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Ida Lupino (4 February 1918 – 3 August 1995) was an English-American actress, singer, director, and producer. She is widely regarded as the most prominent female filmmaker working in the 1950s during the Hollywood studio system. With her independent production company, she co-wrote and co-produced several social-message films and became the first woman to direct a film noir with The Hitch-Hiker in 1953. Among her other directed films the best known are Not Wanted about unwed pregnancy (she took over for a sick director and refused directorial credit), Never Fear (1949) loosely based upon her own experiences battling paralyzing polio, Outrage (1950) one of the first films about rape, The Bigamist (1953) (which was named in the book 1001 Movies You Must See Before You Die) and The Trouble with Angels (1966).

Throughout her 48-year career, she made acting appearances in 59 films and directed eight others, working primarily in the United States, where she became a citizen in 1948. As an actress her best known films are The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes (1939) with Basil Rathbone, They Drive by Night (1940) with George Raft and Humphrey Bogart, High Sierra (1941) with Bogart, The Sea Wolf (1941) with Edward G. Robinson and John Garfield, Ladies in Retirement (1941) with Louis Hayward, Moontide (1942) with Jean Gabin, The Hard Way (1943), Deep Valley (1947) with Dane Clark, Road House (1948) with Cornel Wilde and Richard Widmark, While the City Sleeps (1956) with Dana Andrews and Vincent Price. and Junior Bonner (1972) with Steve McQueen.

She also directed more than 100 episodes of television productions in a variety of genres including westerns, supernatural tales, situation comedies, murder mysteries, and gangster stories. She was the only woman to direct an episode of the original The Twilight Zone series ("The Masks"), as well as the only director to have starred in an episode of the show ("The Sixteen-Millimeter Shrine").

Lupino was born in Herne Hill, London, to actress Connie O'Shea (also known as Connie Emerald) and music hall comedian Stanley Lupino, a member of the theatrical Lupino family, which included Lupino Lane, a song-and-dance man. Her father, a top name in musical comedy in the UK and a member of a centuries-old theatrical dynasty dating back to Renaissance Italy, encouraged her to perform at an early age. He built a backyard theatre for Lupino and her sister Rita (1920–2016), who also became an actress and dancer. Lupino wrote her first play at age seven and toured with a travelling theatre company as a child. By the age of ten, Lupino had memorised the leading female roles in each of Shakespeare's plays. After her intense childhood training for stage plays, Ida's uncle Lupino Lane assisted her in moving towards film acting by getting her work as a background actress at British International Studios.

She wanted to be a writer, but in order to please her father, Lupino enrolled in the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art. She excelled in a number of "bad girl" film roles, often playing prostitutes. Lupino did not enjoy being an actress and felt uncomfortable with many of the early roles she was given. She felt that she was pushed into the profession due to her family history.

Lupino worked as both a stage and screen actress. She first took to the stage in 1934 as the lead in The Pursuit of Happiness at the Paramount Studio Theatre.[10] Lupino made her first film appearance in The Love Race (1931) and the following year, aged 14, she worked under director Allan Dwan in Her First Affaire, in a role for which her mother had previously tested.[11] She played leading roles in five British films in 1933 at Warner Bros.' Teddington studios and for Julius Hagen at Twickenham, including The Ghost Camera with John Mills and I Lived with You with Ivor Novello.

Dubbed "the English Jean Harlow", she was discovered by Paramount in the 1933 film Money for Speed, playing a good girl/bad girl dual role. Lupino claimed the talent scouts saw her play only the sweet girl in the film and not the part of the prostitute, so she was asked to try out for the lead role in Alice in Wonderland (1933). When she arrived in Hollywood, the Paramount producers did not know what to make of their sultry potential leading lady, but she did get a five-year contract.

Lupino starred in over a dozen films in the mid-1930s, working with Columbia in a two-film deal, one of which, The Light That Failed (1939), was a role she acquired after running into the director's office unannounced, demanding an audition. After this breakthrough performance as a spiteful cockney model who torments Ronald Colman, she began to be taken seriously as a dramatic actress. As a result, her parts improved during the 1940s, and she jokingly referred to herself as "the poor man's Bette Davis", taking the roles that Davis refused.

Mark Hellinger, associate producer at Warner Bros., was impressed by Lupino's performance in The Light That Failed, and hired her for the femme-fatale role in the Raoul Walsh-directed They Drive by Night (1940), opposite stars George Raft, Ann Sheridan and Humphrey Bogart. The film did well and the critical consensus was that Lupino stole the movie, particularly in her unhinged courtroom scene. Warner Bros. offered her a contract which she negotiated to include some freelance rights. She worked with Walsh and Bogart again in High Sierra (1941), where she impressed critic Bosley Crowther in her role as an "adoring moll".

Her performance in The Hard Way (1943) won the New York Film Critics Circle Award for Best Actress. She starred in Pillow to Post (1945), which was her only comedic leading role. After the drama Deep Valley (1947) finished shooting, neither Warner Bros. nor Lupino moved to renew her contract and she left the studio in 1947. Although in demand throughout the 1940s, she arguably never became a major star although she often had top billing in her pictures, above actors such as Humphrey Bogart, and was repeatedly critically lauded for her realistic, direct acting style.

She often incurred the ire of studio boss Jack Warner by objecting to her casting, refusing poorly written roles that she felt were beneath her dignity as an actress, and making script revisions deemed unacceptable by the studio. As a result, she spent a great deal of her time at Warner Bros. suspended. In 1942, she rejected an offer to star with Ronald Reagan in Kings Row, and was immediately put on suspension at the studio. Eventually, a tentative rapprochement was brokered, but her relationship with the studio remained strained. In 1947, Lupino left Warner Brothers and appeared for 20th Century Fox as a nightclub singer in the film noir Road House, performing her musical numbers in the film. She starred in On Dangerous Ground in 1951, and may have taken on some of the directing tasks of the film while director Nicholas Ray was ill.

While on suspension, Lupino had ample time to observe filming and editing processes, and she became interested in directing. She described how bored she was on set while "someone else seemed to be doing all the interesting work".

She and her husband Collier Young formed an independent company, The Filmakers, to produce, direct, and write low-budget, issue-oriented films. Her first directing job came unexpectedly in 1949 when director Elmer Clifton suffered a mild heart attack and was unable to finish Not Wanted, a film Lupino co-produced and co-wrote. Lupino stepped in to finish the film without taking directorial credit out of respect for Clifton. Although the film's subject of out-of-wedlock pregnancy was controversial, it received a vast amount of publicity, and she was invited to discuss the film with Eleanor Roosevelt on a national radio program.

Never Fear (1949), a film about polio (which she had personally experienced replete with paralysis at age 16), was her first director's credit. After producing four more films about social issues, including Outrage (1950), a film about rape (while this word is never used in the movie), Lupino directed her first hard-paced, all-male-cast film, The Hitch-Hiker (1953), making her the first woman to direct a film noir. The Filmakers went on to produce 12 feature films, six of which Lupino directed or co-directed, five of which she wrote or co-wrote, three of which she acted in, and one of which she co-produced.

Lupino once called herself a "bulldozer" to secure financing for her production company, but she referred to herself as "mother" while on set. On set, the back of her director's chair was labeled "Mother of Us All".[3] Her studio emphasized her femininity, often at the urging of Lupino herself. She credited her refusal to renew her contract with Warner Bros. under the pretenses of domesticity, claiming "I had decided that nothing lay ahead of me but the life of the neurotic star with no family and no home." She made a point to seem nonthreatening in a male-dominated environment, stating, "That's where being a man makes a great deal of difference. I don't suppose the men particularly care about leaving their wives and children. During the vacation period, the wife can always fly over and be with him. It's difficult for a wife to say to her husband, come sit on the set and watch."

Although directing became Lupino's passion, the drive for money kept her on camera, so she could acquire the funds to make her own productions. She became a wily low-budget filmmaker, reusing sets from other studio productions and talking her physician into appearing as a doctor in the delivery scene of Not Wanted. She used what is now called product placement, placing Coke, Cadillac, and other brands in her films, such as The Bigamist. She shot in public places to avoid set-rental costs and planned scenes in pre-production to avoid technical mistakes and retakes. She joked that if she had been the "poor man's Bette Davis" as an actress, she had now become the "poor man's Don Siegel" as a director.

The Filmakers production company closed shop in 1955, and Lupino turned almost immediately to television, directing episodes of more than thirty US TV series from 1956 through 1968. She also helmed a feature film in 1965 for the Catholic schoolgirl comedy The Trouble With Angels, starring Hayley Mills and Rosalind Russell; this was Lupino's last theatrical film as a director. She continued acting as well, going on to a successful television career throughout the 1960s and '70s.

Lupino's career as a director continued through 1968. Her directing efforts during these years were almost exclusively for television productions such as Alfred Hitchcock Presents, Thriller, The Twilight Zone, Have Gun – Will Travel, Honey West, The Donna Reed Show, Gilligan's Island, 77 Sunset Strip, The Rifleman, The Virginian, Sam Benedict, The Untouchables, Hong Kong, The Fugitive, and Bewitched.

After the demise of The Filmakers, Lupino continued working as an actress until the end of the 1970s, mainly in television. Lupino appeared in 19 episodes of Four Star Playhouse from 1952 to 1956, an endeavor involving partners Charles Boyer, Dick Powell and David Niven. From January 1957 to September 1958, Lupino starred with her then-husband Howard Duff in the sitcom Mr. Adams and Eve, in which the duo played husband-and-wife film stars named Howard Adams and Eve Drake, living in Beverly Hills, California.[22] Duff and Lupino also co-starred as themselves in 1959 in one of the 13 one-hour installments of The Lucy–Desi Comedy Hour and an episode of The Dinah Shore Chevy Show in 1960. Lupino guest-starred in numerous television shows, including The Ford Television Theatre (1954), Bonanza (1959), Burke's Law (1963–64), The Virginian (1963–65), Batman (1968), The Mod Squad (1969), Family Affair (1969–70), The Wild, Wild West (1969), Nanny and the Professor (1971), Columbo: Short Fuse (1972), Columbo: Swan Song (1974) in which she plays Johnny Cash's character's zealous wife, Barnaby Jones (1974), The Streets of San Francisco, Ellery Queen (1975), Police Woman (1975), and Charlie's Angels (1977). Her final acting appearance was in the 1979 film My Boys Are Good Boys.

Lupino has two distinctions with The Twilight Zone series, as the only woman to have directed an episode ("The Masks") and the only person to have worked as both actor for one episode ("The Sixteen-Millimeter Shrine"), and director for another.

Lupino's Filmakers movies deal with unconventional and controversial subject matter that studio producers would not touch, including out-of-wedlock pregnancy, bigamy, and rape. She described her independent work as "films that had social significance and yet were entertainment ... base on true stories, things the public could understand because they had happened or been of news value." She focused on women's issues for many of her films and she liked strong characters, "[Not] women who have masculine qualities about them, but [a role] that has intestinal fortitude, some guts to it."

In the film The Bigamist, the two women characters represent the career woman and the homemaker. The title character is married to a woman (Joan Fontaine) who, unable to have children, has devoted her energy to her career. While on one of many business trips, he meets a waitress (Lupino) with whom he has a child, and then marries her.[25] Marsha Orgeron, in her book Hollywood Ambitions, describes these characters as "struggling to figure out their place in environments that mirror the social constraints that Lupino faced".[13] However, Donati, in his biography of Lupino, said "The solutions to the character's problems within the films were often conventional, even conservative, more reinforcing the 1950s' ideology than undercutting it."

Ahead of her time within the studio system, Lupino was intent on creating films that were rooted in reality. On Never Fear, Lupino said, "People are tired of having the wool pulled over their eyes. They pay out good money for their theatre tickets and they want something in return. They want realism. And you can't be realistic with the same glamorous mugs on the screen all the time."

Lupino's films are critical of many traditional social institutions, which reflect her contempt for the patriarchal structure that existed in Hollywood. Lupino rejected the commodification of female stars and as an actress, she resisted becoming an object of desire. She said in 1949, "Hollywood careers are perishable commodities", and sought to avoid such a fate for herself.

Ida Lupino was diagnosed with polio in 1934. The New York Times reported that the outbreak of polio within the Hollywood community was due to contaminated swimming pools. The disease severely affected her ability to work, and her contract with Paramount fell apart shortly after her diagnosis. Lupino recovered and eventually directed, produced, and wrote many films, including a film loosely based upon her travails with polio titled Never Fear in 1949, the first film that she was credited for directing (she had earlier stepped in for an ill director on Not Wanted and refused directorial credit out of respect for her colleague). Her experience with the disease gave Lupino the courage to focus on her intellectual abilities over simply her physical appearance. In an interview with Hollywood, Lupino said, "I realized that my life and my courage and my hopes did not lie in my body. If that body was paralyzed, my brain could still work industriously...If I weren't able to act, I would be able to write. Even if I weren't able to use a pencil or typewriter, I could dictate."[31] Film magazines from the 1930s and 1940s, such as The Hollywood Reporter and Motion Picture Daily, frequently published updates on her condition. Lupino worked for various non-profit organizations to help raise funds for polio research.

Lupino's interests outside the entertainment industry included writing short stories and children's books, and composing music. Her composition "Aladdin's Suite" was performed by the Los Angeles Philharmonic Orchestra in 1937. She composed this piece while on bedrest due to polio in 1935.

She became an American citizen in June 1948 and a staunch Democrat who supported the presidency of John F. Kennedy. Lupino was Catholic.

Lupino died from a stroke while undergoing treatment for colon cancer in Los Angeles on 3 August 1995, at the age of 77. Her memoirs, Ida Lupino: Beyond the Camera, were edited after her death and published by Mary Ann Anderson.

Lupino learned filmmaking from everyone she observed on set, including William Ziegler, the cameraman for Not Wanted. When in preproduction on Never Fear, she conferred with Michael Gordon on directorial technique, organization, and plotting. Cinematographer Archie Stout said of Ms. Lupino, "Ida has more knowledge of camera angles and lenses than any director I've ever worked with, with the exception of Victor Fleming. She knows how a woman looks on the screen and what light that woman should have, probably better than I do." Lupino also worked with editor Stanford Tischler, who said of her, "She wasn't the kind of director who would shoot something, then hope any flaws could be fixed in the cutting room. The acting was always there, to her credit."

Author Ally Acker compares Lupino to pioneering silent-film director Lois Weber for their focus on controversial, socially relevant topics. With their ambiguous endings, Lupino's films never offered simple solutions for her troubled characters, and Acker finds parallels to her storytelling style in the work of the modern European "New Wave" directors, such as Margarethe von Trotta.

Ronnie Scheib, who issued a Kino release of three of Lupino's films, likens Lupino's themes and directorial style to directors Nicholas Ray, Sam Fuller, and Robert Aldrich, saying, "Lupino very much belongs to that generation of modernist filmmakers." On whether Lupino should be considered a feminist filmmaker, Scheib states, "I don't think Lupino was concerned with showing strong people, men or women. She often said that she was interested in lost, bewildered people, and I think she was talking about the postwar trauma of people who couldn't go home again."

Author Richard Koszarski noted Lupino's choice to play with gender roles regarding women's film stereotypes during the studio era: "Her films display the obsessions and consistencies of a true auteur... In her films The Bigamist and The Hitch-Hiker, Lupino was able to reduce the male to the same sort of dangerous, irrational force that women represented in most male-directed examples of Hollywood film noir."

Lupino did not openly consider herself a feminist, saying, "I had to do something to fill up my time between contracts. Keeping a feminine approach is vital — men hate bossy females ... Often I pretended to a cameraman to know less than I did. That way I got more cooperation." Village Voice writer Carrie Rickey, though, holds Lupino up as a model of modern feminist filmmaking: "Not only did Lupino take control of production, direction, and screenplay, but [also] each of her movies addresses the brutal repercussions of sexuality, independence and dependence."

By 1972, Lupino said she wished more women were hired as directors and producers in Hollywood, noting that only very powerful actresses or writers had the chance to work in the field. She directed or costarred a number of times with young, fellow British actresses on a similar journey of developing their American film careers like Hayley Mills and Pamela Franklin.

Actress Bea Arthur, best remembered for her work in Maude and The Golden Girls, was motivated to escape her stifling hometown by following in Lupino's footsteps and becoming an actress, saying, "My dream was to become a very small blonde movie star like Ida Lupino and those other women I saw up there on the screen during the Depression."

Lupino has two stars on the Hollywood Walk of Fame for contributions to the fields of television and film — located at 1724 Vine Street and 6821 Hollywood Boulevard.

New York Film Critics Circle Award - Best Actress, The Hard Way, 1943

Inaugural Saturn Award - Best Supporting Actress, The Devil's Rain, 1975

A Commemorative Blue Plaque is dedicated to Lupino and her father Stanley Lupino by The Music Hall Guild of Great Britain and America and the Theatre and Film Guild of Great Britain and America at the house where she was born in Herne Hill, London, 16 February 2016

Composer Carla Bley paid tribute to Lupino with her jazz composition "Ida Lupino" in 1964.

The Hitch-Hiker was inducted into the National Film Registry in 1998 while Outrage was inducted in 2020.

#ida lupino #classic hollywood #classic movie stars #golden age of hollywood #old hollywood #1930s hollywood #1940s hollywood #1950s hollywood #1960s hollywood #1970s hollywood #hollywood legend

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cassava-49 · 3 years

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Death 5

Part 1/ Part 2/ Part 3/ Part 4/ Part 6/ Part 7

"G-guys," Allegra called as she pointed at the figure from afar. "Is that what I think it is?" she asked worriedly. This made them all go to the windows as Felix's eyes widened in shock. "That's a Geryon," he said in a breathy voice. "A what?" Kenya asked not understanding what he meant. "Look at the structure, it has humongous feathery bat like wings and scorpion's tail. I have only seen pictures of it depicted in the Divine Comedy, but I never imagined Hawkmoth giving someone such abilities to do so," he explained. Marinette, however, was shell shocked as she recognized its rider. "Lila," she said in a hushed tone as she began backing away. Noticing her reaction, Felix knew who the intended target was.

"Everyone, we need to do something," Felix said getting their attention. "What do you mean?" Lindalee asked in concern. "The villain's target is Marinette, and from the looks of it, she wants her dead. We need to protect her," he continued as he took Marinette's trembling hand in his trying to calm her down. "No, it's not only me," Marinette said in a low voice. "From the looks of it, she'll kill anyone in her path. We need to protect everyone in this hospital," she stated in a more powerful voice. "Alright, what do we do?" Claude asked with all seriousness, willing to protect his friend from such fiend.

...

"Stupid Grim," Allan mumbled to himself as he continued destroying the tree in front of him. "Why couldn't you take me away! I want to go home! I want to live in peace already, damn it!" he continued shouting. "What am I going to wait for? When Earth becomes hell?" he sarcastically asked as the ground shook. He then saw a shadow loom over him and the tree. He slowly turned to find three slobbering heads of a vicious dog with an undefinable breed looking at him with hunger in its eyes.

He immediately jumped onto its heads to avoid their jaws as he narrowly escaped. For some reason Cerberus could see him, and it could've bit him. He could feel it's warm breath, which was strange given that he's dead. "What the hell?" he asked to himself as he jumped onto the top of the nearest building to observe what was happening to Paris. It seemed as if hell needed more space and transferred some of its residents to France. To his right he could see that the colour of the Seine turned to blood, with Charon was cruising with some petrified people, while centaurs were at the banks, prepared to shoot anyone who wishes to escape. To his left he could see the akumatized victim stalking it's prey.

"You can't hide from me forever Alya!" the akumatized victim cried. He looked at her and observed. "Come on out. I'd hate for you to be the last, that's Marinette's place," she continued. "There you are," she stated as she made Alecto lift the car that was blocking her vision. "Lady Luck and Monsieur Noir will stop you," Alya declared as she said her punishment. This made Castigare cackle saying, "Oh, I doubt that Alya. No one can, Kim or should I call Monkey King, and Alix are currently having a blood bath battle for their wrathful attitudes. Rose, Juleka, Nathanael and Marc are enjoying their rain fire for being homosexuals. And Max, poor Pegasus, he lost Markov and is currently burning in his tomb. Mylène and Ivan on the other hand, such pure souls, yet were gullible nonetheless to chase sinful opportunities, they're currently experiencing a blind race over an every shifting flag on a ground of maggots," Castigare informed with a sinister grin. This made Alya's eyes prick with tears as she awaited her punishment. "But for Marinette, oh she'll suffer. After my furies tear her limb from limb mercilessly. And her screams are silent, for she is asleep, for now," she added menacingly.

This caught his attention, Marinette? Why would she want Marinette? Unless, he thought realising who this girl was. "Lila Rossi," he muttered under his breath as he made his way into François Dupont to find Lady Luck and Monsieur Noir struggling to keep the she-wolf at bay.

The two continued to fight off the three beasts forgetting the easiest escape, taking a different route. Allan sighed at their attempts to fend them off. Given that these creatures can see the dead, he might as well distract them to give the two an escape to save his friends. He picked up a discarded book and threw it their way. This caught the beasts' attention as the three of them began to corner him. He stood his ground as he watched Lady Luck and Monsieur Noir escape to hunt Castigare down. He smirked as he said, "Well then, let's see if your dead bodies could make a difference."

...

Allegra and Marinette stood inside her room, carefully monitoring her body to make sure no creature would enter. Lindalee and Kenya were monitoring the hallways near Marinette's room, given that they're the second most skillful comatose ghosts in their group. Felix and Claude, on the other hand, were in the frontlines, waiting for the villain's arrival.

"I'm sorry," Marinette blurted out. Allegra immediately rushed to her and engulfed her in a hug. "There's nothing to be sorry about," Allegra assured. "But because of my vulnerable body, it's making all of you worked up in protecting me," Marinette said guilty. "Well, we can't help it can we. It's natural to not want help from those around you, thinking that it makes us feel like more of a nuisance. But we are doing this because we want to keep you safe, because we know that you would do the same for us. You're our friend, we're not going to let anyone harm you. Chin up, darling, everything will be alright. Don't freight," Allegra soothed.

"This would be a lot easier if Allan were here," Claude commented as they watched Lila get closer. "Well, he's never at the right place at the right time," Felix answered. "Let's just make sure that there wouldn't be any casualties. There are a lot of vulnerable people in hospitals," Claude mentioned. "Yeah, we just slow her down until the heroes arrive," Felix replied. With that Castigare jumped off Geryon and waltzed into the entrance.

The nurses gave her an annoyed look as she shouted, "Which room is Marinette Dupain?" The security guard immediately tried to remove her from the building, only to have his actions in vain as Castigare summoned her furies and pointed them to him. This meant for them to take action as they took him away. Castigare approached the front desk to ask the nurse again, the drawers began to vibrate making everyone to look around. The first thing that they used were the vials. Using their enhanced speed, Claude began throwing the glad from different directions. Felix took a couple of surgical needles and aimed it at her, with one was full of general anesthesia.

"What is happening?" Castigare asked as she was being attacked by office and medical supply. "Is this a new miraculous?" she began to ponder aloud. She clenched her teeth, she didn't have time for this. She immediately summoned her Cerberus to find Marinette.

The three headed dog complied and barged into the hospital and began looking for Marinette's room. Upon nearing the hallway to her room, Kenya and Lindalee immediately destroyed the floors, making sure no one was at the floor below them. This did not stop Cerberus though, as he began to fall, he was able to snatch onto Kenya's shirt. It's claws digging deep into her skin, piercing it to the rib cage and damaging her lungs causing the young girl to release an ear piercing scream. "Kenya!" Lindalee shouted as she tried to grab her friend.

Their wandering souls are a lot like Voodoo dolls, any damage they get may affect their actual bodies. Right now, Kenya's body is not receiving enough oxygen. Her heart began to speed up rapidly, causing the nurses and doctors to panic as they try to revive her. Kenya's soul, however, was slowly feeling lighter and lighter. Lindalee jumped down as she tried to look for her friend beneath the debris. "Kenya! Kenya!" she continued to call out. Once she got to one of its paws, she immediately raised it to find Kenya there. She's not bleeding, since she's a ghost, but she was slowly fading. There may be two meanings, either she's waking up or, she's dying. Lindalee placed both her hands on her mouth in shock.

"Did you hear that?" Marinette asked. Allegra nodded as she opened the door to find the destroyed hallway. "Where are Lindalee and Kenya?" Allegra pondered out loud. "Allegra," cried a voice from below. "Lindalee? Where are you?" she asked with concern. "Down here, help me, no, help Kenya, please," Lindalee pleaded, her voice getting softer. "Marinette, I think they're in trouble. I'll be right back," Allegra said as Marinette nodded. "Go, I'll be fine. Keep them safe," Marinette answered.

Once Allegra left, Marinette felt another pit of guilt in her stomach. Please be safe, please be safe, she chanted to herself. Hoping that all her friends were alright. She looked at her body, she looked at peace, her breathing was normal so was her heart rate. She looked out of the window and saw that the blue sky turned into a blood red shade as monsters polluted the sky. People were given different sufferings depending on their heaviest sin. She could see limbo, lust, gluttony, greed, anger, heresy, violence and fraud. Paris turned into a living hell and Lila's destroying it all.

...

"Cerberus?" Castigare tried to call out as she began dodging all the things that came her way. "Damnit, where are you?" she tried again. Realising that the dog will not be coming anytime soon signified that it has failed her. "Geryon," she shouted as the monster came crashing through, protecting her from all the destruction coming her way. With that, she allowed it to block the passage as she stalked her way to Marinette's room.

"She's heading their way," Claude called. "I've got it, don't worry," Allan said as he entered. This made the trip boys smile at their friend's arrival. "What? You didn't think that is let you guys have all the fun. This could be a better way at venting, no holding back," Allan joked as he cracked his knuckles. "Go crazy," Claude supported. "We'll be outside her room to make sure nothing goes that way," Felix said as they nodded at each other and began.

"Hey, ugly!" Allan tautened as Geryon turned to face him. "What are you doing!" Castigare scolded. "There's no one there! Let's get a move on!" she raged as she tried to steer him to Marinette's room. "I see you can't resist the souls of the dead," Allan continued. "Why are you still here? Have you not found your way to the afterlife?" Geryon asked seriously. "Well, let's just say that some souls aren't meant to cross, yet," he answered casually. "Come along, I will take you King Minos for your judgement," Geryon ordered. "Wait, wait, who said that I'm meant for hell," Allan replied. "Knock it off!" Castigare demanded as she smacked it's head with her sceptre to behave. Being a demon, he shook her off as he began chasing Allan around for his judgement saying, "All souls must cross over. No soul must be left wandering the world of the living!" Allan laughed as they began the chase and continued taunting him, "Not this soul. You have to be quicker if you want to catch me."

"Come back you useless monster!" Castigare shouted, feeling slightly embarrassed by being thrown off. "Listen Castigare, you're no longer holding your end of the bargain. Hand me the miraculouses or else I'll take your power away," Hawkmoth reminded. "Shut up, Hawkmoth. You will need me so by taking my akuma away you'll lose your closest ally," Castigare threatened back. This earned an evil laugh from Hawkmoth. "Oh, really now. Don't think that your irreplaceable my dear. If I recall correctly, even if I take your akuma away there's still a chance that you will be deported and your parents will know about everything. You would be trialed for terrorism, even though your a minor, you willingly allowed yourself to get akumatized multiple times. I can even vouch on that, don't forget hospitals have cameras. Don't think that I don't know about what you had don't to your victim, Marinette Dupain-Cheng," he slapped the truth in her face menacingly. This made her grit her teeth at the truth that Hawkmoth slapped in her face. "Shut up! Shut up!" she cried out as she held her head trying to block him out. "Never bite the hand that feeds you," he mumbled to both of them as he began threatening the removal of her powers, but unlike Evillustrator, this one's more painful. This made her screech in pain as she felt her whole body on fire. "Alright, alright, I'll get the miraculouses," she conceded. "Good girl, now you'll hold up your end of the deal. Use your new found powers for both yours and my desire," he said as he stopped her suffering.

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thenightling · 4 years

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Horror movie Tag Game

I got this survey from another page and copied and pasted it.

Favorite: This changes based on my mood. I’ll list ten right now. The order and titles are subject to change on my whim. Trick r Treat, Fright Night (1985) Fright Night: Part 2 (1988) Dracula (1979), Frankenstein (2004 version starring Luke Goss, not the other 2004 version), The Company of Wolves. The Raven (1963) Sleepy Hollow (1999) Crimson Peak Faust (1926)

Least favorite: Low budget: Bonnie and Clyde vs. Dracula. Mainstream: Frailty.

Scene(s) that scared you the most:

The first time I saw Lestat come back from the swamp in Interview with the vampire it made me jump even though I knew it was coming. When Louis hears the doorbell and thinks it’s the carriage. I knew it was not the carriage and when no one was there I knew the jump scare was coming, but I somehow still jumped.

While watching a documentary about Dracula on the History Channel many years ago they talked about how at the real castle Dracula (Poenari castle, not Bran) some priests were sent up to bless the place since the locals heard strange noises and claimed to see lights up there. But as the priests neared the castle a storm broke out so they had to do the blessing from a distance and I remember thinking “Conjuring storms is supposed to be one of the vampire Dracula’s powers.” and as I was thinking this, that’s when the door creaked open and I practically jumped out of my skin.

While watching Let the Right One In it was at the scene where Eli was climbing up the side of the hospital and I remember thinking “Ah, this isn’t so scary.” but then the power went out, and it just happened to be snowing heavily out side and it was the middle of the night so for a split second I thought “Oh, crap. Child vampire is coming for me!” I don’t really count gross-out as scary but I always used to have to look away at the face ripping scene in Night Breed.

When I was little I had a major fear of skeletons so anything with skeletons in it used to scare me when I was little, like that pool scene in Poltergeist. I once had a 1941 Wolf Man inspired Nightmare where I dreamt I woke up after having slaughtered people I care about as a werewolf. I couldn’t remember doing it but I knew I had done it and I remember the guilt I felt in the dream. Scene(s) that made you laugh hardest: I know it’s not really horror but the scene in Ghostbusters 2 when The Titanic comes to dock. “Well, better late than never...” Best soundtrack: Anything by Danny Elfman. Best plot twist: My favorite horror plot twist is actually from a TV show but my favorite plot twist is in Penny Dreadful when after you get used to the cliche, simple minded, child-like Frankenstein Monster with the shaved head suddenly the real Frankenstein Monster, based on the literary version with the long black hair and yellow eyes, turns up and rips apart the zeitgeist version. “Your first born has returned, Father.”

Legend of Hell House. I started watching Legend of Hell House because Roddy McDowell was in it. Roddy’s character was such a cliche sort of character to die in those sort of Haunted House movies. He had survived it before. He was timid. He was meek. He wore glasses. He was withdrawn. He was practically a check list of “dead character walking” but instead he became the hero. It was a pleasant surprise. Best directed: Anything by Guillermo del Toro.

Most unique characters: Human: Peter Vincent in Fright Night (1985). A loving homage to both Peter Cushing and Vincent Price you get to see the has-been actor evolve and grow into the hero he always pretended to be. Peter Vincent is the first character I can think of who fits this description. Non-human: Possibly the faun in Pan’s Labyrinth. Most underrated: The Company of Wolves.

Most stress-inducing: Pretty much every suspense thriller made by USA network or Lifetime. They got very frustrating.

Most overrated: Most H. P. Lovecraft related things.

Favorite to rewatch: Depends on my mood. See the top 10 list at the top.

Funniest: Gremlins 2.

Greatest inspiration: Really tough call. At the moment I’ll say Tales of Terror since that was inspired by the works of Edgar Allan Poe and who hasn’t been inspired by Poe in some level?

Guilty pleasure: If it brings you pleasure it should never make you guilty. However... Films that I know to be bad but I watch anyway and like incude I, Frankenstein, Van Helsing, and League of Extraordinary Gentlemen. I, Frankenstein is at the top of this list.

Fell asleep watching: Lust for a vampire. Somehow that film was very boring.

Deserves a sequel: The original Fright Night franchise (not remake.)

Coolest makeup: American werewolf in London, and pretty much anything Doug Jones has been made to wear by Guillermo del Toro.

Prohibited to watch growing up: My mother never forbid anything.

Left the biggest impression: Bram Stoker’s Dracula. What 90s Goth teen wasn’t inspired, at least, somewhat, by this?

Tagging: @sorry-for-the-chocolate @endlessemptynight @lamb90 @treebrooke79 @thesaramonster @unnecessaryhorns @mrgoldsshopofhorrors @jr4cats @winterbirdybuddy @a-m-automaton @kaimaciel @drawing-down-th3-moon @good-times-bad-food @sunagirl @everthewildeone @syra-syara @theartofthecover @artwinsdraws @girl-with-cat-eyes @mentallydisturbedllama221b @thegreatvampirekiller @theimpossiblescheme @iknowwheremytowelis

If there’s anyone who wants to do this who I forgot to tag, by all means, feel free to do it.

Note: If you want to do this but feel unqualified because you don’t know enough horror, feel free to use Supernatural / Gothic fantasy / even PG spooky kid friendly Halloween films. You don’t have to do the survey if you don’t want to but know I am laid back on the criteria of what counts as horror.

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astrogeoguy · 5 years

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The Evening Moon Meets Mars, Bright Pre-dawn Planets, and Sirius Spikes the Football

(Above: Yesterday’s partial solar eclipse was visible in China. The same geometry will set up a total lunar eclipse for North America in two weeks on January 20-21.)

Happy 2019, Stargazers!

Here are your Astronomy Skylights for the week of January 6th, 2019 by Chris Vaughan. Feel free to pass this along to your friends and send me your comments, questions, and suggested topics. I repost these emails with photos at http://astrogeoguy.tumblr.com/ where all the old editions are archived. You can also follow me on Twitter as @astrogeoguy! Unless otherwise noted, all times are Eastern Time. Please click this MailChimp link to subscribe to these emails. If you are a teacher or group leader interested joining me on a guided field trip to York University’s Allan I. Carswell Observatory or the David Dunlap Observatory, visit www.astrogeo.ca.

I can bring my Digital Starlab inflatable planetarium to your school or other daytime or evening event, visit DiscoveryPlanitarium.com and request me. We’ll tour the Universe together!

Public Astro-Events

Taking advantage of dark moonless evening skies this week, astronomers with the RASC Toronto Centre will gather for dark sky stargazing at Long Sault Conservation Area, northeast of Oshawa on (only) the first clear evening (Monday to Thursday) this week. You don’t need to be a RASC member, or own any equipment, to join them. Check here for details and watch the banner on their homepage or their Facebook page for the GO or NO-GO decision around 5 pm each day.

Every Monday evening, York University’s Allan I. Carswell Observatory runs an online star party - broadcasting views from four telescopes/cameras, answering viewer questions, and taking requests! Details are here. On Wednesday nights they offer free public viewing through their rooftop telescopes. If it’s cloudy, the astronomers give tours and presentations. Details are here.

At 7:30 pm on Friday evening, January 11 the public are invited to attend a free presentation at the Hamilton Spectator. The speaker is Dan Falk, author and science journalist, presenting on The Science of Shakespeare. Details are here.

New for 2019, RASC Toronto Centre is partnering with the Ontario Science Centre to offer free public stargazing on the Teluscape, on a regular basis. The first event is scheduled for Saturday, January 12 from 6 to 8 pm, weather permitting.

On Saturday, January 12, starting at 7 pm, U of T’s AstroTour will present their free planetarium show entitled Grand Tour of the Cosmos. Details are here.

Sirius and the Winter Football!

If you’ve been out under clear skies lately, you can’t have missed the sprinkling of incredibly bright and colourful stars in the eastern evening sky. Some of the brightest stars form a huge six-sided star pattern (or asterism) called the Winter Hexagon (or Football, for NFL fans).

(Above: The Winter Hexagon, or Football, is made from the bright stars of the winter constellations. Sirius, at bottom, is visible after 8 pm. This asterism is in the night sky until mid-April annually. Some prefer to connect Betelgeuse to Rigel, producing a capital letter G.)

By 8 pm local time, all of the stars that we’ll need to make the asterism are visible. The very bright, white star hugging the southeastern horizon is Sirius, nicknamed the Dog Star, in the constellation of Canis Major (the Big Dog). After our Sun, Sirius is the brightest star in all the sky. It is not only about 25 times more luminous than our Sun, but is also only a mere 8.6 light-years away! On top of that, it is actually heading towards us, and will brighten over the next millennia!

Sirius is famous for exhibiting flashes of intense colour as it twinkles. This is due to combining its brightness with the extra blanket of air it must shine though when it is low in the sky. The ancient Egyptians linked their calendar to the arrival of Sirius in the pre-dawn sky because it signaled the onset of the Nile floods around the beginning of summer. In China, Sirius is called Tiān Láng天狼, aka “the Celestial Wolf”. Many First Nations cultures saw a dog’s shape in Canis Major’s stars and called Sirius the Moon Dog Star (Inuit), the Wolf Star (Pawnee), and the Coyote Star.

Moving counter-clockwise, above and to the right of Sirius is the bright, bluish star Rigel, marking the foot of Orion (the Hunter). The constellation of Canis Major is very obviously a dog shape - with the head upwards, tail to the lower left, and feet to the west (right). Can you see the dim stars of the constellation Lepus (the Rabbit) below Orion? The big dog is chasing it!

Almost three fist diameters (26°) above Rigel is the orange star Aldebaran in the constellation of Taurus (the Bull). Aldebaran is an old red-giant star more that forty times the diameter of our sun.

Three fist diameters to the upper left of Aldebaran sits the bright yellow star Capella, the Goat Star, in the constellation of Auriga (the Charioteer). The form of Auriga is more or less a ring of medium bright stars with Capella at the top as the “diamond”. Moving three fist diameters down and to the left of Capella we encounter a pair of bright stars - the twins Castor (upper) and Pollux (lower) in the zodiac constellation of Gemini. The bodies of the twins extend sideways towards Orion.

Finally, look about midway between the twins in Gemini and Sirius for the bright blue-white star Procyon in Canis Minor (the Little Dog). At only 11 light-years away, it’s practically in our neighbourhood, too! Unlike his big brother, the constellation Canis Minor has only two significant stars. A dim, but visible star named Gomeisa sits four finger widths above Procyon.

The surface temperature of stars varies depending on their size, composition, and age, and this affects what colour we see them as. Our sun is a yellow star burning at about 5,500 degrees Celsius. Orange and red stars’ surfaces are cooler, with Aldebaran estimated to be at 3,600 degrees. White and blue stars are hotter. Sirius’ temperature is estimated to be nearly 10,000 degrees! One thing they all have in common – the cores inside the stars are at temperatures of millions of degrees! This is where the nuclear fusion that makes them shine is happening.

We can turn our football into a capital letter “G” by connecting Rigel to the bright, reddish star Betelgeuse (“beetle juice”), which marks the eastern shoulder of Orion. This star is a true giant – believed to be more than 600 times the size of the sun! It’s also nearing the end of its days – when it will explode as a tremendous supernova; but we’re in no danger when it does. Notice that Betelgeuse is not quite as strongly coloured as Aldebaran.

The Winter Hexagon is visible on the same dates and times every year, and will remain in view until about mid-April. The Winter Milky Way rises up through it – and the moon and planets wander through those stars as they travel along the Ecliptic. Next week, the nearly full moon will cross directly through the hexagon.

The Moon and Planets

This is the week of the lunar month for lunatics! Tonight (Sunday) the moon will return to appear in the western evening sky only hours after its new moon phase and a partial solar eclipse in China. If you have an open vista, you should be able spot the moon’s extremely thin crescent low over the western horizon after sunset. Binoculars will help, but make sure that the sun has completely disappeared from view before using them. By the way, the geometry that set up the partial solar eclipse by the new moon will generate a total lunar eclipse of the full moon for us in two weeks!

Because the moon is steadily travelling eastward in its orbit and setting about an hour later each evening, its slim crescent will be easier to see in a darker sky on Monday evening and beyond. On Tuesday evening, the moon will pass only a finger’s width to the upper right of the large asteroid Vesta, which is within reach of binoculars and small telescopes.

(Above: The pre-dawn sky features Jupiter and Venus, as shown here at 7 am local time. Venus is currently at its widest angle from the sun. Over the next two weeks, Venus will drop to pass close to Jupiter.)

For the rest of the week, the moon will traverse the dim water constellations of Aquarius (the Water-Bearer), Pisces (the Fishes), and Cetus (the Whale) while waxing towards its First Quarter phase after midnight next Sunday night. The previous night (Saturday), the nearly half-illuminated moon will pass less than a palm’s width to the lower left of bright, reddish Mars. By the time the duo sets at about 11:30 pm local time, the sky’s rotation will carry the moon higher and to the planet’s left.

Both Saturn and Mercury are too close to the sun to be seen this week, but Saturn will soon join the other two bright morning planets, Jupiter and Venus. This week, Venus will rise shortly after 4 am local time and remain visible in the southeastern morning sky until sunrise. Today, our brilliant sister planet has reached its greatest separation (or elongation, to use the astronomical term for it) of 47 degrees west of the sun for its current morning appearance. In a telescope, Venus will show a half-illuminated disk.

Very bright Jupiter will be rising soon after 5 am local time this week. Even though the big planet is moving eastward in its orbit, Earth’s motion around the sun will carry Jupiter higher and away from the sun. Meanwhile, Venus will now be swinging back towards the sun, so the two planets will “kiss” in two weeks. And amorous Venus will pass even closer to Saturn in mid-February!

(Above: On January 12, the waxing moon will land 6 degrees to the lower left of Mars, as shown here at 8:15 pm EST. The ice giant planets Uranus in Pisces and Neptune in Aquarius are also visible during evenings.)

Medium-bright and red-tinted Mars will continue to shine in the south-southwestern evening sky this week, although it is gradually shrinking in size and brightness as we pull farther from it. This week, the Red Planet will appear halfway up the early evening sky, and then drop into the west at 11:30 pm local time. This week, Mars will sit a fist’s width to the left of the westerly circlet of stars that form one of the fishes of Pisces (the Fishes). That ring of modest stars is about 4 finger widths across. The star that is closest to Mars, designated 19 Piscium, is a very red star, obvious when you compare it to the others in the ring. This type of star is called a carbon star because it is elderly, and is fusing carbon in its core.

This week after dusk, dim, blue Neptune will be one third of the way up the southwestern sky. The planet will set shortly before 10 pm local time, so look at it before about 8 pm, while it’s higher. Use binoculars or a telescope and look for Neptune sitting about two finger widths to the upper left of the modestly bright star Hydor (Lambda Aquarii), where it’s been for quite some time - outer planets move slowly! Hydor, and a pair of stars to its left, form a sideways narrow triangle with Neptune inside of it.

(Above: The path of Uranus in red shows how it is reversing direction and resuming regular eastward motion (towards the left) after January 6, 2019)

Blue-green Uranus (“YOU-ran-us”) is in the southern evening sky and will set at about 1:45 am local time. You can see Uranus without optical aid under very dark skies, but binoculars and telescopes make it relatively easy. Uranus is about 1.5 finger widths above, and slightly to the left of the modestly bright star Torcular (or Omega Piscium). That star sits a generous palm’s width above the “V” where the two starry cords of Pisces (the Fishes) meet. This week, Uranus will be at its highest point, over the southern horizon, at about 7 pm local time – the best position for seeing it clearly. Due to Earth’s faster orbit, since early August Uranus has been moving westward retrograde, compared to the distant background stars. After tonight, the planet will resume its usual eastward prograde motion.

Some Binocular Dark Sky Treats

If you missed last week’s suggestions for binocular objects that are bright enough to see even near city lights, I posted it with sky charts here.

Keep looking up, and enjoy the sky when you do. I love questions and requests - so, send me some!

#astronomy #stars #constellations #Uranus #Mars #Venus #retrograde #elongation #partial solar eclipse #moon #asterism #winter hexagon #football

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desperatelyseekingcannibals · 6 years

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I last updated this in April, so thought I’d update ahead of a lot of posting planned in July.

In order of availability as of July 2018:

Accurate as of July 1st.

Designated Sitter Chocolate Dogs (Nigel x Aiden) - Werewolf AU (not omegaverse) Nigel would have stayed a lone wolf if his ex hadn’t insisted they join a pack before their daughter was born. Now Gabi has left and he raising Brie alone whilst trying to keep in good with Lecter - the pack alpha. So when Lecter needs him for a job and sends over a babysitter, Nigel can’t really refuse. Though don’t think he hasn’t considered it when the sitter turns out to be some kid called Aiden who has exactly zero childcare experience! Patreon: COMPLETE AO3: 2/7 chapters available - currently posting fortnightly

Trope: Arranged Marriage AU (Hannigram AU) Hannigram - Omegaverse The alpha son of the King, Prince Will was betrothed to the omegan Count Hannibal Lecter at birth. Will prefers fishing and running free in the woods, Hannibal prefers music and literature. But a clash of personalities may turn out to be the least of their problems. Patreon: N/A - this was a bit of an impromptu one so haven’t had chance to post early on Patreon AO3: 3/4 chapters available - currently posting weekly

Fine Dining Hannigram - Omegaverse New Installment of Food Lovers: Hannibal may have bitten off more than he can chew when he purchases a breeding bench. Patreon: COMPLETE AO3: July

Trope: Flower Shop AU (Hannigram AU) Hannigram - Omegaverse Hannibal owns a flower shop and becomes particularly intrigued by the scent of grumpy local cop, Will Graham. Patreon: COMPLETE AO3: July

Procreation Spacedogs - Omegaverse Nigel cooing over Darko’s new baby makes Adam feel insecure about their relationship. Patreon: COMPLETE AO3: July

Plaything Dogs & Retribution (Nigel x Roberto Bellini) - Omegaverse When a job goes sideways and Nigel ends up having to lay low with some of Darko’s crew, the last thing he needs is to go into heat with only one viable alpha on hand. Patreon: COMPLETE AO3: July

The Stray Hannigram - Omegaverse (canis sapiens) A post apocalyptic Lady and The Tramp AU Patreon: 1/? posted - I’m still working on this one as it went from being a shortfic to being multi-chapter without my consent 😂 AO3: 1/? posting in July Note: Future chapters will be posted in advance on Patreon

The Evening of The Wedding Evening Wedding (Buddy x Jacob) - 2 chapters New Installment of Tagged for Time Travel: On the evening of his sister’s wedding Buddy’s life takes an unexpected turn when he meets a stranger out of time. Patreon: COMPLETE AO3: July and August

2011 Madancy AU King Arthur never happened. Mads and Hugh meet after Mads goes to see Venus in Fur. NB: Both are single in this AU. Patreon: N/A - I do not post commissions on Patreon AO3: August

Trope: Unexpected Pregnancy AU (Hannigram AU) Hannigram - Omegaverse An unexpected pregnancy, with a twist - for Hannibal Reel Fest Patreon: July AO3: August

A Mistake Worth Making - chapter 2 The Big Unit (Allan Fischer x Lee Fallon) Follow up to chapter 1 - set a decade later - Lee and Allan reunite. NB: Everybody lives in this AU Patreon: July AO3: August

Pain Dog Path (Nigel x Cal Roberts) Sequel to Dripping Wet In The Cop Car - Cal has a proposal for Nigel - he’s found a new way to get high. Patreon: July AO3: August

Leda Hannigram Sequel to Just Fuck Me Into Subspace - Hannibal wants to try a new kink Patreon: August AO3: September

Murderland Hannigram - AU - 2 chapters Will Graham has always wanted to be an FBI Agent, and shit is about to get real/unreal. Patreon: August AO3: September

From The Beginning Hannigram - Season 1 omegaverse Isn’t latent biology an interesting thing? Maybe that is the reason Will and Hannibal hit it off so quickly - the deep connection they find between them that leaves them feeling practically conjoined. Or ~ another Season 1 AU with almost immediate Hannigram and some weird biology thrown in. Patreon: TBC - but hopefully August AO3: TBC Note - I will not be posting this on either platform until completed, they will then be posted first on Patreon.

Ill Met By Moonlight Hannigram - AU Midsummer Night’s Dream Hannigram for Murder Husbands Big Bang Patreon: TBC AO3: November

A Hundred Years From Today Stucky - omegaverse Bucky and Steve have been friends since forever, but when Steve asks Bucky for help during his first heat it drives a wedge between them that will echo through the years. Patreon: TBC AO3: 3 chapters currently available

Ascension Hannigram Hannibal pre-Will for Ravage Patreon: N/A AO3: TBC

All of the above are already either written or at least started. I do have a handful of others on my WIP list, but they haven’t been started yet so I am leaving them off of here for now.

For more regular updates, occasional snippets, and advance access - check out becoming a Patron for $4.50: TigerPrawn on Patreon.

💖💖💖 Thanks for checking this out! 💖💖💖

#wips #current wip #hannibal #hannigram #hannibal extended universe #fanfic #myfic

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junker-town · 4 years

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Western Illinois, Year 21, 2027-2028

The Western Illinois Leathernecks try to defend their latest national championship in our College Hoops 2K8 sim dynasty.

Welcome back to our simulated dynasty with the Western Illinois Leathernecks in College Hoops 2K8. You can find a full explanation of this project + spoiler-free links to previous seasons here. Check out the introduction to this series from early April for full context. As a reminder, we simulate every game in this series and only control the recruiting and coaching strategies.

Before we start Year 21 of Coach Rick’s tenure at Western Illinois, here’s a recap of everything that has happened so far last season:

Western Illinois entered the season seeking redemption after losing to Cal in the first round of the NCAA tournament the previous year. We struggled against a difficult non-conference schedule before sweeping the Summit League and again capturing the conference tournament championship. We entered the NCAA tournament at 24-6 overall.

We earned a No. 12 seed in the NCAA tournament. We defeated No. 5 seed Minnesota, 89-72, in the first round. We beat No. 4 seed Ole Miss, 116-85, in the round of 32 as senior wing Wilky Henry set a program record with 46 points. We defeated No. 1 seed Dayton, 109-82, in the Sweet 16, and then we beat No. 2 seed Indiana in the Elite Eight, 105-69. You can read a full recap of our road to the Final Four here.

We defeated No. 2 seed Pepperdine, 93-70, in the Final Four. We then beat No. 5 seed Villanova, 97-67, to win the national championship. Read a full recap of our Final Four performance + the offseason here.

We recruited for one scholarship and landed five-star JUCO shooting guard Edwin Wolfe after the season.

It’s our third national championship since I arrived at Western Illinois. Hang the damn banner!

Absolutely historic, hilariously dominant run for our ‘Necks, winning by an average of 27.3 points per game during our six-game sweep of the tournament. Did I mention that we were a No. 12 seed? We’re the lowest-seeded team ever to win the national championship — breaking our own record as a No. 10 seed in 2015 — and we did it with easily the largest margin of victory for any national champion ever.

When I took over at Western Illinois as a fresh 25-year-old head coach, I knew the school (read: the game) had a mandatory retirement policy after 40 years. We have now crossed the halfway point of the dynasty. A few numbers to contextualize our accomplishments here so far:

Overall record: 531-126

Summit League regular season championships: 18

Summit League tournament championships: 15

NCAA tournament appearances: 17

Sweet 16 appearances: 8

Final Four appearances: 4

NCAA tournament record: 36-14

And three ‘ships. The goal is turn the worst college basketball program ever into the best college basketball program ever. We’re coming for you, Coach K.

The best news? We return four starters from last season. While our stud small forward Wilky Henry is off to the NBA, everyone else is coming back, including iconic power forward Allan Cunningham. In the previous two times we won a national championship, we lost in the first round the very next year. We can’t let that happen again this season.

We’re running it back.

Here’s a first look at our roster heading into Year 21.

Back-to-back national championships is one thing we yet to accomplish during our time at Western Illinois. We want national title No. 4 and we have the team to do it.

Let’s meet the starters. If you click the link on their name it will reveal their full attributes.

PG Tron Whaley, redshirt senior, 90 overall: Whaley is everything we want out of a point guard. He has great size at 6’4, he’s the team’s best three-point shooter with an 87 rating from behind the arc, and he’s been less turnover prone than some of our lead guards in the past. He also has a sick name. Tron famously scored 21 points in the first half of our Sweet 16 win over No. 1 Dayton last season before leading us to a national title. He already feels like a top-three point guard in program history, but another title could have him going down as the best to ever play the position for the ‘Necks. Former No. 128 overall recruit with C+ potential.

SG Mathew Alloway, redshirt sophomore, 87 overall: Alloway was a rare freshman starter for the Leathernecks last season and provided a steady scoring presence on the perimeter. He’s grown an inch to 6’7 over the offseason and projects as a burgeoning two-way force at shooting guard. Alloway has improved to an 81 rating in three-point shooting with promising defensive playmaking ability. He still needs to work on his awareness at both ends. The former Mr. Basketball out of Minnesota was once the No. 31 overall recruit and has B- potential.

SF Wilbur Ager, redshirt junior, 91 overall: Ager is our only new starter, and he has big shoes to fill at small forward after Wilky Henry’s legendary NCAA tournament run last season. A 6’7 wing, Ager is a bit shaky as a three-point shooter (75 rating), but has a well-rounded skill set and no glaring weaknesses in his game. Former No. 110 overall recruit out of Chicago with C+ potential.

PF Allan Cunningham, redshirt senior, 92 overall: Cunningham has a chance to go down as the greatest player in program history as he enters his senior season. The 6’11, 292-pound power forward is a consistent scorer with a damn near unstoppable skill set. Ham uses his massive size advantages to bully opposing fours down low, but also can step out and rip three-pointers. He has proven time and time again that he is one of the most dependable players we’ve ever had during streams. We can’t wait to see how he closes out his legendary career. Former No. 67 overall recruit and projected top pick in the NBA draft.

C Pat Giddens, redshirt senior, 94 overall: It’s shocking to see Giddens return for his senior season after being projected as a lottery pick last season. Giddens starts the year as the second highest rated player in America. While he struggled to live up to his lofty overall rating for much of his career, Giddens proved his worth anchoring our title run in the middle last year. Giddens’ lack of height (6’9) could still be a problem against the wrong matchup, but he is hilariously large at nearly 300 pounds. Last year’s tournament run should silence any lingering questions about his game.

We’re going to be playing five guys off the bench for a 10-man rotation. Sophomore center Kevin Brazzle will be our sixth man as a 7’2 big man already projected as a first round pick by NBA scouts. He’ll be joined in the front court by fellow sophomore L.F. Neal, a 6’10, 201 pound string bean who flies all over the court whenever he’s in the game. 6’10 wing Jitim Dupre will get minutes at small forward as a freshman, while legendary recruiting bust Vitor Andrisevic gets a handful of minutes at the two in his senior year, and sophomore Jamie Burke runs backup point.

We also welcome one new recruit this year, five-star JUCO shooting guard Edwin Wolfe from Federal Way, Washington. Wolfe comes in as a 70 overall with C+ potential, which is for sure disappointing. He’ll redshirt.

Recruiting

This isn’t just a huge season because we’re trying to repeat as national champions — we also have four scholarships to recruit for to ensure the future of the program is as bright as the present. Power forward is the biggest position of need, because we have four players who will be redshirt sophomores next year with a hole at the four. I considered going after a five-star JUCO power forward, but ultimately think it’s most important to focus on getting good guards.

After surveying the available options, I decide to use my early visits on the following players:

PG Alexis Willingham out of Chicago, No. 68 overall and No. 28 at his position

SG Jeromy Perry out of Atlanta, No 55 overall and No. 16 at his position

I also offer center Dick Copeland, ranked No. 113 overall and No. 2 at his position, and power forward J.J. Bracy, ranked No. 24 overall and No. 2 at his position, on first day we’re allowed to extend scholarships.

We also have a player to create for the winner of last year’s bracket challenge: reader Gavin. His created player requires a little explanation because it’s a reference to one of the most infamous moments in the history of our Twitch stream. A few years back, we lost an assistant coach during the offseason. As I went to hire someone new, the Twitch chat was going wild telling me to hire a man named Rudolpho Butt. I hired a different coach instead, and the chat turned on me quick. It remains a running joke to this day. The created player reader Gavin created is choosing to make? 6’11 power forward Rudolpho Butt Jr. As a reminder, we don’t go after the players we recruit to preserve the integrity of the game, but we’ll follow Butt Jr. throughout his career.

It’s time to begin the regular season. We start the year rated as a 99 overall. Let’s run it back.

First game: @ Dayton

It seems like only yesterday we were creating Matt Boswell as the winner of our first ever bracket contest. Now he’s a senior power forward at Dayton and one of the best players in America. Can’t believe it’s been four years! While many are saying Boswell’s reputation took a hit after he predicted he would be ‘dropping 28’ on Giddens in the Sweet 16 last year only to get completely demolished, we still respect what he’s accomplished during his college career. Now let’s send him out as a loser.

Loss, 89-81. Man, not how we wanted to open the year. We just fell apart in the second half offensively. Giddens had a nice night scoring the ball, but he also gave up 28 points to Dayton’s starting center. Boswell had 11 points as he was limited to 18 minutes because of foul trouble. More troubling: our shooting. It’s going to be tough to win any game when you only hit four three-pointers. Henry was our most prolific shooter last season so we’ll have to prove we can still rain threes without him.

Next we’re in the Hawaii Invitational tournament aka We Couldn’t Get the Rights To Call It The Maui. Win a championship and we take you to Hawaii, those are the rules. Our first game is against Harvard.

Win, 91-65. Ham going ham with 22 points, 10 rebounds, and three blocks on 11-of-13 shooting at the foul line. Love to see Tron with nine dimes to one turnover.

Next up, we face Michigan State, who is unranked but enters at 4-0 on the season.

Win, 101-82. GIDDENS, what a game. A cool 25 points, seven rebounds, and four stocks. Big is beautiful. Nice to see Ager consistently force his way to the line and give us some scoring on the wing. Bench brought it, too. Now we’re in the title game of the tournament against No. 21 Alabama.

We streamed the simulated game on Twitch. It should tip off when you press play.

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Win, 105-82. Maui Hawaii Invitational champs! This felt very similar to our streams last season, when we turned every game into a blow out shortly after halftime and it never felt like there was any chance we were going to lose. We had six scorers in double-figures, and I was really impressed with Ager and Giddens in particular. Our Stream Team just keeps whooping ass. Let’s keep that energy going.

As we sim to the next week, I see that my shooting guard recruit Perry gets an offer from Troy that he likes better than ours. Bummer, but that means I can start visiting Bracy, who still doesn’t have any other offers and already has significant interest in our Leathernecks. Landing Bracy would be huge because he would get us two coaching points that have alluded us for the first 20 seasons: a) landing a five-star recruit in season, and b) signing an All-American. He’d also be the highest-rated recruit in program history. Here’s hoping. I also offer a scholarship to Skip Clemmons, a 6’6 shooting guard ranked No. 38 overall, to replace Perry.

Next up we have No. 17 LSU. The Tigers have quietly been a consistent winner in this simulation and might have their best team yet this season. This will be a big test.

Loss, 96-60. Woof. LSU just blew the doors off us from the opening tip. What an awful shooting night outside of Ham. That’s why he’s an icon. I’m hoping this is an instance of us being a better stream team than a sim team.

Next we have Louisville. The Cards beat us in a regular season game that we streamed last season and entered the NCAA tournament as a No. 1 seed. It seems like they’ve lost a lot of talent off that team and enter this game at 3-1 on the year.

Loss, 75-73. Man, that’s a tough one. Giddens was excellent, everyone else was just okay, and we coughed up the ball way too much with 10 turnovers. I need more out of my wings Ager and Alloway, who are way too talented to be combining for 11 points

As we sim to the next week, we have some news: J.J. Bracy is a Leatherneck!

YUGE. Bracy is the highest-rated recruit in program history at No. 24 overall, according to reader Evan’s Leathernecks Recruiting Database. He gets us the two coaching points as our first All-American and first five-star to commit in-season. He also plays a position of need and will likely slot into the starting power forward spot as a redshirt sophomore playing with four other seniors. It will be interesting to see how good he is during the stream games because he’s definitely undersized for a power forward at 6’6 and his numbers don’t blow you away. Hopefully he grows. Always great to land the Mr. Basketball in Illinois either way.

More news: Rudolpho Butt Jr. has signed with South Florida!

I feel like he’s going to be the most dominant create-a-player we’ve made yet. Can’t wait to follow his college career.

We’re also in position to land Alexis Willingham, who is at 100 percent with no other offers as we head into the second week of the early signing period.

We play this week Charlotte and then have our two early conference games

Win, 85-67. Wooo. Charlotte is also perennially excellent in this simulation, so it’s pretty great to beat them by 18. Our offense was spread around evenly to like every player the roster; no one with more than 10, everyone on the bench chipping in with a bucket or two. Then we win both of our early conference games big and that pushes us to 6-3 on the year.

As I sim to the next week, Alexis Willingham commits!

Willingham is a great get as the No. 68 overall recruit. He already has good size at 6’2 and will hopefully grow once he gets into school. I love his scoring ability (16.3 points per game) and his accuracy from three-point range (45.8 percent from deep). Turnovers are high, but that’s okay. It’s big-time to get any four-star recruit at the early signing period. It is really rare that we land multiple recruits at the early signing deadline, so I am thrilled by this.

We are also in great position for both of our other targets: center Dick Copeland and shooting guard Skip Clemmons. We lead by far for Copeland, and he doesn’t have any other offers. He’d be our highest-rated center recruit ever (No. 2 at his position) though he’s also short for a five man at 6’8. Clemmons has elite size for a shooting guard 6’6, 226 pounds and is also a 47.2 percent three-point shooter. Would be our best class ever if we can land both in the spring.

We have two games this week: home against Illinois and on the road against Kansas at Phog Allen. Let’s keep the momentum going vs. our forever rival the Illini.

Loss, 68-67. Ugh. Illinois is decent this season but they don’t have anyone close to 90 overall, so this is a big upset. Throw out the record books when these two programs meet, I guess. Our wings really let us down. How are Alloway and Ager only combining for three shot attempts on the night? On the streams it feels like Alloway averages three shot attempts himself every two minutes.

Now Kansas. Jayhawks are in something of a rebuilding year but are still talented af. Please show that Illini loss was an aberration.

Win, 89-69. Hell yeah. Look at our 7’2 backup center Kevin Brazzle go to work: 22 points in 24 minutes. That’s how you get on the NBA’s radar as a redshirt sophomore. We’ve never had anyone leave that early, but it would be kind of awesome to see him do it even if hurts us in the short term. Ham was great as well with 23 points. We only have one regular season game left and it’s against No. 2 Florida.

Florida is totally stacked and has one of the best rosters in the country. This is measuring stick game.

Loss, 82-78. Tough loss, but I like that we competed. Giddens has put together a really solid non-conference season and is taking a big jump up in production as a senior to help fill the scoring void left by Wilky Henry. I wouldn’t be surprised if we see Florida again in March.

We enter conference season at 7-5 overall. Can we run the table the rest of the way? Yes we can. We sweep the Summit League once again and enter the conference tournament as the top seed at 23-5 overall. Here’s a look at our end-of-season stats.

Our big men just wrecked everything in their way this year. Giddens took a big scoring leap as a senior (19.2 points per game) to lead the team, Cunningham continued to prove he’s one of the most reliable performers in program history, and Brazzle showed why he’s a projected first round draft pick by becoming our third leading scorer despite being our sixth man. Pretty nice to have a 7’2 backup center with that type of ability.

Here’s a look at the shooting percentages. My first thought: Giddens better than 35 percent from three on respectable volume??? I’ve never seen him hit a three with my own eyes. Also this team needs to be jacking way, way more threes. We have shooters everywhere. That will be nice to have in our back pocket come tournament time.

Now it’s time for the Summit League tournament

2028 Summit League tournament

Time to lock down the automatic bid to the NCAA tournament. Our first game is against IUPUI.

Win, 91-43. Ham, Giddens, Brazzle, all wonderful. I love my big, beefy boys. How is anyone supposed to matchup with three bigs so huge and so skilled? Next game is against Southern Utah.

Win, 101-59. Throwing Giddens and Brazzle out there against Summit League centers is just unfair. Now we face UL-Calcutta for the conference tournament title and the automatic berth to the NCAA tournament. Let’s go!

Win, 95-57. We’re going dancing!

I am fascinated to see what seed we get this time around. There were a few impressive wins on our resume, but also a couple bad losses in the non-conference slate. I’m thinking we could get anywhere between a No. 8 seed and a No. 12 seed. Avoid that 8-9 matchup might be for the best just so we don’t have to see a top-seed in the second round.

2028 NCAA tournament

Welp. We get a No. 9 seed and a first round matchup with No. 8 Michigan. If we win, top-seeded Xavier will be waiting in the round of 32. The quest to repeat is going to get very interesting in the first weekend.

Here’s a look at our roster heading to the tournament:

There’s a strong case to be made that this is our best roster ever.

All five starters are rated as a 90 or above. We have nearly 600 pounds and 190 overall points in the front court. Knock down shooters in the backcourt. Another 90-rated player off the bench and oh yeah he’s 7’2.

I’m also shocked to say Giddens is our highest-rated center ever. At 96 overall, he’s tied with Ime Terrell, Bert Draughan, Billy Assel, and Vernard Fulton as the highest rated player in program history, per reader Evan’s database. There’s so much depth on this team, too. There’s only one question: who will fill Henry’s void as our go-to perimeter scorer? Ager, Alloway, and Tron are all talented enough to do it, but someone will need to step up if we’re going to repeat.

We’ve never streamed a game against Michigan before, so this is going to be a fun matchup. Here’s a look at how the two teams stack up:

We are a 100 overall in every category but coaching — and the two bonus points we just got for landing Bracy will help with that in the offseason. Here’s a look at Michigan’s roster.

I’m feeling great about our chances at repeating, but the first weekend is going to be a massive test. We’re streaming the first weekend of the 2028 NCAA tournament on Thursday, Sept. 3 at 8:30 p.m. ET on Twitch. More info on that in a second. But first, let’s get to this year’s bracket contest.

Bracket contest

We’ve been running a bracket contest for the last few seasons, and it’s been a ton of fun. We’re opening it up to anyone who wants to enter as long as you turn in your bracket before we stream our first NCAA tournament game on Thursday, Sept. 3 at 8:30 p.m. ET on Twitch.

Here’s a look at the full NCAA tournament bracket.

This is everything you need to know:

How does scoring work?

We use a standard scoring format. You get one point for correctly guessing the winner in a first round game, two points for correctly a winner in a round of 32 game, four points for correctly guessing a winner in a Sweet 16 game, eight points for correctly guessing a winner in an Elite Eight game, 16 points for correctly guessing a winner in the Final Four, and 32 points for correctly guessing the national champion.

Can I see the rosters for the other teams?

Yes. You can find the rosters for every team on the right side of the bracket in the East and West regionals here. You can find the rosters for every team on the left side of the bracket for the South and Midwest regionals here. Just arrow over to scroll through the rosters.

How do I enter?

1. Click this link to open the interactive bracket.

2. After opening, in the top left select File > Make a Copy

3. Make your picks

4. In the top left, select File and either “Share” and share with [email protected] or “Email as attachment” and email as an Excel file (not PDF please!) to [email protected]

Once your picks are entered, you can track scoring with Sean’s Blog Team app that works on desktop and mobile.

What does the winner get?

The winner gets to create themselves or a character as a five-star recruit ahead of next season. We won’t go after the created recruits at Western Illinois to preserve the integrity of the game, but we’ll follow the career of your character throughout our series.

Please enter the bracket contest and join us on Thursday, because it’s going to be really fun. Here’s how you can watch Western Illinois vs. Michigan in the NCAA tournament.

No. 9 seed Western Illinois vs. No. 8 seed Michigan, first round, 2028 NCAA tournament

Game: No. 9 seed Western Illinois vs. No. 8 seed Michigan, first round, 2028 NCAA tournament

How to watch: My Twitch channel. You don’t need to sign up for anything to watch, but you do need to register for an account to comment. Do it, it’s fun.

Date: Thursday, Sept. 3 at 8:30 p.m. ET on Twitch.

Tip-off time: 8:30 p.m. ET

If we win: We’ll face the winner of No. 1 seed Xavier vs. No. 16 seed South Carolina State in the round of 32 immediately following the first round game. I’m also thinking we’ll stream the Sweet 16 game too if we win. Why not?

A few links before I get out of here.

Reader Luke started his own spin-off series in NCAA Football 14 with Akron. He’s doing his first stream on Friday night. Catch up on Coach Luke’s series here and and subscribe for updates.

Reader Thanh wrote an e-book on the first eight years of Coach Rick at Western Illinois. It’s super fun and adds a new layer of depth to our project.

Continue the discussion on our subreddit.

I’ll see you Thursday on Twitch. Go ‘Necks.

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mechagalaxy · 5 years

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Sten Hugo Hiller - 627184: Mecha Combat #1017 - January 3349 Cruiserweight Chrono

(By Sten Hugo Hiller - 627184)

Mountain Climbing Mecha Combat #1017

Brought to you by ANN

Highlighting the January 3349 Cruiserweight Chrono

The Gaming authorities opened the new year by holding a Cruiser Chrono.

As the Cruiserweight classification cowers a wide range of tonnages, I should perhaps add that this was limited to Mechs of no more than 70 tons.

While I itched to participate, there was no way I could reasonably do so and expect to succeed.

I would be otherwise occupied for most of the climb, and when you are fighting out of your weightclass (as I would do on K2) that will in general land you low on the scoreboard.

But I managed to get a promise of some footage from friends who were going there, and later review showed the highest scorers had been:

Div 1 300+ (25 Commanders): Ben Rail, Death`s Collector`s (+3020)

2: Sherriff Leary Wretham

3: Sal Vezzosi Jr

4: Jeff Haas

5: Claude Poirier

6: Bernard Johnson

7: Gary Muenzel

8: Joe Kump

9: Lewis Reed

10: Robert C Goetz Sr

Div 2 -299 (14 Commanders): Were Wolf, M&L Blood Wolves (+19290)

Div 3 -193 (16 Commanders): Ken Fuchs, Northwind Dragons (+22710)

Div 4 -161 (15 Commanders): David McCallum, Heroes (+1570)

Div 5 -125 (19 Commanders): 1GoML, Diamond Dragons (+10090)

Div 6 -91 (19 Commanders): Robert Pawulski, Ronins (+29780)

Div 7 -70 (16 Commanders): Stan Saigle, JC`s Rowdy Bunch (+12220)

Div 8 -53 (9 Commanders): Allan Layton, **R.V.** (+9910)

Div 9 -34 (14 Commanders): Jeffery Dinkel, *R.V.* (+7780)

Div 10 -22 (15 Commanders): Mark DoktorVon RiCkter, whotheheckarewe (+8790)

Div 11 -12 (14 Commanders): Yalcin Özge (+19850)

8(G)+7(G,1S)+10(1S)+6(2S)+9(2S)+2+9(1S)+2(2S)+0+0+0= Two Golds, nine Silvers and fourty-two Bronzes were awarded to Commanders who had overweight Mechs in their formations at the end of the event.

Total Contestants: 162

Total medals claimed: 156 (of 165 possible)

We had a severe drop in the participation compared to the recent Fire and Ice event. Sixty-four fewer Commanders showed up for this event.

But for once the tops were fairly balanced, and at the end of the climb it was only nine unclaimed Bronzes from four tops that was returned for resmelting.

The highest score achieved in this event was on K3 where Northwind Dragons` Ken Fuchs managed to stay on the top for 75 consecutive rounds and amassed 93 750.

Highest margin to the runner up was on K5 where Robert Pawulski from the Ronins outclassed the closest competitor by 29 780.

Lowest score needed for a medal was on K11 where 660 was enough to get a Bronze.

Six Commanders won by at least 10 000, and the lowest margin was a pretty solid 1570.

But how was the struggle for the lesser prizes? To find out, we take a look at the differences between the medal tiers in this event:

..Silver to Bronze...Bronze to nothing

Div 1 ......6550......…..3220

Div 2 ......4560......…….N/A

Div 3 ......3580......…..5280

Div 4 ......7980......…….N/A

Div 5 ......7860......…..5980

Div 6 ......1180......…..2020

Div 7 ....17100......…..3040

Div 8 ......1860......…….N/A

Div 9 ......4600......…….N/A

Div 10 ….8600......…….N/A

Div 11 ...10000......…….N/A

Because of the low number of participants there was only five contested Bronzes, and both they and the Silvers were decided by fairly substantive margins.

This was another of those events where no single clan managed to grab more than one Gold. We had one unaligned winner; Yalcin Özge on K11, but none of the Fire and Ice winners managed to repeat their success.

Upcoming event: Missile Command

This is again an unlimited event with a twist.

While all Mechs are legal in whatever quantities you have and can put into the formation, here the Missiles dish out another 80% damage. Adjusting the formation and considering the Shields and weapon loadout might be a good idea.

Event ends July 8 between 2200 and 2230 New York Time

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mermaidinstereo · 7 years

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LIST: 10 of My Favorite Dark Music Videos

What you probably couldn't tell from my ongoing Christina Aguilera project is that I love dark shit. No, you probably won't find me at the local goth club nights (in suburban Florida, we don't have those), or crying to Sisters of Mercy, or blowing an entire week's paycheck at M.A.C. just for eyeliner (because ya girl is broke). Still, I enjoy a good vampire flick (and a lot of bad ones), prefer to rock a good dark lip, and one time blew $50 at Hot Topic on a coat that makes me feel like a tragic Edgar Allan Poe heroine. I guess you could say I'm barely a low-budget goth, but that's okay. That's just my vibe, I guess.

So today, I thought I'd count down 10 of my favorite music videos, that are all at once super totally goth and not at all. In no particular order, of course. (Because of Tumblr’s rules, I can’t embed more than five videos at once. So I’ll link to the bottom five, and embed the top five.)

10. "Mine" - Kim Jae Joong If the former TVXQ member was looking to make a name for himself, other than being just a K-pop prettyboy, well, he did it right. He was already a bankable actor, racking up views on both the big and small screens. And even after departing from TVXQ, with fellow ex-members Park Yoochun and Kim Junsu, formed the group JYJ, also successful in their own right. However, Jaejoong was not content with staying the course of K-pop typicality. In response, Jaejoong tapped into his inner rocker, unleashing "Mine," off his first solo mini album I. In this video, he runs through dark forests, plays with snakes, and struggles to break free from a wall, before appearing at the end of the video as a vampire that looks straight out of a J-rock band. One can only argue that this is Jaejoong's final form. Or is it?

9. "Hyde" - VIXX While VIXX started playing with darkness in "On and On," it was "Hyde" where they really hit their stride. Telling the story of a man struggling with a Jekyll-and-Hyde-esque duality in a relationship, images of the band's six members are juxtaposed--wearing white as cute, loving, boyfriend material, and black as horrifying, nightmarish, even abusive monsters. I gotta give an award to Leo for looking a little too into it when he strangles his lovely lady, shortly before black angel wings burst from his back. Dude is scary. And so is the setting of this video! It appears to be a vaguely decrepit mansion crawling with macabre decor...and some classic creepy crawlies. It's no wonder VIXX are pegged for K-pop's go-to goths. (For more creepy craziness from VIXX, there are a lot of videos to choose from, but perhaps nothing is more terrifying than “Voodoo Doll,” a video so gory it was banned from TV! Don’t worry, though--there is a clean version.)

8. "Election Day" - Arcadia When Duran Duran temporarily split in 1985, they birthed two side projects. On one side, the pop-friendly Power Station, led by powerhouse vocalist Robert Palmer, along with drummer Tony Thompson of Chic, and Duran's own John and Andy Taylor. Then there was Arcadia, the artsier goth-influenced group, comprised of Nick Rhodes, Simon Le Bon, and for a short period, Roger Taylor. In this video, Le Bon just looks like he got a nice dark dye job, but it's Nick Rhodes who got the full goth makeover, because of course Nick Rhodes did. I'm not exactly sure what's even happening in this video--leave that to anything Simon Le Bon did in the 80s--but the image of Nick Rhodes dancing around with a candelabra is pretty goth, if I do say so myself. Also, it's just a damn good song. And album.

7. "Married to the Music" - SHINee As K-pop acts go, SHINee have not always been the group that goes with the flow. Instead of ripping off T-shirts in music videos, they play with unusual concepts, sometimes freaky ones. Among those was 2015's "Married to the Music." While not exactly elegant, "Married" boasted a quirky, camp-horror concept, inspired equally by Rocky Horror Picture Show, and Michael Jackson's "Thriller." In the video, the five members visit a wacky house party in which, throughout the night, they find themselves having various body parts removed in bizarre methods. Key gets his head hacked off while spinning on a giant roulette wheel. Taemin's eyes pop out when he gets smacked in the back of the head by a baseball bat. A phantom hand in the sink rips off Onew's nose. Jonghyun's mouth comes off after some kind of kiss of death. Then, Minho's entire body is sacrificed in a birthday cake incident gone wrong. All this culminates at the end, where our mystery woman uses the discarded parts to build the perfect FrankenSHINee. Like Mary Shelley, but with more BB cream and an Off the Wall beat.

6. "Beast and the Harlot" - Avenged Sevenfold Unlike SHINee, A7X have always toyed with the darkness, but in a similar manner, do it their own way. This cut from 2005's City of Evil is actually a track describing the fall of Babylon, in incredible detail. The video, however, tells of a Faustian tale, through a lens of rock 'n roll excess. A visually striking video, and I'm not just talking about Zacky Vengeance's eyeshadow. Careful what y'all are getting into when signing contracts, guys.

5. "Call Me When You're Sober" - Evanescence I could list nearly any Evanescence video, really. In fact, I kind of owe a lot to Evanescence, since they kind of helped me discover my artistic identity a bit. That said, I picked this cut from 2006's The Open Door. In it, Amy plays Red Riding Hood, on a pretty bad date with the Big Bad Wolf, played by dashing British actor Oliver Goodwill. He cuddles up to the plaid-clad Amy, who is clearly uncomfortable with his advances. Somewhere there is an awesome scene with Amy surrounded by black-clad dancers as they float above the ground, and this is honestly the coolest thing I've seen in an Evanescence video (though, truthfully, "Good Enough" was pretty cool, too). But nothing tops Amy walking toward her douchey wolf--across the table, as dining utensils go flying off the table. Very Once Upon a Time. Regina would be proud.

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4. "Out of My Mind" - Duran Duran

This is an obscure cut from their 1997 album Medazzaland, a period in which the beloved New Romantics got suuuuuper experimental. It's hard to find this video in HD on YouTube, so you kinda take what you get. The then-trio of Rhodes/Le Bon/Warren Cuccurullo traipse around a creepy house, are sometimes ghosts haunting a library, or sometimes--in the case of Rhodes--are Rococo gothic drag queens. Also, Simon rocks a choker at some point. Totes 90s. Also, the setting and cinematography recall Marilyn Manson's "Sweet Dreams (Are Made of This)." Hey, wasn't that by an 80s band, too?

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3. "Frozen" - Madonna

I was maybe around seven or eight when Ray of Light was released. Maybe. But I vividly remember seeing this video on VH1 when my mom left it on. I was freaked out by it at the time, but of course, I was a child, of course I would be. A solitary, black-clad Madge dances around a barren wasteland, cuddling nothing but her flowing gown as ravens surround her. I think she was playing with Indian motifs at the time, considering her hand gestures and tattoos (also, Ray of Light boasted "Shanti/Ashtangi," never forget). This was probably the beginning of the Kabbalah thing, too, but it wasn't quite as big a story as it would become years later.

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2. "Within Me" - Lacuna Coil

I'd be betraying myself if I didn't include a Lacuna Coil video in all this, another group that, with Evanescence, led me down an aesthetically dark path. A mellower cut from 2006's Karmacode has vocalists Andrea Ferro and Cristina Scabbia at odds, with Andrea sitting lonely in some kind of elaborate chair or throne, as Cristina crawls the desert, producing these creepy black tendrils for some reason. It's just a pretty video and song.

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1. "Sayonara Hitori" - Taemin

For his first Japanese solo single, SHINee's Taemin pulled out all the stops. None of the cutesy image that was cultivated during SHINee's early period, instead, Taemin fully embraced his darkness, portraying several different characters. The first looks like he walked out of Inuyasha, dancing around a piano (no, I don't know why either) as blue flowers grow around him. The next scene finds him clad in the edgiest black garb possible as samurai spar behind him. Perhaps the most goth thing, however, is Taemin laying in a black coffin as very fabulous mourners lay blue flowers down. Not bad for a kid who somehow loses nearly everything he touches. Gotta keep it relatable. Of course, I subscribe to the belief that Taemin couldn’t have gothed it up without Jaejoong paving the way.

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Now, a few honorable mentions. Okay, a lot of honorable mentions:

Stone Temple Pilots, "Sour Girl"

Sunmi, "Full Moon"

4Minute, "Volume Up"

XIA, "Tarantallegra"

Rihanna, "Disturbia"

Taeyang, "I'll Be There"

Depeche Mode, "Walk in My Shoes"

30 Seconds to Mars, "The Kill"

Christina Aguilera, "Fighter" (I wanted to save this for the Xtina project, whenever I manage to get to this video)

Keane, "Disconnected"

FT Island, “Pray”

INFINITE, “Bad”

2NE1, “It Hurts (Slow)”

#kim jaejoong #shinee #taemin #evanescence #lacuna coil #avenged sevenfold #arcadia #madonna #vixx #duran duran #list

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5hfanfiction · 7 years

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Parting Shot: Episode 2 - A Mighty Harmonist

Camila

She was all I had. Every weekend morning without fail, she would wake up long before I did and cast some sort of magic spell that made eggs appear in the kitchen. The house would start to warm up, sun rising and the scent of breakfast crawling along the ceiling before wafting down the hall. Disoriented and still tired, I managed to fumble down the hallway and find her tending to the stove in the attire she slept in every night. Pant-free and in an oversized white tank-top, Lauren never seemed as laid back as she did on weekend mornings.

The scent of fresh coffee hit me, already dappled with the half-and-half that always seemed to be stocked in the fridge and Lauren’s homemade vanilla flavoured sugar. “It’s Saturday.” I managed to whine, leaning on the side of the fridge. “This is one out of the only two days of the week where you can sleep in purposefully rather than because you hate first period. Why do you have to get up so early?”

Without responding, she turned around with a spatula in one hand and the handle of a burning pan in the other. Whatever was inside moved to a plate on the counter, a long string of steam rising with it. “You complain without fail every single weekend.” She held the plate to me in one hand, the other running idly through her deep black hair. Sitting in the middle of the plate were two aesthetically pleasing fried eggs. “Then you turn around and eat like you’ve been starving for days.”  

“You’re the best Lauren Jauregui.” I grinned, taking the plate and stalking past her to the kitchen table. Food had always tasted a million times better when someone else was behind it, and I made the fact known to her with a chorus of approving noises followed by the wolfing down of both eggs in a matter of seconds. She joined me in the seat opposite, not before setting an unpeeled banana and fresh cup of coffee next to my plate.

I knew only what I needed to about Lauren. I knew she had the bravery to pull over to the side of the road on a fatefully dark night and roll her window down to grab my attention. She had the bravery to unlock her passenger seat door, get out herself and haul the two bags I was dragging through the rain into the backseat of her car. Most important to me - she had the bravery to withhold any questions, hold back all judgement and simply drive with a soaking wet, deeply bruised stranger curled in the front seat.

Lauren hadn’t touched her own coffee, seemingly content with sitting at the other side of the table with her chin balanced on her folded arms. There was a small sliding glass window embedded above the kitchen table, and as every morning, when the sun rose it’s light streamed directly through it and pooled around her. Lauren’s eyes had always been brighter during the day, my own darker at night.

“Record time.” She mumbled, nodding at the empty plate with her lips pursed in a knowing smirk. “Can I make some more?”  

“Let me do it.” I stood, setting the empty plate down on the vacant counter-space and fishing through the fridge for the carton of raw eggs. Lauren hadn’t replied, leading me to glance over my shoulder and see she had turned her head to the side and was watching me with amusement flickering in her eyes. “What?” I straightened, the fridge door slowly suctioning closed. “What’s so funny?”

“No nothing, it’s just that I know you’re going to find a way to screw this up.” She laughed, tone light and teasing. “The eggs are on the inside of the fridge door, not on the shelves.“

The carton was unbalanced, six eggs sitting on the far left, and none on the right. After clumsily setting them down, I upturned the lid and carefully cracked two more into the warm pan. "So what’s happening today?” I asked, re-igniting the gas stove and watching as the artificial blue flame folded to life. “Are we doing anything exciting?”

Lauren had her eyes fixated on the pan. In a world of stark abnormalities and constant chaos, she was a wave of relief for me. A breath of fresh air thousands of feet below the ocean’s surface for a creature who just didn’t belong there. I waited for a response, using a plastic spatula to gently nudge the eggs around the heat and watching the clear, colourless centre slowly turn an opaque white.

“I don’t know.” Her reply was monotonous. “Judging by the number of eggs in the carton I’d say we need to take a trip to the grocery store. Then I’ve got a paper to write for third period psychology, so I’m going to have to drop by the library and do some old fashioned book research.”

“Why?” I gave the eggs a moment more before transferring them both to my plate. “Book research was only a thing back when women wore hoop skirts and could’t vote. Society invented the internet for a reason you know.”  

Lauren’s eyes followed the food until it landed in front of her, a fork and napkin at it’s side. “She wants a print based bibliography.“ She clarified, licking her lips eagerly. "No web sources allowed.”

“And does she know that society invented internet for a reason?”

“Apparently not as well as you do.” Lauren had a bad habit of talking and chewing at the same time, which to most would be worthy of scolding. To me it had always come off as charming, her stone cold facade sometimes adapting a childish sparkle that so many else lacked. I sat down on the other side of the table, resting my chin in my palm to watch her eat. “You’ll come with me right?”

“I love going to the library.” I nodded, leaning forward to drag my chair further towards the table. “I wish Cecily would let me go into the back room and poke around the new arrivals, but I guess that’s just me hoping against hope.”

Lauren looked up briefly. “Maybe she’s just frustrated that you’ve exhausted their resources Belle.” She teased, the light in her eyes flickering. “You can’t wholeheartedly believe a woman named Cecily Gunnderman has even a single patient bone in her body when it comes to the yearning members of Gen Y.” I folded my self against the table, looking stoically at her half-empty plate. Lauren had a good point. I had been fostering a reputation of being a particularly pesky member of the technologically heightened generation.

“Maybe if she got herself a Mr. Gunnderman, she can untwist her lace-lined granny panties and cut loose for once.” I stood up, taking Lauren’s plate from her and setting it in the sink. A steady stream of cold water did good to wash the sticky egg yolk off the centre of the plate. “Then maybe I could get back there and soak up all the Ernest Hemmingway and Edgar Allan Poe I can before she turns into a widow again.”

Lauren was on her feet, her hand resting lightly on my hip as she moved to linger just behind me. “You know, sometimes you’re my charming princess who skips through a french village with a book in her hand, and other times you turn into the pure evil concentrate that comes out of those green vents from the Lion King.” She patted me gently, then turned back to the fridge.

I rolled my eyes, keeping my back to her. “I’m just saying Lauren, love does wonders. At least it would for the three quarters of this town who spend their evenings sulking by the Harry Potter themed coffee shop downtown.”

“Hey don’t say that, you love Expresso Patronum. You even bought one of their mugs the last time we went.” She paused. “Besides, how would you know the wonders love does? You’ve never been in it.”

The gentle scrape of my plastic spatula on the used frying pan filled the silence while I put together a reply. Lauren seemed taken aback by my hesitation, and migrated to lean against the counter again. “You’ve never been in it… right Camz?” She asked, looking up with nudge to my side with her elbow. I couldn’t help but curl up, emanating an unintentional giggle from the contact.

“Right.” I nodded, meeting her glance for a moment with a soft smile. It was the truth, plain and without any veils. Lauren seemed satisfied, straightening up and leaving a quick kiss on the side of my head before returning to the bedroom. I abandoned the dishes a few seconds later and opted instead to peel my banana at the kitchen table and take a happy bite. Our relationship was one of platonic intimacy. Most nights, there was nothing I wanted more than to curl up with her, have a deep conversation or simply snuggle in silence.

Polishing off my banana, I left the peel on the table before starting down the hallway. When Lauren and I had met, we were both lying deep against the bottom of the ocean. We were trapped, encircled by the grape-sized amoebas and fragile coral that needed no sustenance. It was the darkness that made our relationship so seamless, the only place on the earth where the sun was unable to nourish and the moon unable to guide. We no longer had either in our lives, and were forced to become them for each other.

“Here.” Lauren was standing in the centre of the room, her arm extended and laptop balanced on her palm. She had changed from her lazy morning attire into a pair of black jeans and grey long sleeve shirt with a low v-neck. The neutral colours looked perfect on her, jet black hair visibly silky and parted elegantly to the side. “You’ll need this so you don’t spend the entire day annoying the hell out of Lauren when she’s trying to read.”

Taking the machine with a nod, I tucked it into my bag and coiled up the white charger at it’s side. I felt a nudge to the small of my back, angling my body to see her blinking at me with the most curious expression on her face. “That’s the first time you haven’t laughed at my joke Camz, no matter how many times I make it.” She reached out, placing a hand on my shoulder to turn me around. “Are you okay?”

“Brain fog from the weed last night.” I shrugged, doing my best to grant her a smile. It wasn’t complete lie. Most of my high-hangovers consisted of heavy fatigue and serious dehydration, neither of which were aided by the early rising to eggs and her delicious coffee. While Lauren sat and watched from the bed, I quickly swapped my pyjamas for a tank top and jean shorts before lifting my laptop bag’s canvas strap over my shoulder. “Okay, I’m ready.”  

“That’s what you’re going to wear?” Lauren sat forward, smiling sweetly. “It’s the middle of the fall Camz, you don’t think you’re going to end up getting cold?”

“I might.” I turned in the mirror to get a proper look at my butt. “But it’s not like we’re going to be outside for very long, right?”

Lauren sighed playfully, hauling herself up and vanishing down the hall. The jingling of keys followed, then the sound of the garbage can’s lid being opened and shut. I smiled in the mirror at the realization that she had found my banana peel.

The town library was a few minutes by bike from our house. It had been a year or two since we’d committed to keeping Lauren’s 2005 Ford Taurus tucked away in our locked garage for as long as we could. Gas wasn’t cheap, and becoming less so by the day, whereas two bikes that I had flirt my way into getting from the local cycle shop did the job with flying colours.

“Keep up!” Lauren called over her shoulder, white earbuds flying in the wind as she flashed a wide grin at me. The roads in the early morning were virtually empty, the residents of a dying town typically tucked away in their beds until mid-morning and then again only hours after an early dinner. I wedged my hand into the pocket of my shorts to crank up the volume on the music in my own ears, letting the underlying beat propel me forward.

The building itself wasn’t particularly special. A stone structure, towering four floors up and beveled with concrete ledges and cutouts to give it a very old-fashioned, high class feel. Foxcastle didn’t pride itself on architecture, the weather often dreary and grey to the point where most standing establishments looked the same. It was because of this that the library was a hot-spot for visiting relatives and curious by-passers, boasting an impressive stash of literary genius. I screeched to a halt by the racks, swiftly hopping off my bike and shooting Lauren an apologetic smile for the tangle of limbs we easily could have become if not for my brakes.

“Ah, hello ladies. I figured I would see you two pass through here this weekend.” Cecily Gunnderman, the town’s resident crazy lady was seated at her post behind the front desk. I couldn’t help the shiver that crawled up the back of my neck when I laid eyes on her, for not only was the woman withered with age, but it was well known that she had outlived a number of husbands. There was even rumour she retained her maiden name from the beginning for anticipation of just that. In front of me, Lauren was unfazed as ever.

“A research paper a day keeps the doctor away, right?” Lauren had the front half of her body leaned across the desk as she plucked a string-attached pen from it’s base and wrote our names down on the wrinkled sheet of chart paper. “How are you this morning Mrs. Gunnderman?”

“Very well dear, thank you.” The woman’s back was pin straight, hair tied back into a tight bun. Her glassy blue eyes shifted to me, and she dipped her chin down politely. “And Camila. I see the two of you are just as attached by the hip as ever.”

“A Cabello a day keeps the doctor away, right?” I rhymed, granting the elderly woman a sweet smile and stepping forward to wrap my arm around Lauren’s waist. “She loves me.”

Cecily lifted a light eyebrow. “I’m sure she does.” The woman nodded to Lauren, who finished marking our names down. “Simply because of how loveable you are, Ms. Cabello.”

I decided to ignore the deep sarcastic undertone to the woman’s voice and lean against my friend’s shoulder with a giant grin. Lauren’s head turned to me, the kind smile on her face suddenly making any kind of criticism okay, even if it came from a cynical old woman. “I’ll make sure she behaves.” The black haired girl then nodded across the desk. “No shelf climbing, no ordering pizza to the front door.” She looked at me once more, dipping her chin down. “And no prank calls to the manager’s office.”

“You’re a good kid Lauren.” Cecily nodded again, withered lips turning up just a hint. I had concluded that Lauren Jauregui was Foxcastle’s only citizen who managed to make the old bat smile. She took me by the hand, and the two of us ventured up to the fourth floor common area.

Like the roads, the populous of the library was loose and sparse at the very best. The two of us found a comfortable space near the corner of the room, blocked in by a series of shelves and sitting beneath a perfectly circular patch of sunlight. While Lauren set her belongings down and dipped off to scan the alphabetical shelves, I pulled out my own silver laptop and powered it up.

Days at the library was admittedly some of my favourite. There didn’t need to be any kind of conversation between us, no sort of words exchanged to pick up on small subtleties and shifts in mood. When Lauren was frustrated, her shoulders would tense up and the muscles in her upper arms would flex inadvertently. When she was bored, her bottom lip would become trapped within her top teeth as a means of remaining awake. My very favourite was when the green eyed goddess would prove satisfied in her progress, and one eyebrow became lifted in a pseudo-sultry gaze that was meant only for the screen before her.

A few minutes later, Lauren had returned with a armful of books. Most were hardcover journals, stuffed full of articles and studies based on psychology in the literature, while one or two were smaller, soft poetry pieces. One in particular landed at my side, the cover featuring a spectrum of pale blue mountains fronted by a white serif font. William Wordsworth The letters read. A Complete Book of Poems: Volume 1.

“What’s this?” I questioned, peeling back the front cover to reveal a long list of contents. The pages were worn, smelling strongly of the antique, dusty aura that most of the library’s old works retained. Lauren moved her chair over to me, the shift in air cloaking us both in the scent of her flowery vanilla perfume.

“Are you going to work on your demon story from last night?” She asked, leaning forward upon the desk to stare down at the table of contents with me. “If you wanted something new, I have an idea.”  

I pondered the question for a few beats. Lauren’s ideas were often gold, whether she was the one creating the realities, or giving the prompts it never seemed to matter. Letting her proceed, I angled myself back to let her find the poem she wanted down the list and flip to the page. Lauren gestured for me to lean forward, and I did so just in time to see the title of the page pop out in stark black lettering. ”On the Power of Sound” I read softly, not wanting to disturb the few people around us. “Lauren, you know I’m no good at analyzing poetry.”

“I’m not asking you to analyze anything.” A playful amusement was evident in her voice. “I’m not an English teacher Camz, not yet at least.”

“Oh— okay.” Looking back at the page, I gave her a shy nod to continue.

“Take one of the stanzas from the poem, any stanza. Write based on one line in that stanza, but don’t go any further than that.” Lauren pressed her weight against my arm. “Take the line and bring it to life independent of the poem’s message.”

“What’s the poem’s message?” I scanned the title a few times. “On the Power of Sound.”

“Just that.” She didn’t need to consider her answer; Lauren’s speed with literature continued to astound me. “Wordsworth was known best during the era of the romantics. He believed that poetry in itself should be simple and sincere, easy to understand like the language that everyday people use. The man was one of the first to insist poetry should be freed from all the “conceits” and “inane phraseology”. The message of the poem is exactly what the title says. And whispers for the heart, their slave; and shrieks, that revel in abuse. Of shivering flesh and warbled air.

I could see the images as she spoke, the round and mature tone to her voice painted an active photo that my own could never manage to. Lauren backed away from me, sliding her chair and herself back to the adjacent side of the table where her laptop was blinking with inactivity.

That Ocean is a mighty harmonist. The line sat on the eleventh line of the twelfth stanza. After reading the six letters over again a few times, I pushed my chair back and ventured into the forest of bookshelves. I didn’t need to turn back to know Lauren’s eyes were on me, and took her curiosity as a compliment. “Wordsworth capitalized a noun.” I murmured to myself, peering up and down the spines until I found what I was looking for. “He wanted to make it seem like the ocean was something worth emphasizing. Something worth saving. A harmonist is one who brings together worlds of nature, science and spirituality… who unites two notes together in song.”

Oceanography. I brought the large, blue-spined encyclopedia back to the table and set it down with a dull thump. Lauren didn’t look up at the sound, but her eyes flitted up mid-type. The book was aged, featuring a orange-white clownfish on the cover slinking through off-white coral. It wasn’t the information I was seeking, but the glossy photographs that dappled nearly every page.

The idea in my head began to take form. Crion 81J, a planet distant from our own is composed of nothing but sparse islands and surrounding water. It’s an ocean planet, the physiology of which forces creatures to adapt, birds learning how to swim for miles and fish developing wings to escape surface predators. I flipped to a photograph of a turtle, taking my pencil and copying an image of it down to the yellow legal pad before me.

In a world where we cannot find a way to unite those who tip the balance, the ocean is the mightiest harmonist. I wrote. The humans who live on this planet do so only on the islands, harmonizing with the finite resources that Crion 81J gives them while needing no more and no less.

There was a story locked away in Wordsworth’s line, it was only a matter of finding the key. The last thing I wanted was for Lauren to turn and uncover it for me, yet she proceeded to anyway.

“I like it.” The girl smiled. “Even on our planet, something as precious as the ocean is worth saving. Maybe the strongest force on the earth has the power to bring humans together, just as it does to connect one nation to another.”

Before I could open my mouth to agree, Lauren arched over my arm and took her black pen to the yellow paper. A story about an environmentalist that takes place on a small island amidst an ocean planet. The future of peacemaking is a major part of the plot, and it ends with a victorious celebration.

I scanned the lines, the last in particular sparking my amusement. “You always like a happy ending, don’t you Lauren?” I whispered, tilting my head against her upper arm. A gentle vibration against my cheek followed as she wrote.

“Always.” Lauren acknowledged, her tone of voice equally as soft as not to disturb those around us. I was left with the fragmented idea once again, and leaned over to fill out the prompt.

Paul Abbey Lowell I wrote, letting the words flow as they did. A drowning incident orphans him at the age of six, and he spends his mid-pubescent years loathing the water. Love flips his views upside-down, turning a young adult Lowell into a socialist, anarchist and atheist who advocates not only for the preservation of the ocean, but all it’s life. When a sea-faring war breaks out among islands, the future of the ocean world is threatened, and Lowell fights to preserve not only his home, but peace for the taker of his parents.

I sat back, looking at the handwritten passage with a small smile. A story was about forgiveness and retribution, and a statement on how important it is to preserve the things that give us life. I slid the legal yellow pad over to Lauren, who had a pen trapped between her teeth and was studying a book that boasted ridiculously small font. “The victorious celebration.” She whispered, sliding it back to me. Brow furrowing, I swiped up my pen again and started to scribble down some more notes.

The relationship Lowell grew over this time alone is put at stake, his love taken away just as his parents were. I scratched down, sitting up straight and rolling my shoulders back. Lauren didn’t seem to take notice of my hesitation, and in one fell swoop and grabbed the pad of paper and started through the library.

Behind the front desk, Cecily Gunnderman hadn’t moved from her post. People were feeding in and out of the building, most of which were parents and young children taking advantage of the day off. Approaching the desk, I planted my paper down before her with a bold smile.

“Can I help you Ms. Cabello?” The woman’s icy blue gaze shifted to me.

“How do you cope with losing people you love?” I asked, sitting down in the stool opposite her and tapping the end of my pen against the paper.

“Excuse me?”  

“You’ve lost multiple men whom you clearly cared about, at least enough to marry.” I continued without hesitation. The woman had two wedding bands on her ring finger, and that didn’t include the ones that likely sat tucked away in a velvet jewelry box. There was quite literally nothing to lose from partaking in the conversation on my end. “How did you cope that with? Did it change who you were?”

Cecily exhaled, her gaze narrowing to slits. “There is one thing that changes us more than losing those we love.” She replied, looking down at my paper and scanning the paragraph I had previously written. “And that’s gaining them.”

I sat up a little straighter.

“Love is the strongest force.” She continued. “Gaining and losing it is only the course of life. Every man who has lived and died in my arms has contributed to the person I shall die as. Have the losses saddened me? Yes. Have they changed me? Yes. But did I have to cope with them? No. The loss of love and loss of life went hand in hand, so only coping with one followed through to coping with the other.”

“So you believe something as powerful as love sits at the centre of everyone?” I watched her elderly features shift as I spoke.

“I believe the centre of everyone depends only on who you are.” Cecily replied, un-moving and seemingly unable to smile. “Not who I am, not who this protagonist of your story is, but who you are Camila Cabello.”

I swallowed, nervously taking the pad of paper back with a soft expression of gratitude. Back at the table, I was able to finish the beginning of Lauren’s prompt with little struggle.

Lowell discovers that the love he gains and loses matters little, the peace he fights for becomes the victory he is able to celebrate.” I continued. “For some, peace and love go hand in hand, for others, the sacrifice of one means the prevalence of the other.”

Lauren had looked up from her work, cloaking me in the realization that I had been openly speaking as I wrote. She inevitably slid herself out of the sunlight patch and over to me again, sidling up to read what I had progressed with.

“What would you call the book?” She asked, the light in her eyes settling a warm comfort over my shoulders.

“A Mighty Harmonist.” I replied, holding my breath and awaiting her approval. She gave it a moment later, signifying her satisfaction with a sweet nod.

Love was an emotion that I thought about often, yet remained just that. An emotion. It wasn’t a yearning, nor a desire to experience something as profound as romantic feelings towards any one person. Looking at Lauren however, that desire found a way to change. I thought often about the person who would end up loving her. I had no idea who they were, yet pondered constantly at what kind of person they would turn out to be, how they were going to slot into our lives, and whether I would end up back where I began. I had no desire to be lost and alone again.

“Camz.” Lauren’s voice startled me.

“Sorry?”

“I said I liked that title.” She repeated, the corner of her mouth turned up in a small smile. “I like that you took the line straight from the poem, most authors would try to beat around the bush and make their readers think.”

I nodded slowly. “You said that Wordsworth was a man who enjoyed writing words for what they were. Breaking the barriers of inane phraseology so men intelligent and unintelligent alike can understand great literature.”

Lauren laughed softly. “Camz, I think any man who took the time to study great literature can be marked as intelligent.”

“Why’s that?”

The yellow pad of paper angled towards her shifted back to me. “Intelligence is a mark of what you aspire to achieve, not your achievements in the past.” She clarified. “This is a wonderful idea, you definitely have potential to master the science fiction genre, genius.”

I dipped my chin down, fighting the blush that would inadvertently rise in my cheeks each time she complimented me. Lauren didn’t seem to acknowledge it, setting the pen back against my page before returning to her own laptop. Taking the prompt from the pad of paper to the screen of my laptop, I spent the rest of the afternoon bringing it to life.

“You’ve been writing about love a lot recently Camz.” Lauren commented as we bid farewell to Cecily at the front desk and returned to our bikes. “Any reason why?”

“Because love gives you answers.” I replied, pulling these strap of my canvas bag up higher on my shoulder. “Love is everything. It consumes us, and consumes literature. It makes money, it stimulates emotion, it makes us laugh and cry—“

“Camz.” Lauren placed her hand on my shoulder. “What’s wrong?”

“Nothing.” I shrugged back. “Why?”

“Why?” Lauren lifted her eyebrows. “Because after you complete a prompt, you always seem so satisfied. Right now it seems like you’ve lost your life savings over one night in Vegas.”

The ocean in which we hovered had always been dark, and it was that darkness which led me to fear what would end up changing everything. Who would change everything.

“Would love ever change your mind Lauren?” I asked, the words etched onto my legal pad burning a hole through the shoulder-bag. “About me?”

Her green eyes held my gaze for a moment longer, grip on my shoulder tightening.

“About you Camila?” She shook her head, lips turning into a smile that could one day make millions. “Never. I’ve made my choice.”

***

A/N: Hi, so I’m going to put in a little bit of story background here, which I really should have done in the first chapter but better late than never I guess. Typically this is something I would let the readers discover on their own, but I think it would be beneficial for people to be aware of this as they get to know these two very interesting protagonists.

I’m giving Lauren’s character two distinct traits: Mirror-touch synesthesia, which is the ability of an individual to feel the same sensation of touch as someone else. For Lauren, it’s going to be linked heavily with the sensations of trust and empathy. She’s also got a condition called hyperalgesia, which is the higher than normal sensitivity to pain, typically in undamaged tissue.

Camila is going to have Dissociative Identity Disorder, and one confirmed alter who will play a significant role in the future. We don’t know a terribly large amount about the disorder itself, and by no means is her character going to be 100% accurate based on what we do know, but it should be interesting. You see a lot of writing about themes like depression, anxiety, self-harm, drug addictions and eating disorders, and less about the more "B-list” psychological abnormalities.

I’m basically going at this blind. I have no pre-written chapters, no overarching message, no outlines or writing prompts. All I have is two dynamic characters and a gloomy little town that just screams Netflix drama. What I do know for sure is that every chapter is going to feature a made up story idea and a skeleton concept for a book to go with it. The “chapter” titles will double as the title to that theoretical piece of writing.

Thank you for reading. :)

~rory (wattpad/tumblr)

#UPDATE #series #AU #slash #camren #angst drama #submission #Parting Shot

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papermoonloveslucy · 7 years

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Lucy and the Monsters

S3;E18~ January 25, 1965

Synopsis

When Lucy and Viv decide to check out the horror movies their boys have been watching, Lucy has a nightmare in which she and Viv are trapped in a haunted castle where they encounter a variety of horror movie characters - until their host turns them into witches themselves!

Regular Cast

Lucille Ball (Lucy Carmichael), Vivian Vance (Vivian Bagley), Gale Gordon (Theodore J. Mooney), Jimmy Garrett (Jerry Carmichael), Ralph Hart (Sherman Bagley)

Ralph Hart’s face is completely hidden by a Frankenstein mask and he has no dialogue, merely grunts. Viv says “I’m not even sure that is my son under that mask.” This is his first ‘appearance’ since “Lucy’s Contact Lenses” (S3;E10) two months earlier.

Candy Moore (Chris Carmichael) does not appear in this episode.

Guest Cast

George Barrows (Loretta, the Gorilla Maid) played a gorilla in his very first screen credit, Tarzan and His Mate (1934). He donned the gorilla suit 18 more times from 1954 to 1978. His final simian character was on “The Incredible Hulk.” This is his first appearance on “The Lucy Show” and he will return as a gorilla in two more. He also played human characters on two episodes.

Bob Burns (Ringo, the Werewolf Butler) also played the wolf man in two episodes of TV's “The Adventures of The Spirit” in 1963. Like George Barrows, Burns played many on-screen gorillas, including on an episode of “My Three Sons” in 1966. Burns was a good friend of Glenn Strange, the last actor to play Frankenstein in a Universal horror film. He is also a world renown archivist and historian of props, costumes, and other screen used paraphernalia from science fiction, fantasy, and horror movies. One of his prized possessions is the the wolf's cane handle from The Wolf Man (1941).

The character’s unique moniker is likely a nod to the Beatles’ Ringo Starr. Early in their career’s the Beatles were known for their long hair!

Jan Arvan (The 'Head' of the Household) played a waiter in Abbott and Costello Meet the Mummy in 1955 and a gypsy on “The Munsters” ten years later. From 1953 to 1971 he was a regular on “The Red Skelton Show” on CBS, often playing Klem Kadiddlehopper's father. This is his only appearance with Lucille Ball.

Sid Haig (The Mummy) was first employed by Desilu in a 1962 episode of “The Untouchables.” This “Lucy Show” marks his fourth of more than 140 screen credits. He was also seen in a 1969 episode of “Here’s Lucy.” Haig appeared in the horror re-boots Night of the Living Dead 3D (2006) and Halloween (2007).

James Gonzales (Morris, the Chair) was a popular Hollywood extra who first acted with Lucille Ball in the 1953 film The Long, Long Trailer. He was previously seen on the series as Stan Williams in “Lucy Digs Up a Date” (S1;E2). He was seen in more than 20 episodes of “The Lucy Show” and 3 episodes of “Here’s Lucy.”

The character name puns on the Morris Chair, an early type of reclining chair by Morris & Company first marketed around 1866. Gonzales is completely concealed by the chair costume and does not speak.

Shepard Sanders (Costume Party Count Dracula) played a psychic on an episode of the TV series “Werewolf” in 1987. This is his only appearance with Lucille Ball.

Several other costumed party-goers appear uncredited in the final scene, but do not speak. They may have been played by the other ‘monsters’ in Lucy’s dream.

Series Camera Coordinator Maury Thompson (above left) and assistant director / associate producer Tommy Thompson (above right) came up with the premise for this episode and receive screen credit for the story.

The episode opens with Lucy reading a magazine article titled “Psychological Reactions in Adolescents to Terror-Inspiring Visual Stimulation”:

“The over-abundance of spooky stuff in movies and TV can cause traumatic experience in our youngsters.”

Lucy reports that Jerry and Sherman are at the State Theater to see the double-feature The Surfing Werewolf and The Eggplant That Ate Philadelphia. Both of these are fictional films. This is the first mention of the State movie theatre. The Bijou and The Danfield Theatre were both mentioned in “No More Double Dates” S1;E21).

The title The Eggplant That Ate Philadelphia may have been inspired by the 1960 low-budget comedy / horror film The Little Shop of Horrors, about a mysterious eggplant-shaped plant that thrives on human blood and could be an alien sent to conquer earth. One of the film’s stars, Jackie Joseph, was married to Lucille Ball protégé Ken Berry and would appear on “Here’s Lucy” (using her married named) in 1969.

Jerry wears a black cape and Sherman wears a Frankenstein mask. Other than this visual image, the Frankenstein monster is not mentioned or depicted in the dream. Frankenstein and Dracula were already represented on CBS by “The Munsters” (1964-66) on Thursday nights. The series imagined the Universal monsters in a family-based sitcom similar to “Father Knows Best.”

Jerry (and later Lucy) use a Remco “Signal Action Ray Space Gun”. Starting in the 1950s, Remco made many variations on this gun, including different colors. It is likely that the electronic sound heard on the soundtrack was added in post-production.

The mothers resolve to check out these movies for themselves.

VIV: “I haven’t seen a movie with a monster since Gone With The Wind.” LUCY: “There was no monster in Gone With The Wind.” VIV: “You didn’t see my date!”

Lucille Ball was considered for the role of Scarlett O'Hara during the 1939 film's initial casting. The role eventually went to British actress Vivian Leigh (right). The cinema classic will be mentioned several times throughout the series and on “Here’s Lucy.”

Gale Gordon gets a smattering of entrance applause from the studio audience. Mr. Mooney jokingly hums a few bars of “Funeral March” to scare Lucy and Viv. Frédéric Chopin's composition is formally known as Piano Sonata No. 2 in B Flat Minor, Opus 35 and was completed in 1839.

Mr. Mooney mentions his wife, but not by name. Vivian mentions her husband, but also does not use his name. In other episodes, we discover they are named Irma and Ralph, respectively. Both characters remain unseen throughout the series.

Throwing his coat over his shoulders like a cape, Mr. Mooney says

“It isn't a fit night out for man nor beast!”

This is a paraphrase of a quote spoken by W.C. Fields in the 1933 film short The Fatal Glass of Beer, which was NOT a horror movie! More beastly wordplay happens later when Dracula (Mr. Mooney) turns the expression “Heavens to Betsy” into “Heavens to Beastie”!

This is only the second time a scene has taken place in Lucy's bedroom. The first was in “Lucy Buys a Sheep” (S1;E5).

Lucy protects herself from monsters by wearing a garlic necklace (to ward off evil spirits) and holding one of Jerry's wooden tent stakes (the only way to kill a vampire). Both of these tactics are part of the vampire mythology as set forth in Bram Stoker's 1897 novel Dracula.

The monster characters featured are mostly from the Universal Studios pantheon of monsters: Dracula (1931), The Mummy (1932) and The Wolf Man (1941). Background player Monty O'Grady was a villager in The Wolf Man and later appeared in 14 episodes of “The Lucy Show” and 6 episodes of “Here's Lucy.” One of Universal's most famous monsters was The Bride of Frankenstein (1935), played by Elsa Lanchester. Lanchester guest-starred as a possible hatchet murderess on “Off To Florida” (ILL S6;E6) and as a hardened criminal in “Lucy Goes To Prison,” a 1973 episode of “Here's Lucy.” The Bride of Frankenstein is also mentioned in “Lucy Writes a Play” (ILL S1;E17). Universal Studios theme parks in Hollywood and Florida later hosted a Lucille Ball exhibit, also selling collectible merchandise and souvenirs.

Count Dracula (Mr. Mooney) calls his werewolf butler by the name 'Ringo.' This is a joke about Ringo Starr of the Beatles, a popular singing group known for their long and shaggy hairstyles. The Beatles have been mentioned several times on “The Lucy Show.” 1965 saw the release of their motion picture Help!

When Lucy and Viv are transformed into witches, they quote the Weird Sisters from William Shakespeare's MacBeth:

“Double double, toil and trouble. Fire burn, and cauldron bubble.”

To find out who is the prettiest witch, Lucy and Viv ask the magic mirror by saying “Mirror, mirror on the wall; Who's the fairest of them all?” This is the same query the Evil Queen asks her magic mirror in the 1937 animated Disney film Snow White and the Seven Dwarves. In the original Brothers Grimm story that the film is based upon, however, the question posed is “Who is the most beautiful in all the land?”

In the dream sequence, witch Lucy calls witch Viv 'Sassafrassa.' This is actually the name Lucille Ball gave an imaginary childhood friend who assured her she would one day be a movie star. Once she moved from Jamestown to nearby Celoron, Lucy would often call her best friend Pauline Lopus 'Pauline Sassafrassa.' Other sources say Lucille Ball imagined herself to be a famous film star named 'Sassafrassa.'

A mouse also scares Lucy and Viv in “Vivian Sues Lucy” (S1;E10). That episode also features an insert shot of a live mouse. Women being afraid of mice was a typical TV trope of the time.

When the Mummy tries to help strap Lucy to the operating table, she snaps and says “Please, Mummy! I’d rather do it myself!” The studio audience reacts with a big laugh of recognition. Here’s why…

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In 1962, an advertisement for Anacin pain reliever featured a mother trying to assist her grown daughter prepare a meal. “Don’t you think it needs a little salt?”, the mother would say, only to have her nerve-racked daughter shout, “Mother, please, I’d rather do it myself!" Variations on this scenario became popular and were parodied a number of times, including in the Allan Sherman song "Headaches” (”Mother, don't hand me those pills from the shelf, I’d rather do it myself”), the 1966 film The Silencers, and the 1980 film Airplane.

A year and a day after this “Lucy Show” episode, “My Mother The Car” (starring Lucy’s pal Ann Sothern) aired an episode titled “I’d Rather Do It Myself, Mother” (S1;E20). Coincidentally, the show’s music was by Ralph Carmichael, a real-life combination of VIv’s ex-husband’s first name, and Lucy’s last name!

Callbacks!

Two years earlier, in the first frame of the June 1963 “The Lucy Show” Gold Key comic book, Viv also feared monsters! And shaggy dogs, apparently! Ironically, a shaggy dog was featured in the very first episode of “The Lucy Show”.

This is the first time there has been a 'dream sequence' on “The Lucy Show.” In “Ricky's Old Girlfriend” (ILL S3;E12) Lucy dreams of what life would be like without Ricky if he left her for Carlotta Romero, a sexy Cuban dancer. The dream takes her 25 years into the future.

The most famous dream sequence on “I Love Lucy” was “Lucy Goes To Scotland” (ILL S5;E17) where Lucy Ricardo imagines re-visiting her relatives in Scotland, but dreams in the musical comedy format. Except for the brief opening and closing scenes, the entire episode is comprised of a dream.

The witch voice Lucy uses is very similar to the one she used as the witch in “Little Ricky’s School Pageant” (ILL S6;E10) with a hint of Camille, the Queen of the Gypsies in “The Operetta” (ILL S2;E5).

When witch Lucy and witch Viv try to flee Dracula's castle, the escape turns into an impromptu square dance, with the Head as the caller. This is similar to the impromptu escape that helps the Ricardos and the Mertzes get out of Bent Fork in “Tennessee Bound” (ILL S4;E14). In that episode, Ernie Ford was the caller.

Lucy Ricardo disguised herself as an armchair when spying on the “New Neighbors” (ILL S1;E21). Like the Morris chair in this episode, Lucy's arms also were the arms of the chair.

Fast Forward!

In a 1970 episode of “Here’s Lucy,” Lucy Carter met the Crown Prince of Horror, Vincent Price.

Trying to flee Count Dracula’s mansion, Lucy and Viv search for a secret passageway in the fireplace, touching all the stones, just like Lucy Carter did when trying to find Mumsie Westcott’s loot in “Lucy Goes To Prison” (HL S5;E18).

Blooper Alerts!

Calendar Conundrum! This would have made a fun Halloween episode, but instead it inexplicably airs for the first time in January.

Sitcom Logic Alert! Mr. Mooney drops by the Carmichael home on the premise of hand-delivering Lucy’s bank statement. As usual, he leaves the door wide open for the duration of his scene.

Sitter Situation! Lucy and Viv recruit Mr. Mooney to 'babysit’ with Jerry and Sherman, but it is not clear why Chris (now in her late teens) cannot watch them or even where she might be.

Whose Bed Is It Anyway? Although they are supposedly sleeping in Lucy’s bedroom, the bed frame and the painting above the bed are the same ones seen in Viv’s bedroom in previous episodes.

Layout Logic! Lucy’s bedroom in “Lucy Buys a Sheep” (S1;E5) has a completely different layout than this one. The rocking chair and the white wood dresser, however, are the same.

On / Off! In the bedroom, as Viv reaches for the switch, Lucy yells for her not to turn off the lights but the light switch is already in the 'off’ position.

Made For TV Garlic! When Lucy shakes her garlic necklace to ward off the evil spirits, the hollow sound it makes indicates that they are fabricated cloves and not real garlic.

Quick Thinking Viv! When the telephone booth door is flung open to reveal the skeleton, it immediately starts to swing shut again, but Viv quickly grabs it with her right hand and holds it open so the skeleton can be seen on camera and by the studio audience, thus neatly avoiding a re-take.

Ouch! Backing out of the fireplace, Vivian Vance bumps her head on the mantle. She doesn’t react vocally, but does grab her head when it happens. The ‘Head’ sees the entire incident.

Check the Gate for Crew! When Lucy and Viv are strapped to a table so Dracula can turn them into witches, the screen fades to black for the commercial break and the head of a crew member prominently enters the camera frame on the right. Unfortunately, the newest DVD release did not eliminate this goof by cropping the frame, as they have done with other bloopers. This same mistake also happened on “I Love Lucy.”

Soggy Bottom! When the potted plant spits up the year-old tea, the spray lands on the tan sofa, making a large wet mark where Viv (dressed in pajamas) is supposed to sit. She scoots over a bit to avoid the wet patch. The sofa stays wet for the rest of the episode. When the magic mirror comes crashing down to the floor rather than saying who is the fairest in the land, Lucy or Viv, part of the Styrofoam wall behind it also caves in!

Mirror, Mirror on the Floor! When the magic mirror comes crashing down to the floor part of the Styrofoam wall behind it also caves in!

“Lucy and the Monsters” rates 3 Paper Hearts out of 5

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