#but we don't want Greg to have any appeal

[likeits2002]

Sleepy

Rodrick heffley X F!reader

Wc:369

It’s Rodrick and y/n’s first sleepover

The sound of Rodrick's van honking outside my house instantly excites me. Tonight is our first-ever sleepover. I grab my bright pink duffle bag and bound down the stairs, where I find my mom in the hallway giving me a concerned look.

"Y/n, you be careful. I don’t want you getting into any nonsense," she advises.

I nod, blow her a kiss, and then smile at my dad who's practically glaring at the beat-up van with 'Löded Diper' amateurly spray painted across it.

I leave the house, shivering in the cold air, and start walking towards the van. Rodrick jumps out at the last minute, eagerly opening the door for me before wrapping his arms around me, then hopping back in.

I step into the van and chuckle at his hurried behavior.

"What's got you in such a hurry, Roddy?" I ask.

"You know your dad creeps me out," he admits as he steps into the car and leans over to give me a quick kiss, letting out a contented sigh.

"Mhmm. I missed you so much," he murmurs.

"Did you miss me or just my lips?" I ask playfully.

"Both," he answers, giving me a sly smile and booping my nose before starting up the van.

Rodrick practically drags me into his house. When we get inside, I try to greet his mom and Greg, but Rodrick is pulling my hand up the stairs, so I just give them a sorry smile and follow him. Once we're in his room, he gives me a hopeful smile.

"So, what now?" he asks.

"I don't know, Rodrick. What do you wanna do?"

He sits down on the edge of his bed.

"How 'bout we put on a movie or something?"

And that's exactly what we do. He selects some obscure emo film, and I lie down next to him, resting my head on his chest.

Eventually, the air grows heavy with sleepiness, and the movie loses its appeal. I sit up and look at Rodrick, paying close attention to his expressive eyes and fluffy eyebrows.

"Hey, can I sit here?" I ask, straddling his stomach.

"Mhmm," he says, his hands instinctively finding my waist and toying with my pajama pants from Victoria's Secret. I lean in close, running my thumb over one of his eyebrows, watching the arch in awe.

"You have great eyebrows, Roddy," I say with a touch of amusement.

He chuckles, his hands moving up to my stomach, giving me a gentle squeeze.

I can tell he's getting tired, and I am too. I run my fingers over his eyelids, gently coaxing them closed. I trace over his nose and brow bone, until after a few minutes, I hear his breathing soften. He's asleep, and so should I be. I reach to turn off the light and lay my head down on his chest, listening to the comforting rhythm of his heart.

A/n: this is my first fic on tumblr, please don’t bully me and please request. I will probably write for Rodrick, jersey shore, shameless, and umbrella academy, but I’m open to requests on anyone

[lostbetweenvampiresandmusic]

Prompts 8 and 14 with Poly lost boys? (If not Poly, I’ll be good with any of them-)

8. Quiet, she has just fallen asleep!

14. Are you alright?

Thank you so much for requesting! I hope you like this!💜

------------------------------------

The house was quiet. Maria had gone off to work at the videostore, and Shelly had gone out to meet with her boyfriend Greg. Normally, I would have put some music on, doing some chores or making some art now that they were gone. But not today. I woke up feeling off. I had hoped that after some breakfast and some coffee, it would be over, but alas, it only got worse. So that's why I found myself lying on the couch, with the remote control of the telly in my hand. I still hadn't put it on, knowing that the sound - no matter how soft it could be - would only worsen the headache I had.

I closed my eyes as I felt another pang of pain flashing through my head. The headache had been there all day, but now it was slowly but surely turning into a splitting headache. I knew I couldn't ignore it any longer and made my way to the kitchen. Somewhere, in one of the cabinets, I was certain I'd have a package with aspirin. I sighed as I entered the kitchen, seeing the dirty dishes piling out of the sink. The remains of our lunch were lying on the kitchen island. It was a mess. Normally, I wouldn't mind cleaning it up, but now, the thought alone made me want to cry. God, I felt sick.

I opened the cupboard, realising that the package I had had been used up by my housemates. The only thing left of it was the empty box. I sighed as I threw it in the bin, deciding that I'd have to go to the drugstore. I got dressed in some comfortable yet more appropriate clothing - I didn't want to go outside in my pyjamas - and put my shoes on. After locating my keys on the dining room table, I headed outside - only to return to put a jacket on. It was surprisingly cold outside.

As I walked down the street, I was a little relieved to realise that the sun was setting already. It meant that my boyfriends would be going to the boardwalk soon. As much as the idea of being in a brightly lit, loud space didn't appeal to me, the idea of being with them and near them did.

The door to the drugstore opened with a soft tinkle as I pushed it open, the bell above the door signalling my presence. It was quiet inside, the only other customer an old lady. I greeted her quietly before searching the aisles for what I needed. I didn't pay attention when I heard the bell ring, nor did I pay attention to the space around me. So, when I found the brand I needed, and made a move to grab it, I bumped into someone.

"Oh my god, I'm so-"

"Shit, you look like shit babe!" I looked up and saw that I had bumped into Marko. I gave him a watery smile.

"I kind of feel like it, I think it hay-fever or something."

Marko nodded, his hand resting on my forehead to check my temperature. "I think it's a bit more than that."

"Fever?"

"Yeah, a bit. Come on," he took the medicine I wanted and walked towards the checkout. "You're staying with us tonight."

"Weren't you going to the boardwalk?"

"You're more important. Santa Carla won't forget who owns the place if we don't show up one night."

I nodded, taking a deep breath. It was suddenly really warm inside. "What were you doing here?"

"Paul's been complaining about a lack of liquorice in the cave."

"He really likes that stuff?"

"Apparently. We can't all be perfect," he paid for the liquorice and the aspirin, also asking for a bottle of water. He grabbed our stuff, opening the door for me. Once we were outside, I stopped walking for a moment, taking some deep breaths.

"Are you alright?"

I shook my head slightly. " 'm feeling a little faint."

"Go and sit down, alright?" He handed me the bottle of water and the aspirin. "Have you eaten today?"

I shrugged as I took a sip. "Wasn't hungry."

"You actually got the liquorice!" I looked up as I saw Paul appearing out of thin air in front of me. "And you got our gir- Jesus, you look like shit."

I nodded, feeling a little less faint than before. I heard the loud rumble of motorcycles, and I knew that Dwayne and David were also here now. I looked up, smiling tiredly as David walked towards me.

"Hey."

"Hey darlin'," he helped me stand up, looking me over as I did. I felt myself tremble a little. Maybe Marko was right, and this was more than allergies. "Let's get you home. Do you think you can hold on?"

I nodded, climbing on the back of his bike, and holding on to him tightly.

"We need some food, see if there's a store open so you can get her some fruit and bread and such."

"Sure thing. Is there anything you'd like?" Paul looked at me, and I shook my head. He nodded, kissing me softly on my forehead before driving off. Marko handed Dwayne the stuff we'd just bought, saying he'd be home shortly. He had to feed. Dwayne drove next to us, both David and him driving slower than usual. I was glad they did, mainly because their usual driving style was close to nauseating. Besides, with them driving slower, the chances of me gliding off were slimmer. I closed my eyes for a bit, a sudden tiredness overwhelming me.

"Don't fall asleep, love."

" 'm not." I mumbled, holding on a little tighter.

"We're almost home, then you can sleep all you want."

Dwayne was true to his word. Less than five minutes later, we stopped at the edge of the cliff leading towards the cave. Without a word, Dwayne lifted me up, carrying me in his arms down the stairs and into the lobby of the sunken hotel.

"Couch or bed?"

"Couch," I said softly, trying to stiffle a yawn, "Don't want to be alone."

"Alright, love."

He carefully laid me down on the couch, taking some pillows from Star's bed to make sure I was comfortable. David brought me the blanket I normally used while staying here, a thick and soft fabric covering the whole thing. I mumbled a soft thank you.

"How long have you been feeling sick?" David asked, crouching down next to me, brushing some hair out of my face.

"Since this morning."

"It's probably just a cold or a flu. Is the aspirin helping?"

"A little, I guess?"

He gave me a soft smile, getting up. I closed my eyes, drifting in and out of consciousness before sleep finally came.

I don't know how much time passed before I woke up, but when I did, I could hear an annoyed Dwayne hiss something at Paul and Marko.

"Quiet, she has just fallen asleep!"

"Ah shit, sorry, babe!" Paul whisper yelled at me, causing me to sleepily open my eyes.

" 's okay," I nodded, looking at them.

"I know you said you didn't want anything from the store, but I also brought you some cookies and chocolate."

I smiled tiredly, wincing as I felt my headache return. "Thank you, hon."

"If you're not feeling better tomorrow, we could give you some blood to speed up the healing process?" Marko offered. I bit my lip, not knowing whether I'd like that or not. I did feel sick, but to drink blood? "Just think about it, alright?"

"Yeah."

He smiled before looking outside. The sky was turning a bright red. He went to the back of the cave, climbing through the liftshaft. Dwayne and Paul followed. I pulled my blanket closer against me, curling up, when I felt a pair of arms lifting me up.

"Hm?"

"We're staying with you today, sweetheart."

" 's nice," I mumbled sleepily, already dosing off as he brought me to the bedroom. I was asleep before I even hit the pillow, my boys surrounding me, making sure I'd be okay.

[l0vegl0wsinthedark]

Zoom In.

Muggle AU, professor of 18C literature and poetry Draco, celebrity Harry ✨️

~

Violet was the first to log in - again. In the minutes before class began - in the "waiting room" - while she stared at her blank screen, it felt like the only real few moments she truly had to herself.

She spent all those moments, like so many others, thinking about Professor Malfoy.

To every single straight girl, and the singular gay guy, in class, Professor Malfoy was prime wank material. Violet hadn't known her classmates to be as desperate for a good word on their assignments from any other professor. To think homework would feature so high on the to-do lists of some of the biggest lunkheads she knew...there was definitely something about him, that Professor Malfoy.

She could see the appeal. The eerily pale eyes, hair, and skin made to appear warmer by the fluffy jumpers - all in elegant shades of scarlet, burgundy, emerald, wine, golden yellow - he wore over crisply ironed button-downs and tailored trousers; the way he used his hands when he talked, long fingers like a pianist's; the slim golden spectacles he was constantly misplacing on his own head, the rich precision with which he pronounced the olde names and subjects that he spoke of - it was very difficult not to admire Professor Malfoy.

All of that, but nobody really knew much about him outside of uni.

They'd switched to virtual classes a week ago; hurrah for the new pandemic. The idea that she didn't have to sit in class with her tittering classmates, a stray cough sounding now and again, made Violet automatically sit up straighter and smile, just as the little boxes on her screen began popping into life.

"Aaaayyyy!"

"Tell me we don't need to have our faces on display."

"So, yes, before anyone asks: this is a real lip ring. An actual piercing. Yeah, I'm not blowing you, Greg, sod off."

"Is Professor Malfoy on?"

"No, I don't see him here yet. Did he grade your essay?"

"Yo, can someone please tell me how to turn this camera off, I am smashed out my--"

"Click on the camera icon, Bryan--"

"It's not even noon, what d'you mean "smashed"?

"No, you've turned off your mic. No, we cannot hear you screaming."

"First icon on the bottom left," Violet said, rolling her eyes.

And then Professor Malfoy was in class.

There was a beat of silence before everyone called out greetings, a chaotic round of cheerful hello's that nobody could quite make sense of. Least of all Professor Malfoy.

He was peering into his screen, his slim nose scrunched.

"All right, so I can see me. Can you?"

Cacophonic confirmations.

"Okay, so nobody can see or hear me. Right."

More shrill reassurances. One loud beer-belch.

"Damn it all to hell, I knew this would happen, I told him that I'll need--"

"We can see you!" shrieked Preiti.

"We can hear you!" Nora bellowed.

But Professor Malfoy was already twisting around in his chair, scowling heavily, and screaming, "OY! COME IN HERE, YOU MISERABLE WANKER!"

Violet, along with her classmates, just stared in mystified silence. The professor never spoke like that. He ticked them off if they did.

A tall figure in a too big hoodie appeared suddenly, hissing back at Professor Malfoy. There was a golden lion printed on the maroon jacket. The hood was drawn in close, and Violet could just barely make out the light from the computer screen glinting off a pair of round glasses, on which a shaggy fringe of dark hair fell.

"You need to turn the volume up. Git," said the stranger. "Your camera's already on."

"I hate technology," Professor Malfoy seethed.

"You hate so much else. I'm getting fish and chips." The man was already walking off.

"I want mushy peas too, with mine."

"What kind of sick bastard." The room door was shut with a thud.

"Sorry about all that. We are now officially in session," Professor Malfoy said, smiling and restoring his glasses upon his nose. "Do you all have--?"

There was a muffled shout from somewhere behind the professor. Pinching the bridge of his nose, Professor Malfoy called back, "No. No, I don't want a curry dipping sauce."

There was more muffled yelling.

"Harry, get out right now!" shrieked Professor Malfoy, and Violet, along with the others, just ogled.

Malfoy sighed. "Sorry 'bout that. Just my idiot husband."

"You're married?!" Violet had asked before she could stop herself.

Professor Malfoy sighed, flipping open a thick, spiral bound folder. "Yes. You've heard of Harry Potter, I'm sure. He's the poor idiot I married."

[dduane]

Judging books by their covers

Having spent the morning reading the notes on this post (and reading them, and reading them...), I realized I really needed to get to grips with a piece of work I'd been avoiding.

Some of you may remember me mentioning that the Young Wizards website's longtime ISP went out of business suddenly in July, necessitating the site's hasty relocation to a new home. In the process a lot of its internal URLs ceased to operate correctly, meaning that files weren't displaying. (As I was quickly reminded when looking for the original David Wiesner art for So You Want To Be A Wizard at 01:30 last night.)

Anyway, I just wound up spending the day rescanning book covers for the Young Wizards publication history page, and was reminded of some favorites while getting the work done. (And a note for the interested: if there's any particular cover from an English-language edition of the YW books that interests you, or you think the sight of one might jog your memory somehow, that page is where you'll find the images. Use the tabs under the header image to take you through the history of publishers and artists.)

Meanwhile, being reminded of what happened to the covers for So You Want To... alone is both funny and a bit sobering. Styles change, formats change, art directors change. Sometimes the covers get a lot better, and sometimes they, uh, don't. Look at the difference in styles alone among these, for example.

Most of the time the writer gets to take what they're given, and like it. Sometimes, though, they get to give advice.

Here, for example, is one time that happened.

This is for the UK hardcover of the first of the Feline Wizards books. The artist, Mick Posen, is a cat person... and he insisted on having pictures of the cats who inspired the NY worldgating team before he started painting. Just look at these three, especially Rhiow there in the foreground. Is this a hero, or what? :)

Here's one that caused a little controversy.

The question of the day: Is Nita wearing anything? And if so, what?

The art won Greg Swearingen a silver Spectrum Award for that Deep Wizardry painting. But he and my then-editor on the series, Michael Stearns, apparently got into it a little regarding a conflict between the text and the necessities of painting a YA cover. If I remember correctly, I think Greg was holding out for "She's not wearing anything in the text in this situation, she just turned human again after changing back from being a whale, she shouldn't be wearing anything here!" and Michael was saying "But the parents, what if we freak out the parents...!" ...Eventually it seems like some kind of compromise was achieved. Swirly light = magic, or something. (shrug) Not my problem. It's a lovely cover.

About this one I have, well, mixed feelings. At this end of time, the art looks clunky. Yet this is also my first bestseller. When the SF Book Club published this omnibus, Support Your Local Wizard quickly set records as their single most-requested item of all time for new members just signing up. Its print run ran to more than 250,000 copies, and it remained constantly in print until the Book Club itself ended.

I've always been fond of this one for Deep Wizardry, and also of the one the artist, Neal McPheeters, did for the Dell Yearling and Dell mass market paperback editions of So You Want To... . There's a solid quality to both of them, but the second one in particular, that appeals to me.

(For those in the notes on that other post who reacted immediately to Kit's antenna: This is one of the reasons why it features—along with one of Nita's wands from the rowan tree Liused—on all the covers of the revised/updated Young Wizards New Millennium Editions. I've seen a lot of memories jogged by its appearance.)

...Do I have a favorite favorite one of all these covers? As usual, it's hard to pick. But I have to admit that I smile, at the moment, when looking at this one—Greg Swearingen’s art again—since in a couple of weeks it'll be the fortieth anniversary of So You Want To Be A Wizard's publication.

We'll see what the publisher does for the fiftieth. :)

[eschergirls]

Site Updates, Request for Feedback, and Thank You to our June Patrons!!!

Hi everybody!

It's July so it's time for another site update and to thank you to all our Patreon subscribers! :3

So, if you missed last month's update, the biggest thing is that I've discovered a lot of the Escher Girls Tumblr has been flagged incorrectly by Tumblr as adult content.  I'm still working on appealing them all.  The good news is it looks like most of it isn't removed or blocked, just flagged.  I'm still not sure how that affects people's viewing, it seems most people can still see most things.  If you notice any difficulties seeing posts, please let me know. The flagging seems to be entirely automated because a lot of the posts flagged have nothing even remotely sexual about them, some are literally just the algorithm being unable to recognize that a person with fire powers isn't naked (it flagged a cover with Johnny Storm with his flame on for instance), and the appeals are processed instantly, so there's definitely no human looking at it. It's frustrating, to say the least.

The issues with Tumblr are why I decided to self-host the site even though it takes more work and costs money, because while it's not Tumblr, it is an archive that I control and can't be deleted or hidden by the whims of a corporation changing their policies (*glances at Twitter for no reason*).  It's also why I've mention that Escher Girls has an RSS feed so people know there's a way to keep up to date with posts outside of Tumblr.

For newbies who don't know what RSS is, it stands for Really Simple Syndication and is basically a feed that you can read using an RSS reader. Simply copy and paste https://eschergirls.com/rss.xml into an RSS reader and it will keep you up to date on Escher Girls!  (Here is more on RSS. We are also in the process of making a page on EG to help newbies who don't know where to start to find an RSS reader, etc...)

Also, if you have any suggestions for upgrades to the site that would make it more readable, usable, etc to you, please let me know! Also if there's a way to make commenting more accessible than using Disqus that you'd like us to try implementing.

I know it sounds corny, but it's also why I'm so appreciative of the support we get from Patreon & Ko-Fi because it helps pay for hosting and the domain name and helps us upgrade the site as needed.  And just for myself, I appreciate all the readership and support because it's cool that something I make is meaningful to others. <3

As usual, I'm working on restoring broken posts when I find them.  Some of them I've found aren't just broken on this site due to the move but also don't exist on Tumblr anymore due the posts being removed due to flagging.  If you didn't see it earlier, I want to especially point to a post from the original Elder Scrolls because I wrote that as a short story and I think people would get a kick out of it.

Anyway, with the update done, I want to give our June Patreon subscribers a very sincere thank you, your support means so much to us, and me personally <3

So thank you so much to:

Anne Adler Cat Mara CheerfulOptimistic Chris McKenzie Em Bardon First Time Trek Greg Sepelak Joseph Millman Ken Trosaurus Kevin Carson Kim Wincen Kristoffer Illern  Holmén Leak Manuel Dalton Mary Kuhner Max Schwarz Michael Mazur Michael Norton Miriam Pody Morgan McEvoy randomisedmongoose Ringoko Ryan Gerber Sam Mikes Sean Sea SnigePippi SpecialRandomCast Thomas Thomas Key

And a special thank you to "NM" for supporting us on Ko-Fi!!!

And just in general, thank you to everybody who follows, reads, and interacts with Escher Girls and contributes through commentary, submissions, and participating in the caption contests.

You all are amazing <3

Ami

(If you wish to support Escher Girls, you can subscribe to our Patreon at: https://www.patreon.com/ami_angelwings or donate through Ko-Fi at: https://ko-fi.com/amiangelwings.)

[ouroboros-hideout]

2-6-15-27... Damn, I'd ask you every single one of them!!!!

Right? It´s really hard to choose. Anyway, you are in for a very long wall, my apologies KEK

2. Do they like each other's friends? Do their friends like them?

Since Mr. Worldwide probably has a lot of people he would call his friends but aren't known in canon I would say his friends are Jago, Bennett, Murphy, Yuri and all the other dogs in Barghest. Aon has no problem with any of them. She has a lot of fun teasing Jago because he always gets angry with her and doesn´t get that it´s just for fun. In that sense, Jago doesn't like Aon, but he appreciates her on a professional level, but tries to avoid her anyway lmao. As for Bennett, Murphy and the others, they all see eye to eye on a professional level. They are sort of “cool” with each other, but are sometimes a little annoyed by Aon's attitude that she takes too much out of herself and complains about the way of working or circumstances in Dogtown and makes “suggestions for improvement”.

On Aon's side there would be Anna, Gregori and Yakov (she is friends with all the other people “in her clan” aswell but those are her closest companions so I will keep it at them). Anna and Greg really like Kurt, even though they've only met him in person a few times (as of 2077). Kurt often asks Anna about Aon via txt message, what she likes, what gifts he could get her, things like that. The “relationship” that best describes the three of them would probably be: Aon likes Kurt, so we like him because they make each other happy and Kurt likes the other two because they mean a lot to Aon. Just mutual sympathy for each other.

Yakov hates Kurt for one simple reason: he is jealous. Kurt has and is many things that Yakov would like to have and be (he has made it far in the military, is in a leadership position, has prestige, money *cough* and Aon *cough*). Especially in the beginning, he always tried to convince her that she shouldn't trust him because he's a stranger and only wants to use her for his own purposes, etc. Whenever Kurt and Yakov meet, you can practically hear the air sizzling because Kurt naturally doesn't put up with his attitude and Yakov isn´t afraid to show off his dislike for him.

6. Do they have pet names for each other? Do they like them?

They have pet names for each other but not in a way of calling each other things like “darling” or “honey” or other cheesy stuff. The names they use for each other have a little backstory. Kurt is “Hound Dog” and Aon is “Wild Thing”. Their first real encounter takes place in Russia in Aon's mine and she's listening to music (she's really into music from the 60s - 80s. So 1960-1980, very retro by 2065). However, the song that is playing when Kurt comes in is “Hound Dog” by Elvis Presley and the last song before Aon turns off the radio is “Wild Thing” by The Troggs. The songs have stuck in each other's minds over the years and at some point they start using them as pet names. As they are not particularly catchy, they tend to use the names in the third person to point things out to the other. Something like: “The Hound Dog looks particularly good today”, or “It's only been two days but I really start to miss the Wild Thing.”

15. What habits or characteristics have they picked up from each other?

As for now I can only think of one thing. Don't know I see them as really “independent” (?) when it comes to something like this. Since they also don't live together and spend a lot of time without each other I don't think it carries over that much. However, one thing Kurt has adopted is Aon's morning ritual of going for a walk before she starts work. When she's not in Dogtown, he admittedly lets it slide a bit and doesn't do it every day, but he's quickly realized the benefits of some quiet time to decompress. Since Aon in Russia just has to go outside to find some peace in nature, they both usually go out into the badlands in NC (a walk through Dogtown is not really appealing lol). A bit of fresh air and peace away from the hustle and noise.

27. What interests do they share? For interests they don't share, do they ever participate anyway?

What they share:

Both are interested in music, different types of music but they quickly come to a similar conclusion. Aon loves everything from the 1960-1980s and modern music that has the same vibe. Collects vintage records and all that. I don't think the Balkan folk music thing that was planned for Kurt's funeral is just a funny easter egg, but that he's really interested in things like that. I hc that he's a sucker for other cultures and their customs etc so they have a theme here that they can build on together.

I also think Kurt is really into boxing. There are a few posters in the stadium about fights taking place and his initiation ritual for new recruits also gives me the vibe that he started boxing during his time in the military through training and has always pursued it as a hobby. Aon also learned a lot about close and unarmed combat during her time with the Nomads, so there's a common interest here too. In addition, both are naturally interested in all kinds of weapons and machines and can exchange thoughts about them. I can also imagine Kurt getting the opportunity to try his hands at forging a knife during one of his visits to Siberia. The result will be…not so great, but not bad for the first try. Aon will still make fun of it but of course keeps it because it is something special and has emotional value.

What they don´t share:

Besides music Aon is a sucker for old movies aswell. Action movies, old westerns, her favorites are Tarantino's works. Kurt gives me more of a “well-read” impression, as if he prefers to indulge in some form of entertainment, watching documentaries or something along those lines. But she doesn't give him much choice and they have a movie night every now and then. To begin with, he finds the exaggerated portrayals in the movies and the general plots ridiculous. He needs something closer to real life. Nevertheless, he enjoys the togetherness and can get something out of it.

I would say that the whole theme of throwing parties, hobnobbing with high society, etc. could be described as an interest of Kurt's, even if in a way it's just a lever for his business. Nevertheless, he enjoys it to the fullest. Aon thinks it's terrible. He really needed a lot of persuading to drag her along to a party at the Black Sapphire. She still thought it sucked because it's the world she grew up in and has no intention of going back there. But since she also understands the value of such an event and it is important to him that she is at least present, she comes along to his parties or other events he attends whenever the opportunity arises.

[blissfulalchemist]

Is it important to include tension or outright areas of conflict in a relationship? If so then how do you explore these? Or does this not appeal to you?

I think there needs to be some tension of some kind in relationships. They don't have to be big, but they should fit the kind of story you're telling or the world in which it is set. There is some tension in real world relationships as we are human and it is inevitable, the level of them is just varied and different from couple to couple. From a fictional standpoint it makes a story a story, you can't really have a story if there's no conflict of any kind, even if its not between the couple it could be the outside world creating a kind of tension or conflict (like Hyth and Anthea in the Final Days or Joshua and Alma in xvi, both couples are very positive ships with no tension between each other and yet the world around them is making this tension or conflict), and some can even be low stakes like a sitcom situation (Tia and Conner are the first to come to mind with them having misunderstandings and the mutual coworker pining or Greg and Skyla from Succession where at first their tension stemmed from Greg's boss).

I also personally find using my characters and writing to explore different conflicts helps me to understand them. Whether that be actual tensions with people in my life, or internal tension and conflict where the two characters represent aspects of me. Other times I just want to see what would happen and how does one character effect another, my put them in a bottle and shake it up to see what happens if you will.

All in all though conflict and tension make a story but how much/how big it is varies from story to story and couple to couple. The only exception to this is writing out the small moments or specific scenes where you can be totally free of such things because its a moment in time and to quote Hyth "Unbreakable bonds and noble sacrifice, sprinkled with moments of levity to counterbalance the pathos. It's got it all." a summary of the kind of stories I love and hope to have when I create mine.

[howtohero]

#122 Being Framed

Crimes happen all the time (good job). Probably there are eight or nine happening right now (so reading this is just an excellent use of your time). Many of these crimes go unsolved (probably because our worlds’ greatest crime fighters are reading internet funny blogs). Some of them do get solved though (no thanks to you). But even the ones that are solved or the ones that are stopped sometimes aren’t stopped or solved in exactly the best way possible (that’s on you too). Sometimes in fact the wrong person is arrested and imprisoned and publicly condemned as a super criminal (making a mockery of the justice system). And sometimes, that wrongly imprisoned, or falsely accused person, is you (personally, I think you did it). 

The first thing you need to when you’ve been framed for a crime is find out that you’ve been framed. Until you know that, you can’t do anything. So you need to stay abreast of all the superhero news in the world. If you’re being accused of a crime that’s where that information is going to pop up. In fact you should focus more heavily on those sites or news programs that have more anti-superhero leanings.

“Anti-superhero learnings?” you ask, the donut you were eating falls out of your mouth which is now agape in horror. For you are horrified by the very notion. “How could such a thing be?” you stammer as your monocle pops out of your eye. You’ve never been more shocked and confused and afraid in your life. Well put that donut back in your mouth slovenly citizen, it’s true. Some people do not like superheroes. Maybe their jealous of their fabulous bodies, cool cars or walrus sidekicks. Maybe they don’t think punching ever single individual drug dealer in the groin is the best possible way to make the streets safer. Maybe a loved one was tragically killed in the fallout of an epic superhero battle. Regardless these people do not like superheroes and so they’ll be the first ones to report that you or some other superhero has been implicated in a crime or is the subject of a manhunt. While this is one of the quickest ways to find out if you’re about to be indicted, be warned, these programs are a bit hard to sit through. They generally feature two four well-dressed people smiling about others misfortunes and laughing at bad jokes! Can you imagine? These people have their own television program and they have the audacity to just sit around and make bad jokes. Unacceptable. I can excuse the anti-superhero rantings and ravings (our favorite anti-superhero rant’n’rave comes courtesy of talk show host Greg Greginski and features the line “these spandex sissies and their frikkin’ underwear on the goddam wrong side of the pants and their stupid astro… astro-motorhomes and their fancy pants cape-wearing horses! I can’t stand them! I wish they’d all be eaten… eaten by progress… the progress of society!” like that was crazy what was he even talking about why was he so mad about the horse? What a champ.) but the bad jokes are where I draw the line. These are the same people that start every St. Patrick’s Day show by saying “top o the mornin’ to ye” in a terrible accent. Just so we’re all on the sampe page.

In fact, interestingly enough, angry/jealous/insecure, morning show hosts are responsible for 62% of superhero framings. They do it to stoke those anti-superhero flames. That’s a true statistic. They commit more superhero framings than actual supervillains (supervillains tend to be very enthusiastic about taking credit for the crimes they commit. Heck, most of them broadcast their crimes on every screen in the world while they’re committing the crime). Supervillains don’t even make up the other 38%! There’s also dirty cops and non-dirty cops just being bad at their jobs. So disgruntled morning-show hosts take the lion’s share of that blame. 

Once you are alerted to the fact that you are wanted for a crime you need to immediately get out of your costume, and then not get back into it until this whole thing goes over. The manhunt can’t succeed if the man they are hunting never shows up anywhere ever again. (Or womanhunt, women can be framed for crimes too). If you want, you can even just leave it at that. Destroy your costumes, design a new one, repaint your car to match your new color scheme and you’re good to go. Even if whoever is framing you keeps framing you for crimes it doesn’t even matter. You set that identity on fire, it’s theirs if they want it so bad. The costume was never even that comfortable. You designed it early on in your career. You were younger back then, caring more about coolness than comfort. You don’t like to admit it but you were thinner back then too. The costume was much too tight, you’re glad for the opportunity to make a new one, a better one, a costume with a future. Being framed was the best thing that ever happened to you! Thank you Greg Greginski, you���ve changed one more life for the better.

If you do want to keep your identity though you’re going to need to do some damage control. Check up on all your spare costumes, make sure every one of them is accounted for. If you find that one of them is missing, then you have a potential crime scene that you can work. Scour the site of your missing costume for any clues or forensic evidence that might lead you to discovering who could’ve stolen it, and who is now probably wearing it while commiting crimes and vlogging about it. Think about who could’ve had access to this secret costume hiding spot. Which of your allies knew where it was and which of your enemies might have the powers or skillsets to break in and steal it. A missing costume is a great place to start your investigation.

Sometimes however though you’ll find that none of your costumes are missing at all. This isn’t all that unusual or even surprising. A skilled seamstress could replicate your costume just by looking at it. Heck, even a garbage seamstress could replicate your costume approximately enough to fool the shoddy security cameras at the convenience store you supposedly robbed. If you find that all your costumes are exactly where you left them you should immediately become suspicious of all seamstresses, no matter their skill level. 

Now is around the time where you should start seriously making sure that you’re actually being framed. Sure, there’s definitely someone out there assuming your identity to steal apples in order to create a worldwide apple shortage and then become rich off of their stolen artificially-rare apples, but are you entirely sure that it’s not you? Perhaps you were mind controlled, or maybe you’re a sleeper agent. Maybe you did it consciously, while in control of your body and mind and everything (I’m sure you had a good reason) and then somehow forgot about it (or were forced to forget about it). For all we know you could actually be framing yourself! To make sure that you haven’t been secretly committing crimes in your sleep or something (sleep-stealing is a real thing that effects dozens of people across the galaxy) I recommend attaching a video camera to yourself. This way if another crime is committed all you have to do is check the tapes! Brilliant! If the tapes show that you were off doing your own thing at the time of the crime then you’re golden (well, relatively, there’s still somebody defacing all the statues in the park while wearing your costume). And I know what you’re thinking, but no, you can’t use those same tapes to exonerate you in a court of law. For one thing, unless you’re wearing your costume 24/7 you’re going to give away your secret identity and we’re not quite at that point yet. Even if you were wearing your costume the entire time you had the camera on you a shrewd lawyer could just make the point that anybody could’ve wearing your costume. To which you’ll say “Yeah that’s exactly the point I’m trying to make here!” and then flip over a table and then you will be held in contempt of court.

When the public perceives you to be a criminal you’re usually on your own. The rest of the superhero community will probably turn your back on you and to be honest that might be, at least partially, our fault. So sorry about that. You see, we once said that “The average superhero is exactly one (1) traumatic event away from turning into an evil pilferer.” And all your superhero friends are definitely aware of that. They all read this blog. So that means you have to launch this entire investigation on your own (here this might be helpful).

You should try to acquire any videos or photographs or witness statements that pertain to your alleged crime. If you’re going to go after the person masquerading as you, you’re going to want to know everything that you possibly can about them. You might even get lucky and see them pulling off one of your known enemies’ signature moves! Regardless though you want to get as much information on them as you possibly can. You’ll probably need to break into your local police precinct’s evidence locker but honestly, at this point, who even cares, we have you do shady stuff like that all the time. It’s all in good fun. It’s all in the name of Justice.

Once you’ve learned everything you can about the person who’s framing you for these unspeakable crimes, you can begin checking out your suspects. The person you’re looking for will have a similar build as you and possibly a similar skill or powerset. Lots of superheroes have enemies like that, it’s like people with similar builds and powers are drawn to each other through some metaphysical drama-creating force or something. You might also actually be looking for an evil clone. Man, that would be such a hassle. Remember how annoying those things could be? Or gosh maybe it’s a shapeshifter? Those guys are such tools. It’s not cool to turn into other people! Being someone else isn’t even that hard! The true challenge, and I firmly believe this to be true, is being yourself.

Once you do track down the bad guy whose impersonating you though, you need to put on your costume again. This way (as we’ve mentioned before) the public can see that there’s both a good guy and a bad guy who have the same costume and your name will automatically be cleared. Even from bad things that you actually did! Every negative thing that’s been done in your costume, no matter who did it, will just be laid at the feet of the evil guy wearing the costume! This is a great chance to get rid of all that embarrassing stuff too. Like the time you were caught on camera in costume yelling at a pigeon who had stolen your last french-fry. Or the time you were refused service at a drive-through because technically you flew-through and there’s apparently a rule against that in the drive-through code of conduct. 

Once the bad guy is defeated and captured and their costume is taken away to either be aggressively burned or aggressively laundered, you’ll be starting with pretty much a clean slate. Once again the public will adore you and see you as the hero you are and you can go back to spending your days fighting sassy swashbuckler or attending superhero drum circles which are posilutely a real thing. Don’t expect any apologies from the pundits who disparaged you on national television or the legions of police officers who agreed to unpaid overtime just to hunt you down (or me). They’re still waiting for you to turn evil for real. Frikkin Greg.

[slutneto]

You remember the scene where Tom and Shiv are talking to Greg in Caroline's wedding ( about dating ladder and stuff). Did you feel Tom was forcing the conversation and the smiles. Idk I felt Tom was putting up an act and yesterday my mom was with me during my first re-watch ( who knows nothing about the series ) and she said he is forcing the smiles and playfulness. Is it just us ? What did you think

you are right, tom was faking his whole cheery vibe during that whole conversation, but who was he trying to fool actually? greg? greg already knew tom is a wreck. shiv? unlikely, with how he rubbed the salt in by asking shiv about the state of their marriage like that. maybe he was trying to show greg him dating other people did not bother him anymore. which was, ofc, a total lie that greg did not believe in for a second.

i don't think i can agree that the 3.8 tomshiv moment was in any way caused by tom; it was all caroline's fault, i think, as she is the one to tell shiv she should not have kids, and that, in turn, makes shiv do a 180 and suddenly find the idea appealing. but. i do think that tom, who has already been feeling down even though he knows he shouldn't, not after avoiding jail time, not after sneaking into logan's good graces, treats it as a possible olive branch (and, if you really want to put your shipping tinfoil hat on, a distraction, two birds, one stone, etc.).

but tom has been unhappy for a long time, even before the cruises scandal kicked off, so none of these things (esp sleeping with shiv again) makes him feel better. but instead of leaving he keeps giving shiv and the roys another chances, but that never works for him, the roys always fuck him over, shiv doesn't care about him in a capacity that is in any way compatible with how he wants to be treated. i wish he would stop.

but i must say that the fallout of that scene is truly amazing. even if you ignore the tomshiv aspect of it, it changes tomgreg dynamic as well. usually, and we talk about it quite a lot, the abuse gets handed down from logan (in this case to caroline) to shiv to tom to greg. that's what happens in 2.4. that's what happens in 2.7, that's what happens in 3.4. so, following that pattern, we should have gotten some truly baffling and perhaps even revolting tomgreg scene in italy.

tom trying to secure greg like that is an echo of shiv trying to secure tom by promising to give him what he wants. definitely. but the outcome is different because tom decided to be honest instead of abusive; tom has been changing his established pattern of behaviour so much this season, he has grown exponentially and i honestly cannot get enough of this new tom.

[mattelektras]

I want to know why you didn't like Jessica having a baby? I really don't have an opinion on it because I don't really know the character but maybe it wasn't a good idea to make her a mom.

personally baby stories are almost always a hard no for me like. its just not something that even slightly appeals to me probably because of my irl feelings towards it so thats kind of a me problem. pregnancy creeps me the fuck out physically and theoretically n it always has so i'll try to be objective here

just. why. literally why. what does it add to her as a person who has never shown any interest in having a family and even if they were, ISNT in the position to have one.

why would a woman who goes out every night to fight crime, possible be beaten up a little (miscarriages dont exist) have god knows what happen to them, possibly DIE without anyone knowing, want a kid????? ive seen people explain it with regards to when she was abducted by skrulls and she thought no one cared or noticed she was missing and she just wants someone to need her. and its like. oh thats healthy is it. for her to literally have a whole human depend on her. jess has trauma from so many things and has always been a character whose mental experiences impact her stories and they did not play into this at all. the baby cured all of her issues. thank you so much that does so much for women as a whole. have a baby that'll fix it

the covers were just.... uncomfortable none of these people have ever seen or spoken to a pregnant woman before

your spine queen???? if she straightened up her torso would be like 3 miles long

every cover's only purpose is to exaggerate the stomach like maybe this is my baby allergies again but it feels kind of. fetishy. u know freaks on the internet had a great time w these

how is she this far along and still not wearing maternity clothes like thats not comfortable. i find it hard to believe any pregnant person would just continue wearing normal clothes that visibly dont fit and expose half their stomach

people change when theyre pregnant!!!! ur face gets chubby!!! your boobs get huge!!! all of you gets bloated and u feel gross!!! other than the stomach there is literally NOTHING different about jess. she still has a beautiful face, skinny legs etc etc. which i feel kind of feeds into the fetishy vibe of it all. like they made sure we all know she's still attractive and skinny and sexually appealing. shes got other stuff going on right now. shes growing a whole human. shes not gonna fuck you.

IN ADDITION. the run where it happened, was the run/s that started with the notoriously vile milo manara doing this variant cover

so as a whole i find it hard to believe the creative team would ever be trying to make a point about how pregnant women are strong as fuck and can do shit whilst going through such huge bodily changes. we have to know she's fuckable first and foremost. like yeah of course pregnant women can be sexy but theres a fine line between shes hot!! and whatever the covers for this run were doing. especially when the interior was so adverse to the variants. javier rodriguez is a great artist who depicts women very realistically so what the fuck happened here i genuinely couldnt tell you. the cover is what people see first so to make sure thats sexualised to high heaven says a lot about the motives here. the whole thing started with greg fucking land who is famous for the exact opposite of child bearing hips

and just again on the impracticalities of it all.... she literally gave birth and got up straight away and fought skrulls. absolutely no shot in any universe thats physically possible. infections???? needing stitches??? exhaustion???? honestly marvel writes shit i dont like personally all the time but if they do research and speak to people who k ow what theyre talking about then i cant be mad but this is exactly the opposite. youre telling me there were NO writers who had experience with pregnancy or had experienced it themselves who you could even SPEAK to or ask a question???? it had to be dennis fucking hopeless??? of avengers arena???? THAT dennis hopeless??

tl;dr female superheroes do not exist to have babies solely for drama purposes. the big mystery isnt who the father is. even if she were a character that a baby makes sense for, it literally doesnt matter. the father isnt around. women having kids doesnt revolve around who the father is. it was a deliberate sales gimmick that pretty much just said that the real point of this woman's story is to find out which man impregnated her

[starhairspinel]

Pearl looked at Spinel with tears in her eyes as she momentarily stopped sobbing to look at her, then she turned her head away from her

Pearl: Go away Spinel, I'm not in the mood for tom-foolery...

Spinel was shocked with Pearl's response, not because she was right to assume so but that she'd assume such a thing from Spinel after the news

Spinel: Pearl! How could you say that!? Do you really think I'd try looking for a fight with you after Rose said she'd die having a baby? Whaddya take me for? A jerk??

Pearl: ... No...

Spinel: I just wanna talk... We've been through almost everything together, and... you're my closest friend, I can't leave you here just sobbing on your own, behind a hand from the temple that fell off... Ugh, what I'm saying is, we're both close to Rose and I think it's good for the two of us to talk things out...

Pearl: ...

Pearl didn't respond, she didn't really know what to respond. She just sniffled and wiped some of her tears

Spinel looked slightly more saddened, she just took it upon herself to sit down next her. Spinel looked like a mess, messy pigtails and dark bags under her eyes, she couldn't help but feel... Helpless, the same helplessness she felt after the diamonds took everything away from them. Why does losing Rose feel just as bad if not worse than losing thousands of her fellow crystal gems? Maybe it's just because she's made for her... Ugh, stupid programming...

Pearl: I just don't get it... Why would she even want to have a child in the first place?

Spinel: She always loved organics, y'know. Especially the smart ones like humans, heh...

Pearl: I know that but why!? What makes them so appealing in the eyes of her!?

Spinel: ... Pearl, you don't really mean that... You're just lashing out...

Pearl: So what if I am just lashing out!?

Spinel: It's not gonna make Rose live any longer!

Pearl: Nnnn... Spinel... How do you always seem to make everything more frustrating than it needs to be...?

Spinel: I- because you're always so head over heels about Rose that I always have to put you down! That's how it's always been for the past 5884 years! And you're so up your nose about me being the dumb one that you forget about that part! I AM the dumb one! I'm dumb about things you're smart about! But atleast I know that falling in love for Rose Quartz of all people is the dumbest thing you could do!

Pearl: That's because you can't fall for anyone, you clown!

Spinel: Pearl for the love of stars can we not fight for five minutes!? It's seriously making me feel worse about myself by the day and it's not helping the current situation AT ALL! I know you're upset but you don't need to get all angry at me about it, I just... Wanna talk... Please...

Spinel started forming tears in her eyes when she begged pearl to just talk, she really was just tired, she just finished crying over Rose dying soon, she didn't want to cry again for a different, more pathetic reason.

Pearl paused, realizing how she was acting and lowered her head.

Pearl: ... Alright... I'm just- I can't understand how or why Rose would do such a thing...

Spinel: Rose literally staged an entire war and rebellion because she liked the things that were on this planet, this isn't the most outrageous thing she could've done and it wouldn't exactly be out of the blue to try and "be human" in a way...

Pearl: But that's different! She was trying to get away from-

Pearl covered her mouth due to the seal Rose had put on her, she struggled for a second before taking her hand off her mouth

Pearl: Oh, you already know that...

Spinel: Yeah...

Pearl: What is she trying to accomplish with having a child? Did she want to act like a human mother? Did she know that she'd die this entire time? Is she trying to get away from her life again? Why would she do this??

Spinel: I-... I dunno... I think it's better to ask Rose herself about this...

Pearl: sigh... I don't even want to look at Rose at this point... What was she thinking... What was I thinking? I shouldn't have underestimated that Greg! I shouldn't have fused with her for that dumb music video...

Spinel: Really...? I thought having Rainbow Quartz for that was a really fun idea-!

Pearl: Not the time for compliments...

Spinel: Right- right... And Pearl, it's not your fault... You know it's practically inevitable one way or another, you know she would've wanted a kid at some point... If not with Greg then maybe some other guy...

Pearl: I know it's inevitable but... she's- she's ROSE QUARTZ! She's a gem! She can't have a baby!

Spinel: Do you mean that in a literal way or an "I won't let her" way?

Pearl: ... Is it too selfish to say the latter...?

Spinel: I can't say, I mean, don't look at me! I'm not the one in a psuedo-relationship!

Pearl: Heh... How are you so calm about all this?

Spinel: Well, after a hundred years of abandonment and another attempt at that by the same person, losing everything you wanted to fight for and having to live with that for thousands of years... you just kinda think it might not be the worst thing you've gone through...

Pearl: But- we were made for her! And what about the crystal gems? Garnet? Amethyst? Us?? What do we do without her...?

Spinel: We'll just... keep on livin', I guess...

A tear ran down Pearl's cheek as she processed Spinel's answer, wide eyed. How could an answer be so simple and straight-forward yet so... She doesn't even know.

Pearl: But how do we even live with the fact she's dead!?

Spinel shrugs

Spinel: ... Cry? Take care of the kid? Cherish everything we had with her, accept she's part of our lives and take it in stride? That's what the movies say...

Pearl is dumb-founded, she didn't know how to respond at this point. That it's dumb how she found those answers from movies or be impressed that such things are in seemingly mindless entertainment? Should she respond with more questions about what they'll do after Rose's death or just leave it at that? Change the topic? Pearl hyperventilated with these thoughts going through her head, emotionally overwhelmed tears welled up in her eyes and she hugged Spinel, her body shaking as she started to cry again.

Spinel was taken aback by the response, she hugged back unsure of what to say or do and started crying herself.

A quiet moment of sobbing was shared between them, the sunset finally being set and the nighttime firmly established across the sky. There was only darkness, the sand, the stars, the ocean and the two of them now, sitting behind a piece of the ancient and crumbling temple built in the crystal gems' honor. They would exhaust themselves with their own grief and eventually poof, Pearl poofing first and Spinel shortly after.

The two gemstones waited on the shores for somebody to find them, or for them to reform.

It was quiet on the shores of Beach City that night...

---

I know it's not really the best but I thought it was a nice idea, I wanted to make something sad again and remembered a single pale rose so, that was a gold mine of potential sad. I did the first three images because it's a nice quick form of establishing what the time and characters are as well as refresh their appearences in your mind before reading because I am horrible at doing that with text.

[anancylove]

EW | Paul Wesley directing Batwoman (1X17) 🎥 🎬.

After a month-long hiatus, Batwoman finally returns this coming Sunday with a fresh episode directed by The Vampire Diaries alum Paul Wesley, and EW has your exclusive look at him working behind-the-scenes.

In the episode, titled “A Narrow Escape,” Kate (Ruby Rose) hangs up the cowl for a bit because she’s still dealing with the trauma of murdering August Cartwright. Unfortunately, an old Batman foe named the Detonator chooses this time return and terrorize the city by strapping bombs to Gotham's everyday heroes to see if they're willing to sacrifice themselves to save others. "What I really enjoyed about this episode is that it’s quite grounded in the sense that it is a 'race against time' main plot. So it’s quite fast paced and energetic but of course there is a lot of character development," Wesley tells EW via email.

Meanwhile, Alice goes through hell after being imprisoned in Arkham Asylum, which is where Kate left her at the end of the previous installment. This was Wesley's "favorite portion of the episode to shoot" because it felt like "One Flew Over the Cuckcoo's Nest meets Prison Break meets Clockwork Orange," he says. For a taste of what he's talking about, check out the image below.

"This is a scene where the Arkham warden is essentially trying to perform a lobotomy sorts to 'cure' her of the fantasy world she is living in. But more than anything, to try and break her down and make her a prisoner of the system/ facility. It had a Clockwork Orange meets Cuckoo's Nest feel to it, making it very uncomfortable to shoot," he says, adding that working with Skarsten was one of the best parts of helming this episode. "She's an absolutely brilliant actor, and I don't say that lightly. I have worked with a lot of people over the years and it was such a joy to watch her on the monitors because I had no idea what she was going to do next. She’s spontaneous but always in complete control of who her character is, emotional but also adds a sense of irony and humor, not to mention so easy and nice to work with. She is really just a joy for any director and I hope to work with her again."

At this point in his career, Wesley has directed episodes of The Vampire Diaries, Legacies, and Roswell, New Mexico; however, his Batwoman gig stands out because it was his introduction to the DC Universe.

"I have directed and worked on a lot of supernatural/heightened series but I had never done anything in the DC world. There is something quite exciting about being a small part of such a massive franchise. I am actually not a big comic book type of guy, but I love Batman, particularly Christopher Nolan's version. I also thought Joker was one of the best films of last year, I watched it several times. So to be involved in this world, so to speak, was extremely appealing and very humbling," he says. "I have also been wanting to work with [executive producer] Greg Berlanti and his team for a while, so I was thrilled to have the chance to do so. I have known Greg for many years, back when I had a part on Everwood well over a decade ago. The [Batwoman] showrunner Caroline Dries is also a good friend of mine from the The Vampire Diaries days, very talented, and we have always had a great relationship. The first episode of television I ever directed was actually a script Caroline wrote and we had a great experience together."

[jesse-eisenberg-interview]

Eisenberg in Adventureland

Actor Jesse talks about his latest role in Greg Mottola's coming-of-age romance.

by Amber Wilkinson

SEP 10，2009

Jesse at Edinburgh Film Festival Photo: Max Blinkhorn

Adventureland - out in cinemas on September 11 - is the latest film to cast a nostalgic eye back to the Eighties. This sweetly comic tale stars Jesse Eisenberg as a graduate who finds his dreams of travelling Europe shattered by the economic downturn and replaced by a job at the local amusement park. While there, however, he doesn't just learn how to hoodwink the punters and avoid giving away a "giant ass panda" but about friendship and the vagaries of love. The film had its UK premiere at Edinburgh Film Festival and we caught up with Jesse to talk about the role.

Q: Although this is quite familiar ground in terms of subject matter, it felt really fresh to me and I wondered if you enjoyed it and if that was something that attracted you to the script?

JE: Yes, the most appealing thing was how the characters were so authentically drawn. Because this could easily turn into a genre picture - like a broad comedy or a coming-of-age story - and it wasn't that. All the characters were depicted respectfully, even the smallest of parts seemed somehow three-dimensional.

Q: You were four or five at the time when the film was set, in 1987, so did you have to go away and look up the period?

JE: We did a lot of improvisation in the movie so I wanted to make sure that if I had to say something that referred to anything specific in the period that I didn't get any of the names wrong. So it was mainly practical research for that, as opposed to any kind of big sociological trends because that was less important and, because it is not that different from when we filmed it.

Q: Can you tell us a little about how the improvisation worked?

JE: I'm not sure how much actually stayed in, but we did so much because... at the time I thought: "It's because I'm so brilliant and he wants all my lines to be in", but, in retrospect, I think he probably cut everything we made up out and just let us improvise to create a naturalistic tone, so it didn't feel like we were just making, like, these three jokes in one scene and then going on to the next scene. Some stuff stayed in but, ultimately, I think his script probably won out. But I think the idea was just to create a naturalistic comedy - not having to hit jokes on the head.

Q: There's some great performances in here, I wonder if you could tell us a little about working with Kristen and Ryan Reynolds?

JE: Well, Kristen... I was so shocked when we started working because she was 17 at the time and I didn't know how a 17-year-old girl would be able to play such a character who seems so dark and mature and jaded and cynical but also warm. She was just so perfect for it. And Ryan Reynolds - they condensed his schedule into two weeks - so it was two weeks every day with him and it was great. He's also a very funny guy, in terms of improvisation, he also likes doing that. He's great for the part, too, because you want to hate that character but, again, what you were saying about all the characters being three-dimensional, it's hard to hate that actor - he's so charming and seems like a genial guy, so it makes that character more authentic.

 Q: Greg Mottola said it was partially based on his own rubbishy summer job, so, inevitably, we have to ask you what was your most rubbish summer job and did you draw on any of those experiences for this?

JE: I've never been able to describe anything I've done as 'rubbish' because we don't use this word, but I've done a million shitty summer jobs, er, I mean jobs, but most of them were acting in awful things. The only thing really similar was when I was 15, I acted in this thing and then I got too old for it so they had us do the lighting for it and stuff. And we all hated doing the play, but it was a really good bonding experience because we hate what we were working on so we had to find something redeemable, so we ended up enjoying each other's company that much more.

Q: You've talked about the improvisation being cut out a lot, was there anything that you really hated to lose?

JE: Yes, my favourite scene... this movie takes place during the Iran-Contra scandal and there was all this funny stuff and he cut it out. I liked it because my character was interested in the politics of the day and I was trying to talk to the other people at the park in the parking lot one night, and everybody was standing around drinking, I said: "Did you guys see this, I can't believe this stuff." Talking about being fed up with Iran-Contra because it was a huge scandal in the States and they're like "Okay". I loved that scene because it was a perfect indication of that culture clash and now its cut. So I was upset. But... all the kissing scenes are in. That's good.

Q: In the past you've worked with veteran actors. You're the lead here, how does that responsibility feel?

JE: It feels good. But you feel the pressure but at the same time it was good because it just felt like we were all playing real characters, it didn't feel like: "I'm supposed to be a leading person therefore it must be A, B and C." It just felt like, play this character normally and it will come out well.

Q: The character that you're playing is a little bit younger than you are and it's all about first love. Did you find yourself tapping in to those things, was it harder to act 'younger' than yourself than older?

JE: In some ways I felt the character was more mature and experienced than I was. Because I've never had a real job like this for an extended period of time. He's also trying to reconcile being naive in the world and being educated and being really smart and having these goals for himself - lofty goals of going to grad school and travelling to Europe and being a travel essayist. But I feel like personally, I want to do like these great things but then you're, like, doing a silly movie or auditioning for some stupid movie. So I feel that conflict all the time, but I think everybody feels that way. Like I want to be a novelist and yet I have to go to the set and do this stupid thing today. But everybody has that, the difference between what you feel you deserve to be doing and the thing that you're actually require to do, or hired to do.

 Q: You mentioned a favourite scene that was cut, do you have a favourite scene that's in the film?

JE: I only saw it once, and I tried to look away because I'm embarrassed to watch myself, but the scenes I like the most are the quiet, talking scenes with Kristen because those felt like the most sincere parts of the movie to me, when I was filming it, at least.This feels like the heart of the movie, this sweet relationship. They're not the funniest scenes but they felt like the most enjoyable for me.

Q: I thought the scenes with the other actress were just as sweet?

JE: Margarita Levieva? She's also great because that character could have also been, and in someways is, the hot girl at the park. But on the other hand she has her own thoughts and her own goals and they're not typical of that kind of character. So even a character like that that could so easily have been this stereotypical thing becomes a fleshed out character.

Q: Where do you place this film in relation to others? Do you see it as being more part of the American independent scene or do you see it as being more like Superbad and those sorts of movies?

JE: I saw the movie as an independent movie - and that's how it was made. It was not made for a lot of money. The only difference was it was made with a distribution company - Miramax was going to put it out. But in terms of the way it was made, shot and cast it was all independent. They didn't have to cast famous people, we didn't have a lot of time to shoot it, we didn't get paid any money. The best part was they didn't look over the director's shoulder. I would never have been cast in the main part if this was a major studio, so he got to make the movie that he wanted to make because the Superbad movie was so popular.

Q: You talked about your favourite scenes – what about your least favourite scenes? You seemed to get drowned every ten minutes. You're in the swimming pool in one scene and get covered in water in another. How long were you shooting that for?

JE: Oh yeah, that was the worst thing. We filmed, like in November, end of November, beginning of December, even, in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania and they made fake rain. And when you make fake rain in movies, you have to make the drops bigger, because little drops, like real rain, don't show up on camera. And it was so freezing, it was torture. And then we had to reshoot it because it didn't come out good or something, it didn't look like New York City or whatever. But, yeah, it was terrible. I don't know why it has to rain at the end of every movie, because it's so hard to do that. I've been in many movies where it's rained and it's just torture. They try to put on scuba gear underneath but it doesn't work.

 Q: Was part of the appeal of taking the role, working with Greg?

JE: No, I just liked the script, I mean, yeah, that was like an added thing, but I never really think about that because I don't really fully understand what directors do... if they've made a movie that's successful, doesn't always mean they'll make something that's good again. But I think he's proven he has like a really nice handle on it.

Q: So it's script first for you, then?

JE: Yes, absolutely, yes. Also, the best director can't make a movie good. I mean, I've read scripts that my agent is saying, 'So-and-so, the greatest director is going to make this', and I'm like: 'But it's terrible' and then it always comes out terrible. And that happens all the time, I mean, good directors make bad things. I mean, not that my opinion is always what happens, but I always agree with my opinion later down the road when the movie comes out, even if people like it. Well, it doesn't matter, but yes, if the script's not there, usually it's hard to make anything good out of it.

Q: Apparently Greg used to be an actor. Does that come through with his approach to film-making?

JE: I think he was an actor in a Woody Allen movie, because his wife was Woody Allen's assistant. I think Woody Allen needed to have somebody play a movie director, so I think he asked him, but I don't think he acted. He's like an extremely shy guy, so I don't think he would ever act. But he was the most sensitive director I've ever met, to actors. As I said, he was letting us improvise and I think that, in retrospect, that was just to make us comfortable, I don't think it was for new ideas. And so I think, yeah, he was really sensitive.

I've met directors who were actors and sometimes it's like they really do want to be actors so that kind of colours it like they're a little bitter, so I've seen that side too, so I don't think it necessarily makes them more sensitive. But he also once told me he thinks acting's such an emotionally difficult job and it is – you have to be in an emotional state for 14 hours a day, even if it's a light scene, you're still emoting, somehow. And so he always expressed a sensitivity to that and it comes through in the movie, all the characters are seen to be dealt with sensitively, even if they're doing something bad.

Q: The film was at Sundance and Edinburgh. How's it been to take the film on the festival circuit rather than go straight into release?

JE: I prefer that. I did a Sony movie that's coming out in October [presumably, Zombieland] and it's like a big movie and we're already doing publicity for it and I don't really like that. I mean, not that I want to go get lauded at film festivals, but I like that movies have to prove themselves at film festivals and then when the movie finally does come out, it's already kind of over some hurdle, whereas like a bigger movie, there's so much money and resources behind it that the movie's quality is somehow secondary, so when they put the movie out, it's almost regardless of its own merit.

Q: And how do you find the interaction with the people at festivals, going to the screenings, doing the Q & As and so on?

JE: Yeah, it's okay. I mean, I don't really like talking about myself, even though that's what I'm doing now, but you do it because you're supposed to promote the movie. So I could live without it, quite frankly, I'd prefer to just be acting somewhere, doing something else or whatever. But, yeah, it's nice. It makes you want to do good movies though, because if you have to talk about it so much, you know, you hesitate before you do something bad.

Q: Having said all that about choosing roles based on the script first, are there actually any directors you'd particularly like to work with?

JE: No. No, because I feel like if somebody's really great, I don't want to be in their movie, because then I'll just feel like I'll screw it up. I don't want to screw up somebody's movie.

Q: Why would you think you'd screw it up?

JE: I don't know, I hate myself in movies, I feel like I've ruined all the things I've done, but I still like doing it, so I don't know... I don't know, I feel conflicted, but like, I don't know, if there's somebody like Steven Spielberg, I wouldn't want to screw up a Steven Spielberg movie. I mean, not that I want to screw up Greg's movie either, but he chose me, I didn't pursue it like, you know, actors pursue Steven Spielberg or something, so I felt like it's his fault if it's bad. 

Q: You'd be perfect as the lead in a Woody Allen movie, as the kind of Woody Allen substitute character.

JE: I love Woody Allen, he's the greatest. Greg's wife was Woody Allen's assistant and Woody Allen saw the movie and sent Greg an email, saying how much he liked it. He said, “I imagine the box office receipts will be in inverse proportion to its quality”. (laughs) That's very funny.

Q: So, hypothetically, if Woody Allen had a script he said was perfect for you...?

JE: Yeah, I guess so. No one ever says no to him, I guess, right?

Q: How does it feel when you get a plaudit from someone you respect like that?

JE: Yeah, it was great. I was shocked, like, I can't imagine Woody Allen sitting there watching another movie, just watching something and paying attention to it. But, yeah, it's like a great honour.

Q: What's your next project?

JE: I'm supposed to do a few movies but the one that I think is most likely to happen is called Midnight Sun and it's about these two young guys at Columbia who got recruited to work on the Manhattan Project, the atomic bomb, in New Mexico. And it's a true story, it's like this incredible, very tense story. And there's an English girl in it, playing my wife – Felicity Jones. So it's like the three of us are the main characters, going to New Mexico and starting to work on this project. It's really an interesting movie and the Pentagon is letting us film at Los Alamos. It's written and directed by Chris Eigeman, from Metropolitan.

Q: It'll be nice to see you play someone who's married too, after so many coming-of-age movies.

JE: Yes, I've finally tied the knot.

SOURCE

[eschergirls]

Hi everybody!

It's December which means a) happy upcoming holidays everybody! and 2) time for a monthly update and thank you to our very cool Patreon subscribers. :3

First, the update, if you use the main site you'll have noticed that there were some issues this month with the Disqus comments being down for a couple of days and the submission form not working at various points.  We've resolved both problems and there should be no issue now. They were related to having to change email providers and updating the site to the most recent version of Drupal. :)  I want to thank everybody who let me know about the problems because I don't always notice everything immediately and I want to know if there's something to fix! If you have any issues with the site or suggestions to improve it, please do not hesitate to contact me and let me know!

Second, as usual I'm working through the backlog of inbox submissions and also fixing broken posts/restoring tags/adding alt text, etc to the archives.  This month's big restoration project were a bunch of old posts of the Chris Hart's "How To Draw" books, including the "How To Draw Cutting Edge Anatomy" pages which explained that you can draw men with varying body sizes but the women must all be "attractive" and therefore there's not much variation in size or height or musculature and you must show characterization elsewhere.  I added a full transcription of the text in the posts for screen-readers, so if you want to read it, click through the link and you should be able to. :) 

I also restored 2 old Liefeld Avengelyne covers here and here.  And I fixed up this old Supergirl compilation post and uploaded the infamous "letter to women fans" by now-disgraced ex-editor Eddie Berganza that was referenced in the post and added transcription for screen readers since the original letter has been removed from the DC site and there are very few full versions of it left that are accessible.

I've also fixed up the Disqus reactions to be more interesting and have a "thanks I hate it" option as requested by one reader. You should see it appear on the site soon!

I want to remind everybody that if you want to follow Escher Girls outside Tumblr, we have an RSS feed. (For newbies, RSS stands for Really Simple Syndication and is basically a feed you can read using an RSS reader. Simply copy and paste https://eschergirls.com/rss.xml into an RSS reader and it will keep you up to date on Escher Girls!)

And finally I want to thank everybody for engaging in the blog and participating in the caption contest! The interactions have been really great and I loved everybody's captions for the last contest!

And of course I want to specifically thank our November 2023 Patreon supporters for helping me keep this site up. Your donations help me pay for the domain and hosting so posts can stay up and visible even if Tumblr's algorithm flags them erroneously (I've been appealing but it's frustrating because the appeals are handled by an algorithm too), and allow us to make upgrades! <3

So thank you so so much to:

Anne Adler Cat Mara CheerfulOptimistic  Chris McKenzie Em Bardon First Time Trek Greg Sepelak Ian Cameron Ken Trosaurus Kevin Carson Kim Wincen Kristoffer Illern  Holmén Leak  Manuel Dalton Mary Kuhner Max Schwarz Michael Mazur Miriam Pody Morgan McEvoy randomisedmongoose Rebecca Breu Ringoko  Ryan Gerber Sam Mikes Sean Sea  SpecialRandomCast  Thomas  Thomas Key

And I want to give another general thank you to everybody for reading, submitting, and just generally engaging with the site.  The interactions I have with all of you are a huge bright spot in my day. :)

Also please stay tuned for our upcoming holiday themed caption contest! I think you'll all get a kick from it!

Thank you all so much,

Ami

(If you wish to support Escher Girls, you can subscribe to our Patreon at: https://www.patreon.com/ami_angelwings or donate through Ko-Fi at: https://ko-fi.com/amiangelwings.)