#about a boy

[framebetween]

ABOUT A BOY (2002)

[mikeandwillsweddingofficiant]

GUYS LET ME COOK

[07sunnyday]

I still can’t decide whether his eyes are supposed to be brown or blue.

[jayjay-thejet-plane]

thinking about when dean got de-aged… HES JUST A LITTLE GUY (real)

pt.2 pt.3

close ups of the lil corner doodles below

[girlvasectomy]

[benoits-neckerchieves]

This is so cute 🥹

Hugh Grant (40) & Nicholas Hoult (11) in About a Boy (2002) | Hugh Grant (64) & Nicholas Hoult (34) at the 2024 Governors Awards (17th Nov ‘24).

[inevitableking]

Running this timeline and thinking about how Alistair was almost prevented from participating in the tournament held by Knight Commander Glavin because he was such a menace and because he was such a terrible student. And then when he performed terribly in the tournament, Duncan still picked him and had to fight the Grand Cleric via the Rite of Conscription for the ability to recruit Alistair to the Grey Wardens. (Cut for length)

Was this because Duncan promised Fiona that he would watch over her son? Yes, yes it almost entirely is for that reason. Alistair was an absolute terror who probably did not deserve to be a Warden. But did Alistair know this?

Not even kind of.

All Alistair saw was this stoic, impressive Grey Warden choosing him despite there being far better options and then fighting for him with the Grand Cleric to the point that he was forced into the Wardens - not through his own complaints, but somebody looking to keep him. (No matter that the Grand Cleric refused the acceptance because he was an embarrassment to the Templars and not because she was eager to keep him).

So he's been accepted against all odds by this noble, legendary group because somebody wanted him to be badly enough to keep him, and then he's welcomed into the group despite still probably needing to grow out of being a menace.

These are Grey Wardens to boot. The noblest class, the highest calling, the most coveted position. They're knights of the highest order, the truest of the Maker's warriors, the most commonly told stories and tales of heroism and greatness. And they've chosen him and accepted him, Alistair, the problem.

And then we meet the next group of recruits who include a future warden that duncan specifically went to select much like he'd selected Alistair, a man who looks up to the Wardens as much as Alistair does, and a thief who is - granted - escaping execution but does so after proving himself trying to steal from Duncan. And who survives but the one Duncan specifically selected?

It's no wonder Alistair holds the Wardens in such high regard. It's no wonder he sees the Joining as an honor that must be earned. Why when the Warden sees the conscription as a punishment, Alistair sees it as a reward, something to be coveted and honored.

It's why he doesn't understand allowing Loghain to join. He's a 20 year old being told that the man who killed his father figure, who tried to have them killed, who caused so much pain and suffering in Ferelden over deranged national pride is to be rewarded the highest of honors rather than punished.

It's his first taste of the Wardens not being the heroes he's always believed they are. And it's devastating for him, especially if the realization comes with the betrayal of his closest friend/ally/lover.