"For me the water sport is … I have an inflatable ring and I do the crossword."
The quote above is from Emerson. No, not Ralph Waldo. The "Other" Emerson, Michael. The object of my latest (and now officially full-blown) obsession. I thought it was fitting since it's summer (yeah, duh :), and it also perfectly sums up my water sport preferences :) Yeah, we are soul mates. At least water sport-wise. And did I mention that he's adorable? No? Well, he is. Like … totally. On every level. And on screen he tends to play characters (to perfection, btw) that I've always found fascinating (smart, snarky, dwelling in the morally gray area, kinda creepy, misunderstood, misguided, borderline genius/insane with a certain aura of evil, yet still awesomely ambiguous, possessing - in traces - redeemable qualities, and, to use Michael’s words, "damaged and dangerous"). So it wasn’t too hard to get obsessed. And below you can find the result of said obsession expressed in icons (+ a wallpaper).
Warnings: more fangirling (feel free to just skip it, sometimes I get carried away :), a bunch of bloody!Ben icons (he’s the Island’s resident punching bag, so I couldn’t leave these out), and … maybe a little swearing.
ICONS
156 Ben Linus [from LOST]
His methods are questionable, yes, his results are sometimes non-existent or worse, sure, but with that amount of beating and backstabbing + Jack & Locke’s constant messing around + with a sulking unstable/invisible boss breathing down your neck (or spine? :), it’s pretty hard to be sane, nice, trustful, and efficient all the time. But even under the craziest circumstances Ben has good manners :) "Alex, this is your mother …" Unbelievable! :D
And I seriously ship Ben and his bottle of DHARMA whiskey. And Ben and his satchel. And … oh, yeah, Ben and Juliet! The Significant Others. Naturally [",] And of course there’s the Bennie ship too *sighs* When it comes to Ben, it’s almost like that song … anything goes :D
[39] texted (from "The Man Behind the Curtain" [21], "Through the Looking Glass" [17], and Entertainment Weekly [1])
[95] textless (not bases; from "The Man Behind the Curtain" [46], "Through the Looking Glass" [46], and Entertainment Weekly [3])
[12] animated (from "A Tale of Two Cities," "Every Man for Himself," and "Greatest Hits" + from a LOST Season 3 promo - the one with Henry/Michael’s voiceover)
[10] Benry quotes (from "Maternity Leave," "The Whole Truth," "Dave," "Two for the Road," "Live Together, Die Alone," "Every Man for Himself," and "The Man from Tallahassee")
12 William Hinks [from The Practice]
If there ever was a character on TV whose subtle (and not so subtle but still effective) manipulative/mindf#%king abilities can top those of Ben's, that's William Hinks. That Emmy was more than well-deserved (now it’s time for that second one, so go Michael! :). Michael is simply brilliant in this role (too).
[06] animated (from "The Deal")
[06] animated (from "Friends and Ex-Lovers")
10 Michael Emerson as himself [from various interviews]
Well, they don't really offer us the deepest exploration of Ben's character and such, but both interviews have some great "Michael Moments" (and that’s what matters icon-wise). BWE's Ben/Michael hybrid with the polar bear and the lollipop had me in stitches for minutes: "Is that a polar bear behind you?" "… No." :D And in the TV Guide one I just *loved* how he immediately answered "Yes!" to the question whether the Lost producers knew what they were doing, but he had to stop and think more about whether he himself was dangerous in real life :D Gotta. Love. This. Guy.
[04] animated (from "Best Week Ever")
[06] animated (from TV Guide’s "Watercooler")
16 Ben-themed quote/text icons [original texts were snatched from the Movie Quote Generator and the Sloganizer]
Seriously, don't take these TOO seriously :) Some of the original quotes were slightly altered to fit Ben’s character.
[10] quotes
[05] slogans
+ [01] animated anagram (because sometimes I get so bored it’s scary)
WALLPAPER [LOST, Season 2; Henry Gale]: I just call it "The Three-Faced Liar."
Now comes the usual rant:
[+] Comment.
[+] Credit.
[+] Enjoy!
TEASERS:
R E S O U R C E S
Wallpaper
Caps: Lost Photo Gallery (from the episode "Dave")
Textures: gender
Quote: from Gabriel Mann’s My Little Box lyrics.
Font: Death Struggle
Icons
Caps: me + Entertainment Weekly scans taken from Lost Photo Gallery
Textures: gender, discolore
Quotes
Textures: gender, discolore, sanami276
Fonts: 1942 Report, Adler, Arial, Carnivalee Freakshow, Cella, Cheapskate Fill (from dafont)
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WALLPAPER
I was kinda surprised how this wally turned out in the end. First it kinda crept me out, but now I'm more or less okay with it, that's why I dared to post it. I never had an initial plan in mind (except for trying to escape tons of stuff I had to memorize for my finals), so I just played around with two pictures I fell in love with over at the Lost Photo Gallery. Then, after a few hours of aimless fooling around, this thing was born out of my exam period misery. I guess my subconscious was working hard, though, because now that I look at it, it kinda sums up S02 Ben by showing his 3 basic personalities we NOW know he possessed back then:
1) the frail, open, emotional, but fake Henry in the front, looking ahead (almost into your eyes);
2) the cold, collected, calculating leader of the Others hidden behind, avoiding eye-contact;
3) and buried even deeper is "just Ben" who (I think) is probably a complicated mixture of the previous two (hence the slightly faded coloring - not as vivid as Fake Henry's, but not as statue-like as Ben, the leader's). He's the young boy whom Annie loved and cared so much about. The son who's still tormented/crippled by the crushing guilt of having caused the death of his own mother. The father who carries his daughter's picture with him everywhere he goes. The (former) book club guy who (allegedly) hates Stephen King, but still read Carrie to please Juliet. Yeah, Ben is a very complex fella, and I just love him for it. Everybody who simply labels him an evil bastard misses out on a great deal of fun.
Preview:
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