#storyman

[tootern2345]

Sam Buchwald. Izzy Klein, & Larz Bourne during a Casper the Friendly Ghost storyboard pitch circa 1950

[westeroswisdom]

In Game of Thrones when people were drinking, they usually imbibed wine or ale. I can't recall any beverages similar to whisky – with the possible exception of Tormund Giantsbane's fermented sour goat's milk which was allegedly very potent.

But Johnnie Walker did produce a limited edition blended Scotch whisky which it associated with the White Walkers (get it?). It featured ingredients from the far north of Scotland.

Now Scottish actor James Cosmo (Jeor Mormont of the Night's Watch) has launched his own brand of whisky.

From Braveheart to Game of Thrones Scots actor James Cosmo has starred in dozens of iconic films and TV shows. Now the 75-year-old actor has fulfilled a dream after launching his own whisky, named Storyman in honour of his 60 year career in film and TV. The dram has been described as “elegant and complex with a warmth that grows on you”. James said: “Whisky and storytelling have been in our culture forever, they go hand in hand. People would sit around a fire and tell stories. “People should always drink responsibly, of course, but to sit at the fire with a nice dram of whisky, that’s just lovely.”

[drowandruil]

who? @chancellorxlaer where? sun court, Audulë  notes: doing the randomize top songs thing and got walk by sam tinnesz and saint chaos

"I heard you like your stories," Andruil mentions as she comes upon just the Sun Elf she had been seeking. Many a tale is sung in praise about the Sun Chancellor and his travels, and she hopes that means that he will know something about what she is seeking. Now that the war is over, she believes it to be time to begin solidifying the Dark Maiden's worship, and for that she needs information. "Is there anything you can tell me regarding Eilistraee?"

[beardedmrbean]

"Disney wasn't an antisemite"

Uh you sure you wanna die on that hill?

How about we ask the Jewish Press what they think

Actress Meryl Streep reignited a debate that has simmered below the surface in Hollywood for decades: Was Walt Disney anti-Semitic?

The occasion was the annual awards event of the National Board of Review, an organization of filmmakers, students, and movie scholars. Streep presented an award to Emma Thompson, for her role in the new movie “Saving Mr. Banks,” about the making of the 1964 Disney film “Mary Poppins.” Thompson co-stars as Poppins author P.L. Travers, alongside Tom Hanks as Walt Disney.

Streep took the opportunity to blast Disney as racist and misogynist who also “supported an anti-Semitic industry lobbying group.”

She did not actually call Disney an anti-Semite, but many people took it that way. The Hollywood Reporter declared that Streep accused Disney of being “sexist, racist and anti-Semitic.” Film professor David Hajdu said Disney was “a deeply flawed human being. A misogynist? You bet. An anti-Semite? That, too.” An unnamed “female Academy member” interviewed by the Reporter referred to him as “that old anti-Semite, himself, Mr. Disney.”

Hollywood historian Neal Gabler examined the anti-Semitism charge in his 2006 biography of Disney. “Of the Jews who worked [with Disney], it was hard to find any who thought Walt was an anti-Semite,” Gabler reported. “Joe Grant, who had been an artist, the head of the model department, and the storyman responsible for Dumbo… declared emphatically that Walt was not an anti-Semite. ‘Some of the most influential people at the studio were Jewish,’ Grant recalled, thinking no doubt of himself, production manager Harry Tytle, and Kay Kamen [head of Disney’s merchandising arm], who once quipped that Disney’s New York office had more Jews than the Book of Leviticus. Maurice Rapf concurred that Walt was not anti-Semitic; he was just a ‘very conservative guy.’ ”

On the other hand, one former Disney animator, David Swift, has claimed he heard Walt make an anti-Semitic remark, and another ex-staffer, David Hilberman, has alleged that one employee was fired because he was Jewish. (However, according to Gabler, Disney himself was rarely involved in firing anyone except the top brass). In addition, the original animated version of the “Three Little Pigs” portrayed the Big Bad Wolf as a stereotypically Jewish peddler, although after complaints, the segment was altered.

When it comes to explicit proof that Disney was anti-Semitic, the critics’ case weakens.

“There is zero hard evidence that Disney ever wrote or said anything anti-Semitic in private or public,” according to Douglas Brode, author of Multiculturalism and the Mouse: Race and Sex in Disney Entertainment. Brode told The Hollywood Reporter that Disney used more Jewish actors “than any other studio of Hollywood’s golden age, including those run by Jewish movie moguls.”

Gabler also revealed that Disney “frequently” made unpublicized donations to a variety of Jewish charities, including a Jewish orphanage, a Jewish old age home, Yeshiva College (precursor to Yeshiva University), and the American League for a Free Palestine. The League, better known as the Bergson Group, publicly supported the armed revolt against the British in Palestine by Menachem Begin’s Irgun Zvai Leumi. Disney was embracing not just Zionism, but its most militant wing.

How, then, did the rumors of Disney’s alleged anti-Semitism spread so far and wide?

That’s where Meryl Streep comes in. The “anti-Semitic industry lobbying group” with which Disney was associated was the Motion Picture Alliance for the Preservation of American Ideals. The group’s statement of principles said nothing about Jews; its declared purpose was to prevent “Communist, Fascist, and other totalitarian-minded groups” from gaining a foothold in Hollywood. Among its members were politically conservative actors such as John Wayne, Clark Gable, and Ginger Rogers. But some of its other members were accused of being privately anti-Semitic, and in general it had a reputation as being reactionary.

Gabler believes that “the most plausible explanation” for the rumors about Disney were a kind of guilt by association: “Walt, in joining forces with the MPA and its band of professional reactionaries and red-baiters, also got tarred with their anti-Semitism. Walt Disney certainly was aware of the MPA’s purported anti-Semitism, but he chose to ignore it…. The price he paid was that he would always be lumped not only with anti-Communists but also with anti-Semites.”

The irony is that while Meryl Streep was condemning Walt Disney for associating with extremists, she herself was doing the very same thing. The actress to whom she gave that award when she made her anti-Disney speech, her close friend Emma Thompson, is active in the anti-Israel boycott movement.

Streep hailed Thompson as “splendid, beautiful, practically a saint…a living, acting conscience.” Yet this “saint,” together with other British actors, publicly urged a boycott of Israel’s Habimah theater troupe when it participated in a festival in England. Habimah, of course, has nothing to do with Israeli government policies or any political issues. Its only “crime” is that it’s Israeli.

By contrast, Thompson had no problem with the National Theater of China taking part in that festival, even though it really does represent the Chinese regime – a regime guilty of the most heinous human rights violations, aid to terrorists around the world, and support for the genocidal government of Sudan. But of course, hypocrisy is the hallmark of the “saints” of the anti-Israel boycott crusade. ______________________

The Antisemitism claim is literally communist propaganda.

[kylesvariouslistsandstuff]

Mark Henn, loooong time Disney animator who was still with the studio in the recent years, has spoken recently...

He's pretty much kind of done with Walt Disney Animation Studios, feeling that the minimal 2D work he had been doing lately (alongside veterans Eric Goldberg and Randy Haycock) wasn't very "meaningful". He is open to going back to finish a short of his own, that he was working with producer Clark Spencer on, but that's just about it. As the Brew notes, his full-time career there is over. He started on THE FOX AND THE HOUND, which released in 1981, to give you an idea of how long he's been there.

It's quite telling how many of the greats departed or were laid off under both John Lasseter and Jennifer Lee's leaderships. Glen Keane, Chris Sanders, Nik Ranieri, Ron Clements, John Musker, the list goes on... I know a lot of animation fans desperately want Disney to do 2D features again, but I don't see it happening. I haven't seen it happening in years. Whenever a piece of 2D for a short or a promo or a commercial surfaces, twitter goes gaga and says "See Disney?? You can do 2D! No excuses!"

It's not about excuses, they simply DO NOT WANT TO. For whatever reason, no matter how silly it may seem to us.

Henn said it best:

"Since then, I think it’s just too difficult for the studio to justify essentially creating a second studio within this current studio in order to do 2D, which is what you had when we had Princess and the Frog and Winnie the Pooh. We essentially had literally two smaller studios under one roof, and I just think that that became too much of a financial risk. Right now, we’re barely able to house everybody that we have on staff. So, I mean, there’s all kinds of logistical things from where you’re going to put people to taking that risk."

I've talked about it, exhaustively, myself. It's just, the larger Disney company isn't too interested in being - to quote former Disney storyman Steve Hulett - a "Renaissance art factory". In addition to 2D really not being conducive to editorial and a one-a-year assembly line model, WDAS management are simply making movies that they think the public wants to see. They spend upward $135m+ on them, and they try to get one out every year. They're lucky to even be making movies, since they've been nearly shut down far too many times to name... As recently as 2006, even, because one Steve Jobs felt they didn't need to be a thing anymore now that the company owned Pixar. I see them as a "legacy brand" at this point. Still alive, still kicking, probably by virtue of being the thing that created the whole company in the first place... But that's just it. It's very "Disney, the way you always liked it" these days. I think that's part of why STRANGE WORLD and WISH had trouble theatrically, among many other things. Pixar had one miss with LIGHTYEAR, but a leggy sensation with ELEMENTAL. It remains to be seen how ELIO does a year and a half from now. Universal on the other hand is somehow keeping audiences coming back for both DreamWorks and Illumination's movies. With the rare miss every now and then. (SPIRIT: UNTAMED, RUBY GILLMAN, etc.)

But yeah, I've kind of made peace with it. Disney Animation is currently not in the business of making movies for people who can spot a Milt Kahl head swaggle from a mile away, they're making movies for the folks who put on Disney+, and then put on ENCANTO and such as background noise. It just... Is what is. 2D is still there in some way or another, like in short films and small bits of animated effects and whatnot, but... It's a crapshoot to think that they'll do a full feature like that this decade, I feel. If anything, they'll just keep tinkering with the art style of WISH, which... Didn't work on a lot of folks. So... Do they go back to the tried-and-true TANGLED/FROZEN/MOANA house style? I don't know, I don't have a crystal ball. I don't even know if they'll have a movie by Thanksgiving of this year. That new Disney+ series they made that's coming out next month, IWAJU, looks like a slightly upscaled Disney Junior show.

I still look for something I'll like in the upcoming stuff, because... Well, even though Disney Animation is merely a cog in the massive Disney machine at this point with little of an identity left (much like the live-action/CG tech demo end of things), this studio's output... Decades and decades of it, has been formative for me. At least one WDAS movie was someone's gateway to the wider world of animation, methinks. It was certainly my VHS tapes of BAMBI, THE JUNGLE BOOK, and THE LION KING, among many others in my library at age 8, that's for sure. I even *liked* the recent films, I have yet to see WISH all the way through, but I did enjoy STRANGE WORLD enough, and liked ENCANTO, RAYA, FROZEN II, etc. a good deal. It's just, a lot of it is nothing really special to me in the end. Just fine at best, with some impressive stuff here and there. Like, say, some of the directing in ENCANTO. Just fine, adequate. I don't think that of the Disney animated features made before this decade. Even my least favorite animated Disney work of the '70s, '80s, '90s, and '00s still has something very unique and influential to it. I don't intend for this to be a knock on the crews' hard work, it's only my personal feelings on what I've seen. It's what they seem to want to be making, or what the management is approving of... I can kick and scream, but, that won't do anything. I'll just see what's next and say "Well, let's see... What will I get out of this one?"

I've long accepted that the ship sailed on 2D features at WDAS, and most of the other big theatrical studios for that matter. Many of whom never even MADE a 2D feature. Pixar never made one, Illumination didn't, Sony Animation didn't until FIXED, you get the idea. The only other one that's still chugging is DreamWorks, and they made their final 2D feature back in 2003. Twenty-one years ago. I look elsewhere for that kind of thing, and I found just that... KLAUS, WOLFWALKERS, you get the idea. The best you'll get in theaters is an adaptation of a 2D animated show or pre-existing franchise, like THE BOB'S BURGERS MOVIE. I doubt that pending-theatrical release Looney Tunes movie, THE DAY THE EARTH BLEW UP, will be the great decider of the future of 2D animated movies in theaters. Ditto FIXED, *if* that's still aiming for theaters. (It got its rating from the MPA a long while ago. It's done. It's in the can... and there's no release date for it.)

So... Yeah... Is what it is. WDAS seems to refuse to do a 2D feature, and have been refusing for over a decade (I really think PRINCESS AND THE FROG and WINNIE shut the door permanently, like an encore that they fought to make happen), and the kind of movie that they're making now may just not be for me and others for the foreseeable future. We'll see where their next path takes them... As long as they come out whatever happens still making movies...

[1001aus]

That post about how gadling means friend please. Consider. Gadling is not a family name maybe Hob doesn't even have one or just doesn't use it anymore. What he does have is a reputation.

Death drags Dream out of his house realm to meet Chaucer so he can stop being a shut in for a bit and then suddenly Hob the Friend announces he's never going to die.

Introduce your introvert little brother to the storyman and he'll socialize for a couple hours, trick him into befriending an immortal and he'll get out occasionally for at least a few centuries

[nealshustermanreal]

Just a month ago, we came together for the Storyman Workshop-- a space where we guide and inspire the next generation of authors. Looking forward to more such workshops and hoping to see even more talented writers join us in the future!

Thank you @byerikaharrell for this memorable photo!

[oarquivo]

i am in my latest.

everybody knows what's comes through after a nightmare.

storms brings the navy wishes and flops against my own stomach, living a acid rain inside my purest heart.

above wars, about loves, the secrets scream so loud and theres a storyman-teller outside being my eyes or their envys.

i gotch ya in my ears blurrying my visions, posing our arms right on it.

besides, fastest what i could seem, it was a breathless view of what future really offers.

obbey every rule makes our heart beats less fast, poison our dreams.

since a while i've been so scared that i honest was too crashed in feelings.

catching fire with feelings.

unreasonble, who knows.

centainly collapsed, just like silent tears.

i used to run with focus in whatelse could be possible, just to remind myself that theres some hurts bleeds the most.

never finding, always wondering.

all i has to do was move my feets into the corner and, ashame for all these scenario, called out to my costume sheller routine where no one can find me.

no one will.

[elijones94]

🐻 What if Disney’s Baloo was a brown bear rather than the dark gray sloth bear we all know and love? On Google Images, I once came upon an image of an old color model of Baloo for Disney’s “The Jungle Book”. In the art gallery for the 2007 “Jungle Book” DVD, their is another color model of Baloo in varying colors. He was even in almost the same color palette as the Fisherman Bear in “Bedknobs & Broomsticks”. It may have been on account of the initial development process for “The Jungle Book” when storyman Bill Peet was crating his adaptation of the story firmly based on Rudyard Kipling’s work. Additionally, before the casting of Phil Harris as the voice of Baloo, Thurl Ravenscroft was deeply considered for the role. 🐾🌴🍌

https://dyn1.heritagestatic.com/lf?set=path%5B1%2F3%2F2%2F4%2F2%2F13242599%5D&call=url%5Bfile%3Aproduct.chain%5D

http://andreasdeja.blogspot.com/2024/01/jungle-bookagain.html?m=1

[ordinary-asphodel]

Collection 1: Technoblade

That's A Weird Looking Orphan, But Okay

You Scammed the Rich Without Me?

For Whom the Bell Tolls

Collection 2: The Antarctic Empire

One Empire, Free of Charge: Technoblade et al. v The World

Moonglass

Snow Angel

Emerald Star

Cherubim

Collection 3: The Angel of Death

The Fable of a Traveler

The Fable of The Covenant, Godslayer

The Fable of Death's Angel

The Fable of Endlantis

Wake up, General!

Featherlight

And Your Name?

Skepping

The Fable of The Angel's Trap

Hunter (Hunted). Mine (Yours).

Chrysopoeia

The Fable of the Nightmare

Storyman

The Fable of The Fool

Prayers For Passerine

The Fable of Eyas

Code Red

And They Danced

Collection 4: Wilbur Soot

Memento Mori, Eyas

Where the Water Tastes Like Wine

An Alphabetical Murder

Dear Theodosia

The Spud's Gambit

Theseus (more like fuck this)

The Lost and the Lord

Call

Lucid Dreaming, One Last Time

Collection 5: L'Manberg

Unfounded Symphony

The Sword Play

Shrinesday Social

Symphony No. 9

Collection 6: Doomsday

Saint's Row

Once Upon a Dream

Greensleeves

Mind the Gap

Merry Crisis

For You, the World

The Orphan's Apprentice

The Fire Sermon

Collection 7: Death

Second Impression (Apprehension)

Stronghold Story

Touch Tone Telephone

Postmortem

On Pearly Soames

Red Sky at Morning

The Conquest of Bread

But I Knew Him

I had an idea of where I wanted to split them when I started, but I ended up shuffling stuff around so the middle books wouldn't be too big. I also set aside enough materials for an eighth book in case the unfinished works get finished.

loved orp so much I learned bookbinding so I could hold it

[tootern2345]

Various Terrytoon gag drawings involving Paul Terry being a tyrant to the other storyman and Paul’s daughter, Patricia, looking on as a Monkey pulls on an animator’s nose

[zadotr]

Simple man, full of struggle to be yourself and unlimited creativity ( Reza Firdaus ) #ejabook #kdkstory #storyman #authorsofinstagram #blogger #writersofinstagram #lfl #likeforlikes #kasihdiamkamustory #jakartaselatan #jakartatimur #jakartautara #jakartapusat #scriptwriter #logodesigner #rfslogo #neweradigital #digitalart #digitalartist (di Jakarta, Indonesia) https://www.instagram.com/p/B9KDXPhJfja/?igshid=1nmj7q5rlh8x6

[raccoonskoodilypoopdungeon]

Ten Songs I'm Really Into Challenge (that’s not really what it’s called), tagged by @pixopolis

I have to write ten songs I really like and then tag ten people to do the challenge.

So, yeah

(no particular order, maybe)

1. Brothers on a Hotel Bed by Death Cab for Cutie

2. Hurt by Nine Inch Nails

3. Gamble by Lucy Rose

4. I Will Never (Be Your Friend) by Irish Stew of Sindidun

5. Smells Like Content by The Books

6. The District Sleeps Alone Tonight by The Postal Service

7. Love Love Love by The Mountain Goats

8. The Birth and Death of the Day by Explosions in the Sky

9. The Universe is Laughing by Storyman (formerly the Guggenheim Grotto)

10. The Mesopotamians by They Might Be Giants

Tags:

@xlillicatx

@sabo-writer-princess

@oh-hey-it-is-lukha

@sarcastic-brilliance

@stardustgalaxy

@mediocremonochrome

@dragonheart905

@snowstorm-thirteen

@lucifer-is-a-bag-of-dicks

@lemontato (i know you were already tagged but i think i’m running out of mutuals. i’m sorry.)

honorable mention: tiny vessels by death cab for cutie

[dorkydiaz]

Buddie with animal prompt number 2? With cat dad Eddie and pining Buck, maybe?

See anon- you read my mind, that is precisely the one that caught my interest too :P

for a cat [1.9k | fluff | angst | pining idiots] tw: minor panic attack {ao3} @buddiebingo square: texting prompt: You're obsessed with your cat and when I take care of it while you're gone, I have to send you daily photos and we video-chat; the cat's starting to not be the only one wanting you to come home soon a/n: this got longer and more angsty then originally planned :P title from for a cat by storyman which doesn't really have much to do with the story, but it does actually idk, it was just the first thing i thought of with cat in it. pls ignore my stupid windows emojis.

About a month ago Eddie had found a small cat mewling in the rain under one of the bushes of the front yard. And had instantaneously become the most overprotective and genuinely fantastic cat dad Buck had ever seen.

Sure he saw everything that Eddie did through rose-tinted glasses, falling down the slippery slope into the in love with your best friend pit of despair. But Eddie was quite literally the most overbearing cat dad, and Buck discovered this when Eddie and Chris needed to make a last-minute trip to Texas.

“Are you ever like this with Chris?” Buck asks as he flips through the pages of typed out instructions and guidelines for caring for Noodles,

“Yes? I send an extensive email to anyone he’s going to be spending time with, especially if I’m not around.”Eddie replies stacking cat food cans on the counter, counting them as he goes to make sure Buck will have enough for the week.

“You never sent me any of those emails,” Buck says, nose too buried in the extensive list of daily tasks to notice the bright flush rush across Eddie’s face, “you never asked any of those parents to send a picture twice a day did you?”

Eddie coughs a little before answering, “No. And you’re really fine staying here with her?”

“Yes, Eds. It doesn’t actually change much in terms of my routine to be here instead of the loft.” Buck swallows.

He drops them off at the airport, watches them walk into the terminal, and proceeds to bang his head against the steering wheel.

Noodles was shy and stuck by Eddie like a shadow, not cuddling with anyone else, never incessantly requesting to be fed an hour early by anyone else. She was Eddie’s cat. And that didn’t change over the course of the first day. It was Buck’s days off, so he tried to lounge around the house, watching tv, but felt awkward the entire time. Sure he felt more at home here than at the loft. But that was when Eddie or Chris were here too. Now it feels, just weird. Eddie never mentioned where Buck should sleep, and it feels too weird to use Eddie’s bed without him. And it feels too eerily similar to the tug in his chest he felt just about a year ago. It would probably help if Noodles was anywhere in sight. His reason to be here in front of him and tangible. But she was nowhere to be found. Probably under Eddie’s bed in the nest she had made herself.

He cracks open a can of food while his pizza is in the oven and she doesn’t make an appearance then either. It’s not until he settles on the couch, movie playing softly on the tv, pizza slice halfway in his mouth that she comes creeping out.

They lock eyes briefly before she scampers off into the kitchen.

Buck gingerly steps toward the kitchen, not crossing the threshold to snap a quick picture.

He sends it off to Eddie with the caption, first i’ve seen of her all day.

A few minutes later his phone buzzes Eddie 🚨 loved an image and again she’ll warm up to you.

Buck just sends an eye roll emoji. He types out several messages that sound too close to I miss you, before tossing his phone across the couch and returning his focus to the movie and pizza.

In the morning he opens another can as his coffee gurgles out of the ancient machine resting on Eddie’s counter, And Noodles actually enters the kitchen while he is still in it.

He’s sitting on the couch sipping his coffee, suddenly she is sitting on the other end on the arm, quietly licking her paw.

He takes the picture, sending it off- making progress 🙂

See! Told you.

Buck, are you sleeping on the couch?

Yes?

Eddie doesn’t continue his questions.

That night Buck wakes, still on the couch, sweat on the edges of his brow, and a few tears streaking his face, with a cat standing on his chest.

She meows and then hops down, glancing up at Buck and meows again. When he doesn’t move she continues to stare a meow. And he just wants to go to sleep, maybe it will be less nightmare filled. He hopes at least.

He’s desperate. And Eddie did say call anytime. And it was nearing 6 am in Texas so he could be awake.

Eddie picks up because he always does,

“Buck?”

“She won’t stop meowing at me.” it comes out breathy and rough and he feels ridiculous that he is nearly in tears over this, but it was just the final straw in the stack of being in this house without Eddie, being in love with Eddie, and the nightmares of losing Eddie, because that’s what happens to the people he loves- he loses them.

“Where are you?”

“The couch?”

“She’s telling you to go to bed.”

“I was asleep,” Buck says hesitantly,

“Buck, are you okay?”

“Yeah, I just, I had a nightmare and now she won’t-”

Eddie lets out a sigh, and Buck can almost hear his smile,

“She’s inviting into her space, our space. Because she knows. She’s trying to help.” Eddie is trying desperately not to let the obviousness that this is something that happens to him enough that they have established this routine,

“Oh,”

“So will you just sleep in my bed? You’ll sleep better anyway. That couch is murder for more than one night in a row.”

“Yeah, okay. Sorry I called.”

“Buck? Don’t be. I missed your voice.”

And Buck’s heart stutters and leaps into his throat,

“Miss yours too.” he chokes out before hanging up.

He gathers his blanket and pillow from the couch, cause it still felt weird to sleep in Eddie’s bed.

Noodles glances up at him before trotting off towards the room, routinely checking that Buck was behind her.

He wakes again with Noodles purring on his chest, and he decides to facetime Eddie this time.

“A facetime call?”

“I thought you might want to hear her purring,” Buck whispers gently stroking between her ears,

“You got the full treatment I see.” Eddie smiles, “Are you sure you’re alright?”

“Yeah, um, I think just a lot of things stacked up on each other. I’ll talk to Dr. Copeland about it.”

“You can talk to me too Buck.”

And Buck swallows because he really can’t, not without making it clear as day that he is in love with Eddie.

“Yeah, I know. I don’t think I can right now. I have a shift.”

“Hey Chris, do you want to say hi to Buck and Noodles?”

The response comes in the form of a gleeful shriek before Chris’ face enters the frame,

“Hi, Buck! You okay?”

“I miss you, and a little sad. But Noodles is helping and seeing you and your dad makes it better.”

Eddie quirks his brow in the background, clearly confused by the fact the 11 year old got more out of buck in 15 seconds than he did in 2 minutes.

Buck catching his mistake,

“Well I gotta get ready for the day but I’ll call you later!”

He hangs up the phone and groans. Noodles chirps reassuringly,

“Oh we are really in now aren't we noodles,” Buck sighs lifting her up a little so he could carry her to the kitchen.

He sets out the bowl of dry food for while he has a 24 and makes sure her water is full and clean before heading out of the house.

The shift inches by slowly, because there are few calls, but mostly because Eddie isn’t there. And the weight of the nightmare still rests in the back of his head.

Eddie calls him as soon as the shift is over as if sensing that he was making his way towards his jeep.

“Hey, how was your shift?”

“Slow, weird without you.”

Buck can hear the sad smile,

“Sorry. I know those are hard.”

“Hey, at least this time I know it’s temporary.” Buck smiles, trying to make the conversation light so they don’t drift into dangerous waters, at least while he is behind the wheel.

They chat about random things, Chris relays the stories of his adventures with his cousins. And then he’s home. At Eddie’s house.

He switches the callto facetime so Eddie can see that he has kept Noodles alive. Noodles, who is waiting for him on the arm of the couch staring at the door when he makes his way inside.

Once he’s settled on the couch, Eddie clears his throat a little,

“What was going on yesterday morning?” his brow is furrowed and there is a hint of his dad voice,

“I, um, my feelings got all turned around because, uh, well, I am spending time in your house without you, I was sleeping on the couch, and the last time I did that was-”

“Oh, Buck,”

Buck’s breath hitches, “And we’re coming up on a year. So it just all got tangled up. Because when I love someone they leave. And I don’t- I can’t-” His chest feels tight, and he doesn’t even care about the implications of the sentence,

“Hey, Buck, breathe with me. Some of those things are feelings that are completely natural to have in this situation. But those others, it might feel like that, and I understand where that comes from, but it’s not true. Those people who left, it wasn’t your fault, and it wasn’t because you loved them. The important people come back, right?”

Buck nods, his breath evening out,

“Now, grab a snack and a Gatorade from the fridge, and then take a nap. Do you want me to stay on the phone with you?”

“Yeah, that sounds good,” Buck replies voice a little cracked.

Noodles is by his feet throughout the process and immediately cuddles into his side when he lands on the bed, pulling the blanket around him.

“That’s it. Feeling better?” Eddie asks,

Buck hums, his hand buried in Noodles’ body, thumb lightly stroking her chin.

“Okay, I’ll stay on until you’re asleep.”

Buck stirs as he feels the bed dip, his blanket being tucked tighter around him, and fingers running through his hair, quiet whispers of reassurance in his ear,

Noodles meows and he opens his eyes,

“--die? What‘re you doing here?”

“Decided to come back a day early. I didn’t need to be there. Couldn’t be there longer I guess. And I don’t know, being so far away when I knew you were upset, just,” he bites his lip, “knowing that having me here might help even just a little bit? Made the choice so easy.” Eddie brushes a tear off Buck’s cheek that he didn’t even know was there, “Because I love you too.” Eddie continues as if he just hasn’t turned Buck’s life upside down, “I am not going anywhere. You’re stuck with me, remember?” Eddie presses a kiss into his hairline,

“You figured that out huh” Buck smiles,

“Figured it out? I mean I guess so. But I thought I was being very obvious. And looking back, I was being obvious before I even figured it out. So…”

“I do, love you, by the way.” Buck smiles,

Noodles plops herself down between them, making it clear that she wanted to be the center of attention.

“Well, she’s adopted you.” Eddie says, “Told you she would warm up.”

“Pretty sure she just likes the attention, but I’ll take it.”

[twistedtummies2]

Artists in Wonderland - NUMBER ONE

Welcome to Artists in Wonderland! I’ve been counting down My Top 10 Favorite Illustrators for “Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland!”The Lewis Carroll stories of Alice are as immortal as they are odd, and many great artists have handled them in different ways. This countdown has paid homage to just a few of them. But all good things must come to an end. We’ve reached the 4th of July. It’s Alice in Wonderland Day, worldwide! And with this auspicious occasion, the time has come to unveil my favorite illustrator for “Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland!” And the story of this man and his illustrations is almost as backwards as Wonderland itself. MY NUMBER ONE ARTIST IS…David Hall.

Hall’s illustrations have a lot of history behind them. The chief thing that must be understood is simply this: his images were never MEANT to be illustrations. To explain what I mean by that, we must travel back in time to the late 1930s, and to that little company we now know as the wonderful world of Disney.

When Walt Disney decided he was going to produce a full-length animated feature film, there were three stories he had in mind for the job: Snow White, Peter Pan, and Alice in Wonderland. Obviously, Walt decided to go with Snow White first, and after Snow White was a success, he decided to immediately begin plans for another movie. Pinocchio, of course, was chosen as the movie to go into production next, but Walt still wanted to give both Peter and Alice a chance. So, even as Pinocchio was being made, both films were being planned and prepared. To that end, Walt hired the artist David Hall, who worked on ideas for both movies. Now, I unfortunately don’t know much about David Hall. All I can really tell you is that he was an English-born artist working in Hollywood during the 30s as a concept artist and storyman. Outside of his work for Disney, he’s probably best known for his contributions to “King Kong.” One thing I can tell you is that this man’s imagination was vast, and he must have worked like lightning: by 1939, in a matter of just a few months since he started working on “Alice,” Hall completed a full storyboard for the movie, as well as dozens upon dozens of concept art pieces and picture references to help guide the animators. In total, he created approximately 400 separate pieces of artwork, all while working on Peter Pan at the same time! His work included both pencil-and-ink sketches, and some of the most beautiful, lavish watercolor paintings you will ever find in your life. Hall’s treatment of the movie, however, would never come to be. Most people assume this was because Walt Disney felt the film Hall was proposing was too dark. This is only PARTIALLY true: in point of fact, while Walt was concerned with the dark tone in places, his PRIMARY concern was that Hall’s intensely detailed, Tenniel-esque designs for the characters, and the vibrant, surreal, setups and backdrops he had created, would have been next to impossible to replicate in animation at the time. He also felt that some of the changes Hall made to the story didn’t quite work for his own vision of the film (ironic, considering how many changes WOULD be made when “Alice” actually WAS created). After WWII hit, all production on “Alice in Wonderland” came to a screeching halt, and when the time came for the Disney staff to revisit the project after the war, Walt decided to turn to a new artist, Mary Blair, for help. The rest is history. David Hall’s artwork, for many years, remained forgotten, locked away in the Disney Archives. Enter Brian Sibley: a Disney Historian, and also an avid lover of the Carroll classics, as he actually served as a leading member of the Lewis Carroll Society. Sibley was fascinated with David Hall’s artistic ideas for the story, and in 1986, he put together and published a special edition of “Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland,” which was “illustrated” by David Hall, using images Hall created for the intended film as the illustrations. The book features approximately 100 pieces of artwork Hall created for the picture, which is only about a quarter of the entire breadth of his work: there are some images Hall made that you’ll find online and WON’T find in the book. (One should add immediately the reverse is true: there are multiple images in the book that one can’t seem to find online no matter how hard you try.) The art literally covers the book from cover to backend. Virtually every single page has at least one picture on it. As fascinating as the history behind all this is, what astonishes me even further is that - intended as illustration or not - Hall’s artwork truly works…well…wonders! In my opinion, no other artist since Tenniel himself has so perfectly captured the many layers of Wonderland: Hall’s treatment definitely has some dark and downright disturbing scenes and moments, with particularly grotesque characters and some frightening scenarios. The Cheshire Cat looks like he wants to eat your soul, the Mad Hatter and March Hare threaten Alice with a giant pair of scissors and a very sharp knife at one point, and - in an image NOT included in the book - there’s a scene where Alice is strapped under a guillotine, screaming in terror, as the Queen leaps onto the blade to force it down faster, roaring down at her intended victim. JESUS. I can see why Walt might have been worried about the dark elements of the film! However, for all it’s darkness, Hall also creates a lot of humorous scenes. There’s a great deal of comedy throughout his concept of the story, and for as macabre as the characters and settings can sometimes be - from a creepy hat shop filled with living mannequins (another image NOT in the book), to a swarm of bright-eyed bats - he also creates some truly beautiful, glorious artwork. His paintings of the different places in Wonderland are so surreal and dreamlike, with a use of color and shape that can take one’s breath away. It’s simply some of the most marvelous art you’ll EVER find connected to “Alice,” period. On top of that, because Hall’s images were originally intended as storyboard and concept work for a motion picture, his illustrations - much like Kriss Sison’s, who I mentioned earlier in the countdown - bring a real sense of action, emotion, and personality to the characters that few others can match. Wonderland truly comes alive in Hall’s artwork. Would Hall’s concept of Wonderland worked as a movie? It’s difficult to say. I don’t think it would have worked AT THE TIME, mind you; if the dark tone didn’t cause issues, then the meticulous, textured style of the characters and the hyper-surreal backgrounds probably would have been tough for the animators to construct. But if the movie were to be made today, with the advancements in technology and audiences who are much more accepting of darker fantasy, I think it could actually be quite spectacular. It is unlikely such a picture will ever be created, but if nothing else, it’s wonderful to see Hall’s artwork given life of some kind. As illustrations to the novel that inspired him, they stand eternal. Sibley’s publication is once again a little hard to track down, especially at affordable prices…but if you can find it, it is worth pure gold. Sir John Tenniel created Wonderland, as we know it…but in my opinion, David Hall PERFECTED it in illustration…whether he knew it or not. Because of the rarity and history and POWER of these images, I’ll be sharing more of these than I have the previous nine choices. And even these only touch the tip of the iceberg.

Thank you all for joining me, and I hope you’ve enjoyed this picture-perfect ride down the rabbit hole. ;)

[citizenscreen]

Walt Disney reviewing SLEEPING BEAUTY boards with director Clyde Geronimi (left), storyman Joe Rinaldi (middle), and possibly Ed Penner shortly before his death. (Cartoon Brew)