#trevor mann imagines | Explore Tumblr posts and blogs

helplessly-nonstop · 5 years ago

Text

The Call of A Nephilim’s Heart(Ricochet imagine)

Surprise motherfuckers, ya bitch is alive and not so well but I have a fic for you and my addition to @hardcorewwetrash’s Supernatural Summer Challenge! I chose a Nephilim as the creature and my prompt was, “All I do is drink coffee and say bad words.”

Warnings: bad words(it’s a given in my fics, c’mon), little bit of angst, no smut this time, use of my OFC, Kyla Nightingale, who is a witch(in this fic!)

WC: 4629 words

I settled against the edge of the rooftop, staring at the city buzzing below my feet. New Orleans was a dangerous place to be, especially considering what I was. This city was known for its “magic elements” but little did most know, it was one of the most lively places for the supernatural. I was a young witch and I had very dangerous spells memorized to keep myself and others safe from the actual monsters roaming around.

I heard the flutter of wings behind me but I didn’t dare turn to face him. He was an anticipated guest of mine and as soon as he decided on what he was going to do, I would turn to him.

“Kyla.” I stiffened at the sound of his voice then came to a slow stand, my hands trembling with the magic flowing back and forth.

“Trevor, this really is not a good time.” I informed him, turning to face him with narrowed eyes. Damn him and his fucking allure. He sighed, eyes flickering back between my hands and my mismatched irises then said,”I don’t want to hurt you.” My tongue peeked out at his statement and he mimicked the motion as I stated, “Then don’t. Let me live, let me do what I’m supposed to.”

“I can’t. You know I can't, you know too much.” I sighed, the purple and blue sparks beginning to rise from my fingertips, then murmured, “Take the final warning or don’t, it’s up to you.” He gave a sigh, hanging his head briefly, then when he looked up again, his brown eyes were now an intense emerald.

“Ricochet, take your chance now and leave.” I warned, the sparks now growing into a small ball of fire that shared a purple, bluish hue to it. He stepped forward and outstretched his wings, the gold of his feathers casting a glow over his already beautiful face. Too bad he wants to kill me. I stomped my left foot down against the rooftop and flames engulfed his frame, allowing me to make my escape with a wave of my hand.

I trudged into my apartment then kicked off my wedges, untangling my now singed hair from the braid. My roommate’s door opened and out came Aleister, his hair tied back in a low ponytail as he asked,”What in Gods’ Hell did you run into tonight, Kyla?” I gave an annoyed glare and replied,”I’ll give you three guesses, the first two don’t count.”

“Ricochet? Trying to ‘kill you’ again, I’m guessing? When will that Nephilim finally accept the fact that you’re his soulmate?” he questioned, settling beside me on the couch as I inspected the damage I had brought upon my beautiful hair. I nodded then asked, “I don’t know, hopefully soon. Hey, do we have any scissors so I can cut my hair?” He pursed his lips, clearly trying to remember if we did, then he snapped his fingers together, the object appearing in the palm of his hand as he replied, “Here’s a thought. Go get a shower and I’ll cut it however you would like.”

I groaned, annoyed that he was making me get up when I just sat down but came to a stand nonetheless.

Once I finished my shower, I stared into the mirror, examining my appearance. Mismatched eyes, one green, one brown with black hair that reached the middle of my back. I wasn’t ugly but I certainly didn’t exceed the one to ten scale. Freckles were splayed against my cheeks and I leaned against the counter, realizing that my height was both a curse and a blessing in disguise. I stood a solid 4’11 so I always wore heels when I had the chance.

“Kyla, come on, I would like to go to bed soon.” Aleister called in the bathroom. I entered his room and settled at the foot of his bed, instructing,”Cut it up to my chin and give me bangs.” He nodded in understanding and snip snip snip went the scissors, the black locks falling around my shoulders and onto his duvet.

Within ten minutes, he had my hair cut and even all the way around. Aleister brushed my now short hair then cleared the strands off his bed into the small trash can that he keeps beside the foot of the mattress, stating, “Alright, go get some sleep. You’ve had a long night.”

I nodded in understanding and walked into my room, flopping onto my bed face first without a care in the world. I gave a sigh and curled under my blanket, wrapping an arm around my pillow as I mumbled under my breath, “Gods, I hope tomorrow is better.”

Morning rolled around and apparently while I was sleeping, Aleister had snuck in to plug up my phone. I rolled over and clicked on the screen, reading a message that my friend, Seth, had sent me, Hey, kid, I’ve got an important meeting, can you come watch over the shop? Drew and Bex is there, but ya know how they are. Seth ran his very own café and whenever he needed someone to monitor his shop, he would text me.

“Sure, be there in ten.” I allowed myself a little more time to get ready, fixing a bow into my hair, then walked out into the kitchen, immediately taking notice of the note that my best friend left for me: Be home later, had to go out with a friend. I hummed and tapped the letter before taking my leave out the door.

I ended up walking down to the café and entered the shop, nodding at Seth’s boyfriend, Drew, who was running the bar with their girlfriend, Becky.

Both were demons, equally as evil as the other happens to be. I approached the bar and the red headed woman slid me a mocha coffee with three shots of espresso, across the counter. I nodded in thanks then settled in the corner that I always sat in. It was a vantage point and I hate to have people sitting behind me. Some may call it paranoia, but it is what it is. It was right beside the window, which made it all the more better.

I sipped my drink then began working on my crime rate report. I was the resident detective that wasn’t on the station’s public payroll and the way that I dealt with certain criminals wasn’t exactly what someone might call… ethical.

Someone pulled the chair out from across me then they settled down. I didn’t look up, it was pointless.

“Has anyone ever told you that you’re so damn polite for a Nephilim? Your kind is fucking abrasive normally.” I commented, closing my laptop lid, leaning my chin against my propped up hand. A smile danced across his pretty mouth briefly then he replied,”I have been told that quite a few times, thank you. Would you like me to be a bit more abrasive?”

“Maybe it would ease our sexual tension and make things a bit fucking easier on you when you finally fucking kill me.” I replied, taking a drink of my coffee. He laughed then questioned, ”Is that all you do is curse?”

“Please. All I do is drink coffee and say bad words.” I chirped, taking another drink. He rolled his eyes and replied, “I think we should step outside, Kyla.” I stared at him for a moment, gauging to see if he was serious, then fisted the front of his shirt, dragging him to his feet. Internally, I knew that he went willingly, but the satisfaction of having a Nephilim- my Nephilim- in my clutch made my magic sing with delight.

“Why, Pretty Boy, you finally gonna fuck my brains out?” He stared at me blankly and replied monotonously, “I think it’s best that you go willingly so I don’t have to kill you in front of all your friends.” I licked my lips and finished off my coffee before saying,”Let’s do a head count here, Trevor, and see if this changes your mind.”

“There are two demons running the bar, three werewolves, five vamps, a fairy, and two sirens, not to mention the monsters in the back of the store. Take me back to my place, I’ll put a sock on the door, and make sure that Aleister won’t come in. Accept the fact that we’re soulmates and you can finally fuck me.”

Ricochet fidgeted with his fingers. He was a good soldier, loyal to his Gods but I could see the way he fought with himself, debating on if it was worth it- disobeying direct orders to kill his soulmate.

“Don’t do this to yourself- to me. Accept me and leave your legion, they won’t bat an eyelash at your disappearance. You’re just another foot soldier to them, Ricochet, so why are you even considering this?”

“I know. You think I don’t know this? I have been killing myself over this decision, on whether I should follow my orders to kill you. Do you think I actually want to kill the woman who, every time I see her, no matter what she’s wearing, I want to press her against the closest surface and fuck her until the two of us can’t move? Trust me, this isn’t easy for me, so get that outta your head.”

Becky approached our table with a new coffee for me in hand then she set it down, asking calmly, “Ricochet, could I interest ya in a cuppa something? Might calm ya nerves so I don’t have ta kick ya asses outta shop.” Still burning holes through my soul, he said nonchalantly, “A water would be fine, thank you.”

She turned on her heel then approached Drew and half of the café’s attendees who had gathered around the bar to watch my soulmate and I’s showdown. I stared at him then stated, “Let’s go to my house and settle this, Trevor.”

He glanced over at the crowd watching us then he snapped, eyes glowing emerald, “What the fuck do you think you’re looking at?!” They dispersed at his exclamation then he wrapped his hand around my wrist, practically dragging me from the coffee shop, Drew already on the phone with Seth to let him know what the hell happened.

I dug my heels into the sidewalk then snapped, “I am not walking in that fucking rain, you are out of your goddamn mind.” Finally he took notice of the storm that had fallen upon the city then he narrowed his eyes at me, demanding, “Did you do this, is this your doing?” I scoffed, rolling my eyes, then replied,”I knew I was going to be walking home, there is no way in hell that I would have brought this.”

He pulled me along then glanced up, informing me, “Don’t worry, it’s fine.” I followed his gaze and realized that his wings were out, acting as our umbrella. I gave an impressed look and he wrapped an arm around my waist, fingers brushing the skin that was exposed in our little scuttle. I shivered at his touch then he glanced down at me, concern fleeting across his face as I did then I assured him, “Cold chill, I’m fine. Let’s just get out of this rain.”

Ricochet nodded in agreement then we turned the corner to my house, the rain suddenly picking up as we raced to dart underneath the awning of the entrance. His wings began to fold back in then I slid a hand at the base of them, his entire body stiffening as I asked,”Are they sensitive?”

“Extremely.”he gritted out, eyes glued to my own. I allowed my fingers to delve a little deeper into the feathers, a sigh escaping his mouth and I asked,”Good or bad?” He groaned and admitted, “That all depends.”

“On what exactly?”

“On whether you’re somebody other than my soulmate.” I let out a small laugh and walked into the elevator, leaving him standing around. He joined me in the small space then pressed the button for my floor. I raised an eyebrow at the fact that he knew which floor I lived on then he replied, “Don’t look so surprised, you’re my soulmate. Why wouldn’t I know where you live?”

“Oh, I don’t know, maybe it’s the fact that nearly every time I’ve run into you, you threaten or even try to kill me? I mean, that does put a bit of a tamper on our relationships, Trevor.” He sighed and stated,”You’re really gonna keep that against me, huh?”

“You tried to kill me on multiple accounts! Of course I’m going to hold it against you, you stupid fucking Nephilim.” With a blink of the eye, he had me pressed against the elevator wall with his fingers wrapped around my hip as he snarled, “I hate that dirty mouth.”

“Funny, all of the men and women who I’ve slept with compliment me on how filthy my mouth gets. Too bad for you, buttercup, you’re missing out.” He let out a growl, clearly annoyed at my statement and for a moment, I thought he was just going to turn around and face the doors of the elevator, only for him to do the exact opposite: he crushed me into a kiss, tongue pressing in.

Mint from his gum swarmed my mind and I gasped with delight as he tangled a hand through my hair, tugging back as he snarled, “You mention another person enjoying your pretty mouth and I’ll make sure that you won’t do it again.”

“Oh jealous are we? In that case, I should probably tell you about the time when Aleister finally agreed to-“

“Not another fucking word. I swear to all the gods in the sky, if you tell me that you’ve slept with that fucking warlock, I am going to end his pathetic life.” He turned back to face the elevator doors and I grabbed his wrist, tugging him back to me with a laugh, reassuring him, “Chill out, jealous ass, I was only teasing you. Aleister is ace and even if he did like sex, he’s not my type. My type is more towards the pretty boy Nephilims with a beard and good manners.”

“Sounds like you have your eyes set on someone. Do I know him?” Ricochet questioned, tangling my fingers with his own as he led me out of the elevator. Oh we’re getting somewhere? My tongue peeked out and he mocked the motion as I replied, “You do actually. Nice guy, very easy on the eyes. But you know, he keeps pulling some fuckery that I’m really not into.”

“Oh no, that’s terrible. I hope that he gains some sense then.” he remarked and I glanced down at my watch, swiping up briefly to check my notifications, then replied, “So do I.” I slid my key in and unlocked the door before pushing the door open, letting Ricochet step inside. I followed him in and shut the door behind me, watching as Aleister appeared from the darkness, his arms winding around my soulmate’s neck.

“W-What the fuck is this?” Trevor choked out, clawing at the warlock’s arms. I sighed and grabbed my already packed bags then stated, “I didn’t want it to come to this, but you leave me no choice, Trevor. I knew you came with me to kill me so I’m going to disappear for a while. I can’t have a Nephilim who just so happens to be my soulmate following me around trying to kill me. It’s kind of a personal thing, but more of a, ‘Hey I really don’t want to die.’ sort of thing.”

Ricochet gritted his teeth together then he growled, “I will find you, Kyla. And when I do, there will be hell to pay.” I pressed my lips together tightly to form a small smile then replied, “And that’s why I had Aleister scrounge up an old spell to use on you. Aleister, you’re welcome to go ahead.”

The dark haired man nodded at me then began reciting the spell, “Soulmates they are, soulmates they will be. Together forever, never apart they should be. Hide the one until the other is ready. From this day forth, she will be hidden until he is ready.” As soon as he finished speaking, he released Ricochet and the two of us disappeared from sight, taking our luggage with us and Trevor roared after us, “Kyla, don’t!”

The initial move started with us in New York City, a hot spot for humans who accepted the supernatural with open arms. It was, after all, a plan where dreams came true so me being the cliche that most people know and love, I went there, hoping that Trevor would come to his senses soon.

But alas, it was a bust and we quickly moved to the Netherlands, enjoying the completely new scenery that the beautiful country offered the two of us. Aleister was, after all, born and raised there so it was particularly nice for him to be back to his roots. It was refreshing for the two of us; however, we were ready for a change not long after moving to the UK.

The next place that we moved to was Egypt, somewhere that I had always wanted to live. It was a wonderful culture with so much to learn and it was a fantastic learning experience overall. But eventually our wanderlust had died out a bit and homesickness for the United States hit like a train wreck one night after I spent nearly all day drinking our liquor cabinet.

“I just don’t understand! If-If he really loves me, why won’t he just accept that we’re soulmates, that we can finally be together without him trying to murder me every step of the way!?” I sobbed, pouring another shot of vodka, only for Aleister to swipe the bottle away from me, stating, “Alright, that’s enough for you, Kyla.”

“That’s what he used to call me!” I wailed, tears streaking my face. He blinked slowly at him then remarked in the most unamused voice possible, “That’s because that’s your name, dumbass.” The morning after was a bit humiliating because our mutual friend, Ali was recording the entire thing and he decided that I needed a reminder of what kind of a weepy monster that I turned into while drinking.

We returned to the States and moved to New Orleans once again, deciding that it was a nice neutral ground. Seven months had passed over the time that we traveled and I hadn’t seen Ricochet at all and I accounted it as him either still not ready to accept me or his legion actually did give a shit about him and decided that he wasn’t leaving.

“Hey, do you mind closing the bar tonight? I have a hot date.” Sonya questioned, wiping down the bar top as I poured shots at an almost inhuman speed. I glanced over my shoulder with a grin, stating, “As long as you’re going on this hot date with Paige. You two are killing me with the whole, ‘Let’s avoid my soulmate.’bit that you have been playing at.”

She laughed and stated, “Oh look who’s talking, Miss I had my best friend cast on a spell on my hot Nephilim soulmate who just so happens to be the man who was selected to murder me.” I let out a laugh then said, “Yea, thank you for that reminder. If I ever decide to change my last name, I definitely won’t consider that as an option.”

Sonya shrugged and disappeared into the crowd towards the time clock, leaving me to handle the few stragglers left in the bar. I flicked my wrist downwards to check the time then realized that it was time to close up and I thankfully didn’t have to kick out anybody who had missed last call.

I was fixing the liquor shelves and restocking the beer cooler when I heard the jingle of the door opening.

“Sorry, buddy, we’re closed but come back tomorrow!” I threw over my shoulder then I heard the squeal of a bar stool scooting out so I turned on my heel, prepared to give the person a piece of my mind, only to freeze. There, sitting in front of me, was Ricochet, two buttons of his shirt loose, revealing the start of his tattoos on either side.

He came to a slow stand and I just stared at him. His beard was longer, his eyes just a bit darker and he had a busted lip. I flicked my tongue out to lick my lips then murmured, “Hi.” He let out a scoff and leaped across the bar with ease, backing me into the shelves.

“Hi? That’s all you have to say to me after you had your asshole of a best friend cast a spell on me is hi?”he spat, shifting to press me into the bar top. I gave a small smile then offered up, “You look hot?”

He closed in on me as he hissed out, “Are you aware of what I have endured in the last seven months while you’ve been la-dee-dahing your way across the world with Aleister?”

“No, but I have a feeling that you’re about to go all flashback on me so if you could, at least let me sit down to listen comfortably.” I said. He scoffed and scooped me up, settling me back down on the bar top as he began to spin the tale of what he suffered while I was hiding away.

Ricochet’s Point of View:

In the blink of an eye, they were gone and I smashed into the ground, my forearms just barely saving my face from greeting the floor. I groaned and rolled onto my back as a scream made its way from my throat, rolling forward to land on my feet.

“Shit… shit, shit!” I shouted, smashing my fists into the walls as realization began to set in. Kyla was gone. And thanks to that fucking warlock, I wouldn’t see her until I figured out what I truly wanted. I turned away from the damage that I caused then ran a hand over my head, grumbling to myself. What was I going to do now?

A week had passed and the Council had finally figured out just how badly I fucked up this situation.

“Come forth, Ricochet, and speak your truth.” Bray called out, waving me forward. I hung my head and groaned internally, dragging my feet as I approached the council of the seven intimidating deities. Bray sat in the middle with Alexa, Luke, and Ember to his left and Zelina, Karl, and Jeff to his right.

“I-I honestly have no idea on how this happened, truly!” I began, only for Alexa to snip, “Oh really? And here we were thinking that you let that little witch and warlock go free.” Jeff rolled his eyes and replied, “Go elsewhere with your ninety cent bullshit, Alexa, we’re here to discuss the situation and how we should handle it according to the circumstances.”

“I am surprisingly with the Enigma on this one. Ricochet, what say you on your behalf?” Zelina questioned, leaning forward on her perfectly manicured hands. I sighed and slid down in my seat as I began to explain what all happened just a week ago and when I finished speaking, the Council stared at me with obvious mixed emotions.

“So what you’re tellin’ us, is that you managed to get lured back to her apartment, get captured by a warlock of all things to be caught by, then a few words in English and bam! You can’t find your soulmate, who’s also your possible future murder victim?” Ember asked, blinking slowly at me. I hung my head and admitted in a small voice, “Unfortunately yes, Goddess,that is exactly what I am telling you.” They stared at me for a few moments, not saying anything in response to my story, then they burst into laughter, shaking their heads.

“You, a Nephilim, was bested by a witch and warlock? Pathetic.” Luke spat, rolling his eyes. I began to speak up for myself, only for Karl to cut me off, “We should strip him of his wings right now. He is a disgrace to this world.”

“Luke, please act sensible. He’s but a mere boy. Doesn’t have as much as knowledge as we do.” Bray murmured, stroking his beard.

“Not to mention the fact that it was his soulmate that he was dealing with. I mean, that’s difficult to do on a regular basis but he was trying to bait her into his trick so he could kill her. That’s a tough situation.” Jeff chimed in, giving me a nod of acknowledgement.

I gave him a thankful smile then Alexa commented, “I think he’s blindsided by her and he won’t be able to finish the job.” Bray hummed at her addition and stated, “It’s possible… Ricochet, do you think you would be able to kill your soulmate, Kyla Nightingale?” I paused at his question, and thought about it. Would I be able to kill the love of my life, the only person that I would actually be able to love in life?

“No… no, he wouldn’t be able to. As much as he wants to please us, he doesn’t believe that she’s a danger to the world.” Zelina said, tapping her nails on the table top, as if she was passing the conversation down to Jeff.

“Well, it’s not like we know for sure that she knows the spells that we think she knows. For all we know, she has the book hidden away with Aleister guarding it. And she had so much power, really, it’d be a shame to kill her.” Jeff commented offhandedly, but his eyes spoke his truth: it was wrong to kill Kyla because of a suspicion.

“I suppose we could just not kill her. Let our dear Ricochet go back to his lovely, he could make sure she wouldn’t use that mysterious magic of hers. But of course, we do need to reprimand him for failing to kill her.”

“Strip me of my wings. Not literally, but take my standing. Make an example of me.” I suggested and confusion spread across the deities’ faces. They obviously were surprised to hear my option then Luke chimed in, “Let’s do it and call it a night.”

Kyla’s Point of View:

“They… they stripped you of your status?” I murmured, cupping his cheeks. He gave a tight smile and replied, “Yeah, I wanted to live, but they needed to make an example of me. I did it for you.”

“Trevor, you gave up your status of a high ranking Nephilim and for what? For a witch who’s caused you nothing but misery every step of the way?” He cupped my cheeks and pulled me closer, stating, “No… I didn’t do it for a witch. I did it for my soulmate. I love you, Kyla. You may not believe me now, you may not believe me a month down the road. But I do and I would do anything for you.”

“Are you sure? I don’t want you to throw your entire life away just for me.” I stated, circling my hands around his wrists. He smiled and murmured, “I’m not. I’m making my life better by having you in it. Can’t you see that?”

I laughed softly then replied, “Someone has been reading a whole lot of romance novels while I’ve been fucking gone.”

“God, I hate that dirty mouth.”he groaned, pulling me into a kiss. I smirked into his lips and replied, “But you love me so it’s fine!”

42 notes · View notes

madebypointlesswerewolves · 6 years ago

Text

Counting the days // ricochet fluff

This is like my third imagine so bare with me it might suck or maybe not.

36 months, that's how long you and Trevor have known each other.

"You did good out there you king" you say walking up to the gorilla getting ready for your match "thank you princess good luck"

27 months, that's how long Trevor has been head over heels for you.

"I don't know man every time she looks at me my heart skips a beat and i feel like im gonna pee myself which is sad cause im a grown man" Trevor rambled to his Friend chuck "dude grow a pair and ask her out"

23 months, since Cameron called you mom for the first time and you cried and told Trevor and he fell even harder at the sight of you beaming at the fact Cameron said that small three letter word that meant so much.

You and Trevor took Cameron to the zoo to have some bonding time a few hours of being there looking at the animals Cameron put his little hand in yours "come on mom I wanna see the fishes" you felt the tears form you looked at Trevor to see him with a big smile "did you hear that oh my god" you smile "I heard baby" he beemed.

20 months, since he asked you to be the one he loves for ever. And of course you said yes with a big smile and happy tears streaming down your face.

You wore a beautiful black dress and Trevor wore a nice suit and tie it took every ounce of being to keep your hands to yourself, once y'all made it to the restaurant and ordered your food he stood up and got on one knee "y/n" you looked down at him "Trevor what are you doing" "shh" he said before continued "baby I knew the moment I saw you I knew you was the one and when we spoke for the first time I told myself that I was gonna turn your last name to Mann, so will you marry me" you nod your head as the tears came down.

15 months, since the moment he saw you in that beautiful lace white gown with a beautiful smile that reached space if that was possible this time it was him with tears streaming down his beautiful face, as Cameron held the rings standing beside chuck with a grumpy face because it wasn't time for the wedding cake yet.

As you walked down the isle Trevor thought his heart stopped all he could was home in on you and enjoy how beautiful you looked, even though he couldn't help but imagine what you would look like with the dress on yalls bedroom floor he shook the thoughts away as you stood infront of him "wipe those tears away or your gonna make me cry" you say whipping tears of your own "can we hurry this up I want cake" Cameron said the whole room erupted in laughter.

9 months, is how long you and Trevor had to wait for your little girl to be here. you guys had argued on names, the gender, and who its gonna resemble the most and you being always right it was him who was right. He said it was gonna be a mini you , she has your hair and eyes and most of all your smile.

"I bet its a boy" you say looking in the mirror at your swollen tummy "nah its gonna be a mini you." you rolled your eyes a few months later you was so big you was due any day now. You found yourself in that same mirror "shes gonna have your eyes," he said kissing your temple "your hair" as he kissed your head he then turns you to face him "that damn beautiful smile that I love so fucking much" capturing your lips finally. After some time you pulled away "my water just broke " an hour or so the beautiful girl was on her way "okay baby one more push " Trevor spoke holding your hand you squeezed it hard "shut up you did this" you said as you pushed

1 month, is when he became nxt champ and you, Cameron, and y/d/n was there to whiteness the love of your life achieve so much.

"And your new nXt champion is ricochet " the announcer says into the mic you was holding your sleeping baby girl as you and Cameron cheered. He walked up to you and gave you y/d/n and Cameron a kiss. You knew you was the luckiest girl alive you was so proud of Trevor.

3 years is a short time but for yall it felt like forever of course y'all had some ups and downs but who doesn't it was one hell of a ride but you didn't care you loved it. If you could relive every passing moment again you would.

#wwe #nxt #wwe nxt #king ricochet #trevor mann #ricochet imagine #chuck taylor

19 notes · View notes

caramara3 · 6 years ago

Text

Sooo..... who wanna write some Ricochet celebratory smut after that match???

If so, please tag your girl!!

#Ricochet #and new North American Champion #Trevor Mann #NXT #nxt TakeOver Brooklyn 4 #Ricochet x reader #ricochet imagine

5 notes · View notes

spine-buster · 6 years ago

Text

“I gotta pull myself together.” - An I Thought You Might Be Mine Drabble

December 4th, 2018 Paducah, Kentucky

The Paducah Christmas Market was, besides the Paducah Barbecue Festival, Trevor’s favourite part of the year. Though it was a town of only 25,000 people, citizens really went all out in decorating and preparing the downtown streets into a Christmas-themed wonderland. He had so many fond memories of it as a child.

Now, he had even more reason to love it: he was making even more memories with Cameron, with Iris by his side.

Cameron knew who Iris was long before she became Trevor’s girlfriend – she was simply “one of dad’s best friends” when Trevor mentioned her. But now, she had a new responsibility, and was therefore known in a new capacity – “dad’s girlfriend”. Cameron was the first person Trevor told, and Cameron seemed happy enough about it.

Ever since Trevor told him, Cameron managed to fit in a “say hi to Iris!” during their FaceTime sessions. It happened every time. Trevor would smile and laugh and nod his head, and when he’d tell Iris, she’d reciprocate the message. If she wasn’t at work, she’d join in on the call. Cameron liked talking to her about what he was learning in school, especially after he learned she was a teacher. She’d often ask him what books he was reading, and he’d proudly show her the chapter books he was devouring at home.

As Trevor looked at his son admiring some homemade ornaments in a shop stall, he squeezed Iris’s hand quickly. Cameron’s hand was gripping the leash of Chippy, Trevor and Iris’s new Corgi, who had accompanied them on the long drive to Paducah. For Cameron, it was love at first sight. He thanked Iris for finally getting a dog for dad, since he had been asking for one for forever.

“Hey Cam, you want some hot chocolate?” Iris asked as they approached him, bending down to be at eye-level with him.

“Can I get extra marshmallows?”

“Just a few. Remember we have those cookies I made earlier at home.”

Cameron’s eyes lit up at the reminder. “Can Chippy have some marshmallows?”

Iris giggled. “I think Chippy will get sick if he has some marshmallows. But when we get home and have our cookies, you can give Chippy his treat, okay?”

“Okay!”

“Are you gonna be okay with him?”

Cameron nodded his head proudly. “I think he really likes me. He listens to all my commands. He’s such a good dog!”

“Good! You’re helping to train him well. He’s gonna listen to you all the time.”

Iris gave Trevor a quick peck on the lips before leaving to grab the hot chocolate. Trevor followed his son as he moved along the stalls, looking at all the different ornaments, art, and other assorted things. When he reached the end of the line, he looked up at his dad. “Can we go to the next line, dad?”

“Of course. Let’s wait for Iris though, so she doesn’t lose us.”

Cameron smiled and nodded his head. “I like her dad. She’s really nice.”

Trevor bent down to be at eye-level with his son. “Oh yeah? You think so?”

Cameron nodded his head again. “And if she’s your best friend it means you guys are friends too.”

“Absolutely.”

“Mommy says that’s important.”

“Mommy’s right.”

“Do you like her a lot, dad?”

Trevor nodded his head immediately. “I do, bub,” he used Cameron’s nickname. “I love her a lot.”

Trevor watched as Cameron’s eyebrows rose slightly when he said ‘love’. ��“Then I do too! And I love Chippy. And I love you.”

“I love you too bub,” Trevor kissed his forehead. From behind Cameron, Iris was returning, holding a tray of hot chocolates, an excited smile on her face.

After Cameron took his initial sips and handed his cup to his dad to hold, Trevor and Iris stayed a few steps behind Cameron as he looked at the last of the stalls. Trevor couldn’t keep his eyes off her, knowing what Cameron had just told him.

“Why’re you looking at me like that, Mr. Mann?” she asked playfully. “You getting tired?”

“I really like her dad. She’s really nice,” Trevor mimicked his son’s high-pitched voice.

Iris’s face dropped. Though they were often playful with each other, Trevor wouldn’t joke about something like this. “He said that?”

Trevor nodded his head.

“Really?”

“I never taught him to lie, baby.”

Almost immediately, tears began forming in Iris’s eyes. She had to wipe them away quickly. The magnitude of those words hung in the air around her. Just as she finished wiping the tears away, her eyes welled up again. “Oh God…”

“Iris…”

She noticed Cameron look back at them quickly. “He can’t see me cry, Trev. I gotta go pull myself together.”

As she abruptly left the scene, Cameron tugged on the sleeve of Trevor’s jacket. “Where did Iris go?”

“Uh…the guy at the booth forgot to give her marshmallows. She had to go back.”

Iris was going to cry again. She managed to escape unscathed from Cameron seeing her tear up at the Christmas market, but now, as Chippy lay sleeping in Cameron’s lap, Cameron lay sleeping in her lap, and she lay in Trevor’s lap, all on the couch, she was going to lose her composure.

She didn’t want kids. That much was for certain, and that was a serious point of contention, apparently, when she broke up with Ryder, who had suddenly wanted them. But she couldn’t explain her connection with Cameron. He opened up to her right from the beginning. He accepted her more than she thought possible. He was warm with her, laughed with her, joked with her, and was comfortable around her. He wanted to show off how well he could read. He wanted to show off the art he made at school. He wanted to show off everything he was learning in grade four.

“Is he sleeping?” Trevor’s soft voice broke her thoughts.

“He’s out like a light,” she whispered back. “You should put him to bed.”

“He’d enjoy it if you’d put him to bed, trust me,” Trevor said. “Good thing he’s already in his pajamas.”

As she wiggled in her place on the couch, Chippy woke up, his ears darting up at the movements, though he stayed nestled in Cameron’s lap. Iris tapped him on the shoulder gently; his eyes opening slowly. “Ready to go to bed?” she asked softly.

Cameron rubbed his eyes. “Iris?”

“It’s me.”

Cameron said nothing more – instead, he climbed on top of her and wrapped his arms around her neck, laying his head against her shoulder. Automatically, she lifted him up into her arms and carried him towards his room. Trevor took the opportunity to make his way to bed too, Chippy following close behind. He took a treat out of the bag and threw it in Chippy’s crate, making him go in with ease. He lay down on the bed, pulling the covers over his body. He scrolled through his phone one last time, waiting for Iris to come through.

It wasn’t long before Iris slipped through the door, a smile on her face. She noticed Chippy in his crate and said some cutesy words to him before climbing into bed, curling up against Trevor.

“Thank you,” she whispered quietly as she kissed the tip of his nose.

“What’re you thanking me for?”

“For being you,” she said. “You’re a pain in my ass sometimes but you’re my pain in the ass. And you’re the best father, Trev. That boy is the absolute best.”

“Babyyyy,” Trevor cooed, kissing her on the lips. “You saying that just to butter me up?”

“No baby, I mean it,” Iris affirmed. “You know I don’t want kids, and I know you don’t want anymore. But I feel like…I don’t know. I feel like it was fate for this to happen, you know? He’s just so sweet. And I’m so lucky to be a part of his life.”

Trevor knew how much this meant to Iris. “He’s gonna be lucky to know such a beautiful soul like yours.”

Before either could say another word, a light knock was heard on their bedroom door. Since Iris hadn’t closed it all the way, both looked over to see Cameron’s face sticking through the doorway. “Daddy? Iris?”

“Yeah, bub? Everything okay?” Trevor asked.

“Can I sleep in here with you guys and Chippy?”

Iris’s heart melted. “Come in here, bub.”

Cameron rushed in, crawling on the bed in between Trevor and Iris, snuggling up to his dad. Iris pushed some hair out of his face, watching as his breathing steadied and he fell asleep. Soon enough, she fell asleep too, the fatigue of the day catching up on her.

Trevor looked at Cameron and Iris – the two most important people in his life – lying down beside him. He watched Iris’s peaceful face; felt Cameron’s steady breathing; and he couldn’t help but feel like the happiest man in the world. Scratch that – he was the happiest man in the world.

So happy, in fact, that when he shed a few tears, he didn’t even care.

This was where he was supposed to be. This was what he was supposed to be doing. This is who he was supposed to be with.

@wrestlewriting @wrasslin-x @thegenericluchadora @thewriterformerlytaggedas@fan-fiction-galore @anerdysouthernbelle @spot-of-bother @amaranthine-reign@baleesi @flnnbalor @smuppies @sarahmatthews7 @daintymissdevitt@newjapan @corey-renee @running-ropes @balorsomega @karleedaniels27@kazuchika @ileana0300 @alexahood21 @ohcristimhookedonhavocimsodunne@fembxt @heelturn-timesten @kaitlynwwefan @50shadesofadamcolebaybay@50shadesofkennyomega @chasingeverybreakingwave @thyestean-feast @thecandicej @devittsbalor @sp00kylesley @danahart @sietefinns@kaydee-kayyyy @powerbombshell @swedish-strong-style @blondekel77@irish-newzealand-idian-dutch @nickysmum1909 @houndofjustice-imagines @wwesmutdonedirtcheap @wweximaginesxd @indywrestlinglover-life @mandi512 @kakakatey @ourscratcheddreams @sleeplessandcynical @badame124 @thevixeniris @fabulousrockstar @lunatic-sambrose @caramara3 @crossfitjesusinskinnyjeans @krobinj @heygargano @sxrxndipityy

#wwe #ricochet #ricochet fic #wwe fic #wwe drabble #wwe imagine #ricochet drabble #ricochet imagine #ricochet fan fic #ricochet fan fiction #ricochet fanfic #ricochet fanfiction #wwe fan fic #wwe fan fiction #wwe fanfic #wwe fanfiction

25 notes · View notes

hotpan-cakes · 7 years ago

Text

Hogwarts Houses Playlists

If you want me to make more of these I put a list at the bottom of the fandoms I do. Requests for these, fics, and mood boards are always open!💙P.s. there are 20 songs for each house!

~Gryffindor~

* On Top Of The World - Imagine Dragons

* Amsterdam - Imagine Dragons

* Shoot to Thrill - AC/DC

* The Last Of The Real Ones - FOB

* Supercut - Lorde

* Hold Me Down - Halsey

* Young God - Halsey

* Moves like Jagger - Maroon 5

* One Time - Marian Hill

* Dragula - Rob Zombie

* Do Wah Diddy Diddy - Manfred Mann

* She’s Kinda Hot - 5SOS

* Guillotine - Jon Bellion (ft. Travis Mendes)

* The Reckless And The Brave - ATL

* Save Rock And Roll - FOB (ft. Elton John)

* Where Did The Party Go - FOB

* I See Fire - Ed Sheeran

* Irresistible - FOB

* We Are Young - fun. (ft. Janelle Monáe

* Somebody That I Used To Know - Gotye (ft. Kimbra)

~Ravenclaw~

* It’s Time - Imagine Dragons

* 400 Lux - Lorde

* Life Support- Sam Smith

* Lay Me Down - Sam Smith (ft. John Legend)

* Thief - Ansel Elgort

* Cold Soul - Trevor Moran

* Sober II (Melodrama) -Lorde

* Pumped Up Kicks - Foster The People

* Implicit Demand For Proof - TØP

* Million Dollar Bills - Lorde

* Crazy=Genus - P!atD

* Jet Pack Blues - FOB

* Secret Love Song - Little Mix

* Home Alone - Ansel Elgort

* Turning Tables - Aldele

* Space Oddity (2015 Remast.) - David Bowie

* Just One Yesterday - FOB (ft. Foxes)

* Viva La Vida - Coldplay

* IRobot - Jon Bellion

* Walls Could Talk - Halsey

~Hufflepuff~

* Hurricane - Halsey

* Money On My Mind - Sam Smith

* HEAVEN - Troye Sivan

* Impossible Year -P!atD

* Liability - Lorde

* Thumbs - Sabrina Carpenter

* Castle - Halsey

* Roman Holiday - Halsey

* She Will Be Loved - Maroon 5

* Daylight - Maroon 5

* Heathens - TØP (GnuS Cello cover)

* When We Were Young - Adele

* Play That Funky Music - Wild Cherry

* Sweet Creature - Harry Styles

* Gimme Shelter - The Rolling Stones

* Weightless - City And Color

* Woman - City And Color

* Peaceful Road - City And Color

* The Grand Optimist - City And Color

* Friend, Please - TØP

~Slytherin~

* Young Dumb & Broke - Khalid

* Ghost - Halsey

* Burning - Sam Smith

* Young and Menace - FOB

* Victorious - P!atD

* Homemade Dynamite - Lorde (ft. Khalid, Post Malone, & SZA)

* Drive - Halsey

* Control - Halsey

* Love Somebody - Maroon 5

* One More Night - Maroon 5

* Act My Age - Hoodie Allen

* Bad At Love - Halsey

* Lie - Halsey (ft. Quavo)

* Bad Company - Five Finger Death Punch

* Calm Down - G-Easy

* Rat a Tat - FOB (ft. Courtney Love)

* Kiwi - Harry Styles

* Fourth Of July - FOB

* Twin Skeletons (Hotel in NYC) - FOB

* The Mighty Fall - FOB (ft. Big Sean)

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Fandoms I do:

* Markiplier (not for fics)

* Jacksepticeye (not for fics)

* Lord of the Rings (includes Hobbit)

* Harry Potter

* Marvel

This is just a list of great songs in general. If you don’t like some, or any, of the songs in your house then, by all means, check the ones in the other houses out! If you have any questions, all you have to do is message me! I’m happy to answer them all. 💙 ;)

375 notes · View notes

foryourart · 7 years ago

Photo

Étienne Szeemann’s Swiss cross made of hair from salon clientele, a personal tribute to his receipt of Swiss citizenship, ca. 1919. Getty Research Institute, Los Angeles (2011.M.30) © J. Paul Getty Trust. PLAN ForYourArt: February 22–28

Thursday, February 22

Caravaggio — Part II, Santa Barbara Museum of Art (Santa Barbara), 10–11:30am.

Immigration Workshop, CalArts (Valencia), 12–1pm.

Medeas by Andrea Pallaoro - Film Screening, CalArts (Valencia), 1–4pm.

School of Music Visiting Artist Series: Seth Boyden, CalArts (Valencia), 2–4pm.

Late Night: Tattoo, Museum of Natural History (Downtown), 5–9pm. $10.

Tom Friedman: Ghosts and UFOs: Projections for Well-Lit Spaces, Parrasch Heijnen Gallery (Downtown), 5–7pm.

Learning to Love the Literati Poetry Reading and Reception, Santa Barbara Museum of Art (Santa Barbara), 5:30–6:30pm.

MOVIE NIGHT – The Royal Tenenbaums, ESMoA (El Segundo), 5:30–7:30pm.

TOURS & TALKS: Stories of Almost Everyone Walk-through: Gary Dauphin, Hammer Museum (Westwood), 6pm.

Screening: Eliot Rausch, Underground Museum (Mid-City), 6pm.

ORANGE 6, Coagula Curatorial (Chinatown), 6–9pm.

One Hour/One Painting, Laguna Art Museum (Laguna Beach), 6pm.

Matthew Rolston: Hollywood Royale, Annenberg Space for Photography (Century City), 6:30–8pm.

Volume I: Cultural Identities, Residency Art Gallery (Inglewood), 7–9pm.

Kybelle Dance Theatre, The Loft at Liz’s (Mid-City), 7–9pm.

Challenge for Change | Mur Murs (1981), LA Plaza de Cultura y Artes (Downtown), 7–9pm.

Moving Line, El Camino College Art Gallery (Torrance), 7–9pm.

At land’s edge: Kristina Wong, Human Resources (Chinatown), 7–9pm.

Cameron Rowland lecture, Hammer Museum (Westwood), 7:30pm.

David Horvitz with Christine Sun Kim, JFDR, and Xiu Xiu Noise: Watering a Glass Flower II, (Some Meditations for Resonating Hourglasses Sounding the Shapes of Hours), Edward Cella Art+Architecture (Culver City), 7:30pm.

The Broad and X-TRA present Simone Leigh + Steven Nelson in Conversation, The first in a series of talks addressing the legacy of Joseph Beuys, The Broad (Downtown), 7:30pm. $15.

MONDONGO: WHAT ARE WE GONNA SAY AFTER HELLO?, Track 16 (Downtown), 7:30–9pm.

Cheng Foundation Lecture - Chop Suey, USA: How Americans Discovered Chinese Food, The Huntington (San Marino), 7:30pm.

TONY KUSHNER & SARAH VOWELL IN CONVERSATION, CAP UCLA (Westwood), 8pm.

Friday, February 23

Talk: A Bilingual Scholars' Day— Painted in Mexico: 1700–1790: Pinxit Mexici, LACMA (Miracle Mile), 9:30am.

A Man and His Prostate, Palm Springs Art Museum (Palm Springs), 10am–5pm. Through February 25.

Culture Fix: J. Lorand Matory on the Arts of Candomblé, Fowler Museum (Westwood), 12pm.

Distinguished Artist Interviews: Catherine Opie interviewed by Helen Molesworth; The Promise Piece, Ten Years Later, A message from Yoko Ono; Judy Baca interviewed by Anna Indych-López, 106th CAA Annual Conference, LA Convention Center (Downtown), 3:30–5:30pm.

Hannah by Andrea Pallaoro - Film Screening, CalArts (Valencia), 4–7pm.

Art Buzz: Harald Szeemann, Institute of Contemporary Art, Los Angeles (Downtown), 5:30–7pm.

Bill Barminski Retrospective, Castelli Art Space (Culver City), 6–10pm. Continues February 24.

Alake Shilling: Monsoon Lagoon, 356 Mission (Downtown), 6pm.

Gabrielle Teschner, Michael Wall, and Brant Ritter, TAPPAN (962 East Fourth Street, LA CA 90013, Downtown), 6–9pm.

Panel: Chicanx/Latinx Art after PST: LA/LA. Sustaining the Field, Self Help Graphics and Art (Downtown), 6–8pm.

Guided tour: Mari Cardenas & Milton Jurado, Self Help Graphics & Art (Downtown), 6:30pm.

NO TIME TO WASTE, Moskowitz Bayse (Hollywood), 7:30pm.

Pictures of an Exhibition, LA Phil (Downtown), 8pm. Through February 25.

Djanjoba LA 2018: A Drum & Dance Gratitude Festival, various locations (across locations), 8pm. Through February 25.

Witch House: A Witches' Cabaret, CalArts (Valencia), 8pm. Through February 27.

Saturday, February 24

SYMPOSIUM: BLACKNESS AND THE ART OF EMPOWERMENT IN BAHIA, BRAZIL, Fowler Museum (Westwood), 10am–4:30pm.

Demanding Investment Without Displacement, The Wellness Center (Downtown), 10am–3pm.

Feminism and the State: Art, Politics, and Resistance, MOCA Grand Avenue (Downtown), 10am–4:30pm.

What is Contemporary? Feminism and the State: Art, Politics, and Resistance, MOCA Grand Avenue (Downtown), 10am–4:30pm.

Bob Baker Day, Bob Baker Marionette Theater (MacArthur Park), 10am–6pm.

Not Her(E): A Workshop, Women’s Center for Creative Work (Frogtown), 10am–1pm.

Bonsai-a-Thon, The Huntington (San Marino), 10am–5pm. Continues February 25.

tokidoki x iHasCupquake Launch Event & Signing, La Luz de Jesus Gallery (Los Feliz), 11am–3pm.

Cartomancy: The Seni-Horoscope Re-imagined by Shay Bredimus and Tony Delap: A Retrospective, Laguna Art Museum (Laguna Beach), 11am–5pm.

Workshop: Finding Autonomy and Connection through Contact Improv, Pieter (Lincoln Heights), 12–3pm.

Donna Bates and Corban Lundborg, Gabba Gallery (Koreatown), 12:30pm.

Thinking Like a Roman: How to Renew America's Polarized Landscape, Getty Villa (Pacific Palisades), 1pm.

Artist at Work: Paper and Light, Getty Center (Brentwood), 1–3pm.

Dos Colectivos, USC Fisher Museum of Art (Downtown), 1–4pm.

Closing Reception, Tieken Gallery (Chinatown), 1–6pm.

Public Anchors Finale, Side Street Projects (Pasadena), 1–4pm.

Talk: Artists in Conversation: Isabel Avila and Linda Vallejo, LACMA (Miracle Mile), 1:30pm.

Existing On Our Own Terms: Healing Rituals As Liberatory Practice, Women’s Center for Creative Work (Frogtown), 2–5pm. $15–25.

Maren Hassinger: The Spirit of Things, Art+Practice (Leimert Park), 2–5pm.

The Great Compromise, UCI Claire Trevor School of the Arts (Irvine), 2–5pm.

"Animalia" - A Voice Event, CalArts (Valencia), 2–4pm.

Male Glaze pop-up, Freehand Gallery (Beverly Grove), 4pm.

The Circuitry of Joyce J. Scott: A Group Exhibition of Collaboration and Innovation, Craft in America Center (Beverly Grove), 4–6pm.

Melvino Garretti: Space Versus Space, Vernon Gardens (Vernon), 4–8pm.

Kevin Larmon: slipping in and out of phenomenon and Nathan Hayden: Strong Magic, CB1 Gallery (Downtown), 4–7pm.

Açúcar: A film series organized by Ellen Gallagher, Hauser & Wirth (Downtown), 4–10pm.

#CAMOLORDS - UNSEEN, Anahid Boghosian - HERE NOW and Brian Reed - From Semi-Abstract And Back, TAG Gallery (Santa Monica), 5–8pm.

UNICEF Next Generation Art Party, 800MAIN (Venice), 5pm. $40–150.

Petra Cortright: CAM WORLS, UTA Artist Space (Downtown), 5–7pm.

ADC Fundraiser: The Koerner Affair, Koerner House (Palm Springs), 5-8pm.

Opening Reception: Carmen Argote Artist Lab and Opening Reception: Mariángeles Soto-Díaz, 18th Street Arts Center (Santa Monica), 6–8pm.

Rodrigo Valenzuela: General Song and Carla Issue 11 launch party, Klowden Mann (Culver City), 6–9pm.

Kevin Cooley: Still Burning, Kopeikin Gallery (Culver City), 6–8pm.

Matthew Brandt: AgX.Hb, M+B (West Hollywood), 6–8pm.

Lorser Feitelson: Figure to Form, Louis Stern Fine Arts (West Hollywood), 6–8pm.

Aaron Wrinkle: LA Salon, there-there (East Hollywood), 6–8pm.

L.A.W.S. presents Language: The Art Show, Los Angeles Water School (Downtown), 6pm–12am.

SHOP and SOLO PROJECT, Denk Gallery (Downtown), 6–8pm.

Robert Moreland: Slow Talker, Wilding Cran Gallery (Downtown), 6–8pm.

Like Ghosts: New Works by Rema Ghuloum and HK Zamani, JAUS (Sawtelle), 6:30–9:30pm.

THE PAIN ISN'T OVER | Leafar Seyer & Prayers, THESE DAYS (Downtown), 7–10pm.

Herakut: Rental Asylum, Troy Brooks: Skinwalker, and Adrian Cox: Terra Incognita, Corey Helford Gallery (Downtown), 7–11pm.

L.A. Dance Project presents Bodies2, L.A. Dance Project (Downtown), 7pm.

Los Angeles Ladies Arm Wrestling Presents Queens at the Table, Bootleg Theater (MacArthur Park), 7–11pm. $10–15.

Sonnets and Sonatas Presents: Animals!, Getty Center (Brentwood), 7:30pm.

Independence Day and A Cylindrical Object on Fire in the Dark, Los Angeles Contemporary Archive (Chinatown), 7:30–10pm.

lost tribes, LACE (Los Angeles Contemporary Exhibitions) (Hollywood), 8pm. Also February 25.

Saluti, Grace Palmer: Secrets of Virtuous Cycle Management Institut IDGAF, Pieter (Lincoln Heights), 8:30–10pm.

The Moon Has Made Us Brothers, CalArts (Valencia), 9–10pm.

Sunday, February 25

The Art of the Movie Poster: Highlights from the Mike Kaplan Collection, LACMA (Miracle Mile), 10am–7pm; talk, 4pm.

Tony DeLap: A Retrospective, Laguna Art Museum (Laguna Beach), 11am–5pm.

TURBANTE-SE / A HEAD WRAP WORKSHOP, Fowler Museum (Westwood), 12pm.

Mesoamerica in Midcentury California: Revivals and Reinventions, LACMA (Miracle Mile), 1–2:15pm.

Painting workshop with Alake Shilling, 356 Mission (Downtown), 1–4pm.

IN CONVERSATION: ENRIQUE MARTINEZ CELAYA WITH DAN MCCLEARY & DEMIAN FLORES, USC Fisher Museum of Art (Downtown), 1pm.

Symbols in Copper, California African American Museum (Downtown), 1–3pm.

WORKSHOP: FREE THE VOICE: Odeya Nini, Pieter (Lincoln Heights), 1–4pm. $35.

Pop-Up Community Portrait Studio, Santa Barbara Museum of Art (Santa Barbara), 1–4pm.

Dora De Larios and Rigo 23: Ripples Become Waves, Main Museum (Downtown), 2-5pm.

Panel: Albert Chong, Andrea Chung, and Maria Magdalena Campos-Pons, moderated by Los Siu, California African American Museum (Downtown), 2–4pm.

WON JU LIM: Aunt Clara's Dilemma, AUDREY HOPE: Dreams of Pentecost, and MARISSA GRAZIANO: Lesbian Step-Sisters Better Not Get Caught By Dad!, DXIX (Venice), 3–6pm.

Artist Talk: All Hands on Deck, Otis College of Art and Design (Westchester), 3–5pm.

HOME, HOOD, HILL: Final Projects: Group XLV, Mackey Apartments, MAK Center for Art and Architecture (Mid-City), 3–6pm.

Chad Attie: The Last Island Talk & Screening, The Lodge (East Hollywood), 3-6pm.

Feminism Now, Shoebox Projects (Downtown), 3–6pm.

Anna Wittenberg: Dog Mod, Bozo Mag (West Adams), 4–8pm.

Talk: The Art of the Movie Poster: A Conversation with Mike Kaplan and Kenneth Turan, LACMA (Miracle Mile), 4pm.

Surfing Countdown, Zebulon (Frogtown), 6pm–12am.

WORKSHOP: Orgasmic Yoga: Dr. Victoria Reuveni, Pieter (Lincoln Heights), 6–10pm. $30–40.

SCREENINGS Part of the series The Black Book: Chocolate Babies, Hammer Museum (Westwood), 7:30pm.

PlumbLine - Jewelry Objects seminar, Long Beach City College Art Gallery (Long Beach), 7–9:30pm.

Monday, February 26

Artists, Icons and Legends: The Portraits of Michael Childers, Palm Springs Art Museum (Palm Springs), 10am–12pm.

THIS, NOT THAT LECTURE: CHARLES WALDHEIM, UCLA (Westwood), 6:30pm.

Tuesday, February 27

Cut! Paper Play in Contemporary Photography and Paper Promises: Early American Photography, Getty Center (Brentwood), 10am–5:30pm.

Film: Amadeus, LACMA (Miracle Mile), 1pm.

Artists Council 50th Anniversary Celebration, Acqua California Bistro (Rancho Mirage), 4–7pm.

PAUL ESPOSITO, UCLA (Westwood), 5–7pm.

Artist walkthrough: Black, The Loft at Liz’s (Mid-City), 7–9pm.

PEN PRESENTS X ARTISTS BOOKS: ALEXANDRA GRANT & KEANU REEVES with SYLVAN OSWALD, The Masonic Lodge at Hollywood Forever (Hollywood), doors 7pm; show, 8pm.

How To Have Hard Conversations, Women’s Center for Creative Work (Frogtown), 7–10pm. $16–20.

PlumbLine - Jewelry Objects closing reception, Long Beach City College Art Gallery (Long Beach), 7–8:30pm.

SCREENINGS: Faces Places, Hammer Museum (Westwood), 7:30pm.

Zoe Buckman: Champ, The Standard (Hollywood).

Wednesday, February 28

MAC Meeting, Lecture & Luncheon with guest speaker David Zippel, Palm Springs Art Museum (Palm Springs), 10am–1pm.

FOWLER OUT LOUD: RANDY REYES: LXS DESAPARECIDXS, Fowler Museum (Westwood), 6pm.

Talk: Michael Govan and Richard Prince, LACMA (Miracle Mile), 7pm. Sold out.

Founder's Day Lecture - In Search of Blue Boy's True Colors, The Huntington (San Marino), 7pm.

CONVERSATIONS: Jeffrey Stewart and Carl Hancock Rux, Hammer Museum (Westwood), 7:30pm.

Getting Fed By Your Feed: Curating An Instagram Diet, Women’s Center for Creative Work (Frogtown), 7:30–9:30pm. $1–10.

Reconstructing Grandfather, ICA LA (Downtown), 7:30pm.

Cross-Hatched: Incidents and Echoes: Jasper Johns + John Cage, The Broad (Downtown), 8pm.

4 notes · View notes

gagosiangallery · 7 years ago

Photo

"Southern Accent: Seeking the American South in Contemporary Art" at the Speed Art Museum, Louisville, KY, closes this Saturday, October 14. Works by Sally Mann and Andy Warhol are included in the exhibition. See it before it closes! "Southern Accent: Seeking the American South in Contemporary Art" explores the complex and contested space of the American South. Curated by Trevor Schoonmaker and Miranda Lash, the exhibition addresses the realities, fantasies, and myths that have captured the public’s imagination about the American South. http://fal.cn/tv-2

#Gagosian #Art #SallyMann #Art Museum #LarryGagosian #AndyWarhol #Speed Art Museum #Contemporary #Photo

51 notes · View notes

secondsightcinema · 6 years ago

Text

Raw Deal (1948): Crashing Out of Corkscrew Alley

“I believe in the nobility of the human spirit. It is that for which I look in a subject I am to direct. I do not believe that everybody is bad, that the whole world is wrong. The greatness of Shakespeare’s plays is the nobility of the human spirit, even though he may destroy the character.” —Anthony Mann, 1964, cite source, p.8 (Introduction)

First and most important, if you don’t know this movie and you love noir, see it.

If you don’t know much about noir but appreciate exciting, beautifully made movies, see it.

If you are moved by great storytelling, acting, and extraordinary cinematography, see it.

If you have 78 minutes and feel like something thrilling, creepy, romantic and tragic?

Well, you get the idea.

Watch Raw Deal, and don’t do it on the fly—sit down, turn off your phone, and give it your full attention. You will be rewarded.

There, my job is done. Now we can talk about the movie. Here’s a link to a synopsis if you are so inclined: here you go.

Corkscrew Alley is a crushing habitat for nobility of the human spirit. It’s great shorthand for the corrupt world so many noir characters desperately try to escape. It’s just that most of its denizens have had the aspiration knocked out of them by brutality and poverty, and their spirits are in moth-eaten tatters. Even when they act on an impulse toward decency, they get it in the neck and are knocked back into crime, shabbiness: Corkscrew Alley.

In Raw Deal, Mann focuses primarily on four characters, three in a romantic triangle. The fourth is an impressively disgusting villain, a sadistic pyromaniac criminal whose efforts to kill the protagonist before he comes to claim the $50,000 owed him create the simple, on-the-lam plot.

But it’s the romantic triangle, particularly the two women, who Mann develops beyond the usual scope of noir. As Jeanine Basinger notes in Anthony Mann (2007), it is in Raw Deal that Mann for the first time creates two characters who are deeply fused, almost mirror images, a dynamic he would develop further in his westerns. In this case it’s two great actresses and noir goddesses, Claire Trevor and Marsha Hunt, who form this dyad.

I always wonder when in the thrall of a work of collaborative art, if those who made it had a sense of its quality or importance while caught up in the process of making it. Was the power of (forgive me, I date myself) Blonde on Blonde, or Sgt. Pepper, or Astral Weeks apparent to the musicians and producers as they worked?

Maybe the lower the budget, the less likely those involved are to be aware of having a part in making something extraordinary, something that could live on for many decades and in some cases become celebrated in ways unthinkable in the movie’s own time. It’s great the Edgar Ulmer lived to see Detour celebrated, and the same of Joseph H. Lewis and Gun Crazy. But in an interview with Claire Trevor, decades after making Raw Deal, she hardly remembers it. And you can see why. She was a busy actress, going from one movie to another. Noir didn’t exist yet, not as an artistic designation, and so Trevor’s noirs when she was making them were just low-budget crime movies. Raw Deal was for Trevor just another gig.

Marsha Hunt’s memories of working on Raw Deal mostly centered on her perception that Mann didn’t direct the actors, focusing instead on lighting and camera placement, leaving his cast to work out their own characterizations and bits of business. The director, who had himself been an actor on Broadway before moving into film, knew he could trust this fine cast. The versatile Dennis O’Keefe, equally at home in comedy and drama and was also a published writer who aspired to direct, holds his own with his leading ladies, two of the very best.

To Anthony Mann, still in the first phase of his Hollywood career, Raw Deal was just a follow-up to his previous year’s success with T-Men, also starring homme fatale Dennis O’Keefe, also shot by John Alton. Like Trevor’s experience going from one film to another, Mann’s was as a busy journeyman director, air-dropped from one project to the next, so that he couldn’t afford to invest much emotionally in any of them.

//////***MOVE THE NEXT FEW ‘GRAPHS UP TOWARD THE TOP*** “There has been so much yapping over the years about the film director, the film *auteur*…that it has been very difficult for the general public and even for the informed public, to realize that making a film is an industrial process and it is perfectly possible to edit, alter, present and have a resounding success without the director having anything more to do with the film from the moment he stops shouting at the actors.” —Michael Powell

Right! Great thing to bear in mind when we love a film and imagine that the director had overall control of the project, that directing was for most an artistic endeavor rather than the reality that they were hired guns who came in, shot a movie, then moved on to the next one. Yes, there are exceptions among directors (and even stars). But in the main, Hollywood filmmaking was, as Powell says, “an industrial process,” not a personal artistic one.

That makes the greatness of so many movies made in this industrial process even more miraculous. Sometimes the stars and cinematic elements aligned—the right producer, script, director, cinematographer, and cast, and the result is a thing of beauty that continues to delight, disturb, and enrich us many decades later.

Raw Deal is one of those.

So what is it that sets it apart from a couple hundred other noirs?

First thing is what Mann said in the quote at the top of this piece, in 1964. There is a yearning for redemption, to express “the nobility of the human spirit,” that curls around the characters like cigarette smoke, like that San Francisco fog that Alton evoked so convincingly. Joe (O’Keefe) is a gangster, but when he was a kid he risked his life to rescue some other kids from a fire—Ann (Hunt) tells Joe that’s what first got her interested in him. She wants something better for him, and though he resists her pressing him away from the dirty life he’s trapped in, toward “a little common decency,” as she says, she gets under his skin. And even Joe longs for “a breath of fresh air,” not a feature of his gangster life, prison, Corkscrew Alley.

Joe wants to crash out, like weary gangster Roy Earle (Bogart in a break-out role) in High Sierra (1941). He dreams of living like normal people, not under constant threat from the law or your own crime boss.

Joe’s moll, Pat (Trevor), is so broken, so beaten down from Corkscrew Alley life that she takes insults and abuse without flinching. But still, even Pat has a pilot light of yearning for something better. It’s just that she’s so damaged she can’t imagine anything better than a life with career criminal Joe. Unlike some other noir dames Trevor played (thinking particularly of *Murder, My Sweet* and *Born to Kill*), who are the sociopathic equals of any onscreen, Pat has the vulnerability of Trevor’s most famous role as TK in Stagecoach*(1939), as a prostitute, and in Key Largo (1949), as Edgar G. Robinson’s battered, alcoholic moll.

Course part of that is just sex, not spiritual yearning. Joe knows he’s hot for social worker Ann, but Ann isn’t quite as honest with herself about her feelings for him. She tells herself it’s just professional concern for a client, but Joe knows better. (One thing about Corkscrew Alley: it attunes you to the basic, baser motivations.)

Ann (Hunt) is the only one of the four principals who wasn’t formed by Corkscrew Alley. She grew up in slightly more genteel poverty, her father a schoolteacher who imbued her with ambition for a better life—”He died in the war of the Depression, only we didn’t get any medals,” she says bitterly to Joe when he accuses her of having had it easy. She hits back, hard, telling him she’s had to fight, just not “that stupid way,” with a gun. She’s managed to get an education, a decent apartment and car, a solid job. Her interest in Joe is a threat to everything she’s accomplished, but she’s blind to that until it’s too late. But when she tells Joe all she wants is “just a little decency, that’s all,” he looks like she’s broken through his defenses.

The third member of the triangle is Pat (Trevor), a hard-time girl who loves Joe desperately. She reminds me a little bit of Marie, Ida Lupino’s character in High Sierra, so emotionally damaged that she doesn’t know if she’s good enough for aging gangster Roy Earle. Marie and Pat are so battered by life that they have no experience of tenderness, kindness, love. The crooks they fall for look good to them because anything better is beyond the scope of their dreams.

Jeanine Basinger writes about how Pat and Ann are almost twinned, two characters who reflect each other, I would say in their differences as well as their similarities. In the first scene, at the prison, we first see each woman hatted and veiled, so their faces, which give away their feelings, are fenced off from the world and the unstable feelings it evokes. Pat wants nothing but Joe, her slender hope for any kind of happiness is all condensed into her desire to be with him, while Ann, who has relied on self-discipline to make her way in the world, is less connected to her own feelings about Joe, and if she were aware of them, she’d see instantly how hopeless they are. Toward the end, Pat finds that as much as she wants to hate Ann, she can’t—she recognizes her as another woman who loves Joe. This approaches compassion, an astonishing spiritual attainment for someone as emotionally beat-up as Pat, and a kind of metaphorical fresh air that lifts her above her own suffering.

But it’s the feelings we don’t recognize that control us, and while Ann didn’t ask to be taken hostage on Joe’s and Pat’s cross-country odyssey, and her revulsion at their casual criminality and violence are authentic, this good girl finds herself drawn closer to Joe’s way of life than she could ever comfortably acknowledge.

One of Raw Deal’s novelties is its use of the almost ubiquitous noir voiceover, usually a male voice relating past-tense events, often in flashback. Here the first difference is that the film’s voice is present-tense, and it belongs to Pat, her feelings are about the only things she owns. The second difference is that it is a female voice, not the norm in noir. It’s fitting that Pat should speak directly to us, or rather that we are allowed to eavesdrop on her internal storytelling of the narrative in which she finds herself. One of my only quibbles with Raw Deal is the theramin that underscores all of Pat’s voiceover. It feels like one of those club-us-like-baby-seals things where someone—perhaps Mann, perhaps not—decides we need something to tell us we’re hearing a voiceover. Like we need a frickin’ neon sign. The theramin is intrusive and stylistically at odds with the very good score. I’m guessing it was a producer who insisted on it: PRODUCER, flicking cigar ash: What’s—what’s she saying? Why isn’t her mouth moving? ASSISTANT: Right, sir. It’s a voiceover. PRODUCER: Voiceover…but it’s a dame! ASSISTANT: Yes, sir. It’s a little bit different, but we thought— PRODUCER: Never mind what you thought! Put some kind of sound with it, so the audience knows why her mouth isn’t moving! ASSISTANT: Well…we have an hour’s credit at the recording studio. I’ll talk to the composer, we just need one cue, we can repeat it every time the voiceover comes in… PRODUCER: Yeh, whatever, just make sure when we hear the dame’s voice and she ain’t talking, we know it’s on purpose. ASSISTANT: Sure thing, L.Q….

Most oft-discussed of Raw Deal are its visuals: the glorious cinematography, how Mann and Alton trap Joe and his girls in tight, closed spaces. Joe is suffocating for lack of fresh air, that’s how he expresses his drive to escape the dirty dead end of Corkscrew Alley. From the film’s opening, through its series of action sequences, we and the characters are repeatedly crammed into tight shots in cars, closets, freighter cabins, and framed in windows, behind bars or mesh.

Mann makes use of his female stars’ extraordinary acting in long closeups. Their faces pass through what would take paragraphs or pages to express, and we feel an intimate connection to their interior lives.

The film’s final bravura sequence, with a thrilling gun ambush in the street followed by a knock-down, drag-out fight in the middle of a raging fire, brings us back to, where else?—Corkscrew Alley. Pat does the right thing, partly because she knows she will never really have Joe and partly because she’s not quite bad enough to let her rival face grievous harm. Joe does the right thing, too, and finally gets that breath of fresh air he’s spent his life searching for. Both of them have found a little bit of grace they didn’t know they had, but it doesn’t change their fate.

Rick meets his fate, too, and Mann and Alton make sure it’s as baroque and horrific as anything Rick could dream of doing to an enemy (or a girlfriend, but you’ll have to see the movie to understand that ref).

And Ann? Her boundaries broken, her understanding of the world and her own psyche shattered, she has to go back to the life she worked so hard to attain, but neither she or that carefully crafted life will ever be the same. At the beginning of the story, she is a kind person, but it takes the events of Raw Deal to force her to confront her own unruly desire and even potential for violence.

Everyone loses what they prize most. And three of the four find that they are able to sacrifice their own fondest desires to serve something larger than themselves. Apparently there’s room for a spark of nobility, even in Corkscrew Alley.

This post was written for the Classic Movie Bloggers’ Association 2019 Spring blogathon. Do yourself a favor and head on over to read more noiry goodness.

from Second Sight Cinema | http://bit.ly/2IK0sAv via http://bit.ly/2GuQYYm

#Second Sight Cinema |

0 notes

slrlounge1 · 6 years ago

Text

15 Tips on Staying Creative Throughout Your Career

Photographing the same type of content over a length of time only leads to increased amount stress, scrutiny, and self-doubt. While we stick to our niches and genres of photography, it’s almost proven at this point that without consistent inspiration and motivation, our work seems to be a duplication of itself leading to the inevitable burnout of creativity. While burnout is so commonly discussed amongst creative professionals, we do very little to prevent it from happening in the first place which makes it hard to combat.

We reached out to 15 creative professionals to offer you tips on how to stay creative throughout your career without losing the integrity and passion for your art.

Vanessa Joy – Website | Instagram

“Staying creative can be tough because burnout is fairly rampant with photographers. I found that you have to find new things to fall in love with throughout your career that keep you interested and motivated. Recently, for me, it’s been about getting to know my clients more and becoming more connected to them so I’m even more excited about telling their love story. I find the more emotionally invested I am a couple the more creatively motivated I’ve become.”

Anna Nguyen Stratton – Website | Instagram

“Burnout is a real thing, and with everyone glorifying the hustle it’s hard to not feel guilty when you want to take a break. Soon you’ll get into a rut of not wanting to document your own family or create for yourself because you don’t want to see a camera. This is a good time to use something else to create. When I’m feeling like it’s become “work” I pull out my iPhone and get creative. That’s how I got into underwater photography. It was my release, and it all started with an Otterbox and an iPhone. Now I have a full underwater kit and shoot commissioned work. Being underwater has its own challenges that you don’t deal with on the daily so it’s exciting, fun, and very much freeing because you’re not fighting against what is expected and what is creative.”

Trevor Dayley – Instagram | Website

“I like to think of my creative brain like a computer. Whenever it’s lagging, running slow, or just seems bogged down, often times what it needs is a reboot. The way I do this is by giving myself a small challenge to force me to use something that is not part of my standard process (a light, a lens, a technique.) For instance, I might say to myself, “for the next ten minutes you are going to shoot at f8, instead of the typical “wide open” f1.2 that you’ve been doing.” Or I might say, “Alright, Trevor go grab the 90mm Tilt-Shift lens out of your bag because it’s now the only lens you’ll be using for the next 15 minutes.” These challenges help to reboot my creative side and get outside that box of doing the same thing over and over again.”

Rob Hall – YouTube | Instagram

“Get back to whatever excited you about photography in the first place. Often times we learn photography playfully in our immediate environment, but the career takes it into a completely different direction. For me, taking extended travel breaks and photographing the new experience takes me back to the feeling I had when I first discovered photography. I always come back to work with a clear mind to create.”

Citlalli Rico – Website | Instagram

“I started 13 years ago shooting 100 weddings per year. The burnout was real after every high season. To stay creative and inspired, I found out doing art projects outside wedding photography kept me going. Right now I’m working on lino prints and I love it.”

Eric Talerico – Website | Instagram

“How to keep that creative spark burning is something I think about a lot in my career, and in life. I’ve learned to push myself outside my comfort zones whenever I can by avoiding patterns and routines. I find this keeps me on my toes and allows me to pull ideas from myself and the environment around me rather than doing the same thing over and over. If I am photographing at a venue that I’ve shot at before my goal is to never shoot in the same spot twice. There are more times than I can count where I’ve said to myself “How did I get myself in this situation? What was I thinking? I should have just taken the safe shot.” But when the dust settles I am usually amazed at the end result. It makes me feel like a true creative and keeps me inspired to push myself outside my comfort zone again the next time.”

Dave & Abby Moss – Website | Instagram

“Travel has been my biggest inspiration. Exploring the world and connecting with cultures that have different wisdom, perspectives, and ways of being has helped me open my mind and heart to all kinds of new experiences. When I travel I’m outside of my normal life and my normal self. I see the world with fresh eyes and it helps me to love people and our natural world even more. I’m also passionate about exploring my inner world. When I’m continually growing and changing I feel fulfilled and creative. Everything in life can help me understand myself better; running a business, unpacking why something triggered me, reading a book, taking a course, meditating, etc. If I start to feel disconnected I reach out to my community of open-hearted healers and creatives. Simply being around them helps me to reconnect and remember who I am. When I’m filled up inside I can let creativity spill out.”

Justin Haugen – Instagram | Website

“We are creatures of habit and prone to a routine that keeps our minds in the same creative space. I do my best to disrupt patterns in my life and open myself up to new experiences. On a whim, I went to a friend’s cafe on a Monday night to randomly see a visiting musician who was touring the country from Japan. I was one of five people in the room that night and it ended up being one of my favorite musical experiences. Afterward, I invited the musician to shoot with me the next day and I was so fortunate to happen upon such a creative and interesting subject. Get out into your city and try something different for a change. You never know what opportunities will present themselves or how inspiration will strike you.”

Lanny & Erika Mann – Website | Instagram

“Jesh de Rox says it best, “If you want to make interesting work, live an interesting life.” That, and learn from our kids (the most creative, imaginative humans on Earth).”

Jay Cassario – Website | Instagram

“Ever since I began shooting 35-45 weddings per year, I always find myself hitting a hard creative rut right around the 3/4 mark of the wedding season. I feel like everything I do is repetitive. Everything is similar to some other shot I took earlier. I start to feel like my creativity that came so easily in the first half of the year, after a couple months of downtime, really becomes difficult to pull out. It was about 4 years ago that I started really feeling it, so I started shooting film at weddings. Shooting a different medium seemed to really help. Shooting film is a lot different than shooting digital, so it really forced me to switch things up. I did the same thing the following year. Due to the price of film and getting it scanned, it wasn’t the best move financially so I needed to try something else a couple years ago. Being that I’m an ambassador for Leica Camera USA, they often ask for new work so I decided to use that as an excuse to start giving them something other than just wedding photos. I began doing a lot more shoots with local models, something I still do today but more-so throughout the year now. When I photograph a model my approach is very different then it is on a wedding day. Obviously, for the fact that there’s only one subject but I’m not shooting in a photojournalistic style. I’m not anticipating moments. I’m working in a completely different style and it really helps avoid creative burnout. Burnout can really affect you as a wedding photographer and the end product that you deliver to a client. Try to switch things up, use lenses you don’t typically use that often, try different lighting techniques, or start to really push yourself in areas that you may struggle in. The other idea I would offer is what I’ve been doing the past couple of years which is to find something else to shoot besides wedding photography. It can also open up other doors to help financially as well.”

Megan Allen – Website | Instagram

“To keep my creative spark going, I really enjoy going outside of my usual genre of wedding photography, and doing creative portraiture for actors and musicians. The organic, creative vibes they come to their shoots with always fuels my soul, and I come away energized and inspired by their creativity that they lend me on the shoots.

It’s a different vibe when you get to work with fellow creatives, and the ability to bounce concepts off one another — as well as knowing when you say, “Hey, I have an idea…” — is a beautiful thing, and the collaboration always comes out looking a little different. I love it, and I hope I can continue to create for creatives in the future.”

Jared Gant – Instagram | Website

“I stay creative by staying curious, by always learning and improving, and then by acting on that curiosity by playing outside the lines. I find that maintaining creativity is particularly difficult when I’m not pushing myself to learn or when I get too complacent with what I have already learned. The more I know the more I realize what I don’t know, and that motivates me to explore further and try harder. Then, once I’ve explored, I can leave the path, and that’s when things get really fun. Put another way, each time I learn something new, it’s like adding a new color to my paint palette. Once I’ve mastered that new color, it’s time to paint outside the lines.”

Sean LeBlanc – Website | Instagram

“I stay creative by saying “YES” to work outside of photographing weddings and will often seek out new opportunities that get me out of my comfort zone. In the early days, I would turn down non-wedding related work because I was only focused on weddings and engagements. This was great for a few years however over time I began to hit some creative roadblocks. Over the last two years, I have been saying “YES” to a wide range of portrait work and I have been blown away by not only the amazing stories I discover about my clients but also how far I can push my creativity to showcase their story with bold creative artwork.”

Lyndah Wells – Website | Instagram

“I try and combine my love of travel and photography to break out of my creative rut because sometimes it gets bad. Hanging with a group of friends, exploring somewhere I’ve never been and shooting with my small discreet Fuji making photos that please only me, meeting new people on my travels gets me revved up to get back to work and takes the pressure off.”

Dave Paek – Website | Instagram

“Sometimes you need to step back and not give a sh*t what other photographers or award societies will think of your work. You need to look introspectively and ask yourself what’s important to you and how your emotions color (for the lack of a better word) the people you photograph. I sometimes have a very emo way of looking at things and my photos can sometimes be on the moody or dark side. I am obsessed with themes related to inner struggle/conflict, deliverance, and redemption. I like shooting underwater to draw out these themes and emotions.”

What are some of the ways you stay creative throughout your career? Let us know in the comments below.

from SLR Lounge https://www.slrlounge.com/how-to-avoid-burnout/ via IFTTT

#IFTTT #SLR Lounge

0 notes

londontheatre · 7 years ago

Link

It probably would not have taken two days for Maureen (Sarah-Jane Vincent) to find out about some important family news, even if she was no longer on speaking terms with brother Leslie (Steven Mann), if the critical incident had taken place in the age of social media. But, as the show’s programme points out, the “Web was still three years away” from the time in which the play is set. In London, The Phantom of the Opera had just opened; the play’s events take place in Oldham.

The audience is treated (or, given the amount of bitterness from both siblings towards one another, subjected) to two long monologues, the first longer than the second. Leslie seems to ramble at times, speaking thoughts out loud like a stream of consciousness rather than a heavily dramatic and impactful speech. Taking the scenic route to the main topic, the devil is very much in the detail here. A large number of characters are introduced, but few are memorable. The enjoyment of the play comes, therefore, in the observational comedy. It’s apparent, though, that Leslie leads an active retirement; filling each day with activity and meeting with friends.

The set is bare, apart from an armchair and some cards. The latter made a premature appearance at the performance I attended, an unescapable (simply because, as I say, there were no other props) but ultimately negligible observation. The production relies heavily on both the script and the imagination of the audience, who only knows, for instance, that there’s a knock on the door because it is informed accordingly – the play even dispenses with sound effects. It’s so refreshing for a show to have such trust and confidence in its actors to deliver.

With the spectacles, the armchair, and the punchlines, Leslie’s subtle storytelling brought Ronnie Corbett’s straight-to- camera armchair anecdotes to mind. The narrative sometimes moved very briskly indeed, which made it a slight struggle to keep up with everything going on. Better too fast than too slow though. The other person I thought of as these surprisingly compelling stories kept on coming was Peter Oakley (1927-2014), the so-called ‘Internet Grandad’, who posted a large number of videos on YouTube in his final years, drawing from his decades of life experience.

Particularly amusing, to me at least, was a digression about medication and being careful about what medicines are consumed. Leslie’s personal contentment came across as being grounded on looking at other people’s circumstances, interpreting them in his own way, and concluding that he can count his lucky stars that his own situation isn’t as bad as theirs. Ultimately, this isn’t so much sibling rivalry as sibling hatred – both him and her portray one another in the most negative terms.

Maureen’s monologue was shorter, or at least it felt shorter (admittedly, I wasn’t ‘watch-watching’, always a good thing when seeing a show), and more focused. This works well, distinguishing one sibling from the other as having different personalities and manners of speaking. Things do get a tad risqué, but never vulgar, and the language is kept sparklingly clean, a novelty these days in the theatre. Perceptions are presumed, which only results in unnecessary pain for everyone involved, and one comes away thinking that if only Leslie knew X and Maureen knew Y, they would at least think rather better of one another.

It’s not exactly intellectually stimulating, but that doesn’t stop this production from providing plenty of food for thought. One would like to think that our more liberal times would allow for a bit more communication than a generation ago. As the play remains relevant and relatable, that seems somewhat far-fetched. Familiarity breeds contempt in this gentle and passionate production.

Review by Chris Omaweng

In this moving, funny and astutely observed play, two monologues from two members of a family in a small, closely-knit, North of England town tell a powerful story from two wildly different perspectives. Leslie, who has lived with his mother all of his life, tells of the events leading up to her death, revealing the extent of his loss and the bitterness towards his sister, Maureen. Feeling betrayed and reject by her family, Maureen tells a different story of grief and isolation. The two powerful voices remind us of the need for families to communicate, and for love to transcend prejudice.

Canal Cafe Theatre 2 Delamere Terrace, London, W2 6ND 28th-30th July 7pm Running time: 1hr 10min

Production Team Producer: Alistair Lindsay Director: Val Colins

Actors: Steven Mann & Sarah Jane Vincent Production Manager/ Lighting Designer: Alistair Lindsay PR Manager: Francesca Mepham Marketing Designer: Trevor Reaveley

At Canal Cafe Theatre 28th-30th July 7pm, before heading to Edinburgh Fringe.

http://ift.tt/2tSsnYI LondonTheatre1.com

#IFTTT #LondonTheatre1.com

0 notes

jeantparks · 7 years ago

Text

Updated: R2AK leaders near the top of Vancouver Island

UPDATE, 9 p.m. 6/13/17:

Some news at the front of the pack. The Burd brothers, in the lead, left Malcolm Island to port and went up through George Passage. Bad Kitty, in second, appeared to gamble, leaving Malcolm Island to starboard and went through Broughton Strait. Big Broderna, in third, followed the Burd Brothers. As of 2100 Tuesday night, it appears the gamble didn’t work. Bad Kitty is now in third and Big Broderna is in second trying to reel in the Burd Brothers. They’re all at the top of Vancouver Island with a lot of water ahead of them, so one can’t get too confident or disappointed.

Team 3 and ½ Aussies is alone in 4th place about midway in Johnstone Strait and Ketch me if you can is in 5th starting their run at Johnstone.

Five teams above the Narrows but slack is 9:19 with six teams at Campbell River with more arriving shortly. Two of those six, Roger Mann on Discovery and West Coast Wild Ones, appear poised to take advantage of the evening slack. The others may wait until either the 3:51 a.m. slack or perhaps the 8:58 slack. Between the evening slack and the 3:51 slack the current is moving in the right direction, but with strong eddies and whirlpools. Arriving near peak current last night, the Burd brothers faced a choice. Wait and watch their lead diminish or go for it. I’m not privy to their deliberation, but their description was great:

They recalled the entry into the narrows as the “darkest of dark you can imagine and nearly max current”. Fading wind, little steerage but they were prepared – hatch covers, Ocean Rodeo suits, headlamps, and deck vests on. As they entered “the gut of the narrows” they could hear, but not see, breaking waves. “Here we go!” they thought. Only to find that the breaking waves were really a school of 30 to 40 porpoises. I suspect they were Pacific Whitesided Dolphins, but in any case the porpoises/dolphins played with their bow and made an already memorable trip that much more memorable.

The next 10 hours or so will be great to watch on who makes what decision. I suspect the 8:58 slack will be a busy one for R2AK, although the aggressive may try earlier.

Pear Shaped Racing has formally retired and Team Kairos is having some issues with their row cruiser and trying to make repairs.

Sistership hit some rocks exiting Active Pass and has posted some heartbreaking posts. Their centerboard is jammed in the up position and they were just towed back to Nanaimo. They’ll need to be hauled out of the water and then make the decision whether or not to carry on and go for Ketchikan. It’s tough watching the live posts they’ve made — the disappointment is palpable. I’m hoping they go for it as they can still find their race picking off the slower craft. They’ve got a good boat and a good crew.

If there’s a most improved boat, team Kelp had a good day. Would have been better had they gotten up a little earlier the past few days (ahem:).

More on the smaller human powered boats later – they are holding their own and the North2Alaska guys are really making a fine accounting of themselves.

As this missive closes, I’m thinking about Roger Mann, alone in his boat, making the 9 p.m. slack. He’s not going to get much sleep tonight.

UPDATE, 9 a.m. 6/13/17:

Team Pure & Wild/Freeburd, Team Bad Kitty and Team Big Broderna are building a lead in Johnstone Strait. Click on the image to view tracker live.

The overall picture hasn’t changed much, but the Burd brothers didn’t wait for slack and took Seymour Narrows on shortly after midnight. Bad Kitty and Big Broderna also got through the checkpoint at Campbell River and are through the Narrows. The Burd brothers hold roughly a 15 nautical mile lead over Bad Kitty, slightly less than what they had leading up to Campbell River. The wind is blowing and they’ve got an adverse current at present.

Roger Mann was up early as were the boys in North2Alaska and Matt Prius in Viz Reporter.

A quick note on North2Alaska: When I was in Port Townsend, I looked at this boat. It’s a high school project, a home made welded aluminum sharpie. Their oars appeared to be crude affairs so heavy they were counter balanced with zincs. The unstayed masts wobbled and the thought of five souls aboard (four teenagers just graduated from high school plus one dad), made me shudder. Privately I didn’t give them much of a shot to make it to Victoria much less Ketchikan. There’s still a lot of water between them and Ketchikan, but they have put in long days and the last two mornings beat the sun up getting underway. Ahead of some faster, more capable boats, these guys are bring their A game and then some. This morning they left Lasqueti Island and are headed north. In any case, my earlier assessment of their chances was flat wrong. And being wrong on something like this makes me very happy as it’s exactly that type of performance by young people that provides hope for the future.

Team Sistership took an odd turn last night, getting out of the strait and pulled into French Creek. No movement yet this morning. Hope all is well with them. The rest of the field is scattered throughout Georgia Strait.

It’s another day for R2AK!

Original Post, 9:30 p.m. 6/12/17:

Screen shot of the race tracker at 9:32 p.m. Click on the image to view the tracker live.

R2AK is off and running. Similar to the start at Port Townsend, the Victoria re-start was in calm weather. Unlike the Port Townsend start, the forecasted calm wind was supposed to last all day.

Unfortunately, when the racers took off from Victoria Harbour at high noon on Sunday it was marred by a collision between a powerboat and team Oaracle. The powerboat came up behind the rowers and caused some damage, but fortunately no injuries. Clearly the overtaking and hence burdened vessel, the powerboat’s operator yelled at the rowers and reportedly took off — the equivalent of an aquatic hit and run.

Just days before, the Port Townsend to Victoria race was really two races. Or, more candidly, a race then a fight for survival. The predicted heavy wind arrive and, in the words of Jake Beattie, “went from zero to 50 as if it had something to prove.” For a full recap of that leg, Jake’s writing is well worth a read.

As of this writing, Monday afternoon, Team Pure and Wild/Freeburd, with the brothers Burd ( Tripp, Chris and Trevor) are opening up a commanding lead, charging up the Strait of Georgia despite hitting something hard last night. Overnight and earlier into the morning Pear Shaped Racing had been giving them competition, but a log strike at 8 knots sent them into Nanaimo for inspection.

The Burd brothers vessel has a nice combination of fast sailing, an effective propulsion system (Pedal powered) and three athletic young men as crew. They can deal with calms, they can deal with wind and they don’t have to stop. They were the first sailboat to arrive in Victoria, arriving just minutes before Pear Shaped Racing, PT Watercraft and Bad Kitty. All fast boats, but the log strike certainly impacted the Pear Shaped team and PT Watercraft has a crew of one, who will need to sleep. Bad Kitty and Big Broderna are sure to provide some competition, but it’s setting up to have the Burd brothers get through Seymour Narrows a slack or two before their nearest rival. They’re aiming for the slack around 2000 hours tonight.

Of the three paddleboarders, Karl Kruger is showing how it’s done. He was up early this morning and moving – currently the first of the primarily human powered craft. Following close behind is Rod Price in his canoe (looks like a kayak with training wheels, but he’s got a single sided paddle and technically it’s a canoe) and Viz Reporter (Matt Prius). All three opted to avoid Dodd Narrows and went through False Narrows shortly after noon. The other two paddle boarders, Luke Burritt and Edrogan Kirac with ‘Stoked on Fuel” have been at Van Isle Marina all morning but got underway shortly after noon and opted to go through Sansum narrows. So far, all the other teams going up the inside opted to take Trincomali Channel.

Roger Mann opted for open water and surprisingly is ahead of larger boats with larger crews. If he slept at all last night, it wasn’t for very long.

The rest of the fleet is split between ‘inside’ and ‘outside’ with the larger cats and tri’s headed outside and the primarily human powered craft going inside through the Gulf Islands. For the smaller teams unable to go 24 hours a day, the length of their day will make a difference. The Port Townsend high school boys were up and at it early this morning as were many of the teams. Some chose to sleep in. As we’ve seen before, the cumulative effect of those different habits will string out the fleet over the next week.

Some of the teams did a hybrid approach, going up the inside, but escaping the Gulf Islands through one of the passes. Kelp and Sistership opted for Active pass, and North2Alaska and Adventourists took Porlier Pass.

Speaking of what’s coming next, it’s wind. There’s a strong wind warning in Johnstone Strait later today, tonight and tomorrow. Thursday will be 25 – 35, but out of the southeast. From personal experience in a small boat with less than a foot of freeboard, Johnstone Strait can be brutal, but at least it’ll be a following sea on Thursday. The wind will pick up in Georgia Strait as well, making up for the earlier easy time for the human powered craft. Look for the racers to spread out. Some will take advantage of the wind and charge forward, others will try and avoid the wind respecting their vessels and perhaps their own limitations. This isn’t really a race. But then again, it is.