#special cameo from the queen

[muserepeats]

praise you like i should

chapter 4/6: steal my sunshine

By @muserepeats for @calculated2stagger

Maybe Rue is someone she can trust with the secret she’s been unable to voice since New Year’s Eve. 

“Well, it’s a little more complicated than that.” Lexi bites her lip and steals a glance in Rue’s direction. Her friend is quiet, leaving space for her to feel out whatever she needs to say next. “The way it started was kind of… unusual.” “Why, because you met at a party and kissed at midnight? Seems like some Harry Met Sally romantic comedy shit.” “No, it’s not that. We kind of –” Lexi pauses to take a deep sigh. “We, um, started out pretending to date each other, because we both wanted to push Cassie and Ethan together. And then we both kind of fell… for real.”

The chortle from Rue’s throat is strong enough to shake the headboard. Thankfully, there’s a look of delight on her face. “Okay, now it’s an actual romantic comedy.”

[ryunumber]

If you look up mobile game Mr Bean Special Delivery, there is a cameo appearance from late Elizabeth II - I posted exact timestamp in reblogs to Mr Bean post. I wonder if that wouldn't give Mr Bean a Ryu Number, since surely there are some games where late queen had cameo appearances.

Oh, she's been in games, alright.

Thank you for the correction!

[bangtanhoneys]

BTS & Grace: BTS Songs

SEOKJIN - EPIPHANY

The piano stared at him. 

Well, he stared at the piano in the most accusing stare he could produce. It had been awhile since he played anything, and the last time had been a bit of fun before he had to go and do his military duty. Now that he was out and now in production for his first solo album, his skills seemed to have vanished. 

“What’s the piano done?” Grace asked, putting the iced coffee on the table of the practice studio and kicking off her shoes. 

“Hmm? Oh, I feel like I’ve forgotten how to play,” Seokjin admitted as his long fingers hit the keys in what he thought was the correct pattern, but it didn’t sound right. 

Grace said nothing as she sat on the piano bench and glanced at the music score set out, realising he had been trying to play Epiphany. A special song to both of them if the tattoo on her ribs was any indication. 

“So you’ve forgotten how to play, or are you not confident?” She asked, glancing up at her partner for many, many, years. 

“I’m confident! I’m World Wide Handsome! I’m always confident!”

The stare he got in return had Seokjin deflating as he sat on the chair that was next to the piano. “Okay, I’m nervous. That’s probably the right word.”

Grace knew a little of what Seokjin was feeling. He was the last one to bring out an album, and there were very high expectations from everyone: from himself, from the fans, from the boys, from the company. He hadn’t exactly had time to hone his skills again after coming out of the military, as he had jumped face-first into other projects, but as Grace knew, trying to do an album that fully displayed all your skills was a hard thing to do.

She didn’t fully know how to play the piano; her skills were more in her voice and dancing rather than an instrument. But, for Seokjin, she could try.

“Let’s sing it first,” she said as she got comfortable.

The first notes of Epiphany started, and Grace didn’t look at Seokjin, keeping her eyes fully focused on the keys and the notes. And it was if by instinct that the lyrics flowed from Seokjin without any trouble. She knew the more he sang it, the more he would feel comfortable, the more he would be inclined to touch the piano, the more other lyrics would come to him for his future album. 

He just had to have his little epiphany first. 

YOONGI - DAECHWITA

Grace still didn’t know how she managed to find herself on the set of Yoongi’s new music video but here she was, sitting in the director’s tent as she watched the camera be set up for the cameo of Jungkook and Jin who would ‘perform’ behind Yoongi. 

The energy on set was unmatched and she could see props being carried around, costumes being adjusted and Yoongi being run through what was the next couple of scenes. For Grace, she was here as moral support. She didn’t have to do anything other than watch, drink tea, offer a suggestion every now and then and laugh at the beard they had managed to stick to Jin’s chin. 

It did look good to be fair, if he could grow one properly. 

Next to Grace was one of her favourite directors and long time BTS collaborator, Lumpens. His eye for detail and hidden meanings was well known amongst the fandom and Grace wondered what hidden details he would manage to slip into this movie video. 

A historic battle between Suga and AgustD, his two personas - modern and old. 

Daechwita was becoming one of Grace’s favourite songs to hit the gym with. 

“Are you sure you don’t want a cameo?” 

Grace glanced over and shook her head as Yoongi stood next to the monitors, watching as the crowd was being set up along the lane. “I’m good, thanks. Jungkook and Jin are pretty much going to steal the show at this point and you’ve done most of the work. Plus, it’s not like I can slip in un-noticed.”

“You could be the concubine,” Lumpens teased.

The snort of laughter was almost missed as Grace gasped in mocked outrage. “Concubine? Here I thought I would have the higher role of queen, thank you very much.”

Yoongi’s shoulders shook with laughter as he left the area, hurrying over to tell his hyung and maknae what had just happened.

“Concubine,” Grace muttered to herself as she huffed and crossed her arms. Little did she know, less than a year later, she would be performing said song on stage and modernly dressed as a concubine but hidden by a fan until revealed later on in her verse. 

But for now, as she watched the scene revealing Jin and Jungkook, she couldn’t help but mutter again, “Concubine,” with a pout. 

J-HOPE - BOY MEETS EVIL 

The video was never meant to see the light of day, after it was deemed by the company to be too sexy, but with Grace’s solo career about to start and Hobi now about to be discharged, Big Hit Entertainment finally released the full version of Boy Meets Evil with Grace in it. 

It caused a storm on social media after many watched the video, now fully understanding why they had seen the behind the scenes video but not the actual thing. 

“Here’s my dance partner,” Hobi told the camera with a big grin on his face, as if he didn’t know what exactly was about to happen. 

“We’ve gone full sexy for this one,” Grace sighed as her lips were touched up with bright red and her hair that had been newly dyed red with black highlights was fluffed up. She was dressed similar to Hobi, but in black leather pants and a loose white blouse, bright red heels on her feet. 

While her vocals were in Boy Meets Evil, but in the background and somewhat disguised, Grace’s character was heavily influenced in the WINGS album and story. Her video for her solo song, Dangerous Woman, would be the introduction to Hobi’s video which is why the team thought it would be a good idea to film a version of Boy Meets Evil with Grace in it. 

The choreography had been confirmed only two days ago with Grace’s moves to match Hobi’s and there was one move which Grace knew would cause a ruckus, when Hobi would bend his knees to the floor, she would be laid on his back with her chest to the ceiling and her hand reaching up.

It was daring, perfect for the themes but maybe it was too daring. 

“Sexy is fun though. It’s been awhile since we’ve seen dark red Grace. Danger has come back,” Hobi teased which brought a small laugh out of Grace. It wasn’t that was unused to being sexy, she had to do it for Skool Luv Affair and Dark & Wild but this was sexy to the extreme. The dance routine for Blood, Sweat and Tears was proof of that.

NAMJOON - PERSONA

The final selection of different recordings of Namjoon’s solo and the introduction to the new album played over the speakers in the recording studio with PDogg and Hiss Noise at the deck as they twiddled with a couple of buttons and sliders. So far, it was sounding good with the samples of Intro: Skool Luv Affair but it was clear they were missing something as Namjoon had dragged Grace into the studio with him for the last recording day. 

“I think it sounds great, what’s missing?” Grace asked when the song was finished playing.

“There’s just something missing,” PDogg shrugged as he played the song again and got to the part of the song that was clearly troubling him. It was the third verse after the chorus and Grace frowned, not sure what could be missing that was needed to give the extra jump. 

“Maybe you need a bit of a high pitched ‘woh’,” she suggested. “Every after line of Joon’s, just add that in so it adds that emphasis on what he’s saying.”

Clearly, from the look on the three men’s faces, that had been the perfect suggestion as Grace then found herself in the booth with headphones on and a sheet of lyrics in front of her. She’d be in there for another three hours as they played around with different tones, different sounds, going high, going low but it was always over the same part.

“My name is R,” played in Grace’s ears as she waited for the parts where she thought she could add that bit of extra something to the third verse and after doing it for the final time, the producers plus Namjoon were satisfied.

“Ah thank you Gigi,” Namjoon beamed as he all but slumped into the chair.

“I’ve never done so many woh in my life,” she sighed but at least the song was done and marked for completion. She just had to go and finish her own now. 

JIMIN - LIE

WINGS was a major project, and it had Grace being pulled each way. She was in discussions over costumes, doing research with Namjoon to figure out the major points of what was the 'story’ behind the album, and while all that was going on, she was in discussions over her ‘character’ and her own solo song for the album.

Which is why Jimin felt bad when he came to the small office that had been her old office from her secretary days and now turned into a small studio. One wall was covered in images that helped with inspiration, and the computer on the desk was currently playing the instrumental version of Blood, Sweat and Tears while printing out various pages of something in English.

“Noona?” Jimin asked, poking his head around the doorway after gently knocking on the frame. 

Grace glanced up from where she was highlighting something and arched an eyebrow, knowing full well Jimin should be in recording right now. “Everything okay?” she asked, putting down the highlighter and swinging her chair around. 

“PDogg has a special request,” the young man sighed.

She snorted and grinned, shaking her head. “I bet he does. What do you need?”

“There are these parts in the song where we need ‘a haunting female vocal,’ his words not mine and he’s tried to replicate what he wants and I’ve tried but we can’t quite make it work,” Jimin pulled out his phone and pressed play on what had been recorded in the session.

The vocals were the opener to what would then be LIE, Jimin’s solo song, and the vocals would haunt the rest of the song. PDogg had tried to pull off an almost operatic ‘yeah’ in some parts, but with the way Jimin winced, it clearly didn’t work.

“Okay, let me see what he wants me to do, and let’s see if it works. I’ve got an hour spare before I’m dragged to another meeting with Namjoon,” she sighed as she grabbed her WINGS notebook and her cardigan, swinging it on just before Jimin flung his arms around her.

“Ah noona, you’re the best. I’m going to owe you one if this works.”

What Grace managed to produce in an hour was kept on the final edition of the track. Many would compliment the way it made perfect sense to have her do those parts to accompany what her ‘character’ represented throughout the whole album and BTS universe. 

TAEHYUNG - INNER CHILD

“You want me to sing the whole song with you?”

Grace was a bit astonished when she had been pulled into another meeting with the producers and the team behind Map of the Soul 7.

“Well, sort of. We’re going to mix your vocals in with Taehyung’s and this is at his request because he feels like he can’t do the song justice without your vocals alongside him,” PDogg shrugged.

“But his version is amazing and he’s a talented singer without me and anyone else backing his vocals up,” Grace tried to argue but she knew better than to argue with Taehyung over what he wanted. It was his solo song on the album and while she had provided vocals for nearly everyone else, Taehyung was one of the few who asked. But if wanted Grace on this song, doing what she used to do best, then that’s exactly what she would do. 

The next day, in the recording studio, Taehyung was already in the booth and waiting.

“You’re here early,” Grace chuckled as she shrugged off her coat and set her tea down on a table off to the side.

“It’s not often I get to sing fully with my noona,” he grinned. 

With headphones on and a sheet of paper handed over to her where Taehyung had underlined the lyrics where he wanted to hear her voice as well as notes on where her backing vocals were needed, Grace settled herself on the chair in the booth next to Taehyung.

And in the final edit of the track, you could tell it was a female’s voice but they had mixed it in a way that you couldn’t quite tell it was Grace’s. Hidden but there and for those who knew Grace’s vocals well, they could easily hear her by the time verse three rolled around as she clearly sang with Taehyung. 

JUNGKOOK - SHOT GLASS OF TEARS

They were known for being able to sing a rough guide of a song and make it something magical. Any song Namjoon, Yoongi, J-Hope, PDogg, PDBang or anyone sent to them - let them just sing it and the song made itself. With Jungkook’s perfect pitch and Grace’s adaptability from English to Korean, they made a good team.

When it came to Golden and the final song of the album, there was only one person Jungkook wanted to do his background vocals for him. It wasn’t like any of the other producers argued with him either, he was all the way in Korea and they were in America and so Jungkook sent out the special request to his noona. 

The answer, as expected, was a resounding yes.

Grace, personally, thought that she didn’t need to do much as she sat there with the headphones on and listened to what was being called the last rough cut. She could hear Jungkook’s own background vocals blending in and she glanced at the sheet where there had been notes on what she needed to do.

“I’m proud of you,” she said suddenly as Jungkook joined her in the booth to act as a vocal director for her. He blinked and turned bashful, knowing this album was completely unexpected of him with its suggestive lyrics and cursing but he was an adult now and Grace was starting to see that. 

She reached over and gently pinched his cheek, causing him to frown at her. “Come on,” she laughed and pulled the microphone closer. “Tell me where you want noona to do what she needs to do.”

[gentlebeardsbarngrill]

06/04/2024 Daily OFMD Recap

TLDR; Rhys Darby; Taika Waititi; Samba Schutt; Nathan Foad; Ruibo Qian; Con O'Neill; Dominic Burgess; Damien Gerard; Tell Tale TV Awards; SaveOFMD Crew - Never Left; AdoptOurCrew; Fan Spotlight: Cast Cards/NeverLeftPodcast; Articles; Pride Month; Love Notes; Daily Darby/Today's Taika

== Rhys Darby ==

Rhys posted on Instagram saying he spoils us, well yes, yes sir you do! That's another Cryptid Factor episode this week! #094 The 'This Paranormal Life' Special Issue of The Cryptid Factor on Spotify!

Source: Rhys Darby's Instagram / Spotify

== Taika Waititi ==

More proud hubby pics of Taika at Rita's concert.

Source: CapitalOfficial Instagram

And a sneaky Taika as well.

Source: RitaOra_AlbanianFan Instagram

== Samba Schutte ==

Samba has his #CrewForLife shirt up again! It's back for pride while supplies last! Please visit shopstands.com. Also a quick cameo from Samba!

Source: Samba Schutte's Instagram

== Ruibo Qian ==

Our lovely Pirate Queen performed a beautiful song for us, and it was too big for the recap so I've included it here: Ruibo Qian 06/03/2024 Video

OG Source: Ruibo Qian's Instagram

== Nathan Foad ==

Nathan is back with more ratings! This time his "Quids!"

Source: Nathan Foad's Instagram Stories

== Con O Neill ==

Con wishes us all "Happy pride beautiful people"!

Source: Con O Neill's Instagram

Very Long Post Under The Cut

== Gypsy Taylor ==

"I’m cooking something up with @theleadclub ⬅️ follow for more info to be revealed soon". Our lovely costume designer Gypsy Taylor has a cool class called The Lead Club, and they'll be doing drawing classes with some other fantastic people. If you're interested, follow their Instagram below!

Source: Gypsy Taylor's Instagram / TheLeadClub Instagram

== Damien Gerard ==

Our Papa Teach, Damien Gerard is sending love for Pride Month <3

Source: Damien Gerard's Instagram

== Dominic Burgess ==

Dominic's been busy! Lots of celebrating his awesome show Palm Royale! Also he was kind enough to send us some more Cat Pictures, which you know I can't resist.

Source: @ awards_watch Twitter

Source: Dominic Burgess Twitter

Source: Dominic Burgess Twitter

== Save OFMD Crew: #NeverLeft! ==

Our dear friends over at SaveOFMD Crew have their calendar up for #NeverLeft and are working hard to help raise money for our Queer Elders through SAGEUSA. Please visit their post below to learn more and how you can help!

== Save OFMD Crew: Tell Tale Awards Reminders! ==

So many folks are fighting for the Tell Tale awards for Rhys, Ruibo and OFMD! Our kind crewmates over at SOFMD have created a nice guide for us with a QR Code to scan! You can visit their post here as well for more info!

== Adopt Our Crew ==

Our dear crewmates over at @adoptourcrew have been very busy for Pride Month! Please visit their tumblr to learn all about the charity/creator spotlights they have going on! I wanted to include a bunch today but I ran out of image room so please visit their Tumblr: @adoptourcrew In addition, there was a shout out by @ gunnverse on Instagram regarding all the PoliteMenacing/MassiveAggression from June 3!

Source: AdoptOurCrew's Instagram

== Articles ==

Also Shared by AdoptOurCrew on instagram was this Yahoo Entertainment article Read the Article Below!

Source: AdoptOurCrew on Instagram

== Fan Spotlight ==

= Cast Cards =

Our sweet and so very kind @melvisik is back again with more Cast Cards! Today is "listed as Soldier #2, aka one of the incredible stunt performers"!

Source: @melvisik's Twitter

= Never Left Podcast =

New Episode of Never Left! is out on your favorite podcast platforms! Please visit Never Left Podcast Linktr.ee to listen!

Source: Never Left Podcast Instagram / Art by @AmysBirdHouse

== Pride Month ==

= Colouring Pages =

More colouring pages this month by the lovely @patchworkpiratebear! The @adoptourcrew team will be sharing them all month long as they come out and I've been given permission to share them as well! So exciting to color in some Pride Pages! If you do, please be sure to share them with @adoptourcrew and @patchworkpiratebear! Our Flag Means Pride Flag / Our Flag Gentlebeard Items

== Pride Peanuts ==

Another ADORABLE set of Pride Peanuts by the fabulous @blackbeardskneebrace! I love the little Fang so much 😭. Please follow them for more awesome art!

Source: BlackbeardsKneeBrace's Tumblr

== Love Notes ==

Hey there lovelies. Wow, it's been a busy few days. Pride month is off to a great start. I will probably be slow/behind the next few days as I've got some stuff going on at home. My girl Zoey, (my kitty) is 16 years old and diabetic, and she's lost a lot of weight recently, and she's been really sick, so I'm spending a lot of time taking care of her, sometimes late at night (and you all know I don't get a lot of sleep as it is). I don't wanna bum anyone out-- but today I wanted to talk about love. None of us know how long we have. We generally know pets have less time than ourselves, and sometimes unfortunately humans don't have the time we think they will. No matter who you love-- whether it's an animal, or a human, or a child, or a family member or a friend, I just want to send a reminder that the amount of time we have with them is not predictable. If you can, take that extra few minutes to hold them today. Take those few extra minutes to tell them you love them. Take the few extra minutes to call them up (if they have thumbs) and just tell them you're thinking of them. Love is one of the greatest and most powerful feelings in the world. It can move mountains for individuals, or groups. It can bring so many people together (like the love we have for ofmd) and it can make the biggest difference in millions of lives. Don't be afraid to love crew. Sometimes pain comes with loving something, and I know you've had enough of that in your life, but the love is worth it in the long run. Give love to your fur/scale kids, give love to your human children, give love to your friends, and give love to your family, and most of all, give love freely to yourself. Of all the things in this world that we may regret, love and the enjoying of it in all of it's many forms will almost always be worth it. And if it's not-- you can move that love to someone / something more deserving of your gift.

Anyway crew, just remember I love you, and I know so many crew members do too. Remember to love yourself and give love where you can (and don't beat yourself up if you can't). Hope you have a good rest of the week-- it's Hump Day! Half way there!

== Daily Darby / Today's Taika ==

In Honor of more Cryptid Factor this week I'm bringing back this lovely Rhys gem by @ofmd-ann. Taika gif courtesy of @livwifeofkarl (seemed fitting since Rhys is holding on, and Taika not so much).

[fabseg-creator]

Miraculous fanart: Cerisette/Lilanette Re-Verse (MLB Femslash February/Rock Band AU)

Day 15: Marinette and Lila/Cerise (Faulty; Rock)

This is the full colored version of the Cerisette Rock Band AU.

This happens in the Re-Verse from the Miraculous Paris special: Lila/Cerise and Marinette play rock music and form a duo together before merging with the Kitty Resistance (Rose, Juleka, Luka and Ivan). Lila/Cerise plays electric guitar and Marinette plays keyboard. And they make an illegal concert. In this AU, the Supreme from the Re-Verse has forbidden the music. The latter's logo gets vandalized.

Lila/Cerise's hair is a wig with a sky-blue dye. Marinette is just Emonette-Shadybug.

Marinette is the Ladybug and Cerise is the new Hesperia for this concept.

We can see Marinette is blushing about her music partner.

About their music, the two girls compose the instrumental part. It's the band Kitty Resistance who perfoms the vocal and parts.

This fanart is made for the @mlbfemslashfebruary event.

Bonus (variants):

Playlist of Marinette and Cerise eventual covers in collaboration with the Kitty Resistance/Kitty Section:

Muse - Uprising

U2 - Pride (In The Name Of Love)

AC/DC - Highway To Hell; Thunderstruck

Guns N'Roses - Welcome To The Jungle; You Could Be Mine

Twister Sister - I Wanna Rock

Nirvana - Smells Like Spirit

Kenny Loggins - Footloose

Evanescence - Bring Me To Life

Zedd ft. Ariana Grande - Break Free

Europe - The Final Countdown

Bon Jovi - It's My Life; You Give Love A Bad Name

Johnny Hallyday - Allumer Le Feu (french)

Linkin Park - Numb

Pink Floyd - Another Brick In The Wall

Lady Gaga - Born This Way; Perfect Illusion; Bad Romance; Shallow (ft. Bradley Cooper)

Mötley Crüe - Kickstart My Heart

Aerosmith - Dream On

Queen - We Will Rock You; I Want It All; The Show Must Go On; I Want To Break Free

The Police - So Lonely; Every Breath You Take

Coldplay - A Sky Full Of Stars; My Universe (ft. BTS)

Van Halen - Panama

The Who - Baba O'Riley

Kiss - I was Made For Loving You

Initial sketch here:

This fanart has been made the 20th January 2024.

Femslash Colletction:

[blackswaneuroparedux]

‘Pimpernel of the Hellenes’, ‘Major Paddy’, ‘Enchanted maniac’: Will the real Paddy Leigh Fermor please stand up?

Paradox reconciles all contradictions. - Patrick Leigh Fermor

So one evening I was baby sitting my nephews and nieces here in our family chalet in Verbier, high up in the Swiss Alps. It was my turn to baby sit as the rest of my family enjoyed the fantastic classical music concerts and events showcased at the two week long Verbier 30th Festival. The little scamps had gone to bed and my father and I watched an old British war movie on DVD, ‘Ill Met By Moonlight’ (1957). It was filmed by the legendary team of Michael Powell and Emeric Pressburger based on the 1950 book ‘Ill Met by Moonlight: The Abduction of General Kreipe’ by W. Stanley Moss. 

I’ve seen the film a couple of times before, but until now never really paid attention to where the title came from. My father said it was from Shakespeare’s ‘A Midsummer’s Night’s Dream’ And so it was. In the play, Oberon, the king of the fairies and the Queen are having a fairly bitter drawn-out fight over custody of a changeling Indian child, and this is how the pissed off king greets the queen when they run into each other, “Ill met by moonlight, proud Titania”. Oberon is basically saying "Oh Lord, it's you..." and Titania's response is basically a flippant middle finger. One of the best modern reasons to read Shakespeare: to throw playful erudite shade at others.

Anyway, the historical background of the film is the German invasion of Crete in May 1941.  After an intense ten-day battle, Allied troops were driven back across the island, and many were evacuated from beaches along the southern coast. Some Cretans and British officers took to the mountains to organise resistance against the occupying forces.  The German occupation that followed was especially brutal. Dreadful reprisals followed every act of resistance. The German commander, General Müller, insisted on taking 50 Cretan lives for every German soldier killed; he became known as ‘The Butcher of Crete’.

As a Classicist side note, there had been a close association between Britain and Crete since the early 20th century, when archaeologist Sir Arthur Evans had uncovered the sensational remains of a Minoan palace at Knossos. The headquarters of the British archaeological school in Crete was a large villa alongside the site, known as Villa Ariadne. Several archaeologists, who knew the island and its people well, went underground after the German occupation to aid the Cretan resistance. Continuing in this tradition, scholar and travel-writer Patrick Leigh Fermor, who had got to know Greece in the 1930s, joined the Special Operations Executive (SOE).

During the German occupation, Major Paddy Leigh Fermor travelled to Crete three times to help organise local resistance against the hated German occupation. On the third occasion, in February 1944, he was parachuted in with a specific mission to kidnap German commander General Müller, to boost morale on Crete along with his erstwhile SOE comrade Capt. W. Stanley Moss MC (aka Billy Moss) of the Coldstream Guards. However, just after they parachute in, General Müller was replaced by General Heinrich Kreipe, who transferred from the Russian Front. Thinking that capturing one general was as good as another, Fermor merrily go ahead with the daring kidnap operation.

It’s at this point that the narrative of Michael Powell and Emeric Pressburger’s ‘Ill Met by Moonlight’ (1957) picks up. Dirk Bogarde plays Paddy Leigh Fermor, David Oxley plays Moss, and Marius Goring plays the taciturn German paratroop general. Blink and you’ll miss the late great Christopher Lee making a cameo appearance as a German officer in the dentist’s room scene.

The film naturally takes some liberty with the facts but it’s a cracking yarn of high adventure and drama. Xan Fielding, a close friend of Leigh Fermor from the SOE in Cairo, was taken on as technical adviser. The fact the film was shot in in the Alpes-Maritimes in France and Italy, and on the Côte d'Azur in France, far away from the craggy valleys and mountains of Crete itself. The director Michael Powell spent some time walking in Crete to get to know the island, but decided that, with the confused and volatile state of Greek politics, it was not suitable to film there.

Looking back years after he had directed it Powell didn’t think much of his own film. By contrast, Paddy Leigh Fermor, who was on set throughout the film shoot, was very happy with Bogarde’s portrayal of him with Byronic glamour. Watching the movie again ‘Ill Met by Moonlight’ remains a classic and stands out from many British war films of the 1950s because of its realism. The British SOE men and the Cretan guerrillas look absolutely right for their parts. It is dramatic and full of suspense while filled with much boyish humour.

I was disappointed with one notable omission in the film that did happen in real life. According to Patrick Leigh Fermor, at dawn one day during the journey across the mountains, General Kreipe was looking at the mist rising from Mount Ida and began to recite, in Latin, the opening lines of Horace’s ninth ode:

Vides ut alta stet nive candidum Soracte nec iam sustineant onus silvae laborantes geluque flumina constiterint acuto?

Behold yon Mountains hoary height, Made higher with new Mounts of Snow; Again behold the Winters weight Oppress the lab’ring Woods below: And Streams, with Icy fetters bound, Benum’d and crampt to solid Ground

(John Dryden 1685)

Leigh Fermor picked up on the General, and recited the remaining stanzas of the Ode. ‘Ach so, Herr Major,’ said Kreipe when Leigh Fermor had finished. Both men were amazed to realise they shared a classical education and a love of ancient Latin poetry.

Leigh Fermor later wrote that it was as though the war had ceased to exist for a moment, as ‘We had both drunk from the same fountains before.’ It brought captor and captive together with a strange bond. The scene was not reproduced in the film, as Powell and Pressburger probably thought it would make the men sound too academic for a popular cinema audience.

Leigh Fermor and Kreipe met again in the early 1970s, on a Greek television show, and got on famously together. The General said Leigh Fermor had treated him chivalrously as a captive. They remained friends until Kreipe’s death.

After sharing a late night drink with my father after the film, I began to muse on the figure of Paddy Leigh Fermor, a family friend and someone I met along with his wife, Joan, as a little girl. My grandparents, and especially my grandmother, knew Paddy briefly from their days during and after the Second World War. 

My father shared a few stories about him when he and my mother visited his beautiful home in Greece, where even at his advanced age he remained the most generous of hosts and the most outrageous flirt. 

One of my memories was getting into his battered old Peugeot in the drive way and trying to drive it when my feet could barely touch the pedals. It wouldn’t have mattered in any case as the brakes didn’t work as he cheerfully said later as we careened around a dirt road to go around the mountains for a drive.

Many years later in April 2022, I tried to visit the home of the late Patrick and Joan Leigh Fermor - a sort of pristine shrine to their memory that one can also stay in any of the rooms as a vacation rental  - in the coastal fishing village of Kadarmyli in the Peloponnese, as part of a hiking and mountaineering sojourn around Greece with ex-Army friends. We couldn’t stay there as it was already rented out to other guests, and so we stayed higher up the mountain in a villa, but we swam in front of the Fermor’s home which was on the water’s edge.

You could never put your finger on Paddy Leigh Fermor. He hid behind his gift for telling yarns, and pulling Ancient Greek verses out of the thin air, as well as boisterously singing local Greek songs with a drink in his hand. 

Even after his death in 2011, the question keeps nagging as to who was Paddy Leigh Fermor?

The Dirk Bogarde film too seems to ask, who exactly is the ‘real’ Patrick Leigh Fermor - or the real anyone? Taking its title from a Shakespearian play concerned with dreams and disguises, magic and power, ‘Ill Met By Moonlight’ is all about questions of identity.

Under the film credits, we see Dirk Bogarde in uniform; then, unexpectedly, we see him in the flamboyant outfit of a Cretan hill-bandit. A title informs us that Major Leigh Fermor was also known by the Greek code-name “Philidem.” In other words, there are two of him (at least), and on one level the adventure the film is about to unfold reflects a conflict in his personality. It’s a conflict shared, unknowingly, by his Nazi opposite number, the fierce, arrogant General Kreipe (an unlikely “proud Titania,” but it’s true that he “with a monster is in love” – the monster of Nazism). Kreipe’s human side is so rigorously repressed by the demands of war and “glory” that he is genuinely unaware of it; ironically, this humanness, which constitutes the true manhood of this Teuton warrior, is revealed by a boy (equivalent to Shakespeare’s Indian Prince?) - who, in turn, is the most grown up person in the movie.

If “Philidem” appears under the credits, caped and open-shirted, a romantic dream-figure out of an operetta or a storybook, he is first seen in the film proper as a coarser, more down-to-earth version of the same thing – an ordinary Cretan peasant in a shabby suit, waiting for a bus. When he makes contact with the Resistance, his personality fragments further.

To some, he is the mystical Philidem, Pimpernel of the Hellenes and righter of wrongs. To others he is “Major Paddy,” the happy-go-lucky Englishman of popular movie myth conducting war as if it were a branch of amateur theatricals, a gentleman adventurer relying on breeding to get him through and making fun of the whole business. To Bill Moss (David Oxley), the newly arrived junior officer sent to assist him, he is the cool, fast-thinking professional soldier. And to himself? In his quietly passionate defence of Cretan life and culture, he seems someone else again: a scholar and aesthete outraged by the barbarism and folly of war, and by the moronic arrogance shown by his captive toward the Cretan people.

Whatever his persona, Leigh Fermor is a chameleon who never seems to change very radically in himself. Perhaps because he has this quality of seeming all things to all men – and being those things - he remains unfazed by the monolithic might of the German military machine. Fluent in Greek, he can also speak German like a German and is easily able to assume another disguise, that of a faceless Nazi officer. Although he and Moss make fun of themselves - “If only I had a monocle!” muses Moss when Leigh Fermor tells him he “looks like an Englishman dressed like a German, leaning against the Ritz bar” - they are able to effect the kidnapping with an ease that seems appropriately Puckish. General Kreipe is ignominiously thrust onto the floor of his own limousine, gagged, and sat upon by a couple of the peasants he so despises. Kreipe’s rage is compounded by his firm conviction that he has been snatched by “amateurs” - a belief Leigh Fermor and Moss slyly make no objection to, knowing how it will gnaw at his already shaky Master Race self-confidence.

Patrick Leigh Fermor, aka Major Paddy, aka Philidem, in the film’s closing moments, is far from being self-assured intellectual or dashing amateur adventurer or legendary outlaw of the hills. He’s just a tired man who wants to go home and rest up. “How do you feel?” asks Moss. “Flat” is the reply. “You look flat!” says Moss. “I know how I’d like to look …” murmurs Leigh-Fermor wistfully. Moss knows what he’s going to say, and joins in the litany: “Like an Englishman dressed like an Englishman – and leaning against the Ritz bar!” It’s easy to imagine them ordering drinks at that renowned watering-hole with all the suavity required by this little fantasy. 

Still, the film’s last images of Crete receding in the distance, until all we can see is the sea, suggests that maybe Major Paddy’s heart is really back in those hills in the “fair and fertile” land that has become as much a Powellian landscape of the mind for us as the studio-built Himalayan convent of ‘Black Narcissus’ or the monochrome Heaven of ‘A Matter of Life and Death’. And, as the film POV closing shots departs both Crete and this film, I began to think that being “dressed like an Englishman and leaning against the Ritz bar” would, for Patrick Leigh Fermor constitute yet another disguise. After all, he said he was of Irish aristocratic stock.

Traveller and writer Paddy Leigh Fermor is best known for two events. He’s known for leading the commando group in occupied Crete to kidnap General Kreipe. But he is also known for the boy who, at a mere 18 years old, set off with little money and a lot of nerve in 1933 to walk from the Hook of Holland to Constantinople.

Patrick Leigh Fermor was, in the words of one of his obituaries, a cross between Indiana Jones, James Bond and Graham Greene. Self-reliance and derring-do were lessons learnt from the cradle. When Fermor’s geologist father was posted to India, he and his wife left the infant with family in Northamptonshire and did not return until his fourth birthday. In retrospect, he took great delight in being sent to a school for difficult children and getting himself expelled from the King’s School, Canterbury, when he was caught holding hands with a greengrocer’s daughter eight years his senior. His school report infamously judged him ‘a dangerous mix of sophistication and recklessness’.

Sharing a flat in Shepherd’s Market, one of Mayfair’s seedier corners, Leigh Fermor schooled himself in literature, history, Latin and Greek.

He honed his character with the company of extraordinary people and the words of great writers - he had a prodigious memory for prose as well as poetry. He befriended literary lions such as Sacheverell Sitwell, Evelyn Waugh and Nancy Mitford. His travels began aged ‘eighteen-and-three-quarters’ when he rejected Sandhurst Royal Military College in order to walk the length of Europe from Hook of Holland to Constantinople. He took with him Horace’s Odes and the Oxford Book of Verse though Leigh Fermor could recite Shakespeare soliloquies, Marlowe speeches, Keats’s Odes and as he modestly put it ‘the usual pieces of Tennyson, Browning and Coleridge’ from memory.

Leigh Fermor was then a self-made man in the most literal sense.

Setting off from England in 1933, Fermor resolved to traverse Europe living like a hermit; sleeping in bars and begging for food. But his manly charms and boyish good looks found him being passed like a favourite godson from Schloss to palace by European nobility and he developed a lifelong penchant for aristocratic company. I his own words, ‘In Hungary, I borrowed a horse, then plunged into Transylvania; from Romania on into Bulgaria’. Having reached Constantinople in January 1935, Fermor continued to explore Greece where he fought on the royalist side in Macedonia quelling a republican revolution. In Athens Leigh Fermor met Balasha Cantacuzene, a Romanian countess with whom he fell in love. They were living together in a Moldovan castle when World War Two was declared.

Fluent in Greek, Leigh Fermor was posted as a liaison officer in Albania. Recruited as a Special Operations Executive (SOE), he was shipped from Cairo to German-occupied Crete where he lived disguised as a shepherd in the mountains for two years. On his third expedition to Crete in 1944, Leigh Fermor was parachuted alone onto the island and made connections in the Cretan resistance movement. While waiting for his compatriot Captain Bill Stanley Moss to land by water from Cairo, Leigh Fermor hatched a plot to kidnap German Commander General Heinrich Krieple. He liaised comfortably with Cretan partisans and bandits to pull off one of the war’s greatest coups de théâtre.

Disguised as German soldiers, Leigh Fermor and Moss stopped Krieple’s car at an improvised check point en route back to Nazi HQ in Knossos. Abandoning the General’s car after a two-hour drive, Leigh Fermor left a note indicating that the kidnappers were British so that there wouldn’t be reprisals against Cretan nationals. When the abduction of the unpopular commander was discovered, a German officer in Heraklion allegedly said ‘well, gentlemen, I think this calls for champagne’. It turns out that General Kreipe was despised by his own soldiers because, amongst other things, he objected to the stopping of his own vehicle for checking in compliance with his commands concerning approved travel orders. It’s why for instance the German troops, both in the film and in real life, dare not stop the General’s car as it drove through the check points at Heraklion.

Krieple was evacuated and taken to Cairo and Leigh Fermor entered the annals of World War Two’s most devil-may-care heroes. With characteristic panache, when he was demobbed Leigh Fermor moved into an attic room at the Ritz paying half a guinea a night. But his first travel book, ‘The Traveller’s Tree’, was not about the European odyssey or the Cretan escapades and centred on Leigh Fermor’s adventures in the Carribbean. Published in 1950, ‘The Traveller’s Tree’ was an inspiration for Ian Fleming’s second James Bond novel ‘Live and Let Die’ (1954).

As a host and house guest, Paddy Leigh Fermor was much sought-after. At one of his parties in Cairo, he counted nine crowned heads. He was a confirmed two-gin-and-tonics before lunch man and smoked eighty to 100 cigarettes a day. His party pieces included singing ‘It’s a Long Way to Tipperary’ in Hindustani and reciting ‘The Walrus and the Carpenter’ backwards. In Cyprus while staying with Laurence Durrell, Leigh Fermor apparently stunned crowds in Bella Pais into silence by singing folk songs in perfect Cretan dialect. As Durrell wrote in ‘Bitter Lemons’ (1957), ‘it is as if they want to embrace Paddy wherever he goes’.

He struck up a partiuclar friendship with the famous Mitford sisters, especially Deborah Mitford, later ‘Debo’, the Duchess of Devonshire. It was at the Devonshires’ Irish estate Lismore Castle that ‘Darling Debo’ and ‘Darling Pad’ met and began to correspond. A characteristic letter from the Duchess in 1962 reads ‘The dear old President (JFK) phoned the other day. First question was ‘Who’ve you got with you, Paddy?” He’s got you on the brain’ to which Fermor replies of a broken wrist ‘Balinese dancing’s out, for a start; so, should I ever succeed to a throne, is holding an orb. The other drawbacks will surface with time’.

After the war he travelled widely but was always drawn back to Greece. He built a house on the Mani peninsula - which had been, significantly, the only part of Magna Graecia to resist Ottoman colonisation since the fall of Constantinople in 1453. Before his death in 2011 at the age of 96, he wrote some of the most acclaimed travel books of the 20th century.

His books contain some of the finest prose writing of the past century and disprove Wilde's maxim that "it is better to have a permanent income than to be fascinating".

Charm, self-taught knowledge and enthusiasm made up for the lack of a university degree or a private income. His teenage walk across Europe and subsequent romantic sojourn in Baleni, Romania, with Princess Balasha Cantacuzene are proof enough of that. But the difficulty of capturing such an unconventional and glamorous life is made harder by the certainty that Fermor was an unreliable narrator.

He was also an infuriatingly slow writer. Driven by a life-long passion for words yet hampered by anxiety about his abilities, Leigh Fermor published eight books over 41 years. 

‘The Traveller's Tree’ describes his postwar journey through the Caribbean; ‘Mani‘ and ‘Roumeli’ (1958 and 1966) draw on his experiences in Greece, where he would live for much of the latter part of his life. But it is the books that came out of his trans-Europe walk that reveal both the brilliance and the flaws. ‘A Time of Gifts’ was published in 1977, 44 years after he set out on the journey. ‘Between the Woods and the Water’ appeared nine years later. Both describe a world of privilege and poverty, communism and the rising tide of Nazism, and end with the unequivocal words, "To be continued". Yet the third volume hung like an albatross around the author's neck. As the years passed, Fermor found it impossible to shape the last part of his story in the way he wanted.

Leigh Fermor was that rarest of men: a man determined to live on his own terms, if not his own means, and who mostly - and mostly magnificently - succeeded. Always popping off on a journey when he should have been writing about the last one, always ready to party, he was forever chasing beautiful, fascinating or powerful women, even when with his wife, Joan Raynor. She was the great facilitator who funded his passion for travel and writing, as well as women, from her trust fund. His love affairs were discreet but legendary.

Leigh Fermor was happiest among the rogues. Over a lifetime on the road, he sought them, and in turn they responded to his charm, nose for adventure, and his famous wit. He was a keenly-anticipated dinner guest - once outshining Richard Burton at a London society soirée, who he cut-off midway through a recital of ‘Hamlet’. As Richard Burton stormed out, the pleading society hostess said, “But Paddy’s a war hero!” to which Burton grouchily replied, “I don’t give a damn who he is!” 

His partnership with and then marriage to Joan Raynor was an open relationship, at least on Leigh Fermor’s side. Paddy saw in Joan his kindred spirit. Like him, she spent much of her youth travelling to where she pleased; largely in France, where the photographer and literary critic Cyril Connolly became besotted by her. Joan was the daughter of Sir Bolton and Lady Eyres Monsell of Dumbleton Hall, Worcestershire. She was not only stunningly pretty but also 'a beautiful ideal, with the perfect bathing dress, the most lovely face, the most elaborate evening dress', as the Eton educated Connolly described her. Joan also stood out from the upper-class beauties of her day in that she supplemented her mean rich father's allowance by earning her living as a decent photographer.

In 1946, she met Leigh Fermor in Athens, while he was deputy director of the British Institute. Joan met him at a time when he was then in a relationship with a French woman called Denise, who was pregnant with his child, which she aborted. The pair would travel to the Caribbean together under the invitation of Greek photographer Costas, falling madly in love.

She was the only woman that - after decades of sexual scandals - matched his own erratic behaviour. Stories of how they dined fully-clothed in the Mediterranean, dragging a table into the sea, as well as their myriad cats and olive groves, paint a restless couple, who, when not out articulating the peoples of their adopted homeland, kept themselves very busy.

The attraction between Paddy and Joan was instant. So many love affairs that Paddy indulged in seemed about as brief as the flame from a burning envelope and you expected this one with Joan to be too. But somehow, miraculously, it lasts. 

The two were apart a great deal, but in their case, absence did make the heart grow fonder. While Paddy was staying in a monastery in Normandy, supposed to be thinking monk-like thoughts that he would eventually put into his masterpiece A Time To Keep Silence, he was also writing sexy letters to Joan: 'At this distance you seem about as nearly perfect a human being as can be, my darling little wretch, so it's about time I was brought to my senses.' And: 'Don't run away with anyone or I'll come and cut your bloody throat.'

She tantalised him with descriptions of Cyril Connolly making passes at her; but she, like Denise, sounded a rather desperate note when she wrote: 'I got the curse so late this month I began to hope I was having a baby and that you would have to make it a legitimate little Fermor. All hopes ruined this morning.'

Fiercely independent - a trait that must have enamoured Paddy - they were best imagined as two pillars of a Greek temple, beside one-another but capable of holding up the roof of the world that they had built for themselves through the lens of ancient history and Hellenic culture. Indeed, it was said that they had a special ‘pact of liberty’. It is this unconquerable aura that led poet laureate John Betjeman to declare his love for her (he called her ‘Dotty’ and remarked that her eyes were as large as tennis balls). For Cyril Connolly, the photographer she shadowed, and with whom she had a scandalised affair during her first marriage, she was a “lovely boy-girl” and Laurence Durrell named her the ‘Corn Goddess’ because of her slender figure and short hair. But of all of these worthy candidates, it was the warrior-poet Patrick Leigh Fermor who finally won her heart.

To Joan, who described herself as a ‘lifelong loner’ in her diaries, her companionship with the uncomplicated Paddy was a relief. They had no children, nor did they want any - or so Paddy claimed. But those who knew Joan suspected she did want children but it never came to pass; and so she became a devoted aunt or dotted on other friends’ children. For both of them their dozens of cats gave them the next best thing to paternal satisfaction. Still, her morbid fascination with photographing cemeteries painted a much darker side.

Joan Raynor’s inheritance subsidised his peripatetic life at least until the enormous success of ‘A Time of Gifts’ in the late 1970s, which in turn created a new market for his previous volumes about Greece, ‘Mani’ and ‘Roumeli’.

With Joan’s tacit consent, Paddy enjoyed amorous flings, discrete sexual affairs with high society women and sampled the low delights of the brothel. This activity rarely made it into his private letters, but the exceptions could be piquant. Writing in 1958 from Cameroon, where he was on the set of a John Huston movie, he told a (male) friend: “ Errol Flynn and I . . . sally forth into dark lanes of the town together on guilty excursions that remind me rather of old Greek days with you.” In a 1961 letter to the film director John Huston’s wife, Ricki, with whom Leigh Fermor had been having sex with (and would die in a car crash in 1969). “I say,” the passage begins, “what gloomy tidings about the CRABS! Could it be me?” Riffing on pubic lice and their crafty ways, he conjectures that, during a recent romp with an “old pal” in Paris, a force “must have landed” on him “and then lain up, seeing me merely as a stepping stone or a springboard to better things” - to Mrs. Huston, that is. As comic apologies for venereal infection go, the passage is surely a classic.

Like most high flying lives, it was far from blameless. Wounded women were littered in his wake. Some British visitors to Athens were less than impressed by this Englishman who posed as “more Greek than the Greeks”.

Some Greeks shared their disdain. Revisionist historians criticised his role in wartime Crete, and warned their fellow Hellenes that for all his fluency and charm, Leigh Fermor was no latter day Byron. His unoccupied car was blown up outside his Mani house, probably by members of the Greek Communist Party which he had vocally opposed. The accidental fatal shooting of a partisan in Crete led to a long blood feud which made it difficult for Leigh Fermor to re-enter the island until the 1970s, and possibly explains why he chose to settle in the Peloponnese rather than among the hills and harbours of his dreams.

His own books had already eclipsed those incidents, not only among readers of English but also in Greece, where in 2007 the government of his adopted land made him a Commander of the Order of the Phoenix for services to literature.

Travel writers such as the great Jan Morris have described Leigh Fermor as the master of their trade and its greatest exponent in the 20th century.

When ‘A Time of Gifts’ was published in 1977, Frederick Raphael wrote: “One feels he could not cross Oxford Street in less than two volumes; but then what volumes they would be!”

They are not for everyone. Leigh Fermor wrote that written English is a language whose Latinates need pegging down with simple Anglo-Saxonisms, and some feel that he personally could have made more and better use of the mallet. His exuberance is either captivating or florid. It is certainly unique among English prose styles.

Artemis Cooper, his patient and careful biographer wrote that “Paddy had found a way of writing that could deploy a lifetime’s reading and experience, while never losing sight of his ebullient, well-meaning and occasionally clumsy 18-year-old self … this was a wonderful way of disarming his readers, who would then be willing to follow him into the wildest fantasies and digressions”.

Those fantasies and digressions took decades to express. ‘A Time of Gifts’ had arguably been 40 years in the making when it was published in 1977. Its sequel, ‘Between the Woods and the Water’, did not appear until 1986. The third and final volume has been awaited ever since. Following Leigh Fermor’s death, a foot-high manuscript was apparently found on his desk.

Once he knuckled down to it, Leigh Fermor loved playing around with words. He was one of our greatest stylists and he was devoted to producing un-improvable books. But writing did not come easily to him, at least partly because it was something of a distraction from the main event, which was living an un-improvable life of unrepentant gaiety and fun.

For forty odd years, a legion of friends and admirers would beat a path to Paddy and Joan’s door. Artists, poets, royalty and writers came, all taking inspiration from their erudite hosts. A visit was an act of communion, a sharing of ideas and stories.

Leigh Fermor influenced a generation of British travel writers, including Bruce Chatwin, Colin Thubron, Philip Marsden, Nicholas Crane, Rory Stewart, and William Dalrymple. Indeed when Bruce Chatwin died, it was Paddy who scattered Chatwin’s ashes near a church in the mountains in Kardamyli. 

When I was there in April 2022, I went to that same church to pay my respects.

But some of Paddy’s life energy was sucked out of him when Joan died in Kardamyli in June 2003, aged 91. It was related that Joan said to her friend Olivia Stewart, who was visiting: 'I really would like to die but who'd look after Paddy?' Olivia said that she would. A few minutes later, Joan fell, hit her head - and died instantly of a brain haemorrhage. Joan had often quoted Rilke: 'The good marriage is one in which each appoints the other as guardian of his solitude.' Now Paddy Leigh Fermor was all alone.

Leigh Fermor was knighted in 2004, the day of his birthday which he delighted in like a giggling schoolboy. But he missed Joan terribly.

For the last few months of his life Leigh Fermor suffered from a cancerous tumour, and in early June 2011 he underwent a tracheotomy in Greece. As death was close, according to local Greek friends, he expressed a wish to visit England to bid goodbye to his friends, and then return to die in Kardamyli, though it is also stated that he actually wished to die in England and be buried next to his wife, Joan, in Dumbleton, Gloucestershire. He stayed on at Kardamyli until the 9th June 2011, when he left Greece for the last time. He died in England the following day, 10th June 2011, aged 96. It was reported that he had dined in full black tie on the evening of his death. Paddy had style even unto the end.

A Guard of Honour was formed by the Intelligence Corps and a bugler from his former regiment, the Irish Guards, delivered the ‘Last Post’ at Paddy’s funeral. As had been his wish, he was buried beside Joan. On his gravestone in Dumbleton cemetery is an inscription in Greek, a quote from Constantine Cavafy: “In addition, he was that best of all things, Hellenic.”

Although Joan had passed away at the age of ninety-one, after suffering a fall in the Mani. Her body was repatriated to Dumbleton, the place of her birth - ironic that her dream was to be as far as she could possibly go from the rolling humdrum Worcestershire hills. But perhaps she intended to return all along. When Paddy was buried beside her it seemed that the ‘pact of liberty’ that these two lonely souls had forged themselves could be tested in the great elsewhere. Joan was more than his muse (as many of her obituaries were at pains to declare) but his greatest adventure.

To come around full circle from the movie ‘Ill Met By Moonlight’ (1957) that I saw that night in Verbier, my father told me that rather poignantly, General Kreipe, the German commander Leigh Fermor had captured - once an enemy, and later a friend - left behind notes and photographs from across his life. On one of those notes, it was discovered, the following was scribbled from a brief visit to Greece: “Somewhere, amidst all the disarray, was the story of Joan and Paddy, and” it concluded, “…of their lives together.”

His life with Joan and all that she meant to him was one part of the mosaic of who Paddy Leigh Fermor was. But it’s incomplete. 

Paddy didn’t like the idea of a biography, and neither did Joan when she was alive. But friends had persuaded them that unless Paddy appointed someone to write his life, he might find himself the subject of a book whether he liked it or not. In Artemis Cooper they couldn’t have chosen a better writer to chronicle Paddy’s life as a man of action and letters. Cooper, was the daughter of another accomplished diplomat and historian, John Julius Norwich, and grand-daughter of  Duff and Diana Cooper. As the wife of the historian Antony Beevor, she became a trusted friend of the Leigh Fermors. Cooper was too good of a historian to let her friendship lead her astray from being a faithful but serious biographer. Knowing this, she was told she could go ahead, but she had to promise not to publish anything until after they were both dead.

Paddy did not like being interviewed, and would keep her questions at bay with a torrent of dazzling conversation.  He was the master at deflecting discussions away from himself.

He was also very unwilling to let Cooper see many of his papers, though the refusal always couched in excuses. ‘Oh dear, the Diary…’ It was the only surviving one from his great walk across Europe, and I was aching to read it. ‘Well it’s in constant use, you see, as I plug away at Vol III,’ he would say. Or, ‘My mother’s letters? Ah yes, why not. But it’s too awful, I simply cannot remember where they’ve got to…’ It was quite obvious that he and Joan, while being unfailingly generous, welcoming and hospitable, were determined to reveal as little as possible of their private lives. 

While they were more than happy to talk about books, travels, friends, Crete, Greece, the war, anything - they would not tell her any more than they would have told the average journalist. But she persisted and got closer than most. He showed particularly gallantry in not talking about his romantic entanglements. But she soon twigged that anytime he described a woman as ‘an old pal’ it was a sure bet that he had an affair with her.

Intriguingly, Paddy liked to claim he was descended from Counts of the Holy Roman Empire, who came to Austria from Sligo. Paddy could recite ‘The Dead at Clomacnoise’ (in translation) and perhaps did so during a handful of flying visits to Ireland in the 1950s and 1960s, partying hard at Luggala House or Lismore Castle, or making friends with Patrick Kavanagh and Sean O’Faolain in Dublin pubs. He once provoked a massive brawl at the Kildare Hunt Ball, and was rescued from a true pounding by Ricki Huston, a beautiful Italian-American dancer, John Huston’s fourth wife and Paddy’s lover not long afterwards.

And yet, a note of caution about Paddy’s Irish roots is sounded by his biographer, Artemis Cooper, who also co-edited ‘The Broken Road’, the final, posthumously published instalment of the trilogy. “I’m not a great believer in his Irish roots,” she said of Leigh Fermor in an interview, “His mother, who was a compulsive fantasist, liked to think that her family was related to the Viscount Taaffes, of Ballymote. Her father was apparently born in County Cork. But she was never what you might call a reliable witness. She was an extraordinary person, though. Imaginative, impulsive, impossible - just the way the Irish are supposed to be, come to think of it. She was also one of those sad women, who grew up at the turn of the last century, who never found an outlet for their talents and energies, nor the right man, come to that. All she had was Paddy, and she didn’t get much of him.”  

And I think that’s the point, no one really got much of Paddy Leigh Fermor even as he only gave a crumb of himself to others but still most felt grateful that it was enough to fill one’s belly and still feel overfed by him.

Paddy never tried to get to the bottom of his Irish ancestry, afraid, no doubt, of disturbing the bloom that had grown on history and his past, a recurring trait. “His memory was extraordinary,” Artemis Cooper noted, “but it lay dangerously close to his imagination and it was a very porous border.”

Within the Greek imagination many Greeks saw in Paddy Leigh Fermor as the second coming of Lord Byron. It’s not a bad comparison.  

Lord Byron claimed that swimming the Hellespont was his greatest achievement. 174 years or so later, another English writer, Patrick Leigh Fermor - also, like Byron, revered by many Greeks for his part in a war of liberation - repeated the feat. Leigh Fermor, however, was 69 when he did it and continued to do it into his 80s. Byron was a mere 22 years old lad. The Hellespont swim, with its mix of literature, adventure, travel, bravery, eccentricity and romance, is an apt metaphor for Leigh Fermor’s life. Paddy Leigh Fermor was the Byron of his time. Both men had an idealised vision of Greece, were scholars and men of action, could endure harsh conditions, fought for Greek freedom, were recklessly courageous, liked to dress up and displayed a panache that impressed their Greek comrades. Like a good magician it was also a way to misdirect and conceal one’s true self.

What or who was the true Paddy Leigh Fermor?  

Like Byron, Leigh Fermor appeared as a charismatic and assured figure. He was a sightseer, consuming travel, culture, and history for pleasure. He was an aristocrat moving in the social circles of his time. He was a gifted amateur scholar, speculating on literary and historical sources. Leigh Fermor, Byron’s own identity, is subject to textual distortion; it emerges from a piece of occasional prose in his books and is shaped by the claims of correspondence on a peculiarly fluid consciousness. 

There is no hard and fast distinction to be drawn here between real and imagined, only a continuity of relative fictions that lie between memory and imagination as his biographer asserted. If there is a will to assert identity here, to disentangle fact and fiction, to give things as they really are and nail down the real Leigh Fermor then it is somewhere between the two. This is where we will find Paddy.

For many his death marked the passing of an extraordinary man: soldier, writer, adventurer, a charmer, a gallant romantic. As a writer he discovered a knack for drawing people out and for stringing history, language, and observation into narrative, and his timing was perfect. Paddy often indulged in florid displays of classical erudition. His learned digressions and serpentine style, his mannered mandarin gestures, even baroque prose, which Lawrence Durrell called truffled and dense with plumage, were influenced by the work of Charles Doughty and T.E. Lawrence. But one can’t compare him. I agree with the acclaimed writer Colin Thurbon who said, “There is, in the end, nobody like him. A famous raconteur and polymath. Generous, life-loving and good-hearted to a fault. Enormously good company, but touched by well-camouflaged insecurities. I would rank him very highly. ‘The finest travel writer of his generation’ is a fair assessment.”

As a child I didn’t really know who Paddy Leigh Fermor was other than this very cheerful and charismatic old man was kind, attentive, and took a boyish delight in everything you were doing. Only later on in adulthood was it clear to that Paddy was not only among the outstanding writers of his time but one of its most remarkable characters, a perfect hybrid of the man of action and the man of letters. Equally comfortable with princes and peasants, in caves or châteaux, he had amassed an enviable rich experience of places and people. “Quite the most enchanting maniac I’ve ever met,” pronounced Lawrence Durrell, and nearly everyone who’d crossed paths with him had, it seemed, come away similarly dazzled. 

I am equally dazzled - more smitten in retrospect - for alas they don’t make men like Paddy any more. But every time I dip back into his books I think I discover a little bit more of who Paddy Leigh Fermor was because I find him some where between my memory and my imagination.

[brokehorrorfan]

4K UHD Review: The Guyver

Following in the wildly successful footsteps of Batman and Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, The Guyver takes a (relatively) grounded approach to its outlandish source material — in this case, a Japanese manga series — without divorcing itself from its comic book roots. Produced by Brian Yuzna (Re-Animator, Society), the 1991 film is directed by special effects wizards Screaming Mad George (Society, A Nightmare on Elm Street 4: The Dream Master) and Steve Wang (Predator, The Monster Squad).

As the Star Wars-esque expository opening crawl explains, mankind was created by aliens as an organic weapon. The evil Chronos corporation is further developing a technology that allows humans to change into "super monster soldiers" known as Zoanoids for world domination. The only viable defense against them is The Unit, a piece of bio-booster alien armor that increases a human's natural powers a hundredfold, turning them into The Guyver.

Mark Hamill's top billing may lead you to believe that he's the titular hero, but he instead plays a supporting role as a CIA agent investigating Chronos. The real lead is Jack Armstrong (Student Bodies) as Sean Barker, an amateur martial artist who's the only person that can activate The Unit. When his girlfriend (Vivian Wu, Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles III) is endangered, Sean utilizes his newfound powers to take down Chronos and the Zoanoids.

Armstrong is a bland lead, but it's not entirely his fault. In addition to a mustachioed Hamill channeling Colombo, he has to compete with several scene-stealing character actors. Re-Animator's David Gale chews the scenery as the malevolent head of Chronos, briefly reuniting with Jeffrey Combs as the company's scientist, Dr. East (get it?). Michael Berryman (The Hills Have Eyes) plays Gale's right-hand Zoanoid with Jimmie Walker (Good Times) as his rapping goon. Linnea Quigley (The Return of the Living Dead) cameos as a scream queen.

But the real stars of the show are the creatures, the designs of which showcase boundless creativity. The Guyver looks like Ultraman by way of Clive Barker, and each Zoanoid adopts a different animal's traits. While a number of other artists were employed to pull off the myriad of monsters, George and Wang's fingerprints are all over the effects, imbuing the alien superhero movie with some disturbing body-horror.

Jon Purdy's script deviates significantly from source material not only in terms of story but also tone. While some of the manga's dark atmosphere and violence remain intact, it's undercut by goofy humor in an attempt to appeal to a younger demographic. Fans of Yoshiki Takaya's original creation were no doubt disappointed (Wang attempted a bit of a course correction with his 1994 sequel, Guyver: Dark Hero), but the tonal confusion is actually charming.

Originally cut down to a PG-13 rating in the US, The Guyver has been newly restored in 4K from the original, R-rated 35mm camera negative with DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 and 2.0 options for Unearthed Films' 4K UHD + Blu-ray release. Far removed from the days of Jaws and Alien in which the monster was largely hidden in shadows, George and Wang put their creations on full display — and even with a crystal-clear restoration, the in-camera effects shine.

Two new audio commentaries are included. The first is a lively one with George and Wang, moderated by Budget Biomorphs: The Making of The Guyver Films author Dom O’Brien. It's not the most informative track — the filmmakers admit to not having seen the film in over two decades — but they're enjoying themselves so much that it hardly matters. The second commentary features creature crew members "Evil" Ted Smith and Wyatt Weed, who delve into the nitty-gritty of the effects.

Yuzna and George each sit down for thorough new interviews. Yuzna reveals that he's been approached about a remake, but the rights are complicated, while George's infectious energy lasts the entire 56 (!) minutes. Creature suit camera test footage is included with commentary options from George and Wang or Smith and Weed, while outtakes and a gag reel feature George and Wang commentary.

Other extras include: alternate title sequences in English, German and Spanish; English, German, Spanish, and French trailers (all carrying the alternate title Mutronics); and extensive promotional and production galleries. The collector's edition also comes with the soundtrack CD composed by Matthew Morse (Silent Night, Deadly Night 5: The Toy Maker) and a booklet featuring liner notes by O’Brien and Morse.

The Guyver is available now on 4K UHD via Unearthed Films.

[mirror-ralsei]

MINI THEORY: Egg-veryman

Look, I'm not the first or only person to believe the man behind the tree might be Everyman. Just from a quick search, here's a theory and depiction preceding mine: 1 (huecycles), 2 (JJayBlaze123).

But as of the Spamton Sweepstakes, I do agree they're our most likely candidate. Here's a breakdown of all the evidence that personally led me to that conclusion.

Let's take a look at details we know about the egg man that might help us identify him:

The room's layout resembles mysteryman and “[redacted]”

He seems to exist in a cat state, just like the eggs he gives.

Noelle's story may imply, if the man is anything like his eggs, that the man is disturbing in some way.

There is graffiti clue of the egg tree in the same color as the ICE-E spraypaint in the alley. (Credit to VGFM for noticing this!)

He can be seen in a car.

While in the car, he is waving at us, and he “might be happy to see” us.

Spamton may know him.

He has never spoken out loud.

Comparing this to Everyman:

Everyman has not appeared in the overworld yet. (Unconfirmed)

We don't know enough about UTDR's cat states or Everyman to confirm or deny this point. (Unconfirmed)

Everyman is disturbing enough to have their first appearance be in the True Lab lmao (Likely)

Graffiti of Everyman is right next to the ICE-E graffiti. (Plausible)

We don't know if Everyman can drive lol (Unconfirmed)

We don't know if Everyman would wave to us or not, since we know little about them, but they are described as “Just a good guy who shows up on occasion,” and “might be happy to see you” seemingly would either be a reference to a cat state (as in “they might be happy, they might not be”), or referring to being uncertain if the egg man is happy (as in “they might be happy, but I could be wrong”) - the latter would make sense, as Everyman has never emoted with their face in any appearance so far, and would thus be difficult to read. (Plausible)

We don't know for sure if Spamton knows Everyman, but we do have this interesting line: “WE DON'T NEED ANY [Man, Woman or Child] [At Half-Price]!” While it's unclear what character, if any, “[At Half-Price!]” is referring to*, every other bracket in these “WE DON'T NEED...”s seems to indicate a character Spamton knows: [Easels] seems to be Swatch, [CRTs] seems related to an upcoming Chapter 3 character from the “cathode crew,” and obviously there's Mike. And I suspect that “[Man, Woman or Child]” may indicate “Everyman.” It includes the “man” part while throwing out a generic umbrella for a lot of people - "every." (Plausible)

Everyman has never spoken out loud. In fact, their silence is such a notable part of their character that their Queen battle cameo has them give a noticably blank dialogue bubble, in stark contrast with all the others. They visibly fall to their knees in agony when overtaken by butterflies, but cannot scream. Even their visual design has them noticably lacking a mouth. (Likely)

As you can see, many of these points range from plausible matches to confirmed ones. And the remaining points are left inconclusive, not deconfirmations.

There's also these additional clues:

The egg given to Noelle was titled ““SPECIAL”” in quotations and without a period. In the first documentation of Everyman's name, Fox replied “”Everyman”” exclusively in quotations and without a period.

Noelle notes that the egg “didn't seem to be doing anything" - in most of Everyman's appearances, they do not move, with the exceptions being after they are attacked and taken over by butterflies, and while they are propelled by a carousel (but still stationary themself).

Everyman is made of round shapes, which could concievably allow them to appear in Cat Petterz.

Subjectively, Everyman resembles a white, embryonic-looking bird, all of which relate to eggs. Spamton even mentions the white color of the egg man's eggs when saying “A WHITE ONE, THAT'S SURELY [another man's treasure].”

Subjectively, I think the Waltz of Seccom Masada, or whatever the egg room theme is called now, suits the Everyman character very well: starts in major key to indicate friendliness, but something is slightly, unnervingly off about it...strange, even. (ba dum tss) Everyman's visual design is similarly made up of round, friendly shapes, yet is very disturbing due to a variety of factors.

“Just a good guy who shows up on occasion” perfectly describes the egg man's appearances behind the trees.

Again, Everyman is also heavily tied to the term “man”: both with “Everyman” and “strangeman.”

Literally clones their head like an egg.

We know little about Everyman, but what we do know seems to line up with the man behind the tree.

*(If I could hazard a guess, I don't actually think [At Half-Price!] is referring to a character, but a property about [Man, Woman, or Child]. Specifically, I think Spamton means that the character has been "cut in half" in some way. Why do I think this? See my theory about division through reflection, a motif that seems to be cropping up a lot.)

[shieldagent93]

The Parallels Between Agents of SHIELD's Uprising Arc and RWBY's Fall of Beacon Arc

Honestly, as a fan of both, it surprised me how much they have in common. Now, for those of you who've only seen one or the other, here's some background. Warning, lots of spoilers.

The Uprising arc for Agents of SHIELD (AoS), as promotional material liked to name it, was episodes 1x16 - 1x22 (season finale). The events of those episodes ran alongside the plot of Captain America: The Winter Soldier, where Nazi organization HYDRA was found to be inside of spy organization SHIELD since SHIELD's inception. This arc of the show was written with the movie in mind.

RWBY's Fall of Beacon arc was episodes 3x07 - 3x12 (volume finale). This arc was planned from the inception of the show and the first two and a half volumes spent building up to it. It culminated in the annihilation of the Beacon Academy (the main set location up to this point in the show), the destruction of worldwide communications, and a lot of other things.

I was rewatching the Fall of Beacon arc all over again the other day and it hammed home just how much these shows had in common. They both have:

An arc in the back half of the season/volume that completely change the trajectory of the show HYDRA reveal and the dissolution of SHIELD (Uprising) Maidens/Salem reveal and the Destruction of Beacon (Fall of Beacon)

This arc takes place between one episode titled End of the Beginning (AoS 1x16, RWBY V3 finale) and another titled Beginning of the End (AoS S1 Finale, RWBY 3x07)

A popular main character gets badly injured Fitz gains a traumatic brain injury Yang loses an arm

This character is then separated from their future love interest, and believes they were abandoned by them Fitz by Simmons Yang by Blake

Crazy obsessed boys working with the bad guys who can't let go of the girl and become worse with their obsession later on in the show Grant Ward (with Skye) Adam Taurus (with Blake)

First semi official appearance of a "missing" family member of one of the main characters in the finale. They officially appear in the following season/volume having a temporary alliance with the series antagonists. AoS ending scene has Skye's dad, Cal, cameo (just his hand is shown) RWBY has Yang's mom, Raven, cameo (in bird form) outside Yang's window

One of the main character's are "special" Skye is one of several characters who were given alien blood to heal from the brink of death and the only one who didn't have a negative reaction to it. Her origins at this point are unknown to everyone, including herself. Ruby's Silver Eyes are revealed to be able to neutralize monsters known as Grimm with a flash of light from her eyes

Both of these character's "Special" traits are passed down from their mothers and put a target on their heads Skye is later revealed to be an Inhuman and gets superpowers. The inhuman genes were passed down from her mother, Jiaying. At various points in the show, inhumans are locked up/killed due to their powers, dissected in the name of experimentation, or used by others like weapons. Ruby's silver eyes are a rare trait passed down by her mother, Summer Rose. These silver eyes make her a target of Grimm Queen Salem, who has historically hunted down and killed Silver Eyed Warriors (SEWs). In recent years, she has also done experiments on SEWs to transform them into Grimm.

Betrayal Grant Ward tricked the rest of his team. He was HYDRA all along RWBY and Co had thought Cinder and her team were just transfer students when they had been placed there to bring the school down

Good Guys figure out what's going on too late Skye only realizes Grant Ward is HYDRA after discovering Agent Eric Koenig's body and recognizing Ward was the only one who could have killed him (the two of them are the only ones remaining in the Base). Ruby starts piecing things together when realizing Emerald is still in town (not leaving with her injured teammate as Ruby's team was told earlier) and seeing Mercury (Emerald's teammate who should have had a leg injury) unharmed. Sadly, she is unable to stop their plan from going into motion and Penny Polendina is killed.

Season baddie who dies and then returns in some form during the latest/last season John Garrett, whose past self showed up in S7 Roman Torchwick, who appeared via Neo's illusions in V9

Big guy in charge assumed to be Killed In Action, later revealed to be alive Nick Fury Professor Ozpin (Ozma)

I know some of this information was revealed in later Seasons/Volumes, but it was at least starting to be set up during the arcs I mentioned.

There's probably more similarities I haven't thought of, but man was there a lot just off the top of my head.

No wonder I love both shows lol

[emjiroki]

Chapter Four

Prince Shoto Todoroki x Court Lady Reader

“Where is my grandmother’s necklace? I’m not being presented without it,” Fuyumi was nearly frantic as the time for her entrance drew closer and closer. Her cheeks were flushed and you could only hope that she wouldn’t start to sweat.

“Right here my lady,” You confirmed, retrieving the gold and sapphire necklace from her jewelry box that one of the servants had brought downstairs earlier. From the moment you had kissed Shoto goodbye this morning and then went to awaken the princess, the day had been busy, barely even a moment to breathe, the corset of the dress Fuyumi had presented to you this afternoon not making it any easier. The silk material was finer than anything you had ever worn before, the dark blue shining like shades of midnight, a special gift for you from Fuyumi crafted by a seamstress couple in the capital city. To say you had shed a tear or two would be an understatement. You had practically been Fuyumi’s shadow that day, but everything that needed to be done was done and now the grand moment was only at most an hour away. 

You saw the relief flood her face, a shaky sigh of relief bringing her shoulders down as you moved behind her to clasp the chain. Fuyumi ran her fingers across the necklace, delicately grazing the gold and jewels with shaking hands. You wanted to bring her some comfort, words of encouragement to seal her walls from crumbling but you couldn’t find a thing to say, instead laying a hand against her shoulder. Her dark eyes looked back at you from the mirror as if she were searching for something in your reflection. 

“Do you have everything you need?”. 

You nodded stiffly as your heart sank into your stomach. This had been the last thing you wanted to discuss right now, you hadn’t wanted to be reminded of it at all, the impending heartbreak of escaping into the night like a ghoul to try and make a new life for yourself making you sick to your core. But you were staying steady, Fuyumi needed you to be strong for her now, as much as you needed to be strong for yourself as well. A sharp knock at the door stole your reply, stomach instantly sinking as the Queen entered followed by her own two court ladies. 

“Guests are still pouring in but the Prince just arrived,” Rei said with a bright smile, looking down at her daughter with a fond smile, “you look absolutely beautiful Fuyumi, this will be a perfect match”. Her dark eyes flicked down to Fuyumi’s bodice before turning to you swiftly.

“Go upstairs and get the brooch I bought for her, why isn’t it in her jewelry box already?”. She waved you away dismissively, the curl of her lip displaying her disgust. You fought any kind of reply away and just left the room, cheeks heating in irritation. You could already hear the string quartet playing softly from the Great Hall and the low murmuring chatter of guests. Could practically feel the energy vibrating through the floors. The rest of the castle was quiet, the only busy place being the kitchen, which you could gratefully avoid, and head to Fuyumi’s room. Candlelight from the wall-mounted lanterns cast rippling shadows along the hallway, the curtains pulled tight to the windows to guard against the starlight and the almost too-cool air of the broaching fall. You were thankful her bedroom door wasn’t locked so you wouldn’t have to worry about getting your dress dirty retrieving the key. The brooch was set aside almost deliberately on the vanity, the soft ivory cameo overlaying a black onyx stone and the silver backing spiraling around the edges like lace. It was truly a beautiful piece but it had been one of many gifts that the King and Queen had given Fuyumi in the last few days, just another thing to appease her she had said with a solemn sigh. You hoped so very much that she would find peace in her new life, that this prince would whisk her away and give her everything she deserved. With the items in hand, you exited the room; nearly jumping from your skin when you came face to face with the King’s guard Captain Keigo, his ochre eyes regarding you suspiciously. 

“What are you doing up here? Aren’t you supposed to be downstairs getting the princess ready?” He commented, peering over your shoulder as if looking for something. Or someone. 

“The Queen instructed me to retrieve the princess’s brooch,” You said with a furrowed brow, confusion evident in your tone and through your eyes. He relaxed a bit, though keeping his chin high, and fixed you with a hard stare. 

“I’ll escort you back, don’t need any detours”

“I’m fully capable of making it back on my own, thank you,” You said respectfully but firmly, you were getting more nervous by the minute. 

“I’ve been instructed not to let you out of my sight,” He said cooly, reaching to take your wrist in his hand. 

“If you want to keep that hand attached I suggest lowering it and stepping away from her” Shoto’s tone was dark, sending a shot of adrenaline through you when you noticed him over Keigo’s shoulder standing at the top of the stairs.

“I’m doing what the King has told me to do,” Keigo said, looking away from you and allowing you time to move around him and go to where Shoto was. 

“And I’m telling you, try anything again and I’ll cut your throat open, Hear me?”. His expression was murderous, the glint in his eyes begging for blood. The blonde seemed to weigh his options, betting on how serious Shoto actually was, and eventually made the smartest decision of not testing him. He made a small sound in the back of his throat, like he was noting something of interest, and walked past both of you to descend the stairs.

“Are you alright?” Shoto asked you, his voice turning soft as he turned his gaze to you, checking carefully for any thread out of place.

“You showed up just in time actually,” You sighed, taking a shaking breath, “I really was just doing what your mother asked”. Demanded was more like it.

“I know, I’ll escort you back,” He said, not making any movements, only tracing you with his eyes as if memorizing every part of this moment, “You are an absolute vision of beauty”. Your cheeks burned as his hand caressed your cheek, drawing you closer with fingers against your jaw. 

“Kiss me”. It was the same demand you had made that morning, his voice breathy as if this request was his last line of life. You pressed your lips together before his next inhale, your knees shaking as he gasped and pulled you even closer, still careful to not mess up the dress and your makeup. You wanted more, to clutch him closer, hold him longer, and never turn this moment into memory but you knew time was running thin. Pulling away from him he sighed, an almost dejected but understanding look in his heterochromatic eyes. His right hand was strangely cool, but you held it close anyway for the short time it took you to get back to the hall. Shoto paused a few paces away from the door but you continued forward, taking one last squeeze of his fingers before going back into the room. 

You were helping Fuyumi attach the brooch to her dress when Shoto knocked on the door, deliberately taking a few extra minutes to dispel suspicion. 

“Good you’re here, how is everything out there?” Rei asked as Shoto shut the door behind him. 

He shrugged, “Guests are mingling, the prince’s arrival caused quite a buzz but everything is going as planned”. The Queen clapped her hands excitedly with a wide, pleased smile. 

“Excellent, Excellent, everything is going just as we planned” She chirped, turning Fuyumi by her elbow to get a look at the brooch, “Does everyone remember their places?”. How could anyone forget? She had been keeping everything on a precise schedule. You fanned out Fuyumi’s dress, checking once more to make sure the brooch was attached fully. You could hear the quartet begin playing the song you had heard more times than you could count over the last few days and knew the time had come. You could hear the crowd quiet till only the music could be heard floating along the floor. 

“Deep breathes your grace,” You said as you stepped up next to Fuyumi, her eyes slightly widened and her hands trembling ever so slightly. She nodded, stealing a shaky breath in through her nose and out through her mouth as the doors opened. The ballroom was filled with a large crowd, Royals and Noble men and women lining the walls and the doorways and around the main floor after they were cleared away to make room for the engagement party. The music hit a soft crescendo as Shoto made his way through the ballroom with this guard Inasa in procession, going up to the throne to stand next to his father as the guard stayed next to the edge of the wide stairs with the others. The Queen and her consorts came out next to lead the Princess's procession as they announced her arrival.

“Now Presenting, Princess Fuyumi Todoroki” King Enji announced to the room, all heads and pairs of eyes on her as you fanned out her dress once again to glide across the floor. The room was dead quiet as the music seemed to absorb the moment, a collective breath being held as if she had the entire room enchanted. But as much as you wanted to focus on her, your eyes were immediately drawn to Shoto. He looked so resplendent, the gold threadwork displaying the coat of arms for the Todoroki family glimmered so brightly against the deep crimson of his cloak, his hair smoothed back despite the discomfort you knew he had about his scar. You had heard the whispers about how “it was such a shame about that scar, marring his handsome face” but you thought it only made him all the more beautiful, strong, and resilient. You bowed politely to the Prince, a handsome man with deep blue hair who thankfully wasn’t much older than Fuyumi if any at all, and squeezed her hand once more before stepping away to take your place on the second step where the Queen had instructed you to stay. Until you felt a soft hand brush your fingertips and pull delicately at the sleeve of your gown. Shoto let go and took your hand then, moving you up to stand beside him next to the King, in front of an entire country's worth of people. You didn’t dare look at the King or Queen, feeling their eyes glowering into the back of your head. You didn’t need to see the confusion, disdain, and shock on their faces. You stood quietly next to Shoto, his hand gripping yours as you watched Fuyumi and the Prince begin their first dance, her dress smoothing like dark midnight across the floor as he spun her with a bright smile etched across their faces. How happy they looked together even after only knowing each other for a few minutes. The sound of Fuyumi’s trilling laugh made your heart feel warm and brought a smile to your face. The audience of captivated Royals erupted in applause as their first dance drew to a close, the music picking up a different tempo and dragging others onto the floor. Shoto continued to hold your hand as he moved in front of you, bowing deeply before bringing your hand to his lips.

“May I have this dance, my lady?” He asked, his eyes full of something so warm it heated your cheeks. 

“I would be honored, your grace,” You said with a soft smile, giddy butterflies fluttering in your stomach and up your chest. You would enjoy tonight to the fullest. To hell with the King and Queen tonight, to all the titles and royal bloodlines. Now that everything you could do for Fuyumi was done, maybe it was time to have a bit of a selfish moment of your own. 

“Shoto” the King’s voice rumbled behind you, his reprimanding tone evident. You turned to see the Queen’s hand resting on the King’s arm, seemingly trying to keep him in his seat. 

“Father” Shoto replied, ice heavy in his voice. The moment was tense, so different from the frolicking atmosphere of the rest of the room. Enji’s eyes were hard as stone as stared down his youngest son, Shoto not withering in the slightest.

“Shoto, Y/n, coming to dance?” Fuyumi’s voice called above the crowd and the music, breaking the tension like glass. Her face showcased her worry and irritation.

“Yes, they are,” Rei commented, squeezing Enji’s arm a little and turning her face to his, “Aren’t they?”. Enji looked at her and seemed to read something in her gaze, settling back against the throne without another word. You didn’t miss the snake-like smile that pulled at the corners of Rei’s lips though, her dark eyes filled with venom. But you turned away, not wanting the night and the moment to be poisoned, tomorrow and the days following would come no matter how you tried to stop it. Maybe letting tonight be what it is was the smartest course of action. Shoto held your hand tightly as he guided you onto the floor, immediately sweeping you into his arms and holding you close. 

“I told you I would ask you to dance,” He said, all the joy he was feeling spilling forth from his smile and infecting you easily.

“You always seem to make good on your promises, your grace” You addressed him teasingly, rewarded with an amused snort. 

“I always will, my love” He replied, spinning you out with the tempo of the music before curling you back into him, keeping one hand against your waist and the other grasping your left hand. It was like a dream dancing and spinning about the floor with him, all other guests and problems forgotten as you moved as one, feeling as if even your heartbeats had synchronized and the very air in your lungs the same. How badly you wanted to kiss him when he pulled you in close, a matching heat in his gaze when you caught each other staring at the other's lips. The feeling of his hands holding you so tight and close sent heat flowing through your body, barely keeping from stumbling. The quartet was finishing their fourth song when Shoto linked your arm with his and exited the dancefloor, walking with you over to the open balcony to get a breath of fresh air, the night cool and sending goosebumps up your arms despite the sleeves. The wind was blowing lightly through the trees, branches whispering like they were sharing secrets, and clouds rushing across the rising moon. 

“Runaway with me tonight,” Shoto remarked, not taking his eyes off the stars twinkling in the dark sky. You opened your mouth to speak but resigned yourself to closing it, knowing it wouldn’t change his mind no matter what you said. 

“Just for tonight,” He asserted, turning to you and resting a hand against your cheek, “I want you all to myself tonight”. 

[dededaio]

Does Kirby's extended cast get underutilized?

This i something I heard a lot of Kirby fans bring up in recent years. That despite big cast of memorable characters, Kirby tends to shove them to the side in favor of introducing new ones and putting the older ones on the back burner never to be used again. But just how true this is?

Warning, rather big post ahead!

Let's take a look at almost all modern Kirby games (including spin-offs) and summarize how each of them treated the extended cast.

Kirby's Return to Dream Land - re-established King Dedede and Meta Knight as the part of the "main four" of the franchise, introduced Bandana Waddle Dee into the main cast after his role in Super Star Ultra. Introduced Magolor. Referenced Wham Bam Rock, Dragoon from Air Ride and Marx via stone transformations. Galacta Knight returns from Super Star Ultra as a surprise boss in the True Arena.

Kirby's Dream Collection: New Challenge Stages (yes, i'm going to count it, since Kumazaki confirmed that Magolor moved to Dream Land when he reformed and this is so far the only game to actually show it), - but, yeah, we see Magolor again in a fairly major role, the first time he appears as a good guy with a bit of a trickster streak to him, suggested that he stayed in Dream Land after he gifted Kirby and co a theme park.

Kirby Triple Deluxe - cameos of a lot of characters from sprite-based games via keychains (of note, Magolor and Yin Yarn got special keychains with exclusive 8-bit sprite artwork), animal trio from Dream Land 2 appear as stage hazards in Kirby Fighters, Shadow Kirby appears as the final boss of Kirby Fighters, Magolor cameos as a painting in the haunted mansion level of the Wild World, the dimensional mirror and Dark Meta Knight return after the long absence. Introduced people of the sky, Taranza and Queen Sectonia.

Dedede's Drum Dash Deluxe - Taranza is featured as one of Dedede's friends and supporters on the trophies and on the title screen. It was confirmed that the game itself is set in a theme park Magolor created for Dedede, Magolor himself appears in the final, most difficult, stage.

Kirby and the Rainbow Curse - Bandana Dee is reinforced as Kirby's true P2 character, Drawcia is referenced and got a special collectible in a figurine, being one of the few spin-off characters to appear more than once alongside Yin-Yarn. Animal buddies are referenced in Kirby transformation sequences. Pon and Con get a cameo in Elline's diary as comedy show hosts.

Kirby Planet Robobot - Oh boy. This one. Well, we of course have a LOT of returning bosses from the past games, such as clones of Dark Matter and Queen Sectonia (giving us a glimpse as her original body before she transformed, adding a major lore revelation past her introduction), people of the sky and floralia are mentioned on numerous occasions in the pause screen descriptions, quite a few characters got brand new artwork via stickers (such as daroach, magolor and taranza). And the last but certainly not least, we have Star Dream which is one of the clockwork stars like Galactic Nova. While not exact same as Nova, it's meant to be of the same species as Nova and the reveal banks on you knowing that, so it's one of the most direct continuity nods in the franchise.

Team Kirby Clash Deluxe - this game features, although AU versions, but still, of Susie and Taranza, and, unknowingly at the time, the same Magolor we already know and love in a different role entirely. Although it's technically different versions of the characters, I still count it, because it's still new game and new story that uses familiar faces.

Kirby Star Allies - i will die if i try to list everything this game has. but let's just say pretty much every mainline kirby game (and a lot of spin-offs) were referenced in some capacity, and 90% of major characters of all mainline kirby games are accounted for and PLAYABLE in this one.

Super Kirby Clash - Magolor is once again is the shopkeeper, AU Taranza and Susie have major roles once again, au version of NIGHTMARE of all characters is the main villain, technically making him the first antagonist since Dark Matter to appear in more than one game, King D-Mind returns by the virtue of this game being a sequel to the original Team Kirby Clash Deluxe, Galacta Knight re-appears as Aeon Hero, hinting at his origins.

Kirby Fighters 2 - Magolor and Gooey are playable characters, implied to be a part of Kirby's inner friend circle on the level of Bandana Dee, Meta Knight and King Dedede. The first spin-off to include playable characters outside of the primary main cast. Several newer characters such as Flamberge were referenced via unlockable costumes, as well as appearing (alongside her sisters) as stage hazards on the Jambastion stage.

Kirby and the Forgotten Land - this is perhaps the first Kirby game on this list where I can't say they concerned themselves with referencing the past much. But that's kind of the point, Shinya Kumazaki described Star Allies and Forgotten Land as "sister games" and in this sense, you can say that SA got all the unsubtle continuity and references, while FL is definite step towards new original direction. However, it's still got a lot of subtle connections AND UNEXPECTED canonization of Morpho Knight. A character that was literally introduced a GAME AGO. It's also been heavily alluded that the civilization formerly inhabiting the New World is heavily related to the (eventually) Halcandran ancients, giving us a genuine glimpse at their culture. Even then, this game is the exception that proves the point. Lack of references and fanservice, or major character comebacks is this game's specific weird factor, not the rule.

Kirby's Dream Buffet - this is similar to Star Allies where there's a LOT of references to past games. You can pretty much dress up Kirby as almost every character in the series, including the likes of the Mage Sisters and newly introduced Elfilin from Forgotten Land.

Kirby's Return to Dream Land Deluxe - Merry Magoland introduces masks which not only make it so all of the dream friends and helpers from Star Allies cameo in this game, as well as new characters from the Forgotten Land, they also make it so this isn't exclusive to purely playable characters. Giving us masks of Hyness, Queen Sectonia and Leongar. Magolor Epilogue is one huge mode focused on Magolor specifically, the first time such luxury been given to someone outside of the primary main cast. Said mode also references and alludes to a lot of games (including Dream Collection), as well as tying it towards Kirby Clash games in another unexpected continuity moment.

As you can see, not a lot of these roles are major, but it's not the main point I'm trying to come across. HAL remembers about these characters and definitely knows that fans love them and want more of them. It's simply the matter of building up the series from ground up after what essentially amounted to big hiatus in the 00s. Returning characters in another mainline game just right after they were introduced would be a tacky move that would be way too safe and complacent. Building up the cast was the right move and they are slowly but surely started embracing it more and more over time. Forgotten Land is distinctly only game in this list that mostly avoided direct returns and callbacks and it still got Morpho Knight.

[yourartmatters-itswhatgotmehere]

this means the world to me. my two Ariels♥

.https://www.tumblr.com/ssuperssloth/178877457217/disneyland-from-smile-at-elsiefest-2018-fest?source=share

[kaibutsushidousha]

Forgot to ask when Taigong is doing his special chant why did he name those specific gods are they important to him and who are they exactly? I know that Yuanshi is Taigong teacher and that Nüwa is Daji’s boss.

Before me, the King Father of the East, Dongwanggong

Xiwangmu, the Queen Mother of the West, is a major figure that frequently appears in Taoist narratives due to her status as the one governing all the Xian women. In contrast, Dongwanggong, the King Father of the East, exists only as her mirror image, barely gets mentioned anywhere, and while he gets the equivalent status of governor of the male Xians, there are a handful of male Xians blatantly above him in the hierarchy. Also, archeological evidence of Xiwangmu's worship is quite a few centuries older than his, so it's pretty well accepted that he was created just to be her counterpart.

To my right, the Flame Emperor, Shennong

Shennong is one of the three divine sovereigns of China. A man with the head of a bull and a great elemental affinity for fire. He was crowned the god of agriculture for teaching humans how to grow crops, weave clothes, and practice commerce. He also earned his status as the god of medicine by testing hundreds of herbs and sorting which were toxic and which were healing. I guess Prometheus is a good comparison point for him, as they share the fire imagery and the history as a granter of knowledge. FGO has him as one of the two gods incorporated into Xu Fu's Saint Graph.

Behind me, the Queen Mother of the West, Xiwangmu

The aforementioned boss of the Xian women. She's originally described in the Classic of Seas and Mountains as a woman with a human face, tiger teeth, a leopard tail, and unkempt hair, but later texts beautify her. She's also responsible for the peaches of immortality and famously offered one to Emperor Wu. She's the goddess of criminal punishment, associated mainly with the five more cruel sentences (marking criminals with tattoos, scraping off noses, cutting off feet, castration, and execution).

Some of her cameos in myths include:

Being the Yellow Emperor strategy teacher, who he calls for help in the battle against Chiyou.

Giving the peaches of immortality to Hou Yi.

Offering a peach of immortality to Emperor Wu.

Being the mother who doesn't let Zhinu (better known by her Japanese name Orihime) be with her mortal lover for 364 days of the year in the tale of the Star-Crossed Lovers.

Hosting the peach party that Sun Wukong raided to steal the peaches of immortality early into the Journey to the West.

Lending her Flag of Clouds to Guang Cheng Zi in the Investiture (and being regularly mentioned as Princess Longji's mother).

To my left, the Mother Goddess, Nüwa

Nuwa is the world creator, who also created mankind in a collaborative project with her husband Fuxi. She has a major part in the Investiture, as you mentioned. After having the honor of seeing her, Emperor Zhou of Shang got too excited and wrote an erotic poem on her temple's walls. Very offended by this, she dispatched our lovely trio of Daji, Hu Ximei, and Wang Guiren to cause the downfall of his empire. However, Daji proved herself to be a callous overachiever and a bad influence on her two companions, so Nuwa sided against her own subordinates in the war.

However, her main myth is about how the primordial gods of fire and water picked up a fight with her and the battle resulted in a hole in Heaven, causing the water of the Milky Way to leak downward, almost causing humanity's extinction. Nuwa used all of her power to patch the hole with colorful rocks and to recover from that, she took a nap she still hasn't woken up from.

May the great Jade Emperor bestow his blessing upon us

Yu Huang Taidi, the Jade Emperor, is the emperor of the celestial realm. Officially he is the direct assistant of Yuanshi Tianzun, and that makes him the most important Chinese god as far as mankind is concerned because the Three Pure Ones above him don't concern themselves with the affairs of either the human or the regular Xian worlds.

under Torch Dragon Zhulong's radiant light!

That's the guy who controls when it's day and when it's night. His eyes are vertically laid in the center of his face, and it gets bright when he opens them and dark when he closes them.

[areyoudreaminof]

Game Night

Here's another Band of Exiles drabble for your weekend.

It's Game Night at the Manor and Elain and Jurian are locked in an intense war game. Who will come out on top? With a special cameo by the IC.

Ao3 Link

Lucien had seen many terrifying things in his life. He was a male accustomed to facing fear and danger in an instant. But now, the sight of his sweet-tempered mate snarling at his best friend over a fake map of territories on their sitting room table sent a chill down his spine and locked to his sitting place on the pink sofa. This standoff had been going on for hours. It was supposed to be a silly little war game they had found in a human catalogue, something to pass the time together. Now every second dragged with a weighted dread.

It had started fine enough, but something switched once they got the rules down. Lucien was out before he could register what was happening, his territories absorbed by Elain in a brutal land war. While Vassa, an actual queen, was scared off only two hours in, giving her armies over to Elain in an alliance. Now, it was three in the morning, the witching hour, his mother had once called it. Lucien could only hope that Jurian would just surrender or relent, because Elain was not going down without a fight. But Jurian, the war lord and general was not going to lose to a tiny fae woman who needed a stool to reach high shelves.

“Give it up old man,” Elain hissed. ‘I’ve got you cornered. Just surrender and we can call it a night.”

“Oh pipsqueak, do you really think you’re going anywhere with that sad excuse of a unit?” Jurian asked nervously, “You’re barely holding down that coast as it is.”

The northern coast wasn’t heavily fortified, Lucien realized. The northern wasteland had too many archipelagos for Elain to worry about. It wasn’t a map of the known world, but rather some made up map with sprawling continents and islands. While Jurian had greater numbers, Elain had started with a fortified triangulation of territory that could only be hit from a few sides, now she had huge swaths of land in the western and southern areas, breeding a colored army of tin that chained itself around the map, that waited to strike.

Vassa elbowed him softly out of his thoughts, “No look, she’s blocked off all the warm water ports in the south.” she whispered, “He’s just trapping himself; she’s got most of the resources.”

Vassa was right, Lucien knew it, and surely Jurian did too. Elain had a 3-1 advantage by some miracle, managing to get a card at every turn. She choked out Lucien so quickly he hadn’t noticed it. Focusing on her cards, Elain absently tapped the table. “I’m waiting Jurian.”

The general swallowed thickly as he glanced down at his cards. Jurian grabbed the dice unsteady hands and rolled. With bated breath, they all watched as the dice landed. Jurian wiped his hands on his trousers, as he took a breath. “Alright pipsqueak, I’m moving south.”

Elain grinned slowly, almost catlike as she watched Jurian fall right into her snare.

“And I will be moving into attack with my northwestern units.” She sang as she snatched his soldiers up, “It’s over old man.”

Jurian flopped back onto the sea of cushions, exhaling eight hours’ worth of bated up pressure in his lungs. Elain still grinning, hummed to herself as she looked at her spoils. Her bright purple tin army covered the canvas world. While Lucien guessed that Elain’s idea of actual world domination would bring about gardens and bakeries from coast to coast, he knew now that she’d be ruthless about it. He could feel his body crashing quickly as he cleared his throat.

“As fun as that was, I think we should just stick to charades.” he said, breaking the tense silence to an oblivious Elain.

“Oh, but we had the best time! I’ve never felt such a rush before. Playing a game, I mean.” Elain declared excitedly as packed up the board with the same care she gave to her plants.

“The best time?” Vassa sputtered. “Maybe for you Elain, but that was too intense. I think you gave Jurian a flashback.” Indeed, Jurian was still sprawled on the floor, a strange faraway look on his face. “That game is more cursed than me.” Vassa continued, “I’m with Lucien. We stick to charades.”

Elain’s face fell and Lucien felt his heart skip a bit. But he had to draw the line somewhere, he reasoned. He knew Elain got intense, but this sort of intensity freaked him out, rather than turned him on.

From his pile of pillows Jurian finally spoke, “Where did you learn strategy like that Elain? How did you know to chain your armies like that?”

“Oh, I read a lot of strategy books that Rhys had lying around, and Cassian talks quite a bit about war maneuvers once you get him going. But really, I looked more at resources first.” Elain giggled.

Lucien and Jurian gawked at her while Elain obliviously began to stretch. Vassa grabbed the box while Elain was distracted. “I’m getting rid of this thing,” she hissed at the boys, “I’ll take it to the woodpile while you get her upstairs Lucien. This game is cursed I tell you.” Ever the obedient subject, Lucien swept Elain up in his arms and into their room before she knew what was happening. “I had the best time,” Elain sighed as she stripped out of her dress. Lucien was beginning to crash, how could she still have so much energy, he wondered as he slumped into bed. Wrapping his arms around Elain’s waist, he began to drift off. “Me too, I had the best time.” He slurred as he began to lose consciousness.

From the deep prison of sleep, Lucien heard Elain creep back into bed. He hadn’t realized she left at all; he was so dead to the world. Forcing one eye open, Lucien guessed it must have been midafternoon by the way the light slanted under the thick curtains. He felt the weight of Elain’s body sink into the mattress as they latched together. He smelt fresh wood and sunshine under her floral scent as he inhaled.

“Go back to sleep love. I was just checking on Vassa.”

Sleep took him back to its realm as he held her close.

Solstice: Six Months Later:

It was still early, but the party had come to a standstill.

Wrapping paper littered the floors, trinkets and baubles laid in piles next to the bodies sprawled put over couches and chairs. The family were finally feeling the feast settling in their bones and blood. Elain had gone overboard with the twins this year as buttery potatoes and garlicked lambchops and every single pie known to man was shoved down their gullets. Lucien guessed it was her way of compensating for the whirlwind year they all had, but he wasn’t complaining. With his head in Elain’s lap as she absently ran his fingers through his hair, he finally felt welcome in the Night Court.

“It’s too early for bed,” Mor whined as she looked at the clock, “shouldn’t we be doing something?”

Beneath him, Lucien felt Elain nudge him upwards as she hurried out of the room. He heard her scurry up the stairs as he reached for a wiggling Nyx.

“Why don’t we play a game?” Elain said brightly as she reappeared in the room.

Lucien froze. In her hands, was that damned box. So, Vassa hadn’t destroyed it then. Elain snuck out and saved it. But when? How? He wracked his brain, trying to remember when she could have done it, but nothing came up.

“We played this in the human lands.” She said breathlessly. “It’s a game of war and strategy. Each player is a nation, there are 42 territories and six continents on the map. The player that conquers all and eliminates the others wins.” Elain scanned the room of curious faces. “It shouldn’t be too difficult, for the famous Inner Circle.”

Right on cue, as if Elain had planned it all, the Inner Circle rose from the dead one by one. Feyre and Rhys perked up, exchanging silent looks to one another as Nesta and Cassian began to hover over Elain as she opened the box. Azriel and Mor leaned forward in their seats, while Amren snatched the booklet of rules up and scanned the pages.

“War game, huh? Where did you find this Ellie?” Cassian looked down at the map that Elain was setting on the table.

“We found it in a human catalogue. We love playing games at the manor and we just had the best time playing this one. Didn’t we Lucien?” Elain exclaimed as she met Lucien’s eyes. Deep beneath the warm brown irises, he could feel the static. She had planned this, the clever little thing.

“Oh yes, we had a fantastic time. It was quite the competition.” Lucien replied with care. “But, since it’s all your first time playing, Nyx and I will be on Elain’s team. Or rather, we’ll be innocent citizens of her nation.”

“What’s wrong fox boy? Are you scared?” Azriel sneered. Lucien chuckled dryly, “Not for me, shadowsinger.”

“We will be playing the right way. This is a human game. No mind reading, truth-telling, siphons. No powers. No exceptions.” Elain stated as she gripped the edges of the coffee table. “I want to see what you all can actually do.”

“That sounds easy enough.” Rhys said as Cassian whooped and rubbed his hands together.

With the map laid out and armies divided, Elain sat ominously on a cushion at the head of the table. “Perfect, let’s get started.”

Lucien looked at Nyx, praying to the mother, Cauldron, and whatever ancient deity he could that his sweet nephew’s innocence would survive this bloodbath unscathed. “Well sweet boy, get ready. We are in for a very, very long night.”

“Uh oh.” Nyx babbled as he met Lucien’s horrified gaze.

“Uh oh, indeed”

[midnite-enjoyer]

hey so you ever just get the urge to make a bunch of Toads for no reason

rejoice. Toads be upon ye. You have my full permission to cameo these guys as NPCs in fics and stuff-most of these guys were designed with specific games in mind, if that helps. Lore I came up with while I was concepting these guys below the cut!

from left to right:

Riri, they/them (Mario & Luigi: Superstar Saga)~A sketch artist born and raised in Little Fungitown! They travel around a lot, I like to imagine if they were in-game they'd be a recurring NPC you find in different areas depending on progression. They visit other kingdoms sometimes, too, but they went to the Mushroom Kingdom like once and vowed to never go again because everyone kept assuming they were a local.

Unnamed as of yet, he/him (Mario & Luigi: Partners in Time)~A Toad from Hollijolli Village! He survived the initial attack, and after the Shroobs were defeated took up astronomy to try and get advance warning if anything like that ever happened again. Half-convinced he has some kind of corkboard of crazy and hates being in wide open spaces. Probably accidentally caused a panic during Galaxy via mistaking new planets from Hungry Lumas for distant spaceships.

Unnamed as of yet, they/them (Super Mario Odyssey)~This guy has the least or second-to-least amount of lore, but they're a traveling merchant! I think they have one of those flying taxis like the one you look at for one of the Cap Kingdom moons.

Zinnia, she/her (Mario & Luigi: Dream Team)~A thrill-seeking mascot worker at Pi'illo Island! Unsure as of yet if she was born in Rose Town or just has family there to explain having the special spot pattern. She's a pretty good singer and goes on regular mountain climbing trips to Pajamaja. She's dating Poppy :)

Poppy, she/her (Mario & Luigi: Dream Team)~She runs a cafe in Wakeport. She's honestly pretty chill, though not timid by any means. Her necklace actually has jewels from Evershade Valley in it.

Unnamed as of yet, any (Super Mario Galaxy)~A galactic cartographer, admittedly slightly inspired by the Toad Brigade's presence. Royally annoyed with Mario during Galaxy/Galaxy 2 because dude, stop obsoleting my maps that fast. I feel like he's got a huge amount of respect for Rosalina, seeing as she's the queen of the entire place they map.

[jimhenson-themuppetmaster]

Don Sahlin (pronounced "Sa-lean") (June 19, 1928 - February 19, 1978) was Jim Henson's main designer and puppet builder in the 1960s and '70s, and a key influence on the overall aesthetic of the Muppets. In 1962, Henson contacted Sahlin to build a dog character he had sketched for use in commercials, Rowlf. Don Sahlin soon became Henson's primary designer and builder, beginning with commercials and early projects such as Tales of the Tinkerdee. He also provided special effects for Time Piece, and assisted on stop-motion projects, such as the animated ham used in the second Wilson's Meats Meeting Film (in which Sahlin has a cameo). In The Muppets on Puppets, Henson introduced Sahlin to the viewers as "doing some of our backstage effects and working some of the puppets" in the 1968 special. In a story-telling skit, he alternated between puppeteering Rowlf's right hand and operating effects like an "explosion". Don Sahlin went on to create and build Muppets for Sesame Street, The Muppet Show, Emmet Otter's Jug-Band Christmas, The Muppet Movie, amongst many others. Don Sahlin also helped Jim Henson with two of his stop-motion Sesame Street films, "The King of Eight" and "The Queen of Six". In a Closeup Magazine interview from 1976, Don Sahlin said "Jim Henson supervised the filming, but he gave me all the freedom in the world to do what I wanted.

Sahlin is the designer credited among Henson staff as the creator of Ernie and Bert, Grover, Cookie Monster and other classic Sesame Street characters. He is "the inventor" of the Muppet look, from a design point of view. As discussed in the book Jim Henson's Designs and Doodles, many of the Muppets began as Henson's rough sketches, which Sahlin then built and modified as needed. This often included special mechanisms or effects; for the La Choy Dragon commercials, this meant "devising a system for this early full-body character to actually breathe fire."

Sahlin was known to refer to himself as the "guardian of the essence" of the Muppets. Beyond building specific characters, Sahlin contributed two significant concepts to the Muppet aesthetic, "the Magic Triangle" and "the Henson stitch." The former was a simple but effective approach to positioning eyes, creating a triangle in relation to the nose and mouth. Jim Henson explained the importance of eye placement: "It would be the last thing [Sahlin] would do, and he always wanted me there, to make sure it was right for both of us -- making sure the eyes had a point of focus, because without that you had no character." The stitch is a specific method of sewing cloth as tightly as possible so the seams would be "nearly invisible," thus aiding the illusion of stylized "reality" when characters were filmed in close-up. This technique, dubbed the "Henson stitch" by Sahlin, does not in fact create a truly invisible seam, but worked sufficiently for television purposes (hiding, for example, the seam down the middle of Kermit the Frog's snout).