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denimbex1986 · 2 months

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'With three years of theatre in Dublin under his belt, the actor Paul Mescal only came to mainstream attention in April 2020 when he made his television debut in the hit Lenny Abrahamson-directed adaptation of Normal People, the best-selling novel by Sally Rooney. It was the most-streamed series on the BBC that year and made Mescal a household name – his role as awkward, school-age Connell earned him an Emmy nomination and a Bafta for best leading actor. In the four years since, a series of impressive parts has followed: his first feature, Maggie Gyllenhaal’s critically acclaimed directorial debut, The Lost Daughter, premiered in 2021. The next spring, he was in Cannes promoting two lead roles: in Anna Rose Holmer and Saela Davis’s indie flick God’s Creatures, set in a bleak oyster-fishing town in rural Ireland, and Charlotte Wells’s devastating Aftersun. A beautifully constructed tale of a loving but stricken young father, the latter underscored Mescal as a powerful talent with the ability to both charm and break the hearts of viewers with one downward glance – the film also earned him a nomination for an Academy Award. In 2022 he returned to theatre for the Almeida’s production of A Streetcar Named Desire, going on to win an Olivier last year for his portrayal of Stanley Kowalski.

More recently, two new films have been released: Garth Davis’s Foe, a sci-fi romance in which Mescal performs opposite Saoirse Ronan, and the gut-punching All of Us Strangers. Directed by Andrew Haigh, All of Us Strangers tells the story of Adam (played by Andrew Scott) who, upon falling for Mescal’s Harry, begins to explore a tragedy that has cast a long shadow over his life. A dizzying dance ensues between the imaginary and the corporeal, as Adam flits between dreamlike visits to his dead parents and the very visceral beginnings of a new sexual relationship – viewers leave haunted and moved.

The British filmmaker Haigh is known for his works’ intimate scale and emotional heft. There’s Weekend, which dug at real and tender spots in gay male sex and relationships; 45 Years, starring Tom Courtenay and Charlotte Rampling, who depict a couple on their sapphire wedding anniversary processing an earth-shattering secret; and Lean on Pete, a coming-of-age tale of a motherless runaway boy with Chloë Sevigny and Steve Buscemi. In each quietly vigorous work, Haigh’s incredible casting and spare dialogue enable truly believable characters to wrestle with past trauma, belonging and love.

On set for his latest lead, in Ridley Scott’s Gladiator II, Mescal Zooms from a candelabra-filled room in a sandstone palace in Malta with Haigh, who’s at home in London. Here, the pair discuss the radical tenderness of their new film and what it takes to express inner conflict with the delicate restraint they are both known for. It’s the first time the collaborators have had the chance to talk together in public about the award-winning film.

Paul Mescal: I was just hanging out with the Searchlight crew in LA and they were saying that you were taking two weeks’ respite, having gone to every state in the US for this film.

Andrew Haigh: Yes, but I have to remind myself that sometimes you make a film and nobody is very interested at all. When people do care enough to want to talk about it, then you can’t be too grumpy. It’s why we made the film in the first place, to connect with people.

PM: But it’s that weird transition, isn’t it? I imagine there are many transitions for you – the writing process into the shooting, which feels like a private experience, but then you’re making this for an audience, so once you finish filming it, it’s for public consumption. Which is the most frightening part of it. But yes, when something feels like it registers with an audience, you’ve got to run with it because it doesn’t happen all the time.

AH: It’s definitely frightening releasing the film into the world. I try very hard during the actual making of the film to forget about all the stuff that comes afterwards. It’s almost too much pressure, isn’t it? I’m sure it’s the same for actors.

PM: You almost do forget. You get into a shooting rhythm but then the hardest bit for an actor is once you’ve handed it over. I kept bumping into you in Soho during the editing and I felt like I’d given you a version of my own child and you would be like, “Yes, that was really good.” The number one rule is try to avoid your director while they’re in the edit because they’re never going to give you any information that’s going to satiate you at all.

AH: Sorry about that. [Laughs.] In truth, it’s because I’m always so nervous about what an actor is going to think of the film.

PM: Did you feel nervous with All of Us Strangers? Because from a performance side of things, I feel like it’s really strong across the four of us [including Claire Foy and Jamie Bell, who play Adam’s parents].

AH: I was never worried about the quality of the performances. You are all incredible. It’s just when you’ve made something together, trusted each other and worked so hard on something I don’t want you to be disappointed. It matters to me that you like the film. You get offered lots of roles and I always want an actor to feel like they’ve made the right choice. How did you know you wanted to do this and not do something else?

PM: Because it was the best script. It sounds basic but it goes a long way – it was the best thing I’d read in the longest time. And that’s both a testament to your talent as a screenwriter but it’s also that it just becomes immovable in my brain. Something else can come in and it might be stretching a different muscle, or it might pay more money, or it might be to work with a director I like. But this had all those things. Ultimately it was the story, and the character felt both in my wheelhouse and a perfect stretch at the same time.

AH: When I knew that you were interested in the role of Harry, I was a little bit flabbergasted.

PM: I’ve heard you say this in interviews and I’m so curious as to why because I don’t know any actor worth their salt who wouldn’t be – I’d love to know how many actors you sent it to who didn’t respond to it.

AH: Only a few. And they said no.

PM: They said no?

AH: [Laughs.] I’m not going to name any names.

PM: Did you get a flavour of why they said no?

PM: That’s why I love that part so much – because ultimately it’s a supporting part in terms of the script and what the central story is, but he’s also a supporting human being to Adam. It’s like his whole function is to put the scaffolding up around Adam to protect him.

AH: That’s a beautiful way to put it – putting up the scaffolding to help him rebuild.

PM: And then you give such amazing clues into Harry’s own world – just drip-feeding them in tiny moments. You really see that there’s almost another film to be written about Harry that mirrors Adam’s, but you have the restraint to give enough of that without taking the focus off Adam.

In general you write such actor-friendly scripts, which is why if there were a part that size in another screenwriter or director’s hands, I probably wouldn’t take it. But there was nothing about that part that felt small to me. That character has had the same impact on me as other leading roles I’ve played. That’s about the imaginative space that you allow the actor to create – it allows the audience to project.

AH: And he is so important – he’s fundamental to Adam’s change. Still, in the hands of an actor who can’t embody that character, truly understand it, then none of it works. You have this amazing ability to deepen characters – to allow us to understand that a backstory might exist, even if we don’t know what that backstory is. The minute we see you at Adam’s door I can understand the pain, the longing, the need that Harry has, all lurking between your words and gestures. That’s a rare skill. I’m not entirely sure how you do it, honestly.

PM: Andrew, it’s all there in the script. I didn’t invent anything other than the normal actor work – you gave me all the tools I needed and with such economy. Can I say that that scene is one of my favourite scenes that I’ve ever got to play in my entire life. I remember reading it and thinking that you could spend a week on that scene – there are endless alleys it could go down. And I’m so happy with how it felt – it’s the perfect blend of dangerous and sexy and sad, but it’s unclear which part of the Venn diagram it’s sitting in.

AH: And it’s such an important scene too. The film does not work without that scene landing. Although you could say that about so many of the scenes in the film. Every scene asked us all to go to some emotional places. Every scene had its challenges. Some for personal reasons and others in terms of story. When you’re working as a director, a writer or an actor, you are emotionally exposed sometimes.

I struggled a lot with that – even in the writing – how much do I reveal and how much do I hold back? There’s this Nina Simone song, Who Knows Where the Time Goes – she talks at the beginning about a quote by Faye Dunaway, who said she tried to give the audience what they wanted [in Bonnie and Clyde]. And Nina Simone says, that’s a mistake because “you use up everything you’ve got, trying to give everybody what they want”. And I think it is about trying to find that balance, isn’t it? Of, “OK, I’m prepared to give this, but I don’t want to give this.”

PM: I would forget sometimes that you conjured up these people and it is scary, in the most exciting way, to be in your company and thinking, “I know he’s hiding stuff.” Through the writing process, the shoot, the edit, were you thinking about what your lines in the sand were when it came to talking about the movie? Or is that something that came in the weeks before the press run?

AH: Yes, I tried not to think about it too much while I was doing it because it’s really dangerous when you’re making the film to think too much about how the world is going to take it and what people are going to end up asking, because I think I would close up and become afraid. But one of the things I’ve tried to understand is why do I even want to make films?

PM: Why do you want to make films?

AH: I don’t know. Most of the time it’s so painful – the stress and anxiety. But I think for anybody that works in film, there’s part of you that is probably doing it because you just want to be loved by the world. [Laughs.] And the problem is it’s an appalling industry to work in if that’s what you’re wanting.

PM: Yes, because you’ll get it one second and then you’ll lose it.

AH: I always find that fascinating because sometimes things go well and sometimes they don’t and you often can’t even understand why.

PM: What scenes did you find particularly difficult to film? One that jumps to my mind is the scene in Harry’s …

AH: ... apartment.

PM: Yes, that was one that took us ... We had to climb a couple of steps to get there. I had performance anxiety – I’d seen how beautiful your work with Andrew had been and I was like, “We’re entering the final couple of minutes of the film and if I fuck it up, it’s my fucking fault.” But it’s one of those few moments when Harry does become the focus of the film for a second.

AH: You certainly hid that anxiety well. And you nailed the scene. It’s heartbreaking. I also adore the scene between you and Andrew in the bed halfway through the film. I can’t tell you how beautiful you both are in that scene. I feel like I’ve tried to capture intimacy a lot, but there is something special going on here, the way we see you opening up to each other. It is so delicate and tender, the way you hide and reveal.

PM: But that’s what I love about the writing as well. You’ve seen versions of those scenes in films where you see a character repress or hide what he’s feeling through a smile. But the thing that is different about this scene is that there’s somebody on the other side of the bed who loves him and tells him that it’s not OK to do that. And the thing I find so upsetting about that scene is that Harry says, “I’m marginalised by my family et cetera ... but it’s fine.” And the line that devastates me is when Adam says, “But why is that OK?” It’s such a simple line.

AH: Agreed. It’s about knowing that someone cares enough about you to push a little deeper. There’s an exhalation you do in response to that question, a giggle, a gesture and then you stretch. It’s one of my favourite moments in the film. We’re so close to your face, close enough to see Harry’s mind working, asking himself if he can fall deeper into this relationship. It’s those moments I am obsessed with trying to capture. Do you plan for those moments?

PM: That’s not something I think you can prepare for as an actor. You can’t go home and do your homework and be like, “And when he says this, I’m going to stretch and make a little noise.” You just can’t.

AH: One thing that always surprises me is how you can find and sustain that feeling of intimacy with all the trappings of a film set around you. Men in shorts. Cameras in your face. I’m always amazed when actors can ignore what is going on around them.

PM: It’s because we want to be adored. [Laughs.]

AH: That’s what it is.

PM: I feel like sometimes, though, it’s blind panic. Because I think acting has the capacity to be the most embarrassing thing that any of us ever do. And it can be in an instant. I’ve seen actors that I really admire do bad, embarrassing things. When you’re in a scene where that’s heightened – say, if your body is on show or there’s an emotional weight to a scene – weirdly, if you’re working with good actors, you can just throw a bubble around yourselves and white-knuckle it. Andrew Scott is just outrageously good.

AH: And you are outrageously good together. We see you fall in love on screen. We believe every moment of it. It feels so genuine.

PM: When you feel close with an actor like that, like with Andrew, it allows a real-life intimacy and a trust that I’ve only had a couple of times – obviously with Daisy [Edgar-Jones] in Normal People, and Andrew, and Saoirse in Foe. It has nothing to do with talent. Saoirse and Andrew are actually quite similar. They’ve got this well of emotionality where all you have to do when you’re in scenes with them is sit there and listen to what they’re saying. Normally they’ll find a way to unlock you.

It sounds reductive but you don’t have to do anything when you’re working with brilliant actors like that. I would say the size of the performance in Foe is much more robust than Strangers, which is big but it’s also restrained and subdued. In Foe, me and Saoirse just had to plant our feet and really go from the gut.

AH: That’s the skill of it, isn’t it? Because you have to understand what the film needs.

PM: I’d say that there’s a similar performance style across all of your films – and that’s the one thing I love about my job, that you get to go into different jobs with different actors, like Saoirse and Andrew, and you put on different hats and you figure it out. Would you say there’s a performance style that you’re interested in generally?

AH: I’d say there is a tone to my films to which a performance style is integral. Although I’m not very good at being able to articulate what that style is. I guess actors will have watched my films before they want to work with me, so instinctually understand the timbre of the performance I like. We usually don’t need to talk about it.

PM: We never actually spoke about it.

AH: But I think that’s the joy of when you’ve made a few films. You can have a reference of what you like. That’s why our choices are important. The choices we make define the kind of person we are. That’s why I wanted to work with you so much. The projects you choose are always interesting. And you’ve had a crazy few years. How does that feel?

PM: It’s a hard question ... Because I never expected this to happen. I had ambitions, of course, but I could never have expected that this would be where I was going to land. Being in drama school, I remember teachers telling me the statistic was something like “only 16 to 20 per cent of you will ever work as an actor”. So I remember getting my first job in theatre and thinking, “That’s it. Somebody has decided to pay me to do the thing that I love.” And then fast forward five years – it’s the thing that I love most in the world and I’m getting to do it with directors that I admire greatly.

I’m learning, though, that there’s only so long I can continue going at this rate before it starts to take away from my life – but right now is the time to put the foot down and really work hard.

AH: And now you’re doing your first huge movie.

PM: Gladiator comes across your desk and there’s no way you say no to it. But with this scale of film, and to work with Ridley Scott, it’s a no-brainer. Up until this point there have been very few larger films that remotely interested me.

AH: But this is Gladiator. This is not your average blockbuster.

PM: It feels really right. And also there’s the capacity to learn. It’s the first time that I’ve felt a pressure of, “God, I’m worried about box office receipts.” It’s a different metric. But Ridley shoots at a very different rhythm – he’s quick and it’s kinetic and wonderful. He knows exactly what he wants. It honestly reminds me of sport in a way that is really satisfying.

AH: Plus you get to dress up as a gladiator.

PM: We left that point out. That’s the best bit.

AH: You’re going to make a lot of people very happy!'

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spacebabe51 · 2 years

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(Slides into ur messages) can I hear what u have to say about Dark Shadows and the theme of reincarnated love being attributed to Dracula? 🍿👀

crying throwing up etc yes you CAAANN thank you. and sorry it took me forever to type up this reply. it is,,,very long i'm so sorry i don't know how not to write essays when asked for a fairly simple explanation.

First of all, let me just say I'm not a pop culture historian and i don't live in the heads of anyone who's adapted Dracula, so I can't say with 100% certainty that any one thing inspired anything else unless it was explicitly stated.

OK! SO! I won't bore you with the entire history of Dark Shadows the television show. All you really need to know was that it was a live-to-tape Gothic soap opera created by a guy named Dan Curtis, who was a huge fan of classic horror (such as Legosi's Dracula films). The show adapted various horror classics like Turning of the Screw and Jane Eyre into a long running narrative about a rich family called the Collins, on the coast of Maine.

Initially the supernatural elements of the show were more subtle; but the show wasn't really landing and when the ratings started to tank around '67 Curtis and the writers decided to do something a little more bold and adapt Dracula. Just like in the book (spoilers for those reading for the first time!!) the vampire, Barnabas Collins, was meant suck some blood, kill some people, and die after wreaking the appropriate amount of havoc.

The thing about loose adaptations and Dark Shadows is that everything about it was made in an extremely adaptable format. The show was filmed live-to-tape every day and scripts usually only written a few weeks in advance; that meant that it gave the writers a lot of wiggle room to react to things the audience responded to well, and cut out things they didn't. And the audience really responded to Barnabas Collins; he was played by Canadian theater actor Jonathan Frid, who brought a lot of humanity to the part despite it being written in a very villainous way.

The writers had a prominent ghost around Collinwood named Josette Dupress who was often referenced in the early parts of the show; so they worked her into the story as having been Barnabas' doomed fiancé, who just happened to look exactly like a local girl named Maggie Evans. This kicked off the "Lucy" part of the plotline, but from here the writers began to deviate from the Dracula storyline. Once it was clear that the vampire was immensely popular (essentially saving the show from cancellation) the writer's began to tweak the character in order to justify keeping him around. They began introducing more human aspects to his character in order to make him more nuanced; one of the most prominent ones being his obsessive need to find and be reunited with Josette.

The show ran for over 1200+ episodes, and was a pop culture phenomena. By the end, Barnabas had firmly established himself as the main character of the series, and the Josette reincarnation plotline had been repeated several times. In 1974, two years after the series end, Curtis would go on to adapt Dracula into a television movie; he borrowed the reincarnated lover plotline from his own television show for that movie. Since then, it's become almost a trend in Dracula adaptations to follow this plot formula; sometimes with Lucy, but most often with Mina.

Not many people know about Dark Shadows these days, but the show had a huge cultural impact in the late 60's. Again, I'm not 100% able to say that every adaptation that features this trope is borrowing from Dark Shadows. Likewise, while a lot of the 'sympathetic vampire' or 'vampire as an affliction/disease rather than a creature of evil' may have have been inspired by something prior to Dark Shadows (Varney the Vampire is something to check out) it definitely helped to popularize the trope and bring it into the modern consciousness. (Sidenote; any adaptation that features 'curing' vampirism through medicine is, most likely, inspired by DS, but I'm not sure how common that one is)

So, uh, anyway! In conclusion if you're trying to mark out your bingo board of Dracula adaptations checking out a few episodes of the original Dark Shadows (NOT the tim burton one i cannot stress this enough) might be worth it. As an added bonus you get the world's most tortured pathetic Renfield-esque character, and a badass female doctor in the Van Helsing role. Thanks so much for asking and if you're reading Dracula for the first time I hope you enjoy it!!

#god thank you for asking this you're my new best friend i'm wiring 20 USD to your location rn #dark shadows #ds #dracula #dracula daily #barnabas collins #jonathan frid #ds 66 #josette dupress #asks #goooddd im so long winded

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asofterallcreatures · 1 year

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[A three-panel comic in the style of A Softer World featuring pictures from the 2020s version of All Creatures Great And Small. The first picture shows Maggie and Tristan kissing in the first Christmas special. The second shows her glaring at him in the sixth episode of season one. And the third shows her kissing him on the cheek in the third Christmas special while he looks sad. Text reads “You and I were meant to be together, even if we weren’t meant to be happy.”]

#All Creatures Great and Small #All Creatures Great and Small 2020 #ACGAS 2020 #A Softer World Remix #A Softer All Creatures #Maggie #Tristan Farnon #Maggie/Tristan

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kettlovahr · 1 year

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Kett’s 2022 Art Retrospective

I have definitely drawn things this year. I wanna show it to you!! Let’s take a look back together!

This is a long post! Separated month by month. If you wanna join me, just keep reading!

January

This January I have decided Kett should wear something, at least one time, just so they could feel it and gauge if they liked it or not.

They did not quite like it.

February

During the middle of January, I caught covid and felt miserable. So I wasn’t really feeling it in regards to drawing. I still did some experimentation, however and doodled up a little comic sort of thing

Abstrakett was initially developed as a form of representing myself even if I fell into a particularly bad slump. I was in a particularly bad slump in February, and I believe this was a form of rejecting it.

It didn’t quite work, because I hadn’t drawn much else for this month. And I didn’t draw the next month, either.

April

For April I decided to become bunny

I also took TWO commissions during this month, and worked on some personal projects, such as an alphabet for a language in my setting

Looks like I was back in full swing. Let’s not lose the momentum.

June

Looks like I lost the momentum. I may have not drawn in May.

For June, however, I put this out:

This is a drawing I’m still happy with. A little bit of playing around with perspective! I like this drawing so much in fact that I have made it the background for my website after I finally committed to redesigning it!

July

July is an important month for amateurish internet artists like myself, it’s the month during which Art Fight takes place. And this year I beat my record for submissions during the event, at an astounding... five.

And I believe this is my absolute fave submission for this year’s Art Fight, featuring @wytchwoods‘ character, Maggie. It is certainly the most experimental, at least, and I’m happy with the result.

Of course, this was also the month I smooched @floralope.

I also took a commission this month. So THAT was definitely one of my most productive months this year.

August

My month. I didn’t really do much, but I started drawing Kett with shinier eyes. I simply started to like the look.

September

Wasn’t a very good month for full colored drawings, but I did sketch a bunch, with a particular focus on Teal.

I love my little four-eared creature. I want to make a game that stars them. Hopefully I’ll be able to.

For now, they’re just a cute design.

October

🎃🎃🎃 SPOOKY MONTH 🎃🎃🎃

I am usually not passionate about Halloween at all, but I felt like I had to try something new this year. So I designed Ghost Kett!

I am REALLY happy with how they turned out, so much so I did PLENTY of doodles of them over October.

They do not care much about your privacy, but they’ll ask before possessing you.

November

Was a HUGE month for me

It’s when the Total Fluff Eclipse struck.

I also.

Cried like a little bitch soft boy.

It’s good for you!

December

Oh hey, it’s December right now. The year is almost over. I don’t know if I’ll still draw anything this year, but I know what I have already done.

And honestly? Pretty satisfied with it. I haven’t done such painterly work in a few years but this blows any such work I have done out of the water. Probably the best thing I put out this year.

Hopefully much more to come in 2023.

And that’s a wrap!

I’d like to believe my output has taken a hit ever since I started working. Taking a good look at it, however, it’s easy to see that’s not the case. I have drawn a lot and put out work I am satisfied with. I have been a little harder on myself than I should.

My mood has definitely skyrocketed over the end of the year for whatever reason, and it shows through with my latest piece. I tried to go past the comfort zone I dug myself into and got something I’m proud of off of it.

If you’re still reading through, thanks a bunch for sticking around! I hope you’ll continue checking in on whatever I put out over the coming year, and I hope I’ll continue drawing and sharing it for the foreseeable future.

It was definitely fun taking a brief look over some of what I’ve done, maybe you should do the same? ;)

#talkett #kettarts #skettch #OC:Kett Lovahr #OC:Teal Haden #retrospective #artists on tumblr #raccat #atrean #beyond atrea #cat #floralope

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brokehorrorfan · 2 years

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Scream Factory has revealed the final specs for its Piranha 4K Ultra HD + Blu-ray, which releases on November 1. The 1978 creature feature is executive produced by Roger Corman.

Shout Factory is carrying an exclusive bundle that includes a set of five enamel pins designed by Matthew Skiff (limited to 1,000) and an 18x24 poster featuring the theatrical artwork for $94.99 (pictured below).

Joe Dante (Gremlins, The Howling) directs from a script by John Sayles (The Howling). Bradford Dillman, Heather Menzies, Kevin McCarthy, Keenan Wynn, Barbara Steele, Dick Miller, and Belinda Balaski star.

Piranha has been newly restored in 4K scan from the original camera negative. Special features are listed below.

Disc 1 - 4K UHD:

Audio commentary by executive producer Roger Corman

Audio commentary by director Joe Dante and producer Jon Davison

Disc 2 - Blu-ray:

Audio commentary by executive producer Roger Corman

Audio commentary by director Joe Dante and producer Jon Davison

Interview with director Joe Dante (new)

The Making of Piranha – Interviews with executive producer Roger Corman, director Joe Dante, and actors Dick Miller, Belinda Balaski, and more

Behind-the-scenes footage

Bloopers and outtakes

Stills galleries

Behind-the-scenes photo gallery with photos from creature designer Phil Tippett’s archives

Additional scenes from TV version

Theatrical trailers

TV spots

Radio spots

While searching for missing teenagers, novice skip tracer Maggie McKeown (Heather Menzies) and one of the locals, town boozer Paul Grogan (Bradford Dillman) stumble upon a top-secret Army laboratory doing genetic research on piranha fish for the purpose of developing biological warfare. When they are accidentally released from the compound, the deadly school of eating machines head downstream and eat everything, and anything, in their path.

Pre-order Piranha.

#piranha #joe dante #horror #70s horror #1970s horror #scream factory #dvd #gift #matthew skiff #roger corman #john sayles #kevin mccarthy #keenan wynn #barbara steele #dick miller

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blood-redivy · 1 year

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About: Ivy Lawson

PERSONAL:

Full Name: Elizabeth Alma La Rue Nickname: Ivy Lawson - not so much a nickname, but her current name. Do they like their nickname?: She didn’t pick it, but she’s been so used to it and hung on to it as her only piece of identity that she can’t go back to Elizabeth La Rue. Birthday: April 4, 1795 Birthplace: London, England Hometown: London, England Species: Djinn Ethnicity: English and Nigerian Religion: None Pets: None. She doesn’t think she’s really a pet person. Major: Mastering Supernatural Abilities and Behavioral Psychology Minor: Literature Current Occupation: Student Sexuality: Pansexual Relationship Status: Single Do they drive? What kind of car do they own?: She does not drive, but she does have a bicycle she takes out every so often. Most of the time she walks everywhere.

PHYSICAL APPEARANCE:

Height: 5′10 Body Type: Tall, thin Hair Color: Brown Hair Type: Kinky and curly Hair Style: Very long, usually left naturally but sometimes wound up in a braid or updo. Eye Color: Brown Glasses/Contacts?: Not needed Prominent Features: She is very tall, and is rather beautiful. Scars: None Tattoos: None Piercings: Ears Health Problems or Conditions: None Style: Varies between what she’s going for. It’s typically fairly put together - muted colors and flowing garments. She doesn’t wear many dresses, but plain shirts and pants with sandals for the summer, or a coverup with a bathing suit for the island. She has long, comfortable shirts and shorts as her favorite casual clothes, how she dresses when alone, nightgowns for sleeping. She has lots of jewelry that are family heirlooms given to her by her parents, so anytime she does have to dress up nicely, it’s very different from her normal, laid back look. Notable Jewelry: None that she wears every day, but lots of pendants and dangling earrings, lots of gold and diamonds. Grooming: Ivy is a bit of a neat freak in a lot of regards. She keeps herself clean and cares when other people see her, wanting to look poised and put together, but behind closed doors, she’s a little messier.

PAST:

Mother’s Name: Helena La Rue Mother’s Maiden Name: Turner Status: Alive Relationship: Just okay. Ivy was the youngest child and not the favorite - Helena really doted on her sister. Ivy feels a bit like her replacement now that her parents send her money and want her to be a certain way, but she does really want that approval. Father’s Name: Morgrim Status: Alive Relationship: Maybe marginally closer than with her mother. Ivy and her father had a much better relationship, they spent more time together in childhood while her mother and sister were doing more of the “feminine” things. After her time away from her family, her father had higher standards for her and was a bit closed off, angry about how her disappearance occurred because of him. Siblings: Maggie (deceased) What was their childhood like?: Ivy had a really pleasant childhood, very calm and stress free. In Regency Era England, most of her childhood was spent attending parties, galas, brunches, luncheons, and trips with her parents. She and her sister were never close, but being the youngest and not one they were super invested in marrying off, Ivy had a lot of free time to explore. She had a fairly solitary childhood, playing alone or sometimes with other kids. Behind closed doors, their parents were teaching them about other supernatural creatures they knew of, especially djinns and how to use their powers. In her teenage years, she was considered more “wild” back then in their community, reading a lot and exploring, going on hikes or trips with other young men, which was frowned upon, and her parents had a harder time reigning her in, worried she would hurt her older sister’s chances of marriage. Earliest Memory: Horseback riding with her dad. Happiest Memory: The first time she could attend a ball with her mother and sister. Saddest Memory: Getting all her memories back after her time in the asylums. Education: She only ever had tutors, but it’s equivalent to what would have been a high school education. Ivy was always learning on her own, anyway, always a big reader. Past Jobs: None. She’s never worked a day in her life on the outside, but when she was kept away in those facilities and infirmaries, she would oftentimes help in cafeterias, or sew names into doctors coats or uniforms, fixing other’s clothes. Police Record: No record. Major Past Trauma/Illness - Are they still affected?: The hardest time she ever had is when a vampire, an old enemy her father’s after the La Rue family essentially raided him of every fortune he’s built up in his long life, tricked her. She hadn’t known who he was and had been spending time on her own, especially in the United States for the roaring 20s, having a great time and finding her own fortunes through those trading within the stock market. This vampire had found her and held her in his home, constantly barraging her with compulsion after compulsion, until she didn’t know what was real and what wasn’t. Her name was Ivy Lawson on paper, but why was she telling everyone she was a Lady Elizabeth La Rue? An Englishwoman when a birth certificate said New York? He essentially created a new identity for her, being “responsible’ for her and sending her from institution to institution, all the while her believing she was a human, who heard voices in her head (the thoughts filtered through her mind thanks to her own djinn capabilities). Her strength was crazy for a human, leaving her restrained. She was missing from her parents, who grew concerned after the death of her sister came and passed and they were unable to find her. But compulsions fade when vampires die, and eventually, the vampire who took her died of unrelated reasons, and all her memories came rushing back. To this day, she has trouble distinguishing what’s real and what’s not, so it’s easier to impose that on other people. She never wants to feel so powerless again, after having everything taken away from her.

SEX & ROMANCE:

First crush: Likely one of the strapping bachelors she would watch dance with the older girls when she was young and got to witness it all. First sexual experience - Was it a good or bad one?: It was with a young man in the same social circle as her family, sneaking away during a party. Sexual Type: Switch, but typically more on the dominant side. Turn Ons: Sensory Play, Dirty Talk, Foreplay, Knife Play, Blood Play, Fear Play, Pain Play, Multiple Partners, Choking, Rough Sex, Oral Sex, Bondage, Shibari, Aftercare Turn Offs: Bathroom Play, Infantilism, Feet Love Type: Ivy doesn’t think she’s ever actually been in love, so she isn’t quite sure what that would be like. Significant Past Relationships: Not many. There was someone she was likely to be engaged to eventually, but it never worked out and it was more of a financial arrangement than actual love and companionship.

MENTAL WELLNESS:

Psychological Issues/Mental Illnesses: No actual mental illnesses, even if she was led to believe she heard voices for such a long period of time, but having her memories moved around and jostled gives her a skewed sense of self and makes it difficult for her to discern what’s her own personality and what’s expected of her. Major trust issues. Outlook on Life: Time is very fleeting, so she does whatever she pleases. To her, she’s earned the right to do what she wants after what she’s experienced. Myers-Briggs Personality Type: INTP Temperament: Choleric Sun Sign: Aries Moon Sign: Libra Rising Sign: Pisces Venus Sign: Aquarius Alignment: Neutral Evil Hogwarts House: Ravenclaw What/Who do they value most?: Her time. Having so much of it taken away from her, she is very considerate of her own, and other people’s. She also values her personal space - so much of her time was spent with other people, or stuck by herself, but that wasn’t her own willing solitude. Creating a place for herself, her favorite space to keep herself comfortable and mentally safe. What/Who are they willing to die for?: No one. Everyone is responsible for themselves. Personal Philosophy: Every man or woman for themselves. Biggest Fear: Forgetting herself again, or that everything she has come to believe even now is still a lie. And she doesn’t consider it a fear, but she has a strong prejudice against vampires. Are they superstitious?: Secretly, yes. She believes in luck, and that you can’t control your own destiny - but supernaturals have a little bit of a leg up there. Greatest Strength: Her intelligence. She’s one who just loves to learn and never stops the pursuit of knowledge. But this means that she has a lot of emotional intelligence as well, being able to read people - her own supernatural powers helps with that, too. Greatest Weakness: Her patience is thin. But it’s to a point where situationally, she has a hard time being patient with people, which impedes her ability to make any meaningful relationships with others. Good Characteristics: Ivy is fashionable when she wants to be, and very clean and organized. She’s a wine connoisseur. Deep down, buried beneath the idea that she needs to be the kind of djinn and daughter her parents are proud of, is a woman who has a witty sense of humor and is very adventurous, loving to explore and take risks. Bad Characteristics: She’s very manipulative. She has every capability to be emotionally sympathetic to others, since she can hear thoughts, but she likes influencing what others think - about her, or otherwise. Favorite thing about themself? Why?: Her powers. She covets them, since she knows what it’s like not to have them. Least favorite? Why?: How she still feels she can’t be her own person while still under the financial help from her parents. She doesn’t like that she doesn’t feel like she has her own independence yet. Biggest regret: Not being able to attend her sister’s funeral, but that wasn’t her fault... though she’d never admit to that. Proudest moment: Slaughtering the staff that treated her poorly once her compulsion was lifted and she was able to escape where she was being held. Quirks: Ivy will still sometimes pause in front of doors before opening them - in a lot of infirmaries, people open doors for you. She’s starting to outgrow it a bit, though. She’s just very much a stickler for her routines (see below). How are they in crisis?: Ivy is totally calm in crisis. Once the dust has settled, she needs to be by herself to recuperate and react to whatever the situation is - the more out of her control it is, the angrier she is. What do they wish to change most about themself?: Nothing at all. That she would let herself be kinder, or open to the possibility of companionship or friendship.

SPEECH & COMMUNICATION:

Pace: Slow and deliberate. Voice Tone: Her voice is a bit lower, a little raspy, but at a typically quieter register. Accent/Dialect: It was once English, but it’s now it’s become a mixture of all the different American institutions she was housed in - somewhat enigmatic. Speech Patterns: She likes to say a lot with few words. Favorite Words/Phrases: Ivy doesn’t have any phrases or words she often uses - she’s a bit like a chameleon with how she speaks, so to get people to trust her more or manipulate how they see her. Mannerisms/Demeanor: When she’s annoyed, she can’t help it, but her eyes always seem to narrow a bit. Even if she’s aiming to be nonchalant, her eyes are almost always a tell for how she’s feeling - annoyed or otherwise. Posture: Ivy is very poised. She carries herself very well, and very carefully. Gestures: When she gets excited, or happy, she’ll use her hands to speak, as if to help her explain what she means. Otherwise her facial expressions do a lot of the work. How good are they at lying?: Ivy is an excellent liar. It’s almost scary.

BEHAVIOR:

Finances: Ivy’s finances are more her parents’ finances, and how much they allow her. Alcohol Use: She only ever drinks wine, really, but doesn’t to get drunk. She just genuinely likes the taste of wine, so she’ll usually have some with dinner. Drug Use: She doesn’t use any. Sometimes she smokes cigarettes. Morning/Night Person?: Ivy’s more both, but she likes staying up late in the hours most others are still asleep. Morning Routine: Ivy wakes up and makes coffee, typically having it with a biscuit or croissant. She’ll have a swim in the pool, then a shower. Day Routine: She does any errands she has to do, typically hiring people to clean the house while she’s out. Shopping for food, or getting dresses and other outfits tailored to her. Nails, or her hair, she’ll get everything done she has to outside of the house. She’ll pick up lunch while she’s out, then come home to eat. Evening Routine: Sometimes she’ll grab dinner by herself at a restaurant, or going to a tasteful club, if she feels like dressing up for awhile. Otherwise she’ll eat dinner at home and spend some time in the library with a glass of wine, reading or doing any homework for school. Night Routine: Sometimes she take the time to pamper herself by ordering a masseuse to her house, or taking a soak in her bath. Otherwise she’ll wash her face and watch some TV before she goes to bed. More often than not, before all this, if she’s decided she doesn’t feel like sleeping too much, she’ll take long walks around the island. Sleep Habits: Lots of times, she will fall asleep in front of the TV on her sofa before she heads up to her actual bedroom to fall asleep. Ivy doesn’t need a ton of sleep - she goes to bed late, and she wakes up rather early. Special Skills: Ivy has a nice voice. She’s actually pretty good at making cocktails for someone that likes people doing that sort of thing for her. A very skilled chef, particularly with exotic meats. Ivy’s an excellent swimmer, and is good at the violin. Unskilled at: She really wants a garden, but she doesn’t have much of a green thumb at all. Ivy took piano lessons as a child, but never quite figured it out. Puzzles seem to take her a long time, so she’ll have one or two unfinished on her dining room table. Hobbies: Listening to orchestras, cooking, attempting to garden, collecting wine, reading, taking her walks or going in her pool. Ivy also enjoys psychological torment to other people, particularly slaves or other masters she deems as “weak”.

FAVORITES (AND OTHER MISCELLANIA):

Book: The Age of Innocence by Edith Wharton Movie: Psycho TV Show: Chopped Album: The soundtrack to Puccini’s Madame Butterfly Artist: Not a music artist necessarily, but her favorite composer is Joseph Hadyn Song: Dyin Day by Anais Mitchell Sport/Sport Team: She enjoys watching ice skating. Color: Red Meal: Rosemary Lemon Grilled Quail Drink: Merlot Snack: Salt & Vinegar Chips Outfit: Black silk pajamas and her matching robe Quote: “It has been said, 'time heals all wounds.' I do not agree. The wounds remain. In time, the mind, protecting its sanity, covers them with scar tissue and the pain lessens. But it is never gone.” Prized Possession: Her powers

#all about ivy #go ask alice when she's ten feet tall || musings #pinned post

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shnowbilicat · 1 year

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I've thought a lot about the ghost kids that roam my FNAF AU and thougt about writing down some of the concepts I'm pretty set on owo

Like that the ghost kids actually age because why the fuck wouldn't they? And also how adult ghost work n stuff, cuz Rick, Keith and also pretty much my two Purple's exist as adult ghosts, living corpses idk X'D

And I would also want to make a small masterpost about all my current ghosts/haunted creatures and what the names of the kids are and who they are haunted by and stuff! owo

FNAF 1:

Standard ghosts that don't have any unique features or powers. Just a bunch o' haunted robot furries ewe But I liked giving them names similar to their animatronic so yeah :'33

Freddy Fazbear - Frederick/Freddy Bonnie - Bill/Billy Chica - Charlie Foxy - Felix

Golden Freddy - ???; unique case, has A LOT of powers, like doing ghost stuff with a material body, etc. probably due to being the bite of '87 victim

FNAF 2:

Also mostly normal haunted robots, except for a few …

Mangle - Maggy, a single soul split into two personalities between the main and the second head, though it's still one consistent soul

The Puppet - Jack; the VERY FIRST victim and the only soul that hung onto the mortal plain for such a long time that his soul expanded until the Puppet found him, making him one of the most powerful ghosts, next to Goldie. AND he's soul bonded with Alex, giving Alex some pretty neat magic and supernatural powers of his own owo

FNAF 3:

SpringTrap - WAS haunted by the Purple Man, but once Vincent managed to split himself off, the remnants of his soul woke Springy up to be his own thing

Phantoms - Literally every Phantom is basically an alternative, split off part of the kids' soul … just being in a perpetuate teenage stage of being rowdy, know-it-all, drunk and … you get the picture X'D

FNAF 4:

All Nightmare Animatronics are actual animatronic monsters and not nightmares. Their living being exists because of Keith sharing his blood/soul parts with them, similar to Vincent and Springy, and are loyal to Keith that way

Nightmarionne/Marion - Claims to be the cumulative desire of all the victims to bring Vincent to justice, even if most kids don't have that desire anymore

Nightmare BB and Nightmare Mangle - Not loyal to Keith as they do not share his blood/soul bond and were made after Marion ordered him to create them. Marion might've shared some of the desire to kill with them to bring them to life

FNAF SL:

Every Animatronic has shards of different souls clinging onto them, giving them the desire to kill. As time went by these shards fused into one soul in each bot, while the programming of them kept these souls to go completely haywire.

Ennard - Is a whole seperate entity and a mess of MANY broken soul. Curiously, without any clear programming to this mess of an endoskeleton/s, Ennard is the calmest of them all

Misc:

Vincent the Purple Man - Pratically got forced to haunt his own corpse and SpringTrap, maikng his actually ghost powers limited on how long he can use them and hold that form, but he's still really powerful regardless

Rick the Shadow Man - Quite literally haunted the darkness around him, and due to his deep hurt and pain of being betrayed by his best friend he's REALLY powerful as well

Keith the Nightmare Man - Fell into a deep coma after dying; while having the potential to be powerful, Keith would need to go under very hard training to 'awaken' that side of his ghost form powers

PG - Similar to Vincent, got forced to haunt his SpringTrap and corpse, but was taken away and 'saved', only to be tortured the heck outta him, making his form and powers limited as well, but also some aspects are 'glitched'.

Alex Winter - NOT haunted, but has pretty much a 'pact'/soul bond with Jack, sharing his powers of the undead and supernatural and basically unlocking his own soul/ghost powers while being alive. All of it is party, restaurant and/or animatronic themed pff

All former guards like Mike, Jeremy, Fritz and the Phone Guy/Scott have the potential to be vengeful adult ghosts.

And Animatronics of PizzaSim and SB are not listed here cuz either OMG TOO MANY CHARACTERS or saved for future projects oWo

Also I blame a friend on DA for making me wanna put some concepts down for my own AU after pretty much a decade of having it owo

#crying child #concept art #vengeful ghosts #five nights at freddy's #fnaf #art

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ghosteel · 2 years

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fantina’s fav music is creature feature. she’s never performed to it (yet), but she’s played their songs so often that maggie’s learned to recite her incantations in time with the lyrics

#projecting my music taste onto my muses once again. leon gets poets of the fall; fantina gets creature feature #can't wait to find out who gets vocaloid and the high school musical 2 soundtrack

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maggiefromspace · 2 months

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Amblypygids, or whip spiders or tailless whip scorpions (which are neither spiders, nor scorpions, nor whip scorpions) are one of the many lesser known arthropod groups!

Their long "whip" front legs are used as sensory organs rather than for walking, and possibly to engage in social behaviour with their mother/offspring/siblings -- which is unusual but not unheard of in arachnids.

#maggie's creature feature #arthropod #amblypygid #whip spider

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thegoblinwitchqueen · 2 years

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One for Sorrow, Two for Mirth

Arthur Morgan X OC/Charles Smith X OC

Rating: Explicit/18+

TW: substance abuse, violence, sexual content, death, psychological content

Summary: In an attempt to write the wrongs of her past, Maggie Keane has sought redemption through caring for Valentines horses. All was going well and until a band of wanted outlaws decide to swindle her employer. Without even realizing it, her life was about to change.

Chapter:1 AO3

Word Count: 5,450

—————-

Soft as the velvet ears of a hare, but hardly as delicate.

Maggie allowed the tips of her fingers to move absentmindedly along the nose of the unfamiliar shire whose enormous body made even the tallest of her thoroughbreds look as though they were foals fresh from their mothers womb by comparison. His coat was thick and lackluster, but Maggie could see that the spring time shedding had already begun to free itself in various large patches along his muscular sides, exposing the sleek and shiny coat that lay hidden underneath like diamonds in coal. It would take two, maybe three, good brushing with her metal shedding brush and a bath before the black beast would glisten like an obsidian stone. Despite the work that this incredible monster would require, Maggie knew the price he’d earn would make it worth her while. Back and forth, the horse pawed anxiously within his new stable, and bellowed with such ferocity that the other captive horses joined him in either fear, or solidarity…she could not tell.

“Where did you get this…Goliath?” Maggie’s voice called out from over her shoulder to Amos Levi, and although she could not pull her gaze free from the magnificent creature who continued to demonstrate his power and discomfort with heavy steps and pacing along his tiny enclosure, Maggie knew by her employer's footsteps that he was within earshot as he swept the floor of the stable he owned free of straw, dirt, and debris. The act of sweeping the stable in of itself was futile. The uneven wooden floor boards would only accumulate more muck and mud from Valentine's Horses throughout the day as they rotated throughout the stables for cleaning and care. Still, Maggie knew better than to criticize or point out the painfully obvious reasons why Amos Levi shouldn’t bother with it. After all, it was one of the only ways the man maintained his sanity throughout his many years caring for and selling horses. Whatever was left of it, at least.

“An older feller and his son came in not too long ago looking to sell ‘em.” Amos set his straw bare broom against the door to a cream colored palomino’s stable door, and brushed the grime from his hands onto his stained apron before giving the mare a sturdy pat. “I reckon’ he caused them a lotta trouble considering’ how badly they wanted ‘em gone.”

Maggie rested her palm against the bridge of the shire's nose, and after a few moments of whispering sweet nothings to the stallion, he calmed down enough for her to get a better glimpse of him. However, It was only after a closer inspection that Maggie realized that the condition of the horse was not pristine as he had initially appeared. The stallion looked rather underweight for his size, and the ends of his mane frayed and split from months of malnutrition. His hooves were overgrown, but appeared healthy otherwise. She was thankful for that, but sighed with frustration.

She shrugged her shoulders as Amos tugged at his thick and overgrown beard which hid his thin mouth underneath a wiry mustache to accompany it. Had the man not kept a lit cigarette between his lips at all times, Maggie would not have known he even had a mouth at all due to how little he spoke throughout the day. Still, she did not mind the silence, and often found it comforting. He looked her up and down with the utmost anticipation

“What ya’ think Mags?” Amos chewed the butt of his smoldering tobacco, and looked at the young woman’s face in an attempt to decipher the peculiar expression she wore across her pale features. “Did I make a darn fool of ma’self fer buyin’ ‘em?”

“Well,” Maggie began, wiping her own hands free of dust on her back side. “I don’t see you as a fool, Amos. He’s got a lot of potential behind that coat and those hooves but….”

Her voice trailed off while her fingers pulled the lips of the beast's mouth open, and she saw that his teeth were in decent condition. However, he was definitely old and past his prime. The galvayne’s groove along his inscisers ran from gum to the tip and Maggie assumed that he was practically as old as herself. Twenty-five…maybe older. Not to mention the wear and tear from many long years of bridles which pulled against them. This horse had worked hard over his long lifetime.

Amos watched the woman intently and, after a few agonizing minutes of her tugging, pushing, and inspecting the creature from head to toe, allowed a groan to escape from underneath his tobacco stained beard; he already knew by the way Maggie’s brows furrowed tightly together, that he had indeed been a fool.

“He’s mighty old, Amos. I reckon’ he’s close to thirty. He should be looking at retirement, not pulling wagons. It’ll be hard to find anyone willing to purchase him for more than $80.00, maybe $85 if we throw in a free set of shoes. But, even then…I’m not a miracle worker.” Maggie tugged a few tufts of the shire's shedding coat away from his neck and ran her fingers along the fresh and glossy coat that appeared underneath.

Her mind thought of the ways in which she could spruce him up, convince some poor fool to purchase this monster, but her options were limited with this new found information. In response to her poking and prodding, the shire nipped at her fingers, however, she was too fast for him and pulled away before he could grab hold of her. With aggravation, the horse bellowed angrily and kicked at the stable door. “And with his temper, it may take me a while to break him. If I even can. He might be too old to change his ways now.”

“I shoulda’ known better than to make a big purchase without you.” Amos grumbled and picked up his broom to continue where he had left off moments prior in an attempt to clear his mind once more. Maggie sighed, and looked at the man with an expression of pity and understanding. Suddenly, Amos threw his broom and hat to the ground in frustration and remorse. “Bastard cost me $250.00!”

“$250.00?!” Maggie exclaimed in a tone more aggressive and louder than she had intended. The young woman’s gray eyes practically bulged from her skull in utter disbelief. “Amos! We have never paid anyone more than $130.00 for even the best looking shire! How in the hell did you spend that much on him!”

“The older feller was a mighty smooth talker, Maggie. Said he came from the best stock! Said the horses’ sire was from Prussia.” Amos recounted with a wistful expression when he spoke the foreign country’s name. His eyes were practically hidden under a set of wild and bushy brows, but the blues of his irises pierced through like the spring sky; clear despite his age.

“Prussia? Seriously? And you believed him?” Maggie scoffed in frustration, but not at Amos. He was kind hearted despite his gruff and silent exterior, and more often than not, would help out even the most desperate of men looking to score a few dollars from the sale of an old nag or lame mule. However, 250 dollars for this particular horse was nothing more than a scam. “I reckon you got swindled, old man. What did they look like? Do you know where they’re staying?”

The young woman’s hands quickly fought the leather straps of her farrier apron as she untied the tight knots with bumbling fingers calloused from a year of manual labor. Once free of its constraints against her waist, she set the apron down on a stack of hay, and hurried around the stable to gather up her meager belongings. Her clothes, threadbare and stained, consisted of nothing but a simple button up and a faded pair of mens trousers. Clothes given to her from Amos’ youngest son, Matthew, who was the closest to her size.

“He said they’re gonna be around town. I think I saw the younger feller go to Smithfield’s after. But, that was yesterday when you’s was helpin’ out at Emerald Ranch. I don’t quite remember what they looked like.” Amos watched the young woman grab her gunslingers hat, and place it atop her short cropped hair. “Nah hold on there, Missy! I know what you’re thinkin’. Mags, It’s not worth the hassle. Why don’t we call it a lesson learned, an’ move on. Plus, what I do remember was the younger fella looked mighty rough and dangerous. I wouldn’t feel comfortable with a lady such as yourself getting caught up in that sort of thing. Again.”

Amos threw his hands up in defense and followed the young woman to try and stop her. He even tried to block her from leaving the stable entryway with his own body as an obstacle, but he knew from watching her grow over the years in that small town, that when Maggie Keane had her mind set on something—-there was no stopping her. She grimaced and pushed through her employer's arms into the muddy streets of Valentine.

“I’m sorry, Amos, but I can’t let them get one over on us. It’s not right. It’s the principle of the matter.” Maggie adjusted her hat, and made her way to Smithfield’s to find this young feller and get Amos’ money back.

“Since when did you care ‘bout principles?!” Amos called out after her. Maggie only laughed in response and quickened her pace towards the Saloon.

She would get that money back, one way or another, that's for damn sure.

———————————————-

“Well, I’ll be! Miss Maggie Keane!” Roy exclaimed loudly over the sounds of his piano.

The time of day did not matter much to the patrons who chose to spend their meager day’s worth of hard earned wages at Smithfield’s on booze and women. The sun could be rising in the east or setting in the west, or even switch it’s position all together, but the swinging doors to the most popular Saloon in Valentine would not stop opening and closing as if a summer breeze straight from the mountains blew through them every moment of the day. However, instead of receiving the pleasant aroma of fresh mountain air mixed with the light touches of blooming wildflowers, a strong wave of the putrid smell of whiskey, musk from dirty men, and stale vomit greeted her nostrils with enough pungency to burn them.

Maggie did not miss it.

Nor did she miss the incoherent chatter from drunken fools, the stickiness of the bar that seemed to permeate the wooden countertop no matter how much she scrubbed, and especially the fragments of glass that left her fingers bleeding because she would have to gather each jagged piece painstakingly by hand after yet another drunken brawl between two wasted worthless pieces of—-

Stop.

Maggie reminded herself that it was not worth the frustration that held heavy on the forefront of her mind which came with the process of remembering her time spent at Smithfield’s. It had been a year since she walked out those double doors—- vowing never to return, and life was different.

She was different.

And yet…here she was once again. Under different circumstances, of course.

Still, the one thing Maggie missed was the sound of Roy’s piano which often provided her some meager semblance of humanity during the many long and sleepless nights spent in whisky's sweet embrace. Those melodic tones, just like Amos’ methodical sweeping, allowed her to maintain her fragile sanity. Whatever was left of it, at least.

Reluctantly, the young woman entered the bar with a grimace she did not attempt to hide behind false smiles. She allowed it to paint itself fully across her features as she tried her best to avoid most of the intense stares from drunk patrons she, unfortunately, recognized while she surveyed the perimeter for any sign of an unfamiliar face amongst the sea of locals she had become quite familiar with. Maggie’s hands gripped the smooth leather of her satchel so tight that they left indents, but the thoughts of her racing mind calmed when Roy turned from his piano, smiled a toothy smile at her, and changed the tune he was playing to her favorite song, ‘A Picture of Her Face’ by Scott Joplin. She smiled back weakly, and nodded a subtle thank you. He acknowledged her with his own slight nod, and Maggie proceeded. It was nice to see that she still had at least one friend left at Smithfield’s.

“Evening, Cliff.” Maggie spoke with a layer of exasperation coated in each word. She approached the bar, and leaned against the sticky counter the same way she had done many times before. “How’s business?”

Cliff Smithfield grinned through his thick, black mustache while his hands quickly poured the young woman a shot of liquor from the stash he kept hidden for himself underneath the counter. Not only was Cliff the bartender at the establishment, but he owned the Saloon named after himself since he opened his double doors back in 1898. The question she asked in regards to his work was more rhetorical than literal. Maggie knew how business was. She heard it every night from the repetitive and rage fueled rantings from her dear uncle, Walter Keane…the owner of the failing Keane’s saloon just down the muddy street.

“I’m pulling through,” Cliff began, his hands pushing the tiny shot towards the young woman to take. Maggie eyed the man with suspicion, but ultimately figured the gesture was his way of settling old scores. Or, it was an attempt to butter her up for the long anticipated conversation she had worked so hard to avoid. “What brings you back into my—what did you call it?”

“—Infected boil on the ass of Valentine.” Maggie took the shot, and threw it back with ease. She missed the burn, but did not miss the never ending hangovers she kept at bay between the many shots of bourbon and brandy she would take throughout the day.

“Yes, that was it.” Cliff laughed though his voice still seethed with a slight hint of bitter resentment. After all, they did not end on a particularly good note. “But, No matter. Bygones be bygones. How can I help you, Maggie.”

Maggie removed her hat, and ran her hand through her short hair. Cliff's nose wrinkled, and he shook his head with a gust of breath from his nostrils in disbelief. Maggie opened her mouth to recount her quest to retrieve Amos’ money, but was cut short when a large hand reached out and touched her.

“I can’t believe you butchered your beautiful hair with that…mens cut.” Jon, local drunk and over all insufferable degenerate, pawed at Maggie’s chocolate brown head of hair with little regard for her own opinions on the matter. He wore his traditional get up of old furs, leathers, and a raccoon hat with an almost empty bottle of whiskey in hand. He swayed like a ship at sea with each moment he spent touching, and staring, at the young woman’s displeased face. Maggie swatted his hand away and turned her face to ignore him in an attempt to stick to her original plan. Jon huffed and leaned his full weight against the bar all the while ignoring the subtle looks Cliff shot him to mind his manners. “You always was the most prettiest with your thick locks. Shame. Now you look like one of them…carpet munchers. Or a boy. You tryin’na be a boy now, Maggie?”

“It’s good to see you too, Jon, but I’m busy.” With one hand, Maggie pushed the older man gently and watched with glee as he tumbled to the floor like a stack of dominos. He groaned as his drink spilled over his furs, but gave in to his drunkenness to ultimately pass out where he laid prone on his back like a starfish. Now that her harasser was out of the way, she turned her attention back to Cliff who was motioning for Tommy to gather up what was left of Jon and his dignity. Tommy, thick and broad, gave Maggie a hefty pat on the back before completing his task, and setting the man in a chair near his usual table.

“It’s never a dull moment with you here, Mags.” Cliff said, pouring her one more shot. Maggie accepted it once more, waving to Tommy who returned to his place on the second floor.

“Sorry. I didn’t mean to make a fuss.” She responded through her teeth after the burn of the liquor subsided. “But, I’m here looking for an outsider.”

“An outsider?” Cliff lifted a dark brow in surprise. “What for? He owe you money or somethin’?”

“No. Well, kind of.” Maggie straightened herself, and noted the familiar pull from the counter stickiness along the fabric of her blouse. Yes sir, same old stickiness. “The bastard conned poor Amos Levi out of $250.00 for a run down shire past his prime. I wanted to have a…conversation with him, and I figured he’d probably be here, Y’know, spending his score on some cheap booze or Anastasia’s pussy..”

Cliff allowed a hearty laugh to escape from deep within his lungs, and Maggie smiled. These were the kind of moments that she had wished to be the majority when she worked at Smithfield’s, but it wasn’t.

“You haven’t changed, that’s for sure.” Cliff attended to a patron quickly by opening a bottle of whiskey for the man, but never broke eye contact with Maggie’s eyes that were as gray as a thunder cloud. “Unfortunately, we’ve had quite a few strange men coming in and out of here the past week. I don’t know if they’re all together or what not, but it might be hard to pin down your stranger without knowing exactly what he looks like.”

“Amos said he looked mighty dangerous.” Maggie grinned, and watched as Cliff's expression changed from jovial to concern across his aging features. He released a sigh and planted both hands on his counter to support his weight. He shook his head, and looked up at her.

“Mags, now, I know you. Known you since you were a tiny tot roaming around town in her Sunday dress, rolling in the mud with Amos’ bigger boys, and causing mischief. But, you gotta remember—you ain’t a bigger boy. You shouldn’t be runnin’ around looking for trouble.” Cliff explained. “One of these days, you might get yourself caught up in a whole heap of bad news. And, since you’re not one of mine anymore, I can’t be paying your bail when that happens like I used to.”

“I never asked for you to pay my bail.” Maggie responded shortly.

“It’s not about the bail, Maggie. Haven’t you done enough to tarnish your family’s hard work and reputation? Hell, your grandpappy built practically each house here in Valentine by himself! Your cousin, Hugh, has done well for himself at the Hotel. Why don’t you work for him as one of his—-bath girls. Or, why don’t you come back and work for me? We miss you, Magpie. I miss you.”

Magpie.

“So, it’s more becoming of me to sell my pussy than to work as a farrier?” Maggie rolled her eyes as far back as she could, and Cliff rubbed his growing frustration from his own tired eyes.

“That’s not what I meant.”

“No, no. I understand exactly what you meant. This backwards hovel of a town would rather have me lose my hair to syphilis than make horse shoes—makes all the sense.”

“Maggie, you’re a woman. There ain’t no shame in doing what women are supposed to do.” Cliff extended his hand across the counter and held Maggie’s trembling fingers. She wasn’t trembling out of fear or a slight chill, but out of seething rage. “You don’t even have to work. We could revisit that conversation we had. Y'know, the one we had before you left? Please, Magpie. Think about it.”

Magpie. There it was again.

“Don’t call me that.” Maggie pulled her fingers free from Cliff's fingers, her own causing friction as her calluses scraped along his smooth flesh. His hands were soft, and never experienced a time where he had to work hard for food or shelter. Never had to sell his body and soul just to survive.“I told you never to call me that.”

“I never understood why you never liked it. It’s your name, darlin’.” Cliff reached for her again, but stopped when the doors of the Saloon opened with such force that Maggie was sure a stray horse had entered the parlor room on accident. It wouldn’t have been the first time, unfortunately.

However, what sauntered across the muddy floor boards was not a horse, but two men. The first was a Latino gentleman who donned a relatively fashionable outfit of blues and grays with facial hair he meticulously maintained. He wore a black bowler hat, and his hair was pulled back in a loose ponytail. He was a handsome gentleman, and his smile was the most captivating aspect of him that she could outwardly see.

The second, who followed loosely behind his friend with steps that were unusually silent for a man his height, was a Native man with long and unkempt hair that flowed freely over his shoulders. His expression was stoic across his strong and dark features and his eyes carefully observed the Saloons' busy atmosphere. His skin was darker than most of the other Indeginous individuals she had encountered from time to time when they drifted through Valentine and Maggie assumed that he must have been of mixed race. He was handsome, and Maggie liked the way he carried himself. Calm and collected.

Both gentlemen had no qualms with entering the Saloon occupied with white, backwards yokels who eyed the two with suspicious intent, and Maggie found the change of pace refreshing. If only these interesting men had shown up back when she worked here. She was sure they’d have interesting pillow talk about their travels and she wouldn’t mind ruffling the feathers of a few racists who might say otherwise. Regardless, they were Strangers to Valentine and both looked just as dangerous as they did unfamiliar. After all, Maggie was looking for a strange man and there was a good chance hers might be one of them.

“Maggie, don’t…” Cliff growled. He watched Maggie smile mischievously, steal a shot of whiskey that belonged to a patron passed out at the bar, and begin to walk up to the men for an impromptu interrogation. Both gentlemen were talking amongst themselves with welcoming expressions, but before she could reach them…

“Well, hello there. Aren’t you two boys a mighty sight to behold!”

Anastasia..

“Great…” Maggie grumbled under her breath, stopping short of her walk to her targets who stood against the wood panel wall.

Anastasia was the best of Cliff’s working girls, and was by far the prettiest woman in Valentine since the town was established years ago. With hair like fire and skin as white as a delicate lily, the young woman had no problem pulling even the toughest of mountain men to her room on the second floor for a night of liquor fueled heavy petting. Her bed was always full, and in turn, her pockets as well.

When she descended from the second floor, she wore her white chemise loosely around her bust and shoulders in a way that accentuated her god given assets which she pushed to her chin with a tight corset. The beauty approached the two strangers with a dark haired young woman trailing her not far behind, giggling like two unsullied girls in church.

Maggie had met the other girl only a few days prior to her departure, but her name slipped her mind. It must have been something like—Daisy or Marigold. Who knew? All the girls changed their names when they became a soiled dove. In fact, Anastasia was called Anne before she started at Smithfield’s around the same time Maggie did. But, Maggie was always Maggie and she never bothered with changing her name. After all, the town already knew her, and her family’s, name.

Her presence was not overlooked though, and Maggie’s dark eyes locked with Anastasia’s, and for a moment, it felt like the rift between was not as wide as it had been when she left. There was a time when it was Maggie trailing Anastasia to get the leftovers she didn't want…and there was a time when she foolishly thought that they were friends. Maybe more. But, regardless of how their—-arrangement ended, Anastasia was the best Valentine had to offer and she definitely earned her pay. Maggie still admired her for her abilities in the bedroom. However, most men who were lucky enough to be graced by her presence typically ended up at the fists of Tommy when they realized, a little too late, that Anastasia charged a pretty penny for her pristine pussy.

Maggie took an empty seat next to a sleeping patron, and watched with a grin as Anastasia worked her magic on the strangers. A little touch here, a batted eyelash there—-and finally, the melodic laugh that broke through the incoherent chatter like church bells at whatever joke the Lantino gentleman had said which sealed their fate. She half debated about warning them of the hefty fine they were about to receive thanks to man's inability to think with more than one head at a time—-but, Damn, it only took Anne less than five minutes before she was walking with the dandy, arm in arm, to the bar. The new girl—well, not as new anymore—copied Anastasia, and took the Native man’s arm as well.

“So much for getting my money back.” Maggie mumbled, her arms crossed tightly against her well endowed chest. She too had assets similar to Anastasia, and knew exactly how to use them. However, she did not miss working at Smithfield’s. And so, she sat for a few minutes and watched as the two men fell into the comforting embrace that whiskey provided with open arms. With each shot they downed, the lighter she imagined their pockets would feel. Anastasia had a system, and used whiskey to her utmost advantage.

Once or twice, Maggie made eye contact with the Native man as he looked over the Saloon, time and time, again. She was unsure of what he was looking for exactly. A friend? An enemy? Regardless, she made sure to greet his welcomed gaze with a slight smile. Each time, he seemed taken aback by her forwardness and turned to face his friend and the ladies who entertained him with a slight rush of color to his cheeks. It wasn’t the whiskey that made him flush, and it was adorable. Still, smiling at random men was an unfortunate habit she was unable to break. For years, even before Smithfield’s, Maggie was trained to be as approachable as humanly possible. After the third time of meeting the man’s intense eyes, Maggie saw Anastasia flash her an expression that said,

‘Stop fucking this up and leave. Now.’

Maggie let a chuckle escape her lips before she lifted an almost full bottle of whiskey to her own lips. It wasn’t hers, a little flat from being open for so long, but she didn’t care. It brought her satisfaction to know that even with hair cropped as short as a man’s, clothes stained and threadbare, and with the smell of horse that permeated her at all times—-she could still manage to pull a man’s attention with nothing more than a sweet smile.

Part of her hoped the dark skinned man would approach her, prove to herself that she was still worth his time and conversation. As well, it had been some time since she had been with a man, and he was handsome. She wouldn’t mind a quick social call with a stranger she would never see again, but she knew better. She let her eyes meet his one last time before she couldn’t help but feel a tug at her heart when her former friend tossed a glance her way yet again, but this time pleading for her to leave once more.

Suddenly, she remembered the many nights they spent together, lying awake into the early hours all the while laughing about the poor love making of whatever John they had serviced until they heard the familiar call of a rooster to start their day all over again.The memories were too difficult, and after another few minutes, Maggie decided it would be in her best interest to let the ghosts of her past stay buried underneath deep layers of regret and shame to be forgotten once more. A year was not long enough to heal the wounds that still festered and oozed within her infected soul. She decided it was time to cut her losses, make due with what she could get out of selling the beat up Shire, and go back to forgetting this place of pleasure ever existed.

Maggie sighed, lifted herself from her station, walked to the familiar swinging doors of the Saloon, and readied herself to leave. When she was about to place her hat on her head, her body collided heavily against a man whose intention was to enter the Saloon she desperately wanted to leave. She fell back onto the dirty floor, and cursed under her breath. Her hand stung and a drop of blood formed from where a stray nail had caught the flesh of her palm during her attempt to cushion her fall.

“ ‘Scuse me, Miss..”

Maggie’s assailant’s voice was gruff, and had a thick accent similar to those from further out west, but she could not see him due to how tightly she had closed her eyes from the sudden pain. She sucked air through her teeth, and fought to control her initial reaction of rage from the unpleasant stinging sensation. After a moment, she took a deep breath and sighed. When she opened her eyes, the man who stood before her was handsome as well, rough around the edges, and donned the attire to fit his cowboy aesthetic. All the way down to the beat up gamblers hat he wore atop his shaggy mop of sandy blonde hair. His eyes were just as blue, if not bluer, than Amos’. His hand was extended, waiting for her to accept his assistance. After a moment, she obliged.

“Sorry ‘bout that. I didn’t think I’d be running into anyone.” He apologized, lifting the woman to her feet with ease.

“Don’t worry about it.” Maggie mumbled as she brushed the dirt and debris from her rear. “I should have been more careful.”

The man allowed a smile to tug at the corner of his mouth before he turned to survey the bar. Maggie thought that the crows feet that appeared at the corners of his eyes were charming. What was with all these interesting strangers waltzing into Smithfield’s? It was not like Valentine was as big or as popular as Saint Dennis. No, it was very unusual for a stranger, let alone three, to visit their tiny town. However Maggie was so caught up in inspecting the stranger the same way she did her horses, with intensity, that she didn’t realize that the man was waiting for her to say something. She felt the color rush to her cheeks, and her mouth went dry.

“Aay! Arthur!” The Latino man exclaimed after taking a shot with Maggie’s former friends. Once again, the Native man watched her and the color stayed on her cheeks. “Come meet our new friends! After all, this is all on your tab since you’re $250.00 richer!”

250.00? That was the exact amount Amos had spent on that horse.

The stranger, Arthur, tipped his hat to her before turning on his heel to join his companions at the bar. Anastasia’s eyes widened as she took in the sight of him. He was most definitely her type, and Maggie knew the woman was just bubbling to the brim with joy over the fact that she now had three men to lighten their wallets on her. Maggie brushed the dust from her hat before she nursed the blood that began to weep from her wound.

“I think we should extend that offer to the lady you just knocked over, Arthur.”

#rdr2 fanfic #rdr2 fanfiction #rdr2 #arthur morgan x oc #arthur morgan x original female character #dutch van der linde #arthur morgan #fanfic #rdr2 arthur morgan #Charles smith rdr2 #rdr2 charles #charles smith x OC #charles smith x original character

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