#sociopolitical film

[bpgthoughts]

Farming (2018) was a very interesting film.. so many unexpected ups and downs. It is about a Nigerian immigrant, who is being fostered by a White family.. who because of his race was picked on a lot and then started to identify or rather.. empathize more with the skinheads and joined a skinhead gang, parroting their anti immigrant, and adopted their language even referring to himself as "coon"..

I did not know it was based on the real life of Adewale Akinnuoye-Agbaje, who joined a skinhead gang as a child.. and all that went with that .... It is an amazing film that you will see the ups and down as he struggles with his own identity as an immigrant in a country during a time, similar to today where they blame immigrants for the shortages or them not being able to find proper work that pays well.

I would recommend checking it out for sure

[natalia-lafourcade]

watched Godzilla Minus One and it was actually fucking good?

[pochapal]

watched glass onion the other day and i can't stop thinking about it and i also can't decide if i actually liked it or not even after watching it twice which is very frustrating

[trendynewsnow]

The Anticipation of Glicked: A Missed Opportunity for Cinema

The Anticipation of Glicked: A Missed Opportunity Glicked never quite came to fruition, did it? At least not in Europe, where both Gladiator II and Wicked are set to release just a week apart. The aspirations to create a cultural phenomenon surrounding the simultaneous (-ish) launches of Ridley Scott’s Gladiator sequel and Jon M. Chu’s The Wizard of Oz prequel were high, hoping to recapture the…

[stvlti]

Fwiw I think Civil War (dir. Alex Garland) is a better thriller that is set in apocalyptic America than Leave The World Behind (dir. Sam Esmail). I love both of these directors' works but LTWB just didn't hit the same way - it felt too surreal and removed from the centre of the political conflict, which was probably part of the point of that film, but it is also to the film's detriment in terms of the horror and pathos it could wring out of that same scenario of war on American soil.

[valtsv]

types of story the silt verses characters are in:

carpenter - grimy cult classic slasher film where she's both the killer and the final girl

faulkner - shakespearean tragedy

paige - the odyssey if it happened to a future time magazine person of the year candidate on the fast track to ceo in marketing

hayward - surreal detective thriller with supernatural elements

shrue - mid-2000s british comedy show satirising the current sociopolitical climate written during the worst period of the screenwriter's life

VAL - cynically self-aware one person stage show a la fleabag meets david cronenberg

[leonardcohenofficial]

truly makes me insane how people hate on harold and maude like gee i wonder why a disaffected depressed draft-age young man who feels like he has no control over his life and is being constantly ignored by his mother feels suicidal and acts out by staging attempts to die to evoke literally any sense of feeling while a literal holocaust survivor finds such beauty and joy in all the things in life that she's still here to experience makes a point of teaching the aforementioned young man about why it's important to live and chooses to end her life on her own terms like hmm what about the sociopolitical context of 1971 might be particularly relevant to these aspects of their characters and the storytelling of the film as a whole

[steampunkforever]

I think it's time to gush about Monkey Man.

From a practical standpoint, you can't not talk about this movie without mentioning John Wick. Monkey Man itself understands this, going so far as to itself namedrop the Wick films in the beginning of the movie. Yet the movies are very different.

John Wick is in essence a modern neo noir, minimalist in everything but number of sequels it greenlights. It's slick, well executed, and responsible for resurrecting a genre that previously belonged to Vin Diesel's lower quality projects. It fully deserves its flowers, but ten years on it's time to raise our standards for a good action film. By all metrics, Monkey Man should be that movie.

Monkey Man is John Wick but grittier. It's action elevated. It's downright gorgeous. It's Dev Patel's directorial debut. It's a social commentary on inequality and fascism. It's Dev Parel Shirtless because he knows exactly what we want. It's the best release of the year as of the time of this writing. It's a movie you should go see.

Monkey man is a movie that asks "what if modern action movies had pathos?" It's gritty, the tale of a kid fighting his way up from the gutter to the penthouse (literally) in his quest for revenge against Hindu Fascist leadership. And it rips. Not since Mandy have I seen a revenge film so beautifully and profoundly depict violence. This is an altogether beautiful film and it never misses a chance to try and make things as beautiful as Mr. Patel himself.

An important note is that the film focuses heavily on Hindu Fascism, and was almost denied release on account of this. As of the writing of this filmpost it still has not been approved for release in India by the state censors, and that with significant edits already having been made to the movie for its general release. Even yet, it's a poignant sociopolitical critique of the Indian government and the intersection between religion and government oppression. Also Dev Patel bites a guys nose off.

Amazing film. Must see. Highly suggest seeing it as soon as possible. Do it for Dev.

[robotlyra]

So I heard good things about the movie Conclave, so as a dutiful little post-Catholic weirdo with lingering baggage, I gave it a watch and was thoroughly entertained. I highly recommend it.

But one of the reasons why it's been getting so much discussion is that people keep comparing it to Drag Race and making it out to be this campy drama full of gossip and machinations. And while those elements are there, and I certainly endorse taking that approach to analysis, I also can't help but wonder. I wonder if the reason why people are clocking it as a glam gossip drama is because they don't have enough lived experience with Catholicism, and its most vociferous adherents that they can't clock the sincerity when they witness it.

There is a mundane hierarchical jockeying aspect to it, and that cannot be denied, but the true fascination in the experience, the creeping horror of it, is to see dudes who have completely convinced themselves of their own self righteousness that they believe Performative Humility is Genuine Submission to God's Will. There's a bit that carries through the film that says "nobody who acts like they WANT to be pope SHOULD be pope", but that unto itself is a form of performance. It's the most insidious kind of grandstanding because it's the kind that can convince the performer themself that it's genuine. It can make them think: "I've eaten enough humble pie to prove I'm a good person, so I don't have to continue the work of self examination."

In my opinion, that sort of performance has less in common with high glam ego-driven drag competition, and more in common, say, with online political posturing, the contest to appear most sociopolitically aware and self-flagellatory. To prove how good one is by being loudest about confessing how bad one is. And maybe some people aren't ready to make that connection because they don't want to believe that old dudes in church are capable of the same kinds of mental gymnastics to pursue their own self-interests as the most liberated, educated, and media savvy online commentator.

[syrupsyche]

PLEASE say more about your modern enjolras headcanons. I want to hear everything

HI!!!! thank you so much for your ask ❤️ I love talking about Enjolras :) here is a doodle of my modern AU version of him:

Some random headcanons I have!

He's always Asian to me; I like to envision him as half-Korean!

Like I mentioned in my Markiplier post, he barely tastes his food 😭 he simply views it as sustenance and has no great love or hatred for any dish. When pressed about what his favourite is, he'd either speak a classic French or Korean dish and cite it as a "childhood favourite" but honestly he really doesn't care!

Because of that ^, he eats food like a vacuum cleaner. If he's out in a restaurant with friends, he'd spend the rest of the time drinking cups of coffee.

He sleeps like a corpse, lying flat on his back like 🧍‍♂️. His breathing is always really shallow too when he's asleep so every Ami have shaken him awake in terror before, thinking he stopped breathing in the middle of the night. He has since attempted to position himself in a more normal sleeping state to not worry his friends, but his corpse state is his natural state

He doesn't have favourite music at all; again when pressed, he'd offer some classical music as an answer but he's literally so disconnected. No spotify, no ipod, nothing. He only uses his earbuds to listen to voice messages (which the Amis send /very frequently/. But Enjolras likes to listen to them all! That's his source of entertainment)

On the flipside, he's very serious when it comes to watching films or shows. He thinks they reflect much about the sociopolitical state of the world (even if they aren't "serious" media) and would religiously log his Letterboxd review after every watch + analyse it with Combeferre, Feuilly, or Prouvaire. He would watch Despicable Me and go: "An interesting film exploring the complexities of a man ostracised from society and relegating himself to such a role in life as a result. A heartfelt story unfolds when he learns to care for three young children who show him blablablabl...."

He cuts his own hair. And it STILL looks good.

Thank you once again for allowing me to indulge in my headcanons! 🫶

[ceofjohnlennon]

The documentary "One To One: John Lennon & Yoko Ono" was presented during the Venice Film Festival on 29, 30 and 31 of August and well received by the critics. Streaming and physical releases (DVD/BluRay) will likely be 2025.

Indie Ware: "At its best, "One to One" accomplishes the ambitious task of conjuring a time fraught with sociopolitical tension, of which Lennon and Ono were smack dab in the middle, via a medley of televisual snippets."

Move Able Fest: "One to One" restores Lennon to similar status for the general public with archival footage so crisply revived that looks like it could've been shot yesterday and its subjects still appearing ahead of their time."

The Guardian: "One to One, against all odds, makes Lennon feel vital again."

The Hollywood Reporter: "One to One is a reminder of the future we children imagined in 1972. It is also an act of courage."

Cine Europa: "Then there is the concert itself, Lennon’s first since The Beatles and, frankly, a wonderful event to witness – even today. At a press screening, briefly interrupted by a fire alarm, the audience welcomed Lennon back with a round of applause. Usually, many tired journos would relish such a distraction – but not this time, and not during this film. They wanted to listen to that man again, always singing while chewing gum, and laugh at his idea of actually “freeing some people” from jail during the planned Free the People tour. A dreamer, for sure. But maybe he’s not the only one."

LatFusa: "ONE TO ONE: JOHN & YOKO also includes a wealth of never-before-seen material, including home movies and numerous phone call recordings of John and Yoko to offer a unique take on a seminal time in the lives of one of music’s most famous couples."

[fatliberation]

You said a while back that you wrote some papers for uni on fat liberation. Can I asked what they were about?

I did! One was a history of the fat liberation movement during the 1960s and 70s, and the other was a literature review of a study on GLP-1 agonists, putting them into sociopolitical context. I also did a few fat positive film projects, one of which included us smashing scales outside of a weight loss clinic (the owner threatened to call the cops lmao). I plan to post my papers, but they need some revision. I'm starting up a kofi page and I'm planning on posting them there!

[liquidorcard]

Okay, part two. Let's go girls, gays and theys, Papa Polarity ain't saved yet.

[Part 1] [Part3]

Lily Commits Elder Gay Mutant Abuse, feat. "Eldritch Lily" (Part 2)

Everything gets worse . . .

4:13: Lily mischaracterizes Charles Xavier, throws up a Martin Luthor King quote she either doesn't understand or didn't read carefully enough, going full whyte. (Never go full whyte.)

How much do I need to dignify this by explaining why this is fucking asinine? Charles is a pacifist for the most part. A recognized and respected form of activism and protest. Like, the least charitable interpretation of what Lily's trying to say here is that figures like Gahndi, Abbie Hoffman, and dear old MLK himself are posers complicit in the oppression two of them lost their fucking life to.

That quote is referring to white people passively complicit in racism that just want black people to shut the fuck up Lily-- not passive forms of activism.

You know, it's one thing to be profoundly fucking wrong about cartoons, it's an entirely different beast when you're profoundly wrong about shit like this. Absolutely fucking ghoulish.

It feels weird pivoting back to the costumed vigilantes with funky genes, but we gotta keep going. Ironically for how much Lily is focusing on the movies here-- one of my issues with the way Charles is portrayed is he keeps casually threatening people/doing shady shit and getting away with it. Makes you question why it's framed as okay when he does it and not when it's Erik. Charles isn't a saint, he shouldn't be portrayed as one, and there's a lot of thematic dissonance when the films feel the need to lampshade the shit he gets up to less he lose the moral high ground.

4:50: OH HERE WE GO.

5:00: Lily goes on a long rant about the "activists who GO TOO FAR" trope in media.

I technically agree with her, but I can tell by the examples she's giving that she's parroting things Hbomberguy said in his RWBY video, just in a less charitable tone. So, really I agree with Hbomberguy.

She's not wrong that the BoM and Magneto sometimes wanders into this territory (I mean, they were originally 'The Brotherhood of Evil Mutant' and all that) unfortunately, but she hasn't supported that position at all. I have to assume she's heard this brought up somewhere else, this isn't exactly a unique take by any means. I doubt she's actually familiar enough with the content to create an original cohesive argument.

Lily doesn't like moral ambiguity in her media. That would be fine if she wasn't this butthurt that other people feel very differently.

6:05: "And yes, you knew we were getting to it! [ . . .] Almost all of Legend of Korras main villians start at a good through line. But then some twist comes up that makes everything they said before completely pointless."

THESE TWO, "START AT A GOOD THROUGH LINE!?"

LILLLLLLLLYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYAAAAAAAAAAAAAA

6:15: "Season one's Amon is a socialist activist who cares about the oppression of non-benders by benders-- until it turns out that he doesn't."

I know this is a popular interpretation of the equalitists, especially given that their name is 'the equalists,' but actually the show never gives us enough information about the sociopolitical dynamics of benders and non-benders to say for sure. I'm not going to get into it here, if you want my full breakdown and analysis on the social politics of Avatar, let me know. In summary, it's tempting to assume benders would be the dominant class as they have literal powers, but that's not really how systemic power works. There's conflicting inference on what the dynamics are, and it may be different depending on the nation. The equalists are schrodinger's activists. They could be the Black Panthers, they could be the Proud Boys. That is not me making a false equivalency between those two groups, it's just never established if their perceived systemic persecution is real or imagined.

This isn't really a criticism of Lily. That it is so ambiguous is a flaw in the show. The interpretation Amon is supposed to be a socialist is as valid as any. Well. . . It's an extremely reductive interpretation of a socialist, and I know Lily doesn't know what a socialist actually is, but I'm trying to be charitable when possible here.

I do LIKE Korra myself, to be clear. But, yeah. There's problems.

6:31: "Season four's Kuvira wants to stitch the Earth Kingdom back together but doesn't want to restore an oppressive monarchy like everyone else does. And then declares that she is the dictator of the Earth Kingdom."

Yeah, that is just a thing that has happened in history, Lily. When there's a power vacuum left by a sudden or violent upheaval of a tyrant, unfortunately often another tyrant at least attempts to take their place. This is one of the reasons why former colonies struggle to cultivate stability-- societies and communities can get fucked in the ass by this kind of shit. This isn't a pro-monarchy message Lily-- consider maybe trying to learn things now and again.

This is why people call you a fake leftist Lily. Doing (relatively) minor gestures of good will like handing out food for a short period then pulling the rug out from under the people once they're complicit is right out of the facist playbook. You are virtually doing the exact thing you accused Rebecca Sugar of, but for real.

You're being outfoxed by a kid's show again.

6:44: "Season two's Unalaq [you get the idea.]"

Lily is pro gentrification until you involve demon kites I guess. I'm confused why she thinks he ever had any good intentions, it's telegraphed immediately he's a bad dude. He's also by far the worst villain-- as in, the worst written.

7:10: "All of them go 'the status quo is bad therefore commence genocide' like they got their political theory from fucking Vaush."

By your line of thinking so did Firelord Sozin:

"I had my own vision for a brighter future . . ."

I don't like Vaush either, but-- this isn't even the pot calling the kettle black. This is the blackened grime on the pot calling the kettle black.

GOD THIS VIDEO IS SUPPOSED TO BE ABOUT MAGNETO. WE'VE BEEN TALKING ABOUT KORRA FOR ALMOST THIS WHOLE POST.

7:19: "The entire show you're watching Korra become a stooge for the status quo every single time. 'The problem isn't that the system is bad, it's that the wrong people are in charge.' And then they inevitably change the status like bringing democracy to the Earth Kingdom and you're left wondering-- wait, why wasn't the other person doing this!?"

I did not edit those two statements together. That is, in fact, Lily pointing out why her own arguments are stupid in the very next breath. Thanks for saving me the effort, I guess.

7:45: "Why weren't the characters you set up to do these things . . . Doing the things?!"

Because they weren't set up to do these things Lily. They're the antagonists. They ideologically were designed to be foils for Korra to overcome.

Korra's political messages aren't even that deep, and yet you're this incapable from telling even obvious totalitarian right-wing ideology and mild liberalism apart.

8:10: "It's so nakedly obvious how protective of the status quo these stories are."

This is, in a very abstract way, a valid criticism of Korra. This is a common problem in a lot of media, and Korra is far from the worst offender. I think it does breach past this to some extent, just not as much as I would have personally liked with all its seasons.

But make no mistake this is Lily again, taking something Lily has seen someone else say and putting that opinion through a blender.

Let's not beat around the bush here, Lily just wanted to bitch about Korra again. It's almost like she thinks if she repeats her idiotic media analysis enough, maybe THIS time people will realize how brilliant she is.

8:27: "A victim of abuse, torture or r@pe trying to kill her [only 'her,' huh?] abuser in vengeance is right to do so."

Okay, that's enough of this for now. Part 3 coming soon.

[girlfriendsofthegalaxy]

tuesday again 7/30/2023

this post half brought to you by viewers like you! thank you!

listening

all my brain wants is charli xcx's apple on repeat. i understand there's a very popular dance with it but it's not H-O-T T-O G-O so i don't know anything about that. extremely effective song to have on loop while writing. peppy but very even and easy to just sort of bop along to in the background. looking forward to this being my #1 most listened song on spotify this year after the (DON'T WORRY ABOUT IT) number of hours last night working on yeehawgust.

thank you to my real-life sister for 1) teaching me about brat summer after i sent her a pic of the neon green pool outside and 2) telling me i would like this album. i do!

-

reading

i saw a photo on here several weeks ago of Balfour Tower, a brutalist residential building in London where all the mechanics are in the little tower on the right and said to myself "what the FUCK is that. how does it WORK."

someone else who said "what the FUCK is that. how does it WORK." was JG Ballard, previous tuesdaypost feature. there are only two books i reread most years, Jane Eyre in the fall and Ballard's The Drowned World in the summer (one of the nicest vintage hardcovers i own, from @morrak ).

let's yoink the description off wikipedia bc it's the most succinct:

The story describes the disintegration of a luxury high-rise building as its affluent residents gradually descend into violent chaos. As with Ballard's previous novels Crash (1973) and Concrete Island (1974), High-Rise inquires into the ways in which modern social and technological landscapes could alter the human psyche in provocative and hitherto unexplored ways.

it's less "the building is evil" and more "by incentivizing residents to not leave the building by providing everything they need, including a liquor store, the building is a petri dish for fucked up british social interaction".

Ballard is extremely good, on a very technical sentence level, of creating an immersive cocoon of dreamlike unreality in the middle of an otherwise functioning world. this is Not good for my brain when i am having a particularly prolonged bout of The Morbs. High-Rise was extremely effective in creating its particular pocket of fucked-up happenings in the middle of the "real world" but was EXTREMELY not the book i needed at this particular moment.

-

watching

The Burglars (1971, dir. Verneuil). this is a french heist film but i'm just going to drop my letterboxd review here.

do you want to see an all-in-one safecracking kit in a beautiful imitation leather suitcase straight from the catalog? with a computer to make a punchcard for the key cutting device also in the suitcase? do you feel strongly about emeralds? do you want to see a fuckin lupin iii style real life car chase where they run a little red fiat ragged? a man dumped out the back of a dump truck to fall down a slope half a mile long? do you want to see tits? do you want to see omar sharif get grain entrapped? this movie may be for you!

i would do anything for omar sharif and his big brown eyes.

the title sequence and a remarkably spare morricone soundtrack go SO hard. graphic design IS my passion!!!

how'd i find this: needed to use up some credits on kanopy. the gadgetry in the actual heist part of this film... mwah. a very poorly paced movie, but by god does it Look.

-

playing

thank you VERY much @sybilius for gifting me Pentiment! i would describe this as a point-and-click/visual novel murder mystery rpg?

it's endlessly charming. it is dense with medieval sociopolitical factions. i would expect nothing less from je sawyer. i loooove the different fonts: the printer in town has a custom font for his dialogue, other characters' dialogue changes fonts as you learn more about them (a noble's font changes from scrabbly handwriting to fine lettering after we learn he's got some education under his belt).

much like High-Rise, but for visual novel pace reasons and not content/atmosphere, this is not quite the right game for my brain at this time, but i am very excited to loop back around to it when better brain weather rolls in!

-

making

yeehawgust prep! i manage to do one prompt every other year but we'll see how this one goes

[streets-in-paradise]

i am back,once again!!

i’m srry i had to

anywayyyyy

okay so i got this idea,could u write about some cute moments between achilles and (fem)reader who loves the beach/anything that has to do w the sea?maybe like a drabble or smth??idk if this is vague but lmk

hahaha, hi!!

( woow, you pick your graphic intros and everything. that shows dedication i love it 💕)

Absolutely, I can do this.

Also, this will be super fitting because, despite the movie left it up to interpretation, his mom is a nereid (greek deity of the sea). When he is not fighting the job of Achilles is beach lol.

It turned out longer than a drabble because I kept thinking on your Achilles x girly/fashionista reader ask from last time and it kinda influencied me into doing a full oneshot mixing bits of both ideas.

Sea lover reader is also a capital city girl moving to Phthia who is quite girly and with a bubbly personality, enjoy <3

The Waves' Caress - Achilles x (Fem) Reader

Warnings: Mention to the sociopolitical things going arround in the Greece of the film ( Agamemnon's imperialism and the big picture civilizatory plan he mentions to Nestor in the scene where he convinces him of calling Achilles through Odysseus.)

Tags: @zoegarfield @lovelybaka

Vocabulary note: Strophion is an ancient times equivalent of a strapless bra, piece of greek clothing that can be imagined to resemble a bathing suit.

A deep love for the sea had allways been a part of you, so wherever fate would take you it was your hope to forever remain near the beach. Movings weren't usual in your life, used as you were to a comfortable lifestye in Mycenae as the daughter of a royal scribe. However, your father was a functionary for an empire in constant expansion. Official scribes were required everywhere to keep registered records and contribute to public order. The pretended civilizatory mission of King Agamemnon counted with that, so it wasn't a great surprise to hear he intended to relocate him on the most conflictive territory of his domains.

Myrmidons had a fame of being the fiercest soldiers of Greece, and his disdain for their strongest local leader was a threat to the very core of the order he intended to establish. Raising the mycenaean presence on the region was his idea to balance things. Populating through migrations of qualified officials and their families was his idea to stabilize politics and he was quite proud of it. So much that he even took the iniciative telling your family about it by himself, never missing the chance of doing awkward jokes only he would find funny.

As he charmingly enlisted the perks of his new position to your father, he punctualized one single downside. With his attention shortly deviated on you, Agamemnon playfully warned him to watch over his beautifull daughter from Achilles and his men.

The attempt of polite praise failed, but you pretended to go on with it to avoid upsetting him. Not surprised, but crushed by the news, all you did was asking if your new home had sight of the sea.

Phthia was a rocky territory where mountains were more abundant than fields, but it also had increíble beaches that became your only comfort in the arrival. As peacefull representatives of an occupation force, your presence was inpopular. Among the multiple functions of scribes there were a few that could be considered benefitial for the community, but your father was also supposed to work with those in charge of keeping track of the taxing.

It was obvious that the king wanted the handfull of new functionaries to handle a situation previous administrators couldn't control efficiently, that you were perfectly fine back in your birth city and adaptation was going to be a struggle.

Feeling more lonely than ever, in a position where you didn't feel comfortable trying to make new friends, all you had were your long walks on the beach.

The caress of the waves was comforting for you, and the salty tears of homesickness felt small mixing in them. Hoping that your sorrow could be temporally washed away, you would often speak out loud as if the forces ruling the water could hear you.

It was about presenting yourself with your fears, your dreads, begging for strenght and bringing small offers so the minor divinities populating those shores would get used to your presence. If mortals weren't going to make you feel welcome for obvious reasons, you could at least develop roots in the land bonding in a spiritual way.

At one given time, you tossed a silver ring for the waves to swallow. A really expensive one that you ripped from your finger with disgust, careless of what your father would say about that. That was your way of showing the local gods that you weren't Interested in the spoiling of their land, and if you had to stay, you wanted to find a spot to belong in doing good.

Lost as you were in your thoughts and prayers, you completely ignored there was a man watching you.

He noticed, and didn't waste time in making you realize of his presence.

" I'm an expert on anger and this doesn't look good. What happened? Did the man who gave it to you failed in behaving as he should? "

You turned back following the sound, only to discover the mesmerizing image of a blond man with piercing blue eyes. Blue as deep as the sea, captivating and haunting. His simple garments, vest and skirt of matching blue tones, made him look like a marine god coming at you.

" There is no man making me suffer other than my king. Unless seaking revenge on his orders, I doubt any myrmidon would want to get close enough for that. "

He smiled with skepticism, almost as if he taunted you.

" I would give you one afternoon in a tavern to prove it wrong. "

You couldn't help smiling and that only encouraged him to get closer pacing calmly in your direction.

" People come and go arround here, but I have a good memory for pretty girls … I guess you must be new. "

The flirting, way faster than what you were used to, was yet consented and very much appreciated. However, you feared the response you had for him would ruin everything.

" My father is the new royal scribe: we just moved and I have nowhere to belong here yet, except for this beach. "

The clarification soften him instead of sending him away.

" I was born here and still belong nowhere, only the sound of the waves bring me clarity. "

That subtle comfort was sweet enough to mean something without breaking the appearance of mightyness.

" I don't seek isolation, but stumble with it for unwillingly representing the evil deeds of Agamemnon. "

He got to close, close enough to smell the scent of your hair mixed with the breeze caressing it.

" I fight his wars, but never do it for him. He is not my king and as long as you are here he doesn't have to be yours either. "

He said enough to be recognized and the name came out softly from your lips.

" Achilles … "

The warrior smirked as a confirmation.

" i have been warned against you: Agamemnon told my father in front of me that you are the doom of every woman. "

Description that had clearly amused him.

" Did you believe it? "

He wanted to know if you were willing to give him a chance of proving himself.

Lost in him as you were, no voice of reason would have made you deny him that.

" It's too early to fall in any assumptions. "

His hands were cassually resting on his hips, eyes glancing at the sea as if he tried to reclaim a lost capacity for keeping distance.

" I come here often, maybe you will find time to form your own perceptions of me. "

An invitation to let him join you that you accepted in a heartbeat. Company was a great improvement and your attraction to him did get you trustfull with ease. The way in which you took his hand in your walk back into the water told him all he needed to know regarding the kind of girl you were.

Bright and pure, so innocent that he was still twirling his mind arround the lively attitude you began to show as fast as you felt safe arround him. There were no traces left of the angry sad girl he reached out to once her loneliness was disrupted.

All smiles for him, even more beautifull than before in his eyes.

More encounters kept happening and the thing wasn't left at random. Since you agreed to see each other with the excuse of your beach walks, the marine wildness became witness of your infatuation.

Without realizing of the meaning in his actions, Achilles began searching for you in every corner of the city hoping to cross ways in the middle of your daily activities. His gaze would search you in the crowds with very little success, making him crave more and more for the next secret meeting.

As most refined girls from the big city, you were one putting great care into your appearance. The pressure for beauty among rich nobles have shaped you that way, but he could tell you were a humble young woman whose harmless vanity couldn't be mistaken for shallowness. You also happened to be very well instructed, prepared to talk of any topic one would bring to you for conversation and always delivering a charming sensitivity into the talk. He sincerely thought you deserved a chance to be loved among his people regardless for the bunch of political servant fools you had arrived with.

Perhaps, because he himself adored you.

With the progression of your meetings evolving into implicit beach dates more surprises kept happening.

Achilles got to find out what that linen dyed of blue he found you buying at the market was for when you showed up one day in a cute match of strophion and skirt that left him breathless.

His blue eyes roamed your figure like the waves's caressing, yet you didn't seem to notice the impact you had on him and quickly ran towards him with your usual lovely carefreeness.

You clinged for a hug rounding his waist with your arms.

" Achilles! Want to go swimming? I came prepared this time. "

The sweetness of your tone made him feel almost guilty for enjoying the moment so much.

" I see, you look like a siren ready to raid the shore. "

The weird compliment made you giggle and excitement pushed you to show off, freeing him to give proper space for him to watch you.

" Do you like it? In Mycenae I used to go swimming with my friends, so my mother allowed me to make a new attire for swimming inspired by the local colour in order to feel more in home … Although I never told her who was my real inspiration."

Your attempt of souding suggestive was too cute and he couldn't resist the tenderness.

" It's perfect, you look so beautifull it's painfull to look at directly … "

Achilles interrupted himself, only to deliver his conclussion in a whisper.

" … And I love knowing you were thinking of me. "

Heat started reaching your face, but you tried to sustain the bravery that got you there.

" I'm always thinking of you. Mother says it seems my head is on some cloud, but in fact it is on the sea. "

Lovefull words started flowing from you with ease simply by staring at him for too long.

" On your eyes, that seem made of it. All its misterious charm compacted in one glance … and I wonder how is that even possible. When we meet, I mistook you for a god of the deepness. An inmortal servant of Poseidon answering my prayers. "

His eyes followed the soft features of your face with discrete adoration.

" You are the miracle I never expected, sweet girl of a love so pure that it's drowning my heart. "

Silently and relentlessly, the few distance between you dissapeared. Achilles held you by the waist and you caressed his cheeks into your first kiss. Although the breeze should have cooled you down, you were feeling your while body on fire and nothing could have stopped it.

As soon as you released each other you made him chase you into the water so the caresses of the waves on your skin would mix with his. Catching you took him a bit because you kept diving away as part of the game, but when he got you in his arms he refused to let you go.

Once you had enough fooling arround, he proved to have one more surprise for you.

His seashell necklace, that he colocated on you after filling the spot with kisses while you were drying together near the shore.

Words weren't enough to thank him, but you tried anyways.

" It's so beautifull! How did you know I wanted one like yours? I was trying to make one myself, but i'm collecting only the prettiest shells I find for it. "

Your reaction caused him a blissfull pride.

" Keep mine, I want you to have it. This way, my men would know you are mine without mycenaeans realizing. A subtle symbol that will make myrmidons respect you. "

The explanation got you even more excited, but you also felt a sudden sense of shame.

" I have nothing to give you in return. "

Achilles chuckled, as if he knew something you didn't.

" Wrong again, pretty one. "

With the cocky comment, he exposed his hand showing off a detail you didn't notice before.

Your silver ring on his finger.

" Impossible! I tossed it away for the deities to take, it should be resting deep in the ocean. "

Achilles enjoyed himself with your child-like amazement.

" Tomorrow, I will take you to see the most beautifull point of our shores. One you don't know yet, where no one dares to go, and there you will meet the one who gave it back to me. "

It confused you even more, but that was understandable.

Achilles was aware you had no idea that you had already won the good sight of his mother with your thoughtfull prayers and sincere love for her essential element.

It was him the one who still had hard work to do in order to charm your parents.

[whytheylosttheirminds]

What I love about Queer is that every project Drew Starkey has done before, the press tours have been like “the cast of Outer Banks stops by BuzzFeed HQ to try snacks from around the world!” or “the Other Zoey co-stars guess each other’s favorite rom-coms!” and now his press events are going to be like “Drew Starkey sits down with the international independent film council in Milan to discuss the trajectory of queer cinema in the sociopolitical landscape” and I love that for him