#like during our final song which is a setting of the irish blessing

[vagueshape]

Btw the main reason I love studying what I'm studying is that music is like one of the main things that can connect people universally. You can portray SO MUCH through music regardless of anything, and it's one of those things that's meant to be shared and appreciated and loved. It's just, man I love music and I love people and I love being able to share

[gyokujyn]

@stuckyfingers Sincerely hope this was a prompt because I ran with it.

Both Catholic and Jewish wedding ceremonies have a lot of music involved, so I blended the two into one playlist and barely shrunk it down to 10 tracks.

Prelude Two Men in Love by The Irrepressibles

This song, along with others, would be playing while everyone is waiting for the ceremony to get started. I picked this mostly because of the lyrics (I had trouble deciding which lyrics to grab for the preview below) which reflect actively asking each other to stay, talks about hiding and running from each other, and finally acknowledging that they're in love.

If I asked you now Would you be my prince? Would you lay down your armor And be with me forever?

Wedding Party Erev Shel Shoshanim by Harry Belafonte

This is a fairly traditional choice in Jewish weddings to accompany the wedding party processional as they take their places for the ceremony, but it's also just really beautiful and I thought Harry Belafonte would fit with the old men in love vibe.

[translated from Hebrew] The night falls slowly A breeze of roses blows Let me whisper a song to you quietly A song of love

Processional and Circling Kumi Lakh by Zach Mayer

In Catholic traditions, the bride would be walked down the aisle separate from the rest of the wedding party, whereas both bride and groom are escorted with the rest of the party in Jewish tradition followed by the bride circling the groom 7 times under the Chuppah. If they decide to have their processional separate, I envision this song accompanying the second processional, but mostly this is for the circling tradition. Winter is past.

[translated from Hebrew] O my dove, my undefiled, let me see thy countenance, let me hear thy voice. For, lo, the winter is past, the rain is over and gone; For, lo, the winter is past.

Offertory Ag Críost an Síol by Seán Ó Riada

Catholic tradition includes Mass and an open offering of communion. I think Steve might struggle to feel he should take communion, but I also think it would be important to him. This song would be during the preparation and setting of the Eucharist for Mass. I chose this arrangement in part because, despite being an Irish hymn based on an Irish prayer, it sounds like it draws from some of the Semitic roots of a lot of hymns which felt in keeping with the blended ceremony.

[translated from Gaelic] From Death to the end Not the end but a rebirth, In the Paradise of Graces May we be.

Communion Be Thou My Vision by Narrow Way

Once communion is prepared, this song would be for the taking of communion. I couldn't find my favourite translation/arrangement of this song which is even more fight-oriented than this one, but this still feels like a good fit. Be my Shield and my Sword feels very coded to our boys. This is another old Irish hymn, translated from the Gaelic Bí Thusa 'mo Shúile.

Be Thou my Buckler, my Sword for the fight; Be Thou my Dignity, Thou my Delight; Thou my soul’s Shelter, be Thou my high Tow’r, Come raise Thou me heav’nward, oh Pow’r of my pow’r.

Presentation of Flowers to the Holy Mother A Mhuire na nGrás by Fionnuala Gill

I feel like it would be important for both Steve and Bucky to invoke their mothers at their wedding, but I feel that they would both especially want Sarah Rogers to be recognized here, so I selected another old Irish hymn for presenting flowers to the Blessed Virgin Mary. The lyrics here are so very much appropriate for Steve and Bucky, too, that I'm just going to include the whole translation.

[translated from Gaelic] O Mary of Graces And Mother of God May I tread in the paths That the righteous have trod. And mayest thou save me From evil's control, And mayest thou save me In body and soul. And mayest thou save me By land and by sea, And mayest thou save me From tortures to be. May the guard of the angels Above me abide, May God be before me And God at my side.

Recessional I'll Get By by Harry James, Dick Haymes

There are so many Harry James songs I associate with these two, but I'll Get By (As Long As I Have You) just makes too much sense to follow them as they leave as newlyweds. Til the end of the line.

I'll get by, as long as I have you Though there'll be rain and darkness too I'll not complain, I'll live with you Poverty, may come to me, that's true But what care I I'll get by, as long as I have you

First Dance There, I've Said It Again by Vaughn Monroe

Their first dance as a married couple could go any number of ways, but I wanted to find a song they would've heard as young men and maybe look back on it fondly. This one came out in February of 1945 and was number one on Billboard's National Radio Airplay right up until Bucky fell from a train in the Alps, so it might've been popular enough to be one of the last songs he heard before his presumed death.

Forgive me for wanting you so But one thing I want you to know I've loved you since heaven knows when There! I've said it again

Hora Od Yishama by Schlomo Carlebach

I'm gonna be honest with you, I just wanted any song for the hora that wasn't Hava Nagila, only because it's so over done (and a good hora is like a bajillion songs long, so they'll probably still have Hava Nagila in there somewhere, lol). Anyway, I am picturing their friends trying to lift these two massive super soldiers on chairs while dancing and Tony's gotta be in the suit just to make it happen and Thor has no idea what's going on but he's got the spirit and I'm giggling.

[translated from Hebrew] Yet again there shall be heard In the cities of Judah And in the streets of Jerusalem​. The voice of joy and the voice of gladness The voice of the bridegroom and the voice of the bride.

Last Dance Francesca by Hozier

The final dance of the night couldn't be anything else in my mind. I wanted something modern, to reflect them moving into the future, but still calling back to their origins and everything they've been through to find each other again. This song is a perfect fit.

If someone asked me at the end I'll tell them put me back in it Darling, I would do it again, ah, ah If I could hold you for a minute Darling, I'd go through it again, ah, ah I would still be surprised I could find you, darling In any life If I could hold you for a minute Darling, I would do it again, ah, ah [...] I would not change it each time (I would not change it each time) Heaven is not fit to house a love (Heaven is not fit to house a love) Like you and I (like you and I)

The playlist in its entirety can be found here: Barnes Rogers

[jaeminlore]

bard!taeil ^_^

commissioned by @warmau luv u thank you for giving me free reign i’m sorry i used it all on world building

words: 5k+

a/n: sorry this is a bit late ! also for any mistakes !

okay first thought when given free reign of a story is PRINCE or ROYAL bc that is where my mind is for every story i love a good castle moment

i just think they’re neat ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

but yknow i was thinking about bards and also my skyrim game and how annoying yet precious the bards are in the inn. and if that is not taeil i will eat my own foot,,,,, like omg i forgot his name i think it’s mikael?? he’s at the inn in riften!!! i beat him up to preserve the honor of some lady and now we’re best friends ^_^ anyways he’s lovable and it makes me think of taeil

i miss taeil i read a post about how precious he is and it made me feel some type of way ,,,,, my favorite taeil era was cherry bomb bc the CHOKER and the EYELINER and he just felt like the embodiment of that tiktok sparkly filter

okay now that that’s over

this story is set in a lone kingdom called intima,,,, intima is a word meaning the heart of something and it’s where the word intimacy comes from and it makes me feel warm and happy so i assume it will make the people of intima happy too !!!!! it’s an island centered around the sun — and YOU my dear reader are the eldest princess, the first before six younger siblings !!!

as the oldest, the throne is in your future, and you are set to be the reigning queen WHICH you are quite excited about this isn’t one of those aus where you hate your kingdom and your job and serving,, you LOVE your people and your culture and you genuinely can’t wait to become queen

i’m going to set the world!!!! bc world-building gives me endorphins >.>

intima is a HEAVILY floral-filled island. the clivia (or bush lily) is the capitol flower, often associated with patriotism or pride for intima as an island!!! it’s the flower people pin to their chest during coronations or royal festivals!! and the yellow/orange/coral shades are often what you and your siblings wear to represent yourselves and your island.

intima is a land of equality!!! bc i said so!! and also because the culture is purely built on gratitude and kindness ,,,,, i like to think the spirituality or “religion” in the culture is the worship of the sun and the warmth it brings,,,, a sort of serving the thing that shines a path for the hopeless!!!! there are hundreds of poems and legends and songs about the sun and who she once was and why she blesses intima with her harvests and all kinds of other things and i do have the time to get into it but i know all of you do not

intima also believes that art is hard work!!! and it’s one of the most respected jobs there are!!! like a busker or a street painter are often praised and it’s expected of islanders to tip them and stay to praise them a bit!!! and usually they’ll sell their art (if that’s what they made) afterwards!!!! and poets will read for the children and adults alike and they’ll sell their services to like,,, people who struggle to put their words down on paper and it’s all very helpful and lovely

farmers and fishermen are well respected as well!!!! ofc they bring the food in and the vendors at the marketplace sell them while the artists keep entertainment going. it’s a lovely system and often as the seasons change people will shift their jobs so a vendor will decide to create for a season or a fisherman may decide he wants to sell wares,,, it’s a system so that people can enjoy where they are as well as express they’re creativity properly

and the wealth is distributed equally so that no one goes hungry!!! everyone helps each other out to find a job that fits them!!! and not many people take advantage of the system because it’s quite shameful to refuse helping your fellow neighbor

so yes!!! kindness and helping each other out is not only expected but it is often an indicator of how respected you are as a member of society

ungrateful people get the shame cone >:(

the island is HUGE and set in a sort of jagged star shape, with villages and markets surrounding the castle itself!!! and there’s a moat surrounding the castle made from the streams that trail in from the sea ,,,, and the harbors are quite beautiful if you stand atop the castle walls you can see the ships come and go and it is just *chef’s kiss* immaculate

and the moat is so beautiful i can just imagine the ferns!! like palm brush ferns and tiger lilies and birds of paradise just lining either side of the moat,,, so pretty :( and the moat isn’t to keep people out!!! it’s actually a natural pool for the villagers when it gets too hot :)!! but otherwise the drawbridge is always down so people can come and go throughout the courtyards

similarly, the castle walls run down the island as main roads, leading to the actual castle where the main courtyard sits.

you and your siblings are very personal with your subjects, and it’s not uncommon for the princes and princesses to walk hand in hand with those of a lower class than them,,,, esp bc there isn’t really a class system in place. since wealth is evenly distributed,,,, it’s evenly distributed to the royals as well, and everyone lives comfortably. the only added expense are gifts!!! so if there’s a birthday or something more wealth might be offered to the recipients by default

the courtyards!!! are so beautiful!!! there are four in total but the one i want to focus on is the coronation courtyard!!! this is the courtyard where the coronations and celebrations are held!!!

but when there aren’t any coronations, it’s where people hang out to have picnics or sell their wares or tell stories!!!

and this is where we see taeil!!!!

every day our hero brings his life and ~sings~ a different story to whoever happens to be walking by. he’s actually hugely popular with many of intima’s people,,,, mostly because his voice is like HONEY and his smile reminds everyone of home

he has like,,,,, kind big brother who only comes home for thanksgiving but each time is more memory-filled than the last energy ,,,,, anyways

you don’t actually notice him at first!!! because usually he isn’t in the coronation courtyard.

also you’re too busy planning your OWN coronation

#queenshit and all you know the vibes

it actually isn’t until yuta points out that there is a “very tiny man singing about how beautiful you are” in the courtyard that you’re actually like,,,, okay,,,,,, interesting..?

and at first you’re like shut up yuta i’m trying to work on seating placements you know ten from iacto can’t sit beside donghyuck from stella or they’ll start a prank war during MY coronation

also there are a lot of people who write songs about you and your siblings that’s just how the vibes are !!!!!

you and your siblings are known for your beauty and kindness, so many creatives often use y’all as muses

so you just brush it off

and go back to your planning

which actually consists of you begging your advisors to make little goodie bags for everyone on the entire island (they WILL eventually agree because who doesn’t want a small bee charm necklace or some cleansing crystals)

but i digress

it’s not until you visit the courtyard to finalize the seating arrangements that you actually see the man your brother was talking about

at first you don’t even realize it’s the same person

sure, this man is short, but he is nothing like the unattractie picture you painted in your mind. not that short men are unattractive, but most men who hit on you are often uhhhh creepy and old bc intima is a beautiful place but men are still a disease

this man is, dare you say it, handsome.

like prettily handsome

his hair is a warm chestnut that falls over his eyebrows in loose curls. strands curl and bend around his ears and his eyes are lined with what seems like kohl

his lips are pursed, and he’s too far away for you to hear him, but he seems to be singing

you tear your eyes away from his coral-colored jerkin and try to focus on the seating arrangements

in the end, you leave the work to your advisors, choosing to break away and listen to the lonesome bard

and just IMAGINE for a moment taeil singing like real people do by hozier

just taeil singing any hozier song i cannot get over the thought of it >_>

those are the vibes for this story

taeil a sexy irish bog man

not really but i’ll bookmark the idea for later !!!!

okay so imagine him singing real people do or sunshine and it’s so gentle and warm coming from his mouth that you’re entranced at the very start of it,,,, you’ve heard tales of sirens luring sailors into the sea,,, and they’ve always sounded quite far fetched but now that you’re hearing taeil’s voice you’re like,,,,,, maybe it’s possible

you sidle up to another listener and ask for his name

“taeil moon”

it’s a befitting name. you run it over your tongue for a good while until it feels familiar,,, and when the song is finally over, you clap and shout a few praises, thinking your voice would get caught in the crowd

but taeil catches your gaze, and he strums a sour note on his lute. it’s a swift apology and an even swifter exit as he leaves the courtyard.

you watch him go, unsure as to why he seemed so uncomfortable knowing you were there. “is he alright?” you ask the same listener who told you taeil’s name. they answer, “he’s never left a set before. perhaps you frightened him, princess.”

you DID frighten him. moving into taeil’s point of view, the man has been declaring his infatuation with you for months now and you’ve never come to listen. he suddenly feels naked and vulnerable,,, the one person he chose to write songs about is the future queen and he could very well be executed for such unauthorized poetry

(as if executing is something intima didn’t outlaw ages ago)

so taeil is just a tiny bit dramatic, and he clings to the honest hope that you came to his show late and didn’t hear his declaration. his “all my love songs of now and forever after are for the princess y/n” that he starts every set with. he feels like a fool, so he finds himself hiding in the royal gardens, far behind the brush and hedges, where a lone forgotten fountain rusts. still water bubbles out of the spout, but there isn’t enough for the fountain to actually flow, so it just makes an incredibly awkward gurgling sound as taeil strums his lute and tries to collect his thoughts

taeil doesn’t just like you because you’re the princess. it goes so much deeper than that; he has one faint memory of his graduation out of bards college (it’s a thing in skyrim so it’s a thing in my au) and it consists of you meeting with all of the graduates and giving them each a bush lily from your own personal garden,,,,,,, you also wrote everyone a handwritten letter addressing them by name !!!!!!!!!

and it’s not much to go by at all, and taeil would feel incredibly foolish even bringing up the memory, or the fact that he keeps the card in his memeriy box,,,,, because it’s obvious that you don’t remember him from it, but he can still remember the color of your eyes up close, and he knows what it feels like to be on the receiving end of your smile,, and just the memory of your fingers grazing his when you handed him the flower and card makes his cheeks warm with childlike fondness

he’s a fool, he knows. he’s also a coward, because he ran at the very sight of you

“you ran off before i could tell you how lovely your voice is.”

taeil falls into the rusting fountain as soon as you round the hedge. he has no idea how you managed to find him, but he can’t really think much about it because he’s soon coughing and shivering from the cold and dirty water he’s just fallen into. he mourns his lute,,,,,, just floating in the shallow water ,,,,,, it’s not dead it’s just wet :/

“oh dear i’m so sorry!” you grab his hand and help him out of the fountain, wincing at the way his clothes cling to his body. (Wait. wait. taeil’s lil baby tummy.... through the sheer shirt,,,,,,, like after he takes off his jerkin to dry it out :(((( omg he’s so cute) “i just wanted to compliment you.”

“thank you, princess,” taeil manages to get out. he paints a smile on his face even though he feels like he’s never been put in a more awkward situation. “it means a lot, honestly.” he decides to avoid the topic of having a crush on you, because he thinks he has experienced plenty of embarrassing moments today, thank you very much. so he changes the topic completely. “good luck, uh, on your coronation. i’m looking forward to it.”

you lower yourself into a mock curtsy. “why thank you. save me a dance during the after party, won’t you?”

taeil nods, not trusting himself to speak, and you bid him goodbye

y’all know taeil’s face where he’s just cheesin. like :D

that’s his face for the rest of the day. and every day up until the coronation !!!!!!

and you visit him!!!! when you can !!!!!!!!

taeil has a very easygoing personality i feel like after the initial awkwardness he’d actually be the one to initiate a friendship!!! like sometimes he leaves you letters by the old fountain !!!!!! :((((

and taeil’s letters are very friendly but every once in awhile he’ll slip in song lyrics that make your heart flutter!!!! just imagine your favorite love song or folk song written out by taeil to you because he learned it and it made him think of you :(( i’m crying and i know you’re crying

one day you have a picnic!!!!!!!!! and it’s just the two of you and taeil thinks he should be nervous but he genuinely does enjoy your company,,,,, and he kinda sort of slowly starts to think of you less as a muse and more as a friend,,,,,, or even maybe a potential ,,,,,,,,, l o v e r oooohhhhhhhh,,,, omg it’s so cute tho he lays out a blanket in front of the fountain and the two of you eat sandwiches and apple juice and :(( eventually the sun makes you both a lil tired so you fall asleep side by side

and you get kind of flustered when you wake up beside taeil like oh 😳 okay 😳 now 😳

the two of you hang around each other in secret. not because it’s against the law or it would be publicized or anything like that,,,, intima is a very casual island and no one would bother the two of you too much,,,,,,,,, but taeil feels like a little secret you aren’t sure you want to share ,,, also your brothers and sisters would tease you relentlessly for giving your time to someone KNOWN for singing love songs about you

your friendship w taeil feels a bit like a bird feather on a windy day,,,,,,, like one hesitant breath could blow him away,,,,,,,, but taeil is so FUNNY and warm and gentle and COMFORTABLE that you slowly start to feel yourself fall for him.

taeil is a story-telling bard in the way that the songs he sings often tell stories of his life or the life of someone famous, installed in their hearts from the moment they were all in elementary school. like imagine him singing a tale about the greek gods or norse mythology or perhaps he goes and bit more fairytale and songs of thumbalina or sleeping beauty

he’s an amazing storyteller, so much so that when the two of you hang out, he often recites some form of verse to you, especially if it’s a legend you love dearly (SIRENS) ,,,,,, but the one thing that kind of irritates you is that he has yet to sing you one of his legendary songs that are “supposedly” for you

you’re not trying to be prideful, but this is the lovely singer everyone has told you about, and you still haven’t heard any of his original songs. or at least, his original songs dedicated to you. you’re very curious to see what you look like in taeil’s eyes, even though it might make you feel horribly vulnerable.

and taeil is like :) obviously :) i’m not going to sing love songs :) about my crush :) to my crush :)

but it’s whatever.

what i want to talk about is the coronation babey !!!!!!!!!!!

it’s very public,,, in the middle of the courtyard,,, and all the market stalls are up selling their wares to the large crowd!!!!! and kids are playing in the moat !!!!! sort of a summer festival and you’re the main event lol. like some people will gather and watch the coronation and some people will be off dancing on the other side of the courtyard but everyone is celebrating the same thing!!

and this is a high fantasy setting so there aren’t any modern things like microphones or speakers aside from a copper horn or smth ,,, but it’s all very fun and festive!!!!

merchants are selling banners of orange and gold,,, yellow roses and tiger lilies,,,,,,, flower crowns and faux scepters for the little kids!!!!!! and there’s lively music for people to dance and celebrate to,,,,,, and can you guess who is in charge of the music !!!!?! TAEIL

he’s got an entire band leading the courtyard and it’s all traditional songs for the most part of taeil is able to slip in a few love songs now and again. and ofc everyone loves them bc they know taeil and OBV it’s hard to hate taeil

but :( you aren’t really focusing on the music since it’s such a big day for you but if you were you’d know that taeil is singing his original songs :((( all the love songs about you,,,,,,,,,,

and i SWEAR i can imagine taeil singing hozier-esque songs..... omg or like mystery of love ,,,,, imagine him singing mystery of love on one side of the courtyard while you’re getting crowned queen on the other side

that image is something that can be so personal to me ╰(*´︶`*)╯♡

:(((( and you’re dressed in a tan and peach maiden dress,,,, cloaked in golden silk with day lilies tucked in your hair,,,,,,,,, omg or BRAIDED into your hair,,,,,, you just look like a sun goddess okay golden by harry styles are the vibes ALRIGHT babes,,,, and there’s a speech to be made and someone made cake for the masses,,, so you get a bit caught up it everything

taeil isn’t really in the crowd for the coronation as i already stated before ,,,,, but he can kind of hear everything that’s happening and it makes him just smile to himself as he messes with his lute :((( omg if you guys haven’t heard you are gold by the national parks THATS the song taeil sings as the celebrations are dying down

and all the street lanterns are lit and people are quieting down and eating or chatting or rounding up their kids for bedtime !! omg little kids racing past and giggling, their flower crowns askew as they shout about becoming a queen one day :( that’s so cute esp to imagine taeil watching them fondling and waving at them as they pass

and there are fireflies all around!!!! lighting the pathway!!! it’s just so cute and soft and lovely think tangled at last i see the light scene OKAY except it’s not on water it’s a festival and it’s beautiful every seems to be glowing in the light

this au is partially inspired by tangled,,, or the kingdom of corona (lol) so

anyways back to you are gold

the chorus is as so: “you are gold / you are all i see / you are aurum scarce and meant for kings / and i will wait if it’s time you need / what i see in you i hope you find in me.”

and can’t you just SEE taeil singing that absentmindedly not really knowing that you’re making your way to him and then he just looks up during the final chords and he just,,,,,,, fumbles the music and his voice cracks a little (but how COULDNT it bc you’re so beautiful and angelic and taeil could easily picture the stars against your skin and in the shade of your eyes)

“h-hi,” he stutters. “you look. nice.” :D

i think taeil is pretty confident with his feelings but i also feel like he can be quite clumsy with them as well. if that makes sense. but on the other hand confessing to the now-queen of your island is a bit much and taeil isn’t really ready to be rejected on a regal level.

“thank you,” you say. AND!!! you can feel your cheeks get hot because taeil is quite handsome and you DEFINITELY heard the last few lyrics of the song and it ignited feelings inside of you that you weren’t sure you’ve felt much of before.

you kind of just want to take his hand and go spend some ~ alone time ~ with him ^_^

“you know,” you sit down beside him and wrap your cloak around yourself. “everyone has been telling me that you’re quite famous for dedicating your love songs to me. how come i haven’t heard such declarations?”

taeil’s ears turn red and he smiles down at the lute in his lap. “isn’t it a bit disrespectful to make you listen to all the songs i write for you?”

“i want to hear them!! genuinely!!”

can you just IMAGINE taeil holding eye contact and singing sunshine by hozier >:( or like ANY song by ray montangue for today we’re pretending taeil wrote all of these

hold you in my arms by ray montangue YOO :((

just taeil strumming and singing sort of under his breath because he doesn’t really want anyone else to share this lil moment with you. and he’s so sweet like i imagine after he sings he doesn’t expect any praise and he certainly doesn’t expect you to confess your love or anything like that

bc taeil is a respectful future king

LIKE JUST IMAGINE kind of grabbing his face and just giving him a lil kiss,,,,, a lil smooch,,,,, if you will

taeil is probably rlly pretty just after being kissed like his eyelashes would flutter so prettily and it would be so soft like he’d just press his forehead against yours and then omg a FOREHEAD KISS like a really gentle one

you would be so important to taeil like i think he would just be so gentle with you in every way

the relationship is a slower one,,,,,, you have queenly duties and he’s still working as a busker,,,,, getting ready to help the merchants in the winter,,,,,,,

but the two of you make time. it’s similar to before, you just set up picnics, or sometimes you watch him sing, and he’ll write you love songs and send them to you through a letter,, stamping with purple wax,,,

and taeil is always so sweet :( i think he’s more of a casual lover in the sense that he doesn’t need pda or loud declarations in order to make you feel loved flashback to him dedicating every love song to you in the middle of the square but he’d be the type to just hold your hand around the courtyard,, or he’d just send you soft smiles from the other side of the marketplace

he’s the time to buy you a basket of your favorite fruits and deliver them personally to your door

everyone in the castle just lets taeil into the chambers section at this point

the two of you will swim in the moat and play hopscotch with the village children or go shopping together or take naps beneath the afternoon sun and with taeil by your side it’s all so fond and precious and some times you’ll go days or weeks without seeing him just because of schedules but it’s never awkward when the two of you get back together

and it’s actually not until some of your very own villagers are coming up to you like hey,,,,, why haven’t you made taeil your partner yet?? he’s so precious and sweet and he would look lovely in a crown 👀👀

and uhhh who are you to argue with that lmao

so you buy taeil a ring

a pearl !!!! encased in silver <3333 i like to think that the tales he sang to you about sirens often slides to a pearl of some sorts,, so you make sure it’s the rock you place on the ring

and you take him back to that rusty old creaky old ugly old fountain :)

and you just,,,,,, ask him to marry you ,,,,,,,,,,

ofc taeil says yes, a bit frozen because the two of you have talked about marriage but only briefly,,, and he wasn’t sure you’d ever take that step so he didn’t want to pressure you

taeil ofc has always been ready,,, his soul is more open than yours if that makes sense !!! which isn’t a bad thing but he has definitely been ready for a lifetime with you for a long time now

and it’s a long-ish engagement i feel like

not that it really matters but it’s more of a betrothement !!!! so the two of you are technically already married even before the ceremony if that makes sense??? like everyone alludes to taeil as the consort and the two of you live together and receive gifts of betrothement and !!! it’s quite sweet and it’s the way they do things in intima

also you guys aren’t in a big hurry for another ceremony esp bc yuta’s coronation is coming up and you don’t want to take any of his spotlight

king!yuta hold up

but yeah taeil is a wonderful consort !! doesn’t do much yet politically bc he isn’t especially versed in politics but he’s learning!!! he’s really good at keeping a good energy in the room even if two ambassadors are fighting taeil will just be vibing like :-D and it often calms tensions

he’s just a GREAT person and a helpful ruler even tho he really doesn’t even have to be,,,, he’s just a consort,,,, but he still takes the effort to learn genuine laws and help guide the people

the people are obviously obsessed with him,,, they wouldn’t ask for another consort because he’s so kind with all of them

still sings in the courtyard as his job ,,, and the people love it just as much ^_^ esp because now all the songs are openly for you and about you and it makes people more fond of you as well

taeil creates y/n propaganda pass it on

but he works in the castle too,, and he’s a fast learner especially when it comes to settling arguements within the village or even within the court,,,, he also sets up festivals !! he’s wonderful at it !! genuinely !! taeil as an interior designer i can just see it man him designing flower arrangements and the setlist and just !! being a wonderful host

and tbh you’re very thankful because it’s nice to rule with siblings but it’s even nicer to rule with a soulmate

and taeil feels just like that — a soulmate, a missing piece of the puzzle,,,,,

and if intima is the sun , if you who rules it is the sun, then taeil is the moon,, and it’s quite obvious that the two of you were made for each other

perhaps in the future the two of you will have kids or adopt

or you guys get a puppy!!! i can see you w a puppy and taeil with a kitten and the two lil pets just follow you guys around omg

the two of you fix up the old fountain so it isn’t rusty or squeaky anymore

you guys find rocks out on the shore and create a new bed at the bottom of the fountain

and guess what!!!! you guys write little wishes on the rocks and invite everyone else to do the same with the idea that once the fountain is filled with wishes, you’ll hold a festival where you put the wishes back into the sea to be completed

omg how cute would that be like a yearly thing where the fountain would be filled with rocks and everyone gets a handful to take down to the beach and throw into the sea

it’s where lovers write their names and people confess to their crushes and anniversaries and birthdays are celebrated and it’s where artists write pictures and poets write verses and people write prayers to the sun

and it’s where you and taeil announce your first pregnancy >.<

and it’s really soft

the place between the sea and the sun is where your love lies

where your family lives

omg taeil singing lullabies to his baby :( HES be such a sweet dad

i feel like taeil already has a family just by his vibes yknow

but say it’s a daughter he’d teach her how to play the lute and he’d buy her her own

he’d let her express herself in any way and identify however she’d want and love whoever she wanted

he’d be an AMAZING father and husband and king

ANYWAYS to conclude

this was fun to write and i hope it made sense i know it’s all over the place but in conclusion taeil is sexy and deserves to be loved

[aion-rsa]

What Went Wrong With Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles II: The Secret of the Ooze?

https://ift.tt/3cey4oF

The story of how Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles went from underground comic book to the highest grossing independent film of all time is the stuff of Hollywood legend. But ask producer Tom Gray about the sequel, Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles II: The Secret of the Ooze, and you are likely to hear an altogether different tale. One of a frantically rushed production, censorship backlash and a change of director and direction. Actors were replaced, there were clashes with the comic book creators and a series of strange and unusual characters were added to the mix – including Vanilla Ice.  

Gray was head of production at Golden Harvest, the Hong Kong studio behind martial arts classics like Bruce Lee’s Enter the Dragon, when comedian-turned screenwriter Bobby Herbeck first approached him about a live-action film adaptation of Kevin Eastman and Peter Laird’s cult comics.  

It’s fair to say he took some convincing.  

“I hated the idea. I thought it was stupid,” Gray tells Den of Geek. Undeterred, Herbeck pestered Gray for months until the Golden Harvest chief had a sudden change of heart.   

“I had an epiphany and thought we could just put stunt guys in turtle suits and make all our money in Japan. That was why I was interested; making it low budget. It escalated when Steve Barron came onboard.”   

Barron had made his name with groundbreaking music videos for Michael Jackson’s “Billie Jean” and A-Ha’s “Take on Me” and sold Gray and TMNT creators Eastman and Laird on his vision for the movie.   

More importantly, he enlisted the late Jim Henson and his legendary Creature Shop to bring the Turtles to life using state-of-the-art animatronics, which came at no small expense.   

Even so, Gray found the project was a hard sell when it came to finding a major studio willing to distribute the movie.   

“George Lucas’s Howard the Duck had just come out and bombed,” he recalls. “When I went around people would say ‘oh no I’m not going to put my name on the next Howard the Duck. Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, how absurd.’ Nobody wanted to step up in the major studios.”   

Undaunted by the mass rejection (“Hollywood is always the last to know”) Gray eventually secured a deal with New Line Cinema, then best known for A Nightmare on Elm Street. 

The rest, as they say, is history.  

That first Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles movie came from nowhere in the spring of 1990 to make an astonishing $135 million, becoming a cultural phenomenon in the process. A sequel was inevitable but the results were anything but.   

“It was rushed,” Gray says when asked for his overriding feelings about Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles II: The Secret of the Ooze.  “Once the first film opened, we figured we had to get another one out as quickly as possible because this whole thing could fade away very quickly if we didn’t come back.”   

Incredibly, a release date for the sequel was set for almost exactly a year on from the original. That seems crazy to think now, in the era where the Marvel Cinematic Universe is carefully plotted out years in advance, but this was 1990 and New Line Cinema. At this point the production company which was working on its sixth Nightmare on Elm Street Movie in the space of just seven years. The quality of those films had varied wildly but one thing had remained consistent: the quick turnaround.  

“New Line wanted it out on pretty much the same date, maybe a week earlier in fact. So, we rushed into the production, got a script together. The overarching thing was speed. We had to get it out,” Gray remembers. “I think that’s probably the reason why it doesn’t top many people’s list of the best Turtles movies.”   

A Change in Tone

One of the first challenges facing Gray was a tonal one. While the first TMNT film had garnered praise for maintaining the dark and dangerous feel of the original comics, not everyone was happy.   

“We started getting some pressure from parental groups. They felt it was a little too dark and a little too frightening for children,” Gray says.  

In the US, there were reports of Turtles toys and merchandise being banned in schools over worries they encouraged aggressive behavior in kids. In the UK, the characters were even rebranded the Teenage Mutant Hero Turtles amid concern among censors that the word “ninja” promoted violence. Michelangelo’s nunchucks were also banned. It wasn’t just the censors who expressed concern either.   

“The toy company was also telling us that maybe we shouldn’t be too dark,” Gray said. “And then, of course, then there was Jim Henson himself, who died while we were making the first film. His whole thing from the beginning was that he didn’t want to make a really dark film. Steve [Barron] was able to convince him it was the way to go even though it was different from the Muppets and everything he had done before. They had a great relationship. Jim trusted Steve.”   

The decision was made to approach the material with a lighter tone, with Todd Langen’s original script undergoing a major rewrite to address the change. Despite the change Gray insists an attempt was made to retain some of the darker elements.   

“We tried to get somewhere in between but probably didn’t succeed.”   

Ultimately, however, the looming deadline left little room for nuance.    

“If you sit down and think about this thing too much, you’re never going to get underway,” he reasons.

A New Director  

In another notable shift that fans have questioned down the years, Barron did not return for the sequel.  

The Irish filmmaker told Flickering Myth that the shift in sensibilities was the deciding factor.   

“[It was] lighter, and all the instructions that had gone on from the first film were coming from the producers about keeping the color and lightness and getting away from the dark edge in number two,” he said. “For me it was poppy, and that wasn’t my sensibility.” 

Gray tells Den of Geek Barron didn’t come back “for reasons that I won’t go into” but during the interview paints a picture of difficulties during their work together on the first film.   

“I fought with the crew every single day but they did a hell of a job. Budgets were not adhered to but I’ve always given them credit because of their vision,” Gray says.   

The producer also revealed that the first film was re-edited from Barron’s original version after his bosses were left unhappy with the director’s cut.  

“The studio did edit the film in the end to come up with a different version.  It was felt it was cut so you didn’t get to see the roundhouse kicks and fighting which was the hallmark of Golden Harvest. When the bosses saw it in Hong Kong, they complained that they couldn’t tell what the turtles were doing. They wanted to see these guys kicking and fighting. Steve’s style was good but we wanted another look.”   

Despite Gray’s diplomatic tone, it’s not difficult to imagine such developments might have created tension. In Barron’s place came American filmmaker Michael Pressman, who Gray knew from his days at United Artists.    

“What I liked about Michael was that he was a disciplined director. Having gone through the problems with the first picture I wanted someone who shot fast and stayed on budget. That was my main motivation,” the producer says.    

A capable director who has gone on to enjoy a long and varied career in television, little of the blame for Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles 2’s failing can fall at Pressman’s feet though it’s undeniable that some of the creative spark of the first film was lost with Barron’s exit.   

So was much of the original’s violence, with the Turtles rarely shown using their weapons in the finished film while the action set pieces were also significantly watered down.  

Eastman and Laird

Despite the criticism levelled at the sequel for failing to retain the tone of the comics, all of what went into the movie was greenlit by the TMNT creators. Part of the deal inked by Peter Laird and Kevin Eastman saw them retain final approval on anything in the film. But that created other issues both at script and production level, as Gray recalls.  

“Kevin was certainly more malleable with going along with things because of the budget but Peter was very difficult to get things by because he would say ‘Oh, well Michelangelo would never say that’. So, it was very hard from the point of view of the writer trying to figure it all out.”   

Read more

Culture

The Best Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles Songs

By Lisa Granshaw

Movies

Best Martial Arts Movies on Netflix Right Now

By Gene Ching

With Barron no longer around to mediate and sell them on the plans and with time ticking on, the pair’s reluctance to sign off on ideas led to increased tensions.  

“We argued a little bit,” Gray says. “These things are never sweet or nice. It gets down to what we can do and, in the time provided. It’s about compromise. In the end they approved Langren’s changed script.  Maybe it was reluctantly but we weren’t going to meet the demand and get this out if they kept changing things.”   

Tokka and Rahzar

One of the most noted criticisms of Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles 2 concerned the decision to introduce two new sidekicks alongside returning villain Shredder, rather than draw on the wild array of mutant animals that had featured in the comics and TV series. 

Many fans had expected to see Bebop and Rocksteady, the mutant warthog and rhinoceros supervillains made famous in the cartoon, feature. However, that cartoon outing proved both a blessing and a curse. 

“I didn’t want them in any of the movies,” Laird later revealed on his personal blog. “It’s not so much that I disliked the characters so intensely, but more that I found their constant one-note shtick in the first animated series to be extremely annoying and silly to the point of being stupid.”  

Gray’s version of events differs slightly.   

“We wanted new villains because we would get a piece of the royalty, which we didn’t have with the first movie. We figured if we created something they didn’t come up with we would get a piece of the pie. It was a business decision.”   

Together with the creatives at Henson’s Creature Shop, they “threw together” Tokka and Rahzar, a mutant Alligator Snapping Turtle and wolf respectively, based on pretty much whatever was available. 

“Those things were basically the Henson Creature Shop’s ideas, because they had to figure out, technically, what they could do, how big they were going to be and how they could move,” Gray says. “They had to design all this stuff, put someone in the suit and then wire them up or get the animatronics going to make it work. So, we just went to them and said we need a couple of villains.” 

Indeed, the resulting animatronics proved less complex and less compelling than the heroes in a half shell – and it showed on screen.   

“They were just big models,” Gray admits. “We cut corners, there’s no question about it.”   

Sweaty and Claustrophobic

Meanwhile, the turtle suits themselves had undergone little in the way of upgrades since the first film, when the actors playing the four leads experienced any number of issues. Not the least of which being the claustrophobia and sweating that comes with wearing up to 70lbs worth of turtle suit.  

The animatronics also, despite being state-of-the-art, continued to suffer their fair share of glitches.  

“We knew what the difficulties were and they were unbelievable,” Gray says. “There were days when we couldn’t even get these things set up.  We were filming right near the Wilmington Airport. We set up a shot and when it came time for action the Turtles would not speak. We realized they were on the same frequency as the airport.”    

Gray blames the lack of a major upgrade, in part, on the lack of additional budget.    

“The budget didn’t exponentially go through the roof, because of the speed,” he explains. “I have read things saying it was $20 million. It wasn’t, it was $16.5 million.”  

A New April O’Neil

Away from the animatronic issues, the human cast of Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles 2 proved a mixed bag.  Corey Feldman didn’t return to voice Donatello after pleading no contest to a drug possession charge while, more notably still, Judith Hoag was replaced by Paige Turco as April O’Neil.  

Hoag later told Variety she was never approached about the sequel, claiming her omission was a result of the fact she complained about the level of violence in the first movie and the six-days-a-week shooting schedule.  

“Everybody was beating everybody up,” Hoag said. “I thought the movie suffered because of that. It was something I spoke to the producers about, I think they thought I was too demanding, and moved on.” 

Not that Gray felt the production suffered as a result of either changes.  

“No, not at all,” he says. “Certainly not with Corey Feldman because it’s a voice. Remember when you play that movie around the world it will be in 40 or 50 different languages and subtitled anyway. It makes no difference and nobody overseas even knew Corey Feldman was doing a voice…With Judith, we thought it might be of concern but then again it’s all about the Turtles. People aren’t showing up for Judith – though she did a fabulous job – it was really all about the Turtles.”   

Elias Koteas also failed to return as the ice hockey stick-wielding vigilante and ally Casey Jones – though that was more down to the film’s shift away from adult themes and one of the more violent human characters.   

“Casey was discussed but the reason he dropped out – and I don’t think this was a major issue – was the direction we wanted to take the film,” Gray says. “We wanted to go lighter. That was part of cleaning up the act.”   

In his place came Ernie Reyes Jr, a rising martial arts star who had served as a stuntman on the first film and was introduced as Keno, a pizza delivery boy who befriends the turtles. It was a stark departure from Koteas’s character but, once again, it was one Gray says came with the backing of the TMNT hierarchy.   

“If Peter and Kevin had wanted Elias back, he would have been back. So, either we were able to convince them that we wanted to go with Ernie and they went along with it.”   

Vanilla Ice

Quite how they were convinced to include rapper Vanilla Ice in the proceedings is anyone’s guess, with the rapper turning up in a mid-film nightclub scene to perform new single “Ninja Rap.” His cameo continues to delight and horrify fans to this day. Few will be surprised by the commercially-minded circumstances that led to his appearance.   

“SBK the record label producing the soundtrack album said ‘You gotta have Vanilla Ice in this, he’s hot’ so we put him in…We had a good album out of it. Sometimes you don’t make the movie for the reason of art you make it because the thing could go away in a heartbeat. I’ve always been fairly honest and upfront about our motives. It is a business.”     

While others might disagree, Gray stands by the inclusion of Vanilla Ice in the film.  

“He actually did a very good job. He’s a very cool operative and he loved doing it.”   

Shredder or Krang?   

Looking back on the sequel, as much as anything, the most disappointing aspect was the decision to resurrect Shredder rather than explore different villains in the way other comic book franchises have.  

While Shredder has always been the main antagonist, as with Bebop and Rocksteady, there remained a plethora of colorful villain characters that could have been plucked from the pages of the original comic or the animated series. But the decision to stick with Shredder was not one takem lightly by anyone, and others were discussed.  

“We went through the whole catalogue of villains and certainly Krang and all these other characters were in play,” Gray says. “We thought of them but we stayed with what works and that’s what you do in these situations. Don’t try and get too clever.”   

As much as anything he blames the Hollywood system and a refusal to take risks. New Line too, would have no doubt been happy to press ahead with a Shredder-oriented sequel, seeing him as the TMNT’s very own Freddy Kreuger of sorts.  

“Nobody trusts their instincts,” Gray says. “You go with what worked before and try to modify it a little bit. If it works [and the plethora of Freddy sequels suggests it did] then you are justified in using the same thing over and over again.”  

Once again though the decision to stick with Shredder and avoid the kind of time and expense required to create something like Krang, a brain-shaped alien carried around in the waist of a robot man, was influenced by that release date.  

Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles II: The Secret of the Ooze opened in theaters on March 22, 1991, less than a year on from the original. It went on to make over $78 million to become the second most successful independent film of all time.   

Despite turning a profit, the film garnered mixed reviews and left Gray and others disappointed.  

“It didn’t deliver on what we had hoped because there was this race against time to get it out one year after the first one. When you do that, you really have to compromise.”  

Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles III 

After the rush to make a second film, it was decided that they would take more time over the third one.  

But anyone hoping for a return to form was left disappointed by the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles III: Turtles in TIme, which saw the gang head to 17th century Japan.  

“With number three, we were aiming something at the Japanese market, which was the number one market for foreign films,” Gray explains. “That’s why we had the time travel storyline with the samurais. That was definitely one of the motivations.”  

There was just one problem though.  

“We hoped it would get the film released in Japan. To this day, it has not been released in Japan.”  

Though Gray returned to produce an animated fourth film in the 2000s box office returns diminished with every film. By the time Michael Bay got involved in the franchise, Gray was long gone. He now considers himself “out of the turtle game” with this being one of the last interviews on the subject. But despite the highs and lows endured on the second film, Gray remains proud of what was achieved. 

cnx.cmd.push(function() { cnx({ playerId: "106e33c0-3911-473c-b599-b1426db57530", }).render("0270c398a82f44f49c23c16122516796"); });

“These movies were made by committee. It’s amazing they turned out so well.”  

The post What Went Wrong With Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles II: The Secret of the Ooze? appeared first on Den of Geek.

from Den of Geek https://ift.tt/3c7N9be

[cilliansaccent]

The Peaky Designer - Cillian Fanfic, Chapter 14

Hello, welcome back. Below is the next instalment of my fanfiction!

Leave a like or a comment if you liked it, or if I can do anything better! Please, it would mean the world and to understand if anyone is enjoying my writing. Also, sharing/reblogging would be even better.

PLEASE READ:

I will not be including Cillian’s family as it’s kinda weird since he has children lmao. Just a mention of his parents and a previous lover.

I will indicate in a chapter if there is smut in the beginning and before the actual scene!!

I will add trigger warnings if there is any!!

There is a variety of levels of swearing during a chapter, I will not hold back, everyone swears.

The timestamp for the Fic is now 2016 and onwards!!

——- ——- ——- ——- ——- ——- ——- ——- ——- ——- ——- ——- ——-

Background: Gabrijela Babic is a Croatian girl from Sydney, Australia. She is born in the year 1991 on the 24th of December. She studies a Fashion degree in a University with a major in Game Design as well. Her teacher in the fashion designer class managed to nail an Internship on the set of Peaky Blinders with the shows very own Costume Designer, Allison McCosh. There, she travels to London for under a year to learn how to be one, working alongside the actors as well the man she admires, Cillian Murphy. But, her platonic feelings for the man begins to grow into something more, and she wonders whether she should pursue them or let him go for fear of her strict parents and her three older brothers…

Characters:

Swantje Paulina as Gabrijela Babic (swalina on Instagram)

Cillian Murphy

Word Count: 4,304

!!Warnings!!: Major sex scene at the end!! Light BDSM.

Date: December 2016

Chapter Name: Happy Dirty New Year

Brief Chapter Outline: The last few days of the Year is spend with Cillian's family, before the night they share privately in a cabin is much hotter than the fireworks...

——- ——- ——- ——- ——- ——- ——- ——- ——- ——- ——- ——- ——-

The next couple of days were entirely relaxing. She spent time with Mary cooking and chatting. Gabrijela got to know her much better and Cillian would always find them giggling and whispering. 

"Always up to something," Cillian chided and shook his head as he went to find his father. 

They only giggled more. 

Mary pulled out some old albums of Cillian when he was just a baby. Which made Cillian groan very loudly and blush. Gab ruffled his fluff of hair, making a mess out of it. He liked his hair being touch and fingers run through it. A shame he had to always chop it off for each new season of Peaky Blinders. She liked the thickness and silky feeling of it. 

She loved the photos of him when he was younger, she even mentioned how he didn't seem to age one bit. 

"Just like good 'ol wine." Mary nodded, "Blessed with the Irish luck." She laughed. 

Gabrijela couldn't agree more. 

Mary became happy that Cillian found Gabrijela and really pulled her under her wing. He never saw them parted, only when he took her one day to explore Cork with her and take her to hot spots. She had admitted she was falling in love with the place, and she could see herself living here. 

Cillian had hoped so if the future is kind for them. He would love her to move here, he wanted to move back to his homeland. And with her with him... His dreams would come true. 

They spent some nights along the docks, where they ate some good food and sat on the piers and kissed for a long time. There would be a celebration in the city centre for New Years and he made sure he had organised his whole family to be there. 

Dinner at a pub he truly loved and had some fantastic music. He had some old-time friends who were there and introduced Gabrijela to them. 

Gab was stoked to be spending New Year's Eve with the man she adored, and seeing him so relaxed in this cute pub made her smile even more. She could see how much he loved the music here, and she would always cherish that about him. 

She laid her head on his shoulder, holding his hand in his lap. "Is this how it's like in your pub?" He asked her. 

"Kinda. But way bigger and has two floors. It's got a whole dance floor as it turns into a nightclub after ten at night." She explained. 

"Oh? How long you play then?" He looked down at her. 

"So both Thursday and Friday, we play from six to ten and then on Saturday, we play from twelve in the afternoon to three. Then six to ten at night." She replied, "Or sometimes we would do some nights where Elijah and I would play our cellos together as Maya would be our sound master. She doesn't just do the keys, but she does the synthetic sounds for our band. Creating echos or choir-like sounds, all that." 

"Wow. You guys really are prepared. You get paid?" He picked up his beer and drank some. 

"We make money through tips, which is always a lot. We're quite the talk in Sydney." She said. 

"I never asked but what is your band's name?"  His arm now laid on the backrest behind her. 

"Aussie Wogs. We all have European backgrounds." She giggled. 

"Smart. I like that." He leaned down and sneaked in a quick kiss. 

She leaned in closer, one hand on his chest, "Keep kissing me." She murmured. 

"Mmm, I'd love to but we're surrounded by many familiar faces. For me that is." He kissed her again and pulled back. 

She pouted but laid her head back on his shoulder, enjoying the atmosphere. 

But some man had gotten to the mic and spoke, "Well, well, well, I do hope everyone is having a wonderful time tonight." There was a cheer, "Fantastic! Well, I do have a wonderful surprise for each and every one of yous. We have a special guest tonight, a wonderful man who done wonderful things over the last few years. Let's clap our hands and cheer for the one and only, Cillian Murphy!" The man cried. 

Cillian let out a laugh as everyone cheered him up. It seemed this wasn't a surprise for him as to how well he took it. Unless it was a surprise and he was good at hiding it. 

"Hello, hello. Thank you very much." Cillian said through the mic as he prepped himself. "I am very glad to be home, back with me family after a long year of filming." He said. 

Gabrijela took some photos and filmed a bit of his speech, he was so adorable, she thought. 

"For this, lovely, new years eve, I will be uh, playing a special song," Cillian said. "For someone who I hold very dear." His eyes trailed to Gabrijela, some people made 'ooo' sounds and he laughed, "She means a lot to me." 

Her cheeks reddened as eyes fell on her. 

"I don't want to dwell too much, the lyrics will speak for themselves." He said and the slow, romantic beat began. 

When he sang, her heart and soul seemed to explode at the beautiful song he had made for her. He sang about her beauty and how she reminded him of the finest jewels in the world. Of her personality as like the Irish coast, grand, unique, simple yet so intricate with hidden beauties. 

When the song ended people clapped wildly before she slowly stood. She kept her eyes on Cillian who did the same for her. She walked to the stage and he pulled her close, people chanted to kiss. 

And so Cillian did, leaning down and claimed her lips in a gentle kiss. He truly cared for her, and this song had all his heart and feelings in it. 

She smiled wide as they pulled back, "Cillian. Oh, Cillian." She wrapped her arms around his neck and held him close. "That was so beautiful." She was moved and had tears in her eyes. 

"Yeah? You think so?" He pulled back, he became super shy. 

"I think so. Perfect Cillian. Just perfect." She beamed. 

Once off the stage, people shook hands with him and the band, chatting away and praising them. Gabrijela stayed to his side and talked with some of his friends. 

They all loved him, she listened to some cheeky stories about him and she giggled. They loved to tease him, he was the shy one out of all of them. 

Gabrijela wasn't too sure when it came to knowing what she was to Cillian. But she replied with, "We're figuring it out." She was blushing brightly as some mentioned to just call it as lovers or boyfriend and girlfriend. 

The night wore on with good music and more chatter. Then it was time for everyone to make their way outside for the count down. Cillian and his family found a good spot close by. 

It was freezing and she hugged Cillian close, his arm around her. She looked up at him, "I'm glad I'm spending the new year with someone special." She said. 

He kissed her nose, "Same here," He murmured as everyone began to shout the count down. 

Then it struck midnight and fireworks exploded in the sky. "Happy New Year!" Everyone cheered. 

Cillian tilted her chin up and claimed her lips in a deep, passionate kiss. She wrapped her arms around his neck as they continued to kiss, "Happy New Year, Cillian." She murmured against his lips. 

"Happy New Year to you too, Gabrijela," He smiled and kissed her again. 

She pulled back, "I want to tell you something." She said softly, cupping his cheek. 

"What is it?" He asked looking deeply into her eyes. 

"I love you." She admitted finally, "I've loved you for some time now, Cillian. And I hope you feel the same." She gulped. 

Cillian's expression broke out in joy, his smile grand, "I love you to Gabrijela. God, I am so glad I could say those words, I have been wanting to say them for a while now." He said and laughed. 

"Well, now you can say them all the time." She said as he wrapped his arms around her tightly and pulled her against his body as they kissed long and passionate. 

Someone snapped a picture of them and Cillian pulled back to raise a brow at his mother, "Did you just take a photo?" He asked. 

"I may have! Ah! My son has found love!" She beamed and hugged them both. 

Everyone hugged and wished each other a new year. Celebrations went well into the night, Cillian stayed back with Gabrijela. They celebrated a little longer before they headed home as well. 

Some hours later, late afternoon... 

He had organised a two-night stay in a cabin, just a little outside of Cork and in a forest. He had packed the car with their stuff, his brother would take them there and would drive them to the airport on the third. 

Gabrijela said her goodbyes to his family, hugging them. The kids were upset she was going, they really loved her. 

"You be safe now, okay?" Mary cupped her face, "Please write to us. You have our address and number. Call us too, whenever you want a chat." 

"I will, of course." Gab nodded and hugged her tightly. 

She waved and headed to the car. 

Mary turned to Cillian, "You better look after her, son. Okay?" 

"I will. I love her Ma." He blushed a little. 

"You love her but you still must care for her." She said sternly and hugged him. 

He went to the car and got in, Gabrijela joined him inside.

"Nothing is forgotten?" He asked her as he took her hand. 

"Nope. If I did, good excuse to come back." She smirked. 

"Uh-huh." He smiled. 

They drove for some time and came to the place, his brother drove up the dirt road to the cabin situated in an open area. All around was just a forest. 

They got out, his brother gave Cillian a tight hug as they bid farewell to each other. He did the same for Gab before he drove back down the road. Leaving them alone now. 

Gab turned to look at the cabin, it was all wooden with a pitched roof. Snow patches coated the grass around and frost along the wooden steps that lead up to the cabin. 

"Wow, Cillian. It's so beautiful. First a song for me and now this? Oh, god." She beamed. 

"Let's go inside." He helped her with the bags and up they went. 

Once they entered the cabin it was all one room save for the big bathroom to their left. It was all warm, wood tones with dark off white carpet. There was a little kitchen to their right, a big metal-framed bed with a mixture of white and blue sheets. On top, there were rose petals with a bucket of two red wines resting inside. 

Across the bed was a fireplace and above it a TV. A little dining table was off to the side and had a big bouquet of roses. 

"That's for you and the wine," Cillian said as they set their bags down. 

"So romantic." She turned to him, wrapping her arms around his neck, "I love you, dear boyfriend." She mused, wanting to see his reaction. 

He kissed her, "I love you too, dear girlfriend."

She giggled, "I'm happy I can call you that now." She took off his beanie, ruffling his hair. 

His hands slid down to cup her ass, squeezing it, "I bet you are." He kissed her deeply, needily. 

"Mmm Cillian, after we pack. Then we can play." She said, returning the kiss. 

"Alright, boss." He pulled back and winked at her. 

As they unpacked, she saw that the cabin had a balcony which had a jacuzzi, "Oh my god! A jacuzzi! We must turn that on, its perfect weather for it." She said. 

"Sure, we can do that. Wine and good tunes." Cillian agreed. 

Once they finished unpacking, he first made some dinner for them both. He played some good music as they ate. 

"I'll clean up and you set the jacuzzi up." She said as she stood once she was done. 

Cillian nodded and headed out. He set the tub up, and rinsed it, then let it fill up as he closed the plastic blinds to keep the weather out. Then he lit some candles around and brought his portable speaker out and two glasses of wine. 

He came back inside and Gabrijela was undressed and naked, he felt himself harden at the sight of her body, cast aglow from the fire and the low light. 

"Fucking gorgeous." He came over and kissed her deeply. 

She clung to his arms and moaned, "Undress my love. Let's not get the water cold." 

He hummed and undressed then took her hand and walked with her outside. 

"Oh my," She shivered and he helped her into the bubbling tub, then got in after her, sitting across from her with her legs on either side of him. 

He handed her glass of wine, "To us." He said, holding his up. 

"To us, my love." She smiled and clinked glasses with him and took a sip before she tilted her head back and sighed long and deep. 

"What's wrong?" He asked, swirling the liquid in his glass. 

"Ah, just... thinking." She smiled. 

"About?" He ran his fingers along her shin and to her knee then back down. 

"Everything that has happened in the past months. My internship, Logan, everything. And now, after all that has happened, I'm in a good place. With you as my true love." She opened her eyes and looked at him. 

"You are?" He sat forward a little. 

"Mhm. I am." She sat up. 

"Are you sure? You are not worried? About... me?" He asked. He was still concerned. He didn't want to drag her back or anything. 

"Cillian, I am not worried. If I was, I'd have said something by now." She sat forward, now closer to him. 

"Okay. But just... The media can be cruel you know?" He cupped her face with a hand. 

"I know. But they don't know us, even if it gets out." She kissed him, "I love you Cillian. No one will stop me from loving you. You have my whole heart." She whispered. 

"You trust me enough to have it all?" He set his glass down, pulling her into his lap. 

"I trust you with my whole being, Cillian. You are the one for me." She said and kissed him deeply. 

His arms wrapped around her back, their bodies flushed against each other. 

She lowered her hips down, grinding against him. Soft moans emitted from her, his hips rising to press harder against her. "Oh... Cillian..." She tilted her head back as his fingers tangled in her hair, pulling on it. 

His lips trailed down the column of her throat, sucking and kissing and biting her skin. He kissed the pendant that rested just under the hollow of her throat. "So perfect." He muttered as his hands groped her ass, rolling her hips into him. 

Right now, it was him just touching her, letting his fingers run up her spine which caused her to arch a little from the touch. Then down her arms and back up and down her sides. He kissed her softly, mostly pecking at her lips before he returned to her neck, knowing she really liked that. 

She stroked his arms and his shoulders and his chest, soft moans escaping her from his loving touches and the feeling of his cock pressed against her. 

"I want you," She whispered, kissing him deeply. 

He reached between them, gripping himself and pointing to her entrance. He held her hip with one hand and guided her down, she let out a moan and he did as well, their gazes locked. 

Their lips met once more as she began to move, going slow so it didn't spill the water everywhere. But it was difficult as her need for him only grew, and she wanted to go harder. 

She gripped the edge of the tub behind his head, moving her body faster, his hands splayed on her mid-back as his lips brought in a nipple of hers, and sucked. 

He rolled the little nub between his lips, biting down and she let out a cry of delight. He had picked up she liked it rough, and a bit of pain laced in it. He wondered if she was into some kinks. He would ask her tomorrow. 

As he continued to tease her breasts, she rode him faster. The water began to splash as she moaned, "Cillian! Ah!" 

"We should get out hm? We're gonna make a mess." He said, pulling back to look at her. 

"Y-Yeah, sure. Just be quick." She slid off him and got out. He followed her, quickly blowing out the candles as they walked into the cabin. 

He pulled her close and kissed her hard, then spun her and bent her over the bed, "Open your legs." He ordered. 

She whined and did so. 

"Arms up." He said and she raised her arms above her head and her eyes widened when he pulled out... "Rope?" She gulped. 

"Mhm. I want to try something... New. You fine with that?" His voice softened. 

"Go ahead, baby." Her eyes were full of lust. "Tie me up. I'm all yours to use." She found herself saying. 

He chuckled and tied her hands and then to the headboard. "Make sure you keep these lovely legs parted for me yeah?" 

"Yes, baby." She nodded. 

He then set to tieing her ankles too. She couldn't pull her legs together or move much. 

"Oh, Cillian... Kinky," She giggled as he gripped her ass. 

"Thought I'd spice things up." He mused as he leaned over her body and kissed down her spine. 

She shivered when he reached lower, his mouth trailing over the curve of her ass then inwards to her core. She moaned once he came in contact, "Tell me a safe word." He murmured against her, his breath warm. 

"Apple Pie!" She panted, wiggling her hips. "Cillian fuck. Oh, don't tease me like this!" 

He chuckled and sat back, bringing a finger to her entrance and circling it, "You can't tell me what to do, love." He continued to swirl that finger around her entrance. 

"Please, please Cillian." She whimpered, "You promised me to fuck me." 

"Did I now? You only said to be quick." He pushed the finger into her, fingering her painfully slow. 

She tugged on the bonds, she really couldn't move much. But the whole thing was a huge turn-on.

"Are you okay my love?" He kissed the underside of her thigh. 

"I am more than fine. I love what you are doing." She sucked in a breath as he pushed in another finger. 

"Good girl." He ran his free hand up her leg as he picked up the pace with his fingering. Then it was going at a good hard pace. "God, you are soaking love. Wonderful." 

She whimpered, her mouth open as pleasurable sounds left her. She could hear the slick, wet sounds. She was close. 

"Love, are you close? Will you cum for me?" He purred lowly, "I can feel it." 

"Mhm! Mmm! Oh!" She let out a loud whine. "Cillian! Cilly! Oh! Oh! Fuck!" She choked out as she came, his thumb was rubbing her clit to urge her into her climax. 

Her body had a sheen of sweat from the warmth of the fire and the heat that spread through her body. 

"Oh, my love, love, wonderful. Thatta girl." He kissed her asscheeks gently as he stood up, "Do you want my cock? Hm?" He stroked himself, letting his cock rest on her ass. 

"I do baby. I really do. I need you inside me." She looked over her shoulder. He was already leaking pre-cum. 

"Been such a good girl." He braced one hand on the bed, he crouched a little as the thick head pressed against her wet entrance. Then he pushed in, a groan rumbling through him as he went further and further till he was entirely against her. He was hunched over her body, his lips brushing her shoulderblade. 

"Cilly... Oh... Shit..." Her breaths were rugged, she could easily cum again. 

"Love," He murmured against her skin, then began to rock his hips. In and out, slowly and full of pleasurable intent. He would take his time just like he fingered her. She had nowhere to go, she couldn't make him go faster. 

The pleasure felt a little more different in this angle, he pushed more towards her spin and there was a particular spot where she felt the electric shocks go through her. "Fuck." She managed, her body trembling. 

"So, so fucking tight. Fuck. Gabbie." He leans back, holding her hips as he pushed harder into her, looking down as how well they connected. He tilted his head back, eyes shut slightly and mouth parted. She felt absolute divine, and his body reacted and began to go faster. 

Gabrijela let out odd yet pleasurable sounds, her voice slightly muffled from when she lowered her head into the sheets. She was being thrown forward again from his powerful hips that slammed into her. A climax was dawning on her again and it wasn't long when she screamed and came, dragging one from him as well. 

Even as they came, he didn't let up. He reached out and grabbed her mess of a hair and pulled her head back. "I'm gonna have you a mess, love. Is that fine?" He kissed her before he resumed fucking her. 

"Yes! Yes!" She cried out, eyes shut as the pain from her hair being pulled made the gratification of the fuck even better. She could hear the sexy grunts that came from him, probably the loudest she ever heard from him. 

He had her hips pinned to the bed, causing a painful yet exciting whine came from her. She really did like the pain. So he gave it to her with his rough thrusting. 

The bed shook a little, making the classic squeaky sound. "Gabrijela! FUCK!" He gasped, both his hands now on her hips as he pushed as deep as he could in her. His climax was returning, and he wanted to drag this out as much as he could. 

Gabrijela hadn't had a rough fuck since her ex, not even Logan was as rough as this. Cillian, god, something came out of him and she was enjoying every moment of it. She laughed and moaned, screaming out his name. Her voice would be hoarse by morning. 

"Ahh! I'm gonna cum again! Cillian!" She screamed, pulling hard on the bonds. "Cillian... Cillian... Cill- FUCK! CILLIAN!" She howled as her walls tightened around him and she came hard, this time she squirted a little from how sensitive she had gotten. 

Cillian went fast as his climax ran down his back before he let out one, sexy groan of ecstasy as he shot his load deep within her. He thrust to drag the climax to the end, even for her before he slowed and stilled inside her. 

He braced both hands on the bed, panting. The air was so hot, his skin, as well as hers, covered in sweat. He leaned over, kissing the spot between her shoulder blades. 

"Gab..." He murmured, his voice rough from the strain he had on it. He leaned back a little, dragging his nails along her spine. "Gab talk to me." 

"Cilly..." Her voice was so soft, so small. He suddenly felt fear spike through him. Had he actually hurt her? He quickly pulled out and untied her before she had collapsed to her knees at the foot of the bed. 

"Gabrijela, fuck I'm so sorry. I went too hard did I? I'm so so-" 

She looked up and cupped his face and kissed him to shut him up. She smiled as she pulled back, "Cillian you dummy. Shut up. You really fucked me senseless and I loved it. I fucking loved that." She kissed him again, sitting back. She had this look, droopy eyes, flushed cheeks and swollen lips and messy hair. 

A look he would remember forever, "Are you sure? I-I don't know what came over me." He took her hands. 

She giggled, "I want to do that again. Some day. Maybe tomorrow, on my back. So I can see this face when you cum." She kissed him and he wrapped his arms around her and pulled her close. 

"You really liked it?" He murmured as they stood. She was weak in the knees. 

"Mhmm. So hot." She said as he helped her to bed. 

He grinned a little, "I'm glad then." He chuckled as he chucked the ropes aside and turned off the lights. 

He got into bed, she rolled into his arms, her head on his chest. They smelled like sweat and sex. But he didn't care. It would be some time before they would do something like this again after she left. 

"I love you Cillian," Gabrijela said softly. 

"I love you, Gabrijela." He replied, kissing her head. "You really are fine?" 

She hit his chest, "I'll tie your balls and never let you cum if you ask me that question again. Yes, I am fine, Cillian." She laughed. 

"Okay, okay. Just making sure." He said before they both fell into a comfortable silence. Neither one was tired, so they listened to his favourite tunes and talked about nonsense. 

[johnny-depplyloveyou]

Johnny’s foreword for “In the Name of the Son: The Gerry Conlon Story”

Johnny with Joe Cashman, Terry O'Neill and Gerry Conlon in 1993

Upon Thinking of My Long-Lost Brother, Gerry …

20.8.17

I first met Gerry Conlon, by absolute chance, in the hallway of a talent agency in Los Angeles, somewhere around 1990, I believe. It was a rare occurrence for me to visit the place, which made the moment with Gerry all the more charmed.

I had pressed the button and was en route to my destination floor. Upon arriving, the doors opened. As I exited, I spooked a couple of guys to my left, who looked, as did I, sorely out of place. The guts of this heinous, monolithic terrarium of steel, glass and dubious “art”, sparsely shaming those ghastly “modern” walls, was not a typical setting for folk such as myself, or gents of this breed, who, in my personal and moderately professional estimation, were satisfactorily saturated and teetering along the same invisible ledge, as though they’d been out on the prowl, for an especially impressive stretch. Indeed, they looked just like the depraved, miscreant, unhinged maniacs I always tended to hang out with. One of them possessed the squinty scrutinising eyes of the streets, and was as skinny as a dried lizard. He also seemed to have been divined with a prevailing lack of residents in the tooth department. The questionable few choppers that had not been evicted, were lonely, jagged and rotting. His stringy, straight hair – greasy to his shoulders. This was Joey Cashman. A hilariously clever and quick-witted Irishman, from just outside Dublin. He was the manager of one of my favourite humans of all time, the infamously tattered genius of lyric and song, Shane MacGowan, from the Pogues. Joey was a lovely man, who held strong to those he loved. Devoted and solid. I would later survive many adventures with this man, and to this very day, I have been informed of Joey’s tragic and “sudden” demise, and miraculous resurrection, at least fourteen times. The other fella was from heavier stock. He laid a big, beautiful, slightly crazed Cheshire Cat smile on me, which showed that this man had at least met a dentist once in his life. But it was his eyes that got me. Eyes that simultaneously exuded wisdom and a childlike purity; a desire to live and love. There was no question that these powerful eyes had seen and experienced much. This was Gerry Conlon. He approached me and introduced himself and his mate Joey, with the exuberance of a man who held nothing back. He gave of himself freely. His eyes sparkled like ten thousand stars had just given birth to ten thousand more …

Gerry Conlon had first gotten my attention when he stomped out of the Old Bailey in London in October 1989, fists raised high and declared to the world that he was an innocent man who had spent fifteen years in jail. The authorities had tried to shove him out the back door, in order to avoid the inevitable media frenzy, but he had refused, instead imparting something along the lines of “Fuck you, I’m a free man, youse fuckin brought me in the back door, I’m going out the front!” My curiosity had then been further fired when I’d learnt that he’d witnessed his father, Giuseppe, another innocent man, die in a British prison. And now here he was, Gerry himself, stood right before me, in this, the most incongruous of places possible. Fortunately, to prevent matters from being overtly one-sided, he recognized me from something or other and lunch was duly arranged.

Gerry was altogether an articulate, personable, funny, self-deprecating and fierce humanitarian. He was an absolute gentleman, who possessed all the knowledge of law in the streets of Belfast. Chivalrous, loyal and highly sensitive to any injustice, no matter how large, or minute. If he loved you, you were blessed to be invited into his circle, where there existed no edits with him. Gerry said what he felt and meant what he said. He had no difficulty in getting his point across. Ever. He had grown so used to having his prison clique around him that those of us who spent significant amounts of time with him became a newfangled version of just that. He was a 100% trusted friend and brother, to the very end.

During lunch, he broached the subject of my playing him in the film that was to be produced about his life during his unfathomably unjust arrest and incarceration. More than touched at this profoundly personal invitation from this man, I was already on the deck wiping away tears (as was he), when he gave me the first details of his abduction and torture by the British authorities. During this, our first proper encounter, he spoke more of his experiences in prison. Despite the hardship that had been visited on him, I came away with the impression that here was a character whose passion for life had been in no way diminished. He was starving for it. As much as he could get ahold of.

Later, during the summer of 1991, I found myself fortunate enough to be invited on holiday with Gerry and his family. Despite being more of a grape man, the only flavours I recall from that trip are Black Bush, Jameson’s, Irish Coffee and of course, the Guinness. The Conlons were lovely people, one and all, but I had a special place in my heart for Gerry’s mother, Sarah, and his sister, Ann. These were sweet, strong and kind folk whose lives had been torn asunder and putting them back together wasn’t going to be easy. But, if my experiences with these wonderful people told me anything, it was that their humour remained perfectly intact. In fact, I specifically remember some sloppy conversation with both Gerry and I employing words and sentences that our mouths were shamefully unfit to speak, as our eyes began to see double. At some point Gerry decided that we must go to Dingle to see Fungie, the dolphin. Very important. Gerry had no need to convince me, of course I was going to say yes. Who wouldn’t want to go to a place called Dingle to see a dolphin named Fungie? Gerry proceeded to inform me that his cousin, David, would be coming down that night to Dublin from Belfast, and would drive us to Dingle in the morning. And indeed, as promised, later that evening, David appeared in the door of the bar, screaming, “Gerry, ya fucken cunt!” I turned to see a big, thick and angry-looking brute, with ginger hair and pincers for arms. We were introduced. I shook one of his metallic claws and looked him squarely in the eye. “It’s a pleasure to meet you,” I said. He replied with what may have been an eleven-syllable fuck-off. I still don’t know. The man was utterly pickled. If worry was going to come into the picture it would have done so at exactly that moment. We sat down to have a drink. And drink we did. What seemed like an instant later, it was brought to our attention that we were fast approaching 8.30 a.m. It was time to go. Worry never seemed to enter the picture. We had merely forgotten to sleep. But, whilst not feeling all that bright-eyed and bushy-tailed, we remained determined to make our rendezvous with this mysterious dolphin called Fungie. Fungus. I felt like fungus. Gerry looked like fungus, and David was immune to fungus. Of course, I was chosen to ride in the front seat with David. His co-pilot, as it were. It is potentially the only time I have put a seatbelt on without hesitation. Or actually thought about one for that matter. But David, it turns out, was a fantastic driver. His claws were quite handy for storing pints of Guinness, but it didn’t matter, because his feet were steering. So, as I also clutched two pints of Guinness, similar to Gerry in the back seat, I thought that if we were to die, it would be the most interesting trio of obituaries. Anyways, we soldiered onward towards Dingle, but at some point there came the inevitable need to replenish our glasses. The next road sign informed us that Limerick, also known as Stab City, lay just ahead. We would find a pub, have a bite, and get back on our way with enough Guinness to carry us through to Dingle. Wrong. Our brief pitstop in Limerick proved to be one of the most chaotic nights that I can ever remember, and/or, kind of not remember. Suffice to say, we conquered Stab City. The three of us took over a pub, all in the name of Gerry Conlon. He was a hero to these people and it was a joy to bear witness. Courtesy of his devilish charm, he owned the place. It was a riotous celebration. The following morning, I awoke in an unfamiliar room, in what appeared to be an old hotel. Complete with red-eyes and full-on throbbing gristle somewhere within whatever had been spared of my brain, I somehow managed to contact Gerry in the adjoining room. “Where is the Lord Mayor of Limerick?” I asked, referring to David, who had been bestowed the honor the night previous. “He’s taking a shower” Gerry said, in a pained drawl. Apparently he woke up with some chick. He didn’t know where he was, let alone who she was. Gerry went on to tell me that David had said good morning and asked the girl very simply, “Did we fuck?” “I’m not sure,” came the reply from the sweet lady to the armless thalidomide, whose pincer claws had been hurled across the room. David thought for a moment, before calmly stating, “Well, we had better make sure …”

After picking myself up off the floor, we again made for Dingle, where we finally met Fungie. The three of us were in no state to do anything whatsoever, let alone get in a fucking boat with a bunch of tourists. I can recall us being looked down upon by our fellow shipmates, especially the children, for some reason. I felt dirty. But Gerry was as excited as an eight-year-old, as we clipped through the water watching out for the dolphin to occasionally rear a head and deign us with its glory on this most joyous of grey days that I can ever recall. Gerry always possessed the magical ability to ensure such miracles.

The pain of losing his father never left Gerry. He blamed himself for Giuseppe’s death and nothing I, or anyone else, could say to him would shift that blame. In quieter moments, he would tell me of his pain, of how troubled he was at having confessed to the Guildford pub bombing. In his mind, if he hadn’t confessed, his father might still be alive and the Maguire family, who were also wrongfully convicted of the pub bombings, would never have been sent to prison. He might have been dealt the torturous methods employed by the authorities to haul out the counterfeit admissions, but in his rush to self-condemnation, he set that aside. He could not forgive himself.

Gerry Conlon was a leader who became the central figure in the struggle to have the Birmingham Six released from prison, even addressing a Congressional Committee on the matter. Gerry was also an international human rights activist and he highlighted the harsh treatment meted out to the Australian aborigines and Native Americans. His activism didn’t stop there: he protested capital punishment wherever it reared its ugly head. For prisoners around the world, many of whom had been wrongfully convicted, Gerry Conlon was their only hope.

Yet, by his own admission, this man was a flawed character, as so many of us are. He often told reporters that he took drugs to ward off his demons. In 1998 he took the decision to go clean, but what followed was a six-year struggle, during which he repeatedly goaded himself to commit suicide. But he beat the monster; he got off his knees and he beat the monster.

This book is a tour de force, a warts-and-all depiction of the life of Gerry Conlon from the minute he walked out of the Old Bailey. Knowing him as I did, he wouldn’t have wanted it any other way. On every page, the colourful characters that inhabited Gerry’s life reach their hands out to the reader and invite them into a world rich in pathos, humour and irony. This is not a sad story. No, far from it. This is a chronicle of the triumph of the human spirit over extreme adversity. It is a story of hope. It is the story of a man I loved and would have taken a bullet for, as I know he would have done for me and all his loved ones. It was an honor to have known Gerry Conlon and to call him my friend.

Once we’d just left a bookstore in Dublin. Me with a handful of Brendan Behan’s books, and Gerry with a present – a beautifully handworked leather wallet, with one word etched onto it … “Saoirse”, meaning Freedom. It’s in my pocket as I write these words.

Johnny Depp Vancouver August 2017

[larrymullenband-blog]

U2 in Toronto 06/23/17

aka Elena finally tells you how the concert went!!

You're not surprised, but it was mind-blowing. Transcendent. All that regular U2 stuff. VERY LONG REPORT BELOW.

(All pics by me or my brother. Used with permission. For reference he has the lesser phone camera but I think he did pretty damn well with it considering!)

SO. WHERE TO BEGIN.

The GA line started at four freakin’ thirty, two days before the concert. Thankfully my ticket squad were all down to check in that evening. I was number 87 (like 1987, heyooooo). Our line leaders gave us the option of checking in either the next morning or evening, which was a godsend. We showed up bright and early the day of and got wristbands, then I met Kelseigh @adirondykes which was #blessed. Came back for two, got let in to the stadium for three, sat in a dark rampway til just after four thirty, and then the run of my life. 

Months ago my friend and I had chosen our dream spot - between Larry’s “branch” of the Tree Stage and the main, shall we say, frontal lobe of it, where Bono, Edge and Adam are most of the time during the first set. I had been anxious (as I’m sure some of you saw in my posts) for months leading up to the day of about not getting a good spot, and I had tried to lower my hopes. But as luck would have it, our charge led us right into the corner between Tree Stage Laurence and Tree Stage Central. The dream spot. I owe it to my friend who led the charge, bless him. It was super duper unreal. Forever grateful. 

The Lumineers were actually awesome. Best opening act for U2 I’ve seen. I had wanted to see OneRepublic or Mumford and Sons instead, both of whom I love, but these guys won me over. They came on to The Chain by Fleetwood Mac (Kelseigh and I went hard) and then played a very strong set. They even froze into tableau in one song which was...really weird? But cool. The whole time I remember thinking “If I’m so moved by this...how goddamn moved am I going to be with my favourite band right in front of my face?!” 

There were some very annoying veteran fans behind us who kept talking about how they dislike when U2 play the hits because they’ve seen so many U2 shows (the king of first world problems), and about how the band is winding down. They trashed the shit out of The Lumineers during their set...and also made some muffled comments about how they deserved my friends and I’s spots. Which...no?? I’m sorry people, but having “done your waiting” by being older than my friends and I doesn’t make you entitled to anything. We genuinely love the band. We did our lining up early, and you did not. Suck my diiiiiiiiiiiiiick...

A note on Toronto’s venue: The Skydome (now called the Rogers Centre, but I resist) has a retractable roof. Other artists who play there always have the dome closed, and the dome is usually closed on rainy days, as concert day had been. But every time I’ve seen U2 there the roof has been open, rumoured to be by the band’s special request. The dome was closed when we got in but miraculously, after The Lumineers’ set, it opened to reveal the sunset. Everyone around me had a good cheer and laugh - Bono gets what he wants, dammit! As we watched the GA floor and Red Zone toss a beach ball around, and Dallas, Stuart and Sam get our boys’ instruments ready, my friend smiled and said that every detail of the night so far was perfect.  

AND THEN LARRY CAME ON AND HE WAS RIGHT IN FRONT OF ME AND EVEN MORE BEAUTIFUL IN PERSON!!

He smiled when he came out onto Tree Stage, and waved to someone. Larry? Visibly happy? Wow! That really set the tone for the night. Happy U2 were very happy. It was infectious.

Sidenote, I loved seeing Larry take a lil moment before starting. Holding his sticks in his lap, taking a breath. About to set off a rocket of a show, to send an entire stadium into hysterics, but giving himself this one second to prepare, just for himself. 

Back on the topic of Happy U2 Were Very Happy: there was a small mess up in Sunday Bloody Sunday that B+E remedied with a smile and a retry. Seeing such prolific pros mess up a bit and have a laugh about it meant the world to me. Their band dynamic is the strongest and most beautiful thing. 

Adam is the cutest and was so damn happy to come over to our side and hear all of us scream for him. He did so very early on in SBS. His smile is the brightest and I love him.

During Bad Bono talked about our lost countryman Leonard Cohen and sang a long, beautiful snippet of one of his songs. Immediately the stadium went up in lights and Bono said “Oh that’s beautiful, thank you.” Pretty sure I saw Edge give Bono a smile and thumbs up for his snippet once the song ended. 

Also fun fact: Larry and his drum tech have a secret mic channel through which they talk to each other! Sam stands by the side of the stage and speaks to Lurr into a mic as he drums. And the king of drooms speaks back! T’was cool to watch. 

Edge did the solo to Pride right in front of my brother. Pride is my brother’s favourite U2 song and I was so freakin’ happy. When we launched into the “oh oh oh oh” singalong, Edge saw me pumping my fist like hell and gave me a smile. I thought this was a hallucination or something because MY FAVE NOTICED ME but Kelseigh confirms this and I cry. My existence has been validated. This also happened in 2011 so Edge and I have a special connection apparently and I LOVE HIM SO MUCH GAAAAAAAAAH. His smile is the best. I will never be over it.

Their squad poses at the beginning of Streets were the death of me. Seeing them present a proudly united front, I’m just...THEY LOVE EACH OTHER SO MUCH OKAY!!!!!!!! aaaaaaaaahhhhh

Side 1 of Joshua Tree was a blur. A beautiful blur, and hard to process. Streets was epic, went by like a flash of lightning. Our massive Still Haven’t Found crowd singalong seemed to make happy Bono even happier. I rocked out so hard to Bullet. Bono did them moves on the mic stand and I lost it. The woman on my right and I started singing lyrics to each other, smiling big and getting really into it. We hadn’t talked at all before the show and I only found out her name after! A wonderful unspoken camaraderie. I adored the new version of Red Hill Mining Town. With all of them together in one corner of the stage, Edge and Adam sitting down, it felt very cute and intimate while the song was strong and sweeping. I think it was after that song that Bono turned to Adam and raved, “Great bass! Very lyrical. It takes a real man to be that feminine.” #U2LoveEachOtherSoMuchTour 

Before In God’s Country, Bono talked about only getting to know this album now - how friends, countries, and songs can all surprise you even after knowing them for so long. That struck a chord with me somehow, I don’t know quite why. Bono’s anecdotes, even when they’re not the freshest or most poetic, are powerful. He’s such a compelling storyteller by nature, and he just makes you want to listen to him forever. Basically someone you would invite over to read you the phone book. 

Bono, as usual at Toronto concerts, kept mentioning how much he loves Canada. He thanked us for taking in the Irish after the potato famine (which was before all of us were born I think, but hey, it’s the thought that counts!). He referenced Canada’s cultural mosaic, which sets us apart from countries with melting pot models of integrating newcomers. As we’re turning 150 in a week (damn) he announced something I’d heard rumoured that day - that he and Edge are going to Ottawa to be part of the celebrations! WOOOOO! He called our country a baby, but an old soul compared to our “adolescent” neighbour to the south. He praised our leaders’ approach to AIDS fighting among other things. The Ultraviolet tribute featured our new foreign minister. 

Trip Through Your Wires was so fun live and is now a Gay™ song and no one can tell me otherwise. When Edge went into the solo, dramatically crouched and feeling the music, Bono walked right over into his personal bubble and just stared down at him. Awed. Studying. (...same, man. Same.) Reminded me of that quote about their first practice that I saw on here recently, in which Bono saw Edge magicking the melodies out of his head and basically knew that Edge was his destiny. Of course when Bono turned back to the crowd he gave us the usual “Isn’t this a sexy man?” and everyone went NUTS (yay). And then “Is that the kind of sexy man you want blowing out your birthday candles?” (I swear I heard the slightest pause on “blowing”...but maybe that’s just my dirty mind). 

Also. Edge’s voice. It was on point as ever. So. Pretty. FUCK.

One Tree Hill was the first song to bring me to tears. The “stars fall from the sky” line, plus Bono’s opening banter about losing good people arbitrarily and unjustly...the music sounded beautiful, like every album track did, but there was something more to the song that kept me ugly-sobbing. 

Bono stole the show with Exit. Seeing him in character for the first time live was so cool. I really envy everyone who was around for Zoo TV. Cause DAMN. Eve comes by it honestly, this man is an actor. I almost didn’t laugh at him repeatedly shoving a camera into his crotch cause it nearly looked more poignant than funny! He paused at the top of the tree stage, bit his thumb and ran a hand through his hair...wow. The bravado, irony and elegance all rolled into one...

(And then he slowly took his coat off and Kelseigh yelled “Take it off! Says the lesbian” and I lost it) 

Omaima’s film for Miss Sarajevo/Syria was the second teary moment for me. That shot of her standing, closed eyed and introspective, in the midst of chaos and fear and disorder...some ladies close to me passed me down a tissue and I had that feeling of fan camaraderie once again. I love how U2 choses to speak about things so outright and so beautifully that other artists avoid speaking about. Although I’ll be honest - no idea where to go from here. Issues like these are so massive and it’s hard to know how to start being part of the solution when they’re so complex. 

Beautiful Day had me once again jumping so hard I kept banging my elbow on the rail and it hurts to this day. The song soared. The morphing U2 faces on screen were fun to watch and I’m always down for reminders that Edge is an alien being anyway. My only beef was that some of the messages B sent at the end of the song (”When people define their own identity/when women unite and rewrite history as herstory, that’s a beautiful day,”) though I agree with them all, were a little tired. He is so eloquent that it kinda irks me to see him say very simple things about equality and justice that sound rather generic.

Elevation and Vertigo completely kicked my ass. I was still barely recovered from jumping to SBS, Pride, and Streets, but these ones set the whole place on fire. My friend commented later that these were the songs that made him a U2 fan and that he was so glad to have heard them. These are definitely songs that I tend to think would be favoured by us younger fans, and I feared that some curmudgeons who were there mostly for JT would begrudge us our fun, but no one could resist. Yelling “Unos, dos, tres, catorce!” with a whole stadium in the middle of a jumping floor was the best feeling. There was some wonderful power couple Bedgeness at the top of the catwalk during the bridge. And Bono came over to my brother’s rail to tug away his vest and show us the Jesus around his neck and we all swooned. (Also I’m a total sucker for the It’s Only Rock n’ Roll snippet, sue me!)

One sounded perfect. That woman next to me and I emphatically sang “Here us coming, Lord!” together. A true pair of fangirls. It made perfect emotional sense to me as a show closer, and I started to come to terms with my boys leaving us. But Bono had been whispering to Adam and Edge earlier. I had figured that that had been what had spurred the slight rearrangement of the setlist, but as it turned out, Bono grinned big at the end of One and promised us “One more!” We were ECSTATIC. Dallas gave Edge the Gibson Explorer and we launched into I Will Follow, Bono once more hanging off of his mic stand like a lil monkey. We all had more jumping left in us after all! Not as much bouncy Edge as I would have liked, but other than that it was a fantastic end. The band were still completely glowing, seeming to be having as great a time as they had been at the beginning. Not to mention the Bedge cuddle at the end!!! (In this video - in which you can also hear me yelling from like thirty spots away! What a dork.)  

Sometime around the last two songs was when something really cool happened. My friend nudged me and called out that my younger brother had received Larry’s setlist!! I freaked out, and told my brother to thank the stagehand who had given it to him. Some fans behind us told us that said stagehand was in fact AJ Rankin, Bono’s cousin!! I was completely stunned and my friends laughed very hard at my The Scream-esque reaction. This was my brother’s second U2 concert compared to my fourth, and I had been so excited to bring him back into the world of U2 concerts after having shared our first one together. Not only that, but he had been feeling low self-confident and kinda sad only hours before, and not only did he adore the concert, but he got his own special keepsake. What a total blessing. 

So essentially, that was the highlight of my year. Nothing can top that. Super sad that it’s over but so incredibly grateful for it. As usual after U2 shows, I’m feeling kind of in limbo right now. How can I live normally after that?! What do I do with myself without the night of my life to look forward to? How do I keep the memories alive? Still looking for the answers, but I feel a renewed commitment to life now, which is weird but welcome. I want to do things that would make my boys happy. Getting to share in their happiness was the best feeling I’ve had in a very long time. 

Big shoutout to @adirondykes and her friend for meeting me and sharing this experience with me and generally being awesome; to all of the friends I met in GA, from the girl with the same shirt as me to the biggest Larry fan of them all to my wonderful singalong partner; and to you Tumble people! To @u2canhappentoanyone and @bonos-grindcore-sideproject for the GA advice and to @dismantlinganatomicbomb and @secret-blog-of-secrets for your lovely comments on my posts the day of, and everyone else on here for making me so happy to be in love this band every day. Big hugs to all of you, and long live the greatest band in the world. 

(also if you’re reading this congrats for reading an entire book lol you’re great)

[sammypjw]

My Summer In France: A Failed Success?

On the 12th of June a young French student travelled to the beautiful city of Bordeaux for two months with the objective of improving as a speaker of the language, immersing himself in the culture and while doing so finding some work along the way. As I set off on my adventure I was feeling quietly confident as I am forever the optimist. I was already blessed with a cute, convenient apartment in the city centre and the freedom to express myself. Within a day of arriving I began to explore the city and search for work. I soon learned that this experience was going to be a massive challenge, one that would change me for the better.

I arrived in France with three plans. Plan A was to find a summer job in Bordeaux for the duration of my stay. I came prepared with a handful of ‘Résume’s’ and cover letters, and based on my previous experience I targeted pubs, particularly British and Irish pubs which were very common. I gave myself one month to find a job. As I visited many pubs and spoke to members of staff, I realised a pattern was beginning to emerge. Nearly every person I spoke to in every bar told me that they wouldn’t be looking for staff until September which was no good to me as I would be gone by then. Others got my hopes up ever so slightly and one even said that they had just recruited someone two weeks before I arrived. This was frustrating as I had contacted them well in advance of my arrival in search of employment. It seemed in most cases jobs were hard to come by in Bordeaux as due to the warm summer many people venture out to the coast and unlike Ireland the idea of a summer job doesn’t necessarily compare to the French equivalent. However I remained optimistic, while the prospect of work was eluding me I figured I might aswell enjoy myself and make the most of my spare time. Whether it was learning new music, playing football, cheering on the Lions, swimming in a beautiful lake or travelling by train to the beach, I took full advantage.

For much of my time spent in Bordeaux I lived and generally spent a lot of time on my own. Usually I enjoy my own company, however this was a different kettle of fish. Thankfully the world we live in today allows us to keep in touch with loved ones whenever we need them and that really kept me going. However, I would soon be joined by a close friend from Scotland at the end of June. His name is Owen and we have known each other since we were born thanks to the friendship between our respective families. He stayed for about two weeks and we certainly made the most of it. Highlights included a day trip to a music festival in Marmande called Garorock, which was about on hour on the train from Bordeaux. The lineup featured acts like Royal Blood, Mac Miller, Justice and Michael Kiwanuka, so we certainly got our money’s worth. We also successfully managed to be the drunkest people at the festival which proves that when it comes to the French, drink doesn’t really go to their heads. We also learnt that when travelling on French rail, the French police care more about what ID you bring as opposed to checking if you have purchased a ticket. Aside from the festival, I showed him Bordeaux in all its beauty, we met some lovely people, drank a bit too much and played a lot of music together. After saying farewell to Owen, my time to execute Plan A was running out, Plan B was imminent.

This option involved leaving Bordeaux for the French countryside to join my Irish Godfather and his family in the Vendée. I travelled by blablacar with three complete strangers which was an experience in itself. I arrived with the promise of paid work on a nearby strawberry farm. Unfortunately this once again didn’t materialise due to the fact I was only there for one month and that certain French business owners are too lazy to take people on board and train them. Also to add to my dismay, two days after I landed in the Vendée I was emailed by two British bars in Bordeaux asking if I was available for an interview, I of course replied saying no as I was under the impression that Plan B would work wonders, how wrong I was. That being said, like Bordeaux I made the most of it by helping around the house, exploring the area, having the craic with my godfather and family, taking pictures of a pet crow with a cigarette in its mouth, making a brew of fig juice and most importantly practicing my French and learning more about the culture. After two weeks in the countryside I then made the decision to return to Bordeaux for the remaining ten days of my trip and make Plan C worthwhile.

Plan C had always been active, it came in the form of Busking. I travelled to France with my financial saviour that is my Ukulele. While searching for work in both Bordeaux and the Vendée, I busked whenever I could just to keep me going. I used my free time to practice new material and try out different locations around the city and markets alike. As I didn’t have amplification I knew it was going to be difficult and for the first few weeks I learnt that when it came to making money the French were nowhere near as generous as the Irish, although I was making a respectable amount of ‘argent’ for daily busks of between one and two hours. As I grew in confidence and realised which songs appealed to people more funds began to improve, going to the Vendée was a defining factor as I returned to Bordeaux rejuvenated and determined to make as much money as I could before I left. I had a great collection of songs which people enjoyed and that also showed off my voice and while the work was exhausting due to relentless singing and the frequently warm climate I was making a day’s wages in just two hours which was very satisfying. I returned home with a bag of change so big that I was lucky not to receive additional charges for the weight of my luggage.

While my summer in France was enjoyable and very beneficial from a language and a cultural perspective there were many lows; being alone in a new city while missing home, the company of family friends and loved ones alike. Going my whole life without experiencing a physical confrontation to watching my friend get knocked to the ground unconscious for no reason whatsoever while also being assaulted myself. Having my bank account hacked into, living off busking money and anxiously waiting to hear if I will get my money back. Finally, failing to find any paid work which made me question whether the whole experience was worth my while (thank god I choose music as a pastime). So you could say that the whole trip was a disaster? I would be more inclined to call it a ‘Failed Success’. It changed me for the better, it was character building and I learnt many lessons that I will never forget.

https://www.theguardian.com/365-days-of-summer/video/2017/jul/19/piping-all-over-the-world-the-scotsman-on-a-unique-musical-odyssey

In terms of highs, finding out that I had passed my second year of college was a massive relief. Experiencing a Bastille Day fireworks display was pretty special. Many came while performing for the beautiful people of France. Having a lovely eight year old girl dance for every song during an evening busk, performing songs with complete strangers, having amazing interactions with locals who would be generous enough to thank me for the music and being featured in a travelling Bagpiper’s collaboration with Canon and the Guardian which came in the form of a visual journey around Bordeaux during the ‘Fête de la Musique’ (linked above). Life as a musician continues to surprise me in ways I could have never imagined.

This adventure also made me realise how much I love my country and the people closest to me. France is great but there’s no place like Ireland. While I was counting down the days to fly home I had encounters with Irish friends and strangers who became friends that made my remaining days in Bordeaux very memorable, but I was ready to go home. I will of course look to spend more time in France but for the time being there’s no place I’d rather be then the greatest country in the world. I was supposed to do an Erasmus term in Lyon between September and January, but I have recently decided that I can’t leave Dublin as there are many opportunities and experiences that I would have to sacrifice if I returned to France. As I said before, studying, living and working in France are definitely in my plans, but for now I’m home and I couldn’t be happier with my decision. After what’s been a roller-coaster of a summer I look forward to what the future has in store. Qui vivra verra. I hope everyone is having a wonderful summer. À la prochaine fois!

[jamesharringtoncreativeworks]

Hi Jim,

  I read a few of your other pieces about character creation and was hoping you could expand more upon how you create a character based on a historical person. I’m trying to do something similar right now, and am really having a hard time. You said that you wanted the character to be as close to the historical person as humanly possible, so I just wanted to know how you accomplished that.

Thanks, Danny

Danny,

I don’t know how much more I can say on the subject without retracing what I’ve already said, but I’ll do my best. In my writings, I’ve incorporated a few historical people as main characters… Let’s take a look at them.

  From left to right, Federico II Gonzaga, Pope Leo X, and Mary Jane Kelly.

Each of these characters presented their own problems in character creation and each had different levels of detail.

Federico and Pope Leo X were both portrayed in Divinity, and for those who have read it, Divinity is basically a story criticizing the church of that time, and by default, institutional religion in general.

Basically, I wanted to show the problems with blind adherence to strict interpretations of doctrine that was, in my opinion anyway, used way outside of its purpose. To do this, I posed the question; What would happen if an angel appeared in 16th Century Europe? What would happen if she were wounded and in need of help? How would people react to what she had to say or how she behaved? Would they take her in and help her, or would they fall back on what they’d been taught, not considering that those teachings might be wrong, and thus assume that she was actually a demonic presence?

To frame the story, I needed to choose the right time period and the right church leader. Yes, the Pope was a villain in the book. I wanted to be careful as I didn’t want to portray someone in a negative light who didn’t deserve it. There were plenty of Popes from the time period I had in mind that did their jobs and were, on a scale, considered benevolent.

Pope Leo X shows up on many of the ‘Worst Popes’ lists out there. He’s was extremely indulgent, driving the church deeply into debt, and then prayed on the ignorance of the faithful in order to sell indulgences to pay down that debt. He was not a priest and he’d had his hands very deep in the pockets of politics of the time.

My portrayal of him is based on that. I presented Leo X as a man who would view an angel potentially going around countering the teachings of the church as dangerous. Especially given that this was a time when the Protestant Reformation was really taking off. Other than his dealings with the church and some backstory of growing up as a member of the Medici family, there isn’t much on his personality traits. So basically, I had to envision what someone would be like who made the decisions he did. What I came up with was an intelligent, well-spoken individual, who was, unfortunately, too easily seduced by power and luxury. He lived by the silver spoon and would go to great lengths to preserve his way of life.

Federico II Gonzaga is a lot more complicated. Aside from allowing the armies of the Holy Roman Empire to pass through his land unmolested, and sack Rome, there really isn’t much on him. I had to dig a little deeper to find more info on him. He was somewhat subversive and underhanded at times, and he had very poor military experience. He essentially was a young man who was thrown into a role he was not equipped to handle. He was deep in the politics of the church, however, given a more passive nature and his manipulation of the system, I was able to portray him a little bit more as a skeptic of what was going on around him.

The lack of information on the personalities of people from several hundred years ago is both a blessing and a curse. On one hand, with limited information, you have a lot more freedom. However, if you value history the way I do, you have a responsibility to dig as deep as you can and uncover every scrap of information you can find to make sure you get the character right… and even then you’re more than likely way off.

So let’s take a look at Mary Jane Kelly. (Spoiler Alerts for Soul Siphon. If you don’t want to know about Mary Jane’s character yet, skip ahead.)

Now… obviously I took a LOT of dramatic licenses here… If you don’t believe me… these three pictures portray the same person:

  Mary Kelly was a little easier to deal with for a few reasons;

Outside of her death, she was a relatively insignificant person on the stage of history and it’s likely that her name wouldn’t show up in any historical texts otherwise.

We do have historical accounts of her personality. However, those accounts are based on hearsay and the testimony of a few people who knew her. A lot of it was based on conflicting stories that she herself had told. So there you can pick and choose which ones sound feasible and which ones do not. Example: According to her, she had a brother in the military. This is likely. A lot of people served back then. On the other side, she also has a number of brothers… I think the number was 7. Arguably less likely, especially from the same mother. Not helping matters was that sometimes it was 7, sometimes it was 2 or 3, or sometimes just one and a sister. Needless to say, I kind of dismissed that.

I wasn’t going to portray her as she was back then. My character was the historical person, still alive in the 21st Century. In other words, she’d have 150 years of new experiences and development.

So here’s essentially what I did with her. From what historical accounts we can find on her, she was an Irish-born brothel worker with a sharp tongue. She was known for being quarrelsome and had earned the title of ‘Black Mary’,  which suggests that she knew how to handle herself in a dangerous neighborhood. She was also known for getting drunk and singing Irish folk and patriotic songs… so perhaps I could add some of the cultural characterizations and stereotypes to her behavior. I also based some of her personality on my own experiences with Irish culture, people I’ve encountered, and friends I have from the homeland itself.

So with that information, I was able to build the character personality around those traits and behaviors. However, that original build would have been appropriate for portraying Mary Kelly as she was during the late 1800s. I had an additional hurdle to overcome with her in that she was going to have an additional 150 years of development.

So what would a character like that be like? Well contending with immortality, having to watch friends die, as well as having full memory of her murder, I tried to create a character who voluntarily isolated herself from the rest of the team and shies away from forming bonds out of a fear of loss or abandonment. I then created a backstory where she spent years protecting other prostitutes and brothel workers. When she finally located Jack the Ripper himself, she set out to kill him, only to lose her chance when he attempted to escape to American and drown when his ship wrecked. She later discovered that her failure to catch him sooner resulted in more deaths at his hands.

I used that backstory, coupled with the harsh life she lived, to create a bitter character who was justifiably mad at the world. So when our hero meets Mary, she’s harsh, rude, and extremely condescending. She continuously objects to the main character joining the team and gives him a wide berth. I’ve gotten emails from people who read her character and ask why she’s so mean… and I always smile because I can usually tell where they are in the story.

Truthfully, readers aren’t meant to like Mary at first. I’d actually understand if they didn’t like Mary at all. However, I did want people to understand her. I wanted to make a character that wouldn’t necessarily change, but people would at least grow to understand and even empathize with. You may not like her abrasive personality or attitude, but at least you’d develop an understanding of how she got that way in the first place.

So in the end, the major hurdle is whether or not these people would actually be like the characters I created. Honestly, I have no idea. I used their historical profiles and what personality traits I could find to build a character that is as close as anyone could reasonably get without actually knowing the person. That being said, I fully recognize that I could be completely off. One, because as I said, I never met these people. Two, because I’m exposing them to fictional situations. Given that, it would be impossible to predict how they would react, even from someone who knew them personally.

So I guess in the end, my advice is simply to be careful. Do your due diligence and… I’d personally avoid anyone living or recently deceased. It’s true that you can’t slander the dead, but you’d be surprised at the legal loopholing a famous person’s family can do if desired. If that’s what you want to do though, I’d contact a lawyer first to see what your options are and what you should or should not consider saying about said person.

If they’re from an ancient time period, any surviving family members would have a much harder time making a case against you, and many would first have to be able to trace their line back to said person which isn’t always easy to do in a way that would be accepted by most legal systems.

Anyway, I hope this helps, but let’s open it up to the readers. Does anyone else in the WordPress community have experiences with creating a character from a historical person? Feel free to share your experiences and the steps you took in creating said character in the comments.

Thanks, Jim

  Readers,

Do you have a question about writing, publishing, my stories, etc? Please feel free to post a comment or email me.

jimthewritingwizard@gmail.com

I’ll use those comments to select my next blog post.

I have been writing for several years, have 4 published works, experience with publishing and independent work, so I can hopefully be of assistance.

Please note, I only do one of these a day and will do my best to respond to everyone, but it may take some time.

Also, feel free to check out my works of Fantasy and Historical Fiction, Available on Amazon and where ever books are sold. See the link below:

http://www.amazon.com/James-Harrington/e/B00P7FBXTU

Note: If you have read my books, PLEASE log into Amazon and post a review. I really love to hear everyone’s thoughts and constructive criticisms. Reviews help get my book attention and word of mouth is everything in this business!

Thanks friends!

Catch you on the flip side!

-Jim

The Hurdles of Creating Characters from People of History Hi Jim, I read a few of your other pieces about character creation and was hoping you could expand more upon how you create a character based on a historical person.

[ceezpaul-blog]

Exactly one week ago, the Calypso Semi-Finals competition hosted by the Dominica Calypso Association was held.  Portsmouth’s youngster Lemar Irish whose calypso name – The Irish Kid, competed against some seasoned calypsonians.    He was unsuccessful, and unfortunately will not compete in the biggest show of the Carnival Season, and arguably the biggest show to be held in Dominica on an annual basis.  This was his first time participating in the Senior or National competition ever, which served as the initiation and transition into the big leagues.

For those of us who support the young singer, we all feel as if he performed exceptionally well enough to warrant him a space among the final nine who are heading onward to meet the defending monarch.  Notwithstanding this setback, we must all come to the terms with a spirit of acceptance that “the judges’ decision is final”.  As cliche as it sounds, this is the rule that always stands at the end of such contests where others are often disgruntled or disappointed by the results.

This post will not dwell on Lemar’s misfortune; rather, it will highlight his growth, level of maturity he displayed on stage, and even despite the loss, highlight his ability to still smile, and participate in the Junior Monarch Competition held on Friday 22nd February, as a guest performer.

You see, Lemar – The Irish Kid, was a boss competitor during his days as a Junior Calypsonian.  He has won four junior monarch competitions on the national stage, and this is something no one can ever take away from him.  These titles The Irish Kid will forever own.  When he guest-performed at this year’s junior monarch competition, he was able to make light of his unfortunate fate in the national senior monarch competition, and wowed the young crowd with his stellar performance.

Those of us who witnessed and or listened to him on Saturday 16th February, as he conquered the late night, undoubtedly fought nerves, maintained his confidence amidst and among the big-wigs, and gave his utmost at that semi-finals, were awed by his abilities.  He showed much maturity, prowess and comfort on a big stage.  I have no doubt Lemar could easily hit the big stage of the Calypso Finals, and still pull off a masterful performance.  While he may not be a “big-man”, I strongly believe he out-performed some of those who made it to the “big-man-thing”.

Interesting, his song penned by Father Branker John (Former Calypsonian De Brakes), encourages its listeners to ‘fight on’ in pursuit of their dreams.  To quote from The Sun online article dated February 1st, 2019,  “My song speaks about a positive message to the youths and Dominica and worldwide telling them don’t give up and always remain committed in what they do and have a positive mind set,” Lemor said.

“I am not threatened by being in the big league you must have confidence in yourself; my intention is move to the Semis and then to the Finals and I know that I am capable of so doing,” De Irish Kid said.

His message to the youth is simple: “Calypso is a good avenue to enter into to express yourself in song, so join it and have some good fun.”

His message to his peers is “be positive; in life you have to be committed, manage your time put your education first because without education you go nowhere; do some dancing, singing and play sports and have some good fun and the rest will fall in line.”  

Today, as I ponder on these inspiring expressions from Lemar, it is my desire to encourage him to remain positive, to take his own message and allow it to propel him to greater positivism.    I wish to remind him that he is still a role model to his peers, that they are looking at him as a star, so he ought to keep shining.  Lemar must be encouraged to keep singing with his youthful voice the things that can enhance society, and transform the mindset of our young people.   He must be urged to keep building on his confidence while continuing to utilize his skills, and talents in singing, football, and even his ability to do our cultural dances.

As a resident from this blessed town of Portsmouth, and an ardent supporter of our young people, I commend Lemar Irish – De Irish Kid, and stand proud of him.  Lemar’s, song is one of very few songs among this year’s calypsos which can actually cross the channel and make any sense to its listeners anywhere in the world.  In conclusion, I would like to remind the young man to, keep singing songs which promote positive and wholesome messages, while being sensible and nationally conscious.

Below are some random photos of Lemar.  I hold no rights to these photos and respectfully display them for the sake of commending the youngster.

The below links can take you to two of his songs which won him the Junior Monarchy.

Endangered Species              I Choosing Calypso

Irish Kid is A Star. His Confidence, Growth and Positive Attitude Are Commendable! Exactly one week ago, the Calypso Semi-Finals competition hosted by the Dominica Calypso Association was held.  Portsmouth's youngster Lemar Irish whose calypso name - The Irish Kid, competed against some seasoned calypsonians.   

[jamesharringtoncreativeworks]

Hi Jim,

  I read a few of your other pieces about character creation and was hoping you could expand more upon how you create a character based on a historical person. I’m trying to do something similar right now, and am really having a hard time. You said that you wanted the character to be as close to the historical person as humanly possible, so I just wanted to know how you accomplished that.

Thanks, Danny

Danny,

I don’t know how much more I can say on the subject without retracing what I’ve already said, but I’ll do my best. In my writings, I’ve incorporated a few historical people as main characters… Let’s take a look at them.

From left to right, Federico II Gonzaga, Pope Leo X, and Mary Jane Kelly.

Each of these characters presented their own problems in character creation and each had different levels of detail.

Federico and Pope Leo X were both portrayed in Divinity, and for those who have read it, Divinity is basically a story criticizing the church of that time, and by default, institutional religion in general.

Basically, I wanted to show the problems with blind adherence to strict interpretations of doctrine that was, in my opinion anyway, used way outside of its purpose. To do this, I posed the question; What would happen if an angel appeared in 16th Century Europe? What would happen if she were wounded and in need of help? How would people react to what she had to say or how she behaved? Would they take her in and help her, or would they fall back on what they’d been taught, not considering that those teachings might be wrong, and thus assume that she was actually a demonic presence?

To frame the story, I needed to choose the right time period and the right church leader. Yes, the Pope was a villain in the book. I wanted to be careful as I didn’t want to portray someone in a negative light who didn’t deserve it. There were plenty of Popes from the time period I had in mind that did their jobs and were, on a scale, considered benevolent.

Pope Leo X shows up on many of the ‘Worst Popes’ lists out there. He’s was extremely indulgent, driving the church deeply into debt, and then prayed on the ignorance of the faithful in order to sell indulgences to pay down that debt. He was not a priest and he’d had his hands very deep in the pockets of politics of the time.

My portrayal of him is based on that. I presented Leo X as a man who would view an angel potentially going around countering the teachings of the church as dangerous. Especially given that this was a time when the Protestant Reformation was really taking off. Other than his dealings with the church and some backstory of growing up as a member of the Medici family, there isn’t much on his personality traits. So basically, I had to envision what someone would be like who made the decisions he did. What I came up with was an intelligent, well-spoken individual, who was, unfortunately, too easily seduced by power and luxury. He lived by the silver spoon and would go to great lengths to preserve his way of life.

Federico II Gonzaga is a lot more complicated. Aside from allowing the armies of the Holy Roman Empire to pass through his land unmolested, and sack Rome, there really isn’t much on him. I had to dig a little deeper to find more info on him. He was somewhat subversive and underhanded at times, and he had very poor military experience. He essentially was a young man who was thrown into a role he was not equipped to handle. He was deep in the politics of the church, however, given a more passive nature and his manipulation of the system, I was able to portray him a little bit more as a skeptic of what was going on around him.

The lack of information on the personalities of people from several hundred years ago is both a blessing and a curse. On one hand, with limited information, you have a lot more freedom. However, if you value history the way I do, you have a responsibility to dig as deep as you can and uncover every scrap of information you can find to make sure you get the character right… and even then you’re more than likely way off.

So let’s take a look at Mary Jane Kelly. (Spoiler Alerts for Soul Siphon. If you don’t want to know about Mary Jane’s character yet, skip ahead.)

Now… obviously I took a LOT of dramatic licenses here… If you don’t believe me… these three pictures portray the same person:

Mary Kelly was a little easier to deal with for a few reasons;

Outside of her death, she was a relatively insignificant person on the stage of history and it’s likely that her name wouldn’t show up in any historical texts otherwise.

We do have historical accounts of her personality. However, those accounts are based on hearsay and the testimony of a few people who knew her. A lot of it was based on conflicting stories that she herself had told. So there you can pick and choose which ones sound feasible and which ones do not. Example: According to her, she had a brother in the military. This is likely. A lot of people served back then. On the other side, she also has a number of brothers… I think the number was 7. Arguably less likely, especially from the same mother. Not helping matters was that sometimes it was 7, sometimes it was 2 or 3, or sometimes just one and a sister. Needless to say, I kind of dismissed that.

I wasn’t going to portray her as she was back then. My character was the historical person, still alive in the 21st Century. In other words, she’d have 150 years of new experiences and development.

So here’s essentially what I did with her. From what historical accounts we can find on her, she was an Irish-born brothel worker with a sharp tongue. She was known for being quarrelsome and had earned the title of ‘Black Mary’,  which suggests that she knew how to handle herself in a dangerous neighborhood. She was also known for getting drunk and singing Irish folk and patriotic songs… so perhaps I could add some of the cultural characterizations and stereotypes to her behavior. I also based some of her personality on my own experiences with Irish culture, people I’ve encountered, and friends I have from the homeland itself.

So with that information, I was able to build the character personality around those traits and behaviors. However, that original build would have been appropriate for portraying Mary Kelly as she was during the late 1800s. I had an additional hurdle to overcome with her in that she was going to have an additional 150 years of development.

So what would a character like that be like? Well contending with immortality, having to watch friends die, as well as having full memory of her murder, I tried to create a character who voluntarily isolated herself from the rest of the team and shies away from forming bonds out of a fear of loss or abandonment. I then created a backstory where she spent years protecting other prostitutes and brothel workers. When she finally located Jack the Ripper himself, she set out to kill him, only to lose her chance when he attempted to escape to American and drown when his ship wrecked. She later discovered that her failure to catch him sooner resulted in more deaths at his hands.

I used that backstory, coupled with the harsh life she lived, to create a bitter character who was justifiably mad at the world. So when our hero meets Mary, she’s harsh, rude, and extremely condescending. She continuously objects to the main character joining the team and gives him a wide berth. I’ve gotten emails from people who read her character and ask why she’s so mean… and I always smile because I can usually tell where they are in the story.

Truthfully, readers aren’t meant to like Mary at first. I’d actually understand if they didn’t like Mary at all. However, I did want people to understand her. I wanted to make a character that wouldn’t necessarily change, but people would at least grow to understand and even empathize with. You may not like her abrasive personality or attitude, but at least you’d develop an understanding of how she got that way in the first place.

So in the end, the major hurdle is whether or not these people would actually be like the characters I created. Honestly, I have no idea. I used their historical profiles and what personality traits I could find to build a character that is as close as anyone could reasonably get without actually knowing the person. That being said, I fully recognize that I could be completely off. One, because as I said, I never met these people. Two, because I’m exposing them to fictional situations. Given that, it would be impossible to predict how they would react, even from someone who knew them personally.

So I guess in the end, my advice is simply to be careful. Do your due diligence and… I’d personally avoid anyone living or recently deceased. It’s true that you can’t slander the dead, but you’d be surprised at the legal loopholing a famous person’s family can do if desired. If that’s what you want to do though, I’d contact a lawyer first to see what your options are and what you should or should not consider saying about said person.

If they’re from an ancient time period, any surviving family members would have a much harder time making a case against you, and many would first have to be able to trace their line back to said person which isn’t always easy to do in a way that would be accepted by most legal systems.

Anyway, I hope this helps, but let’s open it up to the readers. Does anyone else in the WordPress community have experiences with creating a character from a historical person? Feel free to share your experiences and the steps you took in creating said character in the comments.

Thanks, Jim

  Readers,

Do you have a question about writing, publishing, my stories, etc? Please feel free to post a comment or email me.

jimthewritingwizard@gmail.com

I’ll use those comments to select my next blog post.

I have been writing for several years, have 4 published works, experience with publishing and independent work, so I can hopefully be of assistance.

Please note, I only do one of these a day and will do my best to respond to everyone, but it may take some time.

Also, feel free to check out my works of Fantasy and Historical Fiction, Available on Amazon and where ever books are sold. See the link below:

http://www.amazon.com/James-Harrington/e/B00P7FBXTU

Note: If you have read my books, PLEASE log into Amazon and post a review. I really love to hear everyone’s thoughts and constructive criticisms. Reviews help get my book attention and word of mouth is everything in this business!

Thanks friends!

Catch you on the flip side!

-Jim

The Hurdles of Creating Characters from People of History Hi Jim, I read a few of your other pieces about character creation and was hoping you could expand more upon how you create a character based on a historical person.

[jamesharringtoncreativeworks]

Hi Jim,

  I read a few of your other pieces about character creation and was hoping you could expand more upon how you create a character based on a historical person. I’m trying to do something similar right now, and am really having a hard time. You said that you wanted the character to be as close to the historical person as humanly possible, so I just wanted to know how you accomplished that.

Thanks, Danny

Danny,

I don’t know how much more I can say on the subject without retracing what I’ve already said, but I’ll do my best. In my writings, I’ve incorporated a few historical people as main characters… Let’s take a look at them.

From left to right, Federico II Gonzaga, Pope Leo X, and Mary Jane Kelly.

Each of these characters presented their own problems in character creation and each had different levels of detail.

Federico and Pope Leo X were both portrayed in Divinity, and for those who have read it, Divinity is basically a story criticizing the church of that time, and by default, institutional religion in general.

Basically, I wanted to show the problems with blind adherence to strict interpretations of doctrine that was, in my opinion anyway, used way outside of its purpose. To do this, I posed the question; What would happen if an angel appeared in 16th Century Europe? What would happen if she were wounded and in need of help? How would people react to what she had to say or how she behaved? Would they take her in and help her, or would they fall back on what they’d been taught, not considering that those teachings might be wrong, and thus assume that she was actually a demonic presence?

To frame the story, I needed to choose the right time period and the right church leader. Yes, the Pope was a villain in the book. I wanted to be careful as I didn’t want to portray someone in a negative light who didn’t deserve it. There were plenty of Popes from the time period I had in mind that did their jobs and were, on a scale, considered benevolent.

Pope Leo X shows up on many of the ‘Worst Popes’ lists out there. He’s was extremely indulgent, driving the church deeply into debt, and then prayed on the ignorance of the faithful in order to sell indulgences to pay down that debt. He was not a priest and he’d had his hands very deep in the pockets of politics of the time.

My portrayal of him is based on that. I presented Leo X as a man who would view an angel potentially going around countering the teachings of the church as dangerous. Especially given that this was a time when the Protestant Reformation was really taking off. Other than his dealings with the church and some backstory of growing up as a member of the Medici family, there isn’t much on his personality traits. So basically, I had to envision what someone would be like who made the decisions he did. What I came up with was an intelligent, well-spoken individual, who was, unfortunately, too easily seduced by power and luxury. He lived by the silver spoon and would go to great lengths to preserve his way of life.

Federico II Gonzaga is a lot more complicated. Aside from allowing the armies of the Holy Roman Empire to pass through his land unmolested, and sack Rome, there really isn’t much on him. I had to dig a little deeper to find more info on him. He was somewhat subversive and underhanded at times, and he had very poor military experience. He essentially was a young man who was thrown into a role he was not equipped to handle. He was deep in the politics of the church, however, given a more passive nature and his manipulation of the system, I was able to portray him a little bit more as a skeptic of what was going on around him.

The lack of information on the personalities of people from several hundred years ago is both a blessing and a curse. On one hand, with limited information, you have a lot more freedom. However, if you value history the way I do, you have a responsibility to dig as deep as you can and uncover every scrap of information you can find to make sure you get the character right… and even then you’re more than likely way off.

So let’s take a look at Mary Jane Kelly. (Spoiler Alerts for Soul Siphon. If you don’t want to know about Mary Jane’s character yet, skip ahead.)

Now… obviously I took a LOT of dramatic licenses here… If you don’t believe me… these three pictures portray the same person:

Mary Kelly was a little easier to deal with for a few reasons;

Outside of her death, she was a relatively insignificant person on the stage of history and it’s likely that her name wouldn’t show up in any historical texts otherwise.

We do have historical accounts of her personality. However, those accounts are based on hearsay and the testimony of a few people who knew her. A lot of it was based on conflicting stories that she herself had told. So there you can pick and choose which ones sound feasible and which ones do not. Example: According to her, she had a brother in the military. This is likely. A lot of people served back then. On the other side, she also has a number of brothers… I think the number was 7. Arguably less likely, especially from the same mother. Not helping matters was that sometimes it was 7, sometimes it was 2 or 3, or sometimes just one and a sister. Needless to say, I kind of dismissed that.

I wasn’t going to portray her as she was back then. My character was the historical person, still alive in the 21st Century. In other words, she’d have 150 years of new experiences and development.

So here’s essentially what I did with her. From what historical accounts we can find on her, she was an Irish-born brothel worker with a sharp tongue. She was known for being quarrelsome and had earned the title of ‘Black Mary’,  which suggests that she knew how to handle herself in a dangerous neighborhood. She was also known for getting drunk and singing Irish folk and patriotic songs… so perhaps I could add some of the cultural characterizations and stereotypes to her behavior. I also based some of her personality on my own experiences with Irish culture, people I’ve encountered, and friends I have from the homeland itself.

So with that information, I was able to build the character personality around those traits and behaviors. However, that original build would have been appropriate for portraying Mary Kelly as she was during the late 1800s. I had an additional hurdle to overcome with her in that she was going to have an additional 150 years of development.

So what would a character like that be like? Well contending with immortality, having to watch friends die, as well as having full memory of her murder, I tried to create a character who voluntarily isolated herself from the rest of the team and shies away from forming bonds out of a fear of loss or abandonment. I then created a backstory where she spent years protecting other prostitutes and brothel workers. When she finally located Jack the Ripper himself, she set out to kill him, only to lose her chance when he attempted to escape to American and drown when his ship wrecked. She later discovered that her failure to catch him sooner resulted in more deaths at his hands.

I used that backstory, coupled with the harsh life she lived, to create a bitter character who was justifiably mad at the world. So when our hero meets Mary, she’s harsh, rude, and extremely condescending. She continuously objects to the main character joining the team and gives him a wide berth. I’ve gotten emails from people who read her character and ask why she’s so mean… and I always smile because I can usually tell where they are in the story.

Truthfully, readers aren’t meant to like Mary at first. I’d actually understand if they didn’t like Mary at all. However, I did want people to understand her. I wanted to make a character that wouldn’t necessarily change, but people would at least grow to understand and even empathize with. You may not like her abrasive personality or attitude, but at least you’d develop an understanding of how she got that way in the first place.

So in the end, the major hurdle is whether or not these people would actually be like the characters I created. Honestly, I have no idea. I used their historical profiles and what personality traits I could find to build a character that is as close as anyone could reasonably get without actually knowing the person. That being said, I fully recognize that I could be completely off. One, because as I said, I never met these people. Two, because I’m exposing them to fictional situations. Given that, it would be impossible to predict how they would react, even from someone who knew them personally.

So I guess in the end, my advice is simply to be careful. Do your due diligence and… I’d personally avoid anyone living or recently deceased. It’s true that you can’t slander the dead, but you’d be surprised at the legal loopholing a famous person’s family can do if desired. If that’s what you want to do though, I’d contact a lawyer first to see what your options are and what you should or should not consider saying about said person.

If they’re from an ancient time period, any surviving family members would have a much harder time making a case against you, and many would first have to be able to trace their line back to said person which isn’t always easy to do in a way that would be accepted by most legal systems.

Anyway, I hope this helps, but let’s open it up to the readers. Does anyone else in the WordPress community have experiences with creating a character from a historical person? Feel free to share your experiences and the steps you took in creating said character in the comments.

Thanks, Jim

  Readers,

Do you have a question about writing, publishing, my stories, etc? Please feel free to post a comment or email me.

jimthewritingwizard@gmail.com

I’ll use those comments to select my next blog post.

I have been writing for several years, have 4 published works, experience with publishing and independent work, so I can hopefully be of assistance.

Please note, I only do one of these a day and will do my best to respond to everyone, but it may take some time.

Also, feel free to check out my works of Fantasy and Historical Fiction, Available on Amazon and where ever books are sold. See the link below:

http://www.amazon.com/James-Harrington/e/B00P7FBXTU

Note: If you have read my books, PLEASE log into Amazon and post a review. I really love to hear everyone’s thoughts and constructive criticisms. Reviews help get my book attention and word of mouth is everything in this business!

Thanks friends!

Catch you on the flip side!

-Jim

Hi Jim, I read a few of your other pieces about character creation and was hoping you could expand more upon how you create a character based on a historical person.