#but in addition to that. the fact he's portrayed as a coward again??? extremely out of character! rian did you not watch tfa????

[elvesofnoldor]

AGONY AND FEAR

[lexidanger]

My TLJ (way longer than expected) analysis/rant/review

DISCLAIMER: I work for Hasbro but knew NOTHING behind the scenes for this movie like I did for TFA, so I didn’t have any outside influence...also

SPOILERS GALORE, IF YOU HAVE NOT SEEN THIS MOVIE I SUGGEST SEEING IT FIRST ESPECIALLY IF YOU’RE A SW FAN

I honestly have a lot of mixed feelings about this movie, because while there were things I absolutely adored in it, but there were also choices made that I really still can’t wrap my head around and ultimately have left me pretty disappointed, I’m not going to go over every little thing but if you have a question about how I felt about a certain character/scene etc just shoot me an ask and i’ll rant at you there. Anyways I’m gonna start with the good shit since I might get a tad ranty with the bad

THE GOOD

The opening sequence- The opening scenes were phenomenal imo, that was absolutely the way to start off the movie, It honestly held a lot of that SW nostalgia and felt really great action/tone wise, it pulled you in like a good hook should.

Leia- So i’m legit a huge emotional baby when it comes to stuff I love, I was already crying as soon as the opening crawl hit, but it wasn’t until they showed Leia the first time that both me and the girl next to me started sobbing (she turned to me and offered some tissues saying she made sure to bring a bunch so it was nice to have some emotional solidarity) But anyways Leia was great and i’m beyond happy with how they handled her which leads me to my next point…

LEIA USING THE FORCE- Everyone in the theater was crushed when she was thrown out into space, and as soon as the shot closed in on her body and she began to use the Force to bring herself back, you could hear the sigh of relief and amazement come from the crowd (as well as the sniffles because everyone was crying at this point) and it was such a magical moment to see her finally use the Force in a tangible way and shut up the fanboys who thought she wasn’t Force Sensitive. And speaking of one half of the twins...

Luke- As always Mark is an absolute delight and gift to this role, and it was so nice to see him back on screen again. A lot of people are crying out about how this movie “””””ruined him”””” by showing his more grey morality (THAT HES ALWAYS HAD B T W) but even as a dark sider I’ve always adored Luke and his views and he made me super proud in this movie. I’m honestly not ready for people to start demonizing him for "almost killing their precious Ben bby uwu” because again that was a moment with a lot of complexity on both sides that I think could bring up a lot of great conversations about Luke’s trauma in the war and wanting to prevent the loss of billions of lives.

Also as a side note I just want to say how heartwarming it was to see Luke reunited with R2, the moment he recognizes him the bitter old facade melts away and we see that sweet excited boy from Tatooine when he gets to talk to his best friend again after so long.

I’m so so sad to see him go, but honestly I couldn’t think of a better way for him to go out, I’m glad it was done in such a peaceful way (except maybe him actually going to Crait and pulling an Obi proper but thats a whole other issue)

Snoke- I adored Snoke, plain and simple. The few scenes he was in he commanded attention and I was honestly captivated by Serkis’ skills as a character actor once again. The CG work done on him was remarkable, his personality was actually very enjoyable and I really wish we got to see more of his Force mastery, it’s so rare we get to see it controlled on that grand of a scale and so effortlessly too (For those of you who read Darth Plagueis you know the difficulty that comes with using the Force on someone over hologram/long distance, so it was definitely a treat to see that). The potential of this character is remarkable and if anyone involved with SW media is smart they will tap into it and release more content with him ASAP

Rey’s Parentage- As someone who was an avid Rey Palpatine theory supporter, I just want to say how glad I am that Rey’s parentage proved to be of no significance, because in a way it still holds kind of what I wanted to see from her being related to Palpatine. I wanted them to show that really in the end, your bloodline doesn’t make you who you are, you decide who you want to be, not your past, and in a way they did that. They showed that someone from humble beginnings, like Rey and even Finn, can rise up to do amazing things, you don’t have to be part of a dynasty like the Skywalkers to be great.

Imagery/Portrayal of the Force- If theres one thing I can really commend this movie for, it’s the visuals. From the color contrasts of Crait to the trippy Force shenanigans everything was visually stunning. Leia using the Force to glide through the void of space to safety was such a magical moment I will never forget (and anyone calling it Mary Poppins or Superman flying is honestly just afraid to have whimsical moments in their SW and therefore a coward) the blend of CG and puppets was super great and using a puppet for Yoda’s return was such a great callback to the original trilogy. After watching so many Transformers movies its nice to watch an action flick that doesn’t rely on shaky cam to sell the intensity of a scene, but instead uses the art direction and imagery as it should.

Also as far as the Force goes, i’ve been so happy that we’re moving away from the two extremes. The Dark Side in not completely evil and the Light Side is not completely good, i’m just glad we’re finally showing that in the movies, and if it makes people mad then good, the truth hurts but they need to understand not everything is black and white.

Humor- Some might argue that a lot of the humor was oriented more towards the younger audience, but tbh most of the bits really hit with me (probably because I am a child) and provided some nice warm moments in what might be considered a tense and dark movie. We’ve been debating for years now how Luke’s first interaction with Rey would go, what would he say to her? What would he do? and it’s my belief that they could not have gone with a more appropriate choice than for him to toss the saber over his shoulder as he did (Luke’s “reach out” moment with her was also so nice and I’m 1000% convinced it was improv by Mark) The bits with the guardians of the island were great, the porgs were surprisingly enjoyable (if not still a bit bizarre) and my favorite running joke of all, turning Hux into what i’ve always seen him as, a huge joke, a slapstick prop to be tossed around and ridiculed, it was quite satisfying.

Additional things- Despite the fact that there wasn’t a saber on saber fight the entire movie, the Snoke’s Praetorian guard fight scene with Rey and Kylo will go down in history as one of the great fight scenes in SW history. Rose was such an amazing addition to the cast and Kelly is so talented, I’m happy she’s a part of the SW family now. And BOY you want to talk about memorable moments, Holdo’s lightspeed crash into Snoke’s Supremecy was absolutely breathtaking. The way it was shot, the sound design, everything was perfect and people are going to be talking about it for a very long time.

THE BAD

Snoke’s Death- The moment Snoke was killed off is the moment I feel like everything shifted in the movie, I was enjoying it quite a bit up until that point, and then as soon as the saber bisected him this huge wave of disappointment and disbelief washed over me, which is why this is probably one of the biggest mis-steps in the movie besides Phasma’s treatment. For years now we’ve been theorizing and trying to piece together who Snoke could possibly be, whether it be the return of an older character or him being his own thing and with every tiny piece of info that came out we were further pulled in to the mysteries that surrounded him. Who is he? What is he? Why does he look that way? How did he come to power? I never expected all of these questions to be answered in TLJ, but a piece of info or two thrown our way to reward our patience and interest in him would have been appreciated.

Instead what we got was nothing and a swift ridiculous death half way through the movie. To say that i’m crestfallen is a bit of an understatement. Those that know me are aware that I’m a huge dark side fan and an even bigger fan of Sheev Palpatine, he’s a compelling character in a lot of the ways Snoke has the potential to be, so to see another great antagonist along the lines of Palpatine just thrown away without any second thought or explanation is an awful thing to see.

And I’m aware that they are probably going to throw his backstory into a book or comic, which part of me is grateful for (especially since James Luceno, author of Darth Plagueis might possibly be writing it right now) but tbh you shouldn’t throw the responsibility of portraying a character off on someone else when you have more than enough time and opportunities to show it in the film. As someone who is heavily invested in the alternative media surrounding SW I still don’t think that you should put your viewers through that, making them ask questions about a character, pay for a ticket to possibly have some of those questions answered and then pull the rug out from under them like “Nope sorry you’ll have to buy the book when it comes out next year” it’s very in-accessible and just downright disrespectful to the writers that set him up for a decent arc.

Plenty of uninteresting things were prioritized over the interesting so don’t tell me they couldn’t have taken 10 minutes out of something inconsequential to slip in some context for this character. It’s such a shame to see an opportunity to flesh out a compelling character passed over for the purpose of subverting everyone’s expectations, cheap and unsatisfying. #AndySerkisDeservedBetter

Phasma- I want to say for the record that I am absolutely outraged, not only did we get even less Phasma than we did in TFA, but they “killed her off” in a way they can either bring her back and do what they said they were going to do after TFA which was give her a decent amount of screen time, or leave her dead. It’s honestly a travesty that they continuously recruit these talented actors to portray these characters and they get shafted as far as content and inclusion goes. I can’t even put my excitement into words when Phasma was first announced, I just wanted female Stormtroopers period but having a woman play a fierce Stormtrooper commander meant everything to me. But alas, just as Snoke it seems these directors can’t seem to find a place to put them amongst the other pointless plots that are stuffed into the film which brings me to…

Canto Bight- A beautiful planet/setting but very unnecessary as a whole. I mean the whole idea of them needing to go to a planet to get a random codebreaker to get on the ship in the first place is absolutely absurd when they’ve had countless ways upon these ships in the past. And the fact that they had to call up Maz so they could poorly stuff her into the movie for 2 minutes as she quickly rattled off their mission in a very Battlefront 2 manner was absolutely ridiculous. The casino itself was neat and I’m glad they touched upon the fact that these people got rich by selling weapons to both sides, but the whole animal chase sequence and everything with DJ felt so out of place and long and distracting from things that would have far better served the characters and plot.

Length- As someone who sat through Age of Extinction after drinking a large soda at the beginning of the film, trust me when I say I know when a movie feels long and this one felt unbearably so. Every time I thought to myself “oh this is it this is going to be the climax and resolution” they would set off on another escape plan. It’s like they came up with 5 different endings and couldn’t decide which one to use so they just kinda tacked them on to the end of each other. After learning that this movie was 3 hours at it’s original cut, I cannot imagine sitting through another hour of squished together side-plots and escape plans, if those cut scenes had more Snoke and Phasma it might’ve been worth it but something tells me it didn’t. We wont know until the bluray with all the deleted scenes comes out next year.

Rey as the future of the Jedi- There was fanboy outcry at the end of TFA saying that Rey was a “”””mary sue””” for being able to defeat someone like Kylo Ren with no lightsaber training/understanding of the Force, but all their arguments are bullshit and there was nothing unbelievable about Rey’s skill with a staff translating to a saber and embracing the Force to gain an edge over Kylo and defeat him.

Now in TLJ Luke’s training of Rey was set up (like many things) to be a main focal point in the story when in reality, it lasts maybe two days and in that time not much training happens at all, in fact Luke tries to show Rey why the Jedi should NOT continue. But in the end it’s very much eluded to that it’s now up to Rey to continue on the Jedi ways and teach a whole new batch of bright eyed young light siders. Rey was skilled enough in TFA to handle herself, but she was still very much a student in need of a teacher herself, something she got only briefly. I honestly have little faith that they can convincingly portray this if they choose to go this route.

Confusing moments with Holdo/Mutiny- I don’t know if was just me but with the movie as a whole being an overwhelming stream of events and developments, the whole Poe mutiny against Holdo was an absolute clusterfuck to me. It was obvious that Holdo was planning something and wouldn’t share it with Poe to the point where it was almost as if she was a traitor/spy and was running everyone into the ground on purpose, and I thought my suspicions were confirmed when she broke back out of custody, but then suddenly Leia shows up and stuns Poe?? Was she a Changeling??? What the fuck was going on??

And then it turns out that she just had a plan to stay with the ship and to get everyone to the Rebel base on the planet below THAT SHE WOULDN’T TELL ANYONE. Like if she would have been a little more up front with this plan I think things would have gone smoother and the whole Poe mutiny thing could have been avoided. It was all very necessary and created conflict and complexity where there didn’t need to be.

Confrontation- While the final confrontation between Kylo and Luke is impactful in it’s end, I think it would have been even more so had it not been needlessly complicated by having him project from Ahch-to. I mean he probably wouldn’t have survived the Walker blasts, but if he could project across the galaxy like that then he could’ve figured something out. When he showed up at the base out of nowhere my suspension of disbelief was already running thin with the loss of Snoke and Phasma, but seeing him look so different from what he looked like minutes ago just ruined the surprise of him not actually being there. I would have liked to see him reunite with Leia in person before becoming one with the Force, and I just think him being there and pulling an Obi Wan by disappearing and leaving the cloak behind just as he did with Vader would have been a nice call back.

Rose/Finn- This moment I did not see coming because tbh, there was no build up to it, and just like the infamous Steve Rogers/Sharon Carter kiss from Civil War, it was awkward and unnecessary and I’m fairly convinced this was added last minute to subvert fans from the whole Stormpilot ship, because you know, how dare us gays want to be included in SW right? Rose is a BRILLIANT character, and even tho Finn suffered the short end of the stick as far as development in this movie went, neither of them needed this rushed moment to make her action or their friendship any more meaningful.

Payoff- Although I was happy with Rey’s parentage I don’t like that it was made to be such an issue that ultimately ended up not being a big deal. Now a lot of this comes from the fact that Rian took it upon himself to “fix” some of JJ’s weaker elements from TFA, but instead of fixing them he eliminated what would have been really nice payoffs for the fans who’ve invested so much time and love into discussing this series. This also goes for Snoke, why create this mystery around this character and have people talking about him if you aren’t going to give them some kind of payoff in the end. That bit of satisfaction that we hoped to get just slipped away and  we’ll have to wait another 2 years to have another chance at it, or maybe not at all and thats incredibly frustrating.

In the end I had fun, but that fun just can’t make me forget about the glaring issues this movie had. And they’re not just issues, they’re needless issues, things that could have been easily avoided or fixed. At this point i’m not even really invested enough in the characters that are left to be excited for the next film.

So yes this film had problems, but is it the worst SW film ever? Is SW really dead? Absolutely not, everyone is being far too dramatic, which honestly isn’t surprising seeing as most of them still pretend the prequels had nothing of value and don’t exist.

It had problems.

Fix them.

Do better next time.

It’s as simple as that and if the filmmakers can’t recognize this film’s shortcoming to avoid making the same mistakes again, then it’s their own fault for the criticism they get. The film isn’t a total loss in the slightest and hopefully some of the deleted content will shed some light on a few things we so very much wanted to see.

[cremedelacremeliterature-blog]

Examination of Shakespeare’s Beatrice and Benedick of ‘Much Ado about nothing’, along with Noel Coward’s Amanda and Elyot of ‘Private Lives’

Public Life in Elizabethan Italy would force any creature of intelligence and sensibility to protect themselves; and underneath the verbal display and the dazzle of the merry war, we sense two sensitive and vulnerable people. Shakespeare’s Beatrice and Benedick of ‘Much Ado About Nothing’ share one of the least sentimental but most romantic relationships in English Literature. Furthermore, almost 330 years later at a glamorous hotel in France, we meet Noel Coward’s Amanda and Elyot of ‘Private Lives’, who in addition, are a quintessence of this noble breed of lovers. From examining these two seemingly scathing and unsusceptible couples, who enjoy nothing more than reassuring their power through shooting the other down with witty insults, we can get a glimpse of what lies below the surface; two insecure and vulnerable people, just defending themselves in efforts to survive.

 Immediately, both Shakespeare and Coward draw explicit parallels between their two sets of couples through their speech, characteristics, and the situations they find themselves in. In ‘Much Ado’, the characters form balanced groups of twos and threes, thus allowing Shakespeare to categorise Beatrice and Benedick into one of these groups. The characters in the play are split into two equal ‘sides’; the characters forming Hero’s side, and the characters forming Claudio’s side. Straight away, it seems ironic that both Hero and Claudio have a member on their side who is witty, humorous and happens to dispute marriage; also conveniently, is the opposite sex. The irony continues furthermore as to the fact that both of their names begin with a plosive ‘B’ sound, suggestive of their domineering and over-the-top nature. This explicit drawing of parallels not only contributes to the comedy effect but also makes it easier for the audience to recognise that they are natural partners’; and will, therefore, root for their relationship throughout the course of the play.

 However, this immediate match of names and characteristics is only a small insight into their relationship, when scratching the surface; it soon becomes clear that these two parallel couples are made for each other for more reasons than merely just their names. Beatrice and Benedick think in the same way; their brains seem to have similar wiring, not only in their opinions but in the way they express them. An ideal example of this subconscious way of thinking is portrayed in the two parallel scenes in which Beatrice and Benedick are deceived by their friends into thinking the other loves them. After a significantly small amount of time, Benedick openly declares that Beatrice’s “love must be requited”, and then only moments later when the same happens to Beatrice, she also declares that she will “requite thee”. Through this parallel structure of scenes and the repetition of the lover’s terms, Shakespeare firmly makes the point that these two people are destined to be together.

 Similarly, the same parallel structure is adopted in Noel Coward’s private lives. Before even learning of their ex-spouse staying in the adjacent hotel room, both Amanda and Elyot seem to think and speak the same things, thus establishing their natural attraction. As Jean Chothia puts it “the mutuality of Amanda and Elyot is registered in their conversations with their new spouses before the audience even sees them together. It’s not just that each defends the other and makes it clear how strong their sexual attraction once was, but they clearly talk the same language; both enjoy the sun and are eager to swim; Elyot’s new love is ‘cosy and unflurried by scenes of jealousy’, Amanda loves Victor ‘more calmly’, each new spouse is wrong-footed in consecutive opening exchanges, exposed as attempting to impose their strait-laced conventionality on their partners.” (Chothia, n.d.)

 Both plays “reside in absurdly symmetrical action” (Chothia, n.d.), and it is this anticipation which forces the audience to root for these couples’ futures. Whilst Elyot likes to “gamble here and there” and Amanda’s life is “ruled by chance”; Beatrice would rather hear “dog bark at a crow” than a man swear he loves her, whilst Benedick would rather be “hung in a bottle and shot at like a cat” than fall in love; clearly a pattern of similar opinions and expressions is established, and it is this echoic patterning of dialogue that contributes to the effect of a destined romance. “The pressure is, therefore, on the audience to recognise these two couples as natural partners” (Chothia, n.d.)

 A final point to consider in the structural parallels adopted by the playwrights in drawing these two couples together is the character’s ability to recognise each other’s speech patterns, and therefore adapt to them.  In ‘Private Lives’, the witty dialogue used follows a comic tradition (going back as far as Greek theatre) of Stichomythia: throwing quick, one-liner exchanges. Amanda and Elyot’s speech is peppered with stichomythic exchanges, thus reinforcing the idea that they are extremely familiar with each other’s speech patterns, therefore demonstrating their exceptional ability to correspond with each other.

 This verbal understanding and quickening of the mind is also covertly demonstrated in ‘Much Ado’. In the final scene of the play when Beatrice and Benedick finally tie the knot, their speech once again takes a turn; for it is the first time, they speak in iambic pentameter, but ironically, in a moment when their love seems to be at stake. After both suddenly declaring that they don’t love each other after all, in a state of shock they proceed to start arguing again: “they swore that you were almost sick for me”/” they swore that you were well-nigh dead for me”. However, these arguments do not carry the same light-hearted comedy as their previous witty exchanges did, there seems to be a sense of incredulous shock and disbelief here, as though they’re both experiencing a great wave of sadness. However, this is where the clever use of iambic pentameter comes in, as this form of speech usually depicts love (demonstrated by many of Shakespeare’s sonnets written in this form), yet they are making out they no longer love each other upon hearing that they have been deceived by their friends. Perhaps through using iambic pentameter, Shakespeare is trying to reinforce the idea that their love for each other is inherent within their subconscious; its love that cannot be controlled. Furthermore, on top of the use of a romantic meter, these two lines sound perfect together with their rhyming qualities; the couple’s speech rhythmically tied together, hence demonstrating the fact their hearts are rhythmically and linguistically synchronised.

Another example of connecting through language occurs earlier on in the play in the moment when Benedick finally declares his love for Beatrice. The whole play consists of over 22,000 words and 17 scenes, yet its most controversial moment merely rests upon two words: “Kill Claudio”. These two words give the play an arresting dynamic shift; suddenly the language becomes sincere, and the scene builds to one short sentence: “I will challenge Claudio”. Benedick’s response to Beatrice’s demand seems almost ridiculous, for a man who never uses one word when ten will do, this is highly significant. Perhaps Shakespeare is suggesting that in spite of his loyalty to Claudio, and his clear aversion to marriage, Benedick’s mind can be changed at the drop of a hat when concerning his love for Beatrice. Similarly, in Private Lives despite being incredibly stubborn in earlier scenes with Victor, Amanda was almost instantly convinced to be swept away by Elyot on his suggestion of running away from their honeymoons, to her flat in Paris.   

 After discussing the speech patterns adopted by these parallel couples, we move on to our next ingredient for the potential of a blossoming romance: the couples’ previous history. It is clear with both couples that they have had past shared experiences: more explicitly with Amanda and Elyot’s previous marriage, and more covertly with Beatrice and Benedick’s ongoing “merry war”. Right from the beginning of the play, the audience learns that Beatrice and Benedick have a previous history; throughout the play, they play the part of not liking each other, yet it is clear that the seeds for a blossoming romance are already in place. Though she pretends to be indifferent, Beatrice asks several questions about Benedick’s welfare: “Has Signor Mountanto returned from the wars?”/ “How many hath he killed, for I promised to eat all of his killings”. Through these questions, it is evident that Beatrice and Benedick will have a far more romantic relationship than that of the likes of the newly met Hero and Claudio. With this previous knowledge of each other’s emotions, a strong sense of understanding can come into place. They have connections and shared experiences built through past encounters, revealed through the fact Beatrice knew Benedick “of old”, and that she “once gave him her double heart for his single one”. This could be suggesting that they not only had a past relationship, but a past romance. Earlier on in the text, Beatrice mentions that he “hath every month a new sworn brother”, implicating that he is always moving between new people. One could read this as Beatrice’s way of suggesting that perhaps he was unfaithful to her, considering his womanizing reputation of being “loved by all ladies”.

 This brings us to the previous marriage of Amanda and Elyot, a relationship not ended by affairs, rather the inability to tolerate the other’s presence. Upon reminiscing about their prior marriage, both Amanda and Elyot’s language seems to become tender and sincere, giving their relationship a great sense of sadness. Amanda speaks of how they were so “ridiculously over in love” and how they were “like two violent acids bubbling about in a nasty little matrimonial bottle”. Elyot reminds Amanda that there “isn’t a particle of (her) that (he) doesn’t know, remember or want.” One could argue that Amanda and Elyot both possess qualities of a tragic hero, they both made judgements and errors that eventually led to their own self-destruction; resulting in the end of their marriage. The fondness in which the couple speak of their previous marriage forces the audience to sympathise with them, and therefore root for the revitalisation of their relationship throughout the play.

The perhaps most dominating aspect of these two couple’s relationships is the absurdly amusing insults, which without, the plays would be deprived of their comedy status. Beatrice and Benedick are amongst one of the most famous couples in literature for their “Merry war”, whilst Amanda and Elyot dominated the early 20th-century theatre world as the notorious “bickering couple”. Beatrice and Benedick appear to be constantly shooting each other down in order to reassure their power over each other.  In their first scene together, Beatrice instantly dispels Benedick’s moment in the spotlight by enquiring if he’s “still talking, (as) nobody remarks”. Clearly, this knock off his pedestal was too much for Benedick, so he comes back with a slightly immature response asking incredulously if his “lady disdain is still living”. This unrelated response to Beatrice’s question perfectly demonstrates Benedick’s obsession with asserting his power over women; and more importantly, over Beatrice. These harsh exchanges would not usually sit well with a blossoming romance and contrast deeply to Shakespeare’s other romantic couples, like Romeo and Juliet, for instance. So what is it about these two’s berating remarks that seem to enhance their relationship rather than jeopardise it? One theory could be that it is their way of getting closer to each other, and thus further understanding one another. They both use their wit as a means of protection and a way of surviving. Without it, both of them are in danger too of being stripped bare and exposed ready for the world to judge and comment; especially in an Elizabethan Society. Both Beatrice and Benedick are abnormal, compared to the social norms of the Elizabethan era. Beatrice is an unmarried woman, which was seen as highly suspect in those days, even to the point that some expected that unmarried women were in fact witches. Similarly, Benedick is a bachelor who does not display the same tender attraction to women as most men in those times, which again, would be a point of suspicion in such a rigid and judgmental society. Therefore, these two social ‘outcasts’ are almost entirely dependent on their wit and intelligence to wrap themselves in as a protection from the rest of the world.  Both characters are aware that the other knows how to get past this defensive layer, hence why they feel the need to constantly defend themselves by targeting the other. However, as well as just defending themselves, their insults could be interpreted as trying to scratch the other’s surface in order to get a real glimmer of what lies beneath, and therefore gain a better understanding of each other, which would be the vital crooks of a longstanding relationship.

 Similarly, Amanda and Elyot, “use their charm as a way of surviving” (Chothia, n.d.).  Unlike Beatrice and Benedick, Amanda and Elyot do not have that same amount of vulnerability in society. They are clearly well off, born into an upper-class family, and live a frivolous lifestyle considering the context of 1930s Britain, surrounded by the disaster of the great depression. In a sense, they are superior to everyone else in their society, so it seems strange that they would feel the need to defend themselves with their wit and charm. Before going into detail into why they make such scornful remarks, it must be noted that this use of rudeness and discourtesy is what drives the play’s main genre: the comedy of manners. A genre of theatre that depicts and satirises the manners of contemporary society, using witty, cerebral dialogue and clever dramatic functions. It aims to ridicule society’s manners and does so through the sophisticated use of speech and dialogue to create a sharp comedy of the highest wit. Without Amanda and Elyot’s vulgar remarks, the play would be severely deprived of the comedy needed for this particular genre. When analysing the subtext of Amanda and Elyot’s language, however, it seems to be purely a defence from each other as well as their new spouses. They are both very headstrong characters, and to a point, incredibly vain. The thought of having their image or reputation damaged by someone as close as their spouse would be major devastation. With their new partners, who are infinitely weaker and less intelligent than they are, Amanda and Elyot’s supercilious attitudes towards them seem to be merely an act to claim their power. Amanda, who appears to have a rather feminist approach to life, would not want to appear to have her status undermined by a domineering husband. Equally, Elyot, who is used to a woman of his wit and domineering ability, clearly cannot mollify his assertive characteristics for his delicate and sensitive new wife; vindicated by the fact Sybil “bursts into tears” when Elyot remarks that he would “like to cut off (her) head with a meat axe”. This explains Amanda and Elyot’s motives behind their exchanging affronts with others, but their same mannerisms for each other are slightly more complex. Like Beatrice and Benedick, they can see past each other; Amanda irritated Elyot because “he knew (she) could see through him”, just as her sophistication “caused many rows with Elyot”. Perhaps these two people were merely too sophisticated and clever for each other, and their similar personas simply clashed. When reminiscing about their marriage, Amanda makes the point that they were “like two violent acids bubbling about in a nasty little matrimonial bottle”. They clearly had the ‘chemistry’; however, the chemical reactions were just too volatile. In a sense, this is what creates the deep sadness in these characters’ lives. As many critics have stated, “They can’t bear to live with each other, yet they find it impossible to be without each other”.

Another point of comparison to consider is both couples’ fear and aversion to the shackles of marriage. Beatrice is portrayed as the stronger, more dominant character; a role typically played by men. She clearly possesses negative views of marriage, which possibly stems from her apprehension about the social and sexual submission expected of a wife. On the surface, Beatrice doesn’t seem to see what she will get out of having a husband; “what shall I do with him, dress him in my apparel and make him my waiting gentlewoman?”. However, she has also seemed to accepted her fate as an old maid, implied by the fact she will be greeted by St. Peter when she “leads his apes into hell”. Her ambivalence about marriage could be rooted in her fear of the social and sexual power it grants men. She clearly is a dominant character and doesn't see passive, submissive and demure personas that are attached to marriage as desirable. In Addition, Beatrice uses her words and stance as a defence against her vulnerabilities; just like men use cuckoldry regarding their fears of women. She repeatedly mocks Benedick, shooting him down and insulting his masculinity, she wants to be the one in control, and by degrading his manliness she is reminding him that she has power. Beatrice’s sharp tongue and witty insults can be associated with the male use of cuckoldry; which brings us onto Benedick’s prevalent fear of marriage.

 The imagery of the play’s cuckoldry jokes reveals much about the anxiety that motivates men. The notorious ‘cuckold’s horns’ are metaphors for the proverbial ‘horns’ that men will grow upon having an unfaithful wife, furthermore, they are an allegory for the sufferings the man will endure upon learning of his disloyal wife; thus foreshadowing Benedick’s later quote “I will suffer love”. The men seem to feel a sense of vulnerability towards the opposite sex because they only have the woman’s word for their virginity. The sexual jokes amongst the men suggest that marriage could emasculate men, forcing them to submit to the woman. Benedick masks his fears of a woman’s sexuality through promiscuous insults, further reassuring his superior status in society. Perhaps the biggest fear regarding marriage in the play is Benedick’s idea that marriage is seen as treason. He’s obsessed with the idea of people becoming a renegade, hence his insecurities. He asks Claudio incredulously if he has “intent to turn husband”, and further remarking that “courtesy is a turncoat”. This use of the verb ‘turn’ literally denoting to ‘turn the coat’ referring to the battle imagery of betraying one's side to join the opposition. Whether he is scared of being the only Bachelor left in his circle of friends, or whether he genuinely believes that marriage is a dangerous affair, Benedick definitely isn't covert in his effort to promote the bachelor way of life. Benedick’s aggressive and hostile jokes are aimed at the cynicism of marriage as well as an attempt at covering the male anxiety towards female sexuality. When Benedick asks if “Signor Leonato’s be Hero’s father, she would not have his head on her shoulders”; the noun ‘head’ could be referring to Leonato’s grey hair, in which a modern audience would see as a typical scornful remark from Benedick. However, to an Elizabethan audience would see this as a covert reference to the Cuckold’s proverbial horns, and thus Hero’s possible objections. Furthermore, upon declaring that he “won’t have a recheat winded in (his) forehead”, Benedick once again could be using the battle imagery of a ‘recheat’ (a horn used to assemble a herd of hounds) as referring to animal’s horns, implying that they could become attached to his head. It can be deduced that he believes marrying will make him a cuckold, thus reflecting the prevalent fear amongst the men of an unfaithful wife. Furthermore, Benedick claims he will not have to “hang (his) bugle in an invisible Baldrick”. This could be interpreted as referring to a man’s attempts to exaggerate and emphasise his masculinity, implying that whether or not he’s married, he won’t conceal his manliness. However, it can also have connotations of not hiding his cuckold’s horns, thus satirically mocking men, implying that they will have to hide their suffering. In an Elizabethan society, the women are treated as a possession for men to display - hinted at by Claudio’s comparison of Hero to a “jewel”. The husband was typically the authoritative figure with the assumption that the wife will submit to him entirely, furthermore the woman was expected to be seen but seldom heard. By putting their underlying anxieties about the woman’s power on display, the men reveal their requirements of their wives to be pure, untouched virgins. All men in Messina seem to mistrust women due to their ability to emasculate and dehumanise them, thus turning them into the much feared ‘cuckolds’.

 By the time ‘Private Lives’ was written, the fear of ‘cuckoldry’ seemed to have diminished, however the power struggle between men and women was still very much in existence. They are both incredibly open about their new relationships following the divorce, and almost use them as a power status. Amanda flippantly admits that she “wouldn't expect (Elyot) to have been celibate during those five years, any more than (she) was”, suggesting her indifference to his countless relationships. However, Elyot reacts with a horrified “what” and a miserable “oh God!”, implying that he’s in disbelief that Amanda would even dare to have another sexual relationship after divorcing him. Again, Amanda responds with complete indifference by assuming that his “affairs well outnumbered (hers)”, in which Elyot responds that “it’s different, because (he is) a man!”. This line would seem incredibly sexist and closed-minded to a twenty-first-century audience, however, this view of Elyot’s was a manifestation of societal norms at the time. Women were expected to be pure, virginal angels, whilst the men openly championed their sexuality. Elyot further gains criticism from the modern day audience when he bursts out that it “doesn't suit women to be promiscuous”, which on most performances causes an outburst of shock and incredulous laughter. However, a similarity can be seen here between the two male characters, in that they both have the same fear regarding a woman’s unfaithfulness, whilst Benedick expresses this with his Shakespearean, Cuckoldry-based euphemisms, Elyot openly declares it using his early twentieth-century wit and linguistic flair. From examining these two men, it is clear that throughout literature, no matter what time or period, men still possess the same fear regarding their wives’ faithfulness, the only difference being they express these fears in very different ways. Like Beatrice, Amanda possesses some feminist qualities, in that she too won't allow herself to be pushed into the societal norms of being dominated by men. She comes back with the heroic response “it doesn't suit men for women to be promiscuous”, highlighting the fact that a woman's sexuality isn't a problem to her, more that it’s a problem to the men, once again reflecting the unequal submission and obedience women have to undergo upon marriage.

 These ideas of the vulnerabilities involved in the submission of marriage relate to the next point regarding the two plays: the idea of marriage, shame and freedom. For all the characters in ‘Much Ado’, romantic experiences are always connected with issues of shame and freedom. If dignity comes from having a strong, free will, then love, desire and marriage seems to potentially pose a threat to it. Beatrice and Benedick begin the play seemingly witty, aloof and superior to the others. Yet, by the end, their love has made them somewhat ridiculous. Like Puppets, they have been manipulated by their friends. Through Benedick being duped into believing that Beatrice “beats her heart” and prays “oh, sweet Benedick!”, he is quickly convinced that this can be “no trick”, and finally builds up to declaring that he will be “horribly in love with her”. This sudden outburst seems silly, considering Benedick’s previous aversion to marriage. Not only does it add to the comedy effect of the play, but also it demonstrates that when properly in love, even the most stubborn of characters will give in to their previous principles to make way for these new romantic experiences. Similarly, upon being deceived by her friends too, Beatrice is very quick to say goodbye to her “maiden pride” and let Benedick “love on”. Their extreme aversion to marriage (and the accompanying shame and loss of freedom) made them looks even more ridiculous when they gave in. Shakespeare seems to suggest that giving in to our strong feelings for other people is unavoidable. Despite the shame of going back on their principles, despite the knowledge that the whole thing was set up by others, Beatrice and Benedick end up happily in love. Perhaps happiness is more important than freedom and dignity.

 For Amanda and Elyot, their concern of shame and dignity lies within the play’s main theme; the idea of our ‘private lives’ and public lives. Though they pretend to be flippant, they are clearly concerned with how they will be judged by society. In a sense, it can be interpreted that their new spouses Sybil and Victor are microcosms for the broader society they live in, but when with each other, Amanda and Elyot unleash their inner private lives. An example of this idea is that with their new spouses, whom they love “more calmly”, Amanda and Elyot’s new marriages seem so stereotypically sophisticated, soaked in social norms, that they almost have satirical qualities. They speak to each other in decorous voices, complement each other regularly and go to “the casino for dinner”; everything which is expected of an early twentieth-century couple. However, when behind the closed doors of Amanda’s flat, Amanda and Elyot are completely outrageous, throwing flowers, smashing records, and attempting to make love “too soon after dinner”. They are both, however, extremely conscious of their public life, and try to convince themselves that they are appearing respectable in the public. This seems to be an issue that seriously concerns Amanda, as she points out that they “maybe alright in the eyes of heaven, but (they) look a hell of a mess socially”, furthermore she declares that “being clamped together publically” was what “wreaked” their marriage before. However, ultimately, it is their private lives that wins; as Amanda and Elyot end the play with each other, whilst leaving their public lives with Victor and Sybil behind. From examining the societal shame and potential loss of dignity that comes with romantic experiences, both Shakespeare and Coward both seem to suggest, that true love and happiness is far more desirable than false, but publicly acceptable marriage.

 A feature of these couples’ relationships that both Shakespeare and Coward seem to present, is the primitive, animalistic side to their love, the idea that it’s wild and uncontrollable, but also inherent within them. ‘Much ado about nothing’ is peppered with metaphors involving the taming of wild animals. The courtship between Beatrice and Benedick seems to symbolise a tamed savage animal, thus representing the social taming that must occur for both wild souls to be ready to submit themselves to the shackles of marriage. Beatrice vows to submit to Benedick’s love by “taming (her) wild heart to thy loving hand”, which makes use of the terms of falconry, suggesting that Benedick is to become Beatrice’s master. Similarly, Don Pedro and Claudio tease Benedick about his aversion to marriage by comparing him to a wild animal; Don Pedro uses the common adage “in time the savage bull doth bears the yoke”, implying that in time even the savage Benedick will surrender to the taming of love and marriage. On the surface, this seems to be reflecting the societal Elizabethan norms: that the woman must submit herself entirely to the man. However, the fact that Benedick has to undergo metaphorical ‘taming’ as well, to pacify himself towards his wife, gives a sense of mutuality about it. The common patriarchal dominance that men seem to have over women in this play is slightly toned down when it comes to the marriage of Beatrice and Benedick, in that they both undergo the same social ‘taming’, not just one. It is this equality and mutuality of their relationship which gives the audience faith in their future together. Similarly, the animal imagery adopted by Shakespeare in the exchanges between Beatrice and Benedick could perhaps be used to suggest the wildness of their love/hate relationship. This is made evident as early on as their first conversation together. Whilst Benedick declares that Beatrice is a “rare parrot-teacher”, implying that she’s always repeating herself and whittling on, Beatrice denounces him with her response of a “bird of my tongue is better than a beast of yours.” It could be interpreted that, through their frequent use of animal metaphors, these two characters are displaying the wild characteristics of their relationship, so wild in fact, they are out of control. The idea of the primitive/animalistic attraction they possess is hinted at in Beatrice’s question of “if it is possible disdain could die whilst she hath such meet food to feed it as Signor Benedick?” Through the use of her pun on ‘meat’, Beatrice shows she is thinking of his manhood, thus demonstrating the covert sexual tension between them.

 Coward doesn’t seem to use the same explicit animalistic imagery in ‘Private Lives’, however the wild and somewhat crude elements of Amanda and Elyot’s relationship are still visible. When speaking to each other, both of these characters are somewhat vulgar in their descriptions, despite their refined, middle-class way of life. Amanda proudly recounts the moment she “struck” Elyot, and consequently “broke four gramophone records over his head”, similarly, Elyot remarks that “warring males” is “very enjoyable” to women, owing to their “primitive feminine instincts”. They both seem to get great satisfaction over physical violence, and apart from contributing to the comedy of the play, this roughness in their relationship further adds to the immense physical attraction that they experience to each other.  

 In ‘Much Ado about Nothing’, Shakespeare makes the point that true love is achieved through understanding, trust and commitment. He does this by examining the relationship of two contrasting sets of lovers: the shallow relationship of Hero and Claudio, and the deeper relationship of Beatrice and Benedick. Similarly, Coward also makes this same connection, however, the difference being he examines the relationships of Amanda and Elyot with their new spouses against their relationship with each other. In Much Ado, Shakespeare's Hero and Claudio don’t allow for a particularly trustful relationship to occur. Despite having never met her before, Claudio has an immediate attraction to Hero, through announcing that “she is the sweetest lady (he) ever looked upon”. He is clearly attracted to her physical beauty and nobility, which therefore does not allow for any understanding or emotional connections to develop. Furthermore, whilst Claudio falls in love with Hero’s beauty, and Don Pedro arranges a profitable marriage, any meaningful interactions are eliminated, which leads to a deficiency in sincere human feeling. It is this lack of communication that allows Claudio to be deceived by Don John. When this villain plants the idea of Hero’s unfaithfulness in Claudio’s head, Claudio does not attempt to investigate the matter further. The most attractive feature of Hero to Claudio is her virtuousness, in and his eyes, this it is spoiled. Without this emotional attachment Claudio has no reason to trust Hero, therefore she is easily a villain in his eyes. It is this lack of trust that is allowed to be preyed upon by Don John. Claudio has no faith in his relationship, hence why he accused Hero of betraying him; the reason for this stemming from the fact that they have not connected in a meaningful way. It is with this lack of understanding that makes Claudio and Hero’s relationship feel flimsy; their love seems superficial. In essence, Claudio’s commitment to Hero is only as strong as his faith in her virtuousness.

 However, Beatrice and Benedick, once admitting their feelings for each other, have a strong level of trust. The most prime example of this is the fact they stayed together even when the actions of Claudio threatened to tear them apart. Upon denouncing Beatrice’s command to “kill Claudio”, Benedick has the potential to ruin their newly founded relationship within a mere sentence, “not for the world”. Following Beatrice’s outburst of “you kill me to deny it”. In this moment, their future seems to be at stake; however, whilst any other characters in the play would part in this situation, Beatrice and Benedick trust each other enough to come to an agreement. Benedick promises that he will “challenge Claudio” in order to “show (his) love for (Beatrice) other than swearing by it”. This active display of love, rather than verbal - which is what Claudio and Hero’s relationship is categorised by - is what causes this couple to work together. They have enough faith in each other to remain together when their foiling opinions threaten to rip them apart.

 In ‘Private Lives’, Coward adopts a similar examination of relationships with a lack of trust. In the opening of the play, the audience is immediately exposed to the lack of trust and understanding between Elyot and his new wife Sibyl. Upon offending Elyot regarding a comment on Amanda, Sibyl anxiously asks Elyot if she has “annoyed (him) by saying that”, and furthermore asks him to “kiss (her)”. Clearly, Sibyl doesn't understand Elyot’s true characteristics in that he doesn't merely kiss someone who has offended him, he will battle it out until the insult is deflected back onto the offending person. This deficiency in a proper understanding could owe to the fact that they have, in actual fact, only known each other four months. In addition to this, the physical attraction possessed by Claudio towards Hero is also held by Sibyl towards Elyot. She seems to be a character who seeks to smooth out problems through physical and romantic interaction. It's although she needs to reassure Elyot’s respect by pleading him to kiss her. If it is the physical attraction and romantic comments that are the sole foundations for this relationship, then it is likely that will have a very weak and feeble future. Furthermore, there is a clear deficiency in trust in their relationship, in that Sibyl is almost neurotically obsessed with the idea of Elyot’s previous marriage with Amanda. She repeatedly asks him if he’s “glad he’s married (her)”, and how much he “hates” Amanda. Upon hearing that Elyot “despises” her, Sibyl is completely reassured with her satisfied response “that’s much worse”. It seems that Sibyl relies wholly on Elyot’s verbal word that he still ‘hates’ Amanda; the fact that she doesn't know this through the way he treats her shows that there is clearly a lack of meaningful trust and understanding in their relationship.

 With Elyot and Amanda, however, they don’t need each other's verbal word, they simply know. Amanda and Elyot trust each other infinitely, so much so they trust each other enough to run away from their new spouses and start a new life together. It doesn’t take Elyot that much to convince Amanda to run away with him, and they do indeed, “trust the inspiration of the moment”. They don’t think of the consequences, they just act, and their only source of guidance and trust being each other. It is not only their faith in each other that revitalises their relationship but the mutuality of it. It is certainly not one-sided, everything they say and do is equal. Amanda states how “we were so ridiculously over in love” and “we were never sane” and “we’ll go off again”. It’s never ‘you’ or ‘I’, it is always ‘we’, contributing to the fact that everything in their marriage concerned them both, not just one. It is this mutuality, understanding and trust, along with their physical and emotional attraction which allows this past relationship to be pulled up again. Whereas they don't connect meaningfully with their new spouses, and indeed don’t understand them either, they know every grain of each other, hence why the audience is able to see a future in their resurrected relationship.

 To Conclude, through examining these two unusual, hilarious, and somewhat sad couples, we are able to extract a sample of literature’s true meaning of love. By contrasting two foiling couples, Shakespeare seems to comment on the meaning of love. Given how common arranged marriages were in Elizabethan times, this play seems to project a message to the audience; that Shakespeare is in favour of true love, rather than quickly arranged, superficial marriages. Similarly, through placing his two main protagonists with their new, unflurried spouses, and then again with each other, Coward seems to demonstrate that true love is achieved through understanding, trust and true feelings, rather than socially acceptable, pacified and ‘normal’ relationships. Despite their volatile and temperamental relationship, Amanda and Elyot end up happily together, whilst their new, more sophisticated, and “calm” marriages crumble to the earth.

[crimsonrevolt]

Congratulations Alex you’ve been accepted to Crimson Revolt as Frank Longbottom!

↳ please refer to our character checklist

We’re so excited to have you back in the rp, Alex! The way you fleshed out Frank’s app was beautiful and the thought and dedication that you placed into it shone through. There’s a lot of complexities to his character, and the struggles he’s going to face in the future were completely evident. We can’t wait to see how you develop Frank further and how his story progresses in this different timeline of the Marauders! 

application beneath the cut (tw: Torture, Kidnapping, PTSD, Violence)

OUT OF CHARACTER ♔ INTRODUCTION

Name: Alex

Age: 20

Pronouns: She/her

Timezone: EST

♔ ACTIVITY

6-7/10 I sam online a lot of the time however I am in college so there are some times when I get very busy. That being said I am normally online at least once a day and tend to lurk more than that. So 6-7 maybe lower than winds up being accurate but that it the minimum of how often I will be on.

♔ ROLEPLAY EXPERIENCE

I’ve been roleplaying on tumblr for over 5 years now on my River Song roleplay blog. Recently my muse from her has been a bit less so my most recent threads aren’t my favorites but I have gained a lot of experience from the blog. I love the character and writing her I’ve just been having a hard time because after 5 years the fandom has died down.

http://riverxxsong.tumblr.com/

My old Lucinda blog:

https://lucindaxxtalkalot.tumblr.com/

My old Frank blong:

https://frankxlongbottom.tumblr.com/

♔ TRIGGERS

*removed for privacy

♔ HOW DID YOU FIND US?

I was in CRT for a long time! <3

♔ ANYTHING ELSE?

I’ve missed Frank and the CRT community so much since I’ve left I would love the opportunity to continue to develop his character. IN CHARACTER ♔ DESIRED CHARACTER Frank Longbottom

♔ FACE CLAIM Penn Badgley ♔ REASON FOR CHOSEN CHARACTER First Application Reasons:

I had never really thought about Frank Longbottom until joining this group, but as I started interacting more and reading all of the threads I fell in love with Frank. Then also when Lucinda got together with Alice I fell in love with her and just because Lucinda has to lose her doesn’t mean I want to. I really love Frank’s story line and had wanted to take on the challenge of writing as a person of the opposite gender. I am really hopeful that I will get to play him and develop his character, his deep love for Alice, his dark side, his frustration with the war, and all the other things that makes him such an amazing and complex character.

I am extremely excited to play on the idea of Frank’s dark side; I think far too often he is portrayed as a big teddy bear when in fact I think he might be one of the most vicious of the “good guys”. I don’t think Frank would ever hurt anyone just for pleasure, but he sees the line between good and evil as blurry especially during war times. During school he saw far too many of his house mates tortured to let it slide without any acknowledgement. Being from the Longbottom family, one of the sacred 28, other purebloods often expected him to fall on their side, that is until he got the reputation of breaking their noses. People who don’t know him often find him jaded and aggressive and he can come off as a flirt. He is unrelenting in his pursual of a better world, but he doesn’t always see where the lines lay.

It is because of this more aggressive nature that Frank first became affiliated with Aversio.  The group was a better match for his personal ideologies and were willing to see that the ends justify the means. Frank is often surprised that even among Aversio he is on the more aggressive end of the spectrum. He is highly impulsive and will push for, as well as take on dangerous missions, before thinking through the consequences for himself and others. He lacks a sense of self preservation and considers the war a worthy cause to die for. He fluctuates between being extremely self confident and extremely insecure depending on the situation and how long he’s taken to think.

Thinking has actually often time been a hindrance to Frank as he finds that once he starts thinking things through he’s nervous and worrying side surfaces. It is when this side emerges that he finds it harder to be a good member of Aversio and do what needs to be done. However this is in stark contrast to how is more worrisome side is seen in the Order where caution and careful planning and strategy are praised.

Second Application Reasons:

I simply adore Frank Longbottom. I think he can be one of the most complex characters in the series especially with the way his skeleton is written in our group. I have missed him since I left the group a few months ago and would love to get to write as him again. I think Frank is dynamic and real and struggles with the questions of morality which many of us don’t need to think about in our life. I think he has so much growth left in his character and in his current state he is so angry and focused, I think as he grows his views may change rapidly.

I would love to dive more into his darker tendencies because I think at certain levels he could rival some of the death eaters for cruelty. His views right now are extremely polarized, you are either good or you’re bad. He feels as though people in the Order are good but when he allows himself to be honest about what he thinks about them he feels they are cowards and are afraid to do what is necessary. Frank believes that Death Eaters lives are worthless and if they are not helping him further the goal of ending the war than they should be terminated from existence. I would love to have the people who love him who aren’t in aversio slowly bring him toward a more moderate view but I would also love for him to have one or two people in Aversio who encourage this extremist view and push him forward with his plans.

I think there could be some extremely interesting plays with insanity with Frank allowing us to see the lengths that one will go to in order to do what they see as right. Frank believes in his mission and thinks he is entirely right and righteous in his beliefs. One of the most fascinating aspects of the potencial I see with this starting point I am seeing for him is having his behaviors be almost identical to those of the death eaters but serving the Aversio agenda. Getting to write him being unaware of the extremes which he is reaching and having the characters around him see him unraveling could be fascinating.

Following this downward spiral, which I think would be amazing also having it tied in with him being newly engaged with Alice and having them be adversaries for a few months in their ideologies, I think he needs to come to a breaking point. Most people are made of a series of moments and I believe that but I also think that there are some moments which are more defining than others and I think Frank’s path will be violent and cruel in the beginning of this new era for him, I think that part of the character was lost and I became too involved in the relationship between Frank and Alice. I still am planning to have Alice be a large part of Frank’s narrative but I would love for him to have some other characters to support that. I would love to collaborate with one or two other Aversio players who also want to take their characters down this morally ambiguous path in the pursuit of a better world. On the other side I want Frank to have work friends who are in the Order and more in line with Alice’s way of thinking. I think Frank would confess to Alice his allegiance and if she couldn’t convince him to change his ways I think calling in backup of these individuals who are morally aligned with the Order, I’d love to see the fight which could even turn physical. In a huge fight like this I would love the insanity to appear in full and have Frank either injure or almost severely injure people he cares about. At that point I think Frank would break down and he’d change his allegiance leaving behind Aversio forever. However, the anger which naturally exists within him would still be there and he would still have an internal struggle over the actions which should be taken. The transitioning allegiance going quickly to be fully aligned with the Order. Additionally, what Frank would do with the information he had gained while in Aversio.

Overall, I’d love to see Frank as a character who build in extremist beliefs until it hits a point where he either would lose the people he cares for most or switch sides and I would like to have him switch sides. However, I think switching sides would be painful and he would struggle with identity and guilt and his own morals. Overtime I think he would come to see Aversio as a terrorist organization and be a major public advocate against it as well as being on a possible anti Aversio task force within the order. I would love Frank’s story to be one of misguided good intentions and the dangers of thinking that the ends justify the means and the corrupting power of a seemingly quick solution and self distributed justice.

Elaborate on why you would like to play this character. Just tell us, what made you pick this character and what made you feel in love with them. This can be as long or as short as you want to, though showing your love for the character is encouraged as it is something we look at when we can’t decide between applications. In this section you should also describe the character and how you see them. At least in a few sentences that offer additional information to what we provided in the character’s bio. You don’t have to do a complete personality analysis here, but just glimpse us of them by giving reasons for why you decided for this character. Don’t write what you think that we want to hear, but just make this character your own. ♔ CHARACTER’S SEXUALITY Heterosexual. Frank has never really had the urge to be with a man. He thinks his friends are good looking blokes but that’s about it. That being said he has no judgement about who people choose to love and encourages his loved ones to do what makes them happy. Before he and Alice were serious he was a big flirt, his lovelife consisting mainly of hookups. Until Alice came into his life, friends were his only priority and he had no interest in finding a girlfriend. He was a major fuckboy but had his own code about hooking up with girls, never spreading rumors or bragging about the people he would hook up with.

I love Fralice!

♔ PERSONALITY TRAITS Please elaborate on at least 2 of the traits listed on the bio (one positive and one negative). Explain why you believe they were assigned these traits and what they mean in the context of the character.

✓ Dependable

Frank always considered himself lucky, he grew up in a happy stable family without all of the normal stigma that came with being a pureblood. Frank is extremely dedicated to those he loved and because of that he will never fail to be there when they need him. Frank’s dedication runs to an extreme level that it never wanes even when being there for a friend could put himself in danger, in that situation he would just run faster to help the ones he cares for.

Frank will always be there to protect Alice, it is the only reason he didn’t ask for a change of partner after they broke up. He needs to be there for her, to protect her, even though it kills him inside. There is a physical pain in his chest when he sees Alice and remembers she doesn’t want to be with him, but he can’t stand the idea that she would run into danger without him at her side. ✓ Loving

Frank’s friends are a central part of his life. He would do anything for them and drop everything in his life to help them. It is this platonic form of love that has dominated Frank’s life so far and only in his developing relationship with Alice do we see how romantic love looks for him. Frank is amazingly loyal to his friends at school he would often find getting into fights trying to protect them. He is definitely what people would describe as rough around the edges, but those who get to know him would describe him as a true Hufflepuff, loyal to a fault. ✓ Ready-mind

As a Hufflepuff through and through, Frank always had an open mind and was ready and willing to learn new things. What set him apart is his dedication to his studies during school, although he was not a bookworm, he was a dedicated hard worker and would often be seen with his brow furrowed as he completed homework in the Hufflepuff common room. ✓ Unstoppable

Frank is an oncoming storm. He would burn cities to the ground for those he loves. He is not afraid of using force to get what he wants, and once he sets his mind to something you better get out of his way or get crushed in the process. This is a great benefit when you are on his side as he will stop at nothing to keep his word and protect those he loves. Those who stand against him though should be wary as when he sees someone as opposition, he feels no remorse for what he does to meet his goal. ✕ Doesn’t know limits

Frank doesn’t know when to stop. He struggles to not lose himself in the war. He finds himself more inline with the ideals of Aversio than with the Order of the Phoenix as he has trouble waiting to take action. He oftentimes has to fight to prevent the extent of his aggression from being seen. He doesn’t just want the Death Eaters locked up, he wants them dead with their homes burnt to the ground and any trace of them destroyed. He thinks they are traitors to the wizarding world and shouldn’t be allowed the privilege of having existing. He wants to see the end of their regime with no trace of it left to be built upon and thinks it is worth exterminating the entire population in order to fulfill that goal. ✕ Lacks self-control

He is highly impulsive and has a desire to take action. Frank will volunteer often volunteer for missions before thinking of the risks to himself or the others on his team. He has no sense of self preservation which adds to his likelihood of doing something that could get himself hurt.

Frank sees his impulsivity as a strength it allows him to act when he needs to and prevents him from missing a moment when he should have gone. He thinks the personal danger this lack of self control puts him in is negligible given the amount of good he feels these actions accomplish. ✕ Worrier

Frank has no regard for his own well being and is only worried about his friends and loved ones. He thinks about them all the time and is extremely concerned about their safety during these uncertain times. His loved ones are his main concern at all times, but it is often his worrying breaks his determination. In stopping to think he realizes the risk to himself and others and feels he can’t fight in the war as well. He thinks of his lack of self control as a positive and strives to not think about things to deeply in order to avoid being bogged down by his thoughts. ✕ Dark thoughts

Frank offer suffers from very dark thoughts. He doesn’t just want to win the war but he oftentimes finds his thoughts drifting to the idea of obliterating the opposition. He wants to be the type of person who is patient, kind and merciful, but he feels war is not the times for this virtues. During school he worked to always keep himself in check and to ensure he (usually) played by the rules, but war has allowed him to explore, this other side of himself which had stayed buried for so long. His only fear is he kind of likes it .

IN CHARACTER QUESTIONNAIRE

The following section should be looked at like a survey for your character. Answer them in character and feel free to use gifs. Or, if you’d rather, answer them in third person or OOC without gifs. Answers do not have to be extremely lengthy.

♔ If you were able to invent one spell, potion, or charm, what would it do, what would you use it for or how would you use it? Feel free to name it:

“I would invent a spell which allows me to locate people who use the unforgivable curses. I would have the auror department run it at all times because if we were able to know where these curses were being used it would make finding and destroying death eaters much easier.”

♔ You have to venture deep into the Forbidden Forest one night. Pick one other character and one object (muggle or magical), besides your wand, that you’d want with you:

“I would bring Alice Prewett. She’s always had my back in the feild and I know she’d have my back in the forest. I easily trust her with my life. As for an object… I would bring a flashlight, so I could have my wand ready in case I need to immediately cast a spell for self defense.”

♔ What kinds of decisions are the most difficult for you to make?

“I am worst a making decisions which involve not immediately punishing those doing wrong in the hopes of a longer plan. I understand that it may not be best to stop things when we know they are occuring, due to the sensitivity of sources but when there is an injustice occurring… I can’t help but want to take actions and when someone tells me it’s impulsive or short sighted I just find myself getting angry.”

♔ What is one thing you would never want said about you?

“I would never want someone to say I’m disloyal. Loyalty to the people who matter to me in my life is one of the most important things to me. My friends and family are most important to me. I am always on their side so anyone suggesting I’m not would break my heart.”

EXTRAS (SEMI-OPTIONAL) This portion is not obligatory, but it is heavily encouraged. This section can include, but is not limited to: mock blogs, future plot points, a questionnaire, your character’s wand, boggart, patronus quotes, playlists, moodboards, edits and everything else you can think of. It’s kind of a ‘everything can, nothing must’-section. Even if this section is in no way required, please keep in mind that this can be something that makes me decide for one applicant or another if I can’t decide just looking at the obligatory part. This doesn’t mean I’ll only have a look at it if I can’t decide- for that I’m far too curious what awesome things you’re all going to do-, but is something that plays great importance when I can’t decide for one applicant.

https://frankxlongbottom.tumblr.com/

PlayList:

Frank in Love (Fralice songs):

Lucky by Jason Mraz and Colbie Caillet

*Come to me by the goo goo dolls*

Angel with a Shotgun by the Cab

Say You won’t go - James Arthur

Backseat Serenade-All Time Low

Frank’s anthem:

The Phoenix - Fall out boy

Smells like Teen Spirit - Nirvana

Uprising - Muse

Burn It To The Ground - Nickelback

Ready Aim Fire - Imagine Dragons

The Crimson Bow & Arrow - Jonathan Young

The World - Jonathan Young

For Alice Post Break Up Feeling

Iris - The goo goo dolls

Impossible Year- Panic! At The Disco

Young Frank:

The Good, The Bad And The Dirty - Panic! At The Disco

Girls/Girls/Boys - Panic! At The Disco

Head cannon:

Frank got into a lot of fights in school (mostly) protecting others and standing up for his beliefs.

Frank enjoys his darker impulses and worries that they will one day take him over however he also feels justified in the actions he’s taking given that he is at war.

Frank was a flirt and a player during his school days.

Frank’s friends are the most important thing to him (Alice too later)

Frank’s sense of loyalty is deeply ingrained but his impulses take control when it comes to his loved ones.

Frank is happy to die for the war and gives very little thought to his life down the road.

I think this would vary depending his state of mind but at times when he feels disconnected from most things or during some of his largest fights with Alice and during the time she left him he escalated his commitment to the cause to an almost suicidal level

I think these impulses will settle as Frank grows older but he still will not hesitate to throw himself in front of danger to protect his loved ones

Frank really struggles with his dark impulses and despite knowledge that he should want to take the moral high ground he finds himself drawn to extremely violent and extreme plans that may kill more death eaters rather than trying to break up the organization

Frank often find himself wanting to slaughter the death eaters and finds them to be irredeemable

I’d love for this to be challenged by someone close in his life where a close friend of his is in truth a DE or someone switches sides

James, Lily, Frank and Alice are couple friends and will at times go on double dates. They relate very well to each other and struggle to be newly married in a period of such chaos

James, Lily, Frank and Alice spend time talking with each other about their hopes and fears of being a new parent and rely on each other for support.

Frank will be an extremely dedicated new parent but I am unsure if having a child will lead to an escalation of his extreme thoughts to try and end the war quickly or if a child would bring him to see things from more of a moderate view to the point where he moves almost entirely to the order.

Frank is a year older than Alice so he would currently be 20.

Future Plot Points:

Flashback-  Frank and guy friends at school talking about girls and the future

Flashback- Frank’s various hogwarts adventuress

Flashback- Frank’s start as an auror

Frank tries to start a bar fight with a pureblood

Frank pushes an even more aggressive Aversio

Alice finds out Frank is in Aversio

Frank and Alice move in together

Frank and Alice get married

Frank wants to start a family or Alice gets pregnant

Frank and Alice have Neville

Frank becomes a major aggressor in the war and starts trying to pursue Death Eaters to a larger extent

Frank attempts to sabotage the lives of people who he suspects to be death eaters

Frank has a few HUGE fights with people he loves about his being in Aversio (Moody, Alice, Augusta, anyone he is very close with)

Frank leaves Aversio

Frank struggles with switching over to the mentality of the Order

Frank eventually perceives Aversio as a terrorist group WRITING SAMPLE

Prompt:

The last sane night. We all know how the dreaded-end-game occurs; but what if your character had the insight to know things were going to come to a quick end for him? How would he spend his last night before he is tortured to the brink?

TW: Torutre, sexul assault

The ground was cold beneath him; the packed dirt floor of the cell slowing drinking the heat from his body. As Frank stirred slowly from the numb comfort of unconsciousness, he felt as if the world was trying to pull him down to its core. The weight on his chest made each breath agony, he tried to open his eyes. His eyes seemed stuck shut at first unwilling to open,he took another agonizing breath before forcing his eyes open. The light from the hall wasn’t much, but in that moment it felt like he had stared directly into the sun. He panicked for a moment waiting for the world to come into focus, as it did he remembered, Alice. Where was Alice? The pain in his body shifted to the background as the thought of his wife came fully into the forefront of his mind. Tears welled in his eyes, the war had ended. Frank had let his guard down for only a moment, he remembered the night in horror.

Voldemort had been destroyed. The war was finally over. That was the mantra Frank had been repeating to himself since he had first heard the news. He still had trouble believing it was true, it was as if he was waiting for the other shoe to drop. Frank knew he need to move past it. This was a new chapter in his life, the one he had been fighting for. They had won the war, and now he could relax and enjoy his family.

It was for that reason that Frank had come home late. He had just made one stop after work. Frank had bought a nice dinner for he and Alice to share together; he had even purchased champagne. He hadn’t been worried about leaving at home alone; the war was over and they had won. He didn’t even sense something was wrong until he got home.

As he walked up to the front door he saw it was open, a pit formed in his stomach his throat clenched making it hard to breathe. We’re not at war he tried to reassure himself his hands shaking slightly. He walked closer to the door stepping slowly not wanting to over react and scare Alice and Neville.

The packages fell to the ground, Frank had gotten close enough to the door to see that it had been opened by force. He couldn’t remember what happened next, but he found himself in the hallway wand in hand. “Alice!” He cried voice shaking in a panick. “Please, Ali, please answer me and tell me you and Neville are fine.” He couldn’t breathe, he should have been home over an hour ago. He should have been here. It was amidst all these thoughts that a cold feminine laugh escaped him. He whipped around staring into the living room in horror at the scene before him. Before him stood four of Voldemort’s most loyal followers, the Lestrange brothers had Alice restrained, their hands running all over the pieces of her that were only for him. Frank’s entire body shook, “If you touch her again I,”

“What will you do?” Bellatrix Lestrange stood in front of him her sharp features had grown ever more gaunt during the war, now she look somewhere between dead and alive. “We have your wife and son.” She said in a voice which was almost sweet looking down at Neville who she held in her arms. “You wouldn’t want anything bad to happen to them now would you.” She then turned and held Neville by his feet waking him and starting him to start screaming. “Now put down your wand slowly.” Barty Crouch Jr. stood at the ready want aimed at him even if he were to risk Alice and Neville by trying something

Tears began streaking down Frank’s face and he slowly bent towards the floor and placed his wand down. “Please,” His voice was distorted by a choked sob. “Take me instead just leave Alice and Neville, I will do anything!” He had failed them. He had failed to protect his family at the time when it counted most, and he wasn’t sure he would ever be able to fix it.

Rodolphus looked Alice over his eyes filled with lust. “Bella, we get to keep her right? You said this would be fun.” He looked over at Bellatrix like a puppy waiting for a treat. “Yes, I did Rod. You can play with her for now. Just don’t break her… Yet.” Bellatrix replied her voice calm and cool as if giving someone permission to borrow a book. Rodolphus smiled a malicious, smile before ripping Alice’s shirt revealing her breasts now contained only by her bra.

“No!” Frank shouted, he couldn’t let them hurt her. He’d rather die than let them lay their filthy hands on her. He started to run towards he his core impulse taking control. He told her he’d always protect her and he’d be damned if he failed now.

“Petrificus totalus!” Frank had only taken three steps when he was hit. Every muscle in his body suddenly stopped he fell forward because of the momentum he had gained from trying to reach Alice. Tears clouded his vision as Crouch came over and sat him up so that he could still see Alice and Neville. There was red on Alice now, and her chest was entirely exposed. Her cream skin had been sliced by Rodolphus and he was powerless to stop it. He watched as those men continued to grab at his wife, at his Alice. How could he have failed her like this? How could he be so powerless.

Frank couldn’t believe that had only been a day ago, or at least he thought it was a day. He rolled to his side ignoring the shrieking of his every nerve in his body. He took a deep breath not focused on his own pain any longer. His mind was only Alice, he didn’t care if he lived or died he never had it had always been about her. Frank pushed himself up slowly so he was in a seated position as he scanned the room for her, his beautiful wife, the only thing, besides their son, that he had ever cared about.

He looked around trying to find her in this cavernous cell. His heart froze for a moment when he thought she might not be here but that was when he saw it. It was just a tiny movement from the back dark corner of the room but it had to be her. Frank couldn’t let himself believe otherwise. He shook as he tried to stand cursing his own body for failing him. It seemed as though he weren’t good for anything as of late. So he crawled on his hands and knees, probably looking like the broken man he was. “Hey, Al is that you?” He said as softly as he could his voice dry and raspy. He moved closer finding her small scarcely clothed form curled up in the corner.

The sight of her like this brought tears to his eyes. “I don’t deserve you. I never have.” He said softly. “Ali, what have they done to you?” His voice shook in horror as he began to notice smaller details. She had cuts all over her body and her eyes. Something had changed. “Alice, what happened? How long have we been here?”

Alice, the love of his life, his wife and the mother of his child, merely tilted her head as if confused. “Who are you?” She said her voice nervous but intrigued. “Who is Alice?”