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thatravenpuffwitch · 2 years

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Character Profile — Patrick Hopper-Lee

Full Name: Patrick Lugh Hopper-Lee

Nicknames: Pat

Birthday: 14th May 2000

Blood Status: Half-Blood

Gender Identity: Male (he/him)

Sexuality: Bisexual

Nationality: Irish

Hometown: Ballydowane, Co. Waterford, Ireland

Personality

MBTI: ENFJ (The Protagonist)

Strengths: Relaxed, helpful, patient, logical, perceptive, outgoing

Weaknesses: Over-thinker, pushover

Interests/Hobbies: Music, creatures, herbology, muggle films, hiking

Appearance

Faceclaim: Nick Robinson

Height: 6ft 1in

Build: Lanky as a kid, tall and toned/athletic as an adult

Hair: Medium brown

Eyes: Olive green

Skin: Fair, tans a little

Body Modifications: Got his ears pierced on a dare but rarely wears earrings, a few tattoos.

Defects: A few burn scars on his hands and arms from working with dragons.

What do they carry on them?: his wand, wallet, leather gloves, his dad’s signet ring

Fashion: Casual and comfortable. Jean jackets, flannels, leather boots. Will occasionally wear a fun patterned shirt, but nothing too out there.

Witchcraft

1st Wand: Alder wood, dragon heartstring core, unyielding flexibility, 13 inches — swallowed whole by a dragon in 2022 and could not be recovered.

Alder is an unyielding wood, yet I have discovered that its ideal owner is not stubborn or obstinate, but often helpful, considerate and most likeable. Whereas most wand woods seek similarity in the characters of those they will best serve, alder is unusual in that it seems to desire a nature that is, if not precisely opposite to its own, then certainly of a markedly different type. When an alder wand is happily placed, it becomes a magnificent, loyal helpmate. Of all wand types, alder is best suited to non-verbal spell work, whence comes its reputation for being suitable only for the most advanced witches and wizards.

Second Wand: Willow wood, mandrake leaf core, 14” and solid flexibility — This wand is one of a small batch of mandrake leaf wands made by Seraphina Brokenshire in the 1920s.

Willow is an uncommon wand wood with healing power, and I have noted that the ideal owner for a willow wand often has some (usually unwarranted) insecurity, however well they may try and hide it. While many confident customers insist on trying a willow wand (attracted by their handsome appearance and well-founded reputation for enabling advanced, non-verbal magic) my willow wands have consistently selected those of greatest potential, rather than those who feel they have little to learn. It has always been a proverb in my family that he who has furthest to travel will go fastest with willow.

Animagus: n/a

Patronus: Adder

Boggart: Himself, looking very plain and gaunt, sitting behind a desk with tons of paperwork stacked on it.

Ridikulous: A pie flies from his wand and smacks Boggart-Patrick in the face.

Amortentia (what does he smell like?): Blueberry muffins, campfire, soil, leather

Amortentia (what does he smell?): Patrick has not smelled Amortentia yet.

Hogwarts

House: Hufflepuff

Best Subjects: Herbology, Care of Magical Creatures

Worst Subjects: DADA

Third-Year Options: Divination, Care of Magical Creatures, Muggle Studies

NEWTs: Charms, Care of Magical Creatures, Herbology, Muggle Studies, Potions

Extracurriculars: Frog Choir and Prefect

Adult Life

September 2018 — present: Apprentice Dragonologist, Romanian Dragon Reserve

X — : Dragonologist, Llewelyn Dragon Sanctuary

Relationships

Parents: Ellie Hopper and Barnaby Lee

Older Sister: Rylie Hopper-Lee

Uncle: Jacob “Jace” Hopper

Great-Aunt: Orla Hopper

Pets: Bartholowe the puffskein, Watson the owl and Archer the crup are the Hopper-Lee family pets

Love Interests: tbd

Rivals: probably no one, but who knows.

Friends: Tarragon Weasley-Moss (usernoneexistent), Nick Willows, Robin Willows (that-scouse-wizard), Paddy McKade (unfortunate-arrow), Dylan Amari, Reva Amari (lifeofkaze), Dante Briarwood, Rory McTavish (the-al-chemist)

Additional Links / Information

Pat’s Playlist

Pat helps his best friend and fellow Dragonologist, Nick Willows @that-scouse-wizard, reopen the Llewelyn Dragon Sanctuary.

Patrick loves music. From a young age, he had a knack for sight-reading and for picking up new instruments. He’s proficient with the guitar, piano, trumpet, and bass. He’s even the lead singer of a Weird Sisters revival band.

For his 21st birthday, Uncle Jace helps Pat buy a motorcycle. But don’t tell his mother.

#patrick hopper lee #hpma #character profile #hp next gen #fankids

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ssnakey-b · 5 years

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FF8 English-French translarison, part 22: dinner with a side of quest.

Welcome back, everyone! As promised last time, today, we’ll be finishing up on some side quests.

Starting with the Centra ruins, we have Odin. In the English version, he speaks in a very antiquated tone, the type that Hollywood writers think people spoke like in medieval times but is really just modern speak with some Renaissance-era words thrown in. That does not happen in French, where he speaks in a formal but still fairly modern tone. His speech is also slightly different.

English:

Excellent, prepare thyself. The weak shall perish. The strong shall triumph. Prevail over my sword, and I shall grant it to thee. For honor... let us fight!”

French:

Perfect. Prepare yourselves. There is no place for the weak in this world. Triumph over my strength and I shall swear allegiance to you. En garde, impudent mercenaries.

I do like the added implication that Odin has some level of omnipotence or mind-reading or something, and knows that they are mercenaries as a result. And while I’m at it, what he says when you defeat him is also different:

English:

Thou art strong, mortals! I shall grant thee my powers. Call upon me in times of trouble...

French:

You know the art of war, mortal. I hand you my humble powers. Summon me should strength fail you.

I also went for Tonberry King afterwards, though there aren’t many differences. Except for this!

Yes, in French, they are called Tomberry. With an M instead of an N. Now that’s probably just to do with French grammatical rules, but I remember being very surprised to learn it’s spelled with an N in English considering it just seems to make sense for their name to include the word “tomb”, seeing how in every game they appear, they tend to roam tombs, or ruins, or creepy dungeons, etc... also, if I recall, even in English, a B is usually preceded by an M rather an N. Oh well.

Oh and by the way, this specific creature is actually known as Tomberry Senior in French during combat, although the full name doesn’t fit afterwards.

And that’s it for the Centra ruins! Now let’s move on to Winhill. And first, i’d like to bring up this freaking cat:

Yeah, in case you missed it, the bloody thing talks, and it doesn’t seem to think it’s weird. I guess that IS a very “cat” thing to do to be able to talk but just not being arsed with it most of the time. And yes, it does talk in meows, so you may be wondering, does it do the same in French?

Sure does! And it actually says pretty much the same thing in both versions, and it never fails to baffle me in either version.

Now for something far more rational: ghosts. And here we have another case of the French version being a lot more down-to-earth with the way characters speak, as this lady doesn’t say “pu-lease” or anything simila in French. She just says “A ghost? Come on, now... those don’t exist... right?”. Well lady, hate to burst your bubble, but I met one after beating up two minotaurs. It gave me playing cards.

There’s also an odd little difference where in English, she says she noticed stuff being rearranged by itself whereas in French, she instead mentions the closet getting tidied up on its own, which doesn’t sound like a problem to me and also sounds especially funny when you know the conclusion to this quest.

This isn’t really a translation difference, but I love this bit too much to ignore it. If you go there with Quistis in the group and examine the armour, you’ll get this text box (it’s the same in French)... only for Squall to immediately turn to Quistis and tell her to cut it out, and she dejectedly admits to being the one to be saying it, seemingly disappointed that Squall figured it out so quickly.

I love the implications of this scene, not only that Quistis randomly knows to throw her voice, but that she uses that for pranks, and apparently does it frequently enough that Squall immediately knows it’s her. It seems there are A LOT of untold stories behind this moment, many of which I assume end up with Squall being embarrassed. And I also love that Linoa swallows it hook, line and sinker, and then quickly looks away in embarrassment once Squall exposes Quistis.

And hey, there IS a little bit of a difference, as in English, Linoa tells Quistis “Don’t scare me like that!”, but in French, she’s a bit more direct, telling her “Quit fooling around!”.

Another small difference. In the French version, this lady’s lines are shorter. In English, she asks “how are you today?” at first and “Are you here to visit an acquaintance?”, which she doesn’t in the French version. Don’t why, but if I had to hazard a guess, I’d say it’s due to technical limitations as they could probably only fit so many words in one box (and French is often quite wordier than English).

Newt we have these DISGUSTING FRAUDS. In English, after Squall informs them that they’re actual SeeDs, in English, the fake SeeD tells them “Hahaha... So that makes you our junior. Keep up the good work. Hahaha...” but in French, we don’t really have that concept of calling younger students your “juniors”, so instead, he says “Ah ah ah, you’re still green. Make sure you listen in class, kid!”.

But here’s the most interesting part, especially since I forgot about it in both versions. When you talk to the one in the cadet outfit (who I’m pretty sure still tries to make people believe he’s a graduate, bonus points for a detail that makes the joke work even better), he mentions someone helping the town in both version, but the way he brings it up is quite different.

In English, he says “I’ve heard there’s an undercover figure that helps this town out. I wonder if this person has some kind of sentimental attachment to this place?”.

However, in French, he says “They say a mysterious stranger gives this town a hand. I wonder what their motive could be.”

Now I’m guessing that in both versions, they’re referring to Laguna, but notice how in English, the way they put it seems to imply he physically comes to the town to help them out, whereas in French, the term “mysterious stranger” seems to imply that he’s supporting them from afar, in more indirect ways.

And assuming they are indeed talking about Laguna (who else could it be?), I like that second interpretation better. First, even for FF8, it feels a bit weird to me to imagine Laguna coming into town in a disguise and somehow fooling everyone. Not only do I have a hard time believing nobody in Winhill would recognize him, let’s not kid ourselves, Laguna isn’t a subtle man, and he can’t do “undercover”. On top of that, if he physically came to Winhill, I also don’t buy that he wouldn’t have found out about Ellone & Squall’s whereabouts, and that he wouldn’t have gone after them in turn.

But if you think of it as him sending anonymous help, perhaps through various channels, from Esthar (fpr example, it would make sense for him to send packages to Horizon, who would then send it to WInhill), it makes a lot more sense. It could have taken him a very long time to even learn that Raine died, and considering Winhillians are probably not to keen on speaking to Estharians after two invasions, multiple deaths and at least one child kidnapping, he probably wouldn’t have learned the details of how she died, thus not knowing that he had a son, and similarly would have lost Ellone’s trail (because I don’t believe for a second that Laguna wouldn’t drop everything to find his kids if he knew where they were). And if you consider it that way, it also feels more like he’s doing it as a way to apologize for indirectly causing Raine’s death and not being here for her when she last needed it.

And on that bombshell, we end this entry. Sorry it’s a short one after such a long wait, I thought there would be more to it than that, but as it turns out, the two versions are actually quite similar on all those parts. Hope you had fun reading it though and next time will definitely make up for this small update as we will begin a big undertaking: the Battle of the Gardens. Yeah, this will doubtlessly provide A LOT of material, especially since just from memory, I remember some fairly big difference that I’ll have a lot to say about, so it’s probably going to be covered across multiple parts.

I’m very excited about it, and in the meantime, don’t hesitate to comment on the differences, ask questions either through the “ask” feature on my blog or by commenting on these posts in some manner and if you enjoy the translarison, please make sure to reblog it as it really, really helps its visibility, especially now that Tumblr has decided that the only thing that was allowed to be screwed on its site is the users.

Goodbye! Have a nice day!

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shellelyn2 · 7 years

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Hope & Healing (Newt Scamander X Reader)

@mudbloodscars requested: Reader is very self-conscious about her looks/weight and doesn’t think she’s pretty at all. She is very sarcastic and cracks jokes a lot, but inside she is very depressed and anxious. (Element of thoughts about self-harm, but if that makes you uncomfortable, you can leave it out.) Newt senses something is up and tries to dig deeper, but reader is so anxious that she doesn’t trust anyone. One night, reader can’t sleep at all and starts crying (just because of general anxiety). Newt hears and rushes in. It’s very fluffy, a little dark, but they end up having a little make-out session and say they love each other. @ashfox1203

A/N: *For everyone feeling this way, please know that no matter what, you are loved and needed and the world is a better place with you in it. We all have a part in the story. Make it the best! You will find hope!*

Title: Hope and Healing

More?

MASTER LIST

Pairing: NewtXReader

Rating:T

Warnings: Fluff, Angst, implied self harm but nothing graphic

Fluff Level: Out of control!

Author’s Notes: This is a little gift for my new friend Alexis. I enjoyed writing this because it was a bit of a challenge for me as I don’t typically write too much angst. (I’m all about that fluff life.) But, I DO like to branch out with my writing and this helps. I really hope you enjoy it, girl! As always, feedback is appreciated.

Newt had tripped over the same hole in the floor of his shed about a hundred times now.

“Well Pickett, about time we patch that up, don’t you think?"

The Bowtruckle squeaked in response, peering out from the lapel of Newt’s coat.

"Yeah, I agree. Maybe later.” Newt smirked, walking out of the shed.

You were standing near the Occamys, laughing gently at the little creatures as they writhed around in their giant nest. You somewhat envied them. They looked so comfortable. “Hello, little ones, I wish I could cuddle up with you and take a nap.”

“Why don’t you then?” Newt inquired, the sound of his voice made you jump, not having heard him approach.

“Are you kidding me, Newt? I wouldn’t fit.”

Newt shook his head in disbelief, “Darling, that nest is huge. Of course you would fit.”

You shook your head and turned away from him, the smile fading from your lips. It was easy for him to say. He was tall and slender whereas you… well, you would choose other words to describe your appearance. All sorts of sarcastic comebacks came to your mind, but you chose to bite your tongue, your best friend was only trying to be sweet.

You tucked a strand of hair behind your ear and turned to face him, “Are you all finished for the night?”

Newt rocked back on his heels, contemplating, “Yes. Yes. All accounted for.”

You smiled, awkwardly wondering what he was thinking. What was he looking at? He was staring right at you with such kindness in his eyes. Was it kindness? You weren’t sure. You wanted it to be but your mind kept saying - No, no, he’s thinking nothing at all. He’s only thinking of his creatures.

“Love, thank you for helping me with the creatures today. They really like you. I can tell by the way Dougal follows you around.”

You glanced at the Demiguise. You really liked him too. “It’s really no problem at all. Thanks for letting me help.”

“Since it is early, I was wondering,” He shifted nervously in front of you, peering through his curls with hopeful eyes, “Would you like to stay for dinner?”

Just another reason for insecurity to wash all over you. How could you possibly eat in front of him? He would totally think you were… like an Erumpent. Or worse. You bit your bottom lip hard, trying to conceal your fear, “Sure Newt. That would be great, thanks.”

He looked so happy as the two of you climbed out of his case and entered the kitchen of his apartment.

“What shall we have?” Newt inquired, leaning against the counter.

Besides you? You thought, slightly blushing. You shrugged your shoulders. “Surprise me?”

The truth is the two of you had been working really hard all day and had worked up quite the appetite.

“How about pizza?”

“Sounds great!”

“Do you like pepperoni?”

“Yeah. With extra cheese.” You blushed, looking down in shame.

“Sounds AMAZING!” Newt exclaimed, gathering the necessary ingredients. Of course he would have everything to make it. He was always so prepared. You thought it was adorable.

“Do you mind if I do this the muggle way?” He asked, rubbing his hands together.

Your lips curled into a smile at his excitement, “Sure, go ahead.”

“Erm, well, would you like to help me?” Newt’s eyes pleaded with you.

“You don’t have to beg, Newt!” You laughed as you walked towards him.

The two of you gathered everything you needed for the recipe. Newt held the mixing bowl in his arms as he stirred the dough then your job was to spread the dough onto the pizza pan. You both shared the duty of placing the sauce, pepperoni, and the mountain of cheese on top.

You looked over at Newt, he had flour down the front of his shirt, in his hair, and on his cheeks. You began to laugh, “What happened to you?”

Newt glanced in a nearby mirror and smirked, “Oh dear. I seem to have had a small disaster.”

He strolled back over and stood right in front of you, looking down directly into your eyes, “Is it a handsome look?”

You rolled your eyes.

“Come, love.” He cupped your chin in his hand and tilted it so that he was studying your eyes. You felt very insecure but couldn’t break away. Without warning he bopped you on the nose with a flour covered finger. “I love your cute nose.” He leaned in and kissed it gently.

Your face turned bright red as you reached your hand up to your face, covering your nose. You shook your head, “No, you don’t, Newt.”

Newt could tell by the look in your eyes that you were embarrassed. “So sorry?” He questioned, pulling the pizza from the oven.

You sighed, letting it go for now. “It’s okay,” you mumbled under your breath.

Newt Scamander KNEW from the look on your face that it wasn’t “okay.” He had observed many hurt, abused, and abandoned creatures in the wild and lately he had noticed you were acting just like one. He had tried for several weeks now to “crack” your shell but it just wasn’t working. No matter how he approached you, it seemed to be the opposite of what you wanted.

You never treated him angrily. You just shot him warning glances a lot and locked up, retreating into yourself, and he desperately wanted to help… to be there for you. To nurture you.

Newt lit a couple of candles and laid out the table, cutting two giant slices of pizza each. The cheese melted off the sides and you both could not wait to try it. The first bite was like heaven and you sighed, content to fill your empty stomach.

You talked of nothing in particular. Newt had a lot of sketches scattered across his table of various creatures he was studying. He told you stories of how he had discovered them and you listened intently, finishing your second slice of pizza.

You loved the passion in his eyes. You so wished you could borrow some of his joy for yourself.

You really wanted a third piece of pizza and watched as Newt took one for himself. No big deal to him… but for you, this was different. What would he think?

“Would you like some more, darling?” Newt asked, brushing some crumbs from his hands.

You looked away, “No. No, it’s fine.”

“Darling, what’s bothering you?”

“What do you mean? Nothing is bothering me.”

“Oh, sorry,” Newt winced, “I just meant… well, you seem a little nervous or…”

“Look, it’s fine. I’m fine, Newt.”

He looked pained, and you hated seeing the hurt in his eyes.

“Right. Erm, it’s getting late. Would you like to stay here tonight? We have to get an early start in the morning and I just thought…”

You really didn’t have the strength to argue about anything.

“Sure Newt. That would be great. Thanks.” You replied with a small smile.

“You can stay in the spare room, if you want.”

“Yeah, sounds great.”

A little later you had said good night and found yourself alone in the bedroom. It was cold. Saying you couldn’t breathe was an understatement. You literally felt like your head was going to explode. Walls were crashing in. Everything hurt and it was just too much to process. You needed sleep… or at least something you could focus on besides this pain. Your thoughts turned darker and you wondered if you should go to the bathroom and– No. No. No. You shook your head. You weren’t going to do that anymore. It wasn’t worth it.

Suddenly you began to cry…hard. You threw yourself onto the bed and buried your face in the pillow, trying desperately to hide the violent sobs that escaped your chest.

You felt yourself sinking.

This was too much.

Suddenly, a light flickered on, and Newt came bursting through the door. “[your name], darling, what happened?”

You were still sobbing. You couldn’t stop shaking. Newt didn’t want to make it worse but he thought if maybe he could just… hold you. Maybe that would help? At least he could dry your tears.

“Can I come over to you?” Newt whispered, his eyes full of tears.

Somehow you were able to mumble out, “Su-Su-Sure.”

Newt cautiously walked towards the bed and climbed on next to you. You were face down and didn’t appear to want to move. He timidly reached out his hand and placed it on the middle of your back, “Shhhh, love. I’m here.”

No response from you, just a small whimper. Somehow the warmth from his hand was already helping you feel grounded.

“I am just going to sit here against the pillows, darling, and if you want to… I can-” He took a deep breath, “Well, I can hold you.”

You were shocked by his offer and kind of afraid. How would he hold YOU? Why would he even want to?

You felt him move up against the pillows. He kept one hand on your back rubbing in small, comforting circles. He let the silence rest between you for several moments knowing that when you were ready to talk, you would. Or maybe he would think of the right thing to say. Either way, he desperately wanted to help you. He cared for you SO much.

Eventually, you lifted your head just enough for him to see your face. Newt’s heart shattered at the state you were in. He saw your red eyes and the tears that were still falling. You looked so fragile and he was afraid if he hugged you as hard as he wanted to, you would shatter.

He did the only thing he could think of… he opened his arms wide waiting to see what your response would be.

“Yeah right, like I’m gonna fit in your arms Newt.” You choked out between small sobs.

“What?” Newt looked so confused, “What are you talking about?”

You couldn’t believe he acted like he didn’t know what you were saying.

“I’m so much - much - bigger - than you think I am.” Tears cascaded down your cheeks as you confessed your feelings to him.

Newt’s eyes were completely shocked. Never had he EVER thought anything like that about you. To him, you were absolutely beautiful. He loved the curves of your body - in fact, he thought they were kind of sensual and very satisfying to look at. He blushed at these realizations. His arms were desperate to hold you now, if for no other reason then to prove that you would fit perfectly together.

“Come here.” He whispered gently, “Seriously, come here.” It was more of a demand than a request and you weren’t used to such boldness from Newt.

You trembled and pulled yourself up towards him. His arms were there to catch you as your face crashed into his chest and he pulled you close against him. You bent your knees and tucked into him as close as possible. His warmth was all around you. You could hear his heart beating beneath his shirt. You could feel his lips gently caressing the top of your head. His fingers trailed up and down your back. You just held on for dear life, burying your face into him.

You sat there for a moment in this quiet position and then Newt began to speak in a calm tone, “See? We fit together, perfectly.” He was hiding under his curls again, a little unsure of himself.

You were surprised to hear a small chuckle escape your lips, “I guess.”

You gripped his shirt tightly, wondering if it was safe to tell him your fears and dark thoughts. You wondered if he would understand.

“Darling, I have this terrible feeling that you think that you aren’t…” He paused, choosing his next words carefully, “That you aren’t beautiful or wanted. That you aren’t enough.”

You swallowed hard and felt a shiver run through your body. How did he know?

“I see that you are hurt, that maybe you think you can’t trust anyone… however, for what it is worth, I want you to know that you are safe here with me. You can trust me. Tell me anything. I know how it feels to be insecure and to feel like the world is crashing down all around you. It’s the worst feeling. I used to feel it at Hogwarts when I was younger and alone. I annoyed people.”

You listened to him breathing and it helped to steady you. Your sobs began to lessen, your tears dried, and your breathing became more normal. He held you tightly, raking his hands through your hair and kissing the top of your head.

This kissing of the head thing was really nice. You felt your heart melting at the tenderness. You began to feel this was his way of comforting and showing you love. You didn’t recognize it at first because of the walls that you had built around your heart but you thought, just for a moment, that he had broken through, just a little.

You began to sit up and Newt reluctantly loosened his arms from around you. He wanted to continue to hold you, but he didn’t want to make you feel uncomfortable either. He waited for you to be his guide on what to do next.

You scooted up to the pillows and sat side by side with him. Both of you stared forward. This was new.

You glanced over at Newt, just barely, and he turned his head and met your eyes. You seemed to memorize each other. What should have felt awkward felt completely calm. You watched as he bit his bottom lip and smirked. It was the most attractive you had ever seen him.

You don’t really know what happened next. One moment it was just Newt staring in your eyes and the next his lips were melting with yours. You kissed him with desperation and he kissed you with longing. It was almost as if the emotions of your year long friendship were being communicated through this one kiss.

He cupped each side of your face with his hands as you held him around the neck. Slowly, you ran a hand through the back of his hair. He moaned against your lips, causing him to break for air.

“Oh Merlin.” His heart was beating so fast, “You are so beautiful.”

You blushed, “No, I’m not.”

“Yes.” He kissed your nose, “You are so beautiful.”

Both of his hands slid down to your hips, and he pulled you towards him, finding your lips once again. Now it was your turn to feel your heart beating out of your chest.

When you finally parted Newt burrowed into your neck leaving kisses along the way. You wrapped your arms around his shoulders. You were silent for several moments, both catching your breath and thinking of what this all meant.

You almost laughed when Newt looked up at you through his messy hair. You sure had attacked every part of it. He looked like he had been electrocuted. You smiled at that thought.

“Ah, is that a smile?” Newt whispered, tenderly gifting your jaw with a kiss.

“Maybe?” You felt goosebumps forming on your arms and Newt noticed.

His voice was deep and husky, “Shall I warm you up again?"

Where was this coming from? You couldn’t believe how daring he was.

You hummed in agreement as he scooted up to your lips. He kissed you, slowly. It was as if he was memorizing the feeling of your lips against his. You moved together perfectly. Finally, you parted once more. He placed a kiss on your cheek and looked directly into your eyes, "Oh my darling, I love you.”

You felt tears forming in your eyes, “You…love me?”

“Oh yes.” He whispered, reaching up to run a finger down the bridge of your nose, onto your lips, and then stopping on your chin.

Timidly, you whispered back, “I love you too. Newt, I’ve ALWAYS loved you.”

Newt smiled brightly, his face full of joy, compassion, and unconditional love.

“My dear, I will always be here for you. I will take care of you. I know who you are. I want all of it. ALL of it. We can heal together.” Newt was determined to make you believe him.

He grabbed your hand and held it tightly, you rested your head on his shoulder, feeling utterly content.

Newt turned to kiss your forehead and gently caressed your neck, tears of happiness on his face.

You knew that this was just the beginning of a lifetime of hope and healing, Newt forever by your side.

END.

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raceandspeculation · 7 years

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John McNally 2/19/17

Dr. Smalls English 3690

Ripley Perceived as a Maternal Figure

In 1979 Ridley Scott redefined everything the public had previously known about the science fiction genre with his breakthrough film Alien. Unlike any popularized sci-fi movie before it, Alien captured a much darker side to the diverse genre and borrowed many elements from classic horror monster films. Through the aid of low-lit dynamic shots, slow camera sweeps, prolonged periods of silence that created profound feelings of uncertainty and dread Scott created a sort of harrowing, unsettling atmosphere that captivated audiences and left them with a certain anxiety as to what will happen next. Alien would soon become a colossal success commercially and breed many sequels and a few prequels, which would also create a divide among fans who argue whether or not the Alien films to come were for better or for worse. David Seed describes the film’s nature transitioning from being horrified to being anxious once the alien creature gets loose on the crew’s spacecraft. They write in their article Science Fiction: A Very Short Introduction that “The alien then escapes into the Nostromo and the film builds up to a powerful claustrophobia as the crew attempt to track it down. Scott introduced a subsidiary theme in revealing that one of the crew members was an android under orders from ‘the company’ (never named) to bring the alien home.” (Seed 39) This creates an entirely new type of extreme concern because now not only does the threat of the face hugging alien on board loom, but it seems that the main character can trust only herself in this desolate setting. The success of the series cannot be chalked up to Ridley Scott’s vision for an art house-esk, sci-fi monster movie alone and therefore we look to the other most vital and defining point in the series, the character of Ellen Ripley whom sort of acts as the first female lead in a science fiction film of this success level.

Ellen Ripley, portrayed in the film by Sigourney Weaver, was unlike any typical hero seen in this genre before. Unlike stoic, rugged, and arguably boring white male space captains like James Kirk or Han Solo, Ripley was a rule following, protocol based solider whose goal ultimately became to survive and warn Earth of the alien lifeforms inhabiting the planet of LV-426 that wiped out the entirety of Ripley’s crew except for her and of course unlike the aforementioned space heroes that were designed for white male audience members to put themselves in their place, Ripley was a woman—Not a woman boxed into the ‘damsel in distress’ category but a unique and dynamic character whom many film critics regard as a sort of catalyst for female leads in the science fiction genre. In the words of Jennifer Lynn Ruben in her article Illusionary Strength: An Analysis of Female Empowerment in Science Fiction and Horror Films in Fatal Attraction, Aliens, and The Stepford Wives; “While some scholars argue against Ripley’s empowerment, other scholars suggest the female protagonist illustrates a woman’s empowerment in two ways: through 1) a traditional maternal role and 2) a nontraditional leadership role. Unlike the damsel in distress, Ripley displays characteristics of a mother, a leader, and a fighter.” (Ruben 28) Ripley is a female lead whom is not hindered by her maternity, which is how it seems to be most commonly perceived, but rather empowered by it. Her maternal nature is not quite as evident in Alien, though still highlighted from time to time through her caring of her cat “Jones.” At the end of the first film, Ripley freezes herself cryogenically embracing the cat, Jones, in her arms as if to symbolically sow the seeds of motherhood that would play as a much larger theme in the sequel Aliens.

Aliens, directed by James Cameron, starts with Ripley in a hospital being greeted by a man, Burke, who tells her she was lucky to of even been found. Before Ripley agrees to be sent on another alien-chasing mission it is revealed that she had been in a frozen sleep for over fifty years and had lost a daughter. With no crew or child, Ripley seems devoid of purpose until ultimately agreeing to another journey into space, this time to a different planet where a group of rugged marines who seem to be excited for the sport of hunting aliens. Much like in Alien, characters are slowly picked off and the chain of command dwindles to the less and less qualified, until arriving at the character Private Hudson who is seemingly not up for the task and therefore Ripley must yet again lead. Ripley’s maternity is defined when on the planet they find the young girl, Newt, is the lone survivor on this planet invested with the same horrific, acid-blooded aliens from the first film. Ripley immediately seems concerned with the young girl Newt’s safety, in a way replacing the lost role of her daughter. Newt runs from the marines and will only talk with Ripley in a very intimate ‘mother-daughter’ scene in which in the two are talking in a small, womb-like room on the abandoned base and Ripley assures Newt’s safety. She puts herself and the remaining crew at great risk to ensure the safety of Newt, who all things considered is more of a liability than an asset, sort of cementing Ripley’s priority as a mother. Ripley is not the only character representative of motherhood, as the alien itself is as well. Often referred to as a ‘Queen’ the alien is characterized as more a ‘bad’ mother whereas Ripley is the ‘good’ mother. (Taubin 95) There are underlying race connotations between the ‘good’ and ‘bad’ mother as Ripley acts as sort of the ideal, white savior mother leaving the alien to be characterized as a profoundly stereotypical ethnic mother. “If Ripley is the prototypical, upper middle class WASP, the alien queen bears a suspicious resemblance to a favorite scapegoat of the Reagan/Bush era – the black welfare mother, that is a parasite on the economy whose uncurbed reproductive drive reduced hard-working taxpayers to bankruptcy.” (Taubin 95) The underlying comparison is entirely disturbing and reflective of the way a black mother was viewed in society during the film’s release.

Despite any negative race connotation apparent in James Cameron’s Aliens, the series itself is generally held in a positive light by critics and film analysts for empowering women in the science fiction genre, even if Ellen Ripley still fits the role of the white savior, she was the first to truly do so as the female lead which arguably set the path for further representation for women in the science fiction genre. One is inclined, however, to question Ripley’s relationship to Newt. To me, it seems as the role of a mother is sort of thrust onto Ripley in the second film as if for no other reason than to feminize her further. As I stated before, Ripley in the first movie was very much a rule follower and insisted on doing things professionally and by the book for as long as she possibly could, which is why it seems odd that she is so quick and willing to put the entirety of her remaining crew at risk to save this child she knew nothing about. The inclusion of Ripley having a lost child too was simply just placed in our laps with no previous indication as if solely to justify the reason she cares for the young girl Newt so much—Replacing the role of Ripley’s lost daughter. Regardless of this personal critique of the mother daughter relationship of Ripley and Newt, Ripley has solidified her place in the history of science fiction as one of the first and most defining female leads.

Works Cited

“The Alien Trilogy: From Feminism to AIDS,” Amy Taubin, Women and Film: A Sight and Sound Reader, edited by Pam Cook and Philip Dodd, Temple University Press, 1993, 93-100

David Seed, Chapter 1: “Voyages into Space” (6-26) & Chapter 2: “Alien Encounters” (27-46) in Science Fiction: A Very Short Introduction, Oxford University Press, 2011

Ruben, J. L. (2012). Illusionary Strength: An Analysis of Female Empowerment in Science Fiction and Horror Films in Fatal Attraction,

Aliens, and The Stepford Wives (Master’s thesis). Wright State University, Dayton, Ohio.

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