#also his stars era was peak i wish i got to see it :(

[tylerpitlicktruther]

i was in such a mushy mood before and went through his name’s tag on here (which is basically an archive) and like…

Arizona Pitty Philly Pitty Dallas Pitty…

my dearly fucking beloved

#he still has that same face <3 #all his headshots from every team and every year look dead the same too <3 #only the cutest boys get beauty marks AND dimples <3 #my sweet beloved #my boo boo boy #that gif of him smiling knocked me tf out #idk i was thinking about him sm today #i say archive bc no one cares about him much #and all the posts are like pre 2021 #also his stars era was peak i wish i got to see it :( #i wanna see you thrive my peanut #my 32 year old baby #tyler pitlick #listen I love him so much #me: pulls his accident prone ass into my arms and kisses his boo boos and forehead

[sounds-of-some-day]

Yup. Fans need to pay for a subscription if they want to support these shows. I got an AMC+ subscription because I watch IWTV and Gangs of London.

I wanted to make a post in general about the overall advocacy of piracy, but I am a tiny blog and no one cares about what I think.

But, with respect to this specific show, I will share some thoughts.

I see a lot of people angsting about "What if AMC makes the series run too long, like they did with Walking Dead, and the quality declines?"

and like, y'all, seriously, this should not be your concern right now. TVC are not The Walking Dead, and they were never going to be. I know there's this rumor going around that AMC bought this property as a replacement for The Walking Dead, and I don't know where that comes from, if it's just wishful thinking, or if someone connected to the show or AMC somehow hinted at that, but I seriously hope that it's not the second option, and that AMC is not expecting Walking Dead numbers from IWTV, because that would be really naïve to say the least and I would hope the people in charge of these things have better sense.

During it's peak, The Walking Dead was pulling in 17 million viewers per episode. It was the number one show on cable television. Not just the number one show on AMC - the number one show out of all of the cable networks. Even at it's worst, it was getting 3 million viewers per episode.

The best I can tell for IWTV is that it is averaging less than 0.5 million viewers per episode.

To put this into perspective, Fear the Walking Dead averaged 0.8 million viewers in its last season and it's on cancellation watch.

Here's from cancellation watch after the premiere of IWTV:

"On Sunday, AMC’s heavily promoted Interview With The Vampire–based on the Anne Rice novels–had its premiere but only managed a 0.15 rating based on same-day viewing for the 18-49 demographic with 622K total viewers.  Those are not terrible numbers, but that is also not a great start for a shiny new franchise that received a notable marketing push prior to its debut.  It was also available on AMC+ the same day (along with the second episode), though, so the digital viewing should give it an additional push."

And the thing is, there was a 40% decline in viewership after the first episode. Why? Well....honestly, most likely because of the gay sex. IWTV was never going to be TWD because it is openly, unabashedly, LGBT. And that is going to turn off a lot of the general viewing public. I'm sorry, but it's true. I wish we lived in a world where that was not the case, but we don't.

So if you want more LGBT media like IWTV, you have to support it. And that means supporting it financially if you can. Look, AMC+ is what? $8.99/month? Ideally you'd continue your subscription, but even if you cancel it after the show airs, you still showed AMC that there is interest in this specific show that generates revenue, and it only cost you less than $20. Are you not willing to put $20 into getting more IWTV??

I know not everyone can, because they live where AMC+ isn't available, or maybe you are truly flat broke, but if you can support the show, man, you gotta do it. Because anything past season two is NOT guaranteed, and we all want to see Sam Reid as Lestat in his rock star era.

So, please, I'm begging you.

And also, the other show in this franchise? The Mayfair Witches? Man, that show is facing an uphill battle because there is zero hype about that show right now and it airs in a little over a month.

Anyway, this got long, so I'll leave it here. But please support this show. And as for how you can do that between now and season two? Keep the hype up. Create fan content. Talk to people about the show. Hype the ever loving shit out if. Cause the one thing IWTV has going for it right now is that the critical reviews have been incredible. That doesn't mean anything without ratings, but it definitely helps.

#interview with the vampire #iwtv #mayfair witches #asks answered

[hunrising]

It's funny you should mention the stage and everything. I'm seeing Niall on tour five times this year and the very first time was N1 at the 3arena. I was sat smack bang in the middle quite far down the back because I really wanted to drown in what he did with the visuals and the whole set up and stage and I'm so glad I did! The second time I was in the pit for N2 and the other times I'm going to be in random places in the venues, so won't be able to see the stage as well as before but that's OK, because I got to see it that first time.

He was gushing about the whole thing before we got to see it and I was a bit like "hmm we'll see when tour rolls around" but you know what, I love it. It's well thought out and he clearly put a lot of time into it and it's cohesive and it very much fits with the vibe of the album. And I also think they've put a lot of thought into his wardrobe (though I can't say I mind him taking off his suit jackets all the time, hellooooo biceps!) although it's not really my style and his clothes for the Glasgow night were my absolute fave thus far - I'm a simple girl, I'm happy to see him in his jeans, a black tee and all stars, hahah. I recall him saying something about getting a creative director on board for this "era" and I think that was a great decision. It just works! (but I'm the first to admit that Niall can do no wrong in my eyes so I miiiiight be a bit biased 🙊)

Wdym I see no bias there ! HDNDJDNDJ No but it is just so fun to watch and take in and like it took me 4 shows to realise he had shooting stars in the oanlt graphics, it’s just the little details that make it!! I WISH there was a lil more variety in terms of wardrobe, a pop of colour if u will. Always up for arm content obvs but yeah, he’s channeling smth there and I hope it reaches its peak by the next show I’m going to

#Anonymous

[pansexualkiba]

@panda-monium64 you're getting @ed despite no message to display! because you're in for the long haul. luckily, this one isn't too long.

PART 4 OF A SERIES

TOUHOU TAKOKENZAI ~ PHANTASMAGORIA OF CRIMSON HARBOR

We're getting into the college-era of Touhou OCs, because I was perfectly happy to let it all stop with WDI and GoE, and theoretically WBZ. And then I got an idea for the final boss, and long story short this might be the ONLY one you get art for... and it's an outfit ref. You'll also see what I mean when I say "I wish I could draw". [EDIT: HERE]

Plot: The sky's turned red! ...This is a complete non issue, but it's still a pretty bad omen, so Reimu and several others have gone out to investigate. However, there's something else happening entirely: apparently, everyone's wounds are completely healing, and even the elderly are as spry as they were in their youth. This COULD be a good thing, but this actually has the more discerning minds in a tizzy. After all, the human lust for life is born from a knowledge that they'll one day die. Plus, if everything keeps healing, where'll everyone get their meat? It's time to find out what's going on!

...It's kind of a muddled plot, but I think it has a nice, mature look on the concept of always being healthy to the point that it's kind of a fault, like it's okay to be ailing and shit. It's just clumsily handled cause I developed the plot while sleep-deprived due to night shifts.

Anyways, because this is, as you can tell, a Phantasmagoria-type game, I only have four people in this one. I know, I know, it should be five, but what can you do.

KYUDOYA MIURA Battle-Hungry Archer Species: Tsukumogami Ability: Capable of changing an object's trajectory The furuutsubo of a famous general's quiver. Once her old master fell in battle, she became alive through his sheer fighting spirit. She survived as a youkai for quite some time, but she grew bored with her existence. Currently, she lives in the depths of the Bamboo Forest of the Lost, attacking those who get too close. Her ability gives her pinpoint accuracy, but only if she's the one who attacks first. When her prey suddenly became unfazed by her projectiles, she quickly realized something was wrong, and, for once, left her grove to investigate...

I... THINK a furuutsubo is linked to a very specific dude? I just made it into a general sub-species of tsukumogami, though. "She survived as a youkai" she's STILL a youkai what does that mean. You can tell I was sleep deprived. Her shot type on the opponent's side is a trail of arrow danmaku that ricochet off the screen borders, and she has a homing shot type.

SUICHI Monsoon Season Guardian Species: Shachihoko Ability: Capable of creating water A shachihoko that lives in the Myouren Temple. She is able to sustain herself on only water, so she's strongest during rainy seasons. Her power allows her to create water, but as it requires she intake a large amount of water beforehand, it's best to use it only in emergencies. She has decided to live in the Myouren Temple, as her nature is equally like a tiger as it is like a fish. She's basically the temple's fire extinguisher, yet she doesn't follow the teachings. The year was unusually wet, from a combination of a rain-making human, a snow-bringing youkai, and a star spirit granting a wish for floods. As such, she was at peak health before the latest incident even started. As such, she's rather confused as to why everyone's so concerned about their health...

Touhou Gargoyle but make her Buddhist. She's kind of a filler character, but she's basically if Maiko wasn't a fucking loser (speaking of, Maiko, Kouriko, and Nozomu get mentioned here! maybe they were supposed to be playable in this game?). What I don't mention here is Suichi's ability involves her spewing the water out of her mouth, like a Squirtle. Scattershot type whose EX skill is good for removing large chunks of a boss's healthbar, but only at close range.

SAYUMI End of the Monsoon Season Species: Hiderigami Ability: Capable of causing evaporation A hiderigami who lives out on Youkai Mountain. As a hiderigami, she cannot help but remove moisture from things. Despite this, she enjoys rainy periods. One day, she came across a large lake, and no matter how much she tried, she could not evaporate it all before exhausting herself. Then, the sky turned red, and she thought she saw something leave it. Despite this, she soon realized she couldn't tire, and so she set out to begin draining the lake of its moisture. As it was a large lake, however, she couldn't finish doing so before getting bored. She soon set out to find more sources of moisture to drain.

I love Sayumi entirely because she's here to go "yeah i know how to solve the plot? idk tho i'm just looking for people to dessicate" and we love that for her I support women's rights AND wrongs. She genuinely only has one arm and one leg, btw, as all hiderigami do. She's also meant to be, like, a counterpart to Suichi? I sure do love making fire/water rival characters, huh. Sayumi has a relatively weak piercing laser attack but her gimmick is her spirit aura fucking. deals damage to enemies, at the cost of it not being able to activate spirits.

FUNKA NO KAMUY, AKKORO God of Harbors and Wellness Species: God (formerly Jorogumo) Ability: Capable of healing all ailments The god of a certain harbor. When Akkoro first started out, she was the only Jorogumo in her area. Due to a lack of competition, she quickly grew to massive sizes and threatened the nearby fishing towns. The villagers and fishermen all prayed out, and she was then pulled into the sea. To adapt, she tapped into her vast amounts of power to attempt a magic she had not yet attempted: shapeshifting. With this, she turned into an enormous octopus. She quickly became feared and revered as a vengeful spirit, and then, suddenly, was deemed a native god. Though she was confused at the change of emotions, she enjoyed her newfound supply of faith, and remained the god of the harbor's waters. In return for her faith, she granted humans who prayed to her healing of their ailments. However, centuries have spawned other octopus-like gods who do the same thing as she does without requiring they risk going into her waters. All at once, she found herself in a large lake, yet smaller than the seas she was used to. Thinking herself captured, she unleashed her power across the land and left the waters for the first time in centuries for answers. However, what she hadn't counted on was her powers having changed to fit her legends. Thus, she ended up, however unintentionally, causing the Perfect Health Incident...

AT-KOR-KAMUY LETS GOOOOOOOO Genuinely my favorite character I've made I LOVE HER SOOO MUCH. She's got it all!!!! She's canonically Ainu! She's got a harpoon (borrowing from Repun Kamuy's depictions)! Her skirt is six octopus tentacles so her regular legs count as the other two tentacles! I put SO MUCH fucking thought into her design that it's almost a fucking crime I haven't posted it here - I'll link it later when I'm not busy. God. God I love her. Her theme is "Tentacles in the Crimson Depths ~ Molluskoid Dream". OctoTouhou. We love to see it. Her backstory is literally just a slightly-modified retelling of the actual story of Akkorokamui. (fun fact! originally her name was just "Funka no Kamuy", as if to imply that she's so powerful she doesn't even need a real name. Akkoro is basically a name she'll only tell her close friends.)

final thoughts on this batch!!! there's not a lot of them, but i love the they. :) I made them during a real difficult patch in my employment/college life, so they have a VERY special place in my heart. what happens to this group after the incident is resolved? Well, the three randos just go back to their daily lives, but Akkoro essentially builds a shrine/fishing business at the shores of this fucking giant saltwater lake on Youkai Mountain. she also puts a little stone octopus statue in the human village people can pray to for small ailment cures. Maybe she and Eirin can go into business together... Make those shady drugs a little more shady.

There's been a bit of quiet from the fairies, however... What's up with that?

#Touhou #Touhou OC #Kyudoya Miura #Suichi #Sayumi #Funka no Kamui #Akkoro #I DREW AKKORO I'LL POST HER REF LATER. WHEN I'M NOT WORKING.

[letterboxd]

In Focus: The Mummy

Dominic Corry responds on behalf of Letterboxd to an impassioned plea to bump up the average rating of the 1999 version of The Mummy—and asks: where is the next great action adventure coming from?

We recently received the following email regarding the Stephen Sommers blockbuster The Mummy:

To whom it may concern,

I am writing to you on behalf of the nation, if not the entire globe, who frankly deserve better than this after months of suffering with the Covid pandemic.

I was recently made aware that the rating of The Mummy on your platform only stands at 3.3 stars out of five. … This, as I’m sure you’re aware, is simply unacceptable. The Mummy is, as a statement of fact, the greatest film ever made. It is simply fallacious that anyone should claim otherwise, or that the rating should fail to reflect this. This oversight cannot be allowed to stand.

I have my suspicions that this rating has been falsely allocated due to people with personal axes to grind against The Mummy, most likely other directors who are simply jealous that their own artistic oeuvres will never attain the zenith of perfection, nor indeed come close to approaching the quality or the cultural influence of The Mummy. There is, quite frankly, no other explanation. The Mummy is, objectively speaking, a five-star film (… I would argue that it in fact transcends the rating sytem used by us mere mortals). It would only be proper, as a matter of urgency, to remove all fake ratings (i.e. any ratings [below] five stars) and allow The Mummy’s rating to stand, as it should, at five stars, or perhaps to replace the rating altogether with a simple banner which reads “the greatest film of all time, objectively speaking”. I look forward to this grievous error being remedied.

Best, Anwen

Which of course: no, we would never do that. But the vigor Anwen expresses in her letter impressed us (we checked: she’s real, though is mostly a Letterboxd lurker due to a busy day-job in television production, “so finding time to watch anything that isn’t The Mummy is, frankly, impossible… not that there’s ever any need to watch anything else, of course.”).

So Letterboxd put me, Stephen Sommers fan, on the job of paying homage to the last great old-school action-adventure blockbuster, a film that straddles the end of one cinematic era and the beginning of the next one. And also to ask: where’s the next great action adventure coming from?

Brendan Fraser, Rachel Weisz and John Hannah in ‘The Mummy’ (1999).

When you delve into the Letterboxd reviews of The Mummy, it quickly becomes clear how widely beloved the film is, 3.3 average notwithstanding. Of more concern to the less youthful among us is how quaintly it is perceived, as if it harkens back to the dawn of cinema or something. “God, I miss good old-fashioned adventure movies,” bemoans Holly-Beth. “I have so many fond memories of watching this on TV with my family countless times growing up,” recalls Jess. “A childhood classic,” notes Simon.

As alarming as it is to see such wistful nostalgia for what was a cutting-edge, special-effects-laden contemporary popcorn hit, it has been twenty-one years since the film was released, so anyone currently in their early 30s would’ve encountered the film at just the right age for it to imprint deeply in their hearts. This has helped make it a Raiders of the Lost Ark for a specific Letterboxd demographic.

Sommers took plenty of inspiration from the Indiana Jones series for his take on The Mummy (the original 1932 film, also with a 3.3 average, is famously sedate), but for ten-year-olds in 1999, it may have been their only exposure to such pulpy derring-do. And when you consider that popcorn cinema would soon be taken over by interconnected on-screen universes populated by spandex-clad superheroes, the idea that The Mummy is an old-fashioned movie is easier to comprehend.

However, for all its throwbackiness, beholding The Mummy from the perspective of 2020 reveals it to have more to say about the future of cinema than the past. 1999 was a big year for movies, often considered one of the all-time best, but the legacy of The Mummy ties it most directly to two of that year’s other biggest hits: Star Wars: Episode One—The Phantom Menace and The Matrix. These three blockbusters represented a turning point for the biggest technological advancement to hit the cinematic art-form since the introduction of sound: computer-generated imagery, aka CGI. The technique had been widely used from 1989’s The Abyss onwards, and took significant leaps forward with movies such as Terminator 2: Judgment Day (1991), Jurassic Park (1993) and Starship Troopers (1997), but the three 1999 films mentioned above signified a move into the era when blockbusters began to be defined by their CGI.

A year before The Mummy, Sommers had creatively utilised CGI in his criminally underrated sci-fi action thriller Deep Rising (another film that deserves a higher average Letterboxd rating, just sayin’), and he took this approach to the next level with The Mummy. While some of the CGI in The Mummy doesn’t hold up as well as the technopunk visuals presented in The Matrix, The Mummy showed how effective the technique could be in an historical setting—the expansiveness of ancient Egypt depicted in the movie is magnificent, and the iconic rendering of Imhotep’s face in the sand storm proved to be an enduringly creepy image. Not to mention those scuttling scarab beetles.

George Lucas wanted to test the boundaries of the technique with his insanely anticipated new Star Wars film after dipping his toe in the digital water with the special editions of the original trilogy. Beyond set expansions and environments, a bunch of big creatures and cool spaceships, his biggest gambit was Jar Jar Binks, a major character rendered entirely through CGI. And we all know how that turned out.

A CGI-enhanced Arnold Vosloo as Imhotep.

Sommers arguably presented a much more effective CGI character in the slowly regenerating resurrected Imhotep. Jar Jar’s design was “bigger” than the actor playing him on set, Ahmed Best. Which is to say, Jar Jar took up more space on screen than Best. But with the zombie-ish Imhotep, Sommers (ably assisted by Industrial Light & Magic, who also worked on the Star Wars films) used CGI to create negative space, an effect impossible to achieve with practical make-up—large parts of the character were missing. It was an indelible visual concept that has been recreated many times since, but Sommers pioneered its usage here, and it contributed greatly to the popcorn horror threat posed by the character.

Sommers, generally an unfairly overlooked master of fun popcorn spectacle (G.I. Joe: The Rise of Cobra is good, guys), deserves more credit for how he creatively utilized CGI to elevate the storytelling in The Mummy. But CGI isn’t the main reason the film works—it’s a spry, light-on-its-feet adventure that presents an iconic horror property in an entertaining and adventurous new light. And it happens to feature a ridiculously attractive cast all captured just as their pulchritudinous powers were peaking.

Meme-worthy: “My sexual orientation is the cast of ‘The Mummy’ (1999).”

A rising star at the time, Brendan Fraser was mostly known for comedic performances, and although he’d proven himself very capable with his shirt off in George of the Jungle (1997), he wasn’t necessarily at the top of anyone’s list for action-hero roles. But he is superlatively charming as dashing American adventurer Rick O’Connell. His fizzy chemistry with Weisz, playing the brilliant-but-clumsy Egyptologist Evie Carnahan, makes the film a legitimate romantic caper. The role proved to be a breakout for Weisz, then perhaps best known for playing opposite Keanu Reeves in the trouble-plagued action flop Chain Reaction, or for her supporting role in the Liv Tyler vehicle Stealing Beauty.

“90s Brendan Fraser is what Chris Pratt wishes he was,” argues Holly-Beth. “Please come back to us, Brendaddy. We need you.” begs Joshhh. “I’d like to thank Rachel Weisz for playing an integral role in my sexual awakening,” offers Sree.

Then there’s Oded Fehr as Ardeth Bey, a member of the Medjai, a sect dedicated to preventing Imhotep’s tomb from being discovered, and Patricia Velásquez as Anck-su-namun, Imhotep’s cursed lover. Both stupidly good-looking. Heck, Imhotep himself (South African Arnold Vosloo, coming across as Billy Zane’s more rugged brother), is one of the hottest horror villains in the history of cinema.

“Remember when studio movies were sexy?” laments Colin McLaughlin. We do Colin, we do.

Sommers directed a somewhat bloated sequel, The Mummy Returns, in 2001, which featured the cinematic debut of one Dwayne Johnson. His character got a spin-off movie the following year (The Scorpion King), which generated a bunch of DTV sequels of its own, and is now the subject of a Johnson-produced reboot. Brendan Fraser came back for a third film in 2008, the Rob Cohen-directed The Mummy: Tomb of the Dragon Emperor. Weisz declined to participate, and was replaced by Maria Bello.

Despite all the follow-ups, and the enduring love for the first Sommers film, there has been a sadly significant dearth of movies along these lines in the two decades since it was released. The less said about 2017 reboot The Mummy (which was supposed to kick-off a new Universal Monster shared cinematic universe, and took a contemporary, action-heavy approach to the property), the better.

The Rock in ‘The Mummy Returns’ (2001).

For a long time, adventure films were Hollywood’s bread and butter, but they’re surprisingly thin on the ground these days. So it makes a certain amount of sense that nostalgia for the 1999 The Mummy continues to grow. You could argue that many of the superhero films that dominate multiplexes count as adventure movies, but nobody really sees them that way—they are their own genre.

There are, however, a couple of films on the horizon that could help bring back old-school cinematic adventure. One is the long-planned—and finally actually shot—adaptation of the Uncharted video-game franchise, starring Tom Holland. The games borrow a lot from the Indiana Jones films, and it’ll be interesting to see how much that manifests in the adaptation.

Then there’s Letterboxd favorite David Lowery’s forever-upcoming medieval adventure drama The Green Knight, starring Dev Patel and Alicia Vikander (who herself recently rebooted another video-game icon, Lara Croft). Plus they are still threatening to make another Indiana Jones movie, even if it no longer looks like Steven Spielberg will direct it.

While these are all exciting projects—and notwithstanding the current crisis in the multiplexes—it can’t help but feel like we may never again get a movie quite like The Mummy, with its unlikely combination of eye-popping CGI, old-fashioned adventure tropes and a once-in-a-lifetime ensemble of overflowing hotness. Long may love for it reign on Letterboxd—let’s see if we can’t get that average rating up, the old fashioned way. For Anwen.

Related content

How I Letterboxd with The Mummy fan Eve (“The first film I went out and bought memorabilia for… it was a Mummy action figure that included canopic jars”)

The Mummy (Universal) Collection

Every film featuring the Mummy (not mummies in general)

Follow Dom on Letterboxd

#the mummy #brendan fraser #stephen sommers #action adventure #fantasy adventure #action adventure film #the green knight #david lowery #dominic corry #letterboxd

[recurring-polynya]

In tHiaM, Renji mentioned a fictional fateful encounter in which he and Rukia met in the circus. I can picture this deeply. The Rukon has circuses. It has gritty knife throwers, it has scrappy beast tamers, it has a lovely doe-eyed tightrope walker who does stunts so dangerous your hair'd turn white just watching her. It is for Renji's birthday so he should get Rukia being extremely badass and saving his life from a rampaging circus bear. Ideally, Kenpachi is there.

A lot of times, I’ll have some idea for a story, and I’ll do a bit of research and find out that the thing I wanted to do absolutely does not exist in Japanese culture, and I was completely sure that when I dug into it, Japanese circuses would not be a thing, or they would be extremely different from Western circuses, but as it turns out, circuses were absolutely a thing in the Edo era, and they had acrobats and strongmen and horseriding and more. I had so many tabs open about circuses, and almost none of it actually made it into this fanfic.

Anyway, THANK YOU ALOPEX, you know what I like to write, and what I like to write is Renji telling rambling stories of questionable veracity. I put in some lifting for good measure. This might be the most perfect Renji birthday story.

If it isn’t immediately evident, this takes place in the middle of the Advance Team Arc, or more specifically, in the middle of my Advance Team Arc story, See You on the Other Side, where Renji tells Chad a different RenRuki origin story that’s basically the desert bandit subplot from Crouching Tiger, and also a story about bees.

Read on ao3 | ff.net

🏋️‍♂️   💪   🤡    🎪    🐻

Renji hefted the last bumper plate onto the end of the barbell and tightened the collar. Chad watched him with narrowed eyes.

“You sure you want to try this?” Renji asked. “One thousand pounds. It’s the weight limit for this bar. Once you beat this, we gotta go back to Urahara’s place and pick up big rocks.”

Apparently, Chad worked part time at his gym, which meant he had a key, which meant that he and Renji could go in at two a.m. so that Renji could teach him how to lift absurd amounts of weight with his reiatsu. It was pretty convenient, as long as you didn’t mind lifting weights at two a.m. Renji loved lifting weights at two a.m.

“You just don’t want to tell me another story,” Chad replied, flexing his shoulders in anticipation.

“Whatever, I got a million of them.” Renji took a few steps backward.

Chad flared his nostrils and stepped up to the barbell. He squatted down and curled his fingers around the grip. He took three deep breaths as he stared straight again. Leading with his hips, he straightened up in a smooth, textbook perfect movement, the sinews in his neck popping out, the air around him boiling with power.

Renji wished he could drag Chad over to Squad Six, so those spoiled weenies could see what hard work actually looked like.

Chad dropped the weight and a huge breath burst out of him, his eyes widening in relief. “I did it,” he gasped.

“You did it, buddy!” Renji shouted, pointing at the barbell. “You’re a machine! You didn’t even make it look hard!”

“It was hard,” Chad managed.

“I don’t believe it!” Renji continued. “One thousand pounds! You’re incredible, dude!”

“What do you mean, you don’t believe it? You told me to do it.”

“I mean, when I told you we were gonna work for the big one-kay, it was, you know, a stretch goal. I didn’t expect you to get there so fast!”

“You said you would tell me another story when I hit it! I assumed it was a reasonable goal.”

“I keep making unreasonable goals and you keep hitting them, so I’m just sort of winging it, now, t’be honest! I’m actually really bothered how much you are motivated by my dumb stories. If I had any human money, I would just offer to buy you tacos or something.”

“I can make my own tacos. I like the stories.”

Renji sighed. They didn’t have tacos in Soul Society and he was determined to eat as many tacos as he possibly could while he was stationed in the Living World. “Go get cleaned up, and I’ll put the weights away and try to decide which story to tell you this time. I did bring us some protein shakes. I can’t vouch for them, because they’re made out of stuff I found in the Shouten, but it’s important to get some calories in you after lifting. ”

“I’m sure they’re fine. I like your protein shakes. Oh, and I know which story I want to hear--how you met Rukia.”

Of course he did.

Renji was a man of many stories. He had so many good stories. He had Inuzuri stories that were full of mischief and dirtbaggery. He had Squad 11 stories that were full of headbutting and idiocy. He had interesting stories about his clever friends Izuru and Momo and funny stories about his goofy friend Shuuhei and horrible stories about his horrible friends Iba and Madarame. But Chad had asked him once how he met their mutual friend Kuchiki Rukia, a very reasonable and natural thing to ask, and Renji had responded with a ridiculous story that was very obviously not true. Now, all Chad wanted to hear was ostentatious lies about how he, Abarai Renji, had met the incomparable Kuchiki Rukia.

Renji racked his brain as he racked Chad’s weights. This would probably make the eighth or ninth Renji-Rukia origin story, he’d honestly lost count. He was running out of material. There was a bulletin board next to the weight storage rack, covered with flyers for a weightlifting tournament in Naruki City, the Karakura High kendo team, tumbling lessons. Renji stared at the picture of the girl in the sparkly leotard on the last one. He thought about how he and the gang used to make up stories of how they were gonna make it out of Inuzuri some day. He thought about Rukia’s absolute favorite, the one she told over and over, the way it got bigger and sparklier every time she told it.

Chad returned, a tracksuit zipped overtop his workout clothes. “Need help?” he asked.

“This is the last one,” Renji replied, hefting it up onto the shelf. “You can put the bar away, though.”

Chad did.

It was kinda nice, Renji thought, being in a gym in the middle of the night with Chad. It reminded him of hunching over his dorm room desk across from Izuru, cramming for written exams. It reminded him of achy muscles in a dim Fifth Company dojo, trying to figure out the mechanics of Zabimaru’s shikai deep into the wee hours. It reminded him of long runs with Ikkaku as the sun was just peaking over the city walls. The hours between dusk and dawn were a pretty good time for doing things, in Renji’s opinion.

“So, did you remember? How you met her?”

“Of course I remember!” Renji protested. “You think I would forget something like that?”

“You do get hit on the head a lot,” Chad rumbled gently and it took Renji a moment to realize he just got dragged. Chad was actually a really funny guy, you just had to pay attention.

Renji plopped down on a pile of mats and started rummaging around in his backpack for the two bottles of questionable nutritional substance he had mixed up earlier. “Well, I certainly remember the time I ran away from home and joined the circus, I’ll tell you that.” It was a good opening line, and he paused a few seconds to get the full effect.

“The circus?” Chad echoed skeptically, sitting down next to Renji and accepting his smoothie.

“The circus,” Renji replied after taking a long swig. It was very, very strawberry flavored. “So. I think I mentioned once that when I died I got sent to the shit-end of Rukongai. District 78 of the Southern Quadrant, where your best hope is to die soon and catch an express trip back to the Living World. I was too dumb and stubborn for that, though, so I was always on the lookout for a way out. Now, it’s pretty hard to move between districts in Rukongai-- it’s illegal without a special permit, see, and special permits get harder to get the further out you go. But there are a few kinds of permits that allow you to travel all up and down Soul Society, and one of those is for entertainers.”

This was more-or-less true. It was true in theory, but travelling shows never made it out to the deep Rukon-- there was no profit in it. Rukia used to swear up and down that a circus had made it to Inuzuri once, basically just passing through on their way to capture wild animals from the magical wilderness past the end of District 80, but she had seen it. Rukia was older than the rest of them, and she used to talk about it in such nauseating detail that they had no choice but to believe her.

“When I saw the posters plastered up all over town, my first thought was that it was an opportunity to pick up some quick kan as temporary labor. My primary job skill at the time was picking up heavy objects, you see, perhaps moving them from place to place. Circuses always need help with set up and tear down. I mean, do I look like a theater kid?”

Chad stared at him pointedly.

“I don’t know why I asked that,” Renji quickly corrected, “but also, keep in mind that I am Like This because I was in the circus, not the other way around. Anyway, my instincts were correct, and I found myself gainfully employed, carting crates and also tying and untying knots, another of my many talents. But then two things, or rather two someones made me decide that I needed to hitch my star to this ridiculous pageant. The first, I will admit, was a complete castle in the sky, but what is being an adolescent boy about if not chasing after hopeless dreams?”

Chad frowned. “Well. There’s school.”

“There is no school in Inuzuri, actually, and perhaps that would have kept me out of trouble, but instead, I became absolutely entranced by the glittering star of the show-- a tightrope walker of exceptional agility, grace, and beauty. Her most defining characteristic, though, was her audacity. There was no trick too dangerous for her. She somersaulted through hoops of fire. She juggled daggers. She’d stop halfway across the tightrope, pull out a tokkari, and pour herself a saucer of sake and drink it, while the audience gasped.”

“It was Kuchiki,” Chad guessed, the corner of his mouth tipping up into his shy grin.

“It was Rukia,” Renji agreed, “but imagine Rukia in head-to-toe spangles, with bells in her hair and glitter painted around her eyes, 20 feet in the air. She was unreal. She was an apparition, a spirit. I was desperate to meet her.”

“Did you?” asked Chad.

“Chad,” said Renji.

“What?”

“Did you just… did you just ask me if I ever managed to meet Rukia? Your friend and mine, Kuchiki Rukia? In the middle of this story about how I met Rukia?”

Chad thought for a moment. “It’s two a.m. and I just deadlifted a thousand pounds.”

“That’s fair, and the answer is yes, eventually, I did meet Rukia and she saved me from being eaten by a bear, but we’ll get to that. Are you drinking that protein shake?”

“Oh, sorry! It’s really good, I just keep forgetting because this story is a good one.” Chad took a long sip. “Hey, Abarai?”

“Yeah?”

“Sorry to interrupt again, but I have a question about the bear.”

“The bear is later.”

“Yeah, I realize that, but does the bear die?”

“Huh?”

“I’m just asking up front, because I don’t like stories where animals die, and if the bear gets hurt or dies, maybe could you skip over that part?”

“Oh! No, the bear is fine. Well, he’s probably reincarnated back into a living bear by now, he was pretty old even then. I exaggerated a little to make it sound dramatic, he probably wouldn’t have eaten me in any case.”

“Okay, you can go back to the story now, I just wanted to make sure. Thank you.”

“No, no, it’s cool. I’m glad you checked in.” Renji took a deep breath through his nose and mentally rearranged his story so that Rukia no longer defeated the beast in a dramatic knife fight. “Right. So, as I said, there was a second person at the circus who influenced me greatly and that was the most famous strongman in the entire Rukon, Zaraki Kenpachi--”

“Wait, Captain Zaraki? Big guy? With the bells in his hair?”

Oh, shit. “Uh, yeah. That’s a circus thing, you know. Hair bells. You, uh, know Captain Zaraki?”

“Yeah, Orihime made friends with him, and he broke us out of prison, but then we split up because there was someone he wanted to fight.”

“That sounds like him. Anyway, yeah, he’s in this story, too. I used to be in his squad, you know?”

“I gathered that from the way Madarame and Ayasegawa talk to you.”

“He helped me get in the Gotei, you see. Because of our time together in the circus. That’s a different story, though, we’re focusing on circus times, here. He wasn’t even the Kenpachi, yet, actually. One of the reasons he’s so strong is because before he was a fighter, he lifted things, heavy things. He did all the typical strongman stuff-- bending iron bars, biting through teacups, tearing packs of cards in half, but his most famous trick was balancing bamboo poles on his shoulders and then various acrobats and other performers would scramble up on them and do tricks from on top of him. He was wildly popular, pictured on all the posters. People would come to the circus just to see him. I did not have a lot going for me at this point of my life, but I was strong, and when I saw this guy, it occurred to me that if I could get him to take me on as some sort of apprentice, I might finally be able to use my strength to get out of that shitty town.”

“Seems like a good plan.”

“It did. It seemed like a good plan, except that Zaraki had a very busy schedule of getting drunk and napping when he wasn’t lifting things, and he was absolutely not interested in Inuzuri punks who had been hired to move crates around.”

“So, what did you do?”

“Well, speaking of Inuzuri punks, I may have been a fairly honest and hardworking fellow, but one day, a couple of my reprobate neighbors decided to sneak in and try to get a glimpse of some of the wild animals. The fellow who looked after the menagerie was a little guy by the name of Mameji. Very kind and loved the animals deeply, but not very good at standing up for himself. I barely knew him, but I don’t like bullies, and I owed most of those guys a punch in the nose anyway. Mameji was pretty grateful for the solid I did him and asked if there was any favor he could do me in return. Naturally, I asked if he knew Zaraki, but unfortunately, he was terrified of the guy, so I told him I was just happy to do a good deed and make a friend.”

“You should have asked him if he knew Rukia. Rukia likes animals.”

“You’re very smart, Sado, but remember that this story is about me, not you. It didn’t matter anyway, because the next day, he comes to find me and says there’s someone who wants to talk to me. I can’t imagine who he means, aside from holding out hope that maybe he did know Zaraki after all and was just slow-rolling me.”

“But it was Rukia.”

“It was. Mameji leads me over to the area where the animals are kept, and there, in a blue kimono embroidered with silver stars and crystals in her hair, was The Fearless Rukia.” Rukia’s circus stories were usually at least seventy-five percent descriptions of her outfits, and Renji felt obligated to keep up that detail. “‘You helped my friend out,’ she says to me. ‘I appreciate that.’ And I replied something very smooth and suave, like, ‘I like the way you do cartwheels’ or possibly just “Guuuuuuh.’ And then she says, ‘I hear you’re interested in Zaraki, what’s up with that?’ and as you know, I’m much better at talking about muscle stuff, so I explain about picking up heavy things and Inuzuri and my ambition to join the circus and she just listens carefully, nodding from time to time. She makes me pick up a few barrels and then Mameji, for good measure, and finally, she nods and says, ‘You’re pretty strong and I like your hair. Come back here tomorrow. I’m going to help you impress Zaraki.’”

Chad’s eyes sparkled with anticipation.

“So, the next day, I came back, like she said, and Mameji was there, too and they’ve got this big sack of yams. I’ve told you before about eatin’ in Soul Society, right?”

Chad nodded and belatedly took another gulp of his shake.

“My initial thought was that they were gonna try to bulk me up. Raw yams may not sound very exciting to you, but after years of living on near-moldy rice and the occasional sad vegetable or bony fish, I was watering at the mouth. ‘You’re gonna feed these yams to Sunny,’ says Rukia. ‘Who?’ says I. ‘His stage name is Brawler,’ says Rukia, ‘But he’s a good boy so Mameji and I call him Sunny. It’s a joke. Because he’s a moon bear.’ Brawler, you see, was the second scariest thing in the circus, right after Zaraki-- the biggest, ugliest moon bear you can possibly imagine, probably 200 kilograms. A lot of circus bears do tricks-- balance on balls or some shit, but Brawler’s only trick was looking mean as Hell. Sometimes they’d throw him a deer haunch and he’d eat it in a real gross way, I guess people like seeing stuff like that. I, like most people growing up on the southern border of the Rukon, had a healthy fear of large carnivores, but I had a much larger fear of looking like a weenie in front of Rukia, and I was determined I was gonna do whatever she told me to. The first time wasn’t so bad-- I just tossed the yams in and he snuffled over and gave me the hairy eyeball before snorfling them up. We did that the next day, too, but the day after that, Mameji took me into his enclosure to give him his yams. I was a little surprised, you see, because I would have expected a bear like that to eat meat or something like that, but he sure did like those yams.”

“Moon bears are omnivores,” Chad supplied. “They like sweet things.”

“You’re right, and I later found out that Sunny did get meat and other stuff at other times of day, but yams were his absolute favorite thing. Again, Rukia did not tell me this, because Rukia often neglects to tell me important things. I found all of this to be absolutely terrifying, and I probably would have given up and stuck to my crate moving, except that Rukia and Mameji were just about the nicest and amazing people I had ever met. They let me hang out with them for a bit and they told me stories about traveling with the circus and I told them about Inuzuri. They introduced me to their other friends, Fujimaru, who could do all sorts of knife throwing tricks, and Kosaburou, who had the most beautiful singing voice you could possibly imagine. By the time Rukia asked me to give Sunny the yams right out of my hand, I was doin’ it, not because I was desperate to get out of Inuzuri, but because I was desperate to do anything to stay with my new friends.”

Renji paused and pretended to be interested in his protein shake. Usually, he tried to fill these stories with a lot of daring-do and badassery, but he’d gotten a little off-track when had to junk his big exciting Rukia versus Bear fight scene. All he could think of was lying around the squat on miserable rainy days, one-upping each other with stories about their ridiculous circus acts. He hadn’t thought about those days-- hadn’t let himself think about those days-- in years. What a sap he was turning into. Maybe it was because Rukia was back in his life. Maybe it was because there was a war coming, a war he might not make it through. Maybe it was because it was two a.m.

“I know how that feels,” Chad said very quietly, so quietly that Renji almost didn’t catch it, and it occurred to Renji that maybe sometimes it helped to hear a sappy story at 2 a.m.

Renji snorted softly. “So, the day before the circus was set to pack up, Rukia explains her big plan to me. Up until now, I’ve sort of been assuming that this is all an exercise in building courage or some gonzo shit like that, but it turns out it’s very straightforward. Zaraki’s dream the whole time he’s been in the circus is to pick up Sunny as part of his act, except that Sunny has zero interest in being picked up and ends up chewing on Zaraki’s head every time he tries. If Zaraki had ever bothered asking Mameji for help, maybe he could have tried the old yam trick himself, but then this wouldn’t be much of a story.

“I wait ‘til the big guy is done with his nap and is prepping for the night’s performance, inventorying his lead pipes and such, and I go up to him and I say, ‘Zaraki the Great, I am very strong, you should take me on as your apprentice!’ Now, Rukia had seen people do this to him before, and she knew that he always came back with ‘Oh, yeah? Do something to impress me, then.’ Of course, I was prepared, and I said, ‘I am going to pick up Brawler, would that do it?’ and Zaraki laughs in my face and says ‘If you can do that, I will definitely take you on, kid.’”

Chad’s face had split into a huge grin and he leaned forward in anticipation.

“We go over to Sunny’s pen, and of course, Mameji’s already given him his dinner and he’s feelin’ real fat and happy when he sees his old yam buddy Renji coming. I slip him a yam that I had tucked in my sleeve and I start rubbin’ his side, which is a thing we’d been practicin’. He leans into it, ‘cause he was a big, itchy boy, and I just… flipped him and picked him up like a baby.” Renji made a scooping motion to demonstrate. Chad’s face absolutely lit up. “He was incredibly heavy and also he did not really like that,” Renji continued, “but I put him down right away and gave him another yam and he forgave me. Zaraki was laughin’ his ass off, but he kept his word and got me signed on as a Strongman-in-Training. We went on to have many more adventures, both me an’ Zaraki and me an’ Rukia an’ Mameji an’ Kosaburou and Mameji.”

“And Sunny.”

“Sunny continued to be a hideous, angry bear for the crowds, but I kept giving him yams and never picked him up again and we were great friends for the time we spent together in the circus.”

Chad sat back, smiling his usual inscrutable smile. “Thank you, Abarai. That was a really good one.”

Renji cocked an eyebrow at him. “Was it?”

“Yes. It had friendships and a nice bear and I felt like Rukia would really appreciate the effort you put into describing all her outfits. I’m pretty sure it wasn’t true, but it was a good story.”

Renji heaved a big sigh, as though he’d honestly thought Chad was gonna buy it this time. He stretched his arms and legs out in front of him. “Let’s go home. I could go for a few hours of sleep before the Shouten Shouting starts. You’re taking a rest day tomorrow, but don’t forget to stretch.”

“The last time I had a rest day, you came over and you taught me some stuff about reiryouku.”

“Did I?” Renji frowned.

“Can we do that again? You said you would try to explain how flash step works.”

Shit, he did remember promising that. He’d just gotten overenthusiastic because it was nice to be the guy who knew things for a change. On the other hand, he also remembered the enthusiasm of going to school for the first time and wanting to know everything, and could hardly fault Chad for the same. “Sure,” he agreed. “After noon.”

“Let’s make it noon,” Chad amended. “I’ll make you tacos.”

“That,” replied Renji, “is a deal.”

#renji's birthday 2k21 #my writing #chad-renji brotp #i honestly hope that over in soul society rukia shot awake #she gets a +2 to badassery every time renji tells a story about her

[maxwell-grant]

Your Top Five Pulp Heroes that you wish were better known? By Pulp Hero fans, I mean. Since pretty much all of them except Conan and Tarzan are fairly unknown.

It’s actually quite hard for me to narrow it down to just five, because I’m having to choose between characters that are my favorites that I wish were more well-known and appreciated (which is all of them), and characters that aren’t quite my favorites but I very much think should have achieved great popularity for a myriad of reasons. So instead I’m going to pick some of each. These are not necessarily ranked by their importance or my personal taste, just 5 characters I felt like highlighting in particular. 

Honorable mentions goes to characters I already talked about prior and don’t want to repeat myself on. These aren’t “lesser” picks, just ones that I already talked about: Imaro (who in particular definitely feels like he could, and should be, a pop culture superstar if he was only more well-known), Kapitan Mors (who’s got a lot in common with one of my favorite fictional characters, Captain Nemo, but also has a lot of interesting things going on for him as his own character). Sar Dubnotal (a character that appeals a lot to me and I think should be included much more often in pulp hero team-ups). The Golden Amazon (again, definitely a character that feels like it’s just begging to have a pop culture breakout, even comic books rarely if ever have female supervillains this ruthless and over-the-top), The Mexican Fantomas (who absolutely deserves a better name than what I’m calling him here, because he’s incredibly awesome and leagues ahead of just being a knock-off). And of course my homeboy, The Grey Claw, whom I would consider Number One of the list if it wasn’t for the fact that his obscurity has left him untouched by copyright and I got plans of my own for the character that wouldn’t be possible if he was more well-known, so I guess I’m ultimately glad he’s obscure (even if I’m still bothered by how little he’s known). 

Allright let’s go:

Number 5: Sheridan Doome

Sheridan Doome appeared in fifty-four stories and three novels from 1935 to 1943. As chief detective for U.S. Naval Intelligence, Lieutenant Commander Sheridan Doome’s job was a grim one. Whenever an extraordinary mystery or crime occurred in the fleet, on a naval base, or anywhere the navy worked to protect American interests, Doome was immediately dispatched to investigate it. Fear and dread would always precede Doome’s arrival in his special black airplane. For, in an explosion during WWI, he had been monstrously disfigured. 

He was six feet two inches tall; had a chalk-white face and head. It appeared as though it had once been seared or burned. For eyes, he had only black blotches; glittering optics, that looked like small chunks of coal. His nose was long, the end of it squared off rudely. He had no lips, just a slit that was his mouth. His neck was long, as white and as bony as his face…. Sheridan Doome looked more like a robot than a human being. He was tall and ghastly; his uniform fitted him in a loose manner. Long arms hung at his sides; his face was a perfect blank. He had no control of his facial muscles; consequently, his countenance was always without expression, chalky and bony.

But behind the ugliness was a brilliant mind. Sheridan Doome always got his man. Before Sheridan Doome became a staple in the pages of The Shadow magazine, two Doome hardcover mysteries were written in the mid-1930’s by acclaimed hard-boiled author Steve Fisher (I Wake Up Screaming) and edited by his wife Edythe Seims (Dime Detective, G-8 and His Battle Aces). Age of Aces now brings you both books in one huge double novel, presented in a retro “flip book” style. This book is currently Out of Print.

I sadly don’t have any more information on the character other than this. The book is unavailable for me to acquire in any capacity, and the text above is taken from the Age of Aces website as well as Jess Nevins’s personal profile for the character. I’m not even sure if any of those 54 stories even exist anymore, since although he was published as a backup in Shadow Magazine, there doesn’t seem to be reprints of them anywhere, at least as far as I can find, and the original Shadow magazines have largely turned to dust by now. 

A character who combines aspects of The Phantom of the Opera and The Shadow, whose adventures are set in a backdrop that can easily lead to ocean adventures? That’s like, what, three of my favorite things in the world combined. I really, really wish I could at least read the stories this character stars in, but as is, this description is all I can provide. Again, time really has been cruel to the pulp heroes. 

Number 4: Harlan Dyce

This is another character I’ve only been able to learn about through Jess Nevins’s archives and have not been able to attain any further information on, which is sadly the case with a lot of pulp heroes that nowadays only seem to exist as footnotes in his Encyclopedia or records in libraries. I don’t post more about these characters because I really would just be copying the stuff he wrote without much to justify me quoting him verbatim, and I hate the idea of doing that.

I especially hate that in Harlan Dyce’s case though. Here’s his description

“Dyce had brains, taste, money, ambition, and a total lack of physical or spiritual fear. But—

“Dyce was thirty-three inches tall and weighed sixty pounds.

“That was all the world could ever hold against him. That was what had made the world, most of it, in all the countries of the world, stare at Harlan Dyce, billed in the big show as “General Midge.””

Harlan Dyce is a misanthropic and venomous private detective. He has an “amazingly handsome face,” and the aforementioned brains. But all anyone sees is his stature, and he hates that and turns his cold eyes and acid tongue on them. 

The only person Dyce likes and gets along with (besides his dwarf wife, a former client) is his assistant, Nick Melchem, a six-foot tall former p.i.’s assistant with bleak eyes and a strong body. Melchem ignores Dyce’s stature and treats Dyce normally, which Dyce responds warmly to.

Dwarfs may be the single most maligned group of people depicted in pulp magazines, even more so than the Japanese in the war years or the Chinese during the peak of the Yellow Peril’s popularity. Evil dwarfs, murderous dwarfs, sexually depraved dwarfs, they are all loathsome, ugly cliches that are, sadly, the only instances you see of dwarf characters being represented at all, with the only ones who are awarded any measure of sympathy are doomed henchmen or tragic villains.  Even outside of the pulps, the only other examples of heroic, protagonist dwarfs I can think off the top of my head are Puck from Marvel Comics and Tyrion Lannister from Game of Thrones.

I’m not gonna say Harlan Dyce is great representation because I’m not a little person and can never make that kind of claim for a group I’m not a part of, but Harlan Dyce may be the first time I’ve ever seen a dwarf character in pulp fiction who was not a villain or a murderous goon or a victim, but an actual person and a heroic protagonist, and that definitely counts for something. I’m not sure how popular this character was or could be if someone picked up the concept and ran with it (and I’m pretty sure he’s public domain), but I definitely think this is a character that should exist and should be popular. 

Hell, this character has Peter Dinklage written all over it, give it to him. Maybe then he will get to play a smart, fearless, cynical, misanthropic but good-natured and heroic character in something where he actually gets to keep these traits until the show ends.

Number 3: Audaz, O Demolidor

Audaz is a Brazilian character who was created and published by Gazetinha, the same publishers of Grey Claw as well as properties exported from elsewhere like Superman and Popeye, and much like The Grey Claw, he is also completely unknown even here. I’ll get to Audaz more in-depth sometime but here I’m going to provide a quick summary: 

Audaz, The Demolisher is a gigantic crime-fighting robot controlled and piloted by the brilliant scientist Dr. Blum, his close friend Gregor and the child prodigy Jacques Ennes, who pilot the giant robot from a massive laboratory inside it's head rather than a cockpit. He takes on a variety of ordinary human criminals, mad scientists, supervillains and invading armies, towering over skyscrapers and grappling with jets.

Audaz was created in 1939 by illustrator Messias de Melo, a year before Quality Comics's Bozo the Iron Man and 5 years before Ryuichi Yokoyama's Kagaku Senshi, and decades before the debut of Mazinger Z. Although he is not the first giant robot of science fiction, he is the first heroic giant robot piloted by human pilots, and thus the first true example of "mecha" fiction.

Number 2: Emilia the Ragdoll

This is another Brazilian character, although nowhere near as obscure as Audaz as even a cursory Google search can show. Although Brazil did not have a “pulp era” in the same way the US had, we’ve long gotten past the point of sticking to it as a definitive rule, and I’m including Emilia as a pulp hero because she’s a 1920s fantasy literature character who was created under a publishing company that released pulp stories, because she doesn’t quite belong in the mold of fantasy literature characters she takes after, and because I like her and if I was putting a bunch of pulp heroes together in the same story, I would definitely include Emilia in it. It’s not like she really has anywhere else to go, now that she’s public domain and she’s outlasted her franchise.

As you can tell by the above image, Emilia’s had a lot of variations over the years and that’s because the work she was created for, Sítio do Picapau Amarelo (Yellow Woodpecker Ranch/Farm), has become a major bedrock of Brazilian fantasy literature, one of the only works created here that you can find substantial information about in English if you go looking for it. Here’s some descriptions of Emilia’s character:

Emília is a rag doll described as "clumsy" or "ugly", resembling a "witch" that was handmade by Aunt Nastácia, the ranch's cook, for the little girl Lúcia, out of an old skirt. After Lucia takes her on an adventure and the doll is given a dose of magic pills, Emília suddenly started talking, and would never stop henceforth.

Emilia has a rough, antagonistic personality, and an independent, free-spirited and anarchist behaviour. She is rogue, rebellious, stubborn, rough and intensely determined at anything she sets her mind on, eager to take off on just about any adventure. She is often immature and behaves like a curious and arrogant child, always wanting to be the center of attention.

She is extremely opinionated even when she constantly and confidently mispronounces words and expressions. Her attitude often gets her into trouble, and she very often has to fight against the villains who attack her home on the Yellow Woodpecker Farm and mistreat her friends.

In the stories, Emilia often takes the role of a heroine who travels through different realms and dimensions, as the books include not only figures from Brazilian and worldwide folklore, but also several characters both real and fictional, such as Hercules, King Arthur, Don Quixote, Thumbelina, Da Vinci, Shirley Temple, Captain Hook, Santos Dumont and Baron von Munchausen.

She's fought scorpions and martians and nymph hordes, her arch-enemy is an alligator witch, she rescued an angel from the Milky Way and tried to teach it how to become a human, and once shrunk the entire population of Earth to try and talk the president of the United States into ending war forever.

To little surprise, she has become the most popular character and the series’s mascot.

It’s a little strange to consider Emilia underrated considering she is one of the most famous original characters of Brazilian literature, but hardly anyone outside of Brazil even knows who she is, and regardless of the quality of the original stories (and Monteiro Lobato’s views on race that tar much of his reputation), Emilia definitely feels to me like a character that should be a lot more popular globally. 

She is the only character from Yellow Woodpecker Ranch that has transcended the original stories, since she was always the most popular character and there’s been a couple of stories written about her that usually separate her from the ranch and just set her out on the world by herself. The latest story about this character has been a series called The Return of Emilia, that’s about her stepping out of the books in 2050 and discovering a Brazil that’s been ruined by social and ecological devastation, and traveling back in time via a flying scooter in order to try and prevent this calamity. 

Now that she’s public domain, I definitely think there’s some great stories that can be told with the character that just about anyone could get to, and I definitely think she’s a character that deserves more appreciation. Anything goes in stories starring her and it’s that kind of free-for-all freedom that I think can benefit future takes on pulp heroes. I would be very happy to place Emilia among them.

Oh yeah, and there was one time she kicked Popeye's ass by tricking him with a can of mouldy cabbage instead of spinach, making him sick and then beating him, which possibly puts her as one of the all-time badasses of fiction, except she would be pissed at not being number one and likely embark on a quest to beat everyone else just to prove she could, because that’s how Emilia rolls.

Number 1: Luna Bartendale, from The Undying Monster (1922)

Not necessarily my favorite of the bunch, but one who sort of epitomizes what you asked, a character who is both incredibly obscure and incredibly underrated in every sense. Despite the book being somewhat known, mainly thanks to the movie, the character is so obscure that I don’t even have an illustration of her to display here, not even fan art, just one of the book’s covers that I think best conveys it. Luckily, the book is also available freely online, so you can all go check it out here. The movie adaptation does not feature the character of Luna Bartendale which makes it pointless to talk about.

To not spoil it too much, The Undying Monster is a very fascinating book, ahead of it’s time in quite a few ways. You expect it to just be a detective story centered around a werewolf cursed, except the subtitle of the book is “The Fifth Dimension” and then it goes to talk about dimensions of thought and post-WWI trauma and love and hypnotic regression that travels through time and ancient runes and Norse mythology. It’s not exactly an easy book to get through in one setting, but I’d recommend it much the same if only because it’s got supersensitive psychic sleuth Luna Bartendale, literature’s first female occult detective, and she’s an incredible character who absolutely feels like she should have become a literary icon. 

She lives in London but is world-renowned for her many good deeds. She is a small, pretty woman, with curly blonde hair, dark eyebrows and a high-bridged nose, and a slight build. She has a voice described as a light soprano that "does not make much noise but carries a long way". 

Petite, bedimpled and golden curled, Luna is completely in charge of events, dominating every scene that she appears in with her welcoming disposition and cleverness. 

Bartendale has various psychic powers, including mind reading. She is well-versed in psychic and occult lore, is a “supersensitive” psychic, and has a “Sixth Sense” which allows her to trace things and people through both the Fourth and the Fifth Dimension. (The Fifth Dimension is “the Dimension that surrounds and pervades the Fourth–known as the Supernatural”).

Her extensive knowledge of occult rites and practices puts John Silence, Carnacki and Miles Pennoyer to shame, and she beats them all with her "super-sensitive" gift of being able to psychically connect with troubled souls and hypnotize them.

She uses a divining rod for various tasks, including psychic detection and tracking, and distinguishing between benevolent and malevolent forces. She has various (undefined) powerful psychic defenses, can carry on seances, and can even cure a person of “wehrwolfism.” And she can always rely on her massive, intelligent dog Roska for help.

Luna sadly doesn’t show up in the book as often as I’d hoped, but everything about this character is so delightful. In a lot od ways she hardly feels like a pulp hero, at least the ones I usually talk about. She feels like a lost protagonist from an incredibly successful kid’s adventure series where a kind and eccentric detective witch and her giant dog go around solving occult mysteries and encountering all sorts of weird supernatural beings while counseling and helping people, like Ms Frizzle meets Hilda. Like this character is just waiting for Cartoon Saloon to make a film about her.

Its not so much “this character should/could be popular but it’s clear why that didn’t pan out”, it’s more me being confused as “why the hell isn’t she super popular? This character should have had a franchise ages ago, holy shit put her in everything””

#pulp heroes #pulp fiction #answer tag #sheridan doome #harlan dyce #audaz #boneca emilia #luna bartendale

[dropsofletters]

you feel like magic.

— summary: byun baekhyun offers the nicest services for anyone who needs it—call certain number and be prepared to spend the best night of your life with a call boy, ready to meet the expectations of your wildest dreams. the golden star of his business, kim jongin, also known as kai when seducing his clients, thinks there is more to it, much more when he accidentally gets a call from someone who doesn’t know about his call boy ways. is sex really everything in this era?

— title: you feel like magic — pairing: kim jongin x reader — genre: call boy!au ; web designer!au ; strangers to friends to lovers!au ; meeting through the phone!au ; meet cute!au ; slice of life!au — type: fluff ; angst ; suggestive ; drama ; romance — word count: 12,910

His sweetener tongue meets the roof of his mouth, plush lips parted to welcome the coldness of the night. It’s at moments like this that he wishes to be like the walkers by this horrid side of the city, sporting long coats and hands hidden in the depths of his pockets; perhaps, they rush out of their nine-to-five jobs, seeking for the warmth of their homes once they reach them. Jongin lets his shiny boots roam over the concrete-made sidewalk, kicking a rock to make it roll to the center of the street. A lonesome moment leaves the pebble in tranquility before a car moves it further away, or dissipates it into the thin air. He doesn’t know anymore.

What he knows is how to keep the buttons of his shirt opened enough to capture the glimpses of a few women, four to be exact, rushing to stay away from the cold night that ventures into the possible rain that has yet to appear. They cup their mouths to speak beneath themselves, and he takes this moment to run his fingers through his bleached blonde locks, barely sending a smile before they widen their eyes and laugh beneath themselves. Not his usual clients, but he’s made to charm people, right?

The leather of his pants rubs against his thighs, doing nothing to protect him as he waits for a fancy car, perhaps a expensive-looking woman to pull up in front of him and invite him to the nearest hotel. Made to please those who pay him, is how Kim Jongin would describe himself. A mess of seduction that ended up in various sheets just because of his words. Visual matters aside, the real key to getting someone to have the time of their lives while laying in bed and trusting another person with sex comes with the talent of speaking. Dulcet, sweet, with the right amount of spice and a vibrato after his tone. Goofiness aside and exchanged for something desirable—never quite enough to sedate, for he wants his clients to see him one more time.

One more time means more money.

It means a recurrent client.

That, in the call boy world, simply translates to a phrase: sex sells and you have to make them obsessed with your sex, your shared nights, whatever it is that they desire.

The few sprinkles of rain fall when he takes his phone out of his pocket, the black device matching his clothing and the grayness of the night, a little bit over ten and yet, left abandoned to wait for whoever the fuck knows how long. What he needs right now is some money for the week, the recognition that comes with a newcomer, and the promise of excellently paid nights that had been the only thing his boss, Baekhyun, had talked about for the entirety of the afternoon.

Instead, his phone lights up with an unknown number, calling him at the peak of night. It’s rare for clients to call him directly—hell, and he doesn’t even think about the option of a real hook-up calling him. Jongin hasn’t had one of those in a while; maybe over eight months, if not more. Something about sex isn’t quite as appealing anymore, at least, not in his personal life. Not in his free time.

Byun Baekhyun, with his black hair and big pockets filled with money coming from the men he assesses, wouldn’t man up enough to give his number around. He had done it in the past; something about a new way of making money he had been speaking about (“Seriously, Jongin.” The man had said at the time, crossing one leg over the other as he sat on the edge of his pristine glassed desk. “Phone sex is the new it-thing. People are just too busy to spend hours having sex…or, I don’t know, you could sext people? I’m sure you can make your dick look nice for a picture.”), but he never pulled through with it. Too personal, as well as too risqué—someone could record him, send the pictures to someone else, taint his name as a call boy (if he can even do that, he’s already socially tainted), and if that’s what he wanted, he would’ve been a porn star instead.

He could just ignore it.

But there, in that dangerous side of the crowded city, with his back pressed to a concrete wall, hiding in the shadows, he finds nothing better to do. If the call is some woman trying to get inside his pants, he may as well ask her to meet up with him and just get tonight’s worth in money. Clearing his throat, he lifts his eyebrows, using his arm to support the elbow thanks to his lifted hand, speaking into the phone with certainty.

“Hello, who’s this?” Jongin doesn’t have time to lose, tranquility and sweetness long exchanged for something more serious. The timbre of his voice remains seductive, knowing the difference between his character as a call boy and who he really is. Kai promises a good night, while Jongin thinks a good night is being able to crash in his bed without having to worry about getting out at midnight and fucking someone. And doing good at it, which is even worse. It’s not as easy as people make it out to be.

“Oh, you don’t sound like a girl.”

The voice is much too innocent, one would call it aloof, and with the rain pouring down on him, he can only hide beneath the smallest roof, looking at the droplets of rain that pool by his feet. It’s not the first time someone has called him with that tone, as if she’s ready to get over the pure side of her and exchange it for something else, but it is the first time someone tells him he doesn’t sound like a girl, as a sentence starter at that.

“I’m not one, that’s why.” Jongin breathes out, eyes widening when he sees a car pull up in front of the street, he finds himself in. However, a man rushes out of one of the buildings and enters the platinum car, leaves with a harsh pull of the door, and the car pulls off. “Were you looking for a girl?”

“I’m—Uh, I was trying to call my friend Hyuna.” The woman on the other end breathes out. “Are you her boyfriend?”

A girlfriend. He hasn’t had one of those in a while, and it’s mostly his fault. How does one tell the woman they love that he is a call boy? That each night, when he said he was going out to work, he went out with other women to be able to give himself a respectable life? The way his ex’s face fell when she discovered everything, from his job to how it started, still replays in his head from time to time. An asshole, he has been, and yet, he doesn’t have enough time in his life to sit down and regret it, tearfully reminiscent of the way his entire world had changed.

“Unless I have a girlfriend I don’t know about, I would tell you you’ve got the wrong number, sweetie.” He doesn’t know why the last part slips from his tongue. Maybe, because something in her tone tells him that she is having a bad night, just like him, one of those moments where it feels like everyone lives their lives correctly, and you’re the only one that hasn’t quite fit in the adult world.

“Oh.” She breathes out, the sound of a door closing following her statement before she clears her throat. “Well, that’s unfortunate.”

“I think it is.” And he should leave it at that, but given that his ‘date’ for the night is nowhere in fucking sight, he may embark in some conversation with the melancholy made woman over the phone. “Did you need anything from your friend?”

For a moment, she pauses, hesitating, and Jongin really thinks he has fucked it up. You see, small talk is not normally something he takes part on unless someone pays really well. He goes out to dinner, holds their hands for a while, makes them feel beautiful and then, he’s off towards the natural route. Sex in whatever way his client wanted. “…Kind of…” She breathes out, a ragged sigh following her statement. “I mean, I hoped that we could have a girl chat, but I’m over here talking to some stranger while I can’t even talk to the love of my life—”

Oh, someone who likes to rant. He hasn’t met one of those since the afternoon when Baekhyun was talking wonders about the client that has yet to appear. He doesn’t know if he still likes it. “You can’t talk to your significant other?”

“That’s the thing, he’s not my significant other.” Well, this is taking the casual route of ‘high school problems that shouldn’t be present in adult life, but for some people, they do’. “I’ve been in love with him since college and, uh, well, now we’re very much graduated, very much into our adult lives and he just started working at my workplace after years of not seeing him. And he’s single. H—Hot, too.”

See?

This is the issue one would have in high school, when you’re a teen and you don’t know better, meaning that Jongin should be laughing at this matter. Cackling at the stutter in her tone, had he not found it refreshing. Have people continued to be adorable in this era, or is it just her?

“Did he make a move on you in college?”

“Kind of.”

“And what happened?”

“Well, Donghae was not quite ready for a relationship then, so…I didn’t even try to continue the flirting. We just became friends.”

“Has he made a move now?”

“…No…”

“Then, show him who’s boss and who’s taking the reins now. You have more balls than him and you get to make the shots. Nothing sexier than a woman who knows what she wants and gets it.” Jongin looks over to the street one last time, a small smile appearing on his face when he sees a woman over her forties getting out of a red convertible. That stage of unknowingness that comes with the forties doesn’t only affect men, he thinks, but by the way she quirks an eyebrow, wrinkles a little bit more prominent than his usual client, and how she licks her red lips, he knows he won’t have to do much.

“Oh, wow, I would’ve never thought about it that way. H—How do you know so much about relationships?”

Jongin starts walking, one leg in front of the other as he gets drenched in rain. If he’s lucky, that will get him naked sooner, and the job will be over before he knows it, able to go back home and have a nice night of sleep. “Well, baby,” He whispers, a smile on his face. “You’ve just called a call boy. I know what both women and men find sexy. One, because I’m a man. Two, because I go out with a lot of women.”

“Fuck no?” She questions, and Jongin has to chuckle at her tone.

“You swear?”

“Sometimes.”

“Sounds cute in your voice, honey, but—” He speaks into the speaker, getting closer to his client of the night. “I really have to hang up. I have a client, you see.”

“Oh fuck, I’m so sorry!” Though, he feels like laughing at that moment—something he doesn’t do often when he’s in the job, more like he has never done such thing, but soon after, their communication cuts short with a brief goodbye. “Thanks for the advice…I didn’t get your name.”

“Kai.” Though, he says it to the woman in front of him as well, extending his hand for her to take before he presses the pillows of his lips to her knuckles. A classic for older women.

Just at that, he hangs up, putting his phone inside his pocket before speaking again.

“Owe me a phone for being late, young lady.” He speaks up, biting down on his lip when the woman chuckles.

“With that smile I’ll buy you two, hon.”

That’s always better.

###

What connects Baekhyun and Jongin is that they were once both strippers. Not at the same time. Not under the same circumstances. And definitely not with the same conclusions. Baekhyun ended up with his own call-boy business, with men he recruited from his group of friends or from strip-clubs, never once tangling himself in the sheets of other women, becoming a husband and a magnate after dancing on tables and poles. Now, that’s a good ending.

His white denim jacket remains open, abdomen in full display as he hooks his fingers on the necklace around his neck. He knows what he is doing—these parties that Baekhyun invites him to go to are simple business moves. Jongin looks more like a boy-next-door, easy hook-up, an Angel in Hell, when he’s in the strip-clubs. Stealing someone’s clients’, for sure, but also embarking those clients that don’t know much about him. It makes Baekhyun earn more; it gives him the benefit of looking like a party-goer and getting more money than intended. Life is good when they attend these big events with heirs over heirs fighting just for some love.

The bass thrums against his ribcage, the hands of some woman ending up on his belt, his plump lips parting to connect with her pink mouth, tongue coming forward just the slightest as his hand becomes one with her neck, thumb touching the column of her throat and stealing a breath away from her. Smaller than him, definitely a bit above twenties, wearing a golden dress that she had talked about when they had just met—Louis Vuitton, something of the like, but Jongin prefers Gucci, in his own opinion. His client for the night, now fully aware of the call boy he is, sucks on his bottom lip, cornering him against the entrance door, the red lights of the strip club shadowing him, the white ones falling on the women and men scattered across the stage, all in their own poles.

She pushes her gray hair off her shoulders, when the elongated strands are moved away, he can see the figure in her eyes, grasping his fingertips to tighten his hold around her neck. “Where’s the nearest hotel, call boy?”

“Like twenty minutes away.”

Hwa groans from the back of her throat, the necklace around her neck swinging to glisten its diamonds right at his face. Oh, money, that’s what everyone loves, ain’t it? “I don’t think I can wait that long.”

“I can do the job in the car, but the prices are higher for lack of comfort.” Jongin jokes around, though he’s using his eyes to his favor. A glisten of those almond-shaped majesties and he can get everything he wants. “But I can wait for you, Hwa.”

The woman takes her keys out of her bag, shaking her head at his antics. “No, Kai. I’m getting you in that car as soon as possible and you’re doing your job. I can’t wait.”

You see, when Jongin was younger, something like twenty and twenty-one, he would’ve loved this kind of response. He used to love having someone for a month, rubbing that spot of romance before letting it go for lust. It was fun, until it wasn’t. Until working as a bartender had developed into something stronger—being promised to dance, ending up taking his shirt off in front of everyone, making appearances in bachelorette parties, translated into women wanting to be with him. With taxes to pay and a roof to maintain, Jongin promised himself he’d do it once—once to get a ring for his then girlfriend. Once and it would be over.

Once.

Once and a thousand times.

Once.

Once and then, again.

Hwa swings her hips as she tries to find her car in the parking lot, and Jongin follows suit. He takes the time to button his jacket up, the glances of a few partygoers getting through him. When it’s out under the lights like this, he doesn’t feel quite as confident. People judge him for what he does, he knows this, but when he’s left in the shadows, existing in solitude, the smoke waving his vision into nothingness, it’s all he has to do. Easy money to live the life that makes him feel more complete; beer in the freezer ready for him to take when he’s stressed, an apartment bigger than the one he used to have, and all his taxes paid.

A white car opens its doors when she presses the red button on the keys, a big smile appearing on her face when Jongin leans forward and captures her lips once again. What does he have to think about to feel better? He always tells himself this is going to be the last client, but it’s never the case. It doesn’t feel better to kiss someone else, to end up in whatever surface doing the nastiest thing he can imagine.

It’s not fun anymore.

Was it ever fun to start with?

His phone rings inside his jeans, making him frown as he tries to concentrate on the kiss. It must be Baekhyun trying to ask him how he’s doing, but after one missed call, the phone rings again. This time around, Hwa pulls away, looking at him with a scrunch of her nose before rolling her eyes.

“Aren’t you going to get it?” Annoyance rips from her throat and Jongin sighs. That’s why someone as pretty as her goes to a call boy, maybe, because that attitude of hers definitely isn’t a good thing. Taking his phone out of his pocket, he stares at the unknown number that somehow feels so familiar to him. Another sigh rips from his throat when he puts his phone up to his ear, speaking into the speaker with intent.

“Hello?”

“Kai!” The cheery, pure, somehow adorable tone in the other end almost has him pressing red, but instead, he tries to hide the smile on his face. “Uh…how are you doing?”

“I’m at the job, honey.” He replies, something that doesn’t quite settle well with Hwa, pushing at his belt and trying to get him closer to her. Pushy bitch. “Is there anything you need? Why did you call me again? Thought it was Hyuna?”

The golden skin of the back of his neck creates goosebumps when she chuckles softly, falling into soft silence. “I actually needed advice. You know, from someone who knows much more about the subject than me. But, if you’re busy—”

Somehow, he can’t bring himself to say no. This is the only person that looks for him without actually looking at him. If she’s interested in talking, it’s because that’s the actual truth.

“Baby, I can call you later if you really need to, but right now, I’m trying to earn some money…”

“Y—Yeah! I understand!”

Hwa doesn’t understand, however, pushing herself off him with a hiss coming directly from her pretty lips. Not all that shines is gold. “Listen, you bitch, are you going to fuck me or not?”

You know, Jongin works for money. There is no way in hell that he enjoys being someone’s toy, having Baekhyun direct him the clients that he’s going to grasp, sending him to parties, putting his life at risk by sleeping with married women, taken women, women who don’t take care of themselves sexually and so on and so forth. He’s done things that he would have never thought about liking in his sexual life, all for the sake of having some green in his vision. Though, at this very moment, all he can see is red.

He’s not a toy. Much less Hwa’s.

“You know what? I’m leaving.” Jongin replies softly, taking her hands out of his jacket before huffing into the phone.

“Kai!” Hwa calls out for him, and he hears the sound of a high heel falling on the floor. Someone had just thrown a high-heel at him. “Kai, get the fuck back here! Do you want your money, bitch?”

“I’ve already got money.” He answers, turning around to look at her as they talk. “Thank you, though. I’m sure someone will gladly take it, but it’s not me.”

Life had never felt quite as liberating as that moment, when the breeze doesn’t bite at his naked chest and he can finally let go of a night without feeling used. The expensive cars are left behind him when he walks towards the street, hiding himself in between the groups of people after such drama. “Oh my—What just happened?” Just then, he remembers he is on a call, and he can only chuckle at the sound of this woman’s voice. This stranger that just made him lose a client, and he can’t bring himself to care.

“Clients are rarely good to me, you know?” Jongin spits out, losing himself in the city for a second, listening to the cars passing by and the people talking beneath themselves. Somehow, with this phone call, he feels like a normal person. “But, enough about me. What kind of advice did you need?”

“The sexy kind.”

Jongin laughs at her antics, at the whisper of her statement and the way he can hear the TV on the background of her call. “Oh, so you come to the call boy because he’s more knowledgeable about sexy stuff?”

“I don’t know you, Kai, but I know you’re a thousand times sexier than me.” She initiates, only to continue with her train of thought soon after. “I am always in an office, wearing a hoodie, looking at pictures of men on Instagram and liking them intensely. I just can’t do sexy.”

“Why not?” Jongin questions, a smile petrified on his face. “Being sensual is all about acting. No one is sensual naturally.”

“Lies.”

“What?”

“That’s a lie.”

“It’s the truth!” It has been a while since he has raised his voice from his usual deep tone. It’s the kind of voice he speaks to his friends in, but not the one he uses with women. Something must be different about this one. “Do you really think people go around biting their lips, flexing their muscles, talking all deep, and all that shit? That’s an act. I’m an act.”

“But that’s the problem…” The whine in her tone has him turning to the corner, needing the walk as well as getting home. He’s not going back to that strip-club. “I need to be sexy to get Donghae’s attention.”

“What? No. Sexy doesn’t cut it. If sexy is all that cuts it for him, he’s…he’s wanting you for the wrong reason.” Jongin thinks back to the last time he had gone out on a date. Beautiful stylish, a lover of coffee and elongated readings. She put too much cream on her strawberries and then, would hide away from him. Excuse him, but holding onto her waist, onto the imperfections that made her real, made him feel like the connection was stronger. “You know? A real man, the one that you should give the time of the day to, wouldn’t mind seeing you in a hoodie or with a crop top. He will look at your ass, but will also love your eyes.”

She cackles at his antics, and he imagines her shaking her head. Perhaps, she’d look somewhat plain—the kind of beauty that blends in the background but is enchanting in its own way. “I just want to be sexy, that’s all. I want him to desire me…because I kind of texted him thanks to you and I think we’re going to meet up outside of work.”

“Like a date?”

“…I guess so. Is it a date?” She speaks to herself and he wants to ask her to stop. That voice will be the death of him, like ice cream cake—dulcet but freezing him at the same time.

“I don’t know, you tell me.”

“Ugh, I guess…” She replies, sighing deeply. “But I don’t know. What do men like? Low cut shirts? Boobs? Ass? Both?”

“Men love confidence.” Jongin tells her, trying to reassure her. “Just know that how you look doesn’t matter and wearing a sexy shirt is not worth a thing if you don’t feel good using it. Besides, if he really thinks you’re hot, he’s going to think you’re hot as long as you’re comfortable.”

“You’re just saying that—”

“You want to have his attention?” Jongin interrupts, getting closer to his apartment complex by the minute. Still, it’s perhaps twenty more minutes of walking. “Like, my only advice here would be to tease him. Flirt with him but then, cut it short. Let’s say you’re kissing him, and he leans in for more, just smile at him and ask him—” He clears his throat then, going back to his seductive tone. “Why should I keep kissing you? What’s there for me if I do?”

For a moment, she stays silent, maybe pondering, but then, a shuddering breath leaves her. “…Now I know why you have so many clients. That was hot.”

“And you didn’t even see me while saying so. I could be the farthest thing from your type right now, and you wouldn’t even now. You didn’t even see my boobs and you still thought I was hot while speaking.” A blush creeps up on his face, and he doesn’t even know why. It’s been the longest time since heat has appeared within him from mere words.

She laughs at his antics soon after, melodious, like she gives all the cares to this world and yet, doesn’t hold grudges for how badly it treats her. “You have nice boobies?”

“Ah, uh—” Taken aback, his laughter comes out high pitched. “Somewhat.”

“Somewhat…” She whispers, a brief chuckle coming after that. “Thank you for the advice, Kai.”

“You’re very welcome.” He replies, though, he stops her before she could say her goodbyes. “But you could thank me by telling me your name?”

It’s unfair, he knows it. To her, he’s Kai. He’s not Kim Jongin, a dancer that ended up being a stripper out of need, out of lies that were told to him, crafted especially for people like him. But it doesn’t feel quite as unfair when she says it with honesty, perfect for saying it out loud. Like a poem, like a song.

“…Good night, Kai.”

“Good night, baby.”

And he doesn’t know why he wishes she would say: Good night, Jongin.

###

While laying down on Baekhyun’s couch, he swings his legs back and forth, his stomach fully pressed to the blanket on top of the brown leather. His cheek is squished against the fabric, though, a small hand presses further into his free cheek until his lips pucker up, pressing a wet peck to his mouth. With his eyebrows very lifted and a flutter of his chest, he hears Baekhyun speaking from his kitchen, stopping all chances of snooping at what his wife is making for dinner to send a glare towards his eleven-months-old daughter.

“Choonhee, what do you think you’re doing?” Baekhyun, who is normally lively and over the moon to make people laugh, now has his hands placed on his hips, strutting over to his daughter to stare down at her. Their eyes are fairly similar or, at least, to how Baekhyun’s eyes looked in those pictures he displays on his coffee table, where he was much younger and less of a mess. Jongin will always say Choonhee is far more adorable, and maybe, that’s thanks to her mother, Lia. “You don’t kiss me but you kiss Uncle Jongin?”

Choonhee makes grabby hands at her father, and Baekhyun relishes on the feeling of being needed, forgetting his attire of a businessman and basically the manager of over twelve call-boys to something simpler. Jeans and a white t-shirt, as if he’s in his early twenties. “Dada.” She utters softly, the only thing she can manage to say, and when Baekhyun puckers up his lips, she pulls away.

It’s almost one of those silent comedies they used to watch in the sixties.

“You get all the ladies, and you also get my daughter. It’s unfair.” Baekhyun speaks out, a dramatic turn on his heels making him sit down on the couch across from him. For someone whose bank account is well filled thanks to his business, his home is a little bit on the warmer side. Beige tones, a lot of yellows, and a bunch of pictures of his family and friends. Jongin could find himself somewhere in there if he looks close enough.

Jongin sits up then, extending his arms over his head before clearing his throat. “I always said I would like some children of my own.”

Baekhyun’s legs is bouncing his daughter rapidly, smiling at her after he made a few mocking faces. “You’d make a great father, that’s for sure.”

If only he had a different life. If he could date people freely, or do something else that isn’t feeling like a marionette. Jongin looks at the ceiling, then off to Lia, whose black hair is wrapped tightly in a low bun, wearing baggy clothing and humming one of Baekhyun’s songs under her breath. They love each other, and he can’t have what they created. Not with anyone. “…It would be easier if I just quit.”

His boss stops his motions with his daughter, his face falling in concern when he looks over at his friend. “I—Jongin, didn’t you like your job? You’ve always been one of the best members of our business.”

It’s not about being the best, it’s about how he feels like the worst person while doing it. “I’m tired of it, Baek. It just…sucks. You don’t know because you don’t do it—”

“We used to work on the same thing—”

“One thing is dancing on poles, another thing is…you know…” Jongin trails his voice, concern lingering on Baekhyun’s face as he thinks.

“So, you came here to quit?”

“I came here to talk about it with you.” Jongin replies, cracking his knuckles while he puts his arms down. “I—I would like to pull away from this mess I got myself into, but I wouldn’t know how to start again. I don’t have a resume; I don’t have a reputation as a dancer. I’m just some…call boy.”

Life should feel like each breath brings him closer to a happy ending, not like his lungs only bring him further into a life he can’t control. His time has elongated into torture, and he can’t stand it one minute longer. Choonhee is playing with the brown strands of her dad’s hair, pulling it to various sides, and yet, he doesn’t react.

“I’ll find you a job. As some dance teacher or something, I don’t know. You do well with ballet, I think.” Baekhyun answers, blinking rapidly. “But if you want some good money, I could give you a grand finale. Find a client that would give you so much cash that you wouldn’t have to worry for a while. That is, until you find the job of your dreams.”

“One last time?” Jongin ponders, licking the inside of his cheek.

“For old time’s sake.”

Jongin’s phone vibrates inside his pocket, and before he takes it out, he nods delicately. “Only if it’s nothing extreme. Just one final goodbye with some good money, and in a good place. I’m tired of cramped cars and stupid hotels.”

Baekhyun lifts his hands in the air, laughing joyfully. “Damn princess, what else do you want? Satin sheets? A pretty girl?”

“Baek—”

“Okay, alright. I got it. I’ll take all your conditions into consideration.” Baekhyun says, puckering his lips once again to try and steal a kiss from his daughter, and his groan is enough of an answer. “Choonhee! Kiss! Come on, kiss dada!”

His phone screen welcomes him from a series of texts from a number he had saved two weeks ago, under a name he wouldn’t want to forget even if he tried.

To: Kim Jongin.

Hello, Kai!

How have you been?

As polite as ever, he can imagine her sweet tone speaking directly into his ear. Heaven in hell.

From: Kim Jongin.

I’m doing great, baby.

How are you?

To: Kim Jongin.

Fine. Thank you for asking!

Then, the line falls eerily silent.

From: Kim Jongin.

May I help you with something?

To: Kim Jongin.

I have a sexy question.

From: Kim Jongin.

There’s nothing less sexy than saying sexy question.

To: Kim Jongin.

Sexy question.

Sexy.

Question.

S-E-X-Y.

Q-U-E-S-T-I-O-N.

From: Kim Jongin.

Donghae’s lucky.

To: Kim Jongin.

You remember his name!

From: Kim Jongin.

I sadly have good memory for stupid things.

What’s the sexy question?

To: Kim Jongin.

I’m too shy to say it.

From: Kim Jongin.

…Really.

Are you really?

To: Kim Jongin.

I’m in Donghae’s bathroom as of this moment.

Hiding.

Well, not hiding.

Googling stuff.

From: Kim Jongin.

What kind of stuff?

The picture that pops soon after has him widening his eyes. It’s a screenshot of her current situation, looking up on Google how to suck someone off, and at that very moment, he looks up. Choonhee is still in Baekhyun’s lap, and Baekhyun is chatting with Lia peacefully. Somehow, he feels like a teenager hiding his screen from his parents. He wouldn’t hear the day of it if Baekhyun realized he was talking to someone and giving them sex advice.

From: Kim Jongin.

How old are you again?

To: Kim Jongin.

26.

From: Kim Jongin.

And you’re googling this.

Oh.

My.

God.

How?

Why?

Wait, how?

What?

Are you sucking him off right now?

Ew.

Or yay?

To: Kim Jongin.

Stop spamming me, please.

I’m on the verge of throwing myself out of the bathroom’s window.

But it’s too goddamned tiny.

From: Kim Jongin.

Haha.

If you don’t want to do it, you don’t have to do it.

To: Kim Jongin.

I thought I wanted to.

But it’s too complicated.

I haven’t done that…ever…

His eyebrows raise, enough to capture Lia’s attention that is flipping something on a pan when she asks: “Jongin, are you okay?”

“Yeah, uh, I’m just reading an article…Don’t mind me.”

“You’re staying over for dinner, right?”

“O—Of course.” Though, his eyes divert towards the screen once again. So, the beautiful voice behind the phone is much more innocent than he thinks.

What does she think of him as a call boy? Probably that he’s the dirtiest man she knows.

To: Kim Jongin.

Jongin, he’s asking if I’m fine.

Teach me.

Give me tips.

I don’t know.

From: Kim Jongin.

I don’t know eithr!

Either*.

I have never sucked anyone off.

Well, not a…guy.

To: Kim Jongin.

But you’re a guy.

From: Kim Jongin.

And?

To: Kim Jongin.

You should know what men like!

From: Kim Jongin.

I know what I like, not what other men like.

We’re all different.

To: Kim Jongin.

Google said the same thing.

Fuck.

From: Kim Jongin.

Language.

But wait, did you want to do this?

Or what?

To: Kim Jongin.

He asked me to do it.

And isn’t that how things should go?

I’m an adult, after all, and I’ve wanted to be with him since college.

If I lose my chance with him now, he won’t want to go out with me anymore.

Why, oh why, do people enjoy being with absolute shitheads?

From: Kim Jongin.

If you’re not ready, or you don’t know how, he should be totally fine with leaving it for another time.

And if he really wants to see you, he will be alright with not doing anything tonight.

If he’s nice, he’ll go out with you again, doesn’t matter if you suck him off or not.

For a handful of minutes, Jongin gets to eat the precious homemade food in the Byun’s table, small talk filling the space with laughter and warmth, though his eyes always divert to his phone, somewhat expecting that the read message comes with a reply. It’s only twenty minutes into the dinner that his phone lights up again, a message coming through that steals his breath away.

To: Kim Jongin.

I left.

He was bummed, to say the least.

Thank you for your advice!

You’re an angel.

With food-coated hands, he replies.

From: Kim Jongin.

Far from it.

Though, the picture that comes after is a screenshot of their conversation, the most noticeable thing being his name—his call-boy name, Kai, accompanied by an angel emoji by its side.

If only she knew she was the angel in between the two.

###

“When are you going to let me have a piece of that ass, Kim Kai?”

Ling plays with the rips of his jeans as he says those words, and his eyes stop skimming through the pamphlets placed on the coffee table in the waiting room outside of Baekhyun’s office just to look at him. The man has always had some kind of crush towards him—one that had been somewhat imperceptible at the beginning of times, but now had fallen into kind of a joke in between them. With his arms tattooed, his slim body hunching onto itself as he smokes from a cigarette, he knows he is the only person in this entire business that earns more than him.

For, he just has more range. He’ll deal with just about anything and anywhere, too. Tell him to bend himself over in the most ratchet of streets and he’ll do it—for the right price, and with the word of mouth that inherits protection. He’ll deal with women and men equally, though his preference varies depending on the day. Threesomes are more of his thing nowadays, and it gives him twice the money he would have with one person.

It’s a weird thing to say—but Ling is talented. He’s not the type of seductive Jongin’s character is—Kai is a man next door, the kind of guy you just like because he is handsome and it gives you a boost. Who doesn’t want to sleep with someone who everyone desires? Ling, on the other hand, knows what he is doing. The person he is with could be completely blind and still feel all of him. He’s a charmer—he fits himself to the person he is with.

Let’s say his client is insecure about that one mole on their left ass-cheek. He’ll make them feel good about it. No doubt they won’t ever doubt their attractiveness after being with him.

“How about never?” He replies, a bit of sassiness in his tone as he picks up the book the clients are introduced to when asking for their services. When he opens the first page, he sees the younger generation of call boys. Towards the latest page, Ling and Jongin are showcased perfectly. The gray background makes his golden skin stand out and, at the time, he had brown hair—chocolate rich and ready to make him look like innocence personified. His eyes glisten with malice, while his lips remain serious. How had he believed he’d be happier with this job?

“Don’t say no until you try it.” Ling conquers, taking off his jacket before sighing deeply. “Are you waiting for Baekhyun?”

“Yeah. He said he’d come here thirty minutes ago…but he’s nowhere in sight.”

“That’s weird…that he told you to come here, I mean. He was super busy this morning. One of the newcomers has to get an STD test because he really thought not wearing a condom was a good idea.” Ling takes his phone out of his pocket, probably texting one of his many dates before continuing with the conversation. “Newbies, I guess.”

Jongin frowns deeply. He had never been in that position—but he guesses some people like this job more than others. “Who is it?”

“The short guy, page three. Not my style, though, too short.” Ling explains with certainty, quirking one of his thin eyebrows. “Were you going to ask Baekhyun about your grand finale?”

“He told you?”

“Everyone knows you’re dropping out of the call boy thing.” He says. “It’s as much of a big deal as when a porn star drops out of porn to live a normal life. You’re the Lana Rhoades of our business, Kai.”

The man can’t help but chuckle at his words, standing up from his seat to get closer to Ling. “Well, I should go if he’s not coming, then—”

“He found you a grand finale, though. I think you’re getting half a million in just one contract.”

Jongin likes money. He likes how green the paper is, the smell of it, and simply the feel of it. One of his most enigmatic nights as a call boy is when he was laying down on a bed filled with money, and the woman had been rich enough to ask him to take all of it—plus his payment, of course. Though, his eyes almost budge out of his head at the sound of that amount of money. Half a million just for a night with him.

“Who the fuck would pay that much?”

“The first woman you slept with when you started, of course. Once you take someone’s whore virginity, it feels special. You’re the one who taught them how to be a whore, after all.”

The first woman he ever slept with as a call boy.

She would be near thirty-nine at this moment, if not older. At the time, when he was twenty-two, she was the owner of a big web designing business. With straight bangs and a skirt that almost reached her ankles, he would’ve never thought of her as the type to ask for a call boy. Though, a bit of a difficult woman—she asked for dinner, some foreplay and after, it was him. Jongin damn right passed out after he came back home. Firstly, he was tired. Secondly, the woman was crazy as all fuck.

He has been asked plenty of crazy things in his history as a call boy. Everyone has their weird quirks; he likes to believe. But the first woman he slept with as a call boy, whose name now slips his head, had been so attached to her ex-husband that he had to roleplay as him.

Roleplay as Jinyoung, he remembers.

He had to call himself Jinyoung, in third person.

And it was horrid.

“Oh, no.”

“Oh, yes!” Ling replies, putting his phone down in the process. “I think I heard Baekhyun say something about a whole routine, though. You’re going to have to be her ex-husband.”

“As in, roleplay?”

“As in, become as close to him physically as humanly possible.”

Some people are really crazy.

“…Is Baekhyun out of his mind?”

Ling cackles at that, standing up at the sound of his phone ringing before taking off outside. “Probably. Maybe. I mean, I don’t think it’s that much of a big deal, but…” Shrugging his shoulders, he opens the door with one brief motion before laughing. “Good luck, Kim Kai. You’ll need it.”

With that, he’s left alone to his thoughts.

One last time.

###

Being physically tired because of dancing is a newfound experience that he used to know so well. His chest heaves as he lays down on his bed, hostage of his bedsheets as he curls his fingertips against the fabrics. There is nothing he would love to do more than close his eyes and nap the night away, but something keeps him up: adrenaline.

Mom used to tell him that he’d know when real passion would come to his doorstep when he felt tired after working. Jongin believes the real kind of love for a job or a hobby comes through when he feels restless. His eyes can’t close, fingertips trailing over his chest in hopes of reducing the beat of his heart to a calm blue, chest still shaking as he turns down the music. The world is silent again.

When he looks at his phone, he reads through his text conversations. Family members. Baekhyun. The text from Baekhyun remains unread, sent three hours ago—

From: Baekhyun.

I already bought the clothing you’re going to wear with Mrs. Kwon.

Practice your best businessman lines.

One more week.

Though, he can’t bring himself to answer right now, jumping away from the text conversation to look through his contacts. Flowers bloom inside of him when he reads her name, Donghae’s not so perfect half, who had not texted him since that last time she had thanked him for being able to slip away from that horrendous date. Over a month and they had not talked, not a single word from her, and definitely not a word from him.

He’s curious about her; perhaps, how she looks like, what she does for a living, who she is.

And it’s at this moment, when he presses the call button, that he realizes just how alone he must feel to do such a thing. Lacking that female character in his life, maybe, or just a new friend.

“O—Kai?”

The surprise in her tone brings a smile to his face, placing his hand behind his head before humming. “That’s me, baby.” He replies, not realizing that he has lowered his voice the slightest until he is looking up at the ceiling. “Am I interrupting something? You sound surprised.”

“No…I was just working after hours. I’m glad you called, actually.” She whispers softly, and he can hear the clicking of a mouse. “I haven’t heard from you in a while.”

“That’s what happens when you don’t text, but since you knew who I was, I suppose you kept my number.”

“You were super nice to me, why would I delete your number?”

“Are you sure you don’t want my call boy services and that’s why you kept my number?”

“W—What?” The stutter in her tone has Jongin chuckling loudly, perhaps sounding the farthest away from the sexy. “No matter how sexy you sound, Kai, I’m not one for call boys.”

“Good thing I’m not going to be a call boy for much longer…” Jongin trails, a sense of happiness creeping up on him when he hears a whistle from the other end of the phone.

“Are you ending up as a nine-to-five worker like me?” She asks, an elongated sigh following her statement. “Well, it’s not that bad. I look at a computer screen far more than I’d like, and I can tell the difference between Calibri and Arial far too well, but apart from that…there’s some good things.”

“I’m going to be a dancer.” Jongin explains, though, not wanting to divert the attention so much on himself, he talks to her. “What do you do?”

“Web designer.” The answer has Jongin scrunching up his nose. What are the odds of web designing being so huge these days? “I make websites look cool, and then, I get underpaid for it. My boss gets rich, I get poorer.”

Jongin has to agree to that. “My boss is mad rich as well. Not that I don’t earn well…but in comparison to him, I’m on the streets.”

“Asshole.” She spits out, only to have Jongin laughing.

“I get along well with him!”

“No!”

“Yes! He’s a nice dude. We used to be strippers around the same time. Well, he was finishing his career when I was starting and he kind of recruited me.”

He remembers thinking that Baekhyun and Lia were interested in him with how much they frequented the strip club he used to work in. Turns out that Baekhyun only wanted to see his talent before offering him a better deal—he took it, and years later, he’s ready to let go of it. “Didn’t you take a test?”

“What?” Jongin asks, incredulous. “Do you think sex work is like a college application program or something?”

“No, no! But how did your boss know that you were good at…?” She trails her voice, and he imagines her cupping her hand around her mouth and speaker. “At doing the deed?”

He can imagine Baekhyun being asked that question, and the answer would be yelled out of lack of shame (“It’s in the hips!” Baekhyun would say. “Have you seen that man move his hips, bro?”). However, he can’t bring himself to say that. “Usually, if you’re a good dancer…you know how to move…and that’s all there is to…doing the thing.”

“Oh!” Excitement fills her tone then, and he hears her tapping away on her keyboard. “Kai, I didn’t know you danced!”

“If I said I was a stripper, I kind of had to know how to dance.”

“So, are you a pole dancer?”

“Not initially…” He ventures into the world of memories. “I was a jazz dancer at first, then I went for ballet. I can dive into contemporary and just about anything, but pole dancing wasn’t my thing. I learned on the spot.”

“You, my friend, are a box of talents.” She utters. “Women must go crazy over you.”

“They go crazy for Kai.” He replies, a groan at the back of his throat. He doesn’t know when it started to become an insecurity for him—the division of character and the ways they met. There are things in common between Kim Kai and Kim Jongin, after all.

She hums. “Isn’t that your real name?”

“Nope.” He pops the word out. “I can’t use my real name. None of call boys do. It’s to avoid people looking for us, or getting attached, or whatever. There are some crazy clients.”

“May I ask something?”

“Sure…”

“What’s the craziest thing you’ve done while on the job?”

Jongin doesn’t really have to think much about it. He could say all of it—there is something so inherently weird about being paid to have sex with someone he doesn’t even know, in places where he could possibly get murdered in. It’s a bit of trust mixed with luck. “An orgy.”

“What?!” She asks, voice high enough for him to think she’s alone in the office. “Oh my. With how many people?”

“Four apart from me.” Jongin recalls. It was at the beginning of his career, and he can’t say he was proud of it. “I wouldn’t recommend it. It’s uncomfortable and standoffish and it just makes everyone uncomfortable. I saw far more genitals that day than I had intended and it wasn’t fun.”

“Kai…you’re incredible.”

“Am I?” His face heats up at the sound of those words, only to have her humming.

“Only the brave would do that for money. That’s the confidence I want to have.”

“But that’s who, my character, Kai is.” He says into the phone, turning around on the bed to lay on his stomach. “And I want you to get to know the real me.”

“W—With pleasure. Ah, who would that be?”

“Kim Jongin.”

###

The beauty about sexual encounters is how genuine they can be. His job, on one hand, wants to bring the most honest version of sex that can be paid—he’s an actor, if anything, but not a porn actor. Which is why he is used to the normal accommodation of events and dialogues, called improvising in acting terms, but he isn’t used to scripting himself past the character of Kim Kai. One would think that for his last appearance as Kai, the call boy, he would have the reins of the situation on his hands, but Baekhyun had given him a script along with the suit he was going to wear, and a visit to the hairdresser followed suit.

For the afternoon and part of the night, he has to be Jo Jinyoung, Mrs. Kwon’s ex. A man born in a wealthy family who, in real life, had scammed his own wife and managed to get away with thirty percent of her earnings for the next fifteen years—and, for some motherfucking reason that shall remain unknown, Mrs. Kwon’s still wants to bathe in orgasms at the idea of Jo Jinyoung—. Fitted suits and dark hair, his air of confidence has to be changed for one of manipulation. As if he wants the ground, he is walking on to be kissed by his wife, degrading.

It’s uncomfortable. Really. If he could say a few words to Mrs. Kwon, he’d say: you can do much better than whatever you’re imagining is what you deserve.

The doors of the web designing building Mrs. Kwon owns open like the wings of a butterfly, showcasing him in the perfect stance of him with that gray suit. He loosens the black tie around his neck, sending a smile to the receptionist who widens her eyes at him. She fixes the cat-eye glasses that fall down on the bridge of her nose before speaking politely.

“Good afternoon, welcome to Han Designing. May I be of help for you today?”

“Yes, I’m looking for Mrs. Kwon.” Jongin speaks with certainty, his voice a deep timbre, and that’s enough to entice the woman in front of him to lift her phone up to her ear.

“Who would it be?”

“Jo Jinyoung.”

She stops momentarily, because that is a name she had heard before—either from Mrs. Kwon herself or because of the gossip around the office, however, she continues with her job, shrugging her shoulders when she talks to the biggest boss in this building. “Mrs. Kwon, hello, a young man who calls himself Jo Jinyoung is asking to meet up with you. Should I send him over to your office?” A brief set of words from Mrs. Kwon has her changing her features, pressing a button on her computer before humming. “Yes, I’ll cancel your lunch meeting, Mrs. Kwon and I’ll send him over to you.” After hanging up, she points at one of the many elevators by the right, all cladded in gray and glass. “You can go to the twelfth floor, she’ll be there. Her main office has her name written on the door; it should be easy to find.”

“Thank you.”

You know, let’s go back in time for a while. Kim Jongin, aged nineteen, stumbling out of a party with a girl in between his arms—that was the first time he was ever with someone sexually. It didn’t last a thing, two minutes tops, and it was in complete silence in fear that her parents would hear them in her room. The nervousness of being caught, of doing wrong, of being with someone he liked all bundled up together to paralyze him. At this moment, as he enters the elevator and watches the numbers go up, the people surrounding him getting off one by one, he feels like he is about to lose his virginity.

One last time.

Just one fucking last time.

The elevator welcomes him to a new kind of world, passing through a bunch of cubicles to be able to get to that last door—Mrs. Kwon’s office. The older woman was wild enough to ask for their first event of the scheduled program to happen at her office. Apparently, it was one of the many things she did with her then husband. Jongin just has to barge in, pretend to be a total asshole, and probably do her against the desk. It’s nothing out of the ordinary. He has done worse, right?

The movement of his feet is always coordinated, but for some reason, he ends up hitting his little toe with the edge of one of the desks in the cubicles just as he is walking to the main office. A groan rips from his throat, tiny, followed by a hiss that has the person by the desk standing up to check up on him. When he opens his eyes, he first notices a bunch of little action figures—Star Trek or Star Wars, he is guessing here—scattered across a disorganized desk, though when he looks up, he’s met with a pair of beautiful yet worried eyes.

Her eyes glisten enough for him to part his lips in surprise. A gray hoodie clads the upper part of her body, a pair of high waisted pants highlighting the plushness of her thighs. Jongin watches her chapped lips, how pieces of her hair still remain inside the hood of her shirt, but what interests him the most is the sound of her voice—

“Oh my, are you okay?”

That voice he has heard in the peak of the night, when he has nothing else to do. It’s the voice he sometimes hears in voice messages when she is talking over coffee and pastries. It’s the voice he misses when he spends days without talking to her. It’s the woman that accidentally called him once, and now he can’t seem to get enough of. A nice friend, he’d say, but one that doesn’t know him physically at all.

It’s her—it’s the woman who never considered herself to be attractive, yet exudes the kind of beauty that makes him want to pull away. Simplistic. Caring. The kind of person men miss when looking at what’s easiest, when the most difficult of puzzles always give the most gratification.

The woman he has been talking to for the past month is one of Mrs. Kwon’s workers.

“Y—Yes. I’m sorry, I think I made you drop this.” He picks up a Stormtrooper action figure that fell by his feet thanks to the commotion, but when he puts it down on the desk, he sees the surprise on her face. “You’re a science fiction enthusiast?”

Her lips part to say something, but they close immediately, instead putting one hand over her mouth to cover it up. It does nothing to conceal her surprise. “I—I am.”

The doors to the main office open then, Mrs. Kwon standing in all her enigmatic glory, leaning against the doorframe as she silently calls out for him with a mere glare. In front of him, he has the opportunity to stablish some conversation—meet someone who he had deemed interesting when talking over the phone with them, but the job is calling. His last opportunity to get some money and run for his real dreams is calling.

“I have to go meet up with Mrs. Kwon.” Jongin whispers, giving her a shy smile. “I’m sorry again.”

Only when he starts giving a few steps towards the main office, sporting one of those smirks he is tired of, he feels his phone vibrating inside the pocket of his pants. Jongin knows who it is, but his hands are shaking as he gets the device out, putting it up to his ear as he keeps walking.

“I—It’s you. You are here to see Mrs. Kwon.”

He closes his eyes. It’s horrid that she has to see him like this—like who he used to be and wants to get over and done with. Maybe, she’ll think less of him. Now that she sees him, she will see how deep into the call boy world he had gotten, enough to throw all shame out the window and have sex with someone in a fucking packed office.

“Sorry, baby. Have to do this last job.” Jongin whispers, briefly turning around to look at her, a look of despair on her face when he hangs up the phone, a sigh ripping from his throat when he finally is in front of Mrs. Kwon.

Maybe, he’s not meant to get this close with anyone unless they pay him.

###

“Jongin, let loose!”

Taerin puts on a pair of awfully tiny green sunglasses as they stand in the middle of the mall, both her hands occupied by the group of children they teach. Contemporary dance was the topic of this month, and all the parents had agreed on recording a video in a mall showcasing the dance skills that their children had acquired through the program. Not that he would ever think he’d be here three months ago, but with Baekhyun’s help and his connection with his ex-girlfriend, Taerin, he had been able to get the job.

“I’m letting loose!” He says, pulling at the red strands of Taerin’s hair as he passes by her and places the two children, he is holding hands with on their positions. “But dance is an art, I need them to be in the right positions before we start recording so we don’t bump into each other.”

Taerin is so much more different from Baekhyun’s current wife. She’s more on the outstanding side, that is for sure, with a high ponytail and her curvy body covered with clothing of all colors, shapes, textures. He isn’t surprised that a few pairs of eyes end up landing on her, either with confusion or with attraction. Not that she is his type, really. “They’re just children. And we’ve been practicing for a month.”

“Yes, Mr. Kim!” One of the children, William, says from his spot. A little bit over nine years old and definitely a threat to society with how hyperactive he is, but for dancing…he’s spectacular. Jongin sees a bright future with him. “We’re ready.”

Dabin, a seven-year-old boy, raises his hand in the air with anxiousness. “Actually, Mr. Kim, Mrs. Lee, I’d like to practice one more time before y—you start recording, please.”

“Dabin!” William whines, only to have Dabin pouting.

“I forgot one part.”

Jongin is ready to go over the dance again, nearing the Bluetooth speakers to put on some music when he comes face to face with a person he knows and a complete stranger. They are seated by one of the mall’s tables, in front of some ice cream shop that he has yet to go to. The man wears a bright pink sweater and ripped jeans, the band of his boxers peaking from his jeans as he leans down to capture his date’s kiss on a passionate kiss. His lips part way too much, sucking on her upper lip with intention as she covers most of her hands with the sleeves of her hoodie, holding onto his long, brown hair.

Her features are hard to dismiss—he had seen them once, missed them for three months. Not that she had not tried to reach out to him, perhaps weeks after they had seen each other in person, asking how he was doing…but he was unable to answer. Embarrassment latched onto Jongin like a leech, sucking every desire of continuing with their interesting conversations. It hurt him, but it’s what he had to do.

The date in question, or perhaps her boyfriend (and Jongin really hopes this is not that Donghae, dick out, guy.), pulls away with a smile on his face, his plush cheeks matching his rosy lips as he rests his thumb on her bottom lip, pulling it down the slightest, not caring about who is seeing or the embarrassment that clads her face in beauty. His eyes trail down to her lips, thumb still rubbing at the skin as he speaks, and it’s at that time that Jongin feels a shiver going up his spine, trailing up to his neck and his head.

He wants her.

And he hates it.

But it’s okay. It’s all cool. Why should he care if she goes out on a date with someone, or if she’s dating, or if someone even wants her? She’s an attractive woman, of course people are going to look at her—

So, why is it that when the man in question leaves the table and goes to one of the restaurants nearby, he asks for some timeout and rushes out to her?

He doesn’t know. Jongin knows about sex, not exactly about romance.

“Back with Donghae?” is the first thing he can manage to say when he nears her, placing his hands inside the pockets of his sweatpants and hoping that she doesn’t catch the jealousy on his features, masked by a smile, under his cap. She raises her head then, frowning deeply at the sound of his voice before gasping audibly, eyes widening in the process.

“Kim Jongin?” She asks, both hands coming up to her face, just like the last time he had seen her and he damn right finds it adorable. “…Long time no see. Or talk. You didn’t really answer my texts.” She replies, and just like the first few times they had talked, she chuckles and continues to rant. “Well, not that you should. I mean, half the office knows that you and Mrs. Kwon—”

Jongin scrunches up his nose then, shaking his head in the process. “Oh no, me and Mrs. Kwon have nothing to do. She hired me for the entire day so she would pay me half…a million.” At the sound of that amount of money, he lowers his voice, making her raise both eyebrows, mouthing the number with surprise. “Not that it matters. I’m not…I’m not in the business anymore.”

Her hand extends in front of her heart, sighing deeply. “And here I was thinking I had been talking sex with Mrs. Kwon’s boyfriend behind her back and that I was going to get fired.”

“No,” Jongin answers, laughing as well. “If there is something, I don’t have is bad tastes in women, and Mrs. Kwon is not exactly my style. A client, first and foremost, and secondly…too hooked up on her ex. She likes all the bad shit in this world.”

“I get it.” She says, pointing to the seat in front of her before asking him to sit down. Jongin shouldn’t, but he finds himself sprawled on the seat before he knew it, interlocking his hands together in front of him. “That’s not Donghae.”

“He wants you.”

“Oh, no—” She replies, scoffing in the process. “He doesn’t want me. Come on. We’re just—ah, we just kiss sometimes. It’s nothing serious—”

“Let me remind you—I know about seduction. That whole lip thing I just saw? Seduction.”

“Friendship.”

“Seduction.” Jongin corrects, laughing at her face when she groans. “Doesn’t he meet your standards, like, the same as Donghae?”

Her eyes divert towards her date, standing in front of a restaurant and talking to the worker there. Not that he is anywhere near unattractive, but it isn’t the kind of person he imagines with her. Maybe, someone like himself would be more of a fit.

“I’m not interested in that with him.” She answers, shrugging her shoulders. “Perhaps, I’m just broken. I can’t feel sexual attraction anymore, to anyone. It’s insane—”

Though, she looks at him briefly, making Jongin chuckle as he speaks. “Baby, that’s not being broken. That’s just being selective. It’s okay to be that.”

“With every man?”

“Yeah, it’s completely normal.”

“But…” She throws her head back, sighing. “Isn’t it annoying? Like, most adults just want sex—”

“Not all of them.” Jongin replies, looking down at his interlocked hands before biting on his lip. “Outside of my job, I haven’t done much with anyone. Once your life revolves around sex, you realize it’s the least of your priorities.”

A second of silence follows his statement, and he hears her pulling her chair forward, closer to him. “Why didn’t you text me back, Jongin?”

He looks up then. “I was afraid you’d think less of me for being a…a…” He can’t concentrate his pupils on her anymore.

“A call boy.”

“Yeah.”

“Jongin, I would never think of you as less because of that.” Her voice drips sincerity, eyes twinkling in the way he had seen once and couldn’t get enough of. “It’s a job. It’s not the most common of jobs—but you did it for a reason, and you wanted to stop. That’s your choice, your life, it’s not what makes you a better or a worse person.”

Jongin smiles at that, looking over to the group of children practicing with Taerin. “I’m a dance teacher now, you know that?”

“If someone had texted me back, I would know.” Though, the moment is cut short when her date, or her friend, whoever he is, appears with a trail of food on his hands, sending a comfortable smile towards the man before nodding.

“I didn’t know you were bringing a friend.” Her date says, but Jongin is already standing up from his seat.

“I was just greeting her, nothing big. I’m leaving now.” Not that he wants to do that, but it’s better if he does. Turning around one last time, like he always does with her, he feels the magic in her eyes when he says: “It was nice talking to you again.”

###

From: Kim Jongin.

How did the date go?

It takes him five minutes, three dots on the screen and a slurp of spicy noodles inside his mouth to get an answer.

To: Kim Jongin.

Horrid.

Why?

Like, it’s bad to rant about this.

And you probably think I’m some picky bitch but—

Is it my lips?

Why do all men I go out with want me to suck their dick?

From: Kim Jongin.

I don’t think you’re a picky bitch.

Never say tat.

That*.

Because you have to be more honest and less malleable.

If what you want is a simple date, tell them.

I’m sure they give you signs that they want a hook-up.

What comes next is a screenshot of her screen, typical as ever when coming from her, a Google search that has him almost choking on his food.

She’s funnier than she lets herself believe.

The search says: Why can’t man differentiate normal flirting with hook-up flirting? And the articles are nowhere near as informative as they should.

To: Kim Jongin.

I’ve given up.

On dating.

Men are complicated.

Capital C.

Cursive.

From: Kim Jongin.

There’s nothing wrong with self-love.

To: Kim Jongin.

But now I have a bucket filled with fried chicken and no one to share it with.

From: Kim Jongin.

Mhm.

Send me your address and we can share

I’ll bring some noodles.

Slipping into his coat after getting her address feels like a new beginning. For him, maybe, to get out of his shell and realize that he is more than just a body moving through the world. He’s a soul—his charisma, his strength, his delicacy. There is something about the smile he gives to that closed door, because a new beginning has never felt quite as beautiful as this.

###

When he was twenty-three, he promised himself he would never fall again. Love is so meticulous that the only free time you have is spent doubting. He didn’t want that for himself anymore, neither for the person he was seeing.

The street lights bring him back to the places he had been in, but now, he’s seated on a bench. Typical Saturday night of their weekly meet-up when Jongin gets out of work at the same time she does, and they grab something to eat to spend a few hours of the night together. If the world’s beauty had a voice, it would be hers. It feels like magic; as if for the time they are talking for, he learns all her insecurities and makes them human. Every single wound, every crevice, every portion of her that bleeds, aches, palpitates, grounds itself and silences its complaints, make him more interested.

Kim Jongin prided himself on never being sedated.

“If I have a car, and you know this,” Jongin says, placing his hands under his thighs as he sits down, looking at her profile that basks under the lights of the empty street. The hood of her shirt is pulled tightly over her head, the few traces of makeup she must’ve put on in the morning disappearing after so many hours of not retouching it. “I don’t know why you insist on waiting for the bus.”

She looks at him then, eyes twinkling—in the time that he has gotten closer to her, he has known a few things. They shine when she’s happy, sad, angry; it’s as though her eyes can’t help but show her heart, and all he wants to do is protect it. “I don’t want you to think I’m using you.”

Jongin scoffs at that. “I know you would never use me.”

“Still.” She replies, fixing the black bomber jacket he had thrown over a gray t-shirt, playing with the edge as she speaks. “You already do enough by spending every Saturday night with me.”

His cheeks fluff out at that, a pout on his tone as he speaks. “I enjoy spending time with you.”

“I know you do.” She imitates his voice before sighing. “For some goddamned reason, but you do.”

“I love it when you talk films and science fiction with me even though I don’t understand a thing, what can I say?”

“You said we were going to watch Just My Luck next week.”

“I did say that,” Jongin mumbles, eyes trailing down to her lips. The speckles of her lip-gloss have disappeared, leaving them in their natural color, void of any decoration, and yet calling him out for his lack of attention. Jongin knows the two of them—a man who stopped believing in people wanting him for something more than sex, and a woman who went through the same. Circumstances that they could understand with different outcomes. They meet in the magic ways of life, in the dulcetness of being seen as a person, speaking and talking to their heart’s content, falling in silence and yet, screaming out the words that they never say. “You look pretty tonight. Always, but uh, tonight specially.”

“Thank you.” She breathes out, the words curling her lips in a pretty smile, and Jongin doesn’t think he can hold it any longer. This longing of conversation, of uniting his soul with someone else’s. For the first time, he wants to believe.

It’s in the bend of her waist, in the way she seems to understand him in ways that no one did, how she grasps his face in between her hands and brings him forward, half of his body hovering over hers as she kisses him. Not a single word of lust, not a moment of suspicion—no matter how many women had kissed him, how many bodies he had touched, the things he did and what he did not, she saw past them. For, he is not Kim Kai, he is not a call boy—he’s the man she calls when she wants to see him, talk to him, feel him like a presence beside her, not over her. He’s Kim Jongin to her, and that’s more than he ever expected.

Her lips are not as experienced as one would have imagined. She takes her time, a woman with a lollipop between her lips that doesn’t want to break her teeth. She doesn’t want to bite too soon, eat more of him in ways that would have his plump lips growing redder. Instead, she takes her time, and takes him as well, perhaps whispering in the depths of her heart that he deserves this. A kiss that feels as though he is not wanted, not needed for the scratch of an itch, for filling what was once left void, he is not desired. He’s wished upon. He’s a star. A dream, a thought, a feeling—

His fingers sneak around her waist, lifting some of the hoodie up to feel the warmth of her skin through her white t-shirt. Those portions of her she had never shown to anyone—the parts she talks about in between laughs, trying to mask them as miniscule beings, those are the ones he wants to know. Jongin has never been a romanticist, but what would be of him if he missed an opportunity like that?

Some wheels roll over the street, and when she pulls away, the glint of his saliva ends up over her lips, chest heaving, and the beat of her heart matches his with their chests pressed. Her hands come up, they always do, hiding those lips he doesn’t want to let go of, and she touches the skin there as she says: “I just missed my bus, Jongin!”

With a fleeting kiss over her lips, he says: “Let me take you home.” He adds, though, he tilts his head to the side. “Or I can wait here. Just, please, let me spend some more time with you.”

She laughs at this. “You could have anyone and yet, you choose to have me?”

“Who is anyone when there’s you?” Jongin retorts, watching her lick her bottom lip, mouth falling from its smile to look down at his lips. This time around, she takes the first step—decisions made by her, words left unspoken that tell him he’s the first man she has found fitting in a while. Not fitting for her, but worth her time.

Intimacy at its finest, Jongin can say he has felt a lot—desire, lust, hatred, disgust, sadness, hopelessness. Yet, this is different.

It’s the first time he has felt accepted.

It’s the first time he can say he feels like he is under a spell, one that he can’t get out of.

#kai scenarios #kai #exo scenarios #exo #kpop scenarios #writing #kai fluff #kai angst #kai au #exo fluff #exo angst #exo au #call boy!au #...........i said i was going to write this with ksoo #but i watched the mmmh video and this happened #so #there you go #tell me your opinions if you can!!!

[isolagangstar]

SUMMER 2K21 SPECIAL

For my sake please pretend that this came out a few weeks ago. Thaaaaanks. Also yes I did rip off Miami Vice and I’m proud of it.

Our ad/short film begins with a shot of Sunset Circuit’s skyline at night and a song that we cannot legally describe here or else we might get sued by the powers that be (though you totally know what’s playing). The air is ripe with excitement as this city’s usual eager partygoers and creatures of the night begin to fill the streets, ready to indulge themselves in whatever vice they wish to explore.

It’s hard not to find yourself almost partially curious over what this city has to offer you. The nightlife here can be likened to a siren song—beckoning you to come in and let yourself fall deep into it’s never ending abyss of self-indulgence and pleasure.

But that’s not what we’re here for exactly just yet.

The skyline then turns into a static shot of a car’s wheel coming straight to the viewer. Soon this transitions into a view of this vehicle’s occupants; Django Foley in the driver’s seat, and one of the many male models who work for GANG✩STAR in the passenger.

As the two make their way towards their destination, the other man takes a glance at Django for a moment, almost as if to find reassurance in his expression that what they’re about to do is the right decision. Yet ultimately he looks back towards the road in front of them, realizing that no matter what the decision has been made and they are to both go through with it.

We cut to another establishing shot of the vehicle driving down the streets of Sunset Circuit before returning to the two occupants once again. The man in the passenger seat begins to load a sawed-off shotgun before Django asks him;

“ How much time we got? ”

He immediately responds with “ Twenty-five minutes. ” before they continue their drive.

The atmosphere remains tense as the music keeps playing. A few establishing shots of their vehicle make it known that not only are they driving in a slick black convertible reminiscent of the ones from a bygone era, but that the city itself seems almost desolate as they have passed no other vehicles out on the street.

Eventually the two park near a telephone booth (which was admittedly very surprising to find) that Django promptly heads over towards to use.

The scene changes to a luxurious penthouse that could only be described as both sensible and extremely decadent as if this was bought using drug money.

An incredibly beautiful woman whose presence is that of a goddess—and is also coincidentally wearing one of this year’s Summer outfits—then enters the scene, picking up a nearby phone that had been ringing these last few seconds.

“ Hello? ” she answers. The voice on the other line calls out her name, Medb, before she replies back with “ Django? ”.

“ I need to know something, Medb. ” A pause. He’s hesitant, but he needs to know before he sets himself out to put his life on the line. “ The way we used to be together... I.. I don’t mean lately, but before—it was real, wasn’t it? ”

For a moment Medb says nothing. However it should be noted that this isn’t out of hesitancy like Django, but more so out of surprise. Before long she answers his question with a firm and confident response, yet keeps her tone low as she would have back then in their more intimate moments.

“ Yeah, it was. You bet it was. ”

The shot turns back to Django in the phone booth where you can overhear Medb ask him if there was something wrong. There’s another brief pause as the music begins to swell before Django simply tells her;

“ Nothing, Medb. ” He then hangs up the phone and returns to the convertible, driving off towards the mission that lies ahead.

As the song that was definitely legally licensed begins to reach it’s peak, the scene transitions towards the convertible arriving at a beach party where dozens upon dozens of guests are all clad in outfits reminiscent of the 1980′s, yet with a bit of a modern twist to them.

Following this we get a series of shots of different models at the party showcasing what people can expect in this year’s Summer Collection from GANG✩STAR; casual suits, swimwear, street clothes, each and every item a throwback to a time of extreme decadence and vibrant colors. An era in which criminals were brazen and ruthless in ways never seen before.

This was a time in which vice ruled with an iron grip, and as Django passes his way through crowds—his partner-in-crime alongside him—that is exactly what drives him to committing a hit out in public.

Yet before we even see a single shot, the screen turns to black as a logo evocative of the typeface you’d find back then forms to spell out VICE: A GANG✩STAR COLLECTION.

Cue the usual social media links and this ad telling you how all of this is now available for purchase.

#GANG☆STAR Update

[bopinion]

Book of the month / 2021 / 08 August

I love books. Even though I hardly read any. Because my library is more like a collection of tomes, coffee-table books, limited editions... in short: books in which not "only" the content counts, but also the editorial performance, the presentation, the curating of the topic - the book as a total work of art itself.

Through a different Lens

Stanley Kubrick (& Sean Corcoran, Donald Albrecht, Luc Sante)

Photography / 1997 / Taschen Publishing House

Every now and then, I sentence the kids to watch movies that I think are relevant - whether from a personal or a cinematic point of view. While my little son tends to be served light fare like "Blues Brothers," my big daughter sometimes has to chew a little harder, as happened the other day with "2001: A Space Odyssey." Her enthusiasm was a bit restrained, even if I exclaimed about 23 times, "That movie is from 1968. There were no special effects then, it's all actually built!".

Even regardless of that aspect, this epic can be considered groundbreaking. From the genre reference of the classical music background and the excellent script, to the technological authenticity and the almost psychedelic color scheme, to the revolutionary camera work. Above all, the visual composition of this film is the true mastery of director Stanley Kubrick, who is not considered one of the most important filmmakers of all time for nothing. Of course, I also have the matching book in my library ("The Making of Stanley Kubrick's '2001: A Space Odyssey'", also from Taschen, of course), but this time it's about another work of this visually powerful creator: his early work, photography.

"In the Streets of New York" is the title of the publisher's documentary "Through a different Lens" on the occasion of an exhibition of the same name at the Museum of the City of New York. For it was there that Kubrick, just 17 years old, went on his first stalk of optical impressions. In 1945, he signed on as a photographer for the magazine "Look," for which he photographed stories with a human touch in the streets, clubs and sports arenas of New York City for five years. In the process, he captured with his camera just about everything that made up life in the Big Apple in that era: People in the laundromat, the hustle and bustle at Columbia University, sports stars, showgirls in their dressing rooms, performers in the circus, Broadway actresses rehearsing their lines, cab drivers changing a tire, couples kissing on the train platform, shoe shine boys, boxers reconsidering their career choice in the ring corner, patients in their dentist's waiting room, prominent businessmen, politicians, children in the amusement park, and commuters on the Subway.

Even these photographs from Kubrick's younger years reveal a startling sense of composition, tension, and atmosphere, and seem like film stills to never-shot dramas from the jungles of the big city. "This exhibition reveals how (Kubricks) formative years laid the groundwork for his compelling storytelling and dark visual style. They also show a noir side of New York that's no longer around." (Vanity Fair) "Photography, and particularly his years with Look magazine, laid the technical and aesthetic foundations for a way of seeing the world and honed his ability to get it down on film. There, he mastered the skill of framing, composition and lighting to create compelling images," explains Sean Corcoran, curator of the exhibition "Through a different Lens" and co-author of the book. Apparently, it was clear to the young man from the very beginning where his talent lay and how he was able to hone and master it.

Stanley Kubrick was born in New York City on July 26, 1928, as the first of two children. His parents came from Jewish families, and all of his grandparents had immigrated from Austro-Hungarian Galicia. His early passions were excessive reading, cinema and chess. He was first gifted a camera, a Graflex, from his father when he was 13 years old. And he immediately took off as a photographer for the William Howard Taft High School student newspaper. After graduation, he turned his hobby into a career and at the age of 18 became a full-time photographer for Look, to which he had previously sold amateur photos. As early as 1950, Kubrick directed his first documentary, "Day of the Fight", about life in and around the boxing ring, which he had already explored photographically. Although only 16 minutes long, the film was already considered a sensational study at the time. His future career path was set, the rest is history.

"Through a Different Lens" was an extremely successful exhibition, which subsequently also went on tour. Not only Kubrick fans were impressed by the mastery of optical staging that was already visible at an early stage. Corcoran: "Kubrick learned through the camera's lens to be an acute observer of human interactions and to tell stories through images in dynamic narrative sequences. (His) ability to see and translate an individual's complex psychological life into visual form was apparent in his many personality profiles for the publication. His experiences at the magazine (Look) also offered him opportunities to explore a range of artistic expressions. Overall, Kubrick's still photography demonstrates his versatility as an image maker. Look's editors often promoted the straightforward approach of contemporary photojournalism at which Kubrick excelled. It's clear he always got the photographs that were needed for the assignment, but that he was also unafraid to make pictures that excited his own aesthetic sensibility."

Beyond the 100 photographs in the exhibition, the book presents 300 of Kubrick's images, including unpublished shots and outtakes. Annotated by Corcoran, his colleague Donald Albrecht, and renowned writer and critic Luc Sante, who has published most notably in Interview and Harper's. They place the motifs in their context, refer to stylistic aspects, and thus point to Kubrick's (imminent) artistic career. Above all, in contrast to the exhibition, the book offers all friends of photography - whether fans of Kubrick or not - a rare insight into the proverbial pioneering early work of a brilliant artist. And into one of the most interesting eras of the "city that never sleeps" - yes, even Frank Sinatra was photographed by young Kubrick.

From the extensive, mostly euphoric reviews of the book "Through a different Lens" or the oeuvre documented in it, let's take one example each from a professional and an amateur:

"The man who later led a genre to its lonely high point and at the same time to its final point with each of his films knew already at the age of barely 17, that's how old he was at the time, that expression and form shape every impression." (Die Welt)

"I can't praise this book enough. Wonderful collection and very informative. An absolute must for those wishing to understand more of how Kubrick valued the frame." (Yvi on amazon.com)

P.S.: Just for the sake of completeness, let's mention Kubrick's cinematic output after his breakthrough: 1960: Spartacus / 1962: Lolita / 1964: Dr. Strangelove or: How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Bomb / 1968: 2001: A Space Odyssey / 1971: A Clockwork Orange / 1975: Barry Lyndon / 1980: The Shining / 1987: Full Metal Jacket / 1999: Eyes Wide Shut. No, this is not a selection of greatest hits, this is a complete listing. And thus the proof that he has indeed realized a significant peak in the respective genre. His great influence on the history of cinema is also shown by the fact that he is the only director to appear a total of five times in the list of the 100 films with the best critics' ratings.

In addition, two side notes: Kubrick spent several years preparing a film biopic about Napoleon Bonaparte. The preparations were so far along that he could have started production at any time. However, the release of "Waterloo" (1970) and its poor financial results dissuaded him and the film studio from the project. The project has since been known as "The greatest Movie never made". He also dealt intensively with the subject of the Holocaust. After the release of "Schindler's List" (1993), however, he discarded these plans explaining that Steven Spielberg had already told all the essential.

Stanley Kubrick died of a heart attack on March 7, 1999, in his home at Childwickbury Manor near London, where he had lived in seclusion since the 1960s and had set up studio and editing rooms in the former stables.

Here's a short trailer for the exhibition "Trough a different Lens":

https://youtu.be/EgPlnjeBs7E

#stanley kubrick #look magazine #taschen #new york city #photography #book review #book #steven spielberg #Through a different lens #Sean Corcoran #Donald Albrecht #luc sante #2001: a space odyssey #museum of the city of new york #big apple #the city that never sleeps #cinema #movies #director #visual style #visual storytelling #Youtube

[ahhsokka]

Star Wars: Light of the Jedi — Review

Reading Dates: 08/16 - 08/18/2021 Word Count for Review: 1880

TL;DR: This is a must-read for the High Republic era. It mostly feels like exposition for follow-up projects instead of its own story, but it is still a good book and an enjoyable read. Main criticism is that we get too much information for one book. Important to note that the Jedi are cool.

INTRODUCTION Welcome to the era of the High Republic, a golden age of peace and prosperity throughout the galaxy. Charles Soule authored this first installation for the project: Light of the Jedi. We follow a brand new cast of characters in the galaxy as they navigate the immediate aftermath of the Great Disaster and the rise of the Nihil, the villains of the High Republic project. In this review, I’ll give a vague and brief summary of the book and then dive into my compliments and criticisms of it.

SUMMARY PART ONE Part One focuses purely on the Great Disaster, beginning with the event that caused it and ending with a last-ditch effort by the Jedi to save the entire Hetzal system. Billions of lives are on the line, and the countdown until impact clock at the beginning of each chapter reminds us how close everyone is to death. Soule introduces us to the main cast of characters that feature not only in this book but also in the whole of the High Republic project. Some of these new faces include Avar Kriss, Loden Greatstorm and his Padawan Bell Zettifar, Nib Assek and her Padawan Burryaga Agaburry, and Chancellor Lina Soh. Brilliant technician Keven Tarr, the Hetzal government, and a fleet of Jedi work together to keep peace on the planet, blow up debris, and save lives. By the end, the overwhelming sentiment is “it could’ve been worse.” Although casualties in the Hetzal system were kept to a minimum, the people of Ab Dalis were not as lucky—twenty million people were killed without a shred of hope for salvation.

PART TWO Finally, we meet “the big bad”—the Nihil. A ragtag group of marauders led by three Tempest Runners and their Eye, Marchion Ro. Throughout Part Two, Soule briefly dives into the history and organization of the Nihil, how they become a powerful group after they first received ‘the paths’ from Ro’s father, and where they are headed from here following their own involvement in the Great Disaster. As Marchion Ro attempts to gain more power within the Nihil, the Jedi and the Republic are working on two main problems: solve the mystery behind the Great Disaster and make sure it never happens again. Towards the end, a third task is added to that list: bring down the Nihil.

PART THREE Now that the Republic knows about the Nihil involvement in the Great Disaster, they focus their attention on snuffing the group out and maintaining peace in the Outer Rim before the opening ceremony of Starlight Beacon. While transporting a flight recorder that is instrumental to learning more about the Great Disaster, a fleet of Republic ships encounters the Nihil. Tempest Runner Kassav Milliko was sent by Marchion Ro to intercept the fleet, but he was vastly underprepared for their numbers. Although he was essentially being sent to battle as a sacrifice, Kassav led his warriors in the dirtiest fight the Republic had ever seen, killing many of their troops. Despite their efforts, his entire Tempest perished. The Republic successfully opens Starlight Beacon, but they do so with the knowledge that a great threat could be waiting around the corner.

COMPLIMENTS I would like to make it very clear that I enjoyed reading this novel. Charles Soule was handed a tall task in opening up an entirely new era. He had to make it compelling enough for readers to stay engaged with the story he was trying to tell while also building up the setting of an unexplored time period. Some planets and concepts will be familiar to fans, but for the most part, the structure of the universe is different from what we’ve known. Although I have some criticism for this book, I believe that Charles Soule and the rest of the Project Luminous team successfully created this new era. I want to know more about the characters and what the universe was like for people at this time. We only know of the galaxy at war; what does it look like at peace?

By far, my favorite part of Light of the Jedi was, of course, the Jedi. The way that the Force is perceived by each individual—as a song, a forest, and an endless ocean—is so beautiful. (Whenever Avar Kriss would mention the song that she hears in her head, I would get chills imagining it.) The bond between Padawan and Master was well done and seems to be a common theme not just for this story but many others in the High Republic project (for example, the High Republic comic by Cavan Scott). Loden Greatstorm and Bell Zettifar are by far one of the most fascinating pairings. Burryaga, a Wookiee Jedi, and his sensitivity to the emotions of others saves the lives of many people and will be a fascinating character to follow in the future (mainly because we so rarely see Force sensitive Wookiees). The High Republic is truly when the Jedi are at their peak; they are the light; there is no other interpretation. (Although I fear that will change as we learn more.)

We are all the Republic. Chancellor Lina Soh is a breath of fresh air from the Clone Wars politics that fans are used to. She clearly loves the Republic and makes decisions which she believes will only benefit its future. It seems that many of the people she works with also hold the same ideals, and I genuinely am excited to learn where it all goes wrong. As horrible as that sounds, only a couple of centuries later, we get Chancellor Palpatine and the Galactic Empire, so clearly something went wrong—what will Lina Soh sacrifice for peace, and how does it go awry?

As for the Nihil: Marchion Ro is honestly terrifying. Soule clearly spent a lot of time developing this storyline to turn the Nihil from being a disorganized group of thieves and murderers to essentially becoming a crime syndicate. Ro almost feels like Maul in his planning skills and adaptability and his cruelty and temper. Obviously, Maul is one of the most beloved Star Wars villains, so I wonder if they used him as a template for Ro. Without their Eye, the Nihil are quite rowdy and kind of dumb, which made them less threatening, in my opinion. They make many mistakes, are selfish, and basically have no impulse control (at least the ones we interact with the most). Initially, that was a criticism, but the rise of Marchion Ro most certainly makes it clear why the Nihil needed to be like this. They aren’t threats until they have a cut-throat, meticulous leader at the helm.

CRITICISMS My biggest criticism is that we know too much as readers. There’s no mystery or puzzle for us to figure out alongside the characters. We understand the story for the most part and have to watch it play out as expected. Although I felt for Captain Hedda Casset and was glad to read her story, I wish that we got it later in the book, or maybe we heard about it through the flight recorder (which didn’t play as big of a role as I expected). The flight recorder acts as a metaphor for most of the book in that way. Something that we’re told is important, but it doesn’t feel that way by the end.

The Great Disaster was horrific, for sure. Billions of people died, and that will be felt for years to come in the galaxy. However, once again, it didn’t feel that way while reading. The Jedi coming in and saving the day and successfully preventing the deaths of an entire planetary system, although an excellent introduction for the Jedi Order, took away from the impact of the event. Even the way it was handled afterward felt clinical and detached. Keven Tarr was the one exception, in my eyes, who conveyed the urgency in solving the situation, but his point of view was unfortunately rare.

This metaphor applies to the Nihil as well. We know so much about them that their intrigue is gone. The most important beats of their recent history with the Eye has already been revealed. The fact that they did start out as a small-time gang who are just now evolving into something greater is exciting, but I personally would’ve liked to see that in a separate story. Peeling away the layers of a villain is much more interesting than getting most of the information immediately. In the grander scheme of the High Republic narrative, the Nihil had the best introduction to explain why they are threats. However, Light of the Jedi as a single story in that narrative suffered as a result. The villain didn’t feel like a villain.

To round it all out, there are a lot of characters. I honestly recommend using some memory trick to remember the names (personally, I grouped or paired them together). One great part of this book is that it doesn’t shy away from death, but at the same time, that made it difficult to get attached to characters. Either I didn’t get to spend enough time with a character and their companions, or I actively didn’t get attached to a character because I didn’t know if they were important enough. As a result, the losses weren’t felt as much. I understood that it was a significant loss, but I didn’t feel it. (Big spoiler) The death of Jora Malli is an example of this, and the only reason I felt anything was because of Master Sskeer’s reaction.

That may be a criticism that only I have, and honestly, it’s pretty minor in the grand scheme of things. Charles Soule did a great job introducing this era. I can still say I enjoyed reading the book, and at the end of the day, that’s all that really matters.

CONCLUSION Ultimately, Light of the Jedi sometimes feels like an exposition-heavy Marvel movie. Not bad at all, just a different story structure. It’s a stepping stone for other stories in the High Republic era. I have already read some other High Republic content and all of it benefited from the information in this book. This is ground zero, an absolute must-read for the High Republic. However, it sometimes is just too much information. I certainly enjoyed learning about this era, and I’m looking forward to reading everything else, some of these stories and characters could’ve been introduced later on, in my opinion.

But hey, I’m not a fiction author, so I definitely don’t know if any of my thoughts or ideas would’ve made a better story. This is honestly a best-case scenario for the first work in this universe. I wasn’t confused while reading, and even though I didn’t get attached to all of the characters, there were indeed some that I immediately latched on to (cough cough looking at you, Bell and Loden). All in all, it’s exciting to have brand new characters in a different period. I love the Skywalker saga—it’s our origin as Star Wars fans—, but this is a massive universe, and it’s good for everyone’s mental health to explore other parts of it.

Rating: [ 7 / 10 ]

Note: Hello! This is my first proper book review. I’m obviously still trying to get the hang of it, so if you have any constructive comments, please drop a note; it’s appreciated. :) I’m trying to fly through all of the current High Republic content so that I’m ready for the new stuff, so expect more reviews, among other things that are in the works. Thanks for reading!

#spoilers light of the jedi #star wars #the high republic #star wars the high republic #light of the jedi #light of the jedi review #book review

[kevinskorner]

2020 VMA’s Recap!

Every year, I always look forward to a few things and one of those things is definitely the MTV Video Music Awards. The VMA’s have been iconic every year since it’s inauguration in 1984 with Madonna’s Like A Virgin performance. As the insanely obsessed pop culture person that I am, the VMA’s are like a national holiday and I prepare myself heavily before they happen. For this year, obviously things are different because of a little thing called the Covid-19 Pandemic but anyhow, I was still excited. When the nominees got announced I was a very mixed bag of emotions. I was very excited because Lady Gaga and Ariana Grande got the most nominations of the year (9) but, I was disappointed because Harry Styles and Dua Lipa only got technical nominations and didn’t get any in the main category. One of my friends shared the same disappointment with me and they said how every nominee in Video of the Year was from North America and I didn’t even think of that. I wish they didn’t nominate some things... but that’s alright. As the weeks went on, I voted for my faves and MTV announced Keke Palmer was hosting whichreally got me excited again because she is a queen. Also, when they announced the performers, my favorites being Miley, Gaga, Ariana, and Doja, I became thrilled.

Now, here I am with my Rain on Me shirt on, a few hours after the ceremony ended and I got to say, I am IMPRESSED!!! That was an AMAZING ceremony. For an award show during a pandemic, I got to say MTV pulled, it, off. Let’s get into it!:

OH. MY. GAGA. 

Lady Gaga was the star of the night and I am NOT disappointed one bit. Going into the night as the most nominated artist (tied with Ariana) I had high hopes. When I heard she was performing, I screamed because I couldn’t believe we were FINALLY getting a performance in the Chromatica era. Knowing that she had so much planned for the era, it’s been sad to see none of it come to fruition. Now let’s live in the present. THIS PERFORMANCE?!? FREAKING INCREDIBLE. I don’t even know where to start. The beginning of the performance with the old television, her laying down on the couch (mask on!), and seeing the TV have the 1999 VMA’s (with BRITNEY mentioned!) was when I knew it was going to be one of the best performances of her career. THEN, she WENT DOWN THE POLL and Chromatica II started playing and I almost threw up. I was so excited that she chose to do that interlude and sing some of 911 (maybe the third single?)! I was shook. Next, she had a quick change and started singing Rain on Me, and I immediately was hyperventilating. When Ariana came out, I really thought I was gonna pass out. In that moment, I was just seeing a dream come true in front of my eyes. I saw two of my ultimate QUEENS come together and give me all the life I need. I mean, the outfits, the masks, the chemistry, ARIANA’S HIGH NOTE?! GAGA’S VOCALS?! I can’t even. After that, when she started walking to the Brain piano, I thought she was about to do 1000 Doves (Piano Version) but I was mistaken! It was the first single, STUPID LOVE! Honestly, I was so happy she performed Stupid Love and got it’s moment because that wasn’t even performed live yet before tonight. Her speech in between the Stupid Love performance was beautiful and I loved when she brought the beat in and danced her ass off. Ugh, I just love her so much. 

Onto the actual awards, I cannot believe that she won FIVE! I expected Best Collaboration and was hoping for Artist of the Year but I was NOT expecting Song of the Year! The one that I didn’t even know was happening thought was the FIRST EVER, TRICON AWARD?! The fact that MTV gave Gaga her OWN award for being an icon, a legend and a triple threat was filling my Little Monster heart with such PRIDE and JOY! Seeing her go up on that stage in a new look with a new mask each time, gave me a little boost of serotonin each time. She is just a goddess. There is no one like her and there NEVER will be. 

GOOD GOLLY, MISS MILEY

It feels amazing to be a Miley stan tonight. Miley has been one of my absolute role models since I was a child. I have followed her and supported her my whole life even when people didn’t and I got to say, tonight felt really good. Her performance was PHENOMENAL. Starting off with her GORGEOUS silhouette in that STUNNING black dress and  cross necklace with the red chrome light shook me because I was not expecting that. And, that break before the first chorus?!? LOVED. After, it went to a blue chrome and she started walking while it went full color. When I saw her walk towards some stairs, I had to catch my breath. Suddenly, I see a disco ball. Then she took the bottom half of the dress off and hopped on the disco ball and I SCREAMED. LOUDLY. The fact that she has such an ICONIC moment like Wrecking Ball where she can do something eerily similar and EVERYBODY knows it, is fucking SENSATIONAL! HER VOCALS WERE ON POINT, FACE BEAT, BODY SNATCHED. She just gave the most perfect glam rock pop star performance that I’ve ever seen. Miley having this mainstream moment again just made me so happy. ALSO?! SHE WON TWO AWARDS TONIGHT. I cannot believe Miley won two VMA’s tonight. She doesn’t win a lot of awards (which is extremely disappointing) and to see her win TWO for MOTHER’S DAUGHTER a single from last year that peaked at #54 on the Billboard Hot 100 felt incredible. I just love when she gets the recognition she deserves.   

Other Thoughts:

The Weeknd’s opening performance was so great!! Recently, I have gotten sick of Blinding Lights but this performance totally revitalized for me how great of a song that is. I don’t know how he was up so high but he did an awesome job and the fireworks were great! Also, I’m happy he finally won his first two VMA’s for Best R&B (even though it’s a pop song) and Video of the Year. 

Keke’s hosting was entertaining as hell. She was the perfect host for a time like this for many reasons. She’s funny, relatable, beautiful, entertaining and so many more positive things. I found her really funny and I just love her presence as a whole. Even her little performance was cute too! 

Doja Cat actually blew me away. I was not expecting her to serve that hard. The performance was so futuristic and felt like I was in a new universe. I loved her outfit and LOVED the Say So mix! Also, so happy she included Like That because it’s such a jam. I love Doja and ever since I discovered Juicy last year I've been stanning and this definitely solidified the stan for me. I am so happy that she won (RIGHTFULLY SO!) for Best New Artist. She has had a great rise and her performance definitely gives me high hopes for her future. 

My rankings of the performances are:

Pre Show:

1. Chloe x Halle - Ungodly Hour (THESE QUEENS ARE THE FUTURE!)

2. Machine Gun Kelly w/ blackbear & Travis Barker - My Ex’s Best Friend/Bloody Valentine (I have become really obsessed with his new music recently and love him)

3. Tate McRae - You Broke Me First (surprised by this cause I didn’t know anything about her before but she did a good job!)

4. Jack Harlow - What’s Poppin (cute ig)

5. Lewis Capaldi - Before You Go (🙂)

Main Show: 1. Lady Gaga w/ Ariana Grande - Chromatica II, 911, Rain on Me, Stupid Love (FUCKING AMAZING. SENSATIONAL, &, UNREAL)

2. Miley Cyrus - Midnight Sky (MY QUEEN SO ICONIC I LOVE HER SO MUCH)

3. Doja Cat - Say So/Like That (SO FUTURISTIC AND SOLIDIFIED HER WIN AND SHOWED THAT SHE CAN SERVE)

4. The Weeknd - Blinding Lights (really made me love the song so much more)

5. BTS - Dynamite (I like these boys but the fanbase is so much it stresses me out).

6. JP Saxe & Julia Michaels - If The World Was Ending (so cute, love Julia)

7. Dababy - Peep Hole, Blind, & Rockstar 

8. Maluma - Hawái (loved the drive in aspect)

9. Keke Palmer - Snack (wish she had more time)

10. Black Eyed Peas w/ Nicky Jam & Tyga - Vida Loca/I Gotta Feeling (no one can take Fergie’s place)

11. CNCO - Beso

To end this, I’m just gonna leave this picture here. :)

#vmas #entertainment #gaga #exciting #mtv #2020 #Video Music Awards #music #tv #award #awards show #Ariana #Ariana grande #miley #miley cyrus #doja #best new artist #2000s

[onthevirgeofdestruction]

A Whole Castle

Words: 592 Warnings: Food Characters: Logan, Virgil, Janus, Patton, Remus Universe: Whole Castle Genre: Family Fluff Additional Tags: Logan Sanders is Extra about Safety

prompt from @kanene-yaaay-o-retorno's message thank you!!!

   Logan sipped at his coffee with an exhausted exhale. He had been grading tests all morning since he had run out of time during the week. Logan appreciated the hot coffee that had a secret scoop of caramel mixed in. The coffee had the boost he needed to deal with the afternoon. He wished Roman was here to help today, but he had a show. Logan wanted a book and a bath and Roman’s truly stupendous cooking. But he would see Roman tonight. Perhaps he would suggest eating out or getting delivery. Logan took a deep breath of the sweet caramel coffee and released some stress. It had been an overwhelming week for him but he knew things would be okay. Logan leaned back in the chair and enjoyed his drink.

   The boys laughed boisterously in the backyard. Janus and Remus were here playing with the boys, which was wonderful, but he had to admit he’d like a quieter afternoon. He could try to convince them all to settle down for a movie later with popcorn. Hearing their cackles from the yard was pleasant, though. It was amiable to know they were happy and getting some vitamin D. Virgil and Janus agreed to watch Patton and Remus and making sure they didn’t get into anything dangerous, and Logan appreciated that. He wouldn’t have been able to finish grading if they had refused. Perhaps he could reward them with some cookies. If he remembered correctly, Janus liked thumbprints with raspberry jam. Butter cookies were easy to make, so it sounded like a superb idea.

   He glanced out back and checked on the kids. Remus and Patton jumped on the trampoline and Virgil and Janus chatted on the bench under the awning right now. Everything seemed to be alright. Patton and Janus were incapable of getting considerable height on the trampoline alone. He wasn’t worried about much other than accidentally bumping into each other. Remus bounded off the net into the middle of the trampoline while Patton clapped on the side. It looked safe for now.

   Logan worked on making raspberry thumbprints for the kids, as compensation for Virgil and Janus for monitoring Patton and Remus, and also as a reward for being good for the babysitters. He enjoyed baking and so did his sweet tooth, so he and Roman would enjoy them, too. The activity of performing a task for the benefit of everyone sounded like a wonderful way to help reset and relax after the stress of midterms. He hoped his students participated in something similar. They did well, and he looked forward to handing the results back. They deserved a break and recovery time.

   After he set the cookies in the oven and Logan wiped up, he settled down on the recliner in the living room. The sun outside shone brightly today, so he should probably have the kids come in soon for a drink, but for now, he enjoyed a book in the calm atmosphere. The scent of the raspberry jam already filled the house, and it smelled delightful.

   Logan paused for a moment with a jarring realization. Children being quiet is a sign that something is occurring. Logan got up and hurried to the back door and opened it to see Virgil stomping down on the trampoline and propelling Janus higher while Remus vibrated with excitement and Patton held on to Remus’s shirt with worry. Janus let out a victorious cry as he peaked just above the protective netting.

   “Virgil!” Logan said firmly and crossed his arms.

   “Oh, sh-”

Taglist: @elizabutgayer​ @radioactivehelena @ollyollyoxinfree

The Taglist Repository Taglist: (ask to be removed)

freakin’ everything: @katelynn-a-fan @dwbh888 @royal-stormcloud @ananonsplace @brain-deadx0 @the-grounded-raven@grouptalekindnesssoul @the-hoely-bleach @anvil527up @fanficloverinthesun

Human AU:  @somehow-i-got-an-account  @starlight-era  @just-your-typical-trans-guy @potatsanderssides @idont-freaking-know

Logince:  @idontcareaboutcanon @silverobsidion-speaks  @a-fandom-trashdump  @averykedavra @k1ngtok1 @potatsanderssides

Platonic Moxiety (familial):  @kieraelieson  @star-crossed-shipper​

Adoption:  @enby-phoenix @idont-freaking-know

Foster:  @i-am-not-a-dinner-roll @nonasficcollection @idont-freaking-know

Found Family:  @supernovainthenightsky

#tsss fan fiction #sanders sides #sanders sides fanfic #tsss fanfic #sanders sides side fanfiction #ayri writes #whole castle #ts logan #ts virgil #ts remus #ts patton #ts janus #trampoline #dad!logan #teen!virgil #kid!patton #food tw

[rael-rider]

We have the same braincell because Claremont's version of Star-Lord is my favorite (next to DnA's) and I think a lot about how being half Spartoi affects him & it makes me mad that nobody has bothered to develop the Spartoi. (And also smth neat i noticed while re-reading a DnA issue was that the guardians actually visited Spartax territory.)

Yeah I’ve been thinking about his Spartoi biology/physiology and how it differs from humans. From what I remember he is suppose to be athletic peak human in strength and agility. He held on his own pretty well when he fought Ronan even though Ronan is significantly more powerful and he eventually beat Peter. I think Cap is suppose to be peak human (even though at this point he crosses the line to somewhat superhuman) so I would put Peter somewhere close to him in that category.

Yeah Spartoi live long, I think if he were to die of old age yeah around three hundred  years old sounds right as the average Spartoi lifespan. Would him being human shorten it or not? Would he essentially be like a liger since he’s a hybrid? Also the Inhumans vol. 3 comic (which isn’t that canon anymore considering Medusa meets a young Jason and it happens before Annihilation but I’m still including it) mentions that the Spartoi share a common ancestry with the Shi'ar who are like space bird people. So yeah there’s all of that to consider.

I think about him and the other Guardians, I think most of the other Guardians would also live a long life since a lot of them have some type of enhancement or descend from races that are long lived (like Phyla is half eternal) maybe with the exception of Rocket because him being a racoon (although he’s now some type of space racoon) and he was already kind of dying in Cates’ run from what the Half-World scientists did to him. Cosmo I am not sure because he’s a dog from the Soviet era and he already lived longer than the average dog. Jack is currently dead but ignoring that crappy Secret Empire event I think he would live a regular human life span. Rich I am also not so sure, the Nova force often feels like it’s very detrimental to his overall health (and I have a lot to say on that one but I’ll save it for another post). They visit Spartax territory in DnA’s run? I don’t remember but I wouldn’t be surprised. I know Spartax fleets were fighting alongside with the good guys against the Cancerverse. So yeah you kind of saw them. I wish a writer who is good with world building and Sci-Fi would explore them a bit more. During the Bendis era all we got was boring stuff and not much in depth stuff. In Legendary Star-Lord Peter takes Kitty to a Spartax mall and it’s just a fancier American Earth mall with skating rings and stuff, it was really awful and you can tell the writer and artist just didn’t care and in that case just make them have a date on Earth (or don’t, they shouldn’t have dated). I honestly dislike when writers make Alien civilizations exactly like western societies, it’s boring. Claremont Star-Lord was good and I think they should incorporate more of his story into 616 Peter. I guess we’ll see what Ewing does.

#wondy answers #wondyanswers #I forget which tag I use the most #peter quill #star lord #thoughts

[afni-fics]

Elder Scrolls DC - A Reluctant Dragonborn - Chapter 6: Enter Lucien Flavius

Elder Scrolls DC - A Reluctant Dragonborn - Chapter 6: Enter Lucien Flavius by C_R_Scott Chapters: 6/? Fandom: Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim, Red Robin (Comics), DCU (Comics) Rating: Mature Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence Characters: Tim Drake, Lucien Flavius Additional Tags: Crossover, Crossovers & Fandom Fusions, Skyrim/DCU crossover, Reluctant Dovahkiin | Dragonborn, Not Beta Read

Previous Chapter | Masterlist | Next Chapter

Summary: Tim returns to Riverwood before attempting to trek to Bleak Falls Barrows. However, instead of gathering supplies to prepare for his assignment, he ends up picking up a companion.

(NOTE: I'm in the process of reblogging the initial chapters of this story because, for some reason, Tumblr won't let me edit the earlier versions that I created using the Tumblr app on my phone. I'm also in the process of creating a masterlist for this series)

-------------------------

The next morning, after spending the evening at the Bannered Mare Inn in Whiterun and visiting the apothecary to pick up some salve for his burns, Tim reversed his journey back to Riverwood. As he walked, he thought about something the woman in the apothecary shop said as he made his purchase that morning.

***

"A severe lingering wound like that really needs to be looked at by someone with skills in healing arts. The damage is deep and basic healing potions aren't going to be strong enough to heal it completely. Perhaps if I had some stronger ingredients I could brew up a potion powerful enough to fix this, but I don't have any in stock," the elderly alchemist Arcadia said with concern. "There's a temple of Kynareth up the steps in the Cloud District.  It would take a few days, but my friend Danica and her apprentice could heal that completely for you."

Tim had sighed and shaken his head. "I wish I could, but the Jarl's given me an assignment that needs to be completed as soon as possible. I don't have a few days to spare." At the even more concerned look Arcadia gave him, one that was very similar to the kind Alfred used to give him when he'd overwork himself, Tim relented. "When I complete the Jarl's task and return to Whiterun, I promise I'll visit the temple."

***

The salve Arcadia gave him would ease some of the pain and prevent the burn from becoming infected, but it wouldn't heal the wound outright, and she was insistent he visit the temple as soon as he returned to Whiterun. Tim wished he could have taken some time to do this, but Balgruuf was right. With that dragon on the loose, the Jarl and his wizard needed as much information as they could get to protect the people of the hold.

Besides... He was used to working while injured. It almost felt... normal.

What wasn't normal was how little money he now had. The medicine, though necessary, had eaten up nearly all the Septims he had leftover after his night the Bannered Mare Inn. With a deepening sense of dread, Tim realized he couldn't remember ever being so broke before. It was an unsettling anxious feeling that he really didn't like. Is this what it was like for people who had to live paycheck to paycheck, just one medical disaster away from financial ruin? Is this what it felt like to be forced to work on a job not just out of a sense of duty or responsibility, but because if you didn't you'd have to potentially starve or be homeless?

***

"Ah! Good to see you again!" a friendly voice shook Tim from his thoughts. Apparently, while lost in his thoughts on his journey to Riverwood, he'd entered a sort of autopilot and hadn't been aware of how far he'd travelled. He glanced up, startled, to see he was already on the bridge entering Riverwood. He glanced at the sky, noting the color of twilight and the few stars starting to peak out across the expanse. Then he turned to the voice, which belonged to Gerdur. 

"Oh. Hello," Tim said.

The blonde Nord woman smiled. "I see that your meeting with Balgruuf went well," she said as she walked over to meet Tim at the gate leading into the town. "The guards from Whiterun just arrived a few hours ago and set up camp on the other end of town. They're already patrolling the area between here and Helgen. Thank you so much for seeing the Jarl for us."

Tim smiled as well. "If it makes Riverwood safer, I'm glad to have been able to help."

Gerdur inclined her head toward the Sleeping Giant Inn. "Come on, let me treat you to a meal and some mead.  I'm meeting my husband Hod there, and we would love to hear about how things went with the Jarl over a pint or two."

By reflex, Tim almost declined. But he swiftly remember his current financial state and, of course, he didn't want to be rude to Gerdur. "A meal and some mead sounds wonderful. Lead the way."

***

Because Riverwood was such a small town, news apparently travelled like wildfire among the townsfolks. As Tim settled in at the Sleeping Giant Inn, he had folks coming by every few minutes to thank him for speaking with Jarl Balgruff and sending the guards. So many people were offering to buy him drinks he just couldn't physically consume that the owner of the Inn, a woman named Delphine, actually set up a tab for him that she allowed the citizens of Riverwood to pay into. In the end, as long as he was in Riverwood, Tim would't have to worry about food or drink for a good week at least. 

"So the Jarl's mage wants you to fetch something from Bleak Falls Barrow?" Hod, Gurder's husband, asked curiously. 

Tim nodded. "Something called a Dragonstone. Have you or anyone else heard of it?"

Gerdur shook her head. "I've lived beneath the shadow of the Barrow nearly my entire life and I've never heard of such a thing."

"What is the Barrow anyways?" Tim asked.

"I forget you're not from Skyrim," Gerdur started. "Back in ancient times, during the Merethic Era, when there was a cult who worshipped dragons instead of the Nine Divine, Bleak Falls Barrow used to be both a temple for them to worship and a place to bury their dead. Of course, now there is no Dragon Cult, and the Barrow are ruins. However, a dark magic lingers in that place, and rumor has it that the halls of the Barrow are still walked by the restless dead, forced to serve their ancient dragon cult masters even now."

"So dragons, magic, and zombies... great..." Tim muttered sullenly into his mug of ale before draining the last bit of it. 

Hod regarded Tim with concern. "Are you sure you want to go to the Barrow? Last we saw you, you weren't in the best of shape after Helgen."

Tim force a reassuring smile. "I'm fine now. I visited Arcadia in Whiterun and she gave me some medicine. Nothing to worry about."

Hod breathed a small sigh of relief. "That's good. Even a healthy warrior visiting the Barrow would find exploring that accursed place a challenge." 

***

Gerdur and her husband lingered a bit longer at the inn with Tim. But as the hour grew late, they rose to leave. Being woodcutters, their day started early. "Make sure you come to our home after you're done here," Gerdur insisted. "Don't go wasting your coin on the inn for the night."

"Of course. I won't be much longer. Just want to finish this pint."

By now most of the patrons of the inn had gone, and once Hod and Gerdur left, there were just one or two left. Tim's smile faded as he stared into mug.

"What am I going to do?" he whispered to himself.

"Excuse me, sir. I don't normally do this, but... erm... have you got a moment to talk?"

Tim barely heard the footsteps approaching him, but he did notice when a stranger took a seat on the bench next to him where Hod had been just a short time before. Tim glanced at the man. He clearly wasn't a Nord. The accent was more... British, and he wore clothing that clearly spoke of someone with money. It confused Tim and immediately put him on guard. "I might," Tim responded cooly before feigning taking a sip from his mug.

The stranger smiled. "Marvelous. My name is Lucien Flavius. I'm a scientist, philosopher, amateur wizard, and something of a musician, though I supposed that's more of a hobby..."

Tim narrowed his brows as he stared hard at Lucien, silently willing him to please get to the point. 

Lucien appeared to get the hint. "Ah- I couldn't help overhearing that you are going to be making a trip up to the Bleak Falls Barrows in the morning."

"I might... What is it to you?"

"Well, as a matter of fact, I'm here in Skyrim on an expedition - academic mainly. I'm currently employed as a researcher for a new museum based out of Solitude. I was sent to this region on a few errands, and one of them is investigating those same Barrows. I'm to investigate the ruins and determine if they're of enough significant archaeological importance to fund a fully manned excavation into it.

"Alas, when I got here, I found out that in addition to the Barrow being crawling with Draugr, the outer area around the ruins has become the infested with bandits. 

"Trouble is, I'm really not much of a fighter. I know a few spells and can just about swing a sword, but beyond that I'm pretty useless in combat. Skyrim's no place for a... 'milk drinker' like me - not on my own anyway. So I'm looking for someone to travel with. 

"My original plan was to make my way to Whiterun in the morning and hire a mercenary to escort me through the Barrow, but since you're already heading that way, perhaps I could tag along with you instead? It would save me a couple of days of travel between here and Whiterun."

Tim began to shake his head. "It wouldn't be safe--"

"I will, of course, compensate you most handsomely for putting up with me."

"Really, Lucien, I don't think--"

"Would three hundred Septims up front be enough?"

Tim was so startled by the amount he couldn't mask his wide eyed look of surprise and his protest against Lucien seemed to be cut off at the knees. Sensing a crack in the young man's resolve, the scholar pushed forward, sweetening the pot even further as he pulled out a bag bulging with coin and set it on the table between them.

"Here. You can have this now. After that, I'll top you up every time we come across something useful to my research. This is all at your discretion, of course. No obligations, save that you take me with you, and assist in keeping me alive wherever possible."

He wanted to say no. Tim wanted to push the bag of coins away and encourage the scholar to go to Whiterun and hire a proper mercenary to keep him safe. It would be better for him that way. However...

"I suppose we have a deal," Tim finally relented with a sigh as he picked up the bag of coins and weighed it thoughtfully in his hand.

Lucien's face lit up. "Oh, splendid! This is going to be quite the adventure!"

  -------------------------

NOTE: Lucien Flavius is an original character Joseph Russell that can be downloaded and added to your Skyrim game as an immersive, fully voiced unique follower.

(https://www.nexusmods.com/skyrimspecialedition/mods/20035)

Normally, you would find him in the inn of a different town, but I've made some adjustments in this story so that Tim meets him w/out going there. In this story, Lucien is a scholar working for a special new museum based out of Solitude (https://www.nexusmods.com/skyrimspecialedition/mods/11802) and he's actually on the "relic hunter" initial storyline that comes if you use the "Alternate Start - Live Another Life" mod where your main character chooses to go to Solitude via ship and you have a life where you are a relic hunter invited by the museum's curator to Skyrim (https://www.nexusmods.com/skyrimspecialedition/mods/272).

#elder scrolls dc #tim drake #red robin #fanfiction #batfam #wip #crossover #skyrim fanfiction #spoiler warning: skyrim

[sweetrosetta-martin]

Beatle tag (cause why not ✌💗) 

I’m new to this fandom online, so what best way to present myself but doing this (plz don't kill me guys I come in peace).

 But I do have to give an special to @sgt-revolver cause thanks to their post I decided to do it. 

How long have you been a fan ?: About two years if I’m not wrong, but god it has been two intense ones. Long story short, this band never was part of my life (grew up in a different culture) until the day I was reading some fanfiction in AO3 and stumbled across one about them. I then found out they were the guys behind “Let it be” and “Here comes the sun” so I decided do dig even deeper..... (Now I’m here simping and crying to their music at 2am) 🙃

 Favorite Beatle: Used to be Paul (man got a charm) but when I better discovered George as a hole human being, and not only a Beatle, I went 💥. Tho, sometimes I do get frustrated with him and stay on John’s side cause he was lowkey relatable and a big bi-disaster mood. (I suddenly feel bad for Rings.... srry bro ) 

Favorite era for music: At the beginning I didn't like the mop top era and practically only listened from Help! to then end, but now I appreciate each period as a part of the band’s musical history and can’t help to fangirl to most songs. (Tho I’ll always have a soft spot for 1966)

Favorite era for lewks: Each Beatles had its own I think. Ringo as a teddy boy (he looks like the bad boy of your dreams), George in 65` (longer hair but not to long and just overlay hotness) and Paul/John in 66`. (The perfect balance between early and late looks)

Favorite song: Guess it depends on my mood, but it’s surely a tight between “Strawberry fields forever”, “Happiness is a warm gun”, “Lovely Rita” “While my guitar gently weeps”, “Don't bother me” and “Across the universe”. (This is such an unfair question xd)

Favorite album: Honestly I just can’t decide.. Its prob either “The Beatles (aka white album)”, “With the Beatles” or “Revolver” 

Unpopular/Controversial Beatles opinion: “Revolution 9″ is not an unlistenable song and has an actual artistic value. I mean, I don’t think is a song meant to be listened during a car ride, but I do think it encapsulates pretty well the chaotic and changing vibe of the late 60s. This song makes you feel unwell because it’s meant to. Despite that, I do believe it should not have been included on the album, but rather as a John/Yoko project. (Ik Geo had a input though)

A song everyone loves but you dislike: Never was the biggest fan of “Come together” or “With a little help from my friends”. They are not necessarily bad, but rather average for me

A song everyone dislikes but you love: “Run for your life”... I know the lyrics are quite nasty but its so catchy and I love George’s guitar in it. I also really like “Dizzy Miss Lizzy”, but I don’t know if it really is that unpopular among people

Your fantasy involving The Beatles: The PG one or the ??.. 

JK, but I would have love to meet them during their cavern/casbah days. Like about 1961, just to chat with them about rock n roll and even jam some songs. (Even if I’m not sure that I would love to do that as a girl or a guy). And I sincerely wish I could just have some deep conversations with George and John while we share a joint . I just wish I could have known them better... 

Tell us about the moment you knew you were a fan: When returning home after a long school day I decided to look after some live material (At the time I only knew like 4 songs). I put YouTube on my tv, and found “She loves you” . I was not the same girl after watching that video. If I could explain how I suddenly felt so much joy and excitement looking at them that I even started singing and dancing. The rest is history 😉

Did you ever have a genuine ‘The Beatles suck !’ phase before becoming a fan?: Because their music was not around me 24/7 growing up, I never got fed up with their music. For me almost everything was new and interesting, so I never had a hater phase 

Favorite Beatle’s book: Have not read any for the moment, but I’m dying to buy Cynthia’s and May’s books. (Also the autobiography “I me mine” by George) 

Thoughts on the old generation of fans: Even if the few experiences I’ve had with them have not been good, I know most of them are chill people. I also love some podcasts made by first or second gen fans. The only thing that I dislike, is the average boomer who will claim they know more than you cause they were alive at the time, even if the only song they know its “Hey Jude” . (Or those who treat John as a saint, and blame the hole break-up on Paul... smh)

If Hollywood were to make a high budget Beatles biopic, what is one thing you desperately hope they include?: I wish they wont do it (We already got enough movies), but if they do something, it would be better if it was a series and not a film. If it had to happen, they better not forget how young the guys really were and how they were actual people. I know they were ground-breaking in so many ways, but they were also human beings with many defaults and even a bit naïve in some aspects. If you only give me a wife-beater (nasty) John, delicate flower Paul, silent George and dumb Ringo, the cartoon series has done a better job than you. 

Do you read/write fanfic: One word.... Yes... *Hides her unfinished drafts*

Are you the only one in your family/friend group to enjoy them?: Sadly yes. I have to force my dad to play some Beatle music while driving cause most of the music he plays is raegetton, and even if I’m proud of my Latino roots.. I’ll do salsa or merengue anytime but not some Bad Bunny ok. 

Are you a shipper?:  Yup

Favorite movie starring/made by them?: Help!.. I mean I also love AHDN, but it’s just so funny to see them run around being high af as they play music despite Ringo being in mortal danger. (Also the visuals we get each song just give me such a MTV vibe. Its genuinely beautiful)

Do you believe in McLennon?: *smirks at the camera*

General opinions on McLennon?: Oh boy. The Lennon/McCartney relationship is one that seems out of my grandma telenovelas. From Paris to the breakup, their story is one of up and downs, but they never really stopped loving each other. Not even death could stop their link as Paul still dreams of him and thinks about John when composing songs. I understand that not everyone may be convinced that something really happened, but I think we all should be open to the possibility. 

If you got to change ONE thing about their history, what would be and why?: Brian’s death. The beginning of the end was the moment he passed away. With Brian the band would still have broke up (All things must pass, even the good ones), but it would have been less messed up. No Paul trying to take the lead a bit too much, Apple Corps probably being better handled and no Allen Klein messing up everything. (And probably no Yoko in the studio but that may be a bit of a stretch) 

What song has the best vocals?: As a group, “Because” it’s probably the one. Such a simple, yet perfectly well put vocals. The peak of their talent for harmonizing in my opinion. In another side “Oh Darling!” is prob Paul best and John’s voice in “This Boy” always get me

What song do you feel had no effort put into it?: Prob an unpopular opinion but “Eight Days a Week” is such a basic song. It’s not innovative, it just uses the formula, and I feel like around this time the guys were kind of tired and just fabricated the song to be a single. It simply not feels genuine, and for me it shows the biggest problem from the “Beatles for Sale” era. 

What is a well talked moment in Beatles history you genuinely believe to be false?: The way Yoko met John. The most known story is that they met each other at a Yoko art gallery, but many sources (such a Cynthia or Brian personal assistant) tell us a complete different truth. I do believe she knew the band, stalked John and force herself into his life, despite of the romantic tale she keeps repeating. 

What is something you KNOW to be true, but often gets erased in their history: John. So many things about John. Many see him as only a funny character and ignore so many cues that he was a man struggling with his own self esteem to the point of having eating disorders. Not forgetting his fluid sexuality, the fact that many think that as house husband all his problems went away or that he was a wife beater. John was more than the “Imagine” martyr or  monster so many people (even some fans) make out of him.

Least favorite look from a Beatle(s): Ringo in the Help! movie. Horrible mushroom hair 😂

Favorite look from a Beatle(s):  George Harrison in the “Hey Bulldog”/”Lady Madonna” videoclip. (I also want that cherry SG Standard so bad omg)

I really don’t know how many others have done it but here are my tags 

@rocknroll-imagines @moreofthatdrowse @cultofbeatle @joan-deserved-the-silver-hammer

Thanks a lot guys !! ❤✌🥦🐘🎵😎

#loved this #the beatles #beatles