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diana-bookfairchild · 2 years

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@flufftober Day 22: "Have you heard?"

“Why on earth wouldn’t you tell me you were cheating on me with Harry, Hermione?” Ron asked loudly and dramatically, as he sat down.

Both Harry and Hermione looked up in surprise. They were in the Ministry canteen, waiting for Ron, who had volunteered to go up to the Muggle Relations Department because his and Harry’s newest case required it. “What d’you mean?” Harry asked puzzled. He was pretty sure Ron had gotten over that particularly insecurity and jealousy. He sounded more mocking than serious, anyway.

Ron pouted exaggeratedly. “Jenkins told me that he heard from Bhatt who heard from Smith who heard from her girlfriend that Hermione kissed your cheek yesterday, Harry.”

“Eleanor Smith’s girlfriend?” Harry scoffed. “Isn’t that Romilda Vane? Still in Hogwarts?”

Ron shrugged, stealing what he liked from the other two’s plates. Neither of them protested, too used to it at that point. “There were probably another hundred names through which the rumours came. Got fed up listening, though.”

Hermione looked amused. “What exactly did you tell Jenkins?”

Ron shrugged. “Nothing. The poor bloke looked terrified anyway.”

“Well, he was facing Ron Weasley the Legend, the War Hero, the Capturer of the Hollow Tree Murderer,” Harry teased.

“Says the Boy-Who-Live, the Man Who Conquered and the one who finally caught Travers, Yaxley and Liswood.” Ron tossed the compliment right back at him without hesitation.

“Says the one who helped incarcerate the Lestrange brothers—”

“Says the one who spearhead the Auror department reform and solves more cold cases than anyone else—”

“Says the one being consulted by the Minister for strategy—”

“Boys, boys, you’re both pretty,” Hermione muttered patronizingly under her breath.

Harry and Ron caught one another’s eyes and grinned. “Says the great Hermione Granger,” Harry began melodramatically. “Brains of the Golden Trio!”

“Campaigner for House-Elf and Creature rights!”

“Rising star in Legislation and the Wizengamot!”

“The one who got all Os in her NEWTs!”

“Who discovered all sorts of new charms to—”

“Stop it, stop it!” Hermione said, flustered now. She was the bossiest and most know-it-all person Harry had ever met, he thought with fondness swelling up, but also so bad at taking compliments. It was kind of pathetic.

“You’re the one who’s lecturing him all the time about how ‘modesty can be overdone too, Harry’,” Ron said in an amazing imitation of Hermione’s fussily scolding tone, jabbing a thumb in Harry’s direction.

“Yeah, don’t be a hypocrite, Hermione,” Harry said cheerfully. “Learn how to accept credit better.”

“If the two of you don’t shup up now,” Hermione said in a dark tone. “I’m not offering any help on your latest case. And you won’t be going anywhere public for months by the time I’m done with you.”

Both of them instantly shut up. The combination of Hermione’s knowledge of runes, arithmancy and obscure enchantments and her voracious appetite for research, combined with Ron’s everyday wizard knowledge and knack for strategy and Harry’s observations, instincts, knowledge of Dark Curses and Magical Defense and top-notch duelling was what made the three of them an unstoppable team. And he’d never heard Hermione make a truly empty threat before. He loved Hermione, she was his best friend, but he still had an appropriate amount of awe and possibly a little fear for her.

Then again. . . Harry and Ron lived recklessly. Their eyes locked.

“As Her Highness Hermione commands,” Harry said gravely. Hermione closed her eyes in the resigned defeat they spotted on her whenever she realized what idiots she’d tied the rest of her life to: her boyfriend and best friend.

“Could never even dream of disobeying her,” Ron agreed, sounding like he was giving a eulogy with how serious he was.

“You two are the worst.”

“Have you heard?” Ron asked the moment Hermione, Harry and Ginny set foot into his and Harry’s joint office. Ron’s side was as cluttered as ever, Harry’s as painfully clean too. Hermione frowned. She wished she’d done more for her best friend while he’d been with those godawful people. Half a dozen magical photos waved jauntily at them – Harry, Ron and Hermione in fourth year, laughing; the entire Weasley family in Grimmauld Place; Harry, Ginny, Hermione and Ron in sixth year after the first two had started dating; Harry holding Teddy, beaming proudly; the DA in the Room of Requirement; and the Weasley family the Christmas after Victoire was born, all wearing Weasley sweaters – including Fleur, Harry, Hermione, Audrey and Teddy. “Ginny, you’re cheating on Harry again.”

Ginny scoffed. “Really, Ron, you’ve turned into a serious gossip maid.”

As Ron sputtered in indignant offence, Harry turned to his girlfriend with a mischievous grin. “Well, who is it this time?”

“Draco Malfoy,” Hermione said, torn between amusement and irritation at how he was playing along.

Harry’s nose wrinkled. “The Ferret? Really, Gin? Always figured you’d have better taste than that.”

Ginny laughed. “Sorry love, next time, I’ll get caught on camera with Neville or Luna,” She promised solemnly. “Is that better?”

“Much,” Harry said just as solemnly. “If I’m being cheated on, there should be standards. Malfoy would be smug forever if he thought he stole my girlfriend,” He made a face.

“Well, unluckily for him, I’m too much in love with my boyfriend to ever consider anything like that,” Ginny said with a smile. Harry looked absolutely besotted as they leaned in to kiss. Hermione had never seen her best friend like that before Ginny. He’d been head-over-heels for Cho, awkward with Parvati and half-resentful half-admiring with Cedric, but she’d never seen the look of pure-comfort-and-just-enjoying-spending-time-together on him.

“Ugh,” Ron complained, miming vomiting. Hermione chuckled and kissed his cheek. Slightly mollified, he still continued, “Ginny, why do you have to pounce on my best friend every time you come to our office?”

Harry blushed lightly. Hermione knew it still touched every time one of the Weasleys declared he was family, that Harry was the one who needed protecting from Ginny. “You’re one to talk,” Harry said, snorting. “You positively paw at Hermione every time you see her.”

Hermione instantly took back every single good thing she’d thought or said about Harry Potter.

“We’re not talking about this!” Ron said in an annoyed tone. “We’re talking about how many rumours are there about the two of you.”

“Like there aren’t nearly as many about you and Hermione,” Ginny said, rolling her eyes.

“Nearly,” Hermione felt the need to emphasize because apparently hanging around her boys for nearly a decade had made her as pettily pedantic as them.

Ginny waved it off impatiently. “Besides, the three of you have more rumours about you than either of us couples.” Somehow, she didn’t sound at all resentful. Hermione marvelled at how well Ginny understood Harry and his very oddly intense friendships with her and Ron.

“What?!” Ron squawked in outrage. “Hermione, come on, we have to spread some more rumours ourselves. We’re not getting outdone by Harry the bastard who broods about cases all day!”

“Did you miss the ‘three of you’ in her sentence?” Hermione said witheringly.

Harry and Ginny rolled their eyes as the couple began to playfully bicker, and resigned themselves to a much later dinner double date than planned.

“Have you heard?” Ron asked after the latest DA reunion had ended. George, Luna, Ron and Hermione were the last remaining in Harry and Ginny’s house. George was entertaining Teddy and Luna and Ginny were talking in the garden, leaving only the trio to clean up like the traitors the lot of them were.

“What is it this time?” Hermione asked interestedly.

“Apparently, we’re planning on taking over the wizarding world using muggle technology and science.” Ron said, smirking.

“People finally figured out that muggles are something to worry about, then?” Harry asked, stifling a yawn and trying to discern if the goo on the carpet could be vanished.

“I agree that it’s about time, but where on earth would they even get that idea?” Hermione asked, frowned. “It’s not like we’re the best at keeping in touch with the other side.”

“I don’t know,” Harry grinned. “I think we’re leagues better than the guy who got arrested for breaking the Statue last week.”

Ron snorted in agreement, and Hermione laughed at the reminder. “He was even funnier than the one who wanted to wear a nightgown during the World Cup before fourth year. Remember?”

“I remember you couldn’t stop laughing for ages,” Ron teased. Hermione childishly stuck her tongue out at him. “Anyway, I think it’s because of your Muggle-Born-and-Raised-Gatherings and because of the flat. Or maybe because you were seen using your tablet, Harry.”

“I don’t know what they’re worried about the meetings,” Harry rolled his eyes. “Hermione made us watch Pride and Prejudice. Pride. And. Flipping. Prejudice.”

Hermione rolled her eyes right back. “You like the book, Harry.”

“The book. The move is so boring I was asleep within ten seconds, Hermione. Still,” He added thoughtfully. “It was a bit of a rest. Department’s been hectic these days.”

“Yeah, it really has,” Ron agreed over Hermione’s admonishments of not sleeping in committee meetings. “You have any idea why?”

“Nope. You should, though, you’re the one who has dirt on everyone and everything.”

“I refuse to see why that’s a bad thing,” Ron sniffed in a very Hermione-like way.

“I’m not sure I should be telling you this. . . .” Hermione chewed on her lip.

“Oh, come on, Hermione,” Ron persuaded. “You haven’t kept something from us since the time turner fiasco in third year.”

“I don’t know. . . .”

“It’s us, Hermione.” Harry argued. It was the best argument he could make. The three of them kept nearly nothing from one another.

“Oh, okay,” She conceded. “I heard Urquhart and Gibbins talking to Robards. He’s thinking about retiring.”

“Bloody hell,” Ron gaped. “No wonder there’s the fuss. Robards is the best Head Auror we’ve had in a while! He’s pretty much in charge of Law Enforcement too, since Madam Gibbins is pregnant. He got us through the War and the cleanup. Who’s going to replace him?”

“Er. . . .” Harry cleared his throat. “So. Maybe I do know a bit more now that I know that. . . . Robards has been dumping a lot of pape– parchmentwork on me and lecturing me about leadership and recklessness. . . .”

“Have you heard?” Hermione asked.

“I can’t believe Ron has managed to corrupt you too like this, Hermione,” Harry said solemnly. “I – I really thought that it would be the two of us against his insanity, but I should have known better than to expect loyalty from my best friend—”

“Ron is your best friend,” Hermione dismissed with a roll of her eyes, half affectionate, half irritated. “And I’m serious, Harry.”

“I thought you were Hermione and anyway I’ve never known you not to be—” Harry started and then stopped at the look she gave him. “Okay, what is it?”

Hermione took a deep breath. “Your Wizengamot seat, Harry. Ever since you’ve become Head of Law Enforcement, that adds a third seat to your assets.”

Harry nodded, confused. “Yeah, I know that. I’ve been using that only. The hereditary Black and Potter ones make me. . .” He shrugged. “Uncomfortable.”

“Those old codgers brought up this law that people related to part-humans aren’t allowed to inherit the seats.” Hermione blurted out.

It took Harry a moment to sort through the relevance. “No,” He said flatly. “They didn’t.”

“They did, mate.” Ron said, looking apologetic, striding into Harry’s office.

“What are we doing about it?” Harry asked furiously.

“I’m looking into how to discredit the ones bringing up the law already,” the Head of Wizarding Legislation said instantly. “There are a couple of caveats and loopholes we can use, Harry. We can deal with this, Harry. Hopefully by next year. Definitely by the time he finishes third year and has to begin the process of taking it over.”

“Oh, Teddy,” Ron realized, and anger spread over his face. He was apparently just realizing how this law affected them personally. Harry had recently declared Teddy the heir to the Black seat and Andromeda his regent and made clear that Ginny would be regent for the Potter one until Jamie, Al or Lily came of age and wanted it. “Don’t worry, Harry. Teddy won’t even know about this. We’ll crush them.” He vowed. “I’ll talk to some of the Wizengamot members who come into the shop and see their views and try to persuade them. We’ll get George to spread the word through his products too.”

Harry felt a rush of affection for his friends, who who had never left his side, who would follow him to the end of the world, who knew what he needed before he did himself.

“Have you heard?” Hermione asked in a mock whisper. “He’s leaving us here, languishing working for the Ministry, while he goes works for his brother and has fun without us.”

“Yes,” Harry nodded, feigning seriousness. “Even your betrayal of stooping to a plebian ‘Have you heard’ pales compared to his.”

“Oi, shut up.” Ron grumbled. “Not my fault the two of you have a ‘saving people thing’ that’ll never end.”

Harry thought about his job. His exhilaration at duelling, the way he got engrossed in every case, the relief and joy he got at putting people meaning harm behind bars, how he got to weed out corruption at the heart of their world. It may not be all that wonderful – not all gold glitters gold – but he loved it. He knew Hermione felt similarly, the same rush of pride and happiness and relief every time she won a case, every time one of her laws passed.

Ron had never been like them. Now that all the Death Eaters were behind bars, now that Harry was Head of Magical Law Enforcement and would no longer need a partner as often, he would be happier running his bakery and co-managing the shop with George who had been a bit listless since Angelina had gone back to work a year after having Roxanne.

“Now Hermione and I will be alone all the more often having lunch and stuff and ‘Golden Trio Love Square’ will be in the headlines a lot more often,” Harry said, half actually irritated and half mocking.

“On that note, the press thinks you’re either a drug addict or terminally ill because you’ve been looking tired recently.” Ron said brightly.

“I’d like them go through the shift to a new job with more work while dealing with four kids at home and preparing one of them for Hogwarts,” Harry grumbled.

“You know what the press is like,” Hermione said sympathetically.

Harry sighed. “Well, we’re living legends. Guess I’m never escaping this nonsense, huh?”

“Never escaping us either, mate.” Ron said, wrapping an arm around his shoulders.

“Never.” Hermione vowed.

Harry smiled softly. “Never,” He agreed.

#flufftober #flufftober2022 #day 22 #harry potter #the golden trio #golden trio friendship #golden trio #canon compliant #platonic relationships #post deathly hallows #implied hinny and romione #ron weasley #hermione granger #fanfic

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mvrbleghcstsarchived · 2 years

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Winter Market Plot/Starter call!

Hello! Cutting a bit close, but this week has been...something. Anywhozits, located below is a list of my idiots and if/what they’ll be doing in relation to the Winter Market ‘22. Hit the like for me to go ahead and shoot you a DM for plotting, and feel free to also comment if you want to specify a pair to tailor the plot convo around! As a sidenote, if we already have an ongoing thread that you would like to transition into a Winter Market one or a winter one in general, by all means feel free to let me know!

Cosinga ‘Oz’ Palpatine:

Star Wars||42||He/Him||Unaware||Married

This mans will to the surprise of any of his aware children and/or aware acquaintances will likely be found out and about because he’s doing his best to be as close to proper human being as possible because he may not remember the specifics but he totally remembers being a massive asshole and most importantly a good husband and father 🙃

Travers:

Harry Potter||35||He/Him||Aware||Uninterested

This. Dude! Hates absolutely everything about this, but will be making the rounds nonetheless because he understands the complex game people play when it comes to presentation versus true-self. The Travers name is well-known in town and likely one of the big sponsors of city-managed events/booths....and he also wants the opportunity to play his own personal favorite passtime: fuck with the McKinnons

Monica Reyes:

The X-Files||34||She/Her||Aware||Could Use Some Friends

Monica is definitely a people person, despite the fact that she hasn’t much time to actually do any people-ing since arriving in this wonky version of the Capital. There’s so many odd things constantly happening here that this FBI’s X-Files division is...something else. Bless for now colonizing aliens she does not count the fact Leia is the President that is just too much right now. Will likely be found going around from booth to booth, enjoying the live music, and just taking in the activity in general

Sarah Gunning:

Midnight Mass||32||She/Her||Aware||Married...to her job

Sarah has definitely not really taken the time to process anything that happened back on Crockett Island, and has actively taken to keeping herself as busy as possible to keep herself from thinking about it too much or it gets bad. She is, at her core, the very odd mix of the typical mom friend, cool wine aunt, and awkward former ‘gifted child’ all rolled into one. This one is also very approachable, and will likely be keeping an eye on any events that can lead to the use of her skillset

Rachel Summers:

Marvel’s X-Men||28||She/They||Aware||Reluctantly Even Socializing

Currently not really feeling the whole ‘holiday thang’ like they once used to, definitely doesn’t help she’s in yet another new universe. Is trying their best to ‘make the best of it’ and ‘fake it til you make it’ their way through this. To that end, they will be ambling about from booth to booth and playing spectator to some of the events. They are approachable, if perhaps a bit snarky and bah humbug at the moment. They do know how to chill and have fun...they just have to be reminded

Jamie Taylor:

The Haunting of Bly Manor||27||She/They||Aware||High Walls

Time has helped mellow her out...a bit. She’s not outright rude, but she’s never really claimed to be a nice person either. Will be milling about as part of the Park Ranger volunteers to help keep the event safe and as chaos free as this city will ever allow. Friends are always welcome, even if it may take one of the many nutcrackers about to get through to this one

Vi:

Arcane||25||She/They||Unaware||Open to a Good Time

Vi is still mostly unaware, but is starting to question a lot of things after her interactions with Jinx and Caitlyn. This Winter Market sounds like the ideal thing to take her mind off of that entire debacle unless she happens to run into either, of course. Will be looking for any friends she may have made in the city to chill with or even up for making some new ones while also partaking in any and all competitions because why not?

Caden:

Charmed ‘98(OC)||24||She/Her||Aware||Distractions Are Nice

Caden still doesn’t have the full picture as to what is going on with her or why, but she’s managed to realize that as long as her mind is occupied, she can manage to only travel from place-to-place by will and her own two feet. So she’ll be taking in everything she can from the Winter Market and hopefully not randomly ‘orbing’ somewhere she’s been told it’s bad to do that

Ava:

Warrior Nun||19||She/Her||Aware||Overwhelmed...Not Sure If In Good or Bad Way...?

Ava is still very much trying to deal with everything that happened just before her arrival in the city, but this is also her first real taste of Christmas but she’s also very conflicted over the origins... Ava will likely be trying to hit everything she can because experiencing the world is the one thing she feels can still root her to who she is. Very approachable. Human golden retriever with a bit of an attitude sometimes and not a lot of tact...sorry

Ben:

Star Wars||18||He/Him||Unaware||Fun Times!

Ben has been working really hard in school, soccer, and his job. Boy is very much looking forward to some down time and also very much oblivious to everything relating to the chaotic dumpster fire that can be his family. If he manages to, he might even see if he can get a little pick-up hockey game going if enough people are interested. He’s likely the most approachable of this bunch, but also the one to have the least filter and most snark thanks mom and aunt leia

#hw: plot call #hw: starter call #mini-event:winter market '22 #swearing tw #alcohol tw #[this is late and likely got less coherent as it went but it took the last of my energy lol]

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jonfucius · 1 year

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Great Star Trek Rewatch - Enterprise S4

Originally posted on Twitter 31 January 2020 - 7 July 2020

Enterprise Season 4 is up next in my Great Star Trek Rewatch. As in Seasons 1-3, mini-reviews will document my progress.

Storm Front: Nazis in New York, aliens up to no good, a time-ravaged Daniels, and the unforgettable sight of P-51 Mustangs firing on a shuttlepod = a slam-bang season premiere. Alicia Travers is a strong guest character. 9/10

Storm Front, Part II: The Temporal Cold War comes to an end, and so does Silik. The NX-01 shooting down Stukas over Manhattan is a highlight, as well as the final shootout in the temporal conduit complex. 10/10

Home: Archer and Erika Hernandez reconnect and recover, and Trip’s unrequited feelings for T’Pol are thrown in his face by her marriage to Koss, THE most insufferable Vulcan in a series full of them. But it’s Phlox’s encounter with casual racism that hits home. 10/10

Borderland: The Augments trilogy kicks off in style. Brent Spiner is a perfect foil for Archer. Malik makes for a complex proto-Khan, while Persis is almost too clever for her own good. 8/10

Cold Station 12: Malik and Soong start to drift apart here. Too bad we couldn't see more of Udar. Alas. The torture scene with the Symbalene blood burn is insane body horror, right up there with "Conspiracy". The pieces have moved into place for the trilogy's climax. 8/10

The Augments: Interesting debate on nature vs. nurture. Persis deserved better, both from Malik and the arc. I think the ending would have had more impact if we saw Soong write something about positronic brains, rather than have him explicitly mention cybernetics. 8/10

The Forge: RIP Adm. Forrest. Deep, deep Vulcan lore is introduced, things only mentioned off-hand or hinted at in the franchise’s previous forty years (including IDIC). Loved seeing T’Pau and Surak again. 8/10

Awakening: Pieces are moved into place as Archer falls further under Surak’s spell (err, katra). V’Las is veering dangerously close to mustache twirling, but Robert Foxworth is too damn charismatic. The Kir’Shara is found, but it may be too late. 9/10

Kir’Shara: The first steps toward the Federation are taken as V’Las’ assault on Andoria is foiled by Enterprise and Shran. The Vulcans begin a re-evolution here. Meanwhile, a certain raptorial species makes a shocking appearance in the tag. 10/10

Daedalus: This one does nothing for me; ergo, I nothing it. What should be a tragic story in the vein of the vastly superior DS9 “The Visitor” is wasted on a paint-by-numbers “ghost story.” Archer’s relationship with the Erickson’s comes out of nowhere. A rare S4 misfire. 4/10

Observer Effect: Non-corporeal aliens possessing our heroes? Check. Lethal infection? Check. Deus ex machina? Check. But the last-minute reveal that the Organians from the sublime TOS “Errand of Mercy” are the culprits is a great twist that wasn’t telegraphed. 7/10

Babel One: The Tellarites attack and destroy Shran’s ship…or did they? The Andorians attack Enterprise…or did they? Some amazing groundwork is being laid here for not only the rest of S4 but the entire Star Trek universe. The reveal at the end of the episode is 👌. 8/10

United: Pour one out for poor Talas. Tucker and Reed disable the drone, while Archer disables Shran. The reveal at the end of the episode tops the Romulan intrigue from “Babel One”. The Andorians get some great development here, and Jeffrey Combs is sublime per usual. 9/10

The Aenar: The Romulans’ plans are foiled by a rag-tag Vulcan-Human-Andorian-Tellarite alliance, and the ethereal Aenar add much depth to the story. Trip’s feelings for T’Pol lead to a shocking ready room scene. I love these little throughlines connecting distinct stories. 10/10

Affliction: We learn why the Klingons from TOS looked different compared to their later brethren. This was a completely unnecessary “reveal” that IMO has influenced some of the unfair criticism DSC and PIC has endured. But it’s still a mostly thrilling espionage thriller. 6/10

Divergence: The opening sequence is incredible, breathless; something Star Trek rarely indulged in. Phlox’s solution at the end is clever and in character. I’m giving this episode a high score just for that chill-inducing setpiece, but my criticism from “Affliction” stands. 8/10

Bound: I can kinda, sorta see what they were going for in giving the Orion “slave girls” agency…but the execution is still not great. We saw this story already with Duras in S2. 4/10

In a Mirror, Darkly: Star Trek’s first episode set entirely in the Mirror Universe is a doozy: clever reframing of First Contact, a new opening title sequence, and our “heroes” really digging into their Terran Empire selves. The ties to TOS “The Tholian Web” are ingenious. 9/10

In a Mirror, Darkly, Part II: Archer’s mental state unravels as he plots and schemes. But it’s Hoshi (Augustus Iaponius) who gets the last laugh. 9/10

Demons: Another all-too-prescient episode tackling racism through the sci-fi lens of xenophobia. Peter Weller is perfectly cast as the hateful Paxton. Nice to see Mayweather get something to do in this third-to-last episode of the series. 8/10

Terra Prime: ENT’s main story ends on the highest of high notes. It was a great choice to end the Terra Prime story in the third act and give Archer’s speech and Trip & T’Pol’s final scene room to breathe. 10/10

These Are the Voyages…: Didn't like this one 15 years ago, still don't like it today. An absolutely sad way for Star Trek to leave television after 18 consecutive years. This episode gets 1 point for the cameos in the final scene. 1/10

And with that, Season 4 of ENT, and the series itself, comes to an end in my Great Star Trek Rewatch. Final score: 7.86/10. Highest score(s): "Storm Front, Part II," "Home," "Kir'Shara," "The Aenar," "Terra Prime." . Lowest score(s): "These Are the Voyages…"

ENT overall score across 4 seasons and 97 episodes: 6.99/10

#star trek #star trek enterprise #great star trek rewatch

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the-rewatch-rewind · 2 years

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Script below the break

Welcome to the Rewatch Rewind, the podcast in which I talk about the movies I watched the most times from 2003 through 2022! It’s the first official episode! If you haven’t listened to my introduction, maybe go back and do that if you want to know more details about exactly what I’m doing. In this episode I’m going to talk about my 40th most rewatched movie, which is the 1964 Disney musical, Mary Poppins, directed by Robert Stevenson, written by Bill Walsh and Don DaGradi, based on books by P.L. Travers, and starring Julie Andrews and Dick Van Dyke.

I feel like this movie is so well known that I probably don’t need to tell you what it’s about, but hey, no judgment if you haven’t seen it. I’ve seen over 1,800 different movies in the last 20 years, and I still haven’t seen a single Star Wars film, so I’m in no position to assume that popularity means universal familiarity. (Sorry if you were hoping to hear about Star Wars movies in this podcast.) For those who haven’t seen it, or saw it so long ago you don’t remember: Mary Poppins is the story of the Banks family, who live in London in 1910. The father, George Banks, played by David Tomlinson, appropriately works at a bank, and is far more interested in his work than his family. His wife Winnifred, played by Glynis Johns, is focused only on campaigning for women’s suffrage. Their children, Jane and Michael – Karen Dotrice and Matthew Garber – therefore feel rather neglected. When their nanny quits, she is replaced by the magical but firm Mary Poppins, played by Julie Andrews in her feature film debut. She takes the children on several fun adventures, often with her friend, jack-of-all-trades Bert, played by Dick Van Dyke, while also helping the entire Banks family learn some lessons about what really matters in life.

I don’t remember when I first saw this movie, or how many times I’d seen it before I started keeping track in 2003. I do know that I watched it 14 times in the last 20 years: once in 2003, once in 2004, three times in 2005, twice in 2008, twice in 2012, twice in 2015, once in 2016, once in 2020, and once in 2022. It’s one of ten movies that I watched 14 times, but the only one I will be talking about on this podcast, since I watched 39 movies at least 15 times. Mary Poppins made the list above the other nine because it was the longest, so I spent more time watching it than the others. At two hours and 19 minutes, it is quite long for a movie geared toward children, but I appreciate that it takes its time. Though there’s an overarching story, it’s apparent that this was adapted from a series of vignettes, and each little adventure is given the time it needs to make an impact. That being said, if the movie wasn’t this long, I probably would have watched it more often. There have been several instances when I’ve thought about watching it but decided to go with something shorter instead.

So why have I watched this movie so many times? Well, for one thing, the music slaps. It is truly the Sherman Brothers’ magnum opus. Every song is either a bop or a tearjerker. If I’d been tracking the albums I’ve listened to most in the last 20 years, the Mary Poppins soundtrack might be number one. While I still listen to it not infrequently, the period of time when I listened to it the most was in 9th grade – which would have been 2004-2005 – when pretty much every day after school, I would come home, grab a snack, get out my homework, and turn on the Mary Poppins CD. Needless to say, I was not exactly one of the popular kids, but I also didn’t really care – I liked what I liked. And I found the Mary Poppins music at once soothing and exciting. Also, the CD included a bonus track with the Sherman Brothers talking about how some of the songs came to be, which I found fascinating, even the hundredth time I listened to it. A kid gets a polio vaccine in a lump of sugar – his dad and uncle write a catchy song about it – and over 40 years later a teenager listens to both the song and the composers talking about it over geometry homework. It made me feel both insignificant and important, alone and yet part of something, and that’s one of my favorite things about movies and stories in general, and I remember really starting to understand this during that period of my youth.

If I recall correctly, my devotion to the Mary Poppins soundtrack led to me receiving the 40th anniversary DVD for Christmas of 2004, which would explain why I watched it three times in 2005. And if one bonus track from the Sherman Brothers was exciting to me, a two-disc special edition DVD was paradise. And the best part was the audio commentary. I didn’t track how many of my Mary Poppins views were with the commentary turned on, but I would guess around half? Good audio commentary is one of my favorite things, and several of the movies in my top 40 got there partly because of how much their commentary delights me. Mary Poppins is definitely one of those. If you’ve never watched a movie with the commentary track, I highly recommend trying it for some of your favorite movies, although I don’t know if very many filmmakers are recording them anymore since physical media has gone out of fashion. I don’t even know if most people have DVD players to be able to watch them anymore. But luckily for me, 2004 was the height of DVD special features popularity, and that’s when Disney decided to celebrate the 40th anniversary of this beloved masterpiece by giving us the gift of this amazing commentary. Julie Andrews and Dick Van Dyke are together, and Richard Sherman, one of the composers, and Karen Dotrice, who played Jane, are also together in a different place (or maybe it was the same place at a different time, I’m not sure). The commentary switches between those two pairs of people, with the occasional recording from someone else added in here and there. One of the advantages of the long runtime is everybody gets a chance to talk quite a bit. Since they’re recording it four decades after they made the movie, they don’t always remember all the details of what they’re talking about, but what they do remember is utterly delightful. Karen Dotrice’s perspective is particularly interesting, looking back on what it was like to make this movie as a child when she didn’t really know what was going on. She reveals that she didn’t realize Dick Van Dyke was playing the old man at the bank when she was acting with him; she saw the name reveal in the credits in the theater with everyone else. And Richard Sherman has lots to say about the music that wasn’t covered on the bonus CD track I’d listened to over and over, and Dick and Julie have lots of fun stories to contribute. But truly, truly the best part of the commentary is the fact that Julie’s first husband, Tony Walton, to whom she was married when the movie was made, was in the Mary Poppins art and costume departments, and apparently had a particular shade of bright red that he liked to use, so every. time. we see red on the screen, Julie has to mention “Tony Walton red” and it brings me so much joy and amusement that I have to mention it every time I talk about this movie.

But back to the movie itself, I do love experiencing it even without the commentary. The story is gentle and powerful and really sparks the imagination, the characters are unique and fun to watch, and again, THE MUSIC! I don’t even know if I could pick a number 1 favorite song. A Spoonful of Sugar, Supercalifragilisticexpialidocious, and Step in Time stand out, they’re all so fun and catchy. Sister Suffragette has some great lyrics – “though we adore men individually, we agree that as a group they’re rather stupid”: perfect – and Glynis Johns sings it with such conviction! And even though I definitely thought it was boring as a child, Feed the Birds has really grown on me. It perfectly illustrates the recurring theme throughout Mary Poppins that small things can make a big difference, which is a message I find very encouraging. This movie is all about how it doesn’t take much – tuppence, a spoonful of sugar, a word, a kite – to make a difference in someone else’s life, and I think that’s an important message. Not as an excuse to do as little as possible, but rather as a reason to do anything at all. It’s easy for me to get overwhelmed by all the problems in the world, so much so that it sometimes feels pointless to try anything because I can’t do everything, and at that point it’s helpful to remember that actions don’t have to be major to be worthwhile. This may sound trite, but the way this movie presents it feels so genuine and beautiful, at least to me, and I love the way rewatching it reminds me of this message.

I also think a not-insignificant reason that Mary Poppins has resonated with me is that there really is no romantic love story, apart from the married couple learning to appreciate each other a little better, which is quite minor in the grand scheme of the movie. Imagine – a story with an iconic female and male lead who are just friends! I’m sure some people out there assume that Mary and Bert are romantically involved, but the movie itself specifically states otherwise. According to the commentary, the verse of Jolly Holiday that Mary sings to Bert about how he’s such a gentleman and never presses his advantage with a lady and whatnot was added at the suggestion of PL Travers. Apparently the author of the book insisted that the film make it clear that Mary and Bert were not “an item.” Now, the way they talk about it in the commentary implies a bit of exasperation, and Travers was notoriously difficult to work with – I mean, there’s a whole movie, Saving Mr. Banks, that…sort of tells that story, although that movie is way more sympathetic toward Travers than the Mary Poppins special features, but I digress. Clearly not all of PL Travers’s demands were met because she didn’t want any red in the picture and Tony Walton could not be stopped. But with regards to Mary and Bert’s relationship I think she was right. A romance between them would have detracted from the story about the Banks family. Also there are way too few purely platonic male/female friendships portrayed on film, and this is such a nice one, and it’s written and acted so believably. They enjoy each other’s company, they sing and dance and have adventures together, and they seem perfectly content with the state of their relationship. So often friendship as portrayed as “less than” romance – people say “just friends” as if it’s something to settle for – but friendship can be just as beautiful and deep and powerful as romance, and it's so lovely to see that here. Watching Mary Poppins as a young person, well before I understood that I was aromantic or asexual, it still made me so happy to see these two adults in the middle of such a sweet relationship that was clearly standing the test of time, since it’s implied that they knew each other long before the events of the film, but didn’t have anything to do with sex or romance. Not that I don’t also enjoy stories that feature those kinds of relationships, too, but I think it’s so telling that I gravitated so strongly to Mary Poppins when I was 14. At an age when most people are expected to experience serious crushes and start at least thinking about dating, all I wanted was a friendship that involved dancing with animals, singing nonsense words, and perhaps some magical cleaning.

Obviously, Mary Poppins has wide appeal to an audience far beyond aroace teenagers in the early 2000s. It was the highest grossing film of 1964, and the highest-grossing Disney film ever at the time, and its popularity with audiences was still high enough to warrant a sequel in 2018. It also received near-universal critical acclaim, and was nominated for 13 Oscars, winning five. As I mentioned earlier, Poppins was Julie’s feature film debut, although she had appeared on Broadway and on television prior to this. As most fans of musicals know, Julie Andrews originated the role of Eliza Dolittle in My Fair Lady but was replaced by established film star Audrey Hepburn in the screen adaptation, which was also released in 1964. My Fair Lady got the Best Picture Oscar, but Julie won Best Actress for Poppins, so one of my views in 2015 was part of my watching-through-Best Actress-winners project. I ranked the Best Actress winning performances at the time and put this one at number 12, which I’m sure is higher than most people would put it but I never said I was unbiased. Although I do stand by my ranking: it’s a great, delightful, iconic performance. The other Oscars Poppins won were for editing, special effects, score, and original song for Chim Chim Cher-ee. The visual effects truly were groundbreaking – audio-animatronics were in their infancy, and the bird in the Spoonful of Sugar scene was one of the first of its kind. I’m also very glad the music won two awards, although I’m not sure I’d pick Chim Chim Cher-ee as the best song, but it’s still great.

Andrews also won a Golden Globe, and in her acceptance speech thanked Jack Warner, the producer of the My Fair Lady film, which is just, practically perfect in every way. While I do love My Fair Lady – I’ve watched it 11 times since I started keeping track – and would have loved to see Julie Andrews in it, I feel like it must have been more interesting to get to make Mary Poppins instead. My Fair Lady is basically just the stage musical on screen, whereas Mary Poppins is full of movie magic and originality. I don’t think Andrews has any regrets about the way things turned out here.

Which leads me to another reason I love this movie, which is that Julie Andrews is one of my faves. She’s one of four actors to appear in at least 4 of my top 40 most-watched films, and the only one of those whom I have met – also the only one who is still alive, so the only one I will ever meet. She writes children’s books with her daughter, and in 2012, when I was in college, she was on tour promoting The Very Fairy Princess: Here Comes the Flower Girl and did a book signing at my university bookstore. I was absolutely starstruck and had no idea what to say to her. She complimented the t-shirt I was wearing and I think I said something completely incoherent in reply, and then she started to sign my book and said, “So how are you?” and I stammered, “I’m…amazing” by which I meant I was amazed to be standing in her presence, but she immediately and sincerely responded with, “Yes, you are” and I have never recovered.

That must have been at least part of the reason I watched this movie twice in that year, after not having watched it for four years. I don’t watch it nearly as frequently as I used to anymore, but I still revisit it when I’m looking for magic or motivation to clean my room, or just, nostalgia. High school was a really rough time for me, but Mary Poppins, both the movie and the soundtrack, really helped me keep my head afloat when I felt like I was drowning, so it will always be special to me for that reason, in addition to just being a nice, well-told story that I enjoy.

So there you have it: my 40th most-watched movie in the last 20 years. Thank you for listening, remember to like, follow, subscribe, rate, comment, do all the things if you want to keep listening. Following this will be a six-way tie of the movies I watched 15 times, from shortest to longest. I’ll leave you with a quote from my next movie: “Why do we even HAVE that lever?”

#rewatch rewind #mary poppins

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mexcine · 2 years

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South American George (1941) review: South American George was George Formby’s first Columbia production and is a rather significant departure from much of his previous work. He’s still recognisable as the gormless, ukelele-strumming naïf, but there are some definite differences.

Notably, Formby plays a dual role—or, one might argue—actually two-and-a-half roles. Would-be performer George (George Formby) impersonates opera singer Gilli Vanetti (also Formby), who has broken his contract by leaving the UK (for Las Palmas in the Canary Islands). George does this to please Carole (Linden Travers), Gilli’s assistant, and (very peripherally) to obtain money for the retirement home where his aunt lives. Carole urgently wires Gilli to return to London, but in the meantime George is at the mercy of impresario Ricardo, who wants to break the unpopular singer’s contract. “Gilli” (George) is compelled to perform “any task” he’s ordered to take, including sweeping up the theatre and changing the letters on the marquee. Ricardo even sends two gangsters to incapacitate “Gilli,” then changes his mind when he sells Gilli’s contract to a “leg show” producer.

There is a very minor bit of back-story: George idolises his aunt, a former music-hall star, but his father insists George get a “real job.” George presumably has a burning desire to go on the stage himself, but his character is never actually portrayed as a serious striver after a performing career.

Formby thus plays George, Gilli, and George-impersonating-Gilli. This is not quite as strenuous as it might first appear: Gilli appears only briefly at the beginning and end of the film, and George’s impersonation of Gilli—although it takes up a significant percentage of the running time--only occasionally requires him to really fool anyone (he doesn’t even try to imitate Gilli’s voice—the script is contrived so George-as-Gilli is either suffering from laryngitis or is “saving his voice” for his performances), other than curling his hair and wearing a stick-on moustache.

The film’s title is extremely misleading. The film is not set in South America, and does not feature any “South American” characters (or even any notably Latin American-themed musical numbers). Opera singer Gilli Vanetti is clearly intended to be Italian, but presumably that would've been politically incorrect, even though the film is not overtly set in wartime (there are no men in uniform shown, no references to any restrictions on travel, etc.). As “enemy aliens,” Italians were subject to internment in WWII Britain, and so there's a VERY vague reference to Gilli being "popular in South America" (which doesn't actually specify his nationality). He has an indeterminate "foreign" accent.

The only actual war reference is one shot of a newspaper front page: 3 of the 4 articles are war-relevant (the 4th article is the fake one created for the film, about George Formby's character).

a) a headline reads "Airacobra Pilots Say it Beats the Spitfire"

b) partially-seen article on the left references "Tokio," "Washington," and "Cordell" [Hull]. Date of the newspaper is 31 Oct 1941, so this most likely is an article about talks between USA & Japan, pre-Pearl Harbor.

c) partially-seen article at the right references "evacuees" and "Soviet."

There are a few entertaining moments. In one scene, George hears a voice (his own, in voice-over)--

George: Who are you?

Voice: I’m Jiminy Cricket!

George: Never heard of you.

Voice: Well, you should go to the pictures more often. I’m your conscience.

[This reference to Walt Disney’s Pinocchio occurs several more times, but is not a major part of the film.]

George Formby had a reputation as a performer of “naughty” material—notably his double-entendre songs, but in other aspects of his films as well—and there are three mildly risqué bits in South American George.

First, as noted, above, George is compelled by the terms of Gilli’s contract to do “whatever the stage manager orders.” In one scene he’s on a scaffold, assigned to change the theatre marquee to read “Enrico Ricardo Presents A Season of Russian Ballet.” However, George discovers he’s missing a letter—so that the marquee reads “Enrico Ricard Resents A Season of Russian Ballet”—and drops a note to his assistant on the ground (George is pretending to have laryngitis so he won’t give himself away). The assistant reads the note and starts to lower the scaffolding, but George gestures “No,” and signals that he needs the letter “P.” The joke here is that the note apparently (it isn’t shown) reads “I need a P,” and the assistant thought George had to urinate!

Ricardo, trying to void Gilli’s contract on its “morality” clause, sends a blonde actress to his apartment, where Gilli will then be caught in a compromising situation. George-as-Gilli discovers the lingerie-clad woman—first shown in a fairly revealing shot—but with Carole’s help avoids being caught out.

Finally, George, in his Gilli disguise, is kissed by Gilli’s girlfriend Frances, and his stick-on moustache transfers to her upper lip. He removes it and tosses it aside. Then, as he’s leaving the room, he asks her to get up: “You’re sitting on me moustache. Huh! It’s a good job I still haven’t got it on!” (i.e., she’d be sitting on his face!)

South American George’s conclusion is protracted and awkward. The real Gilli returns to London, but “his” show has already begun. George has to impersonate him on stage, lip-syncing to recordings. Ricardo’s two gangsters show up, there’s a lot of farcical to-and-froing, George’s aunt and her retired performer pals do one number, and finally all is resolved, after a fashion. George and Carole profess their mutual affection, and George’s father (in the audience) grudgingly admits his son has talent.

South American George largely wastes the comic potential in two George Formbys, and there aren’t many memorable sequences in the running time (George’s first musical number, “The Barmaid at the Rose & Crown,” is actually rather good, especially since the real barmaid is extremely irritated by his singing and the rude lyrics).

#George Formby #British comedy #British cinema

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brian-in-finance · 3 years

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This memory tale of 9-year-old Buddy (Jude Hill) growing up in Northern Ireland’s turbulent capital city is sculpted from Branagh’s own life as a son of Belfast, where everyone knows his name. Hill, 11, a competitive dancer turned actor, delivers one of the best and most beguiling performances by a child ever captured on film.

Branagh shows how Buddy’s happy childhood, and by extension his, was shattered in 1969 by rioting in streets. The Troubles, a conflict Buddy barely understands between Protestants loyal to the U.K. and Catholics eager to rebel and join Ireland, set neighbor against neighbor.

Buddy’s Protestant parents, played to perfection by Catriona Balfe and Jamie Dornan, wanted to live in peace. But the shocking brutality, vividly filmed by Branagh, forced the family to leave their beloved home for the safety of England. The decision devastated Buddy.

And that interrupted childhood is the core of this gentle giant of a movie. For all the violence, it’s the bond between Buddy and his Ma and Pa, his older brother (Lewis McAskie), and his grandparents, played by Judi Dench and Ciarán Hinds—both sublime— that holds you in thrall.

Reports say Balfe, Dornan, Dench and Hinds—each of Irish descent— will all compete for supporting Oscars. If so, good luck picking a winner. Five-time nominee Dench, who won for “Shakespeare in Love,” is such a witty, wicked wonder as Gran that she’s impossible to resist.

Hinds, a master performer too long underrated, is hilarious and heartbreaking. And Dornan, free of the s&m sex trap of the “50 Shades of Grey” trilogy, builds on his virtuoso turn on “The Fall” to show an actor of ferocity and feeling as he invests Pa, often absent from home for construction work in England, with simmering emotion and quiet strength.

Balfe, the radiant star of “Outlander,” is—in a word—magnificent. She finds revelatory layers in this mother who is held at gunpoint but still holds her family together even as war and trauma pull them apart. If you think Balfe and Dornan, both former models, are incongruously beautiful to play working-class parents, you underestimate how Buddy sees them.

And “Belfast,” shot in black-and-white during lockdown, sees the world through Buddy’s eyes. There’s no way to watch “Belfast” without letting Buddy’s family become your own. Music floods the soundtrack. There are eight classic songs from Belfast firebrand Van Morrison, plus a newbie (“Down to Joy”) and exhilarating scenes of parents and grandparents dancing.

“Belfast” belongs to Branagh, 60, who doesn’t act in the film but whose presence is felt in every frame. Except for a shot of Buddy reading a comic book about Thor— Branagh directed Marvel’s 2011 film version—there is no reference to the A-lister he’d become from 1989’s “Henry V” to his upcoming reprise as Belgian detective Hercule Poirot in “Death On the Nile.”

And yet the influence of the arts is palpable. The screen lights up with color when Buddy’s family sits down to watch the dinosaurs and Raquel Welch in “One Million Years B.C.” and the flying car of “Chitty Chitty Bang Bang” or attend a stage performance of “A Christmas Carol.”

It took half a century for Branagh, who was knighted in 2012, to put his young life on screen. The wait was worth it. If anything, the movie feels too short at 97 minutes, rushing by when we most want it to let the space between words resonate.

Above all, “Belfast” is infused with love for the home Branagh had to leave behind. It’s his best and most bracingly personal film, a transporting, coming-of-age classic that’s relatable to anyone who’s ever had to say goodbye to childhood.

Remember… there’s no way to watch “Belfast” without letting Buddy’s family become your own. — Peter Travers

#Tait rhymes with hat #Good times #BelfastMovie #Review #ABC News #5 November 2021 #Belfast #In cinemas 12 November 2021 #Canada & USA #In cinemas 21 January 2022 UK & Ireland #Worldwide 2022 #Twitter

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claudia1829things · 3 years

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Favorite Movie and Television Productions About Old Hollywood

Below is a list of my favorite costume movie and television productions about the Golden Age of Hollywood (in chronological order of release):

FAVORITE MOVIE AND TELEVISION PRODUCTIONS ABOUT OLD HOLLYWOOD

"Singin' in the Rain" (1952) - Gene Kelly, Donald O'Connor and Debbie Reynolds starred in this musical classic about Hollywood's transition from silent films to talkies. Kelly co-directed with Stanley Donen.

"Moviola: The Scarlett O'Hara War" (1980) - Tony Curtis starred as producer David O. Selznick in the second episode of the miniseries, "Moviola". The television movie featured Selznick's search for the right actress to portray the leading character in his movie adaptation of "Gone With the Wind".

“Quennie” (1987) - Mia Sara and Kirk Douglas starred in two-part miniseries, which is an adaptation of Michael Korda’s 1985 biography of actress Merle Oberon. Larry Peerce directed.

"Who Framed Roger Rabbit?" (1988) - Robert Zemeckis directed this adaptation of Gary Wolfe's 1981 novel, "Who Censored Roger Rabbit?", in which a 1940s private detective who must exonerate a cartoon star "Toon" for the murder of a wealthy businessman. Bob Hoskins, Charles Fleischer and Christopher Lloyd starred.

"The Rocketeer" (1991) - Joe Johnston directed this adaptation of Dave Stevens’ comic book series about a stunt pilot who stumbles across a prototype jetpack that allows him to become a high-flying masked hero in 1938 Los Angeles. Bill Campbell, Jennifer Connolly, Alan Arkin and Timothy Dalton starred.

"The Cat’s Meow" (2001) - Peter Bogdanovich directed this fictionalized account of William Randolph Hearst’s November 1924 weekend cruise celebrating Thomas Ince’s birthday. The movie starred Kirsten Dunst, Edward Hermann, Eddie Izzard and Cary Elwes.

"The Aviator" (2004) - Martin Scorsese produced and directed this biopic about mogul Howard Hughes' experiences as a filmmaker and aviator between 1927 and 1947. Oscar nominee Leonardo DiCaprio starred.

"Hollywoodland" (2006) - Adrien Brody, Diane Lane and Ben Affleck starred in this intriguing tale about a private detective's investigation into the life and death of actor George Reeves. Allen Coulter directed.

"The Artist" (2011) - Michel Hazanavicius wrote and directed this Academy Award winning movie about a silent screen star and the disruption of his life and career by the emergence of talking pictures. Oscar winner Jean Dujardin and Oscar nominee Bérénice Bejo starred.

"Saving Mr. Banks" (2013) - John Lee Hancock directed this superb and emotional tale about author P.L. Travers and producer Walt Disney’s tug-of-war over the development of the 1964 movie, "Mary Poppins". Emma Thompson and Tom Hanks starred.

"Trumbo" (2015) - Oscar nominee Bryan Cranston starred in this biopic about screenwriter Dalton Trumbo and his troubles after being jailed and blacklisted for being a member of the Communist Party. Directed by Jay Roach, Diane Lane and Helen Mirren co-starred.

"The Last Tycoon" (2016-2017) - Billy Ray created this television adaptation of F. Scott Fitzgerald's unfinished novel about a Hollywood producer during the mid-1930s. Matt Bomer starred.

"Once Upon a Time . . . in Hollywood" (2019) - Quentin Tarantino wrote and directed this excellent tale about a fading actor and his stunt double struggling to regain success in the film industry during the final year of Hollywood’s Golden Age in 1969 Los Angeles. Oscar nominee Leonardo Di Caprio, Oscar winner Brad Pitt and Oscar nominee Margot Robbie starred.

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im-totally-not-an-alien · 4 years

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Final Fantasy prompts #48

1. Jenova moms Cloud, but he doesn't realize it's Jenova.

Everyone else recognizes her in all her purple tentacly glory, but say nothing because Cloud hasn't looked this happy in years. Maybe its OK to let him live a lie, if only for a little while...

Also, they're kinda afraid of her

2. "Why do you live all the way out in the sticks?" Cid growled, munching on an unlit cigarette.

"Cause I can do this." He said, before whistling and promptly falling onto his back.

"What the hell are you even doing-" Cid began before they were both swarmed by dogs.

Big dogs, medium dogs, fluffy dogs, dogs with small tails so many dogs. Many of whom where licking the blonds face where he lay.

Aka Cloud owns a cabin in the woods for the sole purpose of getting swarmed by wild dogs and letting them lick his depression away.

3. Time traveler Cloud, but not quite.

Its a 12 year old escaped expirement created by fusing Clouds and Sephiroths DNA. S2, as he was labeled, kidnapped Cadet Cloud and kept the struggling blond with him as he traveled to the northern crater.

He keeps referring to Cloud as Mother and Sephiroth as Father, something that freaks Cloud out and made Sephiroth highly curious.

Upon closer inspection, the silverette saw peices of himself in the boy, in his eye shape, in his fighting style, and especially in his personality.

S2 dotes on his Mother, giving him everything he desires, everything but his freedom.

Cloud just has to get used to his life of semi-luxury...and being brodal carried by S2 and every gods damned SOLDIER he meets apparently.

4. RM Cloud wacking Sephiroth in the face with a broom. The silverette just stares at his puppet and says, "Really?"

5. Cloud finding Sephiroth in a moment of weakness and deciding a bit of revenge was in order.

6. Slightly unhinged time traveler Sephiroth x Slightly unhinged time traveler Cloud

7. Yuffie stalking different members of AVALANCHE out of boredom, only to wind up saving one of thier lives

8. Reeves Cait Sith dolls go rouge and declare war on the remaining SOLDIERS, believing that the living J cells in thier bodies were harming the planet.

Reeve doesn't want to hurt his sons. But Cloud has become something of a baby brother to him, and he would never forgive himself if something were to happen to the stubborn blond

9. Time traver Cloud coming to Aerith for advice after he lands, but she immediately sensed the Calamity from the Stars in him and started screaming bloody murder.

He had to fight Reno and Rude and easily defeated them, but by the time he was done, Aerith had escaped, leaving a confused and distraught blond.

He gives Reno an alias to protect his younger self and then promptly decides to GTFO.

Aerith winds up running into Tseng and Angeal, and she spills the beans about the Cetra and her heritage, as well as the Calamity and her child.

Angeal tries not to vibrate with excitement, after all, it looks like his lifelong dream of saving the world might be coming true. It seemed further reinforced by the fact the blond broke into the tower and freed several expiraments and killed many of the scientists. He was seen running off with a red lion-wolf creature before they lost track of him.

He, Aerith, Genesis, and Sephiroth wind up joining a party together to stop him. They essentially blackmailed the company to keep them off thier backs while they saved the world.

Cloud however, joined up with Nanaki and Vincent, but was also being targeted by the AVALANCHE of this time as well as thier own mad scientist, Fuhito, who's almost giddy that three of the esteemed professor Hojo's powerful expirements have escaped and are "Up for grabs"

Cloud may or may not also have a deal going with Jenova, who is offering him guidance with his new abilities as well as love. He knows she's manipulating him, but he feels so lost and vulnerable. He let her in and he wasn't even sure if he regrets it.

Also Jenova manipulating Sephiroth and his group by convincing them that she's "The Goddess Jenova" and revealed that she's Sephiroths mom. She convices them that the blond is evil and must be stopped. No one questions why she only speaks to them when Aerith is away.

Yeah, Clouds not having a good time. Kinda based off of another prompt of mine and I felt the need to expand on it. So, yeah.

10. The president, his son and the directors are killed off by Reeve, who has finally taken a stand and did a hostile takeover of the company.

11. Time traveler Reeve?

Better, Cait Sith gains sentience and time travels

12. Sephiroth revives again after the events of DeepGround and grabs up Cloud, embracing him like a lover as he flies into the air with him.

He basically tells Cloud that he's defeated him three times in a row, he's fascinated by him, and that Clouds going to be his bride.

Cloud is not okay with this

As it turns out, neither is Tifa, Clouds girlfriend.

The ensueing catfight is glorious

13. Cloud gets catcalled more often than anyone in thier little group. Apparently, he's a living creeper magnet, he couldn't tell you how many times people have just disregarded his personal space, bought him crap expecting a 'favor' in return, randomly touched his hair, bugged him for his number or a date, strait up tried to follow him home, ect.

The sheer entitlement both men and women seem to think they have over him is astounding. It's gotten to the point everyone has noticed and became protective of him. The blond himself? He's not afraid to make someone swallow thier teeth, regardless of gender.

14. Angeal loves photography, everyone knows that.

What people don't know is that he takes pictures of anything he deems beautuful. Birds, trees, flowers, clouds...406 pictures of the moon and even more of the stars. That was fine.

The problem arose when Genesis snooped through Angeals computer/apartment and found his secret photo collection. He swiped it and brought it to Sephiroths office to go through it with him.

Everything was normal, until they found a gorgeous picture of Genesis igniting his surroundings in flame.

Then they found some pics of Sephiroth standing in the moonlight with Masamune drawn. They were both extremely flattered by how lovely these were...until it got wierder. There were pictures of monsters, Cadets, Angeal's pup, Zack, several a few pictures of a blond trooper, an anthropomorphic cat with a cape and crown and...Turks?!

The worst part, however, was when they noticed that not a single person, not even themselves, where looking at the camera.

The fact they didn't remember having thier picture taken chilled them further.

Aka Angeal might have an addiction. Or an obsession.

15. Cloud has had a crush on Zack for a long time, but when Zack starts play flirting with him he thinks he has a chance and makes his move...and is promptly rejected.

Cloud plays it off as a joke and Zack buys it. The heartbroken blond finds a place to hide and quietly sob his eyes out.

Unfortunately, or fortunately, for him, he gets found and comforted by the Lord of Loveless himself, Genesis Rhapsodos.

Genesis had followed the subtle sounds of sorrow with the intention of either taunting the individual or reciting Loveless to them, as he adored a literal captive audience...but this...this was different.

He found himself rocking the pretty lovesick fool in his arms and mentally kicked himself for winding up in this situation.

On the other hand, he managed to score a date.

Bonus: Time traveler Sephiroth causing a scene by hard core flirting with CC Cloud and destroying a building and a man with a single swipe of Masamune, thus getting the attention of the entire Shinra army.

Fortunately the battle between the Sephiroths was cut short when Time traveler Cloud intervened with a spray bottle full of Aeriths holy water and essentially held him at gunpoint (spray bottle point?) as he retreated.

He fled before anyone could do much of anything, thus leaving everyone involved with so many unanswered questions.

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scotianostra · 1 year

Text

Happy Birthday Nicholas Andrew Argyll Campbell, better known as Nicky, born in Edinburgh, on April 10th 1961.

Best known for hosting Wheel of Fortune with fellow Scot Carol Smillie, but now the main show we might know him for is the very good Long Lost Family which aims to reunite close relatives after years of separation, often the people featured have been, like Nicky himself adopted, his "born" name was Nicholas Lackey he was adopted at four days old. His biological mother Stella was unmarried and had travelled from Ireland to give birth. Although she sent Christmas cards for the first five years of Nicky's life, they had no direct contact. It was not until he was in his 20's that Nicky decided to try and track down Stella and his biological father Joseph.

Although he discovered that his biological heritage was Irish, Nicky still thinks of himself as a Scot and it's his adoptive family, the Campbells, that he's closest to.

He was educated at the independent school Edinburgh Academy. His adoptive mother was a psychiatric social worker and his adoptive father a publisher of maps.

Nicky Campbell gained a history degree from Aberdeen University, and then became a jingle writer for Northsound Radio. At university, Campbell's best friend had been the actor Iain Glen.

Campbell went on to present the breakfast show there before crossing the border to join London's Capital Radio in 1986. Just a year later Nicky Campbell moved to Radio 1 where he had a variety of slots before moving to BBC Radio Five Live in October 1997. He regularly hosted Top of the Pops from 1988 to 1991 and again from 1994 to 1997.

He currently presents The Big Questions on BBC One and the aforementioned Long Lost Family, as well as his presenting he has written and co-produced a jazz swing album for singer and actor Mark Moraghan. As well as recording an album with the multi talented Kate Robbins. He is the director of a recording company who supply original music fro TV and films. On Radio Campbell has won seven Sony Awards, including a Gold Award in 2007 for the Radio 5 Live Breakfast programme as "Best News and Current Affairs Programme"

Nicky is a Patron of the British Association for Adoption and Fostering as well as he supports wildlife conservation and has works closely with Will Travers, Virginia McKenna and the Born Free Foundation.

In 2017 he made a documentary for the Women at War series for BBC1 with his adoptive mother Sheila Campbell.[18] He found out more about his her role in World War 2 and her experiences as a radar operator on D-Day.[Also that year he took part in All Star Musicals for ITV performing Razzle Dazzle from the musical Chicago live at the London Palladium.

In 2021 Campbell presented Manhunt; The Raul Moat Story on ITV1. This was the inside story of how Moat was tracked down, all in the glare of 24-hour rolling news. I n recent years Nicky has also been involved in a number of podcasts

Last year Police launch investigation after Campbell says he suffered abuse during his time at Edinburgh Academy in the 1970s. He made the claims during an episode of his BBC podcast Different, saying the experience had a "profound effect on my life".

The broadcaster said: "I was badly beaten up at school by a teacher who was a leading light in the scripture union.

"My mother took it as far as she could and got a grovelling apology from (the man involved), but was essentially stonewalled and it was hushed up by the school.

"Those were different times and that has stayed with me all my life."

The school said it "deeply" regrets the allegations and "wholeheartedly" apologised to those involved.

In a previously released statement, the school said: "We have worked closely with the relevant authorities including Police Scotland with their inquiries and would like to provide reassurance that things have dramatically changed since the 1970s.

"The Academy has robust measures in place to safeguard children at the school, with child protection training now core to the ethos of the Academy."

A New Radio 5 Live simulcast is due to start on Monday 17th April on the UK feed of BBC News and BBC Two. Nicky Campbell’s show will also be broadcast on BBC Two.

#scotland #scottish #broadcaster #tv personality #disc jockey #radio presenter #happy birhtday

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auror-lovie · 4 years

Text

I Loved You, Mr. Scamander; Ending 2

━━━•✦.✧. Author’s Note.✧.✦•━

Ending No. 2; Bittersweet Ending

And that’s the end!

━━━━━•✦.✧. Summary .✧.✦•━

Sometimes one needs to part ways with the people who used to make them happy. At some point, one needs to let go.

━━━━━•✦.✧. Add-Ons .✧.✦•━

Fantastic Beasts: The Crimes of Grindelwald spoilers!

Angst

Follows Canon to a certain point

Character Death

And they were roommates~

Re-Read Chapter 3 if you forgot what happened!

━━━━━━•✦.✧.☾.✧.✦•━━━━━

“Grindelwald! Stop!” Leta yelled.

Grindelwald caught sight of Leta.

“Leta…” Theseus whispered.

“This one I believe I know.” said Grindelwald.

Theseus made an effort of will, making his way toward Leta, determined to reach her.

Grindelwald moved toward her through the flames as Theseus fought closer, desperate to reach her before Grindelwald did.

“Leta Lestrange. Despised entirely amongst wizards. Unloved, mistreated, yet brave. So very brave. Time to come home.” He stretched out his hand.

She hesitated, contemplating.

He looked at her, eyes narrowed.

Leta looked toward Victoria and (Y/N). Her best friends. They didn’t agree all the time, but they knew they always worked well together. “Take care of each other… Like you always have.”

She then looked toward Theseus and Newt, who were watching her, stunned.

“I love you…” She then pointed her wand at the skull in Rosier’s hands, which exploded.

Rosier was knocked backward and Grindelwald was momentarily obscured in a whirl of chaos.

“GO! GO!” Leta yelled before the fire engulfed her.

Theseus went wild and tried to dive after her, but Newt grabbed him and they Disapparate.

Seeing that the brothers left the mausoleum, Victoria tried making her way towards Leta.

“Victoria! We need to go!” (Y/N) yelled, grabbing Victoria’s arm and Disapparating.

The fire, mirroring Grindelwald’s rage, exploded, chasing them.

“I hate Paris.” Grindelwald muttered.

~*~*~

Outside the Père Lachaise Cemetery, Newt and Theseus, (Y/N) and Victoria, Tina with Jacob, and Kama with Nagini all Apparated out from the amphitheater. The black fire pursued them like a many-headed hydra, erupting out of every mausoleum.

Nicolas Flamel arrived at last with the cemetery on the verge of destruction. The fire Grindelwald had unleashed is out of control. It formed dragon-like creatures intent on destruction.

“TOGETHER! In a circle, your wand into the earth, or all Paris will be lost!” Flamel instructed.

“Finite!” Newt and Theseus.

“Finite!” (Y/N) and Victoria.

“Finite!” Tina.

“Finite!” Kama.

“Finite!” Flamel.

Our heroes, minus Jacob, made a circle and plunged their wands into the earth.

It takes almost superhuman power to contain Grindelwald’s demonic fire. United, our heroes fought and at last, their purifying fire drove Grindelwald’s back. The entrances to the underground lair were sealed. They have saved the city.

(Y/N) had watched the Scamander brothers hug. She smiled. Newt chose his side and knowing him (and his loyalty), he was going to stay.

Victoria stood next to her and placed a hand on (Y/N)’s shoulder. “Do you want to meet up with them? I’m pretty sure Theseus needs someone to confide in.”

She thought about it. She could help him get back on his feet. She could continue working with him. She could fall in love with him again. She could live out the future that was meant for him and Leta. A future with him that she could only dream of. She could.

(Y/N) shook her head. “Let’s just get out of here. I think I’ve had enough of this Auror business… And… I don’t want to slide back into his life thinking that he’d move on from Leta and love me again.”

Victoria nodded. “Well, at least now you can open up your shop. And hey, I’ll work with you.”

“What? But with me gone, you can take my position!”

She grabbed (Y/N)’s shoulders and faced her. “I don’t want to work with the Ministry anymore. Don’t get me wrong, I loved working with Theseus. Travers was the problem. You should’ve heard what he said about me to Theseus.”

(Y/N) tilted her head to the side, “What did he say?”

Victoria rolled her eyes. “He was suggesting that we arrest everyone at the rally. And I said that doing that would do more harm than good. Then Travers said, “Keep your Communications Liaison in check” to Theseus. And I was right there!”

“Did you… You know… Sock him in the face?” (Y/N) asked, genuinely curious and secretly hoping she did.

She sighed, “I wish, but Theseus held me back.”

“What a shame.”

“(Y/N), you’re my best friend. I’ll follow you anywhere. What have I always said since Hogwarts? Birds of a feather…?”

“Flock together” They said in unison.

•✦.✧.🔎.✧.✦•

After the events in Paris, (Y/N) and Victoria had owled in their resignation letters. Theseus was shocked and didn’t understand. By the time he went to visit their flat to ask for an explanation, their flat was empty. Pictures? Gone. Books? Gone. Any evidence of their stay was stripped away.

When Newt got the news, he tried to owl her, but no letter came back. He was worried about them. Were they taken? Were they being held hostage? They were in the middle of a war! How could they just… leave?

~*~*~

Working in the Ministry paid well so they were able to combine funds to open up their own bookshop cafe in Diagon Alley. The first floor was the cafe. The second floor was the bookshop where people could stay and read while sipping on tea, coffee or drinks alike. The third floor was their living quarters. Complete with a kitchen, living room area, a bedroom with a bathroom, a balcony, and a skylight so they could see the stars at night. The view was wonderful, but it couldn’t beat the view from the Ravenclaw Tower.

~*~*~

“Well would you look at that!” (Y/N) exclaimed while unboxing a shipment of books to stock up on.

“What is it?” Victoria asked, hugging (Y/N) from behind, resting her chin on her shoulder.

“We finally got a shipment of his book!

“Finally!”

Victoria removed herself from (Y/N), took one of the books and flipped through. She finally got to the last page. She felt it. It was charmed. As if it were only meant for them to see.

“This is amazing stuff,” (Y/N) cooed.

“Flip to the very last page.”

Confused, (Y/N) did so. She felt it too. “Revelio.” Then the words appeared on the page:

Dedicated to (Y/N) (L/N). The one that got away, but was always there for me.

To Victoria Howard. For being the one who always encouraged me to go above and beyond. To test the limits and overcome them.

Without them, this book would’ve never been possible. Wherever they may be, I hope they’re doing well.

~*~*~

Today was grocery day. So while (Y/N) was out, Victoria watched over the store.

“I have to get more things for the kitchen. We’re out of tea and snacks.” (Y/N) called out as she put on her coat.

“Okay, be safe.” Victoria replied, coming into the main room.

“I will.” She smiled, kissing Victoria’s cheek.

Victoria blushed lightly, still not used to her partner’s affections. “R-Remember to be aware of your surroundings!”

“Of course, Vi. I always am.” (Y/N) winked before heading out the door.

It had been months since Newt and Theseus had last seen any trace of (Y/N) and Victoria. They deserved a much needed break so they decided on walking through Diagon Alley. Newt and Theseus pass by a window of a cafe.

“Wait, this store wasn’t here before.” Newt claimed.

“Well, it is a bookshop cafe, let’s get some tea.” Theseus said as he held the door open.

With her back facing towards the door, Victoria heard the door open. Dusting off the powdered sugar off her apron, she turned to greet whoever walked through the door. “Hi, welcome!”

Newt and Theseus looked at each other. They knew that voice. “Victoria?!” They said as they looked at her.

“If you’re here… does that mean…?” Theseus trailed off, hopeful.

Victoria shook her head. “No… I haven’t seen her since we resigned…”

The brothers sighed in defeat. Theseus more so than Newt.

~*~*~

Their visits became more frequent, which made things harder for (Y/N). Until one day…

It was Victoria’s turn to get the groceries, so (Y/N) was watching over the shop. Restocking some of the textbooks for students, Newt and Theseus walked in. “Victoria, it’s us again.”

“Hi, welcome!” (Y/N)’s voice echoed as she made her way to the first floor.

“(Y-Y/N)?” Theseus stuttered.

“(Y/N)! I’m home- For Godric’s sake,” said Victoria, behind the brothers as she entered the shop.

After some small talk, Theseus made his way to (Y/N) who went back to restocking textbooks.

Theseus cleared his throat. “I-If you’re free sometime… Would you like to accompany me on a trip to Hogsmeade-”

Her heart was racing. She was fine. She was moving on with her life, but now they show up out of nowhere? Victoria and her made sure that they did everything they could for this situation not to happen.

She let out a shaky breath before she interrupted him. “Mr. Scamander, thank you for your kind offer, but I’ll have to politely decline. I’ve moved on. I’ve learned from my school girl naivety.” She hummed as she reminisced, “Newt told me that I had you wrapped around my finger… I think it was the other way around… Besides, I have Victoria now. The girl I used to be… She’s long gone.”

#fbawtf #fbtcog #theseus scamander x reader #newt scamander x reader #theseus scamander #newt scamander #harry potter fanfiction #fantastic beasts fanfiction #Series: ILYMS

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priorireverte · 4 years

Photo

Congratulations Ash!

Your application for Theodore Nott has been accepted. As much as my inner government official is groaning and reaching for the headache potions already, I can’t wait to see what trouble this Unspeakable gets into.

Please look to the checklist for the next steps and reach out if you have any questions!

OUT OF CHARACTER

NAME & PRONOUNS: ash & they/them

AGE: twenty six

TIMEZONE: est

ACTIVITY LEVEL: I’m a front end dev for a virtual event platform who works between 5-7 days a week but I’m usually active after 6pm and on weekends. I have slow weeks when on lighter projects and busier weeks when we have a lot of shows.

ANYTHING ELSE: N/A on triggers. I’ve been roleplaying on tumblr for i think 14 years? Too long.

CHARACTER DETAILS

NAME: Theodore Cantankerus Nott

BIRTHDATE: July 7th, 1980

DEATHDATE: N/A

GENDER, PRONOUNS, and SEXUALITY: Cismale, he/him. Theodore hasn’t given much thought to his sexuality, not even as far as labeling it. In the past, he’s found his attraction hasn’t been limited to one side of the gender spectrum. Currently, he’s entirely too busy to even sit for a moment and identify his years-long attraction to his current roommate. In the same manner, gender is never something he’s felt the need to question.

BLOOD STATUS: Pureblood

HOUSE ALUMNI: Slytherin

OCCUPATION: Unspeakable in the Death Department.

FACECLAIM: Woo Do-hwan

CHARACTER BACKGROUND

TW. Child Abuse, Neglect, Parental Death

POSTBELLUM

Theodore finds himself deeply in the middle of moving on. His own experiences with the second wizarding war left a sour taste in the wixen’s mouth and not just due to his father’s involvement. He watched various classmates suffer at the hands of the Dark Lord, familial pressure, and expectations. He noted no members of the high and mighty heroes seemed to think of the lowly slytherins. No hands were outstretched. No children saved from their situations. That was the heart of the issue. They were children then and aren’t now. How is he to trust that his generation will act any differently? Theodore has always preferred to be on the sidelines, to watch before acting, and to have his actions be as discreet and unnoticed as possible. Growing up, the lesson of fading into the background had been indoctrinated into him and that was a terrible thing to try to shake. Theodore’s never been a fighter. He’s always preferred to have knowledge on a situation before speaking.

Becoming an Unspeakable gave him a chance he never thought he would have to dedicate his life strictly to learning. With the dead coming back, Theodore hopes for his mother even though hope is something he has given up on a long time ago. Hope always leads to disappointment. Planning for the worst, however, leads to being pleasantly surprised by the results you receive. He doesn’t have many nightmares anymore. Any last trauma comes to him more in the form of a too quick touch or a raised voice sending his senses haywire. Lately, however, he swears he’s hearing his father’s voice in the midst of the Return’s camp. Seeing his face out of the corner of his eye. He knows the possibility of his father is high based on who has turned up so far. He does not wish for that day to ever come.

PERSONALITY

(+) Aware. Everyone had an opinion, a snap judgement they made based on your actions upon first interaction and rumors and gossip they had heard about you. Theodore is too aware of his own actions, his nature, and how he could be perceived due to his bloodline. He listens and watches while in the bowels of the Ministry.. He keeps an eye on the paper, aware of their sensationalized stories of the past. He stays aware when he locks himself in his and Draco’s two bedroom flat for the night, his house elf and cold ancestral home merely a thing of the past.

(+) Humble. It would be rare to hear Theodore speaking on his own accomplishments. When others bragged over NEWT results, family estates, or care packages while at school, Theodore stayed silent. In a post schooling life, he found he had nothing to brag over. His work is undiscussed, both by a willingness to keep to his own code of ethics and true inability to speak on it. Perhaps it is his conscience telling him karma was a tricky thing, the winds of fate often changed and were never certain. He is always aware that if he begins to celebrate his achievements, they could slip through his fingers before he had a chance to fully appreciate them.

(+) Skillful. When you spend most of the early years of your life hiding, there is no better place than a library and there is nowhere best to escape to than a book. At a young age, Theo’s mother Perdita exposed her son to learning. It became a joyous activity for the two of them. The dwindling vaults of the once great Nott family had no spare coin for a tutor for their only heir. Once it was just himself and his father in the house, Theo entertained himself with the curious collection of family heirlooms that littered the corridors of Nott Hall. He enjoys puzzles and figuring out just how magic is intertwined with a physical object. Nowadays, Theo spends his time pouring over books from Obscurus’ impressive collection while on his lunch break. He has enough puzzles to keep himself occupied for his lifetime.

(-) Cautious. It would be irresponsible to think the world was capable of change so quickly after the defeat of the Dark Lord. People didn’t change. Not unless they wanted to. Monetary repercussions, war reparations, were only likely to affect outward interest, not ideologies. Though perhaps that cautiousness had negatively affected Theo. He turned inward, the social progress he had made from fourteen to sixteen taking a turn when the Carrows took over the castle and his own father was broken out of Azkaban. He limited his social interactions severely, preferring to stick his nose in a book or have a quick intimate meeting over big social events and friendly gatherings and he still hasn’t grown out of that inclination. His social circle has been kept even as years passed and he enjoys a separation of the different areas of his life.

(-)Distractible. Wix alike were an issue. A pretty face, handsome smile, and a nice word easily swayed Theo’s attention. Always conscious, the tall boy doesn’t reveal or give much of himself. He does find he tolerates speaking to someone at length if they are intriguing when he would have otherwise ended a conversation. The same can be said for those with strong personalities. He finds himself getting caught up, steam rolled, instead of speaking up.

(-) Resentful. Theo often wondered how his life could have been different. What if his father had been captured after Voldemort’s first fall? What if some member of upper society took a moment to investigate the reservedness of Perdita or young Theodore? What if a professor questioned why young Theodore always stayed at the castle and never went home for the Yuletide holidays? So many things in his life could have been different if someone had looked closely, but they weren’t. The Malfoys, Narcissa specifically, were his only saving grace throughout childhood but they still didn’t overstep and remove him from his home. His resentment is something Theodore tries to tamper down when he can, choosing to look at life positively. No one demanded his quiet in his flat. The heat works with no need for an illegal heating charm here or there. He knows where everything is in his small space, even with Draco living alongside him. He doesn’t need to hide his things for fear of retribution. There are no nights worrying over going hungry.

BRIEF OVERVIEW OF FAMILY

Theodore Cantankerus Nott was born the only child and heir to Cantankerus Nott and Perdita Nott (nee Travers) on a warm summer night in early July. Theo spent little time under the careful (and stern) thumb of his father before his mother’s death. His mother was a much gentler figure, helping Theo grow sweet and strong. Perdita taught her son all the names of the flowers, their uses, and any star he asked the name of. She introduced him to music, showing him the piano and allowing him to pick up the violin. Theo was content to forget his father’s presence when he could, though he never dared voice that state of mind to Perdita. As Theo approached his eighth birthday, he began to see his childhood might not be as normal as his peers. He and his mother rarely left the grounds of Nott Hall. The once great stately home had slowly fallen to a near-ruinous state over the years. There was no shopping done by Perdita, all taken care of by their two remaining house elves. No tea time or meetings for the boards of any councils. The one time his mother seemed to be able to leave was when she was on the arm of his father at a required event. Theo wasn’t permitted to have friends over though visits to other sons of great houses were heavily encouraged the closer Hogwarts grew. He noticed the blatant way his peers’ parents showed affection. The boys his age never shied away from their father, some even spoke back with no fear of punishment.

Theo had stayed the sweet boy his mother had encouraged. Though his own father grew concerned about what was keeping the young boy soft. It didn’t help that Perdita’s health had begun to deteriorate ever since her birthday. Her walks around the garden with her son proving to be a bit too much for her. That duty had been given to the house elf, Dandy. Though she still wore the bracelet his father had gifted her every day. On the eve of his eighth birthday, his mother was trapped on the third floor of their home in her bedroom. There were no healers in and out of the grounds. Eight year old Theo took to hiding in the library, reading every book he could. He knew there must be something his parents were overlooking. They just weren’t trying hard enough. If healers could fix this, but weren’t allowed on the ground, he would. But his research proved naught and Perdita passed just before Christmas day, leaving Theo in his father’s sole care.

There were no kind words for the severe kind of man his father was. Piano lessons stopped as there was no one to teach him. Theo found himself with more alone time than he had ever had before as his father wasn’t a man you would like to find yourself around for any period of time. The exception was meals, when the youngest Nott and the eldest were forced to interact. His father often deemed these mealtimes lecture times as well, spouting off ideals Theodore never would have heard from his mother’s mouth.

HISTORY

When his first year arrived, Theodore understood the extent of what his mother had shielded him from. In the few years of them being the sole occupants of their home, his father’s once rare cases of corporal punishment had become a near daily occurrence. He had learned many times since gaining a wand that healing was an unacceptable action to take but his father had no issue with glamours. A word of what occurred at home wasn’t appropriate conversation. Familial business stayed such, without outside input or scorn.

It took Theo many years to come out of his proverbial shell. He thinks without Malfoy Manor as a place to escape to on school breaks and summer weekends, he may have not turned out the same. As his father’s attention turned away from his son and to the Dark Lord’s return, Theo felt almost free. That freedom didn’t occur until the Battle at the Department of Mysteries. The ministry had no issue arresting his father and not looking into whether young Theodore Nott would have any sort of adult supervision the summer before his sixth year. Why would they need to? Families like his never suffered.

Theodore didn’t participate in the Battle of Hogwarts, too fearful someone would take one look at him and make the sort of assumptions that ended with him being written about as another young death eater killed in the skirmish. He hoped to whatever ruled the skies and stars that his father didn’t survive, feeling guilty immediately that he had even had that sort of thought. It was safer than assuming his father was imprisoned. His father had escaped once before with no issue and there was no doubt in the youngest Nott’s mind that his old man could do it again. Fortunately, his wish came true.

Four years post Battle, Theodore has created a separate life for himself than the one originally laid out and it’s all thanks to the Department of Mysteries. The week after his father’s death, Theo returned home. He allowed himself only a week to mourn a man he knew in his heart he absolutely despised. Before the week was out, the long quiet house was filled with voices. Strangers were sitting in the abandoned sitting room. They had a proposition, a job offer, and no answers for how they had gotten through the wards of his home. Today, he has just about moved up to a fully-fledged unspeakable in the death division. The challenge of the Returned lays ahead.

His ancestral home of Nott Hall lays virtually abandoned. Only the blood wards stopped the acquisition of the property from anyone who strolled upon it. He still has some duties, as the remaining and only Nott, to attend to. Meager reparations paid to the Ministry dried up the last of the Nott vaults, leading Theo to have to acquire a small flat that he shares with Draco. It’s not fancy by any means, nothing like the tall ceiling rooms they both grew up in and without any house elves, but it’s theirs. His first purchases for himself, the sofa and his bed, are by far his favorite things in the whole flat.

OOC EXPLORATION

WHAT ARE YOU MOST LOOKING FORWARD TO?

Please you know. I hate it here.

ANYTHING ELSE?

https://www.pinterest.com/securemal/priori-reverte-theodore-theo-nott/

EXTRA FOR NON-BIO CHARACTERS

CHARACTER CONTRIBUTION

I truly love the idea of bringing in an Unspeakable to this world. It’s curious how they are the ones who made, and possibly caused, the discovery of the Returned but know so very little. Their, and Theo’s, entire worth is built on knowledge but they’re diving into the utter unknown and there are so many factors to consider about how this could end up. We don’t even know if the Returned can sustain themselves indefinitely. You’ve built a lovely playground for us, Emmy, and I’m too excited to play in it. But also I love Theodore Nott. Cursed Child did him dirty okay.

PRESENT

It was another night of waiting. The wooden small chair the Unspeakables were given wasn’t comfortable despite the many cushioning charms Theo’s co-workers had applied to it. He supposed that was the point. Most of the death division were working double or triple shifts. They had allocated reserve Unspeakables from both the time and love divisions and, still, they were understaffed. Their stock of pepper up potions should have run dry some time ago but the healers had been called in as well. No amount of pepper ups made this task any easier.

The coffee in his hand was lukewarm and Theo’s eyes were drooping. Slowly closing as his head fell forward until he caught himself. The curtain was moving. He could see it and he could have sworn he heard the now familiar sounds of confusion and anger at how the next unfortunate soul had ended up in the windowless chamber but he was wrong. The curtain always moved and Theodore always heard the whispers. It had taken quite a lot of restraint the first time he had been granted access to this room years ago but he kept his distance as the object called out to him. It was no different than the cursed books and painting and vases in his own home and Theo learned long ago that anything calling out for you was not a good sign. It only led to death. All things did in the world but especially here. Purposefully here. He wasn’t going to end up like his mother, touching something that didn’t belong to him and paying the price for it.

#prioriacceptance #theodore nott

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filmista · 4 years

Text

Shadow of a Doubt (1943)

“Money? How can you talk about money when I'm talking about souls? We eat and sleep and that's about all. We don't even have any real conversations. We just talk.”

Hitchcock was already on his sixth project in the US when he made Shadow of a Doubt in 1943 (six films in three years!), but reportedly he nevertheless regarded the film as his first real "American movie”. Which was true, in the sense that it was his first story in which the country as a setting was an irreplaceable part of the plot as well.

Where his war thrillers were still set in different countries and films like Rebecca and Suspicion simply took place back in England, Shadow of a Doubt is an American story par excellence, about sudden danger in a safe, all-American suburb and about traditional American values that cease to mean anything in the face of danger.

The story takes place in Santa Rosa, California, it’s the kind of town that looks eerily like Main Street in Disneyland - houses with white fences around them, with nice, of course white nuclear families in them. The Newton family might be the whitest most representative family of all: father Joseph (Henry Travers) works in a bank, mother Emma (Patricia Collinge) stays at home, daughter Charlie (Teresa Wright) has hit puberty and regularly grumbles about the banality of her life, while the two younger children, Ann and Roger, are just kind of there.

That boringness comes to an end when Emma's brother, Uncle Charlie (Joseph Cotton), comes to visit. He remains vague about his activities and the reason for his sudden visit. He often makes cynical remarks that they don't often hear at the Newton's and when a local newspaper wants to take a picture of him he must make a visible effort to keep from hitting the photographer in the face. Young Charlie initially finds it all very exciting that her uncle is coming to mess up the status quo in the house, but comes to suspect that uncle Charlie might be a murderer on the run.

The contrast between the innocence of small-town America (that’s probably laid on a bit too thick here with a few very naive ones opening scenes) and the corruption lurking in the form of Uncle Charlie, is the main theme of Shadow of a Doubt The Newtons live in a bright, innocent world, guided by blind faith in authority (“God bless the President of the United States ”, youngest daughter Ann prays at one point) and believe in the values of a simple life. Uncle Charlie on the other hand, makes uncomfortable comments about fraud at his brother in law’s bank (“We don’t joke about that here,” Joseph weakly protests), Goes on monologues about “greedy, fat women ”who live on their husbands' money and in general wants nothing to do with that normal, banal life.

The interesting thing lies in the mentality Hitchcock assumes against this contradiction between innocence and nihilism. The Newtons are, of course, the nominal heroes of the story in the end, Hitchcock neatly extends a happy ending to his film and pays lip service to the conventions (the bad guys must of course be punished in the end). But in the meantime, Uncle Charlie is by far the most interesting character in the whole movie, that’s initially welcomed by his niece as a welcome change from the normally boring life in Santa Rosa, and he is also the only one in the film that appears to be completely living and willing and to live in reality.

Everyone else shields themselves from reality: father Joseph fantasises about murder scenarios, mother Emma stares blindly at the past and seems to live more in her youth then in the here and now, and even youngest daughter Ann is constantly buried with her nose between the books. Everyone in Newton family actually seems to prefer to be somewhere else, somewhere in a less annoying version of reality, with the exception of daughter Charlie, who rebels, and youngest son Roger, who is hardly elaborated as a character. Uncle Charlie, on the other hand, is a smooth, charming guy who seems to know perfectly how the world works and doesn’t need fantasies to make his life bearable.

He might be a murderer but damn it, he’s not boring. Hitchcock could - certainly not in 1943 - let the final victory be for anyone but the Newtons, but it’s clear that he finds Uncle Charlie endlessly more fascinating and amusing. The fact that the Uncle Charlie's nihilism manifests itself during a key monologue as misogyny (with “useless women proud of their money but nothing else ”), gave rise once again to the usual allegations of misogyny against the director, but that doesn't really seem to fit with the nuanced, ambiguous way in which Teresa Wright plays Charlie.

After all, the two Charlies are played out during the whole movie as two contrasting, aspects of the same character. Uncle Charlie is the darkness, young Charlie is the light, but they form a part of the same whole. Hitchcock is constantly playing with a twin theme in Shadow of a Doubt emphasising the similarities between them.

Beyond the fact that they have the same name, they are also both introduced in the same way in the story (we see them lying in bed in similar poses) an allusion to a psychic connection between them (“you believe in telepathy? ”) and Hitchcock constantly insists on their similar character (“I know you don't like people much says Uncle Charlie, but I sense somewhere deep inside you have a secret - just like me ”).

The tension between them is almost sexual - the connection they feel at the beginning of the movie often looks like flirtation - and when Charlie finds out what her uncle really does for a living, she decides to keep quiet. With that decision to choose her uncle instead of law and order, she becomes an ambiguous character, whom we sense could maybe (just maybe) be able to transition to what you would call in Star Wars terms the dark side just like her uncle. Charlie is one of Hitchcock's most interesting female characters, and one that you would probably never find in the film of a true misogynist.

The film by today's standards, takes too much time to really get going and also suffers from an inconclusive romance between Charlie and the horribly boring cop Jack Graham (McDonald Carey) - It's vaguely interesting to imagine what kind of married life the two would have, probably one filled with long, boring evenings in separate twin beds. On the other hand is Hitchcock's distinctive visual style (note how Uncle Charlie is constantly associated with smoke) and excellent acting. Teresa Wright is one of Hitch's most captivating heroines, and Joseph Cotton plays against his sympathetic image with apparent gusto.

As is often the case, the villain in Shadow of a Doubt is much more interesting than the good guys - this is a thriller about a disturbance in the tedious life of awfully normal people which doesn’t dare to openly say it, but does dare to suggest, that such interference isn’t necessarily a bad thing. To commit murder is perhaps not a nice thing, but it does wake one up.

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