#personally i think dorothy should receive all the love and affection in the world

[the-eclectic-wonderer]

Summary:

Studies show it takes water millions of years to cleave its way through solid rock. It takes Dorothy about the same time to finally break open. A sequel to 'i hope you do believe me / i've given you my heart'.

No, don't -- don't look at the word count. Don't mind it. It's fine!

For anyone that remembers that old ask game about the WIPs in my folder -- this is the one that was called 'karst'. The reason will hopefully become clear as you read it.

Just like its predecessor, this work was originally inspired by this post (thank you once again, friend!). If you read it, I hope you'll enjoy it! It gave me some trouble here and there, but all in all, it was a pleasure to write. Hugs and kisses to you all!

[tatestripedsweater]

Sinner

Plot: You were known as any mans dream, the innocent virgin girl that went to church on Sunday’s. It all changed once you met the boy who intended to destroy that innocence.

Warnings: Sexual Intercourse, Oral (Male Receiving), Blasphemy, Mentions of Physical Abuse, Not proof red properly

Teen!James x Teen!Fem!Reader

Word count: 2958

A/N: The names of his parents are solely made up since we don’t know anything about them

1913

Being the son of the priest within the local church he had learned when to speak and when not too, but the one thing he learned was not to treat a woman like his own father treated his mother. And due to this he started to shit on every word his father, Patrick, had told him from a very young age: ‘If a woman doesn’t do as she’s told a beating wouldn’t go a miss’.

James didn’t believe that to be true, in fact he was the one that got most of the beatings within the household because of him disagreeing with his fathers outlook on women. James saw them as delicate creatures, you were what could be compared to a flower blossoming, showing it’s true beauty to the world.

“Come here James” Not saying a word he let his mother do his tie once again, no matter how many times he did it she always saw something wrong with the way he tied it. It wasn’t in a horrible way either, Dorothy knew how her husband reacted if his family wasn’t looking their best at church.. or anywhere for that matter.

James almost choked at how tight she had done his tie, loosening it when she wasn’t looking he only smiled. He sometimes wondered what his mother saw in his father to marry him, was it his wealth? Probably.

“You know he doesn’t like it loose James..” Her soft voice was the only thing that spoke within the drawing room. Dorothy could only laugh slightly at her only child’s defiance, part of her worried for his life as well but she didn’t dare say a word against her husband. “You know.. there’s going to be plenty of girls at today’s service”

She spoke of this every time, being eighteen he should’ve already been married or at least courting a woman to do so. James wanted to marry, but on his own terms and not just some random girl his parents thought would suit him the best. He already knew who his mother and father had eyed him up to marry, James didn’t want to admit he found her beautiful as it would be following what his father was saying. He wasn’t a follower, James was a leader.

“Y/N is a lovely girl, comes from a wonderful family” James knew his mother meant well, she wanted her only boy.. only child to succeed in life. “Just try, please..?”

“I’ll speak with her after the service..” He couldn’t help but feel some satisfaction when he saw the smile grace his mother’s features, and with all that was said and done he wrapped his arm around her own before walking out of the family home together.

-

Sitting down near the back even though his father liked his family to be front and center, James couldn’t help but smile when he saw that you were sitting beside him. James could feel his mother’s eyes on him, she knew what he was up to without even asking. Dorothy could read her son like a book, she birthed the boy after all, but one thing she knew is that he wasn’t like his father and for that she thanked god.

You could smell the tobacco and cologne as soon as he sat down beside you, the thoughts that were going through your head were that of a whore so you refused to even make eye contact with him. James could tell you were hanging on to all the bullshit his father spoke off, just by the way you were dressed he could see that you were a good Christian girl, probably a virgin as well.

“It’s not polite to ignore the Priest’s son..” James hoped this would catch your attention and thankfully it did, gulping out of nerves your head turned to look over at him, both of your eyes meeting. “I’m James'' He decided to whisper so no one heard that the two of you were speaking at the same time as his fathers sermon.

“Y/N..” A soft smile landed on your face as you spoke to him, your voice was as soft as honey, almost like his favourite symphony. James could help but become aroused at the very sight of you, you weren’t doing anything promiscuous, in fact the innocent aura that surrounded you was the thing that made his cock harden in his slacks.

As the sermon went on, James’ thoughts only muted his fathers voice. All he could think about was your body, how you’d feel wrapped around his cock and the little whimpers that would escape as soon as he thrusted his cock inside your virgin cunt. James wasn’t a virgin himself, he lost it to some girl he couldn’t even remember the name of, she wasn’t important right now but you were. These thoughts were cut short when everyone stood up, some having started to leave. Had he really been day dreaming the entire time?

His mother looked at him from across the church and he knew what she was getting at, he had earlier promised to speak to you alone after the service was over. James didn’t know how his mother had convinced him to leave James alone in the place of worship, but James noticed a slight smirk on his fathers face as he walked past. Patrick must’ve thought that James was finally going to follow his instruction and marry a girl, but what James had planned was far from the truth.

He watched as you moved to sit at the very front, you looked up at a statue of The Lord as if you had some repenting to do. James wondered what you could’ve done that was so wrong, probably stepping on a bug because he couldn’t even imagine that you would do anything that was considered a sin. The only noise in the church were James’ footsteps as he walked closer to you, the rest of the town having left minutes before.

“You know, Jesus can’t save you” A shocked expression plastered over your face as soon as that left James’ mouth, you didn’t expect this and him of all people, the Priests son. “Whatever you have done, I can assure you he won’t save you.”

“What makes you say that..?” You didn’t dare look up at him, you kept your eyes on the statue that was half the size of the church walls. James didn’t know how to answer that question, well he did but the boy didn’t want to admit that he was weak at the hands of his father. He used to pray, every night in fact, that something or someone would come and take his father away.. that James would be saved from the countless beatings that were bestowed upon himself and his mother but alas.. nothing. So the praying stopped as did James’ belief at salvation.

“Just trust me dear” The small nickname wasn’t much, but it made your cheeks blush a bright red which didn’t go unnoticed by James. He could tell you weren’t used to much affection yourself, and he was right. Your parents were just as strict as his own but with the abuse, so if they knew you were alone with a boy even if it was the priest's father, there would be hell to pay when you got home.

“I-I should go..” Just as you stood up James moved so he was right in front of you, he was taller than you so the intimidation flowed through your body. “Please.. I should get home” Gasping softly, his hand gently placed itself on your cheek, you had never felt something so soft before.

“What did you do? What caused you to stay behind?” Your nervous demeanor didn’t go unnoticed by him, in fact James stepped even closer to you as he pulled his hand away. “Tell me..”

“I… I have these thoughts..” Gulping visibly you looked over at James just as he raised his eyebrow, urging you to go on. “S-sexual thoughts..” Just as that left your mouth a smirk landed itself on the boy's face, you out of everyone was the last person he expected to be thinking about getting fucked. Part of him was glad, you weren’t the sweet and innocent girl you made yourself out to be but the other part.. the other part wanted to punish you and fuck you until you were screaming like a banshee.

“Are they about me?” The bluntness of the question made you quickly look away from him, he wasn’t wrong and in fact whenever you touched yourself James was the one thought that always made you cum. You knew it was wrong, that lust was a sin and that you needed to beg for forgiveness.. but why did something that felt so good be so wrong?

Nodding slowly you couldn’t get any words out, afraid that you might spill too much truth if you did open your mouth. The next question that he asked had you blushing like a whore, in fact you even felt like one with the way you had reacted.

“Have you ever sucked a cock before?” Shaking your head slowly, James’ hand gripped onto your wrist and placed it upon the bulge that was forming in his slacks. “You feel that, that’s what you do to me Y/N! Now get on your knees and start praying!”

Pushing you down by your shoulders, your face came into contact with his crotch and you soon felt your cheeks heat up. You watched as his hands started to unbuckle his belt, his hands were big and the watch on his wrist only screamed that he was rich. Just as his belt came off his slacks soon fell to the floor once he unbuttoned them, you could see the outline off his cock in James’ briefs and the gulps down your throat didn’t go unnoticed by him.

“Pull them down” Your shaking hands gripped onto the tops of his briefs before doing as you were told, as soon as you pulled them down his cock made its presence known. Pre cum was already forming at the tip of his cock, and you soon felt yourself grow aroused the longer you stared at it. “Wrap your lips around my cock, you don’t want me to make you”

Your wet mouth wrapped around his cock and you had to be honest, the sensation and taste was odd, you didn’t know how to describe it. But the noise that came from James as soon as you started to suck his cock was enough to make your cunt went, the saltiness of his skin and the feeling of his hands moving into your hair had you whining against him.

“Take my cock!” A gagging noise was heard as soon as his cock hit the back of your throat, tears falling down your cheeks as he continued to assault your throat. Your hands moved up to dig into his hips as he practically fucked your mouth, not being used to this at all the gagging kept up as did the drool that fell from your lips and down onto his balls. “Good girl!”

He pulled your head away just to have a good look at you, your lips were swollen and eyes red from the tears. You half expected him to thrust back into your mouth, to finish what he had started but you were surprised when James pulled you back up to your feet.

“Look at you.. if only your parents could see you now” The thought of them walking back into the church had you gulp, the drool falling from your mouth was wiped by James’ handkerchief. “As much as I want to taste you, and trust me I do my dear, I want my cum inside you this second!”

Bending you over the podium, James couldn’t help but smirk at how he had you. Your dress riding up, showing your underwear as he bent you over the very place his father spew about all the bullshit and gods ‘plan’. The only plan that was in James’ mind was fucking you until you were screaming, he knew it would echo and he half hoped that people would hear the two off you. What were they going to do? Pry you apart with his cock still inside you? He doesn’t think so.

As soon as the cold air hit your cunt you knew he had pulled your underwear down, being bare behind a boy you rarely knew had you blushing. He was the priest's son.. so surely he knew what he was doing. The moment you felt his cock rub against your wet cunt was the moment a moan fell from your lips, the way he was grinding against your clit felt so good and you didn’t know why something like this would be considered a sin at all. You were in heaven.. but if this meant you would go to hell for having sex out of wedlock then they can throw you downstairs and lock up the key.

Leaning over you, his chest pressed against your own, James’ lips kissing your shoulder as he slowly slid his cock inside you. You had never felt a sensation like it, you were half expecting it to hurt with all the horror stories you heard but it didn’t. The only sensation you felt was fullness, being full of James’ cock. A grunt felt from your lips as he felt you wrap around him, you were made for his cock and he couldn’t wait to make you his.

“Darling..” Wrapping his arm around you to help you keep balanced against the podium, James’ hips started to thrust faster and the only noise in the church were both of your moans and his skin slapping against yours. You could feel his balls hitting your clit with each thrust and it only added to the sensation of being fucked, James continued to kiss and nip at your skin until he was happy he had left a bite mark. He was careful though, he left it on your back, making sure that no one would see and that he would be the only one who knew you to be such a harlot.

“Y-you feel so good..” The moans that fell from your lips bounced off the walls of the church, the podium shaking with each hard thrust that James had delivered to you. The both of you were in absolute pleasure and not anyone could stop it, James wouldn’t let anyone stop you both. He could feel how wet your cunt was getting with each thrust he delivered to you, the wet noises as he pounded into you was enough to emit a growl from his throat. He needed this, and he needed you.

“Mine!” James was a rather possessive boy, he liked owning things and right now he owned you. Moving one of his hands down, his finger made contact with your clit and rubbed it in circles with the rhythm of his thrusts, which seemed to be getting slipper by the second and he knew he was going to cum inside you any minute. But he wanted you to cum first, James wanted to hear you scream out his name.

Your legs started to turn to jelly the more pressure he applied to your clit, you were almost seeing stars and part of you felt like you were going to pass out right then and there. But you managed to hold off, your knuckles turned white as you gripped onto the sides of the podium before screaming loudly. James took pleasure in hearing this, it was like someone was getting murdered and fucked at the same time.

“That’s it! Cum for me!” Your cunt started to tighten around his cock like a vice, no matter how many women he fucked James couldn’t get used to the sensation of a woman coming undone underneath him. You looked like a goddess and honestly he wouldn’t be surprised if you actually were one, your cunt was leaking onto the wooden floors underneath you both and just the very sight of that had James fill you up with his seed. “Fuck!”

Gasping at the sensation, you didn’t actually expect him to finish inside you. You thought it was just some fantasy of his, but never thought he would actually go through with it due to the risk of pregnancy. “Shh.. take my cum, every last drop!”

James had you practically pinned between him and the podium, panting heavily against your shoulder you couldn’t help but think of the consequences of your actions. You were going to have to do some repenting after this otherwise you could see yourself meeting the man downstairs, your cheeks were flushed from the very thought of his cock still being inside you. His cum coated the insides of your cunt, James was surely going to impregnate you at this point and that meant you’d have to marry him.

Mrs March.. that sounded nice. You were pulled apart from your thoughts as he kissed your shoulder once again, where he had left the love bite as if to smooth you. James may have fucked you like a whore, and he may have treated you like one during the short time you spend together but you couldn’t help but wonder if there was a softer side to the man behind you. His hands caressed your hips and your question was answered almost instantly, you didn’t even need to ask him to know the answer.

“Marry me..” You weren’t surprised as he whispered that in your ear, James couldn’t help but smirk as your cheeks flushed red. “Marry me Miss Cortez..”

[blueboxesandtrafficcones]

The Nuptial Necessity - Chapter 14

A 12xRose Human AU

Despite an unglamorous job description, Rose loves the work she does with The Thistle Foundation, a charity founded by her best friend’s great-uncle.  It doesn’t hurt that her boss, her friend’s father, is easy on the eyes.  With a great job, wonderful friends and a loving family, life couldn’t be better – except for having someone to share it with.

All of that is threatened, though, when the great-uncle dies – and sets a strange condition for his nephew to inherit, jeopardizing the Foundation and Rose’s future, sparking a chain of events that might just get her everything she dreamed of and more.

Chapters will be posted on Saturdays and Tuesdays.  Many thanks to my beta, @stupidsatsuma

Rated: Explicit, for eventual smut

@doctorroseprompts

AO3  |  Masterlist

—

Friday - the wedding, pt. 2 / 2

Breathing deeply, Rose let out a sigh of contentment.  The ceremony had gone off without a hitch, the luncheon had been wonderful, and now she was on the dancefloor, swaying in Malcolm’s arms.  Her head nestled against his shoulder, body flush to his as they moved, was her idea of heaven.

It was why the Gala was her favorite night of the year, more than her birthday or Christmas, New Year’s, or any other bank holiday.  The opportunity to be so close to him, to breathe in his scent, to have him hold her closer – they always danced together for several slow songs.  The first was often spent whispering about how the event was going, the second was for sharing any juicy gossip, and the rest…  She liked to think the rest were just because he wanted to hold her as much as she wanted to be in his arms.  It was silly, bordering on deluded, but- she was in love.

And he wouldn’t hold her like this if he didn’t want to.

“You look beautiful,” Malcolm murmured out of the blue, grip tightening on her slightly as the song changed.  Other couples joined the floor, but Rose paid them no attention, trusting him to keep them from crashing into others.

“Thank you.”  Opening her eyes she glanced up at him, gaze tracing along the line of his jaw.  It was only mid-afternoon but his five o’clock shadow was already strong, and it wasn’t just the champagne that wondered what that would feel like against her bare skin.  “You look handsome yourself. I expected your tux, but this is actually better.”

He was dressed in a morning suit, including a waistcoat, looking very dapper and dashing.  The accent colors even matched the light shade of blue and cream she’d chosen for their colors.

“A tux?”  Malcolm sniffed, affecting a haughty tone.  “During the day?  What am I, a savage?”

Rose laughed, and his mock-disgusted expression melted into a grin.

“No, this was more appropriate.  Besides, I’ll be wearing the tux next weekend, for the Gala.  And if I do say so myself, I look particularly debonair in it, and I didn’t want to take the chance of upstaging the bride.”

“Oh, I get it,” she beamed up at him.  “I’ll be much more dressed up for that as well.”

“As you should – you’re a proper Lady now, Viscountess.”  His thumb began a gentle back and forth motion along her spine, and even though the thick material of her dress separated him from her skin, it was intoxicating.

“Noted,” was all she could manage, breathless, and his crystal blue eyes darkened a bit in response; they even flickered down to her mouth, and for one wild moment she thought (hoped, prayed) he was about to kiss her again.  When he had, at the officiant’s direction, her knees had gone weak and she would’ve sunk to the ground if he hadn’t been holding her up.  It had been dream-like, and all she wanted was for him to do it again, longer this time, deeper, and most importantly, because he wanted to.  She was equal parts pleased and disappointed that no one had yet clinked their glasses to make them kiss; while she would like the excuse, the idea hurt too much, of him doing it only because it was expected.

“Rose?”

“Hmm?”

“Can I tempt you to another slice of cake and glass of bubbly?”

She waited a beat before opening her eyes, hoping the disappointment wouldn’t slow.  “Yeah, course.”

Malcolm led her to their seats; at some point between her visit that morning and the ceremony someone had decided to space out the tables along the wall so they wouldn’t have to go all the way around behind people, and Rose didn’t care whose idea it was- she was just grateful.

“Thank you, my Lord,” she teased him as they settled into their seats, grinning at him.  “Too kind.”

Their glasses had been refilled while on the dance floor, but Malcolm gestured to their server to bring them cake before lifting his flute, Rose copying him half a second behind.

“I propose a toast,” her new husband said, sending a thrill through her.  “To you.  For being the wonderful, selfless human being you are.  Your kind heart and generous spirit constantly amaze me.  And… if I may, for a moment, be selfish, I am very much looking forward to spending more time with you for the foreseeable future.”

Rose smiled, cheeks turning pink.  “Thank you.  And to you, for… for being a good man, kind, trustworthy…  I agreed to this because you are you.  I wouldn’t have done this for… anyone else, basically.”  She pretended to think about it for a moment.  “Maybe Chris Hemsworth.  Or that bloke that plays that detective on that show I like.  But no one else.”  Her smile faded, and she added softly, with a bit too much emotion in her voice, “Just you.”

She met his eye, and slowly, his expression changed, grew more thoughtful and curious and just a touch hopeful.

“Rose-”

-

He knew, rationally, that she didn’t mean it the way it sounded.  It had been an emotionally charged day, the free-flowing champagne only complicating matters.  But his treacherous heart refused to hear it, trying to beat its way out his chest and across the small space to hers, to be forever entwined as they had promised to do in their vows.  He wanted that, a life with her for real, so terribly, and all of this was just a tease, an offer that would never pan out.

And then she looked at him that way, all doe eyes and earnest expression, like he was the only one in the world, the only person she could see, that they were alone in a roomful of people, and he dared to dream.

It occurred to him, then, with a bitter irony, a sucker punch to the gut, that this wedding was the final death knell for any potential relationship.  That now, as her husband as well as her boss, the difference in their power balance was too great.  He could never be certain that, were he to actually be brave enough to ask for what he wanted, and by some miracle she agreed to more, that it was because it was what she wanted, and not because she was trying to please him- her entire life depended on him now, he was responsible for everything in her daily life,  and he could never be sure.

This realization took his breath away, a visceral, physical ache in his chest.  And, judging by the concern spreading over her face it was visible on his, and he glanced around desperately in an attempt to distract her.

“Brigadier!”

His old friend was standing at the edge of the dance floor talking to Clara and Danny, and by the pale expression on the young man’s face, giving him quite the talking-to, which Malcolm appreciated.  Glancing up Alistair nodded, and a moment later, made his way towards him while Clara and Danny escaped to the dance floor.

“Hello, Malcolm,” Alistair rumbled, stopping on the other side of the table from them.  “And Mrs. Tucker, a pleasure to make your acquaintance.  I’ve heard a fair bit about you, over the years.”

Ah, shit, Malcolm thought, belatedly remembering that he had, in fact, mentioned Rose to him once or twice over the years.  Or during every bloody conversation.  “Rose, this is Brigadier General Alistair Gordon Lethbridge-Stewart.  We go way back.  Brigadier, this is Rose Tyler.”

“It’s lovely to meet you, Brigadier,” Rose said warmly.  “I believe I’ve taken a few of your calls over the years.  Malcolm hasn’t told me all that much about you, but what he has says quite a bit.”

“Is that so?”  Alistair narrowed his eyes at Rose, as though sizing her up.  “And what, precisely, does that say- does he say?”

Malcolm held his breath, but Rose hardly blinked at the challenge.

“That you are one of the best men he’s ever known, and one of the few he would trust with Clara’s life, no questions asked.  That the world could do with more men like you.”  Then she grinned.  “His actual words were ‘he’s an old friend, and would sometimes watch Clara for me when Wallace couldn’t’.”

Malcolm’s ears went red, but Rose and the Brigadier both burst into laughter, so he was willing to suffer a bit of embarrassment in favor of two of the most important people in his life bonding.

“Did he ever tell you how we met?” the Brig asked, still chuckling, as he came around to sit in the chair on Rose’s other side.

She shook her head, shooting Malcolm an appraising look.  “No, he didn’t, an omission I hope you’re about to rectify, Sir.”

“Most certainly.  And, please, call me Alistair.  Now, it was-”

“You know, I don’t think I ever got the story of why you’re here,” Malcolm cut in.  He didn’t have serious expectations of being able to keep Rose from hearing the story, but he was inclined to keep them from getting too chummy.  The Brig knew too many of his secrets for their friendship to be comfortable for him.  Even a ten-minute delay seemed a wise move.

Both shot him knowing looks tinged with exasperation, saying they knew what he was doing.  “Very well,” the Brig said, “if you must know right this moment. Clara called and asked me to come- begged, really.  She was surprised to learn I’d never received an invitation, and that was the first I was hearing of this- you, remarrying.”

Fuck.  “I tried to get in touch, but was told you were very busy in Geneva,” Malcolm said stiffly.  “I don’t think your assistant liked me very much- Dorothy?  Doria?”

“Doris?”

“That’s it.”

The Brig smirked.  “You’re right, she doesn’t.  She’s my wife.”

Rose snorted, and Malcolm gave her a wounded look.  “Don’t laugh, how was I supposed to know?”

“You’ve met her at least a dozen times.”

“Still.”

“All right, all right,” Rose interrupted, smirking.  “You’ve gotten your answer.  I was about to get a story- a wedding present, if you will.  You wouldn’t deny a bride her wedding present, would you?”

Malcolm could deny her nothing on an average day; certainly not now that she had made such a sacrifice.  “Go ahead.”

“So-”

“Maybe I should tell it.”

The Brigadier rolled his eyes.  “If you insist.  But I will correct any falsities.”

Taking a long sip of his champagne and bite of cake, Malcolm nodded.  “So, it’s our first weekend in London- divorce finalized on Tuesday, packed up the car on Wednesday, and now it’s Saturday.  Having effectively never been to the city, I decide to take Clara to some of the historical tourist sites, as one does.  We sign up for a tour.  Not twenty minutes into it do I realize that somewhere between the ticket gate and Traitor’s Gate- roughly 100 meters, mind you- this girl has vanished.  Gone.  I about lost my fucking mind.  So I alert the security guard, they start a search party, you’d think someone had said ‘hey, where’d the crown jewels go?’ it was that level of seriousness, which I did appreciate.”  Pausing for another sip, he appreciated how intently both were listening to the story, relishing in their anticipation.

“Everyone’s searching for her, calling her name, everything.  And don’t I hear behind me, ‘Dad, there’s a girl missing with the same name as me, isn’t that weird?  Can we help look for her?”

Rose burst into laughter, so loud half the guests turned to look, including Clara, who got one glance at the three of them and marched over, Danny trailing behind as her ears turned red.

“Oh please, please, please tell me you didn’t tell her,” Clara begged, glaring at him.  “Please.”

“This explains so much,” Rose gasped, holding her napkin to her mouth in a failed bid to repress her laughter.  “Remember?  You did exactly the same thing in Edinburgh, I even called Malcolm, and he said, I quote, ‘She’ll turn up.  Don’t bother calling for her, she’ll think it’s a coincidence’.  Now I know why!”

“It was the first time she did that, but not the last,” he confirmed, grinned at Rose’s good humor.

“Oh, I love it.  Doesn’t explain you two meeting, though?”

The Brigadier beat him to the punch.  “I joined the army at eighteen. When this occurred I was stationed at the Tower working security when this five year old comes wandering down stairs I’m fairly certain haven’t been used in five hundred years, absolutely off limits even to us.  Well, I very slightly outranked my fellow guard, and decided to take her back up myself.  My daughter’s a few years older, and done the same thing once or twice, so I understood the panic.  We’ve been friends ever since.”

“Wow.”  Rose turned back to Malcolm, flashing him a grin.  “That is a great story.  Much better than being uni roommates.”

“Hey, I like our story,” Clara protested, giving an exaggerated pout.  “It’s good too.”

“Of course it is.”  Rose leaned back in her chair, examining the Brig with a considering eye.  “I bet you’ve got lots of stories about these two back in the day.”

To Malcolm’s dismay but not surprise, a coy grin grew over the soldier’s face.  “Why yes, indeed I do.”

“Alistair, I believe this is going to be the beginning of a beautiful friendship.”

[jpowssbcu]

Producer as a Storyteller

We were all assigned a story to read and break down. I was given Hansel and Gretel. This story in particular was about a poor woodcutter who had two children with his first wife. He then re-married and the second wife wanted rid of the children and to take them to the forest to abandon them. The dad finally agreed with the step-mom that they should leave the children in the forest. Hansel made a trail of pebbles which they followed the trail home. The step-mom took them back into the woods the next day, this time Hansel made a trail using bread crumbs. However, the crumbs had been eaten by birds and couldn’t find their way back. They found a house made of candy and they started to eat the candy as they were hungry. An old lady—a witch came out of the house and invited them and fed them all the food they wanted. She told Gretel her plans. The witch was forced to fetch the water to cook Hansel as Gretel wasn’t putting any weight on so the witch didn’t want to eat her. Gretel was made to test the oven temperature with intentions to trick the witch and to push the witch into the oven. The witch is now dead. Hansel, Gretel and their dad now live a rich happy life. The step-mom is no longer seen.

How it relates to the modern day:

·     A story that shows sibling love and loyalty

·     A family that have very little money, the children go out and find a way to support their family.

·     The step-mom is an example of step-parents in the modern day. Children typically hate when their parents split and remarry, there’s always an evil step-parent.

·     Child neglect

·     Stranger Danger

·     Kidnap

Morals of the story:

·     Protect and love – always protect each other.

·     Hard work

·     Intellect will make you rich

·     Be careful who you trust

·     Be smart to survive

We were given a chance to switch stories. I changed to The Cinderella Story.

Idea generating:

Fairy tale based on The Cinderella Story. A prince living in unfortunate circumstances. Has 2 evil step brothers. The Prince received a VIP invite to a ball from another Prince. He had a surprising visit from a Fairy Gayfather. The Fairy was sad that the Prince didn’t have any clothes to go to the ball in, so he promised to enchant the Prince’s garments on the night of the ball so that he had something to wear. However, magic wears off and there will be a curfew. The step-brothers found out about the ball and were jealous. They wanted to marry the other Prince. They found the invitation and locked the Prince in the basement so he couldn’t go. The step-brothers got ready and went instead. The Fair Gayfather arrived to save the night. Helped the Prince to escape and enchanted his garments. The curfew was set for 00:00. The princes danced all night and the young prince had to run before his garments changed back to the rags. He left his Gucci Glass Slipper behind. The other prince found it and searched for him for days. He found the Prince, they married and lived happily ever after.

I decided that this story wasn’t modern enough with the changes we have experienced over the past 10 years. So, I decided to do a digging deeper exercise.

https://www.tate.org.uk/art/artworks/cahun-untitled-p79320

It seems like Cinderella and her prince had too much fun. Her garments and shoes are on the stairs, leading to the bedroom.

https://www.tate.org.uk/art/artworks/althamer-self-portrait-as-a-businessman-t11913

An image of significant items a businessman uses every day.

Suit, tie, shoes, newspaper, phone, briefcase and passport.

https://www.itsnicethat.com/articles/frieze-london-masters-2017-round-up-art-051017

“Sex work: Feminist Art & Radical Politics” Curated by Alison M. Gingeras. “Focus on explicit sexual iconography combined with radical political agency”. Highlights include work from Penny Slinger, Richard Saltoun, Betty Tompkins and Dorothy Iannone, whose vivid paintings tell intricate stories in vivid colours.

Can you find any online articles and books that relate to your keywords?

https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-45763/Youngsters-addicted-mobile-phones.html

https://www.dailymail.co.uk/femail/article-3134575/Cinderella-dances-prince-loses-glass-slipper-stunning-film-tells-classic-fairy-tale-eyes.html

https://www.amazon.co.uk/iDisorder-Understanding-Obsession-Technology-Overcoming/dp/0230117570

https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/14475327-significant-objects

Through exploring this digging deeper, I have found various links with my initial idea. I’m looking to change and simplify my current idea. I want to create a painting of a designer glass slipper or a glass iPhone with Cinderella influences.

I started to swatch some colours and using mediums such as Gloss Gel Medium and Iridescent Medium by Liquitex. I really think that the Iridescent Medium worked so well to achieve an almost glass finish which relates perfectly to the glass slipper from the Cinderella story.

Thinking more about modern technology.

Mobile Phones – Dating apps – tinder – New developed idea:

Cinderella is a dating app. A prince looking for his true love on Cinderella after dancing all night with a handsome prince at the ball.

Sculpture of a mobile phone with the ‘Cinderella App’.

Unfortunately, when making this… It broke in half and I had no time to fix this. So, I had to resort to making a painting of the app. Here’s what I came up with.

This project was too short for how creative I could have gotten. I would have loved to create at least an A1 painting with more of a storyline rather than having to think carefully about my time management. I did however enjoy practising with Liquitex mediums to achieve different paint outcomes.

To come to an end with this project, we were split up into groups of 6 to criticise each other’s work. The rules were that for 10 minutes the person who was getting their work reviewed, they couldn’t speak or answer questions – then after they had 5 minutes to talk about what their work was exactly about.

Oliver’s review:

We guessed his art work to be from the story Red Riding Hood. This drawing was out of composition and had too much white on the one side of the drawing. However, the use of text worked really well, “Don’t you trust me?” in the colour red. We assumed that the text was in red because the story is called Red Riding Hood, there’s actually a deeper meaning as to why this was the colour red (to be explained later). The rest of the drawing is in black and white which can be quite affective however, because the character is wearing a hoodie sweater, it would be cool to see if she’s wearing a red hooded sweater and to have the rest of the drawing in black and white. Because the character is on their phone having a conversation over text message, I felt that the text “Don’t you trust me?” should be a bubble coming from the mobile phone so it looks more of a texting conversation, rather than a caption of the image.

The actual meaning behind this was:

Phones are used too much and it’s an example of the dangers behind the screen. People aren’t educated enough about the dangers of the internet; catfishes, paedophiles and other dangerous things. Red Riding Hood believes she’s texting her nan, but is actually the wolf who wants her to come over. Red Riding Hood was being led to her nan’s home where she will be killed. The red text was to resemble Red Riding Hood, but mostly blood and about her being killed by the wolf.

In my opinion, I liked the idea of the work, but there were so many unfinished things about it which could be easily changed. The composition of the drawing could easily be changed by finishing some parts where the anatomy has been missed out, whether Oliver draws an outline, but not to completely polish the section, but to show an impression that Red Riding Hood’s waist is there. This would also add to the story by saying that It’s a metaphor of Red being killed and being erased from the world.

Amber’s Review:

Amber created a beautiful delicate acrylic painting which we thought was also Red Riding Hood. She really researched every detail in this painting as it was obvious to us that there were Celtic influences (the boarder around the painting and the clothing on the characters). We could easily guess that the location of the work was either Scotland or Ireland. The boarder around the painting also gave a tarot card aesthetic which was quite nice to see as I have been looking into tarot cards in some of my projects. When looking at her painting, the first thing I looked at and was mesmerised by is the bear in the clouds. It was really well done and captured the audience’s attention. I see bear as a spirit animal that lives in the clouds to protect the person who wears its amulet of protection.

She shown her inspiration of the piece so clearly:

·     Disney Brave

·     Celtic history

·     Protection and bravery

·     Strong warriors

I really liked the small details of this art work too, the image has a great composition and really nice textures: the hair, skin, clothing and the vegetation. There was great use of vanishing point too. The main wolf is being haunted but is still showing signs of strength and appeared to be the alpha.

The actual story and details:

Original story are Snow White and Rose Red.

Snow White and Rose Red are dangerous ruthless killers. Amber didn’t want to create perfectly groomed characters with the typical female stereotypes and wanted to create them into fierce characters. She explained how she searched into her own family history and her surname. It leads back to Ireland and she related this into her painting. Her family history ‘O’Sullivan’ where she found out that they had their own song, their own shield and family crest. The most interesting part is that they had an omen which is a bear: That’s why there’s a bear in the clouds. This shows hidden symbolism in her work which was nice to learn. She wanted the main wolf to be a boar because that was her family crest. She said that she didn’t paint a boar because she didn’t have any references to paint one. However, she could have found references on the internet which could have made this more relatable.

My work being reviewed:

·     Cinderella apparently feeling sorry for herself, so she resulted to Tinder at 04:08am to find a midnight hook up.

·     The time on the phone is because the prince is trying to find their date from the ball and didn’t take their phone number so they’re trying to find them on the dating app.

·     To express that people are so caught up with finding their own Prince Charming on the internet.

·     Photos are easily photoshopped.

·     Classical aesthetics

·     Clear inspiration

·     Clear definition between the hand and the phone.

·     Some proportions are a bit off.

·     The small details work great – the Iridescent Medium

·     Time was the enemy in this piece as it was evident that I didn’t have much time to do exactly what was planned.

·     A background to give a sense of environment

·     The marks in the back ground is rain?

The actual story/details:

Cinderella is a LGBTQ+ dating app where the user can find their own true love with people who have the same intentions. The Prince had left the ball without leaving his number with his date. His date (another Prince) was searching for his true love on the Cinderella dating app at the early hours of the morning.  The rain in the back ground is a metaphor to express that the Prince is sad that the other Prince didn’t leave his number.

Key features of this painting:

·     The glass slipper has replaced the super like, which the guys had mentioned was a really nice detail. Brings relevance from the story and the inspiration from Tinder.

·     The use of the Iridescent Medium which shows influences from the glass slipper.

·     The colour of the smartphone brings inspiration from Cinderella’s Ball Gown and Glass Slipper.

·     Why the Prince Charming on the app screen has a blurred looking face is because in today’s modern culture, people are using photoshop to make themselves look blemish free and beautiful.

I really enjoyed this project. However, it is sad that there was such a limited time frame which didn’t allow me to get into greater details with a painting. I would love to have made a much bigger painting – scenery and more story; experimenting with other paints such as oil paints and layering different paints – acrylic and oils.

[thefilmfatale]

HIDDEN FIGURES (2016) 

There’s something about biopics and “untold true stories” in general that make me skeptical. Maybe it’s the air of weightiness that comes with adapting a story based on real events and characters, that sense of obligation to do right by them. Perhaps it’s the expectation that something new and revelatory will be told with cinema as the medium. Maybe it’s because films in this genre usually become shoo-ins (shoos-in?) during awards season, just like anyone who takes their clothes off or cries a lot automatically becomes an Oscar nominee. So going into Hidden Figures, I confess I had reservations. But, since I loved the premise of the movie and adored the cast, I was compelled to see it in theaters. A story about the unsung black heroines of NASA, an organization notorious for being a WASPy sausagefest - yeah, count me in.

The film stars Taraji P. Henson, Octavia Spencer, and Janelle Monàe as three of NASA’s finest minds who literally helped propel men to the moon. Henson plays Katherine Johnson, a mathematical prodigy who was instrumental in calculating the launch and landing trajectories of NASA’s shuttles. Spencer is Dorothy Vaughan, a pioneer in the computing world. And Monàe is Mary Jackson, the first black, female aeronautical engineer. Hidden Figures tells the story of these prolific women - a story of perseverance in a male-dominated field and a segregated society. It’s an untold true story all right, but it’s one that understandably carries tremendous weight, especially in light of #OscarsSoWhite and the Black Lives Matter movement. In short, it’s a film that couldn’t be more relevant. 

Hidden Figures has an interesting story, in no small part due to its characters being so different and the actresses who portray them being charming and captivating. But what makes Hidden Figures uniquely fascinating is its invitation to observe the inner workings of an organization usually known for its political agnosticism. The film asks the question: in a climate of racial tension and Cold War paranoia, how does an organization like NASA take a stand? It’s a question that is especially relevant, considering the current political climate in the United States and reports of government agencies gone rogue in protest of gag orders from Donald Trump’s dictatorial regime. NASA’s single-mindedness in its focus to win the space race paved the way for illumination on social issues such as racism and sexism. In the quest for science and achievement, it seemed counter to NASA’s mission to disadvantage the brightest minds in the country because of outdated, bigoted government regulations. So instead of holding back these bright black women, they uplifted them, radically going against conventions in the name of scientific conquest. However, it does bring up the point that organizations will sometimes only make the right choice if it affects their bottom line. Because NASA’s existence was dependent on their continued success (and as such, their need to employ the best and the brightest no matter their gender or skin color), it makes you wonder whether theirs was merely an act of self-preservation and not entirely altruistic. But perhaps the lesson here is that it was a small step for civil rights that ultimately became a giant leap for mankind.   

It was also fascinating to see the struggles of these women of color in a field as progressive as science. We’ve never heard their stories before, and to see them play out on screen was enlightening. As someone who didn’t grow up with US history and wasn’t as exposed to the country’s past with slavery, I was genuinely taken aback by the examples of racism that the film chose to highlight. For instance, it never occurs to us that in a place as prestigious and progressive as NASA, black women had to worry about something as quotidian as going to the bathroom. It was poignant, heartbreaking, and extremely effective at painting the picture of a segregated society that deemed black folk as second class citizens. There was also a scene where Henson’s Katherine Johnson, who was the only black woman in NASA’s Space Task Group, goes to get a cup of coffee and realizes that she has been given a separate coffee pot labeled “colored”, only because her ogling, white male colleagues were too disgusted by the idea of sharing a coffeepot with a negro. Watching those uniquely black experiences unfold on screen was insightful and evocative, really emphasizing the ugliness of the prejudice they were constantly subjected to.

Another interesting aspect of the film - and this was a lot more subtle - was its exploration of the ways in which minorities resist when they are being marginalized. Some say that the women in the film were able to advance because of pure, old-fashioned meritocracy. Their protest was to be exemplary in their field. This is the stance of many people in various industries when it comes to tackling issues of race and discrimination. Instead of Affirmative Action, these POCs think they should instead pursue roles where they are highly visible and clearly successful, in order to pave the way for more acceptance and appreciation for diversity in the workplace. On the other hand, there are those who believe that equal treatment must be demanded persistently. Octavia Spencer’s Dorothy Vaughan, for example, repeatedly asks her white female superior (played by Kirsten Dunst) about a promotion that she is certain she is being denied because of the color of her skin, a sentiment she never expresses to her superior’s face precisely because an accusation of blatant discrimination could torpedo her career. Mary Jackson’s husband brings up the need to get out in the streets, protest and be angry and vigilant. The film does a great job talking about these different types of protest, something I’m sure many POCs could relate to, as these are familiar discussions they likely have within their own communities.  

Another subtle issue that the film addresses: intersectionality. We see the tensions between Kirsten Dunst’s character and Octavia Spencer’s, which is meant to be representative of the rifts in the feminist movement about inclusivity. There is an exchange between the two characters where Dunst, after having treated Spencer’s character demeaningly for years, says “I have nothing against y’all.” To which Spencer’s Vaughan replies, “I know. I know you probably believe that.” This was a very interesting choice of words. It deliberately highlights the lack of understanding that many in the feminist movement have when it comes to privilege, specifically white female privilege (there are varying degrees of this, of course - those of Asian descent, for instance, enjoy a privilege that those of Latino descent do not). Dunst’s character is likely all about female empowerment, but when it comes to elevating black women, does not feel that this advantages her, so she is by default against it. This is an issue that continues to play out today, unfortunately. Just look at the Fisher vs the University of Texas case, where a white woman argues against affirmative action because she believes it advances POCs, as if she herself has not benefited from some level of affirmative action for being a woman. So in a subtle way, Hidden Figures confronts this problem by emphasizing that elevating women of color advantages all women.  

I also really liked that the film touched on the idea of obsolescence in the workforce because of the advent of machines. I was amazed when I realized that before the personal machine computer, “computers” were just people doing manual calculations for the most amazing things. There is a scene in the film where NASA receives their first IBM machine and they don’t quite know what to do with it. It was amusing to see the brightest minds in the country completely flummoxed by this bulky, ugly hunk of metal. But at the same time, the idea that there was this machine that could sift through data faster than the human brain…it was a reasonable and understandable threat to the women who were doing these manual calculations, a threat that is increasingly relevant in our age of automation, drones and the prospect of self-driving cars.   

The film comes with some expected exaggerations; for example, a scene featuring Kevin Costner’s Al Harrison - leader of NASA’s Space Task Group - destroying a “Colored Women’s Bathroom” sign in a loud, grand gesture of allyship with his black, female subordinates, was a bit cringeworthy and heavy handed. It did raise the point, however, that allyship is important and that there are no struggles out there that marginalized groups can take on all on their own. I do wish that the antagonists in the film were a little more interesting than being mere sneering naysayers, which was essentially all of what Jim Parsons did in the role of Katherine’s smug and entitled boss.  

It’s not unusual for biopics to take some liberties in their storytelling, but sometimes the extent to which a particular message is driven home can be tiresome. The writing in this film wasn’t exceptional, and there were several lines that made my eyes roll in the back of my head (”In NASA, we all pee the same color” - ugh). There was also the repeated aphorism “That’s just the way things are,” which failed to be emphatic after the nth time it was uttered. The way the romances were set up also seemed to be afterthoughts. I wanted a little bit more from Mahershala Ali’s character, and I wanted to see more tension in Mary Jackson’s marriage because of the role reversal of her being the breadwinner for her family. Finally, my last complaint is the music. While I like Pharrell, it really wasn’t necessary to have several of his songs featured prominently in the film in lieu of a traditional score. Some of the songs took me out of the film because they were distracting or didn’t quite fit with the scenes they were accompanying.

At the end of the day, these are but quibbles, and I was thoroughly entertained by Hidden Figures. While it was formulaic (and somewhat cheesy) in the way we’ve grown accustomed to in biopics, its subject matter is inherently groundbreaking, making it enjoyable to watch. Taraji P. Henson was her usual flawless self in the film, and her exasperated, indignant outburst towards the end of the film is a truly memorable, applause-worthy moment. 

[rugbyquit5-blog]

On this week’s The Deuce, it’s great to know a lot… and a little bit not

Photo: Paul Schiraldi (HBO)

In 1986, Broadway songwriting legend Stephen Sondheim and dramatist James Lapine turned Bruno Bettelheim’s analytical psychology book The Uses Of Enchantment: The Meaning And Importance Of Fairy Tales into the playful musical Into The Woods, which turned the well-known stories of Little Red Riding Hood, Rapunzel, Cinderella, and Jack & The Beanstalk into a catchy and clever comment on adventure, desire, and parenting. The show won multiple Tonys, has been revived many times, was made into a hit movie, and remains a regional theater staple. It’s a remarkable example of artists taking unlikely source material—a book of academic cultural criticism—and turning into something the masses can enjoy.

And if The Deuce is to be believed, Eileen “Candy” Merrell had the idea first.

This is something I love about The Deuce: The characters are smart, but not unbelievably smart. Eileen’s bright enough to know that she can use her power in the smut industry to make a real movie, with a story and themes in between the screwing. And she’s intuitive enough to sense that a fairy tale like Little Red Riding Hood is a great vehicle for what she’s always tried to do with her porn: to reveal what the characters are actually feeling, and to help explain and even condone our common sexual needs. But she’s not well-educated or well-trained enough to put all that onto paper, into a film script; and this isn’t the kind of show that’s suddenly going to turn her into someone she’s not.

Harvey, on the other hand, is well-educated, and never misses a chance to prove it—primarily so he can insist that all that intellectual hoo-hah is silly. He patiently listens to Eileen’s pitches, because he has a lot of affection for her as a person, and because she delivers the goods when it comes to staging and filming genuinely erotic scenes. But he also thinks it’s a waste of money to buy special outdoor lighting and fancy costumes when all his customers really care about is the sex. “A little quaint for a fuck film,” he sighs.

Harvey’s the one who casually name-drops Bettelheim, just to clarify for Eileen that he knows what she’s trying to do, and that it’s probably not going to be worth his or her time. She though takes that cue to go buy a copy of The Uses Of Enchantment, and then to hire an actual writer to turn her notebook full of sketches and ideas into a real screenplay. Her main instruction: “I want to clear out all the quaint shit.” She’ll show Harvey.

This week’s The Deuce—credited to director Uta Briesewitz and writer Anya Epstein—is called “What Big Ideas,” for obvious reasons. It’s the line Harvey says mockingly to Eileen, in the voice of the Big Bad Wolf (“What big ideas you have!”). It also describes just about every plot-line in the episode.

For example, both Larry and C.C. have begun looking for ways to move beyond pimping—the former by becoming an actor, the latter by pushing himself as a creative consultant on Lori’s movies. Larry seems to be doing better. He struggles with his lines (perhaps because, as Darlene presumes, he can’t read); and he’s more interested in playing smiling, friendly types than the muscular, well-endowed menaces that the industry prefers for guys like him. But given a chance by Candy to improvise his way through a scenario where he plays a dangerous prisoner, he delivers a genuinely moving extemporaneous speech about how his character landed in jail, and how he feels about it.

As for C.C., he actually makes a good suggestion to Lori’s director, saying he should ditch his leering asthmatic cameraman and let the actor on the receiving end of Lori’s blowjob shoot the scene himself, POV-style. He’s also been trying to sell his own original idea for a porno: The Life And Times Of A Pimp.

All of this is highly embarrassing to Lori, who thinks C.C. should just collect his money—which keeps pouring in, more and more—and “shut the fuck up.” She even strikes a secret deal with a casting agent, to find her jobs C.C. won’t be involved in, but that he’ll get paid for anyway. What neither Lori nor the agent understand though is that C.C., like Larry, has never been good at just sitting back and collecting cash. These pimps want to run their girls. It’s a point of pride.

What’s especially poignant about all this—and has been since this series began—is that everyone’s dreams are ultimately so limited. Eileen, Larry, C.C.… They all sense, mostly rightly, that they have more to give to the world. But they’ve confined their vision to whatever they’re allowed to accomplish in the medium of pornography, where the customers aren’t exactly demanding brilliance.

Even Paul, who’s executing his plan to build a beautiful new gay bar in the Village, is facing skepticism from his primary investor, Vincent, who’s not sure it’s prudent to spend a lot of money on the decor of a place where guys are mainly planning to sneak off into a dark corner. How nice of a joint does it need to be?

Photo: Paul Schiraldi (HBO)

What we can see though—and the characters can’t—is that times are changing in Times Square, faster than anyone thinks. Detective Alston has his doubts that Ed Koch’s team can do anything about the peep shows, streetwalkers, and massage parlors, especially with every corrupt cop from every surrounding precinct jumping aboard the special task force’s “overtime express.” (“If it was that easy, the Deuce wouldn’t be here,” he grumbles at Koch’s aide Gene Goldman.) But factors beyond Alston’s imagination may soon accomplish what no captain, chief, commissioner, or mayor has ever been able to.

The most pressing concern: The mafia’s multi-family squabble over their Times Square turf is starting to turn deadly. Bobby’s parlor burns down, killing an employee everyone only knew as “Kitty.” (Dorothy actually tracks down the dead masseuse’s family, and learns that her real name was Stephanie, and that she was 15 years old when Bobby hired her… making his indignation last week about competing parlors hiring underage girls all the more hypocritical.) There’s no proof yet that the fire was arson, and certainly no proof of who’s responsible. Nevertheless, one of Rudy Pipilo’s soldiers shoots a rival dead, right in the street (while he’s eating pizza, no less!). The mob is used to being able to operate at will in the Deuce. But even policemen on the take can��t shrug off a rising death toll.

And then there’s this: At The Hi-Hat, Abby hosts an art-show by a photographer named Viv (Adelind Horan), who flirts with Vincent. As far as The Deuce’s main storylines are concerned, these scenes matter because they show a small but solid wedge being driven between Abby and Vincent. But Viv’s actual work matters too, as part of the show’s larger design. She takes pictures that “bring out the humanity of the marginalized,” turning the denizens of the Deuce into high art.

Viv’s part of a coming wave of photographers, painters, poets, and musicians, who are taking advantage of the cheap rent in a crumbling New York, and are about to revive the city as an intellectual and cultural mecca—the kind of place where, in less than a decade, Into The Woods can be a hit.

Stray observations

Remember last week, when I said Frankie was one lucky so-and-so for winning a dry cleaning business in a poker game, right when the mob was about to muscle him out? Yeah, scratch that. The handful of Frankie scenes this week show him scrambling to keep up with demanding dry cleaning customers, and generally looking miserable. The lone exception is when he watches his wife strip. When she storms off the stage because some bozo wants a little extra for his tip, Frankie gives her a genuinely sympathetic, hard-won look and says, “Customer ain’t always right.”

The brief vignette this week of Eileen back home with her son and mother doesn’t seem to serve much purpose at first. But maybe it sparks something in Eileen’s head to hear her teenager describe his crush on Julie from The Love Boat, before finding out he’s hiding an issue of Penthouse under his mattress. This is what she wants her Little Red Riding Hood movie to be about: innocence corrupted, secret lusts, and “the hunger and the terror and the risk.”

Source: https://tv.avclub.com/on-this-week-s-the-deuce-it-s-great-to-know-a-lot-and-1829425372

[brittanyyoungblog]

74 Happy Anniversary Quotes to Help You Celebrate

An anniversary is more than just another trip around the sun with your partner in tow. It’s a reaffirmation of your bond. It’s a special moment. It means you made it through hiccups and joys of another year and you’re still together. That’s worth celebrating.

Anniversaries are a time to express gratitude for your relationship, but it can be difficult to find exactly the right words. We pulled over 70 of our favorite anniversary quotes to help inspire the words you’ll share with your partner on this special date.

  The secret of a happy marriage is finding the right person. You know they’re right if you love to be with them all the time. ―Julia Child

A wedding anniversary is the celebration of love, trust, partnership, tolerance and tenacity. The order varies for any given year. ―Paul Sweeney

There is no more lovely, friendly and charming relationship, communion or company than a good marriage. ―Martin Luther

An anniversary is a reminder as to why you love and married this person. ―Zoe Foster Blake

You were made perfectly to be loved – and surely I have loved you, in the idea of you, my whole life long. ―Elizabeth Barrett Browning

Chains do not hold a marriage together. It is threads, hundreds of tiny threads, which sew people together through the years. ―Simone Signoret

We are not the same persons this year as last; nor are those we love. It is a happy chance if we, changing, continue to love a changed person. ―W. Somerset Maugham

I love my wife, she deserves anything and everything. ―Aaron Spelling

I think long-lasting, healthy relationships are more important than the idea of marriage. At the root of every successful marriage is a strong partnership. ―Carson Daly

We concentrate so much on anniversaries and birthdays that you forget it’s the Tuesday that’s tough that really counts. Sometimes she just needs some flowers or even just that ear. It’s the little things that count. It’s the regular days of the year that you have to keep your attention on her. ―BJ the Chicago Kid

That there’s no more important decision in life than who you marry. ―Brad Paisley

I love marriage. I think it’s a wonderful institution and it’s the most important decision you make. ―Isla Fisher

Marriage is a coming together for better or for worse, hopefully enduring, and intimate to the degree of being sacred. ―William O. Douglas

Truth is everybody is going to hurt you: you just gotta find the ones worth suffering for. ―Bob Marley

I’m lucky in having found the perfect partner to spend my life with. ―Sara Paretsky

The relationship between husband and wife should be one of closest friends. ―B. R. Ambedkar

Every good relationship, especially marriage, is based on respect. If it’s not based on respect, nothing that appears to be good will last very long. ―Amy Grant

True love doesn’t happen right away; it’s an ever-growing process. It develops after you’ve gone through many ups and downs, when you’ve suffered together, cried together, laughed together. ―Ricardo Montalban

True love stories never have endings. ―Richard Bach

Life is a game and true love is a trophy. ―Rufus Wainwright

True love comes quietly, without banners or flashing lights. If you hear bells, get your ears checked. ―Erich Segal

Only true love can fuel the hard work that awaits you. ―Tom Freston

I do believe in one true love. ―Michelle Dockery

I love that you get cold when it’s 71 degrees out. I love that it takes you an hour and a half to order a sandwich. I love that you get a little crinkle above your nose when you’re looking at me like I’m nuts. I love that after I spend the day with you, I can still smell your perfume on my clothes. And I love that you are the last person I want to talk to before I go to sleep at night. And it’s not because I’m lonely, and it’s not because it’s New Year’s Eve. I came here tonight because when you realize you want to spend the rest of your life with somebody, you want the rest of your life to start as soon as possible. ― Nora Ephron, When Harry Met Sally

Love is not a maybe thing, you know when you love someone. ― Lauren Conrad

When you find a guy who calls you beautiful instead of hot, who calls you back when you hang up on him, who will stand in front of you when other’s cast stones, or will stay awake just to watch you sleep, who wants to show you off to the world when you are in sweats, who will hold your hand when your sick, who thinks your pretty without makeup, the one who turns to his friends and say, ‘that’s her’, the one that would bear your rejection because losing you means losing his will to live, who kisses you when you screw up, watches the stars and names one for you and will hold and rock that baby for hours so you can sleep…..you marry him all over again. ― Shannon Alder

I believe in the immeasurable power of love; that true love can endure any circumstance and reach across any distance. ― Steve Maraboli

So you do believe in… true love? she whispered. I took a deep breath, I think I have to, I said, blinking back tears. Without it, we’re all going nowhere. ― Juliet Marillier

True love is supposed to make you into a better person-uplift you. ― Emily Griffin, Love the One You’re With

Falling in love is very real, but I used to shake my head when people talked about soul mates, poor deluded individuals grasping at some supernatural ideal not intended for mortals but sounded pretty in a poetry book. Then, we met, and everything changed, the cynic has become the converted, the sceptic, an ardent zealot. ― E.A. Bucchianeri, Brushstrokes of a Gadfly

Whatever our souls are made of, yours and mine are the same. ―Emily Brontë

I saw that you were perfect, and so I loved you. Then I saw that you were not perfect and I loved you even more. ―Angelita Lim

I love you without knowing how, or when, or from where. I love you simply, without problems or pride: I love you in this way because I do not know any other way of loving but this, in which there is no I or you, so intimate that your hand upon my chest is my hand, so intimate that when I fall asleep your eyes close. ―Pablo Neruda

Love grows more tremendously full, swift, poignant, as the years multiply. ―Zane Grey

If equal affection cannot be, let the more loving one be me. ―W.H. Auden

I wish there was a word more than ‘love’ itself to convey what I feel for you. ―Faraaz Kazi

In all the world, there is no heart for me like yours. In all the world, there is no love for you like mine. —Maya Angelou

As we grow older together, As we continue to change with age, There is one thing that will never change … I will always keep falling in love with you. —Karen Clodfelder

I love you not only for what you are, but for what I am when I am with you. I love you not only for what you have made of yourself, but for what you are making of me. I love you for the part of me that you bring out. —Roy Croft

I love you―I am at rest with you―I have come home. —Dorothy L. Sayers

Love is an endless act of forgiveness. Forgiveness is me giving up the right to hurt you for hurting me. ―Beyonce

Lots of people want to ride with you in the limo, but what you want is someone who will take the bus with you when the limo breaks down. ―Oprah Winfrey

The best thing to hold onto in life is each other. ―Audrey Hepburn

Never above you. Never below you. Always beside you. ―Walter Winchell

Nobody can predict the future. You just have to give your all to the relationship you’re in and do your best to take care of your partner, communicate and give them every last drop of love you have. I think one of the most important things in a relationship is caring for your significant other through good times and bad. ―Nick Cannon

Take a lover who looks at you like maybe you are magic. ―Frida Kahlo

You deserve someone who is terrified to lose you. ―R.H. Sin

Fall in love with someone who makes you glad to be different. ―Sue Zhao

In the end there doesn’t have to be anyone who understands you. There just has to be someone wants to. ―Robert Breault

The meeting of two personalities is like the contact of two chemical substances: if there is any reaction, both are transformed. ―Carl Gustav Jung

Well, it seems to me that the best relationships―the ones that last―are frequently the ones that are rooted in friendship. You know, one day you look at the person and you see something more than you did the night before. Like a switch has been flicked somewhere. And the person who was just a friend is… suddenly the only person you can ever imagine yourself with. ―Gillian Anderson

It’s no good pretending that any relationship has a future if your record collections disagree violently or if your favorite films wouldn’t even speak to each other if they met at a party. ― Nick Hornby

Nothing in this world was more difficult than love. ―Gabriel García Márquez

I define connection as the energy that exists between people when they feel seen, heard, and valued; when they can give and receive without judgment; and when they derive sustenance and strength from the relationship. ―Brené Brown

You fit into me like a hook into an eye a fish hook an open eye ― Margaret Atwood

Trust is the fruit of a relationship in which you know you are loved. ―William P. Young

Why don’t we break up? I guess I stay with her because she stays with me. And that’s not an easy thing to do. ―John Green, Looking for Alaska

He knew me in all the ways that truly mattered: the shape of my fears, the contours of my dreams. ―Justina Chen Headley

There isn’t time, so brief is life, for bickerings, apologies, heartburnings, callings to account. There is only time for loving, and but an instant, so to speak, for that. ―Mark Twain

You know someone’s right for you when the things they don’t have to say are even more important than the things they do. ―Jodi Picoult

Love doesn’t have to be on Valentine’s Day. It doesn’t have to be by the time you turn eighteen or thirty-three or fifty-nine. It doesn’t have to conform to whatever is usual. It doesn’t have to be kismet at once, or rhapsody by the third day. It just has to be. In time. In place. In spirt. It just has to be. ―David Levithan

Life contains but two tragedies. One is not to get your heart’s desire; the other is to get it. ―Socrates

I’m done. I don’t need anything more out of life. I have you, and that’s enough. ―Alessandra Torre

The strength of a man isn’t seen in the power of his arms. It’s seen in the love with which he embraces you. ―Steve Maraboli

There is no mystery―that’s the beauty of it. We are entirely explicable to each other, and yet we stay. What a miracle that is. ―Kamila Shamsie

If I lived a million lives, I would’ve felt a million feelings and I still would’ve fallen a million times for you. ―Robert M. Drake

I just want someone to hear what I have to say. And maybe if I talk long enough, it’ll make sense. ―Ray Bradbury

We’ve lost a lot of years, but you can’t lose love. Not real love. It stays locked inside you, ready for whenever you are strong enough to find it again. ―Martina Boone

I had a dream about you last night. I was alone on a dark night and you came to me as a firefly. I knew it was you because you were the brightest. ―Crystal Hudson

Love grows from stable relationships, shared experience, loyalty, devotion, trust. ―Richard Wright

There is nothing more beautiful than a vulnerable heart in open hands. ―Amanda Mosher

I loved you at your worst, and you were always at your worst. Nothing could stop me. Not even you. ―Denice Envall

An anniversary is a celebration of the triumph and tragedy of love. ―Debasish Mridha

The post 74 Happy Anniversary Quotes to Help You Celebrate appeared first on The Date Mix.

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[faleronofkingsreach]

Yuletide Letter 2017

Dear Yuletide Writer,

Hello, and thanks for writing for me! This is my third year doing Yuletide, I’ve had fantastic experiences both other times, and I’m really excited about all of my requests (and offers, though that’s probably less relevant to you). I actually had a hard time narrowing down my requests for this year, which I think bodes well.

I am alessandralee on AO3, faleronofkingsreach on tumblr, and alessandra_lee on LJ.

My fandom requests are: Orphan Island - Lauren Snyder, Call the Midwife, Emerald City, Provost’s Dog - Tamora Pierce, The Bold Type, and Wayward Children Series - Seanan McGuire.

General Likes: worldbuilding, fics that focus on the relationships between characters (be they romantic/platonic/familial/adversarial/etc.), backstory, slice of life, future fic, pining, happy endings, holiday fic (winter holidays, universe-specific holidays, or otherwise).

General dislikes: 1st/2nd person point of view, focus on non-canon pregnancy/children, non-canon character death, explicit sex, rape/noncon, incest, graphic violence, gore, character bashing. Also, I’m not really interested in receiving AUs for Yuletide this year (with 1 exception mentioned under Wayward Children).

The Bold Type (Jane Sloan & Ryan Decker) I let friends and a barrage of Facebook ads talk me into starting this show and I fell in love with it, and with Jane Sloan specifically. I love that things scare her and embarrass her, but she does them anyway (and then writes something honest and heartfelt about it). I love her friendship with Kat and Sutton, so feel free to include them and any other characters from the show in your fic. I like Ryan, hence my requesting him, but the TBT really only shows him from Jane’s point of view, so I have a hard time really pinning him down.

I really enjoy the two of them together, and would love to receive a fic that involves the two of them giving a serious, exclusive relationship a try. Jane clearly has a certain idea about what Ryan is looking for from a woman, but she hasn’t given him much of a chance to prove otherwise (nor has he put much effort into getting one). But what if he did want to date Jane seriously, and only date her? It seems like he at least entertained the idea. I’m sure there would be some missteps along the way, but I’d love to see them put in the effort. Maybe they have to go separate ways for a while, but run into each other years down the line and find that the attraction’s still there. Do they give it another go? Or do they give casual another shot, only to eventually find they want to be less casual, and then try to broach the topic again?

Call the Midwife  (Trixie Franklin & Christopher Dockerill) I forget how I started watching this show, but I’ve watched the last few seasons over long weekends with my mother. I love the historical aspect (fashion! medical breakthroughs! the horrible trauma of a generation that survived World War II!), as well as the focus on women and all the different types of relationships that they have. It took me a season or two to warm up to Trixie, but as we’ve gotten to see more sides of her I’ve come to love the vulnerability that she hides under her perfectly applied eyeliner. I’ve been hoping she’ll get some sort of happy ending since she broke off her engagement to Tom, and I like the idea of Christopher being that for her. Neither one of them was entirely forthcoming about their pasts at the start of their relationship, but it was to avoid getting hurt (and in Christopher’s case, also to avoid his daughter getting hurt).

Please, please, please give me a happy ending (or middle) for these two. Whether it’s a sweet holiday interlude (I love the show’s Christmas episodes, but I’m also in for any other holiday), or something that has them both opening up a little more about their pasts (Trixie’s childhood and alcoholism, and Christopher’s divorce), and not letting that get in the way of their future. I’d love to see more of Trixie getting used to the idea of being in a relationship with a man who has a child. Trixie was really great with Alexandra during their first meeting, but things aren’t always that easy or pleasant when there’s a child involved. Alternately, I think there could be a lot to explore by having Christopher be formally introduced to the rest of the nuns and midwives. I love all of the canon pairings on the show, so feel free to include them, but I’d like the focus to be on Trixie and Christopher.

Emerald City  (Dorothy Gale & Lucas/Roan) Oh man, this show sucked me in from the first episode and I was so sad to hear that it was canceled. I love tv shows/books/movies that take a well-known story and twist it up, and this was no exception. At the start, Dorothy was so clearly thrown off-kilter by being sent to a world with completely different rules than her own, but she learned to play by them and play by them well. I also love how emotional she could be. When something affected her, it was clear for everyone to see.

For this fandom, I’d like to see something that picks up where the show left off. I think there’s so much to explore there, with Dorothy returning to Oz and also being around Lucas/Roan again. Something that shows them trying to figure out where they stand with each other now would be much appreciated. They were lovers and they were enemies, and they very nearly killed each other. How do they reconcile that? Is he Lucas or is Roan or is he some combination of both of them now? Where are his loyalties now? Can they trust each other? So much of their relationship is completely up in the air and can go down so many different paths. It’s exciting to think about. I also really loved both of their relationships with Sylvie, so feel free to include her.

Orphan Island - Laurel Snyder (Abigail) I am a children’s librarian and I read this book for a committee I’m on at work. I wouldn’t say that I like the way it was open ended and mysterious, but I loved the book and the unanswered questions have definitely been circling around in my head since I finished. I will give Laurel Snyder a lot of credit, because usually books like this annoy me rather than intrigue me.

So I’d love to have your take any of the many unanswered questions. Who was Abigail, where was she from, and what happened to her? How did the first children end up on the Island? Where to the children start out from before coming to the Island, and where do they end up afterwards? Is there a purpose to the Island? How does the Island manage to provide the children with everything they need (at least until it’s rules are broke, and then how does it know the rules have been broken)? I know I requested Abigail, but if you’d like to focus on any other character or just give me worldbuilding, you do not need to include her.

Provost’s Dog - Tamora Pierce (Sabine) I’ve been reading Tamora Pierce’s books since I was a kid, and about two years ago I did a re-read of everything she’s written. I wasn’t overly enthusiastic about the Provost’s Dog trilogy when it originally came out, but the second time around I got so much out of it. As an adult, I loved seeing the Tortall of the past, as well as all these events/trends/movements/etc that created the Tortall we see in Pierce’s other books.

Sabine in particular is a great example of this. We tend to think that as time moves forward society gets more progressive, but Sabine is a lady knight in a society that is becoming more narrow in its gender roles. It would be fantastic to receive something that explores that more. How does the Cult of Gentle Mother affect her life as a knight, or even her life farther down the line when she’s put down her sword? How does it affect women knights as a whole? Alternately, something that shows Sabine processing/recovering from Tunstall’s betrayal and coming to terms with the inequality he saw in their relationship would be wonderful, as would something showing her relationships with Bekah and/or Clary in the wake of this.

Wayward Children series - Seanan McGuire (any) Oh man, I was in love with this series from the moment I first read a description. And then I was completely awed by Seanan McGuire’s handling of it, especially in regards to the worlds she created for these children to have spent time in. I found every character in this tagset so interesting, and they each have so much about them to be explored, so whoever it was that you offered and whoever it is that you ended up writing about, I’m sure I’ll love it. I’m not really interested in anything shippy with regards to this series (I don’t think I really have ships for this series), so feel free to have any characters interacting in any way. Also, this is my first time requesting ‘any’ in an exchange, so I’m sorry if I’m explaining things I shouldn’t or not explaining things that I should.

Some ideas: We’ve seen/heard in first person what Nancy and the twins’ worlds were like, so I’d love to see or hear more about where Loriel, Christopher, Eleanor, and Kade went. That could be done set in their first trips to those worlds, or because one of them finds a portal back, or whatever interests you. I’d also love to see an alternate universe in which Loriel does make it back to her world. We know the Spider Queen mourned her for a long time; what was their relationship like? What happens to Jack, Jill, and/or Nancy now that they’re back in the worlds they longed for? Is it different now that things are permanent, now that they have a more concrete understanding of where they are and how they got there and where they were from? For Eleanor, what happens if she run out of time and her door closes? What happens when Eleanor goes through her door, and Kade is now in charge of the school? What would it be like for Kade to cross paths with someone who had been to the same world that he was in (maybe someone who wants to go back)? Also, any sort of worldbuilding would be much appreciated, regardless of which world you are building and which characters appear.

So that’s my letter. I hope it was easy to follow and that you now have an idea about what it is that you want to write. I am eagerly looking forward to opening your fic.

Best of luck!

Alessandra