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therealvinelle · 3 years ago

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Ok I'm embarrassed to admit this, but I'm just now copying your Norwegian Bella AU into a text translator, and if you don't already have 50 people in your inbox demanding a translation then shame on ALL OF US because this is glorious! And while Google Translate does have a certain charm (it translated "piper hun ut" as "she beeps") I'm curious to see how you'd put it in English.

Troquantary is referring to this post. In which Bella doesn't speak English.

Fun fact, you're the only one who's gone into my inbox to request this. I was so sad, had the translation half-written and everything, but I was too proud to beg. So thank you, Troquantary, for popping this ask.

As for the dictionary fuckups, sounds about right. I made a few typos, too, that made Google Translate suffer even more. (Such as managing to mix up "henne" (her) and "hendene" (hands), resulting in Aro patting Bella instead of clapping his hands. Poor Google.)

Also, there are a few cultural references and language things that would be lost in the translation, in an attempt to keep them I included notes clarifying things.

Some things, like Aro and Carlisle's very old man way of speaking, are easier said than done to translate, you'll have to bear with me there.

Additional notes are that I added a few things to this version, many of them because translating is hard, but a few because while translating I thought "oh you know what would be much funnier-" and then wrote that.

Alright, without further ado:

When Renée left Charlie she did not go to Florida, she went to Oslo. And she went all in to make her daughter a true Norwegian, hiring Norwegian nannies and making sure never to speak English around the child. Since transatlantic flights are expensive, little Bella Swan rarely got to visit her father, and as such she never did learn what should have been her native language.

She quickly forgot what English she did have in favor of Norwegian, with the exception of words like “Yes”, “No”, and “I’m Bella”.

The few trips she took to visit her father were all the more awkward than in canon since she couldn’t play with the Black kids. Let not the blame fall upon Charlie: he took Norwegian classes and speaks conversational Norwegian. He can’t speak to Renée, because her Norwenglish is incomprehensible even to Norwegians, but he can communicate with Bella.

Not that he’s had a lot of chances to do so.

Bella makes it to seventeen years old, she’s in second grade at Handels* and is a major outsider among the preps there, and then Renée marries a handsome skier**. Together they shall travel the continent all winter to participate in as many skiing races as they can, and in the summer they’ll take gigs at Hurtigruta to see the coast.

*“Handels” is the nickname for an Oslo high school infamous for its pupils being rich and beautiful blonds who are going to be CEOs when they grow up.

**Skiing as a sport is huge in Norway

***Hurtigruta is a famous ferry that travels across the Norwegian West coast

Bella, who sucks at skiing and is too young to work at Hurtigruten, takes the hint.

With dread in her stomach and dictionary in hand she goes to her father in America.

Where she doesn’t speak the language.

Faen.

Charlie gives her a car, and I wish this meta was set in the present because I could have joked about electric cars and the automat only driver’s license*, but Twilight is set in 2005 so I can’t. The car part proceeds without drama.

*An increasing number of Norwegian youth take the driver’s license for automatic cars only, and we’re the country in the world with the highest percentage of electric car purchases.

School is worse than in canon, because she is now a thousand times more sensational than if she was merely the new student. She is from another country! All of Forks keels over with excitement.

To make matters even worse, our girl doesn’t understand a word of what people are saying.

She is too awkward to let them know she doesn’t know English. It’d become a thing, and they might think she’s dumb. To be fair, it’s not good that she’s been through primary, secondary, and now a year and a half of high school and still sucks at English.

So she nods, smiles, mumbles “Hi, I’m Bella” to the new faces, and blushes heavily when anybody says anything.

People assume she’s shy. That’s a bit boring, but oh well.

She has her biology class with the redhead hottie she noticed during lunch. She watched him and his family, they were fascinatingly pretty, but she doesn’t know anything more about them. Sure would have been great if she could have asked the tiny girl (was it Jess?) about them.

Biology proceeds as in canon - Edward badly wants to eat the delicious girl, but fortunately doesn’t.

She runs into him in the office when he tries to switch to another biology lesson, but she has no idea what he’s saying so she only has the suspicion that this somehow concerns her. Which is still uncomfortable, but Bella is probably the problem here. The hottie surely can’t be.

He’s missing from school for a week, Bella finds that weird.

He returns, and to her great horror he starts talking to her.

“Hello”, he says.

Bella dies inside. He’s too handsome!

"I'm Edward Cullen," he continues, and ok, she got that. The hottie is called Edward, that’s good to know. She’s not sure she caught that last name, though, Köln?

He says something else, it’s gibberish to Bella even though she’s concentrating, and at the end there he says “Bella Swan”.

She gulps.

"I'm Bella Swan," she confirms and nods. That should be correct. God, she hopes it’s correct.

He smiles a crooked, boyish smile. She’s awed. She didn’t think it was possible to be so beautiful.

He says something else.

Bella didn’t catch it.

She blushes even harder, she hasn’t been more embarrassed in her life. Here he is, the most handsome guy in all the world, and she has nothing to say to him. Literally, they don’t speak the same language.

She should tell him.

It’s one thing to chicken out of telling the town she doesn’t speak English, but there’s something different about Edward Cullen. He deserves the truth.

But...

He’s the most beautiful person she has seen in her life. He is American, too, so the odds of him knowing Norwegian are microscopical. If he finds out she doesn’t understand a word he says he’ll stop talking to her, and selfish as she is she doesn’t want that.

So with a slightly guilty conscience (but not enough to fess up) she contributes to the conversation with enough words and smiles to pull through. "Yes", "No", "Thank you", and "That's nice".

He is surprised by several of these answers, but instead of giving her odd looks and losing interest he grows more invested in the conversation.

Class ends.

The next day the near accident happens, and he saves her. She is stunned - dear god, did he just pick up a whole car? After teleporting across the parking lot..?

Soon she’s in the ER, and more than a little bit stressed about that fact since she knows the Americans have a terrible healthcare system.

She hopes Charlie has an insurance.

An insanely beautiful man walks into the ER, and Bella is shocked. He is just as handsome as Edward and Edward’s lunch friends!

He introduces himself as Carlisle Cullen, and Bella can only assume this is someone’s older brother. Possibly related to the blonde girl.

He smiles at her, says something, and she answers, "I'm Bella Swan."

He frowns.

That must have been the wrong answer, then.

His hands return to investigating her scalp, and to her great surprise he switches to perfect Norwegian, "kjenner De* noe ubehag når jeg holder her?" Do you feel any discomfort when I touch here?

*De is the Norwegian polite pronoun for “you”. Du = thou = the French tu, and De = you = the French vous. These polite pronouns went out of use in the 1980’s, save for when addressing royal persons, and would be considered antiquated in 2005.

He hurries to add, "Norsk lærte jeg i... fjor sommer. Det var et nettkurs." I learned Norwegian… last year. Online class.

"Hvilket da?" Which one? Bella asks, because Charlie needs to hear about this. The doctor has beautiful, if slightly outdated, pronunciation.

The doctor’s smile turns uncertain. She gets the feeling there’s something he doesn’t want to say. "Husker ikke," I don’t remember, sier han etter en litt vel lang pause.

That’s a shame. And weird.

"De hadde hellet med Dem i dag, som ikke ble truffet av den bilen." You were lucky today, not getting hit by that car. he then says, noticeably changing the subject.

"Det var ikke hell, det var Edward," It wasn’t luck, it was Edward, she replies sharply.

The doctor definitely looks uncomfortable.

She continues, "Han krysset skolegården på et blunk, og plukket opp hele bilen. Jeg så det," He crossed the schoolyard in a moment, and picked up the whole car. I saw it,

The doctor laughs. "Om han kunne det hadde nok gymkarakteren hans vært meget bedre. Nei, frøken Swan*, jeg beklager å si at det høres ut som at De er litt omtåket. Det er helt normalt ved hjernerystelse." If he could do that, his PE grade would be a lot better. No, Miss Swan, I’m sorry to say you seem confused. That’s normal with concussions.

*Addressing a young woman as “frøken” is even more outdated than using polite pronouns.

Why does Bella get the feeling he’s lying?

She’s discharged.

We’ll jump ahead to her trip to La Push - that trip uneventful, since Jacob knows she doesn’t speak English. They stick their hands in their pockets and stare at the sea.

The next day she’s shanghaied to Port Angeles, because apparently she said “Yes” at the wrong time when talking to Jessica (Turns out Jess’s name was Jessica!) and accidentally said yes to a day trip to Port Angeles.

Like in canon she wanders away from the others, and as in canon she is nearly gang raped. And again as in canon she is saved at the last moment by Edward.

He buys her dinner, and she can’t believe her own luck- and misfortune. A date with the most handsome guy on the planet (hence the luck) and she can’t say a word to him (hence the misfortune)!

He says things to her, lends her his jacket, and really this is it for Bella, she’s peaked, life can’t get better than this.

(That’s a lie, it would be better if she spoke English.)

He’s so amazing.

She’s gotten pretty good at navigating conversations with him, so she nods and aha’s her way through.

In his car on the way home the tone takes a more serious turn.

He asks her about something, and it’s a serious question, that much she’s gathered. She answers in the confirmative.

He is silent.

Did she say anything wrong?

(Edward, on his end, just asked if she knows what he is. She said yes, so calmly, not even a trace of fear in her.)

A few days later he takes her out on a walk in the woods.

He shows her a meadow in the woods, and when he steps into it he lights up in the sunlight.

Bella is in shock.

She knew there was something different about him, but- holy cow. This guy isn’t human.

Is she dating a god?

She stumbles into the clearing after him, and they spend a day together where he says things, and she can barely hear any of it (nevermind understand it) because she’s so distracted by how pretty he is.

The next day he takes her to a house in the middle of nowhere. She doesn’t want to guess that this can be where he lives. Surely gods don’t live in houses?

He shows her inside the house, and introduces her for Dr. Cullen and a lady with a name she doesn’t catch.

Bit weird that these two are acting like a couple of parents, they’re far too young and divine for that.

Edward shows her around in an old-fashioned office, and she doesn’t know what to make of i when she sees a painting of Carlisle. Edward launches into a long story when he sees her watching it, unfortunately she doesn’t catch any dates or artist names. At one point she heard the word “suicide”, though, and that’s not good.

She doesn’t get much out of the story.

The baseball game doesn’t happen because Bella didn’t pick up on what Edward wanted and didn’t realize she was being invited to a thing. They spend the afternoon watching a movie instead.

The relationship continues, impeded slightly by communication problems, but she’s mostly able to cover those up.

Until her birthday comes around.

She gets a papercut.

Jasper lunges at her. Edward throws her into a glass table, and then everyone is leaving.

Carlisle is kind enough to switch to Norwegian when he’s stitching up her arm, perhaps remembering the last time she was his patient. "Jasper har ikke vært på dietten vår så veldig lenge." Jasper hasn’t been on our diet for very long.

"Diett?"she asks. She’s never seen Edward eat anything. She wasn’t clear on what the Cullens ate, honestly she thought they were above such things. She was thinking maybe photosynthesis. The knowledge that they apparently eat food astounds her, but diets?

"Dyreblod istedenfor menneskeblod," Animal blood in stead of human blood, Carlisle clarifies.

Whachasay?

Carlisle gives a slight smile. “Jaspers liv som vampyr fikk en brutal start." Jasper’s life as a vampire got off to a brutal start.

...

Vampire?!

Bella’s missed something here.

Oh dear lord, oh fy faen, she has missed something.

“Åja”, uh huh, is all she can say, and suddenly she’s very aware of the fact that she’s sitting there with a bleeding arm.

And Carlisle.

Who is a vampire.

Over the course of the following conversation Bella makes a host of discoveries.

Edward has been a vampire this whole time, and he’s a telepathic vampire. Whether Bella should be a vampire too or not has been a matter of hot debate, but due to religious reasons Edward doesn’t want that.

Carlisle also brings up how Edward died of the Spanish flu.

"Jeg var under den oppfatning at Edward fortalte deg bakhistorien min?" I was under the impression Edward told you my back story? Carlisle asks at one point, and Bella just has to ask very nicely if he’d be so kind as to repeat it.

Turns out the guy is nearly four hundred years old.

Jaha.

Jahahaha jaa ha.

That’s… a lot.

She wanders out of the house in shock, and hardly notices Edward’s strange behavior over the next couple of days.

One day he picks her up at school, and takes her behind the house.

That works out.

He’s a vampire, but he never hurt her. He is endlessly beautiful, perhaps easier to love now that she knows he’s not a god. He’s her Edward, and that’s suddenly easier now that she knows.

They can still be together.

But now that she knows this about him, it’s about time he knows something about her as well.

It’s time to finally be honest with him.

So when he opens his mouth, she opens her mouth as well, but she doesn’t get any further than to “Edward-” before he launches into a monologue.

She’ll have to wait until he’s done before saying her piece. It’s a bit embarrassing, but it doesn’t seem like he intends to stop talking anyway.

And what he’s saying seems to be serious, so it’s probably best to let him finish.

Edward concludes his monologue by kissing her forehead. Then he disappears.

Where did he go?

A big unsure, Bella goes back to the house. She’ll just have to wait until he gets back.

She doesn’t know what to think when Charlie returns from work and tells her the Cullens have all left.

Oh, god.

Edward must have found out she doesn’t speak English.

She made a mockery of him.

He has every right to leave.

Knowing this doesn’t make it any easier to live with.

Bella sinks into a depression.

The hallucinations begin, as in canon, though Hallusinward speaks Norwegian. Thank god for small mercies.

The friendship with Jacob (dictionary in hand) blooms, as someone has to help her see those hallucinations.

The cliff diving happens, and Alice shows up. Bella’s not sure what this is about, but she has gotten good enough at English to know that something bad happened, and Alice wants them to do something.

She’s a bit surprised to find herself on a plane to Italy, though.

Alice tells her to “Run to Edward” and ok, she got that, actually.

So she saves Edward.

After that she’s taken into the sewer, which turns out to house dozens of vampires.

Bella, Edward, and Alice are received in some kind of hall, where an unusual vampire has quite a bit to say. She understands some of what he’s saying, at least the part about “la tua cantante”. She knows a bit about Italian, see, so she knows that he’s talking about a song now.

She wishes she knew the context.

At one point he takes her hand, and appears fascinated by it. She wonders if he’s a palmreader. Not very vampirey, but what does she know.

He asks her a question.

"Yes," she says.

Saying yes has gotten her this far, after all.

But when he lights up and claps his hands together, and Edward and Alice stare at her in shock and betrayal, she knows she must have said the wrong thing.

The two are dismissed from the room before Bella can do or say anything, she’s just listening to Edward make a racket outside in the hallway.

Not good.

The unusual vampire brings her further down in his sewer palace to a basement, and she is given comfortable clothes to wear.

This is getting terrifying.

The vampire leans towards her - and she chickens out.

"Jeg snakker ikke engelsk!" she squeaks. "Non habla ingles!" I don’t speak English.

Han stanser, og ser forvirret ut. "Que- Hva behager*?" I beg your pardon? spør han etter et øyeblikk.

*A very formal, and slightly outdated (you can use it, but people will think you’re putting on airs. And they will be right) way of saying “excuse me?”

Sobbing, Bella tells him the whole story, from how she didn’t want to be the weird kid in school to how she’s now somehow in Italy without knowing why nor what she just agreed to.

When she’s done the vampire starts laughing.

"Dette forklarer jo en hel del," This explains quite a bit, ler han. "Men, kjære Bella, jeg er redd det ikke endrer noe." But, my dear Bella, I’m afraid it changes nothing.

He tells her that she has agreed to serve him and his army of undead warriors into eternity.

Well fuck.

"Du skal få slippe det, når du ikke visste hva du samtykket til - men skjebnen din forblir den samme. Loven er loven." You’re released from that promise, as you didn’t know what you agreed to - but your fate remains the same. The law is the law.

After a moment of silence, during which she looks terrified, he hurries to add, "Vi har en lov. Du må bli en av oss." We have a law. You must become one of us.

A law that Bella Swan has to become a vampire?

People are finally speaking Norwegian, and Bella is still lost. And it’s too embarrassing to keep pestering this poor, polite man with questions.

So she nods.

He gives her a glittering smile, and bites her.

When she wakes, Aro offers her an English course. A language course that, naturally, leads to her staying in Volterra. Why not learn a few more languages while we’re at it, dearest Bella?

Some time later Edward breaks into Volterra to save his Rapunzel, only to barely recognize her now that she’s a vampire who says things. Lots of things, she talks all the time now. WHAT DID ARO DO TO HER.

Too mortified to admit that she never spoke English, Bella claims she’s been brainwashed.

Aro is having too much fun to correct her, and the whole sad affair sets off a regrettable flood of rumors.

#troquantary #norwegian things #bella swan #twilight #twilight meta #twilight renaissance #evighetens kyss #evighetens kyss meta #evighetens kyss renessanse

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moviemunchies · 3 years ago

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So years ago there was a Disney Channel Original Movie titled ‘Now You See It’ which is about a stage magician kid who actually has magic powers and because of the similar title I get it mixed up with Now You See Me and its sequel. And other than the similar names and some stuff about stage magic, they are very different movies.

Anyhow I had seen the first movie while I was in grad school and I figured I should go ahead and finally watch the sequel. I like stage magic tricks, and I like heist movies. To be clear the first movie isn’t a very smart heist movie, but it is fun. And since Now You See Me 2 is on Hulu for the time being, I went ahead and did that. And once again I had fun.

It still wasn’t that smart. I think it was smarter than the first movie though.

So after going on the run at the end of the last movie, the Four Horsemen are still in hiding, and Atlas is desperately hoping to get out and do something, going to the Eye (the secret society of magicians they join at the end of the first movie). Also Henley left because Isla Fisher wasn’t able to come back due to her pregnancy and is replaced by Lula. FBI agent Rhodes, secretly a member of the Eye and helper of the Horsemen, gives them a new case to finally out themselves to the world again. But OHES NOES! They are tricked and find themselves confused and being dragged into another heist by an employer who wants to exploit their talents. But with stage magic of course nothing is ever as it seems and things get more complicated than anyone anticipated.

There were a couple of problems I had with the first film: one, that despite going to lengths to explain how some of the flashier trick heists were performed, there were plenty of tricks towards the end, especially big ones, that don’t really have much explanation. The other is that the divide between our protagonists and antagonists is not… that great. We’re meant to view the Horsemen as Robin Hood-esque figures, and that at the end of the day the heists are justified revenge plots, but nobody really seems to be that sympathetic. The final revenge plot felt very petty and not particularly well-earned. Whether or not you can overlook these flaws is a YMMV thing--personally, I found the idea of a heist movie featuring magicians to be a strong enough concept that I could mostly overlook the problems, but they still stick out as things that the movie could have done better.

This movie doesn’t explain all of the magic tricks that well either, I’ll admit. There are times when they give a brief explanation as to how it worked, but I still don’t think they’re all that realistic. There’s only so much you can explain with ‘misdirection and low visibility.’ Now I don’t mind too much, I’ll admit--really cool illusions and magic tricks are still really cool to watch on screen.

The line between the antagonists and the heroes is a lot better defined here. They aren’t people like law enforcement just doing their jobs, or people who the main characters are going after for BS reasons like making a vault that actually works as intended. The villains in this movie are genuinely and actively trying to hurt our heroes (and other people). So it’s easier to root for the heroes on a basis other than ‘they’re stylish and cool magicians doing stylish and cool things.’

The Four Horsemen sadly don’t all get their own very distinct character arcs. And maybe they kind of assumed that you knew them well enough from the first movie. They all have moments but I would have liked if they had distinct development throughout the film that really explored who they were, how they came to be magicians and so on. Not being a deep character movie doesn’t make it bad, but it’s a missed opportunity.

Maybe I’m not selling this movie very well. Maybe I’m making it sound kind of dumb. And I’m going to be real with you: these movies are kind of dumb. They’re dumb heist movies that think they’re smarter than they actually are. But dang, if you like watching cool stunts and ridiculous magic tricks you’re in for a treat. I think they’re lots of fun to watch. If you’ve seen the first one and you want a fun movie night, I think this one’s better than the previous one, for whatever that’s worth, and if it is dumb, it’s not so in an offensive way.

Although I am getting a bit tired of reviewing ‘Fun but dumb’ movies, so hopefully my next review will give you something to actually look forward to.

---

#Now You See Me #Now You See Me 2 #magic #Movie Munchies #reviews

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things2mustdo · 4 years ago

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When I ask myself what films in recent years have been my favorites, I find that the answers all seem to have a few things in common. One, the movie must tell a compelling story; two, it must rise above its genre to make a larger statement about life or some universal idea; and three, it must be technically well made. All great art—including film—can serve as a vehicle for the presentation of ideas, and the promotion of a certain virtue. Although the mainstream American film industry has become more and more a sad repository of feminist cant and lowest-common-denominator commercial pandering, the foreign film world has undergone something of a renaissance in the past fifteen years.

The best films of France, Germany, Spain, and the UK are edgier, more intelligent, and more masculine than anything found in the US. It was not always so. But the work of great European directors like Jacques Audiard, Gaspar Noe, Nicolas Winding Refn, and Shane Meadows leaves little room for doubt that the true cutting-edge work is being done in Europe. (Argentina deserves honorable mention here as having an excellent film industry). The mainstream, corporate-driven US film industry has effectively smothered independent voices under an avalanche of political correctness, girl-power horseshit, chick-flickism, and mind-numbing CGI escapist dreck.

Movies that deal with masculine themes in a compelling way are not easy to come by these days. Honest explorations of masculine virtues are repressed, marginalized, or trivialized. One needs to scour the globe to cherry-pick the best here and there, and in some cases you have to go back decades in time. Luckily, the availability of Netflix and other subscription services has made this task much easier than it used to be. Access to the best cinema of Europe, South America, and Asia can be a great way for us to catch as glimpse at a foreign culture, as well as reflect on serious ideas.

I want to offer my recommendations on some films that I believe are an important part of the modern masculine experience, in all its wide variety and expression. Out of the scores of possible choices, I decided to pick the handful of films that are perhaps not as well known to readers. My opinions will not be shared by all. I encourage readers to draw up their own lists of films dealing with masculine themes, and hope they will reflect on the reasons behind their choices. Below are mine, in no particular order. In italics is a brief plot synopsis, followed by my own comments.

1. Straw Dogs (1971).

A mild-mannered American academic (Dustin Hoffman) living in rural Cornwall with his beautiful wife becomes the target of harassment by the local toughs. Things escalate to a sexual assault on his wife, and eventually to a brutal and protracted fight to the death when a local man takes refuge on their property.

Dustin Hoffman reaches his breaking point in “Straw Dogs”

This is a classic example of the type of movie that could never be made today. Arguably Sam Peckinpah’s most daring film, it contains a controversial rape scene that seems to leave open the question whether Hoffman’s wife (played by Susan George) was a victim or a willing participant. Faced with his wife’s betrayal, and continuing harassment from local miscreants, Hoffman’s character finds himself completely isolated and must learn to stand his ground and fight.

A chance incident later in the film sets the stage for a blood-soaked confrontation which is as inevitable as it is necessary. Peckinpah presents a compelling case for the cathartic power of violence, and the achievement of masculine identity through man-on-man combat. It is a theme I find myself strongly drawn to. Controversial, powerful, and unforgettable, Peckinpah proves himself an unapologetic and strident advocate of old-school martial virtue. We would do well to listen. His voice is sorely missed today. (Note: avoid the pathetic recent remake of this movie). Honorable mention: Peckinpah’s The Wild Bunch (1969) and Bring Head of Alfredo Garcia (1974).

2. Sorcerer (1977).

A group of international renegades find themselves down and out in Nicaragua, and volunteer for a job transporting unstable dynamite across the country to quell an oil rig fire.

Due to inept marketing when this movie was first released, it never achieved the credit it so fully deserved. A motley group of international riff-raff (including the always appealing Roy Scheider) seeks redemption through a harrowing trial. But will they get it? Is it even desirable to escape one’s dark past? The answers are complex, and director William Friedkin refuses to supply easy ones. The characters in this film are doomed, and they know it, but they still hold true to their own code. Which is itself honorable. Consequences must be paid for everything we do in life, and often the price comes in a way never expect. Dark, brooding, and humming with a pulse-pounding electronic score by Tangerine Dream, this film has deservedly become a cult classic. The ending is a shocker you’ll never see coming.

Roy Scheider undertakes the most perilous journey of his life in William Friedkin’s 1977 masterpiece “Sorcerer”

3. The Lives of Others (2006).

A coldly efficient Stasi (East German security service) officer (Ulrich Muhe) is enlisted by a Communist party hack in a surveillance program against a supposed subversive writer and his girlfriend. But monitoring the writer’s life awakens sparks of nascent humanity in the Stasi man, and he eventually must decide whether to follow orders and destroy the writer, or to sacrifice himself to save him.

This German masterpiece was made with great fidelity to the look and feel of 1980s East Germany, and the results are evident in every frame. It belongs on any list of the greatest films ever made. The masculine virtue here is of a different type than viewers may be used to: it is a quiet, understated heroism, the type of heroism that probably happens every day but is hardly noticed. There is no bragging here, no chest-beating, no big-mouthed bravado. (In short, none of the wooden-headed caricatures that pass for masculinity in the US). The ethic here is about love and self-sacrifice, the noblest and greatest virtues of all.

The ethos of self-sacrifice is now considered old-fashioned and almost a punch-line, but historically it was valued very highly. It features in nearly all the old literary epics and dramas of Europe and Asia. Actor Ulrich Muhe pulls off a minor miracle of characterization here with his portrayal of a Stasi man named Weisler, whose special wiretapping assignment against a playwright transforms him from heartless automaton into awe-inspiring hero. The movie made me wonder just how many quiet, unassuming men there must be out there, whose toil, heroism, and sacrifice has never been, and never will be, acknowledged. The ending is transcendently beautiful, and moving beyond words.

4. Homicide (1991).

A police detective (Joe Mantegna) is assigned to investigate a murder case. The case awakens in him stirrings of his long-suppressed ethnic identity. Unfortunately, he will eventually be forced to choose between conflicting loyalties. And the consequences will be devastating.

No modern American director has probed the meaning of masculine identity more than David Mamet, and all of his films are meditations on themes related to illusion, reality, masculinity, and struggle. Homicide, a nearly unknown gem from the early 1990s, is perhaps his profoundest. Mamet knows that a man must make choices in his life, and for those choices, consequences must be paid. And very often, we find ourselves derailed by the mental edifices we construct for ourselves. The Mantegna character is led through a complex and increasingly ambiguous chain of events, only to find that at the heart of one mystery lies an even more inscrutable one. Beware the things you seek. You may not like what you find.

Joe Mantegna deals with the fatal consequences of his decisions in David Mamet’s “Homicide”

5. A Prophet (2009).

An Algerian Arab is incarcerated in a French jail, and is drawn into the savage world of Corsican gangsters. Forced to kill or be killed, he is drawn into a pitiless world that recognizes only cunning and brutality. He finds himself straddling two realities: the world of his own nationality, and that of the Corsicans. And to survive and emerge triumphant, he must learn to play all sides against each other.

This film must be counted among the greatest crime dramas ever made. You simply can’t take your eyes off the screen. The lesson here is that a man must learn to survive on his wits, and do whatever is necessary to stay alive. The Corsican boss whom Al Djebena (Tahar Rahim) works for is just about the most malevolent presence in recent screen memory. Part of France’s continuing internal dialogue about its immigrant population, A Prophet is not to be missed.

Tahar Rahim learns a thing or two about Corsica in “A Prophet”

6. The Beat That My Heart Skipped (2005).

An intense young man (Romain Duris) works for his father as a real estate shark in urban Paris. His “job” consists of intimidating deadbeat immigrant tenants, vandalizing apartments, and forcibly collecting loans. He also plays the piano. Eventually, he is forced to decide which life he wants: the path laid out by his shady father, or the idealistic path of his own choosing. He’s seeking redemption, but will he find it? And at what cost?

Again, we have here the themes of redemption and moral choice. Romain Duris has a screen presence and intensity that rivals anything done by Pacino in his prime, and some of the scenes here are fantastic. (His seduction of his friend’s wife, Aure Atika, is one of many great scenes). All men will be confronted and tested by crises and situations beyond their control. How they respond to those situations will define who they are as men. Duris’s character proves that redemption can be achieved, if wanted badly enough.

Romain Duris embodying screen intensity

7. Red Belt (2008).

Martial arts instructor Mike Terry is forced, against his principles, to consider entering a prize bout. He is abandoned and betrayed by his wife and friends, and must confront his challenges alone with only his code and his pride.

Another great meditation on masculine virtue and individualism by David Mamet. In his own unique dialogue style, Mamet showcases his belief that, in the end, all men stand alone. At the moment of truth, it is you, and only you, who will be staring into the abyss. Our trials by fire will not come in the time and at the place of our own choosing. But when they do come, a man must be prepared to hold his ground and fight his corner. Watch for Brazilian actress Alice Braga in a supporting role here. We hope to see more of her on American screens in the future.

8. Fear X (2003).

A repressed security guard (John Turturro) is searching for answers to who killed his wife. His strange behavior and ticking time-bomb manner begin to alarm friends and co-workers. One day he finds some information that may be a lead to solving the mystery. This discovery sets him on the path to realization. Or does it?

I am a big fan of the films of Nicolas Winding Refn (The Pusher trilogy, and Valhalla Rising), and this one is perhaps his most penetrating examination of a wounded psyche. It failed commercially when it first appeared, as many viewers were put off by his artistic flourishes and opaque ending. For me, this film is the deepest study of grief and repressed rage ever committed to film. All men will be confronted by tragedy, grief, and inexplicable loss during their lives. How we handle it will define who we are. The greatness of this film is that it explores Turturro’s claustrophobic, neurotic world in a deeply personal way, and at the same time suggests that he may actually be on to something. This film covers the same philosophical ground as Francis Ford Coppola’s The Conversation, in that it hints at the ultimate ambiguity of all things.

John Turturro confronts the unrelenting darkness of his own psyche in “Fear X”

If you are a Netflix subscriber and watch movies frequently, as I do, you may find it useful to keep a notebook near your television and jot down the titles of movies you see, and a few notes about what you liked or didn’t like. You’d be surprised how much you can learn from movies. There are just so many good and bad ones out there that having some system for keeping track of them will be time well spent.

#movies #films

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ziracona · 5 years ago

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One aspect I find fascinating about your fics is that Meg and a lot of the other characters are pop culture savvy, but also live in a universe where some of the most popular horror characters were real people. So, how do you think they would've reacted to meeting Nancy and Steve, who come from a universe where Michael, Laurie, and Freddy are all horror movie characters?

Ahhh thank you so much! I’m really glad you liked that. Pop culture was a really big element for a lot of the cast, & it is kinda funny I guess that several of them /are/ core horror pop culture.

So, this is kind of a hard one for me to answer, because I didn’t do ILM canon like DbD official canon. I do explicitly reference Stranger Things as fiction in Nearly Departed, but that was because I had not the foggiest clue DbD would /add/ a Stranger Things chapter—both because it’s super new and ongoing unlike their other horror “classic” staples, & because I wouldn’t even really call Stranger Things horror. I had been so damn careful 😂—I think the only horror film I name is Friday the 13th, which felt safe at the time because it’s got its own similar game & thus seemed unlikely to give DbD rights. If I had included Nancy & Steve, I would have gone back and replaced that segment with something similar, and just had ST exist in the same world as Halloween, NOES 2010, and Saw/all of the ILM cast. It’s the best solution, and you really don’t have to change any of the stories to do it. All that would have to change is that in this version of ST, Max wore a different Halloween costume, & three lines of dialogue are different. Fundamentally it’s exactly the same world. I know that’s maybe not the most exciting answer TuT, but it’s what I’d have done for a few reasons. Ima drop the rest under a read more bc I go way into writing & a little w horror meta tho: 💙

For one, it’s just kinda sad. It lowers the storytelling stakes because even a best-case scenario would be kind of a letdown for everyone. Not as much to gain: Not as much to lose. So, sad emotionally & kinda less motivating story-wise. Like, if any version of a happy ending even hypothetically would always mean these people who have bonded through years of self sacrifice and friendship and trauma and growth either /never/ see each other again, or go to one world together where only maybe one person would ever get to see their OG family again, and might also have to suffer with seeing their life as a film on that planet? Joked about, critiques, not taken seriously, no privacy? That’s just. It’s not a happy ending, or a satisfying one, even for the characters to /fight/ for, regardless of if they can win it or not.

I’m aware that official DbD is multiverse, and there’s no assurance for even say Claudette and Meg being from the same world, let alone the world Halloween happens in, and was when I started writing. I just elected to ignore it. The devs even also explain a lot of the cosmetics as “alternate world versions” of the characters, instead of just fun costumes. I personally think that’s silly? And I’ve really never liked the multiverse decision. I got nothing at all against multiverse stories—they can be amazing—but you’ve got to have a reason if you do, and as far as I can tell, the only reason DbD is multiverse was so the Devs could release a bunch of classic horror characters into their game without worrying about continuity, which is lazy & not a great reason to pick multiverse. It can be great for stories, but in DbD, it would if anything just detract from the reality of the situation & the storytelling? Like, if I showed up in a hell pocket universe, and Michael Myers was there, it would be hard to take that situation entirely seriously, and it would fundamentally change how I interacted with others & they with me. If I knew his history, I’d use that to try to get through to him (what’s the worst that’ll happen? I’ll die like I do every day anyway?), but it would also be just weird & hard for people to relate. Like, if Steve Harrington has had conversations with a buddy about Laurie Strode being careless for not double-tapping her dead assailant & thinks of her as Jamie Lee Curtis & in some ways knows more about her life & family & universe than she does, but knows it all as an element of fiction? And at the same time, Kate’s seen Steve’s actor do interviews & play other roles and caught continuity errors in his /life/ while watching ST??? Hypothetically, someone /could/ unpack all that to tell a story, & maybe a fan has, but the Devs/game really, really haven’t, and in most instances, it’ll just mess up the characters’ abilities to relate to each other as human beings, as well as being miserable for the ones told they’re just characters from horror films in other people’s worlds.

The way DbD is set up really doesn’t lend itself to the kind of meta character vs humanity, role relationships between fiction & life narrative of, say, The Final Girls. Really all it does is make the world less real feeling. Less whole, more artificial. Less to be taken seriously, less belief willing to be suspended. Why are Laurie & Quentin fake in someone’s world? Does Meg not being in a story in Quentin’s universe mean she’s more real? It’s just messy. Multiverse is fine, but if you pick multiverse solely to make your job easier, at the cost of a more coherent, real, and engagable story (@ Devs >.>) that’s lazy/bad writing. I’ve read & enjoyed multiverse stories, but I’d never write DbD that way, bc I’d need a reason to, and I don’t have one. There was really no need for the devs to feel like they had to either, except pure ease w no work at all thinking about how or needing to explain anything, and I wish they hadn’t. : /

Like. Technically, Halloween & Scream shouldn’t be in the same canon—Halloween H20 plays a chunk of Scream 2 on TV, Scream 1 they’re watching Halloween 1978 & Scream 4 Sidney is asked “Who are you? Michael fucking Myers?” When she survives a murder attempt. But that’s not a big deal. It’s not a pivotal piece of world building and canon for either franchise. Scream is not fundamentally different if Randy is watching Friday the 13th or even some made up film, instead of Halloween. On top of that, a lot of horror references each other for fun and as tribute and I’m a huge nerd who adores this tradition. 😂 Scream & Halloween are so tight as franchises by the time Halloween H20 was released, that it actually uses chunks of Scream’s OST. It’s much better narratively for DbD if they’re all from one world, and in a way, it’s just a cool next step to the preexisting horror friendship metas between a lot of films. It’s really fun to figure out how they’d function together in one universe.

Anyway, that was long but I have so many thoughts on DbD & writing thank you for giving me an excuse to gush!! And thank you again for the compliment. I’m really happy you like my writing. It means a lot. 💙

#dead by daylight #misssingingintherain #ask #in living memory (fic)#in living memory #So ye shout out props to anyone who’s actually done multiverse for DbD & put in the work the devs didnt & actually found ways to make that #interesting/add value but also shame on devs for selling out story cohesion and value for ease dealing w continuity & questions.#writing #this ask took 9 years to let me add a read more w/o destroying the rest of the ask thansk tumblr

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angstymarshmallow · 6 years ago

Text

Simply Between Us Part 8 (Thomas Hunt x MC) NS*W

[A little note: It’s been awhile since I’ve written any smut. There’s a whole mix of angst, fluff and smut - all for your reading pleasure. Thanks for reading, this part is LONG].

[Words Counted: 6600]

Her lungs are burning, as if they’re on fire at the short bursts it takes for her to reach the flight of stairs. Down she goes, one floor at a time until her feet fumble against the fourth-floor landing. She takes a moment to catch her breath, to stop herself from falling before she’s off again. But hasn’t she already fallen? Down the rabbit hole of love? Down so deep that there’s no hope of digging herself out?

She shouldn’t be running. Apart of her knows that. Running isn’t going to solve her problem - their problem, but she can’t stop. She doesn’t think she’ll ever be able to until she’s in control again. Until the mere thought of them together doesn’t make her want to hurl herself off her balcony.

It’s a good thing she’d taken the stairs. The stairs help her feel more grounded in a way, as her legs start to ache - the stairs take center focus. They sharpen her awareness of a different kind of pain.

She presses her palm against the last stairwell door, steeling herself for a breath. Stealing another moment as her lungs threaten to collapse in on each other.

She should really take up running as a hobby.

Her breath returning to normal, Tatum pushes past the stainless-steel doors and the wind greets her with a harsh shove. She nearly stumbles but manages to catch herself at the last possible second.

The wind picks up again and she shivers slightly at the change in speed. The cold is a welcome distraction.

It’s good to feel something, something other than her heart breaking in two.

It doesn’t register at first that it’s raining as her flats touches solid pavement. But all too soon it’s pouring enough for her clothes to soak. She tightens the lapels of her jacket before shoving her hands roughly inside her pockets, still running despite the freezing rain.

At her side, Tatum feels a distinct vibration resonating inside her jeans pocket. A part of her itches to reach for her phone but having a funny feeling that it’s him calling, she ignores it. At least for now. At least until she’s finally in control again.

It’s a little past twenty minutes since Tatum’s left home that she decides to stop, or rather her body stops for her and she finds herself digging for a pair of shades as she enters the first quaint café she’s able to find. She doesn’t know much outside of her neighborhood, only there’s a chain of Starbucks no matter where she goes. And begrudgingly, she has to admit she comes here a lot to decompress when her days are long and unforgiving.

Taking a seat near the fireplace, she tilts her head back and closes her eyes. She listens to the sound of her own breaths, in and out – slowing them long enough for her heart to finally stop its incessant pounding.

Her legs ache. There’s still a heaviness inside her chest that reminds her of how terribly unathletic she is. Stretching her legs, she opens her eyes to stand – only this time she’s more resilient. She feels more like herself again and she swears she won’t be falling apart any time soon.

Inhaling deeply, it’s finally sinking in where she is; that she’s ran away from her home because she didn’t feel in control, because she didn’t feel safe. But she feels safe here with the constant buzz of people around her. With the sweet aroma of blended teas. It’s all intoxicating in away because it forces her mind here. In the present.

Although Tatum lifts her gaze to scan the menu after reaching the front of the line, she knows she’ll end up ordering the same thing. It’s a ritual at this point and without thinking she gets a second cup of coffee this time -black before realizing with a jolt that it’s for Thomas.

Damn.

Even without him present, Thomas Hunt still manages to stay on her mind. To stay in places where he shouldn’t be.

Rubbing the bridge of her nose, Tatum waits patiently across the other side of the line – still half-tempted to check her phone. You shouldn’t shut him out Tate. Some part of her reasons – the ever-rational part that should have stopped her from running. Not at least without giving him a chance to explain.

It’s easier said than done. She’s still too conflicted to make a decision. Although she does manage with trembling hands to retrieve her phone, a minute passes by before Tatum swipes to unlock it and blinks in alarm at the several calls she’s missed. They are all from him.

Even more alarming are the series of texts. Almost all of them within three minutes of each other.

Tatum, I know Priya paid you a visit. Please let me explain.

I think if we could just talk.

Are you ignoring me?

I thought we were beginning a new chapter in our lives. If you could just answer one of my calls.

Tatum, please.

Her heart flutters inside her chest and for a moment she’s torn between guilt and mild satisfaction that he’s reached out to her. It weighs though, presses heavily on her conscience – should this make her happy? Does she have anything to feel guilty for?

The most pertinent questions almost burn a hole through the rest. Should I call him back?

Her fingers hover across the button but she doesn’t press it. There are still things lingering in her mind. Things that still nag her and Priya’s words suddenly fills the empty silence from waiting.

“Mint Majesty for Tate?”

The intrusion causes Tatum to quickly slide her phone back into her pockets before she offers the server a smile. “That’s for me, thanks.” Taking her warm beverage, she turns and makes a beeline to a table – secluded enough and at nearly the back of the café for her to think she won’t be disturbed.

Taking her shades off, she rubs the bridge of her noes again. What am I doing?

She takes a small sip of her tea before turning her gaze to the window.

She makes out the sound of pitter patter against the glass as she takes another sip of her tea. It’s still pouring heavily and there doesn’t seem to be any sign of it stopping anytime soon. The traffic seems just as terrible as it did when she’d awoken this afternoon to peer down the street overlooking her balcony. Despite her own troubles, the rest of the world seems more than fine in moving on without her. It almost makes her feel insignificant, sitting here inside a coffeeshop – weighing the options of calling him back.

Maybe she is making this a bigger deal than it is. Except Tatum doesn’t know the right answer, she doesn’t know how closely to the truth Priya was being when she came at her door. She doesn’t know what to believe. It all feels so real, and raw. If it had been anyone else, Tatum would have walked away a long time ago.

But it’s Thomas that still fills her thoughts, still fills her heart. She aches just to reach out to him, to take her phone and tell him how much she loves him. But her pride stops her. She can’t do that to herself again, not yet.

She’s still fighting to keep control.

She sighs, propping up a hand to her chin as she mulls through her thoughts. Perhaps, she’s been too hasty. She should have at least left a note. Hadn’t she convinced herself countless of times that this – this will be different – that she wouldn’t let the only man she’s given her entire heart to go without a fight?

Well, so much for fighting for him. Shaking her head sadly, Tatum turns away from the foggy window. After a hesitant beat, she reaches for her phone again and chews on her lower lip at the familiar sign of anxiety swelling inside her chest. Do it. Just do it. She tells herself. Be brave.

Before she’s able to change her mind, she lightly taps the call button and places it by her ear. She squeezes her eyes shut and wait.

It’s barely rang twice before she hears his voice floating through the device and her heart nearly stutters at the sound.

Usually, he sounds remarkably certain and confident – hallmarks of his dominating personality. But as he says her name, its accompanied by a small sigh of relief and Tatum hears a slight crack in his voice that she hadn’t thought possible.

“Tatum.” He says her name quietly. A slight pause. “Are you….are you alright?”

“Yes,” she gnaws on her lower lip. “I’m fine.” Although, fine isn’t the word she should be using but there isn’t any word capable of explaining how she feels. Fine is simple. Fine will just have to do. Other than suddenly feeling tongue-tied, Tatum traces her finger across the brim of her mug.

“Good.” Another pause. She senses how uncertain he is even as he clears his throat. “I…wasn’t sure if you would call me back.”

“To be honest,” she glances back at the window. “I wasn’t sure if I wanted to.” She confessed. “It’s been…a weird day.”

“I’ve gathered that much, at least.” His laugh is bitter enough to twist something inside her chest. “I..” She hears his sigh. “Where are you?”

Why does it matter? She bites her lip hard to stop herself from retorting. It isn’t like her to be sour and she’s usually far more level headed despite the slight irritation she feels.

“I think…these things would be more appropriate to discuss if we could talk in person.”

“These things?” She echoes sharply. Her brows arch at the word. “If you consider Priya to be a thing to talk about then yes.”

“I’m not…I’m not sure what you mean.” He answers slowly

If it had been anyone else, perhaps they would buy his words. But to her, he sounds deliberately vague, as if he’s biding time. She frowns.

“Tatum?”

“I just want to know the truth Thomas, I think…” She swallows thinly, “I think, I at least deserve that much.”

“Of course. But these things…look – can we meet? Please. You left in such a hurry,” he continues quickly.

He’s rambling and Thomas never rambles. Maybe he’s taking it far harder than she thought.

“And I was worried for you – ”

“I’m at Starbucks,” Tatum interjects. She takes a moment to reconsider but then shakes her head. “Just at the end of the block. It’s still raining pretty heavy so I suggest maybe taking a cab.”

“I’ll be there soon.” He promises.

She doesn’t answer, only waits for him to end the call before taking another sip of her tea.

Thomas Hunt finds the urge to fidget inside the passenger seat of the cab hard to ignore. Once again, he feels as though time is against him and simply knowing she was just outside of his reach again made him nervous.

When does the chasing stop? When will he get to hold her in his arms again and never let go? The thought makes him feel older, tired. He stuffs his hands inside his jacket pockets and sighs.

He has less than five minutes now. He doesn’t need to check his watch.

As he stares past every passing car, tree and building, he tries to make sense of his thoughts. What to say. How to say it. He doesn’t want to lose her, but he thinks he’s very close to. At least it feels that way.

Firmly shutting his eyes, he breathes slowly in and out to try and calm himself. He’s used to being in control and not feeling as lost as he does now. As though he’s a fisherman lost at sea and the only lighthouse he’s ever known to be home is crumbling right in front of him.

Opening his eyes, Thomas checks the time again.

Only one minute now.

It was now or never and he still hasn’t found the right words to say.

As soon as Thomas enters the café, he spots her almost immediately. She’s always been easy to spot with her long and slender legs, and her dark beguiling eyes. He thinks her smile usually does him in, the sight of it could crumble any man.

Except she hadn’t been smiling when she noticed him. She tries some semblance of one as a polite form type of greeting, but Thomas knows it’s a weak attempt on her part to break some of the tension between them.

Without speaking, he settles across from her and blinks in surprise as she pushes a cup of coffee towards him. Perhaps things aren’t as dire as they seem. “Thank you,” he murmurs.

“You’re welcome.”

They sip on their drinks as silence settles once again and Thomas finds it difficult to break it as he gazes tiredly at her.

After some time, he clears his throat and carefully places his half-empty mug on the table. “I suspect you have questions.”

Tatum lifts one perfectly arched eyebrow. “Yes and I was under the impression that you wanted to talk with me.” She points out thinly, her attractive lips dropping into an unusual frown.

“Well you left in such a hurry and I –” No, that isn’t the right thing to say. He knows it’s not because the woman in front of him immediately stiffens and he hates how defensive he sounds the moment he’s uttered the words. This isn’t an argument. This is supposed to be an explanation.

“Priya came at my doorstep today Thomas. I’ve never spoken to the woman before then and she wanted to discuss you.” She tries to think positive and presses her lips into a firm line. “She said some things that…well, troubled me.”

Thomas knows Priya. Or at least he thought he did. Today has made him think otherwise. Now, he can’t imagine what she’s said in his absence. But he at least believes that Tatum’s more than kind enough to mince her words; putting everything rather mildly to whatever she told her.

“I…something happened between us.” He wants to choose his words carefully. He never had any intention of withholding it from her – he simply hoped he had more time. More time to make her understand the mindset he’s been in without her…how lonely it’s been since she left his life. More time to explain that Priya hadn’t been his first choice in a long time.

“So, it’s the true then? All of it?” Tatum responds uncertainly. Her face had fallen a little and she kept her hands to herself. They are safely tucked inside her lap as she struggles to keep eye contact with him.

“I’m not…sure what she told you but,” Thomas doesn’t look away. He can’t. He needs her to see that it meant nothing to him. “I never slept with her. I don’t know if that makes things any easier,” he continues, sighing. “But we did have a few intimate exchanges, I’m a man Tatum.” He sighs, exasperated. “I digress – I was lonely. I craved intimacy and I couldn’t have it with you…Priya…she was just a distraction.” He leans in, closing the space between them and watches with slight disappointment as she flinches and looks away.

He leaves a hand on the table, hoping she’d reach out but she still keeps her hands inside her lap. He leans back but keeps his hand where it is. “Tatum, say something. I need to know what you’re thinking.”

“That doesn’t really make me feel any better.” She says finally, risking a glance at him. “Hearing that…well it hurts.” She says finally, “I know I didn’t expect you not to explore some…unresolved feelings you might have had for her. I would be stupid not to. But I suppose,” she glances down at her hands, biting her lip. “I suppose I didn’t expect for it to hurt so much.” She takes a shaky breath, “I may not necessarily like her but I don’t think anyone should ever be someone else’s second choice. That’s too cruel, even for you Thomas.”

An ache fills Thomas chest at her words. Suddenly, he wants nothing more than to close the distance between them and crush her to his chest. But he doesn’t because that isn’t what she needs. She needs to process and he owes her that much. “I understand,” he says slowly, nodding. “You’re right. It was cruel and I am not trying to excuse my actions…my intentions were deplorable and I will always be deeply sorry that I’ve hurt you.” He takes a ragged breath and runs his fingers through his dishelmed hair.

“But you deserve the truth and the truth is, it wasn’t always a lie with Priya. In the beginning I truly tried to see what a life with her could have been. But even then, some part of me always knew. I was still thinking of you.” His voice softened and Tatum glances up in surprise.

Her heart does a flip and her stomach is suddenly twisted into knots until his eyes darken. And she sees within them, how deep his love for her runs. Her breath catches and she can’t look away.

“I was constantly comparing you two, over and over again. Weighing her every action to something you would have done. I agonized over why I couldn’t stop thinking of you too. Even when we were kissing, I couldn’t stop seeing you. Because of you, Tatum there’s just – there’s,” he struggles to find the right words. “There’s no competition.” He finishes finally, his eyes never wavering from her. “You are the most stunning and intriguing woman I have ever had the pleasure of meeting. Knowing you, being with you has left me changed forever.” He reaches for her hand then and this time she doesn’t pull away. “You are the only person I want to be with it, it was just a shame it took me so long to realize it.”

The tears come and they don’t seem to stop. No matter how many times Tatum tries to wipe them away, they’re still coming cascading down her cheeks followed by the hitch in her breath as she tries to breathe past the slight lump in her throat. Her vision blurs. When she feels his arms, she practically melts into his embrace. He feels so warm, so safe.

She hadn’t heard him stand, but she buries her face into his tailored shirt all the same. A part of her is still hurt, still processing but those feelings are things to work on. Trust goes both ways. Trust has to be built on both sides. She knows that now.

As Tatum feels his breath by her ear – she’s simply elated to have him in her arms again because she’s never felt as safe anywhere else.

“I’m here.” Thomas murmurs softly, sinking his fingers into her hair. He threads his finger through her wavy curls as he feels her shoulders relax.

“I know.” She closes her eyes and listens to his heart, knowing that’s exactly where she’s always wanted to be – where she’s always meant to be. “I’m sorry I stopped believing in you. In us. It’s just I –” she pulls away enough to glance up at him.

“We’ve had a difficult couple of months, haven’t we?” He says as though reading her thoughts.

Tatum snorts as he uses his thumb to wipe her cheeks. “I think that’s the understatement of the year at this point.” She relaxes a fraction when he drops a kiss to her forehead.

“But if it always led me to you. No matter how many times – I would do it again. Just to end up right here.”

“Getting sentimental in your old age, Thomas?” Tatum can’t help but tease. The rest of her playful teasing dies in her throat as a breathtakingly slow smile spreads from ear to ear across his handsome face.

“Maybe. You are my soft side.” He reminds her.

“And simply between us, I believe it.” Tatum grins, looping her arms around his neck.

“I would hope so. It isn’t something I’ve admitted before. No to anyone else. But I would so gladly repeat those words again.” He angles her chin, “just to see you smile.”

Her grin widens before a laugh tickles her throat. “Lucky me then, I suppose.”

This time, Thomas feels the sincerity behind her smile. The same smile that had him enthralled nearly since the moment they met. It burns all the way through what he used to believe as his jaded heart, blossoms at the sight. He cups her cheeks adoringly, planting small kisses across them until she shifts slightly to graze his lips. “I love you.” He pulls away slightly t whisper.

“I love you too, Thomas.” She whispers back, pulling his lips back to meet hers’.

A few weeks pass, before Tatum can completely count her lucky stars. Things have gone relatively back to normal – or as normal as they can be considering the upheaval of her life had been in for the last couple months.

Her professional life has been on track since receiving an audition for a new psychological thriller. After reading the script and consulting her agent and Thomas, she’s bent on the decision that this movie could very well be exactly what she needs. A fresh start and something new from the action travesty she’d been a part of and the period piece that she’s still receiving royalties from. Still, it’s a little too early for her to tell but she at least has a good feeling about this one.

Her social life has gotten better too. In the wake of the several scandals, Hollywood Insider has long since proclaimed her and Thomas Hunt as one of the top ten most likely to marry before the end of the year. Something Thomas doesn’t care for but Tatum secretly enjoys the adoration they give them and although she hasn’t mentioned it, the proclamation has gotten her distracted – day dreaming about bridal dresses instead of her new script.

But her friends help to keep her focus, in their own way. The last time she’s been out with them to celebrate her new movie deal, the house party had been so huge at Victoria’s estate that Tatum still shudders at the mere thought of drinking alcohol ever again.

Lastly, Thomas finally asked her to move in with her. Not that she’s been hoping for him to, but it didn’t come as a complete surprise considering how much time she’s spent at his home lately. Often curled up with a book inside his lap, she likes to be in the same space as him unless he’s overly stressed about work and still glued to the screen even after she’s taken the liberty of snooping in his study naked.

The most she’s had to worry about currently was fitting the rest of her stuff inside the moving van still waiting downstairs on a bright Saturday afternoon. Thomas had taken off an entire week to help her after realizing exactly how much stuff she still has to move. At least a dozen boxes later, they’ve almost completed the move but something on the counter stops Tatum.

She frowns at the odd shape of the box; quite smaller than the rest something about it is completely off to her. She does a double take to make sure she isn’t seeing things. “Thomas,” she doesn’t look away as she calls for him. “I think we missed one.”

There’s no answer.

Frowning slightly, she peeks down the hall which is where he had been a moment ago; grumbling about how heavy her boxes filled with her favourite pieces of literature was.

“Thomas!” She calls again.

He’s nowhere to be seen.

Shaking her head, Tatum picks the box up effortlessly and open its lid.

She blinks.

Then blinks again.

For a moment all she can do is stare dumbfoundedly at what’s inside. Directly in the middle of the small cardboard box is an expensive looking ring surrounded by red velvet silk. “What –” It’s quintessential in every sense of the word. Elegantly trimmed gold with an antique looking gem that makes Tatum think it has to be several years old. Perhaps, it’s even been in the Hunt family for at least two generations.

She can’t stop staring.

Even worse, she’s afraid if she touches it – it’ll somehow shatter in front of from out of existence, proving that this all really a dream. “Uh, Thomas – ?” She starts.

When she whirls around again, Thomas is standing a few feet away down one knee with a completely serious look in his eyes. Oh.

This is all real. Tatum stares open-mouthed at him. He’s actually doing this. On one knee. Ready to propose to her. Oh god. Is she hyperventilating or are all the walls inside the apartment actually closing in on her?

She thinks she is, because suddenly she’s having trouble standing and her lungs feel tight as though they aren’t getting enough air.

“Tatum Everly.” Thomas begins, never taking his eyes off her. A fancy dinner for something so important wouldn’t impress her. No, asking her – right here and now, where they’ve spent countless of nights and mornings together - means an immeasurable amount more than doing so anywhere else.

“There’s plenty I can say and still it won’t be anywhere close as to what you mean to me, how much you mean to me. But nevertheless, I will try.” His lips lift into a smile that reaches his eyes. “You are my partner. My confidant. My lover. My biggest support system. You’re my everything and I don’t want to spend another moment wondering what if – when I know. I know you’re everything I want. Everything I need. I love you.” He reaches for her hand while his shakes almost as much as hers as he squeezes her hand tightly. “Will you marry me, Tate? Will you make me the happiest man alive?”

Tatum swallows and her all too abruptly her body is moving faster than her mind can react. She throws her arms around him, smiling as he laughs with what sounds like relief the second he catches her. She kisses him deeply, winding her arms around his neck – placing as much love as she can for him every moment their lips remain locked together.

When they come up for air, Thomas is staring down at her with so much love that her heart swells. “So, I presume that’s a yes?”

How he manages to look adorable and sexy all at once, Tatum won’t ever understand but she laughs at his abrupt pout when she doesn’t answer right away. “You presume correctly.” Tatum kisses his nose fondly, before taking the ring. She watches as he slowly slides it unto her finger. “I love you too Thomas Hunt and I want nothing more than to spend the rest of my life with you.”

She can taste his eagerness in his kisses, feel his hard length press against her as he lifts her off her feet. He shifts to plant his lips smoothly against her neck when she pulls him closer. “God, you make me so happy.” He murmurs into her skin.

“I do detect a lot less grumpiness from you recently.” She responds teasingly. Then she utters a short gasp when she feels him suckling onto her skin. As his hands drift beneath her blouse, she shudders.

“Let’s celebrate.” He says softly, his voice deepening. Desire darkens his features when he manages to tear his lips away, just for a moment. Only just for a moment. He wants her to see how serious he feels about ravishing her right here. Right now.

“Here?” A blush that’s warm enough to turn her cheeks pink as she averts his sudden smirk.

“Mmm,” a low hum escapes his throat. “Here, anyway I can have you.” When she meets his expression again, he rakes her with a look of complete lust.

It makes her stomach flip.

She can’t say the idea hasn’t crossed her mind. At least a couple times today, she’s imagined what it would be like to leave one more mark in her old apartment. Feeling bold, Tatum tilts her chin to meet his intense stare. “Then have me.”

Thomas doesn’t need to be told twice. Instead of setting her down right away, he waits until they’re backed up against a kitchen counter before setting her atop of it.

She doesn’t hesitate to yank him close – kissing him soundly on lips, until they’re both breathless. She’s a little surprised at herself. Usually, she never feels this intensely but doesn’t want to let him go as he wedges himself between her legs. Instead she wants to feel his lips everywhere, to feel his hands touching her most sensitive spots until she’s writhing from pleasure.

He groans when her hands slide down between them to cup him. “I don’t think I’ve ever felt this impatient in my life.” He bites his lower lip to stop himself from moaning when he feels her fingers slipping past the waistband of his jeans. His member jerks when he feels her soft prodding, touching just the tip of his cock before he thrusts into her open palm.

“Then let’s do something about that, shall we?” Tatum murmurs smoothly, while on the inside her heart is practically ready to jump out of her chest. She strokes his entire length, up and down as she tilts her chin forward to watch his expression.

His eyes are a little unfocused as he takes a ragged breath. Despite losing composure, Thomas eyes never leave her face. Not once as his hips jerk to her movements do they waver from her. He groans again when she squeezes his tip.

Unable to stand her teasing anymore, Thomas leans forward to find one of her favourite spots – right between her shoulder and her neck. He nibbles there lightly, and feels a slight swell of satisfaction at the sound of her gasp.

“I love it when you do that.” She says softy, her free hand reaching up to cup the back of his neck.

“I know,” he mumbles against her skin. Placing light kisses, Thomas trails a path until he’s able to rest his lips between her breasts. Against the light fabric of her tee, he teases one nipple and then the other. All the while aware of her soft words of encouragement as she threads her fingers through his hair.

Eventually, he pulls away and a small whimper escapes her lips.

He chuckles. “Good things come to those who wait.” As though emphasizing his point, he slowly sinks his fingers beneath her blouse and began tracing small circles into her skin.

Tatum shivers. “I think good things need to move a little faster. We don’t have very long before the movers come back.”

Thomas tilts his head to the side, pausing as he considers her words. Usually he likes to take his time when it comes to lovemaking. He likes to watch her; watch the pleasure on her face when he thrusts into her – he likes seeing the exact moment when she’s completely undone. But as his eyes check the time, he realizes they didn’t have time for any of that.

Aware of his hard-on, Thomas curses and steps back. “Maybe we should meet them downstairs.”

“Wait.” He feels her legs wrap around him as a form of protests before she snugly tries to pull him back towards her. “I didn’t say we shouldn’t.” She looks away, bashful for a moment before fluttering her eyes in a not-so-innocent look. “I just meant we have to be quick.”

Oh. “You naughty little minx.” He places his hands on either side of the counter as she giggles.

Slightly smirking, she reaches for the waistband of his jeans again. “You seem to bring out that side of me.”

“I love it,” he watches with a half-amused stare as she struggles to get his belt off. “I love you.” He stifles a laugh at her continuous attempts at yanking it free. “Would you like some help with that?”

“No, I think I have it.” After a few more seconds, Tatum throws her hand in the air exasperated, “actually yes. I would very much appreciate your help.” Cheeks turning pink at the sound of his laugh, Tatum pokes him in the chest as he effortlessly unhooks his belt and places it next to her. “I loosened it.”

“Mhm. You are incredibly adorable, Tatum.”

“I prefer incredibly sexy, Thomas.” Tatum leans forward enough to cup him again, getting exactly the reaction she wants when his cock twitches in her palm.

Thomas hisses. “You can be both.”

Without responding, Tatum runs her finger over the tip again then licks her lips.

“The things I would do that mouth,” he murmurs darkly. “If only we had the time.” Shifting forward, he trails his hands along the smoothness of her legs until they halt by her inner thighs. He pulls her pants down, until they pool at his feet. Without taking his eyes off her, he lowers himself till his lips are pressed against the fabric the only thing still separating them.

Her breath hitches. “Thomas.” Her cry is a half-protest, half-plea until he pulls her underwear down with his teeth.

When she feels him there, her hips nearly jerk off the counter. But his hands are there too, holding her firmly, pressing his lips into her mound as he licks her swollen clit. Her hands dive into his hair and she struggles to stop herself from moaning as he continues his sweet torture.

Thomas focuses completely on what brings her the most pleasure; what makes her moan and squirm beneath him. He switches between sucking her clit to licking until her toes curl and she’s fighting for control. “Let go baby,” he says softly and within seconds his words become her undoing. Tremors wrack her body as she comes, and he doesn’t move – not until he’s lapped up every drop of her.

When he straightens himself upright again, Tatums tugs him by the collar until his lips greedily crash against hers’. She can taste her own arousal on his lips. “I want you.” She mutters in between kisses.

He presses his length against her. “How much do you want me?” He challenges, his voice full of longing.

“Too much. I can’t wait.” She says against his lips. Looping her arms around him, she impatiently tugs him closer.

“Say it.” He kisses a trail down her ear and bites. “Say it for me, Tatum.” He whispers harshly into her ear.

“F-fuck me.” The words are almost a gasp as his tongue finds her ear.

She feels both his hands suddenly by her hips, digging into her flesh as he pushes her legs further apart. “Please.”

The self-satisfied smirk flits quickly across his lips before just as swiftly disappearing once he sinks into her. Shit. He can’t believe he’s forgotten how incredibly good she feels.

He gives her a few seconds to adjust, but Tatum’s fingers quickly find his naked back. His cock twitches at the sharp pain her nails leave behind as her hips shift forward.

“More.” It’s a soft command this time as she looks up at him.

Gripping her hips tighter, he pulls entirely out before just as quickly thrusting again and this time the movement is harsh enough for her hips to jerk in response.

“Ah! Thomas!” She cries out his name.

He does it again and again. Listens to the sounds of her needy moan for him to go faster, for him to fuck faster. He redoubles his efforts, until his control threatens to slip and his fingers dig into her skin.

She wraps her legs tighter around him as his hips began slamming almost forcefully into her.

More, more.

He isn’t sure if it’s her voice or his – but rather, they mingle together in a series of nearly incoherent sounds as they climb higher and higher until the blinding pleasure threatens to consume every thought, ever action. His lust drives him forward and each time he slams into her, her hips shift nearly off the counter. He drops his hands there, makes tight fists as he rhythm becomes less and less controlled. He’s lost it completely – as the dam inside him threatens to burst, he drives his hips forward while she shudders and cries out. With one final hard thrust, he comes almost violently inside her, moaning her name before he presses his face into the crook of her perspiring neck.

A minute passes before Thomas glances up and meet’s Tatum’s smile. Her cheeks are heavily flushed, her pupils still dilated and her hair has become a mussed tangle that he has the urge to run his fingers through. Still, she’s never looked quite as beautiful as she does now – beaming down at him. “You are simply breathtaking.” And he watches those cheeks of hers darken with colour before she leans forward and presses a kiss by his lips.

“Flatterer.” She goads. “Coincidentally flattery will always get you everywhere.”

Thomas smiles into her kiss, “that’s quite a romantic way of saying you enjoyed yourself.” He feels her lithe body slightly trembling until she’s all-out laughing against his lips. Pulling away reluctantly, he helps her to slide off the counter before wrapping his arms around her into a tight hug.

She lets out a contented sigh. “Always.”

Before he’s able to respond, they both jump at the distinct sound of someone clearing their throat, followed by a series of frantic footsteps leading towards the front door.

Thomas freezes and then swears seconds after it dawns on him. The movers are back and from the sounds of it, they hadn’t been unaware of their presence lingering in the kitchen. Dropping his arms, Thomas steps in front of Tatum and clears his throat. Trying to sound as dignified as he can muster, he calls out shrewdly. “We’ll – we’ll meet you downstairs.”

There’s a grunt of agreeance before the voice recedes, presumably back into the hallway of the apartment building’s.

“Oh god,” Cheeks flaming, Tatum buries her face into Thomas’ back. “Do you think…they saw anything?”

“Even if they did, they would keep it quiet. It wouldn’t bode well for future employment if this was ever leaked.” It would certainly save us all the embarrassment. Although, he admires Tatum’s body – he doesn’t want to share with anyone. Not even accidentally.

“Ugh,” Tatum groans. “This is what we get for not making it to the car.”

Despite their circumstances, Thomas laughs. “There’s always next time.” He takes her hand and places a tender kiss across her knuckles. The sight of the antique ring beaming back at him makes him surprisingly giddy at the idea of sharing their news with the rest of the world. He supposes, this is what it means to be the right person. Usually more private about his affairs, he pulls her to him – not caring they were still half-dressed under the bright fluorescent lightbulbs overhead.

“Mrs. Tatum Hunt, huh?” She toys with his last name out-loud instead of the dozens of times she’s daydreamed about it in the past. Except this is real, this time she doesn’t have to hold back her joy at the thought. “It certainly has a nice ring to it, doesn’t it?”

Thomas pretends to think about it, until she noisily tips on her toes to bump his nose. Laughing, he places a soft kiss there - gentle enough to make her smile. “It’s perfect.”

Tags: @mfackenthal @emomoustache

#thomas hunt fanfiction #ns*w #thomas hunt x mc #playchoices fanfiction #thomas hunt #red carpet diaries #rcd fanfiction #thomas hunt x tatum everly #playchoices #very longg post #jesus #it needs some more editing #but I didn't want to sleep without posting so here we are #Simply Between Us Part 8 #this is my first time writing smut in ages and ah #yeah #I don't know anymore #ignore me in the tags #an angstymarshmallow writes

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penniesforthestorm · 5 years ago

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Concert Recap, Cherry-on-Top Edition: Ian Noe at Rockwood Music Hall/a bunch of my friends at Gutter Bar, 10.3.19

On Falling in Love With the City All Over Again

(yes, that was a seasonal pun)

After being involved with this little corner of the music scene as long as I have, it’s kind of inevitable that I’ll get invited to multiple happenings on the same night. (Hey everybody, look how cool I am...yeeesh.) Sometimes it works without a hitch-- last weekend, I was invited to one set at 7:30 and a bill starting at 9:30, at two bars that are not only close to each other, but walkable from my apartment. But sometimes, I have to choose, especially on a weeknight. So I was a little dismayed earlier this week, when I realized that seeing Ian Noe, which I’d been looking forward to all summer, would overlap with the show I’d been invited to at the Gutter, which featured four bands, all comprised of people I’m friends with. But I looked at it again, and realized that, at worst, I’d only miss one set at the later show, so I thought I might as well make a night of it.

I left the office right at 5:30 (I think I sent my last email of the day at 5:28), grabbed a sandwich and a cup of tea to go, and started walking downtown. A fine, misty drizzle was in the air, and I was glad to have my hot tea to hold and sip as I walked. I walked down through Chelsea to the Village, deciding to turn east at 10th Street. (The next time you’re in Manhattan, walk east on 10th Street, starting at 6th Avenue, in the early evening and see if it’s not just a little bit magical.) Over to 2nd Avenue and down, winding through the restaurant crowds and the gaggles of students and the old folks walking their little dogs, and finally to Rockwood, where I have spent so many memorable evenings.

The first act of the night was Jeremy Ivey, a Nashville singer-songwriter who happens to be married to Margo Price (I genuinely did not know this beforehand.) Rather than a long-winded description, here’s a link to a song of his that particularly stood out to me, “Gina the Tramp” from his new album The Dream and the Dreamer. He has a way of surprising you with a lyric-- an image or a turn of phrase that’s unexpectedly vivid and precise.

As for the headliner, Ian Noe-- as I said above, I’ve been looking forward to seeing him all summer. Between the Country is just a shockingly good album, and I was really grateful that the show was in an intimate space like Rockwood. (I saw Paul Burch there a few years ago, and my friend and I made two of the eight people in the audience; happily, last night was sold out.) He has a quietly intense stage presence, but he’s not at all self-serious; he warmed up and settled in after the first song or two. The highlight was his song “The Last Stampede”-- again, don’t take my word for it, but this tune is breathtaking. For an encore, he played “Born in the U.S.A.”, rendering it as spare and sober as it should be. (Of course I couldn’t help being reminded of Apocalypse Now; I think Willard would be a Springsteen fan.)

I would’ve liked to stick around and try to say hello, but I was committed to my harebrained scheme, and in an absurd stroke of good fortune, the trains were with me, so I made it over to Williamsburg at about a quarter to ten. The drizzle had gotten a little heavier and a little colder, but after being in that warm, crowded room, it felt good to cool off. I made it to the Gutter just in time to catch some of the friends I’d most wanted to see: a new band calling themselves Public Radio, but made of members of some of my favorite local acts (The Harmonica Lewinskies, The ‘94 Knicks). They don’t have any material out under their own name as far as I know, but they did a version of this song, which I’ve seen Rob Bettega perform many times over the years. Next up was the band LUECK, who I hadn’t seen in a while--this track is a favorite of mine. The very last band of the night was The Great American Novel. It’s kind of a funny story (*finger guns*), but, way back in the winter of 2013, I was invited to see The Harmonica Lewinskies at Bowery Electric (I knew Rob and Dan in a roundabout way through school). Playing with them, in slightly different lineup, was The Great American Novel.

I’m closing in on a full decade of living in New York, and while I’ve had it easier than most, there have been some tough times. (This is also known as “growing up”.) But every so often, I get a night like this, of dancing and sweaty hugs and sleepy cab rides home, of catching up with old friends and meeting new ones, and of course, the music. And that’s the trick of it, that’s the enchantment. Jacket weather has arrived, and not a moment too soon. See you around.

#music #Concert recap #live shows #new york #ian noe #city life

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yenrz1314 · 6 years ago

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Yo yenrz, I love your work and I was curious if you could show like a step by step process for what you do?

I really need to stop answering asks so quickly I have a LIFe tO LivE

So here’s a step by step blog about how I draw stuffs

Keep in mind that the end piece is still a WIP however. I’ll post it in full later.

Also if you’re asking about how I construct my text blogs I’m sorry I misconstrued the meaning of your message

So let’s start with what kind of brush I use:

I use the default pen brush on a little program called Krita. It’s free if you want to try it out.

Here’s said brush in action:

I always start with a rather huge brush size, since It’s easier to make larger, longer, broader strokes. Also that way I don’t have to constantly change my brush strokes to erase large areas (which happens a lot when you sketch) The main detractor for this method is that you get really messy sketches however >.>

And like most pansies, I don’t go full on black. We artists have too much anxiety to deal with that.

TIME TO DRA-

wait I forgot to put on some music

youtube

K, so I’m going to be drawing our boy Roxas today because I made a screenshot for the previous text blog I did and I thought he looked really freaking fine in that shot. So I wanted to make a quick body study with facial expressions giving that same kind of edgy mood.

So I first start out with a circle, mapping out the direction that circle is pointing towards.

An important thing to keep in mind when drawing ANYTHING, especially if you’re a beginner, always remember to map out where the parts of your face are going to be. That way you don’t get trapped in a rabbit hole getting sucked into drawing your perfect eyes/nose/whatever facial feature and then realize when you zoom out that it looks like your person underwent a botched plastic surgery.

Rules of thumb to keep in mind about faces:

Eyes are at the midway point of your head

Distance between eyes should be about an eye wide

Ears are around the same level of your eyes

CHEEKBONES EXIST and Jawlines are square

So moving on, I go on and start sketching out the pose. Keep in mind that during the process, I usually don’t really know what I’m going for, so I test out different angles and positions and etc.

So while I settle in, I finish deciding how I want the shoulders to look.

But-

I notice something looks…off.

If you’re a beginner, it can be hard to tell when something is wrong with your drawing. Or even worse, you’re an early intermediate and you know something’s wrong but you have no idea how to fix it. And then you start going down a very, very deep rabbit hole trying to fix it and no matter how you fiddle with it…it never quite looks right. Yes I know the struggle.

So here’s the solution:

Break down the figure into simple forms. The key to making this work is that you must have ample knowledge of proportions of body parts respective to one another.

So here are rules of thumb for drawing most bodies (teenage or older and your figure isn’t larger or shorter than average)

Each half of the arm is about the length of a single head

The arm should reach to the halfway point between the hip bone and the knee

The torso(from the base of the neck to the pubic bone) is about two heads

Each half of the leg is about the length of the torso starting from the hipbone(not the end of the torso)

Boobs don’t jut out the sides unless you’re drawing really big boobs

Also, in this case, i’m utilizing a bit of foreshortening because the shoulders are in perspective, as in they’re facing away from the viewer a little.

So now it’s time to add the arms and hands. And like any other body part, I break it down to basic forms first (when you become an uber drawing deity, something I’m clearly not, you’ll be used to this and can skip over this step )

Hands are one of the things you see beginner (and even advanced) artists cry about for days. For good reason.

So the basic forms are like this:

Draw out your fingers as lines first. Also reminder that fingers are three segments long. Not two, which was evil propaganda that I was fed when I only drew anime.

Also and size should be about the length from the chin to a little above the eyebrows

Also I forgot to mention…

ALWAYS CHECK YOUR PROPORTIONS THROUGHOUT DRAWING. ALWAYS.

And once I decided on the placement, I start mapping out the actual shapes.

Also I wanted Roxas to look more manly and such so I looked a reference image to make his jawline/cheekbones more manly so yeah

So now that I’ve decided on the overall pose, I start on the details.

Also another rule to draw by that I’ll shove down your throat

DETAILS SHOULD BE YOUR LOWEST PRIORITY WHEN STARTING OUT. Start simple and get the whole form first, then start adding details. This ups your productivity and prevents you from getting lost in rabbit holes

It’s called rendering for a reason.

So I start adding the eyes and such and I’m overall satisfied with the face. And now I get started on the hair on a new layer. I don’t want the face lines to interrupt with drawing the hair, so I lower the opacity of the face layer.

I check how it looks by zooming out to see if everything looks alright. Oh noes he looks a bit too manly

Shrink that seme crap

Much better I know I didn’t follow the meme format shoot me

K now time for the fun part: the hair.

….

I just want to give a moment of silence for all of the times people have suffered from drawing Roxas’s hair.

….

because by golly his hair is the one I see beginners dun goof up the most out of all kh characters.

K moving on, the keyword for Rucksack’s hair is WINDSWEPT. And funny enough, there’s actual logic to how his hair works. Everyone’s hair has a center line/point where said hair flows from, whether it be a part in the hair or a eye of a hurricane thing because I don’t know what the name for that is.

Roxas’s is the latter. Demonstrated below:

See what I mean? It’s like an upside down wave going like whooooosh

Come to think of it, all hair should follow this rule. It should either be flowy or whooshy

Unless you’re Tetsuya Nomura, then you get to break all the rules

like seriously what the fu-

So now that’s done, I go and check for the gazillionth time, mirroring the image to see what I screwed up this time.

Oh noes something’s wrong with that shoulde-

Also I forgot here’s how I draw ears

-r it looks off.

That super spidey sense of knowing something’s wrong with your drawing is there for a reason. Heed its call.

Also if you think there’s nothing wrong with that neck, draw naked people for a couple of months and you’ll see why.

So when something’s wrong you do the usual. Break it down to simple fo-

Or just use a reference.

Looks acceptable now. Time to start the lineart.

Out of personal preference, I like to lower the opacity to

Even as I do the lineart, nothing is set in stone. The sketch, at times, isn’t enough to go off of. So in that case, let’s go back to the reference.

Also I hit a roadblock when drawing the hand so move it out in the open so I can get a clearer look at it.

Also I use my own hand as reference a lot so I accidentally make make my manly men have delicate pansy hands.

This hand pose isn’t natural at all but I’m okay enough at this that I’m able to make it look okay

Study hands kids. They’ll do you good.

….

I forgot to draw him clothes daMMIT

Whatever i’ll just slap some cel-shade lighting on it and call it a day. This is still a WIP so expect a not-naked-Roxas later this week

Thank you for reading! Here’s a link to my twitter, And if you would be so kind, please consider supporting my patreon.

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kaiser-king · 6 years ago

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Hazbin Hotel fanfic chapter 2: Making enemies

Here's chapter 2 of the fanfic. Hope you all enjoy it. Once again Spades belongs to @lolalovestruck

It had been about a month since i found myself down in Hell and joined an arms smuggling ring. It was a pretty nice job to land so quickly and it let me get good knowledge of the pentagram's layout. It was basically like a large scale city, just with much higher crime rates than the average.

Along with the new job, Spades, who i had taken to affectionately calling boss, supplied me with new amenities. A proper cell phone in case we needed to contact each other and a good, if a bit scratched up, 1911 pistol. I sat on my bed that whole night watching videos on how to take apart and put together weapons until i could dismantle and reassemble the piece without any difficulty. I also ended up making a machete out of a random chunk of metal and a busted wooden baseball handle simply out of habit.

Work was also pretty easy. It was no different than when i was alive, just instead of peddling drugs it was weapons noe. Any given day I'd deliver a box of revolvers or a gym bag full of Kalashnikovs to anyone with the money to order it, and since i still had some of my old skill with parkour from my life, it wasn't too hard to get back used to the regimen sith how often i made deliveries. I often enjoyed an off hand compliment from spades when she'd bring up how nicely business had been picking up since my arrival, not that they were having trouble, she was happy to see even bigger numbers of deliveries and cash flow. It also helped to keep me focused. It scared me to think i could've been just another bottomfeeder, left behind and struggling in some alley as i fought for food everyday. Now though, i live comfortably with a good job. And it was obvious i was the favorite, so there was no worry that I'd ever be turned on.

Lost in my own musings, i almost missed a phone call from Spades herself. A picture of her sitting at her desk sipping from a mug of coffee as her eyes glanced in my direction. I had taken the picture on a whim, but she liked it so much she went ahead and set it as her new icon for me. I slid my thumb across the phone and answered. "H-hey Boss, need a delivery taken care of?"

Her voice came just a bit staticy before clearing up. "Yes actually, it's one of our regulars. They want some heavier firepower." I could hear her tapping on the keyboard as she checked the info. "Can you deliver a few anti-personel smaws to our regular dead drop on the southside of the pentagram? I hate to dump more work on you but i know you're someone who can get such an important job done."

"Of course boss! You can count on your number 1!" I never liked to disappoint, and having Spades trust me with something that seemed quite important, i was on the rooftops with a gym bag full of rocket launchers in no time. Funnily enough, my apartment was on the way there so i decided to drop by for a mid trip snack. A couple cans of soda and a bite of jerky only took a second to grab, but of course there just had to be a knock at the door. A glance at my watch tpld me i was making good time, so i decided to answer, maybe make a friend who wasn't from work.

I wasn't quite prepared for what i was about to see though, as i opened the door to be met by a tall woman who's neck seemed oddly bent. Her skin quite pale as a head of teeth freshly coated in a crimson shade grinned at me. She was wearing an old rock band shirt that was probably from before i was even alive and a pair of grunge pants. Her voice was a bit rough, like used sandpaper and i couldn't quite place her accent. "Hey neighbor... i uhh, don't do this much but i notice you're either here all day or gone somewhere and i never catch you headed in or out. Would you.. like to hang out for a bit?" She brushed a bit of dark brown hair behind her ear. It was quite obvious she seemed to be the type to keep to herself more often, i decided against my better judgement since i had a good 10 minutes.

I was lead to her room with walls plastered with vintage rock bands and more old school types from well before i could grasp what music was. She just plopped onto her bed and cracked open her own drink. "My name's Tore by the way. I'm a hungry ghost, it's basically a cannibal spirit i guess?" She chuckled a bit as she took a sip, washing the gore from her teeth as she swallowed. "You won't believe my luck today, i found a dead guy with a broken bottle shoved in his face. He was a bit scrawny but tough meat is tasty."

As she talked about my first victim, my hand instinctively covered my eye, which was still intact thankfully, but now sported a scar of three claw marks. Of course it was now hidden under the scrap of cloth i used as a kind of mask, but i could still feel the pain every once in a while, like when you get a lump in your jaw, painful for a bit but easy to forget about afterward. We spent what little time i could spare talming about innocuous everyday things, the way all awkward first meetings go. While she was nice enough, something about her spooked me as she came closer and sniffed my neck. "You smell tasty at least. Everyone else smells like some form of garbage, but you..." she took a deep inhale of my neck. "You smell pleasent."

She didn't notice my reaction thankfully, and the beep of my watch indicated my time was up. "Well, this was quite nice tore, but i have a job to do. I'll catch you later ok?" While she seemed nice enough, i just couldn't stay any longer, and the strangeness of her deep inhale of my scent was rather offputting as i pulled the bag over my shoulder and made my way out the door. Before i left though i was nice enough to leave my number. Maybe she was just one of the weird kids, after all i was pretty strange myself, but it ultimately was the last thing on my mind as i continued with the delivery.

The southside of the Pentagram was one of the more violent areas in Hell. Due to a previous purge that happened before i ended up here, there was a huge turf war going on between a few of the bigger players. Thankfully, as an arms dealer we had no qualms about who owned the place, i just made the deliveries.

The dead drop was a hole in the wall bar called Devil's Drink which specialized in cheaper alcohol and bottomfeeder patrons, but we got plenty of cash using it as a dead drop so Spades had no real qualms with using it.

Something that worried me though, was the fact that a hydra was staring me down with all 10 of his heads. Not a single one took their eyes off me for even a second as I waited for the next 5 minutes and ordered a drink, just as i had been taught to do when dead dropping in any public place. A couple Blue Hawaiians later, 15 minutes had passed, so i stood up and left the delivery underneath the table closest to the bar as was standard. When i had made it to the alley way though, a gruff voice startled me.

"Oi, Rat boy! I got somethin to say to you!" Startled, i turned to see the hydra glaring at me as he followed me out of the bar. Now that i could see him better it was obvious he was well muscled and broad chested, with a military bearing and a look that threatened death. Of course my fight or flight senses kicked in, and i knew this gut would be too much to handle on my own so i ran as fast as i could.

Of course this prompted the hydra to give chase as i turned down different alley ways and back streets to try and escape, but he managed to keep up quite well, never being more than five steps behind me until i ended up cornering myself in a dead end. I turned to face the man who had chased me so far from the bar as each of his heads held a grimace on their face.

"You're pretty quick, but you don't have the stamina or the knowledge to escape me." He grabbed me by the shirt collar and lifted me up against the wall. "I know you're supplying my enemies with weaponry! Tell me who your boss is and we can make this go by so much easier."

"I don't know what you mean, i just deliver the weapons, i don't choose who gets them. If you're in the market for them I'd be happy to direct you to the proper channels." I shuddered in his grip as I feared for my life. It had only been a month and I'd never ran into anyone as scary as this so far.

A wicked grin spread his lips apart revealing his own sharp teeth. "I don't want your weapons. I want you out of business. So tell me who your boss is so i can take care of him. And put you out of a job."

For some reason the first thought in my head was why does everyone have sharp teeth. The second was that i would never betray Spades' trust like that, so i bit his arm, making him drop me as i pulled out my haphazard machete to defend myself. "I'm not gonna give you anything you limp neck dick head!" I wanted to push my advantage and lunge for my foe as he held his bleeding arm, but he was too quick and backhanded me against the wall with his good one. The impact wasn't bone breaking, but i felt all the wind leave my lungs as i hit the wall and then the ground. Left gasping for air, i could only look up to see a bit connect to my face and cause my vision to go blurry as i felt more pain from my ribs as he stomped me into the ground again and again as i struggled to defend myself. A few minutes seemed like hours before he finally stopped and delivered another swift kick to my face.

"Pitiful rat, take that back to your boss. Let him know who he's messing with when he gives weapons to the losing side. Remember the name Kiln when you make another run like this." The hydra, Kiln, laughed as he walked off, leaving me broken in the alleyway.

It took a while, but i managed to pull myself onto my feet, and struggle back to base to report in. Despite the complications, the job was done, and i had to report that to her. So i shambled my way back, machete in hand as i paid no attention to anyone i passed, until i finally made it back. I struggled to slide the keycard as my hands wouldn't stop shaking from the pain i was in. The door opened and i shambled inside, headed straight to Spades' office.

With a knock at the door i could hear her voice had a certain chirp to it when she answered. "Come in! I hope to hear some good news Vik..."

Her chirpy grin immediately dropped when she saw the state I was in. Without a word she stepped up to me and took my chin in her hands. A thumb dragged across my mouth to wipe away the blood, even though more was flowing from my reopened eye scar. Despite her expressionless face, her eyes seemed to stare at me with an acute intensity that even Hell's fire couldn't match. She pulled my face closer and stared into my eyes, and what she said next caused me to shudder as her words were dripping with venom abd unrestrained rage.

"Viktor, who did this to you?"

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skylights422 · 7 years ago

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Ok, so having binge-read Vanitas no Carte late in the evening/night when I was tired, I have decided I need to write about it before I can focus on any of my other hobby-related duties. If I forget/misremember any details, feel free to let me know!

Let’s go through the Big Stuff one at a time, shall we?

1. Noe, his oath to Ruthven, weird crap with his teacher

Noe is a very good-natured, honest fellow, but also pretty naive. He doesn’t seem to realize fully how bad/scary/etc his teacher is, fondly writing letters to him while everyone else who knows him - including his own grandchild, Louis - hate and/or fear him.

Not a lot has been revealed about Teacher other than he is called the Shapeless One and is enemies with Ruthven, which is a point I find interesting because of how suspicious and manipulative Ruthven is. Is that part of why Teacher hates Ruthven? Is it a moral conflict, a political one, a personal one? I’m hesitant to say its a moral one because honestly they are both incredibly shady and manipulative, cold people from little we’ve seen of them. So then its probably personal and/or political, the nature of which would be far easier to guess if we knew either of their motives more clearly. But I suspect their conflict will eventually become, in someway, central to the plot, and that it might possibly have something to do with the curse/oath put on Noe? I can’t see Teacher being thrilled that the man he hates has control over his pawn. (as he would see it)

And speaking of the oath, why does Ruthven want Noe in a position to obey his command, but only once? Is it a precautionary measure because he knows something about Noe’s position/powers, or does he have a specific event he’s planning on using that command on? This whole time I’ve been thinking the command is going to involve Vanitas some way, and it still very well could, but what if it involves Teacher in some way instead? Will it be used in conjunction with whatever power Ruthven has over Jeanne?

And another thing on Noe, I don’t think he’s come to terms with what happened to Louis as much as he acts, and I definitely think that even is gong to come back to haunt/cause trouble for him in some bizarre, horrific way. The stakes as a gift were made too significant to not show up again at least symbolically, but also perhaps literally, and I think there’s probably a lot we don’t know about Louis, Teacher, and the exact plans the latter had for the former. Like sure he was studying him because he was a curse-bearer, but was that it? What info did he hope to acquire? What was his conclusion at the end of said experiment? Whatever it was, I think its eventually going to become a Big Deal.

2. Vanitas, his character arc, his deal with Vamp!Vanitas and the blond kid, etc.

We recently got a pretty great Vanitas-Backstory-Centric arc and I have a lot of thoughts/feelings on the matter. Learning about Vanitas’s past somewhat and watching him confront some of it was absolutely fascinating and of course gut-wrenching, but as usual, it left me with a million questions.

First, I’m wondering about the blond boy, ‘no. 71′, who I usually just call Blond Boy or Creepy Kid. For this post lets say BB for short. We know he was a brother to Vanitas, but did they get along? BB seemed fond of Vamp!Vanitas, while we know Vanitas deeply hates her, so there must have been some conflict over that, right? What happened to him vs what does Vanitas think happened to him? Whenever Vanitas thinks of him, he’s accusatory and upset, was that actually how he acted or is that just Vanitas’s guilty conscious talking? I’m inclined to say its a little bit of both, because while I think Vanitas could have been fond of BB, and BB may have at least seemingly ‘died for him’. I can’t see them having had a perfect, conflict free relationship either.

And what was the promise Vanitas made to him? Was it to protect him since they were both in horrible situations, but he failed? Was it to free him? Kill him? Why couldn’t Vanitas keep the promise? It could have been because of what happened to BB, or because of some interference from Vamp!Vanitas, or because Vanitas couldn’t do it due to some personal failing (too scared, too indecisive, etc.). Each of these options have different, but equally interesting repercussions on Vanitas’s character arc. For example, if it was because BB died for him or was otherwise killed/removed/lost before the promise could be kept, it would emphasize Vanitas’s hate of being/feeling powerless and not in control, while if it was because of Vamp!Vanitas then it would be part of why he hates her so much now. And if it was due to his own failings, it would feed a hatred/fear of failing or not being able to decide, as well as increasing his self-loathing possibly even more than the first two options would.

And then I have like a hundred questions about Vamp!Vanitas. Why did she take in BB and Vanitas? Was there something inherently interesting about them to her? Did she want to free them, or was there an ulterior motive? How did she treat them and how long were they with her? I feel like she must have been cruel and/or manipulative, at least towards Vanitas, for him to hate her so much, but that says nothing about how she treated BB. Also did she actually go around killing red moon vampires at all? Is she really responsible for the curse-bearers or is it a coincidence that her book can cure them? Is she dead or alive? I’ve been assuming dead, since Vanitas took her book and name, but if she’s still kicking and comes back, what would that mean for Vanitas?

And of course I could go on and on about Vanitas’s reaction to everything in the last few chapters, but I’ll save most of that for chapter-reviews and character-specific posts. But basically, the fact that he hates Vamp!Vanitas even more than Morreau, and that it was BB that made him completely freeze up more than seeing his previous abuser in person again, says a ton about how bad things got under Vamp!Vanitas’s care, since that’s when whatever went down with BB went down, and i am worried about my trashy noodle for when he has to face BB directly. (I’ve also been wondering how he’s gong to react to that, will he freeze again? Revert to how he used to talk to him? Something else?)

3. Jeanne

Jeanne is one of the main protagonists I might have the most questions about, especially with the 2-Jeanne’s theory floating about. For starters, I really want to know how she came to be working for Ruthven. Is her service entirely part of the oath? Or was she working for him before that? What exactly was she forced to swear to, and how much does she remember about making the oath? When did she become so attached to Luca?

Of course I’m wondering what the end goal is with her with Vanitas on her side of things as well; for Vanitas the point is more obvious, this shows his misogyny and manipulation and allows for discussion on his perception of ‘love’. But what about for Jeanne? She’s being harassed by some wack human who she has promised to only drink blood from, making her dependent on her harasser. I’d say later it has developed into a way for her to explore feelings of attraction (towards his blood and on their date his faux kindness) as well, but I’m not sure what the conclusion to that might be. I also think it could be compared to how she’s also under Ruthven’s control, possibly leading to an arc about her freeing herself from her oath and from Vanitas? Ironically making her a parallel or possible foil for Vanitas who also has themes of imprisonment/freedom/individuality in his character arc? I think that could be a pretty interesting route to go.

And then there’s the ‘second Jeanne’ theory. We know Jeanne is extremely skilled in combat, offhand I can’t remember if she fought in the war or not, but she has the reputation as the ‘hellfire witch’, which I really want to learn more about. And if the Original Jeanne and Current Jeanne are different people, are their personalities significantly different? And with Jeanne showing up in the ‘past’, which version of Jeanne is Vanitas being saved by? I don’t offhand have any theories about this, but I find the idea has potential and leads to a lot of interesting questions.

Also I really love her interactions with Dominique so far and hope that develops into something or another, or is part of her growing independence/her future grab for free will.

4. The Chasseurs

Between Roland, Olivier, and Astolfo alone, there is quite a bit going on with the Chasseurs. For starters, Roland is a character that interests me a LOT. He’s not your normal ‘indoctrinated cult member who’s beliefs are unwavering to the point of seeming one-dimensional’ character; he changes his beliefs based on evidence, but is a firm believer in himself as a holy messenger. So its not so much the specifics of any one religion he’s attached to, its the idea that he’s doing holy work. But what I’m wondering is what does he want to do with that position? What is he trying to achieve? He’s researching vampires now to get more information, but what does he plan to do once he’s finished? Will he actually fight the other captains and abandon the church, or will he continue to blend in with the others while secretly pursuing his own agenda? I’m looking forward to finding out what his end goal is, because I find him a very interesting (and very intimidating) character.

And then there’s Olivier. I really wonder what his position is, why he became a captain. He was shocked but not angry when Roland said he was questioning that vampires were evil. He mainly seemed concerned with Roland’s well being, making me also wonder what their relationship is like. I’m not sure what to make of him yet, but I’m very intrigued.

Finally, Alstolfo. Is he the only higher up killing humans? Does he have his own agenda? Or is this a secret plot involving the Chasseurs as an organization? I’m not sure which I’d prefer; if it is the organization then I wonder why Roland, who is also a captain, seems aware of it. And if it is just Alstolfo...then I have a dozen questions as to why he’d join an institution all about protecting humans if he wanted to kill them. Perhpas this is a new goal, or there are only specific humans/kinds of humans he wants to kill? There’s been too little of him so far to have any concrete guesses, but I’m looking forward to finding out more.

Final Comments:

I would like to just throw in here how much I love Noe as a character. He’s sweet and naive, but not stupid or slow-witted; he’s a good fighter and quite good at analyzing a situation when he puts his mind to it. And I love his enthusiasm for everything, and how he’s so blunt about speaking his mind/opinions. So often the Naive Character is timid/shy, and seems much younger than they are in a bad way, but not Noe. Noe is just awesome and optimistic and a bit oblivious from leading such a sheltered life until recently.

Also, I didn’t get around to discussing Dominique much in this, but I really really like her and want to see how she comes into the plot more, and learn more about her relationship with Veronica and Teacher.

#vanitas no carte #vanitas #noe archiviste #jeanne #roland fortis #olivier #astolfo

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alien-rainbow · 4 years ago

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By Your Side Until My Death (1/?)

Chapter 1: Welcome to my life

Available on AO3

Princess Artemis, the eldest daughter of the kingdom of Olympus is to be married to her childhood nightmare. In a land where anything remotely magical is banned, Zoë fears for her and Ladon's life but knows that she could never leave the princess's side if she tried. Magical beings, a forbidden romance, family secrets, and safety for magic all wait beyond the kingdom's borders.

- 3rd person, will be completed eventually, teen, not completed, Zartemis

Artemis walked quietly down the long hall towards her chambers her feet starting to ache from the long day. She had been nearing womanhood and had many dudes to perform as the princess. She passed her twin's door and felt a weight lift off her chest. Her father was already so busy with her brother's wedding that he wouldn’t have time to attempt to take away her freedom.

Her brother years ago was betrothed to the Princess Kalliope from the kingdom of Muse and would be talking the throne of Olympus from their father. Aries multiple affairs and violent nature and lack of any intelligence about anything other than war made him unfit to rule the kingdom.

Artemis and her younger sister were to be married off to other kingdoms to be nothing other than child-bearers and trophy queens meant to sit still and look pretty. Her younger brothers would take queens from other kingdoms and find their own plot of land to rule or take up some other high position of power, that opportunity that was not open to a woman.

A scowl crossed the Artemis’s beautiful features contorting them into something to be feared. This might have been one of the reasons the woman was able to avoid marriage for this long. One look from the princes would cause the receiver's blood to run cold as they staggered back from the aura of power she seemed to radiate. Most supers were put off by their wife having any control of their life.

The men were insecure and not used to the pure power and respect that the woman demanded and deserved. Artemis was brilliant compared to other women of her age but considering the fact that she had five brothers, it was quite easy to sneak away with Athena.

Her sister's brilliance put their father's scholars to shame, and being one of the younger royalty it was easier for her to get away with things and people were not as horrified with her bending a few rules as they were with Artemis. Athena's way with words could usually keep both of them out of trouble.

The two women were shocked at their brother's uninterest in learning about the world they lived in. The sky was filled with dragons, fairy, and Pegasus, and the woods filled with other magnificent creature of magic such as full shift werewolves, dozens of different kinds of elves, and it was even rumored that vampire hybrids still existed in the shadows of the woods and in the kingdom.

Artemis unconsciously reached up to run her fingers gently across her pointed ears that were covered by her long silver hair. The people that knew of them had ridiculed her for them saying that she was an untrustworthy half breed and asked why she couldn’t be more like her brother.

Many believed that supernaturals lived all around us and were untrustable beings of Staten, If it was true and there were supernaturals in the kingdom then you would never know. Artemis he’d herself seem a dozen people burned alive for accusations of being a being of magic. Though Artemis could not understand why the Kingdom was in the Vally of three huge mountains and the only way to get to the rest of society was through a dense forest with only one road and was filled with the creatures. The crown city, Mytikas where the royal family lived was in the center of the valley.

The moonlight filtered through the panned glass filling Artemis with energy and reflecting off the polished stone of the walls and ground that wasn’t covered with carpets and elegantly weaved tapsters that hung on the walls. Some were made by her sister's talented hands and others were bought from around the world.

Artemis reached her door causing two kights to step aside as she walked into the dimly lit chamber. The five guards that were following her positioned themselves in front of the two huge wooden doors and one followed her into the room. The doors closed with a thunk causing her two handmaidens to walk into the main room that Artemis and the guard now occupied. The two girls entered from the drawing-room and walked over to Artemis and bowed deeply.

“My lady,” they said simultaneously. Both girls had on simple floor-length dresses that were synched at the waist paired with leather lace-up sandals and simple calved circlets nested into their hair. The girl on the left had shoulder-length black spiky hair that refused to smother out without hours of work and heat. Freckles were splashed across her noes and her electric blue eyes held more respect for the princess than anyone in Artemis’s family besides maybe her sister. A simple sliver bracket sat on her wrist, the last thing her father had given her before leaving her and her mother and baby brother alone. A black sheepskin half-circle cloak hung over her shoulders covering her arms that fell to her thighs.

The girl on the left was shorter than her companion though both girls stood taller than a fair amount of the men their age. The girl's glossy black hair fell to the center of her back and matched with her piercing black eyes. A small tattoo sat inside her wrist, a marking from her previous home. The girl wore a smiler clock of a royal purple only hers was made from one of Artemis's old dresses.

"Hello ladies," Artemis smiled kindly at the handmaids as the guard walked over to the door and stood to the side of it and planted themselves there.

"Would you like me to draw you a bath, your highness?" The taller of the two asked.

"Yes, thank you, Reyna." Her father would have been scandalized to hear Artemis thank her, and call the ladies by their names, though Artemis saw them more like friends than servants. Artemis had vowed to take in the two unruly girls after the tragic situations that they had both been put through. The two of them still had plenty of courage and spirit but they had learned to use it in a way that would keep them from getting lashed.

The girls and her personal guard had been with Artemis almost her entire life, through her father's lectures, the court's ridicules, and her loneliness. Artemis walked over to her Quercus ilex wood vanity (AKA: Holly/Holm Oak) and lowered herself into the soft feather stuffed cushion as Thalia walked over with her and began to take out the few ribbons that were braided into the princess's hair. Artemis let out a sigh as her long hair was loosened and Thalia began to run a soft brush through Artemis's long silver hair then helped her out of her large ensemble of cloths then helped her into a gold silk robe embroidered with intricate silver designs.

"You are allowed to take off your helmet here, no one is allowed in without my permission," Artemis said turning to face her personal guard as Artemis wrapped the robe tighter around her form.

"Thank you, your highness," The girl bowed and removed the silver helmet revealing her coppered color skin, brown eyes, pointed ears, and long dark hair that was braided tightly against her skull. Zeus was basically forced to accept Zoë into the royal guard when Artemis scared off all the others and despised the idea of having a man be around her 24-7. Even with her small stature, and the fact that she was female, Zoë was one of the best knights in the kingdom. What she didn't have in pure strength she doubled with speed, grace, and intelligence.

"Of course," Artemis said walking over to where Reyna stood next to a large tub of boiled water. The bath smelled of roses and cinnamon and pedals swirled in the hot water. Artemis let the robe drop to the floor as she stepped into the warm water. Reyna began to rub something sweet-smelling into the princess's hair while conversing with the others in the room.

"My lady?" Thalia repeated shaking Artemis from her warmth cased daze. "Did you hear what I said?" Thalia politely asked.

"I missed it, would you please repeat it?" Thalia nodded her head as she began to speak once more.

"His majesty seemed extra happy today, we were speculating on the reason he was in such high spirits."

"We assumed that it couldn't be Prince Apollo's engagement since that happed weeks ago," Zoë chimed in. Artemis turned to look at the shorter woman who now stood at the entrance to the bathroom rather than near the large doors.

"I'm sorry to say that I have no information for you," Artemis said frowning slightly. Her father had been more distant than usually in the past week but she had no idea why. "I shall ask Athena about it tomorrow, maybe she has heard something we have not." The three nodded their heads as Thalia went to grab a soft towel and wrapped the fabric around Artemis as she stepped out of the water.

Artemis walked into her room and pulled on her nightgown waving aside the handmade's offer of assistance. She then sat down on the large bed scooting to the side to allow Thalia to sit down next to her and once again run a brush softly through her damp hair.

"Have your burns healed yet?" Artemis said turning to look at Zoë who nodded her head.

"They have gotten much better thanks to the ointment you gave me," she said bowing her head slightly. "Thank you for the concern," Zoë said, as her cheeks pinked. Artemis smiled at the guard then turned to thank Thalia. After she had put the brush back, Artemis released the girls for the night thanking them once again.

After they had gone Zoë walked back over to the door and stood guard, "Good Night you highness," she said softly. The gentle orange candlelight danced across the walls causing the princesses to let out a yawn.

"Good Night Zoë," Artemis said as her eyes slowly drifted closed.

#artemis #zoe nightshade #fanfiction #writing #writer #fantasy #midevil #fantasy AU

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fidgetnano19 · 5 years ago

Text

Kids! (Part 3)

Translations

Mija: magic

Egomija: Bonded mage

[[MORE]]

"Magical doubles, maybe?" Finny suggested, her eyes trained on the boy who was calling himself Brexton.

Noe shook his head, following her gaze before looking back to the real Brexton. "No, doubles would be the same age. I think we can safely rule it out."

"Magical doubles, plus some sort of age spell, then..." Finn countered, then chewed her lip in thought. "Age spells are easy enough, but to duplicate a whole perso– two whole people. It'd be easier to create a golem than that."

"Like I said, let's forget doubles. There's too many details that are exactly the same to be simple disguises, either."

Cross returned to the group, heaving a sigh and resting his head against Brexton's shoulder. He reached around, rubbing Cross's arm to lend the pup some comfort.

"Well?" Finn demanded, impatient as always.

"Everything he said is right. Papa's name, the ship, the place he was found... There's not a single hole in his story."

"Mine, too. Let me guess, he went to bed ad usual, but suddenly he was here."

"Yup. He saw a room full of strangers and did what he– what we do best." Cross whimpered, rubbing at his forehead. He tugged his hand away suddenly, eyeing the small mark on his finger. "Maybe it had something to do with the spell?"

"What spell?" Noe demanded, taking a measured step toward them.

Brexton frowned, wishing Cross hadn't said anything in front of the egomija. "Nothing. Nothing that would have caused this, anyway."

"But it's only the two of us, and we both put our blood in, so–"

"Show me the spell, Cross."

Cross looked to Brexton for confirmation, but he shook his head, silently insisting that Cross ignore the command.

"I– I don't know what book it was in?"

"Fine. If you don't want help, then we'll just–" Noe grabbed Finny's hand, dragging her toward the door.

"We really should tell him", Cross whispered, standing on his tiptoes to bring his face close to Brexton's ear. "We have no idea what we're doing. We're in completely over our heads, here."

Noe stopped at the entrace, waiting for them to change their minds. He knew they would stop him before he left with Finny, and it was that smug attitude that pissed Brexton off the most.

"Damn!" He left Cross to retrieve the book, angrily flipping to the right page and handing it to Noe. "This is pointless. I still say they're some sort of trick. Spies, or–"

Behind him, the little 'Cross' broke into a loud wail. Finny rushed over, trying to console him, but all she got him to do was point a finger of accusation at the other boy.

"I only– I tugged her hair a little, as a j–joke." The older boy confessed, holding his hands up defensively, and looking to Brexton like he was expecting some sort of backup.

"Why would you do that?" Finny questioned him, hugging the crying boy to her chest.

"Her... her face is so pretty, and I– I don't know, it just made me want to bully her."

Cross turned to Brexton, rolling his eyes and snorting indignantly. "He's Brext, alright."

Brexton's shoulders sank as he nodded his concession. "Yeah, that's definitely me."

Noe ignored their exchange, reading over the spell. "I don't get it, what exactly were you trying to accomplish?"

Brexton explained the spell to Noe, giving the others a chance to calm the child version of Cross.

"How many times do I have to say 'no shortcuts' before you and Finn get it through your thick skulls?" Noe growled, whacking him in the arm with the spellbook.

"So the spell did go wrong?" Cross asked, returning to the conversation at hand.

"No! For a spell to go wrong, there first has to be a way for it to go right. The mija couldn't do as it was told, because you literally cannot send things back in time. So it sort of... guessed at it's intended purpose." He glared at Brexton, tossing the spellbook onto the table and disrupting several scattered papers in the process. "You can't send things back in time, because they either didn't exist then, or they're already there. No matter how you look at it, it's impossible."

"So, the boys can't be sent back, either? What will happen to them? Or to us..." Cross chewed at his painted nails, beginning to pace the floor until Brexton grabbed him, holding him still.

"I said you can't send things back. The boys belong there, it's a totally different thing. They should go back to their own time and place, once the spell wears off. The problem is, I have no idea how long it'll take."

#fidgenano #egomija noe #onai finnoula #mijako brexton #isut cross haven #bonus

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tempest-in-the-storm · 8 years ago

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JEDI AU

Okay so when Anakin is about four years old, Shmi gets two little visitors

Obviously concerned but these kids seem different, like her little boy currently napping in the other room

They seem to know Anakin and even more so that he was born without a father, similarly, the children say, to their own births

And that’s how Shmi meets her son’s Force siblings Luke and Lyra Eyes a glowing, they promise to protect Anakin on his path in the years to come

Shmi: ?????

But then they’re gone and Shmi never sees them again

TIME JUMP

Before Qui Gon Jinn came across Anakin Skywalker with Padme, he visited Jedha, where he had felt this huge ripple in the force (Little does he know this was the twin’s way of making a beacon to call him in)

He was snooping around and he came across the source; two kids about nine years old and when he learned that they were orphans he was like “fuck the rules” and low-key adopted them, under the guise of taking them to Jedi School

They took his last name, which probably pissed off some of the older folks on the Jedi Council but legit no one fucked with those kids because they the Force draped around them like some kind of tent

No one knew what the deal was with that

Since the Jedi Council was kind of skewed, the twins joined up with the Gray Jedi who were a lot more chill and were absolutely syked to get two strong force sensitive children

And so were born the little green eyed shadows :)

Anyways a couple of years of their training goes by, and the events of The Phantom Menace go into motion, but the appearance of Anakin has the two twins flocking to him.

They’re only a few years older than him, but with Luke and Lyra Jinn acting like bodyguards to the newest Jedi Padawan leads to ALOT less resistance from the Jedi Council

Which Qui Gon didn’t really plan to happen but is secretly happy about

Meanwhile Obi Wan is so fucking tired and oh my god Master you can’t keep adopting all these kids it’s against the rules

Qui Gon gives absolutely no fucks to this

Then oh noes he dies and Obi Wan is left with three kids, two of which are kind of low maintenance and can do fine on their own, but Anakin is another matter.

Of course, the teens sibs know that this won’t do and push against all the hate shooting towards Anakin, who they mother hen the shit out of

Anakin protests, but he secretly loves that there are those who are openly showing affection towards him and he won’t complain if they tag along wherever he goes and vice versa

ANOTHER TIME JUMP

They’re older, Palpatine is being a dick in the Senate which Padme is obviously pissed about

On the other hand, besides being the two badass assassins that take care of threats towards their brother and the galaxy before they even come to light, they are probably the biggest supporters of the love fest forming between Padme and Anakin

Less hiding in that department equals a stronger relationship between the two and nothing could ruin this- with the exception of the shit that is Darth Sidious that Luke in particular has been keeping an eye on any and all attempts of his to start to lure the chosen one to the dark side and thwarts them and honestly, Palpatine is certain he will never make any progress while those two are around

He won’t even bother with turning them

They’re too light, too steadfast, with impenetrable minds and practically chameleons with blending in.

Too slippery and too dangerous

Literally only a select few know of the green eyed jedi spies So they gotta go

Meanwhile on the many adventures of Luke and Lyra they come across a young brilliant genius who seems to have captured Lyra’s heart and soul

Normally Luke would be bristling at such unknown man threatening their balance, but he has a good eye, this man is good and he’s brilliant but kind

Luke makes a show of begrudgingly giving his blessing

Still no fucks are given towards the council when they get married, but Lyra does take a break when she gets pregnant

Excitement all around

Lyra and Padme chatting while the boys fool around takes up a period of months

Obi Wan is honestly frazzled because these two have literally flipped his world upside down and he deals with enough shit from Anakin who is training his own padawan

Ashoka is unfortunately the only one nearby when Lyra’s water breaks

But she is badass and remains completely chill even as Luke and Anakin are flipping out and Galen is approaching this all with a calm clear head as he helps bring his little girl into the world

Everyone’s crying when Galen offers the name Jyn as a tribute to her grandfather’s last name Jinn, as her last name will be Erso

Luke is DEFINITELY sobbing when he is appointed godfather and holds the little bundle in his arms and whispers “Kyberheart” and “Stardust” to his niece.

When Anakin is offered a chance to hold her, he freaks and tries to run from the room, but yo, Ashoka’s got that covered and barricades the door with her body.

He’s still panicking when he takes his friend’s daughter into his arms, she’s your niece too Anakin, you’re our brother remember?

But then she yawns and his heart swells to fill the room and suddenly he wants this and he’s looking at Padme and she is looking back and he smiles, holding his niece closer Jyn is loved very much, and absolutely can not wait to be taken as a padawan under her uncle Luke

She’s the flower girl at Padme’s and Anakin’s wedding attended by her parents, and uncle

And then the accident happens

Palpatine the little shit has been waiting a long time to put the twins out of commission and nearly succeeds, throwing them both into comas

The days grow darker Palpatine sinks his claws into Anakin, along with the growing fear for Padme

Jyn knows something is wrong the day the air seems to shift when her uncle Anakin enters the temple and immediately hides, nervous of the approaching storm

She is not slaughtered with the other children

But her panic along with the drastic shift in the Force is enough to bring Luke and Lyra out of their months long comas, and they are fucking sprinting despite their weak bodies, grabbing their weapons and cloaks because something is wrong with their brother and the Force is chanting for them to run before the youngest of the Force’s children crosses a line he cannot cross back from

Lyra rushes to Padme’s side, stopping several assassinations and hostages situations from taking place, but of course she’s been in a fucking coma for months so she’s a bit beaten up

She’s still scared though, because her child is scared and there is so much death haunting the temple and that is where her daughter is

Meanwhile, Uncle Luke is soaring to Jyn’s rescue like the super Jedi he is, and he is to say the least absolutely pissed that people are trying to murder his four year old niece, and suddenly all the clones are beginning to understand why he was called the green eyed assassin, because with a cloak hanging over his gray robes- a cloak that is as dark and brutal as the darkness of space, and glowing green eyes like the predatory glare of a wolf, they only see that that is death incarnate and they know they are carrion

There are so many and above all Luke fears for what Anakin has done

And no it does not break his heart when his niece begs him with tears in her eyes to save Uncle Anakin, because she caught a glimpse of him and the light is fading within him so fast

They can’t tell enemy from ally and Mama Lyra swoops in on a brutalized leg to save her brother and daughter

Luke has to physically tear his niece from her mother, who is silently shaking at the knowledge that her daughter is still too young to fully be able to remember her, and that she will grow up motherless

Her saber is broken, the remnants of the crystal on a makeshift cord around her neck Jyn’s small fingers grasp onto this crystal tearing it from her mother’s neck

Lyra does not like this symbolic passing of the torch, it hollows her to her bare bones

There is rage within her though, when she is brought to her knees before the beginning formations of the Empire and recognizes her husband’s old friend standing before her with a cold sneer on his face

Krennic who mocks her sacrifice and soothes her with the knowledge that she will be put down like the dog she is

Krennic does not know that the twins can receive glimpses of the future, and that when a flash of an image, of her daughter standing boldly in front of a crowd, crying rebellion, she smiles a wolf’s snarl you will never win

Luke and Jyn both feel the pain of her mother being beheaded, and the cold gap she leaves in the Force in the seconds afterwards

Luke is actually brought to his knees because the vacuum of space would be easier to breathe in than this corridor right now

But there is a hand in his, and he remembers to stand and keep going forward

He knows where Anakin is because there is a trail of death following him, both visible and not, and it churns Luke’s gut for his little brother to have become so corrupted, because he was not there, and then he finds him

Jyn has hidden but despite telling her to go, he knows she is watching

The confrontation almost does not happen, there are countless soldiers in the way but Luke sweeps past all of them, for he is one with the force and the force is with him, and they both intend to save what is left of that light in Anakin Skywalker

The remaining green eyed wolf is a force of nature, to be reckoned with and the appearance of Darth Sidious himself changes nothing as he confronts the boy that he watched grew up, that was the Force’s will for him to protect

If all three children of the force had been created with such a vast capability to love how could that be wrong

That the change Anakin would bring would change the wrong, but that giving into that endless rage would drown out any form of happiness because it is a fire that only burns everything

That is what he screams to his brother as they clash sabers, blue against gold

There are tears in both brothers’ eyes as Luke places a hand against Anakin’s chest, where his heartbeat pulses with the last light of a lost soul

And then he becomes a shiskebab on Palpatine’s lightsaber

Anakin’s true end is there the moment he watches his brother die in front of him

The brother who clasps onto his arm, leans in close and whispers Luke shall be your salvation, with a green glow in his eyes

With his last breath, Luke prays to the Force, and places what is left of him as a shield to his brother’s soul, to that last flickering light in the darkness, and shuts his eyes

He thinks This is not the end and this thought echoes in the silence of a thousand worlds, as all hear that call of hope and idea of rebellion

It echoes in Jyn Erso’s mind as she watches the light in her uncle Luke’s body flicker out and fade to nothing and she cannot work up anymore tears to cry

She watches the others walk away from Luke’s cooling corpse, Anakin the lone figure standing over it, and the tears that fall down his face as he stares at his fallen brother

Later, on a planet lightyears away, This is not the end whispers in Padme’s mind as she holds her children in her arms, so much like Lyra and Luke that she almost cannot bear it

She cannot help from bestowing her boy, whose heart already overflows with kindness after her husband’s most loyal protecter, who stood by him even as he grappled with the dark

And she dies knowing that somewhere out there is Jyn Erso, daughter of her friends and family, and who will someday meet her children and give them a home as well

Jyn and her father escape with the help of an old family friend Saw, who handles the heartbroken child with care

Her father’s whispers of Stardust are like salt in a wound and she curls into herself

Later she will learn to hide herself within the Force, to wrap it around her like a shell and shield her from the rest of the galaxy, and to pack away her robes, and everything of her family

But she can’t bear to be parted with her mother’s necklace

Not even on the day when the men come for her father and her and she flees to their bunker all the while her soul is screaming to turn back

When Saw Guerra retrieves her she does not cry

She is emotionless and allows herself to be honed like a tool, to fall on duty as a crutch to deal with her losses and the fact that she has grown numb to the Force, that she has not felt it for quite some time

Until she accompanies Saw to a meeting with the Rebel Alliance and meets Princess Leia for the very first time and she knows

She doesn’t know how to react to this

But what she does know is that she will protect this girl because she is a Jinn and she has to believe in the Skywalkers and all that they can do

TBC

#i told yall i would do this #this is a rough draft #part 1 #the jedi au stemmed from the one minor concept that Jyn's mother was going to be a jedi #and i WENT WITH IT #jedi au #jyn was a jedi in training #sw #star wars #rogue one #star wars au

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moyconsulting · 5 years ago

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Handle Roofing Sales Rejection the Digital Way

Rejection: it stings. It hurts the heart, it hurts the soul. When you go out and you give out a quote, and the homeowner says "No, we're not going with you," it feels bad, man. It feels bad.

Don't worry, I got you in this video, I'm gonna make sure that we minimize the amount of noes that you get just from using your online presence. All right, that's what we're gonna discuss in this video, and let's get started.

[embed]https://youtu.be/tpwp97aiYKQ[/embed]

For the best advice on generating roofing leads online, be sure to subscribe to my channel, hit the notification bell so that you get notified every single time I release a new video just like this one, every single Wednesday.

My name is Mats Moy and I am in the business of helping roofing companies just like yours, generate leads online, all the time. So if you're currently struggling with your online presence, you're not generating as many leads as you would ideally like, then you're definitely in the right place.

Quick side note, if you are looking to hire someone or work with someone to generate more roofing leads for your business, I have a few spots open for that one on one call with myself, where we'll discuss your roofing company, analyze it, see what you got going on online, and come up with an actual plan game plan to start generating more local roofing leads for your business.

I'll talk a little bit more about that at the end of this video, so make sure you stick around for that.

Dealing with rejection

So you got the lead, it came in. You got the notification on your phone. And so you head out to the home, you get up on the roof, you start looking around, you know, seeing what you're dealing with, so you can give an accurate quote. Or maybe you ordered an eagle view drone shot of the roof itself to get a better idea. And so you're ready to now speak to the homeowner.

You knock on the door, you introduce yourself, you sit down, you give out the quote, and the homeowner says, "Okay, you will need this with me, I'll think about it." And you head out, you know, thinking, "Yeah, you got this one for sure."

Homeowner calls you later, "Yeah, we decided to go with a different company." And then you start to wonder.

Well, that's the scenario for a lot of roofing sales reps. Right, they go out and they don't get the job, even though they think they were the cheapest guy, right?

Sometimes it's not a matter of that.

So I wanna share with you one strategy that has helped a few of my clients sell more jobs without having to reduce the price or without having to really do anything else. Really just showing this one thing to help close more jobs. And that one thing is, reviews.

Reviews

Reviews, reviews, reviews, generating reviews, and using them to sell jobs. It is 2020, right? Consumers are a lot smarter than they were 15, 20, 30, 50 years ago.

Everyone has access to the internet.

Now it is likely that when you left that house, thinking that you got the job, that homeowner, went online, did their due diligence, looked up your company see what you're all about, and turns out, they couldn't find much about you online.

Didn't have too many reviews, but your competitor came by and he had 100 plus reviews, people are raving about his company online, they can see everything, you know, they can see the owners, they can see the rep that came out, and they decided to go with them, just because of that fact, right?

And so, you got to think about it from a homeowner's perspective, right?

Think from a homeowner's perspective

When you're looking to do anything these days, right, think about it, like you're looking up a hotel that you're looking, or resort that you're looking to go out to down in say, Florida, right you're looking at some of the best resorts, you wanna make sure that you know you and your family have a wonderful time, the resort is clean.

You know the pictures on the on the website of the resort, they look good, the food looks good, the beach looks good, right? You wanna make sure all of these things before you go out and book it.

It's very similar to what these homeowners are doing today. They are online looking up companies that they're gonna deal with, right?

They don't necessarily like the door-to-door salesman anymore. It's that much harder for door-to-door salesman to go out and you know, secure a job just by knocking on doors. It's not impossible, but it's just more difficult.

So to minimize the amount of jobs that you lose to your competitors, what you can do instead is focus on, generating more online reviews to your Google My Business listing.

Facebook helps somewhat as well, yes. But it is much better for you to generate them to your Google My Business listing, because that is where you will typically get new traffic. Google will send you new traffic. So generate more reviews.

Zero to 150+

Here's how powerful this is guys. I work with a roofing company, Slavin Home Improvement.

If you haven't already, check out my interview with Zak, the owner of the company. Right here I will link to it, that way you can take a look at it.

So I've been working with Zak for just under two years now. Before he and I started working together, his online presence was non-existent.

So we managed to set up an online system within his business, to where now he generates give or take six leads every single day from his business. And again, check out the interview so that you can see exactly what I'm talking about.

But in the span of one year, we we've been able to go from zero online reviews to me just hammering this in his head that he needs to focus on, generating reviews for his Google My Business listing. And he's done an amazing job of going from zero to I think today he has 158 online reviews, 158.

Now, if you wanna compare that to some of his competitors, the closest guy, it's probably at about 40, maybe 20 reviews.

It's a no-brainer for who the homeowner is going to contact and who they're gonna give the job to. It's just because of their reputation online, it's not about going with the cheaper guy.

Sure, there are some people who want the cheapest, but as a business owner who was getting a bunch of leads, you will not need to go target those people. You go to people who actually value quality, right? And so that becomes a thing when you start to generate a lot of leads. And so this is why I like to focus on reviews.

So how do we go about generating more reviews for your business to your Google My Business listing? Because again, that is the most important place for you to get them, your Google My Business listing, not your home advisor page, or your Angie's list page, or Facebook, it is Google, Google is key.

Reach out to your past customers

The best place for you to start generating those reviews is to start reaching out to your past customers.

Now, if you've experienced this process of trying to get those reviews from your Google My Business listing, then you will know when I what I'm talking about when I say it's like pulling teeth, because some homeowners although they say "Yeah, yeah, well you know, we'll go on and leave you a review," they never end up doing so. And you'll follow up and follow up and follow up and it never happens.

And so the best way for you to do this is give them a call and let them know that "Hey, I wanna come out and do a free inspection on your roof just to make sure that everything is good. When will you be home?"

Invest in an iPad or tablet

That is the perfect place for you to present them with an iPad or a tablet. Have them leave a review for you right there on the spot.

You go out there and do that free inspection. In return, you ask them for a review about the overall service right there and then on the spot.

You get the iPad. For the older ones, it makes it easier on the eyes for them to see and kind of user-friendly. Present them with the iPad, open up your Google My Business listing on it already, and present it to them, and have them leave a review for you right there on the spot, right?

So you're doing, you've done that free inspection, you know, everything looks good, you know, "While I'm here, could you take a few minutes?" And right there on the spot, do not leave and say "Can you leave it later?" No no no, for them right there on the spot, present it to them, and have them leave a review, right.

For one, you'll get it right there on the spot, and two, it makes it that much harder to say anything negative about you while you're standing in front of them. All right, so definitely utilize that strategy.

Now, going into the future, you wanna do this as well. Whenever you're doing that final walkthrough with the homeowner and you know that they're happy with the work that you did, go ahead and present them that iPad. If you don't have an iPad, just use your smartphone, right?

And yes, the person does need to have a Gmail account and the majority of people do. If they don't, you wanna have a separate tab open to the Gmail page. Have them create an account and then leave a review.

Dominate the competition

Guys, trust me when I say this: it is worth every moment to follow through with this. It will produce new roofing leads for your business. And this will play in five years down the line, 10 years down the line, all right?

Be sure to follow through on this. Have your entire team onboard. Recognize that reviews are going to be a huge part of generating new business for your roofing company.

So these reviews can come from big or small, doesn't matter, right? From the smallest repair to a huge commercial project, get the review. This will help you dominate the competition.

Again, it'll help you stand out from all of your competitors. If you generate these reviews after every single project, it will also help you drive more leads.

Reach out to family and friends

Now for those of you who are just starting out, it's gonna be a little bit more difficult for you. Reach out to family and friends and have them leave a review about you as an individual. So they can leave an honest five-star review about your business and your company, as well as yourself.

Show off your reviews on your website

Take advantage of these reviews and upload them automatically to your website. There's tons of free tools out there that you can use. Take your GMB, Yelp, and Facebook reviews, etc. and have them automatically uploaded to the review page of your website.

That's something that you can also do to really so you don't have to manually add them every single time.

So now you know how to minimize the amount of sales rejection, the digital way, right? Just by doing this one thing consistently. Sooner than later, you will be the local market Titan that's able to go in and sell the job.

So as mentioned at the beginning of this video, I have a free one-on-one call available to you.

If you are dissatisfied with the current state of your online presence, then book a call with me. We will discuss and figure out the fastest course of action to generate more roofing leads for your business. The program will show you how to set up a system online to consistently produce roofing leads for your business. Again, the link for that is in the description down below.

Also, I have a community of roofers just like yourself, who are learning about this forever changing space called the internet, where I share up to date and relevant strategies that will help you promote your business online and generate more roofing leads. The link for that is in the description down below. It is a Facebook mastermind group, so be sure to join if you wanna generate more leads for your business.

Lastly, I would really love it if you liked this video, and subscribe to my channel as well as hit the notification bell so that you get notified when I drop a new video just like this one to help you, generate more roofing leads online and become a local authority within your business. Again, my name is Mats Moy and I will see you next week. Peace!

RESOURCES MENTIONED

Book A Call With Mats: https://matsmoy.com/apply

Roofing 101: How Zak Grew His Roofing Sales 250% Spending Less Time On The Roof (6 Roof Leads a Day): https://youtu.be/DCtOa39gkWQ

Be sure to join the secret Online Roofing Leads Mastermind Group here: https://www.facebook.com/groups/onlineroofingleads/

TWEET THIS VIDEO: https://ctt.ac/amfuC

Let’s connect on social media! Twitter: https://twitter.com/MatsMoy Instagram: https://instagram.com/matsmoy/ Facebook: https://facebook.com/matsmoy/ Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/matsmoy/

See More Here: Handle Roofing Sales Rejection the Digital Way

Moy Consulting 60 Queen St E #103, Brampton, ON L6V 1A9, Canada https://goo.gl/maps/hodRjHCYkvtjSwFW8

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templified · 5 years ago

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Best WordPress Viral Magazine Themes, Buzzworthy Video and Images | Templified

New Post has been published on https://templified.com/best-wordpress-viral-magazine-themes/

Best WordPress Viral Magazine Themes, Buzzworthy Video and Images

We are always on the lookout for a great-looking viral magazine theme. These days, it seems like there are websites springing up all over the place trying to compete in the viral content market. Whether it’s funny cat videos or the dankest new memes, lots of folks seem to like to want to waste their time on the internet. I sure know that I do.

With any of the themes in this collection, you’ll be able to put together a great-looking magazine to share Cool, trending content with the world. most of these themes have specialized features that make them great for viral content. Things like built-in voting systems, plenty of social media integration and prominent AdSense placement. each and every theme in this collection is easy to use and easy to adapt to fit your specific needs.

Every website is a little bit different and you don’t want you or site looking like everyone else. That’s why any of the themes in this collection or a great starting point for building your own viral magazine. So, let’s have a look at the absolute best viral content themes for WordPress.

Extra, Divi Based Viral Magazine WordPress Theme

Extra is a premium quality magazine theme from elegant themes. I’ve included it in this collection because it is among the most flexible and powerful magazine themes out there. While it is not specifically built as a viral magazine, it has all the features that you need to make it one. there’s a strong social integration, excellent navigation, perfect responsive design and drag and drop content blocks that can make each and every page a little bit different, or you can use any of the pre-made templates to help style your site right.

DemoMore Information Get Hosting

Papr, Simple WordPress Viral Magazine Theme

Papr is a completely responsive, well-documented and well-designed theme that is wonderful for viral content. These days, there can be no Short selling of how important selecting the right theme is. There are plenty of different viral magazines out there and each one of them is competing for the same traffic. Having a well-designed, fast loading a flexible theme like Papr is a great choice and can help set your content apart from the rest. For online magazines, reviews, publishers and folks who are creating viral content, that can be the difference between success and failure. This clean designed theme has 20 different unique pages, each one modern and perfectly styled for its purpose. There are a variety of post layouts, post formats come on other pages, contact pages and a whole lot more.

DemoMore Information Get Hosting

Maggz, Creative Viral Magazine Theme for WordPress

Creating a powerful and user friendly magazine for viral content just got easier. Maggz offers several well made layouts with eye-catching blocks and plenty of mix and match layouts. Maggz is a fine pick for any online publication, it’s not just for clickbait or viral content. There are designs included for relatively straight foward, traditional layouts. You get a powerful admin interface, a highly customizable set of features, one click demo import and nine well designed home pages. There are practical page layouts, a large collection of shortcodes and a variety of post layouts. So, all in all, this theme has what it takes to craft all sorts of great, viral websites.

DemoMore Information Get Hosting

Gloss, Slick, Glossy WordPress Theme for Viral Content

Among the newest themes that I’ve added to this collection, Gloss is a slick and attractive WordPress theme that can help you produce a popular magazine for viral content. there are several different pre-made pages that are included, five different home page has to be exact. For inner pages, you can use the included page builder to develop any sort of layout that you want. adding social media connections and AdSense has never been easier. This theme is very simple to customize at and includes quite a bit of documentation to help make sure you get the most out of it.

Demo Demo Get Hosting

Noes, Trending Topics WordPress Magazine Theme

This theme is called Noes. It’s a perfect WordPress theme for news magazines, viral content, buzzworthy content, news reviews or publishing websites. It even supports embedded videos from sites like Vimeo, Kickstarter, Vine, YouTube or Ted. each post features a ratings system, one of those features that makes it great for Bible content. I think that the simple, clean layout lends itself to any sort of online magazine.