#i wanted to watch turkish delight before i made a final list

[talesfromthecrypts]

Favorite Rutger Hauer Roles

Roy Batty in Blade Runner (1982)

John Ryder in The Hitcher (1986)

Martin in Flesh+Blood (1985)

The Huntsman in The 10th Kingdom (2000)

Eric Vonk in Turkish Delight (1973)

Lothos in Buffy the Vampire Slayer (1992)

Harley Stone in Split Second (1992)

Etienne Navarre in Ladyhawke (1985)

Thomas Burns in Surviving the Game (1994)

Hobo in Hobo with a Shotgun (2011)

[tilbageidanmark]

Movies I watched this Week # 148 (Year 3/Week 44):

“… Would you go without her?… “

No bears, my 5th and favourite meta-film by persecuted Iranian director Jafar Panahi. Made in secret and illegally while being prohibited by the Ayatollahs. It's a slick and sharp fictionalized metaphor about a director, played again by himself, who rents a room in a tiny, primitive village near the Turkish border, while directing a movie long-distance about a couple who wants to escape Iran.

It's impossible to separate the fiction from reality. This is like a serious 'La Nuit américaine' with real-life consequences. Panahi was sentenced to 6 years in jail a month after the premier of the film. What kind of movies could he make, had he born in a "normal" country?

There's always the noise of traffic, when you're in the city. But it ends with the barks of country dogs at night. 9/10.

🍿

“ … So you’re a rocket scientist?…”

How many times have I seen J.C. Chandor's masterly thriller Margin Call in the last couple of years? At least half a dozen, and I simply can't get enough. After 'The Wolf of Wall Street' re-watch last week, I had to do it one more time. It's interesting that the movie doesn't show what they actually do, except of the end, after the long night is over. The muted score... The bridge story... the top-notch performances.

Noted this time: Stanley Tucci got $1,411,768 in extra bonus to stay at the office one last day - why such a sum? Also, the credits listed 12 people on the ‘Jeremy Irons miracle visa team’...

A perfect 10/10 - "Best Wall Street move ever made".

🍿

Third re-watching of György Pálfi’s immersive mashup Final Cut, Ladies and Gentlemen a ‘supercut’ of 451 clips from the most famous films in history. It’s a meta-love story, told through a montage of scenes edited together from all those other films.

It proves the power of the good editor. Also, how visual tropes and cinematic cliches repeat themselves again and again throughout history; Running through wheat fields, a whistling kettle, lovers kissing in the rain, a mirror is being smashed, clutching a child to one’s bosom, the clicking of keyboard...

And now you just want to watch and re-watch every single one of these 451 movies where the clips are from... Absolutely fantastic.

🍿

Another French classic, Peppermint Soda, my first by Diane Kurys. A sweet coming of age story of two charming sisters, 13 and 15 years old in Paris of 1963. Very similar in spirit, 'feel' and maturity as Truffaut's '400 Blows', but with girl-centric focus, which is so refreshing. She managed to write and direct this little masterpiece without having any prior experience in movie-making!

The 13-year-old who played the main character, Éléonore Klarwein, looks so familiar, but doesn't even have a Wikipedia page!

I'm going to seek the rest of Kurys work. Most delightful discovery of the week!

🍿

3 more by prolific French director Patrice Leconte:

🍿 I’ve only seen his ‘The man on the train’ before. Monsieur Hire was based on a mystery novel by Georges Simenon. It tells of a bald, lonely, middle age tailor who falls in love with young Sandrine Bonnaire, who lives in the apartment across from his. This was one of the last films that Roger Ebert added to his 'Great movies' list. 100% on Rotten Tomatoes.

🍿 Gérard Depardieu starred in ~ 250 movies. One of his latest was playing Maigret, one of the original old-time detectives. A large and tired, but very humane figure, he's quietly trying to discover the circumstances behind a murder of a lonely young woman. (Photo Above).

🍿 The Boléro drummer is a 1992 wordless short. It comically focuses on the frustrated facial expressions of a drummer, while participating in a performance of Ravel's piece.

🍿

I’m your man, my second film by German director Maria Schrader (after ‘She said’). An updated version to Spike Jonze's 'Her', where it's not only the voice but a complete human android they fall in love with. A better-than-usual Black Mirror romcom, with growing emotional resonance. It, unsurprisingly, ends in a sleepy seaside Danish village! 7/10.

🍿

Tarkovsky's lyrical debut feature Ivan’s childhood about a Soviet boy hero in WW2 fighting the Nazis. Not what I expected, minimalist poetry.

🍿

3 more by Martin Ritt:

🍿 “… You’re an unprincipled man, Hud…”

Hud, a Neo-Western about a self-centered, indecent bastard, an amoral anti-hero Paul Newman, and his proud, old-fashioned father. Played in a dying small west-Texas town, of the 'Last Picture Show' bleakness and despair kind. Based on a Larry McMurtry novel, and featuring Patricia Neal as a housekeeper who was hurt before, and won't be again, if she can help it. There's a scene where a large herd of cows, possibly infected with Foot-and-mouth disease, is being shot in a culling pit that is very hard to watch. 8/10.

🍿 Stanley & Iris, Martin Ritt's final film, and the only one where Robert de Nero is getting around on a bicycle. A romantic working class tearjerker that didn't work; A large commercial bakery where most of the work was done by hand, an illiterate laborer who becomes fabulously successful once he learns to read (and the tired cliche of a person walking in the middle of the street instead of the sidewalk..) 2/10.

🍿 Re-watch: The political drama about the 1950's Hollywood blacklisters, The front. A superficial study of the workings and effects of McCarthyism, made 2 decades later by a group of writers who were boycotted themselves. But Woody Allen was an obnoxious actor always playing obnoxious characters, even here, when he didn't mean to be funny. Dated and two-dimensional. 3/10.

🍿

Another Red Scare re-watch, Don Siegel's alien invasion allegory Invasion of the Body Snatchers. The originator of the 'Pod people' conspiracy concept. The fear of losing one's 'originality' and 'personality' when confronted with conformity and mass acceptance. In retrospect, the conclusions and explanations had a low 'Twilight Zone' quality.

🍿

The body, a convoluted Spanish crime mystery that predictably plays it by the numbers. There were two scene that elevated it from a complete bore-fest: An outrageously disgusting one, when the accused husband tears an incriminating letter in a dirty toilet, and when it doesn’t flush, he has to fish it out and swallow it. And the final, unexpected twist, that came out of left field. 2/10.

🍿

4 comedies I haven’t seen before:

🍿 ... "We want the finest wines available to humanity, we want them here and we want them now..."

Withnail & I, an odd, Ralph Steadman-like, off-beat British classic satire, about 2 drunk slackers, unemployed actors, who escape to an unheated, falling-down cottage in the country. Punkish Richard E. Grant debut film.

🍿 “who wants a mustache ride?”

Super troopers, a sophomoric, noisy, crude and low-brow comedy, that wasn't as stupid as it sounds. With Brian Cox and Lynda Carter.

🍿 I Love You Phillip Morris, a misguided gay romance with Jim Carrey that can't decide if it's a tender drama about a conman, or a low-brow comedy full of gay stereotypes. Fake cliches all the way. With Hair's Annie Golden. 2/10.

🍿 Jennifer’s body, a female-focused horror written by Diablo Cody. I watched it only because of one insightful review on 'Letterbox', but the tenets of the horror genre simply don't work for me. Gave it 25 minutes, then gave it up, sorry.

🍿

I've seen 7 of Paolo Sorrentino's 10 features so far, so I wanted to indulge with his HBO-series, The young pope, with Jude Law playing a rebellious American pope. The first episode was typically stylish, and beautifully irreverent. But the premise of the Vatican letting an un-vetted young mutt to take over the institution is so ridiculous, that after 2 hours I had to bail out.

🍿

3+ female-directed shorts:

🍿 'A Seaman’s Life Flashes Before His Eyes', in the Oscar nominated Canadian short The flying sailor. It is based on the real life Halifax explosion that happened in 1917, where a sailor was blown through the air and survived.

🍿 Muta, by Argentinian Lucrecia Martel; A group of 8 well-dressed models on a barge sailing the Amazon river. Creepy, unexplained, experimental. My 2nd from the Miu Miu collection of Women's tales.

🍿 Zoe Cassavetes’s (John’s daughter) The Powder Room. Basically, a clothing ad. 1/10.

🍿 Also, Capitol of Conformity, a Dystopian Short Film created by AI and by Aze Adora.

🍿  

(My complete movie list is here)

[dinghypanda26]

How Bosphorus Dinner Cruise can Save You Time, Stress, and Money.

Climb aboard a enjoyment boat for a passionate dinner cruise on the Bosporus at night, and find out a few of Istanbul’s best sights on 2 continents. Next a pick-up and transfer by air-conditioned, non-smoking cigarettes mentor, climb aboard the boat with the assistance within your guidebook. Boat staff members will welcome you and current you with some authentic Turkish Delight. watch on galata bridge and grand mosque in istanbul - turkish night stock pics, royalty-free of charge photos & illustrations or photos I used to be born in Izmir in 1986 and fell in really like with the beauties of nearby Ephesus historic city during a school trip when I was close to 9. Now I keep a nationwide tour manual license which gives me the chance to guide tours not simply to Ephesus but to points of interest all around Turkey. Program your time and effort wisely if you intend to buy. Take pleasure in the energetic bazaar while you stroll from the overpowering impressions of smells and colours, acquire eye catching images, together with invest in each of the souvenirs for which Istanbul is famed for. The Grand Bazaar is property to a variety of goods made by experienced artists. Despite the fact that Istanbul is a historic town, this doesn’t indicate which you could’t enjoy diversified and extremely lively nightlife way too. The opposite terrific information is that regardless of what you’re searching for, you’ll come across it with ease. Istanbul is Turkey's major city with about 15 million inhabitants. With that quantity, It is additionally on the list of globe's premier cities. Town is split into an Asian and a eu aspect, in which sixty% on the inhabitants lives in the European section. The town is also Turkey's financial and cultural Heart, While it truly is Ankara that is the funds of the nation. But his father opposes his connection with 'those individuals who only wish to divide our state' and reminds Mertkan that 'we're all Turkish and we've been all Muslims'. Insidiously Mertkan bows to the social values with the 'Majority' when confronted with a choice, and gets the 'correct person' his dad preferred him to generally be As for beverages at the rooftop terraces of Istanbul probably the most common number of cocktails can be obtained and also beer and wine not surprisingly. What exactly is Unique here is the Turkish specialty raki, that may be purchased from town’s rooftop bars. Partying until finally the early hrs at a rooftop bar in Istanbul will not be that frequent. Listed here you largely cling out to drink cocktails or take in excellent food items, ahead of heading off to among the metropolis's nightclubs. How would you conclusion that ideal day? You have got achieved new good friends and you just want a Chunk before returning to your resort, as dinner will probably be later on. Why not visit one of several small eateries and possess a snack with Turkish coffee. Very good conversation and low, seem to just go with each other.   Henna was then smeared on the palms, fingertips, and toes of the bride, a lady who was now regarded as to have a happy marriage. The bride’s unmarried girlfriends would also rub henna on their arms, believing that This might get them married soon. Have a very taste of reliable Turkish society with Istanbul’s night foodstuff tour. Investigate Cappadocia Turkish night show of the historic town and fill your tummy with delicious street foodstuff. Take pleasure in sweet and savory snacks which can be complemented by sturdy and loaded Turkish espresso. The bride would walk along the silk fabric carpet to her potential mom-in-regulation, grabbing her hand and kissing it respectfully. The answers offered under are according to answers Beforehand given because of the tour supplier to customers’ questions. Investigate the smaller retailers as well as the cobblestone walkways, when traveling the considerably less traveled locations exactly where the travellers Get.

[yelena-bellova]

Safe Haven: tfatws!Bucky Barnes x fem!reader - Chapter Six

chapter five - Chapter Six: Ten Minutes - chapter seven

Series Masterlist

Plot: Y/n, Sam, Bucky and Zemo investigate around Riga for any sign of the Flag Smashers, Y/n and Bucky spend some unconventional time together.

Word Count: 6.9k

Warnings: spoilers for episode. 4, a little language, flirty Bucky (which is a warning in and of itself, Walker’s an asshole, Y/n is still a badass, sloooow burn, lil’ bit of spice 🔥

A/N: First off, I just want to thank everybody for all the kind messages/asks/comments you've left on this series. I honestly didn’t expect this kind of response when I started writing this and have been blown away with each chapter. Seriously, it means a lot! 🥰 Okay so I’m not gonna lie, this chapter’s a little slower than usual whereas next chapter is going to be...well, if you’re reading this you’ve seen the episode so you obviously know lol. But this chapter sets up some pretty big shit so it’s not useless, enjoy!!

----

I felt like a bit of a romantic cliche as I threw myself facedown on Zemo’s living room couch, hot off the heels of my realization about Bucky. But seeing as we didn’t have any leads and the Super Soldier wasn’t back from his “walk,” I felt I had earned it. “Hey,” I felt the weight of a jacket land on my back, “Whatcha got going on in that head?” I chuckled into the pillow, if Sam could see the thoughts bouncing around my brain, he’d have his wings on in a flash and would be flying around the city hunting Bucky down. Luckily, Bucky wasn’t the only thing I was thinking about. I turned on my side to see him sitting on a barstool in the kitchen, “I don’t think I give you enough credit for what you do.” “What are you talking about?” 

“I knew that avenging wasn’t some cushy day job but,” I swung my legs over the couch and sat up, “I never realized how hard it actually was and this isn’t even one of the harder missions!” Sam smirked and raised his brows, “An army of Super Soldiers isn’t enough for you? You want more?”

I rolled my eyes, “I’m just saying, you’ve faced a whole lot worse. I tangle with a couple bounty hunters and I’m gonna be aching for weeks,” I rose with a groan, eliciting a chuckle out of Sam, “Don’t get me wrong, I like what we’re doing, but I definitely underestimated how challenging it was.” “You’re doing a better job than you think,” Sam said, “I know yesterday was hard on you, but you’re handling all of the really well. I’m proud of you.” I made my way over to him and put an arm around his shoulder, “Still regret bringing me?” “Nah,” he locked an arm around my waist and pulled me into his side, “It’s nice having you here, it’s like having a little piece of home with me.” Since we were in grade school, Sam had been one of the only constants in my life and sitting in the middle of Latvia chasing down Super Soldiers, I had never been more thankful for him. I knew that becoming Captain America was out of the question but if ever there were a Cap that I would follow, it would have been Sam.

The front door and the bathroom door opened at the same time, revealing Bucky back from his walk and Zemo from his shower.

“Well, the Wakandans are here,” Bucky announced as he came to the center of the room, “They want Zemo. Bought us some more time.”

“Were you followed?” Sam asked, both of us unwrapping our arms from around one another. “No.” “How can you be so sure?” Zemo asked, staring out the stained glass windows.

“Cause I know when I’m being followed,” Bucky replied, coming to stand across from me on the other side of the kitchen island.

“It was sweet of you to defend me at least,” Zemo said. 

“Hey, you shut it,” Sam turned his attention to the Baron, “No one’s defending you. You killed Nagal.”

“Do we really have to litigate what may or may not have happened?” Zemo replied.

I leaned up against the island and squinted at the man, “There’s nothing to litigate, we all watched you shoot the guy.”

“Sam, Y/n…” We both turned to face Bucky, staring down at his phone intently. “Karli bombed a GRC supply depot.”

“What?” I said breathlessly, “Were there any casualties?” 

“Eleven injured, three dead,” Bucky read the article, “They have a list of demands and are promising more attacks if those demands aren’t met.”

Zemo walked around the island to grab a pack of cookies, “She’s getting worse. I have the will to complete this mission. Do the three of you?” “She’s just a kid,” Sam said calmly, defending the young girl so many saw as a villain.

“You’re seeing something in her that isn’t there,” Zemo waved him off, “You’re clouded by it. She’s a supremacist. The very concept of a Super Soldier will always trouble people. It’s that warped aspiration that led to Nazis, to Ultron…to the Avengers.” “Hey, those are our friends you’re talking about,” Sam stepped quickly.

“The Avengers, not the Nazis,” Bucky followed up with. 

Sam continued, “So, Karli is radicalized, but there has to be a peaceful way to stop her.”

“The desire to become a superhuman cannot be separated from supremacist ideals,” Zemo said, “Anyone with that serum is inherently on that path. She will not stop. She will escalate until you kill her,” the room’s silence became a whole lot heavier, “Or she kills you.” “Maybe you’re wrong, Zemo,” Bucky spoke up, “The serum never corrupted Steve.” “Yeah,” I agreed, peeking over my shoulder at Bucky, “But it didn’t corrupt you either.” Zemo picked up a ring shaped cookie on his finger and pointed to Bucky, “Touché, but there has never been another Steve Rogers, has there?” He popped the cookie in his mouth and shrugged, turning away from us to make further use of the kitchen. 

“Well,” Bucky made his way to the living room, “Maybe we should give him to the Wakandans right now.” “And you’ll give up your tour guide?” Zemo asked, searching through cupboards. 

“Yes,” Bucky answered harshly before sitting himself on the couch, leaning his head back and shutting his eyes.

“From my understanding,” Sam said, “Donya is like a pillar of the community, right? So when I was a kid, my TT passed away-“ “Your-“ Bucky squeezed his eyes shut and leaned forward, “Your TT?” “Yeah, my TT, yeah,” Sam replied plainly. 

“Who is your TT?” Bucky annoyedly and confusedly asked. I chuckled at the exchange from beside Sam, “His aunt. The whole neighborhood had this big ceremony, it lasted like a week.” “Maybe they’re doing the same thing for Donya,” Sam finished.

“Worth a shot,” Bucky shrugged.

“Your TT would be proud of you,” Zemo said to Sam before tossing him a wrapped candy, “Turkish Delight, irresistible.” ——

We were out the door soon after and heading to Donya’s last known location, a refugee camp in the downtown area.

“Shame what’s become of this place,” Zemo commented when we arrived, “When I was young, we used to come here for fabulous dinners and parties. I knew nothing of the politics of the time, of course, but I remember it being beautiful.” It was hard to picture the beige building ever having been beautiful, the setting was so dismal and grey. It was filled with children and workers, refugees, who all collectively looked worn down. The GRC poster that hung on one of the walls that showed smiling families with their mission statement ‘Reset. Restore. Rebuild.’ was a stark contrast to what those words actually delivered.

“We’ll take a look around upstairs,” Sam said, gesturing to me before turning to Bucky, “See what you can find out and keep an eye on him.” 

I left with Sam, climbing the quiet building’s staircase and wandering down the hall. Sam headed through an open doorway that led to a sewing room. “Hey, kid,” he called to one of them, “Excuse me,” he approached one of the only ones who hadn’t run out of the room at our presence, “You heard of Donya Madani?”

“Um,” the girl said, rising from her seat and making for another room, “No. Sorry, no.”

We stood there dumbstruck in the suddenly empty room, it wasn’t until Sam caught the Flag Smasher’s handprint symbol on a sewing box and pointed it out to me that the locked lips made sense. I took the lead and navigated through the crowded rooms, spotting another young person leaving at the sight of us. “Excuse me, do you know the name Donya Ma-“ The boy shut the door on me before I could finish my sentence, I turned to Sam who was close behind me. “Something’s not right,” I mumbled, walking in step with him further down the hall. We finally stumbled upon what looked like a classroom, one man crouched was next to a desk helping a kid and a table with two others who didn’t bolt at the sight of us. 

“Excuse me,” Sam announced our presence, “Do you know a woman by the name of Donya Madani?”

The teacher stood to his full height, “We’re not refugees, for we have nothing to seek refuge from. We’re internationally- displaced persons, for what it’s worth, and we don’t trust outsiders.”

“No, I understand,” Sam stepped forward, “I’m not from here, but I have a pretty good track record of helping out.” “I know what happens when people say they’re going to help out,” the teacher tiredly stated, “Nothing. The Global Repatriation Council promised to send more teachers, supplies. That was six months ago.” “What’s your name? I can make a call,” Sam offered immediately, ever the helper.

“I know who you are, but I can’t trust you. I’m sorry,” the man dismissed him, grabbing his other two students and ushering them out of the room, “Let’s go.” The silence was sobering for us both, we may not have found anything about Donya but we’d certainly stumbled upon something of importance. And as we left the building with our heads metaphorically hung, I could feel that he was just as impacted as I was by it. “I didn’t realize it was so bleak,” I said as we went down the stairs, “The government’s done a great job of painting a different picture for people like us.” 

“That could be said for a lot of things,” he replied, “But no, I didn’t think it was this bad either.”

We rejoined Bucky who was watching Zemo intently as he sat in front of a grouping of kids, a pile of candy in between them. “This is starting to feel like a dead end,” Sam commented.

“The hell is he doing?” Bucky accompanied.

“And why in Latvia does nobody raise an eyebrow at a stranger offering kids candy?” I observed as Zemo stood, approached the kids once more and came back to us. “Cute kids,” he smiled, leaving the three of us to share an unconvinced look after.

——

We returned to our hideout shortly after, defeated and all too aware of how fast the clock was ticking. 

“Well, I got nothin’,” Bucky said as the three of us made our way to the couch, “No one’s talkin’ about Donya.” “Yeah, it’s because Karli is the one fighting for them,” Sam replied, “And she’s not wrong.” “What do you mean?” Bucky’s tone was low and exhausted, but I could have sworn that his eyes brightened for a millisecond when I plopped down next to him.

Sam sighed, “For five years, people have been welcomed into countries that have kept them out using barbwire. There were houses and jobs. Folks were happy to have people around to help them rebuild. It wasn’t just one community coming together, it was the entire world coming together. And then, boom,” he snapped his fingers, “Just like that, it goes right back to the way it used to be. To them, at least Karli’s doin’ something.” “He’s right,” I chimed in, memories of how the world was for five years flooded my brain, “Things were messy but they were…one. Everybody came together because we needed to, there was less room for segregation or prejudice. When things went back, the government made some really bad decisions. And for those of us who weren’t blipped, it was difficult to watch. I’m not saying that I support the Flag Smashers but I do understand why Karli’s doing what she’s doing.” “You really think her ends justify her means?” Bucky’s furrowed brows bounced between Sam and I, “Then she’s no different than him,” he gestured to Zemo who was making tea, “Or anybody else we’ve fought.” “I didn’t say that. She’s different,” I argued, tucking my legs under me and twisting to fully face him, “She's not fighting for word domination or something, she’s fighting for those who’ve lost everything. She’s just...misguided in her approach. ”

Zemo came and set the tray of cups and tea down on the table in front of us, a little too quiet. “That girl,” Bucky addressed him, “What’d she tell you?” The Baron kept up his silence as he thought to himself, eyes flicking between the three of us. “The funeral is this afternoon.” I blinked and awaited the rest of the answer, “That’s all you want to say?” “You know the Dora’s coming for you any minute,” Bucky stated, a bit of amusement in his eyes at the thought of the Wakandan warriors taking him away, “In fact, they’re probably lurking outside right now. Keep talking.” “Leaving you to turn on me once we get to Karli,” Zemo hummed, “I prefer to keep my leverage.” Exasperatedly, I looked over to Sam who looked just as done with the Sokovian royal as I was. Bucky rose from beside me and circled around to face Zemo, ripping the glass heeled in his hands and launching it at the wall, it shattered upon impact. “You wanna see what someone can do with leverage?” Bucky growled, I had to ignore the pit in my stomach that developed anytime Bucky’s voice reached a low decibel.

Sam and I were up and ready to deescalate the situation, him stepping behind Zemo and me placing a hand around Bucky’s metal arm. “Take it easy,” Sam said cautiously, “Don’t engage him. He’s just gonna extort you and do that stupid head tilt thing.” I turned in towards Bucky, the close proximity allowing me to talk softer. “He’s not worth it,” I muttered, his head moving slightly in my direction as I spoke. 

“Let me make a call,” Sam said, walking off and slapping Bucky on the shoulder as he left.

My loyalty to Bucky prevented me from leaving until I knew he was alright and wouldn’t pummel our only lead to a pulp. As his stare lessened in intensity, so did my grip till my fingers ghosted over his bicep. “You want some cherry blossom tea?” Zemo awkwardly asked. “No, you go ahead,” Bucky answered with contempt, walking away with me following close by. 

“So what are we supposed to do?” I asked as Bucky and I walked through the luxurious apartment, “Sit on our asses until he decides to give us breadcrumbs of information?”

“He’ll talk, eventually,” Bucky grumbled, “Even if I have to make him.” Why I was finding this side of him attractive, I couldn’t make sense of. Shoving that aside, I took the more practical approach. I gripped his arm to stop him from going further, “He wants to screw with your mind, don’t let him.”

Bucky bit down on his bottom lip and dropped his line of vision to the ground, silently admitting that I was right. There was something so strange about how easy him and I had become around one another so fast. I could level with him now like I’d known him for ages and he’d actually listen to me. The oddest part was that it felt so natural.

“Now,” I dropped my hand from his body and went to place it on my hip, “Sam’s on the- ow!” 

“What? What is it?” Bucky jumped to attention, his metal hand instinctively reaching for my arm.

The pain had stemmed from my abdomen, radiating down to my waist. I pulled up the hem of my shirt and looked down to see an ugly purple bruise on my side. “Shit,” Bucky mumbled, bending down but quickly popping back up with an innocent gaze, “Can I…?” “Yeah,” I quickly replied, watching him crouch down to get a look at the injury, one of his metal fingers running over the colored skin with a featherlight touch. I prayed that he didn’t take notice of how my breath hitched when the cool Vibranium made contact with my body.

“How did you get this?” he asked with a laser-like focus on my stomach. “Must’ve been from yesterday in the shipyard,” I eked out, we were in close enough proximity that he was starting to cloud my head, “One of the bounty hunters had me in a death grip at one point.” 

Bucky shook his head, his tongue darting out to wet his lips as he rose back up. “I’ll be fine, it’s just a bruise,” I said, pulling my shirt back down when a lightbulb suddenly went off in my head, “Although…” “What?” “I think I’ve got an idea on how you can work out your aggression and this,” I pointed to my side, “Can happen less.” I made my way down the hall, trying to find the right door that would lead to the right room. Turning each knob, I finally found a set of french doors that led to a terrace with a view of the beautiful city. Expecting and correctly guessing that Bucky had followed me, I spun around to face him. “Teach me how to fight.” “Are you kidding?” Bucky’s scrunched in disbelief, “No.” “Come on,” I pleaded, “I think we can both agree that I’m lacking in combat skills and if we’re going to end up fighting more Super Soldiers, I need to be more prepared than last time. Plus,” I pointed a finger at him, “You’re pissed and you need to let it out.”

Bucky scoffed, “I’m not going to let it out on you.” Rolling my eyes thoroughly, I created a force field to separate the two of us, “I’m pretty sure I can handle myself. But if you want to let me get my ass kicked, that’s fine…”

I watched as he let out a single chuckle, “You’re really gonna be like that?” “Yes,” I replied, trying to contain my smile, “I’m really gonna be like that.

He took leisurely steps toward me and started to circle me. I turned with him to keep the force field between us, smirks spreading across both our faces. “Alright, fine. As long as you promise not to go full throttle on me,” he gestured to the hands that had blue energy flowing from them.

“Fine,” I thinned my eyes at him, absorbing the force field back into my body, “But you better keep that arm in check.”

We separated from each other and I walked to my corner of the terrace to remove my jacket. When I turned to see Bucky doing the same, my eyes fell to his fit torso that was threateningly to bust the seams of his tight black t-shirt. In the Latvian sun, you could see the outline of each muscle of his chest and each vein that bulged in his arms was highlighted. Since the first time I’d gotten close enough to admire him, I’d had no shame in admitting to myself that Bucky was attractive. Now that I was actually starting to fall for him, there was a nervousness that came with appreciating his roguish good looks. I shook my head and dragged my gaze away from his body, trying to focus on his eyes as we walked towards one another. Not that I was any better off, they were just as enticing as the rest of him was… “Do you know how to punch?” he asked, I held up a fist and he examined it, “Okay, so that’s a no.” He placed his hands on my hips gently as to not disturb my bruise and turned me around, “Bring one of your feet back and out a little,” he instructed, I listened and he took a step back to accommodate me. “Now,” his hands moved to lightly grasp my arms, “Tuck your elbows into your body.” I swallowed hard as I followed his directions, his chest was now almost flush against my back and it was more than distracting. The closer Bucky and I got, the more muddled my thoughts became until he became the only clear one. With him pressed against me, his hands gently holding my arms and his breath fanning my shoulder, it was a miracle I could remember my own name.

“Now squeeze your abs, as long as it doesn’t hurt too much,” he said softly, inching a little closer as if to make sure I could hear him properly. Goosebumps I hoped he didn’t see erupted across my skin, I did as he said and ignored the pain it caused me. Bucky could have given me any instruction and I’d have followed, I was completely under his spell. 

His hands left me and he came around to stand in front of me, “When you swing, you want to move with your whole body. You’re gonna push off with that foot,” he nudged my furthest ankle with his boot, “And turn your hips with it, but don’t over exaggerate or else you’ll lose your momentum. Your hand,” he took my improper fist into his palm and positioned my thumb below my fingers, holding onto it as he looked back up, “Should look like this.” My lips parted as I watched him mold my hand to his liking, my heart rate picking up as our eyes met. Bucky let go and held out his flesh arm to act as my target, smirking once again, “Alright, give it all you’ve got.”

I swung my fist forward and met his hand, only succeeding in making contact and nothing more. For a second I forgot that I was fighting a Super Soldier.

“Good,” he commended me nonetheless, “Again.”

I readjusted my stance and brought my fist forward again, I still couldn’t move him.

“Again.” Smack.

“Again.”

Smack.

“Again.” Smack.

“Again.” With hardly a thought, I focused my energy out of my fist as it collided with Bucky’s palm and sent his arm back in a mist of blue. I pulled my elbows back into my torso, gasping at what I’d done but not entirely unhappy with the results. Bucky looked just as surprised, turning to me with widened eyes and his pouty lips shaped in an ‘o’.

“Did you know you could do that?” he asked.

“I don’t know, the idea just came to me,” I answered, “Can I try that again?” Bucky held out his palm again and I repeated my attack, his arm jolting back upon impact once again. “I think I may have just made this a fair fight,” I said slyly, challenging him with one raised brow.

“I think you’re exaggerating a little,” he shot back, I could see the mischievous gleam in his eye that accompanied his words.

I shrugged innocently, “Guess we won’t know until we test it.” 

Bucky’s wandering tongue darted out to the side of his mouth as he smiled, “I only taught you how to punch, but alright.”

He took a step closer to me, slowly and playfully putting out a hand towards me to act like he was going to attack me. I held my hand up and built a small force field to block him. Going a little faster, he raised his metal hand and I repeated the action of shielding myself. We kept going until him and I were moving across the terrace with me creating force field after force field to block Bucky’s attack. When my back hit the ledge, I shot up into the air and landed a few feet behind him.

“Is that a fair fight?” Bucky asked as he approached me.

“No, it’s not,” I sighed and lowered my head, looking back up with a smile, “It’s actually a little too easy.”

Bucky started throwing punches, me blocking each one with my palm radiating energy to lessen the impact of his hits. I was so focused that I didn’t see him lift his foot until I had landed on my back with a groan after he’d swept my leg. He pinned me, holding my arms above my head and gripping my wrists so I couldn’t attack. I squirmed a little, unable to move underneath his weight that simultaneously crushed me and sent a thrill through me.

“You were saying?” he smirked, our faces only inches apart and his lips just a little too alluring to continue ignoring. This was a different Bucky than I had become used to, he was playful and flirtatious. We were getting down to who he really was when we weren’t dealing with such serious circumstances.

Taking away the temptation to close the distance between our mouths, and eager to point out he’d made a mistake in pinning my wrists, I lifted and aimed my hands at him, firing two blasts at his shoulders. The grip he had on me was lost as his full weight landed on me, I quickly locked my legs around his and used my energy to flip us so Bucky landed on his back with me on top of him. I pinned his hands at his sides, two steady blue streams flowing from my fingers. Bucky tried to wrestle out of my hold to no avail, I took great joy in leaning over him and giving a shit-eating smile.

“You’re right,” I shook my head, “It’s not fair.”

Bucky breathily chuckled and stopped fighting, instead letting himself be defenseless underneath my body. At some point, the laughter and grins faded and the reality that I was straddling Bucky became very real. If I released my hold on his hands, I wondered what he would do. Would he scurry to lift me off of him and leave as quick as he could? Or would he dare to put his hands on my waist like he had in Madripoor, pulling me into him as close as he could? Nervously, I absorbed the energy back into my fingers and freed him, his hands laying limp where they were but his blue eyes held no intention of looking away. We rested there, trying to catch our breath and not daring to make a move that would shift either of our bodies or the moment. “Bucky, Y/n, where you at?” I heard Sam’s voice drift down the hall.

Stolen moments, that was all I could get with Bucky. I had only just discovered how I felt about him, I didn’t know how to handle it but I knew that when I did get time with him, it never lasted long enough. I unhappily levitated off of him and landed on my feet nearby, leaving him without a word to open the door and find Sam.

I looked down the hall and spotted my brother walking down the hall in search of us. “Hey,” I called, he turned around and changed his course, “Any leads?” “Sharon’s got access to a satellite, she’s gonna keep an eye on the camp,” he said, “And Zemo agreed to take us out to meet someone who’s got information on the funeral. Where’s Buc-“

Bucky appeared at that moment, his jacket back on and covering his build while carrying mine in his hand. He handed it to me, his eyes darting up to meet mine with some sort of meaning in them, “Did he say where he’s taking us?” “No,” Sam answered, “But at least he’s talking.” 

The three of us headed down the hall and out to the living room where Zemo was waiting on us like a parent waiting on their children to get ready to leave. We left and entered the city once again, me trying to keep a little distance between Bucky since my cheeks were still burning. The memory of how he’d felt under me was still all too real and I needed to have a clear head for what was about to go down.

We hadn’t been walking for more than ten minutes when an unfortunately familiar voice sounded off in our vicinity. “Karli Morgenthau is too dangerous for you guys to be pulling this shit.” “Ah, how’d you find us now?” Bucky called across the street, John Walker and Lemar Hoskins hurrying down a set of steps toward us. “Come on, you really think two Avengers can walk around Latvia without drawing attention?” Lemar replied.

“No more keeping us in the dark,” Walker seethed, “You could start by telling us why you broke him out of prison.” I over animatedly shrugged my shoulders and looked between Sam and Bucky, “You told us to stay out of your way so that’s what we did. Can’t have it both ways, Walker.”

“And he broke himself out technically,” Bucky answered Walker’s original question.

“Oh,” Walker was practically spitting with rage, “This better be an unbelievable explana-“ 

“Hey,” Sam stepped in and placed a hand on his chest, “Take it easy before it gets weird.” Walker promptly stepped back and took a breath.

“I know where Karli is,” Zemo offered, stepping to the side along with Bucky and ready to continue on our path, before being stopped by Walker.

“Well, where?” “All we know is, it’s a memorial,” Sam answered, “So we’re gonna intercept her there.”

Zemo gently moved Walker’s hand off of him, and led the way, Bucky, Lemar and I following. “That means civilians,” Lemar said, “High risk of casualties.” “We won’t let that happen,” I replied, “And if they’re fellow funeral goers, neither will Karli.” 

“All right,” Walker said, joining us along with Sam, “We’ll move in fast, take her by surprise.”

“No, I wanna talk to her alone,” Sam protested. As much as I wanted to stop my brother in the street and question the validity of his sanity, we were a united front against Walker and I couldn’t drop it. I’d wait for my turn to voice my concern.

“I’m not losing her again,” Walker pushed back. “Look, the person closest to her died, she’s vulnerable,” Sam argued, “If there was ever a time to reason with her, it’s now.” “What?” No. Wait, no! No! Stop. Hold on,” Walker jogged to get ahead of us, his sidekick following suit, “Stop, okay? I think we’re way past reasoning with her, unless you forgot that she blew up a building with people still in it.” “Sam, you walk in there cold, she could kill you,” Lemar may have had a problem with the plan, just like Walker, but he came at it from a different angle. That I could give him credit for.

“And if I go in hot and the op goes wrong, more people will die,” Sam countered confidently. “You’re gonna let him do this?” Walker addressed Bucky, “Are you gonna let your partner walk into a room with a Super Soldier alone?”

“He’s dealt with worse,” Bucky replied, “And he’s not my partner.”

“I used to counsel soldiers dealing with trauma, okay?” Sam stated, stepping around us to stand in front of Walker, “This is my wheelhouse.” “Yeah, I know. And I know those soldiers, which is why I know this is a bad idea,” Walker shot back. “Wait, John,” Lemar stopped him from going any further, “If he can talk her down, it might be worth a try.”

We stood, anticipating whether or not we’d have to fight harder or if Walker would agree to let Sam handle the situation his way. He scoffed and shifted his weight between feet before turning to Zemo, “We’ll deal with you later.” “I’m sure it will all come to an agreeable conclusion,” Zemo replied and gestured down the path, “My associate is just up ahead.”

We looked ahead to see the same little girl the Baron had been offering candy to earlier in the day. I fell in step alongside Sam and lowered my voice, “Are you sure about this?” 

“Did you act like you agreed with me just to piss of Walker?” he asked, equally quiet.

“…Maybe…” 

He pulled his hand out of his jacket pocket and we bumped fists, “Trust me, this is our best option.” 

The five of us watched Zemo approach the child, handing her something and guiding us to follow where she was leading. She took us to an older factory, bringing us in through the back door of the boiler room. “Karli’s in there,” Zemo said.

Sam broke from our group and headed for the doorway while Walker slammed Zemo up against a furnace. “Hey,” he called to Sam, “You got ten minutes,” he handcuffed Zemo, “Then we’re doing things my way.”

With Sam gone and me not there to protect him in case things took a turn, there wasn’t anything to do but wait. Walker paced, Lemar stood and Bucky stared. I was leaned up against the brick wall that held Zemo, trying not to think of all the ways the plan could go wrong. Karli was young, quick to help but also quick to fight and the sight of Sam may be enough to trigger her into attacking before listening. But Sam wasn’t usually someone to get cocky about something he knew he couldn’t handle and I trusted his judgement. I just wish that I was trusting it in a less dangerous situation. 

“Y/l/n.” I turned to Zemo, “Huh?” “In Madripoor, you said your last name was Y/n Y/l/n,” he continued in a hushed tone so nobody else would hear.

“So? What’s so interesting about my name?”

Zemo paused like he had just come to some conclusion I wasn’t going to be made privy to. “It simply sounds familiar.”

“What does that me-“ “Hey!” Walker exclaimed, staring me and the Baron down, “What’re you two talking about?” Zemo turned away from me like we’d never been speaking, the confusing conversation dissolving in the already tense air. “Nothing,” I lied, pushing off the brick wall and brushing past Walker, “That concerns you at least.”

I landed at Bucky’s side, he nodded his head towards Zemo and looked back to me. “What was that about?” “I’m not sure,” I answered, there was something unsettling about how Zemo’s gaze rested on me, “But I don’t think it was nothing.” We waited in another thirty seconds of silence before an antsy Walker spoke up again, “No, no, no, no, no, this is a bad idea.” “It hasn’t been ten minutes John,” Bucky said, “Just sit tight.”

“Don’t do that,” Walker looked over his shoulder at us angrily, “Don’t patronize me.”

“Then don’t start whining because you’re getting fidgety,” I replied, annoyed with his lack of patience, “Sam knows what he’s doing and if you let him do it, this could all go a lot smoother than Munich.” 

He walked away, staring at the wall in deep thought before coming towards us. “I’m goin’ in,” he stated, punctuating his words with a punch to the shield. 

Bucky stepped forward to block his path, I quickly stuck a hand in between their two bodies and created a force field to further state our point. My apprehension about leaving Sam to handle himself had lessened when he’d assured me he had it under control but I wasn’t sure if there was anything that would get Walker to back off. 

“This is all really easy for you, isn’t it?” Walker grumbled, staring Bucky down, “All that serum runnin’ through your veins. And you,” he skimmed his hand over the unpierceable shield I’d made, “With that X gene of yours. Your brother,” he pointed at Bucky, “And your partner need backup in there. Do you really want his blood on your hands?” The images that Sharon had planted in my head were filled in by Walker, it suddenly became all too easy to picture Sam’s lifeless body on the ground. Just like the one I’d left in the ship yard. No, Walker was not in my head, I wouldn’t allow it. The man who had threatened me with the accords, who waved the name of Captain America around like a free ticket to do whatever he wanted. He could manipulate whoever he wanted, except for me. “You’re not getting past us, Walker,” I firmly stated, bringing his widened eyes to me, “Sam’s got this.” There weren’t many people that stood up to Captain America without a second thought, and the irritated expression on his face reflected that. “So that’s how it’s going now? You’re giving the orders?” “If it means giving Sam a better chance of ending this, then yes,” I countered, digging my heels further into the ground.

He looked me over, debating his options, “Fine.” After observing him for a few cautious seconds, I dropped the force field and stepped to the side of Bucky. No sooner than when my hand fell to my side did Walker shove past Bucky and storm up the stairs, the two of us quickly rushing to draw him back. “Walker!” Bucky shouted.

I aimed my hands out to pull him back in, the blue energy barely leaving my fingertips when Lemar came up behind me and pulled my hands down to my sides. I tried to wrestle out of his grip but he didn’t let me go until Walker had safely gotten up the stairs to a point where I couldn’t see him. “Are you serious?!” I cried as Lemar shot ahead of me up the stairs leaving me to follow pathetically. “Captain’s orders,” he replied over his shoulder as we hurried to catch up to the heated, impatient joke of a Captain. 

“Karli Morganthau, you’re under arrest,” I heard Walker announce, spotting Bucky taking the stairs two at a time behind him.

As I entered the room, my hopeless eyes met Sam’s surprised set. Karli was just as shocked, the redhead asking Sam if it had been the plan all along to bring us in. Lemar pushed in front of me and Bucky, acting as a barrier to prevent us from interfering any more than we had. Bucky attempted to shove his arm away just as Karli landed a punch to the shield, sending Walker and Sam flying back into a table. I used my energy to shove Lemar back, freeing Bucky and I to jump into the fight. Bucky bolted after Karli who was making a run for it while I helped Sam to his feet. “We said ten minutes!” Sam exclaimed, glaring at Walker’s retreating form. 

“I tried,” I said as we made for another staircase to try and catch Karli on the other side of the building. We went through a series of various halls, there was no way to make heads or tails of which way was right. Sam tugged me and led me up another set of stairs with no luck in finding her. “Shit,” I mumbled. On the opposite side of the landing was Bucky, looking just as confused as us. “I lost her,” he said defeatedly. “This place is a maze,” Sam panted.

I took a look at our surroundings, spotting a window and quickly forming an idea. “She could be out of the building by now. Bucky,” I ran to the nearest window, “Help me out.”

Catching on quick, he raised his metal arm and landed a whopping punch, shattering the glass and leaving a gaping hole. I took a few steps back and took a running start, ignoring the sounds of Sam’s protests and diving out the window. I threw my hands out to my sides and expelled energy, ceasing my fall and allowing me to shoot up higher in the air. I landed on the building’s roof, taking a look at the city below me and trying to spot Karli’s mop of red hair. I stayed atop the ledge searching until I heard gunshots from inside the building, dropping and flying back in through the broken window immediately. My blood ran cold with fear, Sam and Bucky weren’t where I had left them. I rushed down the closest hall, hearing a commotion from a room somewhere in the building and praying desperately that they weren’t in the middle of it. I wasn’t sure if I’d ever been so relieved to see the two of them as when I’d spotted them after turning a corner. Upon hearing my boots slapping against the ground, Bucky and Sam turned, both their faces showcasing the same relief. “Thank God,” Sam breathed, waiting for me to catch up with them before tearing off again.

We ran through the building until we found the one hall we hadn’t been down yet, we entered to find quite the scene. Walker was standing over an unconscious Zemo, vials of the super serum smashed on the floor and no sign of Karli.

“What did we miss?” Sam asked, still a little breathless from our chase.

I wasn’t a naturally angry person, but the irateness I felt with John Walker was enough to make my face warm with rage. He had proved that arrogance and impatience were his main modes of operation. He had no problem giving the orders but following someone else’s lead was nearly unbearable for him. His eagerness to jump headfirst into battle may have served him well in aspects of his career, but in this case it had ruined everything.

“You said ten minutes,” I gritted out, staring down Walker from our position on the stairs. His eyes didn’t carry an ounce of remorse for what he had done. Without another word, I turned on my heels and stormed out of the room without waiting for Sam and Bucky. We’d come so far only to lose to a completely preventable situation. I’d never worked with Steve professionally, but I knew that he would have never have sabotaged a mission because of his ego. Just one more reason why John Walker could never truly be Captain America.

----

A/N: I find myself having to reel myself in when writing Walker or else I’ll let my hatred of him show through a little too much lol. Let me know what you thought or if you’d like to be tagged :)

Safe Haven taglist: @tanyaherondale​ @wanniiieeee​ @asoftie4bucky​ @edencherries​ @i-reblog-fics-i-like​ @ttalisa​ @gcfty @withyoutilltheendofthismess​ @rinaispunk​ @weirdowithnobeardo​ @felicityofbakerstreet​ @godlypotterwhodiaries @eternalharry​ @voguesir​ @mizz-kraziii​ @okayline​ @smellmymisunderstoodfluff @wanderin-stories​ @nicklet94 @intricate-melody​ @aesthethickks​ @stumbleonmywords​ @simplybarnes​ @21bruhs​ @lostinwonderland314​ @superbookishhufflepuff​ @kaelyn-lobrutto24​ @zozebo​ @fandomxreaders @kittengirl998​ @sarai-ibn-la-ahad​ @i-know-i-can​ @x-judyjude-x​ @thebi-valkyrieofvalhalla​ @buckverse​

[ineloqueent]

a night in

Brian May x Fem!Reader

synopsis: your plans for christmas turn sour when you fall ill. but at least you’ve got Brian there with you.

warnings: swearing

word count: 2.2k

⭒

The end of December was approaching at a pace which could only be described as rapid, and christmas was lurking around the corner in a rather sinister manner, given that you had hardly got anything done in the weeks leading up to it, and were now facing the daunting task of wrapping presents, decorating the tree, and baking enough reserves of biscuits to last the presence of your sweet-toothed family.

It was the day before christmas, which really did not bode well for either you or your boyfriend. You both had yet to pack, having felt almost nothing but reluctance toward the idea of going to visit your family— you because your family, as much as you loved them, often drove you up the wall, and Brian because he had never met your family, and was nervous for the occasion to finally arise.

Typical Brian.

He worried about everything. It was quite sweet, really, the way he worried about your family not liking him, because Brian was just about the best thing ever to have happened to you, and with his humility and his kindness, his cleverness and his wit, you could not imagine anyone seriously disliking him.

Except for when he left. That made you quite upset with him. Especially on the mornings where he had to get up early, and left you alone in bed without a source of warmth.

But for this morning, at least, he still had yet to get up, despite the multitude of things on your combined to-do list.

Instead, the two of you lay intertwined with each other, soft breaths and soft skin and mouths.

Brian was warmth, and you pressed closer to him, tightening your grasp around his impossibly slim frame, breathing in the smell of his hair and his skin, strawberries turned musky with sleep, like Turkish delight offered on a wintry day— some semblance of a fairytale was interwoven with his curls, with the blushing pink of his lips, and the contrast between the two.

He shifted in your arms, a sigh falling from him the way that the first snow of the year always falls— peaceful, gentle, almost tentatively— the way he’d kissed you the first time.

You remembered it as though it were yesterday.

You’d been sitting beside him on the grass of Hyde Park, the lazy summer sun circling overhead, and you’d pushed your sunglasses up atop your head, and glanced over at Brian.

He’d smiled at you, and you’d sighed, lying back on the grass. Brian had followed suit, and the two of you had gazed up at the sky in tandem, watching the clouds turn about the sky like the whitewash of the sea, becoming and undoing themselves all at once, fluctuating between infinite numbers of shapes which appeared to your imagination as animals or plants, people and inanimate objects.

“This is how life should always be,” Brian had said.

You’d hummed in agreement. “No responsibilities, no schedules, just the sky and the world beneath it.”

“And you.”

“Me?” You had turned your head to face him, your fingers knotting in the grass as your pulse elevated by no intentions of its own.

“Mmm.” His curls had fluttered in the breeze as he’d nodded, his hazel eyes turning your legs to caramel beneath you. You were glad you were not standing.

“Brian?”

“Yeah?”

“Kiss me.”

He’d opened his mouth as though to say something, but then seemed to have lost all ability to do so, and pressed his lips together.

Slowly— so slowly you thought he’d change his mind halfway and leave you lying motionless on the ground, unable to move for how closely Brian Harold May had been to kissing you— he raised himself to his elbows, and moved to hover above you.

His exhale touched your lips before his own did, and you shuddered involuntarily. Then, he leaned down to you, and overlapped your mouth with his, breathing into the kiss in a manner which set goosebumps prickling along every inch of your skin, scattered asunder the butterflies in your stomach till their wings tickled along every part of your body, like a sparkler catching flame.

Your hand slid to cover the nape of his neck, sinking into his ringlet curls as you pulled him to you and became nothingness beneath his touch, dissolving as his fingertips brushed your waist, his tongue your lower lip. And god— he was good at this.

A small sound escaped him, and you parted your lips and let your shoulders sink into the grass. You drew Brian with you, kissing him, kissing him, kissing him, so many times you thought you’d never stop, because you never wanted to be without this feeling again— this feeling of him.

You remembered that kiss this morning, as he wrinkled his nose in his sleep, and you traced your fingers from his temple to his jaw, before brushing over his sternum, and trailing down the centre of his chest—

His eyes flew open and he grasped your wrist, his breath coming sharp and short.

Your heart seized.

As though waking from a dream, he relaxed, a sigh scattering his curls briefly away from his face, before they fell back into his eyes. You smiled fondly at the sight, and Brian bit his lip shyly. He was still shy, shy at the affection offered to him, after all this time. Some part of him still doubted he was deserving; you could see it in the dip of his mouth, the downward flick of his eyes, and pink rising in his face.

“Hello,” he murmured.

“Hello, Brian,” you whispered back, and kissed his collarbone.

You lingered, and felt his breath against your forehead, the beat of his heart upon the place where your cheek had come to rest.

“Not getting out of bed today?”

“Uh-uh.”

He chuckled, the sound humming over your skin. “No visiting family, then?”

“You’re my family.”

“Oh, my love—”

“Shh, go back to sleep.”

Brian frowned. “As much as I hate the thought of getting out of bed right now, we really must, if we’re to catch that train.”

Nestling into him, you whined, “But you’re so warm…”

Brian’s frown deepened, a crease appearing between his eyes. “As are you,” he said.

Then at once, he pushed you away, sat up, and pulled you up with him. You blinked dazedly, as Brian shook his head. “God, you’re warm,” he muttered, and pressed the back of his palm against your forehead. His eyes widened suddenly, as both his hands came up to cradle your face. “Christ, love, I think you’ve got a fever.”

You blinked. “What?”

He shook his head again. “You’re ill.”

“But what about—”

“We are not going anywhere.”

“Christmas—”

Brian scoffed, “Absolutely bloody not.”

You fought for control of your mind, which seemed suddenly cloudy, in the wake of Brian’s realisation. “But I’ve bought presents, and baked biscuits, and I promised my mum—”

“There’s no such thing as late presents,” said Brian, “and the biscuits we’ll eat ourselves, and your mum will understand that you’re sick and not to leave your bed until you’re feeling better.”

You grew suddenly despairing at the thought of spending christmas in bed, with nothing to show for the wasted time, and you said desperately, “But Brian, I can’t not— what about— oh, I’ve ruined everything.”

You felt suddenly rather overwhelmed, fisting your hands in the sheets. He was right, that was for certain; you felt so very cold, though he insisted that you were warm, and yes— that was a sweat breaking out on your neck, tingles starting down your spine. And you were tired. So, so tired.

And then you were blushing, that Brian should have to see you like this— pathetic, weak, and not entirely pretty, at that— deal with you like this.

You ducked your head. “Please don’t feel obligated to stay here with me. I’m sure I can take care of it, be better in a few days’ time…”

“You, my love, are entirely ridiculous, if you think that I am going to leave you here for a single second, in this state.”

Your blush deepened at his words, but if Brian noticed, he said nothing.

“I don’t—”

“Shush,” said Brian, rising from your side, before pulling on the pair of trousers previously discarded by the bed. You pressed your lips together immediately at his insistence, and he swept around the side of the bed, kneeling by your side. “You’re going to stay right here whilst I make you a cup of tea and phone your mum, and then we’re going to do everything in our power to get you on the mend, yeah?”

You nodded silently, biting your lip. A distinct sense of shame still weighed upon you.

At your nod, Brian nodded as well, and stood.

You bowed your head and resigned yourself to a miserable christmas.

But then suddenly, Brian’s lips were at the shell of your ear.

“And just for the record,” he whispered, “you couldn’t ruin anything if you tried.”

His fingers brushed the nape of your neck before he dropped a kiss to your hair, and departed the bedroom for the kitchen.

⭒

The cup of chamomile tea had not gone down easily, but with thirty minutes of sipping the hot, warm, then lukewarm, liquid— and no small amount of coaxing from Brian— it was done.

He took your temperature after that, and grumbled disapprovingly, until he saw your downcast eyes, and stroked a hand over your head.

“Good girl,” he murmured.

Then he reached above the bed and drew the curtains shut, before undressing again and crawling back beneath the duvet and wrapping his arms around you, pulling you against his chest and kissing the curve of your neck.

“What can I do for you, love? Anything you need, just tell me.”

But all you really wanted was sleep. And Brian there with you.

“Just…” you started. “Just hold me.”

“I can do that,” Brian said. “I’m very good at that.”

And you slept through to dinnertime.

When you awoke, Brian was gone, but you could hear him singing in the kitchen, and a lovely smell wafted through the flat to your bedroom.

He returned with a bowl of soup, which he assured you was fresh, because he had just made it. He sat with you whilst you ate slowly, your movements still as lethargic as they had been in the morning. But he stayed by your side, eating his own soup as he kept you company, combing your hair with his fingers, clearing away your bowl when you eventually finished.

He then took your temperature again, tutting like a mother hen. He urged you take a shower to ease your aching muscles, and you complied, whilst he exchanged the sweat-matted sheets of your bed to clean ones. When you slipped back into bed, the cotton was cool against your skin, and your heart swelled with gratitude for Brian and his attentiveness.

You fell asleep quickly, and though you awoke throughout the night, Brian was always awake too, there to sing you back to sleep, or talk or read in comforting tones until you drifted off again.

But when you eyes opened christmas morning, Brian was nowhere to be found.

Until he was— sitting beside you on the bed, smiling softly.

He held out a mug to you, and involuntarily, you cringed.

He laughed. “It’s not chamomile tea, today,” he assured you, and you sighed in relief, because you had never particularly liked chamomile tea in the first place, and after the events of yesterday, there would be no redemption for it, ever.

“Hot chocolate, to celebrate,” he said. “Happy christmas, my love.”

Letting you take the offered cup, Brian clinked his own against yours.

“Happy christmas, Bri,” you responded, sleepily but happily, and he smiled again, and it warmed your heart to no end.

He blew on his hot chocolate before taking a delicate sip, and as you drank as well, you could not help but stare at him, at this beautiful being who, for presumably no reason at all, had chosen to love you.

“What?” he said, when he noticed you looking, and you chewed your lip.

“I really want to kiss you,” you answered.

Brian set down his cup on the bedside table, and leaned close to you.

“No,” you pushed him away gently, “I’ll get you sick.”

Brian rolled his eyes. “Oh, fuck it,” he muttered. “I love you.”

“I love you—”

He silenced you with a kiss, drawing you in with a breath, nipping lightly as your lower lip so that you all but melted into his arms.

And you kissed him and you kissed him, and in an infinite cycle, he kissed you, until the world fell away, its colours softening to sunset pastels. And you floated away, awash with the sort of love you had never thought possible, before you had met Brian.

[djemsostylist]

The Great Dizi List, Part 3b (The Alperen Dizis)

Okay, so allow me to start by saying that I've finished Son Yaz, and as as result I may have fallen the tiniest bit in love with Alperen Duymaz and thus have embarked on the journey of watching all his dizis. He has this sad, earnest puppy vibe combined with an incredible amount of BDE in all his roles, plus he's just so damn pretty. Anyway. And by all I mean just two others bc I like him beardy and his teen one is a little young for me.

Son Yaz

This one will actually get its own post, because it deserves its own post. Tbqh it deserves sonnets written to its beauty, bc this is one of those shows that I watched all the way through in like, 3 days, and then immediately wanted to go back and watch again. It was that good. The main quartet are a delight, and honestly I haven't loved a ship like AkMur in far too long. (okay technically Edser but that ended in disaster and in retrospect I kind of think they were awful and I'm not even really sure what I loved about them tbh they kind of sucked.) They are one of those ships you can believe in, where you know they are going to work out no matter what and you want them to. The way they are together--they make my heart happy.

Zemheri

This show I actually started to watch back in September of last year, when I had just started watching Turkish dizis. Back then I was entirely on my own and I got about 40 min in and then freaked out. I read some reviews, freaked out some more and bailed. But I'm a dizi pro now, and with this being a combined Alperen AND Ayça dizi I basically couldn't resist. It helped that it was only 10 episodes and that meant it couldn't get too crazy. Both Alperen and Ayça were amazing, of course, and they are just so damn beautiful together. Their chemistry was electric and since they spent about 90% of this dizi crying at each other (and let me tell you that these two may be the best dizi criers I've seen) it was incredibly well done. They are so pretty when they cry. There is one story line which didn't make a whole ton of sense and kind of pissed me off, but honestly it gets so little screen time as to render it easy to dismiss or headcanon. (Hint: It should have been a hysterical pregnancy). But the acting was great, the ending was intensely satisfying, and honestly if you want to watch Alperen with curls and turtlenecks and peacoats (his curls, btw, may or may not have caused a few minor breakdownsif they give Akgun curls I won't make it) cry at Ayça beautifully while she cries beautifully back for 20 hours or so, then I highly recommend.

Çarpişma

Okay, so I've watched several mafia/crime dizis. They're probably my favorite kind tbh. Usually they feature super smart main characters who are always a step ahead (you think they are in trouble but they always had a plan) and a bad guy with infuriating but understandable motives who usually lives too long, and at least one minor henchman guy who gets what he deserves. And usually our mains live happily ever after. Usually.

This show was not that. I should preface this by saying that my brand of humor is what you might call "dark"--I laughed more at the Americans than I ever have a comedy, lets put it that way. Anyway, this show featured 4 of the stupidest people ever to exist in a tv show, and I do mean that, and was also technically I guess kind of horrible what with the death and killing but tbh I laughed a lot. Now, I should say that the cast was excellent, and the acting was excellent and I loved every single one of those stupid idiots. But they were, in fact, extraordinarily stupid. These people got kidnapped like, and I'm not joking, at least once an episode. Sometimes twice. There actually came a point where they were getting kidnapped from their kidnappers by other kidnappers. And then literally every episode they'd get saved (and by they I mean the women, the two dudes never got kidnapped really) and then literally like, go right back to life as normal. Neither dude ever made sure their respective girlfriend got back in the house at night, neither girl ever believed in calling their respective boyfriend to, idk, buddy walk anywhere, they never checked before opening doors, they drove away without looking, got in cars without looking. It may sound like I'm exaggerating but I swear I'm not. And mind you, this dizi started with the main characters family getting blown up, and the other one being kidnapped and forced to shoot her husband in the face to save her kidnapped daughter. Spoilers I guess. So you'd think they'd be a little cautious but nope. Not even a little. Just out there, living their lives. The main villain of the first half of the dizi actually got redeemed and tbh by the final episode I was rooting for him to live his best life an co-parent with Kadir. At least he had a reasonable motivation, and he also did try and make up for the atrocities he committed. And really, what's a little murder now and again. The other bad guy's motivation was, and I swear this is true, "my son hates me for blowing up his family bc I didn't know it was his family, so bc he hates me I'm going to kill the rest of his family." That was literally it. The thing is, while the constant dying and torture would make you say "Djem, wtf is wrong with you, how did you get glee out of this show?" let me tell you that by the 945th kidnapping, you too will be like "can't even feel sorry for you really" and the just settle into this state of low level amusement and glee. Like, literally 90% of these kidnappings and deaths could have been prevented by like, idk, actually having police protection, or staying inside the house, or not opening the door for strangers, or watching to make sure the love of your life got inside safely, or not walking alone at night, or not GOING TO THE PARK TWO DAYS AFTER YOUR BESTIE WAS KIDNAPPED AND HAD A BOMB STRAPPED TO HER. So like, I mean, not to victim blame. But. Let's say by the end, while I loved the fuck outta the mains, I honestly was more emotional over Veli. Bc they were just so fucking stupid. Like, kidnapped, from a kidnapper. You really can't make it up. They make Akgun and Soner look like geniuses. And that's saying something. Anyway it was great and if you ff through most of the boring shit, I highly recommend. The acting is superb, the foursome is hilarious, and tbh Veli is a great villain that I loved. It was the stupidest dizi I've seen (that's a lie I watched parts of two Ayşe dizis) but tbh it was enjoyable as hell, so that's saying something I guess.

And that is BITTI for the Alperen dizis. For now. Son Yaz will be back soon and I can't wait!

Next up is Kuzey Guney, bc I made promises.

Part 1 Part 2 Part 3

[usualsuspectsfinalproject]

The Usual Suspects (1995) Final Project

COM 323: Films of the 1990s

Introductory Video

The Usual Suspects (1995) Trailer

Production

The first inkling of The Usual Suspects film came to director Bryan Singer as he read an article in the magazine known simply as Spy. It was a passage regarding the famous 1942 film Casablanca in which the character of Louis Renault says that they need to, “round up the usual suspects.”

With a title now in mind, Singer and his screenplay writer Christopher McQuarrie could get to work. The screenplay for The Usual Suspects took McQuarrie around five months to create. He had used elements of one of his previous, not published works to forge the story. McQuarrie combined several real-world elements into the film’s screenplay including the true crime story of John List who killed his entire family then took on a new identity for some 20 years until he was caught. According to an article from The Guardian, “A lot of the inspiration for Keyser Söze, the villain, came from the character of Yuri in the 1980s thriller No Way Out – a spy within the Pentagon who may or may not exist.” The name “Keyser Söze” is based on one of McQuarrie’s previous coworker’s name, Kayser Sume. When trying to adjust Sume’s surname, McQuarrie used a friend’s Turkish dictionary to discover the word “söze,” which means “talks too much,” which, in hindsight, is hinted at through Roger Kint’s nickname “Verbal” and his self-admission of being talkative. The name origin also potentially explains why Söze is described as "supposedly” Turkish. Similarly, characters mention that Keyser Söze‘s father might be German. His first name Keyser seems to be a reference to the German word “Kaiser” which means “Emperor.”

Once the screenplay had been completed to Singer and McQuarrie’s liking, they began to show it to studios, hoping to find an interested party. However, that turned out to be much harder than anticipated. Despite the excellent writing by McQuarrie, the vacancy of the cast and non-linear storytelling elements scared off most studios. The film’s rough start is described in “Usual Suspects, Unusual Devices,” by Martin Barker and Thomas Austin. The journal article reads, “It almost didn’t get made. Its director Bryan Singer and writer McQuarrie tried 130 film financiers before finally cutting a deal with two European sources. Even then, the deal almost fell apart just days before filming was due to start, when one backer withdrew. Finally, a recut of the distribution and video rights brought in combined finance from Polygram and Spelling International.” So, they finally found some hope in Europe with the PolyGram film company, though the actors were going to have to be paid significantly less than their usual fees. The actors which they cast were okay with the lower pay, however, as they wanted the opportunity to not only work with Singer’s direction and McQuarrie’s script but also the other actors involved. In fact, in 1993, Kevin Spacey had met Bryan Singer and told him that he wanted to act in Singer’s next production.

The Main Cast - “The Lineup”

When the film began production, the budget was set at five and a half million dollars. Perhaps due to funding or other factors, there were only three shooting locations for the entire film. These were the cities of Los Angeles, New York City and San Pedro, CA. The film was shot in only 35 days, which is quite short compared to other films. Although it would seem the most prominent issue for the film would be the lack of financial backing, it turned out to be the actors themselves. Director Bryan Singer could not keep his main five actors in character, especially when they were all together like the famous “lineup” scene. Several scenes would take much longer than expected to film due to the actors being unable to stay in character because they would laugh with one another. In the final take of this scene, the characters are seen giggling, this is partially purposeful to show their camaraderie but much of it was the actor’s genuine laughter, particularly during Fenster’s delivery of the line.

The Usual Suspects (1995) “Lineup” Scene

Another less humorous issue that plagued the shoots was the size of filming locations. They had to film in many confined areas which made the job of cinematographer Newton Thomas Sigel all the more interesting. In order to combat this issue of space, he used creative zoom tactics and dolly movements to simulate motion which made the space feel larger. The film wrapped shooting two weeks prior to its estimated date. However, one day Singer had a feeling that the mystery of Keyser Söze was unfinished. He felt that the film needed to convince the audience that Dean Keaton was Söze to up the ante of the twist ending. From this revelation came one of the film’s most crucial and shocking scenes. The sequence is the one at the very end, where Kujan stares at the board whilst past dialogue looms in the background as he pieces together the mystery. I have attached the video clip below:

The Usual Suspects (1995) Ending Scene

Marketing

The advertising campaign for The Usual Suspects started off with an unusual issue. The studio executives were worried that audiences would not know how to pronounce “Keyser Söze.” So, they thought a good way to combat this was to create posters and television advertisements which read, “Who is Keyser Söze?”

Though, many people still mispronounced it despite their efforts. The film itself initially aired at the now famous Cannes Film Festival in 1995. Here, it was met with a good reception from both critics and fans. Before it could get its full theatrical debut, it was shown in select screenings in Los Angeles and New York City, two of its filming locations and general movie hotspots. After these showings, it was aired in many theaters around the country and grossed around $23 million, which shattered its small budget numbers.

Reception

Despite successful monetary gains from the film, the critical reception after its full release was less than ideal. Overall, most critics felt the film was either predictable, confusing or only created to give its cast Oscar nominations. Famous film critic for the Chicago-Sun Times, Roger Ebert, gave the film a terrible one and a half stars, writing, “The story builds up to a blinding revelation, which shifts the nature of all that has gone before, and the surprise filled me not with delight but with the feeling that the writer, Christopher McQuarrie, and the director, Bryan Singer, would have been better off unraveling their carefully knit sleeve of fiction and just telling us a story about their characters – those that are real, in any event. I prefer to be amazed by motivation, not manipulation.” Other critics gave it similar ratings like USA Today’s two and a half stars. Though there were some outliers at the time, like reviewers for The Independent and The New York Times who gave it positive reviews. One of these reviews was from Lisa Schwarzbaum of Entertainment Weekly, who wrote, “Dense with plot intricacies, thick with atmosphere, and packed with showy roles for a hip ensemble, The Usual Suspects is fun to watch — a celebration of cool actors having a good time playing sweaty and devious lowlifes.” However, her opinion seemed to be in the minority.

Fast forwarding to today’s view, the film seems to have had a shift in opinion. The three most popular film reviewing sites, IMDb, Rotten Tomatoes and Metacritic gave it an 8.5, 89% and a 77, respectively. Notably, the audience score on Rotten Tomatoes is a whopping 96%. Clearly, there has been a change of thought towards the 1995 film over the years. Today, the film is included on many lists of “top” films. Some of these lists include top movies of the 1990s, top crime dramas and even best films of all time. Many even cite this film as a “classic” or a “must watch” which is a sign of remarkably high praise. Some of the more well-known lists it has made were curated by the American Film Institute and the Writers Guild of America. Not to mention, the film has won numerous awards, even back in the 1990s. Some of the most notable awards being McQuarrie’s wins for Best Original Screenplay at the Academy Awards, the BAFTAs and the Independent Spirit Awards. Along with Kevin Spacey’s win for Best Supporting Actor also at the Academy Awards among many others for the cast and crew alike. So, even if the critics did not seem too keen on the film back in ’95, there still were many who supported it enough for them to score such high accolades.

Since the film’s release in 1995, it has found its way into different areas of popular culture through references, homages and other nods to the film. In fact, there was even an official remake in Hindi called Chocolate in 2005. But looking beyond this remake, acknowledgements to the film can be seen all over from a monologue by Stephen Colbert to Family Guy cutaways to Key & Peele skits and perhaps most famously in Scary Movie (2000).

Many of these come in the form of citing famous lines from the film or re-hashing crucial scenes such as Kujan’s piecing together Verbal’s fabrications or Verbal’s shift from limping to walking normally. Along with loving references to the film, there has been a bit of controversy as well. Actor Gabriel Byrne, who played Dean Keaton, claimed that the film’s production was temporarily halted due to Kevin Spacey’s inappropriate behavior on set. Byrne stated for The Sunday Times, “I mean, he was kind of a joke in that people would say, ‘That’s Kevin,’ but nobody really understood the depth of his predations. It was only years later that we began to understand that [filming] was closed down for a particular reason and that was because of inappropriate sexual behavior by Spacey.” Director Bryan Singer has since spoken out about Byrne’s claims. He denied the allegations against Spacey. 

The Neo-Noir Genre

The neo-noir genre is defined by Mark Conrad in his work The Philosophy of Neo-noir as, “...any film coming after the classic noir period that contains the noir themes and sensibility.” The genre is a revitalization of the classic film noir, hence the prefix “neo” which means “new.” These films aim to capture a similar essence to the past noir crime films. They maintain similar characteristics in their writing style, cinematographic choices and essential themes. Some of these themes include crime, mystery, twists, paranoia, vengeance and deception. The way in which neo-noir differs from classic noir is seen through its use of updated technology and tackling of more modern societal problems. These films are also defined by the way in which they approach character. In classic noir, the motivations of the criminal or the detective were typically clear. But in neo-noir there is often a blurred sense of the world, where the character’s motivations are unknown or misunderstood and there is no clear division of good and evil as well as reality and fiction.

The way in which The Usual Suspect’s plot unfolds and its conflicts are battled perfectly fits the neo-noir outline. Writer J.P Devine describes the film in an article for Central Maine’s website as, “...a game of chess, a masterpiece full of fake clues, twists and turns that flows from light to shadow and back again. ‘The Usual Suspects,’ as most filmmakers know, rests somewhere near the top of the list of the greatest film noir thriller-capers of all time.” First and most obviously, the baseline of the entire film: crime, criminals and police. These three elements defined the classic noir genre at its core and have continued to define the neo-noir predecessor. Next, the film is based around one central mystery who is “Keyser Söze?” Neo-noir cinema most commonly revolves around questions or figures like these who the viewer and the characters will spend most of the film trying to pinpoint their identity. As the viewer watches Kujan stare at the board after Verbal has left the interrogation, both the character and the audience begin to piece together the fabrication of Verbal. As Verbal is seen shifting from limp to upright walk it all falls into place as the real Söze drives off uninhibited. This moment is exemplifying two examples of neo-noir cinematic patterns, the twist and deception. Verbal has fooled everybody, the viewer included. He has fabricated the perfect story to lead everyone off his trail and onto Keaton’s, who is confirmed dead, which means Söze would be too. As Stanley Orr explains in his, “Postmodernism, ‘Noir’, and ‘The Usual Suspects,” “Throughout the course of the film, Verbal installs himself on the periphery as mere documenter, ‘alone returned to tell the tale.’ Seemingly innocuous, Verbal diverts suspicion by focalizing upon Keyser Soze and Dean Keaton. In the last moments of the film, Verbal leaves Rabin's office under a new aspect: his ‘hand flexes with all the grace and coordination of a sculptor's’ (McQuarrie 120).” He has convinced everybody that he – the talkative, limp-footed “Verbal,” does exist while simultaneously convincing that the mysterious, all-seeing crime boss, Keyser Söze, does not, just like the devil.

Along with the plot and structure of the film fitting the neo-noir genre, so do the characters themselves. In the journal article, “Rounding up ‘The Usual Suspects’: The Comforts of Character and Neo-Noir” by  J.P. Telotte, the author notes, “The Usual Suspects offers an especially telling illustration in this regard, particularly of the impact of character in the neo-noir. It is a film that begins with a mystery and almost literally invites its viewers to play at guessing that mystery, at ferreting out the clues to its narrative and anticipating its twist ending. Moreover, that mystery depends totally on the film's conception and our own orchestrated and convention-driven misconception-of character, a set of reactions that pointedly flies in the face of our anticipation of narrative conservatism and undercuts one sort of pleasure or comfort we have come to expect from our films.” As explained previously, Keyser Söze is a brilliantly written character along with his Jekyll and Hyde-esque counter-part Roger “Verbal” Kint. Both of their motivations seem unclear for most of the film until the twist is revealed. Once they are established as the same character, many of the the motivations for Söze fall into place such as his paranoia that the man on the boat was going to expose him. Hence why he sent the criminals on a wild chase for some non-existent drugs on the ship. He wanted that man to be dealt with without the “lineup” knowing exactly why.

Also, the conflict between good and evil can be seen through both Söze and Keaton. Keaton’s struggle is more obvious and active throughout the film. He wants to escape the life of crime and live a morally and legally “good” life with his girlfriend, however, he finds it difficult to fully separate. Over and over he tries but he keeps being pulled right back. He cannot create true division between the good and the evil within himself. Similarly, after Verbal is revealed as Keyser Söze, this conflict comes over the audience. Initially, one feels themselves almost inclined to tip their cap to Verbal for his performance. Despite knowing the crimes he has committed, the viewer cannot fully write off Söze, he tows the line between likeable and truly evil in the minds of the viewer. The way in which the audience finds turmoil in supporting or disdaining his character is comparable to how readers feel about Satan in John Milton’s epic Paradise Lost. Something draws the audience into these characters despite or perhaps because of their wicked ways. In “Usual Suspects, Unusual Devices,” Martin Barker and Thomas Austin explain that, “The Usual Suspects rewards its viewers with the pleasures of unpacking its cleverness, and at the same time it rewards us by enabling us to demonstrate (to ourselves, to film-going friends) our cleverness in deciphering its deceits. It rewards with frissons of delighted shock the terror of a conspiratorial view of the Underworld: an attractive/dangerous stock of appalling characters. It rewards us if we are willing to play with the notion that authority is a mixture of inept and corrupt – but that corruption may be as nothing in the face of an awesome corruption so demonic that the petty authorities who think they run things are just self-deceivers.” His character is the encapsulation of the neo-noir genre’s blurring and bending of right and wrong, of good and evil, of reality and fiction. He lives his life miles ahead of those who wish to unravel his mystery. By the time anyone can wrap their head around his deceit, it is too late because, in devilish fashion, like that... he’s gone.

Works Cited

Derschowitz, Jessica. “What Critics Thought of 'The Usual Suspects' When It Came out 20 Years Ago.” EW.com, 16 Aug. 2015, ew.com/article/2015/08/16/usual-suspects-20th-anniversary-reviews/.

Telotte, J. P. “Rounding up ‘The Usual Suspects’: The Comforts of Character and Neo-Noir.”Film Quarterly, vol. 51, no. 4, 1998, pp. 12–20. JSTOR, www.jstor.org/stable/1213240. Accessed 28 June 2020.

Ebert, Roger. “Ebert's Most Hated: Roger Ebert: Roger Ebert.” Roger Ebert | Roger Ebert, www.rogerebert.com/roger-ebert/eberts-most-hated.

Ebert, Roger. “The Usual Suspects Movie Review (1995): Roger Ebert.” Movie Review (1995) |  Roger Ebert, www.rogerebert.com/reviews/the-usual-suspects-1995.

Gelly, Christophe. “The Usual Suspects or the Potency of Falsity.” Mise Au Point. Cahiers De L'association Française Des Enseignants Et Chercheurs En Cinéma Et Audiovisuel, Association Française Des Enseignants Et Chercheurs En Cinéma Et Audiovisuel, 1 Apr. 2014, journals.openedition.org/map/1646?lang=en.

Hoad, Phil. How We Made The Usual Suspects. 4 Jan. 2016,             www.theguardian.com/culture/2016/jan/04/how-we-made-the-usual-suspects-bryan-singer-gabriel-byrne

Schwarzbaum, Lisa. “The Usual Suspects.” EW.com, 25 Aug. 1995,           ew.com/article/1995/08/25/usual-suspects/.

Sharf, Zack. “'The Usual Suspects' Reportedly Stopped Filming Due to Kevin Spacey's 'Sexually Inappropriate Behavior’.” IndieWire, IndieWire, 5 Dec. 2017,  www.indiewire.com/2017/12/usual-suspects-kevin-spacey-sexual-misconduct-bryan-singer-1201904039/.

Travers, Peter. “The Usual Suspects.” Rolling Stone, Rolling Stone, 25 June 2018, www.rollingstone.com/movies/movie-reviews/the-usual-suspects-93781/.

“The Usual Suspects (1995).” Rotten Tomatoes, www.rottentomatoes.com/m/usual_suspects.

[flutadventures]

Happy Birthday to Me Part Two

The following is a documentation of all the other meals I made on my birthday weekend:

Unagi Gyoza with an Italian Twist

I found unagi gyoza on sale in a Japanese supermarket and was really excited, I’ve never seen gyoza with such a filling before and the ingredient list looked really good too - these included broiled eel, leek, cabbage, bonito stock, and sake. They were a tad expensive, but for the novelty value and the fact that I’d probably have to pay 3 times more for the same quantity in a restaurant I thought “Ah fuck it why not, it’s my birthday lol”. 

I initially didn’t think of doing too much with it, just the most basic steaming. But then I realised I didnt have any of the usual dipping vinegar to go with it, which was then I thought - why not try an alternative? Crema di Balsamico with its tangy-sweetness immediately came to my mind. And  then I went one step further by pan frying just the one side in butter, to get it crispy just like it’s sometimes sold outside. And to balance all this heartiness I had my very own homemade cucumber salad on the side, german-style(or at least, my interpretation of it). I really don’t think there is a need to go into lengthy detail on the how-to here. 

It turned out well, although I probably could have steamed the gyoza a tad longer. Moral of the story, look for alternatives when you don’t have something, the end result can be pleasantly surprising, as was the case here. The tangy-sweetness of the balsamico balanced the richness of the unagi nicely. 

Summer “Grilled” Prawn salad 

This, ladies and gentlemen and children (as Turkish airlines has the habit of announcing, which I find very cute lol) - is by far my pièce de résistance, at least for this Birthday Weekend Menu thingy. I’d two jumbo prawns leftover (of course this was planned), and I wanted to do something different from what I’d made with them the last meal (rich tomato-based pasta). I tried to think up antonyms to the adjectives I would use to describe that previous dish, and I came up with the words fruity and light and summerish. Not that tomatoes(as per the last dish) aren’t summerish, but in this one they’re left uncooked and refreshing. I’m rather proud to say that I came up with this one almost entirely by myself. 

Ingredients

-Jumbo Prawns; 2 

-Quinoa; 1 portion

-Cherry tomatoes; a handful 

-Mint; a few leaves

-Butter

-Orange-Pepper spice mix; 1-2 pinches 

-Pomegranate vinegar; a splash

-Mango vodka; 2-3 splashes

-Pepper-garlic spice mix 

-Crema di Balsamico

-Salt 

-Truffle olive oil / Any salad oil (e.g. pumpkin seed, walnut, olive)

Special Equipment

-Blowtorch 

-Container for shaping quinoa bed, shouldn’t measure more than a palm's width across. 

Instructions

1) Toast quinoa in pan with some butter till nearly golden brown, put in rice cooker with ratio 1:1.5 water to cook. Add 1-2 pinches of salt to water.

2) Halve cherry tomatoes. Set aside. 

3) Chop mint. Set aside. 

4) Clean and devein prawns. Remove sharp parts. Slice down middle. Season with pepper-garlic seasoning or any seasoning of choice. Rub with butter.

5) Put prawns in small, shallow dish with butter. Steam. WATCH CLOSELY. The moment the prawns turn pink, count to maybe 5 seconds and switch off the flame. They will still continue cooking a little. 

6) Pour a couple of splashes of mango vodka into the shallow dish, making sure it also touches the prawns. Use the blowtorch to blast the dish. The vodka should light up, as it did for me, and the bluish-orange flames will lick the prawns, charring them while infusing them with a smoky mango taste. The flames lasted nearly a minute in my case. When cooled, remove head. 

6) Quinoa should be done by this time. Put into shaping container. Add chopped mint, orange-pepper seasoning, truffle olive oil, pinch of salt, toss thoroughly. Use serving plate to cover container, and flip. The tossed quinoa should form a loosely-packed but relatively neat circle in the centre. Arrange the halved cherry tomatoes around it, and drizzle balsamico. 

7) Rest prawns atop quinoa bed. Try to arrange artistically. 

8) Drizzle pomegranate vinegar atop prawns and quinoa bed. Serve. 

Verdict: It was beyond amazing and honestly turned out way better than I had expected.I was worried it would somehow be too greasy/salty, but no! Everything blended exceedingly well together, complementing each other. The frutiness from the mango vodka, the orange-pepper seasoning and the pomegranate vinegar kept the salad light, and the shreds of mint leaves added a nice herbal edge to every bite. And the prawns. God the prawns. They were even more tender than the ones I’d made yesterday (probably because stricter time control, I literally turned off the flame the moment they fully turned pink). Crunchy yet tender. And the intermingling of the different flavours, oh so delightful. The balsamico on the side also added a nice dipping option for the already naturally very sweet prawns. 

This was easily one of my top ten best dishes I’ve ever made. And relatively easy even! Excluding cooking time for quinoa, it all took a maximum of 45 minutes. 

I had this with a pleasantly sweet bubbly Moscato d’Asti on the side. Perfection.  

Paneer Kebabs 

So, I was at the Indian superstore recently, and I finally managed to get what I’ve been meaning to for some time - paneer. I love palak paneer, I almost always get it when I go to an Indian restaurant. But I wanted to try cooking something different with it. Greek-turkish-italian influences came to my mind. Paneer reminds me somehow of feta and mozzarella, and I was initially going to do some version of a caprese salad, but instead of balsamico I use a honey-based dressing. But then I wanted to push things a bit further. So, here’s what I did:

Ingredients

-Goat butter; 2 dabs

-Cherry tomatoes; a handful

-Onion; quarter of a medium sized one 

-Paneer cubes; a handful

-Pepper-garlic seasoning

-Mini paprika; 1-2 

Special Equipment

-Skewers (the ones I found are actually meant for rouladen but hey, whatever works, right?)

Instructions

1) Halve cherry tomatoes. Slice mini paprika. Slice onions. Set aside. 

2) Heat up goat butter in pan till nearly sizzling. Put in paneer cubes.Let them fry, till they have a crispy exterior. Don’t forget to flip them. Add in onion slices halfway, if you’re a wuss like me who doesn’t eat raw onions. But they will probably be done before the paneer, so remove first, so that they don’t become too soft.  

2) When all paneer cubes are fried, remove from pan. Quickly throw in sliced paprika and tomatoes and toss them around in the browned goat butter to heat them up quickly. 

3) Skewer them in any order which you’d prefer. Drizzle balsamico over them for flavour balance to the greasiness. 

4) Serve with a refreshing salad on the side, in my case my homemade cucumber salad. 

Fun note: Goat butter loses its slightly off-putting goaty smell when it’s browned. Delectable.

I was initially tempted to just toss it all together as a kind of salad, but extravagant birthday me ruled against it, with the excuse that “when else are you gonna have the damn time/energy/will to do this fancy shit”. Skewering the different ingredients took longer than I expected, but the presentation was fun, added to the special factor. It was fun trying paneer like that, not drowned in curry but rather as a standalone thing almost. Had a rather nutty flavour, and went well with the juiciness of the tomatoes, sauteed onions and paprika. I still want to try the honey drizzle thing though. I think it’d be a bomb brunch thing. With sparkling wine on the side. Mmm. 

German Cucumber Salad 

Since it features so often as a side dish I might as well make a quick documentation of it. I always liked Gurkensalat when I was living in Germany, both the yoghurt as well as the clear version.  I was sad for a while that my current living places didn’t have this. But then I realised, wait a minute, this is actually really easy to make, lol. So, here goes:

Ingredients

-”Natural” yoghurt i.e. sour yoghurt, not any of that smooth sweet shit lol; 2 cups

-Japanese cucumber; 2 medium

-Sugar; 2 tablespoons (I used brown, but white is probably preferable because colour) 

-Onion; quarter of a medium-sized one

-Dill; 1.5 heaped tablespoons if dried

-Salt; a pinch 

Serves: 4-5 portions

Instructions

1) Thinly slice cucumbers and onions. I like mine really thin, like thinner than paper thin. I personally prefer the texture more when it’s like that.

2) Mix yoghurt with dill, sugar, salt.

3) Throw in cucumbers and onions. Mix. Hey presto it’s done. 

Note: I don’t add any other liquid, because the cucumbers release quite some water overnight, so that the next day the liquid component of the salad reaches a consistency that I find just right - thinner than yoghurt, but not watery. The spiciness of the raw onion is usually mellowed out a lot by the yoghurt. 

Usually stores for about a week I’d say. Perfect complement to any kind of greasy food, or even just as a refreshing snack really. 

So, that marks the end of this round’s Birthday Weekend Menu! I had so much fun thinking up recipe ideas based on whatever ingredients I had (yes, cherry tomatoes and balsamico feature a hell lot lol), guided by the principles of extravagance and flavourfulness. I did feel extra special eating them. Plating/Presentation really adds a lot to the dining experience. 

Next series of posts coming up will probably have to do with office lunches that can be served cool/room-temperature, because I have developed an aversion to the taste of microwave-heated food. Already drawn up a whole list of recipe ideas, can’t wait to try them!

[viriluc-archived-18092018]

tagged by @1d1osyncrasy  to do this! thank you sm!!

Name/Nickname: My name is Percy! Nicknames vary, none of them really stick for long tho

Favorite Colors: Orange and purple are definitely my faves but pink is very high up on my list

Last Song I Listened To: I've been watching disney all night so if you count those, the soundtrack to The Little Mermaid and Pocahontas. Songs other than movie tho, it was an EDEN song tho I was listening to the playlist on shuffle so idk which one it was

Favorite Tv Show: oh gosh, uh... transformers (prime, rescue bots and animated) are the first 3 to come to mind tho heroes (not heroes reborn, god I hate it) is also rlly great!

First Fandom: warrior cats was the first thing I interacted with other fans in. fun fact: i started rp'ing on a warrior cat rp board back in 2012 and I had never, ever read wc before. or rp'd before. i learned to rp and everything abt wc just by watching others and making god knows how many mistakes learning and trying to do it myself lmao the first fandom I ever rb'd art for or looked at fanfic for and stuff tho was transformers.

Books That I’m Currently Reading: Wuthering heights and that's it

Worst Thing I’ve Eaten: Oh gosh, okay, uh... someone once tried to make me some "american style" food thing and it was a waffle, fried, coating in sugar and maple syrup and then wrapped in bacon, then coated in syrup again. it was absoluuuutely disgusting lmao. also cauliflower and also turkish delight. finally these chocolate bars tayto made, they had cheese and onion crisps inside them and I couldn't stand them

Favorite Place: noo idea tbh. if you change this question to "where do u want to be right now the most" however I would have to say at work. i love the kennel n i would kill to be there rn (well, not right now, but during workhours)

gonna tag @sasserworm, @studyblrandproud, @my-middle-school-life, @ssswexceptitsnotwritingrelated, @crescendistyle, @mamaxenokiryu and @rockyroadkylers. none of you have to do it tho!!

also if someone sees this and wants to do it please do and @ me in it bc i love learning abt ppl