#after inspiring thousands of viewers | Explore Tumblr Posts and Blogs

mactavishwritings · 3 months

Text

Roxanne - moulin rouge inspired fic

Simon "ghost" Riley x cam girl! Reader

smut but no sex?, fluff, a teeniest bit of angst

this fic is my birthday present for myself. Happy birthday to me

“Roxanne... You don't have to put on that red light."

Simon's eyes were stinging as he waited for the 'LIVE' notification on your freecamcast.com channel. Simon didn't know why he spent his off time obsessively waiting for the fake attention of a woman who had no idea who he was until 4 months ago. He sighed desperately as the notification still hadn't come. You didn't have a typical routine; you were never consistent with when you were live.

He leaned back in his chair and rubbed his eyes, growing tired as it got later. He knew you lived within the same time zone as him because you would say it was the same time for you as it was for Simon. He was relatively new to your channel, you were one of the most popular camgirls on this site, consistently within the top 5 % of creators. He weirdly felt a sense of pride, that his favorite creator was so popular.

Finally, Simon's computer chimed, alerting Simon that you had finally gone live. He smiled softly as he clicked into your livestream. There were already a few thousand viewers on your stream and when he saw you, his heart fluttered. There you were; your hair pulled back into a thick ponytail with a light pink bow on top and the baby pink lingerie set he bought and sent to you. Told you he wanted you to wear it for your birthday and here you were, all dressed up for him. Simon was one of your top viewers and top tipper.

"Hi everyone!" Your soft voice came over Simon's speakers and he sighed happily. He instantly found relief in your voice and the deep centers of your endless eyes. He leaned forward, taking in the appearance of your body in the babydoll dress.

"Thank you all!" You giggled as the chat filled with birthday messages all flying past, everyone hoping to get their message noticed first. You giggled as you watched all the messages go by. You leaned back in your seat. You had a full setup, looking like a professional Twitch steamer setup. You had a soft ring light that cast a very romantic glow on your presence. It made you look ethereal and angelic, more so than you already were.

You hummed along to the soft music that played in the background of your stream. Your chin was tilted up, exposing your jawline and your neck. "How's everyone's night going? Are we having a great time?" You mused, sighing happily. Simon sent off a $50 tip, the first of many of that night. Your stream made a chime to notify you of the tip. You perked up and read the happy birthday message Simon attached to the tip. "Oh! Mr. Ghost! Thank you for the tip. I wore that outfit you got for my birthday, just for you." You beamed, sitting up to show off the lingerie that lay on your body. He sent a message to the chat, smiling as he typed out the message.

Mr. Ghost: looks good on u

You spun your chair once as if to twirl. Your giggles filled the room, making Simon chuckle with you. He felt as if you and him were the only ones on this call. You pushed your chair back and batted your eyelashes at the screen.

Mr. Ghost: so pretty. Glad u like it

You nodded happily, grinning ear to ear. "Of course I like it! How could l not? I just love everything you send me." You winked before moving on to greet the other viewers and Simon sunk back into his seat. He was excited for tonight's stream because he had a private, one-on-one chat with you after. Because he was one of your top tippers, he got special privileges that got him special benefits, like private chats and access to more actions like buying you outfits to wear on stream.

Simon zoned back and returned his focus to you. The stream took a drastic turn, you had shifted your hips back and popped them up, your feet now resting on the armrests of your pink gaming chair. Your eyes were wide and had a hint of innocence to them. Simon watched the screen intensely and his eyes followed the slow movements of your hands. Your hands traced down your thighs and your nails scratched up them. You sighed dramatically and tilted your head to the side, maintaining eye contact with the camera the whole time.

"It's just so sad I'm here all alone on my birthday, a little girl like me, all alone." You fluttered your lashes and the chat went insane as your hand tipped down towards your clothed center. The set Simon got you came with a pair of panties that barely covered your center. You whined, hand slipping over your center and Simon felt his mouth water. You sighed again, sitting up and you returned your feet to the floor. "Whatever is a girl like me to do!" You giggled again as your stream was flooded by anonymous men tipping you anywhere from $20 to $100, just to get a glimpse under your panties.

Simon's stomach was in knots. You had sent Simon the link to the private video calls so he could join. The only thing different about this call, the thing making him so nervous, was that he promised to finally get on camera for you to see, just for your birthday. He readjusted his hair one last time before joining the call.

"Mr. Ghost! I was starting to worry that you were gonna ghost me." Your giggle was the first thing he heard and it immediately made him relax. "I'd never do that to you. You know that." He answered you simply and took in your appearance. You had cleaned up from the stream, fixed your hair, and put away all your toys. You were still in your lingerie and Simon smiled. "You look cute."

"Thank you, Mr. Ghostie! A cute guy dressed me." You winked at the camera and Simon chuckled. "Well, he has good taste. Wanna give me a twirl, love?" Simon leaned back in his chair, crossing his arms. Your face lit up and you nodded, standing up and shuffling to get your whole body into frame. He felt himself laugh at your fluffy, white socks. You did a slow spin, showing off the whole outfit. "Very nice…I like it."

"Thank you…Now, I think you have something to show me." You sat back down, resting your elbows on the desk, your chin resting on your hands. "Yeah…right." Simon nervously rubbed his neck and he watched your eyebrows knit together, a worried expression appearing. "You don't have to! I'm not pressuring you." Simon felt his heart flutter and he leaned forward to turn his camera on. Like you, Simon had a semi-profession streamer set up, being big on PC games while on his leave.

He pushed his curls back and smiled as the camera clicked on. "Oh thank fuck. I was hoping you were secretly hot and not some old fuck." You immediately sat up and scootched up to the desk to stare closely at him. He turned his chin in each direction to show off his face to you. You sat back in your seat with the biggest smile on your face. "Happy birthday." Simon smiled back and you pushed yourself up to sit cris-cros on your gaming seat. "Will you do me a favor tonight?" Simon asked, watching you shift around. "Tell me." You twirled a hair on your finger.

"Want you relaxed. Go change. Still gonna make sure you're taken of, but not tonight, angel." He made sure to make pointed eye contact and you had a genuine smile on your face. "Thank you. I didn't want to work on my birthday." You stood up and you left the frame. Simon took a deep breath and adjusted his headphones. He didn't know why he requested this, but something just told him to. He couldn't help but feel like you treated him differently than your other viewers.

You two had done a couple of sessions like this, where he asked for the non-performer you. Simon loved those sessions because it made it feel real. Like he wasn't paying you for friendship, for just a sense of intimacy. You soon came back into the frame, dressed in a light pink hoodie and sweatpant set. Your hood was pulled up on your head and you had slippers on your feet.

"Hey, pretty girl." Simon smiled as you placed your headphones on your head and then your hoodie over the headphones. "Hey." Your soft voice made Simon nearly melt. "Thank you, ghostie." You giggled and Simon leaned back in his chair, finally able to relax. "Simon. I'm Simon." He felt his chest pounding as your eyes softened, testing the name on your lips. "Okay, Simon." You hummed and your eyes scanned a screen off to the side. "Did you wanna just talk or watch a movie, or something?" Simon just shook his head. "It's your birthday. Pick."

"Okay! I have questions about you." You sat up and clicked a couple of things on your end before turning back towards Simon. "Okay, hit me."

The two of you went back and forth for a few hours and Simon was able to determine a few things. You two lived in the same area, pretty close actually. You recently got a kitten, and he told you a little about his job. You both slowly opened up to each other, progressively sharing more and more personal details.

It was nearing 2 am and the both of you were talking like Simon wasn't paying you. Your feet were resting up on your chair and your hoodie was slowly falling off your shoulder. You sighed and looked over towards the window in your streaming room. "Thanks for hanging out with me on my birthday. Would've spent it alone." You smiled and Simon nodded, happy to make you happy. "Of course. I would do this every night if I could." Simon said, cautious for your reaction.

You looked away for a moment before taking a deep breath. "If I…gave you my number…Do you promise me you won't use it for a free session?" Your voice had a desperate tone to it, Simon felt his heart shatter. He nodded, staring at you with a concerned look written all over his face. "I swear on my life." Simon couldn't breathe, your eyes searched his for anything to prove different.

His addiction to you got worse. He swore that he wasn't going to be one of those people who couldn't put their phone down, but here he was, desperately waiting for your next message. His day practically revolved around you, more so than it already did. He felt so much closer to you than anyone else who watched your streams. He got a more personal look at you, to see who you were beyond your body.

Simon was lying in bed, phone next to him open to your messages. You weren't streaming that night due to an injury that you didn't say more about and it was driving him nuts not to know about. His eyes flicked back and forth between your messages and the show that was passing time between the next text. Simon was on a one-month leave and was happy to finally have time to relax.

Simon felt a constant buzzing and his eyes whipped down to his phone. Your caller ID was staring back at him and his mind went silent. You never called him out of the blue, always asking before if it was okay.

"(Y/N)? You alright?" Simon sat forward, nervously shifting his weight. "Um…yeah. I'm okay." Your voice gave you away, shaking, and the sniffles you tried to hide came through. "You're lying to me." Simon tried his best to not sound freaked out, trying to sound confident to help you. "No, I'm not okay. I got kicked out of my apartment. Leasing manager found out what I do and ended my lease."

Simon felt like he was going to puke. You gave Simon your number 2 months ago and you trusted him with your life. The night before, you called him when you needed support. You called him, explaining that you had been forced out of your home and didn't know what to do. He talked you through the fear and got you placed in a hotel for the night. He didn't know what came over him, his suspicions being confirmed that you lived in the same town as him.

Once you got settled in the hotel, you called Simon back to let him know that you made it to the hotel. He wanted you to have a moment to decompress before anything else happened. He made you promise that you would call you in the morning and he would help you figure out the next steps.

He was already awake when you called the next morning. You sounded better, having a night to think everything over. "You feeling okay?" Simon's voice held a softness that he never heard from himself before. "Yeah, I'm just hungry." You giggled tiredly and sighed. "I'll send you breakfast, what do you want?" Simon offered like it was nothing. "How about you and I go to breakfast instead?" Simon felt his stomach dance and he chuckled. "I would love to. Give me 5 and I'll come grab you. If you bring a wallet, I'm not coming."

You were so much prettier in person. You smelled even better than Simon imagined and your smile was so bright. Simon pulled up in front of you at the hotel and rolled down the window. "Get in, doll." You got in the car and put your favorite breakfast spot in the GPS.

Simon was trying his best to control his nerves, feeling his hands shake like he was back in basic training. He occasionally looked over at you, just to make sure that you were real. At breakfast, he could barely contain his smile. Your humor matched his perfectly and he never wanted you to leave his sight. "If I offered for you to move in with me until you get your footing, would it ruin everything?" Simon asked you and your eyes softened, leaning forward. "Never."

Simon watched your stream from the other room but heard everything. He watched the chat, messages flying by as you put on your performance. You made him promise you that he wouldn't donate that night since he was letting you stay with him. He did slip a $50 in your purse that afternoon. He listened to the soft sounds of your moans, knowing the stream was coming to an end soon.

As soon as you came, you giggled and sat back in your chair to do your sign-off. Simon shifted in his seat as you fake-flirted with the other men in your chat, feeling a sudden urge of jealousy. He didn't like the attention you were giving away and that he couldn't receive any himself until after you finished with the others. When you got off and cleaned up, you exited the room with a bashful look on your face. and nervously sat down next to him. Simon smoothed your hair and looked over your face.

"How much?" He whispered, not wanting to say it out loud, not wanting to completely ruin everything he spent so long to build. "How much what?" You looked at him confused, fidgeting with your manicured nails. "How much for you to stop camming? I'll pay anything…" He ran his hand over your hair and your shoulders dropped and he panicked.

"I can't keep watching you show off to other men. I need to keep you for myself. Please (Y/N)…You don't have to go live anymore…Let me take care of you. Let me make you mine." Simon finished his sentence with a deep breath and waited for your response. He couldn't take the silence as everything processed in your mind. He opened his mouth to speak again when you surged forward.

Your lips connected with his and your hands wrapped around his neck. You sat up on your knees and pushed yourself against his chest. Simon took a moment to catch himself before his hands made their way to your hips, kissing you back with a desperation that made him embarrassed. He pulled you onto his lap and pulled you closer. "Simon…" You gasped and he immediately needed more as he squeezed your hips. "Stay with me." He begged and you nodded.

"Always."

133 notes · View notes

yandere-collections · 1 year

Text

Yandere!Actor X Streamer!Reader

male yandere oc x gender neutral reader

This yandere is a semi famous actor. His name is Vince Cantrell and most people know at least one or two movies he’s been in, like when he played the heartthrob of a love interest in the smash hit Guardians of Time trilogy. He’s a rather aloof and eccentric person, choosing to remain hidden away in his manson completely isolated from humanity. He hasn’t acted in a while, taking a break after the sudden death of his parents. However, he can sometimes be persuaded into doing things for marketing, interviews and such to build hype for new projects which was how he met you for the first time.

You were a moderate sized streamer, usually reaching a few hundred viewers during regular streams. You got a real bump in viewership after you played the licensed game sold as a tie-in with the Guardian of Time series based on the movies. In it, you had to think fourth dimensionally in order to strategically build and defend a self sustaining agency in its own branch of reality. Because you played it, and were good at it, the game did far better than projected as thousands of people tuned it at a time to see what you could do, finding inspiration in how creative you were at pushing the games boundaries.

The devs took notice of how you lead to a direct boost in sales, giving them the chance to make a sequel with an even bigger budget. That’s when they took the opportunity to invite you to promote the sequel by playing an early version before the final release as a way to show off all the new features. And the best part? You would be doing it with Vince Cantrell since his character from the movies was prominent in the game as well. It was meant to be a prerecorded casual interview with gameplay that you would then stream on your channel the week before the game’s release.

You met Vince an hour before you were to begin filming, having to go through make-up and staging. He shook your hand, not thinking much of you at the time. You seemed nice, he supposed after you moved away to respect his space instead of crowding up close, he hated people who invaded his personal space. You both took a minute to look the other over. He wore his character’s signature outfit, a black business suit with sci fi elements and electric green accents to match with his eyes. It stood in contrast to his stark white hair, making his features even more striking, almost inhumanely pretty. You on the other hand were dressed in some of the nicer clothes you owned, something closer to business casual. You thought you looked nice and you were happy enough with your appearance, but knew you couldn’t compare to him, not even mad about the distance between you two. If only you knew the emotions swirling inside Vince. He was actually a bit embarrassed, feeling like his costume was a bit too ostentatious compared to you. He admired how down to earth you were and how well you pulled off the look without feeling the need to hide behind excessive wealth and glamor, unlike most people he worked with. If Vince took off all his layers, would he like the person underneath? Would you be willing to show him how?

After introductions, a pair of makeup artists practically pulled the two of you to your chairs under uncomfortably bright lights. Although Vince was used to this treatment, you clearly were not. He even had to hold in a chuckle after seeing your displeased face, failing after you shot him a betrayed look. The studio’s side door opened as the director and one of the devs came through, drawing attention with their arguing about which aspect of the production to focus on, the interview or the game. They came to a stop in front of you two to debrief you on what the two of you had to do while on camera, things like what features to talk about and what to talk about with each other. Pretty standard stuff but Vince was charmed by how earnestly you listened and nodded along.

The two of you were taken to a simple set comprising of a computer with two chairs and a themed backdrop. You and Vince were then left alone, sitting in your chairs while everyone moved around you, setting up lights and cameras. You averted your eyes from the actor seated next to you, not knowing if you should talk to him or even what you would talk about.

“So, what is it you do again? For a job, I mean. They tried explaining it to me but I was a bit confused.”

Of course Vince was mostly throwing you a metaphorical bone so you could feel more at ease with him but he was genuinely interested in learning more about you.

“I livestream myself playing games for my audience. Sometimes I’ll make edited videos but it’s mostly the streams.”

“And people watch you do this instead of playing themselves?”

“Yeah! Sometimes people can’t afford games or they want to see if it’s good before they buy it. But other people like watching people experience something they like or the sense of community with other viewers.” You looked a bit nervous as you explained it to him and Vince felt the urge yet again to put you at ease. He couldn’t stand the idea of you feeling uncomfortable around him.

“I guess I can see the appeal. You’re an entertainer like me,” he said, not really knowing what else to say. After all, he didn’t really get internet culture. It must have been the right thing to say as he was treated to the sight of your face lighting up with the brightest smile accompanied by a blush, looking a bit flustered by his comment. Adorable.

“I’m glad! A lot of people don’t think streaming is a real job so I’m always happy when someone at least tries to understand it.”

You then asked him a couple questions about his work. He was happy to answer, especially since you refrained from asking anything too personal, but he was more interested in learning more about you. Your favorite color, your favorite game, everything. With each new thing he learned, his hunger for more grew. You were just as good at pulling information from him, especially with the way you would light up with each fact he gave and deflated with each nonanswer. He would do anything to keep that smile on your face.

“Alright you two! We’ve got everything set up on our end. Let’s boot up the game and then we can get started!” the director shouted. Vince nearly glared as you were jolted out of the conversation, sheepishly nodding as you woke the computer from sleep mode and double clicked the icon on the screen.

And then, it was time to start. You had a hard time concentrating on what to say with the stage lights and all the cameras pointed at you. Sure, you were used to facecam but this was nothing like that. You nearly jumped out of your seat when you felt a pair of lips brush against the shell of your ear, right before the cameras began rolling.

“Just focus on me and the game. You’ll forget about them in no time.”

Vince was once again treated to you blushing, smirking as he pulled away. He saw no harm in a little bit of flirting, especially when it was so easy to pull such a cute reaction from you. He then pasted on a smile, taking the lead in introducing the two of you and the company behind the game while you composed yourself enough to take over.

“Well, let’s get started!” you said after the intro. “I’m super excited to play this since the sequel was so much fun. And it’s not everyday I get to play games with a famous actor like Vince Cantrell!” He felt his heart warm as you looked at him, a teasing glimmer in your eye. Time to turn up the charm.

“I’m even more excited, if you can believe it, to experience this game since I’m with you,” he said, holding eye contact. “But I’m afraid I don’t know that much about video games. Hopefully I won’t slow you down.”

You laughed at that. “Don’t worry, it’d be my pleasure to teach you. You’ll know everything you need to when I’m done with you.”

The next couple hours flew by for you two. It was like you had both forgotten the cameras and were in your own little world. It was the most fun Vince had had in a long time, ever since his parents died. You were the first person he felt he could genuinely connect with, not as an actor but as a person.

In between interview questions about his role in the movie and the flirty comments you two exchanged, you showed off the features of the game. Vince took this opportunity to crowd in close, pressing against you in order to look at the screen. You eventually coaxed him to play a little after promising to keep your hand over his to help with the controls.

“And if you click this menu right here, you’ll see some things they added in the sequel. Like pet shops! They officially added pets after I found a bug that let you domesticate wild animals and everyone in the community fell in love with it and asked for it to become a proper mechanic.”

“So if we place this down our citizens can buy pets?”

“Yep! You can choose what pets you want to stock and customize the building. And after a while, the pets may cross breed and make new species.”

“Interesting…” he muttered, caring more about the feeling of your hand on his. Not that he was bored, of course not! He thought he could listen to you talk about game mechanics for hours on end, just to hear your voice.

“And let me bring up the color wheel so you can see all the options for customization. Go ahead and pick whatever you want. See, you’re already getting it!”

“Only because I have you to help me. We’d probably need to spend far more time together before I could do anything like this on my own. Maybe I could come over sometime?” You looked a bit taken aback by that. Sure, he was laying it on a bit thick and playing up his incompetence but it wasn’t really his fault, not when you were so completely enchanting that he would do anything to get closer to you. It was exciting, having to take the initiative. Most of the time people pursued him, wanting the attention of someone rich and handsome while not actually caring about him at all.

“Ha ha, maybe,” you laughed, brushing off the comment. You both continued with the game for a little while longer until you got the signal to start wrapping up. You announced the game’s release date and also said you would be doing a give away for some free game keys in your chat when the video premiered on your channel in a few weeks time.

“AND… CUT!”

And just like that, it was over. The lights shut off and you slumped, no longer having to be “on”.

“I don’t know how you do stuff like this so often. I’d never survive,” you sighed.

“You get used to it. Besides, you did really well. You’re great on camera.”

“Really? Well I guess that makes sense even if my setup is way more casual. And you definitely helped a lot! I would have been a wreck without you helping me.”

He tried not to let it show how much that affected him but it was hard for him to hide how pleased he was hearing you say that. It was only natural you would recognize his rightful place was by your side. There was just one thing left for him to do.

“I was serious, you know. About coming over and playing games with you. You could even stream it if you wanted.”

You bit your lip. “Really? You’d be okay with that?”

“More than okay, I assure you. I had a lot of fun today and would love to see you again in a less formal context.”

“Oh…” You trailed off, considering it as Vince felt his heart crawl up his throat. Please say yes. “Um, sure. That sounds fun. Let’s exchange contact info and see if we can set something up. I expect you’re way busier than me so let me know when you have some free time, okay?”

And with that, he was in. The actor watched as you entered your details into his phone, eyes narrowed like a predator. You then walked off with a wave, eager to get home and wash the day off in the shower. Vince smirked as he watched you go.

You may not realize it now, but you were already his. After all, once Vince Cantrell decided he wanted something, nothing could stop him

(Hope you enjoyed! There will be a part two to this, when I get around to it)

#not the happiest with this #yandere x reader #male yandere #yandere imagines #yandere oc #yandere actor #yandere actor x reader #my writing

420 notes · View notes

smellss · 7 months

Text

say my name and everything just stops.

sam kerr x reader

summary: someone particularly famous shows up at the game but who could she be watching?

a/n: greatly inspired by the love story we are witnessing at the current times, if you don’t know what i’m talking about what are you doing with life!

Our secret moments in a crowed room

Good evening Australia and viewers today we will be taking on the mighty Matilda’s take on their rivals France in the pre lim finals for the Women’s World Cup. Now this has been an exciting week leading up to this game as speculation of a bit of drama off the field has been building hasn’t it Travis.

Certainly right Peter, never had I heard so much pre noise before a match not discussing the game! Even I’m excited to see whether she’ll show up and I know thousands hell even millions are streaming in tonight just to see if we can get a glimpse of her.

Now if you aren’t sure what we are referring to then which seriously Travis you would have to be living under a rock to not know but, there have been some hugeee speculation in the media this week on Matilda’s captain Sam Kerrs love life.

Certainly right Peter and now we are all gathered here tonight to see whether this speculation could be true.

Obviously to watch the game as well right Trav.

PREVIOUSLY DURING THE WEEK

“Sam I just want you to understand what this means if we do this” Y/n paced around the shared hotel room.

She knew how many of her relationships had fallen from the outcome of this discussion, the yes or no answer which had ultimately determined the make or break.

“Baby I know what it means, I know who you are and I love you for it. I’m not afraid of a little media coverage” Sam smirked trying to hug the girl from behind, she could feel the stress oozing from her.

Y/n sighed the pain in head blinding her, the thoughts she knew she would come back flooding into her head.

this is the end of you relationship she’s not going to love you after this you’re getting left again

“I don’t want to loose you Sammy” the girl whimpered out so quietly and meakly.

Sam’s eyes immediately soften she now faced her beautiful girlfriend towards her squeezing her with all the love she had.

“I’m not going anywhere sweetheart, why don’t we wait until the next game for you to come hmm? We both know me and the girls are going to make it through” She exclaimed proudly sticking out her chest, Y/n’s thoughts subsided and she chuckled at her girlfriend.

Y/n grabbed her face, and left a long sweet kiss against her lips. Although she didn’t say it Sam felt her silent thank you, but what she didn’t know what Y/n was a wonderful actress.

PRESENT

“You getting nervous yet Sammy” Kat nudged her with her shoulder whilst they were in their circle stretching.

“I don’t believe in nerves you shoukd know that by now” Sam smirked sticking her tongue out, getting a laugh out of a couple of the girls.

“No she just pulls world famous singers, seriously dude I need help from you next time we are out” Mary sighed walking over to Alannah to do leg swings.

“What ?!? I heard you were dating Nathan Cleary this week Mar?” Macca shouted walking out from the toilets, causing Mary to turn bright red.

She muttered something about at least she was getting some, but by that point it was time for the girls to walk out.

Sam sent Y/n one last text before heading out.

sassysoccerpants: you’ll see me in a second baby wish me luck 🍀

sexysingersaucy: i’m keeping my eye on you honey! 🩷

Sam walked out and sat on the bench as the girls ran onto the field, she was practically bouncing from how excited she was to get onto the field after her injury. .

Suddenly a sound erupted around the arena one she had never heard before, it was like every person at once was screaming it was deafening. The game hadn’t even started all the coaches looked bewildered as to what was happening.

Sam stood up she walked with Hailey over to the side of the field so she could see into the crowd it looked as if they were all looking up to the premium boxes.

“Maybe the PM is here?” Haley said trying to peer up to what was going.

“No usually they announce it?” Sam stated equally as confused as Hailey.

Just then the cameras on the screen panned to the box and there she stood.

Sam threw her head back and laughed she placed her hand on her heart never feeling so giddy and proud. She mouthed her disbelief, “There she is”

All the girls on the field had a ear splitting smile and started nudging each other and clapping up towards the box.

The announcers came over the stadium,

“Let’s give a big australian welcome to ms Y/n L/n” the crowd erupted once more.

Sam was now on the big screen showing a big kiss and wave to her girlfriend.

Y/n smiled down from the box holding baby Harper on her hip.

“No more secrets now Harps” she chuckled but she knew Sam would stay.

#sam kerr imagine #sam kerr x reader #sam kerr fanction #fanfic #samantha kerr #social media au #wlw

265 notes · View notes

iamafanofcartoons · 10 months

Note

How come Rooster Teeth's other shows do not get as much hate as RWBY does?

There are SEVEN Reasons why RWBY gets all this hate.

Hbomberguy lying. Prior to Hbomberguy's hate video? RWBY videos were ranking in tens and hundreds of thousands of views. Videos were mostly accurate. Then Hbomberguy made a 3-hour hate video that could be debunked with 5-10 minutes of google search. Everyone began hating RWBY because the bald neck-bearded man who made hate videos encouraged people to hate the writers and the show by spreading misinformation. And the people who did do the google searches were drowned out by mob mentality of ignorance, the mob ignorance that is hbomberguy's audience. And so that misinformation spread like wildfire. And from his hate video, others were inspired. MangaKamen was the next, who kept screaming that he was a victim of the RWBY Fandom and encouraged people to pay him to make anti-rwby hate videos in which he made his BS. As a result, anti-rwby videos swarmed youtube, drowning out the positivity. And hatred grows on Youtube and Twitter. And you don't want to wade through several tons of hate videos just to reach a good RWBY Video or channel. So Hbomberguy created an atmosphere of hate that drowns out positivity.

2. Money Hatred is a popular business. Just ask the various hate groups funded by JK Rowling's video game Hogwarts Legacy. Ask the GOP who fleece their constituents for money. Ask the youtubers who make hate video after video, not only pulling in youtube ad revenue, but also promoting a patreon so that their followers can pay them to hate further. Judgmental Critter has been called out by many for using RWBY over all her "other content" in making money. type in RWBY without using a channel blocker extension on your phone or youtube browser. All you'll see is that hate. Celtic Phoenix demanded money to make a fixit fanfic in which he promotes the patriarchy and toxic masculinity. Hate, lies money....all created through hating on RWBY.

3. Misogyny You knew this would be brought up. I will die on the hill that the reason so many neckbeards hate RWBY is because: It took a very fanservice concept (girls fighting monsters) and gave them stories, personalities, development, and Bechdel-passing relationships, while it took two male power fantasies (gritty edgelord who uses prolific violence and morally grey actions to pursue a noble goal, and tactical mastermind who makes difficult sacrifices for The Mission) and made them failures. It gave women the roles typically held by men. It eliminated mansplaining and made MEN, instead of women, the target of "Reason why you suck" speeches. It made women equal to men in brains and brawn. It took toxic masculinity and shat on it. Many men and women who defend the patriarchy and spit at feminism were furious at RWBY being a genuinely feminist show. So much so, they spread lies and attacked the writers and VAs. Vexed Viewer harassed Barbara Dunkelman. TheFloofArtist harassed both Barbara Dunkelman AND Arryn Zech, by spamming gore and snuff fanart towards the VAs. Judgmental Critter harassed Arryn Troche. Fatman Falling stalked and harassed a girl who talked on Twitter about liking RWBY. Hbomberguy repeatedly harassed miles and kerry. EruptionFang publicly lied and said that Miles and Kerry were bullied by fans into providing "crotch snot". Four female protagonists. The men are just side characters to serve the women's roles. When people say that their "fanfiction is better than the show" You won't see female protagonists by themselves. No, you'll see them as arm candy to a white male savior protagonist who tells women that they suck and saves the day with the power of toxic masculinity while straightwashing every woman in sight. White Male OCs....doesn't quite work well in the later volumes, which is why many people hate the post-beacon era, because the non-school setting focuses on women and takes away chances for the white straight male self-insert.

4. Being an asshole/Victim Complex For RWBY Haters, the ability to lie, hate, harm, and all the while claim they are victims. It brings out the worst in people online. The horrible pleasure people take in destroying what a small company has worked so hard to make. The desire to rant and complain and insult a show and its fandom while calling yourself a fan as some sort of shield to defend oneself from being called a hater in the same breath as telling people to stop watching RWBY or saying"rwby bad". The insistence that you cannot enjoy a show unless you tear it apart and refuse to give a fair respectful positive take. Look on youtube comments and you will see RWBY Critics harassing RWBY Fans. Look on Twitter, and see men and women attacking the animators and writers. Now putting words in dead man's mouth is nothing new, just ask GOP. But the RWBY Haters deify Monty because Hbomberguy used said dead man, who Hbomb insulted while alive, in order to be awful. That's why rwby haters use the word "toxic positivity". They want to make it seem that their victims are the evil ones, to silence them from speaking up. Its why "Valid criticism" is BS. Its an excuse used to spread hatred and call that hatred "criticism". MangaKamen makes yearly videos insulting RWBY. ONE PERSON insulted him...ONE. He screamed bloody murder and accused the entire fandom. The word "toxic positivity" means that anyone defending RWBY is unable to take criticism, and that anyone speaking up is toxic. While "valid criticism" means that the worst lies against RWBY and the fandom can be seen as legitimate, which again allows people to be their worst selves. Men and women alike have the power to be this inhumane. Worst part is that you don't even have to be conservative to be this evil. Vexed Viewer harassed Barbara Dunkelman. TheFloofArtist harassed both Barbara Dunkelman AND Arryn Zech, by spamming gore and snuff fanart towards the VAs. Judgmental Critter harassed Arryn Troche. Fatman Falling stalked and harassed a girl who talked on Twitter about liking RWBY. Have you noticed how much RWDE and R/RWBYCritics love to be "holier than thou" with their attitudes and act as if they are "saving others from RWBY" and its fandom?

5. Homophobia. Bumbleby is basically Korrasami but better. It introduces the interest in each other sooner. It has the women talk to each other and support each other. Both the writers and animators and even Voice Actresses all support Bumbleby. Its completely opposite from ATLA where the VAs supported the toxic ship that is Zutara. But? Two women can spend entire seasons together, people will call them "just friends" but a man expresses interest in a woman and talks to her for several minutes? "Its true love". Even better, Coeur Al Aran, who admits to never watching RWBY and makes fixit fanfics that replace women with men as protags and straightwashes everything? He saw adam cut off yang's arm, and decided to make an adam fanfic where adam sleeps with yang and blake is abusive to adam. The hatred of adam and jaune fanfic writers towards bumbleby is so toxic, those who write jaunexteam rwby or adam fanfics have mostly been found to be homophobic/misogynistic. Despite all of Yang and Blake's interactions, people insist that Sun is "entiteld" to Blake, and that Yang and Blake's relationship came out of nowhere...or is "woke and pandering". Also, if you've seen that hentai artists on twitter LOVE to make fanart of a male self-insert with lesbians.... Its a sick fetish of theirs, and its not just RWBY that suffers this, but Honkai Star Rail suffered that from HimeHingHoi or some artist who drew a white male self-insert knocking up two lesbians.

6. Headcanons- "Your show isn't doing what I imagined it to be doing, and since its not doing what I think its supposed to be doing, that makes it bad" Adam introduced trying to kill civilians in the black trailer and in season 2 tells Cinder that he will persuade the White Fang to keep dying for her cause. People are angry that in V3 he is an irredeemable mass murdering psycho. Ironwood introduced as a man who merges huntsmen system into his own private army, gets ozpin fired by going behind oz's back, and weaponizes the human soul into an android that he uses the vytal festival to test. And despite having two seats of power, does nothing to help others. People furious that he became a paranoid dictator. Ruby and Yang: Introduced as sisters, confirmed as half-sisters by monty. We see that Taiyang is the father of both. QrowxSummer shippers: Livid that the writers repeatedly state that Qrow is not and never will be Ruby's father, and so they pretend to be illiterate and not able to tell the difference between step-sisters and half-sisters because they're so delusionally obsessed that the writers should lie to them for a garbage theory and ship. Just because somebody watches the show, doesn't mean that the writers should do what they demand of them. Blacksun shippers love to claim that the writers were bullied into Bumbleby, but said writers and VAs said Bumbleby was planned from the start. RWBY Critics were bloodthirsty when Barbara basically put blacksun and jaunexblake and jaunexyang headcanons 6 feet under into the grave. Just because the show doesn't do what you think it should? Does not mean its bad. So many haters are ridiculously self-entitled.

7. Corruption and Revision- "I fell in love with what RWBY Could Have Been" People didn't want a show about female lgbt protagonists. They wanted a show where they can fetishize women being damsels in distress needing a straight white male character to guide them. RWBY gives a giant middle finger to the straight white male protagonist and to the patriarchy and to straight-shipping. So when they say "the fanfiction is better" or they promote a rewrite, or they say "the porn is better"... it all comes down to their straight white male OCs... it comes down to their revenge fantasies against female characters (one loser made a wrestler OC comic where his Male OC beat up women)... It comes down to their fixit-fanfics that put men on a pedestal and put women under the bootheel of the men they glorify. Their idea of "wasted potential" or "ruined potential" involves tearing apart what makes RWBY great, and remaking it in their sick twisted image. Just look to the GOP for real life example, or Galactic Empire for fictional example.

And here you have your answer. The Seven Reasons RWBY Haters exist.

Edit: Just had a chat with a nice lady on Reddit, and she gave me another way of thinking about things.

"Media that's come out of patriarchal societies (so, the overwhelming majority of all media) tends centers the perspective of males by default. Ditto cisheteronormativy, ethonationalism, ableism, etc., resulting in predominantly cisgender heterosexual neurotypical protagonists belonging to the ethnic majority.

And if you grow up as a cis straight white boy in America, you don't even notice.

And if you grow up as anyone else, then your options are either to learn how to empathize with characters who don't look like you, or, to pass on this whole "Media" thing altogether.

So while I can sit through 5 seasons of Better Call Saul and still call it some of the best television I've ever seen, a man who's never learned how to empathize with characters from backgrounds different from his own can't even approach something like She-Ra.

It's incredibly noticeable when boys- for instance- refuse to play TLOU2 after the inciting incident, or people angry at those who think Persona games should bring back female player characters.

The way forward is more representation, all the time, forever. And you can tell a lot about a person by how much the preceding sentence contorted their face into a contempting scowl"

#rwby #rwby meta #rwby discussion #hbombergu #hbomberguy

186 notes · View notes

mae-i-scribble · 11 months

Text

After watching Across the Spiderverse for the second time, I think I’ve finally managed to put into words what about Miguel’s characterization made me so conflicted. Obviously spoilers below.

While Miguel is clearly intended to be a sympathetic antagonist I don’t think that intention is fully realized in the movie, because from the minute we meet him, we know that he’s wrong in his conclusions. Miguel is supposed to be a “the ends justify the means” archetype, but after his explanation on why canon events cannot be disrupted Miles immediately points out the obvious- how can his father dying being a canon event when it is cause by a dimensional anomaly? And more than that, based on Miguel’s logic Miles’ world should have collapsed long ago because it was missing its Spiderman, a person who was not meant to die in that timeline. It’s the same as replacing a person who was meant to die only now there’s a gaping hole in the world where a person was meant to exist. Also- nothing about what happens in Into the Spiderverse is a result of any canon disrupting phenomenon, nothing could have been done to prevent it and none of what happened is Miles’ fault. (there’s more evidence against Miguel’s logic but these were the most obvious ones to me). One of the most crucial aspects of a sympathetic antagonist is being able to sympathize with *why* it is they do what they do. Miguel’s logic hardly holds up past its introduction which means that gets thrown out the window very quick as a viewer.

The next thing then, would be for us to see how Miguel leads the other spider people and what makes him into such an inspiring leader to these thousands of heroes. And the movie... doesn’t really show us much of that, to be honest. The best moment we get is when Miguel is explaining the concept of canon events to Miles, because he is genuinely understanding and empathetic. It’s very compelling to his portrayal- but for me it was overshadowed by his anger. The moment Miguel meets Miles, the first thing that he does is chuck something at the kid full force towards his head. And then in the chase afterwards, Miguel gets increasingly more violent and spiteful towards Miles because Miles’ keeps angering him- which is something that is expected of him from the other characters- Gwen is visibly nervous at the idea of Miles speaking to Miguel at all. Jessica is also well aware of these angry outbursts when she warns Gwen about failing to catch the Spot. All these things, along side the final scenes of the movie giving him solid red as his backlighting serve to make him seem far more villainous than antagonistic in his narrative role.

About his introduction with Gwen, I do think it gives him that sympathetic light, but it is important to point out that he only begrudgingly gave into Jessica’s request when Gwen had literally nowhere else to return to and then the moment she messes up he sends her home (theoretically back to that exact terrible scenario where he dad wants to arrest her) with no support. So for me its still kinda ://

I don’t consider Miguel a villain, and I’m really interested to see what they do in this next movie with his character because I do believe he’s going to get redeemed. And I genuinely think that he believes in his cause based on the terrible tragedy he had to endure, but that something about what happened with him is different than what is happening with Miles and the other worlds’ canon events. Honestly I wish we had seen more of the citadel and Miguel outside of Miles’ introduction to it. It’s clear that Miles himself is a very sore spot for Miguel which doesn’t make him the most objective character to see Miguel through.

Also on that note, Jessica Drew has a lot of the same issues as Miguel on a smaller scale because while she’s amazing for her introduction scene, after that she’s downright rude and dismissive of Gwen at every turn despite claiming Gwen to be her “star pupil” (this was said sarcastically while she was berating Gwen). While I understand why Jessica was so upset- Gwen really and truly did mess up by letting the Spot escape. It’s hard to see her as a good mentor when that anger is 90% of what we’re seeing out of her in the movie. It’s only at the end when Gwen gets a few sympathetic glances from her that she seems more similar to how she was in her introductions. The movie was packed to the brim as is but I do wish they had even more runtime to expand on these things. I want to believe in the sympathetic nature of both these people but the movie gives very fleeting attempts at doing so.

#across the spiderverse #ATSV #across the spiderverse spoilers #ATSV spoilers #miles morales #miguel o'hara #gwen stacy #jessica drew #on my hands and knees praying that the rabid miguel fans dont come after me #i just wanna talk about things in depth #the first comment i made along these lines got a response that was literally just 'youre dumb and stupid' without even arguing with me #which was >:(#come back and give me your argumentative points you coward #idk these two characters are just portrayed so antagonistically #i dont believe in villainizing them completely bc that goes against the spirit of the movie #but i also can understand those who walk away with that take

50 notes · View notes

247reader · 10 months

Text

Okay, so it appears tumblr's new image viewer (boo!) doesn't like large/long images, so, though it ruins my subtle rainbow theme, I've split the various Westerosi historic figures into separate images, and queued them up.

Here we have Nymeria of Ny Sar, who brought her ten thousand ships to Dorne, in clothes inspired by ancient Sumeria. The spear in particular is based on an artifact found in Girsu.

Fun fact: Enheduanna of Ur, daughter of Sargon of Akkad and famous as the first named author in history, went into exile in Girsu after losing a political battle in Ur; her exile was less dramatic than Nymeria's, and she eventually returned to Ur and resumed her position.

#nymeria #nymeria of ny sar #asoiaf fanart #a song of ice and fire #house martell #my art

45 notes · View notes

karahalloway · 1 year

Text

A Leviathan Surprise

Fandom: TRR

Series: None - this is a one-shot

Pairings: Maxwell Beamont x Bertrand Beaumont (nothing sexual - just brotherly love)

Synopsis: Maxwell unveils a larger than life surprise for Bertrand's birthday

Word count: 1,200

Warnings: Posh British swearing, using the Lord's name in vain, oversized squid

A/N1: This is my off-the-cuff submission for Day 4: Friends and Family of the inaugural Maxwell Beaumont Appreciation Week, hosted by @maxwell-beaumont-appreciation.

A/N2: The idea for this one-shot was actually born back in December when @maxwell-beaumont-appreciation reblogged this post by @fictionangyl featuring the cover photo and the question 'Think Bertrand would approve of a little redecorating at Ramsford? 🤔' and the general consensus was 'no' 🤣 But I got inspired by the pic and the comments and decided that I had to immortalise this visual in a fic, because it was too perfect to pass up!

A/N3: I know I normally write in first person POV, but this drabble came to me in third person, so here we are 😇

A/N4: Since Bertrand is 33 at the start of (Un)Common Attraction, I guess that means that this fic takes place 3 years before the start of the social season.

A Leviathan Surprise

Maxwell was giddy with excitement.

Scratch that.

He was positively bursting with anticipation!

Bertrand was going to be home any minute now, and the young Beaumont could not wait to surprise his older brother with his... Well, surprise.

It was Bertrand's birthday, after all...

And even though Bertrand hadn't wanted a fuss made, much less a party thrown — because, let's face it, they were broke — when one of his thousands of Insta followers had tagged him in a post featuring this jewel of divine inspiration, Maxwell had known: THIS was it... the perfect birthday present for his brother.

The fact that it had cost the better part of an arm and a leg and had required several hundred dedicated man-hours to accomplish was besides the point.

Bertrand was going to love it!

And that's all that mattered.

Because this year — of all years — Bertrand deserved to be treated. And a bit of financial bother was not going to stop Lord Breakdance from properly commemorating his brother's epic milestone.

The big 3-0.

Bertrand was now officially (and irreconcilably) a grown-up.

So what better way to celebrate (or commiserate?) than by killing two birds with one stone?

The painting gallery had always held a special place in the Beaumont brothers' hearts. In large part because it was where their mother's portrait hung — young, beautiful, full of life, she beamed out at the viewer even though it was against the conventions of formal portraiture.

But then, their mother had never been a stickler for the rules...

...probably why everyone said Maxwell took after her.

But a dreadful summer thunderstorm last year had sent a 100-year old oak tree crashing through the roof of the wing of the House that the gallery sat in, leaving an unsightly hole in the ceiling. Which — even though it had been patched — had never been completely made new.

We have more important things to allocate our meagre funds on, Bertrand kept reminding him every time the subject was raised.

Well, no longer!

Maxwell had taken matters into his own hands — raising a chunk of the money through livestreamed charity breakdance-offs with prominent YouTubers, and receiving the shortfall via a last-minute cheque made out by a well-heeled benefactor — to not only bring the painting gallery back to its former glory, but to improve it!

Bertrand was going to love it.

He was sure of it.

In fact, he had never been more sure of anything in his life!

...apart from the time he had bought an entire ostentation of peacocks so he could perform a peacock wedding.

Because what better way to celebrate the fact that these beautiful birds mated for life?

...or was the swans...?

It didn't matter. The point was that Maxwell had become ordained so he could perform the ceremony of the two fowl becoming one with the necessary sanctity and gravitas.

And his brother deserved the same level of commitment and dedication to detail as those beautiful birds had gotten through the course of the two-and-a-half hour long marriage affair.

Just with a lot less poop.

"Jesus, Mary and Joseph, Maxwell!" cried Bertrand, storming into the picture gallery. "What in the blazes is so urgent that it couldn't—? Oh, good God...!"

The elder Beaumont froze as he laud eyes on the centre-piece of the newly renovated space — the gargantuan papermaché kraken that sat suspended upside-down from the ceiling like some nefarious, overgrown bat, waiting to pounce (or fall?) on its unsuspecting victims.

The ominous creaking of the wires that held in in place didn't help matters either.

"Happy birthday, Bertrand!" exclaimed Maxwell, rushing up to crush his big brother in a celebratory hug. "May your—"

Bertrand deftly sidestepped the ill-timed PDA to thrust his finger accusingly at the ceiling. "What... in the name of all that is holy... is THAT?!"

"Your birthday present!" grinned Maxwell, completely unfazed by his brother's rapidly twitching eyelid. "Do you like it?"

Bertrand was visibly trembling. "It's... it’s..."

"Gorgeous?" prompted Maxwell. "Glorious? Utterly res—?"

"IT'S AN ABOMINATION!"

Maxwell's face fell. "Oh."

"What in the devil possessed you to conceive of, let alone spend money — money which we do not have, might I add! — on such a massive piece of macabre monstrousness!"

"I thought you'd like it..." Maxwell muttered sheepishly.

"Like it?" Bertrand spluttered incredulously. "I’d like to clobber you over the head with it! I'd—!"

A lone sniffle escaped the younger Beaumont...

...and Bertrand's shoulders fell.

"Oh, bugger..." he muttered under his breath.

Stepping up to what was left of his family, he laid a consolatory hand on his sibling's shoulder. "My apologies, brother. That was crass of me. I shouldn't have—"

"You hate it," lamented Maxwell, wiping the tears from his eyes.

"No, no!" objected Bertrand quickly. "I... I was simply caught off guard. It's not everyday that you see a giant cephalopod dangling from the ceiling."

"It's okay if you hate it..." whispered Max. "I... I'll just get it taken down and—"

"You will do no such thing!" admonished the elder Beaumont. "You've already frittered away God-knows how many hundreds of guilders on—"

"Thousands," corrected Maxwell.

"Thousands?" squeaked Bertrand, going deathly pale. "Oh, dear Lord in Heaven...!"

"2,375.97 to be exact," clarified Maxwell. "And that was just the materials."

Bertrand wheezed asthmatically.

"But it was all funded by charitable donations."

Bertrand snapped his head up. "Charitable? Donations? Who in their right mind would—?"

"Fund the creation of a one-of-a-kind avant-garde art installation?" asked Leo, stepping out from behind a neo-Greek pillar.

"And spend hundreds of man-hours elbows-deep in papermaché and glue?" added Chris, emerging from behind a curtain.

"Not to mention risk life and limb trying to attach the damn thing to the ceiling..." grumbled Drake.

"You?!" demanded Bertrand with wide eyes. "You were behind this?"

"We... may have contributed our respective skills-sets," admitted Leo with a sly smile.

"If by 'contribute' you mean 'got press ganged'..." muttered Drake.

"But it was all Maxwell's idea," added Chris. "He organised the fundraising, the equipment, the workmen, even the tea and biscuits."

"Those were good biscuits..." agreed Leo with a far-away look.

Bertrand turned back to his brother. "You... you project managed this shambles? By yourself?"

Maxwell shrugged. "I had to keep it a surprise."

"Oh, you silly muppet," sighed Bertrand as he wrapped his brother into an uncommon embrace. "There's hope for you after all..."

"So... does that mean you like it?" asked Maxwell, hope sparking in his baby-blue eyes.

"I... I think it may be a somewhat of an acquired taste..." admitted Bertrand with a shudder. "But I'm proud of you, brother. You finally showed me that you have what it takes to be a true Beaumont."

"A hereditary obsession with squid?"

"Pluck," smiled Bertrand, clapping his younger sibling on the shoulder affectionately. "And that is the best birthday present a brother can ask for."

Permas:

@twinkleallnight @lovingchoices14 @kingliam2019 @petiteboheme @aussiegurl1234 @queen-arabella-of-cordonia @tessa-liam @alyshak92 @secretaryunpaid @princessleac1 @walkerdrakewalker @angelasscribbles @nestledonthaveone @tinkie1973 @twinkle-320 @knaussal @nikkis1983 @lunaseasblog @ficloverevie @indiana-jr @differenttyphoonwerewolf @xpandass420x @eversoaringqueen12 @peonierose @3pawandme @alexabeta @veebug8 @fangirling12566 @queenmiarys @lancelotsimp @coco-lina-s @lolablackwrites @ivyflowers13 @persephone13 @hollygirl1269 @adri-ja-96 @harleybeaumont @katedrakeohd @uneravine @choicesficwriterscreations

#maxwell beaumont appreciation week #a leviathan surprise #maxwell beaumont #bertrand beaumont #the big 3-0 #trr fanfic #the royal romance #choices fic writers creations #cfwc fics of the week

74 notes · View notes

denimbex1986 · 8 months

Text

'Before his life-changing call from director Christopher Nolan, his sensational performance as the father of the atomic bomb in Oppenheimer, and the well-deserved Oscars buzz following the film’s release, Cillian Murphy spent nearly a decade portraying working-class Brummie gangster Tommy Shelby in Steven Knight’s British crime drama, Peaky Blinders.

Inspired by the real-life gang of the same name, the six-season series followed the Shelby family’s business dealings, relationships, unsavory acts, and pursuits of power in Birmingham, England, 1919. Thanks to compelling writing, word of mouth, a Netflix streaming slot, and standout performances from a stacked cast — especially Murphy’s — what started as a small show on BBC Two in 2013 grew into a global phenomenon.

Oppenheimer’s immense scale and widespread acclaim may have solidified Murphy as a household name, but in the years leading up to the monumental project, Peaky Blinders allowed him to meticulously refine his craft, wholly inhabit a character, and take his acting prowess to the next level. A decade after the riveting series premiered, Tommy Shelby remains one of the actor’s most indelible roles — a truth even more impressive when you learn that Murphy wasn’t Knight’s first choice for the Peaky protagonist.

That’s right. The 47-year-old Irish actor nearly lost the role of Tommy Shelby to Jason Statham, but a text sent to Knight post-audition, which read, “Remember, I’m an actor,” changed everything. Ahead of Peaky Blinders’ final season, Knight told Esquire he “never forgot” Murphy’s show of confidence. Despite the clear departure from his appearance and past roles, the actor was sure he could embody the physically imposing, virile gang leader. And he was right. “It’s a cliché, but no one else could have been Tommy Shelby,” Knight admitted later in the interview. “It would be absurd. It was as if Cillian was always waiting.”

Since Murphy first rode through the gritty Birmingham streets on horseback sporting a fresh undercut and a razor-trimmed cap pulled over his eyes, the role felt as bespoke as one of Tommy’s signature three-piece suits. On the surface, Murphy nailed the Birmingham accent, convincingly knocked back lowball glasses of whiskey, confidently handled a gun, and seductively smoked thousands of cigarettes on set. But his abilities to access and expose the deeper complexities, contradictions, and PTSD of the broken World War I veteran were particularly profound.

As the leader of the tight-knit Shelby clan, Tommy was a commanding, ambitious, fiercely intelligent force; an enigma who routinely committed despicable acts, but possessed enough potential for good that he repeatedly gained empathy from viewers — with help from Murphy’s charisma and authentically pained portrayal. Haunted by flashbacks of France and fueled by booze for a majority of the series, the Peaky Blinders leader perpetually grappled with a restless mind and stained soul, while guarding a heart capable of immense love. He was, all at once, completely unafraid of his own death and terrified of losing others. And since business was always personal, his family became his greatest strength and most sizable weakness.

A fraternal feeling and the sheer weight of familial responsibility shone strongest in scenes with Paul Anderson’s Arthur, while Tommy’s intimate relationship with Helen McCrory’s Aunt Polly — which deepened and shifted on the daily — peeled back his layers and offered glimpses of vulnerabilities. Tommy’s shell was undeniably softest with Grace (Annabelle Wallis), the woman who made a tea drinker, father, and eventual fortress out of him. Through small talk and genuinely sexy sex scenes, heart-to-hearts and heartbreak, and the brutal gut-punch of unexpected mourning, Murphy tapped into the full range of human emotions to convey and process the love and loss of Tommy’s wife. He never fully recovered from her death, but devastating breakdowns after the loss of Polly and his daughter Ruby proved he was still able to feel.

Murphy effortlessly exuded swagger, showed subtle humor in moments like the famous “no fucking fighting” scene, and slipped into pure panic at the drop of a hat. He loudly expressed grief in palpable scenes, such as Tommy’s brush with death in the Season 2 finale — when he almost had (and lost) “fucking everything” — or the bone-chilling final seconds of Season 5, when he hopelessly held a gun to his head, emitting a guttural scream born from insufferable trauma and fury. But despite the grand outbursts, so much of Tommy’s emotions were expressed without words; through Murphy’s facial expressions, jaw clenches, silent spirals, and intense gazes from his deep-set ice-blue portals.

Whether Tommy was strutting through smoky streets in solitude, leading grand shootouts with adversaries like Luca Changretta (Adrien Brody), digesting Alfie Solomons’ (Tom Hardy) verbal acrobatics, recovering from ruthless beatings, chomping on a leaf with his toddler, or battling his inner demons, Murphy’s performance was mesmerizing. Over the course of Peaky Blinders’ run, the actor brilliantly resided in the middle-ground between hero and villain, light and dark, and savior and sinner. And without fail, he flawlessly found his way back under the multi-faceted character’s skin after substantial filming gaps and major projects like Dunkirk and A Quiet Place Part II. In the 36 hours we got to spend with him on-screen, Murphy delivered a career-great performance, crafting an incredibly lived-in character, while masterfully evolving alongside him.

A decade after Peaky Blinders first premiered, it remains a razor-sharp series that boasts Knight’s brilliant storytelling; captivating characters; stunning set design, wardrobes, and haircuts; a killer soundtrack led by Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds’ “Red Right Hand”; and a cast that was firing on all cylinders. The series’ legacy is as strong as the Shelby family in their prime, and when the credits roll on the dark final season — one made considerably more challenging by COVID-19 and the real-life death and mourning of McCrory — you’re reminded again that no one else could have been Tommy Shelby; that Cillian Murphy, as promised in his post-audition text, is one hell of an actor.'

13 notes · View notes

the-hydroxian-artblog · 2 years

Note

I understand of course that there's no artistic shortcuts, and that the only way to learn to do a thing is to practice it a bunch.

But man, every time I see your art on my dash, some part of my wishes I could flip a switch and just mimic that style in one go. How long does it generally take you to do any of your random sketches? And do you have any advice for nailing the sort of. Casual dynamic style you do so well.

Most sketches of just a pose and a half take me anywhere from 25 minutes to an hour, mostly depending on both how detailed the character is, and how ambitious/inspired I'm feeling to draw them.

It's as you said, hard to recommend anything other than "practice", but I detailed my study regimen here. Something I hear is useful but don't do myself is straight up tracing sketches of other artists (for your eyes only, don't go posting them and making claims), mainly to learn and improve your own muscle memory and "get in their head". I've only done that very sporadically as inking practice. That's not me saying it isn't a good idea, I just haven't built up the habit. Feel free to do that with my own work, by the way!

Either way, my "casual dynamic style" comes from honing my eye and muscle memory to the point where I can draw poses more efficiently and visualize them, which my daily study regimen helped me hone. When you "get" to where I am, you'll find that there's only more to learn, though. Think of speedrunners; someone being better than even 90% of players looks impressive, but once you hone your skill to that point, you'll realize there's 10 times as much distance between you and the guy that's better than 93% of players. People who shoot for world records, being the best of the best, wind up making thousands more attempts than others lower on the ladder ever will.

The biggest takeaway is that you shouldn't be expecting yourself to be all that satisfied at any point, IF you aren't drawing something you enjoy. DALL-E 2 images look impressive and even incredible, but after a while the novelty begins to wear off. Training your neural pathways to make better and better art works the same way; you actually dampen your ability to get a dopamine hit off of good art alone, so you try to make it better, and eventually you grow only somewhat satisfied with your new normal. You need to draw stuff that actually makes you happy. That's the sort of thing that will fuel your journey for real. It's why art quality seems to not really matter all that much on social media, as it's work that the viewer and artist relates with that often winds up getting any traction. It's not a great analogy as all art has inherent value, but some kinds of art is definitely more motivating to draw and engage with than other kinds.

It's also why I draw stupid shit all the time. I get more of a dopamine hit drawing stupid shit that scratches an itch. Maybe your thing is cats. Shipping characters. Trains. Buildings. Find something you can't easily get tired of drawing, and study it as often as you can. Not too much to burn you out, but enough that you don't mind taking the challenge again and again. Don't rush it, just study a small amount at regular intervals. It's as David Karp once said: It doesn't matter how slow you go so long as you do not stop.

#littlestartemis #FAQ

121 notes · View notes

waitmyturtles · 1 year

Text

Turtles Catches Up with the Essential BLs: A Tale of Thousand Stars Edition

I’m diligently at work catching up with essential BLs, inspired by the many lists of the amazing Absolute BL, and also preparing myself in advance of new dramas that will feature couples/actors that had previously acted together in dramas I haven’t watched yet.

In the spirit of this preparation, I’m very excited for next year’s premiere of Moonlight Chicken***, which I first discovered because of the Eclipse darlings, First and Khao, but I knew nothing of Earth and Mix. So: to A Tale of Thousand Stars, we go! (And for anyone who’s reading this, I’ll take any feedback on if I should watch Cupid’s Last Wish. I mean, it looks ADORABLE, but I have sooooo much to wattccchh.)

OMG, SO ATOTS WAS SO GOOD.

I was pretty stoked with myself for watching it, especially after reading ABL’s list on the top 10 BLs to suck in new fans. (CAVEAT, I know most of y’all have already watched this! Just need to get some thoughts off my chest.)

ABL wrote that ATOTS “nods at BL tropes but manages to elevate them,” and I so agree. While I loved The Eclipse, I’m not the *biggest* fan of school-based dramas (listen, I’m an old lady, alright), and I feel like school-based shows often demand side stories of other accompanying students to fill space and drama.

I think what I loved in particularly about ATOTS was that there *wasn’t* a side story relationship, or major character development of anyone else. It seemed to me that the village community, from the soldiers and Dr. Nam to the villagers themselves, needed the space of the script to live their quiet lives, and the script allowed them to do that, and that gave way to Tian and Phupha developing individually and together at their own pace.

This was a somewhat quiet drama, which as a sub-genre of BL, I am very vocally passionate about. I loved that the heat was kept barely simmering. I love love that there was really only two kisses, and the first one (at the airport) was a kiss-ish (at least enough to send Mom flying). That means that the trope of heat (if one could/would identify a heat trope) wasn’t so heavy-handed or leveraged for drama. It was Tian’s journey that spoke to the pace of this show, and it was a great journey -- a rich city boy, dealing with his guilt, dealing with the trouble of his presence in the village, and working through it with a loving community. Despite this show being a BL, that’s a pretty heavy plotline no matter what, and I appreciate that the temptation of heavy-handed BL tropes didn’t dampen that development.

While the heat dial was low, obviously the EarthMix chemistry is just out of control, wow-ing-ly perfect. Great acting. Mix is now my darling Thai doppleganger of Miyazawa Hio.

I just really appreciated ABL’s quick analysis in the top 10 list linked above, that this drama transcended the tropes to highlight other aspects of dramas/doramas that are generally wonderful -- particularly the use of natural light and cinematography. Kind of like how, in Minato Shouji’s Coin Laundry, that I felt the setting of the show gave Minato Akira a touch of island fever, I loved that the village in ATOTS LENT a behavioral and atmospheric change that slowed Tian down, and helped us viewers slow down as well. It allowed the storyline, particularly of Phupha’s self-realization, to unwind steadily without being rushed.

And speaking of not being rushed -- the ending of the series was an AMAZING one-two punch of penultimate and final episodes. Thank GOODNESS nothing was rushed at the end. It would have been inauthentic to the story of Tian leaving the village. I thought the New Year’s party and the final send-off by the children of Tian were just WONDERFUL, deeply emotional touches, and I LOVED that the show didn’t ignore the emotion and pain that Tian felt upon leaving the village behind.

This was an amazing show. I think I’m going to call it a MUST WATCH, annnnnnd -- I’m wildin’ out here, I hope KP fans don’t hurt me -- I’m realizing what @absolutebl is saying about KinnPorsche as I watch more Thai BLs. I still think KinnPorsche should be a must watch, especially for newbies like myself, because I think there might be a cultural ripple effect of that show towards new BLs across Asia over time. However, I’m seeing what I’ve been missing in Thai BLs, with shows like ATOTS breaking the pressure cooker of tropes. I think I’m starting to see why KinnPorsche may not be as strong, story-wise, as I once thought, considering the maturity of ATOTS.

With that, I think Bad Buddy is up next on my list of Catching Up with Thai BLs, but -- to Utsukushii Kare first, as the follow-up movie is set to come out next April.

Okay, besides Earth, Mix, First, and Khao, there is another reason why I’ll be all over Moonlight Chicken, and it’s gonna require its own post. And FORGIVE the nerdery and passion. The ACTUAL DISH, the chicken rice dish, khao man gai -- I’m checking Tumblr right now, and there is not a lot of content on here about khao man gai. Khao man gai is going to be a MAJOR CHARACTER IN THE SHOW (lol), I can feel it in my bones (no pun intended).

If you’ve never had good, or GREAT, khao man gai or Hainanese chicken rice, as it’s known in many other parts of Southeast Asia, well, let me tell you -- unless you’re vegan, you’re missing OUT. I seek out HCR/KMG restaurants constantly.

I’m going to have to write a post about how important chicken rice is to Southeast Asia. It’s a VERY IMPORTANT DISH, CULTURALLY. It’s common to Thailand, Malaysia, Singapore, and to the diaspora communities of these countries around the world. If I were living or staying next to a khao man gai restaurant, I’d eat it everyday. Let me save the rest of this for the future post, but in the meantime, read this Yelp profile of Eim Khao Man Gai in Queens, NY, and check out the pics, and just get oriented for the passion, the PASSION AND SOUL, of this dish. It’s not as straightforward as “chicken rice” may indicate. It’ll help to make sense of why drunk people would go to eat this dish in the middle of the night in Thailand -- it’s comfort food par excellence, and REALLY hard to make perfect, and it just hits your heart right.

#a tale of thousand stars #atots #mix sahaphap #earth pirapat #earthmix #tian x phupha #phupha x tian #moonlight chicken #turtles catches up with thai BLs #turtles catches up with the essential BLs #backaof noppharnach #aof noppharnach

49 notes · View notes

akihabara-division03 · 8 months

Note

The day was almost over and almost the end of Makina Setsukura’s birthday, the said girl was sitting on her gamer chair, still streaming for her birthday. Right now she was just talking to her chat and occasionally thank those that sent superchats, it wasn’t until she heard a few knocks on the door did she paused and looked over, sighing before telling her chat she’ll be right back. After getting various ‘okay’s, Makina got up and walked over to the door, opening it to reveal Anika holding an assortment of gifts. “Hey Makina.” Anika greeted, giving the presents to the streamer. “These are for you, they were on the doorstep.”

“Thanks.” Makina nodded and took the gifts, closing the door after and walking back to her setup, the chat roared to life after seeing her and the gifts. “Hey chat, I got more presents. Should I open them?” After many answers of ‘yes’ and ‘do it’s’, Makina opened the first gift she saw, revealing it to be…

A large collection of beautifully crafted jewelry inspired by the popular anime, Sailor Moon. Along with it came a letter.

‘Happy Birthday, darling!

We didn’t get to talk much during the pageant but I was really impressed with your performance so here’s a little something for me, congratulations on turning a year older!

— Lola Takahashi’

The next gift revealed to be a painted portrait of popular virtual idol, Hatsune Miku. Like the first gift, this also came with a letter.

‘Happy Birthday, Setsukura-san

We’ve never talked but I’ve seen your streams and I really like them, since it’s your birthday I wanted to send you a gift, sorry if that’s weird but I hope you like my gift.

— Eclipse’

The last gift was a plushie of Servamp character, Kuro but in his cat form, much like the other gifts, this one came with a letter as well.

‘HAPPY BIRTHDAY SCREEN SHOT!!

I’m a huge fan of your streams! I try to catch one at least every few days but my job is soooo demanding 😖 but I wanted to give you a gift for your birthday! I heard you’re a huge fan of Servamp (great anime btw) so I searched high and low to get you some merch and came across this cute lil guy! Now you have your very own Kuro! Be sure to treat him well, okay? Happy birthday!

— Joey (Quicksilver)’

Makina sighed. “The pageant… right… the pageant that I placed dead last in! Nah, I’m kidding, I was more there for exposure and even though I placed last, I guess it worked? Like now we got another two thousand people in chat today. Which, again, welcome in, you guys. Hope you guys are enjoying the stream so far!”

She took her coffin and skull earrings off and replaced them with one of the gold earrings with a ruby pink heart jewel. She brushed her hair behind her ears and showed her new accessory to her viewers. “What do we think, chat? Cute, isn’t it?”

She chuckled as she read the endless flood of ‘how cute,’ and ‘pretty!’ comments and dancing bunny emotes in her chat box. She hugged her poster and new plushie. “Y’know, I don’t know much about the other two gifters, but all gifts are welcome. Look! We got a legend right here,” she held up the poster. And then she lifted the plushie right next to her face. “And then we have my black cat twin right here. We look identical. Don’t know if you guys that sent these are watching right now, but uh…” She paused to read the names labeled on each of the letters. “Lola Takahashi, Eclipse, and Joey… Quicksilver… Thanks for the presents, you’re adding more and more to my family. I mean at this rate, I’m gonna lose storage space… damn…”

Thank you for the gifts!

#hypnosis mic #hypnosis mic oc #hypmic #hypmic oc #hypnosis mic arb #hypmic arb #akihabara division #pixel syndicate #saitama division #kanazawa division #theknightssecrets #birthday 2023 #makina birthday 2023

8 notes · View notes

iheartgarrus · 1 year

Text

N7 Month Day 5: Interview

(AO3 Link - Double header! Longest one yet, so the cut is because of that, not any steaminess [sorry 😉]. I've had this idea in my head for months, so the prompt was a happy coincidence. Enjoy some Shakarian family content!)

"Lighting looks good," Allers said as she adjusted the settings on her camera drone. "You ready, Shepard?"

"I did ask for this," Shepard replied with a quirk to her mouth. She tucked her hair back - it was at her shoulders nowadays, its natural jet black, save for a few silver strands one had to look closely to find. Her face was made up for the occasion, similar to the way she had worn it during the war with her eyes framed by sleek black liner and her lips stained a deep shade of berry. While her body may have been through some changes over the past three years, she was no less recognizable as The Commander Shepard. Which was the point.

"And I still can't wait to find out why," Allers mused, taking a seat in the chair next to Shepard. "Alright, we're rolling in 5... 4..."

~~~

"Welcome to The Battlespace. I'm Diana Allers, here with a rare, exclusive interview with none other than Commander Viola Shepard." The camera cuts from a close-up to a view of the reporter and her subject seated at an angle next to one another. They are in the living area of Commander Shepard's apartment on the Citadel, and a well-appointed kitchen is visible in the background. "Commander, thank you for joining me today."

Shepard smiles, all teeth. "Happy to be here, Diana. I wouldn't talk to anyone else."

"It's true," Allers says with a nod, "You haven't been keen on interviews or public appearances since the end of the Reaper War over three years ago. I have to admit, I was a bit surprised when you actually called me back this time."

"I know people have a lot of questions," Shepard replies cryptically.

"Yes! You've been in the news again lately. You and your partner, Advisor Garrus Vakarian, recently began fostering a child. Can you talk about how that came about?"

"Sure, Diana." She folds her hands in her lap. "Your turian viewers are probably familiar with the Family Reunification Service, but for everyone else, it's a Hierarchy initiative to connect children who were orphaned in the war with their relatives. Without getting too bogged down in the details, they make an effort to place children with their closest living relatives. It's a great program and tens of thousands of turian children have found caring homes because of it. Garrus's family was contacted by the FRS a few months ago about a little girl on Invictus, a distant cousin of his, and he and I made the decision to welcome her into our family."

"That's incredible, Commander! What an amazing program. Do you two plan to adopt?" Allers leans a touch closer, seeming eager.

"Nothing is set in stone yet. The FRS doesn't consider adoptions until 6 months after the initial placement in order to make sure everyone in the home is happy. But we're getting to know her, and she's getting to know us. We're making every effort to make her feel welcome."

"Of course you are," Allers says sincerely. "Now, I know you've always valued your privacy, but can you tell us any more about her? What's her name?"

Behind the pair, in the apartment's kitchen, Advisor Vakarian enters and sets a long case on the counter. He doesn't acknowledge the camera, and neither Allers nor Shepard seem to notice him.

The Commander's expression hardens almost imperceptibly. "We aren't disclosing that at this time, nor are we releasing any photos."

Vakarian opens the case and takes out a sniper rifle scope along with a rag. He begins cleaning the scope.

Allers nods, not seeming surprised by this answer. "And I respect that. I appreciate you sharing what you have with us, and I hope that this will inspire more people all across the galaxy to consider welcoming one of these children into their homes."

"I hope so, too."

"Well, Shepard, I've learned not to press my luck when it comes to getting you to spill the beans," she says with a smile. "But is there anything else you'd like to share with our viewers?"

"There is," Shepard replies. Behind her, Vakarian has lifted a rifle out of the case and begun cleaning that as well. "I want to make one thing clear about this... new development. Our foster child will be starting school here on the Citadel soon." She turns to face the camera directly. "It's important that every reporter, photographer, blogger, whatever, understands that if anyone shows up at her school or approaches her or follows her trying to get a photo or a scoop..." She leans slightly to the side, allowing the camera a clearer view of Vakarian, still cleaning the rifle. "We will find you."

Allers's eyes are wide with mild panic - she does not seem to have been expecting this. "Shepard," she says with a cough. "Is that a threat?"

The Commander looks back at Allers, smiling that toothy smile again. "Of course not, Diana. Just a little joke."

Vakarian pauses and looks at the camera for the first time - he may have just barely shaken his head, but it's unclear.

"Well," Allers says with a nervous laugh. "Thank you so much, Commander Shepard. It was great to chat with you again, and best of luck with this new adventure!"

"Pleasure was all mine, Diana."

Allers looks into the camera once more. "Thanks for watching, everyone. We'll see you next time on The Battlespace."

~~~

As soon as the drone stopped recording, Allers spun on her. "Shepard!"

Shepard bit her lip. "What? You knew I wasn't going to give you personal details."

"That's not what I mean, and you know it!"

She chuckled. "Yeah, I know. But if I'd told you beforehand, you would've stopped me."

The reporter sighed. "Normally I'd say I'll have to edit this, but that's not going to fly, is it?"

"Nope." Shepard shook her head. "You know you'll never get another interview out of me if you do."

"My producer is going to kill me. Well, I just hope your little stunt is effective." She softened a little. "You know I really do respect your privacy, right?"

She patted Allers's shoulder. "I know, and that's why I picked you. Now run my little PSA, would you? Exactly as it is."

Resigned, Allers gave a sloppy salute. "Aye-aye, Commander."

#mass effect #n7month #n7 month 2022 #shakarian #diana allers #family fic #fanfic #my work

40 notes · View notes

gacmediadaily · 3 months

Text

Movieguide ®, the number one family review service for movies and television shows, has officially announced the nominees for its 31st Annual MOVIEGUIDE® Faith & Values Awards Gala & Report to the Entertainment Industry. Hosted by Great American Family stars Trevor Donovan and Danica McKellar, the Awards Gala will take place on Friday, February 9th at the iconic Avalon Theatre in Hollywood and will broadcast on Great American Family later this spring.

“Last year we saw a lot of strong and inspiring films and TV on the big screen and in the comfort of your living room, and we are excited to celebrate various bodies of work and talent,” says Robby Baehr, Movieguide® CEO. “To then be able to have the Awards Show broadcast on Great American Family is icing on the cake. We all share aligned visions to inspire and bring home to viewers, so this partnership is a perfect synergy.”

The event will honor the Best 2023 Movies for Mature Audiences, the Epiphany Prizes for the Most Inspiring Movie and Television Program, The Faith & Freedom Awards for Movies and Television, and the Grace Awards for Most Inspiring Performance in Movies and Television.

“The Movieguide Awards focuses on honoring quality family-friendly entertainment that deliver strong and inspiring faith-filled stories of faith, hope, joy, and redemptive love,” added Movieguide founder and publisher Dr. Ted Baehr. “We are excited to celebrate another year of honoring entertainment with faith and values.”

Here is the list of nominees for the 31st Annual Movieguide® Awards, in alphabetical order:

EPIPHANY PRIZE® MOVIES

AFTER DEATH

BIG GEORGE FOREMAN

JESUS REVOLUTION

JOURNEY TO BETHLEHEM

ON A WING AND A PRAYER

EPIPHANY PRIZE® TELEVISION

A CHRISTMAS BLESSING

DIVINE INFLUENCER

MURF THE SURF: JEWELS, JESUS AND MAYHEM IN THE USA: Episodes 1.1-1.4

A PARIS CHRISTMAS WALTZ

A THOUSAND TOMORROWS: Episode 1.3

BEST MOVIES FOR FAMILIES

JOURNEY TO BETHLEHEM

SPIDER-MAN: ACROSS THE SPIDER-VERSE

SUPER MARIO BROS. THE MOVIE

TROLLS BAND TOGETHER

WONKA

BEST TELEVISION EPISODE FOR FAMILIES

A CHRISTMAS BLESSING

DIVINE INFLUENCER

A MILLION MILES AWAY

A PARIS CHRISTMAS WALTZ

A THOUSAND TOMORROWS: Episode 1.3

BEST MOVIE FOR MATURE AUDIENCES

BOYS IN THE BOAT

GUARDIANS OF THE GALAXY VOL. 3

GODZILLA MINUS ONE

JESUS REVOLUTION

SOUND OF FREEDOM

BEST TELEVISION EPISODE FOR MATURE AUDIENCES

ALL THE LIGHT WE CANNOT SEE

THE BURIAL

CHICAGO P.D.: “New Life”

MURF THE SURF: JEWELS, JESUS AND MAYHEM IN THE USA

REACHER: Episode 2.5: “Burial”

FAITH & FREEDOM AWARD® FOR MOVIES

BANK OF DAVE

GOLDA (2023)

GUY RITCHIE’S THE COVENANT

INDIANA JONES AND THE DIAL OF DESTINY

SOUND OF FREEDOM

FAITH & FREEDOM AWARD® FOR TELEVISION

ALL THE LIGHT WE CANNOT SEE

THE MANDALORIAN: Episode 302: “The Mines of Mandalore”

A MILLION MILES AWAY

MURF THE SURF: JEWELS, JESUS AND MAYHEM IN THE USA

TETRIS

GRACE PRIZE® FOR MOVIE PERFORMANCE

BIG GEORGE FOREMAN

Khris Davis

Forest Whitaker

JESUS REVOLUTION

Kelsey Grammer

Joel Courtney

Anna Grace Barlow

JOURNEY TO BETHLEHEM

Fiona Palomo

Joel Smallbone

ON A WING AND A PRAYER

Dennis Quaid

GRACE PRIZE® FOR TELEVISION PERFORMANCE

A THOUSAND TOMORROWS: Episode 1.1-1.3

Rose Reid

DIVINE INFLUENCER

Jason Burkey

A CHRISTMAS BLESSING

Lori Loughlin

Jesse Hutch

Movieguide is the number one family review service for movies and television shows. With over 89 million monthly users, Movieguide is used by 1 in every 3 parents to determine which movies their family or children will watch. Additionally, Movieguide consults with major studios on what types of films will appeal to family audiences. Family films produce the biggest box office draws and the family film audience is the largest single demographic of movie-goers and television viewers.

#movieguide awards #danica mckellar #trevor donovan #great american family

2 notes · View notes

fettesans · 1 year

Photo

Top, screen capture from Aftersun, directed by Charlotte Wells, 2022. Via. Bottom, screen capture from the program Open Door, 1973–83, still from a TV show on BBC2. “North West Spanner Theatre Group: Born Free Trapped Ever After,” 1980. Via.

Contrary to the US public-access television that inspired it, which was narrowcast on local cable stations, Open Door was broadcast nationwide on a channel with a directive to act in the interest of the country. Anyone could propose an episode so long as they were not promoting a political party. Those selected were paired with a producer and crew for technical assistance but ostensibly retained full editorial control. Prison abolitionists, sex educators, fox-hunt saboteurs, punk fanzine–makers, single parents, vegans, community-theater enthusiasts, trans advocates, supporters of Palestinian liberation, women suffering from cystitis: They all reached millions. (This last group, the U & I Club, received thousands of letters from viewers.) Not all causes showcased were progressive. While individual episodes of Open Door were free from the requirement of “balance” mandated by the BBC charter, when taken as a whole, the series was meant to be inclusive of a wide spectrum of opinions. Absent from “People Make Television” was a 1976 episode by the British Campaign to Stop Immigration, a group linked to the extreme-right National Front party. Included was one by the Campaign for the Feminine Woman warning of the dangers of “unisex culture,” something “more menacing and damaging . . . than either communism or fascism.”

Erika Balsom, from on “People Make Television”, in THE SCREEN AGE: VIDEO’S PAST AND FUTURE, for Artforum, May 2023.

Straight culture’s orientation toward heteroromantic sacrifice is also influenced by socioeconomic class. Respect for sacrifice—or sucking it up and surviving life’s miseries—is one of the hallmarks of white working-class culture, for instance, wherein striving for personal happiness carries less value than does adherence to familial norms and traditions. Maturity and respectability are measured by what one has given up in order to keep the family system going, an ethos that is challenged by the presence of a queer child, for instance, who insists on “being who they are.” Queerness—to the extent that it emphasizes authenticity in one’s sexual relationships and fulfillment of personal desires—is an affront to the celebration of heteroromantic hardship. As Robin Podolsky has noted, “What links homophobia and heterosexism to the reification of sacrifice . . . is the specter of regret. Queers are hated and envied because we are suspected of having gotten away with something, of not anteing up to our share of the misery that every other decent adult has surrendered to.”

For many lesbian daughters of working-class straight women, opting out of heterosexuality exposes the possibility of another life path, begging the question for mothers, “If my daughter didn’t have to do this, did I?” Heterosexuality is compulsory for middle-class women, too, but more likely to be represented as a gift, a promise of happiness, to be contrasted with the ostensibly “miserable” life of the lesbian. The lesbian feminist theorist Sara Ahmed has offered a sustained critique of the role of queer abjection in the production of heteroromantic fantasies. In Living a Feminist Life, she notes that “it is as if queers, by doing what they want, expose the unhappiness of having to sacrifice personal desires . . . for the happiness of others.” In the Promise of Happiness, Ahmed argues, “Heterosexual love becomes about the possibility of a happy ending; about what life is aimed toward, as being what gives life direction or purpose, or as what drives a story.” Marked by sacrifice, misery, and failure along the way, the journey toward heterosexual happiness (to be found with the elusive “good man”) remains the journey.

Jane Ward, from The Tragedy of Heterosexuality, September 2020. Via.

#diptych #TV framed #linked excerpts

7 notes · View notes

thedalatribune · 6 months

Text

Under The Wave Off Kanagawa

You’ve seen this image before. A giant wave, its distinctive curly claws arched and ready to pounce. It’s invoked when natural disaster strikes, but also when it’s time to sell beer, jeans, and sweatshirts. It inspired Claude Debussy’s orchestral work “La Mer” as well as a not-insignificant number of tattoos. It’s an omnipresent image and one used towards a variety of ends. Good grief, it’s even an emoji. What is it about this image that continues to enthrall us? Let’s better know the Great Wave. First off, the title is not the “Great Wave”, and its subject isn’t really a wave. It’s one of a series of wood block prints called “36 Views of Mount Fuji” made by the Japanese printmaker Katsushika Hokusai, between 1830 and 1833. Long considered sacred by followers of Shintoism and Buddhism among others, Mt. Fuji is depicted from a variety of perspectives and the artwork in question is just one of them.

Its actual title translates to “Under the Wave off Kanagawa” because “under” is where Mt. Fuji is nestled, far in the distance. Also under the wave are fishermen, just trying to get home after delivering fish to the city of Edo, rowing for their lives to escape the wave, but the great wave, of course, dominates the composition and has become an accepted title…

In the 1830s when the Great Wave was created, Japan was largely shut off to the wider world due to the isolationist policies of the Tokugawa shogunate then in power. We can see Hokusai borrowing from Japanese artists like Ogata Korin, especially in the tentacle-like projections from his waves, but Western realism was creeping in to Japanese art nevertheless, largely due to European engravings smuggled in by Dutch traders. The Great Wave betrays a clear Western influence. The use of linear perspective, a low horizon line, and the appearance of Prussian blue, a synthetic pigment then very new to Japan, hailing from, that’s right, Prussia. Thousands of copies of the Mt. Fuji prints were released within Japan, mostly bought as souvenir by an emerging market of domestic tourists and those making pilgrimages to the mountain, but in the 1850s after Hokusai’s death, trade began to open up and his work was shown at the 1867 International Exposition in Paris.

Japanese culture quickly became all the rage in Europe and prints were admired and collected by many, including Claude Monet, Edgar Degas, Mary Cassatt, and a number of artists who were heavily influenced by their depictions of city life, vivid colors, and what for them was a flattening of space.

In 1896, a tsunami hit Northern Japan and news of its destruction spread worldwide. It’s been hypothesized that this event, coupled with the craze helped propel the Great Wave to international renown, although the print does not depict a tsunami. In 2009, researchers identified it as a 32 to 39 foot tall rogue wave, or what they call plunging breaker. It would certainly still be deadly, however, and that’s where we get to the real and obvious drama of the picture. Nature is large and we are small. This juxtaposition can be seen in the art of many cultures at many different times, but we have perhaps never seen it played out more clearly and more distinctly than here.

Traditional Japanese landscapes of the time put the viewer at a remove from the action, but here we are right up against this pending disaster. Hokusai’s contrast of near and far, and manmade and natural, heighten the tension and place us inside the narrative. When Debussy composed La Mer in 1903, he drew on his own childhood experience of surviving a terrifying storm on a fishing boat, as well as paintings by JMW Turner and Hokusai’s print, which he selected for the score’s cover.

The image later illustrated a 1948 Pearl Buck novel that tells the story of a young boy from a Japanese fishing village who loses his family to a tidal wave, a post World War II story of grief but also resilience.

It’s an image mobilized when disaster strikes, as it was after the devastating 2011 earthquake and tsunami off the Eastern Coast of Japan. Scientists and empirical evidence tell us that global average temperatures are rising, with extreme weather events becoming more frequent and more intense. While the sea has always been a formidable opponent for humankind and The Great Wave a useful illustration for that relationship, its relevance is likely to become even stronger, but of course the image can be interpreted in many different and less specific ways, symbolizing a great many imbalance of power.

We don’t know if our fishermen are going to make it out of there alive. It’s a cliffhanger, even if you don’t register the boats or Mt. Fuji and see the wave alone in its detached emoji state, it still holds us in and tells us quite forcefully that big things are happening, or are about to happen. Unlike the GoPro views of surfers tunneling through barrel waves, The Great Wave’s story is not one of mastery over nature. It’s notably called The Great Wave and not “The Heroic Fishermen Who Survived the Rogue Wave”.

Other artists have capitalized on the power and theatricality of waves as subject matter, but rarely in such a way that we marvel at the talents of the artist instead of the spectacular beauty of the wave itself.

What’s more, this image was meant to be reproduced, not sequestered in one museum where only a few have the privilege of witnessing it. While there are certainly numerous crimes against this image perpetrated across the internet, the crisp graphic quality of the original woodblock prints make it friendlier fodder for duplication and interpretation.

When most of us experience the ocean, this is thankfully not how we usually see it. It’s an incredibly improbable view. It’s a film still or screen capture in the most dynamic, unstable, and unpredictable of environments, but it has nevertheless become our favorite stand-in for the ocean, a way to isolate some fraction of the vastness that covers 70% of planet Earth. It’s an icon. It’s the ultimate, most wave-like of all waves, but it’s also an entire story told simply and succinctly and masterfully. Whatever your Great Wave is made of, you are undoubtedly under it and always will be, until you’re not.

Sarah Urist Green Better Know the Great Wave

#Sarah Urist Green #Better Know the Great Wave #Katsushika Hokusai #Under the Wave off Kanagawa #Great Wave #Art #Postcard #Still Life #Architecture #Museum #Urban #City #Sumida-Hokusai Museum #Sumida #Tokyo #Japan #The Art Assignment

2 notes · View notes