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pianomanblaine · 3 years

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Healing Scars

Being intimate with Erik is more than Christine could have ever dreamed of, but when she realises how insecure Erik feels about his body, she is determined to make him see how much she desires him.

AO3 FFN

They had only been intimate a handful of times since their wedding, but Christine was addicted already. His hands on her skin stoked a fire inside of her that she would gladly be consumed by. She would burn for all eternity if it only meant he never stopped touching her.

Inexperienced as he was – as they both were – Erik was a quick study, cataloguing every breathy moan and whimper for future reference, finding those places on her body where she liked most to be touched and kissed, and lavishing attention on them until she felt she would explode with pleasure. He worshipped her as if she were his personal goddess.

She wanted nothing more than to return the favour, mapping his body with her hands, her lips, her tongue, to discover all the delicious sounds her Maestro could make. Whenever she attempted to start her explorations, however, he would always find a way to stop her. Most of the time she didn’t even realise it was happening. Before she even had the time to think about it he had her pinned underneath him, distracting her with his mouth and his talented musician’s fingers until she couldn’t remember her own name, let alone what she had been planning to do.

Tonight was turning out to go down a similar path.

Christine was completely naked already, but Erik had yet to shed any clothing apart from his vest, shoes and socks. Determined to rectify the situation, she started to unbutton his shirt. She had barely reached the third button when she felt his hands cover hers, guiding them away from his chest towards his face. It was then, when she felt the twisted skin of his unmasked face beneath her fingers – it had taken some convincing before he agreed to leave off his mask during their lovemaking – that she realised how desperately he wanted to keep her attention away from the rest of his body.

‘Erik, what’s wrong?’ she asked, straightening up on her knees where she was sitting on the bed to look at him.

‘Nothing at all, my love,’ he replied a little too quickly, not meeting her eyes as he spoke.

‘Then why won’t you let me look at you?’

‘My dear,’ he chuckled nervously, ‘you are looking at me.’

‘That’s not what I meant, and you know it.’ She winced slightly at how harsh her voice sounded to her own ears, but she couldn’t help feeling a little hurt by his constant rejection of her touch.

Erik remained silent, restlessly kneading the fabric of the mattress beneath his fingers.

Very well then, she thought, it seemed like action on her part was needed to draw him out.

She moved to straddle him, and when he still refused to look at her she brought a finger under his chin, softly pushing up his face in a gesture he had used on her so many times before until he couldn’t avoid her gaze any longer.

‘I can tell something is wrong, love. Please tell me what it is. I promise I won’t judge, I only want to help.’

Erik sighed deeply, taking her hand and placing a soft kiss on her palm before finally answering.

‘I haven’t let you look at me because… Well, frankly, because I’m ugly.’

Her eyes widened in surprise, but she kept quiet, allowing him the chance to elaborate.

‘You have been so extraordinarily kind as to allow me into your bed. You continue to insist that you want to see my face, which I still find hard to fathom, but I cannot deny you if that is what you truly wish. However, I simply cannot bear for you to look upon this hideous body, Christine.’

Her heart broke a little at his admission. She grabbed his face with both hands and tried to pour every ounce of love she felt for him into her eyes and into her next words.

‘Darling, how can you think your body would disgust me? You’ve told me that you have scars, but I honestly wouldn’t mind them. They’re simply another part of you, just like your face, and I’ve told you time and again that I don’t want you to hide your face any longer. I want to see the real you. No masks. No barriers.’

‘Oh Christine,’ he murmured, closing his eyes briefly before continuing, a pained expression crossing his features. ‘You say that now, but you don’t understand. Your body is so smooth and soft and beautiful.’ He gently trailed a hand from her breast down to her waist to emphasise his words and her breath hitched at the featherlight touch. ‘Mine is hard and sharp, every inch of skin covered in scars. And unlike my face, which has been my burden since birth, these scars have not always been there. They were put there deliberately by people who wanted to harm me but didn’t live to tell the tale. Every single one of those scars is a reminder of a monstrous past that haunts me, no matter how badly I want to forget.’

Christine was lost for words. She knew about his past and wished more than anything that she could take all that pain away, but nothing she could do would erase what had happened to him.

She had to swallow the lump in her throat before she could say anything.

‘I’m so sorry you feel that way, but I need you to know that I meant what I said. I hate that the scars are there because it means you suffered physically as well as mentally, but they don’t disgust me, Erik. The past is behind us, and right now I am only interested in the present and the future.’

He looked at her disbelievingly, although Christine thought she could see hope begin to shimmer through in his gaze. ‘A future with me, scars and all?’

‘Of course,’ she assured him. ‘Erik, I love you. I’ve told you so before and I will keep telling you until you’re sick of hearing it.’

He scoffed at her words. ‘Even if they were the only words you spoke to me for the rest of your life, I could never tire of hearing them,’ he swore, his eyes burning through her with that same passion she had seen there every time they had been intimate since their wedding night.

‘That might be true, but no matter how many times I say it, I’m still not convinced that you believe me.’

He opened his mouth to protest, but she brought a finger to his lips to silence him.

‘I think there’s a part of you that still believes I will run at the first opportunity. That you are undeserving of love. But you’re not, Erik. So please, let me show you how much I love you, as you have showed me.’

A single tear rolled down the deformed side of his face, telling her that he had recognised the truth in her words, and she bent down to catch the little bead of moisture with her lips. She continued to cover his face with kisses until she felt him shudder underneath her. Her fingers sought out his on the mattress, giving them a little reassuring squeeze.

‘Trust me,’ she whispered, her warm breath tickling his ear, ‘please’.

Trust was a hard thing for him to learn given his past, she understood that, but she also knew that he was unable to refuse her anything and she was proven right when he indicated his assent with a single nod. His golden eyes pleaded with her, for what she did not know, but she made a silent vow there and then that she would do everything in her power to be worthy of his trust.

Christine kept looking him in the eye as she continued to undress him. He didn’t try to stop her again, but shrugged off his shirt when she was done unbuttoning it, dropping it on the ground next to the bed. She recalled how he had described his body as hard and sharp, and it was true. Erik was terribly skinny, so thin she could easily count his ribs. But beneath all of that lay an incredible strength, and so much passion it took her breath away. Skinny he might be, but weak he was certainly not. There was nowhere on earth she felt safer than wrapped up in his arms. If only she could make him see that.

She captured his lips in a soft, reassuring kiss, but when he moved to deepen it, she leaned back.

‘Lie back for me?’ she asked and as he obeyed without complaint, an idea struck her and she guided his hands above his head. ‘I want you to keep your hands here. Don’t move.’

‘What?’

She felt him tense beneath her, the initial confusion in his eyes quickly transforming into panic.

‘No. No Christine, please, don’t ask this of me,’ he begged, ‘I can’t.’

‘Shhh, don’t worry, love,’ she murmured, interlacing her fingers with his, ‘I’ll take care of you.’

‘But I – I need to touch you.’

It was true, he always had his hands on her during their lovemaking, squeezing and caressing every bit of skin he could reach, as if to make sure that she was still there. As if he needed to be certain that she would not simply disappear into thin air. But if she allowed him to touch her, he would certainly use it to distract her whenever he started to feel self-conscious under her ministrations and that is exactly what she did not want to happen. Tonight would be about him.

He tried to wriggle his hands free, but she pushed them back down unto the bed.

‘I know, and you will,’ she promised. ‘Just not yet.’

For a moment Erik looked as if he would object further, but no words left his lips. He simply gazed at her with a mix of fear, hope and adoration. Christine continued to whisper soothing words in his ear, rubbing gentle circles into the palms of his hands with her thumbs until the tension slowly seeped out of him.

Finally, finally she could explore her husband’s body like she had always wanted to, but she had to take things slow for his sake. She wanted him to feel every bit as loved and wanted as he made her feel every day.

Arms were a safe place to start, she decided. She let her hands wander from his palm to his wrist and down his upper arm, following a prominent vein with her fingers, keeping her touch light and soft. She noticed a few scars here and there, but there weren’t all that many. The majority of them must be situated on his torso then, she suspected.

She kept her focus on his arms for a while. When she looked up after a minute or two, his eyes were closed, his limbs loose, body practically melting into the mattress. She couldn’t recall ever seeing him so relaxed. It was such a difference compared to his desperate, panicked state mere moments ago and she silently congratulated herself on the progress she was making.

She mapped out the same trail her fingers had followed with her lips and Erik let out a contented hum. While her mouth left little kisses across his upper arms, her hands continued their path downward until they reached his armpits. He hissed at the tickling sensation, but didn’t otherwise protest as she explored further.

After his arms, she concentrated on his neck and throat, committing to memory the beautiful moans he uttered as she grazed her teeth across his skin before soothing the sting with her tongue. ‘I love this spot,’ she murmured, placing a lingering kiss on the bit of skin between his jaw and his earlobe. ‘I love how sensitive you are here.’ He didn’t reply, but tried to push closer to her lips, wordlessly asking for more. It was all the encouragement she needed.

From there, she let her hands and mouth wander lower, towards his chest, and that’s where she started encountering more scars.

He opened his eyes and tensed slightly when her fingers brushed the first one, watching her intently. She felt the rough ridges of flesh beneath her fingertips, but they didn’t evoke revulsion as Erik expected they would. All she wanted was to caress them until they became a source of pleasure rather than pain. She skimmed her fingers over every scar that came across her path, coaxing little whimpers from his lips, and then kissed and licked the marred skin until he was writhing with need underneath her. ‘I love you,’ she whispered into his skin in between kisses and hoped he understood how badly she truly wanted him, with or without scars.

When she thought he was starting to feel overwhelmed, she shifted her focus to his nipples instead, watching with fascination as they hardened at her touch. The needy moan that escaped his throat as she swirled her tongue around the little buds made desire pool hot in her stomach. She knew from experience how incredible it felt when he did that to her, but she hadn’t expected it would be just as pleasurable for a man. This was definitely a spot she would come back to in the future.

As she scooted down to focus her ministrations on his stomach, she felt his hard length, still caught beneath his trousers, brush against her naked buttocks and he bucked up against her.

‘Please, my love,’ he panted, ‘please, I need you. Let me touch you. Let me have you.’

She had originally planned to move on to his cock next, using her hands and mouth to pleasure him before letting him into her body, but he seemed so desperate already and to be honest, she wasn’t sure she could make herself wait much longer either. Witnessing his pleasure, knowing she was the one to make him feel that way, only fuelled her desire for him. God, he was beautiful, and he was hers, and she needed him.

Without further ado she unbuttoned his trousers and removed them, and he groaned when her fingers brushed his cock. She noted that he didn’t move his hands to help her undress him, still obeying her command to keep them above his head.

As soon as she was settled above him again, his hips started moving, rubbing his cock against her ass, causing her to let out a needy whimper of her own.

‘Yes, okay, give me your hands,’ she ordered him, and he was only too eager to comply. She placed one of his hands on her breast, which he started squeezing immediately, moaning loudly when he was finally allowed to touch her. His other hand she brought to her entrance, guiding two fingers inside and wasting no time in pumping her hips against them. Her breath hitched at the delicious stretch and when he brought his thumb against her nub and started rubbing in little circles, she nearly reached her peak there and then. But tonight was about him. His pleasure was her priority now.

She thrust down on his fingers a few more times before moving off of them and from the moment he had both hands free, they were all over her body. It was as if, now that he was finally able to touch her, he couldn’t decide where to start, wanting to feel her everywhere at once. She let his hands roam her body, revelling in the feeling of his long, slender fingers against her skin. When his hands started drifting down her stomach towards her mound she stopped him. Instead she guided them to her backside and then took his length in her hand, positioning it at her entrance and slowly sinking down on it, never breaking eye contact.

The way he moaned her name once he was fully inside of her was a sound she would never tire of hearing. She could tell by the look on his face that he was trying to hold back, giving her time to adjust, but she was having none of that. She started sliding up and down his length, urging him to move and when he did, she bent forward, capturing his lips in a demanding kiss.

He buried a hand in her hair, pulling her closer still and taking control of the kiss, licking and sucking at her mouth like he could never get enough. When coming up for air became unavoidable, he moved his lips to her neck, latching on to her pulse point and sucking hard. She cried out his name in ecstasy.

‘Erik! Erik, I love you so much.’

‘I love you too,’ he gasped, ‘God, how I love you.’

He was pumping into her in a frantic rhythm now and she knew he wouldn’t last much longer. He usually made sure she reached her climax before chasing his own, but that was not how she wanted it to go this time.

‘Let go, love,’ she urged him, ‘don’t wait for me. Take what you need.’

A deep groan rumbled from his chest and in a single fluid motion, he grabbed her and spun them around so he was on top of her. Erik pounded into her at a relentless pace until she was seeing stars. He tilted up her hips a little, slightly changing the angle of his thrusts so his cock was pushing right against that bundle of nerves which caused sparks to shoot through her entire body. With one final pump of his hips, he spent himself inside her, repeating her name over and over again as if it was the only word he knew, and he took her right over the edge with him.

He collapsed on top of her and Christine had never felt more cherished and at ease than there, pinned underneath his weight. She was unable and unwilling to move, wishing she could stay in this moment with him forever.

When their heavy breathing had returned to normal, Erik slowly blinked open his eyes and gazed down on her with unbridled adoration and devotion. He kissed her on one cheek, then the other, then her nose, her chin, her forehead, peppering her whole face with kisses, making her giggle, and then finally planted a sweet, lingering kiss on her lips.

‘You are an exceptional woman and I cannot believe my luck that you are mine,’ he said reverently.

Christine beamed up at him, her heart fit to burst with all the love she felt for this extraordinary, beautiful man.

‘Then it seems we are both extremely lucky.’

#phantom of the opera #poto fanfic #phanfiction #phanfic #eline writes #my fic #e/c #i'll go hide under a rock somewhere now okay bye

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roleplaytimereturns · 5 years

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Geno's Hellish Domain/Chapter 13

A forsaken priestess named Livia wishes to join her god in the afterlife after being shunned from her home for her outlandish ideas. She hears voices into her head to reach an interdimensional altar, which will help her join her god in the afterlife. On her path to the altar, she comes across a universe hostile to her and her plans, Act 0's universe, as Act 0's kind knows what the altar is capable of. However, Livia had become incredibly powerful, due to the voices (which were actually vengeful, anarchic spirits able to grant Livia both power and her wish, in exchange for her to end the multiverse), and was able to send Act 0's world into chaos,

by summoning monstrous beings, two of which killed Geno's friends and gouged his eye out. After Livia left, Act 0 vowed to stop her plan in order to protect other Genos from a similar fate.

Chapter 13, Act XIII: Sic Semper Tyrannis

Name: Geno Ex Machina, Serpentine Tyrant

Species: Vampire Naga

Age: 30

Gender: Male

Sexuality: Pansexual

Weapons & Tools:

Scimitar

Abilities:

Flash Freeze

Vitality Draining

Enhanced Strength

Heliokinesis

Lunakinesis

Asteroeidískinesis

Levitation

Personality: A backstabber. He does everything for his own and his servants' sake. He has a harem of naga girls who serve under him, and one personal servant whom he loves the most. If he deems you a traitor to his kingdom, you shall be executed, and drained of your life force.

Chapter 13, Act XII: With Heart and Sorrow

Name: Geno Ex Machina, Armored Protector

Species: Florawoman

Age: 26

Gender: Female

Sexuality: Pansexual

Weapons & Tools:

Emerald Armor

Dual Knives/Rifle Spear (Pistol Bullet, Rifle Rounds, Shotgun Shells, Fuel Tank)

Abilities:

Agrokinesis

Sporakinesis

Prásinos-Pyrokinesis

Personality: A hero to everyone. She's willing to do anything for the greater good. If you are in her way, you will be terminated. Loves green. She's extremely dedicated to her work.

Chapter 13, Act XI: Victorious Flight

Name: Geno Ex Machina, Almighty Guardian

Species: Angel

Age: 250

Gender: Male

Sexuality: Pansexual

Weapons & Tools:

Heaven's Blade

Heaven's Rifle

Abilities:

Flight (Shatter Glass Wings)

Vitrikinesis

Catoptric Teleportation

Electrokinesis

Personality: He's the type if person with a god complex, and believes everyone should treat him as a higher being. His arrogance sometimes gets him in trouble, but he has the skills to save himself.

Chapter 13, Act X: Psycho Requiem

Name: Geno Ex Machina, Mutant Beast

Species: Mutant

Age: ???

Gender: ???

Sexuality: Asexual/Aromantic

Weapons & Tools:

Streetlight

Abilities:

Telekinesis

Explosive Touch

Pantomime

Body Hardening

Teleporting

Invisibility

Personality: Hostile to all other lifeforms besides alternate Genos. Doesn't have experience with human customs, and is very disrespectful. Despises his existence, and wishes to kill the person who made them.

Chapter 13, Act IX: Domino Effect

Name: Geno Ex Machina, Force Maestro

Species: Human

Age: 17

Gender: Male

Sexuality: Heterosexual

Weapons & Tools:

Prosthetic Bionic Arm

Laser Blade/Rifle

Abilites:

Gyrokinesis

Enhanced Agility

Duplication

Personality: He's a guy to live to have fun, and not overthink things. He's an excellent fighter, but isn't very bright. He rarely think about what he's going to do next, but when he does, it's an excellent plan. He developed a finishing move called the One Million Uppercuts!

Chapter 13, Act VIII: The Grandest Maelstrom

Name: Geno Ex Machina, Chaos Incarnate

Species: ???

Age: 21

Gender: Male

Sexuality: Pansexual

Weapons & Tools:

Spiritcage

The Harvester

Nails

Abilities:

Shapeshifting

Anatomical Liberation/Body Dismemberment

Prehensile Tongue

Elasticity

Ferrokinesis

Personality: Impossible to completely trust unless you are one of a select few who Act VIII won't betray. No one knows anything about him, even his loved ones, except the fact that he dreams of being a well-known entertainer, and looks up to Act V for being part of a TV show.

Chapter 13, Act VII: The Meltdown

Name: Geno Ex Machina, Sinful Body

Species: Vampiric Half-Demon

Age: 370

Gender: Male

Sexuality: Asexual/Gay

Weapons & Tools:

Crosses

Holy Water

Sacrificial Dagger

Abilities:

Extreme Regeneration

Enhanced Durability

Pyrokinesis

Psychíkinesis

Haemokinesis

Ostiokinesis

Necrokinesis

Personality: Being born from both a priest and a demon, he has conflicting views about himself. Bullying from others about his heritage affected his opinion of his father. He decided to work as a priest in honor of his mother, and has crosses embedded in his skin and bathes in holy water every night. He uses crosses as a limiter, but also as cosmetics, as he is very fashion-focused person, and values glamour almost as much as his loved ones. He also injected himself with vampire's blood to make himself weaker to his limiters, as he feels his full power is a danger to others.

Chapter 13, Act VI: Tears of Agony

Name: Geno Ex Machina, Torment's Champion

Species: Human

Age: 16

Gender: Female

Sexuality: Lesbian

Weapons & Tools:

Leather Whip

Nunchucks

Abilities:

Extreme Durability

Suffering Absorption/Empowering/Reflection/Manipulation

Personality: She's a strike first, ask questions later girl. She's somewhat masochistic, but cares endearingly for her friends. While she doesn't feel pain (unless she reaches her limit of suffering absorption), tears seems to flow from her eyes in place of pain. This seems to be caused by the night her mother died, where she first gained her powers.

Chapter 13, Act V: Silvertongued Puppets

Name: Geno Ex Machina, Marionette Master

Species: Phantom

Age: 99 (42 years as a human, 57 years as a ghost)

Gender: Male

Sexuality: Pansexual

Weapons & Tools:

Two Marionette Cross Bars

Abilities:

Marrionetakinesis

Animation/Reanimation

Motor-Skill Manipulation

Personality: He's a quiet, chilling ghost who makes anyone near him. However, he's very emotional underneath his haunting exterior. He died during his job working on a kids' show about marionettes, when a robber broke in and he got shot trying to defend the cast of the show. This was during the production of a season finale, and his only regret in life was not being able to finish the episode.

Chapter 13, Act IV: Creative Annihilation

Name: Geno Ex Machina, Demolition Kid

Species: Human

Age: 12

Gender: Male

Sexuality: Heterosexual

Weapons & Tools:

C-4

Dynamite

M32 Rotary Grenade Launcher

Grenades (Fragmentation, Concussive, Incendiary, High Explosive)

Abilities:

Explosion Immunity

Explosive Healing

Fragokinesis

Personality: He's a reckless, immature person who loves nothing more than explosives. He doesn't consider his actions often, and acts quick without thought. However, he can get serious when he sees another person in sorrow, and tries his hardest to comfort them.

Chapter 13, Act III: Turning Back The Clock

Name: Geno Ex Machina, Time Keeper

Species: Human

Age: 31

Gender: Male

Sexuality: Pansexual

Weapons & Tools:

Leather Gloves

Brass Knuckles

Abilities:

Time Manipulation

Personality: He's distant, calculated, and timid. He can find out over 15 different ways to kill you in 60 seconds. He's also quite paranoid, and has a hard time trusting others. When he first got his powers, in an arrogant display of his abilities, he trapped himself in time for weeks for him, but only for a second at midnight for others. He nearly died, and has since then become a nicer person to others.

Chapter 13, Act II: Arrival of Madness

Name: Geno Ex Machina, Lost Heart

Species: Human

Age: 19

Gender: Male

Sexuality: Asexual/Aromantic

Weapons & Tools:

Bloody Hatchet

Lead Boots

Abilities:

Superhuman Speed

Heightened Senses

Personality: He's mentality unstable, and has become am outcast to society. He has no problem with killing someone, no matter the consequences. He's broken, and sometimes he can be brought back to his previous self if someone has the patience and care for it.

Chapter 13, Act I: One In The Chamber

Name: Geno Ex Machina, Ace's Eye

Species: Human

Age: 27

Gender: Male

Sexuality: Pansexual

Weapons & Tools:

Dual Black Iron Pistols

Abilities:

Extreme Intuition

Dead-Eye Lock On (Aimbot)

Personality:

He's a snarky, ruthless sharpshooter who has no concept of mercy. He's not the smartest, but he's also not an idiot. He's seen and nearly expierienced death, so he knows what he's doing when he plans to kill someone.

Chapter 13, Act 0: Pure Sadism

Name: Geno Ex Machina, Cosmic Star

Species: Otherworlder/Archworlder

Age: 136

Gender: Male

Sexuality: Pansexual

Weapons & Tools

Archdagger

Halcyon Revolver

Cadet’s Yoyo

Spellbook Arsenal (Book of the Pyre, Book of the Sea, Book of the Forest, Book of the Mountain, Book of the Sky, Book of the Storm, Book of the Arctic, Book of the Heart, Book of the Voice, Book of the Mind, Book of the Dead, Book of the Galaxy, Book of the Holy, Book of the Lost, Book of the Insect, Book of the Pixies, Book of the Warrior, Book of the Beast, Book of Blood, Book of Time, Book of Reality, Burning Book Of Rage, Omega Book)

Abilities:

Levitation

Amalgamation

Power Fusion

Backside Tentacles

Enhanced Reflexes

Atomic Vision

Precognition

Petrification

Papryokinesis

Subspace Travel

Nova/Tachyon/Gem Physiology

Personality: He's a calm, collected, and lighthearted god-like being. He uses his power wisely, and is the strongest out of every Act Geno. However, he sometimes breaks out into a rather......sadistic rage when upset.

Chapter 13, Act α: Her Salvation

Chapter 13, Act β: His Revenge

Chapter 13, Act Δ: Their Fault

Chapter 13, Act Ω: Equilibria

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beingawizardisfunandeasy · 5 years

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Spotlight Maestro

Some people need to be seen, be that on a personal, global, or cosmic level.

[ ][ ][ ][ ][ ][ ] Transitional Beauty – You have a profound beauty to you, and the skill to manage it magically. For each level of Transitional Beauty, choose one of the following descriptors; ethereal, demonic, fae, regal, artistic, and monstrous. At will, you can alter your body, clothing, and other aspects of your physical appearance to any that embodies a profound, supernatural beauty that matches one of your chosen descriptors. Your GM may allow you to pick alternate descriptors at their discretion. You gain a d6 bonus to social rolls where your beauty is a factor, and an additional d6 if the current descriptor you embody is appropriate.

[ ][ ][ | ][ | ][ | | ] Unity of Form and Function – When you alter your body with Transitional Beauty, you may add or alter body parts that provide a practical advantage, i.e. additional eyes or over-sized ears that aid perception, additional functioning arms, etc. You may have one such alteration at a time per level of Unity of Form and Function, and each one may add no more than a d6 bonus to any roll. Without this magic, you can still include aspects like additional or more effective-seeming body parts, but they will be purely cosmetic.

[ ][ | ][ | ][ | ][ | | ] Due Attention – By striking a pose, singing a note, or otherwise briefly performing, you indebt everyone present to pay attention to you. Roll a d6 per level of Due Attention – everyone who perceived the initial casting must focus on you for that many rounds before they leave your presence or cease being able to perceive you. If they fail to do this, they take the remaining number of rounds as psychic damage. The rounds need not be consecutive, and if they are capable of splitting their focus, they may attempt to. You cannot use Due Attention on a person currently effected by it.

[ ][ ][ ] Eminently Knowable – As long as you will yourself to be seen and known, whenever you arrive in a new place, everyone there will become aware of you. At first level your presence will only be felt in an abstract sense, and most mundane people will not be able to place the feeling unless they later meet you in person. At second level, a name you are known by enters people's minds, and those who hear it will feel as if they know it. At third level, you can project subconscious thoughts of your current appearance, which will effect people as if you were a work of art they had recently seen. You may also telepathically announce your presence at will, in a radius of up to a hundred feet.

[ ][ ] Jealousy's End – Other creatures of startling or supernatural beauty will see you as a kindred spirit, rather than a threat. At second level, this extends even to creatures with a supernatural capacity for spite and jealousy, such as the fae. This does not preclude them from seeing you as a foe if you otherwise offend them, but they will likely be remiss to damage your beauty. You also gain a 2d6 bonus to rolls to help convince others of their beauty when they do not see it in themselves.

[ ][ ][ ][ ][ ] Starlight Spotlight – By raising your hand, you can call down a spotlight from nowhere, shining down on you. For each level of Starlight Spotlight, you may add one of the following effects to the spotlight:

You gain a d6 bonus to rolls to gain attention

You gain a d6 bonus to solo performances, or performances where you are the obvious focal point

The area outside the spotlight dims to near complete darkness

Attacks with targets outside of the spotlight take a d6 penalty

All directional light sources in the area turn to follow the spotlight

#bawifae #rpg #charater class #arcanist #gimmick #attention #visibility #light #spotlight #drama #bard #performer #beauty #transformation #shapeshifter #sorcerer #witch #warlock #mage #wizard

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rienerose · 6 years

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For CoatnTails

The concert was over and the well-wishers gone, departing in their open carriages and traps, for the summer evening was warm and humid from the nearby Seine and the heavy clouds. It had been a spectacular success. Meg had hugged her and even Madame had unbent so far as to brush a kiss on her cheek with a murmured “Congratulations, my dear.”

She bolted the door, grateful to be alone at last, and pulled the pins from her hair, letting it cascade down her nearly-bare back in soft curls. The gown was deceptively simple and she looked well in it, white silk with diamenté trim about the low neckline and it clung to her curves. Long sleeves ended in chiffon ruffles, accenting the graceful movements of her hands. For a moment she considered changing into something less apt to attract dirt, but the familiar click of the mirror captured her attention.

He stepped through, starkly black to her white, the Opera Ghost in his formal evening wear. She moved toward him with a smile and brushed a kiss below his ear, where the edge of the mask revealed an inch of pale flesh. “I thought you would never come. How did I do, Maestro?”

Erik, who had watched from his box as always, hidden in the shadows and as breathlessly spellbound by her pure sweet voice as he had been two years ago, smiled faintly. She had looked like an angel incarnate upon the stage, and her voice, singing the words he himself had written for her… “The Heavens sighed in admiration and envy, for there are none in the choir above who can compare.”

As usual she smiled at his grandiose praise, and threw her arms around his neck, laughing. “You do exaggerate so! Not to mention blaspheme!” But her eyes were sparkling and Erik permitted himself a smile.

Encouraged, Christine drew him down beside her on the chaise. She searched his face, blue eyes locking with his golden gaze. “Erik, have you thought any more about what I asked?”

Abruptly he stood, the pleasant mood evaporating like the bubbles in the champagne he’d left to cool down below. He paced away, his movements agitated and jerky. “No.”

Determined, she raised her chin. If she let him avoid the topic again the remainder of the night would be soiled. “Erik,” she began again softly, “come sit with me.”

He did, and she took his hand in hers, smoothing the bony knuckles, gently tracing the lines of the tendons.

“How can you ask it of me?” he said harshly.

“I would see the face of the man I love.”

“This face...”

“...is the one I love.” She touched the edge of the mask and he flinched violently. “Oh my love, you must have faith in me. I will not run away, nor will I be horrified.”

Erik raised a hand to the mask. “To see this, to wake to it, to dine across from it….this monstrous….”

“You are no monster,” she said firmly, with a trace of anger. “I will not have the man I love talk about himself in such a way. Once and for all, Erik….do you love me enough to remove the mask, to live with me as a man and not a phantom?”

He gave an anguished cry and turned away, shoulders shaking, but she did not release his hand. “You mean this.”

“I will not marry you any other way,” came her steady reply.

The small box weighed heavily in his breast pocket, the first step on a journey toward salvation. He had tasted bliss on her soft lips, shuddered with each caress, had known laughter and companionship, music, and the first terrifying glimpses of trust, honesty, and hope. She had bared her soul to him, offered her love, her sweet faith, her body, her life with him….could he do no less?

And with shaking hands, he slipped the mask from his face.

#CoatnTails' story

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rottenheartedchild · 6 years

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Bayo OC Rewrite - Ivan

The top drawing is his ancient Master Assassin uniform while the bottom is his Game 1 look. Ivan is seriously one of the hardest oc to rewrite considering he has a fuckton of flaws in his earlier design. Anywho, big thanks to @umbran-mechs , @tradramblings , @namichma and everyone for helping me out with his bio)

Name: Ivan Petrovich

Nicknames: Yanko, Vanya, Asshole, Ameli(by Salwa), Reynard, Memester, Uncle Anya.

Age: physically 46, implied immortal

Gender: cisgender

Sexuality: pansexual demiromantic

Pronouns: he

Back-story: All his life Ivan had lived in Vigrid with only his mother, Thalia, the Master of the Umbran Assassins and Fernanda, the family’s matriarch. As a child he would often ask about his absent father, only for his mother to react badly to his questions. Soon he learned to never question his mother when it came to his father, for she would respond in a cold, violent manner and shout at him that he was a traitor, a murderer, a cannibal. The frightened child ended up believing her farce naively and ceased his questions concerning about his father. Fernanda was genuinely appalled by how Thalia had raised her son and threatened to strip away her title should she ever overstep her place again.

Through the public’s eyes, his mother was the epitome of maternal love, protective and gentle but Ivan knew better who she truly was. Behind closed doors, she was a cold-hearted monster with acid for blood and iron for bones. Thalia was a maestro of lies and she managed to fool everyone, even the Clan Elders, with the farce of a loving and gentle mother. In private, she secretly trained her only son with the harshest training imaginable and spared him no mercy as Thalia criticized every mistakes made during his training.It worsen as she forced Ivan to pretend as the proud perfect child in the public eye to maintain the facade of a flawless family. There are times where Ivan envied other children whose family were tender and supportive with each other and he would fantasized of the life he always dream of: a loving father who would take him to the fields to play and a mother that would comfort him with hugs and kisses. Alas, it was nothing more than a dream and he had to face the harsh reality he lived in.

Years have passed, Ivan became the perfect killing machine, devoid of emotions as he dutifully carried out tasks with hairsplitting precision and steadfast concentration. He also began to grow weary of his mother’s nonsensical falsity, finding it laughable how he had foolishly believed her words. Soon he began to rebel against his mother, disobeying her orders and such out of sheer spite as he spat on her teaching by covertly training under the witches who taught him various fighting styles, to increase his chance on overthrowing his tyrant of a mother. When Ivan felt prepared, he decided to face Thalia for the title of Master Assassin and placed a wager; if he won he’ll demote her and took the mantle but should he lose, he will resumed his role as her pawn and let go of his freedom. Thalia reluctantly accepted her son’s challenge and under the watchful eyes of the Umbran elders, they began their battle.

The battle went on for days as both parties refused to back down from it. Though Thalia may seem to outclass her son, Ivan turned the tide by countering all of her moves with her own teaching. Adding insult to her wounded pride, Ivan managed to beat her using what he learned from his masters. The match was over and Ivan was declared a winner by the Elders, much to Thalia’s dismay. His first task as the Master of Umbran Assassin was to dismantle his mother’s tyrannical doctrine and replaced them with a much more constructive method, improving the proficiency of the Umbran Assassins in and out of the battlefield. With the help of his childhood friend, Samson, a blacksmith witch from Vigrid, the morale in his pack progressed quite considerably and he was well-respected by his students for it.

Throughout his life, Ivan formed many relationships, ranging from the playful Lumen Sage Ariel, to the snarky Umbra witch Samson, to the lovable Helen, who was also Ivan’s niece. But Ivan’s most memorable relationship was that of his wife, Salwa, another Witch hailing from Maghreb. Despite Salwa’s somber childhood, she remained kind-hearted and lively, which drew Ivan closer to her. The two eventually wed, settling on a simple ceremony with only their loved ones close by. Shortly after, their son Tuncay was born, and the parents planned to give him a better life than they had, unaware how the events of the future would really unfold.

It happened so suddenly, the first of many tragedies, when his first son died in Inferno due to a failed pact. It struck them like a knife in the shadows and with nothing to bury the fallen witch with, Ivan mourned for days until there were no tears left in his bloodshot eyes. Once in a while, Ivan would remembered that headstrong child who died in vain over a failed contract and broke down behind doors. It wasn’t until the arrival of the newest student, Gretchen, whose pestering demeanor reminded him of Tuncay bought back a bit of spark in his life. The tension between Clans were nail-biting and Ivan was terribly affected by the events as he pushed his disciples to their limits in order to increase their chance of survival, with his most problematic student forced the hardest. All of his worst fears became a reality as the Clan Wars erupted, forcing the assassin to fight back against their former allies. Despite the heat of the battle, he could clearly listened the wails and cries of fallen souls and one of them made his heart dropped right there; his second daughter. Though the witches have won the war, to him it meant nothing as he had lost another piece of his heart. It didn’t helped that Gretchen had deserted the Clan immediately once she saw the monstrous Fortitudo and angels have blocked up the paths leading to his student. Enraged, he ruthlessly mauled the angels only to find her already long gone after that.

The victory was merely temporary as none could predicted that a mass witch hunt had begun shortly after the war, the witches including Ivan were far too drained from the previous battle but he forced himself to protect his home from their enemies. One by one they perished under his rampant fury as he exterminated the ones who killed his daughter and disciples. Just when he thought it was over, he was greeted by a sight that scarred him for eternity; an Umbran witch murdered his sons in cold blood before leaving to fend off the incoming enemies. His mind went blank as he dejectedly walked over to the corpses of his sons before cradling them in his arms, tears silently flow from his eyes as he remained that way. Even a stab to the back from his own mother didn’t snapped him out of his stupor as he began to fell to the ground, his sons’ corpses still held tightly close to him. The last moment before he lose consciousness was that damned witch fought against his mother and won, causing him to smile bitterly and shut his eyes to rest. The cries coming from his surviving children and niece pierced the skies as they tried to reach Ivan only to be pushed away by the mysterious witch who buried him, sealing the tomb with powerful charms as if to protect him from harm. Left with no choice but to flee, the children vowed to free him from his curse and guard his tomb from the enemies.

A century later, after being awoken from his 100 years slumber Ivan was thrusted into another adventure of a lifetime; from tearful reunion between old friends and family, to the calamitous battle with the cryptic witch who revealed to be his long-lost father before ripping his arms out during the climax of their match, to travelling to foreign countries and aiding Ariel’s noble yet chaotic crusade. During those travels, he have picked up countless of skills and learned languages after languages, finding it quite rewarding from years of killing and subterfuge. But there were few things that remained constant in his thoughts, those being his former student deserting the clan out of pure cowardice and his family who succumbed to their grisly fates.

For a long period of time, Ivan now becomes one of Hollywood’s most influential director with awards and honors to back up his expertise. When he’s not busy directing a movie, discussing plots with his screenwriters, doing undercover work or supervising his billion dollar fashion industry with his niece/goddaughter, Helen, he can mostly be found in parks reminiscing pastimes or spend his time at Samson’s quaint bar, sipping a tall glass of Black Death vodka as he dishes out the filthiest gossips he could find. Lately, Ivan begin to feel apprehensive as the young woman in front of him bears a stark resemblance of his former student, Gretchen. Grinning, she introduced herself as Ingrid before auditioning for the comic relief role, and his life is about to change for the better or worse.

Beast within: Tiger within( Caspian Tiger )

Seal within( Leopard Seal)

Bird Within( Hooded Crow)

Bat Within( Greater Mouse-eared Bat)

Pact Demon: Madama Laverna, Goddess of thieves and cheats

Extras:

Huge fan of the arts, doesn’t matter if it’s a musical, a play or even an animation. He finds it very fascinating and endearing as he rather laze around and watch old Looney Tunes cartoons.

Extremely gifted cook and often can be seen with a bag of snacks. Famous for his exquisite tea collection and Albanian cuisine. Often invites close friends over for hearty weekend brunches.

Due to his upbringing, Ivan’s able to distinguish people with their true nature and refused to associate himself with the toxic ones. It helps that he can use it to his leverage when dealing with difficult targets.

.Completely unapologetic and a selectively sadistic schadenfraude. Once joked that should his enemy died, he’ll throw the biggest party to celebrate their demise and burn the corpse for an extra measure.

Despises puns and dad jokes but begrudgingly tolerates them if it came from either his kids or closest friends.

Very supportive of his fans and often gets excited whenever they gifted him with drawings, sculptures, etc. But he despised the ones that ruined the fun for everyone.

Has two pet ravens that act as his messengers, Huginn and Muninn and a female psychiatric service pit bull, Delilah who enjoys dressing up in colorful pajamas and pretty costumes.

Always thought that his wife, Salwa was the most beautiful woman in all realms with the skin as dark as opulent midnight and her spots could put snow to shame. Amaal and Salvador thinks their dad is a lovestruck sap.

Both Laverna and Ivan lived for the drama, especially if it’s messy and gritty. Give them some dirt and they’ll chatter for hours with sinister grins on their face.

Famous for his eccentric behavior, stern yet fair ethics, strong sense of professionalism and ample amount of knowledge. Also a polyglot due to centuries of travelling to foreign lands.

Often dyes his grey hair with a mixture of henna and human’s blood to give him that signature red highlights.

Donated or sold most of the mansions he had in Europe to be either used as orphanages, hospitals or anything in between. He even helped renovated them to keep them up to date.

Ivan often commented that Gretchen maybe his most difficult student to date but her gung-ho nature made his life a bit brighter. He never told her outright about it.

One of his bullet couture is literally a neon hyena fursuit in chunky heels. Both Ingrid and his family eternally cringed at the technicolor monstrosity.

Can’t function without a strong cup of coffee. Ivan without caffeine is equivalent of a cranky murder machine who’s on a warpath.

His favorite characters are Bugs Bunny, Qrow, the Red Guy from Cow & Chicken and Donald Duck.

Has secret rooms which can only be unlocked by playing songs from his favorite music game app....in Hell mode.

Ivan personally deals with the scum of humanity, and those unfortunate enough to become his target find themselves returning to the earth as part of some compost.

#Ivan #Vanya #bayonetta oc #bayo oc redesign #oc redesign #the chaotic good #chaotic c h a o s #he'll laugh at your bully while giving you some support #will kill any nazi for free #also an altruist #ask him money and he'll give you 4 times the amount #he's THAT generous #destroying lives while flirting with hot mamas and papas

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lynchgirl90 · 7 years

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#TwinPeaks Star Kyle MacLachlan Promises "Everything Will Make Sense"

Before embarking on Showtime's new Twin Peaks, fans were ready to sip on some damn fine coffee once again. They were ready to return to the Black Lodge and the dark mythology surrounding Dale Cooper's last known whereabouts. Indeed, they were ready for more Cooper, full stop.

They were not ready for Dougie Jones.

Eight hours into David Lynch's return to the world of Twin Peaks, Kyle MacLachlan's eternally optimistic federal agent remains at arm's length. Sure, he's returned to the mortal realm after spending the last two decades and change stuck inside the Black Lodge, while an evil doppelgänger (also played by MacLachlan) was running around causing carnage in the real world. But that Agent Cooper you liked has not yet come back in style. Instead, he's inhabiting the life of yet another lookalike named Dougie Jones, wandering through casinos, corporate culture and domesticity with childlike wonder. He is showing signs of the old Cooper, slowly but surely — albeit a little too slowly for some viewers' tastes.

For his part, MacLachlan knew that Dougie would be a difficult pill for fans to swallow. "Many people wanted the nostalgic return to Twin Peaks that they remembered," he tells The Hollywood Reporter. "And that's not what we're representing here." Instead, the new Twin Peaks is representing the duality between two extremes: darkness and light, largely through MacLachlan's own opposing roles as Cooper's doppelgänger and Dougie Jones.

Read on for the actor's take on the new Twin Peaks and its "challenging" nature, what went into playing two different versions of Cooper and more as the season approaches the halfway point of its 18-hour run.

Twin Peaks was shrouded in so much secrecy before its return. Now that the cork has been popped, at least to some extent, what has been your reaction to the reaction?

It's really fun to see. I think we all knew it was going to be a challenging journey for the audience, simply because it is 18 parts of one giant piece, and it's sequential, so people really have to stay with it. And also that David's storytelling is filled with imagery and different perspectives and characters and things that may initially be confusing to people, but ultimately everything will come back together and make sense. It will be clear. But it's challenging, you know? The other part of that is there has been a real, complete love from a large part of the audience for this new direction of Twin Peaks. No one has ever seen anything like this on television before. That's some of the excitement, I think.

You can apply that idea just to Part 8 on its own, an episode that's so hard to define, but makes sense within its own context.

There's definitely a cohesion there. It's just things you haven't necessarily seen before. In some ways, I think of it as moving art. David is first a painter. What he's created is this moving canvas. He pretty much tells you how long you're going to be looking at a scene, and he dictates that by the editing. While you're looking at that scene, he's also infusing it with music and sound, into the visual element. He's the maestro at giving you this experience. You just have to go along for the ride, if you're up for it.

Twin Peaks was shrouded in so much secrecy before its return. Now that the cork has been popped, at least to some extent, what has been your reaction to the reaction?

You can apply that idea just to Part 8 on its own, an episode that's so hard to define, but makes sense within its own context.

You have so much on your plate in this show, even more than we could have imagined coming into the series. Before the series started, what aspects of your performance were you most curious to see how people would react?

I've never had the opportunity to play these extreme characters. The evil dopelgänger is of course a remorseless killing machine, basically just going around consuming. It's what he wants. He moves through the world in that way. That was challenging and exciting to play, to get into that character, to find his look and his feel and his energy and his drive. I was also very fortunate to have David as the director, so we could work together to move this character through this story. The other character of Dougie is not too dissimilar to a character I played in The Hidden years ago. It's just a further degree of someone who is new to the world and is discovering it as he goes along. There's a veil that he's not able to get through. I watched Dustin Hoffman in Rain Man, Jeff Bridges in Starman, Peter Sellers in Being There; that was a big influence. Those were influences in terms of how to tackle this character. It provided a lot of opportunity for comedy, too. We were mining that. The comedy of timing and exasperation for those around us — particularly Naomi [Watts, who plays Dougie's wife, Janey-E Jones]. She carries the lion's share of the load.

These two extreme characters really embody the tonal dissonance that's at play in the new Twin Peaks. There are monstrous moments of haunting imagery, shots of New York City skyscrapers, or even the actual town of Twin Peaks — often without music, which makes this familiar world look almost like a graveyard at times. On the other side, you have Dougie, with "Take Five" playing in the background as he discovers coffee for the first time — a moment of joy and whimsy. Was this something you felt while you were filming the project, this tug-of-war and push-and-pull between light and dark, not just in terms of the content of the story and the characters, but tonally as well?

That's definitely there. It was in the script and I recognized it. The genius of David Lynch is that he builds all of that in as he edits and lays in the music and the sound. But even in the process of filming, there are certain lengths of time for a take, and extra pieces he wants, and timing. It's all rhythmic with David. I've worked with him enough to know it's really important he feels that what he's getting on the day is going to fit with what's going on in his head. I certainly felt those very things. Tonal dissonance is a really nice way of describing it.

How did you react when you first learned that Agent Cooper had been trapped inside the Black Lodge for all of these years since the original finale? Was it as heartbreaking for you as it was for the audience?

I knew that the audience was excited, just based on social media, for the return of the Cooper that they remembered. I couldn't say anything about that — that there was a process that had to happen before the ship could right itself, let's say. I also like to say we're basically ... my take on it is that the world is out of balance, and we're trying to take it back into balance now. We have 18 hours to do that. But I knew it would be difficult for people. Many people wanted the nostalgic return to the Twin Peaks that they remembered. And that's not what we're representing here. There are a lot of new stories going forward.

It's certainly not something you're getting easily. You have to work for those moments, like when you see Bobby Briggs (Dana Ashbrook) gazing upon Laura Palmer (Sheryl Lee) again for the first time in years.

Exactly right. And you see Kimmy Robertson and Harry Goaz together again as Lucy and Andy. There are reminders. But there are also reminders of just the passage of time. Shooting it was one thing, but seeing it, I was just reminded that it's been 25, 26, 27 years. We've all gotten older. You just acknowledge the fact that we're all mortal and time moves on. I also say, a lot of the time, Twin Peaks has continued on in its way. Now we're revisiting Twin Peaks after all this time, but the town itself never stopped. All the action and activity there never stopped.

Speaking of the passage of time, one of the biggest questions heading into the new version of the series was how would it handle the fact that some of the castmembers who played essential characters had passed away since the original run. We have our answer now: archival footage being used in compelling ways, like Frank Silva appearing as Killer BOB in ethereal spheres, or Major Briggs' (Don Davis) disembodied head floating through space. It's powerful to behold as a viewer. What is it like for you, as someone who worked with these actors, watching them live on through this work and remain such an important part of the narrative?

I think it's beautiful. As actors, this is how we stay around. To see even Catherine Coulson, who was able to work as the Log Lady [shortly before she passed away in 2015]. It's bittersweet. There's a sadness there. I think it's intentional, and a recognition again that we are mortal. We have had some real tragedies with the show. Losing Miguel [Ferrer, who plays Agent Rosenfield] and losing Catherine ... it's not easy. It was challenging to David. But he has done an amazing job remembering, appropriately, I think, and with impact. The characters are still making an impact. As an actor, that's what you want.

There are a lot of new faces as well, and the most prominent one as it relates to your world is the arrival of one of the most iconic characters in Twin Peaks lore, who we had never seen in the flesh until this series: Diane, played by Laura Dern.

That was fantastic. I remember hearing about it for the first time. I had a big smile on my face, and I said, "Of course. It's perfect." Because I didn't even know about it until it was announced. That was brilliant. That was also one of the secrets that I had to hold onto, knowing people were for the most part going to be stunned and excited and happy and all, "Oh, my lord!"

Before, we would only see Cooper speaking to Diane through a recorder. Now, she gets to speak back, and she swears like a sailor. It's almost hard to imagine this Diane being so simpatico with the Cooper of old. What were your thoughts about Diane during the original run of the show, and how did they match up with the reality of the character?

I deliberately left it sort of without any definition. In other words, when I was speaking, I wouldn't think of a certain person sitting at a desk somewhere back in Langley taking all of this down for whatever reason. I thought it was more about Cooper expressing his thoughts in a soothing way. It was a way for him as a character to make sense of what was happening around him and focus himself down. It was less about the person and what that relationship was or wasn't, and more about me working through my stuff as the character. It's gotten much richer now, knowing Diane is being played by Laura Dern, of course, and also to see her personality, which I wasn't thinking about when I was working 25 years ago. It's really funny. It's kind of reminiscent of Albert, Miguel Ferrer's character. She's a little bit on the rougher side.

What was it like becoming the bad Cooper for the first time, seeing yourself in the wig and the leather jacket?

It was really helpful. That character was developed over a period of time where we would find one part of it, and then another part of it, and then another part, and finally we put it all together. I'm really pleased with what's happened with the character. He's a real, pure definition of evil. It's really what I wanted. It was a layering of things. When I saw him and I walked out, I was still not sure. But the beauty of working with David Lynch is if David sees it and feels it and is right with it, then I'm right with it. His confidence in what he saw gave me confidence to go with what I had.

How about Dougie, and stepping into his plus-sized neon green suit? Was that helpful to get your head around Dougie?

(Laughs.) The idea that he went from that one character who we saw briefly, to someone who resembles Cooper a little bit more ... I knew it was going to be tricky. But I knew it wasn't up to me. It's going to be up to the people around me to make that work. The character of Jade [Nafessa Williams], the character of Janey-E and the people at work — they were all going to have to look at him and go, "Why has he changed? What's happening here?" As an audience, we have to go with that. I knew it was going to be a bit of a challenge. But it's also a reflection on Dougie from before. He probably wasn't that memorable, either. People probably didn't look at him too closely: "Oh, it's you. You look a little different. Did you change your hair or something?"

Never mind losing 20 pounds in a night.

Exactly. (Laughs.) "What? Did you go on a diet?" I can only imagine people weren't paying that close of attention to him from the beginning. That's how I justified it.

How was shooting the casino scene, and the "HELLO-OH-OH" of it all?

We were working outside of Los Angeles at a casino, and I remember playing the reality of what was happening with the character. I didn't think too much about it. It felt organic and real and kind of awkward and slightly inappropriate. That was all perfect. The little things, like when you sit down, and the process of learning from watching people. I would watch, and then I would repeat, and then something would happen, and I would react to that. I would then go onto the next thing and the same thing would happen again and again. Trying to keep that as believable as possible was really the goal.

I spoke with Robert Broski recently about playing the Woodsman, and he was an incredibly nice man. You're a very nice man yourself. By your own account, Frank Silva was "a lovely guy." What is it about good people that make such compelling monsters?

Well, from my experience, it's a new place to go. The nice thing is, it's not who I am. I guess it's a part of what I could be, but it's not how I choose to live. It's fun to be able to explore, in a controlled environment, what that feels like, I think. I'm able to put him on in the morning and then I can take him off in the evening when we're done filming. I'll tell you one thing it does: It makes you think about the people who can't. The people who are closer to this than not. That's a horrible place to be as a person.

Almost two weeks have passed since Part 8 aired. The feeling of watching it for the first time won't wash away anytime soon. What was your reaction to that installment, an hour that all on its own stands out immediately as one of David Lynch's seminal works?

I think this whole journey is going to be that. I think Part 8 was the culmination. It was an extraordinary sequence. It was certainly challenging to the audience, but just an amazing piece of work to sit there and absorb. It almost makes me feel that this is not a show you can necessarily binge-watch. I felt that after I watched the first two hours: "I need some time to process this and think about what just happened, because this is much more complex than just a show you would watch and forget." It's very challenging and stimulating, I think. In a way, it was probably great that there's been enough time for people to really think about what they saw and process it and figure it out. It's very complex.

That's an interesting perspective, because you have said that you sat down and read the entire script for the new Twin Peaks in a single sitting, a couple of breaks notwithstanding. How does that experience measure against seeing what David had in mind with the finished product?

It's one of the most fun things about being an actor. You read the script. You visualize everything as you go through. Then you film those pieces, which is different again. Then they edit it, and we see it, and now it's a third film. So it's a process of three, I think, and it changes each time. It continues to evolve. Because it's David, it continues to get richer and more interesting. Certain imagery he uses over and over again, variations of that imagery ... I'm coming to the show now just as an audience member, because I haven't seen any of the [upcoming] sequences yet. I'm experiencing this the same as the audience. It's a gift.

Link (TP)

#Twin Peaks #Kyle MacLachlan #Agent Cooper #The Hollywood Reporter

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drmorbius12 · 7 years

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Pale Horse

Where I Rat on Death

I've been thinking about Death a lot lately, not morbidly, but more like looking at a row of books, except in this case not just any set of books, however interesting they may be, but rather the books of my life, from beginning to now, filled with chapters recording each and every good and bad thing that's ever happened to me and that I have ever done, some dog-eared from repeated use, and some untouched and pristine. Hah, the story of my life.

I think about how my mother and father died, or how my ancestors died, either from natural causes, or from cancer or some other disease or accident, or from a broken heart. My parents had no siblings. They each had a nickname though. My mother was Dolly (Ardell), and my father was Bud (Wellington), or Buddy when he was little, and Budd when my mother would sometimes sign their names to letters, Christmas cards, or favored books they owned.

When I think of all the friends I've ever had whose parents I knew, I can't remember any that had a book collection like Bud and Ardell. They had a first edition Gone With the Wind, also an early edition of Alice in Wonderland, the Collected Works of Shakespeare, as well as a large collection of '40s and '50s Golden Age of Science Fiction, to name just a few I can still remember. I still have GWTW and The Foundation Trilogy in hardback. Others have long since gone into the aether. Funny in a way, books have their own life story too, with a beginning and an end, within and without, as well as in our minds. Unlike the simple books on my shelf however, the great books live on independently of you or I. Thanks be for that.

But I digress. I mentioned I've been thinking about Death, looking for constructive discourse really, perhaps even discursive in nature, wondering how people can be so absolutely convinced that the way they see things is the way things are, and no other is the truth; that they have life and death all figured out and there's nothing more to imagine.

-Shall I continue, or is this just colorless meandering, banal and meaningless, perhaps even offensive, going nowhere, serving no purpose?

-All right, I'll continue.

It seems Death is always hanging around somewhere near at hand, sly, waiting like some hood behind the school for some poor geek to unwittingly walk by, oblivious to Death's little set up, one hand insolently stuffed on a pocket, while flipping a switch blade with the other, making sharp metallic snaps, the handle crusted with the blood of some other poor sucker who made the same mistake yesterday. Almost like Death has it all figured out, gleefully pushing people off the set, sometimes with a gentle nudge, sometimes with a stiff arm to the back, watching as we fall from that impossibly high bridge, spread-eagled, our bungee cord snipped before we even knew it.

I wonder why, when everyone thinks they have the answer to where we go when we do leave this good Earth, they can't tell me where we were before we were born. It's as though we didn't exist before then, and yet, like the Big Bang, we get spewed out across the universe, wet and dripping from the cosmic birth canal, hurtling at the speed of light toward an unknown destination. Maybe that's why some people want to crawl back into the womb, thinking they might pass into that warm, weightless state, where time hasn't begun, dreaming endlessly into oblivion.

Somehow it doesn't seem fair really, that Death has so many faces, effortlessly morphing from one expression to the next, like the stranger who lures us with candy into a blood red paddy wagon, then speeding off into the foggy night, tires squealing, we are thrust back into the cold seat, unable to see where we're going because the van is windowless, and we realize with a sick feeling that the driver doesn't need windows anyway. I wonder what model vehicle Death would be driving... a nice new shiny car for the rich? Or an old donkey cart for the poor? I'm thinking a sleek black limo, because then Death could play the cool cat, in a slick chauffer's outfit, smugly hip, smirking with closed mouth, never letting us in on the secret.

-Shall I continue, or am I just tempting Death, insulting with my feeble wonderings, or drawing a guffaw at how blind I am?

- Why do I even ask?

Maybe Death likes to hang out on a limb, overlooking an abyss filled with human joy and misery, randomly choosing who goes next, poking us along with a stick, totally unconcerned with what we may think, the ultimate egotist, barefaced an raw, only taking, giving nothing. Perhaps Death actually is the bookends, defining a start and a finish, left on an infinite shelf, in a limitless library where the corridors do not intersect. What a temptation it must be, to bring down all that we've been and all that we are, thrusting us onto a pitiless roller coaster ride with no discernable track; the ultimate trip, that once begun, cannot be stopped.

Now I see Death as the Maestro, directing a dark symphony orchestra, the musicians all ghosts with instruments made of silly putty, blaring out a tune of their own, each unaware of the other, only looking up when the baton swoops down to signal a final crescendo of cacophonous sound, bringing on a silence so profound, that even Death must stand still for a microsecond, vibrating like a string, echoes receding into the distance.

Isn't Death so efficient and effective? Always ready to replace us with the next poor slob who comes along, meticulous as a Swiss watch, ticking off lives, heart beats, toe taps, and wise cracks. Like some merciless and terrible CEO riding the hands of a monstrous time clock, foul mouth blaring out endless orders, forcing us to march along, while riding on the back of a timeless vibration stolen from the very same atoms from which it is made.

-Shall I continue, or is it time to put up or shut up; stop paying lip service and embrace Death?

Umm, not just yet. I could use a little more time.

If only I could see Death for what it is, look into the depths of it's eyes, stand toe to toe and take it's measure, turn the tables by asking a few questions and doing a little poking around on my own. Gee, what if I poke Death too hard, or ask the one question Death is loath to answer, like: what is your point? Who does Death think it is slinking around like that, and on who's authority? Hitting on some poor soul, maybe even trying to get a date. Who would want to date Death anyway? A loser no doubt, chuckle, chuckle, snort, snort.

And who am I to squawk about it? A dog knows when it's his time. He'd simply trot off into the woods if you let him, never to be seen or heard from again. When animals die they don't complain, or rely on colorful personifications, there's no candy coating, no burial in a favorite suit. Just dig a hole, drop them in, maybe say a few feeble words, though perhaps heart felt, and then walk away.

What if Death is omnipresent, like... Santa Claus? Always watching to see if we've been naughty or nice, reading our wish list like it's a last will and testament, looking over our shoulder, filling up endless sticky notes with criticism. Go ahead Death, write all you want, you don't care anyway, so what's the fuss? Get down off your pale horse and mix with the rest of us, maybe discover a few things about yourself. You should be careful though. You might not like what you see. I know, I could wear a mirror on the back of my head, and then Death would have to look itself in the face when it comes to get me.

If I'm lucky, Death will run away screaming, and let me alone.

#death #death wish #limo #parents #ancestors #unknown #destiny #ultimate trip #tattletail #writerscreed #spilled ink #spilled words #creative writing #writers community #irony #ironic #satire

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dm-tuz · 1 year

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Maestro’s Monstrous Arms - Stirge Suit & Convenient Girdle

Surely the client will be ready for anything in their intimidating new armor, featuring a utility belt with all the pockets! It almost makes up for the suit having no pockets. It also almost makes up for the things lost because the client said no.

Graphic design work by Kanehon!

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flauntpage · 6 years

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The Outlet Pass: Steven Adams is Officially a Star

Welcome to The Outlet Pass, a weekly roundup of observations, questions, and predictions from Michael Pina's NBA notebook.

1. An Ode to Two Non-All-Star All-Stars

This is an excuse to highlight a special pair that was not invited to Los Angeles, but are invaluable to teams that couldn’t legitimately contend for a championship without them.

The first is Chris Paul, who, well, the Houston Rockets have won 85.7 percent of the games he’s appeared in. Paul is far and away their second-best player, and he'd be number one if number one wasn't the probable league MVP. (At first glance, Paul is superior to every reserve on Team LeBron and Team Steph; an easy argument can be made for his place above at least three starters, but that’s neither here nor there.)

At 32, the nine-time All-Star reads defenses like a stage actor on his 1000th straight day performing from the same script. He ranks first in Real Plus-Minus. His True Shooting is a career-best 61.6, and he’s making a borderline make-believe 56.7 percent of his long twos. The way he slaloms a high pick-and-roll—or downhill skis through the open floor—before knocking down a fadeaway from the right elbow is literal sorcery. (Among those who’ve appeared in at least 40 games, Paul owns the lowest percentage of made shots that came by way of an assist, at 14.4 percent. Harden is at 19.1 percent and LeBron James is at 30 percent.)

He’s a maestro creating his own shot, has a special affinity for jacking threes when a big switches out to guard him (and is poorly positioned to grab the rebound), and generally operates with a much higher success rate than anyone his size and age probably should.

Paul’s greatness is knowing what ten brains are thinking at the same time. He and the Rockets have been virtually unbeatable when Harden teams up in the backcourt, but Paul is even better by himself. He’s shooting 44.2 percent on spot-up threes and 41.5 percent from beyond the arc when he dribbles at least seven times!

All this is remarkable and important.

But despite the two dozen magic tricks he pulls off every game, the way he turns the nail into a foxhole whenever an opponent tries to drive middle, and that irresistible trillion-watt smile, the psychotic hyper-competitive inferno that consumes Paul whenever he's at work has callused over how truly great he still is.

Fans (especially young ones) have never aspired to be like him relative to other stars at that position. Nobody really "admires" his behavior. Paul's signature shoes come and go without any trace of a cultural footprint, and even though he says and does all the right things off the court, who he is under the only spotlight that matters tends to turn people off.

But all that can still be for naught. Paul is well-positioned to modify how he’s forever perceived if the Rockets win their last game in June. If that happens, don’t be surprised if Netflix eventually produces a true crime documentary that investigates how he wasn’t an All-Star in 2018.

Photo by Russell Isabella-USA TODAY Sports

Next up is Steven Adams, Oklahoma City’s true third wheel and a strategy-altering force on the offensive glass. Watching Adams over the last few weeks, it's clear that he's so much more than a harmonious role player. The 24-year-old may be solidifying himself as an authentic star before our very eyes. How many center are more indispensable? Joel Embiid and...is that it?

It’s one of the more significant narrative arcs to emerge this season. Powerful enough to alter Oklahoma City’s trajectory in a very favorable way over the next few years. For now, Adams’s lumberjackian strength takes over games whenever he sets a screen 28 feet from the rim, or wedges in-between two opponents who need a cattle prod to box him out. His touch from just outside the restricted area makes him a hypnotically reliable roll man, and he’s become an agile razor wire on the defensive end. Look at this anticipation from Saturday night’s game against the Golden State Warriors, a play that illustrates how Adams regularly puts himself in the right place at the right time.

The Warriors had plenty of success after they went small in that game, but should these two teams match up in a seven-game series, his ability to single-handedly create second-chance opportunities will not only keep the Warriors from leaking out in transition, but force Steve Kerr to weigh how often he wants Kevin Durant and Draymond Green to exert energy wrestling this dude when one of their true bigs (JaVale McGee, Zaza Pachulia, Jordan Bell, Kevon Looney, or David West) should probably do it instead.

Adams's growing all-around impact doesn’t make the Thunder favorites, but when you, as an individual, are good enough to discomfit one of the greatest teams ever assembled, then it’s safe to say you’re probably a star. His career average offensive rebound rate heading into this season was 12.9. Right now, he leads the league at 17.0. His True Shooting was 58.2 and his PER was 14.8. Those two metrics are now 63.4 and 21.3, respectively.

Other really good players who didn’t make the All-Star team exist—Nikola Jokic, Ben Simmons, C.J. McCollum, Lou Williams, Daniel Theis, etc.—but Paul and Adams stand out as relevant, game-changing figures in two contrastingly dominant ways. One is low usage and doesn’t need the ball. The other conducts symphonies with it in his hands. Both are so freaking awesome.

2. Montrezl Harrell is DeAndre Jordan Insurance

It probably was never fair to label Harrell as salary filler in the trade that brought Chris Paul to Houston, but it’s certainly understandable to those who did, given how invincible the Rockets have looked since that day. Grading what they "lost" in that deal has never been a priority. Harrell, however, is a shaping up to be a pretty good NBA big man whose terrific all-around play of late may allow the Clippers to divorce themselves from DeAndre Jordan contract negotiations without any regrets this summer.

Even though he’s only 6’8” and exerts most of his energy off the bench against opposing second units, Harrell is a B-12 shot into L.A.’s bloodstream, with a monstrous wingspan that’s as long as Kevin Durant’s. Since the Blake Griffin trade, he’s averaging 16.1 minutes, 12.2 points (on 66.2 percent shooting), 3.9 rebounds, and 1.3 blocks per game. The 24-year-old puts an audacious amount of pressure on opponents whenever he sprints the floor, fakes a dribble hand-off, or unravels one paw to corral a bounce pass in traffic.

Harrell ranks in the 98th percentile as a roll man, per Synergy Sports. He’s excellent at slipping screens, sucking in help defenders, and then finishing above the rim with Rated-R violence. But what separates him from Jordan on the offensive end is his feel, particularly on the left block, where a majority of Harrell’s postups come from. Overall, his skill-set is far more modern than traditional, but throw him the ball down low and he'll know what to do.

Harrell is patient and decisive, as able to face up, go middle, and finish with a running hook (his signature move) as he is executing a conquerable back-down that ends at the rim. It usually depends on who the defender is; Harrell creates favorable opportunities by sprinting in transition and forcing whoever’s back (often a guard or wing) to handle him.

He’s also adjusted to scouting reports that know he wants to get across the lane for a soft floater. Watch how high Ed Davis guards him on the floor with his feet damn near parallel to the sideline!

The next time they square up, Harrell goes back to doing what he wants to do. He’s a legitimate worry down there.

Defense is a bigger question, though not necessarily a problem that goes without saying. Harrell doesn’t give up on possessions or dawdle through sequences that call for him to soar from the weak side to block somebody’s shot. With ownership of his full Bird Rights as a restricted free agent this summer, the Clippers would be remiss to concentrate on Jordan’s next contract instead of retaining Harrell (who’s nearly six years younger) on a much less expensive long-term deal.

3. Brooklyn’s New Starting Five Actually Looks Kinda Good?

In Brooklyn’s first game after the All-Star break, Nets head coach Kenny Atkinson decided to bump D’Angelo Russell off the bench and back into the starting lineup beside Spencer Dinwiddie, Allen Crabbe, DeMarre Carroll, and Jarrett Allen.

That’s four shooters surrounding a pick-and-roll big with enormously long arms and a sudden fondness for Finland. Carroll gets to defend fours (good news considering the slip he’s made trying to stop opposing wings this year), Russell and Dinwiddie run pick-and-rolls, create space for themselves, and draw help off their penetration. Both can, along with Crabbe, elude closeout defenders and snipe off flare screens and pin-downs. On paper, at least, the Nets finally look like they're onto something.

Or maybe not. It’s only been a handful of games, but so far the numbers aren’t all that great. It’ll be interesting to see how long Atkinson sticks with them, particularly after Rondae Hollis-Jefferson and Caris LeVert are both 100 percent and able to play without a minutes restriction.

4. J.R. Smith Has Never Mattered More

As someone who personified Cleveland’s season-long inconsistency heading into the trade deadline, it was good to see J.R. Smith look like his unaffected, delirious self right after the Cavs completely changed their roster.

Smith remains one of Cleveland’s most unpredictably important players. Forget about how it’s impossible to hyperbolize the degree of difficulty on his shot selection, when he plays with joy, creativity, and effort, good things generally happen.

Over their last few games, Smith can be seen sprinting to set ball screens for LeBron James, providing the type of effort that loosens up Cleveland’s offense and makes attacking mismatches so much easier. His defense has been touch-and-go—a little sloppier than it’ll have to be in the playoffs—but it’s something the Cavs can survive until May.

Smith doesn’t lead the league in “I remember where I was when he took that shot” moments but, personally speaking, he’s sketched into my top five with a permanent marker. The two triples he canned during Game 7 of the 2016 Finals were powerful enough to refine how he’s perceived and judged. It’s inane but true, a reflection of how lofty stakes can sway degrees of reverence even when they're directed towards a flaky source of production.

(Here’s a random, forgotten, myth-making reminder that Cleveland won that game with three players coming off its bench: Richard Jefferson, Iman Shumpert, and Mo Williams. They combined for 10 points and were -22. Ridiculous.)

As we head down the stretch and into the postseason, it should also be remembered that Smith’s True Shooting percentage was 48.4 last year before it Elon Musk’d to 69.8 in the playoffs. Nobody knows when he’ll sidestep within the corner to drill a three from behind the backboard, or spin his way through the paint to kiss a prayer high off the glass. His game is forever a New England weather forecast, but remains critical, on both ends, for a team that needs every role player to hit their ceiling this spring.

5. The Dwyane Wade Conundrum

Dwyane Wade’s return to Miami is a heartwarming story. He never should’ve left, and the 18-month sabbatical in Chicago and Cleveland did nothing but draw him closer to the harsh decline every great athlete inevitably succumbs to. Now 36 and one of the NBA’s 15 oldest players, Wade finds himself in the thick of a playoff race, on a team that’s currently clinging to the eight seed, with the resurgent Charlotte Hornets and desperate Detroit Pistons not far behind.

But even for a group that’s suffered numerous injuries at his position, integrating Wade, at this stage of his career, into the fold in a way that’s mutually beneficial, isn’t easy. In his first five games back, Wade’s usage percentage has been what it was five years ago, when he was LeBron’s right-hand man on a champion. That's a tad unreasonable.

We’re dealing with a small sample size, and expecting Wade to immediately fit in on the court is unrealistic, but his field goal percentage is 34.5 and he’s attempted more shots in the fourth quarter than everyone on the team except Wayne Ellington (who’s played nearly 10 more minutes). Wade hijacked the end of two winnable games against the Philadelphia 76ers and New Orleans Pelicans, and, so far, has upset one of the league’s better crunch-time offenses.

He’s also not in the greatest shape, and these words about the adjustment period are plenty fair for him to say, but hardly inspiring: "It's been a very different training regimen. For me, it's been like training camp all over again. I’m probably as sore as I’ve been all year...First of all, the style of play is different. I'm coming from a different system to a system that is way different. So it's more body movement for each player on the team, which is a little different than where I come from with my role."

It’s a complex dynamic between Pat Riley, Erik Spoelstra, Wade, and whoever’s minutes were suddenly snatched up by a player who will someday have a statue erected in his honor outside American Airlines Arena. Ego and emotion are adverse factors. Sprinkling whatever Wade has left atop what Miami already does well isn’t impossible, but time is not a luxury. A playoff berth is everything for a franchise that’s payroll, timeline, and preseason expectations demand nothing less. Does playing Wade 20 minutes a night help or hurt that cause? How bad would things have to get for Spoelstra to bench him?

He needs the ball in his hands, is a poor defender, and takes shots away from others who are more capable. Kelly Olynyk’s return will help, though it’s unclear when his shoulder will even be strong enough to go full-contact in practice let alone an actual game. Until then, Wade’s role in Miami is something to monitor as we head down the stretch. The Heat need his addition to be much more than ceremonious.

6. Josh Hart is Exactly What Everyone Thought He'd Be

Lost in the Lonzo Ball, Kyle Kuzma, Julius Randle, Brandon Ingram youth movement is another Lakers rookie who doubles as one of the most efficient players in the league. A guy who's always down to make the extra pass, and can switch onto four different positions. And none of it's particularly surprising.

There’s a reason why people thought the Spurs would take Josh Hart in the draft. He’s smart, solid, and stoic. He understands how to space the floor, slither around screens, and is constantly aware of where his man and the ball are. He looks like Danny Green, and has already made the critical, necessary, and not particularly enjoyable adjustment from the leading scorer on a national championship college program to the dramatically reduced three-and-D responsibilities he has in Los Angeles.

This is the type of pick a rebuilding team—whether they’re trying to attract a superstar in free agency, want flexibility on the trade market, or are organically building a strong core—need to make. In 20 games as a starter, Hart is averaging 11.5 points, 6.1 rebounds (sort of ridiculous for a guy who's 6'5"), and 2.0 assists, while shooting over 40 percent from deep. He’s sly and burly when finishing around the rim.

His aforementioned work on the glass really stands out, but it's an eagerness that sometimes gets him in trouble.

Shortly after the play above, Luke Walton sent Corey Brewer to the scorer’s table after Hart lost track of Matthews off a screen. Hart’s response was to score six points in three minutes, throw a blanket on Matthews, and watch as Walton called Brewer back to the bench before he could even sub him in.

As someone who can do a little bit of everything, Hart has been a solid part of the team's point-guard-free starting five, a unit that's bludgeoned the Lakers cupcake February schedule with a 119.2 offensive rating. He may not have much more room to grow, but Hart has already shown he can impact winning with desirable characteristics. The Lakers deserve a round of applause for landing him and Kuzma in the same draft.

But more important than everything written above are his shoes, which deserve a $65,000 price tag:

7. Spurs Catch-And-Go is More Go-And-Catch

The practice is simple: While a pass is still in the air and your man is just beginning to rotate over for a closeout, run towards the ball and ensure you’re (at least) one step ahead of the defense’s intentions.

A few teams do this, but none are more committed than the San Antonio Spurs. (The Utah Jazz and Brooklyn Nets—especially with Joe Harris—are steadily devoting themselves to the strategy as well.) Manu Ginobili is the Michael Jordan of it and to compensate for not being as blindingly quick as he once was, Tony Parker has done a terrific job folding it into his game.

Here’s a mild example of how it looks, with rookie Derrick White attacking this LaMarcus Aldridge kickout:

It speaks to one tiny reason why defending this team, even without a superstar like Kawhi Leonard on the floor, is still so tricky. No rock goes unturned in the search for any possible offensive advantage or way to make up for physical deficiencies. Kyle Anderson has become a savant at it.

The Spurs play without second thoughts. That's why they're the Spurs.

8. Incredulous Body Language Season is Here

We're in that time of year when bad teams shelve their most dependable veterans in favor of “development”—aka deploying youngsters that do a much better job ensuring the team’s immediate demise. Truly atrocious basketball is abound, and with it we can now bear witness to exasperated body language that I, for one, thoroughly enjoy.

Here’s Zach LaVine restraining a temper tantrum after Cristiano Felicio turns a routine chest pass into an overhead heave that flies out of bounds.

Then there’s this clip from the league’s left armpit down in southwest Arizona.

After Troy Daniels’s gravity causes Wesley Johnson and Tyrone Wallace to momentarily botch a switch, Dragan Bender is gifted with one of the easiest looks he’ll ever have in an NBA game. But instead of raising one arm high above his head, bending his knees, and flushing the ball through the rim—by the way, LOL at DeAndre Jordan's effort with the Clippers up 24 early on—he doesn’t even look at the basket.

Bender whips a pass out to Marquese Chriss in the opposite corner, as if that's not a worst-case scenario. Upon witnessing this, Phoenix’s coaches react like unarmed hostage victims who want to overtake their oppressor but just realized there aren’t any realistic ways to do so.

Alex Len channels a longtime Cleveland Browns season-ticket holder. Devin Booker is 1000 times more exasperated than me whenever I pour ketchup on a hotdog but forgot to shake the bottle and nasty ketchup-water trickles out instead. (That’s really saying something.)

Buckle up. This is only the beginning.

9. The Dumbest Play in Basketball

Theoretically, the Golden State Warriors are most “vulnerable” when playing in a syrupy game against a patient, disciplined offense. The fewer possessions, the better. Limit their chances by holding onto the ball, taking quality shots, balancing the floor, etc.

None of this guarantees victory or even a competitive environment, but it should still go without saying that when presented with an opportunity to take the last shot in any quarter against this team, running the clock all the way down to zero is mandatory. The Clippers and Thunder both botched this uncomplicated concept last week, hurling the ball out of bounds and giving Steph Curry a shot he otherwise wouldn’t have. This is why that’s a dumb thing to do:

10. The Celtics Are Very Good When Terry Rozier and Kyrie Irving Share the Floor

Here are net ratings for the top three five-man units that feature Kyrie Irving and Terry Rozier: +15.0, +28.0, and +15.1 points per 100 possessions. All those lineups feature Al Horford at the five, and all have logged at least 50 possessions together.

As the Celtics struggle to boost their offense without desecrating their defensive identity, this is one way for Brad Stevens to tinker with his lineup. There’s no urgent need to switch up the starting five right now, but it wouldn’t be crazy to see Stevens bump Jayson Tatum to the four and unleash this slippery tandem from the jump if Boston grows stagnant in a playoff series.

11. Let’s Play Tyus Jones and Jeff Teague Together

Unlike Stevens’s willingness to play his two point guards at the same time, Tom Thibodeau is allergic to the idea. Tyus Jones (who’s really good) and Jeff Teague (who’s enjoying a quintessential Jeff Teague season) have shared the floor for a grand total of 11 possessions (exactly 1000 fewer than Rozier and Irving). The Timberwolves had the third best offense in basketball before Jimmy Butler hurt his meniscus, so beyond a semi-valid concern over minute allocation, there isn’t much reason to complain about Minnesota’s rotation.

But this is less about fixing a problem than it is a simple call for gradation. With Butler out, why not up Jones’s minutes in lineups that allow both him and Teague to find themselves off the ball? The year is 2018: The more decision-makers, the better.

The Outlet Pass: Steven Adams is Officially a Star published first on https://footballhighlightseurope.tumblr.com/

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njawaidofficial · 7 years

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'Twin Peaks' Star Kyle MacLachlan Promises "Everything Will Make Sense"

http://styleveryday.com/2017/07/07/twin-peaks-star-kyle-maclachlan-promises-everything-will-make-sense/

'Twin Peaks' Star Kyle MacLachlan Promises "Everything Will Make Sense"

[Warning: This story contains spoilers through the first eight installments of Showtime’s Twin Peaks: The Return.]

Before embarking on Showtime’s new Twin Peaks, fans were ready to sip on some damn fine coffee once again. They were ready to return to the Black Lodge and the dark mythology surrounding Dale Cooper’s last known whereabouts. Indeed, they were ready for more Cooper, full stop.

They were not ready for Dougie Jones.

Eight hours into David Lynch’s return to the world of Twin Peaks, Kyle MacLachlan’s eternally optimistic federal agent remains at arm’s length. Sure, he’s returned to the mortal realm after spending the last two decades and change stuck inside the Black Lodge, while an evil doppelgänger (also played by MacLachlan) was running around causing carnage in the real world. But that Agent Cooper you liked has not yet come back in style. Instead, he’s inhabiting the life of yet another lookalike named Dougie Jones, wandering through casinos, corporate culture and domesticity with childlike wonder. He is showing signs of the old Cooper, slowly but surely — albeit a little too slowly for some viewers’ tastes.

For his part, MacLachlan knew that Dougie would be a difficult pill for fans to swallow. “Many people wanted the nostalgic return to Twin Peaks that they remembered,” he tells The Hollywood Reporter. “And that’s not what we’re representing here.” Instead, the new Twin Peaks is representing the duality between two extremes: darkness and light, largely through MacLachlan’s own opposing roles as Cooper’s doppelgänger and Dougie Jones.

Read on for the actor’s take on the new Twin Peaks and its “challenging” nature, what went into playing two different versions of Cooper and more as the season approaches the halfway point of its 18-hour run.

Twin Peaks was shrouded in so much secrecy before its return. Now that the cork has been popped, at least to some extent, what has been your reaction to the reaction?

It’s really fun to see. I think we all knew it was going to be a challenging journey for the audience, simply because it is 18 parts of one giant piece, and it’s sequential, so people really have to stay with it. And also that David’s storytelling is filled with imagery and different perspectives and characters and things that may initially be confusing to people, but ultimately everything will come back together and make sense. It will be clear. But it’s challenging, you know? The other part of that is there has been a real, complete love from a large part of the audience for this new direction of Twin Peaks. No one has ever seen anything like this on television before. That’s some of the excitement, I think.

You can apply that idea just to Part 8 on its own, an episode that’s so hard to define, but makes sense within its own context.

There’s definitely a cohesion there. It’s just things you haven’t necessarily seen before. In some ways, I think of it as moving art. David is first a painter. What he’s created is this moving canvas. He pretty much tells you how long you’re going to be looking at a scene, and he dictates that by the editing. While you’re looking at that scene, he’s also infusing it with music and sound, into the visual element. He’s the maestro at giving you this experience. You just have to go along for the ride, if you’re up for it.

I’ve never had the opportunity to play these extreme characters. The evil dopelgänger is of course a remorseless killing machine, basically just going around consuming. It’s what he wants. He moves through the world in that way. That was challenging and exciting to play, to get into that character, to find his look and his feel and his energy and his drive. I was also very fortunate to have David as the director, so we could work together to move this character through this story. The other character of Dougie is not too dissimilar to a character I played in The Hidden years ago. It’s just a further degree of someone who is new to the world and is discovering it as he goes along. There’s a veil that he’s not able to get through. I watched Dustin Hoffman in Rain Man, Jeff Bridges in Starman, Peter Sellers in Being There; that was a big influence. Those were influences in terms of how to tackle this character. It provided a lot of opportunity for comedy, too. We were mining that. The comedy of timing and exasperation for those around us — particularly Naomi [Watts, who plays Dougie’s wife, Janey-E Jones]. She carries the lion’s share of the load.

These two extreme characters really embody the tonal dissonance that’s at play in the new Twin Peaks. There are monstrous moments of haunting imagery, shots of New York City skyscrapers, or even the actual town of Twin Peaks — often without music, which makes this familiar world look almost like a graveyard at times. On the other side, you have Dougie, with “Take Five” playing in the background as he discovers coffee for the first time — a moment of joy and whimsy. Was this something you felt while you were filming the project, this tug-of-war and push-and-pull between light and dark, not just in terms of the content of the story and the characters, but tonally as well?

That’s definitely there. It was in the script and I recognized it. The genius of David Lynch is that he builds all of that in as he edits and lays in the music and the sound. But even in the process of filming, there are certain lengths of time for a take, and extra pieces he wants, and timing. It’s all rhythmic with David. I’ve worked with him enough to know it’s really important he feels that what he’s getting on the day is going to fit with what’s going on in his head. I certainly felt those very things. Tonal dissonance is a really nice way of describing it.

I knew that the audience was excited, just based on social media, for the return of the Cooper that they remembered. I couldn’t say anything about that — that there was a process that had to happen before the ship could right itself, let’s say. I also like to say we’re basically … my take on it is that the world is out of balance, and we’re trying to take it back into balance now. We have 18 hours to do that. But I knew it would be difficult for people. Many people wanted the nostalgic return to the Twin Peaks that they remembered. And that’s not what we’re representing here. There are a lot of new stories going forward.

It’s certainly not something you’re getting easily. You have to work for those moments, like when you see Bobby Briggs (Dana Ashbrook) gazing upon Laura Palmer (Sheryl Lee) again for the first time in years.

Exactly right. And you see Kimmy Robertson and Harry Goaz together again as Lucy and Andy. There are reminders. But there are also reminders of just the passage of time. Shooting it was one thing, but seeing it, I was just reminded that it’s been 25, 26, 27 years. We’ve all gotten older. You just acknowledge the fact that we’re all mortal and time moves on. I also say, a lot of the time, Twin Peaks has continued on in its way. Now we’re revisiting Twin Peaks after all this time, but the town itself never stopped. All the action and activity there never stopped.

Speaking of the passage of time, one of the biggest questions heading into the new version of the series was how would it handle the fact that some of the castmembers who played essential characters had passed away since the original run. We have our answer now: archival footage being used in compelling ways, like Frank Silva appearing as Killer BOB in ethereal spheres, or Major Briggs’ (Don Davis) disembodied head floating through space. It’s powerful to behold as a viewer. What is it like for you, as someone who worked with these actors, watching them live on through this work and remain such an important part of the narrative?

I think it’s beautiful. As actors, this is how we stay around. To see even Catherine Coulson, who was able to work as the Log Lady [shortly before she passed away in 2015]. It’s bittersweet. There’s a sadness there. I think it’s intentional, and a recognition again that we are mortal. We have had some real tragedies with the show. Losing Miguel [Ferrer, who plays Agent Rosenfield] and losing Catherine … it’s not easy. It was challenging to David. But he has done an amazing job remembering, appropriately, I think, and with impact. The characters are still making an impact. As an actor, that’s what you want.

That was fantastic. I remember hearing about it for the first time. I had a big smile on my face, and I said, “Of course. It’s perfect.” Because I didn’t even know about it until it was announced. That was brilliant. That was also one of the secrets that I had to hold onto, knowing people were for the most part going to be stunned and excited and happy and all, “Oh, my lord!”

Before, we would only see Cooper speaking to Diane through a recorder. Now, she gets to speak back, and she swears like a sailor. It’s almost hard to imagine this Diane being so simpatico with the Cooper of old. What were your thoughts about Diane during the original run of the show, and how did they match up with the reality of the character?

I deliberately left it sort of without any definition. In other words, when I was speaking, I wouldn’t think of a certain person sitting at a desk somewhere back in Langley taking all of this down for whatever reason. I thought it was more about Cooper expressing his thoughts in a soothing way. It was a way for him as a character to make sense of what was happening around him and focus himself down. It was less about the person and what that relationship was or wasn’t, and more about me working through my stuff as the character. It’s gotten much richer now, knowing Diane is being played by Laura Dern, of course, and also to see her personality, which I wasn’t thinking about when I was working 25 years ago. It’s really funny. It’s kind of reminiscent of Albert, Miguel Ferrer’s character. She’s a little bit on the rougher side.

What was it like becoming the bad Cooper for the first time, seeing yourself in the wig and the leather jacket?

It was really helpful. That character was developed over a period of time where we would find one part of it, and then another part of it, and then another part, and finally we put it all together. I’m really pleased with what’s happened with the character. He’s a real, pure definition of evil. It’s really what I wanted. It was a layering of things. When I saw him and I walked out, I was still not sure. But the beauty of working with David Lynch is if David sees it and feels it and is right with it, then I’m right with it. His confidence in what he saw gave me confidence to go with what I had.

How about Dougie, and stepping into his plus-sized neon green suit? Was that helpful to get your head around Dougie?

(Laughs.) The idea that he went from that one character who we saw briefly, to someone who resembles Cooper a little bit more … I knew it was going to be tricky. But I knew it wasn’t up to me. It’s going to be up to the people around me to make that work. The character of Jade [Nafessa Williams], the character of Janey-E and the people at work — they were all going to have to look at him and go, “Why has he changed? What’s happening here?” As an audience, we have to go with that. I knew it was going to be a bit of a challenge. But it’s also a reflection on Dougie from before. He probably wasn’t that memorable, either. People probably didn’t look at him too closely: “Oh, it’s you. You look a little different. Did you change your hair or something?”

Never mind losing 20 pounds in a night.

Exactly. (Laughs.) “What? Did you go on a diet?” I can only imagine people weren’t paying that close of attention to him from the beginning. That’s how I justified it.

How was shooting the casino scene, and the “HELLO-OH-OH” of it all?

We were working outside of Los Angeles at a casino, and I remember playing the reality of what was happening with the character. I didn’t think too much about it. It felt organic and real and kind of awkward and slightly inappropriate. That was all perfect. The little things, like when you sit down, and the process of learning from watching people. I would watch, and then I would repeat, and then something would happen, and I would react to that. I would then go onto the next thing and the same thing would happen again and again. Trying to keep that as believable as possible was really the goal.

I spoke with Robert Broski recently about playing the Woodsman, and he was an incredibly nice man. You’re a very nice man yourself. By your own account, Frank Silva was “a lovely guy.” What is it about good people that make such compelling monsters?

Well, from my experience, it’s a new place to go. The nice thing is, it’s not who I am. I guess it’s a part of what I could be, but it’s not how I choose to live. It’s fun to be able to explore, in a controlled environment, what that feels like, I think. I’m able to put him on in the morning and then I can take him off in the evening when we’re done filming. I’ll tell you one thing it does: It makes you think about the people who can’t. The people who are closer to this than not. That’s a horrible place to be as a person.

Almost two weeks have passed since Part 8 aired. The feeling of watching it for the first time won’t wash away anytime soon. What was your reaction to that installment, an hour that all on its own stands out immediately as one of David Lynch’s seminal works?

I think this whole journey is going to be that. I think Part 8 was the culmination. It was an extraordinary sequence. It was certainly challenging to the audience, but just an amazing piece of work to sit there and absorb. It almost makes me feel that this is not a show you can necessarily binge-watch. I felt that after I watched the first two hours: “I need some time to process this and think about what just happened, because this is much more complex than just a show you would watch and forget.” It’s very challenging and stimulating, I think. In a way, it was probably great that there’s been enough time for people to really think about what they saw and process it and figure it out. It’s very complex.

That’s an interesting perspective, because you have said that you sat down and read the entire script for the new Twin Peaks in a single sitting, a couple of breaks notwithstanding. How does that experience measure against seeing what David had in mind with the finished product?

It’s one of the most fun things about being an actor. You read the script. You visualize everything as you go through. Then you film those pieces, which is different again. Then they edit it, and we see it, and now it’s a third film. So it’s a process of three, I think, and it changes each time. It continues to evolve. Because it’s David, it continues to get richer and more interesting. Certain imagery he uses over and over again, variations of that imagery … I’m coming to the show now just as an audience member, because I haven’t seen any of the [upcoming] sequences yet. I’m experiencing this the same as the audience. It’s a gift.

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