#but this is not a screenplay and i have to filter what i add and what i leave for the reader to imagine

[devondespresso]

More Steve Henderson AU!! I love love love your idea behind how Dustin and Steve end up so close--it's so fitting for what glimpses of Dustin and Claudia we get in the show

sngdjysynsnysngzngsmh thank youuuuuu i really really appreciate it!! your encouragement means the absolute world to me 🕺✨

anyway we finally started writing scenes today!! with dialogue and everything!! woohoo! this snippet is part of a missing scene after the tunnels in season 2

“Yeah, so lets get his car back before he wakes up and he won't notice it was ever gone” Mike interrupted, slinging the passenger door open. Max glared at him. “He’s going to notice. He notices everything with his car.” “And there's mud all over the sides” “And there's definitely going to be mud inside after we ride back” “And its pretty safe to say at least some of Steve's blood got on the backseat” Oh God they're screwed.

[aihoshiino]

chapter 129 thoughts

Takamine confirmed! She's the B-Komachi member with the dog pin, which confirms that Watanabe is the girl with the frog pin. I honestly think I felt a bigger sense of closure over that than anything else in this chapter......................

Takamine's open hostility as portrayed in the movie is also interesting, though it does make me raise an eyebrow. It contrasts Kyun's description of B-Komachi from Viewpoint B where she explicitly says there was no bullying - even in 45510, the narrator only ever mentions one of the girls starting shit with Ai and never any internal nastiness. If the 45510 narrator is Takamine, this makes sense given that she's quick to insist she's just giving Nino some tough love and that hostility framed as reverence matches the 45510 narrator's entanglement of desire and spite directed towards Ai.

Still, it does feel like a nod that we should be taking the framing of the movie with a grain of salt - this is a fictionalized, dramatized version of events filtered through at least two very pissed off people, after all. Aqua, if nothing else, has good reason to make the people who were cruel to his mother look particularly bad and the screenplay has been described as a particularly malicious one.

Akane interacting with characters who aren't Aqua!!! Blessed be!!! Honestly, the Akane & Kana interactions this chapter got a good chuckle out of me, moreso than I was expecting. Akane's "i'm not having fun bullying her :)" [internally: i'm having the time of my life] made me do a solid out loud Sensible Chuckle. That said, I really do hope the movie arc takes this chance to progress their dynamic past this sniping, because as funny as it is... man, they've been doing this shit since before Tokyo Blade and I've said before that it feels so weird to me that the end of that arc ends on what should feel like a big change in the status quo of their relationship but it's largely just been the same hostility over and over and over again.

On that note, it feels odd we didn't get a reaction of any kind from him to Ruby's portrayal of Ai given how uncanny the similarity is, down to Mengo basically just drawing her as Ai with one hoshigan this entire chapter lol.

Speaking of Ai... I think the best way to nail down how this chapter made me feel was uneasy.

I'm hoping this is me focusing too much on something that's ultimately not important, but the idea that Ai's 'hidden feelings' were those of anger really doesn't sit right with me - especially with the implication that this anger was fundamental enough to Ai's person that Ruby needed to tap into it to properly portray her.

I'm not at all against OnK diving into the idea that Ai had darker, messier feelings than the ones we've been privy to. In fact, I think it would be a good way of resolving a trap it threatens to fall into sometimes, where Ai is a bit of a 'perfect' victim as far as storytelling is concerned and letting her having some blemishes would be interesting.

My issue here is more that this characterization of Ai hiding anger specifically is what feels weird to me - it doesn't feel like it coheres with the Ai we get such a clear view of in volume 1 and Viewpoint B. The impression I get much, much more strongly there is of deep sadness and loneliness, desperation and fear. If there is anger, it's pointed inwards at herself in frustration and self-blame, so the idea that Ruby needs to Be Angry to properly get across Ai's feelings on camera makes me more than a little worried for where the movie arc is going to go in terms of characterizing Ai lol.

Basically, I don't necessarily mind the story deciding to recontexualize Ai and add this new layer of hidden bitterness so long as it's actually consistent and additive characterization and not just replacing and retconning what we've been given before.

Again, though, this is in-universe fiction that has been dramatized and warped to suit a very pissed off person's malicious purposes, so I think there's some wiggle room in terms of how accurate it can be assumed to be in its portrayal of Ai herself.

I also have mixed feelings about the way Gotanda's directing is being portrayed, but that's something I'll be able to dig into and talk about more the more we see of it.

[denimbex1986]

'“Meryl Streep, who’s a great hero of mine, says, ‘Take your broken heart and turn it into art.’ There’s something really beautiful about how you can have something deeply painful and shameful even, and in revealing of that, you can do something that makes other people feel seen and feel better, like their hand is being held through the screen,” says All of Us Strangers star Andrew Scott. “In order to do that, you’ve got to show yourself. You’ve got to be unadorned and you’ve got to try not to act. In a way, playing Adam was a challenge, but in another way, it felt so wonderful because I felt so seen by what Andrew had created in the screenplay.”

Scott, speaking with writer/director Andrew Haigh (Weekend) to a group of journalists during a virtual press conference, gives the performance of a lifetime in All of Us Strangers. The film is a deeply moving consideration of queerness and love both romantic and familial. Scott stars as Adam, a screenwriter who revisits the ghosts of his past—his parents—while penning a new script. At the same time, he begins a passionate relationship with his neighbour, Harry (Paul Mescal), in his empty apartment building. The two haunting yet affecting storylines illustrate Scott’s point about pain and art. There’s something profoundly therapeutic about sharing loss through storytelling in a way that allows others to heal.

For Haigh, the chance to explore this ghost story in which Adam repairs things unsaid with his late parents was part of the appeal of adapting the novel Strangers by Japanese author Taichi Yamada. “There was something in that original novel that I could not get out of my head, which was this idea about meeting your parents again long after they are no longer in your life,” observes Haigh. “That conceit was fascinating to me as a way to explore family, to explore love, to explore the pain from our past.”

Where the novel follows a traditional ghost story, Haigh filters the adaptation through his experience. As Adam finds closure with his parents, his conversations include a revelatory coming out scene with his mother (Claire Foy) in which he takes pride in sharing the progress for gay rights that have been achieved since her passing. Back home, Adam finds an ability to express love with Harry in ways that he hadn’t been able to before with a man. Moreover, Harry’s presence illustrates the subtle ingenuity of Haigh’s adaptation. In the novel, Adam begins a relationship with a melancholy woman. In the film, Haigh takes the themes to new heights as the elder Adam’s care for the younger Harry invites readings of the AIDS crisis and all the people who died alone when the world forgot to love.

“I am gay myself, so it made sense to change the sexuality of the main character. I also wanted to tell a story about family and its relationship to queerness and how, as a queer kid, it can be very different growing up within essentially a heterosexual family,” explains Haigh. “Turning the sexuality made a big difference, I think, to the story as a whole. In many ways, the story is about understanding the nature of love. It’s about how romantic love is associated with familial love and how connected and intertwined they are. Doing that felt like the perfect way to explore that element of the story.”

Haigh explores these elements quite powerfully in the scenes with Adam’s parents. The film refreshingly treats the parents empathetically while rejecting the conventional coming out narrative that often put the emotional weight on the parents. Rather, Haigh serves love in equal doses for the mother (Claire Foy) and father (Jamie Bell) who never got to see their son grow old.

“I think that what I learned about myself as a parent is that I never want to leave anything unsaid,” adds Foy. “What this film teaches you is that life is too short to not say what you want to say, even if it hurts someone’s feelings. Even if you feel like you might not be heard, either you’ve said it or you’ve offered someone something—you’ve given someone else an opportunity in life to think about things differently or hear you. I think the most painful thing that can happen is that you don’t get heard.” All of Us Strangers further explores these intimate family dynamics by setting the story in Haigh’s childhood home, which adds a touching personal element to the intimate space that Haigh creates for this fictional family.

Scott, who is also gay, recognizes the personal interplay between life and art with which Haigh crafts Adam’s character. Scott’s performance appropriately carries the depth and nuance that arises when an actor truly knows what it feels like to embody his character’s skin. Scott says that he deliberately avoided reading the book in order to stay true to the experience of Haigh’s character. “Our initial conversations were about not acting, so to speak,” says Scott. “It would’ve felt a little perverse to create a character who was too far away from Andrew’s experience of growing up and my experience might’ve been grown up.”

While Scott almost grows more youthful in the presence of Bell and Foy—fun changes in Adam’s costuming, including old pyjamas, make him seem more childlike—he really makes the character his own in his scenes with Mescal. Whereas Yamada’s protagonist is haunted by the past in the present, Adam grows through Harry’s touch. The closure he gains with his parents affords him confidence to explore love more confidently.

“What I think is so beautiful is that once he begins to be loved by his parents, he is able to step out of that purgatory and start to love somebody else,” observes Scott. “I think that’s a real experience for so many people. You go, ‘I don’t have to worry about that anymore because I’m being literally embraced.’ So much of the film is tactile and tender. There’s so much physical touch in there.”

Haigh accentuates this tenderness as the camera lingers on Scott and Mescal in the afterglow of morning following long nights in bed spent making love and sharing their experiences. The film’s final twist, one of bittersweet tragedy, underscores the weight of things said and unsaid. For Haigh, the complexity of this intimacy involves considering the elements of Yamada’s novel that create the ghost story. All of Us Strangers dials back the supernatural elements, yet creates something profound by affording Adam an idyllic fantasy in which he’s loved for who he is. “I could lean into the ghost elements of it, the supernatural element, but that didn’t feel totally right,” admits Haigh. “I’m trying to traverse different worlds, essentially his world in the present and this world of the parents too. I tried to concentrate on the emotional truth of what Adam is needing or wanting in this moment.”

Scott agrees and notes that he could relate to the experience of finding catharsis by imagining love. “I just immediately recognised it as something that I feel, which is the accidental cruelty of families. Through love, we say things to our families that are brutalising and make your family members feel unseen and you feel angry with them,” he says. “Working through that is so beautiful because, for a lot of people in Adam’s situation, when they come out, it’s not about necessarily outright rejection, nor is it about full-hearted embracing. It’s somewhere in between. I think that’s an experience for a lot of gay people, queer people, and people in the LGBTQ+ community.”

What makes All of Us Strangers a new landmark for queer cinema is the continuity of love through tough conversations. Haigh hopes that audiences find this element of the story cathartic—and he sees something of himself in Adam’s own creative process. “The fact that Adam gets to have those conversations with his parents is so powerful,” says Haigh. “I’ve managed to have conversations with my parents through making the film. Even if I don’t actually have those conversations for real with my parents, I’ve now had them, somehow, and that’s quite powerful.”'

[just-here-for-the-art-shit]

While this is for screenplays, it is still good for writing dialogue in stories

Probably the most important aspect of the video - "filters". That is essentially what we all hide behind. Say you have a depressed character - unless they're brutally honest, they're probably not going to tell you that they're depressed. The filter is what they show to the public, and the reader. That is where Show not Tell comes into play - communicate that the character is depressed through ways that are enough for readers to pick up, actions, tone.

Spice up the dialogue with a bunch of - these. Or t-this? Maybe ... Some pauses ... Or incorrect spellin'. Sunovagun - he has an accent. We only use names to draw attention - or serious situations. Name - do you hear what I'm typing? The sounds we make - huff. Come oooooonnnnnnnn, draw those words out - am I being annoyinG now?

But this?

This is a game changer.

These breaks in paragraphs?

These separate lines?

This is a shocking moment.

Saturate that writing with italics and Bold - you are the king of italics now, don't let ANYONE tell you it's too much. Pour it on.

And if you're angry? Tell. It. To. Them.

This is confusing me, out of control, too many things to add and subtract, words, punctuation, my mind is reeling from writing this all and there isn't a single pauseinmysporadicfearimthinkingtoofasttoofasttoofaston repeat on repeat on repeat on repeat -

Stop. Breathe.

That was a lot I shared with you - don't think you have to memorize it all at once. In time, it will all come together. And even I, still, have so much further that I can go.

[gaykarstaagforever]

WEREWOLF BY NIGHT...is the longest post-credits scene in MCU history.

Don't try to talk me out of it. This was a post-credits thing, the screenplay ran on a little long, and they decided, what the hell? Do it as a stand alone.

And boy-howdy, does it feel like exactly that. I haven't been this bored with anything in a long time.

This exists to link a movie to another movie, except without the two movies, it is a bunch of people I don't care about telling each-other things I don't care about that signify absolutely jack-shit to no one, in the flatest, humorless monotone imaginable. It was like a room full of Alexa speakers taking turns reading a fan wiki out loud. Oh my god, the fucking tell-don't-show going on here. The 8 year olds don't need this, and this isn't even for them, because people keep getting shredded in this.

It is a VISUAL MEDIUM, Disney. You know. Like COMIC BOOKS? If we have to stop to have people explain things, you are doing it wrong. And that is nearly all this is.

You could have cut out that entire pre-maze sequence, and the crypt scene, and lost literally nothing, because I CAN SEE THE GLOWING PLOT ROCK, and Tight Pants White Girl's name is Elsa Bloodstone. I can put it together, Disney. We can all put it together.

Was I not supposed to like Elsa? Was I supposed to think she was a clichéd obnoxious MCU G-rated Razor Girl whose quips just made her come across as bitchy? Because if you were going for that, which is weird, you certainly nailed it.

We had to cut away from the, what, one actual minute of actual werewolf in the actual werewolf show, to show White Girl kung-fu fighting. Why? I don't know, because as I just established, this character is an irritating overused trope that no one can possibly identify with or care about.

Also, kinda odd flex to show her carefully grusomely murdering both an East Asian man and a Black man. That was...uncomfortably noticeable.

Another thing that was uncomfortably noticable was the black and white nonsense. Is this an AVGN spooky Halloween special? It isn't? Then knock it off with the stupid fake film stock artifacts. We get it. You are trying to invoke old Universal monster movies. But you do that maybe by emulating the creative cinematography or carefully staged noir atmosphere of those movies, and not by applying a cheap filter. For God's sake, if the opening ten minutes of 2004's Van Helsing is a more artful tribute to 1930s cinema than whatever you're doing...

I also noticed a desperate attempt to do Expressionist-style sets by layering gradients. As in, things stand out as white against black in an artificial dream-like way to add interesting depth and atmosphere. Like how they did it way back in Metropolis or M?

Those movies did it with stage lighting and paintings. They do it here with NEON LIGHTS ACTUALLY BEING IN THE GRAVES. White Girl literally climbs up and breaks one as part of the brief find-a-key puzzle that is this sequence of the boring Arkham Asylum DLC that is this show.

Guys. It isn't dream-like if they are actually lighting the graves. That is just weird and wasting electricity. Go watch Sin City to see how to do this properly. My goodness, what a shambles.

I liked a very few things. The werewolf was an actual actor in an actual werewolf costume, and that was cool for the length of a fart it was in the show. Man-Thing was fun and did the burning thing, though they didn't really do anything else specific with him, and he could have been any random Marvel monster with the same power. It was funny realizing that that wasn't a sting on the soundtrack, that that was actual tuba burping coming from an actual FLAMING TUBA that was there, for some reason. I liked the set decoration that was just the Bayeux Tapestry, but someone redrew it to have werewolves in it now. I mean that was also kind of stupid and took me out of the show, but it was a rare moment of...feeling something.

This wasn't awful, but it was for me the worst kind of bad - fucking boring and pointless. A total waste of time. The Munsters was throwing up orange Circus Peanut foam all over its own feet trying to be the Halloweeniest, and that means a big goofy mess, but Dear God was that an entertainment masterpiece compared to this. At least a Rob Zombie fuckup is an engaging work of art. Werewolf by Night is the blandest kind of bland, lifeless, empty, pointless product that is most Disney everything now. No one wants it, no one needs it, and it was obviously made by people who agree. It is just another wad making up the massive conglomeration of wet toilet paper that is most of the current MCU.

I didn't hate it, but right now I hate how much I can't even hate it. Blegh.

Go watch The Mummy or Frankenstein or the Lugosi Dracula or Noaferatu or The Wolfman or I Was a Teenage Werewolf. You'll still remember those after a month.

[madeofcc]

STORY PROCESS CHALLENGE  by @herpixels​

I was tagged by @xldkx​ & @poetic-falls​ ^^ Thanks a lot for the tag and your patience ‘cause I’ve been hesitating to do it or not but I’ll try to make it short !

The challenge: show a certain part of your story process based on you being tagged by other creators!!!

1. Your writing process - show us a part of your script or explain how you write your scenes. Do you write in screenplay format or novel format? Etc, etc.

I write in both screenplay and novel format, and also tons of random notes. I write a lot in my notebook before going to bed and then I write a script part on my computer so I can remember what actually happens. But I usually modify the script when I edit, adding more sentences and depth.

2. Scene building - show us you in the middle of scene building through pictures, gifs, or a video. Explain what is the best thing about scene building and what is the worst!

I’m too lazy and also bad at building that I focus on creating an illusion of an actual set. Most of the outside are fake but all the main families have their own houses and lot. I have 2 big lots with a lot of build I use for specific scenes like classroom, Julia’s room, the school hallway ...  When I really need a specific build I try to find it here or in the gallery (Halette’ shop and the café are made by @cross-design​) and sometimes I even make them myself (the cinema Hiro and Lee go on their first date) but again, it’s a bit empty ‘cause I knew I would take only few screenshots there.

3. CC/Pose Making - do you make your own cc/poses for your scene? If so, what is your process like to create? Do you just go off the top of your head? Do you use reference photos?

I made some recolors for the story and I like to use some I did just to kind of give a deeper personnality to a character or a place, otherwise, I don’t have the tools nor the capacity to create cc. I highly respect all the amazing creators that create their own content and poses just so their story could exactly look like what they have in mind. Unfortunatly, my computer can’t run photoshop nor blender so I have to be clever and use different angles depending on the poses I can found. Luckily, there’s plenty awesome free creations made by awesome creators here ^^

4. Getting in the zone - What do you do to get in the zone to work on a scene? Examples include: show us your playlist you use when working on a scene, what’s your go-to scene snack/drink, etc.

I’m basically sitting on my couch with my lap in front of me, my boyfriend watching TV right next to me. So usually I’m watching a movie/TV Show when I’m writing (except when it’s a real important thing I want to see) . I drink water or sometimes some chamomille (who said I’m old ?!) and I also smoke ...

5. Screenshot folder - give us a look into your screenshot folder to show us just how much goes into ONE scene for your story. (Scrapped pictures encouraged!!!)

6. Captions - are you a caption on the picture kind of storyteller or captions in text box type of storyteller? Why? Do you do both?

I’m mainly a picture story teller but also a text box type. All of this depends on the lenght of the chapter and also the screenshots I took. Sometimes I can’t get the result I want so I have to continue as a text. I wouldn’t mind putting a transcript but nobody asked for now and I think that would also scare people ‘cause the chapters might seem longer than they already are ^^”

7. Editing!!!!! - explain and show us your process editing a scene through a video, gif, or picture. A Before and after will suffice if you aren’t in the middle of editing a scene as you answer this.

Sometimes I just have to add the text part and I’m done, sometimes I have to use a special overlay or I change the colors of the scene with a filter.

8. Throwback - show us an ANCIENT story scene you done in the past and explain how you would do the scene differently today!

This one is from my first sims story, Rise. I didn’t use Reshade back then and oh ! Look at all these colours just to create some kind of epic magical fight (I guess ?) ! I would totally write this entire story in a different way, with a better depth and more characters probably. I would also use reshade and more detailed element (like flames or whatever). and also better subtitles ^^ You can read this story if you want, Mizuki (the main character) is going to be a part of Destiny Harbour but not until the final season.

I don’t tag anyone specific here because it’s super long but if you’re a writer and want to do it feel free to tag me so I can check ! I always like to know more about the stories I read :)

[fearsmagazine]

V/H/S/94 - Review

DISTRIBUTOR: SHUDDER

SYNOPSIS:  V/H/S/94 is the fourth installment in the horror found footage anthology with segments from Simon Barrett - THE EMPTY WAKE, Timo Tjahjanto - THE SUBJECT, Jennifer Reeder - HOLY HELL, Ryan Prows - TERROR and Chloe Okuno - STORM DRAIN. In V/H/S/94, after the discovery of a mysterious VHS tape, a brutish police swat team launches a high intensity raid on a remote warehouse, only to discover a sinister cult compound whose collection of pre-recorded material uncovers a nightmarish conspiracy.

REVIEW: There are few outlets for emerging talent in the short film horror genre. Many short films are limited to genre festivals or a few platforms that also offer shorts among the numerous features they program. Even then, they get little to no publicity.

The V/H/S anthology series, which debuted in 2012, has exposed audiences to many talented filmmakers working in the independent short film medium. This fourth installment, V/H/S/94 features four new tales and a wrap-around story from five visionary filmmakers, offering five unique genre tales that cover a variety of themes, styles and scares.

I have many good things to say about the film, but first let me get this off my chest. The VHS filter applied to these films is at times a distraction but also figures into some of the narratives and adds to the edginess to the stories. In the age of 4K, I wonder how these shorts would look, or work, if the effects were not added.

Overall, I enjoyed all the narratives. The warp-around story, HOLY HELL, feels a bit superficial and I felt the resolution was a bit of a cheat and an easy out. Still, it was a decent premise as far as a wrap-around for an anthology film. It was well made, but not the best of the collection.

Timo Tjahjanto’s THE SUBJECT has this feel like the computer game “Doom,” and is as bloody and graphic. I appreciated the theme of the government and religious themes in the tale. There are some excellent special and visual effects, and the film has a lot of atmosphere. It’s gritty, raw, and gory. The actors do an excellent job of selling the story. If you’re a gamer you’ll bot enjoy and be impressed by what Timo achieves in this short

Simon Barrett’s THE EMPTY WAKE has this tone reminiscent of Arch Oboler’s classic radio drama “Lights Out.” It features some excellent special effects that are enhanced by the VHS filter. It’s a simple yet effective tale. The lead actress does an excellent job of drawing the reader in and selling the scares. There is an aspect to it that feels like a “punked” reality show.

I like Chloe Okuno’s take on urban legends in the STORM DRAIN. The story has a nice internal logic that culminates in a special effect climax reminiscent of “The Howling,” and in fact the entire short has that feel. The film also touches on some timely issues such as homeless and women in the media. The lead actress is a natural as the news reporter covering local stories. The short features some interesting creature designs and locations.

Ryan Prows’s THE TERROR is an interesting thought piece. This militia has figured out how to weaponize the weakness of a supernatural entity and they plan to use it to conduct an attack on a government facility. While the story is set in the 90’s it clearly shadows events that have recently taken place. The story brings in many themes that ultimately, along with their hubris, lead to their plans going awry. The production values are solid and the cast is extremely believable. There are some scary moments that have nothing to do with the supernatural elements that make this a unique and memorable piece.

There are numerous aspects to V/H/S/94 that make this an impressive anthology collection. For me, what stands out the most is that the four central tales are solid stories that don't overtly try to be a homage to a classic genre film or filmmaker. There is a fresh quality to these films that make it well worth the view. There is the goofy commercial segment that feels a bit out of sync with the rest of the films and the wraparound segment could have been a bit better, but none of that should deter you from viewing this fourth installment. Also, I wish the credits in the film and in the press notes could have been a bit more complete as I would have liked to have shared that with you. V/H/S/94 delivers all the glorious horror and gore a die-hard horror fan could want. Absolutely a good reason to subscribe to SHUDDER this month. I’m eager to see what comes next from all of these filmmakers.

CAST: Anna Hopkins, Steven McCarthy, Dru Viergever, Tim Campbell, Kimmy Choi, Thiago Dos Santos and Kevin P. Gabel CREW: HOLY HELL – Director/Screenplay, Jennifer Reeder; / TERROR - Director/Screenplay, Ryan Prows; Cinematographer - Benjamin Kitchens Editor - Brett W. Bachman / STORM DRAIN - Director, Chloe Okuno; / THE EMPTY WAKE - Director/Screenplay, Simon Barrett; Screenplay - David Bruckner / THE SUBJECT - Director/Screenplay, Timo Tjahjanto; / Producers - Brad Miska, Josh Goldbloom & Kurt Harder; Cinematographers - Andrew Appelle, Jared Raab & Benjamin Kitchens; Visual Effects - Justin Martinez; Special Effects - Patrick Magee & Chris Bridges; Score - Greg Anderson. OFFICIAL: N.A. FACEBOOK: www.facebook.com/VHSfilm TWITTER: N.A. TRAILER: https://youtu.be/9kPArD6r-qM RELEASE DATE: Exclusively On SHUDDER On October 6th, 2021

**Until we can all head back into the theaters our “COVID Reel Value” will be similar to how you rate a film on digital platforms - 👍 (Like), 👌 (It’s just okay),  or 👎 (Dislike)

Reviewed by Joseph B Mauceri

[calpalirwin]

Artsy Folk

Summary: Funny how working at a high school makes you feel seventeen again.

A/N: Teacher!Ash!

Content: Fluff. Almost cuss word free.

Word Count: 2.8k

And away, and away we go!

~~~

You frowned as you looked at your box of decorations and around your bare classroom walls. Just how the hell you were going to decorate in time for the first day was beyond you. What you needed was help, preferably from someone who was tall. But, that wasn’t in the cards for you. You were on your own.

You cracked your knuckles and set out to work. In two hours, your fingers were sore. In four, your back ached.

You wiped the sweat from your forehead as you caught your breath, looking around the room. It was certainly better than it had been, but still not exactly how you wanted it. You thought the heavy pounding was coming from your chest, but as you rested your hand on your chest, you realized the noise wasn’t coming from you.

You got up and walked over to your opened classroom door, peeking out across the quad. Another classroom door was swung open and the pounding had gotten louder. Curiosity took control and you found yourself strolling towards the music pouring out of the other classroom.

Your knuckles rapped politely on the door as you poked your head in. “Hello?” you announced.

The man at the drumkit didn’t hear you as he drummed with his whole body, lost in the music. The midnight hair covered his face as the drumsticks twirled effortlessly in his large fingers. You could see the swell of his arm muscles and the thickness of his thighs as he beat mercilessly on the kit- a fast-paced, steady rhythm.

“Hello?” you said a bit louder, moving deeper into the room.

There was a thunderous finish, before his fingers gripped the cymbals to silence them, the notes still reverberating around in your ears. Those same fingers pushed his hair out of his face and then a startled pair of the prettiest eyes you’ve ever seen were taking you in. “Oh, hello,” his voice called out and you detected the trace of an accent.

You blinked and he was in front of you, taller than you by a foot, and reaching out a hand. “I’m Ashton.”

“Y/N,” you breathed back, wondering when you had blacked out as you shook his hand.

“I wasn’t bothering you, was I? I keep asking admin to soundproof this room, but they never get around to it. I swear one of these days, I’m just gonna do it myself.”

You shook your head to clear it, his words filtering foggily into your head. “What? No, you weren’t bothering me. I… uh… it was good! I thought I was alone.”

He giggled and you saw stars. “Nah, I’m always here.”

“Hard time separating work and home?”

He giggled again as he shrugged. “Not much to go home to. Plus, I spend so much time teaching music, I don’t get around to playing it a whole lot. So, I try to fit it in when I can.”

You nodded, “I get what you mean. Too busy teaching our passion to partake in it ourselves.”

“Exactly,” he smiled and you melted at that dimple in his cheek. You, you decided, were in big fucking trouble. “So, what do you teach?”

“Oh, I’m the new drama teacher.”

“Oh, sweet! We’ll have a lot of the same students then.”

“Probably work together a lot too, huh?”

He nodded, smiling wider. “Oh, for sure. What kind of productions do you have planned? Or have you got that far yet?”

You laughed, shaking your head. “Today is just a decorating day. Hunting down age-appropriate productions is tomorrow’s job.”

“Did you need any help decorating?” the words rushed from his mouth. “I mean, I…” he started to falter, his cheeks flushing as he passed a hand through his raven locks. “I’m tall so I can… I mean… if you don’t wanna stand on a desk.”

“That would be great actually! If you don’t mind?”

“Nah, not at all. Us artsy folk gotta stick together.”

~~~

You felt a flutter in your stomach every time he flashed you a smile across the quad as you both held the door to your respective classrooms open for your students.. You couldn’t stop your own smile how you heard his voice boom out after every bell with a welcoming, “Alright class!” Was working on a high school campus destined to make you feel like a lovestruck teenager yourself?

The flutter in your stomach got more pronounced on your lunch breaks when he’d spin a chair around to lean his chest against the back, his dimple indenting his cheek as he popped an orange slice in his mouth.

“How was your break?” he asked after the holidays had finished.

“It was good,” you smiled at him, wishing for the millionth time to be that orange slice that brushed up against his perfect lips. “How was yours? Get to put your passion to good use?”

“Did you?” he challenged, tapping the screenplay you had next to your own lunch. “Seriously, how many of these do you read?”

“A lot,” you laughed. “Mostly to get scene ideas for the kids to practice. But this is for the spring musical.”

“Sound of Music, huh?” he asked, glancing at the title. “I always loved that one.”

“Me too. I’ve always wanted to do it.”

“Have you talked with Luke and Mike?” he asked, referencing the tall choir teacher and the wild art teacher.

“No, I need to,” you said, pulling out a pen and scratching the note down on the back of the script. “Thanks for the reminder.”

“No problem,” he grinned, swallowing another orange slice. “Lemme know if I can help with any musical arrangements.”

“Would you?” you asked, eyes hopeful and wide. His name had been first on your list of people to ask for help when you got the rights to put on the production.

“Us artsy folk gotta stick together.”

~~~

You sighed, rubbing your eyes as the teenagers on the stage looked at you with sheepish smiles on their faces. You glanced down at your phone to note the time. You had an hour left of rehearsal time. Sixty minutes to nail your favorite scene. The students were hard-working, there was no denying that. But nothing about this scene felt right to you. It felt forced. And you hated that. Maybe it was the long hours getting to you. Maybe there was a pressure you were putting on yourself to put on the perfect production of your favorite musical. Either way, something wasn’t clicking today and it was driving you up a wall. “What’s going on, guys? Is it the lyrics? Do we need another day with Mr. Hemmings? Is it the blocking? Do I need to break it down again? Help me, help you, guys. C’mon.”

“It’s just not clicking, Miss,” Charlie, a lanky sophomore, said, rubbing at his neck.

“He keeps throwing me around like a ragdoll!” McKenzie, a petite junior, turned on her partner, hands on her hips.

“I’m supposed to spin you! That’s the scene!” he fought back, towering over her.

“Not so fast! And do you have to grab me so hard?! Miss, he’s bruising my hips!”

“I’m not doing it on purpose!”

“Alright!” you shouted above their bickering, waving your hands. “Fighting’s not gonna get this done. Kenz, Charlie’s right. Spinning you is the scene. But Charlie, slow it down like half a step. Go with the beat of the music.”

“Miss, it’s a little much. The music, the lyrics, the blocking,” Charlie admitted with another sheepish look.

You sighed again, glancing at your phone again. It was Charlie’s first production and he had landed himself quite the role. You had specifically cast him alongside McKenzie so the older girl could lend her experience on the stage to the boy. It had been working, or so you thought. “Why don’t we take it one piece at a time? Just do the blocking. Then add the lyrics. Then the music. 3 more takes.”

Charlie and McKenzie nodded in agreement.

“Alright, Mr. Irwin, keep off the music cue, please,” you said, turning to where Ashton was a little ways off with the band.

Ashton nodded with a small smile that had your insides doing somersaults.

“Alright, take it away.”

The action on stage was gawky as the two students moved in silence, the only sound being the scuffling of their shoes. All three of you shared a collective frown as they moved back to run it again. The second take flowed better as the lyrics they sang provided structure to their movements. “Alright, better,” you approved, smiling as they moved back for the last take. “Now, let’s add the music. Mr. Irwin?”

Ashton led his students through the music as you trained your eyes on Charlie and McKenzie’s movements. Charlie’s foot stumbled as he picked up McKenzie, falling into his usual half-step behind the music. He spun fast and hard to catch back up to pace, but forgot to spot his turn, so the toes of his sneakers lost their grip and with McKenzie in his arms, he couldn’t regain his balance. Both teenagers tumbled to the stage floor, Charlie graciously taking the brunt of it, “oof,”s falling from everyone’s lips as you winced.

“We good?” you checked, your face a mask of worry.

Charlie stood up, dusting off his jeans, before reaching a hand to help McKenzie to her feet, both breathless with laughter. “Yeah, we’re good, Miss. Sorry, Kenz.”

“You forgot to spot,” McKenzie scolded, patting the boy’s chest. “Miss, he always forgets to spot his turns.”

“She’s right, Charlie,” you told them, with a soft chuckle.

“Miss, it’s too much. Every time I think I got it, my brain messes it up.”

“You’re doing fine, Charlie. This is a process. That’s why we have rehearsals. Do we need to take a small break?”

Charlie and McKenzie shared a look that bordered on dangerous before Charlie spoke up. “You know, Miss… I’m a visual learner… maybe if you showed me how this scene goes…?” his eyes fluttered over to Ashton suggestively as you felt heat rise to your cheeks.

You narrowed your eyes at McKenzie in particular. You had gotten to know the girl pretty well over your stint as her teacher, and she gave you relentless teasing when she had caught you subconsciously biting your lip when you and Ashton shared your smile and wave between classes. You also knew that a lot of the students thought you and Ashton shared something that went beyond those small smiles, a rumor that was growing with how close you were becoming to the music teacher now that you were working on the musical together. Teenagers, you had come to realize, were incredibly observant when it came to matters of the heart.

You pulled yourself onto the stage and moved to stand between the teenagers, ignoring the eyes on you, Ashton’s in particular. “It’s like this,” you explained. “Pick, twirl, land,” you demonstrated, going through the motions. “It’s not even a full spin, Charlie. It’s a 180 degree turn, not a full 360.”

Charlie shared another look with McKenzie before he flashed you a grin. “Yeah, Miss, I still don’t fully get it. Can… hey, Mr. Irwin! Can you come help?”

A smirk threatened to overtake Ashton’s face, his hazel eyes wide as they looked at you. “Uh…” he faltered, a hand running through his ink-like hair.

“Clearly there’s only so much teaching I can do before I require reinforcements,” you told him with a shy smile and small giggle, sweeping your arm before you in silent question.

A matching giggle came out of Ashton’s own lips as he effortlessly swung himself up on stage with you. “You know the scene?” you checked.

“Course I do,” he confirmed.

“Alright, from the top then,” you said, directing your attention away from his close proximity to look at your students. “Charlie, watch Mr. Irwin’s movements. McKenzie, watch mine. As much as the pressure is on Charlie in this scene, you’re playing an important role, too. Keep him grounded,” you explained as you and Ashton took your marks.

Ashton gestured for his students to start playing the music and your eyes went wide for a moment as he started singing. You were surprised you were so surprised by his singing voice. His regular talking voice was as smooth as honey, of course his singing voice would be even more magnificent.

Your bodies moved in sync through the scene, his hand there to guide you up to step onto the bench, before his strong hands were on your waist and you were lifted into the air. You bit on your lip to keep in the schoolgirl like giggle bubbling up inside as he pivoted in a graceful half spin and placed you gently on your feet, the music and your voices fading out across the theater.

Your heart was racing and your ears were ringing as his hands stayed glued to your hips, eyes locked on each other.

“Oh!” Charlie’s voice sounded, and you and Ashton jumped apart, his fingertips lighting you up as they slid across skin, keeping contact until the last possible second. “I think I get it now!”

“Yeah?” you asked, a smile on your lips and your eyes shining as you kept your gaze on Ashton.

“Yeah!” Charlie said, excitedly.

“Alright, take your marks. Run it from the top,” you said, biting your lip as Ashton’s tongue poked out to wet his own.

When Charlie and McKenzie ran through the scene, they didn’t mess up once. You raised your eyebrows in suspicion at them and they just grinned at you. You shook your head, your shoulders shaking in a silent chuckle before your eyes darted over to see if Ashton was looking. When he wasn’t, you mouthed a thank you to the conspirators. “Alright, great work, guys. Let’s call it early,” you said loudly, gathering everyone’s attention. “Back here at 3:30 sharp tomorrow.”

~~~

You stood in front of the auditorium, watching the last of the students get picked up by parents or jet off into the evening with their friends. You crossed your arms over the chest to ward of the chill, desperately wishing for the parking lot to empty so you could seek the warm shelter of your own car.

“Hey,” a voice piped up and you jumped. “Sorry, didn’t mean to scare ya,” Ashton chuckled.

Your hand fluttered to your racing heart. “I figured you would have left already.”

“Nah,” he said, leaning up against the wall of the building, a leg kicked up so his foot rested against the wall along with his shoulders. “Just got finished locking up the band room.”

“Mmm,” you nodded, looking out across the parking lot, not wanting to look at the man who had set a fire in your soul not even twenty minutes ago. How someone could ooze sexiness without even trying made you shiver at what he was capable of when he used his charm full force.

“I didn’t make you uncomfortable in there, did I?” he questioned, his eyebrows furrowing together.

“What? No! No,” you laughed, “not at all.”

He let out a small chuckle of relief, “Good. Cuz I was gonna say, I think they’ve been plotting that one for a while.”

“Me too. Wonder where they got such a crazy idea from,” you wondered out loud.

He pushed off the wall and stuffed his hands in the pockets of his jeans. “Dunno. Kids get these crazy notions sometimes.”

“Crazy,” you said, biting into your lip as you turned to look at him.

“Totally,” he agreed, swallowing thickly. “It’s like I can’t smile at a pretty girl without the whole school thinking I got a crush.”

“And do you?” you asked, your cheeks warming at his dropped compliment.

“Do I what?”

“Have a crush on the pretty girl?”

His shoulders shrugged and his eyes danced away. “Maybe…” his voice murmured the answer.

“Maybe the pretty girl has a crush on you too,” you admitted shyly.

“Yeah?” You noticed the hopeful lilt in his voice and the heat in your cheeks grew in intensity.

“Night, Ashton,” you smiled, walking off slowly in the direction of your car.

He didn’t answer as you continued to walk away and you let out a small sigh of discontent. Maybe it was best to have kept your attraction a secret from the music teacher across the hall. Better to have the small moments of affection and tenderness rather than lose it if things went by the wayside. So when his fingers danced onto your waist, you nearly jumped out of your skin before instinctively relaxing into his touch, wondering how someone so big could move so silently. Those same fingers you had spent many a sleepless night imagining exploring the expanse of your body tugged at your flesh, spinning you around to face him. “You have no idea how long I’ve been wanting to do this,” he breathed down at you before his perfect lips were on yours.

“You have no idea how long I’ve been wanting you to do that,” you replied, melting into him, his kiss, his touch, craving more and more.

“Us artsy folk gotta stick together.” His eyes were shining and his voice was breathless and you were thinking things that left you wet between your legs.

“That we do,” you said before reaching up on your tiptoes to kiss him again.

~~~

Tag List

@goeatsomelife​ @flameraine​ @cashtonasff5sos​ @here-for-the-uproars​ @cxddlyash​ @1-irwin-94​ @baldcalum​ @sparkling-chaos​ @tea4sykes​ @youngblood199456​ @5-seconds-of-obsession​

[percentmagazine]

Matrix Pill 2020

The Matrix has you…

The cultural overview over "The Matrix Trilogy" and how it foresaw the social trends.

"The Matrix" trilogy by the Wachowski brothers is the most iconic and groundbreaking movie trilogies in cinema history. Terms like "The red pill", "Dessert of the real", "There is no spoon", "Follow the white rabbit", "Why, Mr. Anderson? Why?" and many other phrases from the film became the golden quotes of the new millennium, shaping the entire culture of the "generation Y"… also known as "the millennials". "The bullet time" effect with fancy acrobatic moves and bullet waves turned into the most quoted gimmick for decades in action films, parodies and video games. The slow motion has never been so cool and slick, as it was after "The Matrix", not to mention sunglasses at night and dark looks with fashionable black leather tailored coats.

Its been 21 years since the theatrical release of the first "The Matrix" film. It came out in November of 1999 (the most revolutionary year in cinema history, since it is the release year of such groundbreaking hit titles like "Star Wars: Episode I. The Phantom Menace" by George Lucas, "Fight Club" by David Fincher, and "The Matrix", of course, by the Wachowski brothers). Four years after the great success of the film, "The Matrix" was reloaded with two worthy sequels: "The Matrix Reloaded" and "The Matrix Revolutions" — turning a movie franchise into a full-time trilogy. There was also "The Animatrix" — an anthology of animated short films set in "The Matrix Universe" directed by highly acclaimed Japanese animators, and a video-game "Enter the Matrix" which told a story that went parallel to the story of sequels, explaining some of the unanswered questions in the films. Thus "The Matrix" franchise has become one of the first inter-media franchises where all available storytelling formats told one epic story from different angles and points of view. And unlike other attempts of creating such inter-media franchise around movies (like it was with "Star Wars Expended Universe" or "The Terminator" franchise) it wasn't just pure merchandising and cash-grabbing schemes with questionable product quality having a famous brand logo on it… no, '"The Matrix" franchise was one well thought out project and story from the very beginning, created and curated by the Wachowski brothers. Nothing more or less.

In the year of 2020 "The Matrix" is being reloaded once again with its new instalment being in production. Internet is filled with shaky mobile phone behind the scenes footage of "The Matrix 4". We see Neo, played by actor Keanu Reeves and his stunt double, jumping of high buildings and riding fancy motorcycle with Trinity, played by Carrie Ann-Moss, while the streets of San-Francisco are being turned into a chaotic war zone with explosions, car chases, extras running all over the streets and helicopters flying.

Usually such big blockbuster film productions are being held in secret in order to prevent unnecessary leaks and story spoilers… most of the extras and crew members don't even know what movie they are filming up until the very end. During such big productions fake movie titles are made. But this time, as it seams, filmmakers don't really care about production secrecy, as actor Keanu Reeves and film director Lana Wachowski keep on hanging out with random people on a street during the filmmaking process. What is it? A new viral social media format of film advertising? Or the new way of entire filmmaking approach? Or maybe both?

Either way — Lana Wachowski is the visionary artist that is going to bring something fresh and unexpected into the cinema format and into the new "Generation Z" culture. The Wachowski brothers have foreseen the future with "The Matrix" film almost in every way possible… and I'm pretty sure they are going to do so again. They spoke of cyber-crimes, data privacy and internet control long before Edward Snowden incident, WikiLeaks, Anonymous group, social medias and etc. They showed aircraft controlled by so called "terrorists" hitting skyscrapers years before 9/11. "The Matrix" also tried to warn us about the dangers of virtual realities, and here we are 20 years later using VR systems and spending our lives in endless MMO RPG games (by the way, "The Matrix" franchise even had its own MMO RPG video game "The Matrix Online"). The virtual values have become much more valuable that the material ones. Bitcoins and Facebook likes are considered to be much more precious then real money and even gold by many. Instagram pages are viewed as the only true portraits of their users, however bright filters, happy faces, flattering camera lenses and photoshop have nothing to do with reality. It is merely a "Residual self-image", as it was named in the film, "A mental projection of your digital self". The person sees himself whom he wants him to be, not whom he really is.

And I think that this topic is the most overlooked topic by critics and contemporary culture scholars.

Just think about it — the Wachowski brothers are the physical manifestation of their own concept of "Residual self-image", as both of them saw themselves as someone different. Both brothers were men, but they considered themselves to be women. Their physical reality didn't match with their mental projection of virtual self. Thus they had to do surgeries and go through sex change procedures. The Wachowski brothers are officially sisters. Nowadays in 2020 it is a common practice that can't surprise anyone, however in 1990s during the production of the first "The Matrix" film it was a big deal… so big that Wachowski brothers had to rewrite the screenplay. In the earlier drafts of the script there was a fully flashed out transgender character. She is still present in the final film, but her role and concept has been reduced. Character Switch — portrayed by Belinda McClory — was a transgender, and her name "Switch" meant too illustrate her constant transitions from one form into another, as she was a female in the real world, but in the Matrix her personal "Residual self-image" switched her into a masculine male. For Wachowski brothers it was a very important topic to explore, since both of them dedicated their lives to transgender worldview, but in 1990's the film studio and producers thought that such concepts would be too confusing for average film viewers and difficult to follow, thus it was all cut out during pre-production. Even their first film "Bound" that featured lesbian love story was met with numerous misunderstandings during pre-production, during its filming and, of course, during its release, since such themes were considered too risky… almost taboo, as they could easily put off many unprepared audiences.

But now… look how the world and culture has changed?! In 21 years everything is upside down. It is almost impossible to find a big blockbuster film or franchise or T.V. series or even a video-game that has no lesbian, gay, transgender, bisexual, pansexual or any other "something"-sexual character. It is true for both "rated R" and "rated M" media and for media oriented for children. Disney's life adaptation of animated classic "Beauty and the Beast" is the prime example… not to mention more.

I must say that unorthodox sexual orientation of characters were always present in cinema, they were never the subject of prohibition and never will be, however before "Wachowski era" their orientation always played some sort of narrative purpose. No character was supposed to be gay or transexual just for that sake of being such. But nowadays we see LGBT characters all over visual media… and the fact of their orientation rarely enhance the story or add anything to it. For the most part it is just being there for no reason other then being there. No wonder we have so many poorly written stories today. "Chekhov's gun" is the key to good storytelling, isn't it? If you put something into a story, it must heave a purpose, because without purpose it's just a filler, a white noise… this means it shouldn't be there at all. And here I'd like to quote Agent Smith from "The Matrix" films:

"But, as you well know, appearances can be deceiving…" — even here Wachowski brothers point out the previous "Residual self-image" topic. "…which brings me back to the reason why we're here. We're not here because we're free. We're here because we're not free. There is no escaping reason; no denying purpose. Because as we both know, without purpose, we would not exist."

Curious… Wachowski brothers were pioneers in LGBT mass-media, yet even they were smart enough to exclude these themes from "The Matrix trilogy", even having a total creative freedom over the sequels, as they knew that it would serve no purpose in their story. Yet they used much more sophisticated tricks to pinpoint their agenda and worldview. Get ready for some hard drugs! Wachowski brothers urged the protagonist and film viewers to take "The red pill" and "Free our minds". They also urged us to fight against all rules and stereotypes, and young generation loved it. In the film it simply meant "rage against the machines", but in our world where this film was "The red pill" for young people, this fight against the established order had much deeper purpose.

Upon the quick view on the lives of the Wachowski brothers over these two decades we can tell that their "red pill" they were giving us, was simply a androgyne hormone for transgenders and their main "Matrix" they were fighting against, was the sexual orientation stereotypes. They succeeded in their revolution, as LGBT themes are no longer taboo in mass-media. But there were also other important cultural topics Wachowski brothers presented with their trilogy: multiculturalism, racial diversity, feminism and even "toxic masculinity" and war against white men and patriarchy… long before these themes became mainstream in pop-culture.

"The Matrix" franchise had always a diverse cast, didn't it? It also has strong and independent female characters right from the start. And it wasn't just a copycat trend to appeal some social minorities, as it happens today. It was the personal philosophy of the authors. However, despite all their diversity and equality, one social group was shown deliberately one-sided. Just think about it. All evil characters in all three films were male and white. Agents are white middle aged men, Cypher — white middle aged man, Merovingian — white middle aged man, Architect — white man, Bane — white middle aged man, etc. Some can argue on this topic, since white men where also on the side of good guys. True, "but, as you well know, appearances can be deceiving…" says Smith. All white men on the good side of the story are… well, questionable. Whom can we name? Councillor Hamann — played by Anthony Zerbe — is a white man… a father figure in Zion, however he is shown to be an irrational and rhetorical weak old man. Comparing him to other leaders of Zion we can easily see his incompetence. Even Neo makes fun of him, pointing out on a fact that Hamann's solid age doesn't make him wiser (and it is the only time in the whole trilogy when the main protagonist ever trolls anyone). Then there is the Kid — played by Clayton Watson — another white man good guy, but he is just an immature naive boy… in "The Animatrix" he in the moment of danger finds no better way out then a suicide… a very questionable role model, don't you think? Who's next? Mouse — portrayed by Matt Doran — once again a young teenager full of sexual hormones and nothing more. There is also Captain Roland — played by David Roberts — and his ship crew, but a single black woman Niobe — played by Jada Pinkett Smith — turns out to be wiser and much more competent then any of them. Meanwhile all non-white and non-male characters are shown in the positive light. Wait… but what about Neo — the one himself — played by Keanu Reeves — he is a white man — the hero of the trilogy. True. However originally "The Matrix" creators wanted to cast Will Smith for the role of Neo, but Will Smith declined the role and chose to act in "Wild Wild West".

In other words Wachowski brothers brought up anti-white men SJW themes in their films long before such topics became mainstream and part of pop-culture. Thus they weren't even noticed by the time of film release. But it is worth mentioning that Wachowski brothers were depicting anti-white men subplots not because they were following some kind of fashion or social agenda like mass-media does today, but because brothers WERE white and men, and they wanted to do something about it. And they did. For real.

However next generation of filmmakers and artists took the Wachowski brothers' personal issues and turned it into a viral trend, changing the culture forever. It can be even said that the modern SJW and LGBT hysteria is the Matrix, created by Wachowski brothers. I wonder, will their new "The Matrix" film change the world once again?.. and how?

Text: Jurii Kirnev

Omnifinery Editorial: Article 003

[roominthecastle]

duality in the Red/Liz dynamic filtered through James’ own words

∎ “If I’m choosing a project on content, it’s through a prism of sexuality, in the oddest corners of someone’s life. I’m not someone so much interested in exploring a slice of life unless that is down the corridor, around the corner, up the alley and down the rabbit hole. That I like.” [x]

∎ “I really think it’s safe to say that you don’t really know what the nature of the relationships are going to be, and also what the future holds for each and every one of the individual cast members. […] For me the [Blacklist] is what I had hoped for when I first read the pilot. It has a broad landscape in every aspect - in terms of tone, storyline, the development of characters, and the development of the relationship between different characters.”

⇢ excerpts from the pilot script (establishing sexual attraction from Red’s side, i.e. “a prism of sexuality”):

On top of instant physical attraction that is clearly indicated in the script, romantic attraction also seems to be in play but this develops slower, is guarded, and lives on a predominantly subtextual level.

∎ “To figure out a character, I try to look for something that’s not in the screenplay - a little secret they carry around with them. Sometimes it’s allowed to show itself, sometimes it isn’t, yet it’s always there.”

∎ “[ Red ] clearly has strong feelings for [ Liz ].” [x]

∎  “The challenge in playing [Red] is really the diligence in trying to strike a balance between what to tell and what not to tell - or to tell something in a way that you are not aware that it’s being told. To let the viewer in on something in a way that you are not telling them something. You’re letting them feel it and see it. Something that is new. Or something that is surprising. Or something that adds just another layer of complexity.”

But sometimes the secret “is allowed to show itself”.

for example, compare James’ personal experience of romantic love

∎ “When you’re in love, you can’t control it. It’s when you can’t take charge of what you feel, when you are completely powerless in the face of the emotion. When it happens, it happens in spite of you.” [x]

with

⇢ Red to Liz in 208, The Decembrist: “When you love someone, you have no control. That's what love is. Being powerless.”

 ⇢ J. Eisendrath in Behind the Blacklist S2: “Red is an incredibly powerful person but the only person who renders him powerless is Liz.”

⇢ Red about Liz in 319, Cape May: “There was a woman I loved. She was my life. My heart.”

There are moments where Red’s attraction - both physical and romantic - clearly surfaces in the text - in dialogue and behavior. This attraction was 100% absent in the past and it sparked in spite of the role Red assigned himself earlier (a protector, nothing more), which is why it must feel like “a kick in the head” when he meets her after decades as an adult.

It is something new, surprising, and complicates things for both of them - especially for Red because it conflicts with the original concept (of the past) he held of her in his mind: the helpless child he saved and felt obligated to protect from afar vs the new concept (the now) which is of the attractive adult woman who is perfectly capable of taking care of herself and demands to be treated as such. He has been struggling with this conflict, trying to come to terms with it, with his feelings, and the colliding concepts that pit his “duty” as a platonic protector with the present attraction he feels as a man (a conflict he projects on Tom’s behavior, as well).

⇢ Red to Kate in 421, Mr. Kaplan: “She's not Masha anymore. With little to none of my presence or influence through the years, she has grown up to be Special Agent Elizabeth Keen.”

⇢ Red to Liz in 611, Bastien Moreau: “All those years spent worrying about you, fancying myself your guardian angel. [My mother] would've taken one look at you and known you'd be fine.”

He is both distancing himself from her past image here and emphasizing the lack of actual contact during her childhood, which makes sense if he is indeed experiencing new, different feelings for her now. He re-affirms that his contribution was in the form of money, which also parallels Liz’s guilt-fueled way of trying to anonymously “compensate” the daughter of a man who got murdered as a result of a situation she was partially responsible for creating. Neither Red’s not Liz’s contribution can be characterized as actual parenting, but they were both trying to be “pseudo providers” in place of parents who - due to crossing paths with them - were no longer around to do so.

In Cape May, Red’s past and present traumas wash together in an opium-induced mind trip. Liz first gets referred to as “a child” he wanted to provide for to balance some cosmic scale but later she becomes “a woman” he loved.

There has been only one 4th wall breakage in the entire show but it is unmistakable and speaks clearly to this “conflict of concepts”:

⇢ Mr. Solomon in 305, Arioch Cain: “What is the deal with you two anyways? It's what everybody wants to know. Some say it's a daddy/daughter thing. Others swear it's May-September. I prefer to believe... it's a little of both.”

This dual approach is also echoed in Eisendrath’s off-screen “twisted paternal” label or his more recent remark about Red’s “Liz fetish”, and Bokenkamp’s interesting take on how there's conflict in Red’s reaction to Liz’s faked death: the parent figure part should forgive, the romantic partner side struggles [x].

James appears to be in agreement:

∎ “It’s a very, very complicated relationship between the two of them. As much as she doesn’t know the true nature of their relationship, I think it’s quite equitable for Reddington, as well, because I think he is trying to grasp a hold of what the true nature of their relationship is now. Forget the past, regardless of what that the past represents. What is the nature of their relationship now and what are even the possibilities of a relationship with her.” [x]

∎ “The most compelling relationship is, in fact, what it’s turning into. What the nature of that relationship is now and what it will be building over the next few years. We’ve already seen them very fractured at times and yet there’s some sort of compulsion that they have for one another. And not just Reddington’s feelings for her but also her feelings for him. And to me that’s one of the most fascinating things besides the fun to be had on the show. In terms of the emotional center of the show.” SDCC ‘14

Based on these bits and pieces (coupled with on-screen interaction), I think it’s safe to conclude that Red and Liz’s present dynamic is in flux and carries conflicting elements. Both James off-screen and Red on-screen emphasize the ultimate importance of their present over their past, though: “Forget what the past represents.” & “She is not Masha anymore.” While this instantly rules out any biological connection, their past still exerts its influence (manifesting in guilt and fueling uncertainty) and it will continue to do so until it is sorted. So it is not surprising (imo) that Liz wants to keep Red both near but also at an arm’s length, repeatedly needing a buffer zone whenever things flare up btw them, be it physical distance (e.g. putting him in jail) or another man (getting involved w/ someone else). He is a question mark still, confused himself, and she faces that wall of puzzling, magnetic intensity that has the very real capacity to consume her (she has been warned of this before by other women, too).

They love each other, that much has been firmly established, but the precise nature of that intense (compulsive) feeling is still under negotiation, so to speak. They may never have an overt romantic-sexual relationship but the seeds are there, they have been since the pilot, and they still have at least one and a half seasons to map the possibilities and figure out the best way to be together.

[bay-did-nothing-wrong]

“The Enchanted Stallion” 2016 The Magic Behind the Scenes

Okay, so I just watched “The Enchanted Stallion” on Netflix and I have to say.....

I FEEL ROBBED!!!

At the beginning everything’s fine. A teenage girl with a lonely disabled father living off of what the girl could make. She works hard even on Christmas Eve, classic tragic storyline. Then this horse comes out of nowhere and she is suddenly thrown into a magical place. To the ordinary spectator the landscape does look magical indeed, simply because it doesn’t exist. Think again...

As the girl goes on following the horse we,the viewers, are exposed to amazing mystic sights, the first of which is an ancient-lookng steep medieval bridge.

Pretty, right?

But wait! Doesn’t it look familiar?

Yea, it does. This is called Devil’s Bridge (Bul.: Дяволски мост) and is an arc bridge over Arda river situated near Ardino, Bulgaria. The bridge has a ton of legends already running around its name even before the film.

At first though you think nothing of it. I mean, there are thousands of bridges like that around the world, right? This couldn’t be that one bridge. Right?

Then, as the protagonist and the horse travel through the thick forests they reach a strange whole in the ground that glows and sparkles. Well, that’s probably the only time where the crew threw in some creativity. As the heroine goes down that whole we notice she isn’t just going down a muddy foresty floor towards the bottom of a bottomless whole. No, she is going down a nice stony staircase that seemed to be waiting just for her.

“Wait a second! I’ve seen that somewhere!” Yup, This is the satircase that leads to the antechamber of Magura cave (Bul.:Магурата), close to Rabisha village, Bulgaria.

“Okay, but everything that happened inside the cave was still very creative, so stfu!” Well, no. The cave drawings:

weren’t their idea at all. In fact, they were already there when the producers and crews came.

 All they had to do was add some motion.

“Okay, so what? A bridge and a cave? That’s all? Don’t be petty!”

Petty, I am, but still that’s not the only thing the creators of The Enchanted Stallion DIDN’T have to worry about.

I’m not just talking about the beatiful forests that Bulgarian nature provides,

I mean what follows after.

Alright, so this girl meets a strangely-agressive woman, they talk, confront each other, yada yada yada. Honestly, that part could have been scripted better but who am I to judge?

So, on we go.

The two young women travel through the fresh green forests on the beautiful black stallion to complete their quest when they encounter something strange.

These:

The redheaded woman calls them “Kukri”. Weird name, right? Yeah, becaue it’s made up.

What they’re actually called is kukeri (Bul.: кукери) and they aren’t just weird-shaped hairy beings that just walk around the forest in packs, they’re actually people dressed in those scary costumes as a way to scare off evil spirits.

(ignore the goat at the top right corner, Peter just wanted to be a part of something)

As you’ve already guessed, that’s a pagan Bulgarian tradition and it’s existed for a very ling time before The Enchanted Stallion.

Okay, moving on.

So, our group of two becomes a group of three and on they march to fnd the magical portal to a sorceress’ dwelling. They find themselves in a very pretty, very unique cave,

searching for eyes. Now that’s a weird move, right? What is that supposed to mean? Another set of drawings perhaps?

Nuh-uh, literally the eyes of the cave,

that light the way to the secret portal.

Okay, so I haven’t fact-checked that but I am pretty sure that there are only so many caves that have eyes and one of them is called Devetashka cave (Bul.:Деветашка пещера), just outside of Letnitsa, Bulgaria. 

I’m not going to dwell on that too much, I’m just going to move on.

So, shit spirals from there on. There are those four crazy ladies that turn into one that turns out to be the powerful sorceress they were looking for and she kindly gives them one of the four artefacts they were looking for. As the two girls hold the artefact in their hands they are hit by visions that hold the answers to their questions.

As the teenage American protagonst holds it in her hands she sees the spectacular view of a waterfall in a forest where she plays around in the crystal clears blue water.

Magical!

Nooope, that’s real too.

Those are the Krushuna Waterfalls (Bul.: Крушунските водопади), in Krushuna, Bulgaria. They truly are a magical sight to see, I’ll tell you that. And before you consider it, nope, there is no Photoshop used, no filters or any other form of editing done to those pictures, the water is trully this clear and blue.

Okay, so what? They used a few waterfalls and caves for ideas. There’s nothing wrong with that! At leat everything else is original, right?

The other girl, she sees a castle, an old, abandoned-looking castle in the middle of another forest,

 which, after some time, her and her ompanions reach.

Now that SURELY must be made up.

BUT it isn’t.

This is called the Baba Vida (Bul.: Баба Вида) or the Vidin Fortress (Видинска крепост), “ a medieval fortress in Vidin in northwestern Bulgaria and the town's primary landmark”, says Wikipedia.  

And while wandering around to find the place they accidently pass by another amazingly-mysterious structure,

that is left unnamed in the film.

That is another great fortress in Bulgaria named Belogradchik fortress (Bul.:Белоградчишка крепост) near Belogradchik.

Later in the film after the evil general is defeated and the peaceful race is free to live above the surface again, the extras used as the general folk of said race (who, by the way, look so disoriented in their roles that they are probably Bulgarian too) leave the open passage of what seems to be a basement.

That is the underground chamber of forementioned Baba Vida Fortress.

And then at the final, we see mother and daughter part in front of another breath-taking piece of landscape,

that had also appeared earlier into the film.

Now, those are the Belogradchik rocks (Bul.:Белоградчишки скали) and are a major Bulgarian pride-carrier. 

Soooooo, after this educational talk I want to explain the moral of this whole post. I donn’t, in any way, to disrespect the directors’, crews’ or actors’ work, on the contrary, I very much enjoyed watching the film, the screenplay was a bit cheap but it was nice, nontheless.

What I mean to say is that Bulgaria is such a magical and wonderful place that one only has to come, set up a camera and start recording, no CGI or special effects needed. What I meant by “I FEEL ROBBED!!!” is that none of the locations and landmarks are credited and the IMDb page of the film says “Country of Origin: USA, Bulgaria” even though only a few of the scenes are shot in the States and a handful of the actors are American.

That is all I wanted to say...

[torianimatesba2a]

Screenplay - Session 6

Writing Short films

- How is a short film distinct from feature length

A good short film is:

- Simple

- Economical

- Memorable

1. Simple

- means that you are focusing on a clear message, meaning can still be deep, complex, layered but fail to pick one clear focus and and you risk confusing the audience

- Show exactly what you want to say and see it as clearly as possible

- ‘The best short films are often a moment that is played out’ - Stephanie Joalland

2. Economical

- See the writing of a short as an opportunity to become more aware of what each line you out down on paper implies and costs - Joalland

- Short stories don’t have spare meat on them

- Start as close to the end as possible - in media res (in the middle of things)

- It’s not about telling the whole story, but about limiting off a little vignette and letting the unspoken carry its own weight

- Hemingway’s Iceberg Theory - 7/8 of the story will never be seen but you must know it

- Newcastle Personality Assessor

- Look for characteristic details that suggest who they are - synecdoche (the part start

Try placing your protagonist in one or more of the scenarios on the vle and write a short scene - the aim is to get to know your character better, who are they?

Scene Action Exercise, how can you show personality traits in Scene Action?

- Lonely - A man stands at the kitchen counter, food in hand, looking through a crowded living room - the lights of the dance floor can’t reach him

- Forgetful - The man rummages through his pockets tossing the contents down onto the worktop, Unknown to him his car keys are tossed too. He makes his way to the exit.

- Spiteful

Save the cat - show the hero doing something to imply their characteristics.

Ellipsis - deliberately leaving out the bits that can be inferred through contextual clues and/or surrounding action

Avoid scenes that are only continuity

Avoid scenes whose only function is to explain

Make sure the story incident or situation is really interesting

Be sure the characters have an opportunity to come to life

Look for places where you can show the characters thinking, show them changing attitude.

3. Memorable

- Spend time on your ending because audiences remember endings - its the last thing they see!

- A good ending feels inevitable, exactly right. Beginning and end should be like two clasps of a necklace.

- Open endings - these can work well in short films as they leave stuff open to the viewers interpretation - clever storytelling gives the audience hints and clues and let them work out the ending on their own

- Good openings ask questions, they make us ask why - presenting something unexplained (hermeneutic code) that can only be answered through the story layering something slightly mysterious

Writing Dialogue

1. Remember that unnatural is natural

- We are aiming to capture the flavour of speech without all the boring bits, natural speech is full of hesitation, repetition and omission but our brains filter this out - in script we need to get right to the point

- How often do people people say what they really mean, think or feel?

- How often do people know what they really mean, think or feel?

- Do you get the impression that people are really listening to each other or just waiting for their turn to speak?

- Start with the dialogue you want to write, then remove every third word until it no longer has meaning then add the minimum words to get the meaning across

2. For each character Think SAD

- Status - who has the upper hand?

- Agenda - What is the purpose of the conversation?

- Desire - on a deeper level, what do they want? What are their ultimate goal/objective, on a story level?

3. Inhabit their physical space

- Our physical bodies affect out voices, spend time imagining yourself as the character

- Ask how your character would do the following:

- Answer the Phone

- Complain abut weather

- Proposing

- Approaching a stranger to ask the time

- Tell off a child

- Order a meal

- Start an argument

4. Silence is Golden

- what people don’t say can be just as important as what they do say

- Leave room to carry meaning through body language

- Actions speak louder than words

- lack or dialogue can be more impactful than dialogue

- Try writing a scene where a character cannot speak, how can you show instead of tell

5. Explanation kills Drama

- Characters should talk to each other not the audience, characters shouldn’t come out and explain themselves, people don’t say what they mean

- Good dialogue is a manifestation of behaviour not an explanation of it

- Avoid info dumps

6. Dialogue is not always a Q&A

- Good dialogue is surprising and unpredictable

- Drip feed info to create tension and excitement

7. Be ruthless

- Dialogue serves two basic functions, either moves the story forward or reveals information - if it does not do either of these things take it out.

Last but not least, Read your dialogue out loud - make sure it flows in the readers voice as if they are listening to it.

Writing ‘on the nose’ : text and subtext

- a term where the dialogue’s subtext is written directly into the text - bald lines which say exactly what they mean, makes the performance of an actor or character flat

- Have friction between what the characters are doing and saying - cues the audience in to what the characters are really thinking

-Things to avoid

- main character explains too much about himself

- main character is too reactive, too internal, disappears off the page

- I am the main character - we find it difficult to write about ourselves realistically

- All the character sound the same

- Minor character ore more interesting, stronger, than the main character

- Relationships are too vague not clearly defined

- Dialogue is too literary, too flowery, too obvious

Exercise on VLE:

The Curious Incident of Mr. Guest

[vedanti-al]

Week 10- Shoot planning and shoot week.

This week was my group’s shoot week, Sir had also come back from his shoot so we started with understanding component 4 section A. Sir mailed all of us a zip folder which contained material to understand how to write this section of the question paper. The word document was quite long and definitely took me time to read.

The document was quite helpful and explained how we had to go about writing both the parts in section A. The part (a) consisted of four topics which required us to talk about:

Use of digital technology- The type of software we used on our product, what were the pros and cons of using that type of software, we also had to talk about how these elements enhanced our products.

Creativity- How did we come up with ideas, how did we try to make our product different and how could being creative help us and our product.

Research and Planning- Why were research and planning important? how did we plan and research in different ways and what type of audience were we targeting with it.

Using conventions from real media texts- What type of conventions did we follow and challenge in our product.

Part (b) contained 5 topics and for each, we had to write about:

Genre- How was the genre depicted through, Colour, Camera angles/movements, Editing techniques, Sound/dialogue/ music, Mise-en-scene such as Costumes/props/ Locations.

Narrative- How did we illustrate the story in terms of camera, mise-en-scene, edit, and sound.

Audiences- What kind of audience were we targeting with our product and how did we try to reach to a certain audience with the way we used camera, mise-en-scene, edit, and sound.  

Representation- In what way does our product represent a certain type of person or group of people.

Media language- This part is similar to clip analysis where the camera, sound, edit, and mise-en-scene are analyzed.

Sir also showed Vedant (group 1 Editor) and me how to do minor VFX for a shot taken in group 1′s shoot. We had to correct this shot as we could see ourselves on a reflective surface and the camera had captured it.

Paarth also confirmed the locations, which were his house and a restaurant. We went to check out the locations so that we could make the storyboard for the trailers and make changes to the shot division if required.

A shot we had thought of taking of Kabir leaving the cafe in a rush

After visiting the locations and getting an idea of how they looked I could visualize the shots much better which made my job of drawing the storyboard much easier. I drew the storyboard for the second trailer while Diya made the one for the first trailer.

Further, into the week, we got all the work we had done in Sir’s absence checked and approved by sir. Now we were ready for the shoot and all that was left for us to do was to give the actors confirmed timings and tell our assistant team about the things they had to get. Diya and I also completed our storyboards for the two trailers.

SHOOT DAY 1

For the first day, we had planned to start and finish off with all the restaurant scenes since we had a time restriction given by the owner as after a certain time, customers would start coming in and rolling the camera would be difficult. As we waited for the actors we marked down on the screenplay what scenes we were going to do that day from the master breakdown, so that everyone was on the same page.

This time around I was in charge of the mic and recorder. The shoot started at 10 am after all three of our actors had arrived at the location, Tanya worked on getting their costumes changed and ready for the scene.

The very first scene was of the detective walking into the cafe and introducing himself and the situation at Sahil and Kabir’s house. A small suggestion that as made by Kenosha (assistant director) of taking the reflection of the detective's footsteps in the mirror as the first shot and since my team, I loved the idea, we went ahead with it and implemented it into our trailer.

Unlike last time, my group had much better teamwork and Paarth (director)  was very clear at what he wanted and was ready to hear improvisations from me and the rest of the crew as well. This affected the entire team in a positive way since it made all of us more confident and sure of the scenes that were being shot. As an editor, if I saw anything that I would not have wanted to be included or shot differently, then I conveyed it to my director and he patiently heard me out and acted accordingly. Tanya (production designer) had also done a flawless job in terms of being ready with costumes, makeup looks and executed it very well on the shoot day.

how my DOP (Diya) practiced taking this panning shot that established the location beautifully.

After we started shooting I had seen many opportunities to improve the shots to fit the idea I had in mind for the trailer for the location at the time which had not crossed my mind before. Diya (cinematographer) considered these improvisations made by me and other team members and integrated it into her camera work.

As I was in charge of the mic and recorder I had to record sound in a way that won't show the mic or me in the frame as well as getting good audio. This was quite challenging since we had a lot of full body shots which made it difficult for me to hold the recorder, never the less, I worked my way around this problem and hid the mic in a way such that I wouldn't have to worry about it while editing.

After each shot, I made sure to listen to the playback to be certain that everything was audible.

We packed up after shooting all the shots in the restaurant and moved to the next location which was Paarth’s house. We left at 12:30 and got to the next location and started shooting by 1:00. Once we reached we had decided to do the scenes which were to be done downstairs. Initially, the scene was to be shot on the road but as the shot was not looking good on camera, we improvised and put the shot in a car since we could make the story progress even in that way. Recording the dialogs for this scene was not as hard since it was inside an enclosed space which filtered a lot of background noise.

Right after this scene, we took a lunch break, right after we got down to work again and started setting up the shoot at the house.

After we finished shifting the furniture and other things to our need, we started setting up the table as per the master breakdown and taught the actor how to use a typewriter as we had to shoot a montage of him typing.  I noted to take the foley sound for the typewriter later on as it was necessary for the sound to be prominent.

When Tanya and Adrija were done setting up the table when Sahil would be typing, I made a few changes to the arrangement which would look better on the trailer.

Later when the actor had gone for the costume change I took the foley for the typewriter sounds as well as I could while giving long pauses so that I could later noise cancel while editing.

Finally, we finished off the day by shooting two last scenes which included the scenes of Kabir crying and sitting in a dark room. We included these shots to add more emotion and emphasize the drama of the movie.

SHOOT DAY 2

Unlike the first day, we thought of starting a bit later this day as we all arrived at 9am. The shoot started at 11am after the first two main actors had arrived. All the scenes that were remaining were now to be done only in the house so we did not have to change the location in the middle of the day and put our time into shooting each shot to our liking.

The very first shot of the opening scene of trailer 1 did not require our other actor (neighbor), thus we did not waste time and filmed this before she arrived.

After our female actor (neighbor) had arrived we shot the scenes that included her as well, at some point, she conveyed to us that she did not know how to act for a particular scene mainly due to the fact that she did not understand the scene properly, so we appreciated that she told us this problem as we kept taking numerous shots and were not getting the right feel to the scene. Paarth (director) then explained what exactly was the scene about and what her character was feeling, this helped her to get further into character and show better emotions for the shot.

When we got a break to rest and eat I finished eating and drew the rough outline of the poster with the help of Tanya's (production designer) ideation.

Most of the shots we had taken after this went smoothly without much problem. The montage bathroom shot was also beautifully taken how I wanted it to be there like initially planned.

After most scenes were taken me and Paarth (director) sat down with our main actor for his voiceover. I explained to him what he had to say and recorded it.

This was followed by our poster shoot, for which we were pretty clear of we wanted and what we had to do to achieve it. 

 Once we had shot everything I transferred all the footage on my laptop but I could not transfer the audio due to some issues with my laptop so I decided to do that in school directly.

The shoot got over at a late hour but we were so happy with our work and now it was my turn to put everything together and make the trailers. Thus we packed up and left the accounts for another day as it was getting late for all of us.    

[alexbohs]

Do Not Disturb

Sharing an excerpt from something I scribbled down in one of my trusty moleskins which I treat as pseudo-journals. Re-reading it I felt a connection to this voice that so desperately wanted a way to escape but without actually running from life around him. This is something I struggle with constantly - unintentionally pushing away - and I share this in hopes it may resonate with you as well.

Sunday. 6am in a stagnant hotel room. The sound of an air conditioner drumming along - well past time for a filter change. I lay awake nursing a familiar (and rather suffocating) craving for a day switched to “airplane mode” across the board. 

He remains asleep as I debate whether or not to wake him. I don’t. Instead I leave a note.

“ Thank you for the chatting, the kissing and the night. Until next time, Alex (Phone Number) ”

I open the door and quickly notice he placed the “do not disturb” sign on the door handle. For a brief moment I wonder if he was expecting me to sleep in with him. ‘Am I an asshole for leaving this way?’ I normally would say yes to that thought but our chemistry was pretty upfront and void of expectations. 

I snap a photo for some reason (see above) and let the door close as quietly as possible. Behind me.

The final few chapters of an audiobook play as I make my way along the desolate freeway. Another chapter finishes as I near my exit. ‘Should I take this home and shower away the night or just add to the grime?’

My foot buckles down on the gas as I make my way past the exit and into the mountains. No real destination or hike in mind yet enough of a concept and scratch-in-need-of-itching to garner a day of nature.

My audiobook finishes just as I reach the base of Mt. Baldy road and I switch my phone to airplane mode. I press play to one of my go-to scores and begin the winding journey through the mountains, letting my thoughts take control as I choose where to stop and start walking.

I walk for the next four hours - sometimes playing gentle music - other times letting the Southern California nature play. 

Absolute bliss. 

As I make my way back to my trusty black VW bug named Bridgette, I come up with a fix to a recent screenplay of mine. I decide a lunch at the Mt. Baldy Lodge would be the perfect place to let this discovery run wild.

I choose a spot outside and unleash the brain farting as I down a cup of hot chocolate (something I always do at that lodge no matter the temperature / season). It’s a scrappy few pages of ideas but it feels good - just as this entire impromptu 24 hours has felt.

It’s nearly 4pm and time to trudge back to the hustle and bustle. I swipe airplane mode off briefly to get directions back home.

“1 new message.” I open it.

“Literally didn’t leave the bed today. Hope you did the equivalent wherever you snuck off to. Text me if you want to have another night while I’m in town. Here through next Sunday.“

I waited until I got home to respond.

“How’s Tuesday sound?”

Wednesday. 7am. The familiar stagnant hotel room air wakes me. He still sleeps. This time I turn and give him a slight jostle.

”Hey I’m going to head out unless you wanted to nab breakfast.”

”No go ahead” he said while slithering back into sheets and pillows. A contrast to the warmth from the night before. 

I still left a note. 

“Another lovely evening. Thank you. Text me if you crave a good chat anytime soon. I’m around most of this week. -Alex “

I let the door close quietly just like last time. Unlike last time however, there was no “do not disturb” sign on the door. Nothing to read into.

I start a new audiobook as I drive away - not into nature but home. I turn on the shower and initiate airplane mode as I enjoy my morning and afternoon before work. 

Hours go by as I take a break from work and switch off airplane mode - low key wondering what has transpired around me or what distractions will come flooding in.

"No notifications.” 

It remains this way for the rest of the week.

Just as I initially wanted - only to realize it really wasn’t.

[everythingbooks2018]

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✵*˛ ˚❃ ░R░E░L░E░A░S░E░˚❁ *

✵ .•°*˚ 💖 *•* ❁ 💖.•°*❁˚* ˚ *❃ ˚ •

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Add to Goodreads: https://bit.ly/2QTMz7m

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Watch the incredible trailer for Parrish: https://youtu.be/bLvxIatFUw4

Listen to Jack & Reina’s Playlist: https://spoti.fi/2CxwRpd

.•´✶GIVEAWAY¸.•´✶

Janine Infante Bosco Mystery Box!

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.•´✶COVER CREDITS¸.•´✶

Cover Designer: Jennifer Bosco Cover Design

Models: Fred DiBella and Tiffany Marie

Photographer: Wander Aguiar Photography

#PropertyOfParrish #JackParrish #ReinaParrish #BrandedByTheBulldog

#LoveStoryOfTheAges #AloveNotPerfectButTrue

.•´✶Blurb.•´✶

It’s not a wicked world that drives a man to sin, it’s a deranged mind. Baptized in dirty water by Satan himself, I’ve spent my whole life fighting the good fight, searching for the light in the darkness of insanity. Now, the light I’ve basked in for so long is finally dimming and the time has come for me to take my final bow before the curtain closes on my sanity.

After making a deal with the district attorney and providing my club with full immunity for the crimes we’ve committed, I have twenty-four hours to remind my wife, Reina, why she fell in love with a bastard like me before I turn myself in and break her heart.

But twenty-four hours isn’t enough.

Not for me and certainly not for the Devil.

Tragedy strikes, and my world implodes. It’s lights out for Jack and Reina and a man can’t survive without his sunshine. Engulfed in darkness, consumed by the crazy, I’m a weapon of mass destruction, ready to wreak havoc on the wicked world.

Word to the wise—proceed with caution, motherf*ckers.

The Bulldog is back!

.•´✶Excerpt•´✶ Ugly Truths ©Copyright 2019 Janine Infante Bosco

Jack’s mood was ping-ponging. One minute he was the loving man on the cusp of signing his life away, the next he was a desperate creature, trying to prove his existence. If he could paint the world and leave his mark, I’m sure he would. Instead, he painted me, branding me in front of a faceless stranger in a parking lot.

It was nothing I pictured our final time together would be and yet, at that very moment, it was everything I needed. Desperation will make you insane and I’m starting to wonder if maybe Jack isn’t the only one losing his mind because I am not ashamed of what we did.

I’d do it again.

And again.

In front of thousands of eyes.

I’d paint the world too, letting everyone know I’m his.

The other half of Jack’s heart.

The broken piece he’ll leave behind in a few hours.

“Reina,” Jack calls from behind me, pulling me away from my thoughts. Shrugging my jacket off, I drape it over the back of one of the kitchen chairs before glancing over my shoulder at him. Leaning against the door frame, he crosses his arms and studies me for a moment.

“Are you okay?” he questions, narrowing his dark eyes.

“Of course,” I reply, turning around to completely face him. I comb my fingers through my hair and stare at him. “Why wouldn’t I be okay?”

“You barely said a word to Grace before she left,” he points out.

A frown ticks the corners of my mouth as I realize he’s right. I was too lost in my own head to pay much attention to Grace. I didn’t even bother to thank her for watching Danny or ask if she had heard back from her husband’s lawyer. Truthfully, I was relieved when I heard the door close behind her and for that I’m ashamed. In my defense, I’m terrified of the sun coming up and all I want is to lay next to my husband. I want to memorize the rhythm of his heartbeat and the way I perfectly fit in the crook of his arm.

I’ll have plenty of time to talk with Grace.

Plenty of chances to thank her for watching my son.

But I won’t have my husband.

“I’ll call her tomorrow to apologize,” I say as he pushes off the doorjamb and takes a step closer to me.

“Talk to me, Reina,” he pleads. “Tell me what’s going on inside that head of yours.”

I smile at his choice of words.

“Isn’t that my line?”

He cocks his head to the side as he reaches me and lifts his hand to my cheek.

“I love looking at you,” he says softly. “In the morning when you wake up. When you’re cooking and helping Danny with his homework. When you smile and fuck, I love watching you laugh too. After you come when you’re completely satisfied and look at me like I’m some kind of fucking king—that’s another look I love.”

Pausing, he lifts his other hand to my face and cups my cheeks as he leans his forehead against mine.

“But this look, the one you’re giving me right now, it’s fucking breaking my heart Reina.”

“What look?”

“Your light is dimming, Sunshine,” he whispers.

As much as I hate to admit it, he’s right. I told myself I wouldn’t fall to pieces, that I’d stay strong until he surrendered, but I’m losing my will. It’s all too much and I can’t help but feel like I’m grieving a living man. The very last thing I want is our final memories of one another to be these. I want us to remember each other as lovers and know the part of him that is me, will never die.

“I’m fine,” I tell him.

“You’re breaking.”

“No,” I argue, shaking my head free of his hold. “I don’t break, Parrish.”

The words sound weak to my own ears, but I refuse to show defeat. Smoothing a hand down his chest, I force a smile.

“Go check on Danny, give him a kiss and tuck him in for the night. I’m going to take a quick shower before I meet you in bed.”

“Reina—”

“Please, Jack,” I interrupt hoarsely. Something snaps deep inside of me and I lose my filter. “I haven’t asked you for a thing since you told me you were taking the deal. I didn’t beg you to change your mind or ask you to choose me. I stood by your side and performed the role of the supportive wife like it was my God given right. In reality, I’m mourning my husband and he’s standing right in front of me. Do you have any idea how that feels?” I cry, balling my fists angrily. “My heart is broken and in the back of my mind I’m wondering how I’m going to go on without you, but I can’t let that consume me because we’re not going to remember our love this way. We get one chance at goodbye, Jack. One shot at closing the story with a beautiful memory. Now, I’m asking you to pretend like you don’t see the cracks in my bravado. I want to remember how loved I felt every time my husband looked at me and how safe I felt in his arms. I want to remember his gruff voice in my ear and the scent of his cologne on my sheets. I want to remember you the way I saw and felt you since the day I met you. Give me that. Please, give me that memory.”

I wait for the regret to seep into my soul but the need to wish my words away doesn’t come. Not even when he takes a step backward and flinches as if I’ve smacked him across the face. We’re a lot of things but what we’re not are liars. Our marriage is full of ugly truths we’ve both accepted, this is just another added to the list.

.•´✶ABOUT AUTHOR JANINE INFANTE BOSCO¸.•´✶

Janine Infante Bosco lives in New York City, she has always loved reading and writing. When she was thirteen, she began to write her own stories and her passion for writing took off as the years went on. At eighteen, she even wrote a full screenplay with dreams of one day becoming a member of the Screen Actors Guild.

Janine writes emotionally charged novels with an emphasis on family bonds, strong-willed female characters, and alpha male men who will do anything for the women they love. She loves to interact with fans and fellow avid romance readers like herself.

She is proud of her success as an author and the friendships she’s made in the book community but her greatest accomplishment to date would be her two sons Joseph and Paul.

¸.•´✶CONNECT WITH JANINE¸.•´✶

Website: http://www.janineinfantebosco.com/

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/janineboscoauthor/

Twitter: https://twitter.com/JanineBosco

Janine’s Land of Temptations Facebook Group: https://www.facebook.com/groups/1730045370558131/

[thecathyguadagnino]

•。* ˚ 💖˚❁˚✵ * ❃° 。* °💖 ˚ • ✵*˚ .❃ 。

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✵*˛ ˚❃ ░R░E░L░E░A░S░E░˚❁ *

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Amazon US: https://amzn.to/2MjI6Gh

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Watch the incredible trailer for Parrish: https://youtu.be/bLvxIatFUw4

Listen to Jack & Reina’s Playlist: https://spoti.fi/2CxwRpd

.•´✶GIVEAWAY¸.•´✶

Janine Infante Bosco Mystery Box!

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.•´✶COVER CREDITS¸.•´✶

Cover Designer: Jennifer Bosco Cover Design

Models: Fred DiBella and Tiffany Marie

Photographer: Wander Aguiar Photography

#PropertyOfParrish #JackParrish #ReinaParrish #BrandedByTheBulldog

#LoveStoryOfTheAges #AloveNotPerfectButTrue

.•´✶Blurb.•´✶

It’s not a wicked world that drives a man to sin, it’s a deranged mind. Baptized in dirty water by Satan himself, I’ve spent my whole life fighting the good fight, searching for the light in the darkness of insanity. Now, the light I’ve basked in for so long is finally dimming and the time has come for me to take my final bow before the curtain closes on my sanity.

After making a deal with the district attorney and providing my club with full immunity for the crimes we’ve committed, I have twenty-four hours to remind my wife, Reina, why she fell in love with a bastard like me before I turn myself in and break her heart.

But twenty-four hours isn’t enough.

Not for me and certainly not for the Devil.

Tragedy strikes, and my world implodes. It’s lights out for Jack and Reina and a man can’t survive without his sunshine. Engulfed in darkness, consumed by the crazy, I’m a weapon of mass destruction, ready to wreak havoc on the wicked world.

Word to the wise—proceed with caution, motherf*ckers.

The Bulldog is back!

.•´✶Excerpt•´✶ Ugly Truths ©Copyright 2019 Janine Infante Bosco

Jack’s mood was ping-ponging. One minute he was the loving man on the cusp of signing his life away, the next he was a desperate creature, trying to prove his existence. If he could paint the world and leave his mark, I’m sure he would. Instead, he painted me, branding me in front of a faceless stranger in a parking lot.

It was nothing I pictured our final time together would be and yet, at that very moment, it was everything I needed. Desperation will make you insane and I’m starting to wonder if maybe Jack isn’t the only one losing his mind because I am not ashamed of what we did.

I’d do it again.

And again.

In front of thousands of eyes.

I’d paint the world too, letting everyone know I’m his.

The other half of Jack’s heart.

The broken piece he’ll leave behind in a few hours.

“Reina,” Jack calls from behind me, pulling me away from my thoughts. Shrugging my jacket off, I drape it over the back of one of the kitchen chairs before glancing over my shoulder at him. Leaning against the door frame, he crosses his arms and studies me for a moment.

“Are you okay?” he questions, narrowing his dark eyes.

“Of course,” I reply, turning around to completely face him. I comb my fingers through my hair and stare at him. “Why wouldn’t I be okay?”

“You barely said a word to Grace before she left,” he points out.

A frown ticks the corners of my mouth as I realize he’s right. I was too lost in my own head to pay much attention to Grace. I didn’t even bother to thank her for watching Danny or ask if she had heard back from her husband’s lawyer. Truthfully, I was relieved when I heard the door close behind her and for that I’m ashamed. In my defense, I’m terrified of the sun coming up and all I want is to lay next to my husband. I want to memorize the rhythm of his heartbeat and the way I perfectly fit in the crook of his arm.

I’ll have plenty of time to talk with Grace.

Plenty of chances to thank her for watching my son.

But I won’t have my husband.

“I’ll call her tomorrow to apologize,” I say as he pushes off the doorjamb and takes a step closer to me.

“Talk to me, Reina,” he pleads. “Tell me what’s going on inside that head of yours.”

I smile at his choice of words.

“Isn’t that my line?”

He cocks his head to the side as he reaches me and lifts his hand to my cheek.

“I love looking at you,” he says softly. “In the morning when you wake up. When you’re cooking and helping Danny with his homework. When you smile and fuck, I love watching you laugh too. After you come when you’re completely satisfied and look at me like I’m some kind of fucking king—that’s another look I love.”

Pausing, he lifts his other hand to my face and cups my cheeks as he leans his forehead against mine.

“But this look, the one you’re giving me right now, it’s fucking breaking my heart Reina.”

“What look?”

“Your light is dimming, Sunshine,” he whispers.

As much as I hate to admit it, he’s right. I told myself I wouldn’t fall to pieces, that I’d stay strong until he surrendered, but I’m losing my will. It’s all too much and I can’t help but feel like I’m grieving a living man. The very last thing I want is our final memories of one another to be these. I want us to remember each other as lovers and know the part of him that is me, will never die.

“I’m fine,” I tell him.

“You’re breaking.”

“No,” I argue, shaking my head free of his hold. “I don’t break, Parrish.”

The words sound weak to my own ears, but I refuse to show defeat. Smoothing a hand down his chest, I force a smile.

“Go check on Danny, give him a kiss and tuck him in for the night. I’m going to take a quick shower before I meet you in bed.”

“Reina—”

“Please, Jack,” I interrupt hoarsely. Something snaps deep inside of me and I lose my filter. “I haven’t asked you for a thing since you told me you were taking the deal. I didn’t beg you to change your mind or ask you to choose me. I stood by your side and performed the role of the supportive wife like it was my God given right. In reality, I’m mourning my husband and he’s standing right in front of me. Do you have any idea how that feels?” I cry, balling my fists angrily. “My heart is broken and in the back of my mind I’m wondering how I’m going to go on without you, but I can’t let that consume me because we’re not going to remember our love this way. We get one chance at goodbye, Jack. One shot at closing the story with a beautiful memory. Now, I’m asking you to pretend like you don’t see the cracks in my bravado. I want to remember how loved I felt every time my husband looked at me and how safe I felt in his arms. I want to remember his gruff voice in my ear and the scent of his cologne on my sheets. I want to remember you the way I saw and felt you since the day I met you. Give me that. Please, give me that memory.”

I wait for the regret to seep into my soul but the need to wish my words away doesn’t come. Not even when he takes a step backward and flinches as if I’ve smacked him across the face. We’re a lot of things but what we’re not are liars. Our marriage is full of ugly truths we’ve both accepted, this is just another added to the list.

.•´✶ABOUT AUTHOR JANINE INFANTE BOSCO¸.•´✶

Janine Infante Bosco lives in New York City, she has always loved reading and writing. When she was thirteen, she began to write her own stories and her passion for writing took off as the years went on. At eighteen, she even wrote a full screenplay with dreams of one day becoming a member of the Screen Actors Guild.

Janine writes emotionally charged novels with an emphasis on family bonds, strong-willed female characters, and alpha male men who will do anything for the women they love. She loves to interact with fans and fellow avid romance readers like herself.

She is proud of her success as an author and the friendships she’s made in the book community but her greatest accomplishment to date would be her two sons Joseph and Paul.

¸.•´✶CONNECT WITH JANINE¸.•´✶

Website: http://www.janineinfantebosco.com/

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/janineboscoauthor/

Twitter: https://twitter.com/JanineBosco

Janine’s Land of Temptations Facebook Group: https://www.facebook.com/groups/1730045370558131/