#Pete Richardson

[flytotheway]

IT'S TIME FOR THE MAKE OVER MONTAGE

[mclennonlgbt]

Midas Man review (with spoilers!)

Yesterday I had the unique opportunity to watch a biopic about Brian Epstein. Although the film is currently only available in certain countries, @pauls1967moustache organized a watch party, which I joined. Thank you!!!

"Midas Man" has many advantages. The main one is the leading male role: Jacob Fortune-Lloyd did a great job. He perfectly portrayed Brian's complex personality. He was able to convincingly present both his uncertainty and tremors, as well as his perseverance in promoting the Beatles. Eppy said with full confidence that his boys would be bigger than Elvis - clearly he believed it deeply, even when higher-ups in the music industry laughed in his face. Fortune-Lloyd also convincingly played Brian's emotions related to his sexuality. On the one hand, Epstein did not want to run away from his nature, but on the other - he was well aware that sex between men was a crime and could expose him to blackmail. In one scene, Brian's parents pressure him to be more careful because revealing his sexual orientation in the newspapers could discredit the family business and end the careers of the Beatles and other artists he manages. Brian, filled with guilt, apologizes to his parents for "causing them pain." I have been following this thread with interest and I am glad that it has not been omitted or trivialized.

Unfortunately, the love story disappointed me. It was very cliché. Brian met someone he quickly began to care about. Tex did not reciprocate his feelings, he just wanted to have fun and benefit from Epstein's influence. Ultimately, he left without saying goodbye, stealing money and documents. I know the real Brian dated some shady guys, but it wasn't portrayed very convincingly in the movie. Perhaps Edward Speleers, the actor playing Tex, failed.

How did the Beatles fare? Not bad, but... nothing more. I must praise Blake Richardson, who played Paul - his facial expressions were very reminiscent of McCartney's. Blake was very authentic, I felt like I was looking at Paul. I also liked Wallace Campbell as Ringo. Unfortunately, the remaining Beatles were exaggerated. I'm thinking specifically about George (played by Leo Harvey Elledge). John, on the other hand, lacked depth. I had the impression that he was just a cheeky kid who thought he was entitled to everything. The young Lennon had a more complex personality. Besides, Jonah Lees who played him almost didn't look like him at all xD Speaking of which, the wigs looked terrible in most scenes. I guess there wasn't enough budget for it.

I was surprised (in a negative sense) by the complete omission of an important thread in the history of the Beatles: Brian's infatuation with John. Whether or not Lennon reciprocated the feeling, it was largely Epstein's motivation to pursue the band. When we jumped from 1963 to 1964 and there was no mention of the trip to Barcelona, ​​I was confused. Instead, the creators decided to focus on a fictional romance between Brian and Tex.

The advantage of the biopic is that viewers have the opportunity to meet other artists that Epstein managed. In one scene, Brian proudly introduces us to Billy J. Kramer, Tommy Quickly and... Cilla Black (Darci Shaw). Brian and Cilla's relationship is definitely one of the most touching and adorable elements of the entire film. It is clear that the singer is Epstein's favorite, and not only in professional terms. They are simply a pair of devoted friends. From what I understood, Cilla knew about Brian's orientation and fully accepted it.

"Midas Man" is a decent movie, better than I expected. However, these are not the heights of cinematography. I had the impression that Brian was presented somewhat sweetly, as a person without flaws (perhaps his family took part in consulting the script?). I think a rating of 7/10 would be fair.

[dreaminginthedeepsouth]

Behold! :: David Rowe

* * * *

LETTERS FROM AN AMERICAN

November 12, 2024

Heather Cox Richardson

The backdrop for today’s news is that Republicans in the Senate will vote by secret ballot tomorrow for a new Senate majority leader. That person will control the Senate calendar, deciding what measures will be taken up by the Senate for consideration and thus wielding power over Trump’s legislative plans. 

Trump and his sidekick Elon Musk, along with MAGA leaders and influencers, are backing Florida senator Rick Scott, who has signaled a willingness to do whatever Trump wants. Senators John Thune (R-SD) and John Cornyn (R-TX) are also staunch party members but are not as closely associated with the MAGA faction of the party.

MAGA control of the Senate is at stake, and Trump and his team are pushing their extremist agenda so aggressively it will be impossible for Senate Republicans to pretend they didn’t know what was at stake if they vote to empower the MAGAs. 

Today the Trump transition team floated the idea that Trump could sign an executive order creating a board of retired senior military personnel that would review high-ranking officers and recommend removing any they deemed unfit for leadership. Vivian Salama, Nancy A. Youssef, and Lara Seligman reported in the Wall Street Journal that such a board would enable Trump to purge the military of the generals whom he considers insufficiently loyal to him. Generals who refused to carry out what they considered unconstitutional orders—including using the military against U.S. civilians—infuriated Trump during his first term.

The chairman of VoteVets, retired major general Paul Eaton, warned that such a plan would turn the U.S. military into Trump loyalists. Eaton also warned military personnel what that would mean for the troops, suggesting that folks should “take a look at Stalin’s officer purges in early WWII that resulted in the Soviet, now-Russian Army, enduring incompetence and the use of its rank-and-file troops as cannon meat. The American military is the envy of the world’s militaries, given its efficiency for military effect and stunningly low casualty count. Probably a good model to keep.”

Transition spokesperson Karoline Leavitt said, “[T]he American people re-elected President Trump by a resounding margin giving him a mandate to implement the promises he made on the campaign trail. He will deliver.” But Trump’s claims of a mandate are wrong. As vote counts continue to come in, it appears that Trump’s margin of victory was actually quite slim. 

Trump has also vowed to eliminate the Biden administration’s policies to address climate change, promising to “drill, baby, drill��� and make the U.S. energy independent by increasing production of fossil fuels. In fact, the production of oil and gas hit an all-time high during the Biden administration and the U.S. exports those products, but so long as the U.S is tied to fossil fuels, it will likely always import them because the oil it exports is a different kind than it uses. 

It is not clear that even MAGA Republicans want to kill the green energy initiatives in the Inflation Reduction Act that have brought new factories and good jobs to more Republican-dominated states than Democratic-dominated states.

Today, chair and chief executive officer of ExxonMobil Darren Woods asked the incoming administration not to change Biden’s climate policy dramatically, saying that the lack of consistency on climate change is bad for the economy. “I don’t think the challenge or the need to address global emissions is going to go away,” he said. “Anything that happens in the short term would just make the longer term that much more challenging.”

Exxon has invested heavily in the carbon capture industry. In 2023, Woods predicted that the company’s low-carbon business could generate more money than its traditional oil and gas products in as little as a decade, telling investors he expects carbon capture to be a multitrillion-dollar business.

Trump and his team, apparently led by Elon Musk, have begun to float names for different administration posts, all of whom appear to be picked to replace nonpartisan federal experts with right-wing culture warriors.

For secretary of homeland security, Trump has proposed loyalist Kristi Noem, currently governor of South Dakota. Noem had been under consideration for vice president, but fell out of the running after boasting that she had shot her dog for misbehaving. Earlier this year, Noem appeared to suggest that Texas, which became a state in 1845, was one of the original signatories to the Constitution. She has been a Trump loyalist focusing on the border.

For U.S. ambassador to Israel, Trump has picked former Arkansas governor Mike Huckabee, an evangelical Christian who denies Palestinian rights to the West Bank, instead supporting Israeli settlements in that land and saying that “Israel has title deed” there, calling the area by the biblical name “Judea and Samaria.”  

For secretary of defense, Trump has tapped Fox News Channel host Pete Hegseth, a combat veteran and host of the weekend edition of Fox & Friends, a show Trump reportedly enjoys. As national security expert Tom Nichols points out, the Secretary of Defense has access to the nuclear command-and-control procedure. The secretary oversees about 1.3 million active-duty troops and another 1.4 million in the National Guard and employed in Reserves and civilian positions, as well as a budget of more than $800 billion.

Hegseth lobbied Trump to intervene in the cases of service members accused of war crimes, and he cheered on Trump’s January 6, 2021, rally. He became popularly known after accidentally hitting a man with an ax on the Fox & Friends show in 2015. Then, in 2019, he regained notoriety when he volunteered that he had not washed his hands in ten years because he does not believe germs are real. Hegseth has said women do not belong in combat and has been vocal about his opposition to the equity and inclusion measures in the military that he calls “woke.”

Lolita C. Baldor and Tara Copp of the Associated Press reported that the news that Trump has tapped the inexperienced Hegseth to run the world’s largest and most powerful military “stunned the Pentagon and the broader defense world.” While some Republicans say they look forward to getting to know him better, others appear to share the Pentagon’s concerns. 

But the news that Trump wants a Fox News Channel host in one of the most important positions in the United States government got overtaken quickly by Trump’s announcement that “the Great Elon Musk, working in conjunction with American Patriot Vivek Ramaswamy,” an entrepreneur who challenged Trump for the presidential nomination, will lead a new “Department of Government Efficiency” under his administration. Their advice will, Trump announced, “pave the way for my Administration to dismantle Government Bureaucracy, slash excess regulations, cut wasteful expenditures, and restructure Federal Agencies.” 

Their project is nicknamed “DOGE,” an apparent reference to Musk’s favorite cryptocurrency and meme coin, known as “Dogecoin.” That cryptocurrency surged after the announcement of the new DOGE under Trump, adding to the gains of 153% since Election Day. 

By law, a president does not have the power to create a new department or agency, and participating in one would require Musk and Ramaswamy to get rid of their conflicts of interest.

Trump’s announcement said that Musk and Ramaswamy would “work together to liberate our Economy, and make the U.S. Government accountable to ‘WE THE PEOPLE.’ Their work will conclude no later than July 4, 2026—a smaller Government, with more efficiency and less bureaucracy, will be the perfect gift to America on the 250th Anniversary of the Declaration of Independence. I am confident they will succeed!” 

Trump appears to see himself as the founder of a new United States of America while, ironically, the real winners of the chaos he is ushering into the government will be Russia, China, and the other autocratic states eager to dismantle American democracy.

Trump’s demonstration of his plans just before Senate Republicans have to choose their leader seems an attempt to jam those who might stand against him into his camp. And yet, the Framers of the Constitution believed that the Senate would be the key guardrail to stop the rise of an autocrat who would destroy democracy and install himself as a king. They expected that the determination of senators to guard their own power would protect the nation. 

Almost two hundred and fifty years into their experiment, we’re about to find out if they were right.  

LETTERS FROM AN AMERICAN

HEATHER COX RICHARDSON

[picspammer]

Mad World by Tears For Fears (directed by Clive Richardson)

Feel Good Inc. by Gorillaz feat. De La Soul (directed by Jamie Hewlett and Pete Candeland)

[justinspoliticalcorner]

Alex Kaplan at MMFA:

A group of far-right media figures has announced the formation of a militia group that is dedicated to “mobiliz[ing] to DEFEND this Republic from any enemy.” The newly formed group includes Rumble streamers Pete Santilli and Stew Peters, who have both called for political opponents to be killed. The militia has established several social media accounts with the apparent aim of recruiting members, including an account on Instagram. On June 3, podcaster and alleged January 6 participant Jake Lang announced a “NATIONAL CONSTITUTIONAL MILITIA” called the “North American Patriot and Liberty Militia,” or “NAPALM” for short. Lang claimed that NAPALM was “organized and ready to mobilize to DEFEND this Republic from any enemy. Forgien or Domestic.” Lang — who wrote that he would serve as “national chairman” of the militia group — “faces multiple charges of assaulting law enforcement officers” and has been held in jail ahead of his September trial for his alleged crimes and what a judge called “a continued willingness to engage in violence.” The militia’s site, which was linked in the announcement post, claims that the militia already has “over 20,000+ members across all 50 states,” including “active Sheriffs, military, veterans, emergency responders, doctors, farmers, entrepreneurs, and blue collar Americans.” [...] To promote and recruit for the militia, the group established public, state-specific Telegram groups for people to join and then be vetted for more private chats. The militia urges people to “make your Telegram account anonymous before joining,” and a message in the public groups details next steps “to get you placed in your Vetted County Militia chat where you can message back and forth with other members & the Leadership.”

A group of far-right social media influencers such as Couy Griffin and Stew Peters are recruiting to form a new right-wing extremist militia called North American Patriot and Liberty Militia (NAPALM).

[chelseajackarmy]

[therealefl]

Charlton Athletic - Five Potential Replacements for Dean Holden - Opinion

Charlton Athletic’s fourth League One loss of the season yesterday proved to be costly for Dean Holden, the 43-year-old boss relieved of his duties at The Valley after lasting eight months in the hot-seat. Currently occupying 19th spot in the third tier, this weekend’s 2-1 away loss at Oxford United proved to be the final straw with a statement released yesterday evening confirming the news that…

[mrepstein]

Midas Man actors & real-life counterparts

JACOB FORTUNE-LLOYD as BRIAN EPSTEIN

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LEO HARVEY-ELLEDGE as GEORGE HARRISON

CAMPBELL WALLACE as RINGO STARR

JONAH LEES as JOHN LENNON

BLAKE RICHARDSON as PAUL McCARTNEY

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ADAM LAWRENCE as PETE BEST

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DARCI SHAW as CILLA BLACK

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JORDAN KELLY as GERRY MARSDEN

[?] as BILLY J. KRAMER (can't find the actor's name!!!)

CONOR MEDLOCK as TOMMY QUICKLY

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EDDIE MARSAN as HARRY EPSTEIN

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EMILY WATSON as QUEENIE EPSTEIN

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BILL MILNER as CLIVE EPSTEIN

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[?] as BARBARA EPSTEIN

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CHARLEY PALMER ROTHWELL as GEORGE MARTIN

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JAMIE FINN as MIKE SMITH

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ALEX MACQUEEN as DICK ROWE

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LUKE ALLEN-GALE as SIDNEY BEECHER-STEVENS

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JAY LENO as ED SULLIVAN

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JAMES CORRIGAN as NAT WEISS

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MILO PARKER as ALISTAIR TAYLOR

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CHUKWUMA OMAMBALA as LONNIE TRIMBLE

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JOHN McCAFFREY as MAL EVANS

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EDDIE SUZY IZZARD as ALLAN WILLIAMS

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SHAUN FAGAN as BOB WOOLER

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ALICE MERIVALE as PATRICIA DAVIES

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ALICE MARIE O'HANLON as FREDA KELLY

BONUS: Freda makes a cameo appearance in the film

[rollinkunz]

A bunch of Blaseball fan art that I won’t have another reason to post ever, probably! But that I’m still proud of. Above is The Anchor at Sunken Charleston, home of the now-and-forever-champions Charleston Shoe Thieves (Our Kicks!)

Blood Hamburger, lovable meat-man and occasionally excellent player. He and the rest of these character portraits were cursed after fighting the peanut god at the end of season 09. If I remember correctly. 

Esme Ramsey was twice-cursed, once by the Peanut and again with a zillion ghosts. The Haunted ability was meant to be an interesting buff (I think) but basically mostly made Esme into a carousel of beloved-but-useless dead players. Both Esme and Blood made it into print in an actual Charleston newspaper at one point, which is fucking bananas. 

Richardson Games won a cool grappling hook in a raffle and proceeded to turn into the entirety of the Shoe Thieves’ defense for several seasons. Good at stealing, too. An absolute legend, but a sleeper star player as far as most of the league was concerned. 

Velasquez earned the nickname “Twofer” because she had a weird stat roll that made her hit a lot of doubles. I imagined her as a pair of mischievous imps, once Cursed.

And finally, we have Sneaker Pete, “lovable” Shoe Thieves mascot. The top color scheme was printed as a shirt (which I own and love); the bottom one is like a 90s Chester Cheeto-style version. 

[episodicnostalgia]

Spider-man: The Animated Series, 111 (May 20, 1995) - “The Hobgoblin, Part One”

Teleplay by: Larry Brody Story by: John Semper Directed by: Bob Richardson

The Breakdown

Norman Osborn (of Osborn Industries) is sick of living under Wilson Fisk’s heel, so he does what any rational billionaire would do, and hires an assassin. But since this is a Spider-man cartoon, Norman also provides his hitman with a goblin-themed supervillain suit, plus an accompanying array of weaponry, all in keeping with the motif (ie, bombs shaped like pumpkins, a glider loosely fashioned after a bat, and also a laser gun for good measure).  Anyways his name is the Hobgoblin and he’s what this episode is all about.

The hit is meant to go down at a public event where Fisk will be doing some legitimate-businessman-things. Fortunately, Peter Parker is also in attendance as a press photographer, allowing him to save Fisk’s life with his spider-reflexes (Pete still doesn’t know he’s the Kingpin) before jumping into action as Spider-man.  The web-head’s interference doesn’t go over well with the Goblin, who demands more money to finish the job, but Norman ostensibly refuses out of short-sighted greed.  Predictably, that doesn’t also go over very well, so the Hobgoblin decides to get even by stealing/keeping Norman’s goblin-gadgets, and betraying him to…

…THE KINGPIN OF CRIME! So, Hobby heads over to Fisk’s place, and offers to double-cross Norman in exchange for… I can’t remember the specifics. Crime things?  *Checks notes* Yeah, Crime things. As his first assignment, Fisk sends Hobgoblin to kidnap Harry, Norman’s Son, [and Peter’s new roommate - more on that below] for ransom; and the price for Harry’s safe return? The Legal rights to ALL of Norman’s inventions, signed over to Wilson Fisk! Looks like the Kingpin has this one in the bag, except for one little hiccup…

For some reason Fisk refuses to pay for Harry’s abduction, and since Hobgoblin is apparently a man with only one tactic, he heads back over to Norman’s place and offers to double-(or is it triple?)-cross Fisk this time around. Naturally, Norman isn’t buying it, but then the Hobgoblin offers two compelling arguments.  1) “Why not?” and, 2) “give me some even more powerful weapons, please”, which is evidently all the convincing Norman needs to justify handing over the keys to an even larger/more powerful glider; Replete with heat-seeking missiles, projectile razor discs (anything to appease the almighty toy sales reps), and even a cutting-edge remote control! (oooOOOoooh)

Meanwhile, our friendly neighbourhood wall crawler has been busy trying to find Harry, and figures he might as well start by warning Norman, but he coincidentally arrives at Oscorp Industries mere seconds after the Goblin has acquired his new glider.�� Since our hero doesn’t realize his adversary is actually in cahoots with Norman (again), another fight ensues, but this time Spidey is overwhelmed by the new enhanced glider jet, and just as he jumps for cover into an abandoned building, two heat-seeking missiles follow him inside and… BOOOM!

Welp! I guess that’s the end of Spider-man.

To Be Continued…

The Verdict

I have a bit of a soft spot for this episode, because it was also the first one that I ever saw.  You see, during the early years of my childhood, I lived in darkness and anguish because cable was too expensive (unlike streaming which has only grown cheaper, more accessible,  and increasingly easier to navigate), and thus many Saturday morning cartoons remained painfully outside my grasp.  The only ways to see new episodes of my favourite shows, were through the efforts of my very thoughtful Granny (who would tape what she could on video cassette), blockbuster rentals, and occasionally friends.  Tragically, Spider-man wasn’t accessible through any of these venues, but I was well aware of the show’s existence thanks to the Toys ‘R Us catalogue, and the weekly TV Guide, both of which kept me up to date on what was hot.  And so it would continue to be, until the glorious day when my parents finally did the right thing, and got a cable subscription (there was a promotion). Of course, you’d best believe that I’d done my research about exactly which programming would now be available to me, and Spider-man was one of the top shows on my hit list. On the first Saturday of my “cable-renaissance” I popped on the TV, and was greeted by ‘The Hobgoblin: Part 1.’  It was one of the greatest moments of my life.

Anyways, it’s a pretty dumb episode. Like, the Hobgoblin is extremely reckless, and his motivations are poorly defined. To be fair, his storyline was always messy and anticlimactic, even in the original comics, but that was mainly because the writers kept getting fired before anyone could resolve the story satisfyingly. Even then, the mystery built around character was rife with intrigue in the books, and there was always the sense that Hobgoblin’s story was building to something big.

This show had a real chance to do something a bit more intentional, but the one brief reference to Hobgoblin’s secret identity is almost thrown in as an afterthought.  Additionally, he doesn’t really seem to have any master plan other than committing acts of violence and betraying people for… profit, I guess? There’s just not a lot here to draw me in.

Obviously, if you’re a kid this is a rollicking good time with lots of flashy gadgets, and exciting action sequences. So, I guess at the end of the day the episode succeeds at what it set out to accomplish, and that’s fine.

2.5 stars (out of 5)

Parting Thoughts

Thanks to this episode, I was briefly under the assumption that Hobgoblin had always been the OG Spidey-Goblin-Foe in the comics, with Green Goblin being introduced later on.  It’s an interesting choice to have Norman start out as the mastermind behind the Goblin before eventually adopting it for himself. Sadly, I don’t think this show ever did a whole lot with HG’s and Norman’s relationship, which seems like another missed opportunity, but I could be forgetting something.

Mark Hamill provides the voice work for Hobgoblin, but he mostly just copy/pastes his Joker voice from ‘Batman: the animated series. It’s serviceable, but I would have preferred something a little more original. But then a gig is a gig, and since he was probably hired FOR that voice, I can’t really blame him for leaning into it.

I find it kind of hilarious how much of a big deal Norman makes over the Goblin-Glider’s remote control.  Talk about the height of technology, amiright?  Man, Hobgoblin is gonna lose his mind when he finds out about blue-tooth-operated drones, roughly 30 years down-the-line.

I skipped past it in the breakdown, but midway through the episode Aunt May decides to visit Peter at his new place (Norman offers to pay for Harry’s condo if he can find a respectable roommate, and Pete fit the bill) when Hobgoblin interrupts to kidnap Harry with a gas bomb.  As a result, May is rendered unconscious for the rest of the episode, and taken to the hospital.  The Doctor explains that she’s experiencing an ‘extended form of seizure’, which is notably not how seizures work, meaning May Parker’s diagnosis is either medically significant (warranting further examination), or the result of malpractice. The American health-care system strikes again!  But seriously Pete, you need to get a second opinion.

[flytotheway]

Brian as the new teacher at his first day of job in suburban school

[dreaminginthedeepsouth]

Our Generals that kicked Hitler's Generals asses.

* * * *

LETTERS FROM AN AMERICAN

October 23, 2024

Heather Cox Richardson

Oct 24, 2024

The struggle over whether the U.S. government should work for everyone or for the very wealthy and corporations was on display today. Cable and internet providers and home security companies sued to stop the newly finalized Federal Trade Commission “click-to-cancel” rule that says it must be as easy to cancel a service as it is to sign up for it. 

Also today, the Department of Transportation reached a record settlement of $50 million with American Airlines, whose damage to wheelchairs and dangerous physical assistance to disabled passengers has broken laws. Senator Tammy Duckworth (D-IL), who lost both legs in combat in the Iraq War, praised the fine and commented: “When an airline damages or breaks someone’s wheelchair, it’s like breaking their legs.”

"The era of tolerating poor treatment of airline passengers with disabilities is over," U.S. Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg said in a statement. "With this penalty, we are setting a new standard of accountability for airlines that violate the civil rights of passengers with disabilities. By setting penalties at levels beyond the mere cost of doing business for airlines, we're aiming to change how the industry behaves and prevent these kinds of abuses from happening in the first place.”

A reader called to my attention that the recent Federal Election Commission filings showed one significant difference in the expenditures of the two presidential campaigns. The Harris campaign spent $34,550.02 on sign language interpreting services. The Trump campaign spent $0.00. 

These details of governance are fragments of a larger picture of how we see our country. Are we all created equal and entitled to be treated equally before the law? Or are some people better than others?

CNN was supposed to host another presidential debate tonight, but while Vice President Kamala Harris accepted, Trump declined to attend. In place of a debate, CNN invited each candidate to hold a town hall. Harris accepted; Trump declined. 

In her discussion with host Anderson Cooper, Harris focused on the reiteration yesterday by Trump’s longest-serving White House chief of staff, retired U.S. Marine Corps general John Kelly, that Trump had spoken admiringly of Adolf Hitler and expressed a desire to have generals like Hitler’s. In an interview with the New York Times, Kelly said Trump “met the definition of a fascist, would govern like a dictator if allowed, and had no understanding of the Constitution or the concept of rule of law.”

The ideology of fascism is associated with Italian journalist and politician Benito Mussolini, who articulated a new political ideology in the 1920s. Mussolini had been a socialist as a young man and had grown frustrated at how hard it was to organize people. No matter what socialists tried, they seemed unable to convince their neighbors that they must rise up and take over the country’s means of production. The efficiency of World War I inspired Mussolini to give up on socialism and develop a new political theory.

Mussolini rejected the equality that defined democracy and came to believe that some men were better than others. Those few must lead, taking a nation forward by directing the actions of the rest. They must organize the people as they had during wartime, ruthlessly suppressing all opposition and directing the economy so that business and politicians worked together. Logically, that select group of leaders would elevate a single man, who would become an all-powerful dictator. To weld their followers into an efficient machine, they demonized opponents into an “other” that their followers could hate.

This hierarchical system of government was called “fascism” after the bundle of rods tied around an axe that was the ancient Roman symbol of authority and power. Italy adopted it, and Mussolini’s ideas inspired others, notably Germany’s Adolf Hitler. These leaders believed that their new system would reclaim a glorious past with the ideology of the future, welding pure men into a military and social machine that moved all as one, while pure women supported society as mothers. They set out to eliminate those who didn’t fit their model and to destroy the messy, inefficient democracy that stood in their way.

But while today we associate fascism with this European movement, its foundational principle—that some men are better than others and have the right and even the duty to rule over the majority—runs parallel to that same strand in United States history. Indeed, Nazi lawyers and judges turned to America’s Jim Crow laws for inspiration, and Hitler looked to America’s Indigenous reservations as a way to rid a country of “unwanted” people.

For retired Marine general John Kelly to have spoken out against Trump before the 2024 election was a huge deal. As Secretary Buttigieg put it: “It’s one thing for some leftist group to call you a fascist. Quite another when it’s a fellow Republican. And absolutely astonishing when it’s your own chief of staff.” But Kelly was not alone. Former chair of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Mark Milley told veteran journalist Bob Woodward that Trump is “fascist to the core.” 

In tonight’s CNN town hall, Vice President Harris told Cooper that she agreed that Trump is a fascist. She noted that when a four-star Marine general comes out two weeks before an election to warn Americans that one of the candidates is a fascist, we should see this as “a 911 call to the American people.” 

Trump is “increasingly unstable,” Harris said, “and unfit to serve…. [T]he people who know Donald Trump best, the people who worked with him in the White House, in the Situation Room, in the Oval Office, all Republicans by the way, who served in his administration, his former chief of staff, his national security advisor, former secretaries of defense, and his vice president have all called him unfit and dangerous. They have said explicitly he has contempt for the Constitution of the United States. They have said he should never again serve as President of the United States,” she said. 

When Trump talks about “the enemy within,” Harris said, “ [h]e's talking about the American people. He's talking about journalists, judges, nonpartisan election officials…. And he's going to sit there unstable, unhinged, plotting his revenge, plotting his retribution. Creating an enemies list.” In contrast, she said, she would have a “to-do list” to work on the things that matter to the American people. 

When Trump responded to Kelly’s claims, he appeared to confuse Kelly, who was retired when Trump chose him to serve as White House chief of staff, and Mark Milley, the active-duty chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff. Trump referred to four-star general Kelly, whose son died in Afghanistan, as “tough and dumb,” a “LOWLIFE, and a bad General,” but then went on to talk of him as active duty and to say he stopped seeking his advice in the White House. 

Forced to comment on Kelly’s comment about Trump’s embracing fascism, Republican leaders are either ducking the question or acting as if it is not a big deal. On CNN this morning, New Hampshire governor Chris Sununu said the news that Trump has praised Hitler will not affect Sununu’s support. “If we can get a Republican mindset out of Washington,” he said, “we need that culture change.” 

At a rally tonight in Macon, Georgia, Trump agreed with the audience as it chanted: “Lock him up.” “You should lock them up,” Trump said. “Lock up the Bidens. Lock up Hillary. Lock ‘em up.” 

Tonight, Shawn Reilly,  the mayor of Waukesha, Wisconsin—a key Republican stronghold—announced he’s voting for Kamala Harris and Tim Walz. 

LETTERS FROM AN AMERICAN

HEATHER COX RICHARDSON

[tortellini-tankini-art]

1717. The Golden Age of Piracy. Wealthy UnderRealm Grifter William (Montague) Widemouth set out to find adventure and renown on the high seas. Things did not go as planned... Our Flag Means Pasta: An OFMD x Pastamonsters/Creepypasta Crossover AU

v Characters and Lore Below v

Or, check out everything I have stored on this AU in the Miro Board I've created for it! I update it with time as I create more artwork, characters, and add to the storyline, and even make episode timelines!

Characters in this AU:

The 'Retribution' Crew

Mr. Widemouth (William Montague Widemouth) as Stede Bonnet / Ben Drowned (Benjamin Lawman) as Lucius Spriggs / Jeff the Killer (Jeffrey Sepulveda-Ramirez) as Black Pete / Homicidal Liu (Liu Sepulveda-Ramirez) as Jim Jimenez / Eyeless Jack as Oluwande Boodhari / Ticci Toby (Tobias 'Toby' Eren Rogers) as Frenchie / Seedeater (Eedie) as Wee John / Kagekao as the Swede / Dr. Smiley as Roach / The Rake as Buttons

The 'Queen Lucia' Crew

Grinny (Oscar Delgado-Reyes)* as Edward Teach / Shadowlurker as Izzy Hands / Masky** as Fang / Hoodie* as Ivan

*Grinny is an OC of @oakmovies , however, for this AU, he is essentially a nearly different character, as his lore and background are vastly different.

**Masky and Hoodie in this AU are NOT the same people as their versions in Marble Hornets, and are instead entirely different people with different backstories.

Other Characters

Smile Dog (Smilin' Sam Dogham) as Calico Jack / Nurse Ann as Spanish Jackie / Splendorman as Nigel Badminton / Slenderman as Chauncey Badminton / Ms. (Priscilla) Pencilneck (another OC of @oakmovies) as Mary Allamby / Nina the Killer (Nina Rodriguez-Hopkins) as Archie / Jane the Killer as Mary Read (Jane Tod Richardson) / Clockwork (Natalie Ouellette) as Anne Bonney / Pinkamena (Bi Qi/碧琪) as Zheng Yi Sao

Character Backgrounds:

In this AU, and in this given time frame, the UnderRealm aristocracy is made up entirely of either monsters or spirits who were born and raised in the UnderRealm. Anyone who comes to the UnderRealm from the Surface world (killers, cursed, undead, etc.) is considered other, an outsider, and of lesser status, and this gap created upholds the aristocratic monster class. People who are born half-human are also considered lesser, and unless they were born to a monster of already aristocratic standing, they have very limited options in life in the UR.

UnderRealm: Widemouth, Ben (see also Spirit), Seedeater, The Rake, Shadowlurker, Slenderman, Splendorman

Spirits: Ben (Human from UK, died, then UR as corporeal spirit), Kagekao (Demon; Japan)

Half-Human:

Grinny (Mother - Mixed Taino/Spanish / Father - (Lower-class) Monster)

Smile (Father - UK / Mother - Cave Hound)

Ms. P (Father - UK / Mother - (Upper-class) Monster)

'Killer' Humans: Jeff, Liu, Toby, Dr. Smiley, Masky, Hoodie, Nina, Jane, Clockwork

Cursed/Possessed/Undead/Cannibal 'Humans': EJ (possessed/cursed/cannibal), Nurse Ann (Undead), Pinkamena (Cursed/Cannibal)

Lore (What's Different from PM/OFMD?)

Grinny/Oscar - The child of a feline-monster from the UnderRealm, and a half Taino woman from Puerto Rico. His mother was dragged to the UnderRealm by his father when she was a young lady, and lived in an abusive situation with him, until Oscar kills his father when he's 12. He runs away from home after this, and joins the crew of Captain Doyle (Hornigold for this AU - I have yet to draw another version of him for this AU, so here's @oakmovies rendition of him on IG). There, he meets Sam and Shadowlurker, and after they mutiny Doyle, he goes on to make a reputation for himself as the feared monster pirate Captain Grinny.

Jeff and Liu - Since Black Pete and Jim Jimenez in OFMD are not at all blood siblings the way Jeff and Liu are, but I was already set on them being these characters, I've created this backstory for them:

Jeff and Liu grow up with their family on a blood orange farm in St. Augustine, when one Christmas night, a gang known as the Siete Búhos attacks and kills their entire family. Instead of killing the siblings as well, they mutilate them, and set Jeff, and the rest of the farm, on fire.The two siblings manage to run away from the burning farm, and are taken in by a Satanic Nun.

The Nun raises them to master the art of killing, but only for the purpose of revenge. Jeff, however, has a different idea, and uses his new skills to rob and kill people for money. The nun acts to kick Jeff out of the convent, but Liu refuses to be separated from their brother, and leaves with him. Eventually, they meet Eyeless Jack, who gets them a job with Spanish Ann.

However, they find out that one of her husbands is the leader of the Siete Búhos, so one night, they get him drunk enough to restrain, torture, and kill him. After Ann finds out about this, she puts a price on Liu's head, and Jack has to escape with the two siblings, where they then join Widemouth's crew among The Retribution.

[marcmarcmomarc]

Kingdom Hearts IV predictions:

Kairi is the leader of a team consisting of Riku, Terra, Aqua, Ventus, Roxas, Xion, Lea, Naminé, Hayner, Pence, Olette, and Chirithy.

Sora’s mother returns.

While Donald and Goofy revisit the old worlds, Sora visits all of the new ones.

The inhabitants of each world returning from the previous games are, of course, thrilled to see Donald and Goofy again, but are sad to hear about Sora’s sacrifice.

Cast:

Haley Joel Osment as Sora

Lindsay Jones as Strelitzia

James Patrick Stuart as Luxu

Ray Chase as Master of Masters

Tony Anselmo as Donald Duck

Bill Farmer as Goofy Goof

Bret Iwan as King Mickey Mouse

Alyson Stoner as Kairi

David Gallagher as Riku

Jason Dohring as Terra

Willa Holland as Aqua

Jesse McCartney as Ventus

Jesse McCartney as Roxas

Alyson Stoner as Xion

Quinton Flynn as Lea

Meaghan J. Martin as Naminé

Zachary Gordon as Hayner

Tristian Chase as Pence

Ashley Boettcher as Olette

Lara Jill Miller as Chirithy

Susanne Blakeslee as Maleficent

Jim Cummings as Pete

Joe Ochman as Jiminy Cricket

Kaitlyn Robrock as Queen Minnie Mouse

Tress MacNeille as Daisy Duck

Corey Burton as Chip

Tress MacNeille as Dale

Enn Reitel as Scrooge McDuck

Danny Pudi as Huey

Ben Schwartz as Dewey

Bobby Moynihan as Louis

Jeff Bennett as Merlin

Corey Burton as Yen Sid

Bill Farmer as Pluto

Kathryn Beaumont as Kairi’s Grandma

David Dayan Fisher as Dilan

Dave Boat as Aeleus

Robin Atkin Downes as Luxord

Kirk Thornton as Isa

Derek Stephen Prince as Even

Vincent Corazza as Ienzo

Ryan O’Donohue as Demyx

Michael Johnston as Ephemer

Madison Davenport as Nameless Star

Kath Soucie as Sora’s Mother

Isabela Merced as Foreteller Ava

Kevin Quinn as Foreteller Gula

Travis Willingham as Foreteller Aced

Matt Mercer as Foreteller Ira

Karissa Lee Staples as Foreteller Invi

Corey Burton as Ansem the Wise

Dylan Sprouse as Yozora

Square Enix Cast:

Doug Erholtz as Leon

Cody Christian as Cloud Strife

Andrea Bowen as Aerith Gainsborough

Britt Baron as Tifa Lockhart

Mae Whitman as Yuffie Kisaragi

Tyler Hoechlin as Sephiroth

Chris Edgerly as Cid Highwind

Hedy Burress as Yuna

Tara Strong as Rikku

Gwendoline Yeo as Paine

Will Friedle as Seifer Almasy

Brandon Adams as Rai

Jillian Bowen as Fuu

Crispin Freeman as Setzer Gabbiani

Melissa Disney as Vivi Ornitier

Shaun Fleming as Tidus

Molly Keck as Selphie Tilmitt

Dee Bradley Baker as Wakka

Matt McKenzie as Auron

Atlantica (The Little Mermaid)

Takes place after The Little Mermaid II: Return to the Sea.

Cast:

Jodi Benson as Ariel

Christopher Daniel Barnes as Eric

Cam Clarke as Flounder

Philip Lawrence as Horatio Felonious Ignacious Crustaceous Sebastian

Chris Edgerly as Scuttle

Jim Cummings as King Triton

Tara Strong as Melody

Kari Wahlgren as Attina

Jennifer Hale as Alana

Tara Strong as Adella

Grey DeLisle as Aquata

Grey DeLisle as Arista

Tara Strong as Andrina

Michael J. Gough as Grimsby

Grey DeLisle as Carlotta

Ben Diskin as Chef Louis

Max Casella as Tip

Corey Burton as Dash

Jeff Bennett as Benjamin

Kevin Michael Richardson as Ray-Ray

Kevin Michael Richardson as Cheeks

Rob Paulsen as Ink Spot

Jim Cummings as Shelbow

Charlie Adler as Seahorse

Kari Wahlgren, Jennifer Hale, Tara Strong, & Grey DeLisle as Flounder’s Guppies

Frank Welker as Max

Village (Beauty and the Beast)

Takes place after the movie.

Cast:

Julie Nathanson as Belle

Robby Benson as Adam

Corey Burton as Maurice

Jeff Bennett as Lumière

Jane Krakowski as Mrs. Potts

Bob Joles as Henry Cogsworth

Jessica DiCicco as Chip Potts

Jo Anne Worley as Madame de la Grande Bouche

Kimmy Robertson as Fifi

Frank Welker as Philippe

Frank Welker as Sultan

Agrabah (Aladdin)

Takes place after Aladdin and the King of Thieves.

Cast:

Scott Weinger & Brad Kane (singing) as Aladdin

Jim Meskimen as the Genie

Linda Larkin & Liz Callaway (singing) as Jasmine

Jeff Bennett as Sultan Hamed Bobolonius II

Brian Hull as Iago

John Rhys-Davies as Cassim

Jim Cummings as Razoul

Frank Welker as Abu

Frank Welker as Cave of Wonders

Frank Welker as Rajah

Pride Lands (The Lion King)

Takes place between The Lion King and The Lion King II: Simba’s Pride.

Cast:

Cam Clarke as Simba

Vanessa Marshall as Nala

Kevin Schon as Timon

Ernie Sabella as Pumbaa

Khary Payton as Rafiki

Jeff Bennett as Zazu

Gary Anthony Williams as Mufasa

James Horan as Scar

Andy’s Room (Toy Story)

Takes place between Toy Story 2 and Toy Story 3.

Cast:

Jim Hanks as Woody

Mike MacRae as Buzz Lightyear

Kathryn Cressida as Jessie

Wallace Shawn as Rex

John Ratzenberger as Hamm

Blake Clark as Slinky Dog

Patrick Fraley as Mr. Potato Head

Melissa Sternenberg as Mrs. Potato Head

Sawyer Cole as Andy Davis

Laurie Metcalf as Andy’s Mom

Hannah Unkrich as Molly Davis

Jeff Pidgeon as Aliens

Frank Welker as Bullseye

La Cité des Cloches (The Hunchback of Notre Dame)

Takes place after the movie.

Cast:

Ari Rubin as Quasimodo

Renee Faia & Heidi Mollenhauer (singing) as Esmeralda

Phil LaMarr as Captain Phoebus

Jim Cummings as Victor

Jason Alexander as Hugo

Pat Lentz as Laverne

Paul Kandel as Clopin

Corey Burton as Brutish Guard

Bill Fagerbakke as Oafish Guard

Frank Welker as Djali

Thebes/Olympus/Underworld (Hercules)

Takes place after the movie.

Cast:

Tate Donovan as Hercules

Robert Costanzo as Philoctetes

James Woods as Hades

Susan Egan as Megara

Corey Burton as Zeus

Bobcat Goldthwait as Pain

Matt Frewer as Panic

Jim Cummings as Amphitryon

Barbara Barrie as Alcmene

Samantha Eggar as Hera

Wayne Knight as Demetrius

Lillias White as Calliope, Muse of Epics

Cheryl Freeman as Melpomene, Muse of Tragedy

LaChanze as Terpsichore, Muse of Dance

Roz Ryan as Thalia, Muse of Comedy

Vaneese Y. Thomas as Clio, Muse of History

Paul Shaffer as Hermes

Keith David as Apollo

Lisa Kudrow as Aphrodite

Frank Welker as Pegasus

The Land of Dragons (Mulan)

Takes place after the movie.

Cast:

Ming-Na Wen & Lea Salonga (singing) as Fa Mulan

B.D. Wong & Donny Osmond (singing) as Li Shang

Mark Moseley as Mushu

Harvey Fierstein as Yao

Gedde Watanabe & Matthew Wilder (singing) as Ling

Jerry Tondo as Chien-Po

James Hong as Chi-Fu

Jet Li as Fa Zhou

George Takei as First Ancestor

Sandra Oh as Fa Li

Benedict Wong as General Li

Wang Deshun as Emperor of China

Lisa Lu as Grandmother Fa

Frank Welker as Cri-Kee

Frank Welker as Kahn

Ant Island/Bug City (A Bug’s Life)

Takes place during the movie.

Cast:

Dave Foley as Flik

Andrew Stanton as Hopper

Jodi Benson as Princess Atta

Alma Versano as Princess Dot

June Squibb as the Queen

Richard Kind as Molt

David Hyde Pierce as Slim

Flula Borg as Heimlich

Nick Jameson as Francis

Jim Cummings as Manny

Jennifer Hale as Gypsy

Bonnie Hunt as Rosie

Michael McShane as Tuck

Michael McShane as Roll

John Ratzenberger as P.T. Flea

Brad Garrett as Dim

Corey Burton as Mr. Soil

Grey DeLisle as Dr. Flora

Marc Maron as Thorny

David Ossman as Cornelius

Frank Welker as Thumper

Jacob Tremblay as Ant Boy 1

Jessica DiCicco as Ant Boy 2

Andrew Stanton as Fly Brother 1

Jess Harnell as Fly Brother 2

Carlos Alazraqui as Loco

John DiMaggio as Axel

Kevin Schon as Slick

Miles Luna as Bug Zapper Fly

Andrew Stanton as Harry

Sabrina Fest as Daisy

Mariel Sheets as Grub

Ashley Tisdale as Lead Blueberry Scout

Melissa Sternenberg as Bar Waitress

Rodger Bumpass as Mosquito

Jess Harnell as Bus Beetle

Brad Hall as Grasshopper 1

Jeff Pidgeon as Grasshopper 2

Lee Unkrich as Ant 1

Bill Farmer as Ant 2

Dave Fennoy as Thud

J. Michael Tatum as Bouncer Wasp

Debi Derryberry as Baby Maggots

Bob Bergen as Aphie

Deep Jungle (Tarzan)

Takes place after the movie.

Cast:

Tony Goldwyn as Tarzan

Olivia d’Abo as Jane Porter

Susanne Blakeslee as Kala

April Winchell as Terk

Jim Cummings as Tantor

Jeff Bennett as Archimedes Q. Porter

Monstropolis (Monsters, Inc.)

Takes place after the movie.

Cast:

Christopher Swindle as James P. Sullivan

Carlos Alazraqui as Mike Wazowski

Mary Gibbs as Boo

Jennifer Tilly as Celia Mae

John Ratzenberger as Yeti

Bob Peterson as Roz

Christopher Swindle as Jeff Fungus

Stephen Stanton as Needleman

Stephen Stanton as Smitty

Bonnie Hunt as Ms. Flint

Regan Burns as Jerry Slugsworth

Stephen Stanton as George Sanderson

Christopher Swindle as Thaddeus “Phlegm” Bile

Phil Proctor as Charlie Proctor

Gregg Berger as Peter “Claws” Ward

Roger Craig Smith, Pete Docter, & Teddy Newton as Child Detection Agents

Great Barrier Reef/Deep Ocean/Marine Life Institute (Finding Nemo)

Takes place after Finding Dory.

Cast:

Jess Harnell as Marlin

Jennifer Hale as Dory

Tara Strong as Nemo

Ed O’Neill as Hank

Kaitlin Olson as Destiny

J.P. Karliak as Bailey

Eugene Levy as Charlie

Jen Brown as Jenny

Willem Dafoe as Gill

Brad Garrett as Bloat

Allison Janney as Peach

Austin Pendleton as Gurgle

Stephen Root as Bubbles

Vicki Lewis as Deb (& Flo)

Jerome Ranft as Jacques

Andrew Stanton as Crush

Grey DeLisle as Squirt

Idris Elba as Fluke

Dominic West as Rudder

Geoffrey Rush as Nigel

Bob Peterson as Mr. Ray

Jess Harnell as Bruce

Eric Bana as Anchor

Bruce Spence as Chum

Torbin Xan Bullock as Gerald

Katherine Ringgold as Chickenfish

Torbin Xan Bullock as Becky

Andrew Stanton as Seagulls

Metroville/Nomansian Island (The Incredibles)

Takes place during the movie.

Cast:

Craig T. Nelson as Bob Parr/Mr. Incredible

Holly Hunter as Helen Parr/Elastigirl

Jason Lee as Buddy Pine/Syndrome

Norma Maldonado as Mirage

Sarah Vowell as Violet Parr

Gillian Jacobs as Dash Parr

Brad Bird as Edna Mode (E)

Philip Lawrence as Lucius Best/Frozone

Jonathan Banks as Rick Dicker

Mark Andrews, Brad Lewis, Pete Docter, Peter Sohn, Andrew Stanton, & Jeff Pidgeon as Syndrome’s Guards

Eli Fucile, Maeve Andrews, & Nicolas Bird as Jack-Jack Parr

Bret Parker as Kari McKeen

Michael Bird as Tony Rydinger

Kimberly Adair Clark as Honey Best

Teddy Newton as Manta Jet Computer

Frank Thomas as Frank

Ollie Johnston as Ollie

Teddy Newton as Robot Bird

Nicolas Bird as Rusty McCallister

Radiator Springs/Rusteze-Dinoco Racing Center/Fireball Beach/Thunder Hollow/Thomasville/Florida International Speedway (Cars)

Takes place after Cars 3.

It isn’t combat based. Missions include keeping up with McQueen’s top speed by racing down Radiator Springs’ main street, learning how to turn right to go left at Willy’s Butte, keeping up with Cruz’s top speed on Fireball Beach, avoiding pushy competitors with the Thunder Hollow challengers, and practicing with Cruz at Thomasville, culminating in the Piston Cup race at Florida International Speedway, where the objective is to win against Jackson Storm.

Sora enters the world as a custom-made sports coupe mixing a few real-life sports car models before visits to Luigi’s Casa Della Tires and Ramone’s House of Body Art end with him modified into a next-gen race car sponsored by Dinoco (with Tex’s blessing) and with Cruz’s number.

It’s set during Cruz’s first Piston Cup racing season, so McQueen still has Doc’s colors and spends the Florida race as Sora’s crew chief.

As Sora finishes his story, Mater is certainly unhappy with Xehanort’s actions forcing Sora’s hand. “That dad-gum Xehanort”, he says angrily. Extra points if Sora doesn’t get to the part where Xehanort is dead, then Sarge gets in his face and demands him to teach Xehanort a lesson when he gets back in a militaristic manner. “Is that understood,” Sarge yells. Then Sora tries to correct him, but gets cut off and asked again, “Is that understood,” and has to respond, “Sir, yes, sir!”

Of course, during the top speed races, Luigi is the one to signal the race to begin.

In the Radiator Springs race, Sora’s top speed is tracked by Sheriff’s speed radar, and on Fireball Beach, it’s via Cruz’s personal assistant, Hamilton.

If you fail the “Turn Right to go Left” mission, Sora goes flying into the bed of cacti, and Mater fishes him out.

I know I’ll get hate for this, but Cars 2 elements are here. Heck, maybe Mater can’t be present most for the training because he’s busy with Finn and Holley. After all, does he still owe Holley a first date?

I wanted the player character in this world to be Kairi just so Storm can feel the embarrassment of losing to not one, but two “costume girls”.

The Piston Cup race is announced as a 500-lap race, but no game developer is that malicious to force the player to race 500 laps around an oval, so they’d take after the first Cars game and make it twelve laps with the sun slowly lowering throughout the race.

Cast:

Keith Ferguson as Lightning McQueen

Cristela Alonzo as Cruz Ramirez

Larry the Cable Guy as Sir Tow Mater

Chris Cooper as Smokey

Bonnie Hunt as Sally Carrera

Tony Shalhoub as Luigi

Guido Quaroni as Guido

John Ratzenberger as Mack

Lloyd Sherr as Fillmore

Paul Dooley as Sarge

Cheech Marin as Ramone

Jenifer Lewis as Flo

Michael Wallis as Sheriff

Laraine Newman as Lizzie

Jerome Ranft as Red

A.J. Hamilton as Jackson Storm

Kerry Washington as Natalie Certain

Martin Jarvis as Finn McMissile

Emily Mortimer as Holley Shiftwell

Nathan Fillion as Sterling

Wendie Malick as Louise “Barnstormer” Nash

Kevin Michael Richardson as River Scott

Jason Douglas as Junior “Midnight” Moon

Teresa Gallagher as Mater’s Computer

Bob Peterson as Chick Hicks

Lea DeLaria as Miss Fritter

Humpy Wheeler as Tex Dinoco

Lewis Hamilton as Hamilton

Bob Costas as Bob Cutlass

Darrell Waltrip as Darrell Cartrip

Richard Petty as Strip “The King” Weathers

Ray Evernham as Ray Reverham

Madeleine McGraw as Maddy McGear

Shannon Spake as Shannon Spokes

Kyle Petty as Cal Weathers

Corey Burton & Paul Newman (archived recordings) as Doc Hudson

A.J. Riebli III as McQueen’s Biggest Fan

Steve Purcell as Tractors

Lori Alan as Millie

Michel Michelis as Tomber

Jason Isaacs as Siddeley

Vanessa Redgrave as the Queen

Joe MacDonald as Stephenson

Christopher Sabat as Prince Wheeliam

Andra Day as Sweet Tea

Angel Oquendo as Bobby Swift

Will Collyer as Brick Yardley

Jeremy Maxwell as Arvy Motorhome

Bob Peterson as Dr. Damage

Will Collyer as Roscoe

Peter Sohn as Mr. Drippy

Patrick Rodriguez as Taco

Anthony Sardinha as Jimbo

Andrew Stanton as T-Bone

Jessie James Grelle as APB

Jessica Nigri as Blind Spot

Kaiji Tang as Pushover

Jen Taylor as Tailgate

Barbara Dunkelman as Cigalert

Dustin Matthews as Fishtail

Kyle Phillips as Broadside

Maggie Tominey as Patty

Tyler Coe as Bill

Brendan Blaber as Pileup

Lindsay Jones as High Impact

Jason Pace as Faregame

Tiana Camacho as Airborne

Django Craig as Superfly

Jen Brown as Jambalaya Chimichanga

Samantha Ireland as Liability

Gus Sorola as Hit

Christopher Guerrero as Run

Alex Mai as Todd

Daniel Suárez as Danny Swervez

Ryan Blaney as Ryan “Inside” Laney

Bubba Wallace as Bubba Wheelhouse

Chase Elliott as Chase Racelott

Kerry Shawcross as Tim Treadless

Corey Krueger as Rich Mixon

Zeno Robinson as Cam Spinner

Alejandro Saab as H.J. Hollis

Adam Ellis as Ed Truncan

Burnie Burns as Herb Curbler

Miles Luna as Aaron Clocker

Garrett Hunter as Harvey Rodcap

Michael Jones as J.D. McPillar

Yuri Lowenthal as Flip Dover

Kyle Taylor as Barry DePedal

Blaine Gibson as Steve LaPage

Aaron Marquis as Conrad Camber

Gavin Free as Sheldon Shifter

Flynt Flossy as Paul Conrev

Travis Willingham as Michael Rotor

Ben Schwartz as Ritchie Gunzit

Nick Landis as Eric Braker

Neath Oum as Spikey Fillups

Connor Pickens as Chris Roamin’

Clifford Chapin as Dan Carcia

Scott Frerichs as Jonas Carvers

Howard Wang as Jim Reverick

Dustin Matthews as George New-Win

Eric Baudour as Noah Gocek

Aaron Dismuke as Will Rusch

Todd Womack as M. Fast Fong

Mick Lauer as Nick Shift

Richard Norman as J.P. Drive

Christopher Wehkamp as Tom W.

Aaron Dismuke as Sudeep

Grant George as Krzysztof

Bryce Papenbrook as Shiriam

Django Craig as Kurt

Carlos Alazraqui as Ronald

Todd Haberkorn as Junyi

Harvey Guillén as Gabriel

Angel Oquendo as Aiden

Michael Malconian as Jae

Robbie Daymond as Ernesto

Anna Hullum as Melissa Bernabrake

Jason Rose as Pat Traxson

Kara Eberle as Laura Spinwell

Anairis Quiñones as Gale Beaufort

Paris/Gusteau’s Restaurant (Ratatoullie)

Takes place during the movie.

Cast:

Patton Oswalt as Remy

Brian George as Chef Skinner

Lou Romano as Alfredo Linguini

Travis Willingham as Django

Peter Sohn as Emile

Corey Burton as Anton Ego

Brad Garrett as Auguste Gusteau

Janeane Garofalo as Colette Tatou

Will Arnett as Horst

Julius Callahan as Lalo

James Remar as Larousse

John Ratzenberger as Mustafa

Teddy Newton as Talon Labarthe

Tony Fucile as Health Inspector

Julius Callahan as Francois

Tony Fucile as Pompidou

Jake Steinfield as Git

Brad Bird as Ambrister Minion

Brad Lewis, Lindsay Collins, & Lori Richardson as Rats

New Orleans (The Princess and the Frog)

Takes place during the movie.

Cast:

Anika Noni Rose as Tiana

Bruno Campos as Prince Naveen

Keith David as Dr. Facilier

Michael-Leon Wooley as Louis

Jennifer Cody as Charlotte La Bouff

Jim Cummings as Raymond

Peter Bartlett as Lawrence

Jenifer Lewis as Mama Odie

Debra Wilson as Eudora

Brian Cummings as Eli “Big Daddy” La Bouff

Ritchie Montgomery as Reggie

Dave Fouquette as Darnell

Paul Briggs as Two Fingers

Jerry Kernion as Mr. Henry Fenner

Corey Burton as Mr. Harvey Fenner

Michael Colyar as Buford

Emeril Lagasse as Marlon the Gator

Kevin Michael Richardson as Ian the Gator

Randy Newman as Cousin Randy

Danielle Moné Truitt as Georgia

Kelly Hoover as Stella

Kwesi Boakye as Newspaper Boy

Mick Wingert as Travis

Jennifer Kilger as Swooning Girl

Phil Proctor as Cajun Firefly

Seth R. Williamson as Prince Ralphie

Kingdom of Corona (Tangled)

Takes place after the movie.

Can we have a reprise of I’ve Got a Dream, and now Sora gets a chance to share his dream, to return to his friends?

Cast:

Kelsey Lansdowne as Rapunzel Fitzherbert

Zachary Levi as Eugene Fitzherbert

Kari Wahlgren as Queen Ariana

Clancy Brown as King Frederic

M.C. Gainey as Captain of the Guard

Brad Garrett as Hook Hand

Chris Marlow as Big Nose

Paul F. Tompkins as Shorty

Charles Halford as Vladimir

Stephen Stanton as Attila Buckethead

Ron Perlman as Sideburns Stabbington

Brian Hull as Patchy Stabbington

Bob Bergen as Pascal

Nathan Greno as Maximus

DunBroch (Brave)

Takes place during the movie.

Cast:

Kelly Macdonald as Merida

Billy Connolly as Fergus

Emma Thompson as Elinor

Susanne Blakeslee as the Witch

David Tennant as Lord Dingwall

Kevin McKidd as Lord MacGuffin

Craig Ferguson as Lord Macintosh

Michelle Gomez as Maudie

Peigi Barker as Young Merida

Kevin McKidd as Young MacGuffin

Steven Cree as Young Macintosh

Steve Purcell as the Crow

Callum O’Neill as Wee Dingwall

Patrick Doyle as Martin

John Ratzenberger as Gordon

Game Central Station (Wreck-it Ralph)

Takes place after the movie.

Cast:

Brian T. Delaney as Wreck-it Ralph

Sarah Silverman as Vanellope Von Schweetz

Jack McBrayer as Fix-it Felix Jr.

Jane Lynch as Sergeant Tamora Calhoun

Ed O’Neill as Mr. Stan Litwak

Rich Moore as Sour Bill

Maurice LaMarche as Tapper

Dennis Haysbert as General Hologram

Raymond S. Persi as Mayor Gene

Melissa Villaseñor as Taffyta Muttonfudge

Brandon Scott as Kohut

Grey DeLisle as Mary

Skylar Astin as Roy

Don Fullilove as Nolan

Rachael Harris as Deanna

Jess Harnell as Don

Jen Brown as Nell

Jason Douglas as J. Norwood

Pamela Adlon as Lucy

Grey DeLisle as Meg

Katie Lowes as Candlehead

Jamie Elman as Rancis Fluggerbutter

Adam Carolla as Wynnchel

Chris Pratt as Duncan

Josie Trinidad as Jubileena Bing-Bing

Cymbre Walk as Crumbelina Di Caramello

Bella Blanding as Snowanna Rainbeau

Jaeden White as Swizzle “The Swizz” Malarkey

Sawyer Cole as Gloyd Orangeboar

Suzie Yeung as Minty Zaki

Romi Dames as Adorabeezle Winterpop

Josie Trinidad as Citrusella Flugpucker

Suzie Yeung as Torvald Batterbutter

Suzie Yeung as Sticky Whipplesnit

Romi Dames as Nougetsia Brumblestain

Tucker Gilmore as Sugar Rush Announcer

Phil Johnston as Surge Protector

Arendelle (Frozen)

Takes place after the movie.

Cast:

Kristen Bell as Anna

Idina Menzel as Elsa

Jonathan Groff as Kristoff

Josh Gad as Olaf

Frank Welker as Sven

Ciarán Hinds as Grandpabbie

Chris Williams as Oaken

Stephen J. Anderson as Kai

Maia Wilson as Bulda

Rebecca Mader as Gurda

Robert Pine as Bishop

Paul Briggs as Marshmallow

Lewis Cleale as Cliff

Jack Whitehall as Gothi

Annie Lopez as Baby Troll

San Fransokyo (Big Hero 6)

Takes place after the movie.

Cast:

Ryan Potter as Hiro Hamada

Scott Adsit as Baymax

Brooks Wheelan as Fred Fredrickson

Damon Wayans Jr. as Wasabi No Ginger

Jamie Chung as Ethel “Go Go Tomago”

Génesis Rodríguez as Honey Lemon

Maya Rudolph as Cass Hamada

James Cromwell as Robert Callaghan

Alan Tudyk as Allistair Krei

Katie Lowes as Abigail Callaghan

David Shaughnessy as Heathcliff

Daniel Henney as Tadashi Hamada

Riley’s Mind/Mindscape (Inside Out)

Takes place after the movie.

Cast:

Kate Higgins as Joy

Phyllis Smith as Sadness

Lewis Black as Anger

Jason J. Lewis as Fear

Ashley Adler as Disgust

Kaitlyn Dias as Riley Andersen

Diane Lane as Jill Andersen (Mom)

Kyle MacLachlan as Bill Andersen (Dad)

Pete Docter as Dad’s Anger

Carlos Alazraqui as Dad’s Fear

Josh Cooley as Dad’s Fear

Patrick Seitz as Dad’s Joy

J.P. Karliak as Dad’s Disgust

Lori Alan as Mom’s Sadness

Paula Pell as Mom’s Anger

Laraine Newman as Mom’s Fear

Sherry Lynn as Mom’s Joy

Mona Marshall as Mom’s Disgust

Zootopia (Zootopia)

Takes place during the movie.

Cast:

Ginnifer Goodwin as Judy Hopps

Jason Bateman as Nick Wilde

Idris Elba as Chief Bogo

Jenny Slate as Dawn Bellwether

Nate Torrence as Benjamin Clawhauser

Bonnie Hunt as Bonnie Hopps

Don Lake as Stu Hopps

Tommy Chong as Yax

J.K. Simmons as Theodore Lionheart

Octavia Spencer as Mrs. Otterton

Alan Tudyk as Duke Weaselton

Allison Trujillo Strong & Shakira (singing) as Gazelle

Raymond S. Persi as Flash

Maurice LaMarche as Mr. Big

Phil Johnston as Gideon Gray

John DiMaggio as Jerry Jumbeaux Jr.

Katie Lowes as Dr. Madge Honey Badger

Gita Reddy as Nangi

Jesse Corti as Mr. Manchas

Kevin Michael Richardson as Finnick

Josh Dallas as Frantic Pig

Leah Latham as Fru Fru

Rich Moore as Doug

Kath Soucie as Young Nick

Peter Mansbridge as Peter Moosebridge

Byron Howard as Bucky Oryx-Antlerson

Jared Bush as Pronk Oryx-Antlerson

Mark “Rhino” Smith as Officer McHorn

John Lavelle as Mouse Foreman

Kristen Bell as Priscilla

Jackson Stein as Junior Ranger Scout Bully

Rich Moore as Larry

David Thibodeau as Gary

Fabienne Rawley as Fabienne Growley

John DiMaggio as Jesse

John DiMaggio as Woolter

Zach King as Muzzled Wolf

Cissy Jones as Officer Francine

Raymond S. Persi as Officer Higgins

Fabinne Rawley as Jumbeaux Café Customer

John DiMaggio as Parking Ticket Moose

Melissa Goodwin Shepard as Parking Ticket Mouse

Madeleine Curry as Parking Ticket Hippo Daughter

Brendan Blaber as Beaver Reporter

Kaiji Tang as Sheep Reporter

John DiMaggio as Pig Reporter

Bonnie Hunt as Oryx Reporter

Selah Victor as Rabbit Reporter

J. Michael Tatum as Pig Peace Rally Protester

Jen Taylor as Leopard Peach Rally Protester

Tiana Camacho as Carrot Customer

John DiMaggio as Sheep Officer

Motunui/The Great Oceans (Moana)

Takes place during the movie.

Cast:

Auli’i Cravalho as Moana

Dwayne Johnson as Maui

Rachel House as Gramma Tala

Temuera Morrison & Christopher Jackson (singing) as Chief Tui

Jemaine Clement as Tamatoa

Nicole Scherzinger as Sina

Alan Tudyk as Heihei

Oscar Kightley as Fisherman

Troy Polamalu as Villager 1

Puanani Cravalho as Villager 2

Alan Tudyk as Villager 3

Land of the Dead/Santa Cécilia (Coco)

Takes place during the movie.

Cast:

Anthony Gonzalez as Miguel Rivera

Gael García Bernal as Papá Héctor Rivera

Benjamin Bratt & Antonio Sol (singing) as Ernesto de la Cruz

Alanna Ubach as Mamá Imelda Rivera

Renée Victor as Abuelita Elena Rivera

Jaime Camil as Enrique Rivera (Papá)

Alfonso Arau as Papá Julio Rivera

Herbert Sigüenza as Tío Óscar Rivera

Herbert Sigüenza as Tío Felipe Rivera

Gabriel Iglesias as Clerk

Lombardo Boyar as Plaza Mariachi

Lombardo Boyar as Gustavo

Ana Ofelia Murguía as Mamá Coco Rivera

Natalia Cordova-Buckley as Frida Kahlo

Selene Luna as Tía Rosita Rivera

Edward James Olmos as Chicharrón

Sofía Espinosa as Luisa Rivera (Mamá)

Carla Medina as Departures Agent

Dyana Ortelli as Tía Victoria Rivera

Luis Valdez as Tío Berto Rivera

Luis Valdez as Don Hidalgo

Blanca Araceli as Emcee

Salvador Reyes as Security Guard

Cheech Marin as Corrections Officer

Octavio Solís as Arrivals Agent

John Ratzenberger as Juan Ortodoncia

Denise Blasor as Ceci

Libertad García Fonzi as Young Coco

Juan Carlos Tinoco as de la Cruz’s Security Guards

Carla Medina as Tía Gloria Rivera

Montse Hernandez as Rosa Rivera

Polo Rojas as Abel Rivera

Maite Perroni as Arrivals and Departures P.A.

Ricardo Bautista as Battle of the Bands Stagehand

Emilio Fuentes as Sunrise Spectacular Stagehand

Carlos Becerril as Sunrise Spectacular Emcee

Trujo as Policeman

Rosalba Sotelo as Dead Mother

Erica Edwards as Tía Chelo

Miguel Ángel Ruiz as T-Shirt Seller

Emmanuel Bernal as Gustavo’s Band Trumpeter

Lee Unkrich as Skeleton with Corn

Emmanuel Bernal as Héctor’s Cousin

Kumandra (Raya and the Last Dragon)

Takes place after the movie.

Cast:

Kelly Marie Tran as Raya

Awkwafina as Sisu

Gemma Chan as Namaari

Izaac Wang as Boun

Benedict Wong as Tong

Thalia Tran as Noi

Daniel Dae Kim as Chief Benja

Sandra Oh as Chieftess Virana

Alan Tudyk as Tuk Tuk

Lucille Soong as Dang Hu

Dichen Lachman as General Atitãya

Sung Kang as Dang Hai

Ross Butler as Spine Chief

Dumbfoundead as Chai

Dichen Lachman as Spine Warrior

François Chau as Kahn

Sierra Katow as Fang Officer

The Encanto (Encanto)

Takes place after the movie.

Cast:

Stephanie Beatriz as Mirabel Madrigal

María Cecilia Botero & Olga Merediz (singing) as Abuela Alma Madrigal

John Leguizamo as Bruno Madrigal

Jessica Darrow as Luisa Madrigal

Diane Guerrero as Isabela Madrigal

Angie Cepeda as Julieta Madrigal

Demián Bichir as Agustín Madrigal

Carolina Gaitán as Pepa Madrigal

Mauro Castillo as Félix Madrigal

Rhenzy Feliz as Camilo Madrigal

Adassa as Dolores Madrigal

Ravi Cabot-Conyers as Antonio Madrigal

Maluma as Mariano Guzmán

Rose Portillo as Sra. Guzmán

Alyssa Bella Candiani, Noemi Josefina Flores, Paisley Day Herrera, Brooklyn Skylar Rodriguez, & Ezra Rudolph as Town Kids

Alan Tudyk as Pico

Toronto, Canada (Turning Red)

Takes place after the movie.

Cast:

Rosalie Chiang as Meilin Lee

Ava Morse as Miriam Mendelsohn

Hyein Park as Abby Park

Maitreyi Ramakrishnan as Priya Mangal

Tristan Allerick Chen as Tyler Nguyen-Baker

Sandra Oh as Ming Lee

Orion Lee as Jin Lee

Wai Ching Ho as Grandma Wu Lee

Lori Tan Chinn as Auntie Chen

Mia Tagano as Lily

Sherry Cola as Helen

Lillian Lim as Auntie Ping

James Hong as Mr. Gao

Lily Sanfelippo as Stacy Frick

Addie Chandler as Devon

Lauren Tom as Sammy (Goth Girl)

Anna Brisbin as Lauren

Madison Brunoehler as Kat (Stacy’s Second Friend)

Jackson Parfitt as Carter Murphy-Mayhew

Patricia Summersett as Jaiden (Goth Girl with Green Dye)

Jordan Fisher as Robaire

Finneas O’Connell as Jesse

Topher Ngo as Aaron T.

Grayson Villanueva as Tae Young

Josh Levi as Aaron Z.

[huntsvillehq]

on october 31st, it started as a rumble: a low sound deep within the earth. the telephone poles and street signs began to sway. the ground shifted and opened up: a jagged split down the middle of main street, three feet wide and fifty feet long, revealing a black void beneath.

buildings cracked and crumbled. the huntsville bank lost a third of it's structure; the shelves in the library toppled and crashed into each other; pete's garage collapsed completely; the playground in the park slid to an angle.

the earthquake destroyed all the booths and stalls for the festival. a fire broke out in one of the haunted houses. a pipe burst, spraying the street with water. destruction and devastation reigned down upon main street.

it lasted a total of five minutes before the ground and dust settled and people were able to take stock of what just happened. Mayor Natasha rounded up the police and fire departments, sending them on a search and rescue to ensure everyone was recovered in some form or another and to put out the fires and check that every door with a protection rune remained intact.

shock and horror gained traction over the course of the next several hours, as reports came in. three individuals were killed and dozens were injured. Sunflower Parsons was declared missing, as her body was not recovered and no one could remember where they saw her last.

the list of deaths were posted the next morning: Minnie Garcia, Sammie Thompson, and Zoë Clark.

(below the cut are the people who were injured in alphabetical order. the muns can determine how severe the injuries are, up to and including loss of limb/disability. due to the nature of the disaster, those not listed can still have minor cuts and bruises. the event concludes on nov 11th, at which time no new event threads may be posted and we catch up to the ooc present. you will still be allowed to continue event threads until completion.)

Alessandra Nuwa Chen

Alexa Cruz-Dutton (10)

Andrew Richardson

Andy Flowers

Avery Cowling

Bowie Bardot

Briana Ryan

Calloway de la Luna

Claire Forbes

Cain Barlowe

Daishiro Takahashi

Daisy Theirry

DJ Cruz-Dutton

Domino Otto

Eagan Connolly

Edgar Wayne

Eldon Harcourt

Emma “Em” Dunford

Falco Romero

Halley MacGillivray

James Goldstein

Jane Doe

Jay Romero-Sawyer (15)

Jerico Leeds

Katarina “Rini” Roberts

Liam Jefferson

Lin Xiu

Mallard “Duck” Romero

Mylene “Myles” Karimi

Natalie Gray

Penelope “Penny” Lane

Peter “Rusty” Craven

Saffron Aubert

Salem Salazar

Sandra Quispe

Scout Garcia

Sicilia “Lia” Flowers

Spencer Holmes

Reggie Alson

Ricardo “Ric” Reider

Rosemary Felton

Valeria “Val” Moreno

Victoire “Vic” Dubois

Ward Langston

Wolf Lykaios

[italianpersonwithashippersheart]

Who are your top 10 (or top 7) favorite characters of all time, from all of the media that you loved (can be anime/manga, books, movies or tv series, etc)? Can I ask why you love them?

Once again, this ask is very broad and my memory is so-so but I will do my best. Gonna try to limit my list and list 3 to 5 characters I love from each category.

One disclaimer, there are going to be more men then woman in this list. Simply because between trauma due to bullying and the probable neurodivergence and the laten gender issues I have a super difficult time connecting with woman characters, mostly because I can't let go of what I am supposed to be feeling and process what I actually feel for any given character.

Books:

There is this book called Devil's Footsteps by E.E. Richardson I used to love and still do. And I really love the three protagonist in that book. Especially the main character. A lot of his character is about letting go of his guilty and processing his grief over his brother.

Wylan from Six of Crows. Something about him feeling broken and having all that trauma, and still being kind, still moving forward despite the fact that you are out of your depth.

Elizabeth Bennet from Pride and Prejudice

Stanley from Holes

All my books are put away right now so I can't look them and at this moment I don't rember anything else.

TV Shows:

Spike from Buffy and also Faith from Buffy. I like morally grey characters. I have always found Faith more interesting then buffy (don't hate me) and Spike way more interesting then Angel.

2 Characters from an Italian Tv show called Ris Roma (spin off of another show). A sort of Italian CSI show.

Veronica mars. And Logan Echols from the same show.

The Main Character of a show called Fairly Legal (that show was not good, but I loved it and I am sad it got cancelled). She was a bit of a mix between a layer and investigator and I loved her energy a lot.

Pretty much all the main characters from Leverage, but especially Hardison and Parker.

Jessica Fletcher from Murder She Wrote

Ian from Shameless

Animated:

Daria, because I releated a lot too her, and I admired how strong she was.

a Couple of anime shojo protagonist that I am going to cheat and lump together because I think they are pretty similar. Like Sana from Kodomo No Omocha and Hime-Chan from an anime called Hime-Chan no ribbon. I grew up with those two anime.

Can I say Bugs Bunny, is that cheating?

Zuko from Avatar

Bob and Linda from Bob Burgers - they are very good parents, and they love each other, they are like if the Addams Family wasn't creepy. Does that make sense?

BL:

Takara from Takara-kun to Amagi-kun

Todd and Black from Not Me

King (and Uea) from Bed Friend

Tankhun from Kinnporsche

Heart from Moonlight Chicken

Togawa from Old Fashion Cupcake

Both the main boys from Utsukushii Kare

Ai Di from Kiseki: dear to me

Cheating and saying Tutor from Why R U and Pete from LBC together. Because I am obsessed with Saint range. Watching those back to back is a trip and a half.

Currently some of the boys from DFF (namely Non, Phi and White and maybe Jin) could be on the favorite characters list, but I definately need to see the end before I can say for sure.

First, Zoey and Nonth from Playboyy. Porsche might be getting on the list too. Soong is definately on there.

Thanks for the ask I hope you enjoyed my answears. If you want me to elaborate on any of these characters feel free to send another ask.