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pappydaddy · 2 years

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effortlessly cool and detached hot boy (j.m.)

a/n: my writers block might be getting better, but i still suck at writing these things😭. but, this is also for the lovely @i-always-come-back-xoxo! this time, for jj (my baby) with take off all your cool by sabrina carpenter!

tv show/movie: outer banks

pairing: jj maybank x fem!reader requested

based off take off all your cool by sabrina carpenter

synopsis: y/n gives jj one condition before she thinks about going on an actual date with him - he has to take his cool off

warnings: angst to fluff | though, this turned out less angsty and more sexual tensiony but that was not my intention masterlist | taglist | wips | navigation - not my gif - - weird spacing thanks to tumblr -

"I know you like to be seen as the effortlessly cool and detached hot boy, but you should really try another look." Y/N rested her elbows on the counter of the bar at the country club, eyes sparkling as she looked up at the annoyed blonde boy behind the counter as he set his bus bin down.

"I'll take that into consideration when you stop being such a spoiled brat, Princess." He retorted, his hands gripping the edges of the bin, his strong arms flexing at the grip. Y/N's eyes stuck on the defined muscles of his forearms for a split second before looking back up at him, not hiding her gaze. By the way JJ flexed his arms harder, dipping his head slightly, his shoulders and back muscles rippling under his shirt, he wasn't hiding how much he liked her gaze on him.

"Classic cool and detached JJ Maybank," She shook her head as she tsked at him. "Playing hard to get because he doesn't want to lose his street cred in The Cut," She hummed, pushing herself to stand up and not lean on the bar. Her eyes trailed along with him, taking in his perfectly staged body. He looked perfect. Like a sculpture sculpted by the Greek Gods themselves. "Maybe I would ask you out if you weren't trying so hard to be cool, JJ." She remarked, tapping the bar before swiping one of the napkin rolls sitting there before walking back to the table her family sat at.

____

"Where's the red carpet, Princess?" JJ swooped into the situation, his caterer uniform already dishevelled just like the feathers he was about to ruffle. Y/N rolled her eyes despite the butterflies filling her stomach as his nickname for her.

"Don't you have a table to clear, bus boy?" Rafe sneered, his hand clutching a whiskey glass with one swig of whiskey left.

"Probably, but I think flirting with a pretty Princess takes priority," JJ shrugged, leaning against the railing of the gazebo. "Or, was that what you were trying to do, Rafe," He pointed to the annoyed Kook. "Because if that was flirting, you should really have lessons. It looked like you were trying to bore her."

Rafe took a step towards the smug boy who just smiled at him, a hint of a sparkle in his eyes when he saw how much he got to Rafe. Effortlessly cool and detached hot boy. "Back off, Rafe. Go bother someone else." Y/N told him, voice demanding and cool. Rafe huffed but listened. JJ watched him stomp off somewhere else.

"Now, it's just you and me, Princess," He pushed himself off the railing, stepping up to her. Standing closer than Rafe had, he looked down at her. Usual playboy smirk hanging off his lips, he let his eyes rake up and down her. "Wanna get out of here? Everyone keeps saying it's only a matter of time until we finally get together. Why not make their dreams come true?"

"You know my conditions, JJ. You give up the whole cool guy facade and show me what I know is under the surface and I'll go out with you," She set her rules again. "You stop caring about double texting, stop caring about looking perfect, and stop acting like you don't care about anything, then we can cross that line."

"What about you, Princess? Why should I be the only want stripping my soul bare?"

"You want me to take off my cool," She questioned, gesturing to herself. JJ nodded smugly, thinking he caught her. "I'm not prideful. I am shameless. I don't have any cool to take off. I've laid myself out for you, it's up to you if we cross that final line or not." With that, she walked away, heading right out of the party.

____

I thought about what you said last night

Y/N stared at the grey bubble on her phone. She barely noticed the three dots blinking in the bubble in the corner as she waited for more context (and to see if he would double text).

I want to cross that line

Come to The Wreck now

Triple text and proper grammar? This was much different that the 'u up 4 a hookup' or 'outside your window to bang' texts she usually got from him. Hurriedly, she stuffed her sandy towel and book (The Love Hypothesis) in her tote bag, she shimmied on her shorts and booked it up the beach towards The Wreck.

Walking in, she noticed how busy it was. Not only was a Saturday in June, but there was also a deal on at The Wreck - two dine for the price of one. In the middle of it, JJ sat. His hair tousled in the normal way that gave off the hot-without-trying vibe.

The second she walked in, his eyes were already on her as if he had been staring at the door in anticipation of her arrival. Clearing his throat, he pushed off of where he was leaning against the counter with the cash register, quickly climbing on top of it. Kie swatted at him with a dish towel, but he ignored it, eyes locked with Y/N's.

"Ma'ams and Sirs, I interrupt your fine dining experience with a very important announcement," He bellowed, the restaurant falling silent, everyone looking at JJ with expectant eyes. "The girl that just walked in with the wind-blown hair gave me some conditions a while back when I asked her out. She told me she would only go out with me when I took off all my cool. For the longest time, I didn't know how because, I mean, look at me. I am effortlessly cool-" Kie snapped the dish towel at him, making him jump and whine slightly. "Anyway, I decided to do something that breaks my supposed 'effortlessly cool and detached hot boy'-" He put air quotes around that last statement. "Facade by saying how much I love her. How I love that she keeps me in check. How I love how she always wants to see in the best and the worst lighting. How I love that she's constantly trying to catch me when I'm not looking perfect because she actually enjoys me. How I love how unapologetically her she is. How I love that she doesn't have a cool facade because she knows she is cool without trying-"

"Get off my counter, Maybank!" Mr. Carrera yelled, marching out of the backroom. JJ immediately jumped off the counter.

"Also, I love watching kids' shows! They have the best theme songs! How uncool is that," He yelled, running through the sea of tables with Mr. Carerra on his heels. His hand encircled Y/N's wrist. "Let's run, Princess!" He exclaimed, giving her a split second to react so she didn't get hurt.

"Two-week ban, JJ!" Mr. Carrera yelled at him from out the door. Panting and out of breath, JJ and Y/N stopped running a few seconds later.

"So, how was that for taking off my cool?" JJ asked, hand not leaving Y/N's wrist as they both faced each other. Looking him up and down, she noted how unposed he looked as he stood there. How natural and imperfect (but still perfect somehow) he looked. He wasn't flexing or trying to appear cool.

"It was a start. But I think it was enough to get you a date and a kiss-"

She was cut off by his lips slamming against hers, lips melting against each other as if they were made to fit together. His hands gripped her jaw as she leaned into him, feeling all his muscles through his thin white t-shirt. She hummed, tasting the saltiness of the fries he had been eating before she came in.

As his tongue swiped along her bottom lip before trying to pry her lips open, she pushed away. "You have to be slightly less of an effortlessly cool and detached hot boy to get tongue, mister."

"I admitted I like watching kids' shows, how much more uncool does that get?"

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playermagic23 · 3 months

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EXCLUSIVE: When Mean Girls star Avantika Vandanapu admitted being a fan of Mahesh Babu: “He has a very down-to-earth and grounded nature about him”

Avantika Vandanapu, an emerging American-Indian actress, has captivated audiences in her portrayal of Karen Shetty in the latest Mean Girls installment, succeeding Amanda Seyfried's iconic role from 2004. The internet has been buzzing with praise, envisioning her as the brown Rapunzel and advocating for her presence in various projects. Prior to her Hollywood journey, Vandanapu marked her debut in the Indian film industry with a role in Mahesh Babu's 2016 release, Brahmotsavam.

While the 19-year-old is revelling in the newfound fame in Hollywood, she made her Telugu movie debut as a child actor and worked with Telugu superstar Mahesh Babu. Back in 2021, while promoting her film Spin for Disney channel which also stars Abhay Deol, Avantika admitted to being a huge fan of Mahesh Babu. Speaking to Bollywood Hungama at the time, she had said, “I am a big fan of him. If you watch Telugu movies, you are mostly like and inevitably going to be a fan of Mahesh Babu. So to have the first movie and to have worked with him was such an insane thing for me. I don’t know if many Indians in American, second-generation Indian-American kids can comprehend Mahesh Babu’s magnitude and the amount of work he has done. I grew up watching so many Telugu movies. My parents speak fluent Telugu at home. I was very ingrained in that culture. So when I went to India and worked with Mahesh Babu, I knew what was happening and it was a huge thing for me. To this day, I am still like ‘That’s so weird that it was my first opportunity.’ How insane is that.”

Recalling Mahesh Babu’s kind gesture of guiding her during the shoot, she added, “I did get to speak with him on set. He is an adult and he decided to speak to his young kid who was a really big fan on set. He is so nice. During the shoot, a lot of things got added and we travelled to Ooty and a lot of unplanned travels happened. When we were there, he was kind of helping me, guiding me through the process because all this was happening so fast at once. He is a great actor and amazing to be in person. He is very quiet and he has a very down-to-earth and grounded nature about him.” Meanwhile, Avantika Vandanapu stars in Tina Fey’s Mean Girls. New student Cady Heron (Angourie Rice) is welcomed into the top of the social food chain by the elite group of popular girls called “The Plastics,” ruled by the conniving queen bee Regina George (Reneé Rapp) and her minions Gretchen (Bebe Wood) and Karen (Avantika). However, when Cady makes the major misstep of falling for Regina’s ex-boyfriend Aaron Samuels (Christopher Briney), she finds herself prey in Regina’s crosshairs. As Cady sets to take down the group’s apex predator with the help of her outcast friends Janis (Auli’i Cravalho) and Damian (Jaquel Spivey), she must learn how to stay true to herself while navigating the most cutthroat jungle of all: high school. The film is currently running in theatres.

#Avantika Vandanapu #Brahmotsavam #Hollywood #International #Mahesh Babu #Mean Girls #South #South Cinema #Telugu #bollywood hungama

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uboat53 · 1 year

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You know, with the results still being counted it's impossible to know for sure who will control the House or the Senate in two months, but one thing we do know for sure is that they will not feature the large Republican majorities that had been predicted before the election and I think that that should be credited in large part to President Biden, though not for the reasons that he would probably like. You see, it's because he's thoroughly uninspiring.

What do I mean by that? Look, I'm old enough to have voted in every Presidential election since 2004 and to remember elections all the way back to 1996 and one thing that has been fairly consistent in all of them is that the core supporters of the President have been genuinely inspired by them. I don't mean that in the sense of "yeah, he's a cool guy", I mean that in the sense of "I trust this person and think that they're going to make the world better". This was true of Trump, Obama, Bush Jr., and Clinton.

But it's not true of Biden. His core supporters, women, minorities, and young people, don't idolize him. In fact, to some degree they don't even fully trust him. To a much larger degree than any other President in my lifetime, Biden's core supporters do not believe that he alone will fix their problems.

And I remember this problem! I was one of those young people who powered Obama's win in 2008. My friends were enamored with him; several who hadn't really had any interest in voting deliberately got involved in 2008 just to vote for him. But in 2010, when he wasn't on the ballot, they didn't show up. The same thing happened more or less in 2014, to Trump in 2018, to Bush in 2006, and to Clinton in 1994 (1998 and 2002 were weird years with some unusual events going on).

Gen-Z and younger Millennials (those aged 18-29) just did what my generation did not and I think it has a lot to do with the fact that Biden doesn't inspire the same kind of adulation and even hero-worship that previous Presidents have. Young people may be among his core supporters but they don't trust that he and he alone will solve all of their problems, especially not after the Dobbs ruling and his inability to stop so many states from instituting harsh abortion bans. And, because Biden didn't or couldn't inspire them to trust that he would do everything for them, they turned out to vote because they felt that they had to do it themselves.

I think it's also important to recognize how rare this kind of youth engagement is. Going back in the data to the early 1970s when 18-20 year olds were first allowed to vote, 2022 has the second highest youth participation rate for a midterm election, second only to 2018. That said, the key battleground states saw even higher youth participation, on par with 2018. In other words, the young people are turning out to vote in even greater numbers when it matters most.

Personally, I think it's great. As an elder/geriatric Millennial, I remember how quickly Obama was kneecapped in his first term because those who had voted for him didn't keep turning out when it was needed. Seeing the younger generation overcome that today is fantastic and I hope it leads to a civically involved generation that keeps this kind of engagement up for their whole lives. Honestly the largest problem with American democracy these days is the amount of people who are unengaged and if a new generation can breathe new life into it I'll celebrate that!

So congratulations to Gen-Z and the younger Millennials for avoiding the trap that my generation fell into. May you continue to choose competent but uninspiring leaders in the future and keep for yourselves the task of preserving democracy.

#politics #us politics #president biden #president joe biden #2022 elections #midterm elections #youth vote #gen z

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edwardskhakipants · 3 years

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Forks, Washington. August 2004.

Esme and Carlisle stood in the middle of their grand living room, waiting for their five vampire children to arrive. Alice arrived first—prompt as usual. She settled herself gracefully onto the tufted sofa Esme had recently acquired, only to be immediately jostled by Emmett who heaved himself onto the cushions. A breath caught in Esme’s throat—she had lost many pieces from her beloved collection by that action—but it looked like this one was still in one piece. For the moment. Jasper took Edward’s normal spot in the only armchair, forcing Edward to wedge himself between Alice and Emmett.

“What?” Rosalie grumbled as she perched on the armrest of the couch beside Emmett, “Are we having another one of those How to Respect the Telepath in Your Life meetings again?”

“No,” Edward answered, fully aware of the intent of this meeting since it hatched in Carlisle's mind two days prior. “But there’s never a bad time to bring that up. Christ, Emmett, if you’re going to have a song stuck in your head for over seventy-two hours, the least you can do is learn the correct lyrics.”

Emmett’s eyebrows knit together, asking his brother a silent question.

“It’s ‘mulatto, an albino, a mosquito, my libido,’” Edward answered.

Emmett’s brow furrowed doubtfully.

“No.” Edward shook his head, answering Emmett’s thoughts. “Why would he eat a beetle?”

Emmett grinned playfully and tilted his head towards Edward.

Edward wasn’t amused. “You know what it means.”

A silly grin plastered on his face, Emmett elbowed Edward in the ribs, silently egging him on.

Edward’s eyes darted to Carlisle, then Esme, and he shifted in his seat. “Sexual desire,” he muttered.

Emmett howled with laughter and clapped his hands once, “Wow, Eddie! You’re just going to say that in front of Esme!?” Edward scowled as Emmett’s bouts of laughter echoed through the room.

Esme ran a hand through her youngest’s ginger hair. “Boys,” she warned, and Emmett sucked in his laughter.

“Our meeting today has to do with all of you,” Carlisle began.

“We simply wanted to go over the rules of attending school with you kids before you start your second year at Forks High School,” Esme explained, unfolding and re-folding her hands in front of her. “There are already whispers, and we don’t want those whispers to turn into rumors.”

“I thought the only whispers about us at school were whether or not Edward liked girls,” Rosalie said, earning an eye-roll from Edward.

“No,” Alice chirped,” Some kids think we’re a cult.”

Jasper leaned back heavily in his chair. “We haven’t heard that one since the Seventies.”

“Kids are getting more creative these days.” Emmett nodded appreciatively.

Esme held up one, delicate finger. “Which is why it is best to take preventative action.”

Carlisle took the floor. “We thought a few reminders would be helpful before you started your first day of your second year,” Carlisle said. “We don’t want another incident like the one we had at the end of last year.”

Every head in the room turned towards Emmett.

“What?” Emmett threw up his hands in exasperation, “The water gun fight was the senior prank—I wasn’t the one who brought them to the school. Hell, I wasn’t even the only student who got suspended!”

“That’s true,” Carlisle agreed, “but you were the only student to shout, ‘Sit down, kids! Daddy’s gotta tinkle,’ and shoot the stream of the gun from your crotch.”

Jasper snickered—the sound was immediately silenced by a single raised eyebrow from Esme.

“I still don’t see the problem,” Emmett continued, “That’s not necessarily a vampire thing.”

Edward—who often mistook himself as the third vampire parent rather than the youngest son—sighed, “Yes, but it brings unnecessary attention to the family. Which is the first rule: do not bring attention to yourself.”

Esme ran her fingers through her son’s hair once more, “Yes, darling, you are especially good at keeping to yourself.” Edward’s eyes widened, despite Esme’s gentle touch, already aware of where her point was headed. “So much so, that I have been given the names of several child therapists to help my son through his depression. One was recommended for his exceptional work on spotting and treating the early signs of sociopathic behavior.”

Esme grabbed her son’s chin and forced him to look at her. “You have to talk to other people.”

Knocked off his high horse, Edward flinched back from Esme’s hand. “Friendship with humans never bodes well for us.”

“We’re not asking you to create lifelong friendships with humans,” Carlisle clarified, “We are simply asking you to be likable.”

“A nearly impossible feat for Edward.” Rosalie grinned. The comment went unnoticed, save Edward’s slight flinch. But the quick, little tick was satisfying enough for Rose.

“Look at your father,” Esme gestured towards Carlisle, “At every hospital he works at, he goes out of his way to ensure he is well-liked among his colleagues. He forces down countless lunches and coffees, solely to make sure they’re comfortable around him.”

Carlisle took over. “And your mother, a beloved member of her gardening club and a prized member of the PTA.”

“And neither of us have rumors started about us, and do you know why?”

All five teenagers grumbled the ingrained response. “Humans don’t want to spread rumors about people they like.”

“Exactly.” Esme nodded.

“I try!” Alice whined, “But Edward never lets me talk to any humans.”

“That’s because every, single thing that is about to come out of your mouth is incriminating. You might as well walk around with a neon sign that says, ‘I’m a psychic vampire’.”

Alice scoffed, “Is not!”

“You wanted to tell Nihal Howard not to audition for the musical.”

“And he broke his leg on opening night,” Alice challenged.

“You were going to tell Christiana Ward that pink was not her color.”

“And she lost prom queen to Ashley Kirby.”

Jasper put a comforting hand on his wife’s knee. “Maybe try not to meddle so much, darlin’. Natural relationships, first.”

“They would have been!” Alice wailed, “I would have played it cool and casual and made friends and you all would have seen it! But everyone’s hurt and I have no friends at all because Edward won’t let me try!”

Edward rolled his eyes.

Carlisle suppressed a heavy sigh. “You have to let your sister try, Edward.”

Edward’s mouth fell open. “You cannot seriously be siding with her on this!”

But Carlisle stood his ground. He and Edward stared at one another for a few seconds, engaged in a silent conversation. In the end, Carlisle tilted his chin and Edward slumped back. Victorious, Alice used both pointer fingers to jab Edward in the side several dozen times at vampire speed.

Rosalie flipped her golden locks over her shoulder. “I don’t know how you all struggle so much. I have no issues with becoming well-liked at school while remaining inconspicuous.”

“Oh yeah, you’re so inconspicuous,” Edward grumbled, now extra-petty that he had been called out two times in one meeting. “You dress like you're on your way to brunch at your second husband’s country club in Beverly Hills and you make out with your foster brother. The perfect picture of discretion in Forks High School.”

“At least I don’t dress like a sad, old man.” Rosalie grimaced, disappointed in her comeback. The light, humorous insults that were required in family situations were Emmett’s forte; Rosalie’s insults were meant to emotionally cripple a person.

Edward sat up in his seat on the couch and turned to face Rosalie. “I think you missed the main takeaway in that you make out with your foster brother.” Edward turned back. “I can read your minds, and I still don’t understand what made either of you think it was okay to bring your relationship to school?!”

Emmett smiled, unperturbed. “It’s hot.”

“It’s disturbing,” Edward disagreed.

Esme frowned, “You kids don’t really do that, do you?”

“Would it help if Jasper and I became an official couple too?” Alice suggested. Jasper perked up at the idea of being able to hold hands with Alice in public again.

“No!” Edward yelled at the same time Emmett and Rosalie muttered their acquiesce.

“It wouldn’t seem as weird if there were two couples,” Emmett agreed.

Edward dug his fingers through his hair. “Oh my god!”

“...maybe not, kids,” Esme intervened, but was ultimately ignored.

“So should we come out today like it happened over the summer, or make a little show out of it?” Alice asked Rosalie.

Rosalie waved a hand in the air. “Oh, it’s way more fun if you play up the theatrics.”

“A little more realistic, too,” Emmett agreed.

Alice looked to Jasper for his opinion. “It might be better if we were discreet about it,” she said. “Like we knew it was wrong, but we wouldn’t let anything stand in the way of our love.”

Jasper scooted forward to the edge of his seat. “Or we could let it be quiet and drawn out. Let others see our mutual pining, and root for us to be together.”

Gazing deep into the golden eyes of her soulmate, Alice sighed, “I love that.”

“If people wanted us to get together, it would normalize Emmett and Rosalie’s relationship.”

“Or Rosalie and Emmett could stop,” Edward suggested, bitterly. “That would be normal, too.”

“Oh, Edward,” Alice patted his shoulder, “You’ll find love someday, too.”

“That is not at all what bothers me about the situation.”

Carlisle made the decision for everyone. “Rosalie and Emmett, break up at school. Alice and Jasper, remain friends and siblings.”

Disappointment filtered into the room through Jasper.

“I heard that,” Edward grumbled at someone’s thoughts.

“You were supposed to,” Rosalie shot back.

“We are also initiating a new rule,” Esme brought the room back to the conversation at hand, “No more correcting your teachers.”

A chorus of complaints rang from the couch.

Esme clicked her tongue, “I’m tired of defending you all from entirely preventable issues. I have emails from curious teachers wondering why my foster daughter is taking French 101, when she already appears to be fluent.” Esme looked at Rosalie, who immediately tucked her bottom lip between her teeth. “Or why my son, at the tender age of sixteen, could not only deadlift three hundred pounds in his first weightlifting class, but also give his coach tips on improving his posture.”

Emmett glanced over at Edward before he realized Esme was, in fact, addressing him. “What!?”

Jasper snorted. The sound was a mistake, for it brought Esme’s wrath onto him. “And not to mention the emails from not one, not two, but three teachers warning me that my foster son has an intimate understanding of the mechanics of a point fifty-eight caliber rifle-musket.” Esme held out her hands, almost pleadingly, “How does that subject keep coming up, Jasper?”

A noncommittal grunt was the only answer Jasper had for that question.

“No more,” she commanded. “You can get good grades but keep your extra knowledge on any subject to yourself. Whatever your teacher teaches is all you know. Understand?”

“But what if we—” Edward started.

“Understand?” Esme repeated.

The five teenage vampires understood, even if they didn’t want to.

“I believe that all five of you will graduate from Forks High School!” Esme cheered.

The kids stared back, unable to muster the zeal Esme had over the prospect.

“Meeting adjourned!” Carlisle announced, and faster than fast vampire speed, the kids bolted from their seats.

Esme was able to get in a few more reminders as her children flitted around the house and filed out to the silver Volvo. “Remember to buy lunch with cash and not your credit cards. Emmett, please do not joke about being mauled by a bear. Do not address your teachers by their first names—I don’t care if you’re older than they are, Edward. Alice, please wear something a bit more causal, pet.”

When the house was finally empty, Carlisle pulled Esme backwards into his chest and began massaging her temples. The gesture wasn’t needed, but any touch from her husband was always welcome.

“Do you think they’ll listen?” she asked her husband.

“Not a chance.”

#this bad boy had been swimming around in my head for awhile #please enjoy #my other fics havent been cullen centric enough for me lately #so i had to do something #twilight fic #twilight fan fiction #and thank you to the editing queen edwardsmate4ever for beta'ing for me #youre a queen

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shefanispeculator · 3 years

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I'm slightly disappointed to log onto Zoom and find Gwen Stefani in Los Angeles. I wanted to see the ranch. Stefani spent most of the pandemic in Oklahoma with her fiancé and fellow The Voice coach Blake Shelton, with whom she has recently collaborated on a string of country radio hits, alongside a kitsch Christmas song. For a ska-pop superstar, it's a pivot, but Stefani and Shelton are cute together — picture-perfect in their opposite attraction.

Country Gwen exists, her urban counterpart assures me, but on this particular MacBook she's nowhere to be seen. I'm not sure what crude regional stereotypes I was expecting (Stefani spitting sunflower seeds? Shelton line dancing in the background?) but I get Californian sunshine instead, illuminating a version of Stefani more familiar from my teenage years, when Love. Angel. Music. Baby and its follow-up The Sweet Escape spawned millions of fans, haters and imitators. She's platinum blonde, red lipsticked and wearing a black-and-white outfit that matches the decor. The checkerboard pattern can be traced back to an even earlier era, when Stefani and her No Doubt bandmates were '80s teenagers obsessed with two-tone acts like Madness and The Specials.

Cowboy boots wouldn't fit this picture, and nor would Stefani's glitzy showgirl outfits from The Voice, where she just wrapped another season as a celebrity coach. As she prepares to release her fourth solo record, and enters the fifth decade of an extraordinarily successful music career, Gwen Stefani is re-re-branding as... Gwen Stefani.

Top: Local Boogeyman, Pants: GCDS, Shoes: Valentino, Earrings, bracelets and rings: Dena Kemp (The Residency Experience), Necklaces: Gwen's own, Engagement ring: Gwen's own

"But what is that?" Stefani asks with seriousness, as we consider the possibility of some essential, inherent Gwen. "Everyone's interpretation of what I am and how I sing, I mean, that's what this era is about for me."

Said era kicked off late last year, with the music video for "Let Me Reintroduce Myself." It saw Stefani playfully revisit the wardrobes of album cycles past, from the ab-bearing tomboy tank tops of "Hollaback Girl" to the club kid blue hair mascara of '90s No Doubt. Her Harajuku Girls also make a return. The entire visual is a huge flex, not only for the sheer volume of iconic career moments recreated in dutiful detail, but the fact Stefani can still fit into the clothes originally worn during all of them. She looks eerily the same, frighteningly good, ageing in reverse at the same pace as her frequent collaborator Pharrell.

"It's really a blessing to be able to have such a long career, where there really is nothing to prove anymore."

Pop stars are expected to be young forever, in looks but also in their capacity to innovate new trends. Which makes the nostalgic music video a curious choice. Doesn't Stefani know by now that the cardinal rule of pop is to avoid repeating yourself? That even the hottest artists in the world are basically required by law to create completely new eras from scratch every six months in order to appease fans and maintain maximum TikTok-ready relevance?

Of course she does, but that doesn't mean she has to participate. Stefani isn't trying to chase down her contemporaries, despite clearly possessing the physical fitness required. "It's really a blessing to be able to have such a long career, where there really is nothing to prove anymore," she says. "It's a different energy. You know, it's really just about doing it to do it, as opposed to trying to make a statement or make a mark."

Corset: Ronald van der Kemp, Bracelets: Dena Kemp (The Residency Experience), Earrings: Lana Jewelry (The Residency Experience), Engagement ring: Gwen's own

Even the Saweetie remix of her latest single "Slow Clap" happened on a whim, after the younger artist happened to post a video of herself vibing to Stefani's 2004 single "Luxurious" on Instagram Stories. They knocked out the song and accompanying video in a day. Neither seems bothered by the Old Navy meme. "It was just this little video that we did on the fly," Stefani says. "It just happened. It just feels good to put new stuff out there."

Stefani completed a two-year Vegas greatest hits residency in 2019, which gave her a sense of perspective on her own legacy. "You make a new record because that's what is exciting for you," she says. "But people really just want to hear the records after a while that were the backdrop to their lives, a 'Don't Speak' or a 'Just a Girl' or a 'Hollaback Girl,' or whatever it was for them. So, you know, it's hard — you can only be new when you're new, and that's just the truth, and I know that."

She says she was pleasantly surprised that "Let Me Reintroduce Myself" charted at all, and that she only found out it did when Shelton walked into the kitchen to show her the iTunes numbers. "I burst out crying with joy, because it was like, 'Whoa, really?' I think I'd set myself up to be quite realistic about where I'm at."

Stefani, endlessly polite and self-deprecating in conversation, which on her end mostly consists of endearingly earnest run-on monologues, says she still has "tons" of insecurities. I get the impression she has been trying harder to give herself credit lately. She recalls recently hearing Cyndi Lauper's "Girls Just Want to Have Fun" on the car radio and finding herself in awe of the song's timeless catchiness.

Suit: Balmain, Earrings and choker: Lana Jewelry (The Residency Experience), Necklaces: Gwen's own

"But then I started thinking," she says, in a goofy Cher Horowitz tone. "Like, I have a few of those myself." She talks of this realization as a genuine breakthrough, which is a little worrying for a woman who has sold 40 million records. No shit, she has a "few of those." More of them than Lauper, actually.

More new music is coming along slowly, but I've caught Stefani on a day when the horizon looks closer than usual, and while things haven't quite fallen into place yet, she's feeling more confident that they eventually will. "I'm at the end," she declares. "The idea of going for a session and not being with my kids or the idea of taking time away from Blake doesn't fuel my fire like it did two months ago. I need to decide, wrap it up, put out the project."

Crucially, there's no rush. The album will simply arrive sometime this year, tracklist and title currently undecided.

"You're talking to me at a weird transitional time," Stefani says repeatedly throughout our conversation, which sometimes takes on the cathartic tone of therapy. But having time in the first place is a new feeling.

Bracelet and choker: Dana Kemp (The Residency Experience), Obsession necklace: Lidow Archive, Gold necklaces: Gwen's own, Clothing: Blumarine, Boots: Philipp Plein

NO DOUBT WERE A BAND for nine years before getting on the radio. Enough time for Stefani and bassist Tony Kanal to be in a long term relationship then break up and write a whole hit album about it. All of the Fleetwood Mac drama was resolved pre-fame, which enabled the group to capitalize on the surprise success of Tragic Kingdom singles like "Don't Speak" and "Just a Girl" with a world tour that lasted almost three years. Three more albums followed, and Stefani has reinforced her household name status in every decade since, launching a solo career and multiple fashion lines while never totally cutting the cord from her original musical project.

In other words, record executives have been dictating Stefani's schedule since the mid-'90s. She even sings about it on Love. Angel. Music. Baby opener "What You Waiting For," in which her biological clock ticks like a metronome. Interscope Co-Founder Jimmy Iovine, who discovered No Doubt and continued to work with Stefani on her solo output, was quick to point out that his client's prime childbearing years were also her last opportunity to cross over into pop stardom. And after her first record went number one, it only made sense to lay down some new tracks straight away.

"Whether or not I get the response that I would hope to get — because that's what I'm used to, because I'm so damn spoiled and I've tasted the blood of success — I still got to do the creative journey."

"I had the baby, the first one, and it was only like eight weeks after I had him, that Jimmy was calling me saying, you've got to go in the studio with Akon," Stefani recalls cheerfully. "Like, Akon wants to work with you. Like, no, I'm nursing my baby. But then I couldn't say no." And then? "We wrote 'Sweet Escape.'" And then? "I went on a world tour." And then? "In the month that I got home from that one hundred and whatever shows it was, I got pregnant with Zuma. So then that was that." (It wasn't. Admittedly: "Then it was like, No Doubt, let's do another record.")

Things are different now: "You can just drop singles and you don't have to put a record out. But if you want to put a record out, you can work on it slowly." But even as she talks of slowing down, speculating that she might not even go on tour after the pandemic ends, in the next sentence Stefani's back to admitting that there's more work to be done, that she wants to write a couple more songs for her new record, "just to make sure."

Earrings: Lana Jewelry (The Residency Experience) Choker: Chanel, Necklaces: Gwen's own, Gloves: Laurel DeWitt, Top: Local Boogeyman

"The creation is the thing that fuels me so much," she says. "Whether or not I get the response that I would hope to get — because that's what I'm used to, because I'm so damn spoiled and I've tasted the blood of success — I still got to do the creative journey."

Like any good lyricist, she reaches out to her listener, hoping to convey a more universal point. "It's just probably the same for you as a writer," she guesses. "You know, it's the anticipation. You're in it now. You're getting the information. This is what you live for. You're doing the interview and then you're going to write it. And that's going to be the challenge."

GWEN STEFANI WAS PUTTING out diary entry pop when Olivia Rodrigo was still in diapers and Taylor Swift was but a humble Pennsylvania Christmas tree heiress. She struggles to pen lyrics that aren't confessional ("I'm not a creative writer when it comes to like, 'Oh, let's just write a sad song about something that didn't happen to me'"), and occasionally re-traumatizes herself when performing old hits. Return of Saturn deep cut "Dark Blue" triggers "crazy, just horrible" recollections of a past relationship. Even "Don't Speak" felt emotional onstage in Vegas.

But after releasing an excruciating divorce album, This Is What the Truth Feels Like, in 2016, Stefani is back to writing happy songs only. She's getting married, after all. She won't be releasing any of her trademark breakup anthems anytime soon. "Girl," she laughs, "I think I've had my fair share."

Bow: Laurel DeWitt, Earrings: Lana Jewelry (The Residency Experience), Bracelets: Dena Kemp (The Residency Experience), Shirt: Vintage Archive, Dress: Erdem, Tights: Capezio, Shoes: Marc Jacobs (Lidow Archive)

Stefani and Shelton's relationship has puzzled some fans. Shelton, a country radio phenomenon, never endorsed Trump in the 2016 election, but he did come close. Earlier this year, he was criticized for releasing a song called "Minimum Wage," about finding small joys during periods of economic struggle, at the peak of a recession.

Is Gwen Stefani a Republican now? She's not offended by the question, or really anything I have to ask. She has been famous for so long that she expects and even embraces scrutiny. "If you're going to be a star, that's what you get," she says. "You know what I mean? You get what you get, and you don't get upset, at all."

As for her politics, it's read-between-the-lines."I can see how people would be curious, but I think it's pretty obvious who I am," she says. "I've been around forever. I started my band because we were really influenced by ska, which was a movement that happened in the late '70s, and it was really all about people coming together. The first song I ever wrote was a song called 'Different People,' which was on the Obama playlist, you know, a song about everyone being different and being the same and loving each other. The very first song I wrote."

One of very few multi-racial bands playing stadium shows for hoardes of American teenangers in the 1990s, No Doubt did very literally embody those second-wave ska principles of inclusion. Stefani even wore bindis and saris on stage as a symbol of cultural exchange with Kanal, who is Indian-American, briefly kickstarting a white girl facial jewelry trend that it's safe to say would not fly in 2021.

Rings (left): Dena Kemp (The Residency Experience)

"The Specials and The Selecter and all those groups, and what they were doing in the late '70s was this whole kind of anti-racism, we come together, Black and white ska movement," Stefani elaborates on the band's founding principles. "And we were sort of echoing that in the '80s when we did it, we were like the third generation of ska."

Ska she's always happy to discuss, but Stefani was brought up to keep her electoral preferences personal, and that rule has held for her entire career. "The whole point of voting, is you have this personal space to feel how you feel," she explains. "I use my platform to share my life story and to engage with people and to exchange whatever gift I was giving. I'm not a political science major. I am not that person. Everyone knows that. So why would I even talk about it?"

"I don't need to go on Instagram and say 'girl power.' I just need to live and be a good person and leave a trail of greatness behind me."

It never has been. Looking back, it's weird that "Just a Girl" is so integral to Gwen Stefani's brand. She's never written anything else with remotely the same message, and or publicly identified as a feminist. To Stefani, it's just a song about growing up, and "all of a sudden you realize your gender." It wasn't meant as a protest or anthem: in fact, being her breakout hit, she didn't think anyone other than her bandmates and some local fans would ever hear it.

"I don't even know if I knew what feminist at that time was," she says. "I was very sheltered growing up with my family. I wasn't political. I wasn't angry." Even now: "I don't need to go on Instagram and say 'girl power.' I just need to live and be a good person and leave a trail of greatness behind me. Stop talking about it and stop trying to bully everybody about it. Just do it. And that's how I feel like I've lived my life."

WHEN STEFANI WAS GROWING up in 1970s Anaheim, her father got a job doing market research for Yamaha, which required frequent business trips to Japan. He'd bring home Sanrio toys, as well as anecdotes about the Tokyo district of Harajuku, where teenagers were dressing like Elvis, and "taking all these American things and making them Japanese." His daughter was entranced. "He would be telling me these things my whole life, like my whole life. I had a deep fascination."

So when No Doubt played Japan in 1996, Stefani describes, "It was a pretty big deal for me." The tour was the first time she'd traveled outside of the United states, save one trip to Italy when she was 21. "I just was inspired," she recalls. "It's a world away. And at that time it was even further, because you couldn't see it on the internet. I don't think a younger generation can even imagine what it's like to not have access to the world."

From then on, Japan became one of Stefani's biggest career motivations, especially when it came to her solo albums. If she could just write more hits, she'd get to tour there again, see the street style, visit the vintage stores. "If you read the actual lyrics [in 'What You Waiting For?'], it talks about being a fan of Japan and how if I do good, I get to go back there," she says.

In the meantime, she decided she'd bring Japan to Los Angeles. "I never got to have dancers with No Doubt. I never got to change costumes. I never got to do all of those fun girl things that I always love to do. So I had this idea that I would have a posse of girls — because I never got to hang with girls — and they would be Japanese, Harajuku girls, because those are the girls that I love. Those are my homies. That's where I would be if I had my dream come true, I could go live there and I could go hang out in Harajuku."

Earrings, bracelets and rings: Dena Kemp (The Residency Experience, Gold Necklaces: Gwen's own, Top: Local Boogeyman, Pants: GCDS, Shoes: Valentino

Dancers Maya Chino ("Love"), Jennifer Kita ("Angel"), Rino Nakasone ("Music") and Mayuko Kitayama ("Baby") would go on to accompany Stefani for her next two album cycles, dancing on stage and in her videos while also making silent, but very well-dressed, awards show appearances. Kita, who'd grown up in LA, visited Japan for the first time on Stefani's tour.

In a 2006 interview with Blender magazine, comedian Margaret Cho compared the Harajuku Girls to a minstrel show. The backlash against them has been consistent ever since. Stefani, to this day, disagrees.

"If we didn't buy and sell and trade our cultures in, we wouldn't have so much beauty, you know?" she says. "We learn from each other, we share from each other, we grow from each other. And all these rules are just dividing us more and more."

Hello Kitty merch was harder to come by when she was a kid, but in other ways, life felt easier. "I think that we grew up in a time where we didn't have so many rules. We didn't have to follow a narrative that was being edited for us through social media, we just had so much more freedom."

Earrings, bracelets and rings: Dena Kemp (The Residency Experience), Necklaces: Gwen's own, Dress: GCDS, Shirt: Faith Connexion, Tights: Capezio, Shoes: Marc Jacobs (Lidow Archive)

Stefani's penchant for rule breaking has always been apparent in her music as much as her aesthetic. Genre-wise, she's a randomista. The chart success of No Doubt's bouncing ska beats felt like an accidental post-grunge-era glitch in the matrix, and it's insane to this day that one of Stefani's biggest solo hits samples "If I Were a Rich Man" from Fiddler on the Roof, by way of '90s British dancehall duo Louchie Lou & Michie One. That another, "Wind It Up," features earnest Sound of Music yodeling.

"I just make up whatever comes out," Stefani says of her songwriting process. "I don't even know where it comes from. I feel like it just comes from the source. It's not trained, and it's not perfect, it's just real."

She looks back on the Love.Angel.Music.Baby era as unusually experimental and artistically fulfilling. "It was just a really incredible time, and a very creative time. I feel like it was just a really creative project."

STEFANI VIEWS HER CAREER success as mostly a matter of luck. Pop stardom is God-given and mysterious."Because the fact I made it, it doesn't make any sense," she reflects. "It's written in the stars. You know what I'm saying? I'm not the most talented. I'm not the most pretty. I'm not the most smart. None of those things. But I made it, right?"

Clothing: Blumarine, Bracelet and choker: Dena Kemp (The Residency Experience), Obsession necklace: Lidow Archive, Gold necklaces: Gwen's Own

Every week on The Voice she watches objectively gifted musicians fail at becoming artists. "I watched people that went through that without seeing their faces, without knowing what color they are. And I chose the ones that pulled my heartstrings. And even though they were so talented, none of them have had careers. It's made me look at myself and even feel even more amazed by the fact that anyone cared or cares."

If all of this is actually so out of her control, then Stefani feels safe stepping back a little bit. "I don't have that fuel in me like I used to, because I already won," she says. And now she has other victories in mind. "Being a good human, a good mother. I want to have a good marriage. I want to be a good wife. I want to win at finding peace. I want to win at finding other hobbies that I'm good at."

But at the same time? "If I'm inspired, I'm going to try to do something with that inspiration." That's the most fun part: whatever else comes after has always been an amazing bonus.

The "Let Me Reintroduce Myself" era, whatever form it may eventually take, isn't a desperate grab at former glory. It's Stefani refusing to evolve for the sake of it. She's poking fun at the whole idea of having to compete with past personas alongside current ones, while acknowledging the fact she's grateful to still be in the game at all.

"You don't know what you're doing," she says, somehow both confident and resigned. "You're a cartoon of yourself at this point, and you don't know what people are thinking. They're wondering, what? Why are you still here? And I'm like, I don't know. They said I could be here. So I'm here!"

Photography: Jamie Nelson Styling: Nicola Formichetti Hair: Sami Knight Makeup: Michael Anthony Nails: Carolyn Orellana Wardrobe director: Marta Del Rio Production: Katrina Kudlick Digitatech: Sean MacGillivray Logo design: Luca Devinu Story: Kat Gillespie

FROM YOUR SITE ARTICLES

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britesparc · 3 years

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Weekend Top Ten #481

Top Ten Pixar Villains

Those rascals and rapscallions at Pixar are famous for twisting our emotions, aren’t they? Perverse masters at making us cry with sadness or joy, often at the same time (I’m looking at you, Inside Out, with your yellow and blue marbles). Oh yes, they’ll stick the knife in and give it a good old yank, like John Travolta teaches his daughter to do in Face/Off when he’s not really John Travolta and it’s a bit icky but then she stabs him at the end of the film so it’s alright really.

Where was I?

Oh yeah. Pixar, renowned for turning grown men into blubbering messes, mostly because an adult character was convinced to part with old toys he no longer plays with. But I’d argue that one thing they’ve done less well than their parent studio (that’s Disney) is crafting iconic baddies. I mean, we all know the Disney Villains; they’re so iconic and successful as pop culture icons that there’s an entire trilogy of movies based on what would happen if a bunch of them had kids (apparently they’d sing a lot). Pixar baddies though? Hmmm, maybe not quite so iconic. I can’t see someone making a live action prequel movie about Chef Skinner.

But that’s not to say they’re not great; in fact, rather than going down the route of snarling, moustache-twirling villainy, Pixar actually does a great job in creating antagonists instead. Sometimes they’re misunderstood; sometimes they’re not the person you thought they were! Quite often some kind of redemption is offered, and the villains are very, very rarely dropped off something tall. A lot of them aren’t even defeated, so to speak! A good deal of nuance and shade goes into a Pixar villain, and if they haven’t made as many all-time-great iconic ne’er-do-wells, it does seem as if their approach is starting to rub off on Disney mothership (the likes of Frozen II and Moana either don’t have, or at least subvert, the notion of all-powerful bad guys).

So what do we have? Well, hopefully, we’ve got a list of really cool villains from Pixar movies. most of them are presented as the film’s “big bad”, although there are a couple of lesser baddies. And I think we do see the pattern emerging, of more mundane levels of villainy; the selfish and greedy and damaged. It makes for great characterisation and some beautiful storytelling; some complex and pitiable characters. And, yes, a few absolute bastards too. Let’s tut disapprovingly.

Lots-o’-Huggin’ Bear (Ned Beatty, Toy Story 3, 2010): a superb performance from Beatty as a seemingly nice, jovial old bear who’s really a manipulative, power-hungry, gaslighting bully. Realistically portrayed as damaged and bitter, he has a tragic backstory that feels real, and a sense of pain and loss that feels earned in this universe. Questions the nature of everything the movies are about, and is a genuine threat in more ways than one. Plus he literally leaves them all to die in the furnace!

Syndrome (Jason Lee, The Incredibles, 2004): Buddy Pine’s backstory is one of belittlement and rejection, so his switch to villainy is as well explored as many a comic book bad guy. But he’s interesting partly in what his character says about Mr. Incredible – in a way justifying the criticisms of superheroes, as Mr. I does ignore the admittedly-annoying Buddy rather than mentoring or respecting him – but also because he prefigures notions of toxic masculinity about a decade or so before they became, well, a threat to global democracy.

Al (Wayne Knight, Toy Story 2, 1999): Like how Lots-o can be seen as a dark examination of toy life (all toys are replaceable, kids don’t really love you, etc), Al also shows us another dark facet of toy-dom: namely the life of a “collectable”. Toys, in this world, want to be played with, preferably by children, so a big ol’ man-child who stores them in boxes or puts them on display is not ideal. It’s an inversion of what a toy is for; an object of joy reduced to a commodity. Is it entertainment versus art? Who can say? Also, he’s really just a massive jerk and a huge slob, so we feel no pity for him once he gets his comeuppance at the end of the film.

Sid Phillips (Erik von Detten, Toy Story, 1995): man, they nailed the Toy Story villains, didn’t they? Maybe there’s even more to come! But right out of the gate, Sid was a classic. An utter sadist in a skull t-shirt, torturing toys for kicks; adults can see the traits of a genuine sociopath (some serial killers start by torturing animals, remember!), and he’s portrayed like a character in a horror movie. Seriously, in 1995, Sid’s room was legitimately disturbing. I’m not sure what moral lessons his actions teach us, but just as a pure article of terror, he’s supreme.

Hopper (Kevin Spacey, A Bug’s Life, 1998): it feels a bit weird, if I’m honest, to celebrate a Spacey performance. But as a character, Hopper is excellent, one of the best things about the generally-overlooked-but-still-a-bit-lesser-Pixar Bug’s Life. Riffing on biker gangs, Hopper’s locust swarm in, revving their wings. Hopper’s a classic tough guy thug, dominating through violence and threat; a creature with a small amount of power determined to hold onto it, and ultimately eaten by a terrifying bird. Just don’t look at the cast list.

Ernesto de la Cruz (Benjamin Bratt, Coco, 2017): after the horror of Sid and the thuggery of Hopper, de la Cruz is a different, more insidious villain. He’s a thief and a betrayer who exploited and murdered his best friend, condemning him not just to death but to a forgotten obsolescence in the afterlife. He’s a perfect example of the gaslighting, friendly-seeming bad guy, more in the mould of Lots-o, but with the world on his side and a sweet guitar. Genuinely hissable.

Stinky Pete (Kelsey Grammar, Toy Story 2, 1999): what, more Toy Story? Well, yeah. Don’t blame me, blame Pixar. And so Stinky Pete; a far more relatable and understandable villain, one driven to desperation through a lifetime of rejection and broken promises. Unlike the Machiavellian, power-hungry Lots-o, Pete just wants everyone to retire quietly together; he can’t accept the risks of freedom and only becomes sneaky and, indeed, violent after all else fails. But he does kinda get a happy ending, even if he doesn’t realise it; this is a villain who I feel could eventually be redeemed.

Randall Boggs (Steve Buscemi, Monsters, Inc., 2001): Waternoose is the real baddy in Monsters, Inc., of course; a conniving capitalist who’s prepared to sacrifice the world’s children to keep his monopoly. But it’s Randy who sticks in the mind; his selfish, vain lackey, a monster with a huge chip on his shoulder. His design – lizard-like, snake-ish, with a huge mouth and invisibility – is seriously disturbing. Hearing Buscemi’s voice come from that form – an aggravated teacher, a furious accountant – adds something special, something darkly hilarious.

Evelyn Deavor (Catherine Keener, Incredibles 2, 2018): visually and conceptually, The Screenslaver (great name) is pretty cool, but when it’s revealed that the Big Bad is really under-appreciated tech genius Evelyn, that’s a great twist. A smart woman propping up her schmoozing brother, her criticisms of the heroes – like Buddy Pine’s – have resonance, although she’s learning the wrong lessons from tragedy. Her relationship with Elastigirl, from friendship to enmity, is very well-written and performed, and her belligerence at the end is a nice touch, denying the heroes of any catharsis from her capture.

Shelby Forthright (Fred Willard, WALL-E, 2008): I was originally going to feature the autopilot, but then I figured, if you can get Fred Willard in your list… and really, who’s the big villain here? It’s us, right? We killed the Earth. But Willard’s smiling, happy CEO is there, encouraging his customers to buy, promising them safety and security, promising them a repaired world… but really he’s shovelling them off the planet, secretly commanding the computer to take humanity far away and never look back. It’s a devious, horrible plan, giving the people unending luxury, making them want for nothing, turning them into fab, soporific blobs, basically because that’s easier than the alternative. It’s a horrible indictment of humanity (also: he’s the CEO of a company, but also – it looks like – that makes him rule the world? Creepy). So, yeah, the autopilot might be a baddun, but it’s the man in charge who’s the real villain of the piece, even hundreds of years later.

Sadly no room for John Lasseter, who may not have tried to enslave humanity or torture children, but still managed to be a huge jerk and a phenomenal disappointment.

#top ten #pixar #disney #villains #pixar villain #bad guy #movies #animation #toy story #incredibles #wall-e #monsters inc

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carlosgabrielruiz · 3 years

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PINKERTON - 33 1/3 Proposal Part 6

CHAPTER 4 Many Rivers to Cross:A Brief History of Rivers Cuomo

For most people, Weezer begins and ends with Rivers Cuomo. Period. Point blank. Rivers Cuomo is undoubtedly the brains and heart behind the band – without him, there would simply be no Weezer. Rivers is the primary songwriter, lyricist, band director, and de facto Great Leader (although it should be noted that in the early days he shared some of those songwriting duties and credits with Matt Sharp and original guitarist Jason Cropper).

Rivers was born in Manhattan on June 13, 1970. He grew up in upstate New York in the Buddhist Zen Center where his father was a farmer. In 1975, his father left the family and Rivers moved to Connecticut with his mother and brothers to live in Yogaville on an ashram farm.(1) He grew up as a quiet and shy child only later to become a metalhead with an outgoing love for Kiss and Van Halen.

When he turned 18 Rivers moved to L.A. and started to officially make a go of it in music. He got a job at Tower Records and was introduced to drummer Pat Wilson. (2) They became friends and formed a band called Fuzz. Rivers moved into Pat’s apartment which he shared with Matt Sharp, who was a talented multi-intrumentalist. Matt soon decided to join them and they embarked on an odyssey that would eventually make musical history.

Valentine’s Day of 1992 was a momentous occasion for the newly formed, yet still-unnamed, new band because that was the day that Rivers Cuomo (lead guitar), Matt Sharp (bass), Jason Cropper (guitar), and Pat Wilson (drums) first gathered together to rehearse and record their sessions. The band “got together at T.K. rehearsal studios, in West LA, and rehearsed for either 3 or 4 days straight.”(3) The demo tape that was made during the session featured a list of all the potential band names they were toying with at the time including the initial band name “Fuzz”, as well as “Meathead”, “Outhouse”, “Hummingbird”, “the Big Jones” and “This Niblet”.

Things moved quickly for the band from there. A little over a year after their first official rehearsal, the band - now officially named Weezer - signed a major label record deal with Geffen Records. The band had hoped to self-produce their debut, but the suits at Geffen were not going to let that happen. Eventually, the band picked Cars’ frontman, Ric Ocasek, to handle production on the record. According to Rivers Cuomo, “The record company was really pushing us to work with a producer, so we figured that if we had to have somebody in the studio with us, it might as well just be someone who writes good songs – and the Cars’ first record just rules.” (4)

The band went to Electric Ladyland studios in New York to work on their record. Everything was going great up until it wasn’t. There were internal problems with the guitarist Jason Cropper that led to Rivers firing him from the band. According to Ric Ocasek, “He (Rivers) called me when the record was finished, the day before we were supposed to start mixing, and said, ‘Listen, I just fired the guitar player.’ So I said, ‘What are you gonna do now?’ He’s like, ‘I want all of his parts off the record.’” Luerssen (2004)

With two days before mixing was due to begin in New York, Sharp and Cuomo called Brian Bell.5 He auditioned on tape and was hired to replace Jason. But it was too late to in the game to fly him out to re-record all of Jason’s guitar parts. Under the gun, and with only a day of studio time left before mixing was slated to begin, Rivers re-recorded all of the guitar parts himself (even though Brian is credited on the record).

The Blue Album was released on May 10th, 1994. The 10-track LP provided a “new roadmap for alt-rock following the death of Kurt Cobain and the conclusion of grunge’s first era.”(5) The catchy power-pop record with hook-laden choruses and kitschy Spike Jonze directed videos was an overwhelming success. It would invade the mainstream and go on to sell over 3 million records in the U.S. alone. The band went on a seemingly never-ending tour to promote the record.

Rivers struggled with the newly found fame and success that the Blue Album had brought the band. He was “frustrated by the limitations of rock and the lifestyle of touring around on a bus and playing the same songs over and over.” Cohen (2015). So he did what most people in his position would do, he put the band on a hiatus and enrolled in Harvard to study classical music.

But before the semester started, Rivers decided to fix his right leg, which was two inches shorter than his left leg. The surgery on his right leg left him in agonizing pain. It would be a long recovery. During his first year at Harvard Rivers’ right leg was encased in a metal frame that would require him to adjust and tighten the screws daily in order to elongate the bone.(6) He became hooked on painkillers and opioids while trying to manage the pain.

As he told The New York Times. “I grew a long beard and walked around with a cane… The only time I could write songs was when my frozen dinner was in the microwave.” Rockland (2006) “Where I was emotionally … I went to a more serious and dark place.” Runtagh (2019).

Alone and in pain, Rivers was listening to a lot of classical music and he kept coming back to the opera Madame Butterfly by Puccini. “One of my favorite operas by him was Madama Butterfly, specifically when the role was played by Maria Callas,” he recalled to Pitchfork. “On tour, I would listen to her every night after the show and be so moved by the depth of emotion and sadness and tragedy. It really was calling to me, like, “Come on, Rivers. You can go there. You can go much further with your music than ‘The Sweater Song’ or ‘Buddy Holly’.” Cohen (2015)

His deeply personal and emotional lyrics were raw, to say the least. He opened himself up to a level of honesty, anger, pain, and emotional truth that was only hinted at within the Blue Album’s casual, ironic detachment. But make no mistake, that anger and honestly was always there just below the surface, only it was wrapped around a bouncy hook with a singalong chorus.

With a dozen or more new songs ready to record, Weezer decided to head to the studio. Only this time, they would self produce the new record themselves. They wanted a feel that was similar to their live shows that would better capture the power and energy of their new songs. The resulting record was a “grittier, slightly darker sound that was more Pixies than the polished power-pop Ric Ocasek had helped the band realize on the Blue Album.” (7)

A few months before the album was slated for release, Rivers Cuomo “issued a precarious warning to the band’s fan club about his mental state during the writing process:” Braun (2016).

There are some lyrics on the album that you might think are mean or sexist. I will feel genuinely bad if anyone feels hurt by my lyrics but I really wanted these songs to be an exploration of my ‘dark side’ – all the parts of myself that I was either afraid or embarrassed to think about before. So there’s some pretty nasty stuff on there.

You may be more willing to forgive the lyrics if you see them as passing low points in a larger story. And this album really is a story: the story of the last two years of my life. And as you’re probably well aware, these have been two very weird years.

But the worst was yet to come... TO BE CONTINUED IN THE 33 1/3 BOOK PINKERTON

1 - Weezerpedia. Rivers Cuomo. https://www.weezerpedia.com/wiki/Rivers_Cuomo.

2 - Cohen, Ian. (2015, February 9). Rivers Cuomo. Pitchfork. https://pitchfork.com/features/5-10-15-20/9590-rivers-cuomo/.

3 - The Weezer Recording History. (2006, February). Weezer.com. http://www.weezer.com/info/recording/WeezRecHist3.htm.

4 - Luerssen, John D. (2004, August 1). River’s Edge: The Weezer Story. Toronto. ECW Press.

5 - Runtagh, Jordan. (2019, May 10). Weezer’s Blue Album: 10 Things You Didn’t Know. Rolling Stone. https://www.rollingstone.com/music/music-features/weezer-blue- album-rivers-cuomo-things-you-didnt-know-822881/.

6 - Rockland, Kate. (2006, February 16). At School with Rivers Cuomo: Student with a Past. The New York Times. https://www.nytimes.com/2006/02/16/garden/16weezer.html.

7 - Braun, Laura Marie. (2016, September 23). How Weezer’s ‘Pinkerton’ Went from Embarassing to Essential. Rolling Stone. https://www.rollingstone.com/music/music- features/how-weezers-pinkerton-went-from-embarrassing-to-essential-105567/.

#music #writing #weezer #pinkerton #bloomsburypublishing #333sound #rockandroll #anniversary #pitch #books #rivers cuomo

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whyshedisappeared · 3 years

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do you see the difference between 188 casualties and 10? the difference between a defense worth billions of dollars and one worth nothing? a dome that stops 90% of rockets vs absolutely nothing to stop airstrikes? between having bomb shelters and a place to go vs being completely trapped in territory that israel controls the borders to? and (this particular instance) started because of israel evicting palestians from their homes in east jerusalem! a territory that israel illegally occupies

ok, i don’t know if you want a genuine answer or just looking to start a fight, so i’ll answer this seriously and if you have more questions DM me and if you wanna start a fight lmk who you are so I can block you.

first, you got some facts mixed so lets get to that before we talk casualties.

so, i’m not going to get into the state of the country through all the wars, we’ll just talk what was proposed to be the land in proposition 181 of the UN, which the UN accepting it cause the Independence war, and we’ll go over the way the country is divided rn.

So, the day the war started (Nov. 30th 1946) the country was divided the way you see in the first map. there weren’t a lot of Jews here until 1881 when the first wave of aliya happened, then the 2nd one started in 1904 when Hertzel died. the British mandate the ruled here favored the Palestinians over the Jews, because they were the majority when we first came here in waves, so they obviously had more land, and it was strategically smarter to side with them.

The previous day, the partition plan that is shown in the 2nd map was voted on and was passed with a majority. That plan is called proposition 181, or the partition plan. Israelis weren’t that thrilled about it because geographically the Israeli land wasn’t connected and Jerusalem was inside the Palestinian land while being under international jurisdiction, but it was better than nothing so we took it. Palestinians disapproved of it, and that started the war, which ended in 1949, a year after we got our independence on May 14th, 1948.

between ‘49 and 2000 the boarders moved a lot the wars, we took land, some we gave back during cease fire agreements and peace treaties and some we still have, but the last picture is the way it still is. The west bank is a bit tricky so let me explain it to you, it isn’t officially Israeli territory, we took over the area during one of the wars and the government refused to give it back during the cease fire so we ended up with this very weird and precarious solution, yes it isn’t legal but the government refused to relinquish control over it because they didn’t want whatever terror organization that was there at the time to be really close to the other boarder, they refused complete control because we took that land in a war, so here we are. The Jewish settlements there are part of area C, which is in full Israeli government and military control. You have area B, with Palestinian cities and villages (apart from Hevron that has both Jews and Palestinians), which is in Israeli military control and Palestinian Authority (PA) led. and area A which is fully controlled by PA and also only has Palestinians in it.

Now, this is all a very long way to explain to you, that while there are Muslims, Christians, Jews and other religious minorities in Jerusalem, excluding east Jerusalem, where it is under no official authority which is part of the problem, it is still under Israeli control and outside of the West Bank, just on the edge of it, but not in it. It doesn’t let the government permission to evacuate civilians out of their homes, by no means, but east Jerusalem is a problem area. Here’s a closer look at the map:

As I mentioned earlier, the fact that the Israeli government has jurisdiction somewhere doesn’t give it the right to evacuate civilians from their homes. I think it was unnecessary and uncalled for and never should have happened.

Ok, now let’s talk casualties. first, you need to remember that Israel gives Gaza (well, more like Hamas) money. However, instead of using it for the civilians’ advantage and to take care of them, Hamas uses it to buy weapons to arm itself and for anti-Israel propaganda. Yes, the Palestinians in Gaza has it bad, but that’s not because Hamas doesn’t have money, trust me they get more than enough. It’s because Hamas doesn’t care about the civilians in Gaza.

Israel invests some of the defense budget to create better, more advanced means to protect ourselves and the people living in the country, that’s why since 2004 we have the “Tzeva Adom” (literally translates to Red Color) alerts, which are the rocket sirens alarms that lets us know to take shelter. The government invests in having bomb safe rooms. We have Iron Dome since 2014 (that summer protective edge happened and the system was put in use during it) for that same reason. We invest in our protection, and therefore our casualty numbers are lower.

Also, I would like to point out that a solid percentage of the rockets Hamas fires at us never even cross the boarder and land inside Gaza, which kills people.

When the IDF plans to have an airstrike on a building, because Hamas puts the rocket launchers inside homes, schools, kindergartens, hospitals, etc. the IDF calls every single person in the building hours before to let them know to evacuate. Hamas prevents them from evacuating. Which is how they end up with the high death toll.

But, and that is very important, just because our death toll is at 10, doesn’t make it ok. Those 10 people, one of them a 6 year old kid, should never have died. Those 188 people should never have died. The only acceptable death toll is 0.

Now, to your last point, that Palestinians are not allowed to cross the boarder. They are. Both in the West Bank and Gaza. In order to be allowed into the country the IDF first makes sure the individual has no ties to a terror organization or carrying explosives by going through metal detectors, but they are allowed into the country. However, if an Israeli Jew were to cross the boarder they would be killed. Either on the spot or tortured and then killed.

I would like to reiterate, I do not support, by any means, the evacuations of Palestinians in east Jerusalem. I think it was uncalled for and never should have happened. It was the direct cause to this escalation. I do, however, support Israel’s right to defend itself.

To put this simply, if Hamas were to lay down their weapons, there would be peace and the violence would stop. If Israel were to stop fighting, we would be wiped off the map. However, it isn’t as simple as that. and the narrative changes depends on where you start to tell the facts, which means, like I previously mentioned, there is no right side and wrong side. There is no clear cut good and evil.

However, you must understand that us Israelis, both Jews and Muslims, suffer from the actions of the Israeli government and Hamas. It isn’t us that are fighting, it is the leading bodies on each side of the boarder and the civilians suffer as a consequence of that.

Please make sure that when you talk about what we’re living through right now, you don’t blame Israel/Israelis, or Palestine/Palestinians. Make sure you blame those responsible, the Israeli government and Hamas.

#personal #ask #anonymous

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avaantares · 4 years

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Imma rant for a minute. (This is me being critical of a thing, so if you’re eschewing negativity right now, feel free to scroll on past.) :)

Sooooo I took a break from replaying FFVII:R tonight (last night, by the time this posts) to watch the stream of Andrew Lloyd Webber’s Love Never Dies, a show I already knew to be terrible (but hey, you can't argue with free musicals, right?). Long before the musical opened, I’d read The Phantom of Manhattan, the book it’s based on, and that was... like... Hmm. Think of a bad fanfiction you've read. I mean a really bad one, one that gets every single character wrong, has the stupidest of stupid fiction tropes, includes ridiculously contrived scenarios to kill off characters and weird medical "science" and historical inaccuracies and a totally implausible plot, all mashed together just to reinforce someone's OTP which was kind of an unhealthy relationship to begin with and got considerably more unhealthy in this story, AND it includes a lengthy author’s note in which the writer bashes the author of the original work his story is based on and explains everything that author did wrong and how it should have been written, using examples from the fic writer’s own work to demonstrate.*

Then picture that as a $24.99 hardback.

So I knew the general story already, and I'd seen a couple of clips from the stage show, and from what I remembered it was all pretty forgettable. But like I said, free to watch, right? Nothing to lose but a couple of hours.

Oh. My. Goodness. I was not prepared for the full experience. It's like Phantom of the Opera and Cats had a (secret) baby that got shoved in a blender with all of circa-2004 Fanfiction.net and then pasted back together by a YA fiction editor’s intern. Despite a truly exceptional cast and some strong visual and set design, it wavered between cringe-y and I’m-going-to-hurt-myself-laughing levels of bad.

Mind you, it’s still better than the book, in which (SPOILER ALERT if anyone cares, which you probably don’t because if you’re the type of fan who would, you’ve probably already seen the show) Christine’s son is not the byproduct of a willing affair she had with Erik after she became disillusioned with her marriage, but was conceived after he kidnapped her at the Opera House, and... let’s just say consent was dubious, at best. (IIRC she was “half swooning” and not entirely aware of what was happening.) Also there’s some nonsense about Raoul being impotent from a war wound and never having consummated their marriage... But broadly speaking, the story is the same as the musical -- by which I mean it completely negates everything good and symbolic and meaningful about ALW’s Phantom of the Opera, to which the book was as much a sequel as it was to the original Gaston Leroux novella.

Love Never Dies fails as a sequel for a number of reasons: Every character you liked in the original? Assassinated. Raoul, who was willing to sacrifice his life for Christine in POTO, is now an abusive, alcoholic wastrel who has gambled his family into crippling debt. Christine cheats on her husband with a guy who has made a habit of kidnapping and threatening her, and who has actually murdered a number of people. Meg, Christine’s dearest friend and confidante, is now a washed-up burlesque dancer who -- again, SPOILER ALERT -- tries to kill first Christine’s son, then herself, then finally succeeds in killing Christine. The broadest take-home message of POTO, that kindness and love can heal even the deepest wounds, is undercut by these dramatic character reversals. Even the show’s title anthem “Love Never Dies” is contradicted by the love triangle at the center of the plot. Maybe love never dies, but that doesn’t stop Christine from cheating on her husband, Raoul from walking out on his wife and son, Erik from threatening to kill Christine’s child if she doesn’t do what he wants, Meg from betraying and murdering her best friend... yeah, let’s not take relationship advice from this group.

But beyond that, LND is just bad structurally. The Phantom’s opening number builds up to be a “Music of the Night”-style anthem -- a dubious choice, since it makes everything he sings for the next half an act feel flat by comparison. Then we go into a surreal Coney Island segment for a while, then a bunch of really awkward dialogue exposition gets crammed in, and then twenty minutes into the show we finally meet Christine and her family, which kicks off the actual plot. The pacing is uneven. The tone is all over the map, too, bouncing between Phantom-like operatic ballads and Jesus Christ Superstar-esque carnival rock numbers. (All of which, I have to say, the Melbourne cast knocked out of the park. The vocal performances were definitely not a weak spot in this production.)

While I really like a lot of Andrew Lloyd Webber's stuff -- I've seen a number of his shows on stage, some of them three or four times -- his titles seem to be hit-or-miss. For every Phantom, there's a Whistle Down the Wind. Some of that isn't his fault; a mediocre lyricist or book writer can do a lot of damage, even with good music. This musical had two lyricists and four writers, and it shows. But IMO, this is also not Lloyd Webber’s best work. Apart from the title song, which I’ve heard often enough to know it outside of the show, I can recall the melodies of... two songs? The score isn’t bad, it’s just not as instantly memorable as Sunset Boulevard or Joseph or Phantom. And a weak story plus average music doesn’t equal a great show.

I’m sure I’ve complained more than anyone cares to read, but I have one final rant about something that caused me to startle my dog by making some very screechy noises: When Christine arrives by ship, the Phantom sends a horseless carriage to pick her up at the pier. Mind you, this scene is specifically stated to take place in New York in 1905. The crowd of onlookers is utterly SHOCKED by a vehicle that moves by itself. “There are no horses!” someone exclaims. "How does it work?"

Apparently all four of the credited writers slept through history class, and also couldn’t be bothered to Google a photo of New York at the turn of the century. Automobiles have been around since the 1880s, and by 1905, New York had so many cars on the streets that the New York Supreme Court had to hand down a ruling guaranteeing that horse-drawn transportation still had the same right-of-way as motorized vehicles, because the motorists didn’t want to share the road. Heck, my own great-grandfather owned a car by 1895! Glaring, easily-avoided errors like this jar me so far out of the story -- even good stories, which this one wasn’t -- that they actually bother me more than other, more significant failings. At least do your basic research, people. Use Google. Grrr.

Anyway, I’m just rambling now because I can’t sleep and I'm on prescription narcotics for pain and my dog is tired of listening to me grumble. Don’t mind me; I’m not actually this negative in real life. 😅

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

* I am not exaggerating. In the foreword, author Frederick Forsyth bashes Gaston Leroux and gives examples from his own works to explain how Le Fantôme de l'Opéra could have been written better. Like. DUDE. NO.

That book went straight into the donation box the moment I was done reading it. When Love Never Dies came out, I briefly regretted getting rid of it, but then I remembered how bad the story was and stopped feeling bad.

#Love Never Dies #andrew lloyd webber #phantom of the opera #musicals #Review #insomnia writes #long post

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ange-de-la-musique · 4 years

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Polarizing Christines

Inspired slightly by a discussion in last weekend’s stream. While most Phantoms and Raouls tend to be either good, mediocre, or bad, most Christines are never really bad, but more polarizing, with both huge fans who love them and people who rather disliked their portrayal. So I made a list! None of these actors are necessarily bad, and people aren’t right or wrong for having their opinions, these are just some performers you may see varying reviews on.

Meghan Picerno - Meghan as the principle Broadway Christine and former principle world tour Christine has definitely got her fans. She’s got a powerful voice and a lot of fans like her rather fiesty, independent portrayal. Some people however have found her voice to be too harsh at times, and her acting rather lackluster and stiff.

Rachel Barrell - Rachel garnered some criticism, depending on what phantom she performed with, some people say her acting is stiff and boring, others that her acting is over the top and too much. Some people really love this nuanced, high energy approach to the role though! Her voice is also pretty polarizing, some people loving her light, strong sound while others find her nasally and too youthful.

Marni Raab - It’s pretty much agreed upon by phandom that Marni was great at the start of her role and was less so as time went on. For some people the acting they dislike at the start of her role outweighs the good, and for others they liked her enough that they still continue to look for the good in her somewhat mediocre performances.

Ali Ewoldt - She’s not really that polarizing, as a general rule she’s rather well liked as her acting is great. She struggles a lot vocally, and for some people no amount of good acting can make up for that.

Anne Görner - Anne’s got her fans and was a very good Christine acting-wise. Her voice is what’s polarizing about her, with a sort of twang to it that some phans dislike.

Mary Michael Patterson - Mary’s a very subtle actress and this has led to differing opinions on her Christine. For some, she’s too subtle and inexpressive, for others her subtle acting makes her stand out.

Anna O’Byrne - Anna can be polarizing as she acted rather differently in the West End vs the world tour, so for some her rather meh acting in the world tour is how they remember her, while others choose to judge her based on her West End performance. It doesn’t help that she can be rather strained when it comes to the score.

Gina Beck - This is more to do with what videos people have seen of her. Generally people who saw her earlier in her run find her good but not worth the hype she gets, while fans of her later run found her positively wonderful.

Sarah Brightman - Sarah Brightman is extremely polarizing, with people either loving or hating her. Some say her voice is classical and unique, while others say it is shrill with bad vibrato. Some say her acting is historical and mystical, while others say it’s over the top and weird. She often gets compared unfavorably to her alternate, Claire Moore.

Tabitha Webb - A lot of phans dislike her voice, finding it too shrill and squeaky. That being said there are a group of phans who enjoyed her Christine, saying her voice just happens to be bad in a few videos and that her acting made up for it anyway.

Sierra Boggess - Sierra has a huge number of fans due to the popularity of the RAH performance and that fact that she was in LND. However there are people who don’t feel she deserves the hype, either because they just dislike her (her diction is rather disliked) or they though she was good, just not as good as she is hyped up to be.

Celinde Schoenmaker - Most reviews of her say she underacts and is too stiff, but she does have her phans who find her to be subtly nuanced.

Katie Hall - Katie certainly has her fans, who like how youthful and sweet she is, and who like how she plays with the score a bit. That being said there are people who find her a bit boring and generic with a poppy voice.

Elena Bahtiyarova - While she has a wonderful voice, Elena was pretty open about the fact that acting-wise she pretty much just copied Sierra Boggess. This means there’s a huge group of phans who dislike her Christine, saying she’s unoriginal and bland. But the fact that she copied Sierra means that Sierra’s fans tend to like her as she’s copying a portrayal they enjoy, therefore it stands to reason that they enjoy Elena’s performance.

Holly Anne Hull - Pretty much the opposite to Elena, her acting garnered her quite a bit of fans from people who got to see her, while her voice is what sounds nearly identical to Sierra’s. For some people her acting is good enough to make up for this, for others it’s just enough to make them dislike her overall.

Emmy Rossum - Most of the 2004 actors are pretty polarizing, with a lot of 2004 fans claiming these actors are perfect and can do no wrong, while others cannot get over Emmy’s untrained voice and claim her acting is terrible. That being said there’s also a third group of phans who tend to admit her faults but are also more forgiving of them, citing poor directing and such for occasional boring acting.

#phantom of the opera #poto #christine daae #my posts #my thoughts

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steebharringt0n · 5 years

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cat’s in the cradle

infant | toddler | child | teenager | young adult

a 5-part story exploring the relationship between billy hargrove and his first-born son, adam

pairing: billy hargrove x you

rating: t

a/n: GUESS WHO’S COMPUTER DELETED THIS ENTIRE STORY OVER THE WEEKEND, THEN CRASHED. LOL. yeah, i was pissed, anyways, the final part will be posted tomorrow, and Sanctuary will be updated later in the week. As always, thank you for your patience and for your support.

---

part 4 - teenager

17-year old Adam Hargrove was fucked.

No scratch that, he was dead where he stood.

Fear slid it’s cool claws over his neck as his eyes gazed over the camaro. He swallowed thickly, his stomach lurching as his eyes landed on the heavily dented front bumper of his father’s precious car.

“Oh my god, dad is going to kill you”

He didn’t even have to turn around to know that his 12-year old little sister was standing behind him. The Hargrove siblings stood outside their driveway, their attention both on the blue camaro in the garage. He twisted his neck to face a smirking Ava, her arms crossed as she carefully walked around the car, analyzing the dented bumper with her own eyes.

“Did you really think taking the camaro out was a good idea?” she questioned.

Adam licked his lips, he felt the sudden urge to vomit his entire dinner but he fought against it, “At the time ... yes ... now ... not so much ... “

His eyes landed on his 2000 Honda Accord parked adjacent to the camaro. His father had gifted him the car when he turned 16. It was a perfectly nice car, there was nothing wrong with it, but he was hanging out with Gina Sanderson and he knew his little green car wouldn’t be nearly as impressive as his father’s 78′ Camaro. He had a reputation to maintain at Sunset Cliff High, all thanks to the myth, the legend that was his father, Billy Hargrove.

It wasn’t that Adam was unpopular. In fact, if you asked anybody at Sunset Cliff about Adam Hargrove, you’d hear good things about him. Adam had lost his baby fat throughout his formative years, his jaw line chiseling out, looking more and more like his father everyday. He had traded his square frames for contacts which made his baby blues shine out more than before. He was the captain of the baseball team, his long hours of training and running had helped sculpt his body into one that the ladies loved to ogle at. And he was an all around good guy, he got straight A’s, got along well with his AP teachers.

But when word quickly got out that he was Billy Hargrove’s - yes, the Billy Hargrove - son. He knew he had to up the ante just a bit more, and taking the camaro for a joy ride (and inviting the most popular girl at school as well), was just the thing he needed to maintain that high status at school.

It was a last minute impulsive decision. Adam wasn’t really one for impulsive decisions, he was logical, he liked to think things through. He wasn’t big on rule breaking, which was something his parents loved to pride on. But something in him snapped, his rebellious streak made a small appearance tonight and he was highly regretting listening to the devil on his shoulder.

It’s not like he had $500 dollars to spare, or an extra 78′ Camaro bumper lying around as well.

He was sure his parents - more so his father - would be understanding about this, right? It’s not like he was warned his whole life never to touch the camaro, never to be inside the camaro without his father, hell, he wasn’t sure if he was ever allowed to breathe inside the camaro.

Was it worth taking Gina out on a joyride? The Adam from about an hour ago would have told you, absolutely yes. He relished in seeing the way her eyes lit up when he showed up at her house, the way her hair blew wildly in the wind as she loudly sang along to The Killers, Somebody Told Me. And when they arrived at the cliff that overlooked Mission Beach, and how the moonlight struck her, he swore he had never seen something so perfect in his life.

If you asked Adam now, he would probably tell you no. That he hadn’t seen that stupid fire hydrant when he made that sharp left out of Gina’s neighborhood. It was a poor excuse, but hell, it was the truth. That in reality, it wasn’t worth losing his freedom over.

“How much longer until mom and dad get home?” he asked nervously.

Ava shrugged, “You got about less than a hour - mom called about half an hour ago, said they’d be leaving soon”

You and Billy were currently attending a black-tie Gala for the educators in San Diego. You were being honored a prestigious award for your work with at risk youth, a mission that you held very near and dear to your heart ever since you met Billy. You witnessed first hand how abuse could warp and change a person - you remember long nights staying up with Billy, tending to his wounds, letting him cry on your shoulder, and just holding him until his nightmares of Neil would go away.

Never again did you want any child to go through that.

Billy (or now more commonly known as Bill, which weirded you out) still ran the very successful automotive shop, and managed to open up 2 more locations in the surrounding areas. The Hargroves were well off, money wasn’t an issue to them and because Billy was so tight with the dealerships in the area, cars always came and went, but he always had a soft spot for his beloved camero.

The bright headlights that suddenly pulled up on the driveway broke Adam’s concentration. The 2004 black BMW pulled to a stop on the driveway, the driver of the car wondering why his two children were currently hanging outside in front of the garage.

“Oh this is gonna be good” smirked Ava as she watched her parents step out of the car. Billy was dressed up in a white button-up, a black bow-tie attached at the top near the collar. His hair was neatly cut short, long abandoning the days of his mullet. He looked older, wrinkles donning the corners of his eyes and near his forehead, but even still at almost 40 years old, he looked good. You stepped out next, your figure was delicately clothed in a long black strapless dress, hugging your hips and curves. Your hair was pulled up in a bun, with two curled strands of hair that crowned your face. If you told people you were on your way to turn 40, they probably wouldn’t believe you.

You instantly frowned at the scene in front of you, there’s no reason why both of your children should be out this late. Your eyes gazed over at them, Ava who was looking very amused, and Adam who looked like he was on the verge of tears. Then as your eyes wandered over to the garage, and as you saw the dented camaro, did your stomach instantly dropped.

And you immediately knew the culprit.

“Oh Adam ... “ you muttered.

You looked over at Billy who’s jaw was clenched tight, his nostrils flaring. You could tell he was trying to bite his tongue, trying not to unleash loud explicits in the quiet neighborhood. Over the years Billy had learned how to manage his anger, with a lot of coaxing and learning from you, he wasn’t the same Billy Hargrove that terrorized the halls of Hawkins. But this, this could have easily made him snap back into that.

You quickly walked up to Ava, wrapping your arm around her shoulder.

“This is between your father and Adam ... we don’t need to stay out here” you whispered to her.

Ava’s jaw dropped, “But mooooooom ... “ she whined, following your lead as the both of you quietly walked into the house, leaving both Hargrove men outside in the cool California night.

Adam stayed planted on his feet, his brain was telling him to move, but he couldn’t do it.

“H-Hi Dad ... “ he weakly spoke.

Billy quickly made large strides up to the garage, walking past an anxious Adam. He walked around the camaro, inspecting it from every side. He then poked his head on the inside, checking the leather, the seats, and even to see if it still turned on. Once he realized everything else worked, and everything else wasn’t broken, or dented, he walked up to the front of the camaro, crouching down and inspecting the dented bumper carefully.

“I-I’m sorry dad, I know I fucked - I mean I messed up, and I’m really sorry. It was so stupid of me, I should have never done it, and I understand if you never want to talk to me again - “

“What’d you hit it with?” he interjected, his tone heavy.

Adam swallowed, “A fire hydrant”

Billy let a deep sigh escape his lips, lowering his head down in disappointment. He then stood up, and in one fluid motion, pulled out a pack of cigarettes from his inner coat pocket. He leaned up against the camaro, placing a stick in between his lips. He then offered the carton to Adam,

“Go on, take one, I’m sure this night has been stressful enough for you” he murmured.

Adam blinked blankly. He never knew his father smoked, let alone allow him to smoke after he had damaged his car. He hesitantly reached for one, holding it in his hand as Billy pulled out a zippo lighter, and lit up the stick. Billy took a deep inhale, his eyes staring out into the distance.

“Don’t tell your mother, she’d kill me” he quietly added, tossing him the zippo lighter.

Adam quietly nodded, lighting up the cigarette, inhaling, then going into a crazy coughing fit soon after.

“Easy there, don’t inhale too much ... the first time always suck” Billy said, patting his son’s back.

After Adam had quieted down, there was silence amongst the two.

“You know, I saved up my own money to buy the camaro ... I worked every day that summer of 83′, my old man wasn’t too happy that I decided to spend my money on a car, hell, he wasn’t happy with a lot of the decisions I made in life, including being with your mother”

Adam stood quiet, Billy rarely ever brought up Neil. It was taboo in the family to ever bring up Neil. Adam didn’t know much, but he knew that he wasn’t a good guy, even his Aunt Max would mention every now and then how terrible Neil used to be to her and his father.

So he never asked, never wondered about his grandfather.

“I drove this camero from California to Indiana. Had a lot of great memories in this camero ... it’s where I took your mother on our first date, where she first told me that she loved me, hell I think you might have been conceived in there” he added that last part in with a chuckle.

Right at that moment Adam had decided to inhale another puff, and ultimately choked on it as Billy finished that last sentence.

“Why are you telling me this? Shouldn’t you be yelling at me? Wanting to rip my head off?” Adam asked.

Billy let out a chuckle, “You know, the old me would have been livid, furious at you.” Billy paused for a second, licking his lips before he took another inhale of the cigarette. “But you’re a good kid Adam, you always have been. Even when you were a little baby your mother and I never had any problems with you. I mean when I was your age I was beating people up, I was awful, I was mean. I honestly don’t know how your mother, or really anyone, put up with me back in the day”

Adam shuffled his feet, kicking a pebble with his foot.

“T-Thanks dad ... but I mean, I messed up your car, you’ve always told me that I wasn’t allowed to drive it, or even touch it”

Billy turned to look over at Adam, “My car? You mean yours”

He then reached into his pocket, pulling out the spare keys of the camaro and placing it into Adam’s shaking hands.

His blue eyes widened in surprise, “Holy shit ... are you serious? What about my Honda Accord?”

Billy shrugged, “Ah, I’ll save it for your sister. We’ve had enough cars come through our garage”

Adam stared at the keys in his hand in awe. He shoved it in his pocket, then threw his cigarette down to the ground and engulfed his father in a hug.

“Thanks dad ... I could’t have been a good kid without having a dad like you” he muttered.

Billy wrapped his arms around his son, closing his eyes and leaning into his embrace. He felt his heart lurch at Adam’s words, tears pricked the corner of his eyes but he quickly wiped them away with the swipe of his hand. Never in a million years did he ever think a child of his would utter those words.

Billy pulled away from Adam, who’s eyes were still wide with surprise.

“Was the girl cute?” Billy suddenly questioned, his top lip curled into a smirk.

Adam avoided his father’s gaze, his cheeks blushing.

“C’mon, she must have been cute for you to become all Mr. Rebel Without A Cause” Billy pressed on, gently jabbing him in the ribs.

“Yeah, yeah, she’s cute I guess” he finally admitted, a small smile on his face as he recalled kissing her before he dropped her off.

Billy put out his cigarette, stomping it out with his dress shoes as he put his arm around Adam’s shoulder. The two of them started to walk towards the entrance of the house.

“Too bad you won’t see her for awhile, because you’re grounded for a month” he deadpanned.

Adam whipped his head, a look of desperation on his face as they walked through the front door, “Oh, c’mon Dad!”

---

tagged: @the-first-breath-of-autumn-air @justabeautiful-letdown @fab-notfat @tarahell @noodlenerd101 @crazylittlethingcalledobsession @letdecemberburninflames @kake-babe @barbarasbae @delqcour @wearewiththebands @oogachuggaoogaoogachugga @klanceiscannon14 @mrs-hollandstan @gracieadorable

#billy hargrove #billy hargrove x reader #billy hargrove x you #billy hargrove fanfiction #billy hargrove imagine

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jeannereames · 4 years

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How does Alexander's personality change through the series? I've found that depictions of his later life range from showing as a splendid hero to a crazed despot. I'm excited to see your take, and to see how Hephaistion changes as well, and whether those changes bring him and Alexander together or push them apart.

HOW DO I INTEND TO DEPICT ALEXANDER IN DANCING WITH THE LION GOING FORWARD?

Ummm… this might have got long? My apologies. :-) I threw in some pretty pictures to cut it up?

I tend to see Alexander as a man made by his culture. Macedonian kings were expected to win wars and provide loot. Furthermore, his society named men heroes for prowess in battle and personal bravery, not selfless public service. It was deeply agonistic, with zero-sum competition and a constant need to prove one’s personal excellence (aretē). Such demonstrations brought kleos–fame–and elevated one’s personal timē–honor or public standing. Humility was NOT a virtue, and there were no poor men, only rich men in the making. ;)

Put all that together, inject it with a hefty dose of testosterone, and you begin to understand Alexander (and larger Macedonian society).

Modern attempts to paint Alexander (ATG) as a hero or a villain often depend on modern views of virtue, not ancient ones. We want our heroes to be Captain America, or Frodo Baggins. Good-hearted, honest, humble, sometimes reluctant heroes. They’re driven by a sense of SERVICE, not a desire for KLEOS.

THAT IS EMPHATICALLY AT ODDS WITH ALEXANDER’S PRECHRISTIAN WORLD.

Which makes him a hard sell.

I don’t plan to paint ATG as either hero or villain, in the usual sense. The very last line of Dancing with the Lion: Rise is highly ironic. I won’t repeat it here for those who may not yet have read the second book, but while Alexander absolutely means what he thinks in that moment, it’s a young man’s fancy.

It ain’t gonna be so easy.

Riptide has said they likely won’t publish further in the series, even before the first two came out, because the whole thing is a tragedy, not a romance. The first two books (or really one novel) have a “happily for now” ending, so they were okay with that. But we all know how the story ends.

It’s not a tragedy, however, because Alexander is a megalomaniacal villain. The protagonists of tragedies are called the “tragic hero,” after all.

I want to continue writing him much as I tried to in Becoming and Rise: a human being with flaws and virtues. And as with any tragic hero, the greatest flaws are often overdrawn virtues. Virtue turned inside out.

So again, if you’ve read book two, go back to the novel’s last line. There’s his tragic flaw in all it’s glory. His desire to uphold that, often in the face of serious reality checks, will finally break him in Baktria, where in the name of virtue, honor, and piety, he’ll commit a terrible atrocity that will drive Hephaistion from him for some time. Hephaistion is still loyal to him as king, mind, but he can’t stomach what happens on a personal level. It’s no silly love triangle, situational misunderstanding, or manufactured angst for “drama.” It’s a deep, fundamental ideological clash–the sort of thing that Real Couples face sometimes, and must then choose to accept and move beyond, or acknowledge is irreparable and separate.

Obviously, they’ll get over it. But it’s not immediate. Nor easily. And it will involve a lot emotional blood on the floor, from both of them.

Baktria is the pivot point in the series, where it moves from triumph to tragedy. Things that came together are now falling apart.

Less poetically, Alexander is discovering–post Gaugamela–that “compromise” is the ugly truth of successful politics. I love the line from Hamilton, George Washington to another brilliant, impetuous young man named Alexander: “Dying is easy, living is harder.” Alexandros may want to be Achilles, but Achilles DIED.

In Alexander’s case, “Conquest is easy, ruling is harder.”

Alexander has no plans to die, but he’s going to realize how much of what he thought would be the case about rule…isn’t. And maybe his father DID know a thing or three, after all.

Historically, at the end of his life, Alexander is much less idealistic: shrewder, harder, less trusting, and more pragmatic. Just look at his appointments at the beginning and in his last two years. Early on, he’s inclined to put the former ruler back in charge, as long as that ruler surrendered to him, and add a garrison. After returning from India, he discovers how many of those men (and some garrison commanders too) betrayed his trust. So he kills the lot and reappoints…virtually all Macedonians (and a few Greeks).

This is the opposite of Tarn’s “Brotherhood of Mankind” (which was enshrined in Renault’s The Persian Boy, and picked up as well by Stone’s 2004 flick).

This is Macedonian Realpolitik.

It’s also Alexander Disillusioned.

But he’s still not the devil. That’s too simplistic, and too modern. While I greatly admire Brian Bosworth’s scholarship (he was THE Arrian specialist), I disagree with his assessment of Alexander’s career in his 1986 JHS article, “Alexander the Great and the Decline of Macedon,” wherein he ends with, “That was the unity of Alexander–the whole of mankind, Greeks and Macedonians, Medes and Persians, Bactrians and Indians, linked together in a never ending dance of death” (12).

What Bosworth ignores is that nobody at the time would have seen conquest in itself as evil, merely how one went about it. And how Alexander went about it is, actually, a mixed bag. Maybe that’s his problem. He’s not ruthless enough to be admired for his sheer bloody-mindedness (aka, Genghis Kahn), but he did some terrible things, which kinda undercuts the “squeaky good guy” image he wanted to project–and I think genuinely wanted to believe himself to be.

We live in a post-WWI and post-WWII world, where starting a war to take land is sorta frowned upon. Even if Putin, Xi, and Erdoğan Didn’t Get That Memo. But that colors how we read Alexander’s career. We can’t and shouldn’t ignore Alexander’s atrocities, but casting him as a Hitler-esque madman says more about us than him. Alexander was NOT Hitler.

One of the toughest things about doing ancient history is this weird “double think” wherein the historian must UNDERSTAND why ancient people do what they do or think what they think…without necessarily approving of it. THIS IS HARD. It’s really hard. Too often, both professional historians and fans of history either react with modern attitudes and anachronistic critique because they find something so appalling, OR they go so far into the “understand” that they confuse it with “approve.”

Walking that line is what I hope to do, going forward with Dancing with the Lion. There are ways to faithfully show ancient attitudes even while telegraphing to the reader that’s not okay. (Hephaistion often gets used for that, incidentally, both in what’s been published and in what’s coming.)

Back to Alexander…I suspect he was often frustrated with Macedonian pushback, given his need for approval/affection. (That’s one of the key elements of ATG’s character that I think Mary Renault hit dead on the head in her novels.) I also believe he was deeply disappointed in his Macedonian soldiers at times. As noted above, Tarn’s whole “Brotherhood” notion cracks apart when we look at what Alexander actually DID, not what he said in his “Reconciliation Banquet” speech. (Remember, ancient speeches are NOT what anybody actually said, but [maybe] the gist couched as a rhetorical exercise by the authors of these texts … regardless of whether it’s Thucydides’s “Funeral Oration” of Perikles, Arrian’s speech by Alexander after the Opis Mutiny, or Calgacus’s address to his troops found in Tacitus.)

Remember what I said about expectations for Macedonian kings? Win wars and provide loot. Alexander did that with bells on. As I’ve said before, here and elsewhere, he was the Energizer Bunny of Macedonian kings, just kept going and going and going….

Yet somewhere along the way, he decided he wanted to rule what he’d won, not simply plunder it. Opinions about Alexander’s “Persianizing” have waxed and waned. First, it was so tied into the “Brotherhood” concept that after Badian, et al., torpedoed Tarn, ATG was recast as simply a glorified marauder. Yet more recently, the pendulum has begun to swing back, pointing out that, rather than some ideological notion, perhaps it was pragmatic?

Alexander was a very smart man. He understood that to rule this new united kingdom he’d created, he had to get creative. I think he also, quite genuinely, LIKED some of Persian culture. IMO, there are two basic types of people. Those who see something different, regard it with fear and suspicion, and run away or denigrate it. Then there are those who see something different and regard it with curiosity and run towards it. Alexander was (I think clearly) the latter type.

Yet many of his soldiers were not. They belonged to the former type. Plus, they’d been conditioned to think of themselves as conquerors, masters, etc. They’d proven their superiority on the battlefield. It’s the most simple sort of ethnocentrism: the “schoolyard bully” type. We beat you, so we’re better than you. They didn’t hold with Alexander’s myth-infused notions of conquest. To be honest, I don’t think Alexander held with them after Baktria. But I do think he understood that if he wanted to become Shah-han-shah of Persia, he couldn’t squash the Persians (and everyone else) under his heel.

IMO, too many modern historians are inclined to elevate the objections of Alexander’s soldiers, as if they are somehow pure of motive while Alexander isn’t, and he’s betraying them. That’s buying into ancient narrative bias. Let’s recast the whole thing in the modern era.

I see certain parallels between Alexander’s Macedonian soldiers and the red-hat wearing mobs at Trump rallies, terrified of the “browning of America” and convinced of their own cultural (and racial) superiority. The more diverse Alexander’s army became, the angrier his Macedonian troops got. One of the breaking points behind the Opis Mutiny was the emergence of the “Epigoni,” The mixed-race and Iranian boys trained in Macedonian arms. That INFURIATED the rank-and-file Macedonians. How dare Alexander share the sacred trust of Macedonian military might with Those People (who we just conquered and so, must be inferior to us)?

Reframed so, I think it easier to get beyond ancient pro-Hellenic source bias.

This is definitely something I’ll be playing with in the novel. It will NOT be “the poor, benighted troops are being mistreated by Ruthless Alexander.” But it also won’t be, “Alexander can do no wrong, and his men have no legitimate beefs.”

Life is NEVER that clear-cut.

NUANCE is all. And in the end, Alexander’s own virtues: his creativity, his ability to think outside the box, his insatiable desire to succeed, and his need to at least appear to be honorable…all these things will be his undoing.

(PSA: I reserve an author’s right to change my mind as I go forward and see how the series unfolds, but at least at present, this reflects my intentions, and some details aside, I think the gist will stay true.)

#Classics #Alexander the Great #Dancing with the Lion #DwtL #historical fiction #Tarn #Badian #Bosworth #ancient ethnocentrism #ancient Macedonia #ancient Greece #Hephaistion #Hephaestion #tagamemnon #asks #proto-racism

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neoclassic-sonic · 4 years

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What about the rest of the Forgotten Sonic Characters?

With Sonic Mania Plus comes two returning characters, Mighty and Ray! After 20+ years they’ve finally made their comeback ever since their debut in the segasonic arcade game! Even the Hooligans have made a semi-cameo appearance in the form of the Heavy Magician’s illusions in Mirage Saloon Zone! Since Mania is a celebration of every Sonic game ever it was nice to experience these old characters revitalized back to life!

But with the revitalization of old characters, what does that say about the state of the rest of the forgotten sonic characters? Will they ever see the light of day again? Do some have a more chance of appearing again? Or are they doomed to obscurity? Let’s review the list, starting from when they were introduced and their last major appearance! Starting with:

Sonic CD’s Rosy the Rascal (1993) Latest appearance Sonic R (1996)

I’m sure all of us were disappointed when she wasn’t playable in mania plus. But! With her appearance in the christmas special, she may become playable in the next sonic mania game! Or at least a cameo other than an Amy Doll.

Sonic Triple Trouble’s Fang the Sniper (1994), last appearance Sonic Fighters (1996) and you know what? Let’s throw in Bean and Bark (1996), last appearance Fighters Megamix (1996)

“Hey! What’s the big idea! We just saw them in Mania! You even said they were in Mania!” Well that’s where you’re kinda wrong kid. I said semi-cameo. The hooligans did not actually appear in Sonic Mania, at least not in their actual forms. Right, remember those three were just illusions by the magician. While those were references sure, those aren’t actually the hooligans. While their appearance in a next game like mania is less likely (given they were mirage saloon’s gimmick, and they’ve already had their representation) I wouldn’t be surprised if there wasn’t at least one reference to them in the near future.

Next up! Knuckle’s Chaotix’s Chaotix! (1995) with Espio’s last appearance in the Sonic Fighters (1996)

“Uh hey, what gives? The Chaotix crew have already appeared in modern games, they were just in Forces and Vector is in TSR! what are you on?” Well what I’m on, you see reader, is on Iizuka’s bullshit! You see since their first modern appearance on Sonic Heroes, Takashi Iizuka has stated on record that the modern chaotix crew is not the same characters as the ones in the 32x game. You see when development on the chaotix game was shifted from sonic team to another developer, the story hadn’t been written yet. Same with the characters characterization. That’s why you have a sophisticated 16 year old Charmy. Hot headed detective Espio. Pacifist nomad Mighty. God-fearing, music-loving Vector! While some of the character traits were carried over (like charmy being the glue that held the chaotix together, mighty is still a pacifist in mania, vector still has his headphones, while espio’s detective shtick got applied to the whole crew), they were basically new characters. Even though the chaotix game was viewed noncanon for years, with countless references to it in sonic mania, it seems that sega is much more willing to accept the chaotix as it was. It is very likely that this may get retconned (given how bullshit some of Iizuka’s statements on plotline are), they even might actually cameo in the next mania game if ever!

Tails Skypatrol’s Witchcarters! (1995)

Finally some actual forgotten characters! Bet you didn’t know they exist huh! Well you probably do if you’re reading this list, but i digress. Introducing the witchcarters, Carrotia the Rabbit, Fockewulf the Wolf, Bearenger the Bear and Witchcarter. These characters served as one-off antagonists and henchmen in this spinoff game, where they were left ignored for around 20 years until Archie Sonic’s Eggman’s Dozen arc where they were given redesigns to fit the modern era. They are the less iconic of the two groups of antagonists that Tails has had to fight. But they are very likely to appear in the next mania-like game.

Tails Adventure’s Battle Armada (1995)

Oof another Game Gear title but one that’s more memorable than skypatrol! Along with a metroid-style gameplay, we are introduced to the battle armada! Speedy, his father and Dr. Fukurov are a few of the notable casts introduced here! For around 20 years they were ignored until Archie Sonic (again). They are given a much bigger role compared to the witchcarters! The idea of Speedy as a rival to Tails like metal sonic is to sonic, is such an interesting concept to me! they have a greater chance of appearing in the next mania like game as compared to skypatrol!

Sonic the Fighter’s Honey the Cat! (1996)

Yeahhh, ok let’s be blunt. I love honey the cat. But she probably won’t appear in a game any time soon. Here’s why: She’s basically the mobian version of an already existing character (candy from fighting vipers). She’s a hacked character in the arcade version, removed from the gcn port and an easter egg in the latest port. She was only limited to cameos in the comic before finally debuting properly in the sonic the fighters arc in archie sonic. While Sega has definitely been more lenient with her, unless there’s another fighting game that will come out, honey won’t be appearing any time soon. (and if she does I really hope they use the rest of the fighting vipers cast too, Pane the Boar exists now! and it’s not like anyone’s using the IP! I’d like it if they just,,,, retooled fighting vipers and it’s characters for a sonic fighting game spinoff without sonic characters haha)

Sonic R’s Metal Knuckles and Tails Doll (1996)

Sonic R introduced the counterfeit counterparts to the other 2/3s of team hero. Metal Knuckles and Tails Doll. While I bet they were only created to fill out the roster, we can’t deny that their designs are cool. I don’t want to rule them out because they’re 3d characters since Bean and Bark made 2d appearances in mania, but it’s a mystery on what kind of role they’ll fulfill. Metal Sonic’s first appearance in CD was explicitly clear that he was your rival, someone to beat. These two’s appearances are kinda shoehorned as someone you have to race with but there’s no backstory. Unless there’s racing challenge in the next mania game or these characters are retooled to being a miniboss, they probably won’t appear in a major role in the next mania game, if they ever appear it’d probably be as a background cameo. (which is a shame!)

Sonic Adventure DX and Adventure 2 Battle’s Tikal and Chaos! (1999) latest appearance Tikal-Sonic Runners (2015) Chaos(illusion)-Forces (2017)

Finally we’re out of the classic era and into the adventure era! The adventure era is regarded by a lot as either a. a transitional era between classic to modern sonic, or as a part of the modern sonic era. either way this is where tikal and chaos’s first and playable appearances were made. Now this is a weird case since Chaos came from the Master Emerald and Tikal is a ghost. In their ending you can see them hanging with the chao. Ever since then they’ve been MIA. While I thought they went back into the emerald, it seems that it’s actually questionable what happened to their fate. Will we ever get to see them again? Well this is where things get pretty dicey here on out. These characters don’t have “Classic” immunity, meaning they dont have the possibility to appear in the next mania-like game since they aren’t classic. Unless we have another storyline regarding the echidna colony (unlikely due to penders) then we probably wont see tikal and chaos in a major way any time soon.

Sonic Shuffle’s Void and Lumina (2000)

With character designs looking more akin to NiGHTS into Dreams than a sonic characters, void and lumina are the more different looking characters. Opting for a more fairy look instead. Sonic Shuffle is a board game somewhat akin to mario party. These characters were one-off characters, and i guess that’s it. Unless sega makes another board game using the mainline sonic universe (not storybook sonic) then we won’t see these two again anytime soon.

Sonic Hero/Advance 3/Battle’s Vanilla and Chocola and Emerl/G-merl (2003-2004)

Woof, that’s a lot of characters. So let’s tackle them one by one shall we? Vanilla is Cream’s mother. Kidnapped ala princess peach style in the advance games, she is cream’s driving force to join sonic’s team into taking eggman down. Likewise, Chocola is Cheese’s brother. These two chao are pets of Cream. Chocola is Cream’s driving force to join team Amy into taking down eggman in sonic heroes. Emerl was a robot that died in Sonic Battle and Gemerl is the reconstructed gizoid from emerl’s remains, after the events of advance 3, gemerl lives with cream and vanilla, often portrayed in the comics as the bodyguard for the two. So how likely are they to appear? Well not anytime soon by the looks of it. They only appear if Cream has a heavy role in the story, and with each passing installment cream has been getting lesser roles. I like to think of Cream as the “next sonic”. She has the drive and the heart to become the succeeding hero. I’d love for her to get her own series of games where she is the hero. But unless she gets more roles or she gets her own spinoffs (not likely), these three wont appear anytime soon.

Sonic Riders (2006) latest appearance for storm-Sonic Free Riders (2010) for Jet and Wave-Olympics (2020)

Sonic Riders introduced three babylon rogues. Jet was introduced as Sonic’s rival when it came to races, a title loosely held by metal and shadow (metal was created to be sonic’s rival at everything and shadow was conceptualized as being an antithesis to sonic, jet is the first to be his rival in speed only). Given the nature of these games it’s actually a surprise as to why they didn’t appear in team sonic racing, or in their two previous racing games. Jet and Wave appeared in the olympics 2020 recently but storm has been mia lately. When the next racing game does come out and when they expand their roster we might see the babylon rogues debut in some sweet rides!

Sonic 06′s Elise

Unless it’s in a remake Elise has no chance of returning back due to the whole nature of 06 (and it’s storyline)

Sonic and the Secret Rings and the Black Knight’s Shahra, Merlinus, Caliburn

Not likely given that they are one-off characters in a storybook.

Sonic Rush Adventure’s Eggman Nega and Marine (2007)

I’d really love for Marine to appear again. Eggman Nega appeared in Rivals, he even appears in the olympic games, why can’t marine appear again? Sadly, unless we get a game that involves the sol dimension, these two are out of the question.

Sonic Chronicles’s entire cast (2008)

Haha. no. Most well-known as the first rpg-like game that involves the sonic characters. This game introduces Shade along with other characters. However due to the Penders lawsuit, these characters are now off limits, even to sega. this may also be the reason why we have not seen gemerl again.

Sonic Unleashed’s Lah and Chip (2008)

Chip is the Light Gaia and Lah was made for the special. We probably won’t see these characters again despite having the best writing so far.

Sonic Colors’s Yacker (2010)

Yacker didn’t fare well compared to the rest of his wisp friends. and honestly? I don’t feel too bad. while he may appear if sonic ever does need a flagship representation for the wisps, i doubt he’ll have another big role like in colors.

Sonic Lost World’s Zeti (2013)

Cause let’s face it, only Zavok and Zazz are in the limelight recently. The Zeti are a very polarizing addition to the sonic cast. they don’t have the same rep as the wisps, yet they’re designs are a bit too unique to just be left behind again. What sega’s doing now though is a bit disappointing. Half ass shoe horns into plots. Well at least for TSR, which is a racing game spin-off. We also saw this in forces (along side chaos and shadow of all people). I just hope this isn’t a trend that persists. Either make a proper plot or don’t include the character at all sega. as to when we’ll see them again, that is up to sega. this is a bit of a cloudy are cause sega doesn’t seem to be afraid to use them, but for some reason they arent too confident either.

Sonic Boom’s Sticks.(2014)

Unless There’s another boom game or Sticks is redesigned to modern standards as opposed to boom standards, we’ll probably not see her again. which is disappointing.

Sonic Forces’s Infinite and OC character (2017)

They aren’t really forgotten since it’s only been 2 years. But infinite’s basically been forgotten already! He has no appearances in other games outside forces. Not even in team sonic racing, you’d think he’d be a shoe in, but he isnt! You’d think the make your own avatar would be something that’d be implemented from everygame onward (ngl it was the only good thing about forces) but it’s also isnt seen in tsr. which seems like wasted opportunities!

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saluzozette · 4 years

Text

TAGrewatch

I am so excited by this rewatch y’all have no idea ! I remember when I first was introduced to the thunderbirds, I was around twelve years old and it was the 2004 movie. I liked it, but as a young french girl, I had no idea there was more to it. Then, when I was nineteen, I visited my mom’s friend in new-zealand and it was dumb luck we ever talked about it. Then he told me there was a show ! And THEN I realised there was going to be a remake ! It was insane ! I was so happy ?!!

I really like that show. It has everything I need, except maybe a lack of everyday life on tracy island but well.

So, as I was watching it the first time around, I wanted to write a series of ficlet. The idea was to write a OS for every episode and take the moment were everything could have gone wrong and well... make everything go wrong ^^’ I really love angst, ok ?

I only managed to write something for the first seven or something episodes, and then I stoped, but I would be happy to share my writing with you today !

Enjoy !

More under the cut

What could have gone wrong

Episode 1, Ring of fire part 1

Gordon’s POV :

“Ok, folks, I'm almost there.”

Now that I got that weird device which, I’m almost certain, is causing those sea quakes, I can finally focus on what I really came here for in the first place. The rescue. I know I shouldn’t have ooze away like that, but… for a second… For a second I thought I had found my dad. I know I should have focus on the rescue, and then go back and check the device, but I couldn’t… I just couldn’t.

Anyway, now I have that thing, and I’m back into business! Lab’s crew, get ready to be rescued.

“Good news, Thunderbird Four.” Virgil says through the radio, and I can hear the reassurance he’s not telling in his words. He knows how I feel. Hell, they all know. My dad is their dad after all. John and Scott stay silent but even then, it comforts me.

There it is. I can see the lab, the nose of which is seriously pointing down. I’m late. I will have to make it quick.

“Make it quick.” Virgil says as if he could read my mind. “I'm not sure how much longer we can hold on.”

Don’t worry big bro. I’m one of the fastest swimmer on hearth, remember?

“International Rescue!” Comes the lab’s director’s voice. “The control room is flooding! Just get us out of here!”

The panic is clear in the way his words are striving to came out all at once. I have to save those people. I have to.

I’m approaching the lab. Half its legs have fall off. The only thing that is stopping it from going away in the abyss underneath are Thunderbird One and Two’s cables. And by the way the lab is still heading down inch by inch, I can guess that Virgil and Scott are in trouble up there. Only my baby can make it under water. There is no way on hearth her two BIG big sisters could do it. It would ruin their engines.

“Leave the planet for a few hours and the whole world falls apart!”

“Hey, at least it has TV.”

I can’t help but grin at that, half mocking, half relieved. Just hearing my little brother et my sister’s complaints feels good. Alan and Kayo are back on hearth, and safe at home. I know I’m being stupid. I know I’m being overprotective, but I can’t help it. Alan sure is a Hell of an astronaut. He can even be the best, right next to John, for all I know, but I will never ever stop worrying when he and Kayo are up there, out of the atmosphere, out of the planet’s gravity, way out of my reach. I can’t stop worrying. It’s a big brother prerogative. Even if Kayo is in fact older than me.

Ok, Gordon, focus! Those people still need help, Alan don’t. What is up with you today? I come closer. Deployment of the movable arms, check; stabilization of the ‘bird, check. How am I going to get the crew to the surface? Thunderbird Four is a two-passenger’s ‘bird only. I can’t take them all with me. I will have to use the dry tubes.

“All right, here's the plan.” I call into my radio. “I'm cutting my way in from underneath, I'll evacuate the crew in dry tubes. Thunderbird Five, have the crew prepared for immediate evacuation. Everyone cool?”

John silence has always meant “yes”, and Virgil and Scott don’t complain. That makes me smile. I like it when nobody contests my plans. It means that even Mister Bossy and Mister I-always-have-something-to-say above water know that down there, I make the rules. Down there, there is no big or little brother, only me. I’m the Godfather of the oceans.

“Ok, then.” I say, unable to hide the satisfaction in my voice. “Here we go.”

It takes me less than a minute to laser a way in. Now, shall the exciting part begin. Even though I love my ‘bird, I rather be directly into the water. I don’t have a flying ‘bird, it is true. And if I had to fly one of those all by myself, I’m not sure I could do it without entirely destroying it on the way. But it doesn’t matter. Because when I’m diving, I’m flying anyway. Without wings, without engines, and without metal. I’m totally free! Except for the air bottles, ok. But those don’t count.

“Ok, I'm inside.” I say, heading for the entirely over flooded stairs. “Making my way to the crew compartment.”

One, two, three knocks and they open the door. Woah… It’s crowded in here! There are only three crewmen, but there is a whole bunch of stuff floating everywhere. And the erratic movements of the lab are not helping.

“I'm inside the control room.” I call while trying to calm down the crew’s panic. “All hands accounting for. I'll take them out, one at the time.”

“Good news, Thunderbird Four.” Virgil answers, a little stress escaping from his tone. “But hurry. We're hanging on by a thread here.”

I can feel the lab going down and down. Thunderbirds One and Two mustn’t have much room left to fly. The scientists’ director pushes a young lady into my arms. He wants me to help her first. Very well. I lead her down the stairs and through the door. For god’s sake, does she even know how to swim?! I know I’m a good swimmer but why does everybody else have to be bad ones?!

Eventually, I get her aboard my ‘bird and put her into a dry tube. I don’t have much more time.

“You're gonna be ok.” I tell her when she looks at me worryingly. I can’t afford to reassure her further, so I close the tube and send it to the surface. “First dry tube is away.”

Oh, crud… The lab is already half above the abyss. It’s a matter of second now. I don’t lose time saying anything to my brothers and go get another crew member right away. My heart is racing. The cables won’t stand a lot longer.

“One more to go.” I say when the second dry tube is ejected. “I'm going back in.”

Yeah, right, easy to say, much more difficult to do. Everything is moving! How am I supposed to swim faster if heavy metal things I can’t even give a name to are trying to kill me every second?

“The lab is shifting.” I tell my brothers when I reach the control room for the third time. “It's gonna flip any second!”

Honestly, I would have prefered that. Because I’m only able to share a look with the director, when a huge, heavy metal thing (of course!) pounds me against the wall. You know how you used to think that stuff get a lot lighter when you put it underwater? Yes? Well heavy metal things do not do that. They stay heavy. And they crush you.

That thing crushes me. The shock makes my lungs empty, and I just have the time to realize it is water that I am now breathing, before I start drowning. My air bottles have exploded!

***

Scott was having troubles with stabilizing his ‘bird. The lab was falling, and whatever Gordon was doing down there was taking too long.

“The lab's too heavy. It's pulling us both under!” He called to make his brother hurry.

Nobody answered. First, Scott felt irritation. Then, after more than ten very long and very silent seconds, worry started to kick in. What the Hell was Gordon doing?!

“Thunderbird Four, can you read me?” Virgil asked, way more scared than anything else.

Nobody answered.

“Gordon, do you read me?” He repeated.

Nobody answered.

“Gordon!”

And then…

The cables of Thunderbird Two broke. The lab fell even further and Thunderbird One came way too close from the ocean. Scott had no choice. If he kept holding on, he would go underwater. So he let it go. Without seeing it, the two brothers could tell, voices inaudible, and words unspeakable, that the lab had fall all the way into the abyss, along with the last scientist, Thunderbird Four, and Gordon.

“I’m not picking up any sign of life.” John’s voice came through the radio, low and broken. “The lab has exploded, Thunderbird Four as well… There are no survivors.”

Somewhere in the distance, coming from home, they could hear quiet sobs. Alan was crying, fear and despair drowning him, like water had just drown their fallen brother.

OoOoOoOoOoO

Episode 2, Ring of fire part 2

Scott’s POV:

“We have to destroy this dish. I need options, Brains. Fast.”

It's not that I start to feel pressured, but I sure start to feel pressured. If this mission is a failure it isn’t two or three lives that we are going to lose – although it would already be way too much – but possibly more than a hundred! By the Hood’s hands. We can’t allow that. We can’t let this city burn. To tell the truth, failure is not an option.

“Yeah!” My friend answers, showing me a modelization of the solar collector through my 3D projection device. “The primary support arm. Remove that and the entire dish will detach. I'm sending you coordinates now.”

Think fast, Scott. Do you have any other option to save everyone? Forget the electronical way, it doesn’t work. Virgil can’t move the dish manually either, because it would crush the control room. Oh, and those people still need to get out of here by the way. Ok, looks like you have no choice, after all.

“Virgil, get the engineers out.” I call through the radio, already heading for the ladder. “I'm taking out the dish.”

“Are you sure about this?” My brother asks.

He doesn’t like this plan any more than I do. If I cut the dish, not only will my life be in danger, but so will his and the engineers’. But we have no choice, and I know he knows it. The sun is rising, already causing damages to the city. We can’t risk several hundred existences just for the safety of our owns. Not even for the safety of three other people. The city comes first. Besides, I have another argument he can’t complain against.

“It's what Dad would have done.”

Silence in the radio. I’m not sure Virgil agrees with me on this, but at least, he doesn’t say anything. He must know how much I need to be sure I’m doing the right thing. I don’t care if it means putting my own life in danger.

I’m outside again. I don’t lose any more time and start climbing the primary support arm. Somewhere in the background, I can hear Thunderbird Two getting closer to the control room. Once I’m at the base of the dish, I start lazering.

“Virgil, I'm cutting my way through.” I tell my brother, praying for him to be already out with the engineers.

I can hear him talking to them through the radio, but I have no idea where he is. Let’s just hope he has finished rescuing them. The last metal bar gives away. I just have the time to grab the dish before it starts falling.

Ok, now I really need to get out of here. I can finally see my brother. He is hanging on Thunderbird Two’s rescuing seats, next to the three engineers. I knew he could do it! Damn, this thing is falling fast! Come on, Scott, stop thinking or you will be the one needing a rescue. You just have to make this fucking jet pack works.

It doesn’t work…

“The heat must have fried my jet pack!”

***

Virgil was securing his hold on the cable and making sure that the engineers could not fall when he heard his older brother’s cry. His heart froze. What did he mean by “fried jet pack”? Almost too scared to check, the young man took a look anyway. What he saw made him chocked.

“Scott!” He cried to his sibling who could not heard him. “Scott!”

The oldest Tracy was ridiculously small on the dish, compared to the giant Virgil was seeing in his mind. Scott was the oldest of his siblings, but also the strongest, the wisest, the anything-est! He was indestructible! Nothing could happen to him, right?

The dish fell all the way down the hill and Virgil followed it with Thunderbird Two. He didn’t care about the engineers anymore. The only thing he cared about was his brother.

“Scott, do you read me?!” He yelled into his radio when everything subsided.

He didn’t get an answer, but he didn’t really need one, because as soon as he had cried, he had seen what he was looking for. Scott was there, stuck under a huge metal bar, and even without checking, Virgil could tell he was dead. His big brother was dead.

#TAGrewatch #Thunderbirds #Thunderbirds are go #TAG #Gordon Tracy #Scott Tracy #Angst #Death #Tracy family

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colbybrockfanfics · 4 years

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mbfcb part 4 halloween

7 years old

October 31st 2004

Colby's POV

It was finally the day we had been waiting for Halloween, it was 3pm and we just got our costumes ready. We aren't going yet we are waiting for it to dark obviously so for now we are talking about the candies we want and watching tv in my den with blankets. Both mommas are taking us my dad is still going to be at work so he cant come I'm kinda sad about that but his work is important and Taylor said her dad doesn't want to come. I don't really know much about Taylor's dad he's never home when I go round but she really likes mine I don't know why he wouldn't want to come my dad is really sad he couldn't come with us but hers doesn't even want to.

Its been about 2 hours of watching tv a goofing around jumping around the couches pretending the floor is lava and having to escape the dragons she's the princess and I'm the knight and my momma has made some pasta to eat before we go so we aren't hungry while trick or treating. So right now we are going to the table to eat the pasta and listening to our mommas tell us the rules for tonight like no talking to strangers or wandering off don't, don't cross the street without an adult you know the usual rules.

We both have finished eating and are now getting ready my hairs being turned green and then I'm getting face paint done, Taylor is getting her face paint done then her hair she already had her clothes on. She a really pretty Harley Quinn "you look so cool bug, I hope I look as cool as you" "thanks Colbs green hair looks funny on you" she giggles her giggle is cute. It takes forever to get ready or that what it feels like but we got spongebob on and are having fun anyway.

Taylor's POV

Colby and I are in his den getting ready to go out, watching spongebob as always and I look over to see him with green hair he says I look cool in my costume and I giggle thanking him and telling him his green hair looks funny. We're both ready after what feels like forever and it slowly getting dark "look Colbs its getting dark we can leave soon" "yesss, finally we've been waiting forever" Colby says in a weird voice I giggle again he's so funny sometimes.

Narrators POV

Colby and Taylor sit watching the sunset through the window its something they do together often especially for 7 year olds. Pink and orange swirls in the sky as the darkness slowly takes over completely. They both sit in silence just looking enjoying each others company something that at 7 years old they didn't realise would continue to happen for many more years. Yes they both hope to be friends forever but at this age do they really know what thats means and the trials they will endure together, this friendship will be anything but easy but for now Colby sits thinking about all the candy they'll get and Taylor sits there thinking about her absent father how he's never home.

Taylor's POV

It's now dark out we grab our pillow cases and mommys and leave Colby's house, so far we've been to about ten houses and so many people have said they like our costumes we're running about having so much fun not worrying about anything filling our cases with so much candy. We move over to the next street when Colby asks "are you having fun bug we've been waiting so long for this day" "I'm having so much fun because I'm with you Colbs if I wasn't it'd be pretty boring" "I'm so glad your my best friend bug never forget that" I really hope me and Colby stay friends forever.

We spend all night going up and down streets collecting loads of candy that going to take a long time to finish but I'm having so much fun we've been laughing all night forgetting about the mean kids at school and I've not been thinking about my dad.

Both our mommys trying to keep up with us as we run door to door but then I notice its only Colbys mom mines not there "Colby my mommy isn't with us anymore where'd she go" "I don't know bug lets ask my momma"

Colby's POV

When Taylor tells me her momma is not with us anymore I can tell she's worried so we go to mine "momma where'd Charlotte go" "she had to run home to fix something quickly she'll be back soon if not Taylor's staying with us tonight" "ok momma" "see bug don't worry lets get some more candy then go home and watch a movie in the den" she smiles "ok lets go" we finish the last house on this street and both of our feet are hurting now so we go to mine. Charlottes still not here so I guess bugs staying at mine but thats great to me we get to spend more time together so I'm happy.

We get back to my house and my dad is home from work "daddy!" "Cole!" I run over and give him a big hug. When he puts me down he says hi to Taylor she's sad though and I don't know why but I'm going to cheer her up " lets watch nightmare before christmas!" "yeah lets go" she shouts "you need to change in you pjs first kids" my momma shouts back so we take a bath to wash off the face paint and hair colour and change then watch the movie in the den but we both fall asleep before the movies over both too tired from our night of trick or treating. It was one of my favourite nights ever and I hope we get to do it again next year.

#colby brock #colby brock imagine #colby brock imagines #colby brock fanfic #colby brock fanfiction #colby brock fluff

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