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filmmakerdreamst · 4 months

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P.J.Hogan's 'Peter Pan' is still an underrated masterpiece 20 years later

Peter Pan is a live-action fantasy adventure film directed by P. J. Hogan that reimagines the classic story of Peter and Wendy. The screenplay was written by P. J. Hogan and Michael Goldenberg and was released in cinemas in December 2003. The screenplay is based on the 1904 play Peter Pan, or The Boy Who Wouldn’t Grow Upand the classic novel Peter Pan by J.M.Barrie, which was originally published under the title Peter and Wendy.

The film tells the story of a young Edwardian girl, Wendy Darling (Rachel Hurd-Wood) and her two younger brothers John and Michael. On the night she is told she must grow up, a wild, fairy-like boy called Peter Pan (Jeremy Sumpter) flies into her room with his high-maintenance fairy Tinkerbell. When he learns that she tells stories, he whisks Wendy and her two brothers away to a magical Island called Neverland — where you supposedly don’t “grow up” — so that she can mother his henchmen, the Lost Boys. There she fights pirates led by the evil Captain Hook (Jason Isaacs), meets mermaids, dances with fairies, falls in love and grows up.

I have strong family connections tied to Peter and Wendy and J.M.Barrie. My great, great uncle Nico was one of the sons of Sylvia Llewelyn Davies'. He and his other brothers "the Lost Boys" were adopted by J.M.Barrie; which ultimately inspired him to write Peter Pan. Nico’s daughter Laura — my cousin — who I met for the first time a few years ago, told me that she was flown to Australia for the filming of P.J. Hogan’s Peter Pan because she was J.M.Barrie’s goddaughter. She told me that she was thrilled with the cast, especially Jason Isaacs, who played Captain Hook and Mr Darling. She also mentioned that Jeremy Sumpter, who played Peter Pan, was a lovely boy. However, she said she was very surprised and sad that the film wasn’t a big success as she really liked what they did with the story. I have loved the fairytale of Peter Pan from a young age, and learning that I am literally part of the family that inspired the story was very exciting and I’ve only begun to internalise it more as I’ve grown older.

When I was in my mid-twenties, I was diagnosed with a high level of Autism. One of my main symptoms was labelled “ageless”, which in simple terms means that one half of me is still a child that I can’t mentally leave behind. I can’t do many things that most adults can do, such as pay bills, drive a car, look after my own well being etc. I flap my hands when I get excited. I bounce. I sometimes speak in a baby voice. I overcommit to things I enjoy. I admit that it was hard to come to terms with the diagnosis when I first received it. But over time, I’ve come to believe that the two can coexist in a healthy way. I believe that I am an adult who is able to develop and grow while still carrying the child within me, and that this is not seen as a bad thing. I think Peter and Wendy can be seen as a reflection of that.

I was first introduced to P.J. Hogan’s Peter Pan a few years after it was released (I was maybe nine or ten years old), and I absolutely loved it. It wasn’t only one of my favourite film adaptations, but one of my favourite movies of all time. What surprised me most about the film at that age was how dark and gruesome it was, and full of this underlying sexual tension that I hadn’t expected at all from Peter Pan. Even today, this film still has a special place in my heart. It is made with so much passion and love for the original text that I can automatically put myself back into the story. After watching the film again as an adult, I almost immediately opened my copy of Peter and Wendy and started reading. I would even go so far as to say that I prefer the film to the book. However, part of me wishes that the age rating had been set much higher, as the dark and gruesome moments were some of the strongest parts of the film adaptation. This is possibly why some critics and viewers had difficulty categorising the film at the time.

However, I often consider P.J.Hogan’s Peter Pan to be the same equivalent as Joe Wright’s Pride and Prejudice. (which came out a few years later in 2005, starring Keira Knightley and Matthew Macfadyen). The film moves at the same dreamlike pace. It is light, dark, colourful and deeply romantic.

I also often prefer P.J.Hogan’s Peter Pan to the 1953 Disney Animation of the same name, even though it’s the version I grew up with and liked. I find it much less straightforward and innocent. Also, the 2003 film is much closer to the original source material, which I loved reading as a teenager, and to J.M.Barrie’s original vision. The film manages to reflect the same intellectual subtext and depth of the novel while retaining the whimsy and magic.

Magical Realism

Peter Pan was a perfect blend of fantasy and realism. A lot of media these days focus too much on “realism” and make their sets and CGI look bland and washed out. It’s a common myth these days that no one likes whimsy anymore; it’s somehow seen as too childish. As a result, much of the magic of fantasy is lost. But in this Peter Pan, a lot of colour was used in the set design and cinematography. Everything was so brightly and colourfully lit. Most fantasy films these days, including the new live-action adaptation of Peter Pan and Wendy on Disney+, are all so gloomy and dark. You almost have to light up the screen to make out the actors’ facial expressions or what’s happening in the scene. But this film understands that a viewer who watches fantasy wants to be swept away, but also wants a certain amount of believability. Although the film contained a good amount of darkness, it did not shy away from being cartoonish either (which I think was partly inspired by the Disney animation), i.e. characters blushing or bouncing on the clouds.

The design of Neverland was breathtaking. I think the CGI, although criticised by some, made the island and creatures look more dreamy and fairytale-like. It was a good combination of CGI for the landscapes and real backdrops for the jungle, so there was enough magic and believability to transport the viewer into the story. A bright colour palette was used for the landscapes, while down-to-earth colours such as browns and greens were used on the ground, such as in “The Lost Boys Hide” under the tree, to give a sense of realism. The costume department also reflected this, from the majestic reds and blacks of the pirates, to the earthly colours of blue and red for the Native Americans, to the natural greens and browns of the Lost boys. I noticed that the colours in Neverland were used as a contrast to the Edwardian London back home, which is realistic but dull compared to the island.

One aspect I liked was that the lighting on Neverland always changed depending on the mood of the scene- unlike the naturalistic lighting on Earth. It was almost as if the island was a living being. For example, when there was a fight on the ship, the lighting was red. When Peter took Wendy to the mermaids, who were scary and frightening, the lighting was dark and blue. This created a surrealistic atmosphere, almost like a fever dream or a kind of nightmare.

Sometimes the environment changed depending on Peter Pan’s mood in the respective scene. I particularly liked how Peter Pan influenced the weather on Neverland. Just his mere presence when he flew to the island changed the entire atmosphere in an instant. His feelings also determined whether it was summer or winter. In other words, its suggested in the film that the longer he has been there, the more the island has become a part of him, so that he can no longer leave it. It’s almost as if the island has transformed him into a magical being.

The exuberant musical score by James Newton Howard: I’ll never forget that. I think that was one of the first movies I saw where I actively noticed the music because it was so brilliant. Even today, the “Flying” soundtrack still gives me goosebumps. It perfectly encapsulates the whimsy, joy and imagination of Peter and Wendy. I loved that there were always different variations. One of my favourite pieces from the movie is ‘Fairy Dance’, which starts off cheerfully and moves up and down depending on the characters’ conflict/what they’re saying in the scene.

Cast

The cast of this film adaptation was magnificent. The look of all the actors not only matched the book description, but also the mood, especially with the Darling family. One of the standouts was Olivia Williams as Mrs Darling. She captured the gentleness of the character perfectly. I also loved the new addition of Aunt Millicent, played by Lynn Redgrave. She fitted into the story so well that I was surprised not to find her in the novel. She had the perfect amount of ridiculousness and hilarity that suited J.M.Barrie’s style.

One particular member of the cast we can probably all agree on that was perfect, was Jason Isaacs, who played both Wendy’s father Mr Darling and Captain Hook. He was certainly a star in this film for sure. I just can not think of anyone who could play him better, especially in a live-action film adaptation. He was particularly good in the role of Captain Hook. When I first saw the film as a child, I did not know that Captain Hook and Mr Darling were played by the same person until my dad pointed it out to me because he was so good. I loved how they portrayed Wendy’s dad as shy and reserved, as opposed to Captain Hook who was flamboyant and sinister. Mirror versions of each other in different realities — that’s a common theme throughout the film. As Captain Hook, Jason Isaacs perfectly captured the essence of viciousness, deviousness and brutality that was necessary for the character. But also the deep loneliness and frustration behind it all. I have seen a quote that was supposedly cut from the film (and never should have been) that provides so much context for his hatred of Peter Pan:

“Imagine a lion in a cage and into that cage flies a butterfly. If the lion was free, it would pay no heed to such creature. But the lion is not free…and so the butterfly drives him slowly insane.” — Captain Hook

They did a really good job of showing how Peter Pan and Captain Hook are mirror images of each other. Peter Pan is a child who secretly wants to be an adult, while Captain Hook is an adult who secretly wants to be a child. Both fight each other for different reasons, but the goal is the same. For example, there is a great scene towards the end where Captain Hook uses his wits to defeat Peter in a fight. Here it becomes clear that there is deep symbolism for the inevitability of adulthood and the loss of childhood. Jason Isaacs really showed off his acting talent here. I liked that he wasn’t portrayed as a “dumb villain”, which he easily could have been.

There were also some great performances among the adults. Most notable was Richard Briers as the ‘pirate’’ Smee. But the child actors, especially the lost boys, really held the movie together. Their solid performances made it so believable that the island was ruled by children. I loved Theodore Chester as Slightly. He was very charming and funny in that role.

Another member of the cast I thought was brilliant was Carsen Grey, an indigenous actress of Haida descent, who played Princess Tiger Lily. I liked that they let her speak her ancestral language, Mohican, in this film. Although this film came out in the early 2000s, it is the only version of Peter and Wendy in which Native Americans are neither erased nor white-washed even though the representation is far from great. Considering how they’re treated in the novel, it’s perhaps for the best overall that they limited some of their scenes. However, I liked how firey she was in this adaptation and not the damsel in distress she was portrayed as in the Disney animation. I think it was a wise decision to cut the infatuation she had with Peter Pan, as it was really just one line in the book that would have added unnecessary drama, and all in all, it would have fallen short if all the female characters were jealous of each other.

They also downplayed Tinkerbell’s jealousy in this regard, portraying it more as her trying to protect Peter Pan’s youth from romantic advances, as hinted at in the novel, and also being sad that Wendy is attracting all of Peter Pan’s attention. Ludivine Sagnier has, in my opinion, succeeded well in making Tinkerbell equally repulsive and endearing, as befits the character.

Wendy Darling

Rachel Hurd-Wood was the perfect cast for the role of Wendy Darling.I was actually surprised to learn that this was her first film role ever, because she was a natural. She effortlessly possessed the same caring nature and charm that makes Wendy so endearing. She is exactly how I imagine the character when I read the story. When people talk about Peter and Wendy, they always mention Tinkerbell, Pan or Hook, but personally I am always drawn to Wendy. She is the real heroine of the story. After all, she was the main reason for Peter to bring her and her brothers to Neverland.

What always amazes me about Wendy’s role in the story is the fact that Wendy literally doesn’t spend much time being a “child” in the time she spends in Neverland. When she’s not escaping death at the hands of mermaids or pirates, she acts as a mother to the ‘lost boys’ and her brothers. She asks herself what she really wants from life. In comparison, she was allowed to behave more like a child at home in Edwardian London. Neverland is not a place where you never grow up. It’s the place where she chooses to grow up. Many people have described Neverland as a manifestation of Wendy’s subconscious as a result of trauma, and I’ve never found that to be more true in this adaptation.

One of the reasons why I think P.J. Hogan’s Peter Pan is the best adaptation of the novel is the fact that the film revolves around Wendy’s coming of age. I loved that they expanded on her love of storytelling and also gave her a tomboyish streak. Instead of just being on the sidelines, she’s able to get involved and fight pirates while retaining many of her feminine traits such as her maternal instincts and romantic feelings for Peter. She makes mistakes and sometimes gets dragged into things she knows she shouldn’t do. But in the end, she triumphs.

In many film adaptations of Peter and Wendy that I have seen, Wendy is either only present in passing or not at all. Characters like Peter Pan, Captain Hook and Tinkerbell always take centre stage, which I think is a strange decision as they are part of Wendy’s story and not the other way around. Peter Pan is meant to metaphorically represent the childhood she does not want to give up (which is why the character is always played by a woman in the original play, as he is a mirror image of Wendy). And Captain Hook (J.M.Barrie also wanted him to be played by the same actor as Mr Darling) represents the dark side of her father, or rather what she imagines adulthood to be. This is particularly emphasised in this film adaptation because he is an important factor in her being told to grow up. The father, the concept of adulthood, and Peter Pan, her childhood, are at constant war with each other.

“You’re not supposed to be like Peter, who kept every good and bad aspect of being a child and can’t tell right from wrong. You’re not supposed to be Hook, either. He let go of everything childish and loving about him and became bitter and evil..You’re supposed to fall in the middle, to hold onto the things about childhood that make it beautiful — the wonder, the imagination, the innocence — while still growing up and learning morality and responsibility. You’re not supposed to be Hook. You’re not supposed to be Peter Pan. You’re supposed to be Wendy Darling.” — @maybe-this-time

The 2023 film Peter Pan and Wendy took a different approach, by making Wendy a kind of powerhouse who always saved the day and outshone Peter Pan overall. In my opinion, the 2003 film adaptation emphasised very well that Wendy really is the yin and yang. She's allowed to be romantic, be rescued by others and at the same time determine her own destiny and stand up for herself. Because that’s what her journey in the adaptation is all about. She is pressured by all the adults in her life to grow up. She allows herself to be seduced with the prospect of an eternal childhood by Peter Pan. Then she realises that it is not self-fulfilling. She is tempted by Captain Hook with the concept of adulthood. And finally, she finds a balance between these two extremes on her own terms. By the end of the film, Wendy has made her peace with growing up while still remaining a child at heart. That requires a certain mental strength that we should all strive for.

Peter Pan and Wendy Darling

In most adaptations of Peter and Wendy, such as Hook and Syfy’s Neverland, the focus is on the title character Peter. In the more recent film adaptation Peter Pan and Wendy, the focus is on Wendy. This film adaptation of Peter and Wendy, on the other hand, sticks more closely to the original source material, as the story focuses on Peter and Wendy’s relationship. This is perhaps the reason why I always hesitate when I watch other adaptations, because these two characters are supposed to go together. It’s definitely a relationship that can be portrayed in all sorts of ways because they are symbolically the same person.

Although there is no romance between Peter and Wendy in either the original novel or the play, Wendy quickly develops romantic feelings for Peter which, as a prepubescent child, he does not consciously reciprocate as he has no concept of love other than that of a mother’s. Although Peter cares deeply for her, he ultimately only longs for her to be the maternal figure that is missing in his life. One could go into the symbolism that Peter and Wendy are one and the same, and that this is an expression of Wendy learning to love herself. But in a literal sense, J.M.Barrie had unintentionally created this very strong potential between the two characters. And I personally feel if your'e going to make an adaptation of Peter and Wendy that potential needs to be explored in some way, even if it’s not necessarily romantic.

Hogan recognised this potential and developed the romantic elements, e.g. ‘the “thimble” from the novel, into a very real and tangible plot. In other adaptations, Peter and Wendy’s relationship is rather one-sided. But in P.J. Hogan’s film adaptation, however, it is not at all. Over the course of the film, Peter and Wendy fall deeply in love with each other.

Rachel Hurd-Wood and Jeremy Sumpter had a remarkable on-screen chemistry for young actors, which helped give the adaptation its own identity. Whenever they interacted on screen as Peter and Wendy, it was — like the glittering pixie dust of Tinkerbell — simply magical. The off-screen chemistry between the two definitely helped make the romance so believable as well. When I was younger, I didn’t like romantic subplots in family films. I personally found that they clogged up the main plot because the “romance” tended to be very one-dimensional- but Peter and Wendy in the 2003 film version were simply enchanting.

In the original novel, J.M.Barrie alludes to the possibility of a romance between the two. In the film adaptation, they go all out. Their love story was written so beautifully and profoundly, while staying true to the original text and J.M.Barrie’s themes. This made the conflict hinted at in the novel of “staying in Neverland with Peter or growing up on Earth with Wendy” even more poignant and relevant, because in reality there was only ever one option. They couldn’t find a way to have both. That made the ending even more “heartbreaking” for me as a child, because even though they had the chance to be happy together, she couldn’t give up on growing up to stay. And he couldn’t give up being a child to leave, even though it was a natural progression for him.

Peter Pan

Jeremy Sumpter delivered a fantastic performance as Peter Pan. Not only did he perfectly match the illustrations, but he also managed to perfectly capture the essence of the charismatic, mischievous little boy from the novel. What’s more, of all the versions I have seen so far, he is by far the most accurate, right down to the clothes made of skeleton leaves, the dirty fingernails, the feral mannerisms, the traumatised soul behind the charm and the downright creepy insinuations. By today’s standards, you could almost take Peter Pan for a grown man who consciously decides not to behave like this.

However, when I watch the film again as an adult, I can now understand why he has reservations about growing up in Edwardian England and would rather remain a “child” in Neverland forever. As Peter says in the film, “Would they send me to school? And then to an office?” I feel like most of us today have so many choices as we get older, but back then it was much more limited. The choices were very restricted in that “heterosexist” environment. You could only be a certain thing, and it was much harder to hold on to the pleasures of life. I can now also understand the initial reactions of Michael and John to Peter: He must have seemed scandalous to people at the time. His bright colours, his inappropriate clothing and his behaviour are repulsive to the boys, but Wendy is immediately fascinated and attracted. I think it was a deliberate choice that he is the only character with an American accent to set him apart from the rest of the cast; to emphasise the wildness of the character and his non-conformity to the people of Edwardian London.

Another small aspect I liked was the suggestion that the Lost Boys, although they lived with Peter and obeyed his commands, lived in constant fear of him and did not worship him as in other adaptations. (A fear that is justified as Peter tries to kill them more than once in the film). What the 2003 film adaptation captured perfectly about Peter's character was: how terrible of a person he really is. Peter Pan is a hero when he goes on adventures and fights pirates. You could argue — via the quote “Leave Hook to me” (which Peter says to her in the film) — that Peter is Wendy’s split self who can fight her father (Captain Hook) for her, just like antibodies do with germs when we can’t handle them ourselves.

However, when it comes to understanding emotions, caring about others, even his henchmen, the Lost Boys, and doing anything that inconveniences him, Peter Pan is possibly as bad as Captain Hook. This makes Wendy’s decision to leave him all the more powerful. Although she was initially seduced by his adventurous life, she soon realises that his “life” of joy and adventure is not fulfilling at all. Because in reality, there is no real joy. There is no real adventure. In reality, his life is empty because it is not earned. In addition, she realises that she is gradually losing her memory of the outside world, including her parents - a sign that she is “slowly awakening from the dream”. This leads Wendy to realise that she wants more than what he can give her in Neverland (e.g. romantic love) and decides to leave. Being alive means feeling, accepting and growing. However, as long as Peter remains a boy, he can never truly be alive. Peter Pan conveyed this important message, whereas earlier film adaptations, including the Disney animation, did not.

One of the reasons why good adaptations of Peter and Wendy are so hard to come by, especially in this day and age, is not only because they adapt a performative story that exists in layers of subtext. They also work with a protagonist who doesn’t change. Who doesn’t develop in any way, neither negatively nor positively. Not even just physically, but also mentally. (Even Eli from Let the Right One In, the child vampire, changes in the course of the story). At the end of day, Peter Pan is ultimately there to serve someone else’s story. It works in a fairy tale format. But it doesn’t usually translate very well to the screen because it often leads to one-dimensional storytelling. Even if it seems so natural, it doesn’t come naturally.

However, this adaptation allows Peter Pan to grow. The writers expanded on the small aspect from the book, which is the moment when Wendy enters Peter’s life; he begins to feel emotions. Not just love. But anger. Fear. Sadness. Pain. Disgust. And above all: self-awareness. Almost like a version of puberty in condensed time, as if the change suddenly caught up with his body. When Wendy brings this up, Peter immediately rejects it out of fear. I think most of us can all relate to this when we were in the midst of growing into a young adult. We experience feelings that are scary and new, that we can’t yet fully understand or even want to. For Peter Pan, falling in love is exactly what he is afraid of: growing up and no longer being a child. This adds to an interesting conflict that arises between the two when she asks him to leave with her.

“The thing about Peter Pan is, he’s a coward. Had the chance of a lifetime and he bottled it. Just fucked off back to Neverland. All alone, forever he was, by his own hand. Poor old Wendy, she had to grow old without him.” — Skins, 6x07 “Alo”

In the original novel, the reason Wendy can’t take Peter Pan with her (apart from the fact that he refuses to grow up) is the same reason Lyra in His Dark Materials can’t take Pan — the animal manifestation of her soul — on the boat to the land of the dead. She has to split in order to grow up and leave a part of herself behind. She can’t keep both in order to move on. But that does not mean I always agree with the ending either. In which Peter remains a child and takes Wendy’s future descendants to Neverland and back to look after him. It leaves an icky aftertaste, but at least it fits in with the story J.M. Barrie wanted to tell.

Even though the adaptation conveys the same message, that Peter Pan is the manifestation of Wendy’s youth, even to the end. In this version of Peter Pan, that is no longer the case. By the end of the film, the way he holds himself is different. The way he looks wistfully through the open window and solemnly says, “To live would be an awfully big adventure,” : a sign of self-awareness, while Wendy happily reunites with her family. So much so that Tinkerbell has to pull him by the hair to stop him from joining them and reconsidering his decision. Peter is now old enough to know that he loves Wendy. Maybe he’s also mature enough to know what he’s missing, but he knows he can’t have her the way he wants, so he does the most selfless thing he’s ever done in the whole film by letting her go.

There is no such conflict at the end of the 1953 Disney animated film. Peter Pan is described by Wendy as “wonderful”. In reality, everyone else gets their happy ending, except him, because he deliberately chooses not to. Peter Pan very much turns himself into a tragic figure because he is afraid of the most natural thing in the world. He is afraid of life. And I feel like this version of the story knew that and expressed it strongly, which makes me conflicted now as an adult. I’ve seen endings like this before, where two people fall in love but do not end up together because they grow apart or they are both interested in different things, and it’s very important to reach those points in different ways. It very much reflects real life and is also reminiscent of first love. How that love never really fades. It reminds you of simple times, even when you’ve grown up and moved on. That a part of you is still at that age when you look back on it. These endings happen because people grow — which Peter Pan does not.

“Peter in the books lives in oblivious tragedy. He may suspect that he’s not fully happy, but he tends to forget about it… yet this Peter doesn’t… Wendy leaving him and growing up to be a wife of another man is his unhappy thought…It’s the loss of innocence since Peter could not forget this…It’s the process of growing up…all but confirms that Peter’s character arc in the film is one of accepting the fact he too must grow up to be happy.” — @rex-shadao

And I think that’s the real reason why his character is both the strongest and the weakest part of the adaptation. The writers didn’t make it clear enough that Peter Pan forgets in their version of the character. In the novel, Peter Pan forgets everything automatically, which is why he can exist in this limbo of childhood and not go mad. However, as mentioned earlier, this version of Peter Pan is old enough to remember and, more importantly, to feel. Even though he is the closest to J.M. Barrie’s original vision, unlike his counterpart in the book, he is capable of evolving. That’s why the ending sometimes feels strange to me as an adult.

It was hard to say why I had a strange feeling at first, but I realised that a lot of my mixed feelings stemmed from having seen the film adaptation fresh after reading the novel. Since Peter Pan fully reciprocates Wendy’s love in this version, he ends up being a different character than in the book, which is why I now disagree with them keeping the original ending instead of having him grow up with Wendy. It would symbolise that childhood can co-exist with adulthood, that you don’t have to leave a part of yourself behind. That you can be your true and complete self if you find the balance between the two extremes.

The original ending still works however, in all its bittersweetness. I know what it means and understand what it stands for. Wendy basically says goodbye to her childhood and promises never to forget it. There’s a reason it made such an impression on me when I was younger. It could just be because I’m trying to pick up all the pieces of my broken heart from the floor. But personally, as an adult, I just find it weaker compared to the novel. Sometimes I like to imagine an ending to this version of the story where Peter Pan comes back, having quickly realised that he has outgrown Neverland, but doesn’t meet Wendy again until they are both much older, at a time when Wendy is coming to terms with womanhood and the idea of marriage. Or she even meets his real earth counterpart (if we were to delve into the psychology of Neverland being Wendy’s dream). And their relationship is subjected to the natural test of time and growth.

Peter Pan is an almost perfect adaptation. It matches the humour, the tone and the vision of J.M.Barrie. But I can certainly understand why the film didn’t do so well at the box office. In the month it was released, there was an unfair amount of competition, namely the film Lord of the Rings — The Return of the King. And as an adult, I can now understand why it’s not the film people think of or remember when it comes to Peter Pan adaptations. And it’s not just because it doesn’t fit the elfish, jolly trickster persona that Disney has created.

The film adaptation suffers more from what it doesn’t do — such as maintaining a stable tone and consistent editing — than from what it does. It’s one of those films that would have benefited from being much longer. That way, the inconsistent tone and some of the rushed parts of the adaptation would be much more balanced. It feels like it was missing an extra twenty minutes. For example, the film is narrated by an older version of Wendy, but without the deleted ending where it becomes properly clear that it’s her telling the story to tie everything together, the ending feels a little abrupt. Say what you will about Tim Burton’s adaptation of the Series of Unfortunate Events, but the audience could see where the film’s narration was coming from the whole time. I think if they knew the alternate ending wasn’t going to work (that scene is a classic example of something working well in the novel but not in the film), they should have removed the narrator altogether with the deleted ending and adjusted the film accordingly. They should have extended some scenes so that parts of the film weren’t rushed, such as the introduction, and the story would have been left more up to interpretation as there was no voiceover throughout.

Despite its weaknesses, P.J.Hogan’s Peter Pan is still an underrated masterpiece 20 years later. It is an irresistible film that captivates and warms the heart. The film adaptation has certainly stood the test of time, staying true to the original while adding its own flavour to the story. It is full of magic, wonder and heart. It was clearly made by people who loved the origins of the story and explored where they came from, while also digging deep into the text to reshape the character arcs in a fresh and meaningful way. They succeed in capturing J.M.Barrie’s original message, which is that growing up is a natural progression of life, but that doesn’t mean leaving childhood behind entirely. That it is important to maintain a healthy balance between the two: Taking responsibility while appreciating the joys of life. From the vibrant colour palette to the goosebump-inducing music to the solid performances and gorgeous chemistry between Jeremy Sumpter and Rachel Hurd-Wood, my love for this adaptation will never end, no matter how old I am.

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shaunabah · 11 months

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In which Pavitr has to stay in Miles' house for a bit.

Miles answers the phone after letting it ring for a bit, as his ringtone is his favourite song.

He looks confused when he sees the caller's ID, it was his friend, "Hello?"

"Hey, Miles!" Pavitr says, his voice a bit shaky, "I— uhm, I'm sorry for calling at this hour. This watch thing accidentally sent me to what I suspect is your dimension, can I stay at your house until I can find a way to fix it? I mean, it's fine if you don't—"

Miles interrupts him before he can say that he's sorry, as it isn't his fault. "It's fine, do you know where you are? Wait— are you wearing your suit?"

"No and yes." Great.

Miles found Pavitr after looking for him during at least an hour, he was in an alleyway with his suit on.

"Here, change." He says as he hands Pav some clothes. As he starts undressing, Miles quickly rectifies himself, "No!! Like, put it above the suit!"

"Ooooh, right." The other says while putting the shirt of his suit back on, he only had to get off his pants to put on Miles' ones more easily.

"Thanks, Miles. I literally don't know what I'd do without you." Pavitr says, looking at his friend. But Miles is too busy looking at those beautiful eyes of his, so he doesn't reply.

"Okay, remember. They're Ms. Morales and Mr. Davis. You're my highschool friend and you want to study photography."

"It's the tenth time, I understand." Pavitr groans, getting tired of his friend. Then, they arrive at his door, knocking on it.

His dad opens, looking quite surprised to see Miles with someone who isn't either Ganke or Gwen.

"Hi Mr. Davis!" Pavitr says with a smile. "My name is Pavitr, I'm Miles friend from school."

Then something clicks inside of Jeff's brain. It was the kid with the weird name that his son mentioned sometimes as a crush, never specifying the gender. He looks at his son with a 'this him?' face, and he nods eagerly.

"Hey, come on in." He finally says, letting the two teenagers inside the house.

Miles is incredibly ashamed right now as his parents keep asking his poor friends questions.

"And what do you want to study?" His mom asks, she's been the one bombing his crush with questions.

"I want to do photography!"

"Alright mom, we'll be in uh... my room!" Miles says, grabbing Pavitr's hand and dragging him into his room. "Dude, I'm so, so sorry that they were like that— They always do thi—"

"It was fun." Pav admits with a smile, "Your parents are really cool, worrying about you like that."

Miles thinks his heart skipped a beat in that moment.

#chaiflower #miles morales #pavitr prabhakar #pavitr x miles #spiderman atsv #atsv #across the spiderverse

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simplydnp · 2 months

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i have also recently been thinking phil would be a perfect taskmaster contestant-

1) he loves puzzles and to be assigned A Task

2) he would vibe well with finding ways to define the tasks outside of the first level of meaning

3) he would be so bad at the physical challenges

4) he would have a lot of biting the non-existent glue lid moments

ALL OF THIS IS HOWEVER IRRELEVANT! the most important reason he should be on TM is that:

5) he is *exactly* the Taskmasters Type (impish twink with an unpredictably absurdist sense of humor) (see: sam campbell, mike wozniak, mae martin) and i think it would be amazing to see him flirt five points out of an absolutely captivated Greg Davies each and every prize task.

phil is a guy who Loves being put in a situation

(if phil is on taskmaster we need a Live Dan Reaction for it please please im on my knees)

categorizing mike wozniak as an impish twink is probably the funniest thing i've ever read and you are so right for it

phil's prize tasks would be incredible because he'd find something stupidly sentimental and absolutely win the audience's hearts over it, whilst the very next episode he's tasked with taking the most embarrassing photo and it's just a screenshot of his eating glue youtube video with 1.4 million views

phil's casual delivery whilst saying wild things is my favourite and i'd love to watch his earnesty break alex horne. greg would get a kick out of how tall he is while being so clumsy.

11/10 i need to see it

#plot twist dan gets to be in the audience at one point and we hear the loudest 'WOT' in existence #im glad u have the Vision too anon. you get me #dnp #c.text #dan and phil #answered

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night-unfurls-its-splendour · 5 months

Note

Hi! I was just wondering who's your favorite phantom actor?

Can be from any Poto play, or movie, or anything really.

I'm really curious!

This and similar questions have been popping up so much for me in the last week lol

I like to be extremely specific so I will give you a few of my favourites

I have been meaning to re-examine my favourites for a while now

So my favourite overall, my number one, my blorbo, the phantom closest to my heart is always going to be Gerard Butler. Say what you want about his singing, but ain't no other phantom ever done Pleading Eyes (tm) like that man.

For stage Phantoms the one who has a hold on my mind that just will not let go is Tim Martin Gleason. I love a tall phantom. I love that in the title song he does not order Christine to sing for him, he asks her. He conveys, with his intonation, that he asks for the honour of having her sing for him. I love how expressive he is. This man made so many choices.

Vocally I think the best singer that has ever played the phantom is John Owen Jones. But I think my favourite phantom Vocally is Tomas Ambt Kofod, because he--more than ANY other Phantom I have heard, sounds like Erik. His voice is remarkable in its smoothness and delicacy, but also very powerful.

He's also so sensual and gentle. He loves to administer loving touches and caresses to his Christine.

His final lair is also devastating

The Phantom actor I think I respect most is Ethan Freeman. This man has such a dedication to this character and to the book specifically. He refused to read Phantom by Susan Kay because he didn't want an apocryphal version of the character to influence his interpretation, which he specified modeled off of Leroux's Erik, adding touches pulled directly from the novel such as kissing (or almost kissing) the hem of Christine's robe during "Stranger Than You Dreamt It", as Erik kisses the hem of her dress in the book.

Seen here in the West End in 1995 with Jill Washington:

And here, in Essen, 11 years later with Anne Görner:

It seems that over time he evolved this moment to the point that he appears to abandon the thought before he brings it close to his lips--probably thinking he's not even worthy of touching her vestments.

He's got an almost faerie-goblin quality to his interpretation. Like he's just scuttled out of the Black Forest. He also leans into the idea of Erik-as-Magician

He's not afraid to be sensual either, though.

I think the most emotional phantom is Earl Carpenter. One of the first full boots I ever watched was Earl Carpenter with Rachel Barrel. His Music of the Night changed my brain chemistry forever. The gentleness! The vulnerability! The vacillation between confidence and fragility!!

The way he would jostle Christine a little when he caught her, his face a picture of panicked concern!

Though I think his interpretation of Erik as (for want of a better word) asexual is a little wacky (considering the text), it strangely works in favour of Erik's particular brand of sensuality, and it paired particularly well with Rachel's timid and apprehensive interpretation of Christine (which I generally dislike--here, though). And his singing has only improved with maturity. The raw emotion of his All I Ask of You (Rooftop Reprise) in his 2023 run is shattering. Absolutely shattering.

My favourite feral Phantom is without a doubt Scott Davies. If you ever want to see the most unhinged "Let these freaks be together" e/c show you've ever seen you have GOT to watch Scott Davies with Meredith Braun. Ethan Freeman's got the Goblin King energy and Anthony Crivello has the Sewer Gremlin vibe, but if you ever want a Phantom with a real primal streak, you can do no better than long-standing West End understudy Scott Davies:

This guy tackled the role with a ferocity and an audacity that you don't generally find outside of Russian productions.

His Phantom hands? Oh Lordy!

And the best part is that Meredith's Christine was picking up EVERYTHING he was laying down. Her Christine is just as mad, just as feral, just as unhinged. And especially paired with such a hearty goodfellow Raoul as Matthew Cammelle--Raoul would have done well to gtfo of there. He was NOT prepared to handle this lmao.

And then there's Ted Keegan. Who for me will always be the Phantom that got away. If I had just done a little more research before--just three months into my poto obsession--booking my tickets to see phantom before it closed on Broadway, I might have had the transcendent experience of seeing Ted Keegan live. As it was, I had no idea he was even still playing the phantom, and wound up with Ben Crawford instead.

And I would be remiss if I finished this list without naming Thomas James O'Leary. Like Ethan Freeman, O'Leary leans into Erik's ghostly persona, with a magician's touch. I think he took a lot of inspiration from Lon Chaney's Phantom (note the position of his hands here).

His "Sing for me~" is one of my all time favourite line readings and got a very embarrassing reaction out of me when I first heard it.

And then, as if that wasn't enough, there was the moan.

#asks #phantom of the opera #poto #poto musical #poto 2004 #erik the phantom #gerard butler #tim martin gleason #scott davies #thomas james o'leary #ted keegan #ethan freeman #tomas ambt kofod #earl carpenter

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witchthewriter · 2 years

Photo

𝐁𝐞𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐚𝐩𝐚𝐫𝐭 𝐨𝐟 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝟏𝟎𝟎 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐁𝐞𝐥𝐥𝐚𝐦𝐲 𝐁𝐥𝐚𝐤𝐞'𝐬 𝐬/𝐨 𝐰𝐨𝐮𝐥𝐝 𝐢𝐧𝐜𝐥𝐮𝐝𝐞

⤷ gender neutral, ambiguous race, and any size reader. Requests are open, thank you for reading!

ᴹᵃˢᵗᵉʳˡᶤˢᵗ

ENTJ

Gryffindor

Chaotic Neutral

Sagittarius Sun, Capricorn Moon, Scorpio Rising

SFW🌿

⭑ Sent down to earth with the rest of the group, only for a petty crime of trying to feed your sick mother. You had stolen someone else’s rations and a fight broke out.

⭑ Being in the ship’s cell had hardened you somewhat, but you were able to talk to Clarke who was next door to you.

⭑ The day you landed on earth, was the day that everything changed.

⭑ You were no longer safe.

⭑ And so you stood behind those with loud mouths and bravado. John Murphy was the best option, and soon Bellamy was the camp leader.

⭑ You didn’t like the others on earth, but you did take a liking to Clarke, Octavia, Wells, Jasper, and Monty.

⭑ Slowly you became part of Clarke’s crew -

⭑ And Bellamy seemed like such a big arch-nemesis at the time

⭑ But over time you learned to trust each other, because you had no other choice. And when you saw that changed in Bellamy, something in you shifted.

⭑ As a significant other, Bellamy is very protective but also very caring.

⭑ He wants to make sure that you feel comfortable and safe at all times.

⭑ He can get a bit jealous, but not overly. He isn’t possessive either.

⭑ Bellamy loves cuddling. And he’s very good to cuddle as well. There’s no greater feeling than having his arms wrapped around you. Nowhere else do you feel this safe.

⭑ Before doing anything dangerous, Bellamy cups your face in his hands and rubs his lips over your lips. And like a promise, he tells you he loves you and kisses you so deeply.

⭑ When you’re alone together, you talk about the future and what you want. If you want kids, where you’d want to live etc. If you think of something midday, you’ll try and find each other to add it to the list. E.g., “I want a flower garden” or “I changed my mind I want to live by a lake” etc.

⭑ He always makes sure that you’ve eaten, and if you’re hungry he’ll get you whatever you want (or whatever is closest to it).

⭑ You share a room/tent (I mean it changes doesn’t it!) And he has minimal possessions, I mean everyone does now. But you have your little knick-knacks that you’ve created, little gifts from friends.

⭑ The moment Bellamy fell fully in love with you, was when you had found a few of his favourite books.

⭑ He doesn’t mind PDA. Bellamy will wait for you to sit next to him so he can hold you against his chest.

⭑ He would really appreciate you listening to him when he opens up. Not a lot of people know a lot about Bellamy’s interests, hobbies, likes, and dislikes.

⭑ He would want to marry you, or if that wasn’t possible, he would want to commit to you as much as possible.

⭑ You do worry about him a lot. It’s in his nature to protect, defend and lead. He raised Octavia, so it’s ingrained in him to be the first to react and step up.

⭑ He gets surprised when you remember things about him. Especially memories and other people in his life that are long gone

⭑ Bellamy teaches you skills, he doesn’t want you to have to rely on anyone.

⭑ Doesn’t like it when other people look at you with lust in their eyes. He will move closer to you, but not be too obvious

Theme Song:

‘Davy Jones’ by Fia Oradd

Relationship Tropes:

Snarky Power Couple That Can, And Probably Will, Destroy You

Moon (mysterious, night-person, creative, introverted) (Bellamy) x Eclipse (has so much worth but doesn’t see it, initially closed-off but has the biggest heart) (You)

Rivals to Acquaintances to Friends to Lovers

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segretecose · 5 months

Note

Ok, Taskmaster UK tier list. Go

excluding: pre-Series 7 (because it has been ages since i've seen them and i honestly do not remember); Champion of Champions; New Years Treat

(*) indicates the series that i have watched multiple times and/or more recently.

S16*: possibly dictated by recency bias but i genuinely enjoyed this series more than any other i think. it usually takes me a couple of episodes to warm up to the cast but i was immediately sucked in this time. not a single normal person in sight and Sam Campbell is a special brand of insane that i resonate with on a worryingly deep and personal level.

S7*: watching James Acaster get genuinely angry over futile things is one of life's greatest pleasures if you ask me and my god does this series deliver on that front. this cast exists somewhere between found family and deranged Lord of the Flies remake in a way that i find irresistible.

S10: nearly ex aequo with S13 but the fact that this was filmed during the pandemic gives it an underlying hysterical quality that makes it take the cake. the outtakes (especially the "Little Trumper" part) are possibly the hardest i've ever laughed while watching this programme.

S13*: the way the cast interact in the studio really gives this series some extra oomph. i can't quite put my finger on it but the vibe is sort of like Fellowship of the Ring except they all die the second they set foot outside of Rivendell. besides, Greg Davies being genuinely scared of Bridget Christie will never not be hilarious to me.

S11*: very close to S10 and S13 but i have a primal dislike of Lee Mack that means i personally can't fully enjoy these episodes. there are still some excellently cursed moments (e.g., "absolute casserole") to be enjoyed. i had a weird crush on Mike Wozniak for months after watching this. it was humiliating but it bumps it up in the ranking.

S9: i've only watched it once back when it aired and maybe it would rank higher if i did watch it again. Ed Gamble's actual visceral rage at David Baddiel during that one studio task is legendary, i wish we got more of that. unfortunately i can't remember much else.

S14: as deducible from this list one of my favourite Taskmaster tropes is Contestant Who Desperately Wants to Do Well being teamed up and hindered by Inept Contestant(s) and the Dara O'Briain - Fern Brady - John Kearns partnership is a shining example of that. ranks low(er) only because i feel like the tasks themselves weren't terribly memorable.

S12: similarly to S9, i feel like i need to revisit this one to form fair judgment but i don't think i ever really clicked with the cast. i liked the contestants individually but perhaps their interaction was hampered by the social distancing measures. i remember it was enjoyable but that's about it.

S8: another example of one cast member souring the overall experience for me. i didn't love Lou Sanders in this and i just can't be objective about it. Joe Thomas had some good moments i think.

S15: even though it's the second most recent series i can't remember much from it. nothing against the contestants but unfortunately i think something did not work and the comparison to S16 makes it look even more lacklustre in hindsight.

#i'm aware this is not a tier list btw #taskmaster

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singularattitudeofasafetypin · 2 years

Text

The Greatest Love Stories

Masterlist

Summary: Eddie has a run in with some bullies in middle school, but in the aftermath, reader helps him pick up the pieces. Little does he know, his life is about to change for the better!

Word Count: 2K

Warnings: Bullies suck, angst with a happy ending!

A/N: I really enjoyed this! I just got the idea and thought it was really cute. I hope you enjoy it!

I'm a Brit, anything I get wrong about America, that's why

Please don't copy my work!

Great hurling winds whirled around the mountain tops. Ice and snow pelted the rocky path raising drifts at least four feet high. The fellowship was frozen to the bone and even Gandalf began to wonder if they should turn back.

Eddie was consumed. It didn’t matter that he’d read the story twice before; the words on the page enthralled him in a way nothing else could. He stumbled blindly across the school yard, heading for his favourite corner to curl up and escape the world until the bell rang. Buried so deep in his book, Eddie didn’t see the gang of older boys until he crashed right into them.

‘Hey, trailer trash!’

Dazed from impact, he barely had time to register the insult before they shoved him. He hit the ground hard; his book skittered out of his grazed hands.

With a groan, his vision cleared and threw the boy glaring down at him into sharp relief. Jimmy Davis clenched his fists and sported the distinctive look of disgust his classmates reserved just for Eddie.

‘Watch where you’re going!’ he snarled.

‘Don’t say anything!’ he thought, ‘You’ll only make it worse!’ but Eddie had never been able to control his imagination. In that moment he saw the boy and his goons as orcs and goblins from his story. A glimpse of that notion must have shown in his eyes. Jimmy couldn’t have understood but he knew it wasn’t flattering. He seized him by the collar and punched him hard in the face.

Eddie tasted blood, falling back again. His lip stung and his jaw ached. He pushed himself up on his elbows and his heart dropped.

Jimmy had the precious novel in his slimy hands, waving it above his head and laughing when Eddie scrambled and jumped for it. His friends pushed him away. Eddie cried out furiously; his mouth twinged where his lip had split but it was useless.

‘Think you need a few less distractions, freak!’ Jimmy jeered.

The first page seemed to tear in slow motion. Eddie froze in horror. It felt like they were tearing his own flesh.

Then it was all too fast. He ripped page after page, letting them fall like confetti. Eddie shouted, cursed, and pleaded. Jimmy wouldn’t stop. The other boys held him back as he struggled, arm outstretched, kicking and screaming, but three against one could never be fair.

They threw him down again and pain shot through his elbow, skin breaking on stone.

Jimmy tossed the tattered book at his feet, ‘That’ll teach you, freak!’ he spat on the ground, kicking the poor ruined paperback away before he and his friends stalked away.

Eddie bit back tears. He couldn’t let them see him cry! Couldn’t show weakness! He crawled on his hands and knees, trying to ignore the dull ache in his jaw and blood staining his elbow. Clutching the broken covers close, he couldn’t stop hot, thick tears from spilling over any longer. They wet the ragged pages he gathered slowly.

Uncle Wayne had got him that book. Saw it in a yard sale, already shabby and well-loved but it was perfect. The perfect present for his first birthday living in Hawkins with his uncle. Uncle Wayne who took him in, who always told him he could be like the heroes in the story, who always said he was proud of him. Uncle Wayne who’d given him the first real thing he could call his own and now it was broken! Just like everything else!

A sob escaped him. Then another, and another until they wracked him to his core.

Blinded by grief and guilt, he didn’t notice someone else squat down next to him and begin to help pick up the pieces. He flinched when you held out a handful of pages to him with a small, sad smile. His sobs stifled to hiccups.

He just stared at you, mouth hanging open. His big brown eyes looked like they were waiting for you to make a joke. Like he was just waiting for you to throw them in his face and make fun of him too. Gently, you reached for his hand and placed the pages in it. His fingers closed around them but he didn’t say anything.

You stood up and offered a hand. He didn’t take it. He stumbled to his feet on his own, scrubbed his face on his sleeve, turned heel, and ran inside without a word.

You watched him go, hurt until you glanced over your shoulder at the group of bullies still laughing cruelly. They simpered and pointed, not an ounce of empathy between them. ‘He thought you were like them!’ you realised. One of the boys smirked at you, raising an eyebrow as if challenging whose side you were on.

There was no contest. You shot them a dirty look before running after the crying boy with brown curls.

It didn’t take long to find him. His sobs echoed from an empty classroom despite his attempts to muffle them. They were different now, angry, frustrated, and interspersed with a string of words you knew you only grownups were allowed to say.

Peering around the doorway, you saw him bent over a desk struggling with tape and scissors. His hands were shaking so much he was seconds away from accidently hurting himself.

‘Let me help,’ you offered. He froze like a deer in headlights. Not waiting for an answer, you pulled a chair over and took the tape from him, sticking it to the edge of the table. You organised the loose pages into to the right order and carefully cut strips of tape to stick them back together.

Eddie sat next to you, watching your meticulous work. You were determined to get it perfect. He sniffed and rubbed his red eyes every now and again but made no other sound.

‘I didn’t know you were allowed to write in books!’ you marvelled, in reference to the occasional tight scrawl in the margin or highlighted passage.

He shrugged but didn’t speak.

‘What do you write about?’ you tried again.

Another shrug.

‘He wasn’t being rude,’ you thought. You saw how the bigger kids picked on him. Relentless name calling and teasing were almost normal for him, and so too were the merciless threats that too often were followed through. He just didn’t trust you yet and only you could change that!

You leaned closer and, when he didn’t protest, tried to decipher the messy notes. They made you smile. Awestruck observations, critical annotations and wistful daydreams lined the pages. The highlighted sections conjured such clear images in your mind. Pictures of clifftops and mountains, shadowy mines, and elven paradises reverberated off the pages, crystal clear.

He must love this story so much!

‘There! Good as new!’ you announced, when you were done.

A little hyperbole never hurt anyone. The covers were worn to begin with and now the sharp shine of sticky tape glinted down the seams of most of the pages but it was as good as you could make it.

He took the mended book from you, gingerly flipping through the pages and tracing his fingers over the new scars it bore. To his disbelief, it was whole again.

‘Thank you!’ he whispered, Tears welled in his eyes again, but this time, tears of relief. He hugged the book tight. ‘Thank you so much!’

‘You’re welcome!’

You introduced yourself, shaking his hand warmly. ‘I’m Eddie,’ he mumbled in answer a tiny light flickered in his expression.

‘You shouldn’t listen to Jimmy and the others!’ you comforted, hoping to see the light grow brighter, ‘They’re real…’ you glanced around nervously before leaning in, ‘buttholes!’

You giggled at yourself and, to your delight, he cracked a smile.

‘Yeah,’ he agreed, with a shaky laugh. ‘Total buttholes!’

‘Is your jaw okay?’ he nodded, tersely, ‘What about your elbow?’ you eyed the small red stain on his shirt sleeve.

‘Fine,’ was all he said, shrugging you off.

Longing to get to know this boy better, and anxious to stop him slipping into shadow again, you struck up a conversation, ‘What’s your book about?’

He was surprised. No one wanted to know about the things he liked, no one except Wayne anyway. ‘Um… Elves and wizards and stuff,’ he muttered. He ducked his head, suddenly shy. ‘Super lame I know!’

‘No, it’s not! That sounds really cool!’ you countered, ‘What happens?’

He was hesitant at first, not sure if you really cared but he began to summarise the story, explaining what Hobbits were, detailing the threat of Sauron in the east, and the forming and journey of the fellowship. He wasn’t used to talking about himself because no one had ever really asked before but once he realised your interest was real, words began to gush out of him like a river running out of control. He could hardly stay in his seat, waving his hands wildly and making you laugh.

You wondered at the way he described the fantasy lands and the convictions of the characters, all perfectly serious. As though it weren’t a story. As though these were real people facing true dangers and heartaches. The light in his eyes shone like the sun. You couldn’t look away.

‘And that’s just this one, there’s like two more about these other people they meet on the quest who are like super into horses! And they go to Gondor, and Frodo and Sam have to fight this gigantic spider! And there’s a massive battle at the end! And then there’s another book, The Hobbit, well, actually it comes before all of this, and it’s about Frodo’s uncle and how he finds the ring and-!’

The bell rang, cutting his spiel short. ‘Sorry, he deflated a little. He sat back down, reality creeping back in. ‘I’m being really annoying!’

You beamed, shaking your head, ‘No you’re not!’ A small smile graced his lips but he didn’t quite believe you until-

‘Hey, can I borrow it?’

You nodded to the book, tucked safely in his arms. His eyes widened. ‘When you’re done, I mean,’ you added hastily, seeing his hands tighten instinctively.

Eddie was dumbstruck. Asking him about his book was one thing but now you wanted to read it? It felt oddly personal. This story had been his comfort for so long; he’d found so much of himself in its pages. It was strange to share that with someone else. Someone new.

He took the leap.

‘Yeah!’ He thrust the book toward you, realising he’d taken a while to answer.

‘Oh, you finish it first!’ you tried to protest, but he grinned.

‘It’s okay! I’ve read it before!’

With a grateful smile, you accepted. ‘I’ll look after it!’ you promised, holding the healed book with inexplicable reverence.

Eddie nodded, ‘I know you will!’

Little did you know how right Tolkien was. That the smallest encounters could change the course of the future.

From then on, you would be inseparable, friendship forming and growing into something deeper. And the battered copy of ‘The Fellowship of the Ring’ that brought you together was always there.

It was the same copy Eddie would read to you a few years later when you were ill over the summer and he wouldn’t leave your side. The same one you’d take turns reading by Lovers Lake during your first Spring Break in high school. It was the same edition he’d slip a note into, asking you to be his girlfriend.

The same book that he’d quote when he asked you to marry him. ‘You’re my light in dark places, when all other lights go out!’

The same one that would sit on the loaded bookshelf in your first apartment, alongside the hundreds of other novels, fantasy and otherwise you’d collected together. And the same version you’d both read to your daughter at bedtimes when she was little.

When your friends asked why you didn’t buy a new one, the two of you would only smile at the memories those faded pages had born.

You’d always say that Tolkien was responsible for some of the greatest love stories in the world.

***

Thank you so much for reading! Feedback and reblogs are so, so appreciated! I love reading people's lovely comments so much, even when they're only a few words!

Let's hear it for @sadbitchfangirl, the first person to ask to be tagged in my writing! You're amazing, I hope you enjoy this!

Let me know if you would like to be tagged in future projects!

Masterlist

#eddie munson x reader fluff #eddie munson #eddie munson x reader #eddie munson fanfiction #eddie munson fanfic #eddie x reader #eddie munson fluff #eddie munson imagine #eddie munson x female reader #eddie munson x you #eddie munson x reader angst #eddie munson x fem!reader #stranger things x reader #stranger things 4 #amber writes

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coal15 · 4 months

Text

Just finished the first draft of Ch.10 of my Good Omens fic All Roads Lead Back. This chapter is a bit different because it's mostly backstory of a new OC. I thought of the idea like a month ago and I knew exactly how I was going to introduce her. I'm hoping to have it locked and posted w/in the next couple of days. So, here's a little excerpt:

Once upon a time an Angel was sent to a small town about an hours' drive outside of London to monitor and protect the local squirrel population until further notice. Why? Well, the longer she remained there, the more she suspected literally no reason at all besides Gabriel’s desire to show the Almighty what a tight ship he was running. Everyone occupied with tasks and missions. Or maybe the pompous dick just didn’t like her. A squirrel or two occasionally stopped to socialise, but mostly they just squirrelled about in proper squirrel fashion and paid her no mind.

Her only escape from the boredom was gardening and music. When weather allowed, she would fling open the doors and windows of her small cottage and blast Fleetwood Mac, Bowie, Blondie, or whatever, whilst she tending to flowerbeds. Generally no one complained about this habit of hers because the homes in her village had a decent amount of space between them, so it wasn't like she was blowing out anyone’s eardrums. Besides, they all appreciated her taste in music. With one exception.

. . . “The Sex Pistols were not well received,” the Angel says with a giggle as Aziraphale and Crowley listen to her story with tingling curiosity. “So I removed them from my gardening soundtrack rotation right away.”

“That was very polite of you,” Aziraphale says with a smart nod, quite certain he also would not appreciate the musical stylings of a band called The Sex Pistols.

. . . One day the Angel was weeding between the peonies and primrose when a handsome young man who often roamed about with his dog wandered over to the fence around her little patch of the world. “No music today?” He asked with a gentle smile.

“Nah. I need to replace the needle on my record player, it scratched up Miles Davis pretty bad the other day. But I probably should have replaced it ages ago, so. Joke’s on me.”

“Bummer.” The man’s smile went from gentle to shy. “I, uh, when I take Pippin out for walks I usually go by this place just to hear what you’re playing. You have killer taste.”

“I get that a lot.” Something about the man’s smile made her insides feel warm.

“Have you heard of Cyndi Lauper? She’s pretty new.”

The Angel flipped through her mental catalogue and came up empty. “Ummmmm, I don’t think so.”

“You should check her out. She’s got, like, the most unique voice.”

“I’ll add it to my list.” Ask his name! She shouted at herself with a bizarre urgency she didn’t quite understand. “Sorry, I didn’t get your name.”

“Allan. And I already know your name-not in a creepy way!” He yelped the moment he said the words and heard how they sounded. “But, you’re, y’know the Garden Music Girl. You’re kinda . . . known. Around here. In general.”

The Angel didn’t know what to say. She bit the corner of her lip as her insides got even warmer and she wondered what Allan’s favourite food was. If it’s pizza I know a great spot, I could take him there. And maybe a pint at Salty Dog if he-

“I am so stupid!” Allan interrupted her inner dialogue. “Christ, what an idiot! I can get you a great deal on a new needle. Or hell, a whole new player if you want. My family runs a record shop in London.”

. . . . “Zoe!” Aziraphale cuts off the story with a sharp gasp when he makes the connection, then turns to Crowley. “Darling, this is Maggie’s mother!”

Crowley tilts an ear closer to Aziraphale, wondering if perhaps he misheard. “How’s that?”

A fond expression washes over Zoe’s face as she thinks back on her mortal days. “It took me a minute to realise I was in love with Allan but as soon as I did, unplugging from Heaven so we could grow old together and have kids was the easiest decision I ever made.”

“And as a human, you never . . .”

“Nope.” Zoe shook her head. “I had no idea you were an Angel. To me you were just the sweet, quirky guy who owned our building."

********to read Chapter One, go HERE

#Good Omens #crowley x aziraphale #aziracrow #ineffable husbands #Aziraphale #Crowley #David Tennant #Michael Sheen #Neil Gaiman #This chapter is basically backstory on an OC #I'm quite proud of her #and how she fits into the Good Omens universe

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blueberrypancakesworld · 10 months

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The lost boys ~ Yandere Headcanon ~

warning : +18 minors don't interact, dark themes, blood, yandere behaviour, no use of Y/n

masterlist

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David: Ever since he saw you alone that night and only you at the fair, he wanted you. It didn't matter whether you wanted him or not in the end. There was only you and not like with Star, you belonged only to him. None of the other boys were allowed to drink from you or touch you. You hung out with them but Davis' hand was always on your body, whether it was your hip, hand or right around your neck. His greater pleasure would be to see how quickly you would give in under him. Because he kept his control over everything, even with you. If you were to put up a fight against him, he would even try to kill you. The longer it lasts the more he wants to break you and make you his own bride. But his fun would be to play with you physically and torture you, knowing that he can bind you to him with a relationship. He would simply force you to drink his blood, hypnotise you and from then on you had no choice. Even if he wasn't always there, you would have to be there for him all the time. ,,I have a little surprise for you, my love," he crooned and laughed as he led you into the room where your family was. Knowing that you suppressed your hunger, knowing that you didn't want to kill anyone. His hand slid to your jaw and gripped it tighter, forcing you to look at him. He saw the change in your eyes as you smelled the irresistible blood. ,,N-no" he heard your words that he didn't want to hear and yet he knew that he could continue to play with you. Pulling you closer to him, anger flashed briefly in his bright eyes before he regained his composure and took your face between his hands. ,,You disappoint me...you will do it anyway," he murmured before his eyes changed and he forced his will on you again. Before he released you and watched with a look of pleasure as you cut your family in two and fed the blood to you like a wild animal. ,,My beautiful bride" he crooned as he walked over to you and brushed a strand of bloody hair from your face. Before pulling you into a bloody kiss. He was sure you would learn your place one day.

Dwayne : That night in Santa Carla when you were just driving along the streets you didn't notice the motorcyclist. But you caught his eye in that brief moment when he saw you. And he had never felt a greater desire and attraction for anything else than for you. He wanted you. But he would initially take much more pleasure in just watching you, being a second shadow to you. Slowly finding out all the things you like and don't like. What you spend your time on and what you don't. He would remember all that before he just brings you into the cave and puts you in his nest/room. Which he would decorate and furnish like you do your room. He would know everything about you and shower you with your favourite things. He would give you everything so that you would love him, even if you already did in his head, you would just have to accept all this. He wanted to create a second home for you, him and the children. The one thing that made him more than hungry was the image of you with a round belly in which his children were. What the others dismiss as a half joke becomes reality when he pierces each of the others with his gaze and gets angry when they come too close to you. His perfect wife chained to the bed, belonging to him alone, when you are about to ovulate. He would get you pregnant before turning you but that would be the last resort. He would rather have to hypnotise you than force his blood on you. ,,You're going to love your new life, my heart," he purred as he joined you on the large bed, the chain on your ankle rustling as he pulled you to him with a simple jerk. His fingers gently ran over your body and he could feel your heartbeat a delicious mixture of fear fascination and excitement. Before he calmed you down with a kiss as he forced his will on you and you finally gave yourself to him, suddenly more than willing to have his children.

Paul: The blonde would meet you on a trip to the funfair, which was actually decided by David that you would be the new victim was more for Paul. Diverting the others to a group of poor surfers, he immediately threw himself at you. What was covered under a friendly funny facade hid his devotion and lust for you. What he would do slowly over a period of time he would sneak into your life. Your friends would suddenly disappear one after the other and little by little you would find yourself in his arms more and more. He would take care of you with his funny way of cheering you up and making you depend on him more and more. Any doubts will disappear when he puts on his doggy eyes and moves towards you almost submissively. When you take him into your arms and look after him with care. When there is only him for you and he brings you into the den, introduces you to the others and almost wants you all to get along. But Paul will always be with you and you won't even notice how dependent you are becoming on him. When he lies down with you at night and he has you so far, you won't be afraid when he comes closer to you. You take care of him and he is loved by you. Gives you the feeling that you could leave at any time. But you would not escape him. ,,Bunny, where are you going?" Paul mumbled as his hands wrapped around her body from behind and pulled her close. He knew you wanted to get out, the sun would be up soon and he wouldn't be able to catch you. Running his hands over you, he felt where the metal of the shackles had slightly bruised your skin the last time you tried to escape. Up your body to your hair which he pushed aside to kiss your neck as he slowly took you back to his room. You would never see the sun again, he would make sure of that.

Marko : You are his obsession, his heart, his doll that belongs to him. Over which he can command. You just have to love him, fear him and melt into his world of madness. You were with a group of beach goers who just wanted to have a good time. When the lost boys came upon you and Marko's gaze was on you. You were covered in fear and panic, the blood of your friends triggered something in him. You looked beautiful and his hunger grew. When he came closer you jerked back and begged him to stop. He just pulled you to the ground and sank his teeth into your neck. Since then he had simply taken you and released you hundreds of times. He loved to chase you through the night, like David, to see how long you would last before you collapsed. Resigning yourself to your new fate and embracing his madness. That just like him only the smell of blood brought out the lust in you. But the others also had fun watching Marko torturing his heart and yet loving it at the same time when he had his soft moments. Whereby the gentle moments referred to the fact that he tortured you together with the others and wanted to see how far you could resist his restraints. But he wouldn't hypnotise you for that, he loved your pleading to finally kill or hyonotise you. No, he wanted you to remember everything, to know all the time what they all are and to live with it. In spite of everything you end up back in hell in the arms of Marko who drinks your blood and tortures you all the time so that he turns you. ,,My sweet blood bag" he purred as he flew after her through the night, her running away from him. Even though they both knew he would catch her soon, that spark of hope he loved to destroy every time. The night became even more horror for you, but Marko had his fun. Especially when he bit his hand and brought you down with a well-aimed push. Despite your rustiness and the lightness of his demeanour, Marko wasted no time in pouring his blood into your mouth. ,,You will finally understand, my sweet" you heard him chuckle and knew that the madness that had captured him would also get you.

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