#i will always stand with don rosa
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UPDATE!!! on the Lo$ mess
Given the rising wave of panic about the latest news according to which The Life and Times of Scrooge McDuck won't be published anymore, Don Rosa has intervened to give some clarifications. And basically anseering my questions as to what role Disney exactly has in the publishing of Disney stories, since they're not produced by Disney and they are published by different companies in the world which most of the time are in fact the producers of said stories and thus they do detain the rights over them for a degree.
Here's Don Rosa's post (read it all and carefully, pls):
What he says here is: he never had a word from Disney. It was one of his publishers who informed him about the thing and currently there have been no official confirmations nor denials from Disney.
Second: there's only one story banned which is "The Empire Builder from Calisota".
Third: he had to clarify about the role of the publishers 'cause apparentely there are some people who lashed out at the publishers accusing them of being co-responsible of the decision which is not the case! Guys, don't jump at people throat with no reason like that! Why do you that?!
There may be many people who think that the Disney comics are produced and published by Disney: this is not the case. I speak for what I know: Disney has barely no say in italian Disney comics (and I suppose the same applies to Egmont). Stories and art do have to fall into Disney's main guidelines but aside that, authors and editors-in-chief of the different Disney magazines and Panini Comics can basically do whatever they want.
All Disney comics are created by writers and artists working for independent publishers who hold the license to publish "Disney" material. The decision on the Lo$ therefore comes from the company, which is not a publisher, but rather owns the publishing rights to the comics and decides what can be published and what not.
So, basically: Don Rosa was pissed and vented it all on the social media XD Totally understandable.
Now people... CALM DOWN, LET'S TAKE A DEEP BREATH, LET'S STOP LASHING OUT AT DISNEY AND JUST WAIT AND SEE HOW THE PUBLISHERS WILL HAND THIS.
Let's trust our publishers. They'll find a way.
And most importantly: let's do not attack them.
They do a wonderful service to us and to the characters we love. If it wasn't for them, especially for publishers/producers like Egmont or Mondadori back in the days and Panini Comics now we would have no stories by Don Rosa, we would have no stories by the amazing finnish/italian/danish artists and authors. We must keep our publishers dear. I know they sometimes do things we don't like, they raise prices and take decisions we're not on board with, but the most they do is good.
It is good to be angry, I was angry, everyone was angry... but... why would you lash out at publishers? What did they do wrong?! 😭 What are they? Scapegoats? They're on the same boat as we are!
We must learn to read nuances. We must find a way in between. We must find common ground. This applies both to Disney and to us fans :)
(Also, thank you, Don Rosa, for asking us not to panic when you were the one to start the panic wave in the first place XDDD).
#i think we can put the end (for now) word to this story#i will always stand with don rosa#but with publishers too!#wth! people!#don't be so mean#it's ok to be pissed but don't attack people at random! lol!#sorry i'm really pissed by this publishers thing... more than by disney#don rosa#disney#life and times of scrooge mcduck#disney comics
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The staging of death is always important. Since I made a poll some time ago about the different stagings of Don Giovanni's doom, I thought I'd make a similar poll for the other most famous "seductive" character in opera. Of course there's not as much wild variety for the staging of Carmen's death as for Don Giovanni's, because she's just murdered, not supernaturally dragged to hell. But directors have still found ways to be creative.
It's interesting that while the libretto's stage directions call for Carmen to try to escape from José's knife, far more productions have her accept her fate. I suppose this is because in Prosper Mérimée's original book, she accepts her fate and doesn't try to escape. Yet the opera's librettists wrote that their Carmen was different in some ways from Mérimée's Carmen – they weren't trying to write a direct page-to-stage translation. Personally, I think it works either way. It makes sense for a person as strong-willed as Carmen to struggle to survive to the very end, despite the fate she read in the cards, but it also makes sense for her to bravely accept her fate and die with dignity rather than give up her freedom.
That said, I also like Sir Peter Hall's third option from his Glyndebourne staging with Maria Ewing, where she calmly crosses the stage toward the bullring, past José, still wanting to live but resigned with dignity to whatever José chooses to do.
I also like the staging from the first production I ever saw onstage, which I've also seen in a few YouTube videos, which is Option #5: José draws his knife and Carmen calmly offers him her chest, but then he can't bring himself to stab her, and she laughs at him and starts to walk toward the bullring... only for José to finally snap, run after her, and stab her after all.
I think the few stagings that have Carmen and José's movements explicitly mirror a bullfight are interesting too, especially because they vary in which character is the toreador and which is the bull.
As for the suicidal Carmens in the last two options... I'm not sure. I think it would work best in a production which made it clear that Carmen wasn't happy being constantly chased by men and having to use her sexuality to get by. She would have to realize that her only way to be completely free is to die. In that light, I might approve of a suicidal staging because it gives Carmen more agency over her fate. But at the same time, it might whitewash José's character too much by reducing his ultimate guilt.
I look forward to seeing how people vote on this subject!
@simone-boccanegra, @paexgo-rosa, @supercantaloupe, @notyouraveragejulie, @leporellian, @ariel-seagull-wings
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Couldn't sleep last night because I was recalling what happens in Don Rosa's Scrooge comic that's got the banned zombie in it.
So the values that Disney doesn't stand behind is basically; a rich white duck feels incredible remorse over the fact he used a native shaman in a most imperialistic way and would like to set things right...
Sounds like Disney.
The zombie is really the ghost of imperialism that will always haunt the western world. So of course it needs to be banned. It would be horrible if children learned about something as fundamental as imperialism. They might realize it's wrong.
I suppose this was also the reason Disney once banned another Rosa comic because it contained Carl Barks' native american tribe. They looked all the same which was racist but as a child I at least just thought they were like smurffs. Rosa's story was clearly against Disney values.
In it Scrooge remembers what's important, what has true value; nature...
You really should read books instead of burn them!
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On Goncharov, Italian History, and Donald Duck
I saw Goncharov trending inexplicably, and thought I might add some scholarly perspective to the film.
I first ran across it working in a video store back in 2005 or so; we still had a lot of random old VHS, though were slowly converting the stock to DVD. Some long-ago manager had the foresight to buy a lot of low budget and foreign films - we had a wonderful collection of 1980s anime, though I was always unclear of how much of it was the official release, and how much of it was fansubbed bootlegs - and it helped keep things afloat, weirdly, in small town Michigan. I mention this because I’m not sure if the copy of Goncharov I saw was an official cut, and in hindsight I think there was some questionable legality to the battered old video tapes with simple labels.
The film that everyone seems to be describing certainly sounds like the film I saw, though some of the scenes sound different; Ice Pick Joe dies, but I remembered it being a pack of wild dogs that finally kills him, after he is wounded in in the cathedral shootout? I always thought it was meant to symbolize the quagmire of Vietnam (I remember commenting to a friend something about “it’s just like Iraq!”), but it seems like maybe I am misremembering, or that I am approaching this to my own American Studies-centric framing. I’m not sure if there is a director’s cut or producer’s cut floating around, and I wish I had kept the tape, but it looks like all of have left from my video store days are a bunch of Armored Trooper VOTOMS and a few Mr. Vampire movies.
In any case, as a scholar, I think I can address the rumors that this was funded with CIA or State Department money, since this was an ongoing thing in this period. The good news is that it probably was not; this is a lot like the rumors of the CIA funding Donald Duck comics (which I do touch on in my book: https://books.google.com/books/about/The_Dream_of_Three_Lifetimes.html?id=cPenwgEACAAJ), but I haven’t seen any records to indicate that Scorsese was paid by any governmental agency. It is certainly not impossible; there are plenty of documents from the era still hidden away in archives, but these were paid out to local governments who then hired the filmmakers in question, so it may have been that it was funneled through other agencies.
That said, the CIA was active in Italy in this period, and there are unconfirmed rumors of an attempted neo-fascist coup that never came to pass, and this was a very...tumultuous time. It is plausible that the uncertainty in Italy lead to the tripyth structure of the film: the far right and far left were violently active in this period, and it is possible that famous Americans could have been the targets of criminal action. In hindsight, the film might have been a commentary on the Years of Lead, with this as an effort to explore the futility of that struggle...though this was produced five years before Aldo Moro’s kidnapping and murder, which would be the most obvious point of comparison to the end of the film, with the sense that nothing is solved, that time will keep marching on despite all of the death and suffering, just as the Cold War would in the real world.
The only other think I can think to add about Goncharov is that it did show up in as a reference in a few Romano Scarpa Disney comics. I think they are more one-off references than full adaptations (compare to Guido Martina’s Mickey’s Inferno), but I don’t have the originals, so this is guesswork.
I think this is a reference to the scene in the junkyard, with the kangaroo standing in for Mario Ambrosini:
This seems like a pretty clear reference to the homoerotic subtext between Goncharov and Andrey’s big scene, just taken to its comical extreme:
I haven’t seen the Goncharov references in the English translations of Scarpa, but most of his stories are still untranslated, so there might be more out there. That said, while writing this post, I did think of Don Rosa, and low and behold (from “A Matter of Some Time”):
The Beagle Boys, freezing time to escape on a ladder of birds? I don’t know if it was a reference to Scarpa’s work, a reflection of Rosa’s Italian lineage, or someone finding this film decades before Tumblr did, but this cannot be a coincidence. Might have a paper to write for next years International Communication Association!
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Why I Love Rosa’s Scrooge and Goldie Romance the Most
Veering completely out of my lane for this particular blog, but. I’ve always been a huge fan of Don Rosa’s portrayal of Scrooge McDuck and Goldie O’Gilt. I know some wanna deem them “problematic”, and they are indeed less than perfect - which is one of the reasons I am a sucker for their dynamic. They ruined their own chances at a healthy relationship by being too stubborn, too selfish, and too callous with one another.
Now, with that said, as much as I understand Scrooge’s choice not to open the letter Goldie had sent him - conditioned to expect the worst, and thus willfully choosing to cast aside the note in favour of telling himself Goldie might have loved him.
We, the audience, know that she does and thus it hurts all the more that he would believe he could never earn her fancy. We understand why he doesn’t read the message, despite the fact that he ought to and it might have made him happier than his eventual fortune ever could.
As much as that hurts; Goldie’s side of things is ever more bitter.
Imagine pouring your heart out to the man you love, being dead certain he will return if he only gets to read the letter in which your confessions are penned - only for him never to return. Imagine waiting, pining, longing, anticipating. Imagine the days turning to months, to years, to decades. And he never comes. He read the letter, yet he never comes back for you.
So, while Scrooge’s inherent self doubt and low self esteem (his I’m nothing unless I make money and become someone worth admiring mantra) - I believe Goldie took it the hardest. She was the saloon girl, with all the implications behind the profession at the time, and she was turned down by the one man she believed could see past her flaws and what she must have believed had - as a sordid past of sorts - tainted her value as a reputable woman.
Scrooge, who couldn’t care less for Goldie’s social standing or past once he noted what a diligent and hardworking woman she was and what she had sacrificed to get where she was.
Goldie, who couldn’t care less for Scrooge’s empty wallet and stubborn attitude once getting past his rough exterior to the softer core.
They could have made a great couple, their differences and pigheadedness set aside. Instead, they spent fifty years believing the other didn’t love them back; worn down by unrequited love. That’s why their story is so compelling to me, as it is presented in the comics by Don Rosa.
Does that mean I don’t like any other Goldie and Scrooge portrayals? Absolutely not, but the tragedy makes the Rosa (and consequently Barks’) iteration my favourite. I like the tragedy, the chaos, the trauma, the deep seated sadness of it all. Is it dysfunctional? Perhaps, but it’s fiction. And I prefer deep, layer characters that are morally gray above strict whites and blacks.
Also, the drama is on another level - and I find, the older I get, the more I enjoy Rosa’s works (although I did as a teen as well) because of their slightly more mature angle, and the more mature themes. The same reason I enjoy Tintin, I’d recon.
#scrooge mcduck#goldie o'gilt#glittering goldie#glittering goldie o'gilt#uncle scrooge#unca scrooge#carl barks#duckverse#don rosa#keno don rosa#the life and times of scrooge mcduck#comics#semi canon#thoughts#scrooge x goldie#scroldie#meta#analysis#the star of the north#hearts of yukon#the last sled to dawson#the prisoner of white agony creek#disney#walt disney#gladstone comics#ducktales#scrooge and goldie
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Carmen Headcanons
I don't care that she appears for less than 5 seconds in Don's intro. I don't care that she's barely a character. She fucking deserves one. Here ya go!
-Carmen Rosa Rodriguez, called Carmen Rose by others, is the jewel of Madrid and the girlfriend of Don Flamenco.
-She is the envy of many girls back in Madrid for being able to score Don for herself.
-She works with her papa as a florist. They sell beautiful bouquets for the Matadors to catch and special roses for performances. Carmen also specializes in making perfume. The one Don uses in his matches is a special blend made especially for him.
-It was the florist business that got the two acquainted. During one of her shifts, Don, his father Mariano, and his older brother Tomás, came in wanting roses for their matches.
-Carmen, while being a very gentle and delicate lover, has a very playful side. Very VERY playful. She loves to play games and jokes on others, but her favorite target is a girl named Luisa.
-Not even Don is safe from his lover's antics. Her tricks on him are mild though, she wouldn't go further than drawing mustaches on his face when he sleeps or swapping perfume with his brother's cologne.
-Her laugh is the purest thing ever. Don always tries to make her laugh, whether that be from telling her a joke, a funny story, or tickling her, he will do it.
-She also snorts when she laughs and Don always melts over it.
-HER HAIR. It's the softest fucking thing. Don loves it and lowkey envies her because his hair is a birds nest.
-When they kiss, it's always a giggly affair because she's laughing the entire time from joy and it makes Don laugh too. When it's a small peck on the cheek or the neck, she always goes overboard with the smooches, and one side of Don's upper body will always be covered with a thousand or more lipstick stains.
-She can play the ukulele, because I said.
-Outside of Don though, Carmen does interact with the rest of Major Circuit too, treating them like extended family. She and Hondo geek about Sailor Moon, she and Hugger will share recipes and cook together, and Tiger will show off his magic to her and show her how to meditate. She's also friends with Aran, much to the chagrin of Don. The two love to play tricks on the rest of the boxers when she comes to the facility.
-Big fidget. She can't sit still for more than 10 seconds. It's especially annoying during bullfight matches when she wants to hop the fence and hug Don but she can't.
-She also knows how much of a drama queen Don is and though he is a lot, she wouldn't want it any other way. Don's upset? She'll kiss all his tears away and boop his nose till he feels better. He's mad? She'll play with his hair and tickle him until he's in fits of laughter. He's confused or lost on what to do? She'll take his hands and give him a Peppy and upbeat pep talk to get him on the right path. There is so much she would do for him.
-If ever she's upset or been hurt, Don will literally kill the nearest warm body. No one touches his amor unless they want to be buried 6ft under in the next hour or so. If he ever catches her crying, he will smother her with kisses, flowers and love. He will not stand to see her be unhappy.
-Her home is on a small farm in the countryside of Madrid. Her mother is the main hand on the farm. It only has a few animals, 2 cows, some pigs, chickens, and a horse named Button.
-She isn't as active as Don, though she does try to be. However she is much more drawn to
Sketching landscapes and animals. Her favourite subject is her horse, Button.
#punch out#punch out!!#punch out wii#carmen punch out#carmen rose#don flamenco#major circuit (brief mention)#headcanon list#headcanons#cause carmen deserves one
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For Grace and Country 1/?
'Hangman' Adam Page/F!OC, One-Sided Kenny Omega/F!OC
Rating: Eventually M, right now PG
Warnings: Canon Typical Violence, Kenny Omega being an asshole and a creep, Cameos from WWE wrestlers.
Written with my partner in crime @lilmissriottbliss
Taglist: @axelwolf8109 @moxleyunstable
Notes: Takes place in the alternate universe created by @lilmissriottbliss, @swifteforeverandalways and myself known as the Emoverse, but no prior knowledge is needed to enjoy this fic.
Fic Playlist:
Summary: Ava-Grace came to AEW with a purpose, to be the best wrestler she could be, but also to maybe win the heart of a certain cowboy. Unfortunately standing in her way is an overprotective Dark Order and the unwanted advances of the AEW Champion Kenny Omega.
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Ava-Grace Sinclair looked in the mirror backstage at Dynamite carefully checking herself over. She had to look perfect, tonight was her Dynamite debut. After months of working dark matches tonight she was wrestling Thunder Rosa. She popped her airpods in and cranked up BTS to get herself hype as she eased into her stretching routine. She had to do well tonight, she wanted to make her trainer, Seth Rollins proud and prove that the months he'd spent training her in Iowa weren't a waste.
"Ava…" a sickeningly sweet voice said from behind her. Kenny Omega frowned as he realized Ava couldn't hear him. Kenny didn't know what it was about the 5 foot 4, curvy African American woman but he was….interested. Unfortunately for him Ava had spurned his advances at every turn, preferring the company of herself or rarely those misfit losers in the Dark Order.
Kenny tapped her on the shoulder to get her attention, causing Ava to spin around hand raised to defend herself, only to groan when she caught sight of Kenny and Don standing there smirking at her.
"Ava." Kenny smiled at her, "Tonight's the night isn't it? Your big Dynamite debut."
"Yes it is and I'm getting ready for my match. Why don't you both go away and continue ruining Impact?" Ava said rolling her eyes
Kenny smirked. "Ouch, that was low"
"What do you want, Omega?"
"After your match maybe we can….hang out?" Ava was cut off by Moxley loudly clearing his throat.
"Do you have a problem?" Kenny sighed in annoyance.
"Nope, just leave the Newbie alone before I call my emo baby sister's twin"
"I didn't need the save," Ava told Moxley, shaking her head and continuing to get ready for her match.
"You're one of my brother's kids. Me and Sethie may not currently see eye to eye but...I promised I'd look out for any of his that ended up here" he said gruffly before walking away.
"Mox" Ava called out
"Thank you" Moxley nodded and gave the smallest of smiles. Darby Allin nodded at her while Pac talked to Rebel. AEW definitely seemed like everyone knew everyone and they were all BFFs. And then the Dark Order came in, Silver tripping over himself while Anna cussed at him. Evil Uno was reading and Adam Page was drinking, and Ava's heart soared
Hangman Adam Page. The reason she signed with AEW, instead of joining Seth in WWE. The secret Becky had promised to take to her grave. The redhead had thought her crush was cute. To Ava it was an annoyance she couldn't shake. She'd been watching him for years and had always been infatuated with him and now after years of hard work here she was, same company, same show as the love of her life….except...the Dark Order was super overprotective of their cowboy and tended to shield him from newcomers for fear of someone taking advantage of him or hurting him while he was still healing from his breakup with The Elite.
Ava took a deep breath as first Thunder Rosa's then her own music hit. There was no time for annoyingly sexy cowboys or their even more annoying defense squads right now. Right now? It was time to kick some ass.
"Nice debut," Miro praised. "Seth has never trained a bad student"
"Not sure about that but thanks" Ava smiled then frowned.
"What's wrong?" Penelope asked.
"I can't find my phone, I swear if Kenny took it"
"I'll go ask" Miro handed his title to Kip.
"I'm hanging out with Violet from WWE tomorrow, the last thing I need is that getting leaked" Ava groaned.
"Excuse me?" Adam knocked on the wall. "I found this by Malachi"
There it was, a phone with a purple case
"My hero!" Ava praised causing the denim clad man to blush.
"Uh...nice match tonight, that finisher of yours is a showstopper" Adam said rubbing the back of his head with one hand as he took a sip from his ever present whiskey glass.
"Thanks! Seth was really excited that I decided to use one of his moves."
"He sure must be proud of you," Adam replied.
"I hope so, I worked really hard to get here" Ava smiled at him causing something to flutter in Adam's chest.
"Time to get ready" Anna came over to them pulling Adam away from both the odd feeling in his chest and Ava herself
"Guess I'll see you next week?" Ava said looking up at him
"Yeah, next week" Adam softly replied before walking away with the Dark Order trailing behind him, some of them giving Ava oddly hostile looks.
"You got it bad, girl," Penelope said, shaking her head.
Ava sighed "I know"
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The next day Ava sat at an outside table of a restaurant in Texas waiting for her friend, former Raw and NXT champion Violet Gillath-Balor to show up. Soon enough the pale blue haired woman showed up, baby carriage in tow.
"There's my girl," Ava cooed at the baby girl, giggling when she blew a bubble.
"Sometimes I think you're more excited to see the baby then you are to see me" Violet took off her sunglasses and rolled her eyes.
"It's because I am" Ava replied cheekily "She's cuter and talks less"
"Saw you kick Thunder Rosa's ass last night, a picture perfect tv debut, if I should say so myself" Violet says as she sits down and picks up the menu.
"Thanks, Seth even posted about it on his socials, said he was proud of me" Ava grinned at the thought of the praise from her mentor. He hadn't been happy when she'd chosen to sign with AEW instead of joining him in WWE after her stint on the indy circuit but they were slowly working past it and she had many friends in the rival company, including Violet, the wife of Finn Balor and Seth's own wife Becky Lynch.
"You deserve the praise" Violet smiled at her "You did really well for your first appearance on national TV"
"Now it's time to claw my way up the ladder" Ava grinned back as she took a sip of her wine.
"Well, enough of that, time for the dirt. Did you see him?" Violet asked with a smirk
"Oh my Goddess, you would not believe it. I misplaced my phone like a total spaz but he found it for me! And he called Grace Under Pressure a 'Showstopper'" Ava said tapping on the table in her excitement
"Tell me everything"
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After a long lunch with Violet and her daughter, Ava stopped by her hotel room and changed into her comfortable but fashionable workout clothes and headed to the gym the roster was using while they were in town.
"Do you have anywhere I could dance?" She asked the attendant as she walked in the brightly lit space, already spotting Miro and Kip working out.
The woman pointed to an area off to the side where there was a section of wooden floor, a mirrored wall and a barre.
Putting in her earbuds she put on Perfect World by Twice, and stretched her muscles before starting to dance to the upbeat Japanese song. Unbeknownst to her Kenny was in a different part of the gym and had just walked into the main room, his eyes immediately drawn to the dancing wrestler, his eyes following her movements as she twisted and turned to the music only she could hear.
"Your obsession is showing" came the snide voice of MJF from behind him. "You're practically drooling, give it up Omega, the entire roster knows she's got her eye on the cowboy. You don't stand a chance" he laughed as he walked away.
Meanwhile Adam and the Dark Order were entering the gym, Adam's eyes also immediately drawn to Ava as she switched from a cuter style dance to a sexier one as the music changed.
John Sliver came up next to him and asked "You like her huh?"
"I don't know her, but I think I could," Adam said honestly
"Omega ain't gonna be happy, he's got his eyes on her too" Anna chimed in
"That's not exactly a deterrent" Adam said with a smirk.
"I….we just don't want you to get hurt, all anyone knows about this girl is that she was trained by Seth Rollins but declined a WWE contract to come work with us" Anna said softly
"I'm a big boy Anna" Adam reminded her, he swore he appreciated the Order ever since they'd unofficially adopted him but their over protectiveness could be stifling at times.
Oblivious to the two men who's attention she'd garnered Ava took out her airpods and took a long guzzle from her water bottle.
"Ava-Grace...didn't know you could dance like that." Kenny came over to stand behind her.
Oh goddess, not again
Ava thought to herself as she tried to avoid being as rude as she'd been the night before, Kenny Omega was still the AEW Champion and one of the higher ups in the company, the last thing she wanted to do was aggravate him, but there was no way she would ever date an asshole like him even if she didn't have her heart set on her precious Hangman.
"What do you want Kenny?" Ava asked as politely as she could.
"For you to go on a date with me tonight" Kenny answered
"For the last time...no" Ava said
"But look at us, we look so good together " Kenny says pointing to their reflections in the mirrors
"Your just not my type Kenny, I'm sorry, " She said as sincerely as possible
"Besides, the lady already has a companion for the evening" Adam chimes in out of nowhere
"I do?" Ava looked up at Adam in shock. This could not be happening. Was he really asking her out?
"If you want to, that is" Adam said blushing.
"Sorry Kenny, I already have a date" Ava says in a slightly awestruck voice.
"Are you serious? You'd rather go out with him instead of a champion?" Kenny laughed sarcastically
"Absolutely" she says looking up at Adam dreamily
#hangman adam page#adam page imagine#hangman adam page x Female OC#Shai Writes#Ava-Grace Sinclair#Spotify
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《JJBA: white rose》 minor villain: tartufo
basic information
NAME: camillo "tartufo" bulgari
AGE: 30
STARSIGN: taurus
NATIONALITY: italian
HEIGHT: 6'0 ft [182 cm]
STAND: spectre
occupation
former soldato of passione, expert sniper. when at the end of the first half of 《JJBA: white rose》, giorno gave in to don napoleone's manipulation and swore an oath to him, kissing his hand, passione's soldati became la rosa bianca's soldati. tartufo finds himself in the gang of soldati under capo portia de amarettis [main villain: to be introduced], and the new boss just doesn't sit right with them. don giorno giovanna, whose adventure they had admired since 《JJBA: vento aureo》's events, terribly disappointed them, and they don't trust don napoleone. now, all the gang of the nine soldati wants, is portia to sit at the desk that now belongs to della rosa.
personal lore
ever since he was just a little child, camillo bulgari grew up working to have some money for his family. all the bulgari family had been working for generations as cooks and waiters/waitresses in the restaurant of portia de amarettis's family, the most famous in naples, and the best in the city. in order to reach this fame, though, little did camillo know that the bulgari and de amarettis's family had indebted themselves with diavolo's mafia, leading very soon to a situation of pure fear and danger, when the money in the restaurant's cash register started not to be enough to fully pay the debt promised to diavolo. but relatives would always leave him and portia out of it. unaware. and it was frustrating, above all since they were old enough to know something was up.
it was a sunny day of the year 1990, when passione's hitmen broke into the restaurant, scaring the customers and threatening the owners in front of camillo and portia. and it was a rainy day of the same year, when the restaurant closed due to bankrupt. after that episode, no customer returned there. no incomes anymore. all that was left was an empty building and fear. what don't you do, out of fear. you come to forget motherly and fatherly love. portia's parents sold her to diavolo, to pay what was left, forcing her into the mafia. in a blink of an eye. and as soon as camillo knew, out of love for his eternal friend, and for a feeling of revenge towards what was lost, joined passione after one year, to reunite with portia.
stand
ABOUT SPECTRE: obtained through a stand arrow, this non-humanoid stand is all a sniper needs and the reason why tartufo so thoroughly protects his eyes with huge, thick glasses. spectre allows tartufo to see in detail what is going on in the range of 300 meters away from him. he can create a copy of himself in whatever spot he's looking at, allowing him to interact, explore and attack even when he's away. he can keep someone in his target from two different spots. brilliant, for a sniper.
SPECTRE'S WEAKNESSES: tartufo can only create a single copy of himself // he can't control the copy of himself, it only has his will, and moves by itself. // if tartufo stops watching, the copy will disappear. // if the copy is hurt, his main body is hurt too. // if one or both of his eyes are damaged in any kind of way, the copy of tartufo will glitch, or either do nothing helpful.
DESTRUCTIVE POWER: C
SPEED: D
RANGE: A
DURABILITY: C
PRECISION: A
POTENTIAL: D
[i would be grateful if anyone wanted to join and help in creating the lore of 《JJBA: white rose》. maybe even setting up a group or something. someone's already giving me great support to this day, without these people's support and help i would have never kept on working on this. or at least not publicly. i got to some points when i was losing hope on it. but this project isn't mine only, there's all the gangsters! there's so much to share, so many stories that have to come, and i can't wait for it. thank you if you read until here!]
#la rosa bianca🦉#jojo's bizarre adventure#jojo no kimyou na bouken#jojo part five#vento aureo#golden wind#muse: tartufo🥽#camillo tartufo bulgari
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Top 12 Three Caballeros Moments: Ride of the Three Caballeros Epilogue!
Salduos Amigos...and Adios, as this is the FINAL part of my 20 part look at those happy amigos, those snappy chappies in matching serapes, those birds of the feather, THE THREE CABALLEROS, THE RIDE OF THE THREE CABALLEROS! Yes after 19 other articles, all paid for by megafan and patron of the blog @weirdkev27, it’s time to bid our boys a fond farewell.
And what a ride i’ts been... we’ve had trips to Bahia, animaton sequences requiring a LOT of 1940′s cocaine ,Jose reinacting the plot of “Come a LIttle Bit Closer” by jay and the americans but ironcially not in the Badman Jose roll,, a less happy reunion where Donald went full vanilla ice for a few moments, Panchito giving us his long and storied family history in song form, Donald needing a vacation after his girlfriend punched him in the face and instead getting eaten by a giant snake, FLAMENCO MASTER HORACE HORSECOLLAR, Soccer with super cars, and our heroes having a warm and fun reunion and having to admit their lives didn’t turn out so good while Dewey jacaksses around in the subplot.
And all of this lead into their very own series where our heroes met a goddess and wayne knight all in the same day, defeated THE MIGHTY MINOTAUR, got into a giant robot fight on the fucking moon, meeting the roman gods who live on and tend to the norse world tree for some reason, preventing a stupidly started lava apocalypse, going to goblin jail via song, meeting some literal dead presidents, chasing a bear around a fancy rich people town, getting into the ch-ch-chalk zone, fighting a wrestling match against the respresntive of the god of death, dying and coming back to life as a result of said wrestling match, going to camelot to train with king arthrus’ self helf book, going to a yeti spa and finally returning for one last battle with an evil wizard, his pet monkeybatdonkeyrat, and wayne knight, and have to put up with Donald’s shrill abusive ex girlfriend through about half of it. All in all good stuff and i’ll always be greatful for kevn funding this and giving me the chance to both finally watch legend and in general cover these wonderful characters. While i’m sure Panchito and Jose wil lbe back for the big finale of Ducktales, I’m gonna miss these guys and hope they get another shot at the big time one day.
But Kevin had a great idea, one I decided to do for free since this thing cost 100 dollars together as it was a movie, and 20 episodes of television, so it was a LOT to do. Fun but a lot of work. A top 12 list of the best moments from across the works covered for this retrospective. From the movie to the series, these are the best of the best moments of the best boys around. So without further adeu join me under the cut as I throw one hell of an after party for one hell of a ride.
12. The Cold Blooded Penguin (The Three Caballeros (Movie) )
This one is low because it doesn’t exactly involve the boys at all as this was a short in their movie. But what can I say, I love penguins, especially Opus.
And the charming tale of a pengy named Pablo who has trouble with the cold and wants to head off for warmer climates just never ceases to entertain me. It’s adorable, pretty funny and just a nice little start to the film every time I watch it. Especially his friends with the sleepy, depressed eyebrows. Really relate to them, especially the tall one with a ponch, aka me as a penguin. Not much else to say hence why it’s so low, but I really enjoyed this short and can’t help but put Pablo on the list.. and wish he’d gotten a nod in Legend, but then again given we weren’t given a second season they were probably just saving him.
11. Charon’s Fabulous Cruise (Legend of the Three Caballeros)
Another Cabs free entry but I Just love this concept: Charon, ferryman of the river sticks.. deciding since he’s not getting as many customers to turn it into a cruise ship complete with add. IT’s low both because it dosen’t involve the boys and it dosen’t take up much of it’s episode.. but damn if it ain’t funny. And Jim Cummings just brings his all to it.. granted HE always does, the man’s a legend for a reason, but dosne’t make his performance any less lovely. WIsh we got a second season just so we could see this guy again among other reasons.
10. You Don’t Get a Vacation You Take it (Legend of the Three Caballeros)
Wayne Knight as Sheldgoose.. was easily one of the best parts of Legend of the Three Caballeros. While the show itself was fairly high quality it’s other main villain Feldrake eventually fell into just calling Sheldgoose a moron and hitting him as his only character. IN contrast while at first apperance Sheldgoose was just a rich asshole with hair that looks like a bad toupe but apparently is his actual hair and what he choose to go with and a hell of a moustache.. and while that’s all true, he’s also cunning and manipultive, often making Feldrake’s plans work simply by using clever manipulations. He’s funny, enaging and the sadest part of no second season is not getting more of this guy. Hopefully he’ll show up in another.. even the comics using him without Wayne Knight’s Dulect Tones would be nice. He’s a good villian and would fit just as well in the classic comics being either a snooty nuisance to donald in some way, or being a rival fro scrooge, also being rich but his family having earned it by stealing from others.
But for now what we got ain’t bad and hte best example of just what sheldgoose is capable of is also his first bit of contirbuting more than as a set of hands for feldrake, phrasing. His vilian song. Yes Wayne Knight FINALLY gets a villian song. Your very welcome.
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The song is just fun, a Luau type song with a sinster undercurrent and wayne knight just having a hell of a time, alternating between speaking and singing> It’s low on this list because i’ts an OKAY song, i’ve seen better villian songs, I just really liked this one, and because it dosen’t exactly involved the boys, but I still hold to my convictions in putting this one on here.
9. Panchito Romero Miguel Junipero Francisco Quintero González (House of Mouse)
Only House of Mouse entry, and suprisingly it’s not Donald squeaking “And i’m donald duck!” , which has been burned into my brain for a few decades. No it’s the groups OTHER song in there second apperance on the show Not So Goofy, sung by the incomprable Rob Pauslen. While I sitll think he was easily the worst Jose of the bunch, and that the roll never should’ve been given to a white man to begin with, credit where it’s do: he wasn’t a have bad panchito. He only voiced everyone’s faviorite rooster, suck it Foghorn Leghorn, once, for a song, likely to capatalize on the fact Paulsen was famed for Yakko’s World and other songs where he sang a lot at once, but boy did he make a meal of it. Observe.
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The song is lightly hampered by the fact it also uses his version of Jose which is probably the worst work i’ve heard from Rob. And given it’s the only roll i’ve heard of his that wasn’t very good and he’s still VERY CLEARLY trying his best, that says a lot to the guy’s quality. And im not saying all this to avoid backlash, I stand by what I say and how I say it.. i’m saying it because I truly love and respect the guy this just was not his best work.
This song however is Rob on full blast, using his ablitlity to talk fast no matter the voice to give us one heck of a lively performance and name for Panchito, one that was reused for Ride of the Three Cabs though sadly minus the song, as I would’ve LOVED to hear Jamie Camill belt this one out. But the lively animation and liveleir performance earn this one a spot.
8. Baia, Donald (The Three Caballeros)
For this one i’m squishing three different but related parts of the movie together: The “Have you been to Baia, Donald” song, the train trip there and the awesome musical number at the end. But all three flow together as one great sequence with the frist two serviing as a fun prelude for a fun sequence as Donald and Jose try to woo a lady named Yaya, played by Aurora Miranda, and get into a big and fun dance number that for the time is AMAZINGLY blended with the live action work. The song is an utter ear worm, the seqeunce is fun and it lacks some of the creepiness Donald’s later session of flirting had and the colors are vibrant as hell. Wonderful, beautiful stuff. It’s really hard to talk about as not a lot happens in it other than a fun bit of song and dance.. but sometimes tha’ts just waht you need: a bunch of actors, two of which were animated, moving and groving to a heckuva beat.
7. I Love You Guys (Legend of the Three Caballeros)
This was just a very sweet moment but one I treasure. The Cabs beat a giant horrifying rage beast.. by genuinely apoologizing to donald, telling him they love him then having a group hug. After a full episode before this of them just kinda ignoring what he cared about, Xandra and the boys genuine apologies and Donald genuinely telling them “I love you guys” and realizing for the first time in his life he’s genuinely loved and appricated. It just feels so fucking nice. Shame they didn’t you know.. end the Daisy plot with him realizing he dind’t need or or that he wasn’t angsiting over a selfish goldigger in the first place but hey, you take what you can get sometimes and the getting is good here.��
6. The Cabs Song .. in Comic Form! (The Three Caballeros Ride Again!)
Another fairly quick one to talk about but one’s that damn impressive. The Three Cabs ride again is a wonderful story that reunites our birds of a feather for an adventure in mexico.. and one of it’s two best moments, the other one way further up from Don Rosa’s classic, seriously check it out it’s good, is when the boys, to distract their enemy for the story, play their classic song.
Musical numbers.. are hard to pull off in comics. As Linkara, comic critic and one of my inspirations check him out on youtube he’s really fantastic, has mentioned quite a bit not having the sound to go with it is an uphill battle. But i’m not as against this as he is.. as long as you can convey the ENERGY of said song and perofrmance in the page. As long as you got that, you can pull it off and boy oh boy oh boy did Rosa ever. While it’s only about a page and a half long it’s just a fun, wonderful litlte sequence, from the crowd that has no reaction til lthe end when our big bad clubs them with the guitar, to our heroes swipining tablecoths to seve as serape to Donald falling outside, it’s one of the highlights of an alreayd impressive story.
5. Jam Session (Ducktales, The Town Where Everyone Was Nice!)
Only one Ducktales moment but it’s a keeper to be sure and now I HAVE seen Legend... I can say as I did there Jamie Camil REALLY shoudlv’e been kept as Panchito but “The Town Where Everyone Was Nice”.. really was still ag reat version of the characters and still kept them true. It wasn’t AS good as the Legend versions.. but honestly that’s fine. Not every version HAS to be good as the others and they were still wella cted, wonderfully animated and the story was great. And the moment that shows it off best is the boys quite moment after lunch, where they remincse, have fun, think about old times.. then hear a radio and slowly but surely have a fun dance number together, playing like old times. It’s this moment that makes me REALLY question why people hated this so much, as this one tiny moment captures the cabs chemistry and comrander in just two short minutes, Donald getting angry, Jose defusing int with a dance then him joining in, the three just jamming iwth whatever’s on hand and jose magically playing the fluit with his umbrella. I’ts all just so charming I love it. The end version of the three cabs IS really awesome, it just didn’t make the cut. Still liked it though.. but this.. this is better. Sometimes less is more you know?
4. The Three Cablleros Song (The Three Caballeros (Movie) )
Look you knew this was coming, I knew this was coming, we all knew this was coming. But the song is no less awesome, with fluid animation, wonderful vocals and lyrics, and an unberably catchy tune. It’s iconic to the characters, having popped up in four different renditions during this retrsopective, all of them pretty damn good, but no one tops the original. Even the two more dated bits, some latin baby and Panchito having a gun solo, somehow don’t hamper what’s otherwise an iconic moment. It’s fun, it’s fancy free, and it establishes the boys dynamic perfectly, one that as we’ve seen would last a few lifetimes and probably will last forever.
3. We Say So! (The Three Caballeros Ride Again)
While Ride again is a VERY good story, it’s best moment is ironiclaly it’s end despite leaving you wanting more and more. After a fun adventure and a laugh over it being for nothing really, our friends return to Jose’s job at a night club, which his manager, who understandably has issues with Jose choosing wooing ladies over actually doing his job sometimes, only gives him back because it’s a big night but needs a big act. The first touching moment here is the fact the boys pitch in without being asked because hteir friend needs them. But the real moment is what happens after: The Triplets return from the hotel, still bemoaning as they did ealrier in the story that Donald has no friends and assume when they see him on stage and see him crash off it that he incited a riot.. only for his friends to assure him he’s a very fine fellow and they say so.. and in an instnat the boys realize donald DOES have friends.. and the best friends a duck can ask for. And after a lifetime of being spat on and barely winning.. Donald gets an unquestioned victory, stnading proudly with his friends for a packed house who still want more while his nephews look on proudly. I say so.. and what I say is that this moment is one of Rosa’s finest and one of the most touching thigns the man’s ever written.
2. This is Just Where I Came In (The Legend of the Three Caballeros)
The Legend of the Three Cabs was excellent and it ended on one hell of a high. After a heck of a fight via callbacks that barely didnt’ make the list, our heroes rush in to stop Feldrake. their sorcerer nemisis, from reviving.. only for it to be too late. He’s back in full and soon warps reality around him leaving the boys hometown of the New Quackmore insitute as a series of rubble, buildings and people clinging desperatly to both floating in a hell of a starry backdrop, the only chance to stop this from happenign to the world resting in our heroes. And it’s so we catch up with where the seires began: our three heros decked out in truly awesome armor, though why Panchtio’s is roman I have no idea, fighting a giant and mosnterious felldrake and while his deisgn in that form is eh, his threat is palpable and the fight is goregous and pitch perfect.. and only gets better when we catch up, as Xandra swoops in to save htem from the cliffhanger the series started with. It only isn’t up top because of tow reasons; I like the first moment better.. and the boys do fall in a magic pool of amulet juice and emerge with powers due to a character we just meet when they do so. It’s a bit of a cop out.. but even with it being a cop out and a dues ex machina of the HIGHEST order.. it dosen’t stop it form being awesome when our heroes emerge merged with thier amulets energies, in their signutre colors and whoop felldrakes ass with a revivied Xandra’s help and then nearly reseal feldrake before his being resealed, but in Sheldgoose, resotres everything and our heroes get a WELL earned bout of praise from the town and a fancy mansion and in donald’s case a new job. A specatuclar, tense and gorgeous finale to a wonderful series.
1. Ride Em, Vaquero! (The Magificent 7 (Minus 4) Caballeros)
Look I know it sounds like a bit of a downgrade to go from a battle for the fate of the world to our heroes fighting a spoiled prince and a giant anaconda just to make it out alive.. but frankly this battle is more tense, has all boys showing off even better, and has a climax so awesome even saving the unvierse with suddenly gained magic powers can’t top it.
For the setting our heroes end up trapped in a lost city with the bad guy of the comic, Don Rosa’s second to last and his second of only two cabs stories, prepared to get away. But then Donald snaps, spurred on bya ll the shit he had to put up with back home,and TACKLES the fucking guy in his boat getting into one hell of a scrap. And if that wasn’t enough, what brings this to true glory is a giant Anaconda who shoed up earlier, popping up.. leading to Donald fighting our big bad.. WHILE BEING TANGLED UP IN A FUCKING PYTHON.
What truly clinches this as the best of the best for me though is Jose and Panchito’s actions, with Jose fighting the guy off off donlad, and actually having his umbrella WORK this time, and while the bad guy gets the raft from our heroes.. he falls off a cliff. So how do our heroes escape.. simple .. PANCHITO LASSOS THE FLEEING SNAKE AND THEY RIDE IT OUT AS SEEN ABOVE THROUGH A POND FULL OF DANGEROUS CREATURES WHO ALL STARE IN AWE AT THE SIGHT OR FLEE.
You.. you just can’t top that. The awesomness, the teamwork, the sheer balls on panchito..i t’s all just so beauitful and sums up what the boys are about: Deft teamwork, camradire.. and doing utterly insane shit as only best friends can.
So with that.. this ride has come to an end. As I said before and will say again, it’s been fun, easily the biggest project i’ve done so far, and easily one of my faviorites. I love these guys and geninely hope we see them again real soon.
So before I go, i’d like to say some thank yous. I”d like to thank ALL of the talented people involved in the making of the original film, as there are way too many to mention as it was a package movie but without you lovely and mostly deceased people we’d never have these wonderful guys. I’d like to thank Don Rosa for bringing the boys back and better than ever and beautifully so AND returning to them again. I’d like to thank Henry Gilroy and Phil Walsh, who wrote the first and second house of mouse cabs episodes for bringing the boys back to the screen, as well as series creators Robert Gainway and Tony Craig and the MASSIVE pile of storyboarders for both episode.
I’d like to thank the people behind mickey and the roadster racers, while your episodes were not very good I am glad the boys got more screentime, i’d like thank Frank Angrones and Matt Youngberg for their wonderful versions of the boys and total respect to their legacy, and i’d REALLY like to thank Matt Danner for giving us a wonderful series and finally giving the boys a starring roll again.
I’d also like to thank the MANY voice actors who voiced these wonderful characters, your beautiful all of you. To Donald’s voice actors for this retrospective i’d like to thank Clarence Nash, you absolute legend may you rest in peace, Tony Anselmo, may you keep on living please god we’ve lost a lot of good people lately don’t be one of them, and even Daniel Ross, who might not be the best Donald but he’s one of only five and you can’t take that way from him.
For Jose i’d like to thank Jose Olivara, without you I don’t think we would’ve even gotten to the Cablleros as a group, Rob Paulsen, you tried your best and your still a winner in my heart, Eric Bauza, you genuinely were the best, and Bernardo Del Paula, who gave Bauza a run for his money and I hope returns in the role in the future.
And finally for Panchito we have Joaquin Grey, again wouldn’t of had the rest without you man nice job, Carlos Alarzqaui, did the job and did it well, Rob Paulsen, gave us one hell of a song, Jamie Camill, the best around no one’s ever going to keep him down, Arturo Del Purto who while I prefer jamie.. still was excellent and I wouldn’t be mad if he returned again.
And last but not least I’d like to sincerly thank @weirdkev27. These reviews have GENUINELY helped me finacially since i’ts hard for me to find a job since I cannot drive and have a disablity, and thanks to htem i’ve been able to live comfortably and thanks to you in general i’ve been able to do what I love and get paid for it. You got me to do this wonderful restrospective, have been a genine support to the blog and a treasure to work with. Thanks man, your the best.
So with that, it’s time to ride off into the sunset. If the cabs get another apperance outside of ducktales, I will pick this up again... and wether it’s in a year or ten you bet your bottom peso they’ll be back. Who says so? I says so.
#the three caballeros#the three cablleros ride again#don rosa#jose carioca#donald duck#panchito romero miguel junipero francisco quintero gonzalez#panchito pistoles#ducktales#the legend of the three caballeros#house of mouse#xandra goddess of adventure#charon#wayne knight#baron von sheldgoose#lord feldrake#duck comics#disney ducks#disney#disney plus
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To Lady Paige, With Love
A/N: Hello everyone! This is my first time writing for Bridgerton and Regency in general so hopefully it's not too OOC and modernized but do let me know if you have tips to make the writing style seem more regency-like.
Main Pairing: Eloise Bridgerton x FemOC! Paige Crane
(Past! Marina Thompson x Paige Crane)
Anyways this came to me as an idea because I just could not stand Phillip in the original To Sir Phillip, With Love and big thanks to @ladiesofwinterfell whose Phillip posts only fuelled my need for a new version of TSPWL. So I wanted to try my hand at writing a genderbent version of him who softer and kinder in her approach when with Marina. Instead, I somehow made a completely new character who happens to be his twin sister Paige. I tried my best to follow the book very closely with of course changes to the point of view and how Marina is treated by Paige. Another thing to note is that I used a mix of the show (especially when crafting Marina's backstory it's straight out of S1) and book's background of the characters.
I'm going to stop babbling now, and happy reading everyone!
Content & Trigger Warnings: Mentions/Descriptions of (Postpartum) Depression, Implied Child Neglect, Suicide Ideation, Suicide Attempt, Teen Pregnancy (?? I dunno if this needed to be tagged as tw but Imma add it anyways), Death and Grief.
Part 2 - Chapter 1: Right Where You Left Me
Prologue: Take Me To The Lakes
[14th February 1823]
It shouldn’t have been a sunny day. It was far too beautiful of a day for a tragedy to occur.
A tragedy on Valentine’s Day, it was almost laughable.
Paige had asked the servants to open up Marina’s curtains. She knew the sunlight would do her some good. While waiting for the kitchen staff to prepare a delightful breakfast of pancakes - Marina’s favourite - she decided to check on her flowers. She had grown a lovely patch of Eden roses, specially for her best friend.
Ever since her brother Phillip and her were children, they were enamoured with botany. Phil, of course, immersed himself in the science of it. Paige preferred simple gardening. If she needed information on more complex maintenance of their plants, she knew where to find his textbooks. Over the years, Paige had developed a thumb as green as her brother’s. While Philip used botany as an escape, Paige used it as a way to connect. It was the very same type of roses that helped Paige find her way to Marina.
September 1812
Marina Thompson was a sight to behold. Her corkscrew curls were half pinned up, allowing the bottom wave of curls to be free. Paige couldn’t help but be mesmerised at how well suited her hairstyle was. Marina had a side part, almost covering the left side of her face. She donned the most simple of peach day dresses. Yet to the Crane girl, it seemed to be the most beautiful piece of garment she could have worn. To this day, Paige swears she heard music swell around her the moment she saw Marina bent over, smelling the rose bush.
She takes a deep breath. It helped ground her to muster the confidence to approach the beautiful stranger. The Crane twins have always been shy and reserved. It had done nothing good for them. She was tired of letting life pass her by. Philip could hide in the bushes for all she cared. Today, Paige decided to make a choice. A choice that could potentially bring her happiness. She was going to talk to the girl who made her heart sing.
Taking baby steps, she finally reaches Marina and gives her an awkward smile. When she needed it most, words seemed to fail her. Marina felt Paige’s presence hovering and looked up. She smiled kindly at her and handed over a rose she had plucked. Paige looked down at the rose, in a slight panic. She was rooted to the ground, unable to say or move.
“Good evening, Miss…?” Marina kept her eyes trained on Paige. She trailed her greeting off, hoping to get a name. Paige immediately fell for the warmth in her eyes. She felt safe. That definitely helped to ease her up.
“Crane. Paige Crane.” She cleared her throat awkwardly before introducing herself. She takes the rose from Marina and the two girls shake hands. All Paige could think about was how warm and soft her hand felt. Struggling to say more, she turned her focus to the rose. She twirled it around in her fingers and looked at her companion.
“These are Eden roses, also known as Rosa ‘Pierre De Ronsard’ named after the French poet. However, it was far too pretentious of a name for those out of the French border. So it was renamed Eden Climber to convey the idea of paradise was created by the exceptional beauty of this rose.” She was acutely aware she was rambling. It was the way Marina was watching her intently that brought her comfort. Marina gave her a cheeky smile when she was done with the fun fact.
“An exceptionally beautiful rose for an exceptional beauty.” Marina gestured to Paige. The botanist’s cheeks started to turn as pink as the rose.
“Eden roses from the girl who seemed to have fallen from Eden.” She thought to herself...until she heard Marina chuckle. Paige stared at her, horrified. “I thought out loud, didn’t I?”
Marina nodded, laughing with her whole body now. If Paige could have bottled the sound, she would. Marina grinned at Paige as she looped her arm through hers.
“Don’t be embarrassed. That was a lovely compliment. I think we're going to be wonderful friends, Paige Crane.”
They have been inseparable since.
***
With Phillip away on business for the week, Paige made sure to spend extra time with Marina. She carefully cut the stems of the roses to make a small bouquet. She tied them together and brought them straight to the kitchen. She placed the roses by the pancake plate. She picked up the tray and made her way to Marina's room. She balanced the tray on one hand and knocked with the other as she crossed the threshold.
"Marina, are you awake, love?" Paige asked gently. She stepped closer to her and held out the roses. "I brought you your favourite roses too, Eden Climbers. An exceptional beauty for an exceptional beauty." She echoed the line from their first meeting.
It was love at first sight. She remembered how much fun they had together. Oh where had the time gone? She frowned when she noticed the curtains were shut again. She set down the breakfast tray by her nightstand before making herself comfortable next to Marina lying down.
"If you could walk to shut the curtains, you can sit up to have some breakfast. I had the chef make your favourite." Paige attempted to waft the smell of pancakes in the direction of her companion. Marina simply turned away and stared out at the window. Paige reached out to gently stroke her hair.
Marina had her good and bad days come and go. Paige knew she had to give her space and let her heal on her own. It had been 9 years….this was definitely more serious than postpartum. She was sure of it. Paige gave her a few more minutes before digging into the breakfast herself.
"Rina, I will finish all of the pancakes if you don't come get some!" Paige attempted to sound threatening but her meek voice did her no favours. She caught a silver of a smile on Marina's face. That was all she needed that day. They just had to get through this one moment at a time.
"I saw that, love. Would it be easier if I fed you?"
Marina managed a small nod. She detested feeling like this. Like she was constantly drowning. If everyone thought they couldn't understand why she was this way, she hadn't had the foggiest idea either. Most of all, she hated how it affected Paige. Marina knew she didn't deserve this. Paige deserved a whole person not the shell of a woman she had become. She let out a soft sight and did her utmost best to sit up slightly so they wouldn't get syrup all over the sheets.
Slowly and surely, one bite at a time, Marina finished a full pancake by herself. Paige beamed at her proudly after she was done. Marina took the moment to relish in her smile. Paige always made everything better. Marina might have been depressed but she was no fool. She knew what Phillip thought of her. Even if she spent most days unable to leave her bed, she saw the way he looked at her. Like she was a fragile, broken melancholic thing. He didn't see the person underneath. He only saw the shell. Paige… She knew Marina before the twins came along. She knew the true Marina. The one who laughed and smiled and had known joy. The Marina Thompson that loved Paige Crane with all her heart. That should be reason enough to work hard to recover. To retain who she once was. Paige should be enough.
The botanist saw her companion's vacant eyes and knew she was gone for the day. Paige smiled at her comfortingly. "I ought to check on the children. I shall leave you to rest, dearest. Do ring the bell should you need anything at all." She pressed a soft kiss against her forehead before taking her leave.
As she stepped out looking for the children, Miles directed her to Phillip's greenhouse. The children loved to make mischief there when their father wasn't there. She popped her head into the Greenhouse.
"Amanda! Oliver!" She said sharply to startle them. Seeing them jump out of their bones, she couldn't help but laugh. The twins turned to her and frowned.
"Aunt Paige, that's not funny!" They pouted at her. She snorted.
"Well it was pretty funny when you did it to me yesterday. I'm simply returning the favour, my dears." She chuckled, pulling them into her embrace.
Just as she was about to suggest playing hide and seek by the lake, Amanda squeals. "Mother!" She pointed behind Paige. Paige simply blinked at her niece before slowly turning around.
Marina? It couldn't be. She caught sight of a flash of red. Red. Paige smiled to herself as she shook her head. It must be her. Red was her favourite colour. Marina always said she liked it because it was a strong colour and it made her feel strong.
Paige was filled with joy. Marina had finally gotten the strength to step out. She grabs the children's hands to bring them over to their mother. It would do them good to spend time together outside of her room. The trio was halfway across the field when Paige worked out exactly why Marina had come out. The horrifying epiphany clicked when she saw Marina slip rocked into the pockets of her dress. She immediately turned to the children. They did not have to witness this.
“Children, I need you to do me a favour.” She put on her most calming smile. She kept looking back at Marina to see how far she was away from the lake. “Could you be dears and please fetch Miles for me? Then I need you to go and play in your room. Your mother and I need to speak privately.”
“Why is she walking to the lake?” Amanda questioned. Paige tried to keep her composure. If the children kept questioning, she wouldn’t be able to reach Marina in time.
“I will explain later, please get Miles. It’s urgent.” Paige sent them off running while she sprinted in the other direction the moment they were out of sight.
“MARINA, STOP!” She bellowed at her best friend. She skidded across the field and fell face flat just yards away from the lake. Marina was completely oblivious, submerging herself into the depths of the lake. It was just her and the magnetic pull of the lake. It was like Paige wasn’t even there. She quickly recovered. She didn’t waste time undressing and dove straight into the icy waters to rescue Marina. She’ll be damned if she was going to let the love of her life go without a fight.
She couldn’t find her. Marina had dropped off to the deep end and Paige felt like she couldn’t breathe. She could never forgive herself if Marina succeeded. A glimmer of hope shone through when she caught sight of Marina’s ruby red cloak floating to the surface. Before it could get sucked into the depths of the lake, Paige screamed Marina’s name one last time as an attempt to snap her out of it. Of course, Marina couldn’t hear her. Paige set her sight on the flash of red and swam to it.
Paige did the math; Marina had been under barely a minute. It was probably not enough time to drown, but every second it took her to find Marina was one second toward her death.
She remembered swimming in the lakes with Phillip when they were children countless times. While he still swam and knew the lake better than she did. She had a vague idea where the bottom dropped off. She felt relief when she quickly found the critical point with swift, even strokes. The main obstacle was her dress working against the drag of the water, slowly her down. She cursed, not having stripped before she went in. She did her best to overcome it. Saving Marina was far too important.
She told herself she could find her. She had to find her. Before it was too late.
She found herself diving further down the murky waters. She struggled to keep her eyes open with some of the sand from the bottom swirling around her. Marina must have kicked it up as she went down. The opaque clouds of sand were making it difficult to see. Eventually, relief washed over Paige again when she spotted Marina’s red dress.
She didn’t hesitate to shoot through the waters, down to the bottom where she saw the red of her
cloak floating through the water. Paige felt her heart slow down the moment Marina was in her arms. While they were both petite women, Paige did struggle initially to swim up with Marina. Slowly but surely, she forged their way to the surface. Once she had pulled her onto the grassy knoll of the meadow, she had already lost consciousness and was nothing more than a dead weight in Paige’s arms. She took a moment to take big gasps to fill her aching lungs once again. She made sure she was okay herself before turning to save Marina.
Paige tried shaking her awake, rather violently to get the water out of Marina’s system. Just as she started chest compressions, Miles came running over.
“What happened?”
“She...fell in.” She didn’t even look up at him. She hated how her voice trembled as she said that out loud. She couldn’t bring herself to admit that Marina had gone in on purpose. Marina had chosen to leave her. She knew it was hard on her love but she refused to think about it presently. She was too busy trying to revive her. When the chest compressions felt like a failed task, Paige turned to mouth-to-mouth resuscitation. She blew the air into her mouth, hoping the water would come up her throat.
“Marina, please.” Paige pleaded as she finished her set of resuscitation. All she could do was wait. She finally turned to look at Miles, “Miles darling, could you help me send someone to fetch the doctor.” She requested, exhausted clear in her voice. He nodded swiftly and set on his task. Just as he turned to head to Romney Hall, Marina coughed up the water and started rasping. Paige gasped and squealed in surprise, launching herself into Marina’s arms. She called Miles back to help her guide Marina back home.
“You came back to me.” She whispered with relief, starting to softly sob against Marina’s chest. Marina was tired and she could barely keep her eyes open. Her head lulled against Paige’s.
“It’s okay, we’re going home.” Paige continued and Marina stirred, frowning.
“No…” Now it was her turn to sob, “Please don’t. Let me go, Paige. I don’t want...I don’t….” She struggled to get the words out. As much as she felt guilty for putting Paige through this whole ordeal, her pain outweighed that. The pain outweighed everything: her love for Paige, the children, even Phillip - as much as he misunderstood her. It outweighed her will to love.
Paige watched her flounder helplessly. She hated seeing Marina in so much turmoil. She didn’t want to say anything to make it worse. She just held her close and brushed her hair soothingly.
“It’s alright. Let’s just get you warmed up first.”
“I can’t.” She whispered with the last ounce of energy before passing out in Paige’s arms. Paige looked down at her sadly for a moment before looking up at Miles. She shot him a sheepish look and gestured for help. Miles carried her in his arms easily while Paige just watched her with worry the whole walk back.
Once they reached Romney Hall’s foyer, she instructed Miles to send a telegram to Phillip informing him of Marina’s condition. She also called for their housekeeper, Mrs. Hurley. After she had gotten Mrs. Hurley to help her strip Marina of her drenched clothes, the older woman practically shoved Paige to her own room to change into dry clothes. She argued with her, refusing to leave Marina alone for even a moment.
“Go on, dear, I’ll be with her until you return.” Mrs. Hurley shooed Paige out of the room. She huffed and obliged. She dashed to her room to quickly change out of her own icy clothes.
She found one of her old dresses, it was a yellow floral one that Marina loved so much. Marina used to tell her that it brought out the golden flecks in her brown eyes. Paige never liked her brown haired-brown eyed look and found herself to be plain looking. It was only when Marina came along, she felt seen. Maybe being plain didn’t matter when someone loved you in spite of it. Hopeful the dress would stir up old memories, Paige stepped into Marina’s bedroom nervously. She said a silent prayer for her to be well. That the 7 minutes didn’t do that much damage.
Marina was sleeping soundly when Paige entered the room. She couldn’t help but smile at how at peace Marina looked. At that moment, she understood why Marina spent so much time hiding away and sleeping. This was probably the only place in the house that brought her peace. Sleeping brought her peace.
She had Miles check on the twins before she settled into staying by Marina’s side. She wanted to be there every step of her recovery. Then after, they could get her some real help. The twins were plenty occupied with their playtime for the day. While waiting for the doctor, Paige slipped into the bed by Marina’s side. She cradled her head against her chest and prayed. Even though she was a woman of science and was the type of Christian that only attended church during Christmas, praying was one comfort of her religion she allowed herself. She prayed for all her wishes for Marina. For her happiness, recovery...for the good times to hopefully return. As she wished, hoped and prayed, she found herself falling asleep.
When the night came and brought the doctor along with it, Paige woke with a start at the feverishly warm body beside her. The panic set in and the doctor did his best to soothe her. He coaxed her out of the bed so he could check on Marina. Paige was more than happy to oblige but stood hovering over the doctor’s shoulder the whole time.
When he diagnosed her with pneumonia, Paige’s heart sank. That was definitely going to finish the job Marina set out to do in the lake. He saw her expression and comforted her by saying she could very well recover. Essentially, it was a waiting game. Paige made peace with those odds, she would gladly take all the time in the world with her. She spent the rest of the night and the next three days nursing her. She dabbed wet cloth after cloth against her warm forehead. Made sure she had the fluffiest pillows and duvet. She specially had the cook make all of her favourite dishes to go with the broth Marina detested.
Paige wanted to tell her to fight but she didn’t want to push her. Instead she spent the last few days together, helping Marina remember the woman she once was and could be again. Paige wanted her to remember to fight for herself.
The morning after, she sat by Marina’s bedside and smiled tenderly at her.
“Do you remember our first season together?” She asked, her elbow propped against the mattress, her face resting on her palm.
Marina turned to her and looked straight into her eyes. For a moment, she was lucid. “Of course,” She said, coarsely. Paige smiled, that was the best response she had gotten from her in the last few months.
“Best and worst year of our lives, I’d reckon. I was so certain I finally had the courage to tell you how I felt. Only for me to find out you were besotted with George and was pregnant with his child!” She could chuckle about it now but she remembered feeling so awful.
Paige Crane has always known she was different in that aspect. None of the boys growing up ever caught her attention. When she became a woman, out during her first season, she couldn’t relate to the way other girls had talked about their suitors. Nothing about the male species ever stirred anything romantic within her. They were just really good friends to her. Women, on the other hand, gave her all the feelings the human emotional spectrum allowed. She wanted to love them and worship them forever. When she met Marina at Romney Hall for the first time smelling the rose bushes, it had confirmed everything she already knew. She loved women. A regular Anne Lister.
She spent a few years loving Marina until her father had sent her away to stay with her London cousins, The Featheringtons. When she heard Marina was moving, she immediately sought out her mother.
“I couldn’t bear to part with you so I convinced Mother to let me debut that season in the city.” She chuckled, recounting the lengths she went to be close to her.
“I’m glad you did.” Marina croaked, the water still hurting her lungs. Now that she felt like speaking to Paige, her body was failing her. She managed a small smile and slipped her hand into hers. She definitely remembered their first season together. It was the best time… til everything quickly went downhill with the news of George’s death, being pregnant with the twins and feeling so alone. Paige was the light in all of that darkness, she had helped pull her out of the loneliness.
Paige grinned back wildly. "I think that's the first full sentence I've heard you speak in the last few months." She nudged her teasingly.
"Oh hush." She attempted to be annoyed but started coughing violently. Paige immediately shot up.
"I'm going to fetch the doctor."
"I just need some water, darling." She coughed once more. Then took a deep breath and managed a smile to show she was fine, despite her exhaustion. Paige nodded and went to fetch her a glass.
As Marina watched Paige walk out the door, she thought back to how much everything had changed in the last 10 years. It only felt like yesterday they had debuted and Marina had tried to marry Colin Bridgerton. Oh, what a mess that was. She was so consumed by her love and grief for George, she missed what was right in front of her.
It took Marina a long time to realise it but she loved men and women the same. Paige was definitely the first woman to stir up romantic feelings within her. It also took her a while to realise loving Paige doesn't count the love she held for George. He would always be the father of her children. Paige was the love of her life.
She never expected to be like this. She always thought she would be a good mother, full of life and happy. Happy was such an overrated emotion, Marina thought bitterly. It's not something that happens, it's something you work for. You make happiness for yourself. She knew that all too well. She spent the better part of the last decade fighting off her grief and postpartum with no success.
Paige reminded her to take comfort in the good days. It was rather jarring to Martina how she was experiencing a somewhat good day after all these months. Especially the day right after she made an attempt on her life.
"Penny for your thoughts, darling?" Paige asked, handing over the glass. Marina gulp it down quickly and set the cup aside.
"Just...how we got here. I thought it would be…" she ponders over the word, "different."
"Hmm," Paige hummed, "You're telling me. We could have had quite the life if I was a man. I could have married you instead of Phillip." She wrinkled her nose. She really does love her brother, Lord only knows. And Paige is pretty sure it's a crime to hate your twin. But she absolutely despised the way Phillip treats Marina. Or rather not - he completely abandoned her in the last few years.
It's no secret that Phillip and Marina's marriage was one of convenience, security and protection for Marina. Of course, Romney Hall needed heirs and so two birds. But, he could at least pretend to care for her.
"I could have become a spinster like you. We could have been the two crazy spinsters that lived in Romney Hall together." Marina chuckled. Paige beamed at her. It had been so long since she had heard that wondrous laugh.
"I'm not a spinster!" She clasped Marina's hands in hers. "We may not be married on paper but I couldn't imagine spending my life with anyone else. I can't imagine...loving anyone else." Paige looked deep into her eyes. Marina shivered slightly. Her lover had a way of looking directly into your soul.
Paige knew what the doctor had said. That Marina could possibly recover but her gut was telling her something else. She was hit with the sudden realisation that she could lose her. The love of her life.
"Please fight this, Marina. I know you can. Look at today, it was a good day. You just need to survive the pneumonia and you can start over. We'll erase the last 7 years. Slowly but surely, we can manage your melancholy. You're so much more than it, my love. You know that. Your children deserve to know that."
Paige didn't realise how increasingly desperate she sounded until she began pleading with her. She found her face wet with fresh tears. Marina reached out to wipe the tears of her face.
"I'll try." She said quietly.
"That's all I ask, thank you. I love you, Marina." She leaned over to kiss her. Kissing her back, Marina sighed against her lips. "I love you too."
That night Marina lied awake, watching Paige's chest rise up and down. Marina smiled at her little snores. Just as she felt a glimmer of happiness laying beside her love, the guilt washed over her. She didn't want to promise anything. While today reminded her of the hope she felt to feel alive, deep down she knew it was temporary. She couldn't see herself living past tomorrow.
Sure enough, she was dead in two days.
****
[Read Part 2 Here]
#Bridgerton#TSPWL Rewrite#Bridgerton AU fic#Bridgerton fic#OC: Paige Crane#Marina Thompson#Eloise Bridgerton#Paige Crane#Phillip Crane#Eloise x Paige#TW Depression#TW Postpartum Depression#tw teen pregnancy#TW Implied Child Neglect#TW Suicide Ideation#TW Suicide Attempt#TW Death#TW Grief#Eloise Bridgerton x Fem!OC#Spotify
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10 and 24 for the festive prompts :)
(please excuse me while I hang my head in shame, for this was 1: received last year, and 2: still didn’t manage to appear before Christmas this year.) 🤦🏼♀️ Best laid plans really do be elusive, huh? @ Anon, I'm sorry this is so late, and I hope you’re still around! ♥️
Prompts - 10: I don’t care what you say, The Nightmare Before Christmas works for Christmas and Halloween! and 24: Secret Santa is bullshit.
(for the sake of this story and b99′s vague timelines, this is set pre-manhunter and post-casecation). (ao3)
all the lights are shining (so brightly everywhere)
Deck the halls with boughs of holly, fa la la la lah, la la lah lahhh …
Amy sighs, tapping her feet - sadly, trapped in a curled up shoe, and does her best to ignore the jingle that comes from its dangling bell.
Tis the season to be jolly, fa la la la lah, la la lah lahhh …
Christmas Carols have always been a favourite of hers, forever singing along to the melody despite being told by many that she really shouldn’t. They were joyful and uplifting and reminders of everything wonderful about the holiday season. But tonight, she’s been standing post for three hours, listening to Z-List celebrity covers of sacred songs of hope; and as a result has spent 85% of her time hatching a plan to find the source of the music and put an end to everyone’s misery.
Don we now our gay apparel, fa la la, fa la la, fa la lahhh …
Jake’s off-key singing voice filters in through her earpiece, and a tiny smile finds it’s way onto her face.
“Troll the ancient yule-tide carol, fa la la la laaaa, la la la laaa! … Wait, troll? That can’t be right! Hey Ames, do you think trolls celebrate Christmas?”
Knowing that answering would blow her cover, Amy remains quiet; nodding slowly both to the beat and her husband’s question as the track fades away and a new atrocity begins.
Seriously, she needs to find out where this music is coming from.
From underneath her undercover position as Head Elf of Candy Cane Lane, Amy shifts uncomfortably, resisting the urge to tug down the tinsel edged skirt that hovered just a little too high for her liking. She wanted to burn the bra she had chosen to wear tonight (digging into her ribcage like it did), save for the fact that it was very expensive and very beautiful, and very much worn this evening with the sole purpose of seducing her husband.
Work had descended into pure madness in the past fortnight, with both her and Jake’s schedules descending from holding relative similarities to polar opposites. And maybe it was the surplus of romantic movies on every single TV channel, or the scores of advertisements reminding her that the holiday season was for being together with loved ones (for Jake Peralta was most certainly Amy’s Loved One) - either way, Amy had begun to miss spending nights alone with her husband something fierce.
Tonight’s plan had been so simple, it had barely required a binder. Wait until it’s nearly Jake’s finish time, don sexy lingerie, cover up with comfy clothes and go pick up her unsuspecting husband from work. Let him unlock the door when finally home, then jump his bones right there on the couch - giving Jake just enough time to discover the red lacy set and look at her the way he always manages to do - like she’s the most beautiful woman in the world. Then, sexy timez. Lots of sexy timez.
And it had all been working so well - until she’d shown up at the precinct unannounced (Jake being too distracted to notice the text she’d sent him), and immediately found herself getting wrapped up in a sting her old squad were devising.
In a spark of true evil, one of Brooklyn’s most elusive drug runners - Art Akemi - had invented a new way to dodge any of his drug shipments from being discovered; deciding to build candy canes around the narcotics so that to the unaware eye, they would appear completely innocuous.
Unfortunately, one of his most recent handovers had gotten mixed up with actual candy canes, resulting in several innocent members of the public ending up in hospital with mysterious drug overdoses. It had taken the 99 and their neighbouring precincts days to piece together Akemi’s plans, and just this afternoon Rosa had been given a lead that suggested a handoff with the kingpin and one of his henchmen would be happening at Santa’s Village that very evening.
It was brazen, to set up an exchange of illegal narcotics in a public access area - particularly, one frequented by children and families alike - but also completely on brand for someone like Akemi. The squad needed to work fast, and work smart; running through the finer details of their mission when Amy had arrived.
And yes, perhaps her FOMOW had reached an all-new peak as she listened to the detectives speak, and perhaps she hadn’t really thought about what she was volunteering herself for - but the next thing Amy knew she was Holly the Christmas Elf, toes squeezed into surprisingly curly shoes as she fielded questions from children and waited for any signs of wrong-doing.
It has been twenty-five minutes since Santa had disappeared to ‘feed the reindeer’ (aka disappearing to the back docks for a quick drag of a cigarette), and just as Amy was beginning to wonder if a search party needs to be called, she feels a gentle tug on her hand, looking down to find a little boy no older than five gazing up at her with awe.
“D’ya think Santa is busy making da presents?"
His eyes are wide - filled with the kind of awe that every child seems to get when they are lulled by the magic of Christmas - and as Amy crouches to match his diminutive height, she can’t help but notice how the unkempt curls on his head remind her of a photo with a similar aged Jake that Karen had once shown her.
(He had been mid-discovery of a fairy garden, one built by his Nana and immediately claimed as his own, and the sheer joy in his face had made Amy’s heart swell, even years later through the faded colours of an oft-cherished photograph.)
“You know, I bet he is.” Scanning the crowd for that familiar mixture of red and white but coming up blank, she turns her attention back to the little boy. “Santa’s magic like that, don’t you think?”
The child’s nod is so enthusiastic the tiny curls on his head begin to bounce, turning quickly as his searching father calls out his name. “Just a little longer, and you can tell him all of your wishes, okay?”
“Da elf said Santa’d building da presents Daddy!” The child runs back towards his father’s outstretched hand, and Amy gives the adult an understanding smile as he lifts his son back into his arms. From his undercover position at a nearby popcorn stand; Jake catches Amy’s eye as she returns to her earlier position, giving him a tiny smile when he throws her a wink.
The topic of parenthood - of them trying to have a baby, one day - had been mentioned by both more than a few times since their anniversary; and the regular use of the word when rather than if ignited a sense of hope in Amy that made her stomach flutter every single time. While the enormity of it all still scared Jake - still scared Amy, if she were to be completely honest - what always seemed to remain after each conversation was the understanding that even if it scared them: together they’d figure out how to get through it.
(Last month’s arrival of Miguel’s baby girl Adamaris, and the sight of Jake cradling her in his careful arms, had definitely not helped, playing on a loop in Amy’s mind for several days after their visit.)
“Nothing beats a bit of Santa magic, hey Santiago?” Jake’s tone is light and playful, and only serves to remind Amy just how much she’s missed talking to him these last few weeks.
Rolling her eyes slightly, she tucks her head downward, playing the pretence of adjusting her costume as she speaks into the hidden mic. “Ha ha, Peralta. Santa is magic, especially to cute kids like that one. No way was I going to be the one to burst the Santa bubble.”
With a stuttered gasp, Jake slaps a hand against his chest, and a passing stranger gives him the side eye. “Wait a minute. Are you suggesting that Santa is fake?!”
“Santa is real, Peralta. As is this very real mission to take down Akemi. Time to focus up.” Terry’s firm tone breaks through the earpiece, busting into Jake and Amy’s conversation, and a sheepish grin breaks out on Jake’s face.
“Right you are, sarge. This is Super Serious Santa Shutdown Situation.” Shoving several pieces of popcorn into his mouth, Jake waits a beat before continuing. “Ames wasn’t wrong, tho. That kid was a cutie.”
The unspoken addition of but ours will be cuter lingers between them, and Amy feels her skin warm up under Jake’s faraway gaze.
Maybe this bra was going to come in use after all.
Rosa’s voice cuts through the unsaid, her tone steady as she moves in closer from her position at a nearby payphone. “Heads up - Santa’s back. And it looks like they’ve swapped out their player.”
Immediately switching into detective mode, Jake shields his face from the new Santa’s sight as he passes, already very aware of earlier (unsuccessful) run-in’s with the kingpin. “That really looks like Akemi.”
“Santiago, can you get close enough to confirm?”
Handing out Christmas tree shaped cookies to the children milling around her position, Amy glances up just in time to catch the replacement Santa as he walks into the village. With the cocky swagger of a man who rarely pays any consequences for his actions, this version of Father Christmas looked paler and far more arrogant than the man wearing the costume earlier.
Pushing past the waiting children with barely any acknowledgment of their tiny hellos, New Santa pauses on his way to his plush red throne; snapping his gum and giving Amy a very jolly (read: creepy) once-over with his eyes. Glancing quickly in Terry’s direction, she gives a subtle nod. Akemi’s case file has landed on almost every detective in New York’s desk at one point or another, and she’d recognised that hard gaze anywhere.
“Well, well, well … don’t you look good enough to sit atop my Christmas tree.”
Acutely aware of their audience, and knowing that the red and white striped stockings covering her legs would definitely be restrictive if she needed to go full ninja on Santa’s ass, Amy quickly chooses to plaster on a bright and shiny grin. “So glad you’ve made it back from the North Pole, Santa. We’ve got lots of excited children just bursting to see you!”
“Yeah, whatever.” Akemi leans in, an unwelcome mixture of tobacco and sweat washing over Amy, and it’s all she can do to not recoil in disgust as he lowers his voice. “I’m only interested in one thing, lady, and once I got it I’m outta here. But don’t you worry, there’ll be plenty of room on my sleigh for you.”
“Ok. I don’t give a damn about any Christmas magic, Ames. If he tries to make you kiss him under that mistletoe, I swear to god I will punch Santa right in the face.”
“Cool it, Peralta.” Terry’s clenching jaw is almost audible in his response, and Amy takes a slow and calming breath, safe in the knowledge that her squad most definitely has her back.
“Right. Yep. Cool it. Cool cool cooling it.” Each member of the team watches from their position as Santa saunters over to his seat, throwing several finger guns to waiting mothers as he goes; and Jake lets out a snort of disgust. “So … has everyone gotten their Secret Santa present organised yet? Rosa, you need some shopping tips?”
“No. Secret Santa is bullshit.”
“It’s a fun holiday tradition that you are definitely participating in and if you picked my name I’d really love a voucher for that sneaker store on 28th.”
“I don’t have you, Peralta.”
“Yep. No problemo. Just saying. In case you do.”
To her right, Amy notices Terry’s unmissable frame break through the crowd. “Heads up, guys. Looks like Santa’s buddy has found his way into the queue.” With his wooly beanie and scores of shopping bags clutched in his hands, their sergeant blended in relatively easily as just another father doing some last minute panic shopping; but they all knew one flex of his oversized muscles would break that facade fairly easily.
A silence falls over the comms as they watch Santa breeze through child after child, giving them barely any attention as his target draws closer; and slowly both Jake and Rosa close the gap from the other sides.
Pulling out a poorly wrapped parcel and handing the gift to Akemi, the unshaven man at the front of the queue feigns surprise when Santa reaches into the sack next to his throne, handing the supposed stranger an oversized bag of ‘candy canes’.
“There’s the exchange. Boyle, can you confirm you got the footage?”
“With a beautiful slow zoom that really captures the thrum of festive anticipation hovering amongst the crowd, sarge.”
Cringing slightly, Jake shakes his head at Charles’ description as his eyes follow the bag of candy canes, their new recipient now walking at a steady pace towards the exit. “We’re going to lose this guy if we don’t move now.”
“Go, Peralta. Diaz, you run backup. Amy and I will take care of Santa.”
With a grin, Jake breaks into a fast walk, already focused in his pursuit. “Alright, taking down a bad Santa in a public environment. Now it feels like Christmas!”
“We’re going to wait until Akemi has left the village, Peralta. You know, try not to break a bunch of children’s hearts?”
“You do you, Terry!”
*
*
There are still remnants of festive glitter in Amy’s hair as she and Jake walk up the stairs of their apartment building several hours later, both of them slightly weary from the hours of paperwork and debriefing that took place after Santa’s Village.
“Boy, bet thats the last time you come to the precinct and pick me up on your night off, huh Ames?” The apology is obvious in Jake’s tone, and Amy glances over her shoulder to give him a reassuring smile. Even if it hadn’t been in her original plan, she still got to spend the night hanging with her husband (although in a slightly different capacity than originally planned), and she was choosing to count that as a win. (A small win, but a win all the same.)
“Yeah, maybe.”
“I’m really sorry you got pulled into all of that, babe. I just didn’t see your message in time, or I would have … hey, Ames?” The touch of his hand against her forearm is gentle, pulling her in with the quiet strength she knows her husband to possess, and Amy turns towards Jake without hesitation. His eyes search her face, immediately seeing through her concealed defeat, and he really is the only one for her. “Is everything alright?”
“Yeah, it’s fine. I just …” she feels a blush rush over her cheeks again, suddenly feeling ridiculous as she thinks of how to divulge her secret plan. The underwire from the damn bra digs into her skin again as she squirms, and if tonight has taught Amy anything, it’s why lingerie like this is only designed to stay on until your partner rips it off seconds after reveal.
“Babe?”
“It just feels like forever since we’ve had a night at home, just the two of us.” Jake’s brows knit, and Amy leans in to rest both hands against her husbands chest. “And I know that work has been crazy lately, and that it’ll eventually calm down again, I just … I’d sorta planned on tonight going differently once you were home.”
“Oh god, and instead you ended up in a glittery elf costume with a creep leering at you.” Left hand slapping against his face in shame, Jake shakes his head in obvious frustration.
“I mean, we can mainly blame my FOMOW for that, babe. It doesn’t matter, really. If I hadn’t been there, you might have gotten home even later so when you think about it, it’s way better we - mmfph -” the rest of Amy’s argument stops in it’s tracks as Jake pulls her in for a kiss, the gentle but insistent press of his lips against hers casting any other thoughts far to the side.
The familiar touch of his hands as they roam against the outline of her butt causes Amy to melt entirely in Jake’s arms, resting her arms against his steady shoulders as her fingers slide into his hair. This - these tiny moments where the world seemed to fade away and all she could feel was Jake - was what she’d been craving for weeks.
Jake sighs against her lips, letting her tongue slip into his mouth as he shuffles ever so closer to her, and maybe he’d been missing this just as much as she.
“So,” Jake whispers as he pulls away from the kiss, leaning in to brush his lips against Amy’s once more. “Time to get this night back in track.” Another kiss. “What kind of plans did you make for us, Santiago?”
“Lets just say … the lingerie I’ve got on under here is going to blow your mind, Peralta.”
“Going to blow your mind, title of our sex tape.”
Amy nods, biting her lower lip as she steps out of Jake’s embrace, gesturing towards their apartment. “But it’s also really uncomfortable. C’mon, let's get inside before it ends up in the dumpster.”
Jake’s footsteps echo behind Amy’s, hands landing on her hips as she digs for the keys. “I’m declaring it now, Ames. Tomorrow night we’re both leaving early and staying in for movie night at home. Phones off, popcorn, everything for the full movie experience. We can watch Die Hard and Love Actually and Nightmare before Christmas …”
Amy’s nose crinkles at the last movie, unlocking their front door and tugging her husband through as it swings open. “Didn’t we watch that last one for Halloween?”
“I don’t care what you say, The Nightmare Before Christmas works for Christmas and Halloween!”
“Jake …”
“Christmas is literally in the title, babe!”
Pulling him closer, Amy takes a leaf out of her husband’s handbook, silencing him with a definitely not PG rated kiss now that the risk of being discovered by a neighbour had slimmed to none.
Jake’s arms wrap around her middle in response, holding Amy close as her fingers begin to trace the edge of his buttons, and she lets out a sigh of satisfaction that finally her initial plan was coming to fruition.
Next time, though, she might add a sub-section into the binder about potential diversions, and how to avoid them (not join them) - FOMOW be damned. This stuff was way more fun.
#my writing#very delayed#peraltiago Christmas#pre-mac#sorry anon#undercover peraltiago taking down bad guys#b99 fic#b99 fanfic#peraltiago fic#peraltiago fluff#jake x amy fic#not tagging the prompts as its too long ago
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HC´s - Your first date
(You are in no relationship, but there is clearly love in the air 🖤)
(Please, excuse my mistakes. You know that english isn´t my native language 🙈)
Javier Escuella
How he is preparing:
Javier pays great attention to his appearance. After all, he wants to be the most handsome man for you. His hair is perfect, his mustache perfectly trimmed.
Javier even applies perfume on his skin. But not too much, after all, he wants to smell pleasant.
Javier is in a good mood all day long. The others see from his proud attitude and the constant smile on his face that there is something different about him. But he keeps this sweet secret for himself.
Your date:
Javier will bring you white jasmine. This beautiful flower stands for sweet love. Your story started early. Javier had spent a lot of time with you, flirted with you. You have stolen his heart.
Your tender femininity makes Javier's heart beating like crazy!
With Javier, you go to the lake to enjoy your time together. He wants to impress you with his voice and singing - And of course, he succeeds!
Javier gives you lessons in fishing.
The perfect opportunity to get closer to you!
His hand strokes your arm gently, his hand encloses yours, and your feminine scent is pure sin for him!
Of course, Javier spends a lot of time teaching you something.
After fishing, you will roast the fish on a bonfire. And after your delicious meal, you decide to swim in the lake.
Suddenly and in a very natural way, you will get closer.
“Mi rosa... I have to confess, that I am very attracted to you!”
Javier doesn't hesitate long after these words but kisses you gently.
His kiss is tender at first, but as soon as he realizes that you like it, he becomes more passionate and you sigh with pleasure - It´s perfect
Artrhur Morgan
How he is preparing:
Arthur is very excited! He's looking forward to this date, but it's been a long time since he last had a date with a woman.
What kind of gift should he bring you?
He will ask Josiah Trelawny for help.
Josiah will help him find the perfect outfit for the first date.
From Josiah, he will also receive some tips on romance and how a gentleman should behave.
Your date:
Arthur brings you flowers that he picked himself from the field. Pink tulips. These stand for love, and the deep affection that Arthur feels for you.
You go on a trip to Strawberry. The area around that place is just beautiful! Blue sky, the most beautiful birds, and crystal clear rivers.
There you have a picnic together. You eat fresh fruit and nuts, drinking wine together.
During the picnic you laugh together, touching each other tenderly. Everything so innocent. Arthur had no idea, but he is good at flirting. He finds the right words to flatter you.
Your first kiss happens when Arthur takes you home on his horse.
He rides very slowly. He wants to enjoy the last few moments he can spend with you.
At some point, Arthur decides to stop in the middle of the road. Your giggle just confirms that you were more than happy with what he was doing. "May I kiss you, darling?" he asked. And without hesitation, you turn your face to him, looking deep into his incredibly beautiful eyes before your lips touch tenderly.
You will remember this beautful day for a long time.
John Marston
How he is preparing:
John is a little nervous. He wants to do everything right.
Finally! A day without the curious eyes of the other gang members! Only you and him alone!
He can't wait to spend his time with you! He is in a fantastic mood, and some of the gang members are wondering if John accidentally drank his tea with the wrong herbs this morning.
Of course, John thinks that it is none of the others' business, why he is so happy.
He won´t say a single word.
John puts on his usual clothes.
Your date:
John also doesn´t forget to bring your flowers.
He brings you yellow gerberas. He wants to tell you that your presence is a light for him. Everything becomes more beautiful through you, and he enjoys being with you.
You go out for a ride together
You compete. The winner can wish for what he or she wants.
John will do everything to win this competition! As a winner, he wants a kiss from your sweet lips.
But you win the race!
But with your victory, it suddenly starts to rain heavily, yet it doesn't stop you from getting your prize from John.
You look up at him, the summer rain soaked you both completely - It is very erotic and exciting. "I won, Marston." "Is that so?"
He chuckles softly, and you reach for his wet shirt, pulling him closer.
"I'll get my price!"
Your kiss surprises John, but he doesn't hesitate for a moment to return your tenderness. He places his arms around your delicate body, and in the rain, you kiss passionately.
Charles Smith
How he is preparing:
Charles is very relaxed.
He doesn't plan what to say or what to do to impress you. Everything will happen naturally.
He knows that he will have a good time with you. And you know about his quiet, reserved nature.
Charles bought white lilies for you. These white flowers symbolize his undoubted love for you. So it also stands for purity and innocence.
Charles is completely mesmerized by you.
Your date:
You go to Amabrino - Grizzlies East.
It is one of the most beautiful and quietest places Charles knows. The mountains, the crystal clear lakes, and rivers are very beautiful.
Here in the mountains, you have a picnic together. You talk about your past, about your wishes, and Charles opens up to you, telling you about his life.
Charles and you become very close. Here and there, gentle touches and soft flirting.
Your charming smile fills his heart with joy.
Charles made a flower crown or you.
"Charles, it´s beautiful!" "Not half as beautiful as you are, Y/N."
Hearing his calm and gentle voice was the most beautiful melody for your ears.
When Charles puts the crown on you, he leans forward and kisses your cheek tenderly. But even this strong-willed man can´t resist your sweet lips - He brings your hearts together with a gentle kiss.
Josiah Trelawny
How he is preparing:
Josiah is a self-confident man, yet he is very nervous to meet such a wonderful lady like you!
He dresses as always very noble. Josiah wants to be the most handsome man for you.
Josiah arranges everything for a perfect date.
Your date:
Josiah has a bouquet of red roses for you. He is in love with you, and he adores you!
Josiah takes you to one of the most elegant restaurants in Saint-Denis.
You sit together on the terrace, and during your dinner, you can see the beautiful lights of the city.
You have never had dinner at this quality before! And you've never tried a more noble wine like this one - just delicious!
Josiah looks you in the eye all the time. Your eyes were full of love and affection while he´s holding your hands.
After that delicious dinner, he will take you to a carriage to show you Saint-Denis by night.
Suddenly, while you are sitting in the carriage, it starts to snow. Nobody knew where this snow came from, but it is so romantic!
"Are you cold, my dear?" You don´t need to answer him, because he is a gentleman, and he knows what to do.
He lovingly puts his coat over your shoulders, and you immediately snuggle against the charming magician.
When you looked up at him, and your eyes sparkling like two stars, Josiah couldn't help but kiss your pretty lips...
#javier escuella#javier escuella x female reader#arthur morgan#arthur morgan x female reader#john marston#john marston x female reader#charles smith#charles smith x female reader#josiah trelawny#josiah trelawny x female reader#rdr2#red dead redemption 2#headcanons#fanfiction#love#romance#first date
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Just a quick question but what often gets you inspired?✨
Oh boy ehhhhhh - here we go to the never ending rabbit hole!!
Sometimes small things gets my attention like e.g. squirrels paws, unique red face of a person at a cold day or seeing chair upside down on icy lake (honestly I am now working on long comic about trolls inspired by that chair).
Comic art and animations inspires me greatly! Lately I have been inspired by animations gems like the thief and the cobbler, treasure island from 1988 (and other Soviet Union animations) and the king and the mocking bird. The animation process fascinates me greatly, how can one make smooth and imaginative animations is wonderful! I can't get enough of it all.
Also concept of kindness inspires me greatly. I have gone throw...lets say a lot. I love stories that show kindness where it is needed, e.g. Tove Jansson's story of invisible child. The child was bullied by their family so much that they turned completely invisible and lost their own voice, eventually they found confidence and selfworth in themselfs thanks to kindness of Moomins. I want my feelings to be seen and heard but sometimes world or people are overwhelming. Kindness is important, otherwise we will fall apart or at least I do. I am still on my way to be kind and understanding of myself and othets but those qualities are more important to me than ever.
Couple weeks ago I started to collect stuff that inspires me or I find interesting. I will list most of them below. If I am not saying anything about certain box, it means I enjoy the show/comic/meme/animal but cannot put my finger on why. Usually those make me smile and give new pespective about life. Somethings might be there twice because I am forgetful baboon!
Junji Ito's horror comics are visually out of this world! But my fav is his humorous comic about his cats. It was so different from his other comics that I fell in love with it.
Emma manga made by Kaoru Mori. Usually I can't stand romantic stories but the characters but the story and the art works perfectly together in her comics.
Comics and animations of @cecameron are gorgeus and fun!
Tove Jansson's books, comics, art and life in general.
Rainbow Road from Muppets is my favourite song and I wish it would be played at my funeral one day. Its hopeful song that fills me with joy.
Entranta from Shera. She never gives up, I wanna be like her! I wanna see failure is part of the process and helps me get further little by little + its nothign to be shamefull of.
Ponyo's fathers frustration is relatable, also the whole movie is wonderful and colorful. Its maybe my favorite ghibli movie.
Scarr my beloved weirdo! The image was in the tarot pack of the grim adventures of Billy and Mandy and he is of course the hermit (which is my personality card)
@deep-dark-fears comics surprise me by giving new ideas to express fear.
Hugo Simberg was Finnish artist at 1900's. Symbolism and sympathetic characters of devils and death has inspired me since I was 8 years old.
Treasure planet is one of my favourite disney movies. The father son relationship between Silver and Jim is great and makes me cry everytime.
Hypnopotamus and Warren Stone from ROTTMNT. Their relationship is wholesome and inspiring + the show itself is fun, full of action and passion! I love it!
Tintin comics are almost religious in my family. It was one of the first comics I saw different from different parts of the world and how tintin could become friends even the most oddest (looking at you captain Haddock) people is marvellous.
The penguin my belowed ❤❤❤
Mörkövahti is Finnish children book that accidentally inspired me greatly. The world of troll like creatures, magical elements in the story and research of the creatures made me fall in love in the world of the books. I often love to read books for kids or teens, they are more interesting and I don't have to fear to be faced with rape, sexism and other nasty stuff.
Stop motion animation and expecially Arman animations have been always part of my life. I have soft spot for the pirates movie thanks to it's humor, naivety and animation style.
Adventure time is one of my favourite series and couple of things stuck with me. Some people are build different, you don't have to understand it but you need to respect them. I love this idea greatly and I try to live by it.
Pinsir is my favourite pokemon and it says a lot.
Mr Pogo and other smart ape characters inspire me greatly. No wonder new planet of the apes trilogy is part pf my movie collection. I am not sure why I love smart apes as characters but it always works.
Wander over yander whole concept is to be kind and help people out, I love it.
Peto was made for me by @elle-eedee at lgbtq trolls discord server. Peto ended up becoming my ultimate comfort character and I love to draw him and make stories for him. I loved the way elle-eedee combined my favorite things to create him ❤ also their colorful art inspires me everyone I see it.
@alioutfit blog is blog of style choices of man named Ali. I want to find my own style like Ali.
The murder she wrote is nostalgic for me and I wanna get into that series again! The fact smart older woman is the main focus inspires me. I love Agatha Christi stories too so it checks out.
Hugs + rottmnt. I love hugs and the show has a lot of good hugs!
Don Rosa's Donald Duck comics are the best! Those who don't know, Donald Duck comics are big in Finland!
Heikko Peikko (meaning Weak Troll) was stop motion animation series in Finland at 70's. Its wonky, basic and charming story of Heikko Peikko's everyday life.
The meme that made me less depressed
@foxing_around had wonderful comic that made me think over my friends over my sad ass.
Squirrels, I like them a lot. They remind me of my grandpa who loved forest and nature.
My sandwich with a face
Monsters petting each others! My friend has a lot of arkham maddness board games that comes with monsters. I like to play with the figurines, they are so lovely monsters!
Concept art of toothless from how to train your dragon. Why toothless couldn't look like this little ugly thing??? I would have loved him from bottom of my ❤
Kingdom of lonely bananas sign was at supermarket. Little imaginative ideas like these are great.
Pasila series is good stuff, it was said to be Finnish South Park.
My photo of snail ❤
WoY faces are glorious
The snow queen movie from 1957 gives me live. Its one of my favourite Soviet Union animation movie.
My photo of my special secret place at summer
I know only these two from Transformers comics and their love is wonderful. Truly I haven't read the comics...I wish I could tho!
Sherlock Holmes books are awesome
New ducktales series had so many characters from the comics I couldn't believe it at first! Finally I had my favourite characters like Fethry on the show!
I love odd looking animals because I am one too
Animal Crossing is a game I thought I would never play. It looked like a baby game when my big bro gave the it to me at the time gamecube was new console. He bought it because it had a memory card and he know nothing about the game. I tried it and never looked back ❤
The ping pong animation is my favourite animation series from Japan. I got the manga even I can't read it since it's straight from Japan. It's more about the lifes of the characters and how they grow as people than the game itself (or at least it feels like it). The story feels real in a way, that the characters are three dimensional and their reactions are natural. Some charachters stop developing as players, some loose interest completely, some work hard to be the best, some forget why they played in the first place and some found new ways to live their lives. The story is good for my soul.
Comic of @catmilks made me realise there are other people like me. The feeling of the comic is relatable and hopeful, things will pass and life goes on + make sure you take care of yourself.
Comics of @ stuffnoonetoldme made me reflect my life and how I see myself.
@diva-humon has good points of life. I realised I have very christian way of thinkin even I am not religious or have ever been part of any religios.
Suomenlinna, I loved it!
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AEW Women’s Eliminator Tournament - Full Review
So as of tonight’s Dynamite the winner of the Eliminator Tournament is in the books, either Nyla Rose or Ryo Mizunami have overcome the other to earn the right to face Hikaru Shida at Revolution on Sunday
But now is time to look at the tournament as a whole and review how well AEW’s latest ambitious Women’s Division Project would/should be received
Warning: There will be immediate spoilers for the Winner under the ‘Keep Reading’, if you do not wish to know the Winner do not read until you have
So when the smoke cleared and the dust settled, Ryo Mizunami came out on top having pinned Nyla Rose for the win, claiming the spot at Revolution and the tournament.
Boy was my prediction wrong eh?
After being given the trophy by Shida however, Aniki refused to let go of the champion, trading and inviting blows from each woman until Shida was able to knock Mizunami down and raise the title aloft.
Was she people’s first choice to win? Probably not
Is she an unworthy winner? Absolutely not
Mizunami is extremely experienced, her charisma can reach all ages, she has a genuine love for the wrestling (her sunglasses even have ‘I <3 AEW’ on them), she has aforementioned history with Shida and she went through 2 Fan-Favourites, the legendary Aja Kong and finally the previous Women’s Champion and No.1 Ranked Woman to get here.
And while we are on that topic, to the people who immediately condemned and criticized the tournament when Nyla made the finals: Don’t you get tired of being worked so easily?
Honestly we had the exact same thing with the Deadly Draw, people don’t want competitor A (Nyla/Brandi and Allie) to win: so AEW put them in the finals so they root for competitor B (Aniki/Diamante and Iveliesse). Ye of so little faith
I also like to mention that it’s quite nice of Mizunami to be this rewarded by AEW and Shida given how she appeared on their first show at Double or Nothing, I didn’t know it at the time of my bracket rundown but apparently Mizunami was about to retire after DoN, but the crowd and energy of the match inspired her to keep going and push to reach a wider audience - which AEW is now letting her achieve.
Get it out of the way - The Negatives
Make no mistake this tournament was great, but it doesn’t mean it was perfect. Of course my earliest criticism was that we could’ve had more, a bittersweet feeling I got when I realised the tournament was nearing its close. While yes it would’ve been nice to see the likes of Big Swole, KiLynn King, Allie, Penelope and perhaps even some debuts/returns, we cannot slight AEW too much for keeping the bracket small.
Time however was a bit of a constraint on AEW’s part. Having revealed late that the winner will face Shida for Revolution, the tournament matches started coming out fast...but on Youtube. Personally, I had no problem with the matches being a sole focus stream on Youtube, but I can also understand why not putting at least the entire American bracket on Dynamite would’ve hurt the tournament. If the tournament had more time I do believe that each match would’ve had a Dynamite showing and not a broken BR Live stream (but please note that BR Live were the problem there, not AEW).
A non-AEW criticism as well for Injury screwing over Anna Jay right as she was about to have her match, extremely rude of the world and we hope her shoulder heals up faster than usual.
The final criticism is probably with the BR Live US Bracket Finals video, simply put it was lacking compared to other streams. Madi vs Leva and Leyla vs Alize didn’t shine as much as Riho vs Rosa and the 6 Woman Joshi tag did in the prior stream, we could’ve probably gotten better matches out of that.
Why I loved it - The Positives
I will look at anyone who says that this tournament was a waste and meaningless dead in the eye and tell them they are wrong, and they will be shocked to find that I am not lying.
The tournament not only put a lot of attention on the competing women but became a platform for AEW to show that they have some impressive women on their roster. The returns of Yuka, Emi and Riho paired with the stalwart performances of Baker, Rosa and Nyla as well as the bright showings of Madi, Anna, Tay Conti and Leyla shows that AEW still have a really good Women’s Division - I mean I love WWE but you have to admit their NXT women’s division bought many of their stars ready-made; Io, Toni, KLR, Meiko and Candice were already established names before WWE. Stack that on top of impressive performances by Red Velvet and Jade Cargill last night and the ranks of Big Swole, Allie, Penelope Ford, Kris Statlander, Shanna, KiLynn King and Tesha Price and you still have a strong division.
The tournament proved its worth also by the fact that there was not a single bad match on there, we had some bangers on each stage ranging from Yuka vs Emi, Rosa vs Riho, Nyla vs Baker and Leyla vs Rosa, among several others. The tournament succeeded in giving us great wrestling even with different formats of face vs face, heel vs heel, speed vs power, technique vs power, and even some new shades to the women such as heel Sakura and face Nyla.
I cannot praise the tournament without heaping a ton of praise on the Joshi. Shida and Kenny had always been adamant to show that the Joshi can be a revelation to Western audiences and they were paid in kind in that regard. All six Joshi brought out their A-Game to the point where several are asking for them to be signed, Sakura’s heel ‘Killer Queens’ faction rose interest with a fantastic entrance, while VENY dazzled with their gymnastic talent (and their wearing of the late Hana Kimura’s kimono), Mei Suruga and Yuka Sakazaki lit up the room with their speed and fun and Maki Itoh continues to be adored by the wider world into megastardom.
The six woman tag as well was a nice cherry on the top to once again showcase the women, including Rin Kadokura who was fed to Aja Kong in the tournament, every bit of energy and charisma from the Joshi landed on the mark, it has opened several new fans to their home brands (TJPW however did kinda give away that Yuka wouldn’t win given how she was booked for one of their shows, but they’re still great) and have us gasping for more of those six and perhaps some extra, Miyu Yamashita for instance? Think about it TK
One thing that can really harm a tournament too is predictability, which this tournament did not have. You have to commend the balls of AEW to set up 5 fan favourite choices to win and have them each be felled and swerve the entire fanbase. It was for the most part good swerves as well, leading up to the Nyla work included, and actually made me feel like this tournament had big stakes for each member. People will criticize its unpredictability but I won’t be one of them, just because it didn’t go how you personally predicted it doesn’t mean it’s bad.
Also a stand out yes for Rosa’s several gear, especially the Selena one against Riho, and Hikaru Shida herself slaying it in the white suit, like lord almighty thank you for this food.
Was it worth it? - Conclusion
This is an emphatic yes for me. AEW will always have its critics, fair and unfair, but if you have to wonder whether this tournament is a success you have to simply look at it this way
Were you entertained?
For me yes, there was a 100% consistency in good to great matches in this tournament paired with genuine surprises that got people talking and invested in the tournament itself.
Did it give you something fresh?
A dark horse winner who earned her way to face Shida for the 5th career time and 1st time in an AEW ring through outwrestling, outpowering and outwitting their previous opponents, unique heel/face changes and a showcase of new wrestlers and matchups? I’d say that’s a yes
Did anyone get over?
You ask anyone before this tournament was announced who Ryo Mizunami, Maki Itoh, VENY or Mei Suruga was and you’d likely get blank faces, thanks to AEW they are known and commended by several fans outside of Japan. You ask people if Tay Conti can bring a physical match to Nyla and almost win and you’d get a few murmurs, if you asked people if they though Kenny was valid for his push to bring the Joshi into a wider audience prior to this may’ve said no. Those minds were changed because these women got over.
In addition to that the popularity of Thunder Rosa, Riho and Yuka Sakazaki has continued to rise as some of AEW’s top babyfaces, Leyla Hirsch, Emi Sakura and Tay Conti’s stock have rose thanks to the tournament and Nyla and Baker have delivered on strong match performances.
When you consider those three, there is no way you could call the tournament a failure or a waste, people benefitted from it in a good way which means it was a good tournament.
I for one will look forward to seeing Shida take on Aniki and see how it unfolds at Revolution - which I hope to do a review for, I’m also guessing that Paul Wight’s aquisition is either Christian or Okada. Many will of course assume that this is an easy retain for Shida (and act like winning the tournament means you should win the following match as if people don’t win the Royal Rumble/MITB/KOTR/Dusty Classic and lose in their title shot), but how many of those people thought that Itoh, Kong, Yuka and Nyla would beat Mizunami? She keeps on extending the party and coming out on top, you cannot underestimate the tournament winner, Shida produced this tournament, she’s picked her winner now she needs to fight them.
#aew#all elite wrestling#aew revolution#aew women#aew women's tournament#aew women's eliminator tournament#hikaru shida#aew women's championship#nyla rose#ryo mizunami#thunder rosa#yuka sakazaki#riho#britt baker#dr britt baker dmd#emi sakura#aja kong#leyla hirsch#serena deeb#anna jay#tay conti#madi wrenkowski#mei suruga#VENY#asuka#rin kadokura#maki itoh#aniki
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Secret injuries would be interesting for some good Flora angst
((Thank you for the suggestion and I’m sorry this is late! I already used the ‘Secret Injuries’ prompt for Rook and Bishop whump... so I decided to add this to my new series about Flora— Put Yourself Back In The Narrative. It still contains Flora whump and angst... Flora secretly misses the professor and Luke, but Kat helps her realise that she’s not alone in that regard! This also contains some criticism of Layton’s decisions during the Relics investigation from Flora’s perspective. I hope that’s ok!
Spoilers for the anime and most of the series below! It starts with Flora writing a couple of letters...))
-
Em,
It's a relief to hear that the agency aren't involved... I still can't believe the professor never mentioned them! After everything you and Uncle have told me, I hope we never cross paths with those vultures. Don't worry— I memorised Grosky's phone number and I made sure Fen and Kitty did too.
Though, at the same time, it's disappointing that we've you've exhausted another lead.
Where will you be investigating next? Is there anyone else who might hold a grudge against the professor? All of the people I can think of are in prison... well, except for one, but he wrote to me insisting he isn't the perpetrator. I'd be more inclined to believe him if he spoke to me in person!
Maybe you could come home and help us track him down? Kitty said she misses her favourite aunt!
And we could make up some better codenames while you're here.
You stay safe too!
Flora
-
To Our Wise Guardian,
Thank you for searching for our reclusive father and looking after our restless uncle.
I trust Miss Altava with my life. If she believes the agency aren’t to blame, then I believe her. I don't care what she did in the past anymore then I care about Uncle's past. She wants to find the professor just as much as he does.
Please remind Uncle of that, and don't let him burn down any trees. Climate change is a real thing.
If you aren't having any joy with the Azran sites, maybe you should take a break. (It sounds like Uncle needs it!) There’s a park just across the road from us where you could land the Bos airship.
Fen would love to talk to Uncle about this device he's been working on. And Kitty has been begging for some new books...
Until next time,
The Layton Clan
-
Dear Brenda & Clark,
We're doing alright here, though we'd be lost without Rosa!
Alfendi has been given some extra time to complete his end-of-year project. At Kat's last parents’ evening, her teachers said she can be quiet in class but other than that, they're pleased with her progress.
Yes, Grandma Lucille is home now— we went to visit her and Grandpa Roland the other day. I just received Kuri is still with her family in Japan.
I feel awful for Marina's family... Please tell them that they're welcome here in England as well. I'm sure that wherever they are, Luke will protect Marina with his life.
...Arianna mentioned Tony's wedding. We'll all have to go dress shopping together. Kat's already decided she wants a yellow dress. (You might have some competition, Brenda!) Can Clark help Al choose a suit? He's a nightmare to shop for!
We can't wait to see you both. If you need help with the move, just give us a call.
Love,
Flora, Al & Kat xoxo
-
Dear Arianna,
Don't worry about the late reply! You should see my desk— there are SO many letters I haven't even opened yet! I wish I really wish Luke was here. He’s so much more organised than I am...
I miss him too—
-
The ink was smudged from Flora’s tears. She tried to hide it by scribbling out the last line, but there was no saving the letter now. Sniffing, she crumpled the paper into a tight ball and threw it at her bedroom wall. She didn’t bother aiming for the overflowing plastic bin.
What a waste. If Alfendi or Kat had done that, she would have tutted at them. They couldn’t afford to be wasteful, even with the emergency savings their father had left them…
Flora squeezed her black fountain pen (a twenty-first birthday gift from the professor), wishing she could snap it in half.
He had planned for this. He knew he’d be gone for so long and there was a chance he would never return.
Flora hadn’t come to say goodbye to he and Luke the day they set off, but Rosa had.
“What’s the point in searching for the girl’s father, after all these years? Why take the risk? Don’t you love Kat, Professor!?”
Yes, of course he did, but he wanted to solve the mystery behind her family. Solving a puzzle about a bunch of rocks was more important than raising his daughter, apparently. He had adopted Kat and now he was leaving her behind.
Flora huffed out a tearful laugh. She, more than anyone, should have seen it coming. But she had believed (assumed) it would be different with Kat.
The professor had taken Kat in when she was a tiny baby. A baby couldn’t be left home alone or sent to school. Parenting was a full-time job (as Flora was well aware these days).
Luke had laughed when the professor first announced that he would be Kat’s father.
Everyone, Flora included, had expected the majority of responsibility would fall on Rosa. Or, in Rosa’s absence, another eager friend or family member. (Grandma and Grandpa Layton, Uncle Desmond, the Monte d’Or gang…) The babysitting offers came flooding in much faster than when Alfendi was little. A newborn baby was far more appealing than a grief-stricken child.
Flora would have helped look after her siblings even more, had she not been so busy preparing for university.
But, in the professor’s defence, he had refused to take on any new cases and he had reduced his work hours. When he couldn’t escape his office at Gressenheller, he would bring Kat with him.
He had chosen the name ‘Katrielle’. It was an unusual name, but it went well with ‘Alfendi’.
You would think eight-year-old Alfendi would be jealous of all the attention his new sister was receiving. It was quite the opposite. By spending more time with Kat, the professor spent more time with Alfendi; trips to the park, the library, the museum…
Flora would join them whenever she got the chance. Kat was the glue that brought them all together.
The professor had ‘officially’ adopted Katrielle Layton when she turned three. It seemed he had given up on finding her biological father…
And then Luke (Darn him!) had to stick his nose back in to the Relic Stones business.
He had married Marina in secret just so they could move to England without the professor’s knowledge. Consequently, Flora had been kept in the dark too.
That hurt. After all these years, Luke still didn’t trust her.
She could have assisted him with the investigation. She wouldn’t have told the professor…
Luke had shut her out, along with Marina. (Poor Marina…)
Thankfully, Marina had sought out the professor as soon as Luke went missing.
The idiot had gotten himself caught by Don Paolo. (Yes, a similar fate had befallen Flora once… when she was fifteen. Luke was twenty-five, trained in karate and he should have known better!)
After Luke’s rescue, he was dragged back to the Layton household for a family reunion. Flora had given Luke an earful— “YOU DIDN’T INVITE US TO YOUR WEDDING AND THEN YOU ABANDONED YOUR NEW WIFE?!!”—before she hugged him. She had thought that would be the end of the whole Relics fiasco.
She’d thought wrong.
The professor had gotten involved after that. Family outings were pushed aside in favour of the Relics Stones.
At Alfendi’s eighteenth birthday meal, the professor and Luke were trading research notes under the table.
Flora found a house with her girlfriend, Kuri. The professor never once visited them, despite Flora’s many invitations.
The day Luke left for his journey with the professor, Marina had called Flora, crying because she and Luke had fallen out. Flora had gone to comfort her. (That was the last time Flora had any contact with Marina.)
Flora didn’t blame Luke as much as the professor. Luke was a young man fresh out of university— reckless, full of heart and loyal to a fault. He had watched Kat’s birth mother die and now he wanted to scour the world for answers. But, as Arianna had said, the world was so vast…
When Kat was born, Luke had been a student— too young to look after a baby by himself. So, the professor had accepted the role of being Kat’s parent.
The professor couldn’t just adopt a child (three children) and run off ten years later.
Kat wasn’t a puzzle that needed to be solved. She was a little girl.
A girl who never stopped eating sweets, but enjoyed going to the dentist if they would give her a sticker.
A girl who still hoped Santa and the Easter Bunny were real, even if the Tooth Fairy was fiction.
A girl who practiced her dad’s ‘detective’ poses in the mirror.
A girl who didn’t like tea, but still insisted on drinking it.
A girl who could hold a heated debate with her older brother (eight years her senior).
A girl whose family couldn’t afford a dog, so she stopped to pet every stray she met on the street.
A girl who thought people would only befriend her because of her last name. A girl who feared those friends would leave her when they learned of her father’s absence.
A girl who dreamed about her dad every night and woke up in tears.
A girl who was always trying to make her big sister smile…
“Hey, Floor…?” Kat knocked on Flora’s bedroom door, but she didn’t wait for Flora to answer. She burst in to see Flora wiping her eyes. Kat wondered, “What’s for dinner?”
“I, erm… I thought we could have lamb stew,” Flora suggested, standing up from her desk chair.
“Lamb stew? That’s Uncle Luke’s favourite!”
It was actually roast lamb… Flora could feel her eyes burning again. She turned away from Kat and tidied her desk. “I’ll be down in a minute,” she said distractedly.
“I can help you clean up!”
“Don’t worry, Kat—“
“Have you been writing more letters…?”
Flora glanced at Kat. Kat was picking up the ball of paper that had missed the bin— Arianna’s letter. Flora gasped, “Don’t...!”
Kat, ever curious, smoothed out the letter and read it to herself. She frowned when she reached the end.
Flora sighed. “No one was meant to read that…”
Kat carefully placed the letter on Flora’s desk. “I miss him,” Kat mumbled. “And Dad…”
“I know…” Flora touched Kat’s head. “I do, too.” Her words were mainly intended to reassure Kat, but Flora meant it.
She missed them— both of them— so much. No matter how much they had pushed her away, she missed them and she wanted them back.
“That’s okay,” Kat whispered, reaching up to grab Flora’s hand. She tugged Flora out of her bedroom and downstairs to where Alfendi was impatiently setting the table for dinner.
Later, Flora would rewrite her letter to Arianna, signing off with:
…I miss him too. It’s okay if you ever want talk about it. I’ll be here.
Sincerely,
Flora
#professor layton#flora reinhold#Katrielle Layton#hershel layton#luke triton#marina triton#Flora is here to FIGHT FOR MARINA#Rosa grimes#layton mystery journey#LMJ#my writing#angst#my fics#Arianna Barde#answers
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In the brief history of street culture, Hitomi Yokoyama is one of its most prominent hidden figures. If Hiroshi Fujiwara is considered the de facto “godfather of Japanese streetwear,” Yokoyama is most definitely its godmother. A contemporary of UNDERCOVER founder Jun Takahashi and Tomoaki “NIGO” Nagao — who would go on to establish A Bathing Ape and Human Made — Yokoyama was at the forefront of Tokyo’s Ura-Harajuku movement that gave rise to Japan’s cadre of covetable brands like WTAPS, Neighborhood, Bounty Hunter, and countless others.
As a teenager growing up in Tokyo’s Yotsuya neighborhood, Yokoyama became fixated with the British punk bands she saw on TV and heard on the radio. “I was listening to The Clash, Adam & The Ants, and The Sex Pistols,” she says. “The first thing in fashion I got really excited about was Malcolm McLaren and Vivienne Westwood’s clothing I saw Johnny Rotten wearing.”
It was through seminal Japanese magazines like Takarajima that she got put onto McLaren and Westwood’s Seditionaries clothing line and SEX shop in World’s End. She also discovered “Last Orgy,” an influential Takarajima column started by Hiroshi Fujiwara. It was basically a cheat sheet of what brands, bands, and trends were about to blow up.
But Yokoyama didn’t just read about what was cool — she lived it, too, exploring Tokyo’s underground nightlife at clubs like Picasso and Nabaron, which played everything from ska, rockabilly, and reggae to the hottest bands in London at the time. The scene got her close to Jun Takahashi and future Bounty Hunter founder Hikaru Iwanaga, who played in a tribute band called the Tokyo Sex Pistols, and NIGO, who sometimes stepped in as their drummer. Yokoyama remembers how the now-icons dressed at the time, recalling Takahashi as a would-be Johnny Rotten and Iwanaga as a stand-in for Sid Vicious.
“This kind of place was more like a culture school than just a club,” she says. It’s where she learned how to dress and met like-minded people who shared the same passions, like Vivienne Westwood and punk. “It was a real life social network in the days before the internet.”
NIGO and Takahashi had met at Tokyo’s prestigious Bunka Fashion College, the same institution that produced Yohji Yamamoto and Junya Watanabe. Yokoyama worked at a hair school in the neighborhood called Ciao Bambina, which doubled as a community hub for area youth, since their parents weren’t allowed in. NIGO got his hair cut there, and Yokoyama admits she used to steal a product called Rock Gel, a hard hair gel ideal for Takahashi’s avant-garde punk hairstyles.
At the same time, Takahashi and NIGO were becoming a dynamic duo in their own right. They had taken the reins of Fujiwara’s “Last Orgy” column and brought it to Popeye magazine (the newer, younger answer to Takarajima) under the moniker “Last Orgy 2.” It was clear they had the juice now, so under Fujiwara’s mentorship they turned their platform into a first-of-its-kind retail concept: NOWHERE.
Before that store opened, Yokoyama remembers the small network of streets as a neighborhood with hidden gems interspersed throughout. There was Hitomi Okawa’s MILK, Nobuhiko Kitamura’s Hysteric Glamour, and punk boutique A Store Robot, which Yokoyama frequented. But NOWHERE began the evolution of Harajuku’s backstreets into an in-the-know shopping destination. The shop launched both Takahashi’s UNDERCOVER and NIGO’s A Bathing Ape.
“Jun started making clothes on a domestic sewing machine, making one-off items. He was a genius at an early age,” remembers Yokoyama. “Then you had NIGO, who was a massive expert on vintage clothing and had great style.”
The Ura-Harajuku scene and the brands to emerge from it would expand from a small underground community to a huge global movement, and Yokoyama would play a crucial part in that transition when she moved to London in 1993.
“My plan was to study English and go to make up school,” she explains. “One day, I was walking down the street and I met a guy called Barnzley. He recognized my Seditionaries clothes and was very curious about my UNDERCOVER clothes.”
Fate made it so that one of the first people Yokoyama met in London was one of its most well-connected people. Simon “Barnzley” Armitage is a fixture of London’s club scene and its underground subculture. As a shop guy for Vivienne Westwood and Malcolm McLaren, he took advantage of the store’s screen printer to make bootleg Chanel T-shirts before getting into deconstructing clothes. He’s donned many hats and worked on numerous projects throughout the years, including co-founding the label A Child of the Jago with Joe Corre — Westwood and McLaren’s punk progeny.
Yokoyama’s Seditionaries fit caught his eye immediately, and they connected over a shared love of clothes, music, and punk culture. Yokoyama was still looking for a room, and Barnzley actually had an opening at his flat, recently vacated by Spanish artist Luciana Martinez de la Rosa.
“I think Hitomi was quite happy to move into a flat full of cool clothes, art, and records,” recalls Barnzley. “Maybe not so happy I kept her up all night with loud music, girls, insane pop stars, and messy graffiti artists.”
Yokoyama admits she didn’t get much sleep thanks to the loud music, but describes the London she found as “like Disneyland.” With Barnzley as her cultural sherpa, she rubbed shoulders with Joe Corre, Nellee Hooper of The Wild Bunch, Paul Cook of The Sex Pistols, Primal Scream’s Bobby Gillespie, and Paul Simonon of The Clash. Many of the figures she previously only read about, that seemed worlds away in the translated pages of Japanese glossies, now became face-to-face acquaintances.
“Everybody seemed to be a pop star, artist or model,” she says. “It was nonstop ’til 4 a.m. most nights.”
In addition to putting Yokoyama on to London’s hippest clubs and clothing stores, Barnzley also introduced her to Cuts, an underground hair salon that was pretty much the city’s answer to Tokyo’s Ciao Bambina. Founded by the late James Lebon, younger brother of fashion photographer Mark Lebon, he created a template for a new breed of alternative hairdressers. Inspired by the DIY ethos of punk, Cuts was the first in a new type of independent hairdressers whose multi-ethnic aesthetic chimed with that of Ray Petri’s wabi-sabi Buffalo style.
“It was a hub for street fashion as there were shoots for i-D and The Face. It was also where you’d find out information on clubs, clothes, and all that culture,” Yokoyama says. “Working there was more like a very fashionable club than a hairdresser. It was my introduction to fashionable London.”
International Stüssy Tribe member Michael Kopelman was also a Cuts regular. In 1989, he founded Gimme 5 as a distribution company, spreading the gospel of Japanese streetwear by introducing brands like Neighborhood, UNDERCOVER, visvim, BAPE, and Hiroshi Fujiwara’s GOODENOUGH into ahead-of-the-game boutiques like Hit and Run (later renamed The Hideout). By 1995, Kopelman and Yokoyama’s mutual appreciation had grown to the point where he felt comfortable enough offering her a job. “We were both into similar things from Japan. Nobody else in London was,” he says succinctly.
With no previous background in art (and never even having worked on a computer before), Yokoyama’s strong sensibilities informed what would become Gimme 5’s aesthetic. Inspired by everything from Eames chairs, old record sleeves, and comic books, she taught herself to use programs like Illustrator, eventually designing a Gimme 5 clothing logo cribbed from Jack Kirby’s Fantastic Four comics. Her work went on to impress her friends back in Japan, leading to graphic work for UNDERCOVER, A Bathing Ape, Real Mad Hectic, and Let It Ride as well as New York brands like aNYthing.
By the mid-2000s, Yokoyama received a major profile boost when she designed a purple and maroon Air Stab for Nike’s sought-after 2006 Air-U-Breathe pack. She was inspired by the lightness of the sneaker, as well as images of rabbits and cats jumping around in her head, leading to the striking graphic on the heel she describes as “paws with eyes.” She followed it up in 2008 with a mostly gray Air Max 90 Current created under Nike’s Co-Lab program for the Beijing Olympics.
Despite her impressive pedigree, Hitomi Yokoyama’s work seems largely swept under the rug in the story of streetwear. Perhaps that’s because she’s always gone under the pseudonym “HIT.” It was a conscious decision on her part, creating an air of mystery around this cryptic, Japanese designer in the vein of a SK8THING or SKOLOCT.
“I started working with all these men’s brands and they wanted to the put the designer’s name on the shirts,” she says. “There weren’t many females around at the time, and I was worried that people from that scene would not take me seriously if they knew I was female. So with the alias HIT, I would not be discriminated against; it’s genderless.”
Yokoyama’s most prolific collabs aren’t just with products, but people. Through her friendships in Tokyo and London, she helped foster long-lasting relationships, like linking Mo Wax impresario James Lavelle and NYC graffiti writer Stash with NIGO. She also became especially close with the late, legendary stylist Judy Blame, who was the inspiration for Dior’s Fall/Winter 2020 men’s collection. Yokoyama is in the final stages of her own Judy Blame tribute, a brand called Available Nowhere that uses Blame’s archive on a series of T-shirts, jackets, shirts, and scarves.
Whatever she’s doing, Hitomi Yokoyama is eternally grateful for the chances London gave her as a wide-eyed young woman from Tokyo. She admits that if things hadn’t worked out abroad, she’d have probably moved back to Tokyo and worked at a Shinjuku sushi restaurant. Now she wants to pay that kindness forward to the next generation.
“I hope to work with artists, designers, and interesting people who might be not well-known,” she says. “I want to help young people with lots of energy learn from old people with experience.”
Words: Andy Thomas
#undercover#james lavelle#nigo#a bathing ape#bathing ape#Hitomi Yokoyama#streetwear designers#women in streetwear#stash#aNYthing#real mad hectic#urbanwear blog
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