#reckless screenplay project

[coffeeandcalligraphy]

Immaculate Mary | BODY BACK Update #2

Harrison's back, and he's only getting worse! <3

Let's talk chapter 2 of my novella BODY BACK. We're all about villain eras, unexpected developments, Mother Mary, Jesus thirst traps (yes...) & more. Check out update #1 if you missed it!

Post starts under the cut!

Unexpected developments

I'd already planned that Suzanna, Harrison's mother, wasn't going to be a major character in BB as she is in Feeding Habits. I didn't think we'd see her "on-screen" in BB, but when you get caught breaking into a stranger's pool & need your mother to bail you out...

Suzanna & Harrison

CW: child neglect, addiction

Suz and Harrison have SUCH a complicated relationship. They were once extremely close, but are now near-strangers. Having abandoned Harrison when he was a child amidst her own substance-abuse problems, Suz also never reconnected with her son after she got sober. She is only part of his life now out of fluke (the fluke is Lonan, who runs into her by chance in Moth Work--you can read that chapter update HERE though it's old!).

Harrison isn't sure what to make of their relationship. On one hand, it's a relief to have his mother back in his life because he's missed her (amongst other feelings) and also has a safety net when he makes bad decisions (chapter 1 lmao). But on the other hand, he's *extremely* resentful of Suzanna (and rightly so). At this point, they've only been reconnected for 2 weeks, and while Suz is trying to transition their lives together as seamlessly as possible, the last time they meaningfully knew each other was ~15 years prior (1990-ish), which makes this task, especially on Harrison's end, impossible.

This relationship is probably one of the most complex things I've ever written. It's hard to verbalize/describe it because at times it's irrational, frustrating, lovely, horrifying, hilarious, and comforting (and sometimes all at once). This culminates to a volatile emotional climax for Harrison that serves as the inciting incident for BB.

Immaculate Mary

We open "Immaculate Mary" with Harrison and Suz in the Bakers' bathroom (the couple whose house Harrison broke into). This chapter is about motherhood, yes, but also sonhood, and how Harrison believes his sonhood intersects with Suz's motherhood (and conversely, how Jesus' sonhood intersects with Mary's motherhood).

The title was just an inclination I had that addressed the chapter's holy and maternal themes. I was also aware this was a hymn, HOWEVER, upon writing this update (as in RIGHT NOW), I've realized this is a Catholic hymn I used to sing all the time in choir. So I guess I blocked that out?? LMAO

Scene A:

Suz attempts to blow-dry Harrison's hair which is soaked with pool water. This goes badly.

Scene B:

Desperate and unsure how to help her reckless son (lol), Suz drives Harrison to Eliza's apartment--where his ex, Lonan, now lives--in hopes he will talk to him. This also goes badly.

Scene B is *critical* here. Harrison isn't ready to face Lonan, even if that means merely facing the potential of seeing him. Suz rushing him into a conversation he isn't ready to have flips a switch inside of him. This is how we get to Chaotic Party Harrison, whose primary concern is A) forgetting and B) having a good time so he can forget some more.

The writing process

Writing this chapter was faster than chapter 1 because it's more action/dialogue heavy with longer scenes (it's also not as clean, lol).

I wrote a large portion of this chapter as a writing prompt for a class. The bathroom scene with Harrison & Suz was almost exclusively hand-written as a screenplay, so I had to adapt it. It was a lot of fun to have the dialogue/scene skeleton laid out, since it's not often I have a plan before going into writing sessions.

I similarly followed the circular plot structure I talked about in update 1. The "satellite" in this case was "mother/sonhood/mother Mary/Jesus." Mary x Jesus are critical to this chapter--not only does Harrison project himself onto Jesus, he also does the same to Suz, but with Mary. What does it mean to Mary to be the mother of the Messiah, and what does it mean to Suz to be the mother of Harrison? These are two questions we keep circling back to.

Excerpts

Guess who didn't share every single excerpt from this chapter so I actually have *some* new content??? :)

A plastic fantastic description of the Bakers' bathroom:

They stand in the Bakers’ bathroom. It vomits ‘under-the-sea’—a theme a child might request, but according to the living room’s unstained couch cushions and front mat’s lack of tiny shoes, no children live here. Perhaps Nash requested the décor. That might check out—a Ken doll on the outside dying to be coffined in his plasticky packaging, or in this case, plasticky bathroom. High-gloss cerulean walls. A clownfish soap dispenser. The toilet seat cover ridged into a lilac clam. A translucent blue shower curtain that flickers iridescent waves when you walk past it.

Here, we explore Harrison's psychology more overtly. Is he expecting to be yelled at--and why is that something he craves now?

In Suz’s body, Harrison expects rage. How far did she drive to get here? Honestly, he hadn’t tracked the length of the car ride when he’d hitchhiked. He analyzes her shoulders as she shuffles through the Bakers’ cabinet and emerges with a hairdryer, but she’s blanker than a blank slate—the empty air in front of God before he creates. If she’d only impale the wall socket with the dryer’s prongs. If she’d only grab his hair by the roots and hang him up to dry.

Harrison tracks the similarities of his and his mother's reflections:

Harrison stares at himself in the bathroom mirror. On his wrist: a gold herringbone bracelet Sadie hung on the key holder. In his ear: Lonan’s earring. His wet hair curls weakly around his ears, drips down his twiggy eyebrows. Last week, he caught his own reflection in the dishware cabinet and was so startled to find Suzanna’s face staring back that he dropped his cup. The crash pealed like a death knell long after the sound disappeared. Picking glass from the tile, it angered him that he looked like her. His father’s eyes, sure, but his mother’s bulbous nose, spare mouth, minky hair, stubby nail beds. The last time he’d compared their reflections, they stood in front of a funhouse mirror. They wore chromized party hats, technicolour butterflies painted on their left cheeks. He was five.

Here we have a description of Harrison wearing a (stolen) ring. This excerpt will be relevant in chapter three (also JEREMIAH BAIT):

He wears Jeremiah’s silver signet ring on his pinkie, and it clicks against the marble. Perhaps he’s been looking for it since Harrison’s been away. Hands and knees. Stuffing his head under his bedframe, a flimsy flashlight in hand, his mouth wide open.

(also... I may or may not have bought this ring... for myself)

The LINE of the century:

Harrison crosses his arms. The soaked leather of his jacket squelches, baptized by pool water just like him. His mouth is twitching again—he’d like to get high tonight, see neon, taste Jesus.

This is the unholy excerpt I vowed I wouldn't share (in other words, Jesus Thirst Trap -- take with that what you will):

How did Mary feel to mother Jesus? Listen, Harrison knows he’s no Christ. But Jesus was twenty-one once, wasn’t he? What did he do in his free time besides praise the Word of the Lord, perform miracles, etcetera, etcetera? He was a carpenter sure, nailed pleats of wood bare-backed in the tart Nazareth sun, flicked pearls of sweat off his tanned forehead. But did he ever break into a stranger’s pool? Did he ever wake up one morning, stumble out of bed, stick a frayed toothbrush into his mouth, stare at himself in the mirror and feel, with certainty, an unending urge to run?

Suz is exhausted:

Suz squeezes her nose bridge. She’s aged since August, if that’s even possible. The bags beneath her eyes are violet like the fleshy interior of a blueberry, the veins scarlet lightning bolts.

“Why are you upset?” Harrison asks, drumming his ringed finger against the counter’s lip.

This is a direct continuation of the above! This is actually sad I'm sorry:

What does Suzanna see when she looks at him? A miniature version of her wearing a jacket that once belonged to her at his age, and an earring that once belonged to another mother? Or is he a stranger? They know each other best by genetics. If she asked Harrison what he thought her favourite colour was, he’d have no idea. “This isn’t a big deal.”

“Oh, please,” Suz says, teary like the actresses on her favourite Portuguese soaps. Sure, Harrison doesn’t know his mother’s favourite colour, if in childhood she was the type of girl to make rings out of peach pits, if she was the type of girl to rip worms bare-handed, if she’d eat cottage cheese with cantaloupe, if she thought about enrolling in a life drawing class before she got pregnant, if her idols are pop icons of the 80s like his are, her favourite way to fold a paper airplane, when her birthday is. But he does know she does not cry.

When young Jesus stayed in Jerusalem unbeknownst to his mother, what did Mary do? Perhaps she stared at her hands, thought of the last time she touched him. Perhaps she wept. Or perhaps she found the closest mirror, wiped her sleeve against the glass until it glossed, and tried to find her son in her own reflection.

Emo boi dialogue (this is an ouchie lol):

Suz soothes her index finger over her thumb over and over. “Things have been so…”

“So what?” Harrison knows she could mean so many things. So raw. So indelicate. So tense. So like we’re a VHS set in reverse.  “This isn’t a big deal. No one was hurt.”

“You cannot come and go as you please in other people’s houses, Harrison.” She can’t even look at him. He could call her out by name again—Suzanna, Suzanna, Suzanna. She winces every time he does, plays it off as a sudden headache or a flighty twitch.

“Isn’t that what I do at your place?” he says instead, his throat heady with the need to scream, or perhaps cry. “Parade around as your son and then crash on the couch?”

“Harrison,” Suz says. Her eyes are pellets of amber, her pupils preserved in their warmth. As a child, Harrison climbed onto the bathroom counter, pried his own eyes open between his chewed fingernails. The colour was wrong, too light, too cold, too much like his father’s—and what was a father? God is as much a father as he is a traitor to his own sacrificial son. Harrison stood there for so long his eyes stung, and when his lid eventually snapped back in place, the world stippled.

“What?” he asks now. Where the hell is God in this dim bathroom? Sucked up in the fan? Hiding in shower drain hairballs? And where is his father? Both perpetually missing like a television remote, a set of house keys. That’s right. God’s not here—not in the olive wall paint, not in the patterned hand towels, not in the piranha portrait above the toilet tank, not against Harrison’s chest like he used to be. He’s the only one here in front of his mother, all seven of Mary’s sorrows etched into a man. He almost laughs. “And my name is kind of idiotic, isn’t it? Harry’s son—but I’m nobody’s son.”

“You’re my son.”

(^^ Funnily, the Harry's son bit was in the handwritten draft and I thought it was kind of stupid, but I have been unable to delete it... there's something very real about that line, lol, yikes)

This finishes off scene A:

He kicks off the counter, pushes past his mother, walks down the hall and back into the living room. His ears ring. He’s not even sure what’s so bad about what she’s said. Change is good, isn’t it?

“Change is good,” he mutters to himself. “Change is good.”

The Bakers gape at him from the couch. This defectless couple like the blue and pink pegs screwed into a Game of Life car. Their faces scream GET MARRIED, JOB SEARCH, BUY A HOUSE.

Harrison looks at Sadie, her sad, dead eyes. “Do something with your life,” he says, then salutes and walks right out the front door.

Scene B starts very normally, right? Here's Harrison wondering what'd be like if he was... a shirt:

The city isn’t as interesting when it’s just cars, in fact, it’s not much different to Boston, to New York. Everything is brilliant and irrelevant and bleary and transparent, like a raw brain spinning around a washing machine. Harrison might like to walk to the laundromat ten minutes from Suz’s apartment, hop into someone else’s load and just let himself swivel until he’s unsure if he’s a man or a chemise blouse. The dreaminess of it all, the way silk knows it’s as defenseless as it is coveted. Harrison could be both, couldn’t he?

Harrison starts getting an inclination of where Suz is driving him:

“Suzanna,” Harrison says, wincing when the wild cherry air freshener noosed around her rear-view flails in his direction.

She takes the next exit, the car even faster now—seventy-five, eighty.

“Suz.”

“I want better for you.” Suz slows, now weaving through a residential neighbourhood. Men sit on unruly lawns, grimy hands fisted around beer bottles. At the next turn, a teenage girl hurries a sheltie down a crosswalk. A mother squints at a bus schedule while she nudges a stroller back and forth with her heel. Boardgame people just waiting for their next play.

Would you rather have a single conversation with your ex or jump out of a moving vehicle? We know Harrison's answer:

When she doesn’t answer, he wants to ask the question again, but something changes. Perhaps it’s the texture of the wheels beneath him, the way he remembers the grit of asphalt under the rubber like someone remembers the sound of their loved one’s footsteps. Perhaps it’s the way the sidewalk shimmers with rain that’s so familiar, the way the streetlamps seem to flash as they appear like a signal lamp, or perhaps Harrison’s not a fucking idiot. “Mom,” he says, already unclicking his seatbelt. She’s not going as fast now—maybe forty miles an hour, perhaps less. He watched a documentary the other day about jumping from moving cars, the best techniques.

'My heart is fine' and other lies this man tells himself (AKA em-dash wars):

“What’s heartbreak to you? A little boohoo? My heart is fine. Let me out of the car.”

“I know you think so—”

“Let me out of the—”

“But you can’t fight a battle and run from it at the same—”

“Suzanna—”

“You loved him—”

“And what the fuck would you know?” Harrison slams his fist so hard against the dashboard the plastic fractures, the break like the entire Pacific sloshing against an eardrum. Harrison doesn’t care. He does it again, again, until shards clatter, until his hand’s bloody, until Suz is horrified because he can be horrifying—and not just horrifying, but the entire fucking horror.

(also this horror line is... fantastic lol)

Aaaand final paragraph. He is not in denial. No way!

Perhaps Jesus would enter that apartment like it were his father’s temple. But Harrison is tired of gods, of ghosts, of men. He repeats this to himself as he hustles through the rain. No gods, no ghosts, no men. His teeth chatter. His hands shake. He’s not wise. He never wants to be again. No gods, no ghosts, no men. It’s easier this way, no need to contemplate the open window overlooking the parking lot, no need to contemplate who lives there now, who makes a bed there every morning, who drinks his coffee with half a cream no sugar at the breakfast table, who grinds an inkstick to practice his new interest in calligraphy, who reads poetry on the balcony every Wednesday, who finishes a one-thousand piece puzzle in an afternoon, who wears Suzanna’s angel pendant and says he bought it vintage, who takes up pottery, herb gardening, darts whenever he feels like it, who sleeps with both eyes closed at last. No need to contemplate what might happen if he spared one glance. Who he might see if he just looked back.

Harrison from now on:

Yes you will bb!

That's it! :) Chapter 3 is writing itself. I'll be back soon lol.

Rachel

[the-sound-ofrain]

So, she gave me a task to write 3 reasons i love her and i'm at my .......

1. the way you introduced me to the word 'love'

2. the way your name decorates mine

3. the way you stare at my stupid face & still don't run away

4. the way you made me feel beautiful

5. the way you laugh at my silly jokes

6. the way you frown at my cheesy lines

7. the way you ignore my harshness with sweet kisses

8. the way you twitch your eyebrows every time you do a silly mistake

9. the way you listen to my 'once upon a time stories'

10. the way you imitate my expressions & languages to make me laugh during an argument

11. the way you behave maturely during your periods

12. the way you say 'umm'

13. the way your eyes shine while talking about your passion

14. the way you innovate unadorned stuffs

15. the way you lie

16. the way you sleep like a panda

17. the way you ask before you kiss me

18. the way you respect my work

19. the way you fold you buns to look pretty

20. the way you direct your scatty drama

21. the way you hold on to your family

22. the you back me up every time i'm feel like quitting on myself

23. the way you play with your hairs & imagine playing 'aakhon me teri ajab si ajab si adaayein hai' in the background

24. the way you fold your bottom lips to act like a puppy

25. the way you forgive me after my reckless behavior

26. the way you solicit my everyday screenplay

27. the way you flourish smile while deep down you're a rotten soul

28. the way you call me 'babe' and win me

29. the way you use the catchphrase every fucking time to irritate me

30. the way you unleash the baby in your every time i feed you, your favorite snacks

31. the way you define loyalty

32. the way you play with dogs

33. the way you act like you don't care but then stalk the girl who admired me in the comment box

34. the way you act dumb because you love being taught by me

35. the way you pretend to like my tedious stories

36. the way you show me inches of your skin to tease me

37. the way you be that kind while paint yourself like a shell

38. the way you kiss me goodbye

39. the way you walk like a penguin

40. the way you talk mature but still keep pulling your t-shirts like a 5yr old

41. the way you enact your scolding method of mumma

42. the way you try do accent but miserably fail

43. the way you abuse me

44. the way you arrange your study desks

45. the way you become my fashion tutor

46. the way you scold me every time my collar goes up

47. the way you guide me ' How to fall in love with myself ?' methods

48. the way you challenge me & then act like a baby to when you're about to lose

49. the way you backbite your gang's private stories

50. the way you allow me to be a baby around you

51. the way you understand my silence

52. the way you work selflessly for my projects

53. the way you ask for my opinions

54. the way you believe and respect my decisions

55. the way you keep taking screenshots of my stupid face

56. the way you carry yourself

57. the way you stay confused like a squirrel choosing which nut to go for

58. the way you keep struggling with that one hair coming on your face but you still wanna look cool so keep struggling with it

59. the way you slay in traditionals

60. the way you keep moulding tiny things into artwork

61. the way you keep polishing the gentleman in me

62. the way you do my imitation how I talk or sing or laugh

63.the way your waist fold when you twist a bit

64. the way you love people for people

65. the way you make me feel proud with being proud of what you're

66. the way you give me my space to get comfortable

67. the way you we vibe on teeny-tiny stuff

68. the way you teach me about my loose ends

69. the way you understand 6 can be 9 too.

70. the way you become kid around kids

71. the way you opted western culture but still respect our own

72. the way you don't let the world define how long can you run

73. the way you moan my name like a hymn

74. the way you curse every time we talk like you're talking to mirror

75. the way you tame the animal in me

76. the way you add lust into love & still make it tasty

77. the way you stoutly apprise of my wrong doings

78. the way you've filtered my dirty thoughts

79. the way you've accepted my family and situation doesn't really force me to do something which all cause chaos

80. the way you've been patiently waiting for me ever after the days are becoming much harder

81. the way you uphold the pride of your culture

82. the way you spend time to make handmade gifts for me

83. the way you always try to relate my name to anything whatever design you initiate

84. the way you survive in a cage and still manage to fly with your imagination

85. the way you respect our boundaries and held down to it

86. the way you usher me chivalry

87. the way you resonate the image of my mother

89. the way you don't think twice when I'm hungry and try to feed me with your last penny

90. the way you direct my lust

91. the way you coyly stay kittenish & act like you own my body

92. the way you seduce me & leave me in your sorcery

93. the way you keep staring at me when i'm busy with chores

94. the way you keep in your mind what not to do that can hurt my emotions

95. the way you so no when you don't want it

96. the way you look adopted me back

97. the way you play with animals specially dogs

98. the way you enveloped your kind heart around a dark soul

99. the way you paint a picture of our future

100. the way you made me fall in love with myself

[the-bastard-and-the-pup]

Reckless the screenplay pt.3 (untitled 5th novel)

We see a forest that appears to be coated in silver. Every leaf, the moss on the ground, is created in great detail, but still and lifeless.

Voiceover Joie: Tell me a story, Maman.

Voiceover Fox: (chuckles softly) Of course.

A set of tiny fox paws steps into the picture. Where they touch the ground, the silver melts away to reveal the vibrant colours underneath.

Title card for season 5, episode 1.

A SCHOLAR with thin hair and glasses sits at what looks like a table at an inn. His small leather notebook lies forgotten in front of him as he listens to the MAN in front of him, who we can see from behind wearing a shirt from a material that appears to have scales on it.

Man (in an accent that sounds Eastern European but that we can't quite place. Also, his voice sounds familiar): Drunk on his countless victories, the king abandoned fate. He forgot everything he owed his most powerful ally and how the hope of their people depended on him. He murdered the Jade Goyl and sealed his own fate and that of his people.

He lifts a glass of liquor to take a sip. The camera stays aimed over his shoulder at the scholar. Meanwhile, the scholar gathers his bearings. He clears his throat and closes his notebook.

Scholar: Fascinating, how... different clans all have their own ways of telling myths. Well, this is... certainly not a version of this legend that I have encountered before. Usually there tends to be a lot more brotherhood between the king and the Jade Goyl. And a lot more of the Jade Goyl... not dying.

Man, with a bitter snorting noise: If only happy endings happened in real life.

He places a handful of coins on the table and gets up.

Man: Good luck with your little project collecting Goyl legends. Though who knows how long the Goyl are going to last under Kami'en's attitude.

The camera follows him from behind as he slings a leather backpack over his shoulder and leaves the inn. He steps outside, his face hidden from our view in the light of the dying day. As he heads down a deserted part of the street, we hear the thumping of hooves on the ground getting closer to him. He stops as he hears this, slightly tilting his head back. The gesture is both resigned and relieved.

Man: A small comfort. I must have been getting closer than it felt like if you have decided to come for me eventually.

Behind him, TOSHIRÓ comes closer, still in the centaur shape in which we encountered him first. He looks at the man with mild curiosity.

Toshiró: I should have known that there is no sneaking up on you.

Man: Experience. I have gotten familiar enough with the stench of Elves.

He turns around, but we don't see the face we expected in connection with the familiar rough, accented voice and the lizard leather clothes. We recognise NERRON'S facial features, but with his pale skin, black hair and malachite green eyes, he appears to be human. There is a tiredness in his face we haven't seen there in its stone form.

Nerron notices Toshiró's curiosity at his appearance and pulls down the collar of his shirt a little. Underneath the gold chain with the Jade amulet we have seen him wear since season 2, we get a brief glimpse at a leather cord that seems to be interwoven with hair and stones. We will later find out that this object merely causes the illusion of human appearance as long as it is touching his skin and he is still Goyl underneath.

Nerron: Witches are efficient, just don't ask about the materials they use. But how about you get to what you came here to do.

Toshiró: And what do you think that is?

Nerron slowly reaches for a knife on his belt, the motion angled away from Toshiró's view. His bitter grin is more of a feral bearing of teeth.

Nerron: What, do you need me to describe how you could kill me? Why don't you just go ahead, nobody here will stop you. If you take off my necklace and they see what I am, they will even thank you. And I... I know that four years looking for someone without finding any trace are nothing to a bloody immortal-

Toshiró: The immortal understands better than you might suspect. And now you expect to be killed so you can't continue this search? I assure you, I don't plan on playing into Spieler's hands like that. Quite the opposite, actually.

Nerron's hand trembles and tightens around the hilt of his knife. He doesn't trust Toshiró, but at the same time desperately needs hope.

Nerron: Even if I did believe you want to help me - what's in it for you?

Toshiró: Will Reckless could be a powerful asset to Spieler and his allies. My price will be paid if you manage to find him and convince him to come back with you. The second one will be up to you, but I can help you with the first.

Toshiró stretches out his arm to Nerron, offering him the item in his hand. It's a glove covered in golden scales and we have seen one just like it being used by Orlando Tennant. As soon as he lays eyes on it, we can see in his face that Nerron recognizes its purpose; his hand sinks down from his knife as he steps toward Toshiró.

Toshiró: Spieler can erase traces he left, but there is deeper magic in this world than him and myself.

Nerron: Very optimistic of you to just bring this, expecting it to work.

Toshiró: You have spent the last four years looking for someone who left you behind just because you want to make sure the people who want him dead don't find him first. I am not optimistic, I am merely observing facts.

With shaking fingers, Nerron takes the glove and carefully pulls it over his right hand. It's impossible to tell whether he is more afraid of the glove not working or of it working. But there is no going back for him now. He braces himself and raises his hand with the glove to his chest.

A golden, softly glowing string appears in the air, starting from Nerron's heart. Nerron lets out a shaky sigh at the sight of it, Toshiró's presence forgotten for a moment. We remember these strings have been described as standing for "true love, selfless and as deep as the ocean" and until this moment, Nerron wouldn't have quite expected himself capable of it. Even though the entire length of the Golden Yarn isn't visible, we can clearly see the direction where it disappears into the darkness. Directions to the person the Yarn leads to.

When Nerron turns to speak to Toshiró, there is nobody there anymore.

[tomhollandnet]

Tom Holland in the Wild and Woeful Cherry: Exclusive First Look

Cherry is a movie that dares you to try and describe it in a few lines. It’s the first film that Anthony and Joe Russo have directed following their Avengers finales, Infinity War and Endgame, and it reunites them with Spider-Man star Tom Holland. It also compresses their penchant for large-scale action and cataclysm into the core of a single person.

Holland’s title character is both volatile and vulnerable, a hard-knock nobody from Cleveland who’s just scraping by but doesn’t even have any big dreams to guide him. Every solution to his problems only deepens the trouble: College isn’t working out, so Cherry joins the Army to serve in Iraq as a medic. He returns home haunted and damaged, and starts abusing opioids to blunt his PTSD. To pay for the drugs, he resorts to bank robbery. The more desperate he gets, the more banks he has to rob.

It’s tempting to call this film, which hits theaters first on February 26 and then premieres globally on Apple TV+ on March 12, a smaller, more intimate project from the brothers who made some of Marvel’s most grandiose films. It’s definitely a passion project for them. But Cherry is also a sprawling tale that ventures around the world, albeit locked within the mind of Holland’s sweet-natured, grimly addicted bandit.

“We do think about it as an epic film, and it is very much a person’s life journey,” said Anthony Russo. “But it does have a little bit of a split personality between being this character study and an epic life cycle.”

They described Cherry as six movies in one, spanning from the mid 2000s to the present. “He travels a great distance over a 15-year period,” Joe Russo said. “The movie’s broken up into six chapters that reflect those different periods, and each one has a different tone. It’s shot with different lenses, different production design. One’s got magical realism. Another chapter is absurdism. Another is horror…There’s a bit of gonzo in it. It’s raw in its tone. He’s a character in existential crisis.”

Based on the 2018 novel by Nico Walker, the screenplay was written by the filmmakers’ sister,  Angela Russo-Otstot (V, The Shield), and Jessica Goldberg (The Path). “The book was very, very self-aware, self-deprecating, and self-loathing,” Joe said.

They felt a strong connection, even if the story doesn’t necessarily mirror their own. It’s close enough: “We’re from Cleveland and Nico’s from Cleveland. Interestingly enough, we know a lot of people that are implied in the book,” Joe added. “I think he’s fictionalized names and personalities. But I worked at the same restaurant that Nico worked at, 10 years apart. So he had a very similar upbringing to us. He just had a very different journey than we did.”

The Russos also wanted to tell a story about the people back home who are hurting. “Ohio is unfortunately at ground zero in the fight against the opioid crisis. And we’ve got a lot of people in our family that have either passed on or died from the crisis, or are struggling with their current addiction. So, this is a very, very personal movie for us.”

The one bright spot in Cherry’s life is Emily (Ciara Bravo, A Teacher), whose devotion to the love of her life may reveal her own self-destructive tendencies. While she’s the stabilizing thing he clings to, the only pure thing in his life, Cherry’s reckless actions threaten to destroy her too.

“The love story is the central spine of the film,” Anthony said. “Without that relationship in the movie, it all falls apart for him. We knew that we needed to make her presence and her character glow in the moments that we did have with her.”

“We really wanted someone that embodied that sense of innocence for him. It was a dream girl, the girl next door,” Joe said.

That’s a quality Holland also brings to the screen, from his breakthrough as a resilient kid trying to survive a tsunami in 2012’s The Impossible to his “aw, shucks” approach to Peter Parker in the Marvel films. With Cherry, the 24-year-old weaponizes that boyishness, allowing it to be battered and bruised and blasted off of him by the harshest things life can throw at a person.

The Russo brothers know this might sound like a turnoff. That’s why they wanted the role to go to Holland, whom they had successfully lobbied to get the part of Spider-Man in 2016’s Civil War.

“When Tom walked into the room…what, six years ago? He was younger, raw. His charisma just blew us away. There was an effortless charm to him,” Anthony said. “As an actor, that is very difficult to replicate. He’s just so likable. We knew for this part we were going to need someone of Tom’s charisma to keep the audience from shutting down during the darker parts of the film.”

“This is a movie that’s supposed to define the experience of having PTSD, the experience of being addicted to opioids,” Joe added. “And the mission of the film is to generate empathy, not to generate disdain, not to indict. It was critical that you empathize with his struggle and his journey because a lot of people are going through this, and they’re having a very human experience. I think empathy is in incredibly short supply right now in the world. And it’s a tragedy.”

As it traversed a decade and a half, Cherry also gave Holland a chance to show a more somber screen presence. “Tom is a nice person. He is, but he doesn’t let himself get trapped by that. He’s a seeker, he’s an artist, he’s always looking, running after complicated things in life,” Anthony said. “He’s a young actor, right? We haven’t seen him do that much up to this point. This is definitely something he’s had within him the whole time. We just haven’t been able to see it yet.“

Joe and I were surprised ourselves to see how thoroughly committed he was to every facet of that character,” he added. “The darkest, most difficult sides of that character, he really embraced them and ran at them and tried to give them life within himself in a way that not a lot of people could pull off.”

[doiefy]

sleepless in seoul // nct // series masterlist

"In this city, they pick stars off the night sky and sell them. Open your mouth and they'll take your tongue away too." - In Seoul, Epik High

Runaways and vigilantes, high societies and impending uprisings throughout the city, chaos hidden beneath fragile illusions of order. A broken world, and the broken people who call it their home.

important notes

This is part of a collaborative project with @jisungiest and @lebrookestore. All the works on this list can be found on @in-seoul​, along with mina’s and brooke’s fics, character profiles, and an introduction to this universe.  

Not all of the stories on this list can be read independently. Some of these will be part of sub series that all three of us work on, and some upcoming works will be written by more than one writer. I highly recommend you check out our full masterlist (pending link) before reading.

Dates of release are all subject to change.

taglist: @ncttboo @yongflm @sprngfeverr @sungchanscult​ @jaemotel​ @chezzontop​​

taglist is open! Ask, reply or message to be added. Please specify if you’d like to be on the main taglist or only for specific stories. 

THE SANDS OF TIME: YUTA SERIES

5 MINUTES | part 1 of the sands of time | 26.7k | yuta x gn. reader (they/them pronouns)

The year is 2463. Seoul is an infinitely-expanding metropolis, the centre of modern infrastructure and development. An undisputed powerhouse in technological advancements, Seoul promotes diversity, inviting people of all backgrounds, cultivating rare talents. You live amidst it all, sheltered comfortably by the prestige and wealth of your family, sheltered from the darkness that thrives in the deep underbelly of the city. That is, until Yuta pulls the ground from your feet and shows you what lies beneath the capital’s smooth pavements, crystalline glass and liquid gold. Uncovering secrets, wandering off with him where you know you shouldn’t—you’ll pay for it dearly.

released: May 31, 2021

read here

D-DAY | part 2 of the sands of time | 5.7k | yuta x gn. reader

It all comes to a close as the last grains of sand travel from one end of the hourglass to the other. The severest consequences to endure, the hardest truths to swallow, past strife and bitter conflicts to resolve within the confines of your own mind. But only days to live.

released: January 9, 2022

read here

NIGHTFALL: TAEYONG SERIES

SHADOW | 24.4k | screenplay script | taeyong x oc (f. reader)

Taeyong is supposed to be perfect: the perfect son, a perfect prodigy, a perfectly poised figure manipulated into what the world wants him to be. His life has been reduced to crystal glasses of aged wine and blood splattered gloves, prestige social gatherings and nights alone in the city. It’s on one of those nights that he meets you, the bored bartender who refuses to serve him drinks until he talks to her. You are his exact opposite: perfectly carefree, perfectly flawed, perfectly normal. And the one person his world doesn’t want him to be with.

Light should cast no shadow, but his hovers dangerously close behind him, threatening to swallow him up in darkness.

released: July 9, 2021

read here

more coming soon...

STANDALONE FICS

FACELESS | one shot | doyoung x gn. reader

A shadowy figure travels in reckless, bloody patterns around the city, leaving only chaos and unrest in their wake. A psychopath to some and a vigilante to others, they’re completely nameless. Voiceless. Faceless, identifiable by only the carved bear mask behind which they hide. When Doyoung is sent out to put an end to their dangerous games, the last thing he expects to discover is a familiar face behind the mask. And worse yet, why the sweet childhood friend of his has resorted to murder—why the person he once swore to protect as a child must now take matters into their own hands.

expected release: ???

COPPER WIRES AND STEEL HERTS | one shot | mark x gn. reader

You and Mark are Jungwoo’s androids. You’re sentient (artificially, anyways) but Mark is not. Following a disaster in Jungwoo’s family and social life, he ditches the lab in search of his sister (who ran away with a terrorist), leaving you in charge. To be more specific, he’s left you, a variable in his experiment, to carry out said experiment. But don’t worry, he’ll send you all the instructions by email. or pigeons. It’ll all depend on where he is.

expected release date: ???

[abookishdreamer]

Character Intro: Moros (Kingdom of Ichor)

Nicknames- Mr. Black by Aphrodite

Mr. Doom by Hermes

Mo by Oizys

Age- 30 (immortal)

Location- The Underworld

Personality- He's mostly pessimistic in addition to being straight-forward, thriving on perfectionism, & highly analytical. He does come across as dissatisfied and insensitive at times, but he has a genuine artistic soul. He's engaged to be married.

As the god of doom, depression, & destiny, his abilities include limited necromancy, projecting illusions of a person's doom as well as having an innate sense of it, limited umbrakinesis, casting an illusion of a post-apocalyptic world, haemokinesis (blood manipulation), inducing feelings of pessimism & depression, and bestowing false doom upon someone, as punishment.

Moros lives in a Neo-gothic style mansion in the Underworld. Aside from his instruments & a few framed artworks of his fiance, there's not much decorations or furniture. He wants to wait till he and his fiancee Oizys (goddess of anxiety, misery, & depression) are married, so she can input ideas on the interior design.

His go-to drink is sage tea, which he brews himself. He's also a lover of wine and really likes cold brew coffee (with a bit of rum added to it). He also enjoys drinking ginger ale, beer, & matcha tea.

A favorite frozen treat of Moros is dark chocolate ice cream.

He can play the organ, piano, drums, & acoustic guitar.

Moros instinctively knew that by the end of his first date with Oizys, he would marry her.

In the pantheon, he doesn't really have friendships- just people he respects and those he doesn't. Moros actually likes Nyx (goddess of the night), Erebus (god of darkness), his soon to be father-in-law Harpocrates (god of silence & discretion), and his soon to be brother-in-law Momus (god of mockery, satire, & ridicule). He doesn't know how to perceive his soon to be mother-in-law Hybris (goddess of insolence, hubris, & reckless pride). He doesn't mind Hestia (goddess of the hearth); and really likes her ergalavi from the bakery or Favian (god of philosophy).

There's a mutual unspoken respect between Moros & Hades (god of the dead).

There's also Geras (god of old age), Neféloma (goddess of space & dark matter), Nosos (god of illness, plague, & disease), Ananke (goddess of inevitability, compulsion, & necessity), The Furies, Arae (goddess of curses & hexes), Penia (goddess of poverty), The Gray Sisters, Porus (god of resourcefulness), Keres (goddess of violent death), Aisa (goddess of lot & fate), Limos (goddess of starvation & famine), Ptocheia (goddess of beggary), and The Moirai in Moros' social circle.

For means of income, he has his own fashion line called The Black Label. The main theme of the style is simplicity & the color black. He's also a talented singer & songwriter- with most of his songs being composed with the aid of his trusty black acoustic guitar. The musical genres Moros primarily focuses on are blues, folk, baroque, rock, & soul. Mneomsyne (Titaness of memory & language) described his voice the best- "commanding as a freight train, sharp like a dagger." Instead of kissing Apollo's ass to get airplay of his music, Moros uploads some of his songs onto streaming websites. He also tries to get Oizys to record some of her music.

Moros has recently added screenwriting to his list of hobbies. He's currently developing a screenplay for a science fiction post apocalyptic film he's been thinking about. He was inspired after the success of Blooddancer!

In his free time if he's not with his fiancee, he likes to work on his music & songwriting, go lava surfing, sail along the shores of the River Acheron, doing acupuncture, reading, and playing chess.

Moros knows his way around a kitchen with some of his classic dishes being miso marinated sea bass, shitake mushroom & tofu soup with curry rice, and oyakodon.

"The future is uncertain but the end is always near."

[soundspheremag]

Boy Harsher announce new single, and film 'The Runner'

Boy Harsher, the Northampton, US-based duo of vocalist/lyricist Jae Matthews and producer Augustus Muller, announce their new album 'The Runner (Original Soundtrack)', out January 21st, 2022 on Nude Club/City Slang.

Boy Harsher’s fifth release is not a traditional album ⁠— it’s the musical counterpart to a short film written, produced, and directed by the duo, entitled The Runner, which will be released alongside the album in January 2022. The Runner is a horror film intercut with a meta-style “documentary” about Boy Harsher’s recording process. The soundtrack balances cinematic instrumentals with pop songs that push the boundaries of Boy Harsher’s sound. In conjunction with today’s announcement, they unveil the album’s lead single, “Tower,” and share new tour dates, including a screening of the movie at London's Rio Cinema, followed by a show at Earth on February 20th - full tour dates below.

Both the film and soundtrack open with the heavy presence of “Tower.” The song is an incantation; with its pulsing synths, it’s a spell about desire and impending destruction. By the song’s climax, Matthews' pleas transform into desperate screams. "We wrote ‘Tower’ several years ago and although it's evolved over the years, its initial intent remains the same - that feeling of being enveloped, suffocated, entrapped in a relationship, which in turn manifests into reckless attack,” explains Matthews. “What you love the most can make you into a monster. And that's what this song is about, being a paralyzed fiend."  

The visualiser for “Tower” comes from within the world of The Runner —presented as an exclusive session from the NUDETV program “Flesh First,” the duo performs the song in a dim warehouse with a masked drummer recorded on analog video.

Listen to Boy Harsher’s “Tower”: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=13zBeWHNXDU Other pre-order & streaming links: https://boyharsher.lnk.to/TheRunnerOST Watch The Runner movie trailer: https://youtu.be/ze-avj_hPjE

Since 2014, Boy Harsher have steadily released what some might call the gold standard of darkwave and new industrial. Matthews and Muller met in Savannah, GA while both studying film and their initial interest in music began with cinema. Matthews would write screenplays and Muller would compose scores for the non-existent films. Their first EP, Lesser Man, was originally released on a small run of cassettes, but rapidly gained online traction and became an underground hit. 2016’s Yr Body is Nothing LP and 2017’s Country Girl EP, propelled the duo into extensive tours and sold out shows across the US and Europe where they became known for their reckless and enveloping live performances. Boy Harsher rode this momentum into 2019’s LP Careful, which was praised by NPR Music, Pitchfork, Resident Advisor, VICE and beyond.

Last year, in the midst of the obvious chaos, but additionally with Matthews’ MS diagnosis, Muller started working on moody, cinematic sketches. It was uncertain what these pieces would become other than catharsis — the duo were unable to tour and making “club music” did not feel right. In Matthews’ period of convalescence, she kept thinking about a sinister character: a woman running through the woods. Together, the duo developed this idea further into a film that explores lust, compulsion, and the horrific tendencies of seduction.

Featuring the dark pop that Boy Harsher is known for, the album also embraces the soundtrack ethos by including eerie instrumentals with tracks featuring guest vocalists that feel like they are from different musical groups — “Machina” is a HI-NRG homage performed by Mariana Saldaña of BOAN, sung in both Spanish and English. “Autonomy'' is a bright and heartfelt new wave anthem featuring  Cooper B. Handy aka Lucy. Boy Harsher’s latest project is a reconciliation of uncertain times made into sound and moving image. The Runner and its soundtrack are both a return to form and an evolution for the duo.

This month, Boy Harsher will play their first live shows since 2019, including performances at III Points Festival in Miami and Levitation in Austin. A 2022 tour of North America and Europe in support of 'The Runner (Original Soundtrack)' will follow. More information on the release and screenings for The Runner is to come.

'The Runner (Original Soundtrack)' track list: 1. Tower 2. Give Me a Reason 3. Autonomy (Ft. Lucy - Cooper B. Handy) 4. The Ride Home 5. Escape 6. Machina (Ft. Ms. BOAN - Mariana Saldaña) 7. Untitled (Piano) 8. I Understand

[the-celluloid-correspondent]

Adaptation.

A lovelorn screenwriter becomes desperate as he tries to adapt the "Orchid Thief" for film.

After watching Being John Malkovich I had to move on to the next film with the duo Charlie Kaufman and Spike Jonze, Adaptation. This film feels a bit of a song to the unsung and rather unappreciated screenplay writers of Hollywood. All of the hours of frustration and writer's block that these people have to deal with. Kaufman truly shows the absurdity that screenplay writers have to deal with on a daily basis. When they are given a bland story with no development like presented in the film, how they have to add "drama" and "suspences" in order to keep the audience's attention. The final act is a satire of this ordeal. Kaufman has again crafted a truly original film that captures the stressful environment of screenplay writing.

For someone who has been used to Nicolas Cages' most recent acting projects, it felt weird seeing him in such a ground role for him. He marvelously plays two completely different characters, one is extremely introverted who has no socials skills, and the other is extremely extroverted and reckless. To the people who say that Nic Cage can't act, this is the film that will prove them wrong. He absolutely deserved his Oscar nomination for this performance. Meryl Streep is again superb as with her performances as the journalist Susan Orlean. Furthermore, Chris Cooper was outstanding in this film as an educated hillbilly who loves nature. He absolutely deserved that oscar for his performance.

This film is incredibly self-aware of its story and writing. How when Brian Cox's character tells Charlie that he needs to add the stereotypical action to his screenplay he adds in it while the audience is watching it unfold. To further add to the pressure that Charlie is facing he sees his brothers, script which is very predictable and full of cliches, he decides to add that drama because it will be the only thing that works for his adaptation. Kaufman as truly crafted an original story/adaptation that treads the edge of a knife on reality and fantasy.

This film may not be for everyone, but it's meandering and jumping between different stories and layers in this film is an absolute marvel to watch. This is truly an original adaptation.

I am giving Adaptation an A-.

[hollywooduniversityalumnus]

5. headhunter

🎬🎬🎬🎬🎬

Another day, another lecture.

Thomas paced in front of his students, having abandoned his stance before the lectern more than half an hour ago. With only fifteen minutes left until class ended, and still much to cover, he spoke at a slightly faster speed than usual. He doubted his students noticed; most of them had packed away their notebooks already and were distracting themselves with their phones held in their laps.

Fools, he thought. Do they think I don’t know what they’re doing?

He didn’t have time to raise hell for their insolence; he had a meeting to attend. So, as much as he hated letting things slide, he gritted his teeth and pressed on.

“The more credited ‘writers’ a film has, the worse it will be. The sheer number of revisions a screenplay must go through to rack up six, seven, eight writers . . . it’s appalling!” He rubbed his temples with his fingers, as if trying to erase the memories of his time trying to – and ultimately passing on - play script doctor for an action-adventure franchise that had employed no less than eight writers to cobble together the final, nonsensical storyline that effectively alienated large droves of the franchise’s fans.

Checking his watch, he mentally cursed at the time before heading right for his desk.

“Remember, your papers on prewar and postwar experimental cinema are due next class. Any submissions sent in later than precisely nine o’clock in the morning will be deducted points. None of you could stand to lose any points, if the grades so far for this class this semester are any indication. Class dismissed.”

Thomas turned his attention to packing up his things and hightailing it out of the lecture hall. Yet, beyond the rush of feet moving towards the door and mindless chatter about what people’s plans for the evening were – did I ever consider Wednesday nights party nights in college? he wondered briefly – he could hear a few distinct voices among the din.

“Since when does Hunt check with you before he does something?” he heard Ethan Blake say.

He paused in the middle of stashing away his laptop.

After a pause, Miss Schuyler said, “I just meant . . . don’t you think he’d tell the class before-”

“Are we really discussing this in front of him?” Miss Sinclair stage whispered.

He lifted his head to find the three students still standing by their desks, looking directly at him. Upon capturing his attention, they started at being caught and leapt into extremely unnatural stances: Ethan Blake rubbed the back of his neck with one hand while staring pointedly upwards, Miss Sinclair focused intently on the palms of her hands, and Miss Schuyler . . . was still looking at him, but had pasted a terrifyingly wide smile on her face.

He glanced again at his watch. He truly didn’t have time for this.

Rolling his eyes at the trio, he headed straight for his office to grab his jacket and keys. Then, it was off to the inanely named restaurant where he’d be meeting the faculty recruiter of Southern California University’s film school.

🎬🎬🎬🎬🎬

“Don’t you think he’d tell the class before ditching us in the middle of the year?” Margot asked. “He isn’t the type to cut and run. I just know he isn’t! We can’t let him leave!”

Ethan’s eyebrows rose. “You’re awfully emotional about this news.”

Margot glared at him over the table grill of Grilling Me Softly, a Korean barbeque restaurant that opened twenty minutes away from the university. Their platters of pork belly, lemon-and-herb marinated chicken, chadolbagi, and bulgogi had arrived, and it was her turn to do the cooking. She tweaked with her hair, which she’d pulled up into Sailor Moon-like buns to keep the long locks from enticing the flames.

The sight of her with metal tong poised in the air and her glare piercing him from across the circular table had Ethan quickly changing his tune.

“It’s good that you care,” he backtracked. “I just . . . if there’s any professor who would evoke that kind of response from me if there were rumours of them leaving, it would be, like, Moriyama. Someone with a heart.”

Addison, who was already digging into her portion of their wild mushroom japchae starter, nodded, cheeks bulging with food.

“He did defend me in my hearing, or have you forgotten?” Margot picked up a few pieces of meat from each plate and dropped it onto the grill, reveling in the satisfying sizzle and steam that instantly came out upon contact. “He’s not so bad.”

Addison dabbed at the corners of her lips with a napkin. “Okay, but how are we going to convince him to stay?”

A body slid into one of the seats next to Ethan so suddenly that the agent nearly leapt from his. Crash, smiling broadly, immediately reached for a bowl of soft rice and egg, chopsticks at the ready in the blink of an eye.

“Convince who?” he asked.

“Jesus, Crash,” Ethan said, pressing a hand over his heart to calm it.

“We’re convincing Jesus?”

Margot rolled her eyes. “Where’s Lisa? Didn’t she give you a ride here?”

Crash, around a mouthful of egg, mumbled something about paparazzi. Margot craned her head around just in time to see her pink-haired friend arrive, settling into the seat beside her while keeping her gaze focused on one of the booths in a corner of the restaurant.

“Hey, Lisa,” she said, turning the meat over with precision.

Lisa wrangled her hair into a high ponytail, securing it with an acid-green scrunchie that clashed horrendously with her outfit and made Addison mentally weep at the fashion faux pas. She finally tore her gaze away from the corner and shot them all a look.

“Hunt’s here,” Lisa said.

Margot’s eyes widened. “Here? In a place called Grilling Me Softly? There’s no way.”

Ethan snickered. “I feel like he’d disintegrate before he’d set foot in a university student hangout, much less one with a punny name.”

“Maybe it’s another man who wears a suit every minute of every day,” Crash suggested.

“Uh, this ‘university student hangout’ is more expensive than our usual fish and chips or burger joints,” Lisa pointed out. “Still, isn’t it strange? And who is that woman he’s with?”

Margot’s cheeks flushed at the mention of a woman.

Not that she had any claim on him whatsoever. She wasn’t even sure of her feelings for him anymore. Sure, they had . . . something, but it wasn’t clear what it meant to him, and she didn’t want to act like a fool for him if he was solely focused on being her instructor.

Maybe he’s a friend now, she considered. He’s done some friendly things. He’s held his umbrella over me, drove me home after the date auction, and comforted me on the movie set. He didn’t have to do those things, but he did.

He also kissed me, she reminded herself, and she quickly busied herself with replacing the meat on the grill with new slabs, distributing the cooked pieces to her hungry friends.

Meanwhile, with the subtlety of a bull in a china shop, Ethan maneuvered his head until he caught a glimpse of the professor sitting in the corner booth. He squinted at the person he was seated across before turning back to his friends, a mixture of awe and shock on his face.

“Penelope Locke,” he said in a hushed voice. “Headhunter for Southern California U.”

Lisa’s eyes flashed with excitement. “Like an assassin?”

“Who would eat dinner with their assassin?” Ethan replied.

Crash smiled. “I would, just to say I did.”

“You wouldn’t have survived-”

“Guys.” Margot turned her attention back to Ethan. “A headhunter, eh? So he really must be considering leaving Hollywood U.”

Her stomach twisted. Though the smell of the sizzling beef and pork belly was intoxicating, she wasn’t sure if she’d be able to eat any of it knowing that Professor Hunt was sitting across the room possibly planning his escape.

And then the dak kalguksu she ordered came, and her stomach untwisted itself in anticipation of the noodle soup she’d been craving for weeks.

🎬🎬🎬🎬🎬

Across the crowded restaurant, Thomas tasted the plum wine Penelope Locke ordered for them both and sighed. It wasn’t scotch, but it would tide him over until he could get home and have a few fingers from his favourite bottle before bed.

The woman sitting across from him knew his game already, but still pitched him on an open faculty position at SCU Cinematic Arts. But mostly, she kept her expression serious, even when they endured the forty-five minute “meeting” with mostly small talk and occasional glances at the paparazzi waiting for . . . whoever was important enough to be present and photographed at a place called Grilling Me Softly.

Eventually, the bill arrived. Penelope tucked a credit card into the black leather booklet quickly and handed it back to them. Thomas polished off his wine before slipping out of his seat.

“Thank you, Penelope,” he said quietly.

“Anything for a friend.” Penelope’s face was carefully blank as she added, “The paparazzi was a nice touch. They’ll hear about this meeting in no time.”

“Perfect.” He pulled on his coat. “Though I admittedly didn’t plan that part.”

He turned his head to survey the room, searching for the person who had attracted the photographers outside like moths to the table grill’s flames. A shock of pink hair that he usually saw in a bedhead disarray caught his attention, and he groaned internally at noticing that Miss Schuyler and her entourage (including the celebrity in question, Lisa Valentine) were stuffing themselves with near-reckless abandon.

“Do you know them?” Penelope asked, tilting her chin towards the group.

Thomas grimaced. “Yes. I’ll admit I’ve never seen them eat before. It’s . . . rather disturbing.”

Penelope laughed. “Good thing we arrived when we did. They might bankrupt this restaurant yet.”

🎬🎬🎬🎬🎬

The week after his meeting with Penelope, Thomas settled behind his desk in the lecture hall as his Hollywood 101 class filed in slowly. He had already laid out the grading rubrics for the students presenting their midterm projects that day. And, as the presentations began, he immediately regretted staying out a little later than usual the night before, catching up with an old colleague who had since become Hillview Film Academy’s recruiter.

Seriously, Thomas thought, Lance’s continued attendance at this university is inconceivable. Who does a midterm presentation on “glossy, tangle-taming hair masks for the modern male model”?

When it came to Miss Sinclair’s presentation, however, he was admittedly impressed by the line of men’s business suits she had come up with. Though he felt she should have cited a more recent point of inspiration than Mad Men or Sex and the City, he marked her accordingly, noting the special craftsmanship and detail-conscious care that she had put into every suit on display.

I wouldn’t mind wearing the gray one . . .

Clearing his throat authoritatively, he spoke up. “I’m surprised at your drastic change in artistic direction, Miss Sinclair. I hope you have defended your decisions in the accompanying write-up.”

Miss Sinclair nodded.

Thomas checked his list. “Finally, Mister Yamaguchi.”

Spencer Yamaguchi grinned, already making his way to the door. “All right! I’ve got it all set up in one of the auditoriums. It’s a one-man show about a plucky hero, who struggles with his-”

“Save it for the show, Mister Yamaguchi.” Thomas sighed as he looked at his neatly organized desktop. “And in future, please inform us beforehand if we are to move locations for project presentations. That goes for all of you.”

Grumbling, Thomas picked up his rubrics and laptop and herded the class to the auditorium. While they settled into their seats, Mister Yamaguchi disappeared behind the red velvet curtains that obscured the stage. Among the murmuring of the students waiting for the show to begin, Thomas could hear a microphone check and a five-second snippet of music being tested on the sound system.

The lights went down.

The curtains came up.

A spotlight turned on, illuminating a backdrop of two-dimensional high-rises and streets edged with trees and parked cars.

And the song that had begun to play as part of the sound system check began and continued as the protagonist appeared.

🎬🎬🎬🎬🎬

“Welcome to The Many Adventures of the Amazing Arachnid Boy!” crowed Crash from where he dangled from the ceiling, parallel to the stage. “I’m your host, Arachnid Boy himself, and this is the story of . . . me.”

From behind her, Margot could hear Professor Hunt snort. Hearing such an undignified sound from him made her smile.

The hip-hop beat kicked in, and Crash began climbing a cardboard skyscraper, freestyling about his new superpowers without stumbling over his words. His dark red leather jacket had an iron-on spider-shaped patch on the back, and he turned around to show the audience it as the song slowed down for a melancholy bridge.

“No one knows my pain, no one knows the strain,” Crash sang, “on my mental health, gotta be so stealthy . . . I know I seem witty, ‘cause I fly above the city, but when I stop, I can’t stop, I won’t stop . . .”

The beat kicked back in, and he jumped around and immediately leapt to the next cardboard building with exuberance.

“I can’t risk someone getting the drop on me, finding out my identity, putting the serenity of my family at risk . . . ya hear me, villains? Take a shot at me, you’d better not miss!”

As Crash’s show continued, Margot snuck glances over her shoulder at the professor. He seemed more shocked than anything else, and his pen was moving at lightning speed over the paper he had balanced on a clipboard.

Hopefully those are good notes, she thought.

🎬🎬🎬🎬🎬

After Mister Yamaguchi’s self-insert rip-off of an existing superhero defeated its archenemy, the Emerald Elf, the audience around Thomas jumped to its feet in raucous applause. Thomas brought his hands together twice before returning to his notes, jotting down some last-minute observations – rhymed “city” with “litty”; did the Emerald Elf need a self-deprecating R&B solo? – and then ushering the class back into the lecture hall.

“Our presenters for next class are Miss Valentine, Miss Stone, Mister Ortega, Miss Perez, Jayden, and Miss Schuyler. The remaining students will be presenting the following class. Until then, class dismissed.”

As Thomas unlocked his laptop to begin inputting grades, he sensed someone sidling up to him. It didn’t take a genius to figure out who might be approaching him.

“Hello, Professor,” Miss Schuyler said softly. Her bag was already slung over her shoulder. A quick glance to the door indicated that her friends were leaving her behind; he almost wished he could call them back in, to make sure that whatever it was she had to say was said in front of witnesses.

After the Fairy Kingdom Formal, he’d felt odd whenever he so much as looked at her. He wasn’t sure what to make of the new sensation. He worried that it meant something. But it couldn’t, could it? She was a decade younger than him. She was his student. It couldn’t be-

She told you about her childhood, he reminded himself. She confided in you. It’s not love. It’s you worrying over how she lived when she was younger. That’s all.

He wanted his thoughts to stop right there, but they kept coming anyway, like a second inner voice had joined the conversation to argue a different opinion.

You knew it was her at the masquerade. You spoke with her. You danced with her. You kissed her.

Stop.

You took care of her when she was hungry, cold, and sad. You slept in the same bed as her.

It meant nothing. It was nothing-

You drove her to her dorm after Chris Winters left her in the aquarium. She told you she thought you mattered to her, and you lived off that feeling for days after.

Stop-

You held your umbrella over her. You helped her get to her ride home with little incident.

That doesn’t mean anything-

You like her.

Stop-

You might even love-

“Professor?”

He blinked and found himself staring up at a very concerned Margot.

“Are you all right?” She adjusted the strap on her shoulder. “I was just . . . did you like Crash’s musical?”

He felt a bit dizzy. “It was interesting,” he said slowly.

“Good interesting?”

He cocked his head to the side, which didn’t help the vertigo. “I always find it fascinating when students suddenly decide that their passions have changed, Miss Schuyler.”

And, though she was an admittedly talented actress, Margot did not hide her nervousness. “Oh, yeah. I see how that could be interesting.”

“Might you know anything about Mister Yamaguchi and Miss Sinclair’s newfound passions?” he asked, mostly to see her squirm.

There, see? he told himself. I revel in making her uncomfortable, in treating her just like all my other students. This “love” theory is absolute bull-

“Maybe.” Her eyes widened comically. “I mean. Um. That’s all. Bye.”

She sped-walked out of the hall, and Thomas took a minute to gather himself before turning back to his laptop.

Sifting through his notes, he took extra time with Miss Sinclair and Mister Yamaguchi’s rubrics. They had both delivered impressive projects, ambitious if a bit contrived, but if her reaction was anything to go by, Miss Schuyler had something to do with their sudden fascinations in suits and musical theatre.

🎬🎬🎬🎬🎬

He can’t leave. He just can’t.

Margot had been standing in the main building of the university with her friends, rehashing Lisa’s surprise operatic performance as well as her own avant-garde film she directed, when she saw him hurrying towards a clearly marked administrator’s office. Though his stride was purposeful, and he attracted attention wherever he went due to his being Thomas Hunt and all, something about him radiated the energy of a man who did not want to be seen.

Before knocking on the door, she watched the professor take a deep breath.

And then he stepped through the doorway and out of view, leaving her to draw her own conclusion.

“I hope we did enough to convince him to stay,” she said quietly.

Lisa placed a hand on her shoulder. “If my rendition of Pavarotti didn’t convince him, I doubt anything could.”

“He did like your film, Margot,” Addison said reassuringly. “He didn’t trash it or anything!”

“Sad how that’s a good sign, isn’t it?” Ethan lamented.

🎬🎬🎬🎬🎬

The first class after the midterm project presentations was mostly silent. Thomas had planned it that way; after hearing some of the most illogical projects from this class, he wanted a break from them in a way that still kept them on track with the semester work. He was playing a series of short silent films on the projection screen while he finalized the midterm grades, and apart from some minor whispering – another thing he’ll temporarily turn a blind eye to, as he simply did not have the energy after faking so many recruitment meetings the past ten days – it was peaceful.

“Any word about Hunt’s job situation?”

Or not.

Before Miss Sinclair could reply, Thomas cleared his throat.

“Miss Schuyler. Care to share with the rest of us what you were about to ask Miss Sinclair?”

He’d never seen Miss Schuyler’s cheeks so red. They almost suited her, drawing attention to her high cheekbones-

Stop.

“Not with the rest of the class, no, Professor,” she murmured.

He raised an eyebrow at her. “Then perhaps you will share it with me . . . after class. My office.”

She nodded, turning her attention back to her worksheets.

And, as he similarly went back to his own work, he fought to keep the grin off his face.

🎬🎬🎬🎬🎬

“You wanted to see me?”

He leaned back in his chair, setting his arms on the structured arm rests of his chair. “I know what you and your friends have been doing. Don’t play dumb. Miss Sinclair designing suits, Mister Yamaguchi doing a musical, Miss Valentine singing opera.”

She winced. “I guess we were kinda obvious.”

He rolled his eyes. “Extremely obvious.”

“Did it work? Are you gonna stay?”

Was he imagining the eagerness in her voice? The hope that permeated those questions, as if she wanted him to remain at the university, to continue being her professor? He worried he was projecting, but there was something about the way she was looking at him that made him feel . . .

Made him feel.

“Do you want me to?” he asked.

She shook her head hard enough that her earrings clacked against her neck. “No. No, I – don’t leave.” She caught herself and added, in a much less emotionally wrought voice, “In my opinion, anyway.”

He looked at her, taking in her slightly trembling hands.

She looked at him, noting the curiosity in his eyes.

Desperate to know what the other one was thinking, but afraid of what they might be thinking of, they stared for a long moment in silence, trying and failing to read each other simply from body language.

Finally, he said, “Then it’s a good thing I was never planning on leaving anyway.”

She let out a sigh – of relief? he wondered – and sunk into the chair opposite him. Instantly relaxing into his own seat, he watched her take a few calming breaths before looking back at him with a new question burning in her eyes.

“Wait, so if you were never planning to leave, then why did you meet with those admins from other schools?”

He smirked. “For leverage during salary negotiations, obviously. I only do it when I feel it’s necessary, and this past year has been quite trying, particularly due to some students.” He looked pointedly at her, and she feigned shock.

“Crash’s musical was ingenious,” she argued.

“Stan Lee’s estate is on its way with a lawsuit as we speak,” he said dryly. “Dr. Seuss could – and has – written better verses.”

“Those are fighting words, Professor.” Margot’s eyes twinkled. “Crash could write The Cat in the Hat, but Dr. Seuss could not write ‘Emerald Elf Hates His Emerald Self.’”

[dreamsofthescreen]

How Godard Broke Our Hearts in Le Mepris - Analysis & Review

The 1963 classic French-Italian drama serves as a masterclass in impactful filmmaking

Brigitte Bardot & Michel Piccoli in ‘Le Mepris’

Expert director Jean Luc Godard’s films are considered pieces of art for convincing reasons, and 1963 classic ‘Le Mepris’ (Contempt) is a masterful example of this. It’s stylistic choices reflect the sombre, but beautiful & hard hitting story of a marriage turned bitter. It is the cinematography, writing & somewhat clean-cut, French directing style that livens the plot. With reference to cinema & the connection with life that it shares, the emotional bluntness of the New Wave story makes it all the more impacting. 1960s stars’ Brigitte Bardot, Michael Piccoli & Jack Palace all add to the heart of the Eurocentric film, their sourness becoming a point of interest in the plot. Colour, light and contrast all are significant points in this perfectly painted film.

Rising to prominence in the New Wave period, French-Swiss director Jean-Luc Godard is known for his colourful, sharp & artistic European projects, expertly executing any romance or drama in a beautiful way. ‘Le Mepris’ is an adaptation of Alberto Moravia’s 1954 novel, II disprezzo (A Ghost at Noon). The story goes as American producer Prokosch (Jack Palance) casts Paul (Michael Piccoli) to write a screenplay for Homer’s ‘The Odyssey’. This intake of work on film & challenging of his artistic values from Prokosch turns his marriage with Camille (Brigitte Bardot) on it’s head. Sticking to well-known themes in a drama such as tragedy, romance, infidelity and change, ‘Le Mepris’ breaks our hearts by touching on the beauty of a classic.

Godard’s distinctive style is prevalent in the significance of the story, as the way in which the film is both written & directed is in touch with each emotion & colour throughout. The rocky marriage between Camille & Paul on the backdrop of a film set actually reflects Godard’s personal demons - his struggling marriage and dissonant relationship with Hollywood at the time. Bold blues, reds, whites and yellows colour the film, which is something rather ironic, as emotion can be seen as something badly represented with such uplifting tones remaining in a heartbreaking scenario. Yet, this is all apart of Godard’s wonderful filmmaking. As a directer and writer, he brings realism to the table, where most romance pictures don’t. As the anguish of love decaying is on the forefront, Godard’s style still remains throughout, showing that although emotions change, the world around us really doesn’t. However, Godard also utilises these colours as a means of drama, the sultry opening scene with a naked Bardot & Piccoli soaked in an erotic red. Colour and costume is a hugely recognisable feature of the New Wave Era, as the 1960s began to explore aesthetics more freely. With Tanine Autré as the leading costume designer, the clean-cut & artistic costumes all sit well with each beautifully painted scene. Stripes and colour-blocking in the summer style are all reflective of the New Wave Movement. Even the 1960s interiors that Godard chooses reflect his storytelling style. Modern buildings, references to art and the human figure is relevant, as for a film about love, the male gaze is utterly, yet tastefully focused on French bombshell Brigitte Bardot. The visual spectacles are phenomenal, but still have meaning. As Godard focuses on realism, classism and a very Eurocentric story in ‘Le Mepris’, this can be seen as him even mocking Hollywood’s growing commercial and idealised storytelling at the time.  

By connecting cinema with life, striking reference is made to many emotions & creates space for a beautifully relevant drama. For a movie about movies, when art and love mix, disaster strikes. Scorsese quoted Contempt, saying ‘it’s one of the greatest films ever made about the actual process of filmmaking’ & named it as “brilliant, romantic and genuinely tragic”. Godard filmed a variety of scenes with tracking shots, in a natural light & near-real time. He too focuses on the beauty of Capri & the settings of the characters, rather than the characters themselves. The cinematography celebrates film itself, relevant to a storyline focusing on movie-making. With a painfully moving, stringed soundtrack and sweepingly romantic landscape wide shots, audiences can feel as though they are watching the film being made by Prokosch & Paul. Even the dialogue is reminiscent of the film, cleverly making connections between the project being made and the drama in Paul’s marriage. As Paul & Camille discuss ‘The Odyssey’, Paul states, “I agree with Prokosch’s theory. That Ulysses loves his wife, but she doesn’t love him”. Camille has no reaction to this comment, but we as audiences know that Godard is linking ‘The Odyssey’ with Paul & Camille’s fading love. Furthermore, Paul states that he is to “walk back with Mr. Lang (the director) to discuss the Odyssey.” This is followed by a comment by a crew member on set who comments, “I should have done a scene at the beginning, in which the Gods discuss the man’s fate, in general & the fate of Ulysses in particular”. It isn’t hard to see the comparison made between Paul and Ulysses’ romantic situations, one a Greek king & the other a script writer, yet still both are relevant & though contrast vastly, are mighty men. Both wonder about their fate. This is the great connection between the two storylines - the beauty and pain of cinema & how it all too often relates back to our own demons, so gracefully presented in ‘Le Mepris’.

Brigitte Bardot in ‘Le Mepris’

Godard’s clean-cut directing & blunt writing style, along with the impressive acting are all successful in presenting a widely emotional drama. Set in the outstandingly beautiful Capri, melancholy and mourning is mixed with the sunlight and dreamy landscape of the island. As Godard worked with cinematographer Raoul Coutard, he contrasts light and dark, showing the unexpected nature of life - where love can grow in a beautiful area, it can also be killed. We associate colour and light with positivity, yet the fact is that however life changes, the world around us does still remain the same. This is reflected in the writing of the film, as Godard’s straightforward dialogue hits hard. Rather than creating a falsely dramatic ‘movie magic’ script, there is no drama in the very real & blunt adult conversation that characters’ Camille & Paul have in establishing their feelings for one another. As Paul questions as to why Camille has been acting so distant, she simply replies with, ‘it’s true. I don’t love you anymore’. Paul asks, ‘you still loved me yesterday?’ & Camille replies with ‘yes, very much. Now it’s over’. With statements along the way from Camille like ‘that’s life’, there is melancholy reality, which is beautifully French in comparison to the excessive, long-winded scenes we see in todays writings. Yet the film seeps in elegance through it’s script, as when any words are spoken, each is valuable. As Camille reflects on the breakdown of her marriage, she metaphorically states, ‘We used to live in a cloud of unawareness, in delicious complicity. Things happened with sudden wild, enchanted recklessness’. Character Prokosch brings statements like ‘I don't believe in modesty. I believe in pride! I believe in the pride of making good films’. Furthermore to this, it, again, is the realism that breaks our hearts through the masterful filmmaking. The acting in ‘Le Mepris’ is very real, as Godard had the actors improvise lines in the moment. When asked about this, he stated, ‘I need them, just as I need the pulse and colours of real settings for atmosphere and creation’. Godard’s focus on realism is great as it is something so sincere and authentic. He also rather fitted the character of Camille to Bardot herself, rather than having Bardot act as Camille. This too made for an authentic script, as Bardot’s supposed acting ability shone through, bluntly delivering bold lines & somewhat rising above the typical sensual blonde that she was used to playing, as she had a voice. Godard’s writing brings in slices of poetry to inspire us & add to the artistic nature of the cinematic experience.

The Guardian’s description of it as ‘poetically sour’ encompasses the beauty of 1963 classic ‘Le Mepris’, as iconic director Jean-Luc Godard creates a heartbreakingly real tale of love lost. Through the recognisable New Wave style of the early 1960s that Godard helped define, the significance of ‘Le Mepris’ is made through it’s visuals and aesthetics, that we as an audience can recognise and appreciate. The beautifully artistic and European summer drama shines through with it’s ability to challenge everyday filmmaking. Godard hits the nail on the head with every emotion throughout, presented through not only dialogue, but the ravishing soundtrack, cinematography, set design and overall disposition. ‘Le Mepris’ remains a wonder that inspires and transports us to a world that, through it’s passion, seems all to familiar for some.

Stars Out of Five: 5/5

[thearkhound]

Kojima Cinema Vol. 1: Daylight

Game Hihyō (Game Criticism) was an advertisement-free videogame criticism magazine published by Micromagazine Inc. from 1994 until 2006 in which freelance writers, as well as game developers themselves, would provide their thoughts on the industry or the latest videogames. Among them was Hideo Kojima himself, who began a movie reviewing column on the February 1997 titled Kojima Cinema, which lasted for 23 issues. This first installment features a review of the Sylvester Stallone movie Daylight. If the reception for this one turns out to be overwhelmingly positive, I might translate more of Kojima’s reviews in the future (and possibly any other interesting article in the magazine that catches my attention).

Special thanks to the people at Gaming Alexandria for providing the scans.

Grand Opening of Kojima Cinema

Hello! I’m Hideo Kojima from Konami and I will be serializing an article starting from this issue. The editorial department told me “write essays about movies” and I immediately replied “if it’s about movies, leave it to me!” But then I thought about it seriously and wondered if was alright to write articles about movies in a magazine titled Game Hihyō [Game Criticism], which discusses videogames seriously, but I accepted their offer anyway since it gave me a pretext to watch more movies.

Love for Movies

I was told to pick a title freely, so I considered “Letters from Ebisu: The Sequel” after Kenji Eno’s column that used to be published in this magazine (since our companies are both located in Ebisu), as well as  “Ebisu Mail” (after Ebisu Beer) among others, but ultimately I went with “Kojima Cinema” since it was about movie reviews. I want to express my thoughts and impressions of my favorite movies and movies that I watched recently, regardless of whether they’re old and new, as well as write about Game Theory as a game auteur from the movie generation. Naturally, I also want to talk about the latest game I’m developing while it’s happening. With that said, I hope you enjoy your stay at Kojima Cinema.

Daylight, a movie to watch on Christmas Eve while smothered by your partner.

Since it premiered on the same day in Japan and the United States, I was able to watched Daylight without any prior knowledge. For better or worse, it’s a very conventional 1970′s style disaster movie. It feels like a tunnel version of Poseidon Adventure, as it depicts the tenacity and discords of people trying to survive under the extreme situation of being trapped inside a sealed underwater tunnel. The fact that it has Sylvester Stallone in the role of Gene Hackman is quite a problem. I’ll explain later why. While the explosions and collapsing scenes inside the tunnel that make use of digital special effects are a spectacle to behold, I would say the core of the movie is the human drama. The expendable characters that only exists to liven up the drama are not noticeable here and script, which distributes death equality, is somber but realistic. Particularly the resignation of the characters who realized they couldn’t be saved and their unfashionable lines before dying felt more documentary-like than cinematic. On the other hand, the plot is too light and although the tunnel is filled with poisonous gas, everyone is breathing normally and there is no sense of heat despite the characters being on the side of the flames, so there’s an overall lack of realism. I didn’t get the sense of oxygen shortage, entrapment and temperature that the movie was aiming for.

Stallone and the invisible enemy inside the tunnel

The biggest miscalculation of this movie is probably the casting of Stallone. Even though they were trying to make a human drama, Stallone is of course going to be Stallone.

That reckless and warlike mobility of him and his one-armed pull-ups are still alive! Especially in the second half of the movie, his thirst for (first) blood powers up! When a new problem (danger) arises, Stallone seems to be very joyful! It’s like he’s fighting an invisible enemy (an Enemy Zero) by himself. Conversely, putting such a character in a screenplay that goes against his type feels quite fresh. There is a scene where Stallone’s character, after risking his life and going to the place of crisis alone, gets coldly berated “why did you come here alone”, and there is another scene where he tries to lifts a car with his monstrous strength, but is unable to. It’s a reality that only the actor who played John Rambo could pull off.

P.S. It is recommended that you watch this movie during the daytime in an underground low-ceiling theater in an oxygen-free state with a full crowd. Once you leave the theater, you will truly appreciate Daylight.

Disaster & War Movies

Perhaps it’s an influence of the collapse of the Cold War structure, but lately Hollywood has been producing many disaster (kaijū) films lately such as Daybreak and Independence Day. Perhaps it’s a plan to depict drama only from the human side by making a powerful and overwhelming force (enemy) appear, such as a giant monster, aliens or a tornado, but this makes it very convenient to stand on the author’s side. All the bad things are monsters (or disasters) and every measure against them is justified. Since there is no need to come up with circumstances for the enemy’s side, it’s pretty easy to depict a valiant fighting hero. It also makes it easy to invite tears and project sympathy when the good guys win. It’s not so easy when it comes to depict a conflict between people. Even if one side were aliens, if they have a personality, it becomes a situation in which either side could be just or evil. That’s the difference between a war movie and a disaster movie.

Rewarding Good and Punishing Evil in the Game World

Ever since the days of Space Invaders, every game (including RPGs) has been made following this disaster movie template (of rewarding good and punishing evil). The enemy is always a one-sided invader or destroyer. “One day, invaders came from space.” “Suddenly monsters came from hell. A hero now stands up against those who sought to destroy mankind.” The player is clearly fighting for good and the enemy is an absolute evil that must be excluded. This formula leads to fundamental goodwill of every game. The act of defeating the enemy to proceed has become the foundation of shoot-’em-ups and action games. If you allow compassion to the enemy, then there wouldn’t be any game. “The enemy is evil, therefore he must eliminated!” That’s how games are now. Nevertheless, Metal Gear Solid won’t be using this formula. Although the theme is anti-war, it must be somehow established as a game. This part of MGS is difficult. It’s a dead end like an underground tunnel, a state of groping in the dark... But this is the theme and challenge of MGS. Perhaps one day I’ll find the Daylight within MGS.

Source

Game Hihyō Vol. 13 (February 1997)

[fromthemouthofkings]

10 Favorite Characters

Thank you @wisteria-lodge​ for tagging me!!

1. Grand Admiral Thrawn (the Thrawn trilogy by Timothy Zahn)

I stan 1 (one) blue alien Sherlock Holmes

[image description: the cover of The Last Command by Timothy Zahn, showing Thrawn as a blue-skinned humanoid with blue-black hair and glowing red eyes, wearing a white Imperial uniform. end id]

So I’m specifically talking about the book character here; I have no idea what’s going on in the Star Wars TV shows. But Thrawn of the Star Wars Legends universe (and the newer canon book, Thrawn) is hands-down one of the best and most interesting characters I’ve ever seen. He’s brilliant, creating battle strategies by studying his opponents’ cultural art to understand their cultural psychology and look for weaknesses in their thinking. And despite being a morally grey character, he’s not unduly arrogant and is actually extremely likeable--he has to work hard to get into the Imperial command structure that heavily discriminates against non-humans, his motivation is the best interest of his people, the Chiss, and he is always willing to explain his thinking to his close allies and friends. And who else would respond to being stabbed by smiling and saying, “But it was so artistically done?”

2. Beren (specifically, from Philosopher-At-Large’s script/screenplay adaptation of Tolkien’s story of Beren and Luthien, A Boy, A Girl, & A Dog: The Lay of Leithian Dramatic Script Project, which can be read in full here: https://rustbucket.net/leithian/index.html)

Do we not all want to yell at the gods about theodicy until they answer our questions to our satisfaction? I specifically pick Beren not from the original Silmarillion, as much as I love Tolkien’s work, but from Philosopher-At-Large’s script retelling, because A Boy, A Girl, & A Dog might just be my favorite work of literature of all time--fanwork, original fiction, or otherwise. I stumbled across it via a fanart of Beren on DeviantArt, like, six or seven years ago that referenced it, and my life has never been the same. It was hard to pick a favorite character, since literally all of the Script’s characters hold a special place in my heart, but I love Beren’s gentle, dry humor and his grim, determined, reckless stubbornness. His relationship with Luthien is of course the driving point of the story, but I thought that his relationships with Finrod and the other members of their company, and his backstory in Dorthonian and his interactions with the Valar were spectacularly done as well. This story is full of the grim determination to at least try and keep loving people, to keep throwing yourself at a problem and refuse to back down until you find a satisfactory solution, and Beren is right there at the heart of that, and I think that makes him pretty hopepunk.

3. Hamlet (Hamlet by William Shakespeare)

What is there to say about Hamlet that hasn’t already been said a thousand times by people significantly more learned and eloquent than me? I love him. He’s a genre-savvy protagonist trapped in a world where nothing! Fucking! Makes! Sense! My poor emo boy. I feel so much for him, being trapped in a situation where he needs to learn the truth in order to move forward and finally act, but there’s no way for him to get at the truth, so instead he just spirals further and further into fey, frustrated, erratic “madness.” Such a disaster bi. Definitely in love with his tired functional gay bf Horatio. Drama queen and Pretentious Asshole TM. In any decent modern au, he loves Hot Topic and gets all his clothes from there. I don’t even really do theater, but I’d love to have a chance to play him onstage.

4. James Dunworthy (the Oxford Time Travel series by Connie Willis)

The Oxford Time Travel series by Connie Willis ranges from hilarious (To Say Nothing of the Dog) to heartbreaking (Doomsday Book) and Mr. Dunworthy is right in the middle of all of it. For those who haven’t read it, the premise of the series is that time travel has been discovered, but we can’t use it to change the past, so instead it’s mainly just used by historians going back in time to study history, and Mr. Dunworthy is the head of the history department at Oxford University in the year 2060. He might be strict, but he has strong dad vibes, and, just, cares so much for all of his historians. He basically adopts Colin when Colin is stranded in Oxford over Christmas during an epidemic, he regularly puts himself in danger to look for lost historians, he helped invent time travel, and he knows that the point of studying the past is caring about the people who lived there. I want him to be my dad.

5. The 9th Doctor (Doctor Who)

Okay, I love 10 and 12 and 13 almost as much as I love 9, but 9 has to be my favorite Doctor. He was my first doctor, and what really got me hooked on the series was his kindness--hard-won and hard-clung to after the trauma of the time war. It isn’t always easy for him--the time war took everything away from him, and you can see how he’s tempted to be angry and bitter and harsh--but even so, he insists on helping people, on atoning for his mistakes, on nonviolence and using kindness and cleverness to fix things instead of violence and hate. He says, guns are bad and bananas are good, and every person is important, and when asked if he’s a coward or a killer, he says, “Coward. Any day.” And that philosophy, that choice, has left a deep impact on me.

[image description: gif of the 9th doctor saying “Who said you’re not important?” from New Who Season 1 episode 8, “Father’s Day.” end id]

6. Eliot Spencer (Leverage)

The whole premise of a group of thieves, criminals and con artists getting together to take down corrupt people in power is great, and Eliot is my favorite. He may have done some seriously bad shit in the past, but now he’s just devoted to taking care of the team, and particularly his hacker and his thief. I don’t know that he believes he’s worthy of their love, but he’s still somehow the most mature and emotionally stable member of the team; he knows how to control his anger and live alongside his regrets, and despite his grumbling, he dives headfirst into protecting the rest of the team and keeping them safe. Bonus points for being in an almost-canon ot3, and for the passion that he brings to his cooking. Also, I headcanon him as gray aro and transmasc, because I can.

[image description: gif of Eliot standing back-to-back with Parker and Hardison. end id]

7. Jon Sims (The Magnus Archives)

I’m only on season 3 of TMA so far, but I love Jon with all my heart. Working at a supernatural research institute, after having had a supernatural encounter of your own, and still choosing not to really believe in the supernatural until it knocks down the door to your office and riddles you with worms? Big mood. He’s a stubborn workaholic disaster ace, and I relate because I too struggle to interact with people and tend to get lost in obscure research projects for hours at a time. Somebody give this boy a hug and then a nap.

8. River Taam (Firefly)

Once again, there are a lot of good characters in Firefly, and I was hard-pressed to pick just one of them to put on this list. But River is a sweet summer child slowly overcoming trauma to find the joy and delight in the world around her that she had before the Academy, and I want all the best things for her. Bonus points go to Simon, who gave up everything he knew to save his sister, and Mal, who stubbornly sticks to his own code of honor even after loosing the war and much of his faith.

9. Lancelot (The Once and Future King by T. H. White)

A splendidly complex and morally grey take on our favorite legendary hero. T. H. White writes a Lancelot who struggles deeply with guilt and pride and imposter syndrome--who struggles desperately to do what is right and to channel the traits he finds in himself--both strengths and flaws--into doing the right thing. His scrupulosity is sadly relatable, and the lines “It is so fatally easy to make young children believe that they are horrible” and “ You could not give up a human heart as you could give up drinking. The drink was yours, and you could give it up: but your lover’s soul was not your own: it was not at your disposal; you had a duty towards it” are both absolutely haunting. It’s only implied in the book, but T. H. White admitted in letters that Lancelot enjoys pain, and is probably bi as well, and a bit in love with Arthur, and that he feels very guilty about it, and I just want a fluffy modern adaptation where Arthur and Guenevere and Lancelot can be in the kinky ployamarous triad that they deserve and just be happy together.

10. Luna Lovegood (Harry Potter series by J.K. Rowling)

While I have some problems these days with the Harry Potter series and the transphobia of its author, it’s possible to like something without minimizing its flaws, and this list would not be complete without Luna Lovegood. I spent significant portions of middle school pretending to be her. She taught me how to embrace my own unabashed weirdness, and I wouldn't be the same without her.

@a-nerdy-shade-of-purple @conan-concocting-chaos @one-supportive-august​ @the-lyra-cal-trans​ @the-eleftheria​ @dumpstertrash​

[the-bastard-and-the-pup]

Reckless the screenplay pt.2 (The Petrified Flesh)

(For @goylempire​)

Scene: the aftermath of a battle. we see dead horses and the bodies of men in white uniforms. the dead bodies under the grey uniforms are slightly cracked and made up various stones. the camera pans over the scene until we see the profile of a Goyl. Hentzau's skin is brown jasper stone and a scar runs down his cheek through his white eye. both his face and his uniform bear traces of dry human blood. a cracking noise makes him turn his head, giving us a view of his other eye, the gaze golden and piercing. a predator on the hunt.

Hentzau steps over bodies, including one of a woman who looks like an opal statue. he gestures towards the body. a Ruby Goyl arrives with a hammer and a chisel, which he places against her neck and gets to work. Hentzau makes his way over to a Human Soldier, who is crouched shaking on the ground, looking up at Hentzau. Hentzau looks back, contempt clear in his eyes.

Soldier: I surrender, I surrender. Please, just... let me go!

Hentzau: The way you would have done one of our soldiers the same favour?

close-up on a collection of stone fingers of various kinds dangling from the soldier's belt.

Soldier: Yes, yes of course!

Hentzau stares at the soldier, obviously not believing a word. the Soldier realises this and starts sobbing.

Soldier: Please! Show some humanity- his voice falters, looking at the Goyl in front of him. we see how not human Hentzau is.

Hentzau: Alright then. Go. I will show you humanity.

the soldier frantically scrambles to his feet. he takes of, running towards the camera.

a shot roars through the silence. the Soldier falls to the ground, dead. behind him, Hentzau comes back into view. he hands his rifle back to Nesser, a soldier standing next to him. Hentzau kept his promise by shooting the soldier, who thought he was safe, in the back. he showed him humanity.

[klassic-cinema-blog]

What I Watched This Week...

01.05.19-01.12.19: Shoplifters, Mr. Robot Season 1, The Bling Ring, The Piano, Bohemian Rhapsody Sing Along, Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon; Buster’s Mal Heart

Shoplifters (Hirokazu Koreeda, 2018)

This film is difficult to define. It creates one feeling, then... BAM! #That escalated quickly. It’s minimalist in a way that shows a bleak version of reality. The characters are complex. It encompasses multiple genres. It leaves you conflicted. I want to say more, but #spoilers.

Mr. Robot, Season 1 (Sam Esmail, 2015)

I decided to watch this because I thought it might be a comparable existing project for a script that I was working on. I found out that it’s so insanely similar that I don’t want to continue writing it, even though I’d never seen Mr. Robot before I started that project. However, I love it. I love how similar it is to Fight Club and I have so many conspiracy theories and thoughts about it, that deserve another post. But don’t ruin Seasons 2 & 3 for me!

The Bling Ring (Sophia Coppola, 2013)

I enjoyed this film and saw much of what would eventually be seen in Marie Antoinette, from the shoe montage to the wild and reckless behavior of the teens. In many ways, this was similar to that film in its portrayal of an insulated group of people brought down by their own success/excess. I think Coppola really has a way with selecting music for a film. I appreciate it as it’s something that I really enjoy doing.

The Piano (Jane Campion, 1993)

This film is notable because it marked the first time a woman won the Palm D’Or at Cannes. She won an Oscar for Best Screenplay and was nominated for Best Director, only the second woman to do so after Lina Wertmüller. (Only five women have been nominated EVER!?!). I didn’t particularly care for the relationships in the story, but this movie is so important to the history of modern female filmmaking that I had to watch it.

Bohemian Rhapsody Sing Along (2018)

I sing along with everything... And then there’s an officially sanctioned version of the film I was singing along to anyways with all the actual words?! It’s good fun. I also can’t believe that this film is still doing so well after all this time. I can honestly say the Golden Globes helped from talking to patrons at the theater where I work. I should write about it’s success and why it happened....

Crouching Tiger Hidden Dragon (Ang Lee, 2000)

I’m going to be honest here, I watched a bit of Jackie Chan’s The Drunken Master from 1978 and I found that movie more interesting and the martial arts more impressive and more entertaining. The fight scenes were too long here, the flying too fake and the story pretty run of the mill. This was a world where people fly and do magic, yet I couldn’t suspend my disbelief because it was presented as quasi-historical (something I realize is really popular in Chinese cinema and maybe I’m not used to) and I didn’t feel like the rules of the world were set out. If I could have seen more of the character development in all of the fights that I saw in Jen and Bai’s iconic bamboo duel, I would have enjoyed it much more. But that’s not there, and as a general rule, if the action is advancing character development or the plot, it should be cut. I can’t fault the gorgeous cinematography, production design and costumes though.

Buster’s Mal Heart (Sarah Adina Smith, 2016)

After reading about directing actors all summer, I thought I’d binge watch Rami Malek’s work because all I knew of him was The Pacific, Night at The Museum and Bohemian Rhapsody. I appreciate his versatility. I wonder what direction I would possibly give him. Nothing now because it’s just me, my mom and my cats in my films. Also wanted to see another female director’s work. As for the film, I think it can best be summarized by Queen, “Is this the real life? Is this just fantasy? Caught in a landslide, no escape from reality...” There are a great deal of uncomfortable moments, but the most uncomfortable thing is the ambiguous ending. We want answers, but life doesn’t work that way and we don’t feel good when a film doesn’t give us answers.

[bestcarshowroom]

What Does It Take to Ride Stunts? A Guide for Aspiring Professionals

For those who appreciate the talent and nuances involved in the act, two-wheeler stunting is nothing short of a beautiful art. The practitioners of this difficult trade employ their skills to make ordinary machinery perform large-scale shows. They make their steeds do inconceivable things by maneuvering their machines acrobatically in tandem with their bodies, creating a sense of risk and danger that inevitably hypnotizes the audience.

A one-of-a-kind project spearheaded by TVS Racing is the wind under the wings of individuals who practice the art of stunt riding in India. It's called APP (Apache Pro Performance) and it showcases the Apache RTR Series motorcycles' prowess while also helping people connect to the brand's spirit - Racing DNA Unleashed.

Stunt riding is a somewhat lesser known sport in India, despite its global popularity. So when TVS Racing introduced the sport with the spectacular APPX (Apache Pro Performance X) event, which broke the record for India's longest non-stop bike stunt show, it ignited the stunting community's desire to pursue the sport with recklessness. Amateur practitioners began to inquire about honing their techniques and participating in the sport in a more professional manner. Clearly, India has a lot of potential for the development of this sport. So we spoke with members of the five teams that competed in the APPX in order to answer some frequent issues posed by aspiring bike stunters and offer them some advice and direction on how to proceed. Let's get started!

Let's start at the beginning: what does it take to become a stunt rider?

“It takes a lot of physical and mental endurance to pursue stunt riding,” says Zahid of Team Bangalore, “but that is just about the rider.” Time and money must be invested in order to pursue the sport.” Bunty from Team Delhi agrees with Zahid, saying that while the riders value their sport above all else, they also value the two-wheeler that will accompany them when they perform the acrobatics. “Can you tell me what it takes to be a stunt rider? The ideal bicycle! While the Delhi crew has honed their skills on the TVS Apache RTR, a wheelie may also be performed on a TVS Victor or an XL100.”

So, what exactly goes into creating the ideal bicycle?

Vikas from Team Indore says, "Great initial pickup, robust chassis, good brakes and shock absorbers are a prerequisite - both TVS Apache RTR 180 and 200 4V are fantastic picks in the category." Sounds like a lot of fun, but why are there so many reservations about the sport in India? Zahid feels solemn as he considers how the sport is misrepresented in the country due to irresponsible riders who perform in public places without permission. “The challenges are numerous,” Zahid explains. “To begin with, my family and close friends were not supportive of my decision to pursue stunt riding. Second, we were unable to secure sponsors at the outset and were forced to pool funds to purchase our bikes and other necessary equipment. We could only give an appropriate structure to our passion until the TVS Apache RTR brand began to help us.”

Stunt riding is well-known for its significant risk of injury. So, how do the world's best stunt riders deal with this?

“Injuries are a part of any sport, and we all had to deal with them early on in our careers. This is something for which we are constantly prepared. “Double-checking safety precautions and continuing to practice are the keys to minimizing injuries,” says Tony of Team Jaipur.

What type of preparation and commitment is required to compete in a large-scale event like the Apache Pro Performance X, where teams competed for five hours straight?

“Events like APPX are incredibly significant, where riders compete nonstop for 5 hours,” says Bunty of Team Delhi. To prepare for an event like this, make sure your bike is in good working order and does not break down during the event. DO NOT allow yourself to become dehydrated. Prepare a screenplay for all of the stunts you'll do at the event, and make sure your teammates are on the same page. Last but not least, don't be nervous; relax and enjoy the show!”

How about special moves? Is it true that distinctive moves help the troupe gain recognition?

“Signature maneuvers definitely offer us an advantage in terms of recognition. Our stunts are frequently videotaped and shared on social media. Stunt racers used to be inspired by international riders, but that is no longer the case. “Indian stunt riders are gaining recognition both inside the stunt riding fraternity and across the country,” says Vikas of Team Indore.

These signature moves are backed by some signature techniques which require specific modifications to the motorcycles.

So what are the modifications which facilitate such signature moves?

Biju from Coimbatore says, “The 12 Bar or Wheelie Bar modification is one such mod, made for wheelies done exactly at 12 ‘o’ Clock position. We place it just above the backlight. For doing a basic wheelie, you can use your footbrake but if you are doing a wheelie while standing, an additional handbrake is required which can be fixed close to the clutch. To perform freestyle stunts, an additional footrest can be fixed above the pillion rider’s footrest. Another modification is to create a tank dent so that riders can do the wheelies easily by sitting on the tank. Finally, we increase the number of teeth of the sprocket so that the initial pickup will be higher.”

These distinctive movements are accompanied by signature techniques that necessitate specialized motorcycle modifications.

So, what changes have been made to make such signature maneuvers easier?

“The 12 Bar or Wheelie Bar modification is one such mod, created for wheelies done exactly at 12 ‘o' Clock position,” explains Biju from Coimbatore. It's positioned slightly above the backlight. You can use your footbrake to do a basic wheelie, but if you want to do a wheelie while standing, you'll need an additional handbrake that can be attached next to the clutch. An additional footrest can be mounted above the pillion rider's footrest to do freestyle maneuvers. Another alteration is to make a dent in the tank so that riders can easily execute wheelies while sitting on it. Finally, we increase the number of teeth on the sprocket in order to increase the initial pickup.”

What distinguishes the

Indian

stunt scene from that of its international counterparts?

“Stunt riding in India is a unique notion that does not exist anywhere else in the world. Individual acts are increasingly taking primacy over ensemble performances around the world. “On the other hand, Indian teams pay the greatest emphasis on team cooperation and execution,” says Vikas.

Is there anything that aspiring stunt riders absolutely must have?

“When practicing stunt riding, always place a major importance on safety,” Zahid says. Do not rehearse in front of a crowd or in locations that could cause a commotion. Always wear safety equipment!”

We hope you found those answers to some frequent stunt riding inquiries helpful. If you're a budding bike stunt rider with further questions, leave them in the comments area below, and we'll try our best to have them addressed as quickly as possible.

[danwritestuff]

Tagged by @sorbriquette​ and putting it in my so-called writing blog cuz i keep anything related to writing here

1. How did you begin writing? Uhhmm, I’ve always been a daydreamer and it was my Coping Mechanism(tm). So naturally, I’ve always wanted to write about weird shits I think about. Most of the time, though, I end up just imagining things and never get to writing it. I wasn’t really good at writing in my own language (Korean) and then I’ve gotten into writing in English (my second language) and found out I write BETTER in English lmao. 

2. What was your first writing project? Tell us a little about it. I started writing when I was around 13 or so. Never really got to write a full story and it was in Korean (I hate writing in Korean). I began RPing in tumblr since late 2012/early 2013 which is when I got into writing in English. I did wrote a short novel for a class in 2014 and I wrote a long fanfic in 2013 or something. Also wrote a screenplay once. 

Not going into details because I am ashamed. I try not to think about my past writings.

3. What is your preferred medium for writing first drafts? MS Words. I just like formatting and spelling everything correct too much.

4. What rituals or habits do you have around writing?  Um, I have a weird habit of writing a word ‘d’ and deleting it repeatedly when I’m not sure what to write. I make weird facial expressions too.

5. We all have a “type”– of character, plot, theme– what is yours?  Plot-wise, most of my stories involve a theme of ‘HUMANS ARE DUMB BUT THEY ARE ALSO AMAZING’ which has to do with my perpetual disdain for the humanity at the same time my self-contradicting love for humane shits. I love stories that involve... humans choosing something absolutely stupid that makes no sense, just because they are human. 

As for characters, I try to write everyone as different as possible. Not sure if I’m successful at that. Though my favorites are either: dumbass characters who are well-meaning and goodhearted but at the same time morally ambiguous, one of those idiots who are like a ray of sunshine but will also fuck you up if you hurt someone they love; or ‘average’ or ‘mediocre’ characters (like, skills or power-wise) surrounded by extraordinary people. 

6. Introduce us to one (or more!) of your OC’s.  I have a problem of writing too many characters but here goes the main characters in a series I’m trying (and failing) to write: 

- Rafael: My dumbass son (kind of jobless) who eloped with his fiance from his home, a secluded temple where he spend all of his life in. Proper and polite to a fault. Oblivious to human malice and sometimes dumb because this is the first time in his life in the civilization. Incredibly lucky, though he doesn’t notice it. Has a voice like an angel but doesn’t like to sing. He refuses to carry any type of weaponry but doesn’t mind beating the shit out of assholes because “God gave us fists so that we can punch bad people.”  - Emmy: Technically not my OC cuz my friend @kyaarin​ created her but she lets me write her. A young Mage/engineer who wants to be successful. Grew up on streets taking care of orphans like her so she is like a big sister to everyone. Friendly and gets along with everyone except assholes to whom she can be a bit vicious. Energetic and kind of hotheaded. Smart and logical most of the time but when she is pissed she just goes off and does something stupid without thinking of the consequences.  - Terra: Technically not my OC (by @kyaarin​) 2. An assassin/spy who is also like a private detective. Was from a rich family but she left her family to be free. Got into troubles on her own so she got into being a hit woman. She is either your best friend or your worst enemy. Quiet and observant. Doesn’t like to act before knowing EVERYTHING about what she is getting herself into. Doesn’t care how long it takes to get what she wants, or what price she would pay for that. Is out to revenge her friend ultimately.  - Lance: A Knight (basically a magehunter in this world) who hates magic. He kills mages because he believes that would make the world a better place. So definitely a shithead which is inexcusable. He KNOWS that he is a mass murderer and there will be CONSEQUENCES but at the same time he believes it’s necessary to do what he does. Snarky asshole. Dogged workaholic and reckless, mostly because Knights in this world are sorta OP. Also financially unstable af because he gets sued a lot. 

7. What’s your favorite genre to read?  Ummm, I like fantasy and sci-fi but I also just like regular fictions. I have a really specific taste in books and it’s hard to find those. 

8. Your favorite genre to write? Anything fantasy or sci-fi. I really like world building.

9. How do you conduct your authorial research? Google is your friend. I might have spent way too much time on that because I am obsessive. 

10. What does your editing (gasp) process look like? Mm... I rewrite 1834931041 times while my first draft (which is a horrible habit and I write really slow thanks to that). I reread to check and then I get it to friends and get feedbacks by chapters.

11. What are your favorite tropes? Mm.. Idk I really like characters being asked to hand in their weapons several times because they have so many hidden weapons. Also love non-human characters (like robots or AI or something else) beginning to understand or becoming humans?

12. Show off your writing space. I don’t have one ‘cause my life is a mess.

13. What is the most useful piece of writing advice you’ve ever used? “Sit your ass down and just write.”

I mean, it all comes down to writing constantly and regularly I believe, which I struggle with (because I work better with deadlines). But I think that is as good as it gets with writing advice. Like? Everyone writes differently and there ain’t one formula for that? Step off of your high horse and throw your ‘don’t use this kind of expression/phrase/structure’ over a cliff.

14. What is the least useful piece of writing advice you’ve ever ignored? Any advice that has to do with fancy “alternative” vocabulary.

Like... it’s not about which words you use to decorate your sentence. It’s about the content. I find the best sentences convey strong emotions or meanings and that doesn’t always have to do with which words are used. Write as you feel and if what you feel is “that asshole of a man said some bullshits” then go with it.

15. Your writing beverage/snack of choice? Coffee? Though I feel like I work better when my needs are deprived. 

16. How do you compile your ideas? Writing blogs, some memos. I have a huge Google document that has world building information in it. I think it’s about 40 pages long and I’m not even done.

17. What are your controversial opinions ™ on the craft of writing? I’m not sure if I have a controversial opinion on writing... Maybe “you can’t separate real worlds or yourself from the fictions”? Wherever and whenever your story takes place in, it is written by you, so it is bound to reflect YOUR world view. You are the storyteller, so you can’t just say “It’s just a story”. It’s not. You are writing what you want to write about and if it’s problematic, then you gotta do some reality check.

Tagging: @eva-writes @darklingsea @rjwrites @proserpinewrites @wiscowrites @ashlaaaywrites @viirgowrites and anyone who wants to do this