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shima-draws · 4 years

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Tell us abt the story, Shima. I would D I E for your stories (also, an ATS game would make my entire LIFE I would be so broke on it)

[[Anonymous said: hey- hey shima.... what;s ur new story about?]]

uwu

So this is based off of Arthurian lore and has some elements of it but it’s mostly (?) original!

It starts out in a normal high school setting, centered around these two kids named Elin and Niro. Niro’s had a life of total misfortune—his parents died when he was little and there was nobody else to take him in, so he was forced into foster care, and has switched schools so often that he never really got to make any permanent friendships. He’s a quiet guy, sort of weighed down by all of the loss he’s experienced, so that sort of makes him a mysterious and attractive sort of person, which gains him immediate popularity as the school’s handsome new kid. (He’s in his senior year, now, and has been at this school for almost the full year.) Despite his withdrawn personality Niro actually gets along well with his peers, but mostly because he’s a very agreeable sort of person that just goes along with what he’s told to do to fit in. He’s just going through the motions at this point, trying to survive and figure out what he wants to do in life. It isn’t really working out too well because Niro has major depression so every day is a struggle, but his current “guardian” at the foster home he’s staying in helps a lot with that, and Niro views her as sort of a mother figure to him, and it’s soft :’)

Elin, on the other hand, is the school’s laughingstock, and gets picked on a LOT by his classmates. He never fights back and tries to stay out of everybody’s way, so people think him even weirder because of it. He rarely talks and is always found with his nose stuck in a book, which has also labeled him as a major geek, so you can bet he gets targeted a lot because of this;;

Unfortunately, the kids that Niro’s friends with are the group that picks on Elin the most, and it always makes Niro uncomfortable but he’s too hesitant to really speak up about it, especially since Elin just. Sort of takes it and never outwardly complains. It’s basically just Niro making excuses to himself, and whenever he DOES try to talk his buddies out of it they’re like come on man we’re just joking around it’s not a big deal. So that sucks. One day when Niro’s walking to school he notices he’s being followed by a weirdly dressed girl. Eventually she corners him and she’s like “Merlin’s been taking too long to find you so I took things into my own hands since we’re running out of time” and Niro’s like ???? Excuse me? But she doesn’t explain and literally yanks him into a portal and that’s that. LMAO

When they emerge, the girl introduces herself as Lunete, and reveals that she’s taken Niro to the world of Avilion, in the kingdom of starlight called Inlustria. Niro’s still processing that he’s been pulled into another world entirely when Lunete begins to escort him to the castle, and pretty much dumps the world’s lore and his Destiny™️ on him on the way.

Rest is under the cut to save space because it is loooong lol

Lunete explains that there have always been two central figures in Inlustria, for many centuries across many generations. Those figures are Merlin, the wizard, and Arthur, the king meant to wield the holy sword and unify the five kingdoms on the continent together. Currently there are two Merlins, with the second being younger and newer to the position, still in training. However, she adds that this particular Merlin is the most powerful they’ve ever seen in the long history of Merlins to exist, and that he’s basically a child prodigy. It is Merlin’s task to watch over, guide and protect Arthur, so that peace can remain and the cycle can continue anew. The current Arthur is sadly old and very ill, practically on his deathbed, so the process of choosing a new Arthur to replace him had to be rushed.

Lunete then tells Niro that the Arthurs are chosen by fate before birth and are always humans from the other world. Arthurs are always loyal, confident and kindhearted, so there’s never a chance of an Arthur going astray (unless their Merlin purposefully leads them down that path). Niro’s like why are you telling me all this and Lunete goes well isn’t it obvious? Why else would I be telling you. And then Niro realizes that he has been chosen as the new Arthur, and immediately goes into panic mode. Lunete apologizes for the abrupt introduction and Avilion crash course lol but she says that usually it’s the Merlin’s job to remain in the human world, scout out the new Arthur, and bring them to Avilion, since they’re naturally drawn to them by their magic. But this Merlin is particularly stubborn and wants nothing to do with Arthur or his born duty to essentially serve the king, so he’s been stalling on locating him out of sheer spite.

Lunete and Niro arrive at the castle and she leads him into the grand library, where Merlins usually spend most of their time. Niro is shocked to find out that Elin is Merlin, and Elin immediately goes “You have GOT to be kidding me” when he realizes that the new Arthur—who he has to spend the rest of his life with btw—is Niro.

Niro’s even more shocked to find out that Elin is a completely different person than how he is at school. Elin is witty, arrogant and very sassy, and constantly throws shade at Niro for doing nothing while he was being bullied. (Niro then accuses Elin for not standing up for himself when he’s CLEARLY capable of it with both his silver tongue and his knack for magic, but Elin explains that it’s a rule for Merlins not to make a big presence of themselves in the human world. Then Niro feels very guilty.) Elin swears off of accepting Niro as the new Arthur and says he can protect the kingdom all on his own.

Naturally Niro is very reluctant to take on the position of Arthur and become the ruler of an entire kingdom, but Lunete tells him he doesn’t really have a choice, and that all Arthurs fall into the role eventually, so it will be something he’ll automatically adapt to because he’s The Chosen One and it’s meant to be. Niro continuously tries to reach out to Merlin, but he’s notoriously stubborn and refuses to acknowledge Niro.

Eventually Lunete lets slip that Merlin had a complicated history with another human in his childhood that ended...not so well (and no it’s not Esca lol), hence his general distaste towards the other world and humans in general. Ofc that’s not all Merlin is hiding, there’s another enormous secret he doesn’t want coming into the light. And you bet Niro’s going to discover them all ;)

So yeah there’s obviously a lot more that goes on after that—Niro trains to fit into the Arthur role (with a lot of sexy swordfighting training montages), Merlin eventually accepts him and they grow closer (yes. In that way ;D), Merlin shows off how skilled he is with his magic and Niro goes oh no I think I might be in love with him, there’s trouble with the northern kingdom they’re trying to deal with involving a new villain that’s popped up, Niro gets to meet a king from the southern kingdom who sort of becomes his father figure/mentor so that’s cool? Niro finds out exactly what sins Merlin committed in the past, and that past sadly catches up with him and nearly ruins everything so that’s fun. Niro finds out some shit and almost abandons his role as Arthur but eventually returns to Inlustria and obtains Excalibur to save Merlin’s ass, etc. etc. I think after the “main” story ends I’m going to send them out to sea so they can go on an epic magic pirate adventure, because when Niro was a kid he was super into pirates and treasure hunting and the ocean, he was never really a “magic and kingdoms” type of guy which is super ironic. Merlin’s excited about traveling but it turns out he’s really seasick and it’s hilarious. Somewhere down the line they’ll probably find out why there’s always been a “Merlin” and “Arthur” role in their kingdom as well. So LOTS of fun stuff is in store! And my brain hasn’t been shutting up about lore and worldbuilding for this story ever since I came up with it >;)

#I STILL DON'T HAVE A NAME FOR THIS YET SO.#And now you guys can send me asks about this ;))))))#Shima answers questions #Long post #Shima's OCs #Anyway yeah there's a LOT going into this but that's just the basic plot #Esca is involved in a big way but I won't say how yet ;)

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ladyknight33 · 4 years

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Hero of Numbani: A Review

So I finally got around to reading this book. In short it is cute. Written for grade school children much like Efi, age 12. A lovely dip into the Overwatch world for fans of the game by bringing in in-game interactions and voice lines. If you play the game you immediately get the characters’s voices in your head because of them. Also prolific use of current lore, mainly by way of the Overwatch Cookbook. The favorite foods of the characters liberally referred to throughout the pages.

The protagonist Efi is adorable in trying to balance the life of a genius with life as a child. The story is as much about this struggle as it is about the building of Orisa. The transformation and teaching of an OR-15 “Idina” is the catalyst for Efi’s growth as an individual. Without spoiling too much of the plot, Efi and her friends navigate the struggles of relationships, both with family and friends. The lessons learned are important for young people to learn early and this book allows its readers to experience such turmoil and joy across its pages.

Forewarning, I’m going to get a little critical here on out.

While I enjoyed the attempt to expand Overwatch Lore and develop their characters with a backstory, it generally felt stilted. My initial takeaway thoughts were on why the Overwatch animated shorts and comics felt approachable to all ages but the Overwatch prose/short stories felt limited to school age children.

My personal opinion, probably from reading too much epic fantasy by Robert Jordan and Elizabeth Haydon, was that the world Drayden wrote for Numbani relies heavily on the reader having played the game and experienced the Numbani map. Very little description is given to fill in the non Overwatch fan of this world

Perhaps my favorite piece of description was for Efi’s iconic look. Drayden took the time to try to put into words the African clothing for us non-African readers. Trying to describe ethnic clothing for people who have never seen it before and have no idea what the items of dress are called is complicated and time consuming. I appreciate the effort and it will take me a few more readings to really understand what the items of dress actually look like. But for Efi, Drayden did more than that. She explained the personal history of each item Efi wears in the above picture. It gives the reader a clear sense Efi’s personality and what’s important to her. This is all for a purpose within the plot, but I felt these descriptions were among her best in the story.

Perhaps the most complicated part of writing is the pacing of the plot and warring with character development. Obviously Efi and Orisa are the protagonists and it is their growth that is most important to the story. The side characters such as Efi’s friends felt more like a list of names. While reading the story, I did not get a good sense of their personality or even their physical description. Efi’s cousin Dayo got the most attention of the group for his use of a cane and spectacular costume sense. Yet as a three demential character even he seems lacking.

This is easily justified by the story length and target audience. I’m clearly not part of the target audience. I read in-depth and get discouraged when reading works I cannot get lost in. For the target audience, this is appropriate but not challenging in its use of English. Again, I’m comparing my childhood favorites of Brian Jacques and Mickey Zucker Reichert to a totally different genre. Do not let it detract from the enjoyment of the Drayden’s story.

Another difficulty is making “baby” characters interesting. Both Efi and Orisa are children. They do not have the long complicated backstories that most of the Overwatch characters have. We’re reading their adventures as they happen. Nor do they fall easily into a hero trope. They do not have a lot of experience to draw upon, so we get to read about their mistakes and lessons learned. Some instances don’t seem plausible, but I had to remind myself that this is a future world and Efi is a genius so the power of the suspension of disbelief must be strong.

The most troubling issue for me within this story, is how Efi does not seem to have a mentor. No guiding light beyond the collective memory of Gabrielle Adawe and the idealization of Overwatch. Efi sets out on her robotic misadventures without an elder to ask questions of. Sure this would make some of the misadventures impossible, but it also would make the world more believable.

While building Orisa, Efi’s priorities seem scattered with no real plan. This leads to multiple failures. Efi takes on an insurmountable task for anyone much less a 12 year old. It would stand to reason one lesson to be learned is not to be afraid to ask for help. I don’t think this is conveyed through this story as there are many instances where Efi assumes full responsibility for problems beyond her control or capability. Again, I’m not the author so I do not know Drayden’s decisions beyond this might not be the story she wanted to tell.

Now we cannot have a story without discussing the antagonist. In some respects the obstacles Efi overcomes is her own family’s expectations and limitations. The clear conflict comes from Doomfist. His act of stealing back his Gauntlet and destroying the OR-15s is the beginning of Efi’s story. Everything before was setting the stage.

Doomfist does not receive much “screen time” within the book. He is a background threat. He shows up, causes chaos, and remains a haunting threat into the future. Drayden tries to set up his terror by comparing it to the previous Doomfist: The Scourge and to the Omnic Crisis. All of this through Efi’s view point of the scant memories she has of her family.

The Reader may not get a true sense of the threat and danger, but Drayden does well to describe it around the lens of a child who had been shielded during the worst of the terror.

Doomfist himself is a flat character within this story. The reader knows his story from his character release, not from Drayden’s The Hero of Numbani story. Efi and her friends mention the jail break, but there is little context to it. He serves only as the grand obstacle and test of Orisa’s abilities.

Let’s not forget Lucio.

He’s like the prize inside the cereal box.

If Efi were ever to have a mentor, Lucio is a great fit. She idolizes him. Drayden wonderfully gets inside the mind of a “tween” to show how captivated she is about the music icon. He is the voice of reason and encouragement Efi needed through this whole story.

Lucio shows up much like a guest star. We get a greater sense of his character and personality through his interactions with Efi. Yet we are still left to develop out sense of him from the gameplay.

His purpose within this story is that of a “fairy-godmother.” To give the protagonists exactly what they need at exactly the right moment. This is a very useful tool in writing. Here I do not feel like it was well disguised at all. Time constraints or author’s choice; it is not a bad placement or use of character. Just not my preferred.

If you have made it this far, thank you.

In short this story is cute and an easy summer read. It has all the charm of a child’s cartoon show. (Netflix, if you’re listening, this would be an excellent addition to your animated line of shows. I’d love to see it in the vein of the animated short for Doomfist’s reveal.) The dynamic of these over the top characters are perfect for the small screen. The brightly colored and exquisite atmosphere of Numani deserves center stage.

Even with the heavy use of in-game dialogue and voice interactions rather than new developments, this story was worth the read. Not the masterpiece or lore rich epic I’m hoping for. Stylistically cute. A shout out to fans, but not a gateway to non-fans. If you read this book, you must have prior knowledge of the characters and setting from the game and character releases.

All that said, I do hope there are more stories. The listing of The Hero of Numabi as Overwatch #1 gives me hope. I would love to see more lore rich stories that can stand alone without relying heavily on game play, where every other sentence seems like it is borrowed from the game.

Efi and Orisa may seem like periphery characters now, but they hold promise to boost the Overwatch world.

Side note: I love the original Overwatch cast. But reading this story has made me want to see more Lucio in the future. Lucio feels like he could be the leader Overwatch needs and deserves in order to bring it back into respectful prominence.

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bigskydreaming · 4 years

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thehollowprince said: And I also stand by the opinion that they could have just done a solo run of the O5 X-Men starting a new timeline with the information they got from the future.

thehollowprince said: Its not like Marvel doesn’t constantly do AUs and retcons

OMG Josh you have no idea how bad I wanted this. They could’ve done SO MUCH with that concept. Letting the 05 keep their foreknowledge and the world they could have created with that?

They could’ve averted the initial Krakoan mission and saved Darwin, Gabe, Petra and Sway in the first place. They could have all been X-Men from their Day One, Scott and Alex would have actually gotten to KNOW their brother and Gabe quite possibly would never have gone full Dark Side despite the writers apparently now seeming obsessed with the idea there’s just something innately bad within Gabe that’s always destined to bear fruit at some point, ugh, whatever, like who do you think you are, Kant?

They could’ve recruited the Giant Size X-Men lineup earlier, and saved John Proudstar, who side by side with his brother Jamie, are a force to be reckoned with.

They could have convinced Pietro and Wanda to join them instead of the Avengers and been like no but seriously that way lies nothing but shitty storylines and bad decisions that will be blamed on you by your teammates despite the fact that any and all of the bad decisions that were ACTUALLY yours could have been averted if any of your teammates were capable of functioning as an actual support system. Come join us. We have actual support systems, except for the times when we don’t, but we recruited Deadpool to break the fourth wall and he and Logan are currently cutting through the ranks of every writer who would write as hating and fighting each other instead of being a loving fucking family goddammit.

Jean could have faced the Phoenix head-on when the time for that came, using her knowledge of the future not to fear an inevitable death, but rather to know she had nothing TO fear, that the power to not control this force, but just be ONE with it, with no NEED to control it or be controlled by it, a symbiotic union, two beings in harmony deciding on courses of action together. The Phoenix’s innate powers and prerogative of rebirth and destruction tempered by Jean’s mercy, aimed and focused by Jean’s reason, the double-edged sword that is fire capable of warming homes or destroying them completely combined with Jean’s conscience guiding it to use its power for the former rather than the latter.

They could have stopped the Legacy Virus from getting out and killing millions as well as spared us from migraines induced by an AIDS metaphor so shitty at being a metaphor most people forget it was literally written to be an AIDS metaphor.

The body swap would never have happened and Kwannon could have joined the X-Men as a full member from the time she was introduced, rather than dragged along in the wake of Betsy’s tangled storylines for a couple decades.

They could have stopped Fitzroy from killing the Hellions. Hell, if they train Illyana early enough and have her mentored by Wanda who is perfectly fucking competent when left to her own devices, then like, maybe they can even take a jaunt to the future to save Fitzroy from dying in the first place and being resurrected with no soul. Not gonna lie, ever since then I’ve kinda been seriously interested in what the hell would a hero version of Trevor freaking Fitzroy even BE like, y’know? Call it morbid fascination, but like. I kinda want it, guys. LOL.

Add to that note, they could have taken another jaunt to the future and rescued Rachel from being made into a Hound by Ahab. Through the power of some convoluted plot tangle I just made up for convenience, Scott still ends up in a relationship with Maddy briefly, in one of those self-fulfilling prophecy type things where he went into it with the full intention of just averting the future and saving Maddy from her fate as the Goblyn Queen, but somehow ended up in a love triangle with a very alive Jean and Maddy who is fully informed of Sinister’s shenanigans and quite displeased with that asshole, and look, I don’t know how all of this goes exactly, but let’s cut to the chase, my only real endgame with this is making sure that Nate’s born properly, saved from Apocalypse and the techno-virus by the combined efforts of Scott, Maddy and Jean as well as Uncles Warren, Bobby and Hank, and Jean calls up the Phoenix through some psychic bond or whatever and is like hey girl, can I hit you up for a loan real quick? Got some losers that need toasting.

And in this AU the Phoenix totally has her back, and one brief cosmic power-up and gratuitous Sailor Moon transformation later, Jean glows and intones some epic one-liners with appropriate gravitas, and then just punts both Apocalypse and Sinister to the far side of the universe, never to be seen or heard from again. They like, hit a black hole on the way there I guess. It was very sad. Violin strings may commence with the requiem. Okay that’s enough, they can stop now.

So then through the plot contrivances of fuck you, I said so, Scott and Maddy ultimately part amicably and Scott and Jean get back together and the three of them civilly co-parent both baby Nate and Rachel, as Maddy keeps the healing powers she gained as Anodine and stays with the X-Men for her own reasons.

The telepaths are all better trained by the expertise Jean gained in her powers while in the future, so the next time the Shadow King comes bumming around looking to cause chaos, Betsy, Emma and Jean just look at each other and laugh and say nuh-uh before psychically squishing him into a marble.

Warren never becomes Archangel. Onslaught isn’t a thing. They make nice with Magneto and say okay you may have a couple points, let’s discuss. Bishop arrives in the past for reasons totally unrelated to his original story, has no traitor to seek out among the X-Men, and thus he and Gambit end up besties in complete defiance of that stupid fucking story and because I just think they’re neat together. Yes I said neat. Gambit and Bishop are just neat. Deal with it.

Bishop still hates that Fitzroy guy though, he’s like, I don’t even know what it is about that guy, he just rubs me the wrong way, even though Fitzroy is not evil here and has always done good with his powers, which are channeled through a device Forge made him that lets him just absorb life force from a wide range around him, spread out and diluted enough that its like, the grass feels weird for a second, like whoa what even was that, and then its over. Actually, y’know what, scratch that. Fitzroy’s powers are stupid and unnecessary the way they are now anyway, so fuck it, this Fitzroy doesn’t need life force or whatever, he’s just a dude who makes time portals. He’s like Illyana with green hair and that ugly goatee. Hey I said this Fitzroy was non-evil, not that he was perfect.

Bobby’s out and proud since he was sixteen, and with actual competence and proficiency with his powers, which make him a Literal Unkillable Gay Icon, he’s an inspiration to LGBTQ+ teens everywhere and inspires other gay, bi and trans heroes to come out. He’s a big brother figure to all the baby gays that later join the X-Men, like, Rictor comes to him for advice back during the time equivalent to early X-Factor, when Rictor’s a trying-too-hard sixteen year old who thought college age Bobby was like the coolest, which is valid, because X-Factor Bobby was like A+ Bobby characterization and deserves more reads.

So Rictor comes out earlier as well, and by the time they even meet Shatterstar, instead of a slow burn friends to roommates to lovers scenario, Rictor takes one look at the love of his life and wastes no time coming out swinging with an absolutely terrible pick up line. Look, I said his big brother figure Bobby was out and proud in this AU, not that he magically had a better sense of humor. Some things just don’t change, y’know? Luckily, Shatterstar is a weirdo, and thus he finds terrible pick-up lines charming. At least when its Rictor saying them. They walk off for a first date, already practically hand in hand, voices fading into the distance as Rictor asks “By the way, have you met Dazzler yet? According to Bobby, apparently she’s your mom. That Longshot dude with the mullet over there is your dad I guess. We should go say hi.”

Hank gets an assistant hand-picked by the rest of the original X-Men, and who has one job and one job only. To follow him around and observe all his experiments, and he has veto power over experiments that People With IQs As High As Yours Should Know Better But I Guess You’ve Got Reed Richards Syndrome.

Hank’s like, “Hmm, if I built a time machine I could go back to the Jurassic Period and observe whether my theory of - “

Hank’s assistant: “Veto.”

“Damn. Okay I was also thinking of making a deep space communicator that can reach into the farthest reaches of space beyond any known civilization and just say hi, y’know? See if anyone’s out there.”

“Veto.”

“If I combine these genetically modified antibodies here with this strain of of DNA from - “

“Veto.”

“Well Forge built this device that does this to mutant powers but I think I can make it do - “

“Veto.”

“These nanobots I - “

“VETO,”

“Honestly, at this point I think you’re just saying that just because you like saying it.”

“Dr. McCoy, I promise you, I’m really, really not.”

Logan finds out about his future clan of stabby children, and seeks them out. He rescues Daken from Romulus, somebody stabs that loser with the immortal-killing sword, I don’t even care who, and after a few tense months of Logan trying too hard, he and Daken eventually bond over how hockey just isn’t violent enough. If you’re going to make a sport all about hitting each other, just really go for it or don’t even bother, y’know? Logan claps him on the shoulder and sniffs. That’s my boy. Then they find and rescue Laura and Gabby and take a road trip to Earth 1610 to pick up Jimmy. They have a house on campus, and new students walking by it are used to hearing loud growling and even howls. They were assured during orientation that that’s nothing to worry about, it just means the House of Snikt are watching a game and are rooting for opposing sides.

Emma’s recruited practically the day they get back. She’s only just started at the Hellfire Club and has only done a tiny bit of Evil when Warren schedules an appointment with her, and then he, Scott and Jean make a better pitch than Shaw and his ilk could ever match. They’ve been to the future. Come join with us and we’ll give you an all access pass to memories detailing exactly what’s going to happen in these particular areas and many more. All you have to do is ask. Oh and also please don’t seduce any married teammates. Its bad form. To be honest, I don’t think it’ll be an issue because Deadpool assures us Morrison has been taken care of, and don’t worry if that makes no sense to you, its a head-scratcher for us to. Just roll with it.

Nate ages normally here so its not like he ends up besties with forty year old Wade, but the latter having his own plot-contrived knowledge of the future because He’s Just Like That, decides that he won’t be denied at least SOME kind of bond with The Bestie That Wasn’t. He becomes Nate’s official babysitter. Well, not official, seeing as how Scott, Jean and Maddy don’t hire him and are very clear that their son is not to be left alone with this man at any time, he is a terrible influence and he keeps giving our kid guns. But then Wade just shows up anytime they’re out because he just has a sixth sense for Making Trouble, and he terrifies away whatever babysitter’s there and greets the returning and exasperated parents with a cheery wave.

“I know what you’re going to say, but don’t worry, we didn’t do anything dangerous or against the law. All we did today was I taught him to make bombs, but we were very careful, we wore safety goggles and really, they were very little bombs. Not even anything atomic. I honestly don’t think any of them could have even blown up this whole house, and I’ve been meaning to say, I’m not impressed with the structural integrity of this place. Couldn’t you have picked something with a sturdier foundation? Its like you don’t even expect random space mercenaries to attack your place out of the blue every other month. Have any of you even read a single issue of your own comics?”

Scott’s jaw twitches Ominously. Wade starts gathering up his things. Jean rubs her forehead wearily.

“Wade, what do you even think ‘dangerous’ means?”

Wade pauses and cocks his head. Gives it a solid twenty seconds of thought. Then he shrugs.

“I don’t know actually. Don’t think I’ve ever really thought about it. I always figured it was just one of those things people just say. Like, ‘oh, it looks like rain today,’ even if they’re not a forecaster and have no real meteorological credentials to speak of. ‘Oh, this mission will be dangerous,’ and I don’t even have to use up all my ammo and I only get shot twice. Y’know?”

“Leave,” Scott says. More like intones. House shakes a little bit but that might just be Wade’s imagination. Its very active.

“Leaving!” He says hastily. He jumps through the closed window and then teleports away amid the falling shower of broken glass. Why didn’t he do that while he was still inside the room? No one knows. Not even Wade knows. Why did the chicken cross the road? Who the fuck cares, now is it Original Recipe or Crispy?

Scott, Jean and Maddy search the house while Nate angelically claims they won’t find anything, Wade doesn’t even bring him cool stuff anymore cuz he knows you’ll just take it.

Maddy finds a high-tech laser space gun under a floorboard in the closet. She holds it up with one eyebrow raised pointedly. Scott and Jean flank her and their own eyebrows raise in solidarity. Well Jean’s does. Scott’s probably does but its hard to tell sometimes. Depends on what glasses or visor he’s wearing.

“That was already there,” Nate tries. Most powerful telepath and telekinetic in the world, but the kid can’t lie for shit. There’s not much point in trying when one of your moms is the freaking Phoenix, and that’s a skill that takes practice he just doesn’t have.

The three sets of parental eyebrows make a V, judgingly.

“One month of no video games or TV?” Okay, so terrible liar but quick on his feet. At least he knows when he’s beat and jumps straight to trying to shape his own punishment proactively.

“Two months. And no flying lessons either,” Jean says. “And don’t pout at me, young man. You know the rules. No weapons inside the house unless your grandpa Corsair is visitng and we’re too tired to fight him on keeping knives under his pillow. This is a Do As We Say, Not As We Do house. Deal with it. Now, this is going with the others and you can have it back when you’re eighteen.”

It would have been three months, but Jean and Maddy caught a telepathic sniff from Scott. He’s just so proud of his kid thinking so tactically. He’s growing up so fast. Both women mentally roll their eyes. Why is he like this.

“I don’t see what the big deal is anyway,” Nate sulks. “Its just a stupid laser gun. I mean, Uncle Gabe blew up our last house with his brain.”

“Yes and it was an accident and he feels absolutely terrible about that which is why we’re not going to bring it up when he and Armando come visit this weekend, right?”

“You can have my full compliance for two weeks off my sentence.”

“Or we can have your full compliance or two weeks will be added to your sentence,” Maddy says.

“You guys suck,” declares the ten year old vessel of near unlimited psychic might. He goes to his room, stomping all the way up the stairs so his grievances can be heard even by the House of Snikt next door. Course, they’ve already been listening to the whole thing with their enhanced hearing. There was nothing good on TV. Jimmy made popcorn and chewed with his mouth open just to piss off Daken.

‘The second Father leaves the room, I am going to stab you in such a slow healing place you’ll still be bleeding at bed time.’ Daken mouths at his little brother from another universe. Jimmy scrunches his face in confusion.

‘What?’ He mouths back. He’s terrible at reading lips. Or anything that isn’t skateboarding, really. And yet Father’s so happy that ‘at least one of my kids is content with stupid normal stuff and doesn’t go around drawing cover fire just because a mission is going so well its boring and they haven’t even gotten to pop their claws out yet.’

“That’s only because you’ve coddled him. He’s barely ever even been shot at. Just the one time on vacation in Majipoor and he wasn’t even the target, the assassin was aiming for me. If you would just let me take him on a proper outing to gain some real experience - “

“Not gonna happen.” Logan shuts that down real quick.

“Really Father, just look at him. He has zero situational awareness. I’ve been glaring a hole in the back of his head for a full minute now and he has no idea. That could just as easily be an actual laser scope, you know. He’s a disgrace to the whole family.”

“Daken, we’ve been over this,” Logan says firmly. “You have your sisters to bond with over gratuitous violence. Leave your brother alone. I don’t want anyone traumatizing him until trauma finds him all on its own. It’ll happen sooner or later, he’s as much a part of this family as anyone and that means its as good as done already, so there’s no need to hurry it along. If later on he decides he’s got a taste for it, you can take him on all the outings to get shot at that you want. But he’s gotta figure it out for himself first, and he doesn’t need his big brother being the one who introduces him to all that. He idolizes you, you know.”

Daken scoffs. He can’t even get the brat to chew with his mouth closed.

“He cut his hair from that style he liked so much, just because you hated it so much,” Logan says obliviously. Daken nods like he’s conceding the argument and hastens from the room while he can still keep his mouth shut. It won’t benefit anyone at this point to tell their father that Jimmy really only cut his hair because Daken told him he would set it on fire if he didn’t.

Ugh, families are the worst. Don’t even get him started on Laura stealing some of his clothes to wear without asking. And then has the gall to yell back at him when he yells “Silk! Its the finest cut of silk! Does that mean nothing to you?” at her.

“Oh get over it. Its not like I asked for killer robots to interrupt my date.”

“Of course they were going to interrupt your date with that Julian boy. I keep telling you, he’s a magnet for trouble. I can tell. I’m one too, remember?”

“Fine, whatever, you’re right and I should just expect every date with Julian from now until the end of time to end with fire and disaster.”

“Well now you’re being melodramatic. There’s no way that boy makes it past twenty five. He doesn’t even have a healing factor.”

“Why do you hate him so much anyway? If you’d just give him a chance - “

“What are you talking about? I give him a chance every single time he’s here and I don’t kill him.”

“Ugh, I can’t even talk to you when you’re like this. You always do this, you just decide on something and then you commit to that like the fate of the world depends on you standing firm on what’s usually a completely arbitrary decision in the first place!”

Daken sniffs. “I can assure you, there’s absolutely nothing arbitrary about my disdain for the Keller boy.”

“His name is Julian,” Laura enunciates with a glare.

“I don’t care,” Daken enunciates with an expression of lofty superiority.

“You two are so dumb,” Gabby says from the end of the hallway. They both turn identical glares on her. They’d noticed her arrive several minutes ago but they weren’t about to be distracted from their battle of wills. “Laura, you know Daken isn’t actually going to kill Julian. He doesn’t do that anymore except for really bad people sometimes and he just talks about stabbing people or killing them cuz he thinks he’s funny and then he gets all pissy because nobody ever gets that he doesn’t really mean it. He doesn’t even hate Julian and he used to be fine with him before he started dating you, its just he doesn’t think he’s good enough for you.”

Daken frowns at the petite would-be peacemaker. Meddlesome toddler. “What are you even babbling about? None of that is remotely true.”

Gabby rolls her eyes up at her brother from her much lower height. She taps the side of her nose with emphasis. “You do know we all have the same abilities to smell and analyze scents as you do, right? And you know everything you can tell from peoples’ scent, right? Of course I’m right, I can smell it as clear as anything and so can Jimmy and Dad and we actually all know this and talk about it all the time, and its why Dad never actually gets mad at you for talking about killing people because he can smell you’re saying it just cuz you’re used to saying it but really you’re too marshmallowy on the inside now to do half the stuff you claim you’re gonna do. Hate to break it to you bro, but you’re a closet softie and you’ve been made. The nose doesn’t lie. Only reason Laura doesn’t know it is because you piss her off like its your favorite hobby and its probably impossible for her to smell anything beyond her own scent of Royally Pissed Off.”

Ugh. Meddlesome insightful toddler. Who asked for her intervention anyway? Daken crosses his arms in a way that’s decidedly aloof and not at all sulking.

Laura’s staring at their sister assessingly. “That’s really what you think is going on? And Jimmy and Dad think so too? You’re not just saying all that?”

Gabby bats her eyes up at them. “Would I lie to you?”

“Yes,” Laura says without missing a beat.

“Without a shadow of a doubt,” Daken says dryly, right on her heels.

“For the sake of a candy bar,” Laura adds, because that really did happen.

“Or just boredom, because god forbid you pick up another hobby that isn’t just Chaos.”

“This from the guy who only has fun when there’s blood and bullets flying about,” Gabby fires back from a position of petite petulance.

Daken smirks down at her. “Didn’t you just say I don’t really mean it when I say all of that?”

Gabby narrows her eyes. “Touché. My own words thrown back at me. I am undone.”

“Yes, well - “

Daken’s cut off as Jimmy chooses that moment to walk past them down the hallway to the bathroom. He’s laughing and shaking his head.

“You guys are both so dumb. She plays you like this all the time, and you never see it.”

“Silence, mortal!” Gabby thunders at their brother menacingly. The effect is somewhat diminished by the fact that she can’t hit a baritone note to save her life.

“No, I’m interested in hearing what he has to say,” Daken says coolly. “For once. This is a moment without precedent and one unlikely to occur again, so let’s explore it a bit.”

Jimmy sighs and shakes his head without ever losing that amused smirk. “Had to tack on that last part, didn’t you. Just couldn’t help yourself.”

“I am a faithful student of the Truth,” Daken says, matching his brother smirk for smirk.

“The point, Jimmy?” Laura prods aggressively before that can erupt into a wholly separate thing she wants no part of.

“Oh, right.” He shrugs nonchalantly. “Its kinda her thing with you two when you get like this. You pick a fight with Laura, Laura gets pissed off and succumbs to the family curse of Tunnel Vision at the Worst Possible Time, and you both go back and forth endlessly and like you have all the time in the world for your stupid tete a tete, because on account of you both being practically unkillable and immortal, you kinda do and you know it. And then whenever she gets bored of listening to you two, Gabby swoops in and draws both of your attention until you’re both so focused on being annoyed with her you don’t even realize you’re actually side by side agreeing with each other, and she keeps it up just long enough til she’s sure she can just say she’s bored now and just leave the room, leaving you both annoyed and frustrated by a fight you can’t even claim to have won because she really just kinda...left, in the middle of it, and you’re so focused on that, you’ve totally forgotten to be pissed at each other. And by the time you do remember, like, the moment has passed and peace has been returned to the kingdom. Or at least as peaceful as this place ever gets.”

Daken stares at his mistake of a brother in the hopes that if he stalled long enough, his senses would arrive at a different conclusion. But nope. Scents don’t lie, unlike baby sis, apparently. He’s telling the truth. And Daken really does not....care for that conclusion.

Gabby stamps her foot and glares up at their brother.

“You are such a tattletale. I am providing a service, by keeping this family free of these two constantly at each others throats, and how is that service repaid? With betrayal! I hate you, you’re dead to me. Never speak to me again or at least not until I’ve stopped being mad at you, but that could be like ten years or something, I don’t even know right now.”

She draws up to her full height and squares her shoulders as she thunders this Mighty Mouse style at the still laughing Jimmy. Then, seeing she’d yet to make a dent in his armor of amusement and he was failing to take her pronouncement seriously, she punctuated her declaration by spitting on their brother’s shoe. Daken’s eyebrows shoot up again, this time in amusement of his own. Gabby then spins around on her heel and stalks off down the hallway, muttering more dire threats under her breath as she goes, the sound of them nonetheless carrying clearly to three siblings with enhanced hearing of their own. And apparently, little sis could be quite creative. Who knew she’d been hiding such talent?

Jimmy barely even notices; he’s still staring down at his shoe.

“Dude, you spit on me! That’s so not cool.”

“Some things need to be expressed so strongly, mere words will not suffice,” Daken says loftily, savoring a slightly renewed sense of superiority.

One quickly dashed, of course, because apparently he just can’t have anything.

“Bold words from the seventy year old who needed the sixteen year old to clue him in he’s being regularly manipulated by the twelve year old,” Jimmy fires back. As a return volley, its obnoxiously effective, and Daken’s still grinding his teeth and searching for an adequate rejoinder as Jimmy just grins even wider and then strolls off down the hallway as well. Whistling either an absolutely hideous song or else proof that he’s absolutely hideous at whistling. Tough call. With him it could be either.

Daken and Laura both stare after him in silence as he rounds the corner and disappears, leaving only the lingering scent of smugness in his wake. Daken hates the scent of smugness. It has a particularly....cloying feel to it. Well not his of course. But everyone else’s, especially little brothers? Acrid is the only word adequate for that.

“Sometimes I really do want to stab him. Just a little bit. And I’m not even lying,” Daken says. Laura just nods, her own nose scrunched up in distaste as well.

“Honestly? Me too.”

Brother and sister enjoy the rare moment of solidarity.

“You know what’s really bugging me?” Laura says suddenly, still staring off down the hallway. Daken turns an inquiring eye on her, prompting elucidation. She frowns.

“Where the hell did he learn a phrase like tete a tete? I mean. Its Jimmy.”

Daken does know what she means, and frowns as the nagging awareness of that leaps from his sister to himself like memetic chain lightning.

“And he used it correctly. That’s....unexpected.”

“Sometimes I wonder if maybe he’s not as completely airheaded as he pretends, and the fact that he’s got everyone so convinced of that actually means he’s running circles around the rest of us,” Laura says. She shrugs. “Of course, then I have to question everything and who has that kind of time and also the very idea of genius mastermind Jimmy disturbs me on a deeply visceral level. So then I just. Stop doing that.”

Daken nods and sighs. “Sometimes, that’s all you can do.”

“Okay, this is annoying. I kinda still want to fight, but now fighting with you feels kinda anticlimactic. Ugh, siblings are the worst,” Laura declares with a glower. “They ruin everything.”

“On that, we can agree. With allowances for temporary occasions of some of them being bearable,” Daken says. “Some.”

“That’s the nicest thing you’ve never said to me, big brother,” Laura says lightly. Daken swiftly scowls but she holds up a hand to forestall any rebuttal. “Sorry, don’t mean to ruin the moment. I’m thinking about how else we can put all that frustrated energy to good use. Wanna go pick a fight with the Summers’ kids?”

A slow smile spreads across Daken’s face. “Well now. Finally, a family outing I can get behind. I believe that’s precisely what we need right now. Care to lead the way?”

He still hates her boyfriend, of course, but he supposes he can let that be.

For now, at least.

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gins-potter · 4 years

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TV Guide Article

So I had a lot of fun running down what happened in the teaser and thinking about what it means for the new seasons, so I thought I would do something similar for the tv guide article that came out a couple days ago. Thoughts and musings under the cut because it got long:

Chicago Fire

“We are going to reflect what the world is like in 2020 for Chicago firefighters, pandemic and all” so that’s pretty blatant that we’re going to get covid-19 storylines in some regard on Fire. Maybe Stellaride is the couple who have to quarantine together (again i heard that was going to be upstead but am not sure if that’s confirmed or not).

“[Brett] becomes a mentor to young medic Gianna Macket, who grew up in the same rough South Chicago neighborhood as firefighter Joe Cruz” hopefully is Brett is becoming a mentor to Gianna that means they’ll be friendly pretty quickly, I’m not a massive fan of drama within company’s. I do love that the new girl might already know Cruz going into the house (altho they lowkey missed the chance for a cross-show dynamic, because I think the Halstead bros also grew up on the south side?)

“Look for Brett and Macket to quickly find themselves in harrowing circumstances, Haas reveals: ‘Don’t miss the premiere’s last 10 seconds’“ so we’re gonna have a cliff hanger in 9x01 which is interesting. Usually they leave that sort of thing for the season finale, altho they could be making up for the one we didn’t get in s8.

“Brett could experience a new partner in her personal life as well. Will she begin a serious romance with smitten Captain Matt Casey? The first two episodes will tell.” Well, there it is Brettsey fans. We’ll know if our ship’s setting sail by 9x02. The use of the word smitten is giving me hope, along with the knowledge that they’ve been building this ship for two seasons. Hopefully they don’t back out in the last second.

“Firefighter Stella Kidd heads in a new direction when Chief Wallace Boden asks her to take the lieutenant’s exam. Her ambition could cause tension between her and boyfriend Lt. Kelly Severide.” I’m down for Lieutenant Stella Kidd, but not down for tension between her and Kelly. Happy Stellaride all of s8 was amazing and I don’t want trouble now. If she does get her bugles (if i’m using that phrase right) I wonder where she’ll go since all the Lt spots are full, but she could pull a Herrmann and just stick around until something opens up and fill in when she’s needed. I’m a tiny bit worried they’re gearing up to write one of our Lt’s out, but I’m hoping I’m very wrong.

“’Ritter has an epic rescue coming up,’ says Haas, ‘and he might be taking a break from [his boyfriend]’” Yay epic rescue, boo break from his boyfriend (unless that means Ritter/Gallo in that case I’d totally be here for it).

“While Gallo’s effort to woo EMT Violet Lin fizzled” rip, I wasn’t a massive fan of Violet/Gallo but sad to see her go cause she was a badass paramedic.

“[Gallo] now faces an even bigger challenge: impressing his boss, Captain Casey. ‘Especially,’ warns Haas, ‘if he decides to cowboy a call instead of following orders.’“ I’ve seen the theory that Gallo cowboying a call is what puts Brett and Gianna in danger and Casey loses his shit and it leads to Brettsey and honestly? I’m here for it.

Chicago PD

“... new Deputy Superintendent Samantha Miller who arrives in Chicago with an intense police reform agenda, in a story inspired by the country’s current movement. ‘Miller wants to abolish the ‘warrior-cop’ mentality and help Hank Voight and Intelligence adapt to the new reality’ says exec producer Rick Eid.... Facing hostility from the community and scrutiny from his bosses, Voight must assess whether, indeed, ‘he’s part of the problem of part of the solution’.” Honestly this type of storyline is long overdue and I really hope they’re committed to following it through. Because we’ve seen them explore themes of ‘reform’ in the past but they never seem to stick. I think if cop shows want to stick around they need to take a hard stance against police brutality in their story telling and be willing to be critical of their own main characters. It’s not enough anymore to see the characters stand up against other racist cops, they now need to look at how their own policing has been racist. It won’t make PD a completely unproblematic show (and I don’t know if there can be a completely unproblematic cop show) but it will be a step in the right direction.

“While the unit lost undercover specialist Vanessa Rojas at the end of last season...” so, did I miss this happening? I assumed Lisseth would come back for 8x01 to write off her character but this makes it sound like she isn’t. Which has me confused because I’m pretty sure they haven’t given her a proper exit yet, but maybe I’ve just forgotten about it. The fact that they specified she’s an undercover specialist makes me think she’s just going to disappear and they’ll throw out a single line about how she’s gone undercover for another unit.

“Upton’s chemistry with Det. Jay Halstead did not weaken during her absence, but both know the complications of dating colleague.” this ain’t gonna be a smooth ride to canon Upstead, me think.

“As do officers AdamRuzek and Kim Burgess, still mourning her miscarriage. ‘It’s become an emotional impediment to their relationship,’ Eid says. ‘They have an unbreakable bond, but are they better off as friends?’“ Fuck off Eid, and just let them get back together already. That’s all I have to say on that.

“Intelligence’s Kevin Atwater has his own troubles - with members of the force. After breaking the ‘blue wall of silence’ by testifying that racist cop Tom Doyle was killed in crossfire after racially profiling an innocent Black man, Doyle’s connect friends and family want vindication.” This storyline coupled with the new superintendent sets up a very interesting season. But I will say this, they better let Kevin Atwater carry this season, because it is his time and he deserves the spotlight.

Chicago Med

“The stories on Med’s sixth season will consider how first responders have been impacted by the coronavirus. But while the docs at Gaffney Chicago Medical Center will see covid-19 patients, ‘we focus more on how other types of cases are treated in this new environment’ exec producer Diane Frolov says.” this is an interesting way to do covid storylines and i’m interested to see where it goes. clearly none of the shows are shying away from the current state of the world which i’m personally fine with, but can understand why some people don’t like. tv is a form of escapism for a lot of people, but personally i enjoy when tv shows aren’t scared to go there and get real with certain subject.

“Amid all this, Dr James Lanik quits as emergency department chief (but stays with the hospital)” rip bye Lanik, can’t say I’ll overly miss you. I find it interesting that they specify that he’s not leaving the hospital though. I wonder if that means we’ll see him in another position.

“...and a main character is unexpectedly named to the position.” I feel like it might be Ethan, because iirc Will is running some sort of clinical trial or something? And being a surgeon I doubt it can be Marcel. Nat’s lower than Ethan in terms of hierarchy I think so I don’t think it’ll be her, but maybe that’s the unexpected part. Ethan or Nat for the position would be my guess.

“‘There’s always a push-pull between Dr Ethan Choi and Nurse April Sexton, but deep feelings remain on each side,’” guess we shouldn’t give up on Sextoi just yet. pretty ambivalent on them these days which is a shame cause i used to really like them.

“trauma surgeon Crockett Marcel and Dr Natalie Manning have drawn closer since Marcel opened up about the loss of his child.” okay this is the one thing I’m actually interesting in seeing in s6. Not a massive Marcel fan but I liked the storyline about his past (not liked as in glad he’s gone through shit but liked as in it made him slightly more sympathetic to me). I’m also curious to see where this thing with Nat goes. Especially because I swear I saw a lingering glance between her and Will at Maggie’s wedding. I smell a love triangle? Love quadrangle perhaps if April’s still into Marcel? Love pentagon, if Ethan’s still into April? Goodness.

“...and Dr Will Halstead, who’s tapped to supervise a clinical trial on a new heart disease medication, is still entangled with ob-gyn Hannah Asher. Whether Halstead should trust the recovering addict is still to be determined.” yup knew Will had some other big thing going on this season. Don’t need the Asher relationship stuff tho. Sorry Jessy Schram, I’m sure you’re lovely but you can leave now. That being said if they pull a Bekker level stunt and have her go batshit in order to write her off, I will actually lose my shit.

And there we have it. All my thoughts on some pretty big scoops for the new seasons and what I think might happen.

#one chicago #jess rambles

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talesofpanem · 5 years

Text

The Interview

Author: @xerxia31

Rating: T for potty language, adult situations, mentions of substance abuse and minor character death.

Summary: This has all the makings of the most uncomfortable job interview of all time.

Author’s note: This is for the prompt ‘work’, but I just couldn’t get it done on time. Thank goodness for make-up week!

————

It feels like entering another world, driving through the grounds of the west campus. Everything is wide open, lush, green, alive, a huge contrast to the dirty and crowded city where I’ve been living for the past two years.

There are young people everywhere on the expansive lawns, throwing frisbees or leaning against trees with books or binders in hand, and not a cellphone to be seen. It’s like a utopian fantasy world, on the surface.

But I know better.

I pull up to the building where my appointment will be. Grey stone, old, but not yet old enough to be considered classic. Its architectural failings have been compensated for by brightly-painted window trim and shutters, and climbing vines clinging to the stones, bursting with purple flowers. Elegant, but only if you don’t look too closely. For all of its window dressing, it’s an institution.

I’d been instructed to wait in the lobby, arranged as a waiting room of sorts. It’s little more than a dozen chairs ringing the area, facing the double set of interior doors, faded industrial carpet underfoot. I settle into one, the sun-hardened vinyl squeaks in protest. The walls are covered with inspirational posters, pictures of sunsets and mountaintops with words of wisdom in bold print underneath. Motivation. Persistence. Achievement.

“Mr. Mellark?”

I jump to my feet as a young woman with glossy black ringlets enters the room where I’ve been cooling my heels for twenty minutes. She smiles at me. “They’re ready for you now.”

Taking a deep, cleansing breath, I wipe my hands on my suit pants before picking up my portfolio. I can’t remember the last time I was this nervous about anything. Young Peeta Mellark was an outgoing, gregarious fellow. But I haven’t been that guy in a very long time.

The doors close behind me, electronic locks snapping ominously.

The young woman, Rue, she tells me her name is, leads me along a dim corridor, the floors polished to gleaming, reflecting scattered pools of light. “We only use emergency lighting in the offices on the weekends,” she confides. “Budget…” I nod. The schools where I worked while finishing my master’s degrees had all struggled with budgets too. Education is not a career that is steeped in money.

But working with children is what I’ve chosen. And this job, at this particular school, is the one I want more than anything.

Art therapist at the Panem Institute.

The Panem Institute is the preeminent residential facility for kids in trouble, kids struggling with substance abuse issues or mental health disorders. And unlike most centres of its kind, lack of funds is not a barrier to admission.

I can’t help wondering how different my life might have turned out if I’d had access to a place like this when I was a teen. Would I be established now, with a life I could be proud of? A wife, maybe even a family of my own?

Instead, I’m thirty, with a shiny new double MA in social work and art therapy, and precious little in the way of resumé experience. That the institute is even meeting with me is almost miraculous. Apart from student placements and volunteer work, I have almost nothing to show for my life.

But I want this job so badly I can almost taste it. This job, this place– this is why I’ve worked so hard the past six years, for the chance to make up for my own failings.

My childhood wasn’t fantastic, but it was typical by most measures. The youngest of three children, I was born upstate, in a quintessential white-washed all-American small town where everyone knew everyone else. My parents didn’t get along, but they stuck it out for the sake of us boys, which is retrospect was probably far, far worse for us than if they’d simply split.

Instead, beaten down by a life she hated and a town she couldn’t escape, my mother was cold, and often rough with us. Rye, Brann and I learned young to hide from her temper. She, in turn, hid in a bottle.

My dad, though, was my hero, mine and my brothers’ too. He coached our little league teams, came to every one of our wrestling matches, filled our lives with cookies and hugs. Shielded us from mother’s ever-increasing drunken and violent episodes.

Then midway through my senior year of high school, the unthinkable happened. My father, my kind, generous father, was murdered. Shot by some punk barely older than I was, killed for nothing more than the two hundred dollars in the cash register of the small family bakery my father owned.

I was devastated.

There was no one left to moderate my mother’s behaviour with my father gone and my brothers away at school. Down to one final obligation, freedom in sight, she made it her sole purpose in life to be rid of me as well. Or maybe she was just drowning in grief and alcoholism and wasn’t even aware of how she was acting, a theory my brother broached at the time. Whatever the reason, life at home deteriorated. Badly.

And like my mother, I sought refuge in a bottle. Or many, many bottles.

I’d already been offered a college wrestling scholarship based on my earlier performances. A good thing since I showed up at the state wrestling championship - my last ever high school wrestling meet and the first one where my father wasn’t a spectator - hungover as hell, or maybe still a little drunk, and ended up placing second.

College was supposed to be my escape, but by the time I got to State that September, I was far more interested in getting bombed than in studying or practicing.

Over the course of a year, I destroyed every dream I’d ever had, every hope, every plan, every relationship. I alienated every friend, every mentor, even, eventually, my own brothers.

And I hadn’t even cared.

Twelve years later, I’ve clawed my way back, one sober day at a time, through more ups and downs than I can even remember. Fought to become a man my father would have been proud of. But I didn’t do it alone. Therapists and counsellors helped me heal, and in doing so showed me how satisfying it could be to guide someone back from the brink, to help set them on the right path.

And that’s why I’m here now, standing sweaty-palmed but hopeful at the door of a boardroom. Interviewing for a job where I could change the lives of troubled young people like I once was.

My escort, Rue, pulls the door open and gestures for me to enter. The room is small and much brighter than the hallway, with a pair of large windows and pale wood reflecting the warm afternoon light. It takes me a moment to adjust to the brightness, to focus on the group of people waiting for me.

Then the bottom drops out of my stomach, and out of my world.

I never got blackout drunk. Consequently, I remember every stupid decision I made, every assholish word I said. And the recipient of one of the tirades I regret most is sitting across the table, her ebony hair pulled back in an elegant chignon.

Katniss Everdeen.

She and I went to school together, from kindergarten all the way through until I ruined my life. I had the worst crush on her back then. But until after we graduated from high school, she didn’t even know I was alive.

Imagine my shock when, a few months into my ill-fated college career, I ran into her at a party on campus. I’d had no idea she went to the same school. But I was well into a bottle of Bombay that night, and what should have been the start of an epic relationship, or at least a chance for me to talk to the girl I’d lusted after always, turned into a nightmare.

I was already slipping then, already on academic probation, already suspended from the wrestling team and constantly in trouble with my coaches. I was weeks away from losing everything - my scholarship, my sport, my friends. And every encounter with my professors, with my academic advisor, with the counsellor the athletic department had insisted on, every single one had impressed on me that I wasn’t good enough, though I am, in retrospect, certain that’s not what any of them had meant. But I’d had so much anger in my system then, so much loathing.

And Katniss, beautiful, seemingly unattainable Katniss, for some reason seeing her there triggered the deepest well of self pity to open in my chest. She was, in that moment, the embodiment of everything I’d been told I could never have. My gut clenches and my heart hurts as I remember the vitriol I’d spewed at her that night, the accusations about her character and motivations, every one of them utterly untrue. I’d called her stuck-up, selfish, a bitch, among so many other words. Katniss, beautiful, stoic Katniss hadn’t reacted at all, apart from a widening of her eyes and maybe a slight trembling of her lower lip. When I’d run out of filth to throw her way, she’d simply blinked and said softly, “This isn’t you, Peeta.” Then she’d walked away.

I have heard those words in my head a thousand times since that night.

It had taken another three years of couch-surfing and homelessness, of lying and begging and stealing to feed my addiction, before I finally hit rock-bottom. In an alley in the Capitol, with a bunch of other low-life scum just like me, I’d listened as they made plans to rob a convenience store a few blocks away. So desperate was I for the few bucks it would have garnered me that I was ready to go along with them… until I saw the gun.

The idea of robbing a little mom-and-pop convenience store at gunpoint was my come to Jesus moment. I was hunched in filth, hungry and so desperate for a drink that I was steps away from becoming the man who had killed my father.

The road back from that point wasn’t straight, and it wasn’t easy. I’d like to say that I never had another drink after that, but it’d be a lie. But I’ve been sober now for seven years and forty-four days, a purple medallion in my pocket reminds me every day how far I’ve come.

As does Katniss’s voice in my head, reminding me when I feel weak, when the cravings hit hard, that I’m not that person.

But she doesn’t know that. Looking across the table, she must be seeing the asshole who treated everyone, and especially her, like dirt.

“Please have a seat, Mr. Mellark,” an older, balding man says, smiling. I recognize his voice, Plutarch Heavensbee, the institute’s director, with whom I’ve spoken on the phone several times before today. I hesitate though, steeling myself to meet Katniss’s eyes. If she looks uncomfortable I’ll leave. It wouldn’t be fair to her if I stayed. As disappointing as it’ll be to walk away from this opportunity that I want so damned badly, I have only myself to blame.

I catch her gaze, silver pools in the sunlight, expecting her to be glaring at me. She’s not though, her expression is carefully neutral. But as if she sees the question in my glance, she nods.

Plutarch introduces the others in turn; Reza Seder, head of counselling services, Dr. Lavinia DeSantis, head of medical services, Alma Coin, head of security. “And of course you know Ms. Everdeen,” Plutarch says, his smile widening, and I can feel my eyebrows crawling up to my hairline. She knew I was coming, told the others that she knew me, and yet I’m still here. They’re still going to interview me.

“Hello, Peeta,” she says, in that smoky smooth bourbon voice that has acted as my conscience for years. And, okay, has narrated my fantasies too, if I’m being honest.

“I’ve already disclosed to the board that we grew up together,” she continues, “and they’re okay with my presence. But of course I’ll leave if it makes you uncomfortable having me here.” Her words and delivery are coolly professional, but beneath them I hear a faint note of pleading. She wants to be here, I just know it. And though I’m likely signing the death warrant on this job, I find myself asking her to stay.

This has all the makings of the most uncomfortable job interview of all time. But if I’ve learned anything from my primary therapist, Dr. Aurelius, it’s that I can’t run from my past. And if I’ve learned anything from AA, it’s that I can’t ignore my shortcomings.

Each member questions me, softballs to start - my education, my job experiences, my plans. I pull out my portfolio, walk them through the educational and therapeutic programs I’ve developed, outline what worked during my previous placements, what innovations I’d like to employ. They seem impressed, and I start to relax.

“You didn’t go to college right after high school, Mr. Mellark?” Alma Coin asks, her strange, pale eyes cold and judgemental. I stiffen; this is where previous interviews have gone off the rails. I’d never outright lie about my addiction, but I’m not keen to bring it up either. Even seven years sober, people are reluctant to entrust an alcoholic to watch over children.

“That’s correct,” I tell her. “I didn’t start my undergrad until I was twenty-four.”

“Why is that?” I could tell her that I couldn’t afford it until then, that’s true, or about my father’s death throwing a spanner in my plans, also true.

Katniss is looking at me, grey eyes wide and guileless. She nods again, and it feels like encouragement. I know what I have to say.

“I’m an alcoholic,” I tell them, bracing for their reactions. But nobody flinches. “I’ve been sober for seven years. But I started drinking in high school, and I lost a lot of years to the disease.” Across from me, a hint of a smile graces Katniss’s pouty peach lips. I take it as my cue to keep going. “That’s why I went into social work, and why I want to work here so much. To help kids like me. To maybe save some of them from the mistakes I made.”

There are nods around the table, no one looks particularly surprised. I don’t know whether Katniss has told them, or if it came up in my background check.

“And you’re not concerned that working with addicted children might trigger you to revisit your own demons? Your CV is completely lacking in experience with troubled youth.” It’s true, my field placements were all in middle schools, my experience as an art therapist mostly with kids with ADHD or autism spectrum disorders. The kids here by and large have much more complex issues, abuse and addiction and mental illness all compounded, often violent and criminal backgrounds too.

“I’ve spent years in therapy learning to cope with my triggers,” I tell Coin.

“That’s not the same as real-world experience,” Seder interjects. “These kids, the things they tell you, the things they’ve seen. It’s gutting.”

“I realize that,” I tell her, affecting the most professional tone I’m capable of despite the cavern that’s opened in my stomach, the knowledge that I’m nowhere near qualified enough in their eyes. “I completed a research project on intergenerational addiction in college and interviewed hundreds of young addicts.”

“That’s really not the same as interacting with them day to day,” Seder says, and it’s not cruel, but it feels dismissive.

“I also observed troubled youth in counselling during my practicum while I was in graduate school.” They know this, it’s in my resumé, along with letters of reference from the clinician supervisors. But Seder is shaking her head and Coin looks unimpressed and I can feel the opportunity slipping away.

“Peeta has volunteered as a mentor at the Children’s Hospital’s substance abuse treatment program for more than three years,” Katniss interjects, and every hair on my body stands on end. Because while that’s true, it’s also something that’s not in my resumé, something I’ve avoided self-reporting because it’s common knowledge that the program volunteers are all addicts in recovery themselves.

I have no idea how she knows that.

My gaze snaps to Katniss. Her expression remains carefully neutral, but there is the barest hint of a smile in her silver eyes.

“That’s an excellent program,” Dr. De Santis says, looking up from her notes for the first time. “They’re incredibly selective about who they choose to work with their clients.”

“They are,” I agree. The screening had been brutal, but it had been necessary, so many of those kids have lead lives that make mine look like a walk in the park and many are not shy about sharing all of the horrific details. “They can’t risk having the volunteers drop out or relapse. The kids need the stability of knowing that they can’t scare away their mentors. So many of them have had everyone else in their lives give up on them.” I swallow hard; it’s the reason I volunteer there. I’ve seen myself in so many of their faces, kids who use alcohol and drugs to escape the pain, kids who lash out and push away the people around them before those people can abandon them. Like I’d done to my teachers and coaches, my friends and my brothers.

Like I’d done to Katniss, all of those years ago.

“How do you find your personal experiences impact your work with those children?” Katniss asks, a gently leading question, and one for which I am so grateful.

“I can empathise with them in ways that their doctors and case workers often can’t,” I say, mostly tamping down the waver in my voice. Four sets of eyes watch me intently. “It’s the whole basis for the program, giving these kids not only guidance, but hope for their future. If I can succeed after all of my mistakes, after all I’ve done, then they can too.”

“And you intend on continuing to volunteer there?” Coin asks.

“I do.” I’ve already checked with the hospital about whether this job would constitute a conflict of interest, they assured me it would not.

Across the table, each of the interviewers smiles, even Coin, though her smile looks a little less genuine. But I only have eyes for Katniss. Because her smile feels like forgiveness. And though this is my dream job, I feel like even if I don’t get it I’ve accomplished something monumental here. I’ve shown Katniss that she was right, that nasty boy who hurt her, who made her feel small and alone, that person wasn’t me.

Plutarch claps his hands. “Excellent, my boy,” he says. “Now let’s talk salary.”

“I… what?”

“For the position.” At my expression, he laughs. “The interview is really just a formality,” he says, mirth twinkling in his eyes. “The job is yours if you want it.” He pushes a couple of papers across the table. A contract. “I know it’s a little less in salary than you’d make in private practice, but we offer a comprehensive benefits package. Take a couple of days to look it over and let us know.”

I don’t need a couple of days. I don’t need a couple of minutes. “I want the job,” I tell him firmly.

“Well then,” Plutarch booms with evident pleasure. “Welcome aboard, Mr. Mellark.” He reaches across to shake my hand firmly, and I can’t help my goofy grin. I got the job!

Plutarch informs me that their admin will get in touch with me over the next few days to file the tax and legal paperwork they need, and then I’ll begin at the start of the new term, some four weeks away. And I nod in all the right places, but my mind is spinning so fast I’m almost dizzy with it.

I shake each of their hands in turn, lingering just a bit longer to squeeze Katniss’s hand tightly. I thank each of them, but my gratitude to her means more. I think she can tell.

“Could you see Mr. Mellark out?” Plutarch asks Katniss, and she agrees, though she doesn’t meet my eyes.

I follow her silently down the corridor, towards the exit, the delicate tapping of her heels on linoleum almost drowned out by the pounding of my pulse in my ears. Katniss was a cute kid, tiny and scrappy, and she had morphed into a fierce and self-possessed young woman by the time we’d graduated high school. But now, at thirty, she’s an absolute bombshell. Still lean, but with delicate curves that her pencil skirt and blouse highlight perfectly. She walks with confidence, back straight, head held high. She’s more intimidating than ever.

At the electronic doors, she pauses, hand poised just above the lever that would release the locks. Then she sighs, and glances back at me over her shoulder. “Would you like to have a cup of tea with me? Catch up?” I’m nearly rendered speechless; not only is Katniss Everdeen willing to work with me, she’s willing to talk with me too.

“I’d like that,” I rasp, the first words I’ve spoken directly to her in twelve long years.

She leads me back into the building and up a set of stairs. Another corridor stretches in front of us, windowless doors set close together. “Our offices,” she says. Partway down the hall, she stops and pulls a set of keys from her pocket. A small brass plate on the door reads Katniss Everdeen, Lead Addictions Therapist.

Her office is small, and appears to be set up for both paperwork and individual counselling sessions with a tiny desk tucked back into the corner but comfortable looking couches dominating the space. She confirms my guess. “I see the lower risk kids here,” she says. “It feels less institutional that way.”

I can only stare, stunned, as she unlocks a cabinet and withdraws a tea kettle. I knew Katniss’s title here from Plutarch’s introduction of course. But until now, it hadn’t really sunk in, what she does. She’s an addictions counsellor. How utterly incredible that she went into the very field that eventually inspired my own career path.

“Sit, please,” she says over her shoulder. I slip off my blazer, draping it over the arm of the couch, then sink into plush microfibre. The ceramic clink of teacups and spoons and the sultry sway of her perfect posterior as she putters, preparing tea and humming just faintly are almost hypnotic. For all of the times I’d thought about Katniss Everdeen, I never imagined I’d ever actually see her again, and good lord she’s so much hotter than even my edgiest fantasies. “Black, right?” she says, snapping me out of my lurid thoughts.

“Uh, yeah,” I say after a moment’s pause where I try to pull myself together and remember that she’s making tea, so that we can talk. So that I can apologize to her. As glorious as her ass is, I have no business looking at her that way. I lost any possible chance I might have had a dozen years ago.

But she knows how I take my tea. The last time I saw her, gin was the only thing I was drinking.

She sets a red mug in front of me, on the low table between the couches. But she herself sits beside me, instead of across from me, which surprises me. Though maybe it shouldn’t, since she’s a therapist. Knowing how to set someone at ease is part of her training. It’s backfiring in my case though, since her closeness feels intimate. I catch a hint of her scent, something fresh and green but with a little bit of spice, like a campfire in the woods. So perfectly Katniss. “How have you been?” she says, sipping from her own mug.

“Better,” I tell her, because she’s not asking to make small talk. In addition to knowing everything I confessed in the interview, she was there when my world fell apart, she saw first hand how shitty I was.

“I’m glad,” she says softly, and she smiles, and it’s so beautiful and sweet it nearly breaks my heart.

“I am so sorry,” I tell her, but the words are completely inadequate. How do you tell someone that they are not only your biggest regret, but also your biggest inspiration? “For how I treated you when I was drinking. You didn’t deserve any of that, and I have regretted it every day.”

“I know,” she says.

“And what you did for me today,” I continue before my nerve runs out. “I can’t begin to thank you. You not only gave me this chance when you could have told any of them I wasn’t worth considering, but you actively helped me in the interview.”

“You earned the job, Peeta. Plutarch was already convinced before you even walked in the door.”

“The others weren’t.”

She laughs. “I knew Lavinia would love you. And Alma, well, she doesn’t really like anyone, but I have a feeling you’ll win her over eventually.”

“What about you?” I can’t help asking. She’s treating me so kindly, but she can’t possibly have forgiven me. I know she hasn’t forgotten.

“I believe in second chances.” Her smile is softer, a little pained. “I knew you’d find your way back.”

“I was such a dick.”

“You were,” she agrees. “But I knew that wasn’t you.”

“You said that back then too,” I tell her, my tea forgotten. “I, uhm.” My neck feels hot and I rub it distractedly. “I hear you saying that, when I’m having a difficult day. It’s helped me so much over the years. You’ve helped me more than you’ll ever know.” It’s embarrassing as hell to admit that. But she deserves the truth.

She snorts, and it’s a sound so at odds with her elegant presentation and with the seriousness of our conversation. My gaze snaps up to her face, she looks amused and abashed.

“You’re the reason I went into psychology,” she says, and my eyebrows shoot up to my hairline. “I was a biology major first year. But seeing how everyone failed you after your dad died, and how easy it was for you to fall…” she trails off. “And then when you came back to school to try again, sober and working so hard, I knew I’d made the right choice.”

“You were there?”

She nods. “Just for a semester. I was finishing my masters. I saw you a couple of times on campus, but you never noticed me.”

Honestly, that’s probably for the best. That early in my recovery I was still so fragile, just getting through classes took every bit of effort I had, and I spent so many hours with my sponsor and therapist back then I had no time for anyone else. “I wish I’d known,” I tell her. “But I had my head pretty far up my own ass.”

“You didn’t though.” She looks away, towards the tiny, narrow window on the exterior wall, barred, like all of the windows I’ve seen in this building. “I watched you. I’ve kept track of you over the years, when I could. Even then you were already working so hard to make amends.”

I was. And I can tell by that specific word that she knows why. One of the steps in AA is making amends for the shitty things we’ve done, at least where doing so won’t cause any further damage. In those early years, I’d concentrated mostly on my brothers, and earning their trust again. But I also spent time speaking with professors and coaches who I had alienated. It would have been far easier to start over at a different college, and likely would have been less triggering. But it’d have been a coward’s way.

“I never got a chance before now to apologize to you,” I whisper. She’d kept track of me, but I hadn’t made the same effort. Before the booze, Katniss Everdeen was that perfect, unattainable fantasy woman I put on a pedestal and never approached. And after, I locked her away, so terribly ashamed by my actions that I never sought her out, even though she would have been easy to find. I was terrified by how she might look at me.

But she’s clearly a much bigger person than I could ever be.

“I think the time wouldn’t have been right before now,” she says. “For either of us.”

We lapse into silence, Katniss still staring out the window, me fiddling with the mug I’ve picked up again. “Can I ask you something?” she says, and there’s something in her tone that makes the hairs on the back of my neck stand up.

“Of course.”

“That night… why me?” She’s trying to keep her voice even, I can tell, but the slight waver slays me.

“You were there, and I was a drunken asshole,” I rasp, but she shakes her head, glancing at me.

“It was more than that. The things you said…” she looks away, but not before I see the shine in her eyes. Not before I see the hurt I had been expecting all along. The knowledge that even all of these years later, my words continue to bother her is gut-wrenching. I feel like the biggest piece of shit.

“It was all bullshit, Katniss, the ramblings of an absolute lowlife shit of a human.”

“There’s always truth, even in ramblings,” she says softly. “It certainly wasn’t the first time I’d been called those things. But we’d never even spoken before then. I didn’t know you even knew my name.”

“I knew you, Katniss. I’d always been watching you.” She turns back to me eyebrows raised, confusion in every line of her beautiful face. I don’t want to make her uncomfortable, and I don’t want to make excuses for my absolutely inexcusable behaviour. But she deserves the whole truth. I drop my gaze to my lap. “The truth is, I had a huge crush on you, nearly the whole way through high school.”

She makes a little choking sound, and I can’t bear to look at her. I know I’m doing unfathomable damage to our potential working relationship, confessing like this. I’ll decline Plutarch’s offer, if being here will hurt her. But I can’t let her think that any of the awful things I said had even a speck of truth to them. I can’t let her take any blame.

“In senior year,” I continue, “I had finally convinced myself that I was going to talk to you, to ask you to the Valentine’s dance. But then…” I trail off. My father had died at the end of January, and everything else in my life had fallen away, sucked into the black pit of grief.

A soft, cool hand lands on my forearm, and I glance up. Far from looking disgusted, as I was expecting, Katniss is looking at me with compassion, even through her confusion. “When I saw you that night,” I whisper, barely able to get the words out. “I had already screwed up everything else in my life. I was just so angry at the world, but mostly at myself. I was drowning in regret and self-loathing. And you were there, and you were every bit as beautiful as you had always been. And you just represented everything I wanted so badly and had fucked up. My father was gone, my sport was gone, and the girl of my dreams was completely out of my league. And I lost it, lashed out at you instead of at the person who really deserved it. Me.”

“You didn’t deserve it either,” she whispers, and her eyes shine silver under a film of moisture.

I place my hand over hers where it still rests on my arm, and she doesn’t pull away. “I’m truly sorry, Katniss. Hurting you is the biggest regret of my life.”

“I accept your apology.” I squeeze her hand in gratitude, and a sad half smile ticks at her lips.

“I won’t take the offer,” I murmur, and her brow furrows again. “This is your career, I don’t want to make you uncomfortable, being here.”

She shakes her head. “You won’t,” she says. “I’ve been watching you for so long, cheering for you from the sidelines. I feel like I know you. And I know you won’t ever repeat that mistake.”

“I won’t,” I swear. “I’ll always be an alcoholic, and there will always be a risk that I’ll relapse. But I’ve learned so much in therapy, about communication and managing my emotions. About coping. I have better mechanisms now, and a really great support group behind me.” It had taken a long time to make things right with my brothers, but they are my staunchest supporters now. And my sponsor, Haymitch, is a crusty old bastard, but he’d rip out someone’s throat before letting me down.

“Then stay,” she says. “I’d like to start again, if it wouldn’t make you uncomfortable. Build up that friendship we should have had.” She looks down at our hands. At some point, she’d flipped her palm and I’d entwined my fingers with hers.

“Always,” I whisper in awe, and she smiles, that beautiful, elusive smile that I know will be the stuff of all of my future fantasies. And maybe, just maybe, the stuff of my future reality too.

#talesofpanem #tales of panem #makeup week #work #xerxia31 #submission #week 10

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patienceyields · 5 years

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“You found me” — Sheith Was Written Like a Hero’s Love Story, Pass It On

I’m late to this show, but I needed somewhere to fangirl, so here I am. Last month I randomly discovered Voltron and binged all 7 seasons of it in one go. I knew nothing about the reboot series or its fandom or the major ships when this happened -- I just watched it over one weekend and fell in love with it. At the end of my rewatch, I came away with one thought: wow, Shiro and Keith are enacting this amazing love story that fits so many heroic tropes. Am I seeing things? Is this real life??? Sheith was pinging all my epic love story kinks, and well, let’s say, I couldn’t believe it.

I’m sure this has been meta’ed on at length, but I really love thinking about the ways Voltron mimics the traditional hero’s journey when it comes to Keith as the coming-of-age heroic leader. We know that VLD offered us an origin story for Keith as Voltron’s future leader — he matured over the course of the series and faced a series of lessons/obstacles that would shape him into the leader he needed to become. But I’m also amazed to realize how Shiro filled the traditional love interest role in Keith’s leadership journey.

At first glance one could see Shiro as simply fulfilling the mentor role that guides the hero (and like most mentor figures in the action-adventure subgenre, Shiro had to die so that the hero could learn to fly alone). But there is a twist with our story — Shiro isn’t just the mentor archetype in Keith’s individual coming of age arc. He also doubles as the hero’s “beloved” — the hero’s heart (stolen away, locked up, threatened by a great evil) that would set the hero onto his quest -- Keith getting kicked out of the Garrison can be subtextually read as related to losing Shiro, and his year of being “lost” in the desert/”wilderness” and searching/awaiting his impending destiny ends with the sign of his beloved’s return. In Keith’s journey, Shiro fulfills the role of the Knight’s maiden and the goal of the Knight’s rescue quest. If you think about fairytale and the heroic quest structure, we know the Knight/Prince often has a love he must save or resurrect as part of his quest fulfillment. And in VLD, Keith’s “canon” love that he spent seasons chasing/pursuing/saving was Shiro. From the opening episode of S1 to the closing episodes of S7, what Keith had as part of his hero/leader origin story was this very simple goal: the survival of Shiro (his beloved).

In your traditional hero’s journey, our future hero leaves his home of birth and ventures into the vast unknown world where the fantastic waits to challenge him. Along the journey, he is tested and must face many obstacles in order to come into his own. As part of the hero’s journey, the hero often experiences a transformative and transcendent love that guides him. When he finally returns home again, he has grown up/matured, and he is able to bring to his home the new–found knowledge he attained during his quest. Often as part of this homecoming we see his ascendance into a new leadership role (a King’s throne in traditional tales, or in the case of Keith, the Black Lion) and finally a union (marriage) with his beloved. Keiths’ journey during VLD involved discovering who he was (his true magical aka alien lineage), maturing during his chrysalis/incubation time in the quantum abyss, saving his beloved, moving from loner/outsider to being part of a team/family/a mission greater than himself, and learning the patience and trust it would take to lead Voltron. All of this made him ready to be with his beloved.

I’ve seen fen upset that Keith was always the one saving Shiro in these epic bold displays. But I adore Keith as Shiro’s dashing savior/knight — this is Keith’s heroic arc in full display — Keith’s quest to save/protect Shiro was an element across all 7 seasons and it shaped the landscape of the team’s end goal of defeating Zarkon’s empire. Keith’s epic love for Shiro brought Shiro back to life. This fierce devotion is something we see in traditional Knight/Maiden tales — what lengths will the Knight go to to slay the Dragon and save the princess? How will his undying love shape the larger battle against evil to come? I’m sure much has been written about Keith as a Knight (sword and shield and all), and the ways Sheith mimics the fairytale frame (ex. Shiro as Snow White in a Glass Coffin awoken by true love - YEAH THAT HAPPENED). But Keith’s heroic slaying of the S7 dragon was equally epic — at the end of S7, Keith slays the “dragon” that had just tried to kill his beloved — Keith leapt out of the Black Lion, his sword in hand, and slashed through Sendak's chest. This imagery alone is a call back to ancient Knight tales. Keith then picked up his beloved in his arms to bring him to safety.

The seven season build up of Shiro and Keith’s relationship has a subtext that is such a textual overlay of a hero’s romantic storyline. And we know in many of these stories, once the hero successfully destroys his enemies and comes of age he is now worthy to join (aka marry) his beloved. If Sheith’s story could be allowed to fulfill its inherent promise, to honor the core archetypes it works within, Keith and Shiro would be the romantic endgame for each other’s individual journeys — their pairing would represent the union of transcendental love that brings our heroes into their completed destiny. This would fulfill the promise of the story and give us that zing (narrative bliss) that tropes/archetypes offer us when they are working at that fullest potential in a hero’s quest tale.

In my next Ted Talk, I will discuss Sheith’s soul mate energy powering the Black Lion….

#sheith #shiro x keith #voltron #i love all the #fairytale allegories with them #in tradition fairytale structure there is always the chrysalis period #and keith underwent that during his time in the abyss #his glow up made him even more ready for leadership and for reuniting/saving his beloved #fairtyale boys #i reject any universe where they don't end up together #meta #headcanons #i'm sure this has already been meta'ed a millions times i just need to write out my feelings #i just love them so much #vld: mine

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as-many-times-as-it-takes · 6 years

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Hey! I hope I'm not being a bother (I'm about to be a big damn bother) but... I just saw your inspiring Sheith phrases post and all the quotes + your little bit of meta about it made me all misty... but here's the thing. I'm VERY VERY new to the fandom... and to Sheith... and I have NO IDEA what half of those quotes are from or are referring to. Can you help me out with some of them??? No-one I know ships Sheith so I don't know who else to ask!

Hi there Anon! Thanks for the ask!

And first of all to get this out of the way, you are not a bother. When you ask someone to talk about something they are very passionate about, it’s like getting told Christmas just came early. I’ve really wanted to be a more solid part of this fandom, but my shyness sometimes gets the better of me. So every question/ask, etc frickin’ lights up my day okay? Okay!

So I’ll break down the quotes the best I can for ya! Some of them are a little older and it might be a bit difficult to pull up the information for that. If anyone out there knows anything I’m missing better or has a link, etc, please feel free to share that with this post!

Also, since you enjoyed the meta, you might also like my post The Boy who Never Gave Up. This really outlines a lot of the background information shown in the series for Keith and Shiro that give rise to a lot of these quotes!

Alrighty, here we go!

SHEITH QUOTE MASTER POST

This will be a VERY LONG POST with LOTS OF PICTURES, LINKS AND QUOTES so I will be putting in a cut here to help!

It’s good to have you back / It’s good to be back

This quote comes from S01:E01 - The Rise of Voltron. It’s the first moment in which Keith and Shiro share dialogue together. Especially based on everything leading up to it, (Check out my post here for more on that), the tone here is very gentle. There is almost a hushed quiet to it, like you’re looking in on a private moment not meant for your eyes. There was something very sweet about it that just stuck around.

It’s killing me when you are away

So this is a really interesting one that I don’t believe was every officially confirmed by the team behind the show (someone correct me if I’m wrong here!) but a bunch of very dedicated fans picked this one apart into something that stuck with us ‘till the end.

Again in S01:E01 - The Rise of Voltron, we find this nearly directly after the quote above. When Keith takes Shiro and the other Paladins inside his Cabin, he shows them a bunch of notes, pictures, and assortments of other knowledge he has collected over his years alone, which led to him finding the Blue Lion’s location. However, while he is explaining his notes to everyone, there are glimpses of little sticky notes on his board. Fans looked these over to see if there was anything one these notes that was legible and this led to a really awesome post that you can view here.

The main conclusion was based on the lyrics from “Sugar” by Maroon 5, in which the words are

“I just wanna be deep in your loveAnd it’s killing me when you’re awayOoh, baby “

And the theory is that the note says“Just wanna be ‘something’ and it’s killing me when you’re away”

The something part implying that either A) Keith forgot the lines, B) The lines are a bit NSFW and so were changed slightly, C) Little column A & B? Keith was a little embarrassed and shortened it a bit.

This is all further supported when we’ve seen time and time again how much Keith adores Shiro and when we found out that Keith waited TWO YEARS on hopes and prayers waiting on his friend to come back. That would kill me too…

Shiro loves you baby / #He’s looking at Keith

This amazing piece came straight from Chris Palmer, one of the awesome story artists for Voltron. He posted this image with the words “Shiro loves you baby.” and one of his hashtags was #he’s looking at keith.

You can see the original post here

This, of course, made most of us explode with happiness. Not only was it freaking adorable, it told us that more of the people behind the scenes were quite possibly as invested and/or becoming as invested as many of us were with Sheith (A term which Josh Keaton himself stated he would like to coin for the ship pairing if it hadn’t been claimed already)

Many of the people who work on Voltron have posted something Sheith related. It’s a little hard to pull out specific pieces now as a lot of news and discourse has buried a lot of the original posts, but we’ve been very blessed. We’ve had official fan art, team members favouriting and commenting on fan art and lots of little snippets here and there that hinted that this was very possibly going to be canon.

Just like in The Legend of Korra, Korrasami became a thing later in the show. It was stated (I do not have a specific reference for this, mind you) that while the ship wasn’t originally intended, as the characters grew together with the show, the audience/fandom and with the team creating it, it just blossomed and the characters built a life they never expected. Oh, and many of those same people are working on Voltron~

Ninja mullet finds his true love

Straight from the spunky and lovable voice actor for Pidge, Bex Taylor-Klaus posted this while watching Keith find Shiro for the first time in ages in S01:E01 - The Rise of Voltron. Of course, we were quite excited to see this.

Bonus:

While this one didn’t quite catch on, it’s still pretty freaking precious. Sadly I could not find the original link to these.

Patience Yields Focus

This is a phrase that pops up quite a bit through the series. Each time delivered from Shiro as though this has been advice he’s given to Keith over and over, probably beginning from back when he worked with Keith in the Garrison. While it’s a lovely and wise quote all on it’s own, it’s most notable because of:

This scene. In S02:E1: Across the Universe, Keith brings this up as he is searching for Shiro to come to his friend’s aid. When he hears Keith use this line, Shiro’s asks “That really stayed with you didn’t it?” His tone and expression implying that this meant quite a lot to him. THIS then led immediately to our next awesome quote:

If it wasn’t for you, my life would’ve been a lot different

Immediately following Shiro’s amused surprise that Keith kept his wisdom with him for so long, Keith replies with this. From what we know, Shiro has been Keith’s mentor, best friend, sole supporter, and guiding light for as long as he’s known him. Even if it had never been meant to be romantic, the sheer warmth in Keith’s tone reveals a deep affection for just how important in his life Shiro has been to him.

This one’s for you, Shiro

Forced to take the reigns of the Black Lion to keep Team Voltron going, Keith utters this vow before he charges in. Giving the touching moments leading to him taking up of mantle of the Head of Voltron, the fact that everything he does in what he rightfully believes is Shiro’s place, he does for Shiro is heartbreakingly touching. No matter what, Shiro is never far from Keith’s thoughts and he guides his actions from his heart.

Shiro is the one person who never gave up on me. I won’t give up on him.

Facing the loss of his best friend yet again, Keith dedicates himself to finding Shiro who had been lost to the vastness of space at the end of the epic showdown with the villain Zarkon from S02:E13- Blackout and said this line in S03:E01 - Changing of the Guard. Heartbroken, Keith sees the other Paladins of Voltron working their hardest to move on even without Shiro at their fore, and in his pain he assumes they’ve forgotten him. When Princess Allura suggests that it is finally time that they look for a new Black Paladin, Keith staunchly refuses to even consider the idea and lashes out. While we’ve seen many hints at just how important Shiro is to Keith, hearing something so honest and direct was very sobering. As this thankfully worked out in the end, it’s less somber than it was, though no less meaningful.

And, at this moment, your friend desperately wants to see you

In S02:E08- The Blade of Marmora, Keith undergoes a trial as the result of the Galra fighters discovering that Keith himself owns a Galra blade having once belonged to one of their own. The trial is as much physically brutal and exhausting as it is mentally so. Watching over the trial, the leader explains to Shiro that the suit Keith wears will put him through another part of the trial, showing his greatest hopes and fears. With this quote, it was revealed just how deeply Keith adored Shiro and just how much he feared abandonment from him. When the false Shiro hologram turns his back on him, Keith is prepared to give up everything to keep him from leaving, even if that means losing his chance to discover his past. The word ‘desperately’ really struck a chord along with the rest of the episode, showing just how unwavering Keith’s commitment to Shiro was. And when the real Shiro came to Keith’s side, prepared to fight off the entirety of the Blades to see his friend to safety, we knew the feeling was mutual.

How many times are you gonna to have to save me before this is over? / As many times as it takes

S03:E06 - Tailing a Comet -When a wounded, exhausted, confused, and demoralized Shiro is finally brought back after his mysterious disappearance he shares another quietly intimate moment with Keith. Checking up on his friend’s wellbeing, Keith tells him that the rest of the team would love to see them when he is able, the silence that follows feeling heavy with words he won’t add to it. When he finally turns to leave, Shiro somberly asks Keith just how many times he will have to save him before their fight is finally over. After a quiet pause, Keith smiles and answers him. “As man times as it takes.”

This was actually the quote that inspired me to finally work over my shyness and make a blog. I had been silently rooting for Sheith in the background for ages. But this just really tipped me over the edge. Keith and Shiro’s relationship was never loudly proclaimed or thrown around with flowers and parades. It was this quiet constant, that was always present. They had been through so much together and through countless battles, loss and struggles, their unwavering and mutual commitment to each other was honestly humbling. And that made this scene / quote all the more special for it.

Beloved Mentor / Nothing was worth Shiro’s pain /Guiding Light

Actually for this, I’d like to turn to one of the awesome meta writers for our fandom @dent-de-leon (I highly recommend following them if you want to see some quality content. I know I’ve really appreciated their insight and jived with what they say!)

Dent-de-leon has an amazing master post that they made with a TON of the interview and inside quotes we’ve gotten from all of the amazing people behind Voltron. As I feel it would be a disservice to the awesome post and the time that went into hunting all those bits plus the sources down, I’d like to just link you to it HERE!

You made a promise to me once. You told me you’d never give up on me

Ohhhh boy, we got a lot from S06:E05 - The Black Paladins. When Kuron, the clone of Shiro who is essentially Shiro in nearly every aspect is controlled by Haggar in an attempt to rid their presence through mutual destruction, we are treated to some of the most heartwrenching scenes we have seen throughout the entire series.

Forced to fight his beloved friend in what could have been a fight to the death, Keith never once gives up on him.

In an attempt to shake Shiro out of his mind control, Keith reminds him of the promise he made to Keith long ago.

I love you

I don’t think I’d ever seen a love triumphs over evil trope so potently built up and displayed. With an absolutely heartbreaking performance, Steven Yeun had most of us staring dumbfounded at the tv/monitor wondering if we had just hallucinated. I personally have watched this over and over and even after the millionth time it still makes my chest ache. At the very end of his rope and facing destruction at the hands of his most beloved friend in the whole universe, Keith bares his heart and we mourned with him just as much as we celebrated something so beautiful.

I will never give up on you, but more importantly, you can’t give up on yourself

When Keith and Shiro are falling to what appears to be their demise, we see something that most of us has been excitedly imagining for years. It’s been clear how important Shiro has been to Keith all his life, especially at the Garrison and there are so many amazing headcanons, comics, and other gorgeous pieces of art depicting what the fans have dreamed up to their lives before Voltron. All we know is that something powerful and meaningful had to happen to inspire so much loyalty and love from someone like Keith. During this scene we see Shiro offer his vow of his own commitment, but also of how important he finds it for Keith to believe in himself as well. This has been a constant theme between the two since the first episode. And seeing this sent most of us into a whole new wave of tears after the initial shock of “I love you.”

You found me

S06:E06 - All Good Things. With multiple threats ended, the ultimate sacrifice of the Castle of Lions to save the universe and the knowledge that Shiro’s spirit has been in the Black Lion and that we’re left with the fading body of the clone that fought Keith, all things seem to be hanging on a thread. But with the clone essentially being Shiro with the exception of the mind control and Shiro’s spirit still without a body, Allura demonstrates the amazing and mystic power of her Altean heritage and recovers Shiro’s spirit, placing it inside the clones body and finally uniting them body, soul, mind, and memories all together into a single entity. Calling back all the way to Season 3 when Keith vehemently vowed that he would find Shiro, to when he breathlessly whispered “you found him” to the Black Lion when Kuron was fading in his dying breaths, Shiro brings everything back full circle. Cradled in Keith’s arms, Shiro leans into him and softly tells him. “You found me.”

Cue the crying all over again.

You’re Everything to Me

And after this long and wonderful journey, we’ve received yet another beautiful quote from the team. In an interview with the Main Story Editor Josh Hamilton today from the Let’s Voltron official podcast. He quotes:

Q: So a lot of people were asking, he says “you’re my brother.” A lot of people were saying is that literal brother or is that just a you know, brotherly figure?

JH: It’s–a lot of the time the words don’t matter, it’s like the way you say it. You know what I mean? It’s like, he says you’re my brother, you know, and when he does eventually say “I love you,” those words matter. It’s like “you know you’re my brother, you’re everything to me.” You know, that brotherly love. So it’s hard for him. But no, literally? I hope I’m not spoiling anything, but no.

—-

I think that says it all here. What a gift. I know that scene in the Black Paladins meant a lot to many of us. But hearing this just left me absolutely speechless. In the best of ways. Tears of victory!

And with the hint that we will be finding out more about Shiro and Keith’s past in the Garrison along with all of the events leading up to here, you can bet we’re all eagerly awaiting what we’ll see in Season 7.

But man, it’s been so, so worth it. For many of us, these two mean so much more than just a simple story. And that in it of itself is quite the gift.

Thank you Anon for inspiring me to put this together. It was a wonderful way to spend my night

#Anonymous #sheith #shiro #keith #sheith quotes #sheith quotes master post #what a long and wonderful journey its been #meta #sheith meta

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primary-colour-hair · 5 years

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Academy Director, Educator, Assessor, Master Colourist, Hairdresser & Photographer, these are some of the accolades of SRH & Master Craftsman Loretta O’Connell who has been a State Registered Hairdresser for over 15 years and a qualified stylist for 30 years. Despite living & working overseas for half of her career she actively maintains her Wella Master Colour Expert status and State Registered Hairdresser & Master Craftsman status. She is an advocate for continuing education, mandatory licensing & registration for the hairdressing & barbering industry.

During her extensive career she has grown her skills & knowledge internationally working as a stylist & educator in Bermuda for over 7 years and is currently The Education & Academy Director at the prestigious ARROJO Academy & ARROJO Cosmetology schools owned by celebrity stylist Nick Arrojo in NYC where she has lived for over 10 years.

ARROJO Cosmetology School recently celebrated its 10 year anniversary early 2019 and Loretta shared these snippets & photos with us.

Congratulations on 10 years of ARROJO Cosmetology School, how was the party?

Thanks! The party was amazing, it was a full house of staff, graduates, students, friends and hairstylists past, present & future. The energy was fantastic and the graduate presentation was inspiring; for many of them it was their first time presenting on stage so there was lot of love in the room for them. Nick gave a speech and got several key staff up on the stage to say a few words including me.

Tell us, how did you manage to get such a great job in NYC?

I always wanted to live in New York City since I first visited in 1995. I did tons of research and visited several times a year while living in Bermuda (1996-2003) and spoke to many salon owners, product companies and educators to gather knowledge and find the best companies around. Nick’s name kept coming up and everyone had such good things to say about him and the brand so I applied.

Timing is everything and he was already very focused on education as part of the brand and was looking to start a Cosmetology School where students could come to learn their craft and become licensed (qualified) I had teaching experience and my eagerness came across in my lengthy application and supporting documentation, plus we both come from the North of England and have a similar background so it seemed like a good fit for both.

I owe my greatest success to Nick for taking a chance on me to create and grow his school & education culture and trusting me to run with it, thankfully it worked out very well for both of us!

Did you write the programs for the school?

I got the school licensed & accredited, wrote all of the Cosmetology & Barbering fundamental & advanced curriculums in cutting, colouring, styling & American Wave, hired & trained all of the staff and created all of the systems. As this was a first for the brand I had to research outside sources & organisations to build myself a team of mentors to guide, help and support me as I am responsible for every aspect of the school to the outside sources that allow the school to open & operate. Nick has a very clear vision on where he wants his school to go, how it should run and standards to uphold so it gave me a blueprint to work from. It was and continues to be the biggest learning experience of my life and I am amazed at the snippets of information I have filed away over the last 10 years.

What do you love most about New York?

I love the vibrancy & energy generated by NYC plus it is the epic centre of fashion, beauty and creativity so there is no better place to be involved in the hair industry than here. I am also a photographer so it is the perfect backdrop for capturing inspiring shots and wandering aimlessly during weekends.

Bermuda, wow how was that?

It was an amazing experience. I made some of my best friends there who are still great friends today. Hairdressing is completely different there due to the semi tropical climate and intense heat. Products react differently in high humidity so less is more, most colour services are colour correction due to the sun and the first question I asked my clients was “do you ride a bike?” (moped) as the hair needed to be either short enough to sit under the helmet or long enough to tie up, no in-between lengths! I learned to work with different hair types & textures and the true meaning of running out of colour when there was none to be found on the island!

10 years is quite an achievement, looking back how was it?

I cannot believe it has been 10 years as at times it still feels brand new but then I look at how much the school has grown and the successes of the graduates and I can’t imagine it ever not being there. I have learned so much about topics I had no idea I needed to know about.

The graduates are my proudest moments and every day I am thankful for the amazing students who have come through the doors and trusted us for their education. I see many graduates daily as they are now part of the ARROJO Studio team (ARROJO Studio has 3 salons in NYC offering professional services for over 18 years) and to see them progress from assistant to stylist and eventually educator is truly a testament to an intense fundamentals education and working immersed in a strong education culture with structure, growth & opportunity

It didn’t happen by chance though and my strong education background meant I knew there had to be rules, regulations and discipline to create a structure for progression, growth, accountability & success. Maintaining standardization as the team & facilities grown ensures I have to continuously find new ways to connect with my team, inspire & educate them and provide opportunities for growth while holding them accountable professionally.

The school started off with a team of 2 including me and is now a 2 school facility with over 20 full time talented, enthusiastic staff & access and support from over 100 licensed stylists in 3 salons. We are proud to offer employment to so many staff in a variety of roles, have 3 fantastic salons to offer consideration for employment options to high achieving graduates plus a network of over 500+ salons as a career option for graduates depending upon what they are looking for.

You won an Award recently, tell us about that?

I was awarded the Women Making Waves Award for my contribution to the industry and my photograph is displayed in the ARROJO Tribeca Heroes Hallway alongside Nick’s industry Heroes & Mentors such as Vidal Sassoon, Horst Rechelbacher, Vivienne Mackinder, Annie Humphries and more, it is a huge honour and I am eternally grateful for the amazing opportunities my career has allowed me and proud to play such a pivotal role at ARROJO.

How different is American hairdressing education than British?

American hairdressers need a license to practice and work towards a final state board written & practical exam upon graduation whereas British hairdressers work towards a qualification through continuous assessment.

Every state has different requirements for topics taught, guided learning hours to be clocked and criteria for completion. In New York a Cosmetology student must clock 1000 hours of learning (8 months) covering 13 different topics and pass a written & practical exam to obtain a license to work as a hairdresser. A salon is not allowed to employ anyone to touch the hair without a license therefore even shampoo assistants need to be licensed.

I worked in a local, well-known salon from the age of 16 and went to college for 2 years when I was training and felt like a “real hairdresser” when I was qualified. I then worked as an assistant for a further 12 months before being full time on the salon floor by the age of 19. I worked there for a total of 10 years and am ever Thankful for aspiring to work at quality salons that value ongoing training.

I believe that the status of being qualified (or licensed) gives a stylist a level of quality to continually aspire to meet and exceed which is why I believe in mandatory registration to uphold & maintain standards and for quality assurance.

What is next for the ARROJO Brand?

ARROJO has been around as a brand for almost 20 years and is well known & respected throughout North America as an education brand, product company, quality brand salon and for extensive skills in razor cutting. Since I joined the team over 10 years ago the number of salons has tripled from 1 to 3, the team has more than doubled in size, there are 3 product lines within the brand and plans for growth across all aspects. Safe to say there is never a dull moment, always something happening and always opportunity for growth.

And what is next for you?

I am working on training up a team of Directors to manage all aspects of running 2 schools and expanding the team to meet the demands of a growing school facility with teaching & support team to allow me to focus on other educational aspects of the brand.

The Advanced Education market is changing with the popularity of online education plus ARROJO now has multiple distributors who service the 500+ ARROJO Ambassador accounts across the USA to provide product & education. Currently the ARROJO Studio salon staff education team travel to multiple states on a weekly basis to teach InSalon classes & events, we are in the process of also growing an Art team from our Ambassador Salons to offer more opportunities, more local education and brand growth while maintaining quality and standards.

Personally I am also growing my photography brand to supply images to independent consumers and local businesses.

www.picturethisphotographynyc.com

Thanks for chatting today Loretta, Congrats again, here’s to the next 10 years!

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jedipiff · 5 years

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1/4/2019 Late Night Article Diving

There's an article saying that most Americans still prefer to watch TV for news rather than be reading it. Well I would like to say I enjoy both, I have found myself reading late night articles more than ever. I guess it was cause I was fascinated with a piece on The Miracle At Tham Luang, when a whole team of soccer players and their coach got trapped on an afternoon trip through a cave. When a sudden rain onset hit a week sooner than planned, the water was overfilled with water and they were forced to seek safety wherever they could while trying not to battle the constant thought of that they all could die down there. The team was called Moo Pa, which is also translated to Forest Pigs or the Wild Boars. They recieved great advice from their mentor Coach Ek, who had trained to be a buddhist monk and guided them with his teachings.

Many people tried to work on their rescue and one person lost their life trying to set up oxygen tanks so that they could be taken out of the cave safely. While he did this, his own oxygen tank ran out and he wasn't able to make it back from the journey inbetween. Saman Gunan was his name and he was a retired Thai Seal who eagerly journeyed to this land on his choice to try to help rescue these boys. He didn't try, he more than succeeded and I wanted to start my piece off commeorating his bravery. So if anyone is interested in reading more about this inspiring and terrifying story, the best article I have read describing it can be found here https://www.gq.com/story/thai-cave-rescue-miracle-at-tham-luang by Sean Flynn a GQ correspondent.

On another random note, the U.S. Government is in a current state of shutdown over President Trump not getting a 5 $ billion funding to build The Wall. The Senate Democrats have rejected his proposal and Trump now plans to hold the government in lockdown for quite a long period of time he has announced. While this is a current issue going on, I do find it frustrating the government has to do this cause in the meantime I guess many National Parks and Zoos, along with many other residencies go into states of despair and disarray. Some officials will stay on has emergency personnel, but a large majority of the staff won't be there during this period of time.

A surprising one I learned tonight that many may not know, is that the US National Coast guard also goes without pay during this tme. I was reading a post about many disgruntled families, that wondered why they had to be affected out of all the military branches to have to suffer this. They weren't discrediting any other ones, they just said they do it for the love of the country as welll and it was very disheartening to them to be treated this way. I merely just wanted to touch upon the subject, though I will try to hold my frightening political views at bay. Radical, eccentric, a man that cares about the state of the world though that is actively trying to keep his mind more open to the ideas going on around him.

It was on another post that I was diving through Facebook, and I found a girl around my age which is 25 that was posting about the state of Global warming and climate change. There were several older relatives of her that were bewildered at the concept, and I didn't want to frown harshly upon it. They did not know what it was but it still raised my awareness that perphaps the older generation, may not have the exact knowledge of some of the things that we do now. Sure, using Alexa or switching to Netflix on your Smarttv might be easy to you, but to some parents that sounds like some voodoo magic.

I never commented though the girl was throuhoghly explainging to her family that we has a population were causing destruction to the earth. All our gases, fuels, land dumps and numerous other things would all be culminating to stuff that while may not seem like it's affecting us that much around you, is causing many changes throughout the World whether you realize it or not. The thought seems scary, I mean even the act of just using solar energy or switching how you maybe use water, to add more filters and purifiers can sound like some crazy traps to some folk. I don't know, I guess even with all this new technology I'm just saying that somehow we still remain blind.

On another thing, the future of the robot is seemingly coming to dawn upon us sooner than probably humans could have ever realized. Here we are now, where factories and many companies are using robots to help with their daily jobs. In a warehouse of Amazon recently one of the automated robots recently opened a car of bear repellenant spray and sent many hospital workers to the hospital. One of them even in critical condition. Now I'm not calling this the end of the world, but the fact that incidents like this are already happening is just making me already imagining what can of worms are going to be opened. I'm not hating on this future, I'm just saying with great strides in technology there will be many kinks and problems that you have to try to work out. Not everything goes perfect, and I am sure they try their best to make sure their workers are safe, I'm not trying to point that type of finger.

It's just the day a bot autofunctions and crushes a human like a soda can, with his body mangled and looking like a sack of fruit what will the world say. Well damn, does that mean my Xbox One S won't be delivered on time for Christmas then?

========

I'm still ever opposed to reading books through Ebooks or Kindle, any type of thing like a tablet or whatever. It's just when I want to sit down and dive into a world outside of this, the last thing I want to have to do is by diving into the internet world first. I was thinkng recently of a teacher I had in high school who whenever there was a book fair, would always go down looking for first edition books. One had said he liked collecting them they were more rare and to he said some could be quite valuable, ever since after that I always liked to try to keep my eye out for them to.

In my room I have several bookcases filled with many of my favorite stories and tales. In the past I used to be quite religious at one point and would drop off many bibles and other religious books at book centers or free libraries for them to be taken to be read. I would donate my fantasy books or horror ones I didn't like to, but I had gone through a period where I might have caught a religious fervor. I was for a period selling Bibles though, so it would make sense that eventually some of the text maybe would speak to me on some level.

One of these nights while dropping off the books at a free public library in Salem, Massachusetts I discovered one of the best books I have ever found. It was a book about the assassination of Abraham Lincoln, who is one of my favorite people to read about in history. It was written in an embellished epic kind of way, one where you get taken through the role of John Wilkes Booth his killer and what led in a dramatic fashion up to what the writer felt was all different motives and ways he went about killing old Abe. I never actually got around to finishing this book, but at the time I went to a small cafe nearby and find myself diving through it. It's a riveting tale, with a really unique way of going about that whole event that I really enjoyed the way they wrote it.

The book was called Manhunt The 12-Day Chase For Lincoln's Killer by James L. Swanson.

It's a great read even if you have heard the story a million times, you never had it told like this.

So at this note, I want to just relax and spend some time watching a show on HBO called Deadwood. An American Western largely all done by David Milch, it shows the gritty and insane side of life that may have been during that period of time. There's a great cast of actors on it and the setting and atmosphere are brutally done. Even the characters I want to like, the times they live in and the way they think make me wanna hate them sometimes. Though I see resemblances of the characters in the show to people now, I suppose time holds no difference between ignorance and disgust. You'll find a woman, who seems disabled and can't walk and no one even pays her a glimpse of mind. Even the doctors back then utterly cruel, and maybe some people get all the greatest doctor care but there's still issues and shit like that today. But she walks through the whole town and not even anyone bats an eye, but her resolve to fix her legs and fit in hit me in the feels. I have to keep watching just to see what she'll do, she wants to try leg braces to try to fix her ailment, but the doctor says it's one that she was born with and cant be undone. I can't say, I have seen miracles, but I'll let the show tell this story's narrative of her ordeal.

That's just one instance, and there's also a priest that is slowly losing his mind and suffering what seems like strokes and seizures. I'm not sure, I've only watched a few episodes but each episode gets sadder than the last watching his descent. He's becoming so fucked in the head, but I know it's not his fault. So there's that, if anyone likes Red Dead Redemption 2 or Westworld, than they might be interested in this. Not that it's anything like really either of those, this show is it's own style but it's very graceful in the way it's depicted.

I also realize that one of my sweetest joys is getting that 50 % off holiday candy at pharmacies after it's marked down. There's nothing like having a big bag of hershey kisses for only a few dollars. Most definetely chocolate causes an overdose of love in my brain.

#random #writing #news #original #bored #insomnia #usa #world

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blackkudos · 6 years

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Ahmad Jamal

Ahmad Jamal (born Frederick Russell Jones, July 2, 1930) is an American jazz pianist, composer, bandleader, and educator. For five decades, he has been one of the most successful small-group leaders in jazz.

Biography

Early life

Jamal was born in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. He began playing piano at the age of three, when his uncle Lawrence challenged him to duplicate what he was doing on the piano. Jamal began formal piano training at the age of seven with Mary Cardwell Dawson, whom he describes as greatly influencing him. His Pittsburgh roots have remained an important part of his identity ("Pittsburgh meant everything to me and it still does," he said in 2001) and it was there that he was immersed in the influence of jazz artists such as Earl Hines, Billy Strayhorn, Mary Lou Williams, and Erroll Garner. Jamal also studied with pianist James Miller and began playing piano professionally at the age of fourteen, at which point he was recognized as a "coming great" by the pianist Art Tatum. When asked about his practice habits by a New York Times critic, Jamal commented that, "I used to practice and practice with the door open, hoping someone would come by and discover me. I was never the practitioner in the sense of twelve hours a day, but I always thought about music. I think about music all the time."

Beginnings and conversion to Islam

Jamal began touring with George Hudson's Orchestra after graduating from George Westinghouse High School in 1948. He joined another touring group known as The Four Strings, which soon disbanded when the violinist, Joe Kennedy. Jr., left. He moved to Chicago in 1950 (where he legally changed his name to Ahmad Jamal), and played on and off with local musicians such as saxophonists Von Freeman and Claude McLin, as well as performing solo at the Palm Tavern, occasionally joined by drummer Ike Day.

Born to Baptist parents in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, Jamal did not discover Islam until his early 20s. While touring in Detroit (where there was a sizable Muslim community in the 1940s and 1950s), Jamal became interested in Islam and Islamic culture. He converted to Islam and changed his name to Ahmad Jamal in 1950. In an interview with The New York Times a few years later, Jamal said his decision to change his name stemmed from a desire to "re-establish my original name." Shortly after his conversion to Islam, Jamal explained to The New York Times that he "says Muslim prayers five times a day and arises in time to say his first prayers at 5 am. He says them in Arabic in keeping with the Muslim tradition."

He made his first sides in 1951 for the Okeh label with The Three Strings (which would later also be called the Ahmad Jamal Trio, although Jamal himself prefers not to use the term "trio"): the other members were guitarist Ray Crawford and a bassist, at different times Eddie Calhoun (1950–52), Richard Davis (1953–54), and Israel Crosby (from 1954). The Three Strings arranged an extended engagement at Chicago's Blue Note, but leapt to fame after performing at the Embers in New York City where John Hammond saw the band play and signed them to Okeh Records. Hammond, a record producer who discovered the talents and enhanced the fame of musicians like Benny Goodman, Billie Holiday, and Count Basie, also helped Jamal's trio attract critical acclaim. Jamal subsequently recorded for Parrot (1953–55) and Epic (1955) using the piano-guitar-bass lineup.

At the Pershing: But Not For Me

The trio's sound changed significantly when Crawford was replaced with drummer Vernel Fournier in 1957, and the group worked as the "House Trio" at Chicago's Pershing Hotel. The trio released the live album, Live at the Pershing: But Not For Me, which stayed on the Ten Best-selling charts for 108 weeks. Jamal's well known song "Poinciana" was first released on this album.

Perhaps Jamal's most famous recording and undoubtedly the one that brought him vast popularity in the late 1950s and into the 1960s jazz age, At the Pershing was recorded at the Pershing Hotel in Chicago in 1958. Jamal played the set with bassist Israel Crosby and drummer Vernel Fournier. The set list expressed a diverse collection of tunes, including "The Surrey with the Fringe On Top" from the musical Oklahoma! and Jamal's arrangement of the jazz standard "Poinciana". Jazz musicians and listeners alike found inspiration in the At the Pershing recording, and Jamal's trio was recognized as an integral new building block in the history of jazz. Evident were his unusually minimalist style and his extended vamps, according to reviewer John Morthland. "If you're looking for an argument that pleasurable mainstream art can assume radical status at the same time, Jamal is your guide," said The New York Times contributor Ben Ratliff in a review of the album.

After the recording of the best-selling album But Not For Me, Jamal's music grew in popularity throughout the 1950s, and he attracted media coverage for his investment decisions pertaining to his "rising fortune". In 1959, he took a tour of North Africa to explore investment options in Africa. Jamal, who was twenty-nine at the time, said he had a curiosity about the homeland of his ancestors, highly influenced by his conversion to the Muslim faith. He also said his religion had brought him peace of mind about his race, which accounted for his "growth in the field of music that has proved very lucrative for me." Upon his return to the U.S. after a tour of North Africa, the financial success of Live at the Pershing: But Not For Me allowed Jamal to open a restaurant and club called The Alhambra in Chicago. In 1962, The Three Strings disbanded and Jamal moved to New York City, where, at the age of 32, he took a three-year hiatus from his musical career.

Return to music and The Awakening

In 1964, Jamal resumed touring and recording, this time with the bassist Jamil Nasser and recorded a new album, Extensions, in 1965. Jamal and Nasser continued to play and record together from 1964 to 1972. He also joined forces with Fournier (again, but only for about a year) and drummer Frank Gant (1966–76), among others. Until 1970, he played acoustic piano exclusively. The final album on which he played acoustic piano in the regular sequence was The Awakening. In the 1970s, he played electric piano as well. It was rumored that the Rhodes piano was a gift from someone in Switzerland. He continued to play throughout the 1970s and 1980s, mostly in trios with piano, bass and drums, but he occasionally expanded the group to include guitar. One of his most long-standing gigs was as the band for the New Year's Eve celebrations at Blues Alley in Washington, D.C., from 1979 through the 1990s.

Later career

In 1986, Jamal sued critic Leonard Feather for using his former name in a publication.

Clint Eastwood featured two recordings from Jamal's But Not For Me album — "Music, Music, Music" and "Poinciana" — in the 1995 movie The Bridges of Madison County.

Now in his eighties, Ahmad Jamal has continued to make numerous tours and recordings. His most recently released albums are Saturday Morning (2013), and the CD/DVD release Ahmad Jamal Featuring Yusef Lateef Live at L'Olympia (2014).

Jamal is the main mentor of jazz piano virtuosa Hiromi Uehara, known as Hiromi.

Style and influence

Trained in both traditional jazz ("American classical music", as he prefers to call it) and European classical style, Ahmad Jamal has been praised as one of the greatest jazz innovators over his exceptionally long career. Following bebop greats like Charlie Parker and Dizzy Gillespie, Jamal entered the world of jazz at a time when speed and virtuosic improvisation were central to the success of jazz musicians as artists. Jamal, however, took steps in the direction of a new movement, later coined "cool jazz" – an effort to move jazz in the direction of popular music. He emphasized space and time in his musical compositions and interpretations instead of focusing on the blinding speed of bebop.

Because of this style, Jamal was "often dismissed by jazz writers as no more than a cocktail pianist, a player so given to fluff that his work shouldn't be considered seriously in any artistic sense". Stanley Crouch, author of Considering Genius, offers a very different reaction to Jamal's music, claiming that, like the highly influential Thelonious Monk, Jamal was a true innovator of the jazz tradition and is second in importance in the development of jazz after 1945 only to Parker. His unique musical style stemmed from many individual characteristics, including his use of orchestral effects and his ability to control the beat of songs. These stylistic choices resulted in a unique and new sound for the piano trio: "Through the use of space and changes of rhythm and tempo", writes Crouch, "Jamal invented a group sound that had all the surprise and dynamic variation of an imaginatively ordered big band." Jamal explored the texture of riffs, timbres, and phrases rather than the quantity or speed of notes in any given improvisation. Speaking about Jamal, A. B. Spellman of the National Endowment of the Arts said: "Nobody except Thelonious Monk used space better, and nobody ever applied the artistic device of tension and release better." These (at the time) unconventional techniques that Jamal gleaned from both traditional classical and contemporary jazz musicians helped pave the way for later jazz greats like Bill Evans, Herbie Hancock, and McCoy Tyner.

Though Jamal is often overlooked by jazz critics and historians, he is frequently credited with having a great influence on Miles Davis. Davis is quoted as saying that he was impressed by Jamal's rhythmic sense and his "concept of space, his lightness of touch, his understatement". Jamal characterizes what he thought Davis admired about his music as: "my discipline as opposed to my space." Jamal and Davis became friends in the 1950s, and Davis continued to support Jamal as a fellow musician, often playing versions of Jamal's own songs ("Ahmad's Blues", "New Rhumba") until he died in 1991.

Jamal, speaking about his own work says, "I like doing ballads. They're hard to play. It takes years of living, really, to read them properly." From an early age, Jamal developed an appreciation for the lyrics of the songs he learned: "I once heard Ben Webster playing his heart out on a ballad. All of a sudden he stopped. I asked him, 'Why did you stop, Ben?' He said, 'I forgot the lyrics.'" Jamal attributes the variety in his musical taste to the fact that he grew up in several eras: the big band era, the bebop years, and the electronic age. He says his style evolved from drawing on the techniques and music produced in these three eras. In 1985, Jamal agreed to do an interview and recording session with his fellow jazz pianist, Marian McPartland on her NPR show Piano Jazz. Jamal, who said he rarely plays "But Not For Me" due to its popularity since his 1958 recording, played an improvised version of the tune – though only after noting that he has moved on to making ninety percent of his repertoire his own compositions. He said that when he grew in popularity from the Live at the Pershing album, he was severely criticized afterwards for not playing any of his own compositions.

In more recent years, Jamal has embraced the electronic influences affecting the genre of jazz. He has also occasionally expanded his usual small ensemble of three to include a tenor saxophone (George Coleman) and a violin. A jazz fan interviewed by Down Beat magazine about Jamal in 2010 described his development as "more aggressive and improvisational these days. The word I used to use is avant garde; that might not be right. Whatever you call it, the way he plays is the essence of what jazz is."

Saxophonist Ted Nash, a longtime member of the Lincoln Center Orchestra, had the opportunity to play with Jamal in 2008 for Jazz at Lincoln Center. Nash described his experience with Jamal's style in an interview with Down Beat magazine: "The way he comped wasn't the generic way that lots of pianists play with chords in the middle of the keyboard, just filling things up. He gave lots of single line responses. He'd come back and throw things out at you, directly from what you played. It was really interesting because it made you stop, and allowed him to respond, and then you felt like playing something else – that's something I don't feel with a lot of piano players. It's really quite engaging. I guess that's another reason people focus in on him. He makes them hone in [sic]."

Bands and personnel

Jamal typically plays with a bassist and drummer: his current trio is with bassist Reginald Veal and drummer Herlin Riley. He has also performed with percussionist Manolo Badrena. Jamal has recorded with the voices of the Howard A. Roberts Chorale on The Bright, the Blue and the Beautiful and Cry Young; with vibraphonist Gary Burton on In Concert; with brass, reeds, and strings celebrating his hometown of Pittsburgh; with The Assai Quartet; and with saxophonist George Coleman on the album The Essence.

Awards and honors

1959: Entertainment Award, Pittsburgh Junior Chamber of Commerce

1980: Distinguished Service Award, City of Washington D.C., Anacostia Neighborhood Museum, Smithsonian Institution

1981: Nomination, Best R&B Instrumental Performance ("You're Welcome", "Stop on By"), NARAS

1986: Mellon Jazz Festival Salutes Ahmad Jamal, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania

1987: Honorary Membership, Philippines Jazz Foundation

1994: American Jazz Masters award, National Endowment for the Arts

2001: Arts & Culture Recognition Award, National Coalition of 100 Black Women

2001: Kelly-Strayhorn Gallery of Stars, for Achievements as Pianist and Composer, East Liberty Quarter Chamber of Commerce

2003: American Jazz Hall of Fame, New Jersey Jazz Society

2003: Gold Medallion, Steinway & Sons 150 Years Celebration (1853–2003)

2007: Living Jazz Legend, Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts

2007: Ordre des Arts et des Lettres, French government

2011: Down Beat Hall of Fame, 76th Readers Poll

2015: Honorary Doctorate of Music, The New England Conservatory

Discography

As leader

1951: Ahmad's Blues (Okeh)

1955: Ahmad Jamal Plays (Parrot) – also released as Chamber Music of the New Jazz (Argo)

1955: The Ahmad Jamal Trio (Epic)

1956: Count 'Em 88 (Argo)

1958: At the Pershing: But Not for Me (Argo)

1958: At the Pershing, Vol. 2 (Argo)

1958: Ahmad Jamal Trio Volume IV (Argo)

1958: Portfolio of Ahmad Jamal (Argo)

1959: The Piano Scene of Ahmad Jamal (Epic)

1959: Jamal at the Penthouse (Argo)

1960: Happy Moods (Argo)

1960: Listen to the Ahmad Jamal Quintet (Argo)

1961: All of You (Argo)

1961: Ahmad Jamal's Alhambra (Argo)

1962: Ahmad Jamal at the Blackhawk (Argo)

1962: Macanudo (Argo)

1963: Poinciana (Argo)

1964: Naked City Theme (Argo)

1965: The Roar of the Greasepaint (Argo)

1965: Extensions (Argo)

1966: Rhapsody (Cadet)

1966: Heat Wave (Cadet)

1967: Cry Young (Cadet)

1968: The Bright, the Blue and the Beautiful (Cadet)

1968: Tranquility (ABC)

1968: Ahmad Jamal at the Top: Poinciana Revisited (Impulse!)

1970: The Awakening (Impulse!)

1971: Freeflight (Impulse!)

1972: Outertimeinnerspace (Impulse!)

1973: Ahmad Jamal '73 (20th Century)

1974: Jamalca (20th Century)

1974: Jamal Plays Jamal (20th Century)

1975: Genetic Walk (20th Century)

1976: Steppin' Out with a Dream (20th Century)

1976: Recorded Live at Oil Can Harry's (Catalyst)

1978: One (20th Century)

1980: Intervals (20th Century)

1980: Live at Bubba's (Who's Who in Jazz)

1980: Night Song (Motown)

1981: In Concert (Personal Choice Records)

1982: American Classical Music (Shubra)

1985: Digital Works (Atlantic)

1985: Live at the Montreal Jazz Festival 1985 (Atlantic)

1986: Rossiter Road (Atlantic)

1987: Crystal (Atlantic)

1989: Pittsburgh (Atlantic)

1992: Live in Paris 1992 (Birdology)

1992: Chicago Revisited (Telarc)

1994: I Remember Duke, Hoagy & Strayhorn (Telarc)

1994: Ahmad Jamal with The Assai Quartet (Roesch)

1994: Ahmad Jamal at Home (Roesch)

1995: The Essence Part One (Birdology)

1995: Big Byrd: The Essence Part 2 (Birdology)

1996: Live in Paris 1996 (Birdology)

1997: Nature: The Essence Part Three (Birdology)

2000: Picture Perfect

2001: Ahmad Jamal à l'Olympia

2003: In Search of Momentum

2005: After Fajr

2008: It's Magic

2008: Poinciana – One Night Only

2009: A Quiet Time

2012: Blue Moon (Jazzbook)

2013: Saturday Morning (Jazzbook)

2014: Ahmad Jamal featuring Yusef Lateef, Live at L'Olympia. 2012 — 2 CDs/1 DVD (Jazzbook/Bose/Jazz Village)

2017: Marseille (Jazz Village)

Compilations

1967: Standard Eyes (Cadet)

1972: Inspiration (Cadet)

1974: Re-evaluations: The Impulse! Years (Impulse!)

1980: The Best of Ahmad Jamal (20th Century)

1998: Ahmad Jamal 1956–66 Recordings

1998: Cross Country Tour 1958–1961 (GRP/Chess)

2005: The Legendary Okeh & Epic Recordings (1951–1955) (Columbia Legacy)

2007: Complete Live at the Pershing Lounge 1958 (Gambit)

2007: Complete Live at the Spotlite Club 1958 (Gambit)

As sideman

With Ray Brown

Some of My Best Friends Are...The Piano Players (Telarc, 1994)

With Shirley Horn

May the Music Never End (Verve, 2003)

Wikipedia

#Ahmad Jamal #07-02

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newamsterdame · 6 years

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(also different anon) what about your infleunces with morgan le fay and yami yugi? you also don't have answer this one

so i can’t really remember when i first became aware of king arthur— it’s one of those ubiquitous myths, in the anglo-american world, and i think it must have been part of my psyche before i was ever really conscious of it. but i do know i’ve always been really invested in the story— maybe because, going to disneyland as a kid, being chosen to pull the sword from the stone was a Big Deal.

anyway. when i was in elementary school, i got really into a series of arthurian retellings by gerald morris, called the squire’s tales. they’re a really amazing series— he takes specific medieval tellings of arthurian myths, and rewrites them into a larger landscape that attempts to pull everything together and make sense of the different tones and tellings. it’s an amazing, amazing series. there are a lot of great characters, morris’ tone has both irreverence and gravitas, and he centers a lot of characters who can get sidelined or ignored in most modern retellings. (he really focuses on gawain, who is, consequently, my favorite knight of the round table.)

i think it’s through morris’ treatment of morgan le fay that i became interested in her. she’s very ambiguous in his work— she’s a sorceress who teaches other sorceresses, and she’s at times mocked for her vanity. but she’s also sympathetic, and her love for arthur is as sincere as it is forbidden. she doesn’t fall on either side of the conflict cleanly, but she’s clearly important and sensible and impressive. people are scared of her, but she’s also sir gawain’s favorite relative and a reliable mentor to young women throughout the (long) series. she’s incredible.

i think what struck me most about her was her position in this epic story about good versus evil— she’s really neither. she’s not a golden figure like arthur, always struggling to work for the good of others. she’s not even like guinevere, who’s generally good but undone by a central failing. no, morgan is vain and selfish and petty, but she’s also guided by her own set of central principles. and she has power. her power doesn’t fit into the world that arthur is trying to create— she’s magic in a world of government and war— but she has it, nonetheless. and that’s incredible.

so i followed morgan’s character through every piece of media i could find her in— the merlin bbc series, mzb’s questionably feminist-centric retellings, etc etc. she’s always my favorite, and i have a lot of feelings about stories in which she’s directly conflated with morgause. and i’ve read a lot of “original” arthurian storytelling, and done academic research on it, and although all the main players are dear to me, morgan remains special.

i love her power and conviction, and the tragic image of her taking arthur back to avalon.

but she’s also one of the earliest versions of an archetype i really love— the woman who’s painted as evil or mysterious because her morals don’t align with the world’s systems. there are so many women who cannot be golden and true the way men can be, because the system of good and evil was created and upheld by men. so obviously, women acting within it could never be so perfect.

characters like irene adler and natasha romanov and others really come to mind, here. those who aren’t bad or villainous, per se, but just don’t get to be seen as straightforwardly heroic as their male counterparts. i think they are a part of morgan’s legacy.

she’s the greatest and i love her.

—

as for yami, this ask is about to take an entirely different turn and for that i apologize. but oh wow, i was obsessed with yu-gi-oh! when i was like, in fourth grade. and yami’s character was probably what got me really interested in memory loss plotlines, and how you can develop character through them. because he’s got a lot of personality, hasn’t he, without knowing who he is. he’s this ostensibly very competent, very intimidating, and even chaotic character who exists just to win at card games. which is a little bit tragic and a lot hilarious. but i took him very seriously, as a child, and all of his struggles felt very real to me.

and then he was a pharaoh, and there were these glimpses of him with brown skin, and boy oh boy did i latch onto any character who had brown skin. all like, two and a half of them.

i think i liked yami’s confidence, his wisdom, the way he was removed from the childish antics of yugi’s main group and kaiba’s melodrama. yami, in my mind, deserved to be the one screaming and suffering, since his mind was a puzzle-like fortress even to himself!! and he made mistakes and took things too far and had magical wind-machine jackets. so obviously he was the coolest and i was 100% in love with him.

the egypt arc is still my favorite thing ever. you may be noticing a trend, by this point, but i love characters who are put in positions of rulership and then give something up in order to be good to their people. and of course there’s a humor to that in the yu-gi-oh! context, since they’re playing games etc etc. but there’s also a sincerity to it, and yami’s confusion in reinhabiting his old life and trying to figure out his memories and relearn his relationships was always really cool to me.

so yeah, he was my favorite. plus he had like magicians and monsters at his beck and call, and who doesn’t want that??? also i love strategist characters, and being good at games = being good at strategy.

#long post ///#quality reply blog #formative influences

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aion-rsa · 3 years

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Upcoming Jason Momoa Movies and TV Shows to Watch Out For

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Jason Momoa is everywhere. The former Game of Thrones actor is riding high after starring in the popular film Sweet Girl on Netflix, with Season 2 of his Apple TV+ series See set to start streaming this weekend and a key role in Denis Villeneuve’s hotly anticipated Dune adaptation on deck. Oh, and as the DCEU continues to shift and change, he’s still the only Arthur Curry, aka Aquaman, in sight. Not bad for a guy who got his start on Baywatch: Hawaii.

Things aren’t slowing down any time soon for Momoa. Besides the projects listed above, the actor has a few other big things planned down the road. If you just finished Netflix’s Sweet Girl and you’re looking for more Momoa in your life, here’s where you can expect to see the King of Atlantis next.

See Season 2

Streaming August 26

Apple TV+’s sci-fi dystopian series is set in a far-off future in which humanity collectively lost the sense of sight. Season 1 found Momoa’s Baba Voss reuniting with his sighted stepson Kofun (Archie Madekwe) after defeating Jerlamarel (Joshua Henry), another sighted man who had fathered kids like Kofun all while having a weird messiah complex.

In season 2, Momoa’s Baba will have to go toe-to-toe with another big bad preoccupied with the possibility of returning sight to the world, his brother Edo Voss, played by Dave Bautista. It’s clear from early looks of season 2 that there’s some bad blood between the hulking brothers, and with season 2 bringing in a new showrunner, Warrior‘s Jonathan Tropper, we can expect the action scenes to be even more explosive in year two.

Dune

In theaters and on HBO Max on Oct. 22

After a failed Alejandro Jodorowsky adaptation, and a polarizing one from David Lynch, Frank Herbert’s “unfilmable” science fiction classic, Dune, will once again hit theaters and streaming this October. Once slated for a Christmas time release, Denis Villenuve’s Dune aims to capture the scale of the epic novel, with huge battles and even larger sand worms.

In a packed cast that also includes Timothée Chalamet, Zendaya, Oscar Isaac, Rebecca Ferguson, Dave Bautista, and many more A-listers, Jason Momoa is playing Duncan Idaho, the swordmaster of House Atreides. Loyal to protagonist Paul, the ducal heir of House Atreides, Duncan is a mentor to Paul and an ambassador to the Fremen, the inhabitants of the the planet Arrakis.

There’s no telling if Villenuve’s Dune will make the hard science fiction of its source material palatable for a wide audience, but Momoa has had success in parts tied to beloved novels before, and there’s no doubt he’ll make Duncan Idaho into something memorable on screen.

Aquaman and the Last Kingdom

In theaters Dec. 16, 2022

Production has begun on the second Aquaman film, but the plot of the Jason Momoa-starrer mostly remains obscured in murky water. However, returning director James Wan has provided an intriguing update that references a cult classic 1960s Italian horror film as its main source of inspiration.

“Aquaman 2 is very heavily inspired by Planet of the Vampires,” Wan recently told Total Film. “You can take the boy out of horror but you can never take the horror out the boy.”

But does the cult-classic Mario Bava sci-fi film about spaceships haunted by mysterious alien lifeforms fit into the underwater superhero aesthetic of Aquaman? Wan thinks the fans will roll with it.

“Well, the first movie took a lot of people by surprise, right?” Wan said. “And that’s partially because they were not familiar with the comic book, which deals in this very lurid, strange world. People were taken aback that I didn’t throw all that stuff away and make a dark, heavy film. But I didn’t feel that would have been right for it. So, with the second film, I feel it will be easier for people to accept where we go because I’ve already laid the foundation.”

We’ll see exactly where Wan, Momoa, and company will go when Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom hits theaters on Dec. 16, 2022.

The Last Manhunt

Release Date TBD

Filming on this Western has been completed for some time, and the movie was set to premiere Aug. 27 at Pioneertown International Film Festival before the event was delayed by the surging COVID-19 Delta variant.

Jason Momoa exec produced and has a story credit on The Last Manhunt, which is based on true events. According to the synopsis, the film follows a Native American cowboy known as Willie Boy, who was chased into the hills by a sheriff’s posse in 1909 after Willie Boy fell in love with a woman named Carlota. Carlota’s father, a Chemehuevi shaman and local tribal leader, refused to let the young couple be together, and in a fatal confrontation, Carlota’s father was killed by an accidental gun shot and the young lovers fled to the sun enslaved Mohave desert.

The film was shot near where the actual events took place and local tribes were recruited to appear in the movie as extras or stand-ins. Momoa, who was originally onboard to direct but had to back out due to other commitment, was said to have fallen in love with the story and was insistent on getting the input of tribal members. The story was adapted to film once before in Robert Redford’s Tell Them Willie Boy Is Here.

The film stars Martin Sensmeier as Willie Boy, Mainei Kinimaka as Carlota, and Momoa appears In a brief role as Big Jim. Directed by Momoa’s See costar Christian Camargo, The Last Manhunt currently does not have a scheduled release date.

Slumberland

TBD 2022

From Hunger Games franchise director Francis Lawrence, Slumberland is a live-action adaptation of the comic book series Little Nemo in Slumberland by Winsor McCay. Taking a gender-flipped approach to the source material, Slumberland tells the story of a young girl (Marlow Barkley) who discovers a secret map to the dreamworld of Slumberland, and with the help of an eccentric outlaw, she traverses through dreams and flees nightmares, with the hope that she will see her late father again. Guess who will be playing that eccentric outlaw.

No, you’re not dreaming—that’s Jason Momoa with a full set of horns. Here’s a sneak peek behind the scenes at SLUMBERLAND, a new adventure story about an eccentric outlaw (Momoa) who guides a young hero (Marlow Barkley) through a secret dreamworld. Coming to Netflix in 2022. pic.twitter.com/QZIaQbk7HM

— NetflixFilm (@NetflixFilm) April 6, 2021

Momoa looks wonderful sporting big horns and extravagant outfit. His character, Flip, is described as a “nine-foot-tall creature that is half-man, half-beast, has shaggy fur, and long curved tusks.” They’ve certainly have got the man for the job.

Slumberland will also feature Weruche Opia, India de Beaufort, Kyle Chandler, and Chris O’Dowd rounding out the ensemble cast.

Cliffhanger

(TBD)

A female-led reboot of Sylvester Stallone’s Cliffhanger is in the works from director Iranian-American filmmaker Ana Lily Amirpour.

Speaking to Deadline, Amirpour said, “I instantly knew the elements of the story I wanted to tell. There’s a special place in my heart for an action-survival movie. I’ve always been attracted to the theme of mountain climbers who, like filmmakers, have a certain madness to them. I love genre and fantasy and in this type of survival film you’re playing with real fear.”

“We are setting out to create a thrill-ride on the mountain which taps into the primal side of an action movie, where you see what a person is capable of doing to survive in the most extreme situations, pushed to the limits,” she continued. “Add to that some high-stakes espionage and a badass female mountain climber as the lead and it becomes a truly epic reinvention of what made the original Cliffhanger movie so fun and so thrilling.”

There’s no word on casting for the female lead, but Momoa is said to be involved in the film, with at least a cameo planned for the actor. Momoa confirmed as much with a post on his Instagram.

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A post shared by Jason Momoa (@prideofgypsies)

Untitled Momoa-Dave Bautista Buddy Cop Movie

TBD

What started as a text exchange between two frequent co-stars has now become a public promise: we are going to get a Jason Momoa/Dave Bautista buddy cop film at some point.

After Bautista tweeted about the idea, Momoa took things even further by going on The Late Late Show with James Corden and expanding on the idea.

“[Bautista] literally texted me four days ago, going, ‘We need to do a buddy cop film,’” Momoa told Corden. “We love each other. We are on See and Dune together. And I said, ‘Absolutely.’ And he said, ‘Let’s do it in Hawaii.’ And I said, ‘Let’s do it. I have an idea.’ So it’s off to the races now. We’re doing it.”

“It sells itself, bro,” he continued. “Dave loves wearing Speedos. I love wearing board shorts. And both of us with our shirts off. He’ll be grumpy and I’ll be charming. Boom. It sells itself, bro. I have the hair. He doesn’t have hair. We cover all the demographics.”

Obviously this project is in a very early stage, but Momoa is right — this thing sells itself. Sign us up for opening day tickets, please!

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