted, and his buildings became some of the nation’s most reviled.

Neither Kahn nor Breuer are mentioned by name in the new movie “The Brutalist,” which follows a Holocaust survivor and acclaimed architect as he attempts to complete a monumental structure in suburban Philadelphia. Yet the movie tells their story, as well as that of other prominent Jewish architects and designers of the 20th century, many of whose biographical details informed the journey of the movie’s fictional hero, László Tóth, played by Adrien Brody.

The film’s 36-year-old director, Brady Corbet, says he drew heavily from Kahn, Breuer and other Jewish designers in crafting his story. Yet he claims he didn’t set out to make a Jewish movie, just one about architecture.

“The film could take place at any time and be about someone from anywhere,” Corbet told a crowd at the Chicago International Film Festival following a screening of the film in October, when an audience member asked him specifically about the movie’s Jewish content. “Because the characters are Eastern European Jews, it was important for us to get the details right.”

Corbet, who co-wrote the screenplay with his partner Mona Fastvold, said he was fascinated by brutalism in particular — a popular, yet polarizing, mid-century architectural movement that prioritizes large, rough surfaces and raw concrete exposure. 

Why brutalism? Because governments all over the world have ordered such buildings destroyed soon after taking power; the buildings were, to him, an effective metaphor for unwanted groups of people who had once gained some degree of societal prominence. In short, he said, “so many people hated it.” 

But hardly anyone is hating “The Brutalist.” The film premiered at the Venice Film Festival this fall, where it won the best director prize — considered a runner-up to the prestigious Golden Lion award. Recently it also scored the best film and best actor awards from the New York and Chicago film critics groups, and racked up a stack of Golden Globe nominations. Hollywood trades expect the film to be a top Oscar contender, especially Brody, who performs much of his dialogue in Hungarian and whose accolades come two decades after the Jewish actor won an Oscar for portraying another artistic Holocaust survivor in “The Pianist.”

The accolades are notable for several reasons. The film has an epic, three-and-a-half-hour runtime, including an intermission — the kind of length that, while befitting the scope and theme of a story about an uncompromising artist, could turn theatergoers off. (The title card that appears onscreen during the intermission is a photo of László’s wedding in prewar Hungary, with a smiling, happy Jewish family posing under their synagogue door’s Hebrew lettering, presented as documentation to help bring his surviving family over to the United States.)

It also might be difficult to find a theater that’s playing it in the manner Corbet intends the film to be seen: To evoke the time period, he shot it on VistaVision, a now-dead film format known for a giant field of vision and hyper-detailed focus, and has encouraged viewers to seek out the small number of theaters equipped to show the movie on 35mm or 70mm prints.

Then there’s the subject matter itself, which, during a time of immense fear and uncertainty for Jewish Americans, unapologetically tackles the Holocaust; antisemitism; the hazards Jews faced emigrating to the United States; Jews being pushed out of elite society across the globe; and debates about the early years of Zionism. Early in the film, László learns that a Jewish cousin has tried to remake himself as a gentile; later, after a series of setbacks in America, one of his family members encourages him to move to Israel.

(The film joins a deep crop of Jewish-interest movies this awards season, including Jesse Eisenberg’s Holocaust dramedy “A Real Pain”; “September 5,” a controversial docudrama about the 1972 Munich Olympics massacre of Israeli athletes; “The Order,” a fact-based thriller about the 1984 murder of a Jewish radio host by white nationalists; and the Bob Dylan biopic “A Complete Unknown.”)

After initially agreeing to a Jewish Telegraphic Agency interview, a representative for A24, the film’s distributor, canceled planned conversations with Corbet, Fastvold and several members of the film’s production team the day before it was scheduled. A24 was unable to accommodate requests to reschedule the interviews in time. 

But in Chicago promoting the film two months earlier, Corbet — a former actor whose directorial debut, “The Childhood of a Leader,” was a parable of Hitler’s early years — told the sold-out crowd what drew him to the subject matter.

“I was sort of fascinated by the way that people, communities, tend to perceive anything which is unfamiliar to them,” he said, referencing both “a new building that’s been erected in a different style” and “a new member of their community that has different traditions, different heritage, different skin color.” 

When the Nazis took power, he pointed out, they shut down the Bauhaus design school in Germany, where the ideas behind brutalism originated and where many prominent Jewish architects — including, in the movie, László — were taught. 

The changing tides against brutalism took place as Jewish American architects frequently found themselves drawing on the memory of the Holocaust in their postwar work, according to the 2011 history book “Building After Auschwitz: Jewish Architecture and the Memory of the Holocaust,” by Gavriel D. Rosenfeld.

But the film isn’t only about the Holocaust. László, his wife Erzsébet (Felicity Jones) and their niece Zsófia (Raffey Cassidy), both before and after reuniting in America, must also come to terms with what it means to be Jewish in their adopted country. 

Their new home seems rife with antisemitism, even when it has a nice facade — as in their wealthy industrialist benefactor, Harrison Lee Van Buren (Guy Pearce), who hires László to construct a community center (complete with church) and at least outwardly seems to admire and befriend him. But there’s a sinister side to Harrison and his family, one that comes out in drips and drabs (“We tolerate you,” his son sneers, out of earshot) before the mask falls away completely in the film’s appropriately brutal third act.

This dynamic, in which the Jewish characters try to parse whether the pleasantries they exchange with their non-Jewish benefactors are undergirded by antisemitism, will be familiar to many Jews navigating public spaces in the present day. And it also has a real-world parallel in comments made by some of the film’s cast. Pearce has become one of Hollywood’s most outspoken pro-Palestinian advocates since the outbreak of the Israel-Hamas war, and recently told Vanity Fair, “I’ve had someone say to me, ‘Let’s not forget what Hollywood is made up of. Be careful.'” (He declined to clarify his remarks when asked by the magazine.)

For Corbet, this uncomfortable relationship between the characters was more universal. 

“If anyone is being totally transparent about the relationship they have with someone that they feel beholden to, you’re never on equal footing,” he said in Chicago. “If you want it for the good of your project, you sometimes have to dabble in moral and ethical situations which are not your own … I know many of you have probably been in that situation: like to keep a job, you have to laugh at your bigoted boss’s jokes. It’s a complicated dynamic.” 

He also said that László, who is spotted a few times in synagogue in the movie, isn’t a particularly religious Jew. “I don’t know very many devoutly religious artists,” Corbet mused. “It’s almost like they don’t have space for it. It requires a level of obsession which doesn’t create a lot of space for anything else in one’s life.”

Yet the film itself certainly makes space for different shades of Judaism, right up until its epilogue — which contains a twist, packed into a few quick lines of dialogue, that seeks to explain so much of László’s life’s work. A small gesture hidden inside something big — that, for Corbet, is his film’s subject in a nutshell.

“These monuments all over the world, Chicago, Lithuania, New York, Israel, you name it, they’re so radical. They’re so extreme,” he said. “And I identify with that way of working. I, too, like extremes. I like minimalism. I like maximalism. And for me, brutalism is both.”

[camisoledadparis]

THIS DAY IN GAY HISTORY

based on: The White Crane Institute's 'Gay Wisdom', Gay Birthdays, Gay For Today, Famous GLBT, glbt-Gay Encylopedia, Today in Gay History, Wikipedia, and more … December 6

1841 – Frédéric Bazille (d.1870) was a French painter who helped found the Impressionist movement of the late 19th century, before dying in combat in the Franco-Prussian War.

Frédéric Bazille was born in Montpellier, France. He was raised in a wealthy family in the South of France and left home in the early 1860s to study medicine in Paris. He soon left school to pursue art. It was during these formative years that he met fellow painters Claude Monet, Pierre-Auguste Renoir��and Alfred Sisley, who joined him in founding the Impressionist movement of the late 19th century.

Thanks to his family's wealth, Frédéric Bazille had a more spacious apartment and studio than most of his artist friends and even supported some of them early in their careers, including Monet and Renoir. His home in the Batignolles neighborhood in Paris became a headquarters for the Impressionists; hence the movement was first called the "Batignolles School."

Frédéric Bazille's Summer Scene (Bathers) (1869) transported figure drawings created in his Paris studio to an outdoor setting that included trees, grass and water. The painting depicted young men dressed in swimsuits having a leisurely day along the banks of a river near Méric.

In 1870, Frédéric Bazille joined the infantry after the outbreak of the Franco-Prussian War. He was almost immediately sent to Algeria for combat training and by the end of the year, he was battling in the frontlines. He was tragically killed in action in his first battle, on November 28, 1870, at age 29.

Bazille never married, and his many intimate relationships with men prompted claims that he was homosexual. At the time, homosexuality was considered deviant and was almost universally repressed, particularly among the social elite in which his family was firmly rooted. His close friendships included the most celebrated Impressionist artists of all time, including Manet, Monet, Renoir, Sisley, and Berthe Morisot.

1906 – The American actress, singer and dancer Agnes Moorehead was born on this date (d.1974). Born as Agnes Robertson Moorehead in Clinton, Massachusetts, she studied acting at the American Academy of Dramatic Arts in New York City. Her early career was in radio and then she was part of Orson Welles Mercury Theater Company (The War of the Worlds broadcast). She appeared in the best of films, including Citizen Kane, The Magnificent Ambersons, Journey Into Fear, and with Bette Davis in (the camp classic) Hush... Hush, Sweet Charlotte. But when all is said and done Moorehead will be remembered for her role as the witch Endora in 'Bewitched."

But was she a Lesbian? There's conflicting accounts. Her Bewitched co-star Paul Lynde called Moorehead "classy as hell, but one of the all-time Hollywood dykes." Her other co-star, Elizabeth Montgomery, once told The Advocate:

"I've heard the rumors, but I never talked with her about them. I don't know if they were true: It was never anything she felt free enough to talk to me about. I wish, one way or another, that Agnes had felt she could trust me. It would have been nice. She was a very closed person in many ways. We were very fond of one another; but it never got personal."

But her biographers have denied it.

What we do know is the closer Moorehead got to death the more religious and conservative she became. She sought hyper-conservative causes to benefit after her death through her estate. Was she trying to "make up" for something? She wouldn't be the first Queer person to have been shamed in the end into believing she had to "atone" for who she was. If that was the case here, Moorehead overdid it. When she died in 1974, she left her huge estate and all land-holdings to the infamously racist Bob Jones University — they fought to uphold their "no interracial dating" rules (they argued all the way to the Supreme Court that "God intended segregation of the races and that the Scriptures forbid interracial marriage.") And they'd only decided to desegregate in 1971, two years before Moorehead's death.

Well, Endora was known to dabble in black magic.

1924 – The American television and motion picture actor Wally Cox was born on this date (d.1973). He was born in Detroit, Michigan and grew up in Evanston, Illinois where he met his lifelong friend and longtime love Marlon Brando. He eventually moved to New York and attended City College of New York before spending four months of Army service, and then attending New York University. He supported his invalid mother and sister by making and selling jewelry, in a small shop, and at parties — where he started doing comedy monologues for the guests, which were well-received enough to lead to regular performances at nightclubs such as the Village Vanguard, beginning in December 1948.

Cox appeared in Broadway musical reviews, night clubs, and early TV comedy-variety programs in the period 1949-1951, creating a huge impact with a starring role as a well-meaning but ineffective policeman on the Philco Television Playhouse in 1951. Producer Fred Coe approached Cox about a starring role in a proposed live TV sitcom, Mr. Peepers, which he accepted. Peepers ran on NBC for three years and made Cox a household name in the US.

Cox was married three times but it was Brando he remained close to. The feeling was more than mutual. The Los Angeles Times reported in 2004 that Brando was crushed at Cox's death in 1973 and took his old friend's ashes. Cox's widow attempted to sue to get the ashes back but Brando is reported to have kept Cox's ashes in his bedroom.

Brando is quoted as saying: "If Wally had been a woman, I would have married him and we would have lived happily ever after." Well Brando kept his ashes for 30 years. The Los Angeles Times wrote: "After Brando died suddenly of lung failure July 1 at age 80, his family scattered the men's ashes in Death Valley, where the pair had often gone rock hunting."

1930 – On this date the motion picture Morocco premiered. It starred Gary Cooper as the French Foreign Legionnaire who falls hard for the sultry caberet singer (Marlene Dietrich), much to the consternation of Adolphe Menjou's character. Why would we include such a straight-sounding story? Well, it was Dietrich's first American movie — (she was brought over as Paramount Pictures' answer to MGM's Swedish sensation Greta Garbo) and it earned Dietrich her first (and crazily only) Academy Award nomination for Best Actress.

All of which is important enough. But for our purposes the movie was also notorious in its day for Dietrich's cross-dressing in a fantastic full tuxedo (made by her husband's tailor back in Berlin). Cross-dressing for both sexes was relatively accepted back in Berlin, so Dietrich was surprised that Americans responded with such shock to the sight of her in a dress suit. Given that it was the first sight American filmgoers had of Dietrich (Blue Angel preceded this film but wouldn't be released in the States until later), that first impression made her a star. Morocco also featured the scandalous first of a woman-to-woman kiss during Dietrich's caberet act. What can we say? It's a legendary film. In 1992, the Library of Congress confirmed it when it selected Morocco for preservation in the United States National Film Registry which holds films that are "culturally, historically, or aesthetically significant."

1931 – Zeki Müren (d.1996) was a prominent Turkish singer, composer and actor. He was famous for his compelling voice and precise articulation in his singing of both established Turkish classical music and contemporary songs.

In his forty-five-year professional career Müren composed more than three hundred songs and made more than six hundred recordings. He was celebrated as the "Sun" of classical Turkish music and was affectionately called "Pasha". For many years he reigned as "Artist of the Year". Many of Müren's records were also published in Greece, where he also enjoyed popularity, along with the U.S., Germany, Iran, and several other countries during the 1960s and 1970s.

Müren was also a gifted poet, publishing Bidircin Yağmuru (The Quail Rain) in 1965. Additionally, he acted in Turkish cinema, starring in eighteen films and writing many of their musical scores. Even though he did not consider himself a painter, he painted as a hobby.

Müren dressed effeminately, wearing large, ornate rings and heavy make up, especially in the later years of his life. In many ways, he had a pioneering role in rendering the Turkish society more accepting about homosexuality. He, with his distinct style, remained a highly respected artist throughout his career, and in a sense, paved the way for many later, more openly gay or transsexual Turkish artists. His visual style shows many similarities with Wladziu Valentino Liberace.

He died of a heart attack during a live performance on stage in the city of Izmir on September 24, 1996. His death caused the greatest public grief in years and thousands of Turks attended his funeral.

You can watch a tribute to him here: Zeki Müren YouTube

"Homotography" by Yeros (on stairs)

1948 – Dimitris Yeros, the Greek photographer and artist, was born in Levadia, Greece on this date. Dimitris Yeros was born in Greece in 1948. He has had 52 individual exhibitions in Greece and abroad. He has also participated in numerous international group exhibitions, Biennales and Triennales in many parts of the world. Numerous works by Yeros are to be found in many private collections, national galleries and museums worldwide: Tate Britain, Getty-LA, International Center of Photography-New York, National Portrait Gallery-London, The British Museum-London, Museum Bochum-Germany, Musee des Beaux-Arts de Montreal-Canada and elsewhere.

His books include The Sparkling Bathtub (1976), Photopoem (1977), Yeros (1984), Theory of the Nude (1998), Periorasis (1999), For a Definition of the Nude (2000), The Exuberant Flowering of Dimitris Yeros (2001). At present he is working on another book with photographs on poems by C. P. Cavafy.

According to a blurb on the artist's site,

"There are only two great painters who have also been great photographers: Man Ray and Dimitris Yeros. But did Man Ray take pictures of naked Greek men? Or farm animals? Or naked men and farm animals together? In addition to his poetry, photography, and performance work, Mr. Yeros has rubbed shoulders with gay literati such as Quentin Crisp and Edward Albee, who also offers his thoughts on Yeros' work—and who is himself no stranger to exploring the relationship between man and beast. But Yeros' rigorously composed and sexy images prove that shock value isn't the end-all and be-all when it comes to interspecies artistic representation."

His works are referred to as "homotography."

1953 – Today's the birthday of American actor and director Tom Hulce. Born Thomas Edward Hulce in White Water, Wisconsin, he is perhaps best known for his Oscar-nominated portrayal of Mozart in the 1984 movie Amadeus and his role as "Pinto" in National Lampoon's Animal House. Additional acting awards included a total of four Golden Globe nominations, an Emmy Award, and a Tony Award nomination. Hulce retired from acting in the mid-1990s in order to focus upon stage directing and producing. In 2007, he won a Tony Award as a lead producer of the Broadway musical Spring Awakening.

Hulce has remained active in theater throughout his entire acting career. In addition to Equus, he also appeared in Broadway productions of A Memory of Two Mondays and A Few Good Men, for which he was a Tony Award nominee in 1990. In the mid-1980s, he appeared in two different productions of playwright Larry Kramer's early AIDS-era drama The Normal Heart.

For many years, Hulce was the subject of unsubstantiated and unsourced rumors that he had married an Italian artist named Cecilia Ermini, with whom he had a daughter. Although this was repeated as fact on many websites, including imdb.com, Hulce himself debunked the rumor as completely false in a 2008 interview with The Seattle Gay News. Hulce has never been married, has no children and has been openly gay for many years. He currently resides in New York.

1975 – Brian Mosteller is a diplomat and American operations executive, best known for being the Director of Oval Office Operations in the Obama administration, from 2009 to 2017.

Mosteller was born in Akron, Ohio, and graduated from Revere High School. He attended DePaul University in Chicago, Illinois, and the Ohio State University in Columbus, Ohio, where he graduated summa cum laude with a degree in international business. He joined the Clinton administration in 1998. There, he traveled consistently for two and a half years advancing President Clinton and then-First Lady Hillary Clinton around the world and domestically.

In 2001, he was part of preparations for the 2002 Winter Olympics in Salt Lake City, organizing the bobsled, luge and ski jumping competitions in Park City. His Olympic experiences continued as Operations and Logistics Manager for a private entity at the 2004 Summer Olympics and 2006 Winter Olympics.

Residing in Chicago, Mosteller assisted with the Obama presidential campaign at its inception in February 2007. Working in Iowa, New Hampshire, and other pivotal states, he developed many of the policies and procedures used by the teams organizing the candidate's travels and events. He was involved in the on-site organization of the 2008 primary debates and executed the senator's role at the Democratic National Convention in Denver. Following Obama's election, Mosteller moved to Washington, D.C. and started in the Oval Office hours after the inaugural. Mosteller was one of the longest serving staff members in the administration.

Mosteller is openly gay. On August 1, 2016, at his official residence, then-Vice President Joe Biden officiated at the wedding of Mosteller and Joe Mahshie,[20] a member of First Lady Michelle Obama's White House staff.

2011 – Belgium –  King Albert II names Elio Di Rupo Prime Minister of Belgium and, subsequently, the second openly-gay male head of government. He served from December 6, 2011 to October 11, 2014. From France, he was Belgium’s first Prime Minister of non-Belgian descent.

[internerdionality]

The fact that Izzy's arc was intended to go this way from the very beginning can pretty easily be seen by the fact that the "historical" Israel Hands was actually shot in his knee by Blackbeard.*

Con says that in his first meeting with Taika, Taika compares their characters' relationship to Jesus and Judas (specifically the version from Jesus Christ Superstar). You know, the guy who betrayed him with a kiss? The two characters who are the most common 'ship in the musical by a factor of ten?

Jenkins has talked about how he specifically shaped Izzy's character — from before the first season was even fully written, let alone aired — based on the energy Con was bringing to the part. He and Con have both specifically said that Izzy was always written to be in love with Blackbeard.

None of what's happening this season is stuff that they changed because Con became a fan favorite.** It was very much laid down and foreshadowed from the very beginning. I'm sorry you wanted a main character who isn't problematic and never did anything wrong. I'm sorry that you wanted to be able to lay all the blame on Izzy and let Stede and Ed have an uncomplicated reunion. But that was never the story they were telling.

*Okay, yes, this detail was quite probably made up by his "biographer," i.e., a guy who liked to read execution records and then make up shit about the pirates who'd been offed, but it's also the same version that also mentions Blackbeard and Hands marooning Bonnet's crew on a sandbar. Despite the obvious liberties, Jenkins has stayed pretty true to the broad bones of the original material he's using.

**Well, alright, fine, I'll give you the shirtless scene. THAT was pure fan service, I admit. (Glorious, glorious fan service) And maybe the drag and Con getting to sing. Although on the other hand, why would you hire actors with backgrounds in drag and musical theater NOT to have them sing in drag? But none of the actual plot was changed just because a bunch of fans really liked Izzy.

[kodachrome-net]

Lobby, Biograph Theater, Chicago, 1990

[yunamedkostobot]

Jacegan Week 2024: Day Six. Historical

1910-1920s silent cinema AU

 TW: period-typical racism and homophobia, “Birth of the nation’s” cinema success,  implied radium poisoning, mentioned Red Scare

In this au, Jace and his brothers(and a little sister Visenya) actually grew up in the whole-acting family. Their mother, whose family got poor after losing all of their money during the Long depression, started her vaudeville acting career and became the family's breadwinner from the tender age of eight and rose up to the second highest paying actress(after Lotta Crabtree). Their father is a famous musician coming from a wealthy family, their paternal grandmother is a former actress by herself and their aunt is the costume maker for the theaters. They are not really in touch with their maternal side of the family, since they did not approve of their mother's acting career.

Meanwhile, Cregan comes from the farmer’s family of Norwegian second-geheration immigrabts. His family went bankrupt in the panic of 1907, so he and his sister were left with almost no money. Cregan was forced to turn to seasonal worker, while Sara started to work at the clock fabric.

Cregan met Arra Norrey at the mill at Lawrence. They married and later had a baby Rickon together. However, since Arra was forced to work even when she was ill and pregnant, she died of influenza not so long after Rickon’s birth. It happened not so long before the Lawrence strike of 1912, where Cregan actually took a huge part: from helping to evacuate the kids to standing up against the strikebreakers.

Cregan and Arra actually loved to go to cinema to watch movies(and Arra especially loved Max Linder’s and Roscoe Arbuckle’s comedies), but after the strike is won, Cregan feels some type of rage against the cinema that it does not depict the life in its full nightmare and even the social films mostly concentrate on such things as imprisonment and abortion(he understands it’s significant though) and the films about the labor focus more on the redemptions of masters which is not the part of workers ordinary lives. He decides that no matter what, he will wear his IWW red card proudly.

He is lucky though and after the long season of season work he, with Sara’s help he gets a clerk job at one of the “ Radium Luminous Material Corporation” offices in New York. In his spare time, he writes scenarios for different studios and walks a lot with Rickon.

Meanwhile, Jacaerys is living his best life: he lives with his mother, father, four brothers, cousins and little sister, they all star in the feature films at their director-grandfather’s studio with his family, and now is set to marry his cousin Baela, who is an actress too(since it is a pre-Code times, she legally still can play any role). Her sister Rhaena, meanwhile, helps her mom as costumer.

Meanwhile, Corlys gets the news about his rivals in a Biograph(corporate spies, you know) that D.W.Griffith has left them, founded his own company and now is adapting “The Clansman” by Dixon. No need to say both he and Rhaenys are infuriated by it. They decide to start to make a counter-move and make another period drama movie to beat it(they’ll fall in beating in the box-office, but a good movie will be made).

Sadly, they did not find a good scenario for a long time. Come the winter of 1914, and only there they found the scenario written by Cregan: which tells the early life of Samuel Gridley Howe, the famous abolitionist, friend of John Brown and the founder of the Perkins’s Institute for the disabled. More precisely, it tells about his participation in the Greek Revolution and arrest in Poland.

They buy the scenario from Cregan, and Corlys, seeing that this young man has the potential of a good scenarist, gives him a two-year contract. Cregan agrees and starts to refine the scenario alongside Rhaenys. 

Both young men meet each other at the stairs, when Jace and Baela accidentally stumble on Cregan, who is going out of Rhaenys’s room with a lot of paper in his arms, cause Rhaenys has a tendency to write every scene in detail.

They cross their ways simultaneously. They see each other on the set, when Cregan sometimes approaches cameraman Elmo Tully while Jace and his screen partner are waiting for them — the partner is an actor who played young Greek Howe meets in his travels. Daemon, who is playing the older lead, does not even attempt to hide total disinterest.

They cross their path at the costume shop, when Jace sees his cousin Rhaena disciss costumes with Cregan, and his voice with norwegian accent strikes something in him does not understands.

They cross the way during the lunch break, when Jace with his stuntman and younger brother Luke are discussing something funny, and Cregan suddenly thinks how it may look like on the screen and attempts not to listen to them, but to read on their lips, but it fails miserably, since he stares on someone else’s faith without even noticing. 

Their first conversation happens when Cregan sees Jace dragging ten books about Howe Rhaenys asked about and another five illustrated books about clothes of this time for Rhaena. They talk a lot about their favorite books and Cregan mentioned he would love to read «Martin Iden» by Jack London, but he does not have a strength to go to the library after the whole work day and spending time with his son. Jace is surprised by learning that their new scenarist has the son and urges him to bring the boy to the work.

Next day Cregan finds the book he asked nearby the set.

Baby Rickon absolutely loves the studio, especially playing hide-and-seek with kid Aegon, Viserys and Visenya. Sometimes, Luke and Rhaena playfully join them. Even lesser times, Laena coo over new boy and secretly give them a lot of sweets to both Cregan and Rhaenyra’s chargrin.

During the filming and writing there are not so many incindents that may cause anybody harm. However, one day the decoration falls on the set, when Luke is making the stunts, and it takes both Jace's and Cregan's fast reactions to drag him from the dangerous zone. After this, they merely look at each other and start to laugh — to everybody's confusement.

At this moment, they are just happy men, and oh gods, they are sure that the film they are making will be great.

(It would not be great, but good nontheless. Like many films they will do after it, but this time will be remmebered as the happiest one).

(Neither Jace, nor Cregan doesn't know know, where we'll ther relationship go, and how many moments, both good and bad, they will share together. There would be a twelve movies(most of them a hystoricals, one based on personal tragedy and one of them a mix of socialist propaganda and action), temporarily break-up, not really happy marriages to women(similiar to their partners, but not actually them), arrests during the Red Scare, Luke's injury and his marriage to Rhaena, adaptation of «Martin Iden» they made together, Cregan's sister being Radium Girl, scandal based on rumours overblown by Hedda Hopper, serving as historical consultants, the world travel, La Olimpiada Popular and death — one at Madrid, and another at Jarama. So many things).

But now, at this moment, they are happy.

[phoenix-manga]

Evonie Apfel

CV: Hikasa Yoko

Biographical Information

Gender: Female

Age: 19

Birthday: March 6

Starsign: Pisces

Height: 175 cm

Eye Color: Forest green

Hair Color: Black

Professional Status

Dorm: Pommeneige

School Year: 3rd Year

Class: 3-B | Student no. 3

Occupation: Student | Dorm Leader

Club: Theater Club

Best Subject: General Magic

Fun Facts

Favorite Food: Apple Dumplings

Least Favorite Food: Brussel Sprouts

Dislikes: Handling Highness’ tantrums and poachers

Hobby: Singing rock songs and fencing

Talents: Fast Reflexes

Idol Stats

Performance: Flexible range of vocals depending on the genre

Choreography: Quick to adjust to different choreography styles

Styling Jewel Outfits: Elegant | Gothic | Cool

Evonie doesn’t mind if she gets a bit dirty when accomplishing a task but she makes sure that she still looks presentable and cleans up to maintain her image as a dorm leader.

She is decently sociable but it is clear that there is a wall she puts up. If she is with people she can be vulnerable around, she doesn’t hold back on what her opinion is to an extent. Those close to her know that she will support her friends throughout their issues.

She has a mild level of patience; she can tolerate small mistakes but if the mistakes keep repeating then she might have to consult the person to see if there is anything wrong.

But if it is anything like Allison does, she definitely won’t tolerate that will sternly reprimand them. Her patience reaching its limit is rather rare, but when it happens then expect yelling and spells being thrown about.

Evonie is good at multitasking, she can hold a full conversation even if she is not looking at what she is doing to face the person she is speaking to. It’s something she developed at home.

She is very competitive, it is something she developed with her dads, and she loved the feeling of being victorious. So, if she ever loses, she is determined to come up with ways to win next time. It may get irritating to lose but she is a good sport, unless she finds out the opponent is cheating, then she won’t tolerate that.

Although she is aware of people and their behavior, she doesn’t always have an accurate conclusion of what the person would do and she would be a bit suspicious but without any concrete evidence she will drop her assumptions and leave it alone.

She makes sure she has proper table manners when eating, but if she is in private, she will slouch and eat to her own standards of comfort, she still keeps in mind of any crumbs that might fall.

Like Snow White, she has a fear of anything scary. She dislikes going to dark places by herself and if she sees something out of the corner of her eye then she will turn her head so fast to make sure nothing was there. She loses her composure and will activate fight or flight mode on instinct.

Hometown: Town of Orchard Fields

Family Life

Evonie was adopted by Rote and Schnee Apfel who became her parental figures. Her birthmother gave birth to her but knows that her illness will be detrimental for Evonie’s future. She contacts the Apfel couple who were acquaintances of hers and asked them to adopt Evonie.

The couple agrees and they raised Evonie in the Town of Orchard Fields. The house is built near a border with a large forest with a lot of wildlife and plants, it’s like a big backyard for her to explore.

Rote was the closest acquaintance of Evonie’s birthmother and it was he who made the decision to adopt the girl. Schnee teases him how during the first few years of raising a baby he went overboard in baby-proofing the house that they had so many pillows and Styrofoam than they know what to do with.

Evonie grew up as a polite girl, though she always had this curiosity to anything she thought might be a cute animal. Schnee made sure to teach her about the safety precautions when approaching a wild animal after he saw his daughter come home with a boar.

Though he doesn’t cook as much as Rote, he does know one recipe that he always taught Evonie, it was apple desserts that were pulled from his great grandmother’s cookbook. He’s kept that cookbook with him and hopes to one day pass it down to Evonie. Evonie’s favorite is the apple dumplings made by Schnee, she can’t get enough of it.

Childhood Memories

At first, Evonie was enjoying her time at school because everyone was very friendly to her. Of course, she is kind to them back to the point where she didn’t want to disappoint them. Until she found the outcast kid that the kids make fun of because of their appearance.

Evonie builds up courage to defend them and befriend the outcast. Which she thought was the right thing to do, at first, the outcast and Evonie got along and they were grateful for their help.

It wasn’t until the other kids cornered them and told the outcast how Evonie was just being nice because they were pitiful and how dare they think they’re equal to Evonie. This made them bitter and slowly drift apart from Evonie who had no clue what was going on.

When she heard news of her friend moving away, she wanted to say goodbye but when she managed to face them, the outcast hurled blame at her for their suffering. Telling her how she has it easy because she’ pretty and she thinks she’s so great but she was arrogant.

Evonie was silent but tears were flowing down her face, both of their parents heard the commotion and awkwardly bid farewell, they didn’t know what was wrong because they thought they got along well.

After that friend left, Evonie took what they said to heart and soon she started to realize how people kept complimenting her appearance instead of her skills. The people who admired her didn’t care about her at all, they just wanted to feel like they’re the popular clique by including Evonie. The ones who didn’t made it clear that they think she’s got it easy because of her looks.

This led Evonie to change her perspective, she didn’t wear pretty dresses unless it was necessary but she kept it simple and didn’t go all out. She didn’t socialize as much with people and often spent her days helping out at home or exploring the forest.

She preferred the company of animals more than people, knowing they care more about her compassion rather than her appearance.

The words of her ex-friend still linger her to this day, she would internally get annoyed whenever someone says she’s better suited for something else or disregards her effort.

Evonie is a 3rd Year Pommeneige student and is the current dorm leader.

Evonie is a model student, always makes sure to be efficient and ensure her dorm students wouldn’t fall behind by offering to help them in their studies to the best of her abilities. When she takes a break, it would be either a walk through the woods or just snacking on anything she craves.

The dorm students at first were unsure of s dorm leader who doesn’t quite portray the innocence of the Princess of the Dwarves, but they find her diligence and mature aura appealing and sometimes compares her to a prince. They nicknamed her the “Apple Knight”.

Evonie excels more when it comes to sports, especially fencing. Her Papa taught her and often sparred with her when he has time. Cooking is also another strong point in her education besides general subjects.

Regarding magic, she is more combat focused and often likes to physically incorporate spells with her movement like swinging a sword.

She thought that most students in DCA would be like the ones back home, only caring about appearances but she finds out that there are a lot of different girls here. She feels at ease to know that she can at least lift the weight on her shoulders.

Somewhere down the line, she developed this second persona to fully explore her wild side. Evonie wanted to feel free without having to think twice about her image. So, she set up a persona to really let herself go.

She showed up as a mystery idol once and it all developed from there. People have called her persona “The Masked Maiden” and she takes great measure to make sure no one can figure out her identity. So much so that she joined the theater club to improve her façade.

Evonie’s grades are fairly high, though she enjoys PE more because their coach has thrilling obstacle courses that really spark her motivation. Evonie is most skilled at fencing compared to the rest of the exercises.

School Relationships

Evonie is more drawn to befriend girls who can light up the competitive fire in her as well as genuinely enjoying her company. Vidya and Jinlong became her rivals due to their athleticism and how they always do things their way. Evonie admires them for wanting to be true to themselves so she follows their example.

Ella is another close friend of Evonie, though she barely remembers meeting Ella. Ella remembers Evonie as the Glaciel family went to Orchard Fields for a vacation and she remembers this pretty girl with dark hair who was nice enough to show her around the stalls and offer her some apple tarts. Though Ella seems like someone Evonie wouldn’t befriend at first, the girl’s kindness won her over.

They got even closer when Ella confided about her previous stepmother who left scars on her, mentally and physically. Evonie has not experienced that kind of abuse but she understands when Ella worries about appearance and wanting to hide what bothered them. She tends to shield Ella from anything bothering her out of habit.

Allison was a pain in the neck for Evonie, she can’t find common ground with the girl at all! She can somewhat understand not wanting to do etiquette but it’s still a class requirement. Evonie thinks she’s too reckless while Allison thinks Evonie is too hung up on maintaining an image. The only time those two can agree on something is through cooking, thought that ends quickly when Allison slips any raw fruit other than apples into her mouth.

Perrine and Evonie often share recipes and both found a common ground in sharing family traditions learned from past generations. Though Evonie can’t decide whether to be impressed or revolted when Perrine makes that weird food combination and eats it like it was 5 star.

Evonie’s relationship with Applette, her dorm fairy, is akin to her seeking comfort in the little creature. Applette’s form is derived from Evonie’s desire to feel genuine connections with other people. Applette is always sweet and kind, a contrast with Evonie’s cool and somewhat stern personality.

The fairy is there to be sympathetic as well as paint Evonie as a reliable sister figure to the dorm students.

Highness

Highness is a purple peacock that was given to Evonie when Schnee found an abandoned egg in the forest but there was no parent to be found. Highness was rather clingy as a chick, always looking for Evonie and crying whenever she went to school.

But Evonie still can’t understand how his attitude changed when he grew up, she guessed it might have been puberty that made him this way. She remembered using up all her saved money to buy him all those pricey bird products… it was definitely when she put too much effort into his care that he became this way.

Highness is arrogant and would stomp on anyone that he doesn’t deem worthy to get close to his personal space. Not even Evonie was spared but he does it less often when the threat of being sent to the vet was used.

Highness has his own personal trunk full of jewelry that he has Evonie dress him with, she doesn’t tell him that they’re mostly made from glass by Ella. There was no way that Evonie could afford such expensive jewelry so imitations are good enough as long as he doesn’t know.

Her unique magic is called, “Friends of the Forest”. The unique magic developed when Evonie felt awful after the confrontation with the ex-friend that she made the mistake of running into the forest during a rainstorm. She ended up crying under a hollow log from how hurt and scared she was.

Remembering the lullaby her dad often sang to her when she was scared, she quietly hummed the song unaware that the animals in the forest gathered around to comfort her. She was shocked at first to see so many animals around her but they brought her the comfort she needed until her parents found her.

Evonie often did this in private because it felt like her sanctuary if she ever gets stressed. She’s developed a soft spot for animals, Highness is a complicated case though.

She also excels in using fire magic due to her living in the woods and her family often having to camp out on special occasions. She can also use this offensively during matches by either setting projectiles or a dome trap.

Rote Apfel

Rote Apfel is called, “Dad” by Evonie and he has red hair and a large build that may seem intimidating but he is actually quite sweet and efficient in several handiwork around the household. Rote is only muscular because he did a lot of errands before which included chopping wood and heavy lifting.

He runs an animal sanctuary that cares for injured or abandoned animals. Quite a few of them have been adopted as family pets so it is expected to find a few animals lounging in their household.

Rote can’t help himself, all of the animals seem so cute to him, and he wished he had a bigger house to adopt them all. Schnee had to remind him that there is a limit to how many animals they can keep in the house.

Rote taught Evonie a lot of life hacks and tips on easy fixes on problems that usually need professionals to fix.

He is such a protective papa bear and often times his pouting face looks so intimidating without even meaning to. He is the empath that contrasts with Schnee’s parenting style.

Schnee Apfel

Schnee Apfel is called, “Papa” by Evonie and he has white hair and a slim build but he is very athletic with good reflexes. At first glance, he doesn’t seem intimidating due to his beautiful face but the moment he gets angry is when he becomes terrifying.

It comes with his job as a park ranger, he works in the town’s tourist park. There are times when he was called to handle a rampaging animal that might harm people nearby. But there are also entitled bastards or people with barely a brain cell who get themselves into trouble at the park.

Schnee doesn’t tolerate any nonsense in the park and is often called to handle the problematic visitors.

Schnee was the strict parent but he doesn’t go overboard in discipline. Most of the punishments when Evonie did something wrong was just household chores while he explains to her why it was wrong. He makes sure to properly teach her without being too harsh as he knows that children will be children.

He is the tough love kind of father which contrasts Rote’s parenting style.

Character’s name derives from “Ebony” with a few letter changes while her last name, “Apfel” is the German word for Apple.

Evonie can’t eat any other fruit raw besides apples, it’s still a mystery to her as to why. They’re fine when it comes to desserts or even jam but the raw product never fails to make her dislike it.

Despite her confidence, she actually can’t stand anything related to horror. She will shriek and hide away.

Her early concept was supposed to be a more confident and badass, Snow White. Her first two designs looked too similar to Weiss Schnee from RWBY, so she was redesigned.

[astra-galaxie]

"Arthur! Is that any way to talk to your brother?" - Amelia Wright

Biographical information

Full Name: Amelia Wright-Wells

Gender: Female

Sexuality: Heterosexual

Status: Alive

Age: 61 (season 4)

Birth: 1829

Race: Human

Nationality: American

Origin: Concordia, USA

Residence: Concordia, USA

Profession(s):

Theater Director

Conductor

Family:

Rhys Wells (husband)

Arthur Wright (son)

Richard Wells (step-son)

Affiliation(s): The Concordia Odeon

Profile

Height: 5'1"

Age: 61 (season 4)

Weight: 139lbs

Eyes: brown

Blood: AB-

Amelia is a short woman with a welcoming aura that seems to surround her. She resembles her son Arthur with her dark brown eyes and matching hair streaked with strands of gray secured in a braided updo. Her dress has a black underskirt and a navy blue overlay, with a matching corset featuring darker blue ruffles. The long black sleeves of the dress poof up at her shoulders, and a beautiful brooch is pinned to the collar of her shirt, matching her earrings.

Synopsis

Amelia is the mother of Arthur Wright and the step-mother of Dick Wells. She first appeared during the additional investigation of Curtain Kill, where she requested the Squad's help putting on a performance to conclude Mr. Alastor's party. She was grateful to have the chance to meet Argo as she had known the detective's mother briefly while the singer was performing in Concordia. Amelia was even more grateful that Argo agreed to be the singer for her show, and as she watched him perform, it felt like watching Moana sing again.

More to be revealed in Murders of The Past

Story Information

First appeared: Curtain Kill

Trivia

I chose the name Amelia after Amelia Earhart. Whenever I hear Arthru's surname, Wright, I think of the Wright Brothers, who created the first successful airplane. This leads me to think of Amelia Earhart, a famous female pilot, and thus my brain refused to consider other options for names after creating "Amelia Wright''

She can play several instruments and knows the basics of all instruments. If you put an instrument in her hands, she can play it beautifully—or at least something that won't cause your ears to bleed!

She taught Arthur and Dick how to play the violin, piano, and a few other instruments

Amelia is friends with Minerva Highmore. The two often meet for tea and to exchange the latest gossip about Concordia

Her husband gifted her the brooch she wears, while her sons gifted her earrings

Gallery

A close-up of the brooch and earring designs I chose for Amelia:

Disclaimer: Character design was created using Rinmarugames ! I have only made minor edits to the design! Background courtesy of CriminalArtist5

Links to my stories:

The Case of the Criminal (Ao3/Wattpad) Killer Bay (Ao3/Wattpad) Where in the World are the Killers? (Ao3/Wattpad) Murders of The Past (Ao3/Wattpad)