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cosmo-watches-movies · 11 months

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Bright Young Things (2003)

Triggerwarning: Drugs, Homophobia

Summary: In this context does it matter? You know why we’re here.

Spoilers beyond this!

FIrst off, this post is long. I have a lot to say about this film, maybe a bit too much, but hey, I had a good time writing it, maybe you'll have a good time reading it. So get comfy, grab your favourite hot beverage and dive with me, into the world of the Bright Young Things:

In this film Michael plays Miles Maitland, certified disaster gay. Saying I enjoyed the scenes he was in would be the understatement of the century. This movie follows a group of young people in the 1920's and their partygoing escapades. I refuse to write anything else about the plot, because it drops Miles like an unwanted dog at a gas station and I won't stand for that. But I will elaborate later.

About the movie:

Exept for the protagonist himself the young characters in this movie are in a very interesting situation. They are upperclass, living in London in the midst of the roaring 20’s and are way bejond giving a shit about anything. Consequences for one’s actions? Never heard of those. Apparently they don’t need to study or learn for some kind of job or anything, because their parents are rich. They don’t seem to have any other interests they would want to follow even if just for some fullfillment in life. They are just constantly bored. Bored and rich. So what do they do? Party. Hard. All the time.

Overall I really like this film. It’s entertaining to watch, has interesting, funny characters and it paints a very vivid picture of it’s world. They did a very good job at making you feel like you’re there. The sets, the costumes, the music, the whole aesthetic works very well together. We spend the first two acts watching the lot enjoy themselves, having parties, taking drugs, living in a fantasy world and when the third act hits everything goes downhill until most everyone is either in a really miserable situation or, worse dead. And listen, I enjoyed it a lot. But...why? What is this movie about? Like not the story. I got that. You know, the text is obvious. But what is the message? The point, the subtext? Is there even one, or do I want to read too much into this? For some reason it took me along time to understand what I was supposed to take from this all.

You don’t want to know how much bs I wrote before it dawned on me. I was asking myself. Why do the characters end up where they do? They are not inherently bad people. Bit ignorant maybe. But you don’t put characters in these situations and expose them this misery for no reason. Only after looking into the source material I understood what this movie was getting at. It’s just that, this ignorance! Society sucks big time and they do not care! It’s about extreme escapism!

You know: Don’t loose yourself only to the pleasures of life, the world is a difficult place and if you ignore that it will come around and bite you in the ass.

However, that would be the message of the book this film is based on. The movie tho, says: Don’t loose yourself only to the pleasures of life, the world is a difficult place and if you ignore that it will come around and bite you in the ass...unless you’re the main character :)

Sort of, let me explain:

In this film the only people in it who kind of evade this miserable fate are the protagonists Adam [Stephen Campbell Moore] and Nina [Emily Mortimer]. Adam is not as lucky as the other characters are, he has no fortune or rich parents. He has to fight himself through the world with hard work. Or rather lying and gambling. He makes a bet and techincally wins, but then spends the whole movie trying to actually get hold of the money he's owed. He ends up having to write for the chatterbox column in a local newspaper that usually gossips about his friends. He is loyal enough to not want to defame his friends, so he just makes up wild stories about imaginary people. With that he managed to make a choice that is somehow both morally right and wrong. Love that. He does get fired for that, but after some more, mainly monetary, hardships and after his service at war, he manages to get together with Nina in the end. They are broke, but they are alive and together.

The book however ends with Adam at war, no conclusion, no nothing it just ends. I get why they changed that, but it does soften the harsh message of the original story a lot. The thing is, Adam might not ignore the reality around him, but he uses very questionable methods to reach his goal.

Writing that, I think I just cracked the second meaning. I think somehow it's also about class. The ’’Bright Young Things” grow up privileged and throw their money away for nothing but pleasure while the poor young people have to use shady tactics to even just get by. But as Adam wants to build himself a proper life with his girl and find his place in the world his methods are at least a little excused. Not fully, he is broke again, but he can build his own familiy. Thats more than any of the others ever care for, even if they probably could have had this if they wanted to. Adam Fines says eat the rich.

Having put together all of that. There is something about this in relation to Miles that in my opinion doesn’t quite work how it might have been intended. But let’s put a pin in this I will come back to that later.

About Miles and his part in the story:

First of all tho: Whoever wrote Miles’ character for the movie knew exactly what they where doing and, judging by the end result, Michael Sheen sure as hell did aswell. Miles is, toghether with the other sidecharacters of the core group, only in a few scenes in this film, but every second he’s on screen is delightful. He’s very bubbly and openly flamboyant, as I said a pure joy to watch.

Thing is, they needed this character to read as gay to even the most average audience. There are several options to achieve that.

Option #1 You can show it

Option #2 You can say it.

And what option did they choose?

Exactly! Option No 3! They made him camp! And I’m so here for it.

Okay, there's no beating around the bush in this scene, but my point still stands!

The weird thing about this is, and that was true expecially back then, a character like this can easily be offensive. But he’s not. How is that?

Maybe the difference is, while he could be described as kinda stereotypically gay, y’know so everybody get’s the message, it’s not played for laughs. Not by the story and not by Michael either, obviously. Yes, he’s flamboyant and yes, that can be read as a stereotype, but you know, people like that do exist. And he’s written and played so sincerely, that it just works. He just is gay. Just like most of the other characters are just straight and it's so refreshing to see (especially for a film from 2003). He may be lucky enough to have a supportive friend group, but still, he is affected by the problems of his world. You know, like actual real humans in our actual real world. Crazy how easy that can be. The bar has been so low, wtf. (Bless Stephen Fry and his sense for realistic gay rep)

Continuing, Miles doesn’t get a bad ending because he is gay, but because the world he lives in sucks and wants to eliminate his kind from society. Is that punishment fair? Absolutely not obviously. But it is a consequence of ignoring the real dangers around you, right? Seen in the context of a queer character that sounds a bit weird now, doesn't it? But that would've been the general conclusion one might draw from my interpretation earlier. Does that hold up if we think this through, tho?

To draw a comparison here, Agatha [Fenella Woolgar] suffers a similar fate. She regularly takes a lot of drugs to escape reality and ends up in a mental hospital with (probably) drug induced psychosis. But her actions and consequences are way more direct and personal and don’t involve nearly as much malicious outward influence as Miles’ case does. So I’d hardly say these cases are equal.

Let me paint you a picture of what happens to Miles:

At first let me say a few things about Tiger. That fucking spineless maggot that is Tiger. If you think I disliked Bosie, oh boy, do I have a suprise for you.

So Tiger is, essentially, in the same situation as Miles is. Being gay (or bi we don't know for sure) in a world that has no place for you. But Tiger thinks he’s one of the smarts. He wants it both ways and he thinks he’s clever enough to get it all. So he has his super masculine car racing thing, his by society accepted ambition, but he also secretly sleeps with men (or at least one, the result is the same). We never really learn how serious the relationship between Miles and Tiger is, but it is made obvious that there is something between them. Anyway Tiger’s arrangement seems to work just fine for him, until those two worlds meet:

So there’s a big racing day for Tiger and his “friends”, or rather Miles and his social group, managed to worm their way into the racing team so they can watch it up close. But before the race starts Tiger pulls Miles aside telling him to “tone down the gay a bit or the boys will suspect there’s something up” (I’m parapharasing obviously).

Miles agrees, fully knowing he already failed several times just while walking up to the race track (he knows exactly what he’s doing).

With this short conversation we can see that Tiger is first and foremost afraid. He built this niche for himself in this shitty world where he can have both things and he doesn’t want to loose them, or worse go to prison if found out. Now that itself is understandable but he’s only scared for himself as we will see.

The race starts off well, Tiger is doing a good job probably, but oh no, Agatha raised a blue flag, which is a signal of their team to switch the driver in the next round. However, Tiger has to finish his current lap first so the friend group decides to quickly go to the racing tent to chill and have some coke (no I’m not kidding I wish I was, they don’t even try to hide it from the people around them lol) They return to the race track as Tiger finishes the lap and apparently their team doesn’t have a real spare driver, so Agatha (while totally high off her shoes) is put in the drivers seat. Adam tries to stop her but she goes anyway. I don’t even have words for how weird this part of the story is. You’d expext that she would kill herself now, but no, she just drives along. Well, very fast actually, she overtakes several competitors, but then is thrown off the race track by another driver. She’s fine just driving along and thru some fields, havin' the trip of her life.

The others, inlcuding Tiger, sit in the tent again and hear the announcement, that Tigers car has left the track. And this is where shit hits the fan. Tiger’s like: “Where the fuck’s my car?” Miles answers: ”It’s gonna be fine, darling.” The others are bored and want to leave. Tiger is already mildy offended that they could even think this is boring. Adam actually quite politely expresses that it’s getting late and they have to leave. And then this interaction happens:

Look at Miles’ face! I’m very sure he has never seen Tiger act like this before.

Now we could draw several conclusions from this. Either Tiger is just an asshole, who cares more about a car than a human being. Or Tiger is an asshole who cares more about his reputation than a human being he has a relationship with and this interaction scared him so much that he totally freaks out and decides to do a very inhumane thing to this specific person very soon, just to protect himself. I, personally, I think it’s both.

Because, as we learn soon, what he does after that is, he snitches letters to the police. Letters from Miles. So now there’s a warrant on our dear boy and he has to flee the country. What the fuck? Do you now see why I called Tiger a spineless maggot? How could he do such a thing? Miles himself even says:

“Tiger of all people.”

He would’ve never expected him to do such a cruel thing. That and the way Miles looked at him earlier tells me, that Tiger probably acted very different when they where alone than to how we saw him behave. Imo that just makes it worse. And the even worst part is, there are no consequences for Tiger! He got scared, threw his supposed friend/partner under the bus and got away unscathed. And Miles is the one who has to leave everything and everyone behind or go to jail! How fucked up is this? Getting wrecked not only by the system, but also by someone you trusted? This is like Wilde plus Underworld times 100. My heart is broken and my spirit needs a sweet tea, a warm blankie and a gentle hug.

So taking that pin out again, earlier I wrote that whole thing where I was like: Oh the point of the movie is to don’t just fuck around and party, even if you are privileged enough to do so. Don’t disregard reality or there will be consequences. And… I don’t know, maybe this applies to Adam and the other characters? But for Miles? For him this doesn’t work at all. What could his space in the world be? He knows how hostile society is towards people like him and I think he is aware of the situation he’s in. But he’s lucky enough to have a at least protective family and supportive friends. Why should he leave that safe space? What else is he supposed to do? Hide who he is and have a pretend normal life? He’s way too visibly queer to hide anything and at the point we see him for the first time we immediately know, even if that might have been an option once, to him it’s definetly not anymore. Other characters in the movie acknowledge this aswell:

Elaborating, now that we know what happend to Miles, can we actually say: His punishment is a consequence of ignoring the real dangers around him? I sure can’t. Can you? Everyone knows what his deal is. And in this community you either take part or keep shut. That's what keeps everyone save.

I 100% stand by Miles and wish he could just have a normal live and do what he wants. But unfortunately that is not the world he lives in. He lives in a world where homosexual acts are punishable by law and his actions are one pissed off boyfriend away from turning from rumors to provable allegations. That is fucking tragic but it’s his reality. This is the situation, you can do what you want, but if someone else doesn’t like that you could suffer for it. So either be aware of that, play it safe and hide yourself, or do what your heart tells you and disregard reality, but you could be punished for that. That’s a hell of a queer narrative if I’ve ever seen one. Unfortunately in this case Miles does not have an alternative. There is no choice that leads to a happy ending for him. Eventually he would suffer either way, so he chooses the “do what your heart tells you” - route and the narrative goes in the corresponding direction. In a different, more idealistic story he would’ve been rewarded for that choice, but this is not that kind of story. I don’t like that very much, but it’s the narrative the movie goes for.

To me it doesn’t seem like Miles is as ignorant of reality as the story wants him to be. This one line: “Tiger of all people.” demonstrates that he knows that he is consantly in danger of being prosecuted. He knows there can always be someone who can prove whatever allegations they might have and get him arrested. He just didn’t expect it to be Tiger. I’m sure at some point in his life he realised the situation he’s in and has decided to just not play the game. He’s gonna loose anyway. If just existing as who you are is actively discouraged or even punished by society wtf are you supposed to do? Again, why should he leave that safe space and suspect himself to danger? That wouldn't break ignorance, that would be stupid!

The lesson I thought I was supposed to take from this doesn’t work here. If he was just another straight, rich guy, taking drugs, constantly being at parties, escaping reality, this framing could work. But he’s not. So I don’t think it does.

So what do we take away from this? The world sucks, so bitch your way through it like anyone else? That’s what the main character does. He has a goal and the methods he uses to reach it aren’t exactly noble, but somehow he kinda made it. And as for Miles, he tried to bitch his own way through the world, but the stakes against him are just too high, so he fails. Sucks to be you, I guess. Fuckin depressing, thank you for that punch in the gut.

Conclusion of all...that:

Okay, I came to a conclusion. I know it’s unreasonable to expect every movie to just end happily for every character. It’s just a bit frustrating for me personally to watch it happen over and over again, but that’s not every individual movies fault. That’s my current watching habit.

However, and this is important, the film chose Miles’ arc to signify the shift to the third act. His arc is the first to reach it’s unfortunate end and it has a huge effect on the tone of the movie. And that makes it even more jarring than it already is.

[Warning Personal Opinion] I now sort of get what the movie is going for with it’s characters, but after thinking about it this still seems…just cruel. In the kind of inescapable situation Miles finds himself in, I can very much understand why he behaves the way he does. It’s almost the most reasonable choice. I don’t believe he’s just a flamboyant party gay, that is, at least to some extent, an act. Somewhere in there is probably a very scared, depressed young thing. And, admittedly through his priviledge, he has found a way to get some enjoyment out of this life that has put him in this horrible, horrible situation. Why would he not use this opportunity? He knows the world is shit and it’s very probable that someday he could be prosecuted or even worse. But he decided to not give in to this dispair. If partying and whatever the heck else they do makes him happy right then and there, that is the right choice if you ask me. Who would I be to judge? Am I thinking too much into this? Maybe. But if you’ve seen the movie, (especially if you're lgbt+ yourself) tell me you didn’t have similar thoughts.

I don’t really think the writers of this film really considered how the whole situation would be like if a character is not just rich and priviledged but also part of a discriminated minority. Because if they did, they must have noticed that this black and white moral doesn’t really apply for this character they wrote. It ceases to work if you see it more nuanched than escapism = horrible consequences. They messed up a bit on this one if you asked me.

Note: Don’t expect me to always justify any characters actions just because they are queer and/or happen to be played by Michael Sheen. If a character he plays is a bad person or behaves badly will call them out on that (happily in fact, I can’t wait to get there eventually). I just don’t think the consequences this film draws for Miles work the way they where intended.

Okay I did ramble maybe, but I wanted to express the full range of impressions I got from this film. I do actually have fun things to say about it tho. Because I want to talk about all the good stuff that’s here aswell.

Fun stuff about this movie:

Aside from my personal issues with the story I have to say this film is very well written. Especially the dialogues. I can’t say how much of the text they took from the book, but the script itself and what the actors do with it is truly amazing. Just look at this:

Every

Line

Gold!

Putting the focus on Michael Sheen tho, he doesn’t have that much dialogue in this film, but he makes every sinlge line count. He steals every scene he’s in, I love it.

We all know Michael “she has the range” Sheen is famous for his ability to absolutely melt into his characters. But what I find abolutely brilliant is, he’s damn good at exhibiting this range in each character individually aswell. Every time I watch this movie and that scene comes up it leaves me shattered to a million pieces. The sheer contrast between Miles before he was betrayed to after? It breaks my heart time and time again.

First: Look at this bundle of pure joy! He’s so cheerful!

And then:

I don’t even have words for this. Just…how?

The gasps inbetween his words. He’s not just crying, he’s actually sobbing! Miles does his best to keep his composure so he doesn’t break down completely and somehow he manages to do that. But just…barely. Like there’s this thin, so very thin thread that he, through the heartbreak, sorrow and pure dread he’s facing right now, desperately holds on to. He does his best to keep up the usual act, maybe to cope or maybe to seem less vulnerable but anyway it’s just painfully heartbreaking to witness.

Everytime this scene ends I sit there, absolutely devastated and just wonder how Sheen did that. Iv’e seen many crying scenes before of course, but something about this one just feels…different. In a good way, for the emotional impact of this scene. In a bad way for my emotional wellbeing. What Michael does in this scene, how he does it, his breathing, his voice breaking, his godddamn eyes, look at his eyes! This doesn’t give me the feeling of watching a sad scene in a movie, this makes me feel like I’m watching a real person right in front of me have a breakdown. I’m not kidding, it feels almost too real. It feels so real, that I’m genuinely a bit worried as to how Michael got himself to that point. How do you get yourself in the headspace for that? No one can just cry like that on the spot, right? How do you achieve that? Can someone explain this to me?

I think they told him something like: "Okay Michael, this scene signifies the beginning of the end. This is where the sunshine and rainbows suddenly turn to darkness and misery. The audience has to overwhelmingly feel, that nothing will ever, ever be the same again. There will be only doom from here on. Oh and, turn up the gay angst. Don't hold back." And he went on and fucking delivered!

I know it's really sad, but please, if you like Michaels acting, don't skip this scene. You can see that he really put everything in it and I want everyone to appreciate that.

But moving on to the more cheerful parts of this character. Have you ever just stopped to appreciate the gorgeous hair, make up and especially costume in this movie? Incredible! Alltogether Miles just…nksdfs...he looks so damn good!

The characters in this movie have many themed parties and go to events that have a certain dress code and Miles doesn't only commit, he delivers. Every. Damn. Time.

The silver/black spotted waistcoat, that beautiful, shiny blue coat, the tie, that fucking adorable hat and to top it off the make up, earring and black nail. They went above and beyond with this one.

Have you ever seen a turtleneck look more comfy than this one? And that in combination with a houndstooth jacket, topped off with an adorable beret? Cutest shit I've ever seen.

Somehow they managed to make this one subtle and flamboyant at the same time, perfect for this scene. I do not understand the choice in bow tie but I'll let that fly, because look how cute he is in that hat.

Especially love how everytime they gave Miles a hat of some sort, they had to have his curls pop out on the front or side. Very cute touch. Insert "he's so gay he can't even wear his hats straight" joke here

We're not just blessed by Michael being an incredible actor, but by him constantly being given such great costumes/outfits aswell! And ugh...I'm truly living. I think many people aren't aware of how important clothes are to characterizing a role. Especially if the actor knows how to work with it. And in this film Michael proves (once again) that he very much does.

*chefs kiss* rent free

(I'm a bit of a costume-design nerd, so this topic will reappear in the future, believe me)

But wait there is more!

I was watching through all the scenes with Miles and a small thing in the background caught my eye. It took me several rewinds to understand what he is doing here:

He gave Tiger his jacket! He does kinda look like a hungover mom, who's done with absolutely everything while doing it, but that doesn't change the fact, that he obviously cares for Tiger.

This exchange cracks me up everytime:

No comment

We're almost done, hang in there! I can't write about Bright Young Things in context to Michael Sheen without mentioning one more very important thing.

If you don't know already, this movie has David Tennant in it aswell! His character is Ginger Littlejohn, who is Adams rival of some sort. Basically, he's there to keep Adam and Nina apart till the conclusion at the very end. He's not a very deep character, but he has his moments:

These two are A++ react meme material, feel free to use them.

So now you know, when you hear Michael or David talk about a movie they both starred in, but never shared a scene, it's this one.

Now one very, very last thing before I leave you into the night (because let's face it chances are very high, that it's almos 3 am as you're reading this). I watched the bts footage and they captured an absolute gem:

youtube

Just to be clear, this is Michael, not Miles. Thank you to the people who decided to put this interaction in the bts.

Now while, obviously, Michael flirting with the cameraman is by itself hilarious, I wanted to point out something else here. Now again, I know nothing about the process of acting and getting into character, but thing is: This guy just walked off camera and then, like a lightswitch, instant welsh boi. Sure, good actors can switch their accents and voices on and off as they please, but in this case he sounds so drastically different to Miles it caught me off guard. I often see people talk about how varied his looks are from role to role and how good his microexpressions are and I wholeheartedly agree. But we need to talk his ability to modify his voice aswell. It's often very unnoticable if your'e not listening for it, but when he suddenly starts talking in his normal voice it becomes very obvious. His accent and tone of voice are very memorable. And everytime I see him switch from a character voice to his normal voice I feel like I'm watching a small shift in reality, it's so weird. I'm sure I'll get back to that in the future aswell, I think it's really cool when someone can do stuff like this.

Goodie, I guess that's it actually. If you couldn't guess by... ^all that^ I actually kind of enjoyed this movie and I think you should watch it. Maybe take it a little less seriously than I did tho.

If you read all the way through this, holy shit, thank you so fucking much, you're incredible, I love you. Also go to bed please.

#This took me over four weeks #I will not look at this movie for quite some time now thank you #I will go to bed now aswell its too late #oh yeah...if you know of any good fics with Miles please let me know #Im done with this movie but im not done with Miles #miles maitland #bright young things #michael sheen #david tennant #ginger littlejohn #filmography #long post #tw drugs #tw drug mention #tw homophobia

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warriors-reshuffled · 7 months

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I see universal rank and own customs, is it safe to assume the clans have a few roles specific to one clan and such? If so, can we see them all eyes

Hi there, thanks for stopping by!

Part of the reason I took so long to answer is because coming up with Thunderclan’s special rank was giving me a run for my money. I wanted it to be something other than climbing, because that’s Skyclan’s thing. And so far, well, nothing’s really sprung to mind (tho I am open to ideas)

But I do have fun ranks for the other clans I’m quite fond of

Shadowclan - Night-stalkers

Most clan cats live a crepuscular life; most active around morning and evening. Night-stalkers take this to the extreme. They are awake solely during the night, hunting and patrolling while their neighbors sleep. To even be considered for this role a warrior must demonstrate a high amount of stealth and cunning. Both traits are highly respected among Shadowclan cats.

With how dangerous the territory is, they often work in pairs. One keeps an eye out for trouble while the other gathers whatever material is needed. They are also known to leave clan territory, using the cover of darkness as a cloak. Whenever they do leave on these expeditions they are careful to never leave any hint of their presence behind.

In darker times, Night-stalkers were used as assassins against the other clans. It is said these cats could kill someone and sneak away without any sign of them being there. Others could slit your throat so discreetly you would never notice. These duties are, of course, no longer practiced.

Or so Shadowclan claims.

Riverclan - Divers

All Riverclan cats know how to swim, but only a brave few truly conquer the waters. Divers are trained to hold their breath for extended periods of time on a dive. As a result they are able to easily harvest freshwater mussels and specific plants found at the bottom of the river. But this rank isn’t without its dangers. Aside from drowning or getting stolen away by unseen currents, it’s the fish one must worry about. Some catfish can swallow a grown warrior whole without a trace.

Because of these risks, divers are looked to as the best warriors Riverclan has to offer. Powerful enough to defy the river and fortunate enough to escape its wrath. Many of Riverclan’s stories feature a diver as the brave hero.

Riverclan - Bards

If there’s one thing Riverclan loves more than showing off, it’s their folkstories. This rank combines those two aspects into one display. Bards memorize songs passed down countless generations before performing to the crowd. Music is often played alongside the songs, the clan more often than not drumming along. Duets are the favored way to perform, though soloists have plenty of opportunities to cultivate their ego.

This rank tends to be trickier than other clans realize. Not only does it require a beautiful voice, a strong memory is a must. A familiar drumming rhythm can only do so much. Get a single word wrong and your fellow-Bards will not hesitate to derail your performance with laughter. Though it’s all in good fun… so they claim.

Windclan - Runners and Tunnelers

Unlike the other clans, Windclan finds its population split in two. Runners walk the moors above ground, taking advantage of their speed and agility to chase anything down. Meanwhile tunnelers use their intelligence and crafting to construct sprawling tunnels to hunt and patrol in. Sometimes these tunnels stretch into other clans’ territory, allowing them to steal prey undetected.

This divide between ranks is established almost at birth. Runner kits are discouraged from playing will tunneler kits and vice versa. Tunnelers are pressured to find a tunneler mate and ignore runner bachelors. At the most extreme times it feels like there are two clans living in the same camp. For now, things are fairly peaceful between them. But who knows how long this will last.

Because of this divide, two stereotypes have emerged about these moor cats. Runners are known to be tall, leggy, and so fragile-looking you’d think they would blow away in the wind. Tunnelers, on the other paw, are small and stocky with simpler pelt patterns. They are known to be crafty and comparatively dark-humored. Almost like Shadowclanners at times. Of course, they’re likely to slap you senseless if they heard you say that.

#warriors rewrite #worldbuilding #ranks

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dxppercxdxver · 1 year

Text

tagged by @chiropteracupola a rather long while ago for this ao3 tag game (we are ignoring my play analysis teacher right now so might as well look at my fic writin' stats!)

ao3 name: mxpauling (tho this changes rather frequently!)

fandoms: in terms of fandoms Published On AO3, the greatest number are for detroit: become human and subsequent fan film detroit: evolution, due to my feverish participation in the deartfest fan event summer of 2020 (in which i wrote well over a novel's worth of words in. approximately a month.), but others represented include: team fortress 2 (specifically of the flintlock fortress variety), mystery science theater 3000, spies are forever, hadestown, the true lives of the fabulous killjoys, and some smaller one off fandoms (deathtrap, the moors, goncharov, the wolf and the watchman, and where or when)

number of works: 28! which is. a Lot higher than i remembered it being

work I spent the most time on: fairly certain it's 'leave your body at the door' as it was written over the course of about four months, which for me (guy with formerly wildly unmedicated adhd) was Insane

works I spent the least time on: oof uhhhh i mean i've written Several in the course of just a few hours, like 'cut something, kill something, eat something', 'i can't stand to see you bleed', 'don't give it a hand, offer it a soul', and 'old churchyard', amongst MANY OTHERS THAT ARE OLDER (and i didn't feel like copying)

longest fic: first place goes again to 'leave your body at the door' but coming as a close runner-up is 'Potentially Lovely, Perpetually Human', from way back in the de days

shortest fic: '(i feel) an overwhelming need', my recent the moors character study

most hits: this would be 'Out Of The Blue', due to its featuring in the octopunk monthly roundup at the end of deartfest. turns out, a built in Massive Stream Audience will bring people to your fic

most kudos: once again, 'Out Of The Blue', for much the same reasons

total word count: 144,556???????? (sorry this is NEWS TO ME)

favorite work of my own: a lot of them have already been featured in this list, so i will take this space to spotlight both 'Try Again, Die Again' (i am so proud of the premise) and 'Where the Sun Can't Find Me' (i really liked the prose in this one and am genuinely super pleased rereading it)

fic you want to rewrite / expand on: oof there are Several: i had a halfway plotted third installment of the killjoys: dead zone series about the girl and show pony settling into a new life in batt city that i'd really want to revisit someday; i'd love to restructure and rewrite 'Potentially Lovely, Perpetually Human' to make the pacing a bit more consistent; i have an incomplete fourth fic in the spytown logs series i want to come back to; and for the sake of space and time i want to redo the end of 'Out Of The Blue' because my God it's rushed

share a bit of a wip or story idea you are planning on: changing tacks Entirely. behold my bill & ted fanfiction you cowards

Everything is perfectly, totally sublime, another freakin’ awesome day in San Dimas. And Ted has a seriously heinous problem. “Dude,” he says before his brain really tells him to, turning to Bill, “this day is freakin’ awesome.” Bill nods, smiling most radiantly, pushing his sunglasses up his nose. “Totally awesome.” It is. Today is totally, absolutely, one hundred percent awesome, but… Ted doesn’t feel awesome at all.

this is a fic about ted getting wild depression post excellent adventure and not knowing how to deal with it because uhhhh he does not know what depression Is (and also they kiss a little)

tagging: @natdrinkstea, @nico-demons, @wilhelmina-murray-harker, and @fix-fax-fuckyou :3

#SORRY THIS IS A BEAST #AUGH #radio free junebug #i'm not tagging this by fandom i'd kill myself #anyway.#tag game #captain cupola #captain's logbook

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libidomechanica · 5 months

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“And my recognise to”

Tea and wends upon our eyes were for Adonais? Wet with moth were wakes by naturally— impossible and brute each other, because the Shadowing jest? Whether dreams, too precious to the paired but that’s to dearest the last, over stood wild birds flew, and heart and the

brazen tears. Blown, I scarce upon her air,—haste away; if Susan she uphold jar with they have loves, the but with scarce extender day to sink to me: I bring idle dream’d at lass, she roll a wood. Light I needs that mate; for in nor will yet Men with whoever befalls,

or limb, whether Johnny goes a quick Dreams: the heaven, and of him, calls! Why art winne of earthly give alone hanging men: They despise meet a wife—I lie, to reachably death the port and poet’s smile, nor peace. Still usher’d I have the death rose upon thy roved,

and cross my lost in and West, I should at thy Son of courted wrong: we sentence, as more. Not at ease to him from the hope, than be his doubts if all not in this glimpsed here we sent, tell me when fate spray you mountains, spits flash, and none, Now telligence, they ever-after

his know not: one glance the grots true: so after vows; she cast thou, like the golden disappears, a trenched when Science and opposit. No life; rever tail quick despair innocence between the flowery oleander’s chiefe prays, at letting trust, or some straight have

sun? On song to seized it would now depart is mother tell, the pony too merry: that is love you do now? Witch-elms thy faire apology, and lived with his head upon our died. On think ye hill awake in a wife, he tomb, to die; twere days—thyrsis thighs, and doubts

if in Susan Gale. Thy convulse or could droop’d light quite so muse along, and lazy length, tho’ as yet society of which below the griefs I lean and watch attire, ye cave, and round. It; her feeds of graceful bee; and word to see the cubless! And die, mine of

this never nimble, meek St. Repentance on thinks— home. And twilight. Slave thing to lover. I hear; ’ more globe; old set. Leaps of snowing far and she heart, must, or in the skull wish, but new. And herald aim a fervent for aye unstain, magnetic gloom the lark hung over,

and lift thee all are? Ye lived no unlike slow pomp might a hollow’d, having stress’d, he quite all too have I say? Paris while she from climb, and affection ware all moved to her Delight, she playful Hero shine with God comes back to thee doth for throw light the dead, returning

from piety count there as they run; death: yea having smiles, by so fair, poor guidance in bush again to roam the patron brief minutive. Me, weary, wayworn bosom assays, to write away, and wood, descent. That to its wreath, amid heraldries, arise! The

epopee, that steel us as still see there, ye’re ripe, the earn’d in the spirit as I cannot his all ring to deep lost in the ground: calm in a message knight, that haven’s growing written poets round of stone. Death the bright the healthy Son’s trance ages to burst of them

and the said she water play at anchor an altars whom a tract for thee so find there must friend, a lords, day, without; the half a heav’n seize and tremble creeps the mouth, forsoothe ape and for though he observile close the Poet the wildly: let men and that doth not,

where was pleasure I? When paper—even as Gods decrees, they do thee with whom they sight. With light-blue is darkness, that I am no Womb of fall; all we must has man will lisp, though the song these hand, tumbling, and hew the dale, and join’d each draw so lose world’s wife—to scorn

em all, at with me? The blow, and fears should have come into those wore he had he wakes; for ever yet, alas! From on the moor. And my recognise to gainst your sweet springs from the studding the same cliffs, and whose master—not till galloping smile, I’ve might, from orb of

fix’d with that I countenance, no, never tower is to the Shah Salámán have not but breaking the summer into the moor. His tender bands so much the appeare: but some had I every face: now degrading still not I trust is those where must be; but mine.

#poetry #automatically generated text #Patrick Mooney #Markov chains #Markov chain length: 5 #118 texts #ballad

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thetaoofbetty · 2 years

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okay going into this like archie: about to rely on jughead to get me through it

jughead's robe! and lying. i see you 👀

you guys did not tell me pop was there? this is a betrayal of the worst kind

okay but the article isn't wrong so...

is this the writers idea of meta?

will it be important later that archie is lying to jughead before he speaks? seems important

there is still hay on the floor of nana rose's, uh, prison room? and yet, i don't question it

people would pay good money to have penelope blossom call them a two bit trollop, i vote it's how they make the cw profitable

i keep thinking that "babylonium" isn't a real name because that seems like it's too obvious with the whole vale thing but it? is? real? wild

it also sounds like a weird fake lunch meat so there's that

i am pretty indifferent to archie 90% of the time but he is definitely more aggressive than before. gonna say that's important too

"the battle for riverdale's soul" with the camera directed straight at archie, said by jughead? yeah, that's not on the nose about what's to come or anything

i miss betty

it's like, super obvious that this pickens guy is...someone or something else right? i mean, sure, maybe not but he's giving me big lou cypher vibes

pls stop showing me food commercials, i am very hungry

that is a very shady way to play whack a mole with kevin

benjamin moore better lower their prices if they're out here doing product placements on this show

is abuelita's godson taking reggie's place as veronica's go to helper dude for all things illegal? how dare

truck punch! because we need to remember archie is strong™

pause for croissant, too hungry to keep going, i may not make it to the end

cannot believe that pickens is out there knowing about jughead's mind reading and there's a whole population of people that want us to believe that all of this is on the up and up

ahhh there we go, cheryl. we've been waiting for you

i want to be able to just randomly show up, unheard or unseen, like this pickens dude does

hear me out tho, rivervale was like, the "picture perfect" version of riverdale right? so is pickens trying to recreate that or something?

"it's like he didn't even exist before he showed up in riverdale" 🙃

betty!

is betty's power going to morph into something further if it's already causing other issues? i am ready for her cyclops arc then i guess

currently treating archie's house like the hellmouth until proven differently. not weird at all that the super-villain guy wanted to buy his house, the place where the bomb went off, ground zero of rivervale's creation

also assuming that's the same pen that the devil had in vale. no reason. because i want to

#riverdale spoilers #i am so sorry this is so long #but the parallels seem to continue?#i have more questions now #like the post by mr b/a king about j/t #face value taken out of it #it really hints at death right?#so is like tabitha going to be persuaded to kill jug because pickens knows he's a real threat?#it won't be a season of rvd without jughead almost dying so i mean #is archie being primed for villainy?#he is pretty malleable at times #see: all of hiram and hermione's arcs with him

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magician-under-the-moonlight · 2 years

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Headcanon Time: FIXING TOICHI

Oh shoot here we go it’s controversial take time.

Discussed a few of these points while plotting things with @moore--or--less a while back so I may as well put them here too.

For context, screw what’s been “confirmed”, in this blog Toichi is dead unless there’s a very specific plot that calls for him to still be alive, like he got APTX’d or something like heavy witness protection and is actually undercover but that is a very specific nondescript plot that would probably be it’s own separate verse.

In the canon of this specific rp blog: Toichi is dead and Chikage was Corbeau.

The comment about the heat pads, her mentioning she’s going to see a magic show when Kaito first starts going about as KID only for Corbeau to make a cameo at the end of the heist, her being in Vegas the same time Corbeau starts being active, she’s Corbeau okay?

There’s no reason not to assume her disguise skills aren’t on par with Toichi’s, especially if they get the same gadget supplier, Dr. Agasa, who is fully capable of making voice changing devices. If Kaito picked it up when he was eight, the woman of twenty faces can make a Toichi disguise to dissuade her son from being a thief? Okay? Okay.

(she’s still a crappy mom tho, no arguing that point.)

Alright, that glaring issue covered up, here’s how I’d fix Toichi as a character to justify Kaito’s admiration toward him and desire to be like him.

He’s allowed to be less than morally sound, seeing as he’s teaching his son things like picking locks and such. He’s a first time parent after all, and with his whirlwind romance with Chikage he may not even have been prepared for fatherhood, we don’t know all the details since he has his own poker face to hide his own insecurities from everyone else.

What he needs first and foremost is a sense of humor. Let the man make dad jokes. He’s an entertainer and a performer, he’s allowed to be over the top and ready to rile a reaction out of anyone. Kaito himself could have picked up the trait from him and his constant “Hi Hungry, I’m Dad,” levels of jokes.

Let him play pranks, let him teach Kaito pranks, let them have a good laugh together. (Make a funny ghost au where Toichi keeps whispering dad jokes in Kaito’s ear on heists.)

Second, even if he has dubious morals, he’s still Kaito’s personal hero. Give him some more noble qualities. Like if Kaito is feeling sad, Toichi cheering his son up with the only way he knows how, magic tricks. Kaito is clearly more attached to his father than he is his mother even in canon, so his impression of Toichi is someone admirable to Kaito, rather than Chikage who he constantly blows off and mutters about her going at her own pace.

Toichi giving Kaito pats on the shoulder and rubbing his messy hair to show approval, compliment his magic because Kaito wants to learn, not because Toichi is forcing him to learn. Kaito is Toichi’s son and Toichi is allowed to be proud and affectionate toward him. Disguising as Santa Claus every year when giving out presents or just going to go get ice cream together.

Third, Toichi is still a flawed person. We all know about the infamous Poker Face lesson, but again, Toichi is still a first time dad. He may not know how a little kid grasping onto everything he says will take that kind of lesson. Toichi may have been trying to imply that it’s only when you’re performing you should hide your emotions, but Kaito took it a completely different way until it devolved into a bad coping mechanism after Toichi’s death.

Take whatever version of Kaito discovering the KID cave as you will, but what lies in there is a confession, not just a means of making a second KID. Toichi wanted to tell Kaito the truth when he deemed Kaito was old enough to understand it. But with the people chasing him around he knew he might not live long enough to tell Kaito personally, which is why he pre-recorded the message(s) for Kaito and left them there for Kaito to find when he was old enough.

Even the record player approach in 1412 has lessons about being a MAGICIAN pre recorded onto them. This is how you dazzle an audience, this is how you deal with tricky crowd members, sometimes you need to use reverse psychology. None of those messages pertain to stealing, breaking and entering, how to be KID, ect. They’re magic lessons. Something Toichi knew Kaito would want to keep learning after he was gone.

It was Kaito’s choice to put on the mantle. It was Kaito’s choice to take the confession and keep looking for answers, it was Kaito’s choice to become Kaitou KID the Second. Not everything Toichi taught him was grooming him to be his insurance policy. Kaito became KID because he loved his dad and didn’t want to see the people who got away with killing him do it again, before he even knew anything about Pandora or evil syndicates or sorcery.

Anyway, hot takes on Toichi over. Take these with a grain of salt, we know very little about Toichi, but hopefully this helps you understand why my version of Kaito thinks so highly of his dad despite what he’s done. ^^

#[Scriptwriting | Headcanons]#[ World's Greatest |Toichi Kuroba]

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themarvel-spnmultifanwriter · 3 years

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Something About This Angel ~ Part 2

Pairing: Castiel x Reader

Warnings: mention of blood, love confession, sad, kiss

Word Count: 2.6k

Here is the first part of Something About This Angel if you haven't read it yet. (click on the title)

Y/n's pov:

I was at a hunt with Sam, Dean and Castiel.

Since that special day where Cas and I came closer we've been weird around each other. But not the kinda weird Cas would be when being around other humans. No. This weird was nice in some sort of way. Tho I liked watching Cas trying to figure out how normal people act. Well, perhaps Sam, Dean and I aren't the best rolemodels for him.

But since that day, the day Cas healed me and we stopped arguing something changed. I can't stop thinking about it. About Cas' hand on my, the closeness of our bodies and that feeling it gave me for a moment. Ever since that I looked longer and closer in his eyes, wanting more of them each time. Just a few moments more to look into them. Into this ocean blue. And perhaps I was hoping to jump into them and swimming inside this ocean of a blue angelic heaven just for me.

But as soon as I got lost I snapped out of it each time. I couldn't allow those thoughts. I'm a hunter. A human. A nobody... Cas never recognised me, not really. And even if he did. I was nothing to him. Just the sister of Sam and Dean Winchester, the sister of those two who always mattered. I tried to deny the truth and lie to myself about it. I tried to tell myself he might care. But not even the lies could make the pain of this undeniable horrible painful truth stop.

We arrived at the motel. All we knew was that there were people going missing and soon time later being found dead. Hearts missing each time.

"I'd say we slip up. It's a big town and only a matter of time before an other innocent person goes missing," Dean says.

"Alright why don't Dean and I go check out a few spots of places where the killings happened,"Sam said." Y/n and Cas you could talk to the families and try to find out what the pattern of those werewolves is" We all nodded.

In the killings were three young blond girls, all around 18. The only person that was different was a guy. Sam still thought that there was a connection between the victims.

"Do you want me to sap us to the place?" Cas asked me. I shook my head.

"No we'll take the bus"

About fifteen minutes later we arrived at Mr and Mrs Johnson's House. We didn't get anything. The girl, Veronica, was a normal eighteen year old Christian. Next, we went to the Hutsons living where Jazz died. Again, no clue about the killings. The girl was an atheist, she went on parties a lot. Then we went to the Hawkins. Their daughter Laura was an introvert with not many friends. Last, we went to the Clarkson's house. Apparently Mike was a normal guy who played football at school and had a girlfriend.

"This all doesn't make sense," I said while eating my fries in the small diner of the town.

"Sam and Dean doesn't have any clue either. The only thing that they mentioned was seeing a girl, Lora Moore, before each killings."

"Wasn't that the girlfriend of this Mike?"

"Yes. But it probably means nothing. She was working at the one shop where two killings happened and apparently her dad works in the office next to the park where the other two victims died"

"Yeah well nothing can turn pretty fast into something,"I said and ate another fries. "Do the victims know her?"

"I don't think so... But it might be that they all go on the same school"

"Right. We should check the girl out."

"Sam and Dean are already on it. You can rest for a moment now," Cas said. His voice had an intensity as if he cared. But why should he. He doesn't. Never did.

"I don't need rest. I'm trying to find out more about the girl," I said, paid my food and went back to the motel.

20 minutes later.

"Dean called. The girl is clear. But they're onto something. They think they know who did the killings" Cas said and sat on the chair next to me.

"Mh yeah I don't think so," I mumbled understand my breath. "Get this, Lora Moore was Mike's girlfriend until they broke up. She caught him cheating on her with Laura who was known as the slut of the school which is why she didn't have friends. And Jazz was accused of having an affair with Mike shortly before he and Lora broke up. And Veronica wasn't the nice Christian that would never dare sinning. All just an act for her dad the priest. In reality she went on parties instead of babysitting the neighbours kids. And Mike got caught kissing her a few times before and after Lora broke up with him. And there was another girl Chloe who he was having an affair with. I'm pretty sure Lora will try killing her tonight."

" So you think this Lora was killing them. But Sam and Dean would've known if she was a werewolve. "

I called Sam. No answer. Then I called Dean.

" Hey y/n look we have no time we fount out who the werewolve is. See you back at the hotel in a few hours ", Dean said.

" No Dean listen you're wrong it's Lora... Dean?... Dean?? "he already hung up.

" Damn it, "I mumbled underneath my breath. "I'm going."

"You can't. We should wait for Sam and Dean."

"There's no time Cas! I'm going" I said and walked out the motel. Chloe was meeting friends at the club where Lora worked at each Friday night, today. I went there and spotted her outside on the parking lot. She was saying goodbye to friends before going to her car. Nobody was around. Suddenly Lora jumped out and attacked her. I shot her with a silver bullet, but only hit her arm so she ran off.

"Go inside your car and drive home! Go!" I screamed at the girl before running after Lora. I came into a forest. It was dark and I forgot my torch. I was stumbling around in the darkness when I heard a voice.

"I knew sooner or later one of you would come for me. It was surprising that the other two hunters fell for my trick. There stumbling around in the forest right now, searching for this werewolve that apparently lives there"

"Why do you want to kill all those people?"

"Because I can," Lora appeared in front of me. I pointed my gun at her. "I was a nobody. People would play with me and hurt me and I had to accept it just like that. But that night I got turned I finally was strong. I could fight back. And oh lord it feels so good to take revenge"

"You know that there's another way. You don't have to do this," I said. Lora bursted out laugh.

"Shouldn't you be the one who understands me the most? Y/n Winchester. Oh I heard a lot about you. Everyone talks about your brothers. But I heard a lot about you. You are kinda like me-"

"I'm nothing like you!" I screamed, but got grabbed on my shoulders and pushed against a tree. Lora began to cut into my skin on my head with her nail. Blood ran down my cheeks.

"Yes you are. We are both just pieces in other people's games. We're nobodies. And nobody cares for us. I wonder if people noticed if you were gone" she pushed the gun away and pushed me on the ground before going on top of me and grabbing my neck. "I always wondered what a Winchester heart would taste like."

"You don't actually think you could kill one of us do you?" I said breathless and tried to catch some air.

"Not one of the other two. But you are the weakest. Which is why they often leave you behind and go alone on hunts. Don't you want revenge on them? I could simply turn you" she was cutting my neck. The pain was making me wanting to scream but I neither could because of the lack of air nor wanted I to give her the pleasure of my visual pain.

"No thanks I don't need that. I let my anger out by killing little morons like you are" I smirked but soon Lora would take a harder grib on my throat and cutting even deeper into my skin.

"All tough on the outside and a broken human inside. You are just like I was. A sad little girl that gets fooled by everyone and who nobody cares about. It's sad. No matter how hard you'll try you will always stay this weak little girl"

"I don't need your pity. Go to hell"

"Oh I will. But first will you after I ate your heart" Lora showed her teeth and was about to kill me when there was a shot and she fell on the ground next to me. I looked up. Castiel was holding a gun and stared at me.

After a moment of awkward staring I stood up and went out of the forest. Cas was following me.

"Are you okay?" he was asking but I didn't answer. Cas called my name but I kept walking. Then, I hand grabbed mine and forced me to stop. Cas looked at me for a moment before sapping me into the motel.

I looked around before looking back at him. He wasn't speaking, just intensely looking at me. With his right hand he grabbed my cheek. With his left he touched my waist and pulled me closer to him. A warm soft feeling appeared on my cheek and flashed the pain away.

Those blue eyes never lost hold of mine. They kept focus on me. I was feeling my heart beat inside my chest as I got lost in those ocean eyes again.

"Now tell me what's wrong," Cas deep voice whispered. My eyes kept switching between looking into his eyes and onto his lips. I wondered how they tasted. Perhaps sweet like caramel. Were they as soft as pillows in a Queens bed. I wanted to get a taste of them.

I was lost of words and unable to move. It was hard to breath in the presence of this angel that could turn my whole world and emotions upside down. He never stood this close to me and I wasn't daring to move in any way that could cause him step away from me.

"You don't believe what she said do you?" Cas asked. I had to fill my lungs with air as all oxygen had vanished around me, unable for my lungs to reach it.

"Y-you heard it? What she said?" I asked hoping he didn't, afraid of him maybe reading my thoughts and knowing it was mostly him I was thinking about. That he was the one that I wished I was nobody for.

"I heard most of it, yes. And it's not true"

"It is" both of us were whispering. Were we too scared that anyone could hear us? Was it more private this way? More intense? I couldn't get enough of this deep angels voice that felt like, in this moment, it was only for me. That I was the one this voice was dedicated to. And all that belonged to it. What would I give to kiss those lips just for one time.

"You're not nobody" Cas' face felt like moving closer or perhaps it was me leaning forward. I got hypnotised by those blue eyes.

"Who am I if not that" I didn't even know what I was saying. Words left my mouth without me thinking. I just wanted to stare into those eyes longer and hoped his hand that was still on my cheek would never leave that spot.

"You're a hunter. A Winchester"

"And nothing besides that"

"That is not true y/n. You are someone who cares for others and who would die for them. People mea something to you."

"And what does that matter if I mean nothing to them. Lora was right. I'm a piece in their game. Just the sister of Sam and Dean. A broken human"

"I never saw you as broken. You are the strongest person I know. You keep fighting for what you believe is right. You don't care about what people think of you. You made me rebel against my own kind and showed me what humanity can be like. Through you I see it in ways I never saw it before "

" What ways? " I asked without even knowing why I did or what I was expecting. I looked down onto those lips again and could've sworn they came closer. Suddenly those lips I was hoping to feel on mine a few seconds ago touched mine and the feeling was softer and sweeter than everything I ever imagined. If this is what heaven tasted like I never wanted to let go.

"I never thought that love could be such a great thing. Through you I see its not the weak human thing I expected it to be. Y/n my love for you is what would make me rebel against my own kind a thousand times more and beyond that just so I could spend another moment close to you " I was breathless and stunned,overwhelmed from all kind of emotions.

" C-Cas" was all I brang out of my mouth. Those beautiful lips were so close still. I was hoping they would meet mine once again. And as if they were magnets pulling closer to each other those lips touched mine again. A soft mumbling came from the both of us. No other creature would understand it but we knew what it meant. I love you were the words we both said.

"Isn't it hilarious" I said as I pulled away to catch for air. "an outcast angel and a broken hunter"

"sounds perfect to me" Cas whispered against my lips. We were both kissing for what felt like forever. Suddenly the door opened and a wet Sam and upset Dean came into the room.

"Turns out there was no werewolve in the forest. And Sam fell into a lake. Now baby is wet." Dean complained.

"Yeah I'm fine Dean thanks for asking" Sam said and Dean rolled his eyes. "Hey what are you guys doing anyways?"

Sam and Dean both stated at me and Cas. I only now realised that Cas had still his hands around my waist and cheek. He let go fast and stood nervous.

"I was I was healing her" Cas studdred.

"Kh sure well whatever hope you used protection by whatever you were doing. I'm going to bed" Dean said in his pissed voice. Cas went on the couch and tried to not look at anyone. He must've been embarrassed. Sam looked at me for some time with a smirk. He was the one who knew about what I felt for Cas for some time.

When going to bed myself, I looked at Cas who was still watching TV. I was still trying to figure out if whether or not everything was a dream. But it wasn't. What happened today was real. And I didn't know exactly what that meant for us.

But one thing I knew for sure. Today, something about that angel turned my world even more upside down.

#castiel #supernatural #castiel x reader #Imagine #castiel fanfiction #castiel imagine #supernatural castiel #castiel one shot #One shot #supernatural imagine #supernatural one shot #supernatural story #Castiel love #Castiel story

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whatdoesshedotothem · 3 years

Text

Monday 13 January 1840

9 20/..

12 55/..

R-7° this morning out of doors says Grotza – not much snow has fallen – R9 1/3° on the console and R9 ½° at my bed head now at 10 25/.. and breakfast – fine morning but dull – breakfast till 11 10/.. – then wrote out (had Mrs. Howard in the meantime with the bill for the carriage and horses and I crossed out the 3 or 4 extra charges for going into the country) till 1 the quotation from Demidoffs’ voyage in South Africa etc. in 1837 the account of Baden Baden in the early part of the 1st no. of the work – this took up 3 ¼ pp. of ½ sheet note paper – then wrote out for her the 2 stanzas from Moore ‘Mark how beneath the moonbeams’ smile etc. and wrote in the keepsake of this year on the 2nd fly leaf

Princesse Sophie Radziwill from her affectionate friend A. Lister Moscow. Monday 1 January 1840. O.S.

‘The Keepsake for 1840 edited by Lady Emeline Stuart Wortley London published by Longman, Orme, Brown, Greene, and Longmans.” 1 vol. 8vo. pp. 264

vid. p. 128 to p. 135 on Russian palaces by the Marchioness of Londonderry –

p. 128 Hermitage and winter palace – “the 1st has a long and dirty staircase; a great gallery # painted, communicates with the salons, which are filled with magnificent pictures, and “chef-d’-oeuvres” (chefs d’ouvre?) of many of the greatest masters – I did not observe any Corregios, no do I remember any Rembrandts, but I saw splendid productions from the pencils of Murillo, Carlo Dolce, Guido Reni, Rubens, Julio Romano, Cannaletti+, Albano, and Andrea del Sarto, etc.

+ I do not remember any Canalettis

she must mean the Loggia di Raffaello

§ “In short, there is a surprising collection of pictures, obtained by the different sovereigns, and now enriched by the greater part of the Malmaison collection

§ “there are some magnificent Paul Potters, especially one of a rough dog, starting as it were from the canvass. one room contained only landscapes, another was hung with most beautiful Wouvermans’ [Wouwerman], and a 3rd was filled with Teniers” –

She mentions snuff-boxes...... imperial toys, jewelled babioles – “said to be of English manufacture, a large tree of gold, with a peacock, and other birds that moved and sung.”

p. 129 “organ clock that played beautifully; it cost the maker 3 years of labour, and at last, as no one would buy it, a lottery was made, and it was won by the wife of a poor pastor. the court gave her forty thousand roubles and a premium for it” .....”the Hermitage was built by the Empress Elizabeth One salon opens into an orangery, which leads into a gallery. the riches gems, treasures of this palace realize the descriptions in the Arabian Nights, and the magnificence of the vases, jars, tables, consoles of porphyry, jasper and malachite, is perfectly astounding I observed some superb china vases of immense size, and was told they were made at St. Petersburg The gilding equalled, and the painting surpassed the modern [?]. From the Hermitage we passed into the Winter Palace, and here it is impossible for memory to retrace the succession of large halls, opening one into the other. The 1st was coloured scagliola, gilt. the 2nd, entirely white, called La Salle Blanche, from being of colours and gilding Four immense stoves are disguised under Trophies and banners. All the salons, of which the following are the dimensions, have great hanging galleries around them supported by columns.

Dimensions of the largest rooms in the winter palace in English feet.

Lenght Breadth

Grande salle de marbe 196. 63

Salle Blanche 133. 49

Salle St. George 133. 49

Salle des Marcheaux 112. 55

“the salle du concert is a room of large size tho’ not like the others, of a gallery shape............It is lighted with the most magnificent lustres I ever saw. there I am told, the weekly balls are given during the winter There is also a

p. 130 “fine suite, with a beautiful staircase, fitted up for the empress mother, who died soon after they were finished, and did not inhabit all of them the throne room is very magnificent, red velvet worked with gold eagles, and there are splendid silver tables, lights, and sconces. This suite is a palace by itself; the beauty of the parquets, the bright Italian painted ceilings, and the white scagliola walls, give an air of great cheerfulness. Then again, the surprising succession of vases, tables and pedestals of jasper, porphyry and malachite, call forth unbounded admiration. The empress’s salon

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“for reception is beautiful – the same bright arabesque painting on with scagliola; the walls, colours, and fire-places of the finest jasper. the furniture ponceau velvet and gold, with malachite tables and candelabras, and lapis lazuli vases. The chapel is like all their Greek churches, with a fine screen, and richly painted and gilt. The gallery with Dawes paintings was under repair, and most the pictures were taken down These are portraits, en buste, of three hundred generals, and at the top of the room is a fine picture of the emperor Alexander on horseback There are full lengths also of the kings of Prussia, the Grand Duke Constantine; also the Duke of Wellington, Prince Schwartzenberg Barclay de Tolly, and the heroes of 1813 and 1814. I was told that Dawe had made a million of roubles here. The Emperor paying him 1000/. for each bust portrait, and most of them were painted twice. He left nearly all his money to the Lancastrian schools, and little to his relations. In the salle des maréchaux are large pannelled compartments, with all the great Russian generals, painted as large as life, Potemkin, Suvarow, Kutusow, Diebitch, and others we next inspected the crown jewels. They are kept in a small room, under the charge of an old valet de chambre of the late empress mother The crown is of large diamonds and pearls and has an

p. 131 immense ruby” said to have “been stolen and carried away in butter. In the sceptre is a famous diamond, which really looks like glass. The empresses’ crown is very small; the remainder of the jewels are in glass cases round the room. A large diamond necklace with drops, some fine emeralds, a [?] in pearls, and a quantity of jewelled fans struck me very much; One great peculiarity in the Russian palaces, is the large panes or sheets of glass, which give an unbroken view. They have also excellent contrivances for flowers during their long and dreary winter, large stands for filling up corridors and fire-place and recesses, and a very pretty method of portioning off corners, and parts of rooms by railings of treillages, on which creepers are trained, having their roots in boxes at the bottom, containing tins. we quitted this wonderful palace amazed with its colossal size and magnificence, and with but one regret that its exterior was not of stone, instead of crumbling white-washed brick, and a wish that some of the interior scagiola decorations had been solid. marble. Tzarskoeloe (Tzarsko Selo) is about 2 hours’ drive from Petersburg... from the chapel “we proceeded thro’ a magnificent enfilade of room in the Louis XIV. style, richly gilt, and with beautiful parquets. In one, the walls were of the finest amber, and pictures

“of pietra dura were let in the panels; in another, the floor was inlaid with mother-of-pearl, and I almost fancied myself in Aladdins’ palace...... the palace where the Imperial family resides, is at a little distance from the great one where visitors are lodged, and carriages are sent to fetch them It is small and was built by the empress Catherine for the emperor Alexanders’ marriage” (the present emperor and empress having lived here in early life, do not like to leave it) ....... “the only, remarkable room is a large hall if 149ft. by 49, of which the bow-windowed centre is [partited] off on each side by open columns, orange trees and plants; here I have seen great dinners of one hundred people, and the sides were used for reception or dancing I did not see the English daisy in the gardens and pleasure grounds attached to the palace”

p. 133 the arsenal built by Alexander “on the 1st floor, is a fine collection of armour, greatly added to by presents from the Sultan, after the treaty of Adrianople. the housings and complete furniture of a horse, embroidered with large brilliants, the sword and pistols, all likewise of enamel and diamonds; and the rich caparisons which were worn and belonged to Mahamond himself” (should be Mahmoud, u instead of n?)

the palace of Pablowsky is between 3 or 4 wersts from Tzarskoeloe, and belongs to the grand Duke Michel” left to him by his mother, and unwilling to disturb the apartments she occupied “they live in a corner of it”

p. 134 Palace of Peterhof curious old place, gilt and in the Louis xiv style – rooms not large – uninhabited – 1 July O.S. great fête here for the empress’s birthday – water works said to surpass those at Versailles – dinner and supper for 5,000 persons – Lady L- did not see this fête – at the foot of the hill near this palace is the [?] little cable where Peter the great dwelt – from here by a beautiful road along “the gulf of Finland to the cottage where the emperor and empress pass great part of the summer Here they live with their children in retirement” 3 stories “the emperor and the family occupy the 2nd, which is plainly fitted up in beautiful yellow wood. the empress’s rooms are on the rez-de-chaussée, and are quite charming the taste and extreme elegance of all the decorations, the beauty of the sheets of glass in the bow-windowed salon, giving the lovely prospect unbroken, struck me very much The views from this beautiful little retreat are delicious the Gulf of Finland lays before the windows, with the beautiful buildings of St. Petersburg on one side, and the magnificent granite fortifications of the Cronstadt [Kronštadt] on the other”

vid. p. 243 et seq. “Account of a banquet given by Khosrew Pacha at the palace on the banks of the Bosphorus. By the Lady E. Stuart Worley. “During a brief sojourn at Constantinople during the autumn of 1838..... banquet on the 9th September their friend Narrik Pacha – sent his carriage for the Arabah “gaily-ornamented arabah” –

(the famous old Seraskier Khosrew Pacha) – well written – read it again sometime – in England

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went out at 1 ½ - we called at the Fischers’ – at home asked us to dinner – sorry engaged – asked us to a soirée next Saturday – sorry engaged, but would if possible go for a little while – music – to begin at 7 – the custom is, that the gentlemen call and the ladies send cards on new years’ day – then to the Ocouloffs’ – not at home – left cards – then to the boulevard at 2 10/.. A- went home and I took 3 turns in 55 minutes – R -7 ½° on the snow – small snow falling (flying about) all the time – then to the Panins (did not enter the court) and sent in cards – home at 3 20/.. on my return founds the cards of count Panin, Mr. Fischer, and Mr. Alexander de Richter had just written so far now at 5 55/.. p.m. – dressed – had to wait for dinner till 6 35/.. then had to wait for the carriage (gone at 6 ½ to the Enfans trouvés for Matrona i.e. Martha) till 7 50/.. – off at 7 55/.. to the Orousoffs’ – some starred gentleman there that is often at countess Panins’ – he sitting with the old people in the salon, and princess R- and Miss Delamine there – just before coming away gave princes R- the keepsake for this year – had before passed much of the time counting over the cards received today (félicitations on the new year) = 384! the bal masqué last night given by the Germans at the nobility assembly rooms attended by 8,000 people – ball tonight at the same rooms, also bal masqué, but by invitation – that is, each must have a ticket – home at 9 50/.. tea – had Grotza and stood (till 12) reading the 2 newspapers sent this morning by Mr. Camidge St. James’s chronicle of from 17 to 19 and from 15 to 17 October – finish day thro’ small snow flying about more or less during the day – R10 ½° on my table and R10° on the console now at 12 20/.. tonight

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eloquentgifs · 4 years

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DWJ Reading Project. Part I

As I said here, my 2021 resolution is gonna be READING EVERY DIANA WYNNE JONES BOOK I CAN FIND, and due to my love of making lists and taking notes, I’ve decided keeping track of this reading project here in this post, which I’ll keep updated as I make progress. It’s mostly for my own pleasure, but maybe it helps someone who wants to give it a try to this amazing writer and doesn’t know where to start.

Part II (1977 – 1981 & The Chrestomanci Series)

Part III (1984 - 1992 & Land of Ingary Series)

- Changeover (1970) I couldn’t find it, which it’s a pity because not only it’s her first novel, but it’s one of the few she wrote for adult readers. For what I’ve seen, it’s a political comedy about colonialism in Africa.

- Witch’s Business (also called Wilkin’s Tooth, 1973) It tells the story of two siblings who start a revenge/dirty work business to make some cash and ended up caught in a crazy plot of debts, witchcraft, old grudges, painting modelling and treasure hunting. I love how even this early in her career you can already find some of her creative trademarks, altought it’s not as polished as her future novels. Still, the characters and the dynamics between them are pretty good, the way everything unfolds is flawless, and it is a fun read in general.

- The Ogre Downstairs (1974) Three kids are dealing with the fact that her mother married a guy who’s rather grumpy and terryfing (the titular ogre), and that now the household includes him and his two sons. The story begins with the Ogre buying a chemistry set to each group of siblings, and they turn out to be magical, so a lot of crazy shit happens and they start to get along with each other as they have to colaborate to clean a mess after another before the ogre finds out. I must confess I didn’t enjoy that much the first half because everyone was being an asshole, but it improves as the characters own their shit and decide to be better. Magic here it’s merely an excuse, Diana just wanted us to learn empathy and how to build a good coexistence.

- Eight Days of Luke (1975) David is depressed because he’ll have to stay with his abussive relatives during the summer, but then he mets this weird kid with powers called Luke and they become bff’s. Unfortunately, Luke is also in bad terms with his own relatives and David will have to help him to hide from them. I’d say you’ll enjoy more this book if you have some basic knowledge on Norse Mythology, but tbh I think reading it without any clue about the subject might be interesting in its own way, because you’ll discover the stuff as David does. Great read anyway.

- Dogsbody (1975) This one it’s like two different premises mixed up together. First, we have this society formed by sentient stars and planets, in which Sirius was a very important figure until he’s judged and punished for murder, and we follow him while he tries to get free (and maybe prove his innocence?). On the other hand, I think Diana just wanted to write a dog POV. In any case, both ideas where combined perfectly, and the result it’s crazy good. Some trigger warnings tho: there are several depictions of animal abuse, and once again tons of emotional cruelty towards chidren (the main human character is an Irish girl being harrased and bullied by her own family because of her nationality and for having a father on the IRA)

- The Dalemark Quartet: · Cart and Cwidder (1975) It kind of reminded me of the first half of The Name of the Wind, probably because the main character is also a red haired kid who travels with his family all around the world performing with his lute (I figured a cwidder is some kind of lute?), and there’s also tragedy, politics, old foreshadowing songs and legends... But mostly because I JUST COULDN’T STOP READING, and I can’t wait to read the rest of the series.

· Drowned Ammet (1977) I thought the two previous books were rather darker than I’m used to see in Diana’s work, but this is a whole new level. It follows the evolution of Mitt from a sweet farm kid to a teen terrorist, so prepare for a main character full of hate, resentment and, eventually, self-loathing and a beginning of redemption. We also get to see his dynamic with two high born children, and it is super interesting how the prejudice and ignorance keep getting in their way so they can’t become 100% friends (as a contrast with those stories of rich and poor being bff’s without a single sign of how very different their POV of the world is, just by their different upbringings). I love friendships and found families as much as anyone else, but it is refreshing to see some realistic struggles and people caring for others even if they don’t get along perfectly

· The Spellcoats (1979) This one was very surprising, and I think it might require a re-read some time. The first odd thing about it is that it’s settled centuries before the previous books, in prehistoric Dalemark. Then the actual wtf comes from the structure itself: it’s a first person story, weaved into two wool coats (seriously, this concept is genius and so is the ending). The weaver is a girl who has to runaway from her village with his brothers and sister because they look like the people who’s invading their land, so their fellow villagers want them dead. There’s not a lot of action, but tons of little details and magic and family dynamics brilliantly written and I LOVE IT.

· The Crown of Dalemark (1993) This last book of the series brings back almost all of the characters of the previous ones, plus a time traveller from modern Dalemark, and concludes both the political/social aspect of the story and the more fantasy, mythical one. I love time travel stories so this really was my treat, because not only serves a plot purpose, it’s also used to let us know what happened with the characters of past Dalemark (although through the lense of historians, which is not as much as I would like to)

- Power of three (1976) At this point it’s clear Diana just loved to play with POVs and make us question every side of a story. I’d say this was the main theme of this book. It is present in the main character arch, who has to reconcile how he sees himself (as some average pointless dude) with how he’s perceived by others (everyone fucking loves him and consider him super wise and awesome). And it’s also the main conflict of the plot: the three races/species who live in The Moor HATE each other and constantly kill each other as animals but.... Well, it remind me to this episode of Star Trek. I love it when a story is used to show us how actually ridiculous some prejudices and bigotries are. I love it when they do it in ST, and certainly love it when Diana does it. Just let kids read and watch these things all of the time, please.

#Diana Wynne Jones #Reading EVERYTHING #2021 Resolution #DWJ Reading Project #THIS IS GONNA BE A REALLY LONG POST #Changeover #Witch's Business #Wilkin's Tooth #The Ogre Downstairs #Eight Days of Luke #Dogsbody #Dalemark #Cart and Cwidder #Drowned Ammet #The Spellcoats #The Crown of Dalemark #Power of three #CHRESTOMANCI IS NEXT

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avengersbabe586 · 3 years

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Black Y/N x avengers part 1

Recruitment and Ice Cream

Y/N pov

Hi I'm your name last name and I'm at shield hoping to be an agent of shield. See me and Nick go way back. Yeah the pirate princess himself Nick Furry. I mean Fury we are friends you could say.I saved his behind a couple times. So here I am wait on that one eyed raisin to see me. Finally he comes walking through the door. Last name sorry for the wait Fury said. Yeah next time tell me to come later Furry I did my hair this morning it take time to tame this beast I said. Watch it last name let's go to my office he said. We walked past many door then we were finally there I took a seat and watch as he look through my file.

Nick Fury pov

As I look through y/n file I'm at a lost for words. She meets all the requirements of shield and more she would be a good addition to the avengers. I look up at her eyebrows are frowned and see is look at me as if she is confused she kinda looks cute. I tell her she over qualified. She looks sad but when I tell her she made the avengers she looks she gonna explode. Don't do that Nikki I was gonna cry she said. Which caused me to laugh we been friends for years you really thought you wasn't qualified I said. Boy you better stop playing you can never be sure she said.

Narrator pov

After Y/N was told she was gonna be an avenger. She asked Fury if he wanted to grab some ice cream and watch Netflix. Now their at baskin robins.

Y/N pov

I order chocolate while Nick orders butter pecan. I joke say you don't like chocolate every one knows chocolate the best just look at me. When I tell you the man look surprised. He looked like that ant from bug life he eyes were do far out the socket. We hop in my car. (The car of your choice) Next stop my apartment when we enter we sit on the couch and try to agree on a movie. We finally decided to watch a Tyler Perry movie. Even tho I watched like all of them it's like a must to watch a least one Tyler Perry movie when you black. We chose Diary of a Mad Black Woman. It was good as always but them wig should have been a form of modern day slavery. You got a fine man like Shemar Moore look like some child drew on his hairline. I get sleepy and fall asleep on Nick shoulder.

#the avengers #nick fury #thor odinson #loki layfeyson x reader #wanda maximoff #pietro maximoff #sam wilson #bucky barnes #steve rogers #clint barton #tony stark #natasha romanoff #mcu x y/n

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mypresentelegances · 4 years

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Best Wuthering Heights adaptation? Character comparison

Wuthering Heights is one of my favourite books, but the screen adaptations are... not very good. From adapting only half a book to completely changing the ending they continue to make odd odd choices in adapting this book. I can’t blame them though since the book is basically unfilmable. I did my best trying to rank these adaptations, but none of them can really be called a “winner”.

1939: Oberon is too whiny. I'll never forget her "Heathcliiifff!!" when the dog bites her leg. Not awful, but definitely not Cathy either. After marrying Edgar she is far too composed and regal. Oberon does portray some arrogance and gets angry once in a while, but doesn't really show Cathy's unstable nature.

1992: She is not fierce enough to be Cathy, and her giggling in the beginning is enough to drive one mad. She makes the emotional and "softer" scenes work well and with Ralph Fiennes they capture the more pleasant moments of the relationship but definitely miss out on the "passionate" and "eternal". Overall I like some aspects of her performance and she shows the growth of the character with less than stellar direction. She just misses out a big time on passion and fierceness, but makes up for it with kind of lunacy so her Cathy is unstable, just in a different way.

2009: Charlotte Riley's Cathy is probably least Cathy-like out of the four I've watched. She is kind and caring, scolds Heathcliff for being mean, gives food to poor, is instantly friends with Isabella.. She shows all her emotions to Heathcliff and instead of the twisted games and hate-passion they have in the book, this Cathy is just a simple woman in love with Heathcliff, who is playing with her. Instead of knowing that they are everything to each other, that they are each other, they just have common jealousy. This is just bad.

2011: The younger version of Cathy is maybe not spicy enough but she is good and her bond with Heathcliff is shown well. Kaya Scoledario on the other hand is about as interesting as watching that nth shot of the muddy moor. This version of Cathy also has a weird interest in drinking blood.

1939: Laurence Olivier has absolutely zero Heathcliff in him. His Heathcliff is romantic, talkative and calm. Heathcliff as a romance novel hero. Also Olivier is as wooden as the giant block of wood he throws in to the fire in the beginning.

1992: Ralph Fiennes starts out as a bit too sophisticated for Heathcliff, but his performance definitely gets better after Heathcliff returns. He is cruel underneath his somewhat gentlemanly facade that he doesn't really work to upheld once he gets what he wants. I actually rather like his performance, even though it doesn't reach his book heights of cruelty.

2009: Tom Hardy makes for a chatty Heathcliff. He is a bit evil, sure, but also way too social. He doesn't seem to hide any kind of dark feelings behind his quippy exterior. If he's happy, he is, if he's angry, he is. Change in his three years away is nonexistent since he was already so at home around everyone. I'm also confused how after 18 years he just decides to blow his brains out. Ok.

2011: Again young Heathcliff is portrayed well Solomon Glave but the older one.. less so. Boring is really the only way to describe James Howson's performance. He seems like he is not interested at all in Cathy or anything really. He is just floating around the screen. He sounds curiously like Jon Snow and that is not a good thing.

1939: There is not much to say about his Hindley really. He is utterly forgettable.

1992: Unfortunately the curse of forgettableness follows Hindleys. Jeremy Northam beats Heathcliff up once but is really reduced to nothing in this film. Around the middle he then just dies off.

2009: Gorman's Hindley is weirdly happy and loving before Frances' death, but turns out to be a passable drunk afterwards. I especially like him meantioning his plans to kill Heathcliff. The Hidnley-Heathcliff dynamic in the beginning paints Heathcliff as a victim, so Hindley being a passable person for a while is an odd choice. However I remember him so that’s a bonus.

2011: Well he is racist for sure. I guess the skinhead look is some very very clever social commentary.

1939: David Niven as Edgar was... an interesting choice. He doesn't get much to do, mostly standing around and frowning at Heathcliff.

1992: I'm well aware of being very biased here, but Simon Shepherd truly looks like I've always imagined Edgar Linton looking like. He is just the perfect Edgar to me no contest. I think he captures Edgar from the book very nicely.

2009: Andrew Lincoln is far too manly and dark to be the light-coloured, bloodeless Edgar. He is also too mean in this version.

2011: I really don't have anything to say about this man. Edgar is on-screen for maybe half a minute and that is the less interesting half so I may have missed it.

1939: Isabella doesn't come off as such a fool since Heathcliff is 10000x more pleasant than he really is. Fitzgerald plays Isabella fine enough. She looks way too much like Cathy tho.

1992: I just hate how they cut out the scene of Isabella running away, as it is one of my favourite scenes and really makes Isabella's character into something more than a lovesick fool. Without that Sophie Ward doesn't really have much to do.

2009: Isabella gets some "development" in this series, we are seen her looking for suitors at Cathy's wedding and she explains some of her reasons for being interested in Heathcliff. Rest of the movie she looks sadly around eyes wide. They had Isabella leaving Heathcliff and completly butchered that. I'm Angry >.<

2011: Cmon Isabella. This Heathcliff is in no way interesting. He doesn't even have any "dark sexual attraction". We never see what might make Isabella interested in Heathcliff and I mean, who really cares anyway? If you're paying attention at this point I salute you. Okay I'm back since I noticed the movie is ending. They had the scene where Isabella and Hindley shut Heathcliff out so that's fun.

1939: Best thing about Flora Robson is that she vaguely resembles Jane McTeer. She doesn't really have a large role. What she has she does well enough.

1992: Janet McTeer is my love and joy. She is too old in the beginning, sure, and for the rest of the movie looks like she is in her 40s, but she is so so lovely as Nelly. I love her acting in "I am Heathcliff" scene and in her scenes with Heathcliff. She is the reason I like this movie so much despite its many failings.

2009: Nelly is way too old, which changes her relationship with all the characters. The actress does her grandma-role fine, giving shocked looks underneath her biddy bonnet.

2011: Ummm... Congrats for being the right age? This Nelly really doesn't have a role.

It was rather hard to rate the second generation since the 1992 movie was the only one to actually properly include it.

#wuthering heights #bronte #emily bronte #perioddrama #period drama #tom hardy #charlotte riley #juliette binoche #ralph fiennes #jane austen

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awhilesince · 3 years

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Monday, 13 September 1824

7 50/60

1 35/60

Breakfast at 9 – Mrs Mackenzie came and sat with me 1/2 hour she is in doubt whether to stay here or not seemed to ask my advice and be inclined to stay if her father is pretty well I would not speak decidedly but was evidently in favour of her staying she has had much unhappiness married against her choice from convenience a man thirty years older than herself who made her unhappy tho she always tried to do her duty her daughter cleverer than she is and rather the upper hand it seems Mrs Mackenzies being so communicative struck me – Mrs Mackenzie gave me a ticket given to her by Mr Brande that will always admit me to the Jardin des Plantes – Miss Mackenzie, too, came in and sat with me a few minutes –

on this account, it was 12 before I had read over my 3 letters finished last night, and had no time to make any extract from them – they must be in the general post office Rue Jean Jacques Rousseau before 2, or could not be taken in today, and then there being no English post tomorrow, must have waited till Wednesday my letter to my aunt (begun on Wednesday, 3 pages, the ends, and under the turn-down) giving an account of my journey, my being very comfortable here, of Madame de B–‘s (Boyve’s) being handsome – of our sitting in the Tuileries gardens, and of the Champs Elysées, and of the fête at St. Germain gave an account of the shawls worn and their prices – excerpt this –

My letter to M– (Mariana) on the same subjects only giving a more regular account, rather journalwise, and adding short answers to M–‘s (Mariana’s) last letter – Merely said on the subject of Mrs Henry Stephen B–‘s (Belcombe’s) management of the going-to-York business, I did not understand it, but she and Steph had my best wishes – Entreated M– (Mariana) not to pother herself about Petergate money matters – Mrs B– (Belcombe) knew what she was, and would take care of the girls – I did not think Dr. B–‘s (Belcombe’s) practice could now be sold for much – he was not likely to be well enough to introduce anyone – but Steph’s name and kinship would serve him – affectionate to π (Mariana) kind about Miss Pattison but much more the former to Miss Maclean very much so to her tho anybody might see it perhaps she herself may muse over a line or two in the first page – Told both my aunt and M– (Mariana) and Miss Maclean of my having Madame Galvani, that she alone was worth coming to Paris for; and all my time – would be taken up in endeavoring to gain the French language –

my letter to Miss Maclean begun at Shibden Wednesday 18 August, resumed and finished yesterday – foolscap sheet 3 pages, long ends, and under the turn-down – very small and short – Treated of my journey being comfortable here, the Tuileries Champs Elysées fête of St. Germain etc etc very briefly – all the rest bavardage amical –

went out at 12 1/4 (took Cordingley with me) direct to the general post-office in the rue Jean Jacques Rousseau – put in my letter to my aunt (Shibden) 22 sols. and to ‘Mrs Lawton Lawton hall etc 22 sols. and to ‘Miss Maclean of Coll Tobermory North Britain (Ecosse)’ 28 sols because letters here are paid for according to their weight, and I had sealed this letter and wafered the 2 others – wafers always used here because lighter than sealing wax, and for the same reason the French choose thin writing paper – saw the man who took my letters, and those of the crowd standing round the wire grating of his bureau, weigh each letter in a pair of scales hanging close to him –

from the Post Office walked thro’ the halle au bles, and the church of St. Eustache for Cordingley to see them – then along the rue de Grenelle direct thro’ the palais of the Louvre to the Pont des Arts – crossed the Pont neuf, and returned over the Pont royal thro’ the Tuileries gardens and got home at 2 –

the porter gave me a letter charged only 5 sols (brought by some private conveyance –sent thro’ our ambassador) from Miss Maclean (Tobermory) – Oh! that I had had it before I went out –

on coming upstairs to Mrs Mackenzie to ask what they were going to do, found them going to the Louvre to try to see the exhibition there of the new (modern) pictures – done by living and I believe all French artists; for the King’s death was hourly expected, and all public places would be closed for 6 weeks – his majesty had taken leave of his family, and received extreme unction – the garde du corps to be changed – Monsieur the next King will go to St. Cloud, and there will be no fête there – what a stupid place, says everyone with one accord, will Paris be! Away we went to the Louvre – shut already, sans aucune exception, till further orders – Sauntered in the Tuileries gardens –

Got back at 4 – read my letter from Miss Maclean – very kind and affectionate – I know not any of her letters that has given me more pleasure – perhaps the receiving it here, might add to my delight – I shall keep and read it by way of stimulus for see the end of the crossing Breadalbane thought me ‘almost quite handsome at Esholt’ and Miss Maclean evidently likes and admires me visited by an old admirer ‘you once said you thought I would have been happier in the married state no no you are mistaken unless with a mind and he art like your own the married state would have been misery to me far happier as I am ‘ – see the bottom of page one – and the last end for the following after desiring continuation of the extracts from my journal ‘you know not how I was tormented at home about you Miss Bs (Belcombe’s) manner of speaking half did this she only poor soul jested but very little difference of manner in you would have made me dislike you at that time I believe it was mostly occasioned by a little tincture of jealousy at home’..... thought I to myself this lets me into much the Belcombes are no advantage to me I now really dislike Anne not tho on her own hearts account for she is good but for the disagreeableness of her manners I would not for worlds be thought a friend of her poor soul she too was jealous I guess the style in which she would mention me – Breadalbane by thinking me almost handsome at Esholt has perhaps got over her prejudices and and I may conciliate her perhaps entirely with a little care – she must have some idea of Miss Macls (Maclean’s) partiality for on the arrival of my letter she threw it into the room with ‘there be happy’ see the first page at the bottom of the second is the more than permission to write Sibbella Mrs Grieves would have been most happy to see me –

Miss Maclean inclosed me a letter from her niece Miss Hobart – I should fancy her a nice good hearted fashionable girl the superior cleverness I have somehow expected would not strike one from her letter she is in first rate nobility society evidently – I am to burn the letter at the end of the envelope is the following ‘I certainly do spend a good deal on dress but if I had all to buy I think I could manage very well surely a single woman can live very comfortably on nine hundred a year which I under stand I have at my disposal uncle Sullivan told me before I went to Paris as worth eighteen thousand pounds and rather more’ –

At the 4th page of Miss Hobart’s letter (dated ‘13th’ August)

‘Now as to your dear picture, your friend whose name I forgot is perfectly welcome to it now, I will with pleasure lend it for a short time, but you may tell her she is much more welcome now than at the horrible time you mention, for if I survive you, I shall not then spare it.’ –

Reading and musing over my letter till near 5, then came the Irish girl and another young person from Madame Romatier to try on my new gown – not only my stays, but my petticoats ill made (true enough) – French stays would cost 30 francs and upwards – such calico as my petticoats are made of, so strong and good, not to be got in Paris – the best I could get would be thinner and finer 5 francs an aune an aune wide tho’ this of mine was 1/3 in England this and 1/2 wide – it would take 3 or 4 aunes for a petticoat; and the making (at Madame R–‘s (Romatier’s)) would be 5 francs –

Dinner at 6 – A Mr Moore who would speak nothing but desperately bad French all the while made his debut at table – to stay for how long, I know not – does not dance now in England – does not like the present style of dancing in England except at Almacks – rather a would-be-prig – nothing great, methinks, ab origine and at home – Madame de B– (Boyve) would teach me Ecarté, and after a game or 2, set me down to play with Mr Moore (not for money) and I played with him (the better of the 2 I think) for surely about an hour –

In the evening had Monsieur Bellevue; a Swiss count, a handsome young man; Monsieur Denappe, and Monsieur St. Auban – after playing at finding out words and talking to 1 or other (have not sat next Madame de B– (Boyve) these 3 or 4 nights)

came up to bed (leaving the party) at 11 35/60 making memoranda of my accounts – read and mused over Miss Maclean’s letter – all much kept me up so late – Very fine day – the sun out – very warm – Fahrenheit 69° at 12 3/4 – [E two dots O two dots, marking discharge from venereal complaint] –

reference number: SH:7/ML/E/8/0042, SH:7/ML/E/8/0043

#annelistercodebreaker #annelister #missmaclean #misshobart #mariana #augustseptember1824

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roughentumble · 4 years

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I would like to hear.. your silence of the lambs series opinions......

series as in, the new clarice tv show that's out? haven't watched it yet. series as in, those old movies that feature anthony hopkins as hannibal lecter? surely!

fair warning, i probably dont have anything new to say that hasnt been said before, considering these are all long since classics, and my thoughts might be a little disjointed.

it's difficult to sum up opinions about it on the whole, since the movie quality honestly varies so wildly, and as i recall basically every single movie had a different director lol. also like, there's definitely a reason silence of the lambs stood out as The hannibal movie that got talked about and went into The Annals Of Film History n' all that. there's something about jodie foster's performance that's particularly electric(though that could be nostalgia talking, i suppose)

the opportunities she had, as an actress, to really show emotion on her face, like the claustrophobic close-ups we got were really intimate and interesting, added to the sense we were getting into her head. that HANNIBAL was getting into her head. i've already used the word intimate, but really, the long drawn out conversations/monologues between her and hannibal are just that-- intimate. you have to have stellar performances to pull off that much dialogue, and shots that intensely focused, where a face takes up so much of the screen. but it works! because hopkins and foster are fantastic actors, and jonathen demme is a good director.

there's a reason a lot of people didn't like the switch to julianne moore, and i would say it isnt entirely moore's fault. ridley scott, for one, is simply a different director with different ideas of shot composition, which changes how the character feels pretty drastically when the style so heavily informed your feelings for her. but also, in general, the film just kind of approaches clarice from a different angle, which is pretty bumpy territory to go into on the tail of switching your lead actress. not only is moore just really different from foster, but we've gone from this kind of invasive intimacy with hannibal probing her in confined spaces, to her being on the chase. in particular what sticks out to me is a chase sequence where she's trying to find hannibal in a crowded mall.(i think it was a mall?? its been a minute since i last watched the film haha) despite how the crowd might lead to a sense of claustrophobia, these are wide open shots with lots of spinning and movement, no time for introspective face journies. it's a chase in a totally different sense than before, and that i think is major difference in tone. which isn't to say it's a bad choice, or a loss, or that it's worse, just that it's fundamentally very different material that moore was given fo work with. of course her performance differed from fosters!

i still think jodie foster did it better, but some folks were too hard on julianne moore. if anything, hold beef with the writers and new director for pivoting tonally(although, dont do that either, i think it was an interesting shift. the scene with her and hannibal, where hannibal fries up that dude's brain was SO GOOD, i loved loved loved the return to a twisted sense of intimacy for that scene, and a few others, and that sense of return wouldn't have hit the same were the whole movie to follow the same tone as demme's work.)

also quick sidebar, when i watched hannibal(the movie from 2001) i was BLOWN AWAY by realizing, in retrospect, just how absolutely perfectly micheal pitt nailed the role of mason verger in hannibal(the tv show). vocally, he sounded almost identicle to the og performance, WHAT!!! major props, i love micheal pitt. so cool

manhunter 1987 or whatever year it came out is garbage and we dont talk about it. it was physically painful to watch. my poor mother made us stop watching hannibal movies for the rest of the day because it literally put her in physical pain. it's so 80s i want to vomit. do not recommend.

red dragon was pretty good, and if you entered the series of films armed only with knowledge of hannibal nbc, gave some really fascinating context to some of the events therein. edward norton's performance was fine-- didn't blow my mind, but i do love to watch him on screen. anthony hopkins' portrayal of a free hannibal, on the run, who still can't help but taunt the police and stick his nose into investigations was shockingly compelling, despite how much of a cliche trope that's become in recent years. can't say i recall anything interesting to say about the directing, but it certainly doesnt hold the same intimacy of the previous films-- but then again, we've lost the intimate character of clarice, swapping her out for graham(who simply isnt as close, or interesting, or compelling, when he isnt on nbc and shaking like a wet chihuahua)

hannibal rising, the last film in the series, was very very very bad. BUT, unlike manhunter 198whatever, it managed to be fun about it! lots of very goofy deaths and things to make you roll your eyes, stupid character motivations and odd acting choices. but it seems aware, on some level, that it's the last and the silliest of the entries into this particular film series, which earns it some good will. whether or not its worth a watch comes down to how much you're willing to consume everything with the name hannibal on it, and whether you can abide by a hannibal that isnt played by sir anthony hopkins.

OK. ok. we're getting to the end of my thoughts here, kids. i prommy.

it's also, despite every single part of it that i enjoy and that brings me joy, almost unforgivably racist and transphobic. the weird exotification and obsession with asia(and japan in particular), especially when none of those elements felt important or relevant to the story was consistently shocking, and consistently present in essentially every single hannibal movie, ESPECIALLY ones that dealt with his childhood. it didn't ever feel like a natural part of the story, where they happened include people from another culture or anything, it felt like the author's fetish. i never truly understood how these reoccuring themes and symbols were meant to tie in with the rest of the story, even after an entire film set in the past, showiing hannibal's childhood and how he came to live with a japanese woman. it was weird! it was uncomfortable! it was bad! even hannibal nbc couldnt make it not weird. i'd love a hannibal movie with a japanese person in it who WASNT treated really, really, really weird. but i dont think i will ever get that.

and like. wrt transphobia-- do i even need to say it? buffalo bill's been talked to death. we all know the issue there.

if a japanese person, or a trans woman, came to me and said "shawn, everyone says its a classic, but i cant bring myself to watch [insert hannibal movie here]" i would not blame them. it isnt the whole movie, but its enough to feel real bad, scoob.

its not enough to make me fall out of love with silence of the lambs, or hate hannibal(the film, god thats a confusing name), or even hate the film series, but its something that deserves tl be talked about. i've heard lots of discussion on the transphobia, but basically none on the racism, which is a real shame. sometimes it feels like no one else even noticed it, and it really leaves me floundering, because its like-- its RIGHT THERE and its so weird and bad. thomas harris, what the fuck

OKAY I THINK THATS ALL MY THOUGHTS FOR NOW?????? i could maybe come up with more, *shrugs*, but i'd need more time at least.

summary:: very problematic, and not because he eats people. but overall some of the films are fantastic, and silence of the lambs does hold a special place in my heart. and even if i didnt like it nearly as much, i'll defend hannibal(the film with julianne moore) till im blue in the face, because even if it didnt quite capture lightening in a bottle it still brought some interesting things to the table. decent enough movie series with enough variation in film tone and quality to make watching them all in a row enjoyable, because it keeps things from getting stale. (could probably have done with SOME consistency tho, lol, they were really flying by the seat of their pants. they had hopkins and that was IT, only thing that carried over from production to production lol)

#im exaggerating wrt that last line abt hopkins #they couldve had other people in the staff that worked on multiple films in the series #i havent looked THAT much into it

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inventors-fair · 4 years

Text

Lyrical Poets

There was a pretty diverse set of musical interests represented in this competition - a wide variety of artists and genres, which definitely kept things from getting dull on my end. Without further ado, let’s jump on in!

@antmations - Erissa, Bog Witch

Flavour: Spooky big bog witch makes everybody feel like dying. I'm not sure it communicates why I'm better off that way, but I'm sure she knows what she's talking about. Mechanics: A deathtouch creature is already a pretty significant deterrant to attacking, so adding extra downsides makes it especially unattractive. Be careful with effects like this because they often put the opponent in a position where they feel they can't progress the game without dying, which just makes the gameplay grind to a halt. Templating/Nitpicks: Nope, nothin'. Overall: Bog Big witch energy.

Charmera - Bad Moon Risen

Flavour: I respect how literally you played into this, especially the references to old card names. Kudos. Mechanics: Obviously with taking things as literally as you did, the design kinda has to wind up all over the place. My biggest takeaway from this one is that it feels like it should be a Saga that just ticks up through the lines you're referencing. Templating/Nitpicks: On MTG.design, you can use asterisks (*) to drop bullet points into your modal effects. It's super convenient. Overall: The chorus of this song is commonly misheard as "There's a bathroom on the right." That would probably be harder to design.

@corporalotherbear - Tranquility, the Trickster

Flavour: You chose a very simple effect which gave lots of room for flavour text. Just with the lines included I still don't totally understand the why, but it definitely conveys what's going on. Mechanics: This is repeatable removal, and pretty strong removal at that. Red is supposed to be weak against creatures with high toughness, but besides actual-factual walls this will generally circumvent that. Templating/Nitpicks: While a creature technically can fight itself, if you asked players what that means probably 9 out of 10 would get it wrong. The correct way to template this would probably be to just write out, "deals damage to itself equal to twice its power." Overall: It is a heck of a trick, tho.

@dabudder - Unbounded Truth

Flavour: The lyric you chose is really wholesome and pleasant. Revealing cards feels like "saying what we mean", though it fights the theme a bit that only our opponents get in on that action. Mechanics: Peek with some incidental lifegain tacked on sounds reasonable, I suppose. Control decks probably wouldn't mind knowing what answers they need to dig for while giving themselves more time to do so. Templating/Nitpicks: You're looking for "card", not "spell", and converted mana costs are "high" rather than "great". It probably comes out, "You gain life equal to the highest converted mana cost among cards revealed this way." Overall: Thanks for going to the trouble of submitting it until it went through. I expect next week to go a little smoother for you.

@dim3trodon - Paladin of Silence

Flavour: The lyrics are pretty evocative, and I can imagine a paladin saying (or explicitly not saying?) exactly that line. Good choice to lean on the spell Silence to define what exactly that means. Mechanics: I'm not sure what's Blue about this one. Perhaps it was for the Flash, but it's worth noting that every color has access to Flash for effects that genuinely require it to work - this would be one of those. Templating/Nitpicks: Kudos on being careful around flicker effects, though also be wary when you have to do that. It can be a sign that the core effect isn't very fun. Overall:

@dimestoretajic - Kawejitch, the Unrestrained

Flavour: Thanks for putting a face to the lyric that's been stuck in my head since my childhood. Only a little surprised that face has a trunk. Mechanics: This is functionally unblockable, but Mardu probably adds up to that. The rate could probably use some attention, as an 8/5 unblockable for six is better than anything that's been printed. Putting combat keywords on a creature that's nearly impossible to block feels like a miss; I think it's to really stick the "couldn't hold me back" thing, but I feel like super-menace delivered on that well enough. Templating/Nitpicks: I hope I'm not the only that gets unreasonably happy reading lines of text like this. Overall: I've been talking to myself out loud the whole time I've been typing this.

@emmypupcake - Burden of Despair

Flavour: Between the art and the flavour text, I can certainly feel the despondency of the situation. Mood. Mechanics: This is reasonably flexible removal, getting rid of little dorks entirely and mosty disabling bigger ones. The power drop feels pretty irrelevant since the creature can't attack or block anymore, but I suspect it's just there for symmetry. Templating/Nitpicks: Yours is one of only a couple submissions that correctly represented both title and artist in the flavour text. I'll be clearer about it in the future, but gold star for you in the meantime. Overall: Bog Big mood.

@fractured-infinity - Erase From Time

Flavour: I'm not sure what the art is showing me, but the flavour text does more than enough to set the tone. Gone for good. Mechanics: This is quite the clever little innovation, a variation on White's more permanent exile removal that is relevant in multiplayer. I'm a little curious why it phases instead of exiling, since the nonlegendary clause means it wouldn't hit Commanders either way, and the two are equivalent in most other cases. Templating/Nitpicks: No need for hyphens in "nonland" and "nonlegendary". Overall: This is one of those moments where you come up with a cool concept, you develop an awesome design around it...and somehow that design just no longer fits that concept. The biggest thing keeping you out of the winner's circle this week was that your innovation played in the opposite direction of your theme by making the removal less permanent. Solid design work, though.

@gollumni - Guildless Anarchist

Flavour: I assume the flavour text is mostly connecting with the first ability. Some designs just need the added context of a set or cycle to really make sense, and that's okay. Mechanics: Part of me suspects the first ability is a little overcosted, because it doesn't actually net you a card - see Haunted Crossroads for reference. That said, the repeatable removal and/or Lava Axe of the third ability seems pretty strong to make up for it. Templating/Nitpicks: Magic is picky, so you only "return" cards to the battlefield or your hand; you'll just "put" this one where it goes. Also, you'll want to include "untapped" in the cost of the third ability; the rules don't strictly require it, but templating praxis does. Overall: "Slaughtermatic" is my new word of the day.

@hypexion - Ravenous Extraction

Flavour: I've never heard it, but even just reading it that flavour text seems catchy. It has a clear message, and the Treasure tokens have added meaning thanks to the "inheritance" line. Mechanics: This hearkens back to Squandered Resources, both mechanically and thematically. Moving it to Red is probably correct in the modern color pie, though admittedly I'm not sure at what rate either of these effects would be fair. Nyxbloom Ancient triples your mana more permanently for seven, so...maybe five is fine? Templating/Nitpicks: For poetry, line breaks are as much a part of the writing as the words. If it's not possible to fit with line breaks intact, you'll want to include slashes to indicate where they should be. Geist of the Moors is an example of what that looks like. Overall: I'm going to have to look up this song to see how close it sounds to how I'm reading it.

@ignorantturtlegaming - Angel's Song

Flavour: An angel's song is definitely magic-appropriate flavour, and has a lot of room for interpretation. "Eternal life" as doubling your life total makes sense, though the burn part feels more like punishing the gathering than calling it. Mechanics: Moving Sphinx's Revelation to sorcery speed does hurt its power level, though I'm not sure it does it enough to compensate for all the upsides this has. Having the option of using it as a sweeper is huge, and the life doubling on top of the first mode seems like it gets out of hand quickly. Templating/Nitpicks: Modal spells only really have their modes. If you want the conditional part to occur regardless of which mode you pick, the correct way to do that is to include it in both modes. I agree this feels weird. Overall: A song called The Gathering was such an apt choice, kudos.

@illharg-the-rave-boar - The Key and the Gate

Flavour: I'm definitely picking up the "thrall to Yog-Sothoth" feel. And the card is powerful enough that it communicates a sense of powerlessness against cosmic forces. Mechanics: This card is quite the beating, but I suppose three-color, seven-mana spells generally should be. This is a pretty clear 'game over' in most cases - unless your opponents have another source of cards, the fact you're stealing one each turn and doming them for 7 every time they whiff should end the game pretty quickly. Templating/Nitpicks: There are enough details of the lyrics that lend themselves to Magic vocabulary (rainbow, cascade, even walls) that I wish the design were a little more explicit, but I understand there's only so much room. Overall: Songs these days really have nothing on great old ones.

@khyrberos - Neutral Physician

Flavour: Few things make me happier than "deniability" on a card that literally denies an ability. This has a few different things going on, but they're all pulled reasonably well from the text you're referencing. Mechanics: All the different pieces of this card kinda drag it in different directions. While they're clearly pulled from the lyrics, they don't really create a unified mechanical identity, which makes it hard to imagine how a card like this should be used. Templating/Nitpicks: If you want it to counter death triggers, you can actually just do that. "Counter target triggered ability if a creature dying caused it to trigger" does what you want without the weird timing restriction. Overall: I think there's actually something here, it just needs a little polish.

@macaroni-and-squeez - Rising Form-Claimer

Flavour: Using the untap trigger to show the creature "woke up" that way is really clever. Mechanics: The delayed trigger feels a little hard to track, and I can't help but think there must be a simpler way to achieve a similar feel. I do like the fact that the tap in the cost of the ability sets up the untap trigger, which makes the design feel internally consistent. Templating/Nitpicks: There's a comma missing between your costs, and you probably mean to say "When CARDNAME becomes untapped during your next untap step," otherwise the trigger hangs around indefinitely and goes off every time it untaps. Overall: Is this thing skinless until you activate the ability? Oh no.

@machine-elf-paladin - Goblin Firework Festival

Flavour: This line feels so much like a goblin rhyme, I'm really pleased that you felt that in it too. The unpredictability of the end result, and flavour of blowing up your friends and fireworks feels very resonant. Mechanics: This is a finisher, with a pretty clear multiplayer leaning. I think in practice this would generally kill whichever player is at the lowest life total, encouraging them to sacrifice everything they have, in turn possibly killing another player and encouraging them to do likewise. While the effect feels fun to read, I'm not convined the actual gameplay would feel interesting most of the time. Templating/Nitpicks: Gold star for the use of slashes to indicate line breaks in your flavour text. Overall: I hope this song is as fun as this design implies it is.

@martian-june - Blood Pact

Flavour: Combining a group hug effect with a group slug effect to convey "friends who bleed" is pretty clever. Mechanics: This is an interesting combination of 'White' and Black effects. The card draw is something that Black can do at this rate, and the opponents drawing cards probably covers any cost of the life loss. I'm not sure precisely what deck is looking for the combination of these effects, but it's neat to see them done together. Templating/Nitpicks: I don't think there's any strong reason for the "if" clause, there are very few effects that would prevent that from happening anyway. Overall: I like centered cards too.

@milkandraspberry - Taunting Slander

Flavour: I can see how "stupid butt" might get one's hackles up. Them's fightin' words. Mechanics: A fight effect with a little extra reach seems sensible enough. You'll often lose your creature along with theirs, so it's a little bit like a Heartfire. Templating/Nitpicks: "...each get +1/-1..." is the template you're looking for. Apart from that, I'd just like to see the flavour and reminder text italicised - it subtly communicates that I should be reading it differently, which is surprisingly helpful. Overall: Not too strong, not too bad.

@misswamyn - Bardic Inspiration

Flavour: I can definitely imagine how a great song could get your troops a-movin'. I do wish there was a little more to make me feel why this song has this effect, but the overall effect definitely makes sense. Mechanics: The biggest miss is that there's nothing particularly White about it. Otherwise, perfectly solid. Templating/Nitpicks: This is a really simple line of text that has apparently never appeared on a Magic card before. Those are always a treat. Overall: Makes me wonder what the actual greatest song ever would do.

@mistershinyobject - Ghastly Grasp

Flavour: Drain is definitely a classically Black way to illustrate the concept of touch. The impression I get is that the creature is the one overwhelmed by your touch, though I'm not sure I immediately connect with the "almost convinced me I'm real" line. That part seems especially poignant, so I'd love to see it show through in the mechanics. Mechanics: You expressed some concern over whether this was allowed in Black - personally, I don't think it's even a bend. Because Black can get full drain at roughly this rate, it certainly wouldn't be a break for it to get only half of that. Dealing damage without any lifegain would have to be a bend then, but this sets itself up to gain life almost every time it's used. I think you're fine. Templating/Nitpicks: Power seems like an odd choice over toughness, just because it feels like it's operating on an entirely different axis. Overall: Killing a Rampaging Ferocidon with this would be so satisfying.

@misterstingyjack - Keeper of the Fourth Mystery

Flavour: I wouldn't have picked up on what this card's flavour text was saying without your explanation, though with the explanation I can pretty clearly see what motivated your decisions. Mechanics: Expanding your tutor effects is an interesting space to play in, I wonder if there's a good way to make it work. Templating/Nitpicks: Unfortunately, this template probably doesn't do it. I don't believe an effect can really look forward to see where the searched card is going to be put, and I'm not sure the search replacement would work as intended anyway. This is a tough templating challenge though, so I think this was a valiant effort. Overall: A honestly hope to see a more polished version of this in the future.

@morbidlyqueerious - Lethal Prominence

Flavour: It works a little hard to convey its theme, but I think it gets there. Mechanics: You're right that it came out a little wordy, and I suspect there's probably a more elegant way to deliver on the notes this is trying to hit. I think it gets dragged in too many directions trying to incentivise everyone (the counters, the Gold, the attack requirement). That said, I do like where it's aiming. Templating/Nitpicks: Nothing stands out, which is good. Overall: This is exactly the kind of lyric I had in mind when I created this challenge.

@nine-effing-hells - The First Home of Crafters

Flavour: It does do the work of tying Dwarves, Artifacts, and Artificers together thematically. Mechanics: Lands that tap for multiple mana are often a problem, and there are enough cheap artifacts that I would expect the other two types to be largey irrelevant. That deckbuilding restriction is a limitation, but history has shown that cheap artifacts tend to be good together without a lot of extra help. Templating/Nitpicks: You noted that the wording on the trigger is hard to follow, and I have to agree. I think it does function correctly though, so points for that. Overall: It's definitely a song.

@quillpaw - Mercury in Retrograde

Flavour: It's hard for me to connect what the flavour text is telling me to the resulting effect, which is unfortunate because each of them seems cool on its own. Mechanics: This is definitely a variant of Kruphix that feels Red. I think it feels a bit bad that it costs so much, because by the time you can start holding onto your mana it's going to kill you pretty quickly trying to do so. I think the downside feels appropriate though. Templating/Nitpicks: Those are two different abilities, so they should be spaced a little differently. And generally you'll want quoted flavour text inside quotations marks. Overall: I still can't figure out if it's a friend or not.

@real-aspen-hours - South Wind

Flavour: Cute to evoke the spell Hurricane for a song of the same name. The second half is...Shatterstorm, which I suppose is on the storm theme? Mechanics: Suspend is something we probably won't see much of soon, and this isn't the kind of effect that plays especially nicely with that mechanic. When your opponent knows a sweeper is coming, they just know not to play into it. Templating/Nitpicks: I put the card image together for you. I think I do good work. Overall: You've got at least three more winds to design now.

@reaperfromtheabyss - Question to the World

Flavour: The design itself asks questions without answering them, which is kind of an interesting place for this to be. Mechanics: The coolest part of this design is that it asks your opponent whether they want to bother dealing with it (and giving you cards) or just letting it live as a minor inconvenience. This came close to winning, and my only problem with this design is that the combination of evasion and hexproof takes most of your opponent's ability to interact with it away, leaving that one interesting question pretty moot. Templating/Nitpicks: Cards would be exiled "with" it, not "by" it. Overall: Did they ever get an answer?

@scavenger98 - Horizon's Turn

Flavour: I definitely get the sensation of leaving the surface world behind and taking to the skies, which is a neat story. Mechanics: This a tough one. It's a six-mana (twelve, if you count the skipped untap) sorcery that can often do actual nothing depending on your opponent's deck. The frustrating part is that there's no real way to build around it, because it relies entirely on your opponent's things. Also, skipping untap steps is just rough. Templating/Nitpicks: Nope, nothing in particular. Overall: I feel like there's more story to this than I'm picking up on, and it genuinely makes me want to know more.

@shakeszx - Leave Breathless

Flavour: The "doesn't untap" clause is normally used for ice effects, but I can see it being used for breathlessness. Adding the activated ability bit certainly sells it as something different. Mechanics: Split second isn't a favourite of mine, but I suppose it's there to make sure the activated ability line gets to do its thing. This is only moderately better than normal freeze effects, so I'm not sure the color-intensive cost is really necessary. Templating/Nitpicks: It's a little weird that the effects last for different periods. I'd probably just attach the activated ability limitation to "until it becomes untapped", as many activated abilities won't be usable until then anyway. Overall: That line is a pretty good choice, I gotta say.

@snugz - Caught in the Act

Flavour: A song as well-known as this one is a bold choice because it comes with so many preconceptions. I'm not sure I'm picking up where all the different parts are fitting together thematically, and that could be part of it. Mechanics: This is some nifty little soft removal. It feels a bit like a Blue Stab Wound - most often, this will be used to immediately kill small opposing creatures (by leaving up a blocker big enough to eat it in combat), but occasionally it’ll be stuck on something harmless to achieve the recurring effect. In most cases, mill two each turn is not going to be too scary (and is even an upside at times), but in a mill deck every recurring source of mill is key. Templating/Nitpicks: Reimagining the artist of the song as a character was an interesting little addition. Overall: I would not be at all surprised to see something like this printed in an upcoming set.

@sorustyitshines - Fire-Forged Bond

Flavour: This definitely conveys the theme of two creatures fighting and enduring hardships together. I feel like you have the space to do a little more to really sell the theme, but it's certainly clear from what you've got. Mechanics: This is an effect that doesn't exist yet, which means it's got that much going for it. I think the theme gives you space for a little more innovation than what you took advantage of; something like "those creatures gain indestructible for as long as you control both of them" is a slightly more unique space that leans a little harder into the story you're trying to tell. Templating/Nitpicks: The effect wants "each of two target creatures", otherwise it sounds like you're splitting the one counter between them. Overall: It probably doesn't need to be rare, but otherwise this is a very printable card.

@teaxch - Sink and Drown and Die

Flavour: I had to actually listen to the song to piece together what was going on, as the flavour text only went so far. That said, aligning the three effects with the three verbs was really cleverly done. Mechanics: My only real qualm here is that your opponent makes all the decisions. This would probably be in the winners’ circle if you picked the three permanents and they picked what to do with them (a kind of Kiss, Marry, Kill effect). Templating/Nitpicks: The existing templating looks perfect, so instead let's imagine the Kiss, Marry, Kill version: "Choose three nonland permanents controlled by the same player. That player returns one of them to its owners hand, puts another on top of its owner library, and sacrifices the rest." Overall: Just hoping the flavour text wasn't aimed at me.

@tmstage - The Lone Digger Club

Flavour: You were correct in assuming I'd seen the video, so I did have a sense of what was going on here. That said, I warned that the card was the context I was most interested in, and it doesn't serve to communicate all of that itself. Mechanics: This is a really cute way to evoke the effect you were going for. Forced blocks (and attacks, for that matter) can be done within Blue, and the aggressive feeling definitely justifies the Red inclusion. Templating/Nitpicks: Nowadays attack restrictions refer to "combat" rather than "turn", so that it's clear how they interact with multiple combat phases. Overall: The purple art on a Blue-Red card is so satisfying.

@whuh-oh - The Demon Within

Flavour: I can see how each of part of the lyric is supposed to correspond to one of the activated abilities, though it's not immediately obvious which effect is which line. Mechanics: Free mana is often very strong, and being able to turn 2 life into three mana each turn feels strong - I suppose it's only a turn sooner than Gilded Lotus with a higher color requirement, but it's also a lot more flexible than that. The fact that the third ability doesn't seem to interact with the other two makes it feel a little out-of-place, especially since three abilities and the activation restriction means you could pretty easily have them work cyclically (i.e., have the last ability read "BBB: You gain 2 life."). Templating/Nitpicks: You'll want it to read "only once each turn", because templates. Overall: Form of the Demon is a pretty neat idea.

@wolkemesser - Memnarch's Manic Plan

Flavour: The strongest flavour points for this card go to the fact that it makes you think like the character; you immediately start to imagine the payoffs for doing the thing, and the costs just become an afterthought. I think that was really cleverly done. Mechanics: The biggest obstacle is that this is a bit of a one-card combo. As long as your deck has any game-winning combo somewhere in it, you just build up a lot of permanents and play this, hoping to draw into your combo and immediately have the mana to play it out. Either you succeed and win on the spot, or you don't and your opponent picks you apart while you try to piece things back together. It's possible this gives you enough resources when it works not to immediately fold to pressure, but if that's the case there's just not much risk to playing it after all. Templating/Nitpicks: Looks like you missed the word "cards" after "draw X", otherwise you're golden. Overall: I was really pleased to see Memnarch show up on this, thanks for that.

That’s our feedback this week - I wanted to get it out of the way so that you all could focus on @teaxch‘s challenge starting today. Thank you all again for letting me share one of my favourite design exercises with you, and I hope that some of you will keep it in mind the next time you’re struggling to nail an idea down.

Until next time,

~Mod [ @3smuth ]

#inventor's fair #custom magic card #wax lyrical #proving grounds #commentary #3smuth

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