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degenerate-perturbation · 3 years

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Viv Reviews: Wayward Son by Rainbow Rowell

As part of my quest to read every edgy Harry Potter knockoff, I read Wayward Son.

I liked it much better than Carry On. Carry On was a confusing mess and I don’t really remember anything that happened in it. Wayward Son is a much more tightly plotted, emotionally coherent book, with many good ideas.

Is it good? No.

But here are some things I liked about it:

The plot construction. Checkov’s guns are ably placed in the first act, and fired in the third. The twists make sense, without being telegraphed. The story clips along at a reasonable pace and there is a consistent sense of motion and dynamism throughout that made me want to keep reading.

The Americana. I love all magical Americana. However, it is possible to fuck this trope up (see: CW’s Supernatural.) Wayward Son does this trope without fucking it up, and I’ll give it credit for that.

The inherent hilarity of British people interacting with America and being completely befuddled. For the duration of reading this book I felt about 4% more patriotic. There is a scene where the main characters are gearing up to fight the villains with magical spells but this is America and the villains brought guns and they just shoot them. This is hilarious and exactly what would happen.

The villains. The concept of a bunch of Silicon Valley techbros becoming vampires as like a biohacking project is brilliant, because I know so many people who would do that. I would do that. Las Vegas being run by old-school vampires and the two groups hate each other for Vampiring Wrong is also brilliant.

I really enjoyed the new muggle character. Shepard is a muggle who knows about magic and just really likes it and wants to be around it as like, a hobby. I would totally be this guy. Between him and the Silicon Valleys vampires I feel like the American characters in this book are spot-on as types of people who would exist in a setting where magic is real. So few urban fantasy books get this right, and Wayward Son kind of does!

Most of the characters do have coherent, detectable emotional arcs. They aren’t well-executed. But they exist! This is more than I could say for the previous book. Draco/Baz struggles with existing as a marginal vampire in mage society, or abandoning humanity to exist in vampire society. Hermione/Penelope takes a long series of L’s and comes to realize that she can’t actually do everything herself and should really have asked for help. Harry/Simon is depressed about not being a main character anymore.

The fact that Draco is a vampire for no obvious reason doesn’t seem as weird in Wayward Son as in Carry On because vampires are a major element of this book’s plot.

Harry and Draco’s relationship in this book is on the rocks, and it starts out seeming like they are going to break up. They still bicker a lot, despite being boyfriends, which makes perfect sense for people who disliked each other for most of the time they knew each other. This creates a fine thread of emotional tension throughout the story (I love conflict!) that, unfortunately, goes nowhere.

Here is what I did not like:

THE POV CHANGES.

Oh my god, the POV changes are fucking intolerable. Do you guys remember those old fanfics where there was a POV change literally every paragraph and every event got described from 4 different characters’ point of view? This book does this so egregiously that part of me wonders if in fact Rowell is making the book bad on purpose to fit with the fanfiction thing--because her other books are fine! I know Rowell can write a perfectly respectable love story, so really, what gives?

This is really just one thing because I think all of the book’s flaws boil down to this supremely irritating structure. Here are some issues that I feel arise from it:

Characters do not really develop their relationships to each other, because all of their emotional turmoil happens in their first-person internal monologue. Simon and Baz never really work through their relationship issues because they do not talk to each other until the very end of the book. They live completely inside their own heads, straightfowardly telling the reader how they are feeling, without having to tell each other.

Similarly, I thought Penelope and Shepard were going to be a developing couple. They would make sense as a foil to Simon and Baz’s established (and crumbling) relationship, they interact quite a bit, Penelope gets dumped at the start of the book by her boyfriend for traits that Shepard explicitly values, and on a meta level, it is sensible to pair the most magical mage with a muggle. But they don’t really interact much on the page. I think about how much more interesting this relationship would have read if Penelope had worked through some of her issues with this guy, but she didn’t.

As a result, the character’s arcs do not really go anywhere satisfying, because they are all so inside their own heads! Without playing off each other, they don’t have opportunities to develop in a natural way. She just privately thinks her to herself that she’s in over her head, and that’s the end of it. We don’t see anyone challenge Penelope on her overconfidence or see her confess vulnerability to anyone. We don’t see Simon and Baz argue about their relationship; we just see them mutually, separately worry about it.

The other problem I have with Simon and Baz is that their relationship takes place entirely in terms of dramatic overwrought romantic inner monologue. The one time they interact with each other romantically on screen--we don’t actually see it! We just see ping-ponging POV of “He means the world to me” and “I only ever wanted him," which is wildly inconsistent with how they actually interact with each other, which is mostly tense in petty bickering. And that would have been perfectly fine if, say, it had lead to a break up and subsequent make up. That would have been a good trial-by-fire for this relationship! But it doesn’t happen. I’m left asking over and over again, why do these characters love each other? Why does he mean the world to him? Why should I care?

This is related to another issue with the book is that, like a fanfiction, it seems to require the context of “canon” events in order to make emotional sense. Simon and Baz keep referring back to their dynamic as roommates that hate each other to contextualize their present love for each other. But we never saw any of that happen! I don’t feel attachment to their pre-existing relationship because the pre-existing relationship is an informed quality.

And this is the problem with Simon himself, as a character. His arc in this book is about overcoming his depression and the burnout of being an ex-main-character. He and Penelope keep referencing adventures they’ve had that we weren’t there for, so how am I supposed to feel a sense of bittersweet nostalgia for then? It’s like hanging out with a group of friends who keep making inside jokes I don’t get. It’s alienating, and does the opposite of make me relate to these characters.

If I was reading about Harry Potter’s ex-main-character depression, this would read totally differently, because I would have already read seven years’ worth of Harry Potter’s wild adventures. A fanfiction about Harry’s post-traumatic stress about all those events would be perfectly suitable fanfiction subject. A book about Crypto-Harry-Potter’s post-traumatic stress over events we weren’t present for does not work nearly as well.

Finally, the dynamic of this trio does not work. What really worked for Harry, Ron, and Hermione is that each one of them was the awkward third friend. In Wayward Son, Penelope and Baz both have a relationship with Simon, but not really each other. And since the characters stay in their own heads, a new dynamic doesn’t really have space to develop.

Also, the prose just, isn’t very good. J. K. Rowling was not a master of prose, but Harry Potter felt magical. It felt like a fairy tale. With Wayward Son, I am Once Again reminded of this Ursula Le Guin quote, from her essay, “From Elfland to Poughkeepsie”:

Many readers, many critics, and most editors speak of style as if it were an ingredient of a book, like the sugar in a cake, or something added onto the book, like the frosting on the cake. The style, of course, is the book. If you remove the cake, all you have left is recipe. If you remove the style, all you have left is a synopsis of the plot.

This is a recipe for a book. A good recipe, with many good ingredients, but it utterly lacks style, making it just good enough to disappoint me.

Apparently there is going to be a threequel. Obviously I am going to read it.

#viv reviews #extended speech act #wayward son #rainbow rowell

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weekendwarriorblog · 3 years

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The Weekend Warrior 5/7/21: WRATH OF MAN, HERE TODAY, THE UNTHINKABLE, MONSTER, THE WATER MAN and More

It’s a new month, and I guess going by previous years pre-COVID, this weekend would normally be the start of summer. This year, we’re instead getting a summer with a lot of movies that would normally be dumped into April or February or some other uneventful month. That doesn’t mean that there aren’t or won’t be any good movies, but really, there’s nothing that feels like a summer movie until A Quiet Place Part II and Disney’s Cruella open on Memorial Day weekend.

There’s been lots of great developments, though, including the Alamo Drafthouse in Brooklyn reopening this Friday and then in a few short weeks, theaters may be allowed to be open with no capacity rules although social distancing and masks will probably still be in place. Believe me, it’s been a confusing week as the city that got used to being on the backburner when it comes to reopenings, especially with movie theaters, is now dealing with arguing politicians competing to see who could throw open the then most doors fastest. It’s actually pretty embarrassing.

That aside, this week’s The Weekend Warrior column is brought to you by the new album “Coral Island” from Liverpool band The Coral, which I’ve decided to listen to on loop until I finish this column, because it’s taking me so long to get through it. (Eventually, I switched to Teenage Fanclub’s “Endless Arcade,” since I hadn’t had a chance to listen to it yet…. And to an old standby, Royal Blood, with their own excellent new album, “Typhoons.” At least the record business seems to know it’s the summer!)

Before we get to this week’s new movies, a couple tidbits. First of all, I’m thrilled that my friends Larissa Lam and Baldwin Chiu’s documentary FAR EAST DEEP SOUTH can finally be seen by the entire world, or at least the United States. It debuted on PBS World Channel on Tuesday night as part of the “America ReFramed” series, but for the entire month of May until June 3, you can watch it On Demand HERE, and that is huge! (There will be other ways to see it that you can read about here.)

This is an amazing MUST-SEE doc that looks into the little-known Chinese communities that took root in Mississippi in the early 20th Century and how they became such a huge part of that area with their markets, also bonding with the African-American communities that were similarly dealing with racism from the typically white post-Civil War South. It’s not just a history lesson, and it’s an incredibly moving story about a family trying to find its roots in the most unexpected places. There was a good reason why the couple’s short “Finding Cleveland” won the Oxford Film Festival while I was on the jury that year, and Far East Deep South similarly won an award there last year after its World Premiere at Cinequest was almost scuppered by COVID. It’s amazing how much more relevant and important this film has become since I first saw it last year, since both Asians and African-Americans are dealing with serious racial issues, and this movie shows that more than anything, they should be working to boost each other rather than fighting. Do check it out On Demand this month if you get a chance!

Another musician making movies is Mr. Dave Grohl of the Foo Fighters. I mentioned his documentary WHAT DRIVES US last week, but I actually only got to watch it on Thursday, and like his previous film Studio City and HBO mini-series, Sonic Highways, it’s a fantastic look at the music biz, this time through a variety of artists who began their careers by piling into vans and driving around the country. That is, except Lars Ulrich from Metallica, who mentions that the band was never so small or indie that they didn’t have a bus. But Grohl has used his vast connections to bring in a lot of great musicians including The Edge from U2, Flea from the Red Hot Chili Peppers, and more, making this a very entertaining movie both for fans of the various bands but also live music fans in general. I gotta admit that as much as I loved What Drives Us, it did bring me down a bit since it’s been almost 14 months since I’ve seen any live music, and I really miss it. This is now streaming on The Coda Collection, which you can subscribe to through Amazon Prime Video.

Guy Ritchie is back with his latest movie, WRATH OF MAN (Miramax/MGM), which reunites him with Jason Statham for the first time since 2007’s Revolver, I believe. Statham plays the enigmatic Paul “H” Hill who works at cash truck company Fortico, responsible for moving hundreds of million dollars around Los Angeles each week. Fortico has recently been hit by a lethal robbery, and H’s team soon learn that there’s a lot more to their new coworker, who happens to be looking for revenge against the man who murdered his son.

(Unfortunately, reviews for the movie are embargoed until Thursday at 6pm, so I can’t tell you whether it’s any good or not. Until Thursday night. Sorry!)

But I will talk about the movie’s box office prospects, because why not? Ritchie’s last movie, The Gentlemen, opened in January 2020, during the “before times,” with $10.6 million, but that was more of a classic Ritchie ensemble crime-comedy. Wrath of Man is more of the type of movie Statham has been making over the past few years, a cross between a revenge thriller and a heist flick. In fact, Statham has done a pretty good job creating his own brand through a variety of action-thrillers as well as a number of franchises including “The Transporter” movies, “The Expendables,” and eventually joining the “Fast and the Furious” franchise as Deckard Shaw with Furious 7 in 2017. Statham then went off to make Hobbs and Shaw with Dwayne Johnson, which didn’t do bad with $174 million. Before that, Statham starred in The Meg, a summer shark attack movie that grossed $145 million. Statham going back to help his old mate i.e. the director that gave Statham his start is pretty huge.

But as I said earlier, those were all in the “before times” and with the box office the way it is, it’s hard to imagine that the exciting reunion of Statham and Ritchie can open with more than $10 million but maybe closer to $8 million, because MGM/UA just doesn’t have the marketing clout of a Warner Bros. or Universal. Even so, that should be enough to be #1 this weekend as both Mortal Kombat and Demon Slayer continue to fall away. Unfortunately, if the movie *is* any good -- and I can’t tell you one way or another -- then by the time reviews hit, people will already have other plans for the weekend than to go see the movie. So yeah, that’s pretty dumb on the part of MGM, huh?

UPDATE: MGM is putting the movie into 2,876 theaters and maybe I'm being overly optimistic, because, as you'll read below, the movie IS pretty good and reviews have remained positive with the American reviews rolling in last night, still at 70% Fresh at this writing. Maybe that'll help the movie do a little better, maybe as much as $9 million, although I'll probably owe MGM an apology if it cracks $10 million, and I don't think it will.

Mini-Review: If you’ve seen the trailer for Wrath of Man, you might go into Guy Ritchie’s latest thinking you know what to expect, because it’s sure being sold as another typical Jason Statham revenge thriller. Don’t be fooled by the marketing, the movie really is Ritchie’s chance to make his own version of Heat, an L.A. heist movie that owes as much to Rashomon as another movie being released this week.

Wrath of Man begins with the heist of an armored truck that turns deadly with the wanton murder of a couple guards. From there, you might think we know where things are going when Statham’s “H” company whose truck was hit, and on his first day, he stops a similar heist by killing the truck’s attackers. H is immediately the hero of the company, although he still has quite a few suspicious coworkers and the feeling is quite mutual. Ritchie’s film then slips into the second episodic chapter which goes back five months to that initial heist where we learn that Statham’s son was killed by being in the wrong place at the wrong time.

I don’t want to go too much deeper into how the movie and story play out, because like The Gentlemen and some of Ritchie’s more intricate films, there’s a lot that purposefully isn’t made very apparent at the beginning. To many, this movie will be seen as even more macho than most of Ritchie's films, to the point where even the only woman guard, Dana, being just as macho as the men. As the movie begins, there’s a lot of joke-cracking and crotch-grabbing, all while Statham’s character silently observes and only acts when necessary.

The film’s shift to more of a classic Ritchie ensemble does slowly take place, but by the third chapter, it shifts to the group perpetrating the cash truck heists with an “inside person,” taking the movie to yet another place that makes it more obvious that this is Ritchie’s attempt at delving into the L.A. heist genre that other filmmakers have done so well.

Oddly, Statham doesn’t have too many lines, acting almost like a Terminator in his determination to right wrongs, but as always, Ritchie puts together a fantastic ensemble cast including a number of great American character actors who we rarely get to see in such great roles. I was particularly impressed with Jeffrey Donovan, who has appeared in a number of otherwise forgettable crime films this past year. The same can be said for Holt McCallany as H’s truck driver “Bullet,” but Ritchie also cast the likes of Josh Hartnett and Scott Eastwood in smaller yet still significant supporting roles, all of whom become more interesting as you start figuring out who all the players are.

Like I said, the movie is fairly macho and the few women play very small roles, but it’s how things are set-up in the first few acts to then change course and build to an absolutely amazing third act that will undoubtedly bear comparisons to Heat. And yet Wrath of Man (which is actually based on a little-seen French crime-thriller) does branch away from some of Ritchie’s standards, first of all by being far darker and even more violent with any of the wisecracking humor that pervades a lot of Ritchie’s work to counterbalance such violence disappearing once the flashbacks begin. It’s all punctuated by a fantastically tense score by Christopher Benstead, which seems a bit much at first but eventually settles into the perfect pace and tone for the action.

Despite disappearing for a good chunk of the movie, Statham is still great, basically killing everyone as his characters are wont to do, but watching how all of the different ideas come together leads to such a satisfying conclusion that one hopes those who might be put off, thinking they know where it's going due to the somewhat pathetic and obvious marketing will give it a chance to see how Ritchie has changed gears as effortlessly as he did with Aladdin a few years back.

Rating: 7.5/10

After even a longer time since he directed a movie, Billy Crystal once again takes the helm for HERE TODAY (Sony/Stage6), a movie in which he plays comedy writer Charlie Burns, whose chance encounter with Tiffany Haddish’s lounge singer, Emma Payge, leads to an unlikely friendship, as he struggles with early stage dementia.

I’ve known about this movie for over a year now, and I was pretty excited to finally get to see it, since I was such a fan of the other movies Crystal has directed, 1992’s Mr. Saturday Night and 1995’s Forget Paris, and it’s just amazing to me that he hasn’t directed a movie since.

At first, it seems like it’s the type of meet-cute we’ve seen so much in Crystal’s past filmography, but his pairing with Haddish isn’t something that might work on paper, but in fact, their comic styles mesh so perfectly together that it’s amazing that no one thought of putting them together before.

Crystal wrote the film with comic Alan Zweibel, who adapted it from his own short story “The Prize,” which refers to Haddish’s character winning Charlie in an auction for a lunch. Actually, her ex won the lunch, and she decided to use it because… free lunch! It’s a pretty simple set-up but one that allows the filmmakers to explore some of the odder things that happen in life.

Much of the movie’s humor plays upon the differences between the two characters, and how unexpected their friendship is. I can totally relate, because I have a lot of good long-time friends who most people might never expect us to be friends, but Crystal, Zweibel and Haddish pick up on that and create a movie that’s very funny but has enough other characters around the duo toa allow their characters to show how they’re just really nice people. We see that with how Charlie takes a young writer at his late night show under his wing or how Emma livens up the bat mitzvah of Charlie’s granddaughter. Oh yeah, and Haddish sings. She actually has a number of great performances in the movie, and seriously, anyone who watches this movie is gonna wanna see a smart filmmaker put Haddish in a musical immediately.

The film also acts as a truly touching tribute to Crystal’s friend, the late Robin WIlliams, who was diagnosed with the exact same type of dementia after his suicide death, and knowing that fact, makes the film even more poignant. More importantly, it doesn’t use Charlie’s condition for laughs, and for that alone, I feel like this is ten times better than that overrated Oscar winner The Father.

Here Today’s biggest problems come in the third act when it feels like the movie is starting to over-extend its welcome, even going into somewhat expected places, but it recovers from that rough third act to land a really nice ending. Crystal has always proven himself to be a really strong mainstream filmmaker (ala Rob Reiner and others) who makes crowd-pleasing movies, and it’s so nice seeing him going behind the camera for a movie that’s obviously very personal but also highly relatable.

As far as box office, I certainly have high hopes that Crystal still has an older audience of fans who might want to see him on the big screen again. I’m just not sure if this will be in more than 1,000 theaters, and though I’ve seen quite a bit of marketing, I just haven’t seen Crystal or Haddish do nearly as much in terms of getting out there that would be necessary to reach an audience that might want to venture out into movie theaters to see the movie vs. waiting until it’s on cable/streaming. There’s also Tiffany Haddish’ fanbase, and there could be some benefit for the movie coming out the same week as her new CBS show “Kids Say the Darndest Things.”

I’d love to be optimistic with this making $4 to 5 million but it’s probably more likely to be closer to $3 million especially with capacity limits still in place for most theaters and the audience generally being older.

UPDATE: Maybe I was a little too optimistic, because I enjoyed the movie so much and it will probably be closer to $1 or 1.5 million since other reviews aren't as great.

Next, we have two movies finally being released many years after their festival premieres…

The Swedish apocalyptic thriller THE UNTHINKABLE (Magnet), directed by Victor Danell, is finally being released after playing genre fests in 2018 and 2019. It stars Christoffer Nordenrot as Alex, a young piano virtuoso who ran away from home due to his abusive father Bjorn (Jesper Barkselius). Years later, he returns home for his mother’s funeral after she’s killed in a terrorist attack on Sweden. At the same, there’s a virus that’s erasing people’s memories, but Alex is still in love with Anna (Lisa Henni), the girl he had a crush on when he left, and the three of them will have to help each other face all the horrible things hitting their home at the same time.

As I was watching this movie, a lot of it felt eerily familiar to me, but I couldn’t figure out why. The more I watched it, the more I realized that I actually HAD seen the movie before. Sure enough, I saw this movie over two years ago at the “What the Fest?!” in New York two years ago, and I honestly don’t remember loving it. Still, I decided to give it a fresh look, hoping to get more out of it on second viewing.

Some of the same things bothered me on this second viewing, because it’s really hard to figure out exactly what is going on and whether the horrific events are natural, man-made or a combination of both. For some time, we get so mired into Alex’s lame relationship with Anna, and when he returns home, his conspiracy theory-driven father is busy protecting a bunker that’s being invaded by foreign military troops he thinks are Russians. We cut between these two disparate scenarios while sometimes returning to the capital of Sweden and throwing in a few big set pieces. It’s so disjointed that you feel like you’re watching a lot of random unrelated events, maybe a bit like last week’s About Endlessness -- maybe it’s a Swedish thing?

There are aspects of The Unthinkable that are quite commendable, particularly those action moments and how the mystery about what is happening develops as the film goes along. Eventually, the film does find a more consistent pace, and things start becoming a little clearer, which makes the final act better than much of what we’ve watched earlier. Even so, it’s still quite annoying how long it takes to figure out what’s going on, even on a second viewing, and for most people, that may already be far too frustrating to get through it.

Hitting Netflix on Friday over THREE years after it premiered at Sundance is music video director Anthony Mandler’s directorial debut, MONSTER (Netflix), based on the novel by Walter Dean Myers. It stars Kelvin Harrison Jr. (Waves) as Steve Harmon, a 17-year-old film student put in jail, accused of murder in a bodega robbery. His defense lawyer (Jennifer Ehle) is trying to help him be released, but he’s fighting against the odds of a judicial system that sees him as a “monster” because he was in the wrong place at the wrong time.

I have to be honest that I did go to see this at Sundance the week it premiered, and for whatever reason, I just wasn’t feeling it, so I only really caught about twenty minutes of it. Watching it now with more time and a little less weary than I usually am towards the end of Sundance, I was able to appreciate Monster more for what it is. On the surface, it’s just about Steve’s case and how what really happened unfolds before our eyes and we learn more about those around Steve and how their influence may have pulled a smart and studious young man into the criminal world that now has him in prison with much more violent life-long criminals.

We already knew that Harrison was a great actor, but Monster shows us that he was already on his way to greatness with this movie that for whatever reason got buried even as it dealt with issues that have been in the headlines almost every day since this debuted.

Mandler takes an interesting approach, both non-linear and also with blatant nods to Kurosawa’s Rashomon, which is even cited by Steve’s teacher, played by Tim Blake Nelson. Jeffrey Wright and Jennifer Hudson are decent as Steve’s parents, but they’re generally smaller and non-showy roles compared to the moments between Harrison and Ehle. Much of the film takes place in the courtroom with flashbacks showing what happened through the viewpoint of whomever is on the stand, which eventually includes Steve himself.

The way Mandler handles the material may lean more on the artiness rather than something more mainstream -- Michael B. Jordan’s Just Mercy comes to mind -- but it’s just as powerful in showing how someone like Steve can be othered by society into being a criminal. Sure, there have been other handlings of this sort of material that I thought were better films, but if you know anyone who has ever had dealings with the “justice” system and know how unfair and horrible it can be even to the innocent, then Monster will certainly strike a chord.

Also hitting Netflix this week is the new series based on Mark Millar and Frank Quitely‘s comic books, JUPITER’S LEGACY (Netflix), another kind of twist on the superhero genre ala Amazon Prime Video’s series based on Warren Ellis and Darick Robertson’s The Boys. I love the comics, and I can’t wait to finally get around to seeing Netflix’s first adaptation of a Millarworld property.

David Oyelowo makes his directorial debut with THE WATER MAN (RLJEfilms), a movie about a young boy named Gunner Boon (Lonnie Chavis), whose mother (Rosario Dawson) is battling leukemia. In an effort to cure her, Guner goes off on a journey along with a teenage girl named Jo (Amiah Miller) to find the mythical Water Man, who can provide them with a magic token that might save Gunner’s mother’s life.

I’ve interviewed Oyelowo a few times before, and I really like him a lot, so I had really high hopes for him as a director since I feel he’s just a terrific actor. Unfortunately, the material here is just not strong enough that I think even a far more experienced filmmaker could make something out of it.

Set in PIne Hills, we meet Gunner, a bright kid who loves drawing comic books, but he has trouble connecting with his father (Oyelowo), so when he has an idea that might help his sick mother, he goes off with a head-strong teen named Jo, in search of the Water Man, a summertime adventure permeated by a lot of very bad low-budget visual effects.

Honestly, I’m not even sure where to begin with where The Water Man falters, because Oyelowo has such a great cast, including Alfred Molina and Maria Bello in tiny parts. The story is a problem, as is the writing, which is just so bland and dull, that there’s really nothing in Oyelowo’s direction or any of the performances that really can salvage it. Neither of the child actors have much charisma or personality, and even Dawson’s performance, which would normally be a showstopper is repeatedly lessened by the constant cutting back to the kids. (And as someone who beat leukemia myself, I’m never a fan when cancer is depicted in movies as a death sentence rather than just another hurdle in life that needs to be overcome.)

Oyelowo himself may be one of his generation’s best actors, but he brings so little to the role of Gunner’s father, maybe to not take away from his younger star, but it hurts that he doesn’t do more to create a stronger conflict by making the character more horrible to drive Gunner away. The actual Water Man doesn’t improve things when he finally shows up, essentially talking like a pirate but not even remotely paying off.

Honestly, The Water Man seems like such a misguided venture -- Exec. Produced by Oprah, no less -- and it might have been totally forgettable if the characters didn’t keep saying the title of the movie every five minutes.

Hitting theaters Friday after a festival run is Tran Quoc Bao’s action-comedy THE PAPER TIGERS (WELL GO USA), starring ALain Uy, Ron Yuan and Mikel Shannon Jenkins as martial artists once known as “the three tigers but now middle-aged men must set aside old grudges and dad duties to avenge the murder of their teacher. I’ve had a screener of this since last summer when it played at Fantasia Festival in Montreal, and I just never got around to watching it, but if I’m able to squeeze it in before the weekend, check back here for my review.

Streaming on Shudder this Friday is Ryan Kruger's South African comedy-thriller FRIED BARRY (Shudder), starring Gary Green as Barry, a violent street junkie who is abducted by aliens who take over his body in order to… well, actually… they do a lot of drugs, have a lot of sex and other craziness. It’s a pretty strange and bizarre movie that reminds me a little of movies like a lower-fi Under the Skin or Beyond the Black Rainbow, and much of it is driven by the insane and unique performance by Green and the odd characters he encounters that I think will find its fans for sure, but it will definitely be for a very select audience of genre festival fans, as this is by no means a mainstream genre film.

Speaking of which, another movie out this week which I wasn’t allowed to see in advance is Gia Coppola’s MAINSTREAM (IFC Films), starring Maya Hawke as a young woman seeking internet stardom by making YouTube videos with a charismatic stranger, played by Andrew Garfield, until “the dark side of viral celebrity threatens to ruin them both.” Yup, it’s one of THOSE movies. It also stars Nat Wolff, Jason Schwartzman and Johnny Knoxville, but I haven’t heard anything good about it, and I’m not sure my curiosity is piqued enough to spend any of my own personal money to check it out.

Hitting Amazon on Friday is the doc THE BOY FROM MEDELLIN (Amazon) from Matthew Heineman (City of Ghosts, Cartel Land), a portrait of musical superstar J. Balvin, as he prepares for a massive sold-out stadium show in his hometown of Medellin, Colombia, which is hindered by the growing civil unrest in the area.

Lots of other movies this week, but a few that i just wasn’t able to get to this week, including:

ABOVE SUSPICION (Lionsgate) INITIATION (Saban Films) ENFANT TERRIBLE (Dark Star Pictures) QUEEN MARIE (Samuel Goldwyn Films) SILO (Oscilloscope) CITIZEN PENN (Discovery+)

That’s it for this week. Next week, Chris Rock and Samuel L. Jackson star in SPIRAL: FROM THE BOOK OF SAW (Lionsgate) and Angelina Jolie returns for the thriller THOSE WHO WISH ME DEAD (New Line) and Timur Bekmambetov’s thriller, PROFILE (Focus Features). That’s right. This will be the first weekend in over a year where we’ll have three or maybe even four new wide releases.

#TheWeekendWarrior #Movies #Reviews #WrathOfMan #HereToday #Monster #The Unthinkable #TheWaterMan

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xfanfics · 4 years

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Destiel Fic Rec List Part 1

Last Updated in October 2014. Posted in May 2020 for posterity. Listed in no particular order - the total rec list will have ~250 fics. Header graphic used with permission.

This part of the list contains: 48 fics.

Other Destiel Rec Lists: [1]. [2]. [3]. [4]. [5]. [6]. [7].

For Science! by pm_lo E | 21k | ABO, Omega!cas, Alpha!Dean,

Selected transcripts and supporting materials from Dr. Castiel Williams and Dean Winchester’s seminal study on physiological and psychological sexual response by gender designation.

Even though this is a dialogue/email text only story, I still very much enjoyed it and found it ridiculously hot. Maybe I'm just easy. (No I'm not. This fic is good, read it.)

Forget-Me-Not Blues by noangelsinthegarrison E | 68k | Firefighter!Dean, Professor!Cas, Misunderstandings, Mutual Pining

Sam and Jess are getting married and Dean couldn’t be any happier for them. Honestly, they’re kind of disgustingly perfect for each other and Dean’s pretty damn excited about staying with them the week before the wedding. He’s Sam’s best man, of course, and he doesn’t even mind that Jess has her own best man to share in all the organizational duties. The more the merrier, right? Except Dean must have done something to epically piss off the universe because Jess’s best man just happens to be Castiel friggin’ Novak. He’s got even hotter since High School, but apparently no friendlier and if Cas wants to spend the week pretending like they’ve never met before? Fine. Two can play at that game.

THIS WAS SO GOOD I'M TEARING UP. tropes abound and I love it!

Cops and Robbers by kinkstiel E | 53k [WIP] | Detective!Dean, Criminal!Cas, Top!Cas, Bottom!dean

They locked eyes for a minute and then Cas leaned back as far as the cuffs would let him go, spreading his legs obscenely wide. “I want you to suck my cock, Dean.” Dean balked, mouth going dry in a second, eyes slipping to the now visible bulge in Castiel’s suit pants. “Um,” he said stupidly, face flushing red, eyes unable to pull away. Cas hummed. “Depending on how well you suck me, I might just tell you everything you want to know.” He licked his lips, smirking slightly when he caught Dean’s gaze. “And with sinful little lips like yours,” he made a low whistling sound, “I don’t doubt you’ll get every last name out of me.

So very good. Love the dark and dirtiness of it. It does get lighter and sappier towards the end tho.

Cursed or Not ❤ by Ltleflrt E | 115k | witch!Cas, shapeshifter!Dean, switching

While experimenting with magic when he was a kid, Sam accidentally cursed Dean. Now, Dean is forced to wear a spelled amulet constantly, or he'll turn into a random animal. For a little over a decade, he's learned to live with the curse, and has even found it useful in some cases, but he sure would be happier without it. When he meets a witch named Castiel, he's offered a deal. Instead of assuming all witches are bad, Dean can spend a season getting to know him. If at the end of the season, Dean still thinks he's evil Castiel will send him away with his memory wiped of the whole experience. But if he learns that Castiel is not the monster Dean assumes he is, he'll lift Dean's curse. It's an offer Dean can't bring himself to pass up.

Literally perfect. Enthralling world, magical relationship.

Surprise Package by wannaliveindeansdimples E | 3k | Hot, , Dom Cas, Sub Dean, Light BDSM

When Cas' roommate Meg has to go out of town suddenly, she leaves him an unexpected gift.

So so hot. Non extreme Dom!cas and sub!dean.

Never Have I ever by sweetdean M | 78k | Fluff, High School AU, top!cas, bottom!dean

When Jo drags Dean along to a game of "never have I ever" with her friends, he finds himself getting caught up in a lot more than just a game. “Never have I ever hung out with such an asshole,” Dean countered, positively shocked at his own sass. Cas smirked again. “Oh, are we hanging out now?fricken adorable

Road Signs by gemmiel E | 9k| Canon!verse, true form

Dean is curious about how angels have sex. Castiel shows him.

Damn. True form, soul sex, and regular sex. Yes please.

It's Brilliant, Really by snarkymonkey E | 15k | Fluff, AU, Professor!cas, Stuntman!dean

Castiel Novak is a History adjunct at Stanford University. He's also the most patient younger brother. When his older brother, Gabriel, decides to start *wooing* one of his younger waiters, Castiel reluctantly agrees to double-date with the intended paramour's older brother. What he didn't expect, however, was how much his own life would flip over such a careless decision.

Adorable. Hot, and adorable.

Gabriel's Unfortunate Mistake by JackHawksmoor E | 8k | Hot, AU

an answer to a prompt: Gabriel decides to hire a prostitute for his virgin brother Castiel as a joke, but instead accidentally hires Dean, a professional Dom. The moment Dean first lays a hand on him, Castiel knows he is lost. Dean/Castiel AU.

Um mm.... Damn. That was hot. Newbie sub!cas and pro dom!dean

Well-Beloved Unto Me by Moorishflower E | 3k | Alt!Canon, tentacles

The Winchesters don't get rewarded for all the shit they go through, so Dean is understandably wary when a few recharged and promoted angels offer him and Sam the vacation of a lifetime. Title comes from the Song of Solomon.

True form. And sex. MY FAVE.

How to Date an Angel in 12 Easy Steps by Fourthduckling E | 23k | Fluff, Alt!canon

It's not that hard to date an angel. All Dean has to do is fight off hordes of vampires, research gay porn, get sucked into a crappy Narnia, endure Sam's comments, creep out on Dr. Sexy, get harassed -- oh, and that's right-- figure out he's into Cas. Easy, right?

SQUUEEEE. Perfect and cute and cuddly.

Two Wrongs Don't Make A Right But Three Rights Make A Left by the0voice0from0above E | 45k | High School AU, Dancer!Cas, Welder!Dean,

The beautiful Garrison Ballet School becomes home to a reckless bunch of misfits after the Colt Welding Academy is severely damaged in a fire and has to close for repairs. Needless to say, Castiel and his friends clash with their unwanted guests but there's one boy in particular who infuriates him.

Dancer!au. Love it love it love it!

Rest My Angel by cobalt_wings E | 86k | Fluff, Season 9 AU

Angels are falling from the sky, and Dean is losing it. Sam is dying in his arms, and one of those burning, twisting figures blazing through the night air might be his very own angel, Castiel. What can he do to help those he loves?

Sex and domestic and lots of fucking. My fave.

One Species Too Many by wallmakerrelict E | 21k | Fluff, Alt!canon

While Dean is laid up for a month after breaking his leg on a hunt, Cas decides that it's a perfect time to adopt a litter of kittens. But even though he's gotten better since Purgatory, Cas still isn't quite the same as he was before fixing Sam's head, and being trapped in a cabin with him for weeks on end is making that all the more obvious to Dean. When Sam takes off on a hunt, Dean has to figure out on his own how to navigate his new relationship with Cas while also helping to raise a bunch of fuzzballs that aren't even cute. Not even a little bit. (Well, maybe a little bit.)

Team free will with kittens!! So fluffy and domestic but also a touch of angst.

It's A Bet by vitamindesi E | 34k | College AU, top!cas, bottom!dean

Destiel College!AU in which freshman Dean is dared by his best friends to hit on senior Castiel at a party. He wants to say no but then someone starts a bet and Benny bets a sum that is ridiculously high for a student and Dean can’t disappoint Benny, right? I deviated only, but hopefully it suffices.

So fabulous and smutty I want to cry. Literally perfection.

Your Call Cannot Be Completed As Dialed by eBob, K_K_TiBal T | 66k [WIP] | Fluff, College AU

AU in which Castiel accidentally sends a text message to the wrong number and befriends the person at the other end of the line. However, accidents don’t just happen accidentally, and sometimes two completely different people are exactly what the other needs.

LITERALLY THE BEST. So many feelings. I WANT IT TO BE COMPLETE SO MUCH. Abandoned WIP.

Equinox by luchia E | 12k | Alt!canon, time travel

In which Castiel is the weird time-traveling freak who just might be the love of Dean Winchester's life.

Confusing but perfect time travel fic.

If I run by betty days E | 4k | Hot, AU, sexting, long distance relationship

"Dean Winchester is a red-blooded American male. He lifts all the things. He aims for functional strength. He counts his macros and makes fun of curlbros. He is not a member of the Tarahumara tribe and he will not read Born to Run, no matter how many times Sam tells him to, because Starting Strength is the only book Dean will ever fucking need." Wherein a friendly competition with the mysterious ThursdaysAngel turns into a sexy selfie-trading spree that motivates Dean Winchester to train for his first marathon.

Soo. Hot. Makes me want to actually exercise?

The Little Things by Alreadypainfullygone T | 2k | Angst, Cancer, Major Character Death

Au based on 'the big C' in which Dean gets very sick, and deals with it the denial way. Meeting a homeless man on the way. Dean/Castiel Angst. Warning for trigger - Cancer. sorry if you think I dealt with it badly.

This is only 2.8k words, and yet it managed to make me cry.

Do What Feels Good by Catchclaw, cymbalism E | 12k | Hot, Alt!canon, PWP

Castiel learns to love alone time in the shower. And then he learns to share.

Fuuuuuck that was hot. Castubation and shower sex is just so hnnnggg.

All That Is And Used To Be by MisaChan E | 26k | Alt!Canon, wing!Kink

Dean never even knew anyone was living in the old estate outside of town until its mysterious occupant contracts his shop for a very specific job: a custom piano bench with grooves cut into the back. He finds Castiel and his terms to be eccentric with a capital E but the money is too good to turn down and anyway, Dean can't help indulging his curiosity about the guy and his secretive, isolated life. There are secrets that will not stay hidden and stories that refuse to be forgotten. Especially when they happen to involve Dean Winchester and the angel Castiel.

Ugh, I love this story. Concept, execution, and characterization are all perfect.

Do I Have Something Like That? by MysticMoonhigh E | 2k | Hot, horn!kink, wing!kink

based on the tumblr post I made: Does anybody know any demon!Dean fics where Cas makes Dean climax by basically giving his demon horns a hand job because I want this so badly out of lifE | I'm. I've read this about three times and I think I'm finally coming to terms with my alien biology kink. Hot. Wink!kink and horn!kink. Yes.

The Doctor Will See You Now by PetrichorPerfume E | 7k| Hot, PWP sub!dean, gentle dom!cas, wing!kink

Dean has a medical kink. Castiel is more than happy to oblige. Starring Castiel as the slightly unorthodox Dr. Novak who enjoys prescribing enforced chastity and daily tease and denial sessions, and Dean as his needy, submissive patient who will do anything for a chance to come.

Wowowwowowow. Um. This was super hot. Nnnghhhh.

Into Your Hideaway by thepinupchemist E | 176k |Angst, a/b/o, omega!dean, alpha!cas, mpreg

Driving down a deserted road in the Rocky Mountains, Castiel finds something unexpected: An omega. Not only an omega, but a naked, injured, pregnant omega. Dean doesn't talk much at first, but that doesn't change the brightness of his soul. It also doesn't stop Castiel from falling in love with him.

I just... Wow. This was an amazing story. Beware that it is possibly very triggering, because of rape, assault, violence, and general bigotry. But perhaps because of all of that, you get a story that is almost painful in its reality, and it is all the more loveable for that.

The World Crashing All Around by thepinupchemist E | 36k| Alt!canon, best friends wing!Kink, kid!fic

During a storm in September of 1987, Dean and Sam hear something hit their roof. When they brave the backyard to investigate, they find a fledgling angel. A story about best friendship, spoiled plans, and love, in four parts.

OH MY GOD. This was perfect all the way through. From soul bonds, to slow burn, to growing up together as best friends, it's all my favorite. And it even has wing kink, which is literally the best.

Share Your Burden by aTimeOfMagic E | 3k Hot, PWP, Sub!dean, dom!cas

Set at the end of 'Are You There God? It's Me Dean Winchester.' 4.02. Castiel shows Dean that he deserves respect, and Dean comes to see that Cas is not, in fact, just a 'hammer'. He also learns that his 'people skills' are definitely not entirely 'rusty'.

Damn. Um, really hot. Also, unexpectedly sweet.

Flawless by Vaerin E | 69k | a/b/o, accidental bonding, sub!dean, dom!cas

A contract is out on the Winchesters, a large sum of money the reward for throwing them off their game. A witch in the town they happen to be passing through decides to collect. She sets her sights on Dean, trying to seduce him into leaving his job to stay with her. When she can't even convince him to warm her bed, she decides to turn her job into his punishment. Knowing he fears commitment and can't stand the thought of being with a man, she works a spell between him and Castiel... the one friend he can call a safe haven. When they end up mated the next morning, not only does the Winchester family business suffer... but so does Dean's friendship with Castiel.

Cute long soul bond fic. Contains sabriel.

Chasing Normal by Donovanspen M | 16k | Fluff, First time, Cuddling & Snuggling

Dean reevaluates his definition of an 'apple pie life' and what that means for him, personally.

This is the definition of domestic fluff and smut. There's a wee bit of angst because hey, it's set in the canon verse. But so worth it.

Hold On by somuchforbaggles E | 92k | Fluff, Angst, mental illness

Castiel is sure that nothing in his life will ever change. Everything that happens to him is predictable, from the stability of his job to the unrelenting sporadic anxiety attacks, he can rely on his life to stay the same forever - until he saves Dean Winchester from the path of an oncoming train. From then on, everything changes for both of them, and the only way they can deal with it is together.

Woww. This was an amazing ride. Angsty and fluffy, then angsty again, then back to fluffy. So good.

I said to myself again by avyssoseleison E | 2k | Fluff, Praise!kink, Self-esteem issues

Dean finally lets himself be appreciated and cared for by his angel.

Praise kink is my ultimate weakness

The One Thing You Can't Lose by MajorEnglishEsquire T | 4k | Fluff, Cuddling & Snuggling

You know what I like a lot? The thought that Dean can just tug Cas anywhere at any time and Cas, who can lift tons without effort, who can demolish things with the light of his grace, who has battled and gone to war, has defended and broken, will just let Dean do it.

fluffy love

Spit Slick by VeraBAdler M | 1k | Fluff, , First Time

[no description]

A super cute fluffy little oneshot :3 (tags say 'happy sex' and 'sexy cuddling' if you need more to go on)

Late Bloomer by somuchforbaggles T | 7k | Alt!Canon, Wing!kink, Wingfic, Soulmates

On every child’s seventh birthday, a celebration is held to mark the beginning of their journey as a fledgling - a sprouting ceremony. It doesn’t matter if the child hasn't shown the symptoms of emerging wings yet, for it is scientific fact that every child grows wings in their seventh year, sometimes even earlier. Castiel is not every child.

A coming of age wing fic. With mates. Basically, I'm in love.

Sleight of Hand by aileenrose M | 64k | Angst, Human AU, psychic cas, journalist dean

Dean Winchester has interviewed them all--mob bosses, serial killers, crooked politicians. Next he plans to unveil the con-man who markets himself as Castiel, a reclusive and secretive "healer" who claims to heal the sick in return for thousands of dollars. Dean's expecting a challenge, but he never expected Castiel to be so clueless or sweet...or that he might be telling the truth.

I HAVE SO MANY FEELINGS ABOUT THIS AU. The one where Dean is a skeptical journalist/professional idiot and Cas is a socially inept healer and mind reader. There's lots of angst, but the payoff is so worth it.

Leaning In by Anonymous T | 15k | Hospital AU

Castiel never changed out his scrubs, Dean had a way of getting himself injured and Sam seemed to think it was a good pairing

Even though I have no idea who actually wrote this story, it's worth a read. I'm always up for a good medical AU.

Someone I Forgot to Be by MatildaMavis E | 36k Fluff, Angst, Human AU

Castiel is content - sort of - with his quiet life in Boston...at least, until his new neighbor moves in. It's Dean Winchester, the cliched long lost love of his life. Can these two idiots find their way back to each other after eight years, after fame and loss and heartbreak? After Dean has found love again with Cas' neighbor, Lisa? Fate can be a sadistic bitch, they've both learned that, but maybe they've matured enough to be able to handle it this time. The sparks, the attraction, the tension...or maybe not.

I thought this would be extremely painful, and it sort of was. But it was so worth it.

Didn't Get That Particular Memo by Snarkymonkey E | 5k

Dean has worked with his best friend for years and maybe it's a bit more than that for him but not for Castiel, right? Right. And really, he'd feel so much better if Castiel would just get a companion already. Because it's not like Castiel actually wants him, right? Right.

Damn, that was fucking hot.

Cas, You Had A Baby? by allthebeautifulthings9828 M | 132k | Fluff, Alt!Canon, Kid Fic, Slow Build

At some point in every angel's life, raising a fledgling is required. Castiel's turn comes rather unexpectedly when his superiors hand off a newly created infant angel to him and leave him to raise it with all of Heaven's principles of blind obedience. He's not sure what to do, so he tucks the fledgling in his coat and goes straight to Dean and Sam Winchester. Together, Dean and Castiel hatch a plan to raise the fledgling away from Heaven's control. And soon, the angel Hael arrives with news that, after Castiel disappeared, she and four other angels ran from Heaven's oppression with their fledglings. Castiel finds himself the unwitting ringleader of angels choosing to raise their fledglings with the principles of free will. Is angelic parenthood too much for his deepening relationship with Dean? Who can they really trust? (Disclaimer: This story depicts fledglings consuming honey for the nourishment of their undeveloped graces. Human babies cannot consume honey, so please do not feed it to your infants. This is fiction.)

Oh. My. God. I admit that I was skeptical at the beginning about this story, but let me tell you, it sucked me in. Sometimes, you run across a story that has wonderful OCs that you get attached to. This is one of those. And of course, the baby is adorable.

Healing by Jacqueline Albright-Beckett M | 2k | Fluff, Canon!verse, PWP

Castiel can heal more than just physical wounds.

Sensual and romantic.

Better Late Than Never by whelvenwings G | 23k | Fluff, Alt!canon, friends to lovers,

When Dean first sees Castiel, he's clinging on for dear life - and things never really get any easier. In fact, they get a lot harder; Dean's worst enemy isn't always the monkey bars. Bound together year on year by the ritual pact of being a Guardian Angel, Dean and Cas grow close, showing loyalty and bravery in the face of danger. But will they ever find the courage to admit their true feelings for each other - and will it be too late by the time they do?

i LOVE best friends to lovers fics! and this delivers on that perfectly.

Like A Candle In The Window On A Cold Dark Winter's Night by TardisIsTheOnlyWayToTravel T | 6k | Fluff, Canon!verse, asexual Cas

In which Castiel saves Dean, Dean saves Castiel, there is beer and TV watching, and if it weren't for the monsters and assassination attempts, life would be almost perfect.

A cute little fic I've read multiple times :)

How many slams in an old screen door? by dandelioness T | 15k | Fluff, Theatre AU, Asexual Cas

In which Castiel is a theatre major terrible at first impressions; Dean is a set designer who likes Cas anyway; and the most chaotic production of Les Miserables in history somehow manages to go off without a hitch. Or, just as you should never give a moose a muffin (because he'll want some jam to go with it), you should never give a blank check to a university theatre department.

This is perfect. I can't speak for the accuracy of the information and feelings given about asexuals/asexuality, but I enjoyed this fic nonetheless.

Breath of Heaven by solacesnake18 E | 9k

When Dean is wounded and dying in Purgatory, Castiel returns from his self-imposed exile to help him.

Wow. True!form cas and metaphysical sex that somehow manages to be poetic, emotional, and erotic all at once. I approve.

The Mirror by CloudyJenn M | 24k | Canon!Verse,

When Dean touches a strange mirror, he's whisked away to one alternate reality after another and it doesn't take him long to realize the universe is trying to tell him something.

One of my favorite fics, and a fandom classic. So beautiful. It's a trip, but you'll love it. The ending makes me really emotional.

Rock 'n' Roll Queer Bar by chasingrabbits E | 121k | Fluff, Human AU

Ellen and Jo Harvelle run Harvelle's Roadhouse, a bar that unintentionally becomes a beacon for wayward queer souls. Her employees: Dean, the smartass runaway with a big heart and bigger mouth; Castiel, the college drop-out turned hippie; his (surprisingly heterosexual) trouble-making brother Gabriel; and Charlie, who has been told several times that the back room is not to be used for after-hours Dungeons & Dragons games. But there's a lot of love in this place, and a new family for anyone who may otherwise be without.

Sweet little (well, not so little really) universe. Link is to the series.

A Million Ways to Go by chasingrabbits E | 91k | High School AU,

Castiel Novak is a preacher's son living in a world of black and white. Pragmatic and dutiful, he doesn't understand why anybody would want to make waves. Then the Winchesters move in down the street. Soon many of the skeletons in the Novak family's closet are exposed, and as the family faces them, Castiel begins to understand that there are many ways to see the world and so many more ways to live than what he's been told.

Wow, this was a ride. Set in an alternate!canon where Cas is a repressed preacher's kid and dean still grows up a hunter. Also, lots of Sam and Gabriel brother!feels. Not sabriel.

Like That Foreigner Song... by DevilMadeMeDoIt E | 5k | Hot, Alt!Canon, Deancest, Time trave

Dean and Cas have been together for a while now, but Dean always regrets that he has been with so many people in the past. He wishes he could go back in time and tell his 15 year old self that there is someone worth waiting for. Cas gives him the chance and the outcome is one that neither of them expected.

Oh god, this was a perfect little story. So much love.

TutorMate by faeryn M | 21k | College AU

Sam leaves Dean's laptop logged in to some app called "TutorMate" and Dean meets his brother's tutor. Cas helps him with his own work and they strike up a friendship. Before long Dean finds himself growing attached to the cute, clever Cas and flirtatiously suggests they go on a date if he applies himself to his college work. Cas agrees, but Dean discovers his online friend is not quite what he expected. (Or, in which Dean thinks he's met a cute girl and finds out he's actually met a cute boy.)

Wowowwowowow adorable. Perfect little college AU.

More recs coming soon.

#destiel #deancas #spn #spn fic rec #destiel fic rec #*#list

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mimzy-writing-online · 5 years

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10/10/10 Tag Game

Thank you to @emdop for tagging me in this. This is their tag game here

How it works, answer ten questions your tagger gave you, make ten new questions and tag ten new people to answer.

1. For any of your OCs: What’s their favorite drink?

Ulric: black coffee or cappuccino for a treat

Anna: Earl Grey tea

Felix: English Breakfast tea

2. What very specific thing do you like to write the most?

The scene when two characters sit down and talk, opening up to each other

3. Favorite Tropes?

Friends to lovers, slow burn friendship, slow burn romance, found family,

4. Least Favorite Tropes?

Enemies to Lovers with no friend stage,

5. What is something you’ve always wanted to write?

A Witch’s Memory is something I’ve wanted to write for the longest time, but other projects I think about a lot:

A whimsical magic in a completely different world. A Witch’s Memory is only a different version of our modern world, one where magic is normalized like science and technology. I want to write something in a fantasy world that completely turns everything we know upside down, with climates and natural environments only from our wildest dreams and an era that is only partially recognizable in its fashion and technology, pulling from every era into a wonderful cluster of confusion and fascination.

Soft-fantasy novel set in the 1990′s with 90′s era technology, libraries and librarian aesthetic, dragons, witches,

Most recently I’ve also been playing with the idea of a steampunk royalty story with a romance plot.

6. Do you make playlists for your WIP ideas?

Yes, and they usually either a “if this book was a movie this would be its soundtrack with this song for this specific scene” or it’s a “this would be this character’s personal playlist of favorite songs”. Anna, Ulric, and Felix have their own playlists.

7. When you’re having trouble writing, how do you inspire yourself?

I also make a pinterest folder for my WIP ideas, and A Witch’s Memory has its own board for its world building as well as a board for Anna, Ulric, and Felix. I look at that when I’m stuck and don’t know how to start or continue a scene.

If I’m drafting, I look back at my outline and work through what I have planned. Sometimes I have to deviate from the outline a little and figure out a way to reconnect back, or alter it altogether.

If I’m very stuck I go back to other works of fiction that have inspired me in the past, specific for that story. That includes rewatching them, rereading them, listening to soundtracks or looking at fan art.

I get out of the house and spend some time with a friend. My friend (A) and I usually work through a story problem by talking it out. (K) usually distracts me and takes me to random places. Sometimes I call or message (C) because she lives far away and we talk. They all help.

8. Where do your WIP ideas typically come from?

“I really like this story, but I kind of wish it went differently, involved these tropes, had this world building, had these characters, etc.”

Nothing is really original, no matter how far back in fiction you go. Everything is inspired from something else, so for me what I do is find the aspects of fiction I love most and see what I would do with them personally.

Example: witches are cool, but if it takes place in the modern world then it has to be a secret and humans can never know, but if it takes place in a hard-fantasy historical world then everyone knows about magic and has access to it somehow. - - - > And it becomes the whole premise for this world I built

Example: why do werewolves hate being werewolves? And why must they blackout during a full moon and go total beast? And they’re either always alone or there’s this whole alpha pack thing which isn’t technically true of real wolves - - - > and it becomes a thing that werewolves are proud of being werewolves, they easily form bonds and friendships with other people, even non-werewolves, and when the full moon comes around werewolves run in a group as a fun activity, something they enjoy

Example: Amnesia makes for an interesting story, but it’s not very realistic when you know actual medical stuff, and it’s always one-sided so people are always trying to make their loved one remember or trying to “reconnect” in the exact same way they did before - - - > Which lead me to amnesia through magic curse and mutual loss of memory, forgetting the entire friendship, so now they genuinely start from scratch

Example: Long distant pen-pals is a popular trope, especially since the invention of the internet, but every time I see it, it involves people who have met in real life even if it was only for a moment and they never knew it / didn’t give each other enough information to figure it out. - - - > It turns into, they couldn’t possibly have known each other before, they live in different parts of the world, but they want to meet one day, and then by a twist of fate (or meddling) they do meet

9. If your OC was a breakfast food, what would they be?

Felix: unsweetend English Breakfast tea and jam toast: When I say jam toast, I mean his humor is a little dry like toast, but he’s still enjoyable company, sweet if he wants to be. He can also be a little bitter sometimes, the kind of person you need to know a little bit before you develop a taste for it

Anna: Earl Grey tea and honey on an English Muffin: she’s calming company but complex like the flavor of earl grey tea. As for the English Muffin, it’s a joke that she’s English-adjacent, not actually British. She spent her first eight years in America and then lived in the U.K. with Felix’s family for the next eight until their family moved to America. Her accent is slightly changed and she uses some U.K. English vocab instead of American English, so most people think she’s British. English muffins aren’t actually English. They’re an American breakfast food based on crumpets.

Ulric: A cinnamon roll and cold butter. This is a weird one. I think if you met Ulric and got to know him, he’d be someone you’d want to protect. He’s polite, kind, and shy. Life keeps throwing him lemons (literally throwing, between his emotionally abusive father and suddenly being blind, dealing with new anxiety/depression after going blind, etc) but Ulric’s just trying to do his best. Absolute cinnamon roll. But that’s not a something he’d let you see. Most people don’t know about that part of his life, so he’s like cold butter. He’s friendly but it takes a while for him to warm up and soften those walls to let you in.

Mason (Ulric’s best friend, who I must add): sweetened coffee - very energetic and hyper, a sweetheart of a friend. There’s no coffee-bitterness, by this I mean that it’s easy to enjoy his friendship, you don’t need to develop a taste for it like you do with black coffee. (Mason is also a precious cinnamon roll if you ask me)

10. Explain one of your WIP ideas in the most ridiculous way possible?

I’m going to do this AO3 tagging system style

A Witch’s Memory

Multi, T, Graphic Depictions of Violence

Anna St. Claire & Ulric Matthews, Anna St. Claire & Felix Robbins, Felix Robbins & Ulric Matthews, Felix Robbins/Hayden Watson

Anna St. Claire, Ulric Matthews, Felix Robbins, Mason Shepherd, Elmsley St. Claire, Veronica St. Claire, Hayden Watson, Katarina Matthews, Tobias Matthews,

Memory Curse, Amnesia, Pen-Pals, Found Family, Adoptive Family, Slow Burn Friendship, Enemies to Friends, Platonic Soulmates, M/M Slow Burn Romance

Disability, Blind Character, Bisexual Character, Three Bi Disasters, Trans Character, Elmsley is trans, Elmsley is a Good Uncle, Tobias Matthew’s Terrible Parenting, Implied/Referenced Child Abuse, Implied/Referenced Emotional Abuse

Magic, Witches, Werewolves, Werewolf Ulric, Witch Anna, Witch Felix,

Graphic Violence is only in two scenes, two different characters get punched, and there’s some blood

Tagging: @snowblossim @thephantomofwriting @novel-scribe @the-moving-finger-writes @sapphoopages @owlsofstarlight @mayvinwrites @belles-library @maggie-wolff-writes @thewritingpirate

Your Ten Questions:

1. What’s your favorite trope to read but not to write? Or vice versa, to write but not read?

2. Some of your favorite aesthetics?

3. Ideal writing environment? (Time, place, sound, drink/snacks)

4. What’s your favorite side character in your WIP?

5. How would your OCs interact with your favorite characters from other works?

6. An embarrassing fact about your OC that they would never tell anyone?

7. What book do you think should be made into a movie?

8. What’s the last mean thing you did to your OCs?

9. Write an Incorrect Quotes post between your OCs

10. I’m stealing from emdop too! Explain one of your WIPs in the most ridiculous way possible?

#writeblr #writing community #WIP #tag game #writing #A Witch's Memory #my wip

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dramaqueeenamby · 6 years

Text

Queen {part 5} - CB x Reader

Taglist: @beautifulbashfulblackqueen @lavitabella87 @idilly @ashanti-notthesinger@palmsofgranate@maliadestiny @blackpantherimagines@texasbama @profilia@90sinspiredgirl@msincognito67@onyour-right @janellemonaenae @ilcb7 @SUNFLOWER-HOE@chaneajoyyy@amethyst09 @sarcastic-sunshines @melanisticroyalty@forbeautyandlife@fentybabyy@theresnomoregoodones@missumuch1918 @simplyjaydaa @-harmonytbh@simplyyamberr@sisterwifeudaku @purple-apricots @heyauntieeee @youcantkillamutant@tadjoa@mejustme06@bugngiz @aieyr @bamakakechick@blackbypurpose@yourwonderbelle@multipersonalitygirl@chefjessypooh @hamato-rue159@blublubleu @elaindeereads @girlie94@nubian-queen18@autumn242 @romanticcandle @nubian-queen18 @girl-with-the-pen@headhunchess@afraiddreamingandloving @thatbish27@almostpurelysmut@blkintrovert @xxthotii@muhhhkrysta@dreamlloudly@k-o-jass @yoyolovesbucky @kileynoelle852@mademoiselleoya@silentlikethe-g-inlasagna @bossyboyd03 @royallyprincesslilly@kumkaniudaku@brianabreeze @bigdaddyashhh@pocoberry@madamslayyy @nyxy97 @imuhhhkrysta@kaykay4454fan @phambili-myking@esther-adri @bluesaladexpertpsychic @vibranium-soul@yoyolovesbucky @syreanne@maverickabull

Words: 3.5K

***Not proofread****

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Queen

April, 2019

[Voiceover by Oprah]

He was a prominent actor known for tackling iconic roles such as James Brown, Jackie Robinson, Marshall, and most recently, the Marvel Superhero, Black Panther.

Clips of Chadwick in 42, Get On Up, Marshall, and Black Panther along with him walking various red carpets.

She, an upcoming author who made history by being the first, youngest, and only African American woman to have two top ten books on the New York Times Bestseller List at the same time.

Clips of you being interviewed on various television networks and at book signings.

He, a Howard graduate with a degree from the prestigious Oxford University.

She, a Stanford graduate with a masters degree from Yale University.

Photos of both you and Chadwick at your separate graduations.

However, two separate worlds would come to collide after a phone call from the editors for Vogue magazine requesting the two prominent black figures to partake in a segment.

A photo of you and Chadwick’s Authors on Actors episode.

A meeting that would forever alter the course of both of their lives.

Camera starts to quickly shuffle the few available photographs of you and Chadwick.

Both notoriously private people, speculation as to whether or not these two are a couple have been raging ever since photos emerged of them eating dinner together in Italy back in August of 2015.

Photo of you hiding your face as Chadwick leads you through a group of men with cameras.

For almost four years, the two have stringently avoided talking about the nature, or even existence, of their relationship.

Photo of you laughing at something as Chadwick holds the door open for you to get into his car.

Until now.

Camera suddenly shows Oprah sitting in her seat, a close up of her face.

“Both Chadwick and Y/N have not only agreed to their first public interview with me, but invited me in their beautiful California home, cameras included, as they reveal bombshells that will absolutely leave you, and the rest of the world, shocked.”

Camera shows you and Chadwick greeting Oprah in your spacious living room as the camera crew adjusts mics and such before starting off the segment.

“Well, first of all, thank you so much for having me and my crew in your beautiful home.” The billionaire started off, shifting in her seat as she crossed one leg over the other.

You smiled cheerfully as Chadwick placed one his arm on the top of the sofa behind you while you dusted invisible lent off your outfit. “Thank you for even wanting to do this with us.”

“It’s not every day you have Oprah Winfrey sitting on your couch, interviewing you.” Chadwick joked with a sly smile.

“Well when my people caught wind that you two were interested in giving an interview, I absolutely knew that I had to try. Because I’ve met both of you prior to this, correct?”

Chadwick nodded. “Yes, it was at the premiere of, The Butler, I think.”

You looked over at Chadwick before wrecking your own brain. “And I-oh! Of course. I was a part of your segment on uprising female authors of color.”

“Yes, yes.,” the billionaire agreed. “It was you, Nicola Yoon, Angie Thomas, and…”

“Sabaa Tahir,” you supplied as Chadwick lightly started to rub your shoulder.

“Yes.” She acknowledged before bending over slightly. “Now, you know I hate abrupt questions, but I can’t help but notice that beautiful set of rings on your finger,” she pointed to Chadwick. “And the band on your hand….are you two engaged?”

You look over at your husband who had a small smirk before dropping your head into your hands and giggling nervously.

“You want me to say it?” He asked, that same calm demeanor of his remaining untouched.

“Oh Lord,” Oprah commented and sat back up in her seat, her hand on the armrest. “Should I be nervous?”

“No,” you finally straightened back up and slowly nodded, hoping that your bundle of nerves wasn’t so apparent. “We are not engaged.” Oprah stayed quiet as she sensed there was more to it. “We’re actually….already married.”

Oprah grabbed the armrest as her eyes widened slightly. “Now wait a minute.” She looked around the room as though she was searching for another camera. “I need a drink.” Chadwick’s loud laugh filled the room. “Did you just say that you two are married?”

You chewed on your bottom lip. “We celebrated our three year anniversary last week.”

The iconic woman suddenly stood from her seat. “I really need that drink.” You and Chadwick were both cackling up a storm as Oprah stood with her hand on her hip. “You’re being completely forthcoming?”

“We got married on April 8th of 2016 in Maui, Hawaii.” Chadwick further explained as you nodded while briefly staring at your lap.

“It was a very small ceremony, a little under 100 people, the majority of them being his family,” you lightly joked, gesturing your thumb in his direction.

“How long did you two even date?” Oprah was still extremely surprised as she returned to her seat and looked at you two with a waiting expression.

“I will say that it wasn’t long,” you admitted. “I mean the first time that we met was for that Vogue segment, and that was what….in March I think? I’m not sure, but regardless, we, well I can’t speak for him, but I was immediately attracted to him-”

“It was mutual,” Chadwick supplied with a quickness that made you laugh. “I was floored when I saw her because I’d heard of her, but I’d never actually seen a picture or anything like that. And then she walks in, this tiny woman-”

“In stature,” you filled in while patting your thighs. “That’s always been the only tiny thing about me.”

Chadwick shrugged with his signature smirk. “I said that it was mutual.” You quietly gasped and slapped his leg before turning to Oprah.

“Fact: He is actually very inappropriate 95% of the time.”

She raised her hands and let out a long breath. “I am honestly still in shock that you two are actually married.” You smiled with a closed mouth. “You know that this is going to break Twitter right?” You and Chadwick laughed. “Especially black twitter. You’ve snagged the Black Panther himself.”

“I have,” you smirked, shaking your shoulders before laughing again and clapping. “No, honestly, this is another reason why we didn’t want to come out, even when we were dating, but especially when we got married. Because once people know, they start to talk, they start to judge, and that’s truly how lies come about.”

Chadwick shook his head. “We wanted to enjoy our relationship, enjoy each other without public scrutiny.”

“Was there ever a point in time where you wanted to just come out and say, ‘yes, were dating or yes, we’re married.”

“Absolutely,” Chadwick answered without hesitation. “Mostly when I have a premiere or an event that I’m attending, but also dates in general because what man doesn’t want to be able to publicly talk about the woman he loves? Girlfriend and especially wife. I think that the Met Gala was really when I started to get fed up.”

“Oh yeah, he was livid as hell because I’d also been invited, to this day I don’t know how or why, but I was.” You laughed lightly.

“That’s right you two did attend,” the both of you nodded. “But you didn’t walk together? Take any pictures together?”

“Nothing. On the red carpet, at least.” A bashful smile fell upon your face. “The party afterward was a different story, which is how those pictures came about-”

Separate photos of you and Chad on the red carpet followed by a candid photo of you sitting on Chadwick’s lap, whispering something in his ear, a small smirk on his face.

“I just realized that your outfits-”

“Yes, we intentionally matched.” You answered for her as both were Versace pieces picked out by Ashley, Chad’s stylist who worked with yours to help create your look. “It was something that absolutely confused the mess out of people because we’re matching, yet we don’t interact at all on the red carpet only to be photographed behind the scenes all….couple’d up, if you will.”

“Rumors started popping up that I was ashamed of her or trying to hide our relationship because it wouldn’t be good for my image.”

“Really?” Oprah was surprised. “That must have been frustrating.”

“Extremely.” He sighed. “There were moments where I just wanted to go on Twitter or Instagram and post photos from our wedding-”

“What was—and I’m so sorry for the sporadic questions—but what was the first song that you danced to?”

You smiled broadly from the memory.“Technically, With You by Tony Terry, but we danced to two songs back to back because he wanted For You by Kenny Lattimore, and I wanted With You, but he really doesn’t know how to say no to me.”

“You see this house don’t you?” Chadwick joked, laughing when you gave him your ‘really, nigga?’ look.

“Which we went half on” you moved forward and craned your neck with attitude. “Mama ain’t raise no fool.”

“That’s not the only thing we went half on,” he murmured as you shot him a look with a raised eyebrow.

“You really wanna do it now?” You asked, mirroring his expression.

“Is there something else?” The billionaire pressed, looking between the husband and wife.

Your head rolled as you pulled your cell phone from between your thighs and dialed the last call. “Mama?”

“Girl, why are you calling me from downstairs?” You rolled your eyes. “You kids are so damn lazy these-”

“Are they up?”

She chuckled. “You know they are.”

You looked over and nodded at Chad. “Okay, we’re coming up.” You heard more grumbling and quickly ending the call, looking over at the woman who inspired you so much as a young black girl.

“Do you mind coming somewhere with us?”

“They can come to,” Chadwick commented, gesturing to the cameramen as she stood up and pulled on his jeans. He then extended his hand to you, helping you get up.

“I don’t know if I should be excited or nervous,” she commented as you made conversations with her, Chadwick holding your hand as you all descended up the stairs.

“This house is so beautiful,” she aww’d as you once again thanked her before finally reaching your destination, Chad walking ahead of ya’ll, prompting you to roll your eyes.

He was so obsessed.

“Oh my god,” Oprah gasped as you stood in the doorway of your nursery. “You two have a baby?’

“Whatchu’ doing up, baby girl?” Chadwick coo’d to your six-week-old daughter, taking her from your mom who was standing in shock that Oprah Winfrey was really a few feet away from her. “You giving grandma a hard time?”

“Two,” you corrected, walking over to the other crib to lift your son. “And he knows good and well, his mini-me over here is the troublemaker.”

“Oh my goodness, you have twins?” She was floored, her mouth ajar. “I really need that drink.”

You giggled and walked over to Chad, slowly rocking your baby boy. “This is Zion Aaron Manyor Boseman.”

“And Zora Ayamba Adana Boseman,” your husband introduced, allowing your daughter—who was two minutes older than her brother—to play with one of his large fingers.

“And my name is Thelma Y/L/N,” you mom interjected with a nervous smile, walking over to the interviewer. “Sis, I watched every single episode of your show and I record Queen Sugar because you know I have to work-”

“Mommyyyyy,” you drew out the ‘y’, switching the position of your son onto your shoulder, catching how Chadwick seemed to be in his own little world with Zora. “You promised that you’d-”

“Girl, don’t you see two grown folks talking?” She waved you off, telling Oprah all about her favorite segments including the man who turned blue and when she had the racists on her famous programming.

You looked over at your husband, finally catching his eye.

“We’re gonna be here a while.”

Q - U - E - E - N • Q - U - E - E - N • Q - U - E - E -

“We’re trending on Twitter and LipstickAlley,” you chuckled, going through the social media sites following the airing of your interview with Oprah a week ago.

SINGLE STATUS OF THE BLACK PENTHA STRIPPED AWAY; MARRIED WITH KIDS!!!

CHADWICK BOSEMAN AND Y/F/N AND Y/L/N: “WE’RE MARRIED.”

T’CHALLA IS T’MARRIED (WITH KIDS!!)

BLACK LOVE: THE BOSEMAN’S (PICS INCLUDED)

You chuckled, reading through some of the replies to one of the four threads that were filled with people expressing shock, anger, surprise, and even doubt.

“I don’t know why you read that stuff,” Chadwick grumbled before continuing to make faces at your daughter just stared up at him with a mixture of confusion and amazement. Sometimes you wondered if he liked her more than you. He was affectionate and loving with both kids, but there was something about his bond with Nora.

He was always holding her, rocking her, talking to her, informing her how he’d kick whatever poor and naive little “negro” who thought himself worthy of her.

You could already tell that she was going to be an absolute daddy’s girl.

“It’s entertaining,” you shrugged, your eyes widening as you smiled slyly from one comment. “Well, if someone has to spend the rest of her days getting dicked down by Big Dick Boseman, I’m glad it’s an educated melanin sister and not Becky or some other light bright.”

“Oh my gosh,” he groaned, shutting his eyes as you closed up Safari and threw your phone on the mattress beside you. “Is that what they call me?”

“Among other things,” you smirked, crawling over and standing behind him, wrapping your arms around him, leaning over to lightly caress your little baby’s face. “You know that she should be sleep right? Zion is.”

“My little man would be up too if you hadn’t made me put his to sleep.”

“He was fussy, Chadwick.”

“He just wanted one of us to hold him.”

“Exactly,” you rolled your eyes. “You’re going to have him and especially her thinking that all they have to do is whine and you’ll come running. No, that I’ll come running since you’ll be-”

“Shhhh,” he hushed you. “I don’t wanna talk about it around her.”

You sighed into his broad back. “Baby, they’re going to notice it when you’re not here.”

Chadwick was set to leave at the end of the month so he could start filming for Black Panther 2 and while you were happy that his career was continuing to excel, the both of you were saddened by the fact that he was going to be away from you and your babies.

You’d gotten pregnant the same night that you tried which was damn near perfect timing because he’d been with you for the entire duration of your pregnancy, all the way from the moment that you got the call from your general practitioner to when you’d given birth.

You tried to listen to your mom who told you to try to be more thankful that he was able to stay with you during the hardest part.

That was debatable.

“You going to sleep on me, mama,” Chadwick remarked as Zora’s eyes started to flutter, her mouth moving all about.

“Give her here,” you moved to get off the bed, standing by him as he looked up. “Baby, you’re going to mess with her sleep schedule. It’s going to be hard on me if she’s up when Zion is sleep and vice versa.”

Your explanation worked as she stood up with a reluctant sigh and placed the softest of kisses against her tiny forehead. “I love you, Zora.” He then handed her over to you as you beamed down at your baby girl, turning and lightly rocking her before heading out of the room, Chadwick right on your heels.

“Time to go night night, mommy.” You whispered, glancing over at your son to see that he was fast asleep. Kissing her cheek, you carefully lowered her into her bed, your index finger stroking her tiny tummy as you leaned over the bed.

“I know you still worry about her,” you spoke quietly as your husband moved behind you, his hands on your hips as he also peered over her. “But she’s okay now, Chad….she’s strong...just like her daddy.”

Even though you gave him a hard time, you also understood why Chadwick extensively coddled her with such an exorbitant amount of attention. You knew that those three minutes after you delivered her that was filled with silence instead of the cried that typically accompanied the entrance of a newborn still haunted him. Your frightened tears as you repeatedly asked everyone in the delivery room why your baby wasn’t crying and what was wrong.

He probably blamed himself. You wouldn't put it past him. He was notorious for misdirecting blame.

He kissed your shoulder. “You carried her, the both of them….if anyone is strong, it is you, Queen. Without a doubt.”

It didn’t bypass you how he avoided commenting on what you said, but it was late so you let it pass, opting to try and lighten the mood.

“I suppose you are right. After all, I did have my poor vagina literally stretched to its limit.”

He chuckled, his large hands moving up and down your sides. “And how is that any different from when we-”

“Finish that sentence, and I will castrate you.” You calmly threatened as he walked over to Zion’s crib to check on him. “He’s going to have big hands.” You noted after going over to join him as he stared at his sleeping son.

“And the problem with that is?’ You rolled your eyes and resisted the urge to kiss your son’s head, not wanting to disturb his slumber, as you exited out the nursery. You expected him to follow suit but instead, his low voice speaking, resulting in you standing outside the door in order to listen.

“Now daddy is gonna have to leave you two for a lil’ while so that means you’re gonna have to look for each other till’ I get back.” You found yourself smiling softly, your side pushed into the wall as your husband spoke to your almost two-month-old twins as though they were able to comprehend what he was saying. “And most importantly, don’t be causing too much trouble for mommy, she’s damn near superwoman, but that doesn’t mean ya’ll can just go acting any kind of way.” Part of you wanted to walk in there and drag him out before he woke them up, but the other part of you wanted to listen to what he had to say. “You guys are so blessed to have Queen for your mommy. She’s so beautiful, so intelligent, so strong, and keep a secret? She’s the reason you two are even here.” You froze, your eyebrows furrowed as you waited for him to continue. “I was scared that I wouldn’t be able to be what I want to be for you both, and then she just….comes in and ceases all doubt, and she is just….just….”

“Astonishing, astounding, surprising, inexplicable,” you listed as you leaned against the door, Chadwick turning around with a bashful smile. “Feel free to join in at any time.”

He rubbed the back of his neck. “How long you been standing there?”

You chuckled and walked up to him, your arms going around his neck and his to your waist. “Long enough to know that I am completely, totally, and will forever be in love with you, Mr. Boseman.”

He mirrored your expression and pulled you into him, his lips dropping to your forehead, your eyes closing in contentment. “I love you too, Mrs. Boseman. You will forever be my Queen.”

You took a moment to revel in the bliss that came with being in his embrace before grabbing his hand and leading him out the room. “Come.” A beat. “It’s time for the king to show his queen just how much he loves her.”

---

First and foremost, thank you so much to @phambili-myking and @sarcastic-sunshines for the wonderul name suggestions as well as everyone else who chimed in. Ultimately, I loved both of your names and decided to mash them up to create the twins! Love ya’ll! 😊😊😊😊

Now, there’s going to be another part after this as I am starting to regret the format in which I chose to write this 😭I hope it’s not too boring what with the interview.

Plus, we gotta see that person again.

Oh, and my brain does not know how to not create backgrounds for characters so the idea of them hiding their relationship has been present for me since the first chapter.....as well as a detailed BG of Queen. *cries*

Okay. It’s almost 4AM, and my brain is fried. I need sleep. I’ll proofread later this morning. 😩😩😩😩

#Chadwick x reader #Chadwick Boseman #Chadwick Boseman imagine #Chadwick boseman fanfiction #Chadiwck x you #chadwick boseman x reader #black panther #black panther fanfiction

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blazardragon · 8 years

Note

What are your least favourite and most favourite Assassination classroom pairings?

You know, usually when I see a post or meme about fandom, Imust nod my head in embarrassment and agreement. I get absolutely ecstatic whenmy favorite characters appear on screen for even a single millisecond, and Ifeel like sobbing tears of joy whenever something good happens to them.However, one of the only things where I feel like I’m not on the same page asthe rest of Tumblr is pairings. I’m just not much of a shipper. Mentor/student,parent/child, and sibling relationships have always been the strongest forcesin my life, not romance, so those are the relationships that tend to capture myheart. Hence all the Asano family antics in my art. I’ve actually contemplatedmany times making artwork for this ship or that ship, but I get artist blockwhenever I try to actually make something.

A side effect of my lack of shipping is that arguments aboutOTPs and NOTPs confuse me. I know that chemistry doesn’t occur between everypair of individuals, but it doesn’t bother me to see a character paired withdifferent characters. I’m always happy to see my favorites interact with othercharacters since those interactions bring out different aspects of theirpersonality, so seeing a wide range of ships for a single character is excitingfor me, not anger-inducing. That being said, I do have a few preferencesregarding pairings, which you can read under the cut if you’re curious about myopinions, but they’re mostly based on character representation. It’s a littlelong though. I divided it into three categories instead of two: my mostfavorites, my least favorites, and my non-negotiable nopes

My most favorites (andothers I like)

Anything featuring my favorite characters being happy to behonest. They can suffer a bit too, pain is part of what makes them who they areafter all, but as long as I see my favorite characters getting attention andlove (from both the character they’re interacting with and the writer/artistbehind the scenes), I’m as happy as a clam. The only exception is if the shipinvolves what I listed under my nopes.

Examples of ships involving my faves that I have had the privilegeto enjoy include:

Gakuho x Karasuma:Since Karasuma is even more serious and reserved than Gakuho, I get to watchGakuho put some effort into this ship. Also, Gakuho teases Koro and Gakushuu inthe canon sometimes, yet even though I’m sure he would have done the same withKarasuma, who’s probably the easiest character to joke around with, it neverhappened. This ship fixes that.

Gakuho x Korosensei:I’ve always loved the way Gakuho calmly accepts Koro’s spazztastic antics inthe canon, so seeing that expanded upon is fantastic. The mutual respect theyhold for each other is also a big plus. Bonus points because Korosensei is alsoone of my favorite characters of all time.

Gakushuu x Karma:Where I get to see Gakushuu’s fiery side. I’m pretty competitive myself, so I likerivals in general. They can both challenge and support each other to do betteras equals.

Gakushuu x Kevin: Ilove how Kevin attempted to defend Gakushuu in the canon, so seeing this big,warm-hearted American boy bring Gakushuu’s feelings out a bit more makes mesmile.

Gakushuu x Nakamura:I like seeing Gakushuu interact with her because they’re both successfulacademically, yet their core values couldn’t be more different. Nakamura wantedto be normal, but Gakushuu wants to be as exceptional as possible, and thatclash of ideals is fascinating. I’m sure they could both learn a lot from eachother and grow to appreciate each side.

But you could probably write a story about the Asanosand a cactus and I’d probably like it. I’m really not picky. None of these haveto be romantic for me to enjoy them either.

There are a lot of ships I like that don’t need to involve myfavorite family as well. All you need to do is draw/write a healthyrelationship about any set of characters in AssClass and I’ll probably like it.Examples include:

Takaoka x GoD (2ndgen): Two characters that I didn’t reallycare about in the canon. I didn’t feel like I had anything in common with them,nor did either of them ever inspire me to become a better person. That’s about theworst start a pair of characters could have in my heart, and yet there’s somuch fanart of them having fun together that the pair now feels canon to me. They’relike the friendly, happy newlyweds living next door, and I feel like I mustsupport them.

Mimura x Sugaya: There’susually at least one reason to like each student in Class E. In the case ofthese two, I always have a soft spot for artistically inclined characters. Watchingthem draw out each other’s creativity and inspire each other to keep reachinghigher is something that resonates with me. Maybe it’s because my sister is anartist.

Terasaka x Takebayashi:Going to maid cafes together seems like a great way to bond. These guys share aunique common interest in spite of their physical differences, which I findquite compelling.

Yuuji x Nagisa:Yuuji really grew as a person after meeting with Nagisa, and I’m sure there’sroom for even more growth. They both seem like rather gentle people too, so readingabout them hang out and relax, whether as friends or as more, is prettyenjoyable.

There’s a lot more, but these are the ones I get to enjoythe most since they end up on my dash a lot ^^;

My least favorites (whichare still negotiable)

Gakushuu x Lea: It feels weird to say this because I’m theone who posted the English translation of Korotan C, but it felt like Lea wasintroduced as a character solely to give Gakushuu a female love interest. I don’twant to be too harsh on her since she barely had a chance at character developmentto begin with, but I never got a chance to love this girl. I generally don’tlike forced relationships for the sake of having relationships, and it’s a forcedrelationship involving my orange son, so this is probably the closest I’ll everget to having a NOTP. However, if someone were to appear in the fandom and startwriting fics or drawing fanart depicting the growth of their relationship in acompelling manner, I could probably grow to like even this ship.

The only other pairing that comes to mind as one that I feelless than neutral about has more to do with one of the characters more than theship itself. In spite of the mutual respect established by Karma and Nagisa inthe canon, why is Nagisa treated so disrespectfully so very frequently inKarmagisa works? I’m sure that Nagisa would be able to protect and provide forKarma as much as Karma could for Nagisa. I don’t dislike Karmagisa as a concept,but I do dislike it when Nagisa devolves into a crying sex toy, and thathappens enough for me to hold a certain level of fear in my heart when I seefanfiction tagged Karmagisa. Have mercy on Nagisa.

Non-Negotiable Nopes(or NNNopes)

I love Gakuho. It’s been ten years since I’ve loved a characteras much as I love Gakuho, but boy oh boy, looking through his fanfiction islike stepping through a minefield. He somehow manages to cover all of my nopes.For example:

Teacher x Student: I really like mentor/student relationships,but not THOSE kinds of relationships. Mentors are there to unselfishly supporttheir students, but adding sex/romance to their relationship adds an element ofselfishness that really shouldn’t be there. And yet, Gakuho keeps gettingshipped with Isogai. This same line ofreasoning also applies to Parent x Child relationships.

Relationships withNon-Con: I’m pretty much okay with anysituation if the characters are okay with it. Similarly, I hate reading thingswhere one of the characters doesn’t like it. Simple. I’ve read some fics where Gakuho startsphysically torturing someone (usually Gakushuu, goddammit), and I nope out ofthere as fast as I can, but I still feel like I lost a few minutes of mylifespan.

I’m not going to personally track down a person’s blog and sendanonymous hate messages to anyone for writing these. Exploring differentemotions, even the darkest, is probably a necessity for some people to understandand tackle their own darkness. It probably takes some practice to write aboutdark themes in a responsible way too, I’m sure (I’ve never written a fic so I’mactually not sure). But will I ever read any of these? NOOOOPE

Thanks for the ask :D I hope it doesn’t feel like I dodgedthe question since I didn’t list any ‘most favorite’ pairings, but these are myhonest feelings on the subject. I like a lot of characters in AssClass, so aslong I feel like those characters don’t get horribly misrepresented, and aslong as they look happy together, then I’m happy too. And if it involves acharacter I love, I love it!

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A Year in Filmmaker Interviews: From Patty Jenkins to Paul Thomas Anderson

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A Year in Filmmaker Interviews: From Patty Jenkins to Paul Thomas Anderson

At the beginning of 2017, I set out on a mission to interview the directors behind some of the year’s biggest movies. In total, I was fortunate enough to speak with 22 of them. They are the filmmakers behind blockbusters and conversation starters, and they represent one particular slice of what the movie landscape in 2017 looked like from behind the camera.

Here they are (you can read or watch each interview by clicking on the film title):

M. Night Shyamalan, Split

Digging into the 2017 archives: Here’s part of my chat w/ M. Night Shyamalan for #Split where I asked whether being known as the guy w/ the “twist endings” has helped or hindered his career. pic.twitter.com/ssG0S125cs

— ErikDavis (@ErikDavis) December 19, 2017

James Mangold, Logan

Jordan Vogt-Roberts, Kong: Skull Island

Gareth Edwards, Rogue One: A Star Wars Story*

James Gunn, Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2

Ridley Scott, Alien: Covenant

Jon Watts, Spider-Man: Homecoming

Alex Kurtzman, The Mummy

Patty Jenkins, Wonder Woman

Colin Trevorrow, The Book of Henry

Michael Bay, Transformers: The Last Knight

Matt Reeves, War for the Planet of the Apes

Christopher Nolan, Dunkirk

Darren Aronofsky, mother!

Doug Liman, American Made

George Clooney, Suburbicon

WATCH: Earlier this year I spoke to George Clooney & Julianne Moore about #Suburbicon and what it’s like directing a Coen brothers script pic.twitter.com/HzBrjr8vFW

— ErikDavis (@ErikDavis) July 27, 2017

Jason Hall, Thank You for Your Service

Taika Waititi, Thor: Ragnarok

Kenneth Branagh, Murder on the Orient Express

Guillermo del Toro, The Shape of Water

Paul Thomas Anderson, Phantom Thread

Rian Johnson, Star Wars: The Last Jedi

At #D23Expo, I asked @rianjohnson how he’d compare #TheLastJedi to the other #StarWars movies. Here’s what he said… pic.twitter.com/2cVDfBbVD2

— ErikDavis (@ErikDavis) July 18, 2017

*Technically, this film hit theaters in 2016, but the conversation around the movie continued well into the New Year, so it makes the list!

All of these conversations were engaging and insightful, and you can read what came out of them at the links above. Do I wish I spoke to more women filmmakers? Of course I do. And do I wish more women filmmakers were afforded the chance to direct some of the year’s most important movies? You’re damn right I do. Hopefully 2018 will produce more opportunity for female filmmakers, and I will make it a personal goal of mine to tell more of their stories in the new year.

That being said, of the 22 filmmaker interviews I conducted in 2017, there were ten conversations that stood out most. Check out a little more on those below.

10. Matt Reeves for War for the Planet of the Apes

One of the questions I asked most often when speaking with filmmakers this year was for them to discuss some of the other movies that influenced them during the process of making their movie. When it came time to discuss the excellent War for the Planet of the Apes with Matt Reeves, he and I pretty much spent the entirety of our conversation talking about that film’s many influences, so much so that I created a separate piece listing the titles, as well as how they inspired the third Apes movie.

From Apocalypse Now to the Empire Strikes Back, this was an enjoyably nerdy convo about some great movies. Here is Reeves on how Empire influenced Apes:

“For me, I was very excited about this idea about the mythology of the Force and what it meant, and I thought, “Wow, there’s something really powerful about what that represents in these stories, how it’s this representation of dark and light,” and for me, it was like a light bulb,” he said. “[Cowriter] Mark [Bomback] and I started talking about it, that actually we’d had that all along, because our Force was this question of human nature, this idea of looking at us grappling with the different aspects of our nature… you know the animal and the rational.”

9. Ridley Scott for Alien: Covenant

Ridley Scott doesn’t care about spoilers.

When I sat down with him, Katherine Waterston and Danny McBride to chat about Alien: Covenant, Scott was so open about the film that Waterston had to keep interjecting in order to stop the director from not only spoiling its biggest secrets, but also his plan for future Alien movies.

It was probably the most amusing of all the filmmaker conversations I had this year, with Scott not afraid to say whatever was on his mind, both to me and about me. When I mentioned how much I liked the different ways he used blood on a floor to escalate tension in a scene, he called me a “sick f**k” and we all had a good laugh.

Needless to say, I’d happily have another chat with the sassy Mr. Scott (curse words and all!), who began our convo with these words about Alien: Covenant:

“It’s beginning to answer the who and why,” he said. “It’s definitely gorier, and smarter. In it, we raise some very interesting questions about the position and possibility of AI against human condition, and it crosses into the zone of apartheid — kind of like how Roy Batty was treated like a second-class citizen [in Blade Runner]. And so is David (Michael Fassbender). The knee-jerk was to create a second-class citizen, even if he is superior to everyone. So the natural thing to do at the end of Prometheus was to send them off together because when you think you’ve got it, you’ve got to keep the characters alive, as opposed to killing them. And [Coventant] starts to answer the who and why.”

8. James Mangold for Logan

James Mangold was proud when we spoke. Proud of the movie he had delivered, and proud of the risks he and the cast took to produce a dark, gritty and violent superhero movie unlike any that had come before it.

What I enjoyed most about this interview was Mangold’s honesty. We spoke openly about the state of superhero movies and what they need in order to continue evolving. For Mangold, the success of future comic-based films isn’t necessarily about ratings or risks or audience fatigue.

“I believe there was a time in the middle ‘50s where people were like enough with the Westerns, I’ve seen enough Westerns,” he said. “There was Gunsmoke and Bonanza on television, and nothing but John Wayne, Clint Eastwood in theaters. I’m sure people saw way more bad Westerns than they did good ones. But now, 30 years later, we look back and the good Westerns live and the bad Westerns are out of distribution. I imagine the same thing will happen with comic book movies, where in 30 years when we look back it’ll be the movies that touched us that live. It’ll be the movies with heart that live.”

7. Taika Waititi for Thor: Ragnarok

There’s a reason why Thor: Ragnarok topped my list of favorite movies of the year (see below), and much of that has to do with its director, Taika Waititi.

This is Waititi’s biggest film to date, and it’s one that accomplishes so much. Not only does it tonally reboot Marvel’s Thor character utilizing the series’ existing cast, but it also leans into humor so much that the film acts as a borderline genre parody at times. Like Rian Johnson’s Star Wars movie, both films use comedy to lighten up a broader message to fans, which is: stop taking this stuff so seriously!

With Thor: Ragnarok, Waititi proved that you could be super silly and kick lots of ass, and the two aren’t mutually exclusive. It may be Marvel’s most watchable movie to date (I’ve watched it six times!), and it’ll no doubt push Waititi’s career behind the camera forward in a major way.

But when he first began discussing the film with Marvel, even Waititi was a little confused about why they were talking to him, exactly.

“I was only apprehensive because I thought, I wonder if there is some other filmmaker with a name that sounds like mine who they think I am,” he joked. “Because, you know, coming from what I’ve done, I was like man, this is odd. I definitely agree with a lot of the fans who’ve given me sh*t on Twitter and in that I’m not the most obvious choice. I feel like I’m a very unexpected choice, here. But, then obviously, you look at James Gunn and the Russos. You look at what they’ve done, coming into the MCU. It’s not very surprising, that they would ask me to do this.

6. Jordan Vogt-Roberts for Kong: Skull Island

I love speaking to filmmakers on the verge of releasing their biggest film to date, and such was the case with Jordan Vogt-Roberts, who I met back when he was debuting a film called The Kings of Summer at the 2013 Sundance Film Festival. Vogt-Roberts is an outspoken dude who says what’s on his mind, and he brought that creative confidence to his first major studio movie, Kong: Skull Island. He pitched them an idea that was unlike the one they were already working on, and he set out to make sure his vision — and not someone else’s — was the one audiences finally saw on screen. And when I finally caught up with him a couple of days before advance tickets went on sale here at Fandango, Vogt-Roberts was thrilled that all the nerdy things he had wanted for this film had materialized in a big way.

“I wanted this crazy genre mash-up, and I pitched them this idea of Apocalypse Now meets King Kong,” he said. The original script had nothing to do with that, and the original script almost in no way reflects the movie that’s on-screen. The fact that the studio let me run with these really crazy ideas and let me build out this sort of wish fulfillment, most insane version of this movie is cool. This is the movie I’d want to see and the movie I think my friends would want to see, and hopefully audiences feel like it’s something they haven’t seen.”

5. James Gunn for Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2

A few of the interviews that I conducted this year were timed to when advance tickets were going on sale. What’s unique about that time period is it’s often weeks before release and the films typically aren’t finished yet. Such was the case when I spoke to James Gunn, who took my call from inside the editing booth while he worked feverishly to put the finishing touches on his Guardians of the Galaxy sequel.

Gunn was playful, loose and confident – and of all the directors I spoke to, he came off as the biggest, dorkiest fan of the characters and world he had helped create. When I asked about major Easter eggs, he giggled, turned to his editor and confirmed there was a big one only a few frames into the film. Not all filmmakers are as excited to work on a big, important sequel like Guardians Vol. 2, especially when the first Guardians was unexpected and came with way less pressure on its shoulders. But Gunn is a rarity; he is someone with immense love and adoration for the property and it spills out of him organically and with passion. When we spoke, all I heard on the other end of the phone was this guy who simply couldn’t wait to share his baby with the world.

“I think the whole movie is going to surprise you,” he said. “It’s something you don’t normally get in big spectacle films. There’s a ton of heart to it, and then the visuals just go above and beyond anything we’ve ever done with the Guardians or at Marvel Studios. People thought we took a lot of risks and did a lot of new things with Guardians Vol.1, and we sort of exponentially upped that in Guardians Vol. 2. It is nothing like anything that’s come before it.”

4. Michael Bay for Transformers: The Last Knight

Personally, I’m not the biggest fan of Michael Bay’s Transformers movies — I will fully admit that. They’re big, loud, complicated and I never know which robot is which. But I have always admired Bay’s work ethic and just how far he goes to deliver a big-screen experience like none other. Bay quite literally gives it his all, and is the farthest from someone who’s just phoning it in for that blockbuster paycheck. This is a dude who hustles for every shot and for every explosion. He is part of a select few working hard to push the theatrical experience forward.

Bay’s first three movies – Bad Boys, The Rock and Armegeddon – are three of my favorite action movies ever, and so when I had the opportunity to speak to the director for almost 30 minutes, I leapt at the chance to not only talk about his tenure as director of the Transformers series, but also his work ethic, his stunts and, yes, those first three movies.

Because the interview was a long one, I decided to break it out into three parts (Michael Bay: Past, Present, Future), and my favorite of the three parts was looking back at Bay’s first three movies and how they forever changed him as a filmmaker.

On Bad Boys: “It literally was such a hard experience,” Bay said. “The crew kept telling me, ‘Well that’s not gonna cut, and that’s not gonna cut,’ and ‘You can’t do it like this.’ And I’m like, ‘Well, I’m doing it like this.’ So it was one of the first movies where it was cut very fast, the action. They all said, ‘You can’t cut that fast.’ I’m like, ‘Well, I am.’ And now you see it imitated, but way back when I was cutting fast for a reason … to hide the cheap art direction and to give it some energy.”

Read the entire interview here: Past, Present, Future

3. Christopher Nolan for Dunkirk

Christopher Nolan is an intimidating interview. Not because he’s mean or dismissive – quite the contrary. Nolan is a very nice guy and happy to dissect his process, but he’s also precise and no-nonsense, and knows exactly what he does and doesn’t want to talk about. (When I tried to slip in a Batman question, he quickly shot back: “I’m here to talk about Dunkirk.”)

I spoke to him twice this year – once at CinemaCon in Las Vegas roughly four months prior to the release of Dunkirk, and then again right before release and after I had seen the movie. The more memorable conversation was the one in-person at CinemaCon. I had ten minutes with him right before he was to introduce a big presentation to exhibitors. If he was nervous, you couldn’t tell. I was definitely more nervous – this was my first time interviewing the filmmaker, and I wanted to get the most out of those ten minutes.

So we spoke about Nolan’s love of IMAX and just how different Dunkirk was to anything he had done before. Like Michael Bay, Nolan is a filmmaker who cares deeply about the cinematic experience, and with each movie he sets out to push boundaries and put cameras in places they logically should not be in (like an IMAX camera on the wing of a plane). And as we spoke, I could tell this was a very personal film for Nolan. The story of Dunkirk was one he learned of when he was a little boy. He grew up around it; the events at Dunkirk were a part of him and when he set out to put the story on screen, he did so in the most authentic way possible, going so far as to shoot on the beach at Dunkirk. I noticed him light up when I mentioned the aerial sequences, though. This, I think, is what Nolan was most proud of when it comes to filming Dunkirk.

“I don’t think anyone’s ever tried to do aerial combat the way we’ve done it and photographed it in this film,” he said. “My DP, Hoyte Van Hoytema, just never gave up. When we would look at how you can’t fit a camera in the cockpit and fly the plane, we would build a special kind of snorkel lens and put the camera there. We’d work with the pilot and plane owners to really just go for it, and do as much of it for real as possible.”

Read the entire interview here: Part 1 and Part 2

2. Patty Jenkins for Wonder Woman

When I spoke to Patty Jenkins for Wonder Woman, she was fired up. The first couple of screenings for the film had produced excellent reactions, and I could sense a tide turning from within the studio, from hesitant and skeptical to confident and joyful. Wonder Woman was still weeks away from becoming the biggest hit of the summer and one of the year’s most talked-about movies, but with a dynamic, energized Jenkins in command of its story, there was a feeling the film was going to be a much bigger deal than initially anticipated.

Jenkins and I spoke at length about the year’s only female-driven superhero movie, but it was the director’s story behind the “No Man’s Land” sequence that stood out most. It was clear after one viewing that this scene would define the movie, but no one knew at the time just how big of an impact this moment would have on the entire year in pop culture. It is arguably the best scene in a movie this year, and it is a scene that almost didn’t happen.

“It’s my favorite scene in the movie and it’s the most important scene in the movie,” Jenkins said. “It’s also the scene that made the least sense to other people going in, which is why it’s a wonderful victory for me. I think that in superhero movies, they fight other people, they fight villains. So when I started to really hunker in on the significance of No Man’s Land, there were a couple people who were deeply confused, wondering, like, ‘Well, what is she going to do? How many bullets can she fight?’ And I kept saying, ‘It’s not about that. This is a different scene than that. This is a scene about her becoming Wonder Woman.’”

Read the entire interview here, here and here.

1. Paul Thomas Anderson for Phantom Thread

Of course I have a bucket list full of filmmakers I’d love to interview at some point during my lifetime, and Paul Thomas Anderson (Boogie Nights, Magnolia, Punch-Drunk Love, There Will Be Blood) has long been situated towards the top of said list. I had tried to interview the elusive writer-director for three films now, and with his newest, Phantom Thread, arriving this Christmas, I finally slipped past the PTA gatekeepers and found myself tossed into a vibrant, personable 20-minute conversation with a filmmaker I have long adored.

We sat in a hotel room inside the Four Seasons in Beverly Hills, and for twenty minutes we spoke about Phantom Thread, about working with Daniel Day-Lewis, about the movies that changed him and influenced him, and, somewhat randomly, about Star Wars. The chat concluded with us musing about the various Nutcracker performances both sets of our kids happened to be participating in over that weekend, and I left wanting the conversation to continue, naturally (there were a million questions I still wanted to ask), but also with this immense feeling of satisfaction, as if I had finally conquered a mountain that had eluded me all my life.

My favorite part of the interview came when I asked PTA which of his films he learned the most from in terms of the filmmaker he wanted to become. Here’s what he said:

“I felt like on Punch-Drunk Love it was a really nice moment. We had all worked together — almost all of us – on three films before that [and] that really turned out good. We learned loads on that. But by the time we got to that film, there was something that kind of clicked; of experimentation and independence and confidence. Guts, care, and hubris all just kind of came together in a nice way, allowing ourselves to discover things, or be insecure. It was a really nice moment, but it was also f**king challenging. The first couple weeks of that film was just trying to find a new way to work that was a little bit looser. Yeah, I look back really fondly on that time with a great feeling. A lot of lessons were learned on Punch-Drunk Love.

Read the entire interview here, here and here.

Finally, to finish out the year, here are my 15 favorite movies of 2017. Wanna know more about these picks? Hit me up on Twitter right here.

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1. Thor: Ragnarok

2. The Big Sick

3. Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri

4. Get Out

5. Star Wars: The Last Jedi

6. Foxtrot

7. Logan

8. I, Tonya

9. Good Time

10. War for the Planet of the Apes

11. The Florida Project

12. Baby Driver

13. Dunkirk

14. Call Me By Your Name

15. The Shape of Water

Thanks for reading, and here’s to 2018!

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