#javier is alive and well and NOT WORKING FOR THE MILITARY????

[dyedcomrade]

Dark! Jack Krauser headcanons

i think after operation Javier he'd be so broken mentally and emotionally that at first for a long time he shuts off all human connections

but after some time he will latch onto anyone who shows him kindness and will want to get fullfillment by that one person he chooses as his darling - no other people, only his loved one

you can be a nurse or another kind of healthcare worker he met while going back for checkups. a shop assistant who was very helpful, a pizza delivery person who smiled at him. it will be just an everyday human interaction - but to him it will be so new after decades in the military. even on his free days he did mercenary work, because he tought he was a brute and did so many horrible things that noone would ever accept him back into society. he reeked of the blood he shed, it's just natural to isolate someone who is this violent, this dangerous.

but not you. you treated him like you would any other person. maybe even better? you had a good day or he was just an especially chill patient/customer/etc. and you were happy that for at least once someone isn't trying to make your work harder than it should be.

he is no stranger to covert tactics. means he will manage your kidnap smoothly. there will be no signs pointing to that it even happened. he will also take any personal item he thinks you will need in the first two weeks of your stay with him. that time is crucial in his mind for you to settle in.

he only recently bought his house after getting discharged. it's very bittersweet to him, as he always wanted the american dream, a white picket fence, suburban life - all his life unknowinlgy maybe, but he fought for it, physically and mentally as well. and he deserves it. after sacrificing everything he had, it's the least. he doesn't feel entitled to it, but he will be very confused and sad if you fight back.

at first you will be bound and in his basement - him with you almost the entire time. the place is very clean and polished. he tried to make it comfortable with a new matress, a portable heater and several pillows and blankets for you. you also have a little basket with food he tought you'd like. he talks to you every day. about his life so far, his interests and his intentions with you. even if you seem accepting at first he won't let his guard down. he makes sure you can no way hurt him or yourself or escape. he'd love for you to talk with him, but it's not always necessary. he understands it's a tough time for you.

if you are especially unruly he will forcefeed you sedatives.

while in this position he baths you every day himself and you really only have to call for him and every of your needs are taken care of. he will make you any food you ask for - for that time he brings you up to the kitchen, but don't expect to be able to move an inch he is kind of experienced in securing stronger and bigger people than you. also if he finds you can't be trusted with utensils he will feed you as well. he may just get used to it and want to do this for you after you get familiar with your new life and doesn't wanna push him away the moment your hands are free.

he is very sweet in all the things he does for you. after all he knows he has to kill this one with kindness. and he is in for the long game, the results are just simply better if he is patient and doesn't punish you yet for acting out.

if you take an especially long time to accept your fate he will get a breakdown. not an angry one, though. not many people have seen him cry, but you will get an exclusive version. ugly crying for hours. not to make you pity him, no strain of toughts like this ever crossed his mind. it's genuine and a lot. life is treating him so poorly and the only one he thoght could trust is treating him like a monster! is that all he really is? were you playing a cruel joke on him formerly? he will hold you close while trying to calm himself down. he still has someone he can protect, you are alive and he has a chance for normalcy. just like he dreamt of as a kid.

by this time it's impossible your stockholm syndrome, pity or compassion havent struck. and he will see it. the little signs of acceptance, the way you start to care for him. if you behave he will unbind you and lead you up to the living area, show you around his house. it's very tidy and cozy. clean as well aside from one room he just uses as storage. you can't go there though. it's locked tight too, even more securely than all the windows and doors that could possibly serve you as an escape.

he may show you once his old photos, medals and the dogtags of his fallen comrades if you ask. but please be understanding it's hard for him. you should reassure and comfort him after. the rest of that day he will spend cradled in your arms.

he put cameras in everywhere - not like his days aren't free to spend with you, just in case.

with the new freedom you have comes the possibility for you to have some entertainment. Jack will probably be in the middle of trying to find a new hobby and will be glad to try out yours. only indoor ones of course. you can also watch tv with him or play video games. he doesn't have a strong preference for anything, will watch anything with you - with the exception of any movies or games about aoldiers, and he would be nice if you played shooting games on mute. don't want to trigger anything in him.

he may get a cat or a dog if you like the idea too and aren't allergic. if you go with the dog option, his backyard is big enough for them to play in, but he'd love for the three of you to go on long walks as well.

full freedom can be achieved with him, as he wants to be somewhat delusional with his darling and the level of devotion you have for him.

but you don't want to leave him. he is a broken man with noone left to love. why would you be so cruel?

if he is sure you won't try to pull anything on him, he may let you back to your job and he will try to find one as well. staying for so long at home is boring. he may go back to mercenary work and at this point he may have contacted Wesker as well about his condition. although you can be a very big inhibiting force for him turning to terrorism. he doesn't want to lose you by getting involved in anything, and for sure doesn't want to get too far from the place you live in.

other headcanons, that may be too specific for some

he has an ambiguous feeling about kids. he would love some, but if you can't get pregnant or don't want to he will let it go. if anything would happen during the pregnancy to you or the kid that sure would be the last straw.

the first time he would mention sex is after you gain his trust and he lets you out to roam the house. he can arrange a marriage if it's something you feel is necessary before laying with him. he makes sure that he wears protection - he doesn't really know after fighting b.o.w.s what he may carry that he may be immune to but you aren't and he doesn't want to infect you. if you are a virgin and trust him with your first time, let alone first relationship, he will be stunned and nervous a bit. that is the only time he will be doubting this relationship. is he sure the guy to introduce you to intimacy? is he even good at it? he didn't have any long term relationship ever. he will, however, be very gentle and attentive the first time. it won't be forced and will encourage you to tell him everything on your mind, even if you think it sounds stupid.

[emeraldfaer]

javier escuella, my love

[justmemewriting]

The Sister (Javier Peña x reader) Part 15 - disappearance

After the kiss, you and Javi had decided to go over to his apartment. You still had a lot to talk about and a lot to figure out.

It was actually a very long but sweet conversation.

Javi told you that he should've told you sooner that he had feelings for you but that he was too scared that it wouldn't work out between the two of you. You agreed telling him that you were too unsure but that you now were more aware of you feelings and that you finally knew what you really wanted.

The rest of the evening was really sweet too. You and Javi talked about how desperate Steve and Connie had been to get you two together, but also how grateful you were. If it weren't for them, you two wouldn't be together now.

"You know I'm surprised to see that Steve is so cool with this," you told Javi as you were sitting on his couch.

"What do you mean?" Javi asked.

"Well, he's my brother. When we were growing up he scared off every single guy that ever showed an interest in me. It just surprises me that he doesn't seem to have a problem if you date me,"

"If I date you?"

"I wasn't sure if we could put a label on it yet," you told him sheepishly.

"I think we can," Javi told you and pulled you into a kiss. "I'm just hoping Steve doesn't change his mind and decides to beat me up or something."

You laughed. "He wouldn't. You're like a brother to him."

You and Javi continued to cuddle on the couch when a thought entered your mind.

"What are we going to do about work?" you asked Javi.

"What do you mean?" he asked you sitting up.

"Aren't there rules about dating your co-workers?" you asked Javi.

"I don't know. Right now we don't have a problem anyway since we're still suspended," Javi told you.

You had totally forgotten about that. Everything that happened between you and Javi overshadowed your work situation.

"Oh god, I totally forgot about that," you answered. "When do you think we can go back to work?" you asked Javi who just shrugged.

"Couple of days. A week. Maybe two weeks," you sighed. You loved your job. You couldn't just stand back and watch others do your job. You needed to catch Escobar and you needed to do it soon.

"Alright. What do we do then when we finally go back to work?"

"Hmm. I guess we'll just have to sneak around," Javi told you and pulled you into his lap.

"Sneak around, huh? That does make it kind of exciting," you told him.

"At work, we'll just have to pretend that there's nothing going on and that we have nothing to hide. Though, I don't know if I can keep my hands to myself," Javi said and pulled you closer to him.

The action made you giggle.

"Well, you better. Cause I'd like to keep my job,"

"You know, they'd never fire you. You're too good," he told you and placed a kiss on your lips.

"We'll there's a lot of things that I'm really good at," you hinted and winked at him.

"Oh really. Let's put your skills to the test then," Javi suggested.

——

You spent the night at Javi's place. You and Javi had talked through half of the night and you had just been too lazy to go over to your own apartment. Also, you still didn't feel safe there since somebody had broken into it and threatened you to leave. The thought of someone having been in your apartment still scared you. You lived in an apartment complex full of agents. You thought that you'd at least be safe there.

After the incident the DEA increased its security which did make you feel a little safer.

When you had woken up Javi was still laying next to you, but he was already awake.

You looked at the clock and realized that it was already 11AM.

"Why didn't you wake me?" you asked Javi as you turned over to look at him.

"I figured you needed some more sleep," he told you and placed a kiss on your forehead.

"So what are we going to do today now that we don't really have a job to go to?" you asked Javi.

"Let's just wait and see what the day holds for us," he told you.

You chuckled. "So poetic"

You and Javi got dressed and you decided to make some breakfast. As always, the options in Javi's fridge were very limited.

"Javi, you really should consider going grocery shopping more often. Your fridge is practically empty," you told him.

"Oh honey. I wish I could but I don't want to. It's always so full there and I never really know what to buy," he told you.

Luckily, Javi still had some eggs, so you decided to just make those.

As Javi and you were eating, there was a loud knock on his door.

Javi went to open the door and you saw that it was Connie with Olivia in her arm.

She looked panicked.

"Steve's gone," she told you and Javi as she entered the apartment with Olivia.

"What do you mean he's gone?" you quickly asked her as you stood up and walked over to her.

Seeing as she was panicking you quickly took Olivia out of her arms so that she could calm down a bit.

"The car was outside the garage, still idling, the keys still in the ignition," she informed you as she paced around Javi's apartment. "I've called his phone 20 times"

"Did you call embassy security?" Javi asked her.

"No, I wanted to talk to you first," Connie answered.

"Good. Don't," Javi told her which seemed to upset her.

"What? why not?" she asked irritated.

"It's nothing, Connie," you told her trying to calm her. "We just want to check some things out first before we ring any alarms"

"What are you guys up to?" Connie asked.

"Connie, just try to relax, OK? I'm sure everything's fine," Javi told her trying to comfort her.

Javi looked over at you and gave you a knowing look. that meant to ask you if you were fine. You nodded. You were worried too. It was you brother after all that had just gone missing. You couldn't let that show though. That would just worry Connie and you needed her to be calm right now.

"I'll make you a drink," you told Connie and went into Javi's kitchen. You placed your hands on the counter and sighed.

Please, god. Let Steve be okay, you hoped.

A few minutes later, Javi came to you in the kitchen.

He pulled you into a hug and said "I know you're worried. But we'll find him."

"Of course I'm worried. He's my brother," you answered.

"So what's the plan now? Are we going to inform the embassy?" you asked Javi hoping he knew what to do.

"No. We're going to have to do it differently" he told you. "You trust me on this, right?"

"Of course."

Shortly after, you and Javi drove to the embassy. Noonan had already tried to kick you out, but you managed to get yourself 5 minutes inside.

Javi quickly led you over to the office of his CIA contact. He knew that this was somebody you could trust as he had already helped you before.

Javi's contact led you into a more private spot of his office where he could talk to you without being overheard.

"What? You get a hooker pregnant?" his contact asked him to which you just raised your eyebrows.

"We think Agent Murphy, my brother, got snatched," you told the man showing him that this wasn't the right time for stupid jokes.

"We already checked all area hospitals, police station. We were pursuing leads on the Cali cartel. It could be related to that, or it could be Escobar," Javi told his contact.

"Did you report it to the Regional Security Office?" he asked you.

"If we tell the ROS, it becomes a five-alarm fire, and whoever has him might panic," Javi answered.

"If it is Escobar," the man answered eyeing you carefully "he'a dead already"

"We're aware of that, Sir," you answered.

"Well, can you check your sources? See what comes up?" Javi asked him hoping that he might be able to help you.

"Jesus Christ," the man muttered. "Let me see what I can do".  With that Javi's contact left and patted you on the shoulder as he did so.

You felt relieved knowing that he was helping you, but you still had this weird feeling in your chest. The not knowing whether your brother was even still alive at the moment was too much for you.

"Are you okay, (Y/N)?" Javi asked you once you left the embassy.

"Yeah. I'm just worried," you told Javi, but you couldn't help but let a tear slip from your eyes.

"Hey, hey. Don't worry." Javi told you as he gently wiped away the tear from your face. "We'll find him and he'll be alright."

"Alright," you sniffled.

Javi took your hand and led you over to his car. He opened the door to the passenger seat for you before getting into the car himself.

In the car he kissed you passionately as though he was trying to reassure that everything was going to be alright.

You could tell that he worried though. The uncertainty that everyone was feeling was just too huge.

After having waited in the car for quite some time, Javi's CIA contact came back.

He knocked on the car window and Javi quickly rolled it down.

"Checked my sources with the Colombian military. Nobody knows jack shit," he told you. You sighed.

"So, no indication that Escobar had anything to do with Murphy's disappearance?" Javi asked.

The man shook his head. "It's time to sound the alarm"

"Just hold off for a couple of hours, okay? If we call out the troops, we might put him in more danger than he actually is right now," Javi told him and started his engine. "Thanks."

And with that the two of you drove off.

Once you arrived back at the apartment complex, Javi told you that you should inform Connie now.

"Is it okay if I just stay in my apartment for a bit? It's just been a bit much today, and I just need a small break," you asked Javi.

"Of course, (Y/N). I'll talk to Connie. Don't worry about it,"

Javi accompanied to the front of your apartment door and gave you a kiss on your cheek before you finally parted ways.

You went into your apartment and sat down on your bed. The tears started flowing and it didn't seem like they were going to stop any time soon.

You were just too exhausted. Mentally and physically. Worrying about your brother for the whole day had just been to much.

You quickly wiped away your tears and decided that maybe a shower would help you relax and calm down for a bit. You weren't sure if it was going to work, but you decided that it was worth a try. At least it would get rid of some of the exhaustion.

The duration of your shower was unusual long for you, but it really helped you relax. You then got dressed again and decided to go into the kitchen to eat something. You hadn't eaten since this morning and were absolutely starving.

After having eaten, there was only one thing left for you to do which was to wait.

—

After about twenty minutes of just staring at the wall, there finally was a knock on your door. You quickly opened it as you knew that it must have been Javi.

"I think it's time to talk to the Ambassador now," Javi told you and nodded. This meant that Steve still hadn't shown up. If you hadn't been worried already you definitely would be now.

You and Javi quickly drove the embassy and rushed to the Ambassador's office.

"Apologies, Ambassador. But this is an emergency," you informed her as you and Javi stormed into her office.

"Damn right we do," she answered.

You quickly looked across the room and saw that Steve was standing there holding a glass of whiskey in his hands. You quickly turned to Javi to check if he was seeing the same thing or if you were just imagining things now.

"Hey, partners," Steve told you with a smirk on his face.

What the fuck was going on here?

Steve explained to you how it was Pacho Herrera who kidnapped him, but that it actually was pretty harmless. He talked to him and nothing else happened.

He said that he never really was in any danger, but you thought that it was still weird.

"That Herrera's a pretty good host. Makes a mean cocktail, gives you door-to-door service right to the embassy," Steve told you as you were waking down the halls.

"Do you think this is fucking funny, Steve? We've been worried about you all day and you think it's okay to make fucking jokes?" you told him and shook your head. "You are fucking unbelievable"

"(Y/N)-" Steve started, but you interrupted him.

"I don't want to hear it. Your wife's been completely worried. I've been worried," you told him and started walking away.

"Where are you going?" he asked you.

"To the damn car"

"What did Herrera say?" you could hear Javi ask him as you were walking away, but you weren't interested in finding that out right now. If Steve found out something important, he'd tell you sooner or later.

—— (3rd person PoV)

"What did Herrera say?" asked Javi as he watched (Y/N) walk away.

"What'd he say?" repeated Steve and pushed Javi forcefully against the wall.

"You fuckin' gave him that information. He's got pictures on me, he's got tape on me, Javi," Steve paused. "Answer me"

"What," whispered Javi.

"Did you give that shit to Herrera?"

"Do you think I would do that to you?," Javi asked.

"Are you playing with Cali, Javi? That's your version of "all in"?"

"I got one goal: get Escobar"

"That's not an answer," said Steve who was clearly pissed off. "Who gave him the fucking photos?"

Steve looked at Javi and waited for him to answer, but he didn't. He just stared at him.

"See you around, Jav," said Steve as he walked away from him. "I'm gonna go call my wife."

——

When Javi came back home that night, he told you about what happened between him and Steve.

He thought that you were going to be mad at him, but you weren't.

If you were being honest, you could understand why he'd done it.

You'd do anything to catch Escobar and you've only been on the case for a few months. Javi must want to catch him even more since he's been on the case even longer.

"I'm not sure Steve will forgive me for doing this, (Y/N)," Javi told you as you were laying in bed together.

"He'll come around, Javi. He always does," you told Javi and cuddled into him.

"Things will work themselves out. Steve will come around and we'll work on catching Escobar. And we will catch him. Trust me,"

Javi intertwined his fingers with yours and placed a kiss on your knuckles.

You knew that you'd have to talk to Steve tomorrow, but you were sure that things would go back to normal again. After all, Javi only did it with the best intentions. Surely, Steve wouldn't blame him for that.

"We'll figure this out, Javi. I promise"

[xxrainbow-princessxx]

The Return - Leo x Isabella (TRR/TRH AU)

Can Leo get to Isabella and the kids in time?

Chapter list:

Chapter 1: Enough

Chapter 2: Homeward Bound

Chapter 3: Band of Brothers

Chapter 4 Dearest Sympathies

Chapter 5: No Expectations

Chapter 6: Line of Succession

Chapter 7: Unspoken Truths

Chapter 8: Family Ties

Find links for previous chapters here! 

Tag list: @lorirwritesfanfic @drakewalkerfantasy @desireepow-1986@rainbowsinthestorm @lorircreates @itslaniquelove @liam-rhys @hopefulmoonobject @speedyoperarascalparty @kimmiedoo5 @rafasgirl23415 @kingliam2019@mom2000aggie @texaskitten30 @the-everlasting-dream

Trigger warning: Violence, death, premonition of death, sexual innuendo, swearing

Isabella struggled against Barthelemy’s guards to break free, running across to Natalia and Alessandra who were petrified. Stroking their faces, Isabella tried her hardest to hide her true emotion; she was just as scared as them but she couldn’t let her children down, “it’s ok... it’s ok...” she nervously smiled, her eyes darting to check them over visually from head to toe “Where’s Nico?” Isabella whispered but the girls didn’t speak, their hazel green eyes reflected their fear. Isabella wasted no time bringing them into a tight hug as she had to think fast, “Mama’s here... I got you...” Taking a deep breath, Isabella bit down onto her lip as she stood tall once again, placing her children behind her, “What is this all in aid of?” Isabella shouted as it echoed through the quiet throne room, with one hand holding her children behind her, her other hand gesticulated wildly, “Why are you doing all of this?!” Barthelemy simply laughed, “My dear... it’s simple... The Sons of Earth never could in a million years take over our wonderful Cordonia alone... each generation would bring its own obstacles and tribulations...” he smiled evilly towards his niece, “... but when your divorce was announced, Laurentia would make our base even more powerful and prophetic. With me as our leader...” Barthelemy’s brow raised, “We would become unstoppable in our defeat of the Rys bloodline...” The roar of the thugs he used to infiltrate the Laurentian Palace filled the room of joyous chanting, “...and unfortunately for you my darling niece... you also have become a part of that bloodline...” Barthelemy’s eyes darkened, glittering with a madness Isabella could only describe as horrific, “Please...” she begged, “Please spare the children... they have not done anything to deserve this!” Barthelemy began to walk towards Isabella before he looked over her shoulder towards the twins grinning cruelly “Maybe they can join Camille and Nicolás in our new world... we always need a few... spares in case it doesn’t work out...” Isabella’s eyes narrowed, her dark chocolate brown eyes darkening as she spat at him, “Give him back you fucking piece of shit!!”

Wiping his cheek, Barthelemy’s nostrils flared with rage, “You insolent bitch!” as he slapped Isabella across the face angrily screaming, “You will not disrespect me!” The Royal guards were in a political stalemate as Barthelemy made his claim to the throne, their pledge to protect the Crown at all costs left them divided but as Isabella fell to the ground, Barthelemy glared at all in the room, “One step... take one fucking step and you’ll not leave this room alive!” He kneeled down, lifting her head by her dark, mahogany curls, addressing the young Queen menacingly, Barthelemy grinned with an evil smile, “You’re lucky I only need to keep you alive for a few more days... and to think...” he goaded her, “I sent you flowers, this is how you repay my courtesy... Obviously your parents didn’t teach you manners...” pointing to a random guard, Barthelemy clicked his tongue, “Take them out of here as we begin our ascension into greatness!” Isabella’s dark, chocolate brown eyes glared with rage as the guard attempted to pull her arm, “Get off of me!” she screeched, her eyes narrowing angrily, “You’ll regret that!” The Sons of Earth guard simply laughed, “I somehow don’t think so...” as he pressed a gun to her spine, “Time to go...” he sneered as Isabella reluctantly gave into his threats, holding Alessandra and Natalia close to her. Looking over her shoulder, Isabella’s dark mahogany curls bounced as she took a final glance at her Uncle. With her cheeks sucked in, and a brow raised, the young Queen stared at him momentarily until she was pushed out of the throne room and escorted to the holding cells held in the catecombs. Isabella’s temper was renowned, but at that very moment she vowed if they made it through this, Barthelemy would burn for this.

“Shhhii...” Jimena’s eyes widened as she reached over Matthew’s mouth to stop him from speaking; both of them staring helplessly through the vents into the Palace’s throne room. Jimena glared at him, her voice barely a whisper as she spoke, “Shut up...” before her gaze returned to the room watching those still in attendance. Taking her phone, she began to briefly record Barthelemy and his army’s chanting, panning left and right. “We need to get out of here...” she muttered quietly, “We need to get to the Parliament building...” Matthew looking more and more confused as Jimena began to rummage through the lockers. With a satisfied smile, she turned to Matthew holding a guards uniform, “Hurry up and get changed...” Matthew raised his brow as he was handed the garment bag but knew better to question her. The Queen’s lady in waiting terrified him as Jimena stared him down, “What are you waiting for?” Her dark almond eyes narrowed, “...A standing ovation? Hurry up before we get caught!” She was bossy to the point it could be construed as rude and like an arrow, straight to the point. Folding her arms, Jimena pursed her lips as Matthew undressed, “I would like to not die today thank you...” stripping himself from his light grey suit, Matthew draped himself in the military regalia before Jimena moved forward placing the military cap on his golden head, “Much better...” she cooed as her hands delicately dusted off his broad shoulders, “Now follow me...”

As the Cordonian Royal jet landed in a disused aerodrome, Leo, Liam and Drake embarked immediately to a waiting vehicle. During the flight, Leo and Liam called in as many favours as possible to veil their arrival into the Kingdom, working with their neighbouring countries to free up their air space, allowing them to pass freely and undetected. Leo was well aware of the situation he found himself in. Not only was Barthelemy attempting to take over, there would be defiance in rank. “Your Majesty...” Javier smiled as he pressed down on the accelerator, “Welcome home...” Leo could only chuckle as he patted his trusted confidante’s shoulder, “You’re a sight for sore eyes Javier...” before he handed Leo an iPad, “This is the latest we received from Jimena...” The three men huddled around to watch the blurry video, moving back and forth as they tried to analyse it. “Your Royal Majesties... we also have news...” Liam and Leo immediately rose their heads, eyes widening with anticipation, “The Princesses are fine, they are with the Queen for now... but...” Leo and Liam’s hearts began to sink, there always had to be something, “...Prince Nicolás has been taken alongside Princess Camille but they are safe for now...”

Leo could feel his blood beginning to boil, his face reddening as he tried to contain his anger. “Leo... he’s ok...” Javier continued, “...the children are with the maids, no harm will come to them...” Leo glanced at Liam momentarily who felt like a weight had been lifted from his shoulders, his daughter, his little Camille was so close he could almost feel her in his arms again. Liam sat stoically looking out the window as they drove to Parliament to meet the others. Barthelemy would regret the day he had taken her from Liam and Sienna and Liam was going to make sure that he felt every ounce of pain he had for months. “Li...” Drake quietly questioned as Leo and Javier we’re discussing the next course of action, “You ok?” Liam turned to Drake as Leo and Javier continued their conversation quietly murmuring, “How can he be so calm?!” Drake rolled his eyes to the left as Leo spoke tactics, “Li... he’s fighting for his family... his life... he knows he can’t be distracted from that...” Liam slowly bit down on his lower lip, “Drake...” he whispered, “I’m terrified... and I just pray to God my brother knows what he’s doing...” With his shaggy dark hair, Drake nodded as he reached out to grasp Liam’s arm to comfort him, “Li... he’s not the same Leo you grew up with; this has never been about him - it’s been about you. He is risking his own life to get Camille back...” Drake implored, “...without him, we’d still be searching...” With a sullen nod, Liam reluctantly agreed, he knew Drake was right but he couldn’t help but wonder what else was in it for Leo? He couldn’t have changed that much.

“Get you hands off of me!” Isabella’s nostrils flared as she struggled in the guards grip before lifting her foot and ramming her stiletto heel into his leg, the guard winced and clenched his teeth before grabbing her by the hair, “You fucking bitch!” he spat, “I can’t wait for them to fucking execute you and that husband of yours soon enough!” Isabella took a deep breath as she tried so hard not to scream out in pain but she barked back, “My husband wouldn’t even be allowed to speak to me like that!” Forcefully throwing her into one of the cells, the guard chuckled to himself as Isabella fell forward, caught by her two daughters, “Well guess what Your Majesty? Your husband ain’t here! Now be good girls and for once, do as you are told!” With two whimpering children and the metal door locking behind them, Isabella held Alessandra and Natalia as tight as she could, biting her tongue watching carefully as the guard walk off laughing to himself throwing the keys up and down in his hands. “Mi querida... mi querida...” she mumbled as her voice trembled, “It’s going to be ok... don’t listen to that crazy man... this is all...” she tried to smile, “...just a big mistake and Javier will get us out of here... I promise”

Alessandra and Natalia’s hazel green eyes glistened as they looked at one another quietly, “...mama?” Natalia squeezed her mother’s hand tightly, “mama... I’m scared... where’s papa?” Isabella blinked back tears as she brought her daughters closer, “Don’t be scared my beautiful girl... your father once he knows about this he will not...” she brushed the loose tendrils of her daughter’s chestnut brown hair from her face, “...he will not let a strand on either of your perfect little heads be touched, not by anyone... ok?” Each of them nuzzled into Isabella shoulders as they cried, struggling to understand what was going on. Their cries echoed throughout the dark, cold cells as Isabella rocked them back and forth to try to comfort them. She began to sing to them “Bailaba la niña alegre, en una noche estrellada. Movíase al son del aire, bajo la luna de plata. ¡Cómo bailaba la niña! ¡Cómo la niña bailaba!” She sang this song to her children every night before they went to sleep. “Cómo la niña bailaba...” she whispered as they sat in the darkness, only each other for heat and comfort.

Sucking in his cheeks, Leo proudly marched himself into Parliament, his sea green eyes scanned the room as he saw the Laurentian military gathered and standing to attention as he, Drake and Liam walked into the room. The crowd bowed as Javier stood next to him, “¡Atención!” he bellowed, “His Royal Highness, King Leo... The Queen and Royal family are still in the Laurentian Palace; we must fight together to reinstate normality...” Leo raised his hand stopping Javier in his tracks, “Sorry my friend... if I may?” Javier nodded as Leo addressed the many factions of military gathered, “I know I have no right to request; but my wife, your Queen and my children are under that roof. My wife has dedicated her life to you all, our daughters and son will do the same. This coup has came to our shores because of a self fulfilling prophecy embarked upon by those who were fantasists... Cordonian militants who I am ashamed to have called family once upon a time and have desecrated our home. I stand before you as a husband and a father to ask for your help to overthrow this madness...” Leo stood proud and tall as the military dropped to their knee pledging their allegiance. “For King and Queen!” their chants filled the Parliament building as Leo looked over his shoulder towards Drake and Liam winking at them as he smiled.

To blend in, all three Cordonian men were dressed in the same green military uniform as the others. Leo and Javier stood side by side as they reviewed the blueprints of the Laurentian Palace surrounded by Generals, Admirals and Royal Guard Commanders. “We make use of blocking the tunnel system as much as we can...” Leo’s voice was strong and authoritative, “The tunnels run from the Palace directly to here. The airforce and navy teams can help block off these tunnels, and work with the coast guard to review the ports...” Leo pointed towards the blueprint, “The army will surround the Palace as the marines and Royal guard will clear the entrances... allowing smaller factions of the army to follow behind... the main priority is to find the Queen and children to ensure their safety... the youngest according ton intelligence states they are with the maids, so should still be in the nursery...” The men gathered around the table nodded in agreement to the plan until they were interrupted by the banging against the Parliament Chamber door. Leo’s sea green eyes flickered to a shade of blue as he raised his brow before nodding allowing the heavy reinforced door to be opened. Jimena and Matthew stood with their hands raised as hundreds of rifles were pointed in their direction until Leo called them to a halt. The Laurentian lady in waiting was not pleased, her lips pursed as she confronted Leo, “Took you long enough!” Jimena barked as Leo chuckled, “I can’t teleport...” he looked over her shoulder and smiled towards the Englishman stood behind her, “New boyfriend?” Jimena bit down and tried her hardest not to giggle, “No... this is Lord Devereaux... Isabella’s lawyer...” Leo’s smile wavered as he looked the English Nobleman up and down, “I see...” he replied dryly, “Your services Lord Devereaux... are no longer required...”

[valeriics]

― 𝙈𝙀𝙀𝙏 𝙑𝘼𝙇𝙀𝙍𝙄𝘼!

( pinterest ) / tw: ptsd, death mention 

hello ! my name is thalia and i bring to you all my second muse woop woop ! below the cut you will find some information on valeria ! if you’re interested in plotting with her please feel free to hit the like and i’ll come invade your messages or shoot me a message !

ADRIA ARJONA  ,   CIS FEMALE ,   SHE / HER          →         according   to   the   school   records   ,   VALERIA MORALES  NARVAEZ has   been   teaching   at   sacred   heart   for   the   past   4    months   .   i   last   saw   them   around   the courtyard   ;   i   think   they   were   preparing   lecture   notes   .   at   twenty-nine   years   old   ,   vale teaches  international human rights law   and   get   this   ,   i   heard   that   she witnessed her partner’s death —   figure   it’s   true   ?   everyone   around   here   always   associates   them   with   mud ridden boots traded for sleek shoes, a wedding ring gracing her finger even in mourning & a glare that would put medusa to shame.   in   this   time   of   strange   happenings   ,   they   have   no   affiliation   with   the   cult   in   the   woods   .         

― 𝙎𝙏𝘼𝙏𝙄𝙎𝙏𝙄𝘾𝙎 !

name. valeria morales narvaez.

nicknames. vale.

age. 29.

d.o.b. 20th of january.

teaches. international human rights law.

ethnicity. guatemalan & puerto rican. 

nationality. american. 

languages spoken. english & spanish. 

gender. cis female.

orientation. bisexual & biromantic.

― 𝙏𝙃𝙀 𝙎𝙏𝙊𝙍𝙔 !

valeria grew up in a town called tombestone, in arizona. with a population of a mere 1,400 people it was small enough that everyone knew everyone else’s business. she never liked that. at a young age, she grew bored of her life, choosing to follow her brother, javier, and his friends about like a lost puppy against her mother’s wishes. she had her hands full with the little farm she owned, javier and ensuring that the family had food on the table. she didn’t want to be running after her daughter, ensuring that she wasn’t found shooting targets with the boys, jumping out of windows late at night, racing old cars on dirt ridden roads, or stealing the neighbor’s chicken again for the fun of it all. and so the woman came down harshly on valeria, harsher than on her brother.

the harsher her mother’s verdict was, the more she distanced herself from the woman. the more she urged herself to leave this town. she wanted nothing more than to go to university out of state, to turn her back and never return. so, when the marines came knocking she answered. name was signed on the dotted line, they would pay for her education as long as she enlisted. perfect, she thought. not thinking twice, she packed her things and left for the other side of the country, not once thinking to call her mother and seeing if she was alright. she attempted to outrun the expectations her mother held.

after university, military service loomed over her shoulders, she knew she would have to keep her end of the bargain or suffer the consequences. and so, she found her way to the marines: a family she never asked for, but loved regardless. training was rigorous, it was hard– even more so considering she was a woman. it felt as though she had to work twice as hard simply to keep up with the boy’s club. the young woman was sent to boot camps all across the country, from sweating their asses of in the desert, to navigating the forests in negative degrees, and taking a well deserved break with an unhealthy amount of smoke. it was all fun and games, until she had to grow up– and grow up fast.

valeria was deployed to a conflict zone, she didn’t think to question orders. she simply did them, following her platoon into danger. it was then that she met a man whom she would fall in love with: jason carter. he was a complete and utter fool, probably the dumbest among men as vale would have said with an eye roll. he got on her nerves for the longest time, though during their time in the conflict zone together she learnt more about him, a side he didn’t show as much, and fell hard and fast.

*TW BOMB & DEATH MENTION*

after a year and a half they married, promises were made of settling down in the countryside together. they became each other’s solace in the messy world that they lived in. someone that vale could turn to, when she had already turned her back on her family. then, they were deployed on yet another tour. jason was in the car before her, perhaps they didn’t see it– vale could not make sense of the events that came to happen. there was a blast, a road side bomb went off. the car toppled over, and no man left behind was quickly forgotten as complete chaos unleashed itself.

her husband was dead. and she would never be able to tell him that she loved him again. she would never be able to feel his gentle touch on her skin, see his gleaming smile at first light, or press a kiss to his lips. he was dead.

*TW END*

her life was never the same again. returning from that tour was harder than any other before. she couldn’t even bring herself to step foot into her own house, haunted by the ghosts that still lived there. instead, she moved into the first motel she could find. she was released from duty shortly after, diagnosed with ptsd (post traumatic stress disorder) and told she would receive help for serving her country. but, the problem was there were too many soldiers, and too little help. she waited in line for an eternity, watching as her brothers and sisters fell to the bottle, drowning their traumas in booze. vowing, never to touch a bottle again.

she had her problems, and oh she had many, but she didn’t want to end up like them.

lifeless zombies. 

not quite alive, but not quite dead either.

after a while of medication and therapy she submitted her resume to the united nations peacekeeping mission, and with a stellar recommendation from her commanding officers she was accepted there. after working her way through the ranks, the woman was assigned to various conflict zones this time instilling peace rather than the organized chaos the military orchestrated. 

― 𝙁𝘼𝘾𝙏𝙎 !

valeria worked for the UN peacekeeping mission for 2 years, her military background served her well as she was sent out into various conflict zones and made overall possible due to her degree in international law. 

she was offered a position at sacred heart and chose to accept it, she’s been working there as an international human rights law professor for the past 4 months. 

her husband has been dead for years and yet she still mourns his loss. 

she lives her life by routine: waking up, having the strongest coffee she can get her hands on, smoking a cigarette out of the window, boxing, preparing for lectures in the courtyard, holding her lectures, retreating to the comfort of her home with yet another cup of coffee before marking assignments and going to sleep. 

she doesn’t have much of a life, because she’s afraid of getting attached to people again and losing them all over again. 

sleep? who that? 

she’s still suffering profoundly from her ptsd but she’s got a handle on it, and goes to her weekly sessions with the therapist never once missing an appointment. 

she’s incredibly passionate when teaching, the type of lecturer that will waltz in first class of the semester and list a bunch of things wrong in the world then turn to the class being like “does this make you angry? if you’re not angry get the hell out, because you’re clearly not in the right class.” 

her husband left her a large quantity of money, but she refuses to touch it, so it’s just sitting in a bank whilst she continues to live like she’s strapped for money. 

― 𝘾𝙊𝙉𝙉𝙀𝘾𝙏𝙄𝙊𝙉𝙎 !

( these are just some ideas but feel free to hit me up with any you’d be interested in )

i. someone that keeps trying to drag her out to have a good time but she keeps saying no, slowly running out of excuses ! 

ii. a student that wasn’t too fond of the class at first but actually loves it now that she’s the teacher. 

iii. a confidant. 

iv. they often run into each other in the courtyard, don’t really talk much but the other’s company is the norm when she’s working on lecture notes. (can be teacher or student, maybe they see each other so often there that it’s weird when the other isn’t there at the usual time?) 

v. someone she met when she first arrived that showed her around. 

vi. friends from uni (they would know a very different valeria than the woman she has become nowadays). 

vii. someone that reminds her of her brother? they’re like family but not really. 

viii. frenemies

ix. they just really don’t like each other. 

x. a student that had to take her class but slacks about and she’s having none of it. 

xi. one night stand (let me make her feel guilty as shit hehe) 

xii. flirtationship 

xiii. they just roast each other a lot? full on banter where neither has to hold back from stepping over a line. 

xiv. boxing sparring buddy. 

[mtraki]

Catherine found him hours later, working through everything he now knew, and everything he felt.  He surprised himself, how little anger there was with the conclusion of things.  The news of Dutch’s execution was bitter, but not as painful as the reflection on his betrayal of everything he’d held dear and taught them in exchange for everything he’d told them to deplore.  In the end, the man who’d been hanged, Arthur supposed, was not the man he’d grown to love.  If that man had ever existed in the first place...

“You haven’t told me your decision,” The lady said softly, taking a seat by the fire next to Arthur who closed his journal as she did so.

“Mrs. Cornwall… seein’ as you’ve been gettin’ letters from everyone, you surely know already that I’ve got TB.” He replied quietly, “So I ain’t gonna be any good for any sort of job you might offer me for long, and I ain’t got much use for your six thousand dollars.”

“Mister Morgan,” She answered in a similar tone, “you aren’t dead yet, and while that remains true, I have invested interest in how you want to spend your remaining days.  All I’ve offered are tools to go about securing that future.  If they’re insufficient, I am open to suggestions.”

He didn’t have any, really.  What he’d wanted, starting out, was more or less already around him.  It seemed she’d been genuine, and the people he cared for, who were still alive, were safe, and would remain safe for some years yet, if they were wise.  He hadn’t planned any further than this.  He supposed he hadn’t expected to live this long.

When his silence lingered too long, Catherine spoke again, “May I make a suggestion..?”

“... May as well,” He sighed.

“Come with me.”

“To California?  Sure--”

“To my house.  Stay with me.”

Feeling his back teeth grind, Arthur shook his head, “...Last thing I want is to spend my lingering days tucked up in a fancy bed all hours--”

“--Then don’t.  The estate has a stables and three orchards, a vineyard and wine press, two workshops, miles of hunting and trails, two or three streams.  Indoors, I’ve managed to collect the largest private library west of the Lanahachee River.  There’s also a gaming room where the men like to play cards three nights a week.  Spend your time how you want.  I just… I want you there.”

Meeting her eyes, he saw that she meant it, and not from a place of pity. “...It sounds real fine...”

“It should,” She said softly, “I had you in mind when I had it built.”

He slept most of the train journey, truth be told, in the private sleeper car she’d had made for them, just behind their private passenger car-- where they were all seated in comfort.  He was informed afterwards by John, Uncle, and Miss Grimshaw, that the journey had been a peaceful one.  Jack was excited about his chance to go up to the engine car with the engineer, and to pull the whistle.  He spent the next week telling his parents he was going to be a train engineer and a gunslinger, and nobody would rob his trains ever.

Arthur would only really remember the morning they finished their journey over and through the mountains and into California proper, seeing the pale purplish light of dawn reflecting off the snow-capped peaks and shifting the thin mists over the rolling hill country with its carpets of wildflowers.  Catherine had stopped beside him to look out the window as well, and as the light slowly turned from purple to gold, he felt her fingers brush shyly against his before he took her hand and held it.  Only for a few moments, but the warmth of her skin and weight of the intimacy in the touch lingered long after she stepped away again.

There were a number of passengers not related to their party, and they were continuing on to San Francisco  Their own stop came not long after sunrise, and another large camp was formed and the train partially unloaded.  After the train moved on, they spent the rest of the day putting wagons back together and walking out the horses and getting everyone used to their feet again.  The horses seemed to have journeyed well, despite most of them not having been packed for shipping before.  The following morning, the smaller group of them-- the remnants of the Van der Linde gang, Mrs. Cornwall, Barnabas, and some of his men-- rode out, leaving the nervous ledger man, whose name Arthur never caught, and the workers and their big tents to deal with themselves.

It was beautiful country, rolling plains of green and golden grasses in the valley and wooded foothills and towering cliffs over those.  A waterfall could be heard in the distance, even over all the horses and the wagons.

They kept a steady pace, stopping for lunch, where Catherine pointed out the town nearest her home, Flintpoint Hollow.  Arthur was paying more attention to the woman, herself.  There seemed to be a strange air coming over her, at once she seemed more nervous and more exhausted.  He wondered if she were not used to traveling days in her new life of wealth.  That didn’t seem right, though, because only a year ago, when she’d come from a similar life, she’d never seemed worn by the rigors of the outdoors.

It broke like a fever in her that evening when they arrived at the estate.  Whatever she had been anticipating, she anticipated no more, for it was upon her.  Before them was a beautiful mansion in the Spanish style in a clearing surrounded by ancient trees.  Three grooms met them to take the horses to the paddocks, and after a brief debate on the matter-- which the grooms surprisingly won-- they proceeded to the gate of the house where they were greeted by the biggest black man any of them had ever seen.  He dwarfed Arthur by at least a foot, and even at his strongest and healthiest, this man had to outweigh him by fifty or more pounds.  His clothes were clean and well-tailored, and he held himself with rigid, almost military dignity.

“Welcome home.” He opened the gate and bowed his head to Catherine, his voice deep and bass, the words rolling with an unfamiliar accent.

“Thank you, Mister Hawthorne.”

Looking them all over, Mister Hawthorne seemed to take their measure in an instant and reported to the lady, “Supper will be ready within the hour and the spare bedrooms are prepared with linens and hot water for our guests.  Will Mister Misser and his men be joining us at table?”

Barnabas spoke up, “No, that’s--”

“--Please join us for supper, Barnabas, at least.  There’s room at the table.” Catherine smiled graciously, then indicated the huge man, “My friends, this is Mister Dmitri Hawthorne.  He runs the manor.  My dear Mister Hawthorne, these are our long-awaited guests: Miss Susan Grimshaw, Miss Karen Jones, Mister Javier Escuella, Mister John Marston, Missus Abigail Marston, Mister Jack Marston, Mister Arthur Morgan, Missus Sadie Adler, and the good-natured fellow we all agree to call ‘Uncle’.”

“A distinct pleasure to finally meet in person.” The goliath responded, his tone quiet and cool, and yet there was no hint of sarcasm, either.  With one massive hand, he indicated a mousey woman in a plain dress and apron, “Miss Withiers, please take Miss Grimshaw, Miss Jones, Missus Adler, and the family Marston to their rooms so they can refresh themselves before supper, after their long journey.  Mister Escuella, Mister Morgan, Mister Uncle, I will show you your rooms, if you would follow me.  Mistress--”

“--Catherine, Dmitri.  Really.”

“--Mistress Catherine,” Mister Hawthorne continued, nonplussed, “I request you retire to your bedchambers and not your office before supper.  Mister Misser and company, I believe you know your way to the front lounge?”

“We’ll be fine, Hawthorne, thanks.” The moustached man assured him, gesturing for his men to follow him.

  Inside, the mansion’s warm cream walls glowed with lamplight.  The rooms were large and airy, and though the furnishings were of good quality, they were not oppressive in their presentation, and very little was present without a clear function.  Miss Withiers led the ladies and Marstons up the central stairs while Mister Hawthorne turned to the right, pointed out the dining room-- which was already lain with about twenty place settings on a long table-- and the adjacent parlor where Barnabas and his men situated themselves to smoke with the big windows open.  They passed a few more closed doors before the big man opened the door at the corner.

“Mister Morgan, this room has been prepared for you.  If you need anything at all, there is a bell pull just inside the door, or you can ask anyone in the house.”

“... So I jus’ stay here…?” Arthur gave the goliath and the men still behind him a dubious look.

“You are welcome to go anywhere you like, but please keep in mind supper will be served shortly.”

With that they left him.

The bedroom was decently sized with large windows and access to the outdoors.  A sinfully comfortable looking bed awaited him, covers already turned down, but Arthur ignored it, as he

suspected he’d sleep right through supper if he laid down.

Not that he was hungry at all, really.  He just wanted to sit with everyone what few chances were still afforded him.

He wanted to see the Marstons flabbergasted at real silver flatware they could eat with instead of steal and fence.  He wanted to see Karen speechless to be waited on.  Susan gobsmacked with the number of courses in the meal.  Javier praising the wine in Spanish.  He wanted Sadie to struggle to find something to be discontent with.  He even wanted Uncle to try and make up a story about how he’d once had a _finer _meal somewhere.  He wanted to see Catherine’s pale eyes smiling at them all from the head of the table over candlelight...

Decidedly avoiding the standing mirror in the corner, Arthur washed up in the basin, discovering the water was indeed heated as Hawthorne had said, and then stepped out the side door into the evening to watch and listen, taking in…his new home…?

Some time later, the big black man came to collect him for the dining room, suggesting he leave his gear in the room, but not insisting when Arthur made no move to take anything off.

  The meal was everything Arthur had wanted and more.  It did not take long at all for everyone to relax warmly into each other's company with good food.  The outlaws kept a modicum of decorum in the fancy environs of their hostess, but table manners were largely overlooked and indeed ignored by everyone except the lady in question, who had been reared with them in her education.  At the very least there was no spitting or smoking at the table.

Everything was going very well until that terrible, familiar feeling clenched through Arthur’s chest like a vise and he began coughing hard and rough.  Having mind enough to step away from the table, the food, and the others, he made it only two paces before the inability to inhale clean again stole the strength from his limbs.  Inky dregs of darkness began to swallow the outside edges of his vision.  He was drowning on phlegm and blood again…

Some part of his awareness caught snatches of activity: how the voices from the table asked after him, John and Catherine getting to their feet…

Someone’s hand on his elbow just before his knees buckled.

Trying to gasp protests as somebody-- or more than one person-- lifted him to be carried.

  He woke what must have been hours later, moonlight streaming in through the windows from the space between drawn curtains, and someone mopping the horrible night sweats from his face, neck, and the exposed part of his chest with a cool cloth that smelled like mint and lemon.  He knew it was Catherine from the way the fingers of her other hand smoothed through his hair at his temple.

Despite every desire to say something to her--maybe to ask her wryly if she was sure this was what she wanted in her fancy house, exhaustion and fever dragged him down again.  It was later that John told him they’d spent three days convinced they were just waiting to bury him.

[brokehorrorfan]

Blu-ray Review: The Mummy

Beyond being groundbreaking and highly influential, the classic Universal monster movies inadvertently created the first shared cinematic universe. Long before the Avengers were assembled or Batman squared off against Superman, the likes of Dracula, Frankenstein's monster, and the Wolf Man shared the silver screen. It's only logical for Universal to revisit these iconic characters now that cinematic universes are in vogue.

The Mummy launches the Dark Universe, as it has been dubbed - and it quickly dashes any excitement in the prospect of seeing the classic monsters on the big screen again. Inexplicably, it largely abandons the horror roots in favor of an action movie that happens to involve monsters. It's the first in a proposed series of massive-budgeted, PG-13-rated, summer tentpoles with A-list casts. While none of these are bad qualities in themselves, The Mummy proves that they do not make a good reimagining of a horror classic.

Army Sergeant Nick Morton (Tom Cruise, Mission: Impossible) and his right-hand man, Corporal Chris Vail (Jake Johnson, Jurassic World), refer to themselves "liberators of precious antiquities," which is a fancy way of saying thieving treasure hunters. When an Egyptian tomb is curiously uncovered in England, they're the first to explore it, along with archaeologist Jenny Halsey (Annabelle Wallis, Annabelle). The sarcophagus within, submerged in mercury, houses the mummy of Ahmanet (Sofia Boutella, Kingsman: The Secret Service).

As Dr. Henry Jekyll (Russell Crowe, Gladiator) explains in a hacky prologue voiceover, the ancient princess was the heir to the throne of Egypt until the pharaoh had a son. Embracing evil for revenge, she was reborn a monster before being mummified alive for her sins. When Nick unwittingly unleashes her in the modern world, Ahmanet picks right back up where she left off: attempting to bring a demon into the world through a mortal man. Naturally, Nick, Chris, and Jenny get caught up in the madness.

While there's no conceivable need to turn The Mummy into an action movie, I'd be forgiving it were a good one. There are a couple of solid action sequences, but even a thrilling plane crash shot in actual Zero G cannot pull the film above mediocrity. A cool underwater sequence in which Cruise's character is attacked by ravenous, zombie-like creatures set out to the Mummy's bidding is too little, too late. Watching Cruise and Crowe share the screen and duke it out is fun, but Crowe is forced to spout cheesy dialogue between blows.

Despite minimizing the horror elements, The Mummy draws unexpected comparisons to two beloved '80s genre films. Most apparent is American Werewolf in London: a deceased friend intermittently appears to the main character, more decomposed each time, to dump exposition and make the occasional funny quip. Even more unexpected, The Mummy's modus operandi is seemingly lifted from Lifeforce: she literally sucks the life out of hapless victims in order to become whole again. I hesitate to classify either as a mere homage, as they're more like lifted plot points.

This is only director Alex Kurtzman's second film, following People Like Us, but he's written such blockbusters as Star Trek and Transformers. Despite his relative inexperience behind the camera, he teams with cinematographer Ben Seresin (World War Z, Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen) to create a fine looking picture. The sun-soaked ancient Egypt flashbacks are particularly gorgeous, as if Terrence Malick made Lawrence of Arabia. The special effects are largely computer generated, but the fine artists of Industrial Light & Magic (Star Wars, Jurassic Park) pull off impressive work per usual.

The script - written by David Koepp (Mission: Impossible, Jurassic Park), Christopher McQuarrie (The Usual Suspects, Edge of Tomorrow), and Dylan Kussman (better known as an actor from Dead Poets Society); with Kurtzman and two other screenwriters receiving story credits - is sloppy, to say the least. No doubt the result of too many cooks, the main struggle lies in the film's uneven tone. No one seems to know whether they're making a serious, big, action spectacle (like your average Tom Cruise movie), incorporating its horror roots (a la World War Z), or infusing comedy (akin to the 1999 Brendan Fraser version of The Mummy). Spreading itself too thin between the three, none of the aspects play successfully.

Cruise's character feels like it was written for Chris Pratt. He desperately tries to be the likable, unexpected hero, but he can't shed the typical Cruise action star persona. He's perfectly good at that, but the incongruous goofy bits don't play to his strengths. Crowe chews the scenery as both Dr. Jekyll and his evil alter ego, Mr. Hyde. His character(s) is obviously intended to serve as the bridge between the monsters, similar to Samuel L. Jackson's Nick Fury in the Marvel cinematic universe.

Boutella isn't given enough to do, but she does well with the material and looks cool in the process. The welcomed gender swap is inconsequential. Wallis is introduced as a strong female character but is ultimately reduced to the token love interest. Johnson is great as the comedic relief - further proving Cruise had no business cracking jokes - though he's forced to play it more broad than usual. Courtney B. Vance (The People v. O.J. Simpson) is wasted as a military superior. Javier Botet (The Conjuring 2) provides creepy motion capture for a ghoulish character.

Special features on big studio movies are almost always fluff pieces full of precisely-edited sound bites, but The Mummy's home video release includes a 21-minute conversation between Kurtzman and Cruise. It's quite interesting to hear them discuss the film from the ground up so candidly. The same can be said about the audio commentary from Kurtzman, Boutella, Wallis, and Johnson. They excitedly discuss their experiences, including Kurtzman pointing out practical vs. digital effects - many of which are surprising. He also reveals that numerous scenes were written at the last minute, improvised on set, reshot, or completely reworked in editing.

The numerous shorter featurettes are more in line with what you'd expect: "Rooted in Reality" finds the cast and crew discussing how they approached a realistic, modern take on a traditional monster; "Life in Zero-G" takes viewers through the fascinating process behind the place crash scene - which consisted of 64 cycles, each with around 22 seconds in Zero G; "Meet Ahmanet" centers on Boutella; "Cruise in Action" explores Cruise and his stunt work; "Nick Morton: In Search of a Soul" is another Cruise-centric piece about his character; "Becoming Jekyll and Hyde" highlights Crowe; and "Choreographed Chaos" details a large action set piece. Special features are rounded out by four deleted scenes and an animated graphic novel, which is essentially a four-minute animated version of the prologue.

There's a line in The Mummy in which Crowe's character refers to Cruise's as "ultimately devoid of soul," which doubles as an apt metaphor for the film. The titular character lacks the sympathy that made the old Universal monsters so effective. There are few things I would enjoy more than seeing the classic monsters back on the big screen, but The Mummy's approach is clearly not the right one. Critics and audiences both seem to agree, so hopefully it's not too late to retool the Dark Universe into something that lives up to even a fraction of its enormous potential.

The Mummy will be released on 4K Ultra HD, Blu-ray, and DVD on September 12 via Universal.

[rrrawrf-writes]

on superpowers

disclaimer: some of this is a little haphazard because i have not yet thoroughly researched atom bombs and test locations and also it is very american-centric because i know literally nothing about other countries so /SHRUGS feel free to throw suggestions at me at how other countries would handle superpowers if you want ? i would love love love 2 hear them. also this is heckin long i am so sorry not really read at ur own risk

Superpowers did not arise until the latter years of World War II. The original team working on the atom bomb in the US did something weird and during the tests, and afterwards after bombing Japan, the atomic bombs released a wave of molecules that triggered a genetic reaction. These waves were not used up; they spread over the world.

Superpowers have a higher concentration in Japan, the Pacific, and the USA because of the actual bombing and the tests being concentrated in those areas. However, the effect has spread worldwide by modern times.

Morning Glory (shut up ginger), aka Gloria Delgado, was the young daughter of one of the scientists working on the atom bomb, and because of inadvertent exposure and the tests in New Mexico, she was quite possibly the very first to gain superpowers. Several other children in New Mexico were affected similarly during the tests, and they all eventually found each other, mostly because the government was Freaking Out and gathering up all reported cases of weird happenstances.

Gloria had gained the ability to control plants, on a scale that even today remains impressive. She more or less defined the term ‘superhero,’ along with the few others from the New Mexico tests that had joined up with her. She had to fight free of government custody when she reached her late teens, and paved the way to ensure that the subsequent American citizens born with powers were not treated ill.

Gloria is still alive, and fit enough in her eighties that some are convinced she is immortal, even though there are no other reports of immortality being an actual superpower. She founded the Liberty Guard, the first superteam, during her thirties, and it has since grown to be more of a nationwide league than an individual team. She occasionally comes out of retirement, and has easily bested a variety of threats to ensure that everyone knows she is still quite capable.

As a response to the percentage of children being born with superpowers, several American government organizations sprang up. At first they tried to contain those being born with powers, but that soon became impractical, as the number rapidly grew. The ratio grew to about four people in three hundred as having powers in America, and has remained more or less at that point since the eighties.

Every infant is now legally required to be tested for powers at birth; it requires a blood draw. Anyone who tests positive is required to check again every five years, either until it has been determined that it was a false positive (not as common as technology progresses), or their powers ‘flare’ into existence, generally around puberty. Anyone with confirmed powers is listed in a registry, and are required to have the signifier on any government-issued ID (though someone can request to have theirs read as simply “powered” instead of naming what their power is). The directory is not quite public, but can be accessed by anyone in government agencies or law enforcement. There is some controversy over whether employers could check that as part of their background checks on employees.

The first group created as a response was a division of the army that later became its own branch: the MUGD. Originally it was named the Mongoose Unit in the army; they changed ‘Mongoose’ to ‘Military’ and tacked on ‘Gifted Division.’ honestly i just wanted the acronym to be a pun i’m so sorry

(’Gifted’ is now a fairly undesirable term to be applied to people with powers.)

The MUGD is a very controversial group; they were not publicly known at their inception. They are mostly powered soldiers, and for several decades, they did not recruit in the usual way. Instead, they tracked down kids who had shown powers they wanted and forcefully drafted them into a training program during their teenage years, and often bullied them into enlisting in the military after ‘graduation.’ This was finally exposed to the public, and the backlash was enough to force the MUGD to change their recruiting strategies. They are now technically on a ‘volunteer basis,’ like the rest of the military.

However, they still run a training program for kids; they simply pick up their recruits from juvenile halls and court cases. This is problematic because a lot of teenagers are being charged with crimes when their powers ‘flare,’ and they haven’t yet learned to properly control them, so they have little chance of learning to do so before often landing a property damage or accidental assault charge. There are many private training programs throughout the country, including several sponsored by the Liberty Guard and other superteams, but the MUGD often manages to snag those with powers more promising. They cannot force anyone to enlist after graduation, but still have a fairly healthy pipeline of recruits from this process.

(Eli, Rhiot, and Javier were all forcibly recruited before the MUGD got in trouble for essentially kidnapping children into their training scheme, which shows just how recently this had been going on.)

Officially, the MUGD is there to enhance the military overseas, but they have been known to operate on homeland soil against more serious threats. Realistically, they are trained with the knowledge that they may be tasked with taking out an American superhero, if the government decides they have become a threat. One such occurrence happened between Heartfelt, an incredibly popular superhero in the early nineties, and the MUGD, who killed her. The government maintains that she had gone rogue, but much of the populace believes that she had been too much of an activist and the government wanted to get rid of her. It is not yet clear what really happened. It has become transparently clear, however, that the MUGD’s real purpose is to defend against any rogue heroes.

The Department of Superpower Affairs is a government division tasked with, well, superpowered affairs. The DSA runs the registry of powered people, and is tasked with investigating serious crimes concerning superpowers. They are the government liaison between superheroes, the military, and other government agencies. All superheroes have to obtain what is essentially a permit to operate as basically a glorified private detective with enhanced citizens’ arrest privileges, and inform the DSA of their real identity. Anyone who doesn’t follow through with this is considered a vigilante. Identities are generally kept private by the DSA, unless the individual decides to go public.

Some DSA agents are MUGD graduates or veterans (see: Javier).

Evidence obtained by telepaths and other psychics is not admissible in court, because it is not generally able to be checked against other sources. It can be used, however, as probable cause at the lower levels of investigation.

Lawyers, judges, and other court officials cannot have superpowers.

There is a lot of police-on-powered brutality, justified because if a non-powered policeman has to respond to a criminal with superpowers, they’re ~clearly~ at a disadvantage, and should obviously react with enough violence to make the offender stop.

The Powered Containment Center is the federal max security prison for criminals with powers. It is located in the middle of nowhere, Nevada, and as yet, has not been escaped from. (Winn was sent there for five years and cries about it still.)

There is not yet any reliable way to permanently rid someone of their powers.

The Iris Society is an international organization that had been started early on to learn more about superpowers. However, they were soon outlawed and officially disbanded when they started some pretty horrific human experimentation. Unfortunately, they are still at large, and the MUGD is still concerned with tracking them down. The last widely-known location of a major Iris facility was in Mexico, but it was shut down by the American and Mexican militaries when it was discovered that Iris had taken some US citizens prisoner and America, of course, Freaked The Flip Out. North America is pretty confident that Iris no longer exists within their borders. They are hilariously wrong. Iris also preys on poorer countries and thrives more openly in those areas.

Iris researches a variety of things, like how to get rid of powers, how to transfer them, how to produce powers - a feat that has not been replicated since the Manhattan Project. No one really knows how that happened; most of the scientists who worked on the atom bomb had no idea it was happening, and those who did all died quickly afterwards.

The closest anyone has come to getting rid of superpowers is the Omega Device, but even its effect is only temporary, and Javier, who only managed to permanently take away someone’s powers once. He steadfastly refuses to let people experiment with his blood because Trauma(TM).

Anyway that is what I got on superpowers in my world. yayyyy.

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  Body painting, or sometimes body painting, is a form of body art. Unlike tattoo and other forms of body art, body painting is temporary, painted onto the human skin, and can last several hours or many weeks (in the case of mehndi or "henna tattoos") about two weeks. Body painting that is limited to the faceis known as face painting. Body painting is also referred to as (a form of) "temporary tattoo"; large scale or full-body painting is more commonly referred to as body painting, while smaller or more detailed work can sometimes be referred to as temporary tattoos.

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 Indigenous

Body painting with clay and other natural pigments existed in most, if not all, tribalist cultures. Often worn during ceremonies, it still survives in this ancient form among the indigenous people of Australia, New Zealand, the Pacific islands and parts of Africa. A semi-permanent form of body painting known as Mehndi, using dyes made of henna leaves (hence also known rather erroneously as "henna tattoo"), was and is still practiced in India], especially on brides. Since the late 1990s, Mehndi has become popular amongst young women in the Western world.

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   Many indigenous peoples of Central and South America paint Jagua Tattoos, or designs with Genipa Americana juice on their bodies. Indigenous peoples of South America traditionally use annatto, huito, or wet charcoal to decorate their faces and bodies. Huito is semi-permanent, and it generally takes weeks for this black dye to fade.[1]

Actors and clowns around the world have painted their faces—and sometimes bodies—for centuries, and continue to do so today. More subdued form of face paints for everyday occasions evolved into the cosmetics we know today.

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 Western

Body painting is not always large pieces on fully nude bodies, but can involve smaller pieces on displayed areas of otherwise clothed bodies. There has been a revival of body painting in Western society since the 1960s, in part prompted by the liberalization of social mores regarding nudity and often comes in sensationalist or exhibitionist forms. Even today there is a constant debate about the legitimacy of body painting as an art form. The current modern revival could be said to date back to the 1933 World's Fair in Chicago when Max Factor, Sr. and his model Sally Rand were arrested for causing a public disturbance when he body-painted her with his new make-up formulated for Hollywood films. Body art today evolves to the works more directed towards personal mythologies, as Jana Sterbak, Rebecca Horn, Youri Messen-Jaschin, Jacob Alexander Figueroa or Javier Perez.

Body painting is sometimes used as a method of gaining attention in political protests, for instance those by PETA against Burberry.

Body painting led to a minor alternative art movement in the 1950s and 1960s, which involved covering a model in paint and then having the model touch or roll on a canvas or other medium to transfer the paint. French artist Yves Klein is perhaps the most famous for this, with his series of paintings "Anthropometries". The effect produced by this technique creates an image-transfer from the model's body to the medium. This includes all the curves of the model's body (typically female) being reflected in the outline of the image. This technique was not necessarily monotone; multiple colors on different body parts sometimes produced interesting effects.

Joanne Gair is a body paint artist whose work appeared for the tenth consecutive year in the 2008 Sports Illustrated Swimsuit Issue. She burst into prominence with an August 1992 Vanity Fair Demi's Birthday Suit cover of Demi Moore. Her Disappearing Model was part of an episode of Ripley's Believe It or Not!.

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 Festivals

Body painting festivals happen annually across the world, bringing together professional body painters as well as keen amateurs. Body paintings can also typically be seen at football matches, at rave parties, and at certain festivals. The World Body painting Festival in Pörtschach (previously held in Seeboden) in Austria is the biggest art event in the body-painting theme and thousands of visitors admire the wonderful work of the participants.

Body painting festivals that take place in North America include the North American Body Painting Championship, Face and Body Art International Convention in Orlando, Florida, Bodygras Body Painting Competition in Nanaimo, BC and the Face Painting and Body Art Convention in Las Vegas, Nevada.

Australia also has a number of body painting festivals, most notably the annual Australian Body Art Festival in Eumundi, Queensland, and the Australian Body Art Awards 

In Italy, the Rabarama Skin Art Festival (held every year during the Summer and Autumn, with a tour in the major Italian cities), is a different event focused on the artistic side of body painting, highlighting the emotional impact of the painted body in a live performance more than the decorative and technical aspects of it. This particular form of creative art is defined "Skin Art".

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 Fine art

The 1960s supermodel Veruschka is a much-appreciated muze for body paint artists. Images of her in the book Transfigurations by photographer Holger Trulzsch have frequently been emulated. Other well-known works include Serge Diakonoff's books A Fleur de Peau and Diakonoff and Joanne Gair's Paint a licious. More recently Dutch art photographer Karl Hammer has taken center stage with his combinations of body painting and narrative art (fantastic realism)

Following the already established trend in Western Europe, body painting has become more widely accepted in the United States since the early 1990s. In 2006 the first gallery dedicated exclusively to fine art body painting was opened in New Orleans by World Body painting Festival Champion and Judge, Craig Tracy. The Painted Alive Gallery is on Royal Street in the French Quarter. In 2009, a popular late night talk show Last Call with Carson Dalyon NBC network, featured a New York-based artist Danny Setiawan who creates reproductions of masterpieces by famous artists such as Salvador Dalí, Vincent van Gogh, and Gustav Klimt on human bodies aiming to make fine art appealing for his contemporaries who normally would not consider themselves as art enthusiasts.

Since 2005 the Australian visual artist Emma Hack has been creating photographs of painted naked human bodies that visually merge with a patterned background wall inspired by the wallpaper designs of Florence Broad Hurst. Hack is best known for the Gotye music video for the song Somebody That I Used to Know, which uses stop-motion animation body painting and has received over 800 million views on YouTube.[11] Hack now creates her own canvas backgrounds and her work is often featured with live birds, representing nature. Hack's artworks are exhibited worldwide.

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In Commercial Arena 

Many artists work professionally as body painters for television commercials, such as the Natrel Plus campaign featuring models camouflaged as trees. Stills advertising also used body painting with hundreds of body painting looks on the pages of the world's magazines every year. Body painters also work frequently in the film arena especially in science fiction with an increasing number of elaborate alien creations being body painted. One of the more notable commercial body paint artists is Syl Verberk (nicknamed 'syllie faces') who, as a two time European champion and winner of various prizes, is frequently consulted by major companies and theme parks for their advertisements and designs. Other celebrated commercial artists are��Guido Daniele, Jean-Paul Bourdierand the Australian company "Human Statue Bodyart".

The Sports Illustrated Swimsuit Issue, published annually, has frequently featured a section of models that were body painted, attired in renditions of swimsuits or sports jerseys. Also Playboy magazine has frequently made use of body painted models. In the 2005 Playmates at Play at the Playboy Mansion calendar, all Playmates appeared in the calendar wearing bikinis, but Playmates Karen McDougal and Hiromi Oshima actually appeared in painted-on bikinis for their respective months.

The success of body painting has led to many notable international competitions and a specific trade magazine (Illusion Magazine) for this industry, showcasing work around the world.

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Face painting

Face painting is the artistic application of cosmetic "paint" to a person's face. There are special water-based cosmetic "paints" made for face painting; people should ask before having face paints applied what products are being used. Acrylic and tempera craft paints are not meant for use on skin and are not acceptable, nor are watercolor pencils or markers. Products not intended for use on skin can cause a variety of issues ranging from discomfort to severe allergic reactions. Just because the product is marked "non-toxic" does not mean it is meant to be used on the skin.

From ancient times, it has been used for hunting, religious reasons, and military reasons (such as camouflage and to indicate membership in a military unit). Recent archaeological research shows that Neanderthals had the capability and tools for face painting; although they are no longer considered a direct ancestor of Homo sapiens, they lived alongside them in some areas and it is a reasonable assumption that humanity has painted faces and bodies since the very beginning. Although it died out in Western culture after the fall of the French aristocracy, face painting re-entered the popular culture during the hippie movement of the late 1960s, when it was common for young women to decorate their cheeks with flowers or peace symbols at anti-war demonstrations. The popular TV variety show, Rowan & Martin's Laugh-In, featured bodies painted with comedic phrases and jokes during transitions.

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For several decades it has been a common entertainment at county fairs, large open-air markets (especially in Europe and the Americas), and other locations that attract children and adolescents. Face painting is very popular among children at theme parks, parties and festivals throughout the Western world. Though the majority of face painting is geared towards children, many teenagers and adults enjoy being painted for special events, such as sports events (to give support to their team or country) or charity fundraisers. Face painting is also a part of cosplay practice, and is enjoyed yearly by people who dress up as zombies to dance with the annual worldwide "Thrill the World" event on the Saturday before Halloween.

It is common to find if someone is dressed in an animal costume, a black nose will be added alone to give the impression of an animal face and not just body. Sometimes, a full face is added or sometimes none at all.

Most theme parks have booths scattered around where a person can have a design painted on their face. A similar activity is the application of "instant tattoos", which are paint or ink-based designs that are put on as one unit and removed by means of water, alcohol, soap, or another mild solvent. More elaborate temporary tattoos may be made using stencils and airbrush equipment

In the military

It is common in militaries all over the world for soldiers in combat scenarios to paint their faces and other exposed body parts (hands, for example) in natural colors such as green, tan, and loam for camouflage purposes. In various South American militaries, it is a tradition to use face paint on parade in respect to the indigenous tribes.

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 Temporary tattoos

As well as paint, temporary tattoos can be used to decorate the body. "Glitter tattoos" are made by applying a clear, cosmetic-grade glue (either freehand or through a stencil) on the skin and then coating it with cosmetic-grade glitter. They can last up to a week depending on the model's body chemistry.

Foil metallic temporary tattoos are a variation of decal-style temporary tattoos, printed using foil-stamping technique instead of ink. On the front side, the foil design is print

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Body paints

Modern water-based face and body paints are made according to stringent guidelines, meaning these are non-toxic, usually non-allergenic, and can easily be washed away. Temporary staining may develop after use, but it will fade after normal washing. These are either applied with hands, paintbrush, and synthetic sponges or natural sea sponge, or alternatively with an airbrush.

Contrary to the popular myth perpetuated by the James Bond film Gold finger, a person is not asphyxiated if their whole body is painted.

Liquid latex may also be used as body paint. Aside the risk of contact allergy, wearing latex for a prolonged period may cause heat stroke by inhibiting perspiration and care should be taken to avoid the painful removal of hair when the latex is pulled off.

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The same precautions that apply to cosmetics should be observed. If the skin shows any sign of allergy from paint, its use should immediately be ceased. Moreover, it should not be applied to damaged, inflamed or sensitive skin. If possible, a test for allergic reaction should be performed before use. Special care should be paid to the list of ingredients, as certain dyes are not approved by the US FDA for use around the eye area—generally those associated with certain reddish colorants, as CI 15850 or CI 15985—or on lips, generally blue, purple or some greens containing CI 77007. More stringent regulations are in place in California regarding the amount of permissible lead on cosmetic additives, as part of Proposition 65.In the European Union, all colorants listed under a CI number are allowed for use on all areas. Any paints or products, which have not been formulated for use on the body, should never be used for body or face painting, as these can result in serious allergic reactions.

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As for Mehndi, natural brown henna dyes are safe to use when mixed with ingredients such as lemon juice. However, a commonly marketed product called "black henna", is not safe to use because the product has been made by mixing natural henna with synthetic black dyes containing PPD, which can cause serious skin allergies, and should be avoided due to the substantial risk of serious injury. Another option is Jagua, a dark indigo plant-based dye that is safe to use on the skin and is approved for cosmetic use in the EU.

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Hand art

"Hand art" is the application of make-up or paint to a hand to make it appear like an animal or other object. Some hand artists, like Guido Daniele, produce images that are representations of wild animals painted on people's hands.

Hand artists work closely with hand models. Hand models can be booked through specialist acting and modeling agencies usually advertising under "body part model" or "hands and feet models".

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 This Blog is only an effort to make society and people aware about Body paint as a Art  ,we are not responsible of any copy write or law related Issues as pictures , videos are copied ,contents are an effort of our research team .

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This year's Resident Artists include Elena Heyman (2017 Under The Radar Festival), Kristin Marting (Artistic Director, HERE), Jenny Larson (Artistic Director, Salvage Vanguard Theatre, Austin, TX), and more.

Public work-in-progress presentations will be held periodically throughout the year at The Drama League Theater Center (32 Avenue of the Americas, in Tribeca). Schedules are available at www.dramaleague.org or by calling (212) 244-9494.

The Drama League Artist Residency Program, made possible in part by the Howard Gilman Foundation, Harold and Mimi Steinberg Charitable Trust, and the generosity of its Lead Season Sponsor Resolution Life, offers director/collaborator teams and/or ensembles an opportunity to comfortably develop a new theatre piece at the Drama League Theater Center in Tribeca. A residency stipend, rehearsal space, professional mentorship, administrative support, and community engagement allow selected artists to fully inhabit an extended, process-oriented residency experience.

Launched in 2013, The Drama League Artist Residency Program has already developed many award-winning productions, including The TEAM's RoosevElvis(Vineyard Theatre, London's Royal Court Theatre); Ripe Time's The World Is Round (BAM); Rady&Bloom's The Upper Room (New Ohio Theatre); Georama(Repertory Theatre of St. Louis); and Piehole's Hand Foot Fizzle Face (JACK), to name but a few.

"The Drama League received triple the number of residency applications over last year's cycle, demonstrating an urgent need for artists to find a nurturing creative home," stated Executive Artistic Director Gabriel Stelian-Shanks.

Many of the artists in the program will offer readings, experiments, and other insights into their creative process at public events throughout the year. In addition to the 25 artists in the Impact, Next Stage and First Stage Residency programs below, ten additional projects in The Drama League's Rough Draft Series will be announced shortly.

2017 Drama League Artists In Residence:

2017 IMPACT RESIDENCY The Impact Residency is a new initiative, in partnership with The LaGuardia Performing Arts Center in Long Island City, which provides a year of resources, space, support, production development, a $10,000.00 grant for a director working inside of an ensemble company.

2017 IMPACT ARTIST IN RESIDENCE: Kevin Doyle/Sponsored By Nobody

THE ARTS

Written, directed and designed by Kevin Doyle

Dramaturg: Fannina Waubert de Puiseau

Designers: Jon Bernson, Mayra Castro, Mike McGee

Performed by Mike Carlsen, Josh Edelmann, Sauda Jackson, Eric Magnus,

Katey Parker, and April Shannon Sweeney

THE ARTS is a three-part work of interdisciplinary theatre under development from the Brooklyn-based theatre company, Sponsored By Nobody. The project investigates and deconstructs the history of public funding for the arts in the United States and contrasts it with events in the European Union, where threats to public subsidy have manifested in recent years. THE A?TS is based upon transcripts from debates and hearings held in the U.S. Congress from 1963-1965 and 1989-1994; in addition to interviews conducted with arts leaders and citizens throughout the United States and Europe from 2012-2016. During their 2017 Impact Residency, Sponsored By Nobody will focus on Parts One and Two of THE A?TS by condensing transcripts to revolve around two specific dates: October 26, 1963 and May 19, 1989. The former marks the first public hearings held in Congress on public funding of the arts. The latter marks the formal start of a backlash against arts funding, essentially beginning what we now call "the Culture Wars." For more information on THE ARTS, visit www.sponsoredbynobody.com.

NEXT STAGE: ARTISTS IN RESIDENCE PROJECTS Next Stage Residencies are bestowed upon early-career, mid-career, and established directors who are developing projects intended for production in the near future. The residency supports the collaborators with rigorous rehearsal, workshop, and developmental time to ready the work for pre-production.

Artist In Residence: Christopher Burris

Bring The Beat Back

Written by Derek Lee McPhatter

Directed by Christopher Burris

Tru Believers know the Musicship Megarhythmic will save them from the end of the world. But you can't get on if you can't get down...and somebody done stole da beat! Bring the Beat Back is a black gay sci-fi music-theatre experience, set in a futuristic, groove-centered alternative reality. Inspired by ball culture, the evolution of house music and the rich Afro-futurist tradition -- including Parliament Funkadelic, Sun-Ra, Grace Jones, Prince, Meshell Ndegeocello, and others -- our hero journeys towards self-acceptance and affirming spirituality, even as religious authorities and an ostentatious gay subCulture Clash over music at the center of his world.

Artist In Residence: Jess Chayes

Intelligence

Written by Helen Banner

Directed by Jess Chayes

Intelligence is a semi-immersive play about three American women diplomats in a Washington, DC basement conference room, role-playing their way to a new handbook on conflict resolution. Sarah, the senior diplomat in the room, has recently undertaken a conversion negotiation with a splinter group leader. As she fights off career implosion, she pulls the junior diplomats into secret recreations of what exactly happened.

Artist In Residence: Megan Hanley

Graceful Exit

Written by Alanna Coby

Composed by Sean Vigneau-Britt

Directed by Megan Hanley

When 70-year-old Maria receives a cancer diagnosis, she begins to question how she wants to die. While Maria's loved ones grapple with how to keep her alive, Rachel, a climate change activist, heads out to sea. Graceful Exit is a darkly comic play with music that asks, "Who controls your death?" It grapples with questions about climate change and end-of-life care through vaudevillian sketches, puppetry, tap dancing, scientific lectures, and stand-up comedy.

Artist In Residence: Elena Heyman

Home/Yuva

Written by Sami Berat Marcali

Directed by Ellie Heyman

Home/Yuva follows an unlikely quartet -- two Turkish refugees, a club star, and taxi driver -- in search of common bonds. Void of shared language, their bodies begin to speak. Drawing from the current refugee crisis in the Middle East and the increasingly fractured American dream, Home/Yuva is an international collaboration between Turkish and American artists.

Artist In Residence: Jenny Larson

Casta

Written by Adrienne Dawes

Directed by Jenny Larson

Casta explores the casta paintings of Nueva Espana (Mexico), a unique genre of portraiture that depicted different racial mixtures arranged according to a hierarchy of race and status. Casta explores these constructed images of colonial bodies and the failed attempts of the government to control its subjects through increasing social regulations...as well as the shift in attitudes as paintings began to depict family violence and deviant behavior among the lower "classes." In collaboration with Salvage Vanguard Theatre, Austin, TX.

Artist In Residence: Kristin Marting

Assembled Identities

Co-created by Purva Bedi, Mariana Newhard, Drew Weinstein and Kristin Marting

Directed by Kristin Marting

What makes a human authentic? Is it their genome sequence? Their DNA profile? Their life experience? Exploring ethnic ambiguity, race and identity, Assembled Identities uses original and found text, live cinematography, and contemporary music to explore the science of identity, including genomics, genetics, eugenics, and cloning, all of which impact our culture.

Artist In Residence: Shira Milikowsky

Distant Star

Written by Javier Antonio González

Directed by Shira Milikowsky

Distant Star is Caborca Theatre's adaptation of the ground-breaking novel by Roberto Bolaño, following several young poets during and after Chile's 1973 military coup. Infused with Bolaño's perverse humor and mastery of suspense, Distant Star weaves memories of life (and death) under Pinochet's American-backed dictatorship into a seductive noir of political necessity.

Artist In Residence: Andreas Robertz

Father God Mother Death

Written and performed by Mario Golden

Directed by Andreas Robertz

Father God Mother Death is a poetic lamentation of a Mexican gay son mourning the loss of his mother the week immediately after her death. Deeply evocative and extremely personal, the piece simultaneously elucidates the author's experience of immigration to the U.S. as a teenager, and the complex dynamics that triggered a reversal of gender roles between his parents, making his father become increasingly abusive towards his mother.

Artist In Residence: Travis Lee Russ

America Is Hard To See

Written and directed by Travis Lee Russ

Based on verbatim interviews and archival research, America Is Hard To See investigates the lives in and around Miracle Village, a rural community for sex offenders, buried deep in Florida's sugarcane fields. This groundbreaking play involves an exciting blend of spoken text, religious hymns, and original songs composed by Priscilla Holbrook, lead singer of the band Susan Jane. A talented ensemble of seven actors embody over 50 roles to tell tough and real stories about darkness, uncertainty, and healing in small-town America.

Artist In Residence: Caitlin Sullivan

Gilded Girls

Written by Mallery Avidon

Directed by Caitlin Sullivan

Gilded Girls is actually comprised of 66 (very) short plays in which Nancy Reagan, Queen Elizabeth, Marie Curie, Leni Riefenstahl and Catherine the Great find themselves together at the end of the world. Over and Over and Over Again. Gilded Girls is an experimental dark comedy about confronting our apocalyptic past, present and future.

Artist In Residence: Brandon Woolf

The Summer Way

Conceived and Created by Maxwell Flaum

Sequestered in a Tony Soprano-style basement, ravaged by binge consumption of contemporary television and under threat of imminent drone "strike," Torn (white) and Timbre (black) wrestle with major issues of the day in a podcast designed to "speak to people." Wondering if their basement banter isn't just more psycho-babble stopping up the arteries of the world-wide-web, the two hapless media-gurus make a wild grab into the cathodic maelstrom of a "haphazardly avant-garde" black-and-white television. The result of this head-on-collision with "classic" TV is a speed of light race riot in the final Nielsen rating analysis. It's all that and more, tonight, on The Summer Way.

FIRST STAGE: ARTISTS IN RESIDENCE PROJECTS First Stage Residencies are bestowed to early and mid-career directors who are beginning the development of a worthy new project, and supports the initial investigations, rehearsals, and collaborations of the work.

Jessica Bashline, Fresh

Jake Beckhard, CHELSEAS

Sophie Blumberg, Trixie The Giant

West Hyler, Stella Nova

Alexandra Keegan,Tough

Cat Miller, Untitled Clara Immerwahr Play

Molly Murphy, Galveston

Tatiana Pandiani, The Poet And The King

Elinor Renfield, Borkhova

Dan Rogers, The Future Perfect

Marcus Scott, Cherry Bomb (THEATRE BLEEK)

Michelle Tattenbaum, Ideas

Gabriel Vasquez, Such A Tragedy

All Residency activities take place at The Drama League Theater Center (32 Avenue of the Americas, in Tribeca); The 2017 Rough Draft Series of public presentations will be announced shortly at www.dramaleague.org.

[writemarcus]

Drama League Announces Artists-in-Residence for 2017

BY ANDREW GANS

JAN 13, 2017

The program allows artists a chance to develop a new theatrical piece.

The Drama League has announced the theatre directors and ensembles chosen to develop new plays and musicals as part of the 2017 Drama League Artist Residency Program.

This year’s Resident Artists include Elena Heyman (2017 Under The Radar Festival), Kristin Marting (Artistic Director, HERE), Jenny Larson (Artistic Director, Salvage Vanguard Theatre, Austin, TX), and more. Public work-in-progress presentations will be held throughout the year at The Drama League Theater Center, 32 Avenue of the Americas, in Tribeca.

The Drama League Artist Residency Program offers director/collaborator teams and ensembles an opportunity to develop a new theatre piece at the Drama League Theater Center. The program includes a residency stipend, rehearsal space, professional mentorship, administrative support, and community engagement.

“The Drama League received triple the number of residency applications over last year's cycle, demonstrating an urgent need for artists to find a nurturing creative home,” stated executive artistic director Gabriel Stelian-Shanks. Many of the artists in the program will offer readings, experiments, and other insights into their creative process at public events throughout the year.

Details of the program, according to the Drama League, follow:

2017 Drama League Artists In Residence

2017 IMPACT RESIDENCY

The Impact Residency is a new initiative, in partnership with The LaGuardia Performing Arts Center in Long Island City, which provides a year of resources, space, support, production development, a $10,000.00 grant for a director working inside of an ensemble company.

2017 IMPACT ARTIST IN RESIDENCE: Kevin Doyle/Sponsored By Nobody

THE AЯTS Written, directed and designed by Kevin Doyle Dramaturg: Fannina Waubert de Puiseau Designers: Jon Bernson, Mayra Castro, Mike McGee Performed by Mike Carlsen, Josh Edelmann, Sauda Jackson, Eric Magnus, Katey Parker, and April Shannon Sweeney

THE AЯTS is a three-part work of interdisciplinary theatre under development from the Brooklyn-based theatre company, Sponsored By Nobody. The project investigates and deconstructs the history of public funding for the arts in the United States and contrasts it with events in the European Union, where threats to public subsidy have manifested in recent years. THE AЯTS is based upon transcripts from debates and hearings held in the U.S. Congress from 1963-1965 and 1989-1994; in addition to interviews conducted with arts leaders and citizens throughout the United States and Europe from 2012-2016. During their 2017 Impact Residency, Sponsored By Nobody will focus on Parts One and Two of THE AЯTS by condensing transcripts to revolve around two specific dates: October 26, 1963 and May 19, 1989. The former marks the first public hearings held in Congress on public funding of the arts. The latter marks the formal start of a backlash against arts funding, essentially beginning what we now call “the Culture Wars.” For more information on THE AЯTS, visit www.sponsoredbynobody.com.

* * *

NEXT STAGE: ARTISTS IN RESIDENCE PROJECTS

Next Stage Residencies are bestowed upon early-career, mid-career, and established directors who are developing projects intended for production in the near future. The residency supports the collaborators with rigorous rehearsal, workshop, and developmental time to ready the work for pre-production.

Artist In Residence: Christopher Burris

Bring The Beat Back Written by Derek Lee McPhatter Directed by Christopher Burris

Tru Believers know the Musicship Megarhythmic will save them from the end of the world. But you can’t get on if you can’t get down…and somebody done stole da beat! Bring the Beat Back is a black gay sci-fi music-theatre experience, set in a futuristic, groove-centered alternative reality. Inspired by ball culture, the evolution of house music and the rich Afro-futurist tradition—including Parliament Funkadelic, Sun-Ra, Grace Jones, Prince, Meshell Ndegeocello, and others—our hero journeys towards self-acceptance and affirming spirituality, even as religious authorities and an ostentatious gay subculture clash over music at the center of his world.

* * *

Artist In Residence: Jess Chayes

Intelligence Written by Helen Banner Directed by Jess Chayes

Intelligence is a semi-immersive play about three American women diplomats in a Washington, DC basement conference room, role-playing their way to a new handbook on conflict resolution. Sarah, the senior diplomat in the room, has recently undertaken a conversion negotiation with a splinter group leader. As she fights off career implosion, she pulls the junior diplomats into secret recreations of what exactly happened.

* * *

Artist In Residence: Megan Hanley

Graceful Exit Written by Alanna Coby Composed by Sean Vigneau-Britt Directed by Megan Hanley

When 70-year-old Maria receives a cancer diagnosis, she begins to question how she wants to die. While Maria's loved ones grapple with how to keep her alive, Rachel, a climate change activist, heads out to sea. Graceful Exit is a darkly comic play with music that asks, “Who controls your death?” It grapples with questions about climate change and end-of-life care through vaudevillian sketches, puppetry, tap dancing, scientific lectures, and stand-up comedy.

* * *

Artist In Residence: Elena Heyman

Home/Yuva Written by Sami Berat Marcali Directed by Ellie Heyman

Home/Yuva follows an unlikely quartet—two Turkish refugees, a club star, and taxi driver—in search of common bonds. Void of shared language, their bodies begin to speak. Drawing from the current refugee crisis in the Middle East and the increasingly fractured American dream, Home/Yuva is an international collaboration between Turkish and American artists.

* * *

Artist In Residence: Jenny Larson

Casta Written by Adrienne Dawes Directed by Jenny Larson

Casta explores the casta paintings of Nueva Espana (Mexico), a unique genre of portraiture that depicted different racial mixtures arranged according to a hierarchy of race and status. Casta explores these constructed images of colonial bodies and the failed attempts of the government to control its subjects through increasing social regulations…as well as the shift in attitudes as paintings began to depict family violence and deviant behavior among the lower “classes.” In collaboration with Salvage Vanguard Theatre, Austin, TX.

* * *

Artist In Residence: Kristin Marting

Assembled Identities Co-created by Purva Bedi, Mariana Newhard, Drew Weinstein and Kristin Marting Directed by Kristin Marting

What makes a human authentic? Is it their genome sequence? Their DNA profile? Their life experience? Exploring ethnic ambiguity, race and identity, Assembled Identities uses original and found text, live cinematography, and contemporary music to explore the science of identity, including genomics, genetics, eugenics, and cloning, all of which impact our culture.

* * *

Artist In Residence: Shira Milikowsky

Distant Star Written by Javier Antonio González Directed by Shira Milikowsky

Distant Star is Caborca Theatre’s adaptation of the ground-breaking novel by Roberto Bolaño, following several young poets during and after Chile’s 1973 military coup. Infused with Bolaño’s perverse humor and mastery of suspense, Distant Star weaves memories of life (and death) under Pinochet’s American-backed dictatorship into a seductive noir of political necessity.

* * *

Artist In Residence: Andreas Robertz

Father God Mother Death Written and performed by Mario Golden Directed by Andreas Robertz

Father God Mother Death is a poetic lamentation of a Mexican gay son mourning the loss of his mother the week immediately after her death. Deeply evocative and extremely personal, the piece simultaneously elucidates the author’s experience of immigration to the U.S. as a teenager, and the complex dynamics that triggered a reversal of gender roles between his parents, making his father become increasingly abusive towards his mother.

* * *

Artist In Residence: Travis Lee Russ

America Is Hard To See Written and directed by Travis Lee Russ

Based on verbatim interviews and archival research, America Is Hard To See investigates the lives in and around Miracle Village, a rural community for sex offenders, buried deep in Florida's sugarcane fields. This groundbreaking play involves an exciting blend of spoken text, religious hymns, and original songs composed by Priscilla Holbrook, lead singer of the band Susan Jane. A talented ensemble of seven actors embody over 50 roles to tell tough and real stories about darkness, uncertainty, and healing in small-town America.

* * *

Artist In Residence: Caitlin Sullivan

Gilded Girls Written by Mallery Avidon Directed by Caitlin Sullivan

Gilded Girls is actually comprised of 66 (very) short plays in which Nancy Reagan, Queen Elizabeth, Marie Curie, Leni Riefenstahl and Catherine the Great find themselves together at the end of the world. Over and Over and Over Again. Gilded Girls is an experimental dark comedy about confronting our apocalyptic past, present and future.

* * *

Artist In Residence: Brandon Woolf

The Summer Way Conceived and Created by Brandon Woolf and Maxwell Flaum

Sequestered in a Tony Soprano-style basement, ravaged by binge consumption of contemporary television and under threat of imminent drone “strike,” Torn (white) and Timbre (black) wrestle with major issues of the day in a podcast designed to “speak to people.” Wondering if their basement banter isn't just more psycho-babble stopping up the arteries of the world-wide-web, the two hapless media-gurus make a wild grab into the cathodic maelstrom of a “haphazardly avant-garde” black-and-white television. The result of this head-on-collision with “classic” TV is a speed of light race riot in the final Nielsen rating analysis. It's all that and more, tonight, on The Summer Way.

* * * * *

FIRST STAGE: ARTISTS IN RESIDENCE PROJECTS

First Stage Residencies are bestowed to early and mid-career directors who are beginning the development of a worthy new project, and supports the initial investigations, rehearsals, and collaborations of the work.

Jessica Bashline, Fresh Jake Beckhard, CHELSEAS Sophie Blumberg, Trixie The Giant West Hyler, Stella Nova Alexandra Keegan,Tough Cat Miller, Untitled Clara Immerwahr Play Molly Beach Murphy, Galveston Tatiana Pandiani, The Poet And The King Elinor Renfield, Borkhova Dan Rogers, The Future Perfect Marcus Scott, Cherry Bomb Michelle Tattenbaum, Ideas Gabriel Vasquez, Such A Tragedy

The Drama League is dedicated to “creating transformative interactions between artists and audiences…above and beyond the performances they experience.”

Performance schedules are available at www.dramaleague.org or by calling (212) 244-9494.