#The Spinal Saga

[rosebramblewolf]

this is a post thats i guess been subconsciously brewing for a while

re: the whole "battle with cancer", "cancer warriors", "strong"/"fighter"/"kick cancers ass" narrative

please dont put this on someone unless they say it about their own cancer.

ive been in ~cancer spaces~ for almost 2 years now, ive talked to a lot of people. ive seen new people get diagnosed and go through their whole courses of treatment and ive talked to a lot of lifers like me who are just always going to have cancer and those in between who will eventually be able to put it behind them, sort of, mostly, after they take 5 years of pills or whatever, and those who are in medical menopause because their cancer eats hormones like joey chestnut eating hotdogs

and most people do not want to be called a "warrior".

im not fighting something. i have a disease. im having surgeries and receiving injections and iv infusions and taking medicine. there is no "battle". there is no "enemy". there is just a disease, inside my body, that i am treating under expert care.

this narrative does not make me feel better about my cancer. this narrative makes you feel better about my cancer.

[thecommunityoftrustworthysinks]

one more sleep and some hours until i can find out if my brain’s exploding

[st4rg1rl-16]

━━ ✶✶˖° 𝗪𝗜𝗞𝗜𝗣𝗘𝗗𝗜𝗔 𝗣𝗥𝗢𝗙𝗜𝗟𝗘 | 𝗡𝟰𝗦.

𝗽𝗮𝗶𝗿𝗶𝗻𝗴(𝘀) ━ 2019 to 2023!f1 grid x driver!female oc

𝗮𝘂𝘁𝗵𝗼𝗿 𝗻𝗼𝘁𝗲 ━ english is not my first language, I know I already said it but just in case hshshsh also I know there are some things that may not be accurate but let’s pretend they are for the sake of the fic 😙👌🏻

𝘁𝗮𝗴𝗹𝗶𝘀𝘁 ━ @namgification @burberryfilms

ARABELLA TORRES GONZÁLEZ

Spanish racing driver

Arabella Torres González (born May 26 2000) is a spanish racing driver. In 2016 and 2018 she won the Formula Two championship. In 2019 she acquired a place in Formula One with Scuderia Ferrari, in 2021 she signed an eight-year contract with Mercedes.

Name                  Arabella Torres González

Nickname(s)     La diabla, Bella Donna, Speedy

Born          26 may 2000 (age 21) Leganés, Madrid, Spain

Nationality 🇪🇸 Spanish

Relatives Oliver Torres (brother)

Teams                 Ferrari, Mercedes

Active years      2019 —

Car number 9

Wins              18

Podiums              41

Career Points    859

Pole positions 13

Fastest laps      8

First entry 2019 Australia Grand Prix

First win 2019 Spanish Grand Prix

Last win 2021 Turkish Grand Prix

2021 position        2nd (393)

Website arabellatorres.com

She is known for being the only woman to be an official Formula One driver since Giovanna Amati in 1992 and the second female driver with points since Lella Lombardi in 1976, thus creating history in the world of motorsport. At the 2019 Spanish Grand Prix she took her first victory, becoming the first woman in history to win a grand prix.

After a competition against Valtteri Bottas with whom she remained tied in terms of points during the last three races of the 2019 season, she won the title of sub champion in the drivers' world championship giving Ferrari the second place in the constructors' world championship.

In 2020 she suffered a horrible accident that made her unable to finish the Tuscan Grand Prix, after that race her results during the last eight races went down.

In the 2021 Abu Dhabi Grand Prix she returned to the podium (and in the championship) in second position after a close competition against Max Verstappen due to losing control of her car causing both of them to almost collide, but she managed to regain control and finish the race without no harm.

Her younger brother, Oliver Torres, is a Moto GP driver for Yamaha Motor Racing.

𝗕𝗜𝗢𝗚𝗥𝗔𝗣𝗛𝗬 ↓

Arabella was born in Leganés, a Madrid’s municipality, on 26 may 2000, as the eldest of two siblings: she and her little brother, Oliver Torres. Since she was a little girl she grew up with Formula 1 at home, as her father was a big fan and never missed a race although she was not too interested in the motor world of until one of her uncles gifted her brother a mini kart for christmas that she ended up using it, which sparked her curiosity about cars.

Her interest in cars began to grow, she began to watch Formula 1 with her father and her uncle, she noticed car brands and models and was passionate about car movies. She has mentioned several times that the Fast And Furious saga is one of her favorites.

From December 2018 to December 2020 she resided in Monte Carlo, Monaco. In 2021 she bought an apartment in London, England with her partner, the spanish football player Hector Bellerin. She currently lives between Monte Carlo and London.

𝗖𝗔𝗥𝗘𝗘𝗥 ↓

Torres began her racing career in karting at the young age of 9, competing in different categories. She won the Spanish Championship in the novice category in 2009, won the cadet category in 2010 and two more consecutive times. In 2013, in the KF3 European Championship she had a horrible accident when she reached second place, thus being the only race that she has not finished, a tire on her car burst causing her to fly several meters until she crashed into a fence in front of the stands. She had several spinal injuries and had to undergo surgery several times so she had to retire for a year, losing the opportunity to be signed by the Red Bull Junior Team.

At the age of 14, a year after her accident she returned to the world of motorsport in Formula 3 with Prema PowerTeam, finishing in sixth position in the FIA Formula 3 European Championship, in 2015 she finished on the podium in second position.

In 2016 she signed with the Ferrari Driver Academy and entered Formula 2 where she won first place in the 2016 and 2018 seasons.

Two years later, in 2019, she was announced as a driver for Scuderia Ferrari for Formula 1 alongside Charles Leclerc. During her contract with Ferrari she raced 38 races of which she won 9 and came second in the 2019 drivers' championship.

On December 13 2020, during the race in Abu Dhabi, Ferrari announced that Torres would not be part of the team for the following season and a week later it was announced that she would be replaced by Carlos Sainz Jr. On March 2 2022 during the presentation of their new car Mercedes announced, after almost three months of confusion about Arabella's future in Formula 1, that the driver had signed a contract with them for a duration of eight years, that is, until 2029.

𝗥𝗘𝗦𝗨𝗟𝗧𝗦 ↓

𝗥𝗘𝗖𝗢𝗥𝗗𝗦 ↓

𝗣𝗨𝗕𝗟𝗜𝗖 𝗜𝗠𝗔𝗚𝗘 𝗔𝗡𝗗 𝗔𝗖𝗛𝗜𝗘𝗩𝗘𝗠𝗘𝗡𝗧𝗦 ↓

𝗢𝗧𝗛𝗘𝗥 𝗩𝗘𝗡𝗧𝗨𝗥𝗘𝗦 ↓

𝗛𝗢𝗡𝗢𝗨𝗥𝗦 𝗔𝗡𝗗 𝗔𝗖𝗛𝗜𝗘𝗩𝗘𝗠𝗘𝗡𝗧𝗦 ↓

𝗡𝗢𝗧𝗘𝗦 ↓

𝗥𝗘𝗙𝗘𝗥𝗘𝗡𝗖𝗘𝗦 ↓

𝗘𝗫𝗧𝗘𝗥𝗡𝗔𝗟 𝗟𝗜𝗡𝗞𝗦 ↓

[variouspolltournaments]

Next up is the Fictional Musical Groups Tournament.

SUBMISSIONS CLOSED

Submit a Fictional Musical Group, along with where they come from and (if you want) propaganda through ask or submit a post. If the group doesn't have a name I'd like to ask you not to submit it, simply because I worry about running out of room for the individual options in the poll without a group name to use.

What kind of musical group doesn't matter. Idols, bands, orchestras, a dance group, etc. So long as they are musical and a group, they count. Although if they are in a group but the only reason they are musical is because they are in a musical, then they don't count. There has to be something else.

Submissions will be closing on the 12th of August.

Top 4 submissions are the ones I submitted myself.

@tournament-announcer

Submissions in bold have propaganda, submissions not in bold do not have propaganda. Whether they do or do not have some already, you are still free to submit some.

SUBMISSIONS:

Franchouchou: Zombieland Saga

Little Einsteins: Little Einsteins

Umimaku High School Orchestra Club: Ao no Orchestra

Jem and the Holograms: Jem and the Holograms

Soundcheck: Odd Squad

Mechanical Fever: Honkai Star Rail

The Mad Gear and Missile Kid: Danger Days

Wonderlands x Showtime: Project Sekai

Just Getting Started: Milo Murphy's Law

Fig and the Cig Figs: Fantasy High

Nightcord at 25:00: Project Sekai

Deke Squad: Agents of SHIELD

Stonemaidens: Hello From The Hallowoods

Phineas and the Ferb-Tones: Phineas and Ferb

Love Händel: Phineas and Ferb

Squid Squad: Splatoon

Kitty Section: Miraculous Ladybug

Off the Hook: Splatoon

The Feast of the Senses: Psychonauts 2

The Flipside: Phighting!

TeSTAR: Debut or Die

Mermaid Sisters: Carole and Tuesday

Poppin' Party: Bang Dream

Sex Bob-omb: Scott Pilgrim

Vivid Bad Squad: Project Sekai

Gravity 5: How to Rock

Moonage Lobotomy: Hylics

The Seasons/Given: Given

The Rumbar Pirates: One Piece

Old Gods of Asgard: Alan Wake

The Wonders: That Thing You Do!

2gether: 2gether

DuJour: Josie and the Pussycats

4*Town: Turning Red

Dance Dance Resolution: We Resolve to Dance: The Good Place

Grifter's Bone: The Magnus Archives

Chinzhilla: My School President!

The Gavinners: Ace Attorney

Julie and the Phantoms: Julie and the Phantoms

The Hex Girls: Scooby Doo

Scylla and the Sirens: Hades II

Spinal Tap: This Is Spinal Tap

The Baljeatles: Phineas and Ferb

Squid Sisters: Splatoon

The Rhythm Troupe: Sky: Children Of The Light

Needy Beast: Nightmare Time

Deep Cut: Splatoon

Star Anis: Aikatsu!

The Band With Rocks In: Discworld/Soul Music

Trash Binz: Kevin Temmer Tunes

Gorillaz

Brozone: Trolls Band Together

Dreamboat Express/Dude-itude: Sonic Boom

The Mechanisms

1 Trait Danger

Anger Management: Parties are for Losers

Dethklok: Metalocalypse

Snakes n Barrels: Metalocalypse

Zazz Blammymatazz: Metalocalypse

Shallow Gravy: The Venture Bros

Detroit Metal City: Detroit Metal City

Kintama Girls: Detroit Metal City

Gokudols: Back Street Girls

Lemonade Mouth: Lemonade Mouth

On-Lyne: Warframe

Mucous Membrane: Hellblazer

Suite Precure: Suite Precure

Dancing Star Precure: Dancing Star Precure The Stage

Minihamuzu: Hamtaro

Mayday and the Crocs: CROC AND ROLL

[cleolinda]

For whatever reason, I decided to write up the whole saga of my spinal surgery this morning (I should clarify: I wrote this morning about a surgery in 2018. Grammar!), and it is several thousand words, which I think I could space out as a few posts. I'm working off my tweets (which I do not remember posting) at the time, and I think it'll be useful to say "yeah, you know, when this happened," rather than feel like I have to tell the story from scratch every time "hey this massive thing happened in my life" comes up. It's not what I expected to write about this week, but it's already drafted itself, so.

[deergravity]

okay, talk w my supervisor went suprisingly well! i wrote up a whole thing and kind of used that to guide me and i got to leave out the few bits I'd still rather keep private while really emphasizing the quality of life angle. tbh i had almost forgotten how important the depression diagnosis/treatment was to the whole saga and THAT i have plenty of documentation for, if it comes to that. but it does seem like they're willing to take my word on the matter and see what accommodations hr will agree to.

hopefully all my past therapists felt a little rill of satisfaction today bc they earned it.

reflecting on where i started (so dissociated I barely registered the pain of a spinal injury) to where i am now (i can juuust wiggle each toe separately! and zero baseline pain) is fucking crazy.

trying to cement this feeling of pride in myself for a) communicating my needs and b) allowing people the opportunity to show up for me. hella scary, but even if they let me down, it was worth it for practice. do it scared indeed!

[elastijubilee]

2024:

Beauty and the Beast (1946, French foreign language)

The Color Purple (2023)

Time Bandits (1981)

Mean Girls (2024)

Repulsion (1965)

The Uninvited (1944)

Rumble Fish (1983)

Alien (1979)

A Brighter Summer Day (1991, Taiwanese foreign language)

Tess (1979)

Picnic at Hanging Rock (1975)

Aliens (1986)

Idiocracy (2006)

Looker (1981)

Alien 3 (1992)

Furiosa: A Mad Max Saga (2024)

Inside Out 2 (2024)

Super Capers (2011)

Deadpool and Wolverine (2024)

Twisters (2024)

Westworld (1973)

Borderlands (2024)

The Magnificent Seven (1960)

Beetlejuice Beetlejuice (2024)

Shocker (1989)

Trick or Treat (1986)

Jaws (1975)

The Wild Robot (2024)

The Thing (1982)

Alien Resurrection (1997)

Late Night with the Devil (2023)

Jennifer's Body (2009)

Muppets Haunted Mansion (2021)

Lisa Frankenstein (2024)

Heretic (2024)

Anora (2024)

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

So, I decided in 2019 to keep track of every movie I'd watched for the first time each year moving forward. This year has been my biggest year!

Movies I watched for the first time in 2023:

Glass Onion (2022)

X (2022)

Pearl (2022)

The Witch (2015)

Fright Night (2011)

The Lighthouse (2019)

Knock at the Cabin (2023)

The Northman (2022)

Hereditary (2018)

Midsommar (2019)

Men (2022)

Saint Maude (2020)

The Wolfman (1941)

Psycho (1960)

The Birds (1963)

Vertigo (1958)

Psycho (1998)

Into the Spider-Verse (2018)

Across the Spider-Verse (2023)

Guardians of the Galaxy Vol 3 (2023)

Suspiria (2018)

Rosemary's Baby (2014 made-for-tv 2-parter)

Poltergeist (2015)

Shazam! Fury of the Gods (2023)

A Nightmare on Elm Street (1984)

A Nightmare on Elm Street 2: Freddy's Revenge (1985)

ANOES 3: Dream Warriors (1987)

ANOES 4: The Dream Master (1988)

ANOES 5: The Dream Child (1989)

Freddy's Dead: The Final Nightmare (1991)

Wes Craven's New Nightmare (1994)

A Nightmare on Elm Street (2010)

Freddy vs. Jason (2003)

Friday the 13th (1980)

It Follows (2014)

The Flash (2023)

Oppenheimer (2023)

The Hunger Games: The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes (2023)

The Little Mermaid (2023)

The Red Shoes (1948)

Rebel Without a Cause (1955)

The Blob (1988)

Paint (2023)

Mafia Mama (2023)

Everything Everywhere All at Once (2022)

Uncut Gems (2019)

The Green Knight (2019)

The Last Airbender (2010)

The Dark Crystal (1982)

The Fog (1980)

They Live (1988)

Office Space (1999)

Fifty Shades Freed (2018)

Teen Titans Go to the Movies (2018)

John Wick Ch. 1 (2014)

Super Mario Bros (2023)

Muppets From Space (1999)

Scream 6 (2023)

12 Monkeys (1995)

Bottoms (2023)

Five Nights at Freddy's (2023)

The Craft (1996, fully through)

I Married a Witch (1942)

The Umbrellas of Cherbourg (1964, French foreign language)

Friday the 13th, Part 2 (1981)

Barbie (2023)

The Boy and the Heron (2023)

The Color Purple (1985)

Violent Night (2022)

The Stepford Wives (1975)

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

2022:

Staten Island Summer (2015)

Nobody's Child (1986)

This is Spinal Tap (1984)

Shawn of the Dead (2004)

The Wiz (1978)

Phantom of the Paradise (1974)

Ghostbusters: Afterlife (2021)

Licorice Pizza (2021)

Fifty Shades of Gray (2015)

Fifty Shades Darker (2017)

Cyrano (2021)

The King and I (1956)

Carrie (2013)

Carrie (2002, made-for-tv)

The Batman (2022)

Firestarter (1984)

Frozen 2 (2019)

The Fury (1978)

Firestarter (2022)

The Rage: Carrie 2 (1999)

The Bob's Burgers Movie (2022)

The Deadzone (1983)

Sparring Partner (2022, short)

My Fair Lady (1964)

The Untouchables (1987)

Singin' in the Rain (1952)

The Black Phone (2022)

Barbarian (2022)

Nope (2022)

Flashdance (1983)

Crimes of the Heart (1987)

Don't Worry Darling (2022)

The Exorcist (1973)

Child's Play (1988)

Scream 3 (2003)

Scream 5 (2022)

The Fablemans (2022)

Halloween (1978)

Black Panther (2018)

Black Panther: Wakanda Forever (2022)

Thor: Love and Thunder (2022)

Doctor Strange and the Multiverse of Madness (2022)

Return to Oz (1985)

Newsies (1992)

National Lampoon's European Vacation (1985)

National Lampoon's Las Vegas Vacation (1997)

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

2021:

Star Wars: Return of the Jedi (1983)

Star Wars: The Force Awakens (2015)

Star Wars: The Last Jedi (2017)

Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker (2019)

Rogue One: A Star Wars Story (2016)

Solo: A Star Wars Story (2018)

X-Men: Days of Future Past (2014)

X-Men: Apocalypse (2016)

Dark Phoenix (2019)

X-Men Origins: Wolverine (2009)

The Wolverine (2013)

Logan (2017)

Deadpool (2016)

Deadpool 2 (2018)

Watchmen (2009)

Wonder Woman (2017)

Aquaman (2018)

Shazam! (2019)

X-Men: New Mutants (2020)

Cruella (2021)

Space Jam: A New Legacy (2021)

The Suicide Squad (2021)

Reminiscence (2021)

My Hero Academia: Heroes: Rising (2019)

My Hero Academia: Two Heroes (2018)

My Hero Academia: World Heroes' Mission (2021)

Dune (2021)

Poltergeist (1982)

The Babadook (2014)

A Silent Voice (2016)

Rockdog (2016)

Rockdog 2: Rock Around the Park (2021)

Lion King (2019)

Terminator (1984)

Hot Fuzz (2007)

West Side Story (2021)

Spiderman: Homecoming (2017)

Spiderman: Far From Home (2019)

Spiderman: No Way Home (2021)

Looper (2012)

Brick (2005)

Back to the Future Part II (1989)

Back to the Future Part III (1990)

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

2020:

Mr. Mom (1983)

Rosemary's Baby (1968)

Pretty Baby (1978)

Private Benjamin (1980)

The Color of Pomegranates (1969, foreign language)

Only Angels Have Wings (1939)

Cunningham (2020, documentary)

And Then We Danced (2019, Georgian foreign language)

The Young Girls of Rochetfort (1967, French foreign language)

Love on a Leash (2011)

Star Wars: The Empire Strikes Back (1980)

Star Wars: The Phantom Menace (1999, fully through)

Star Wars: Attack of the Clones (2002, fully through)

Star Wars: Revenge of the Sith (2005)

Buffy the Vampire Slayer (1992)

Blazing Saddles (1974)

The Producers (1967)

Dr. Horrible's Sing-along Blog (2007)

Death Becomes Her (1992)

Captain Underpants (2017)

X-Men (2000, fully through)

X-Men 2 (2003)

Dust in the Wind (1986)

Phantasm (1978)

The Cabin in the Woods (2011)

Sonic the Hedgehog (2020)

I Eat Your Flesh (1971)

Serenity (2005)

Juice (2017, short, Indian foreign language)

Earth (1998, Indian foreign language)

Protocol (1984)

Voices Within: The Many Lives of Trudy Chase (1990, 4 hr full version)

Clue (1985)

Unleashed (2016)

Fright Night (1985)

Moll Flanders (1996, BBC 2-parter)

Parasite (2019)

Tucker and Dale vs. Evil (2010)

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

2019:

Irreconcilable Differences (1984)

The Brady Bunch Movie (1995)

A Very Brady Sequel (1996)

Frozen Assets (1992)

Knives Out (2019)

Doctor Sleep (2019)

Santa Claus With Muscles (1996)

Jack Frost (1997, dog sh*t horror)

Home (?, Indian foreign language film)

The Greatest Showman (2017)

Pinjar (2003, Indian foreign language)

Interstellar (2014)

Shock and Censorship (1993)

The Witches of Eastwick (1987)

Beetlejuice (1988)

Gypsy (1962)

The Shape of Water (2017)

The Favorite (2018)

A Small Circle of Friends (1980)

A League of Their Own (1992)

Shock Treatment (1981)

Empire of the Sun (1987)

[best-fictional-band-poll]

THIS IS THE OLD SUBMISSIONS POST. UP TO DATE SUBMISSIONS CAN BE FOUND HERE

Sorted alphabetically by band. Please click through to original post to see full list. IF IT'S NOT ON THE LIST, PLEASE SUBMIT IT. NO BAND IS TOO NICHE. Multiple bands from the same media are permitted.

Putting this under the cut because it's getting too long!

0-9

4*town - Turning Red

A

About Gardens - ROGUEMAKER

The Ark - I Was Born For This

ABXY - Splatoon

Arno van Eyck - Disco Elysium

B

The Band With Rocks In It - Discworld

The Beets - Doug

The Best Ever Death Metal Band in Denton - The Mountain Goats

The Bettys - Phineas and Ferb

Black Stones (BLAST) - NANA

The Blues Brothers - The Blues Brothers

Bottom Feeders - Splatoon

Boys In The Sink - Veggietales

Boys Who Cry - Spongebob Squarepants

Boyz4Now - Bob's Burgers

Boyz 12 - American Dad

Bunk Bed Junction - No Straight Roads

C

Cheetah Girls - Cheetah Girls

The Clash At Demonhead - Scott Pilgrim 

The Covey - Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes

Crash & The Boys - Scott Pilgrim

D

Daisy Jones & The Six - Daisy Jones & The Six

Damp Socks - Splatoon

De Bois Band - & Juliet

Deep cut - Splatoon

DETHKLOK - Metalocalypse

Dedf1sh - Splatoon

Decibel Jones and the Absolute Zeros - Space Opera 

Dingoes Ate My Baby - Buffy The Vampire Slayer

DJ Octavio - Splatoon

DJ Stylbator - Samurai Jack

Dr Teeth and The Electric Mayhem - The Muppets 

Drive Shaft - LOST

E

Evar Orbus & The Galactic Jizz-Wailers/The Max Rebo Band - Star Wars

F

Fig and the Cig Figs - Dimension 20 Fantasy High

The Flaming Creatures - Velvet Goldmine

Fran-Shou-Shou - Zombie Land Saga

G

Gallifrey Academy Hot Five - Doctor Who 

Gem & The Scotts - Secret Life SMP

Gillion & The Tidestriders - Just Roll With It

Girls Dead Monster - Angel Beats

Gorillaz - Gorillaz

Grifters Bone - Magnus Archives 

H

Hatsune Miku - Vocaloid

Heaven Seventeen - A Clockwork Orange

The Hectic Glow - The Fault In Our Stars

Hex Girls - Scooby Doo

I

Ink Theory - Splatoon

J

Jem & The Holograms - Jem & The Holograms

Johnny Casino and The Gamblers - Grease

Josie & The Pussycats - Archie (Comic)

The Juicy Fruits - Phantom of the Paradise

Julie and the Phantoms - Julie and the Phantoms

K

Kessoku Band - Bocchi the Rock

Killer Boy Rats - Horrid Henry

The Killjoys - My Chemical Romance

L

Lacus Clyne - Mobile Suit Gundam Seed

Lady Parts - We Are Lady Parts

The Last Days - The Last Days

Lemonade Mouth - Lemonade Mouth

Leningrad Cowboys - Leningrad Cowboys

Lincoln Hawk - Gossip Girl

Little White Lie - Little White Lie

Loded Diper - Diary of a Wimpy Kid

Love Burger - Can't Hardly Wait

Love Händel - Phineas and Ferb

LumberZacks - Milo Murphy's Law 

M

Mad Gear & The Missile Kid - Danger Days, My Chemical Romance

Maxwell Demon & The Venus In Furs - Velvet Goldmine

The Mechanisms - The Mechanisms 

Milkcan - Um Jammer Lammy

The Misfits - Jem & The Holograms

Muppet Orchestra - The Muppets 

N 

Needy Beast - Hatchetfield

O

Octoplush - Splatoon

Old Gods of Asgard - Alan Wake

ok, kids - Andre and Karl

Off The Hook - Splatoon

P

Pink Slip - Freaky Friday

Plasmagica - Show By Rock

Proto Zoa - Zenon Sweep 

R

The Rainbooms - Equestria Girls

The Rats - Velvet Goldmine

RIP - Ruby Gloom

The Risky Fix-Ins - Buzzfeed Unsolved Franchise

The Rutles - All You Need Is Cash

S

Sadie-Killer & The Suspects - Steven Universe

Sadgasm - The Simpsons

SCÄB - Home Movies

Sergeant Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band - The Beatles

Sev'ral Timez - Gravity Falls

Sex Bob-omb - Scott Pilgrim vs The World

Sing Street - Sing Street 

Soundcheck - Odd Squad

Spinal Tap - This Is Spinal Tap

Squid Sisters - Splatoon

Squid Squad - Splatoon

The Stiff Dylans - Angus, Thongs, and Full Frontal Snogging 

Sunset Curve - Julie and the Phantoms

The Superconducting Supercolliders - Designations Congruent With Things (Pacific Rim fanfiction)

T

The Three Lights - Sailor Moon

Trapnest - NANA

Turquoise October - Splatoon

V

The Vampire Lestat - The Vampire Chronicles

W

Wonderlands x Showtime - Hatsune Miku Colourful Stage/Vocaloid

The Wonders - That Thing You Do

Wyld Stallyns - Bill & Ted franchise

Wet Floor - Splatoon

w-3 (omega-3) - Splatoon

Y

Yoko & the Gold Bazookas - Splatoon

Z

Ziggy Stardust & The Spiders From Mars - David Bowie

[ohblackdiamond]

various influences on my silly fanfics

gnosticism is probably the ultimate drive of most of my fics. you know, besides the need to write a bunch of smut.

tennessee williams --particularly "cat on a hot tin roof" as the perma-adolescence and perma-self-pitying brick has consigned himself to parallels that of aging rockstars pretty accurately. williams' reliance on implication rather than statement, motivated though it was by the times, is also something i've pulled from.

mr. skeffington --end scene was a pivotal inspiration for "back to the garden." "mr. skeffington has come home."

whatever happened to baby jane? --next to last scene, particularly for my paul/peter stuff. ~*~you mean, all this time, we could've been friends?~*~

utena --the black rose saga and apocalypse arc in particular. in the black rose saga, the duelists end up in what amounts to an inverted/twisted therapy session/confessional where they reveal their true motivations. shiori's was a big influence on "little t&a" ("what i did with him made me feel even more pathetic than before" and the "it's no use, it's just no use") and various other fics to one degree or another. juri's constant holding of shiori at arm's length, while shiori tries any means at all to get back at her/force juri's attention on her, is pretty intriguing. the entire utena series is a mess but it's fascinating, with its theme of cyclical hurt.

evangelion --hurt people hurt people, news at 5. this series is still dear to me (and was once very dear to my wallet), and i hold a peculiar fondness for the maligned rebuild movie series, as in it (not the largest theme of the series), asuka and shinji effectively move past each other; asuka ostensibly "grows up," but can't let go. the eventual bridging of the gaps between them was influential.

solaris --more on how our limited, surface understanding of even the people most important to us has a pretty grave impact, all on a weird sci-fi backdrop. i'm not giving this one the introspective review it deserves, but it's more than worth the watch.

la strada --anthony quinn doing the same carnival stunt over and over.

requiem for a heavyweight --way past his prime, physically destroyed boxer tries to make a life for himself outside of the ring, and finds out he can't.

rocky --underdog ends up with a shot at the title. ends up with four million sequels, franchised, overbulked, and overproduced. and he keeps going. and he keeps going! and he keeps going! does this remind you of anything? because it should.

performance --i have discussed this one at length but the down-but-not-yet-out rockstar has pretty obvious parallels to kiss.

spinal tap --oh, come on. this scene is a kiss reference.

[mostlysignssomeportents]

This day in history

THIS WEEKEND (November 8-10), I'll be in TUCSON, AZ: I'm the GUEST OF HONOR at the TUSCON SCIENCE FICTION CONVENTION.

#20yrsago Brands aren’t worth as much as we thought https://web.archive.org/web/20041107050607/https://www.wired.com/wired/archive/12.11/brands_pr.html

#15yrsago EU kills 3-strikes proposal (yay!) but all is not well (eek!) https://www.laquadrature.net/en/2009/11/05/Europe-only-goes-half-way-in-protecting-internet-rights/

#15yrsago The Secret Science Alliance and the Copycat Crook: inspirational kids’ science comic https://memex.craphound.com/2009/11/05/the-secret-science-alliance-and-the-copycat-crook-inspirational-kids-science-comic/

#10yrsago EFF leadership change: Cindy Cohn to head organization https://www.eff.org/press/releases/cindy-cohn-become-effs-new-executive-director-2015

#10yrsago 1980 D&D ad asserts that RPGs are woman-friendly https://twitter.com/JonBolds/status/518044059240124417

#10yrsago Chip-and-PIN cards let nearby fraudsters steal $1M at a time https://www.wired.com/2014/11/chip-n-pin-foreign-currency-vulnerability/

#5yrsago After decades of corporate theft, Spinal Tap is finally getting paid by Universal https://variety.com/2019/biz/news/spinal-tap-universal-music-settle-copyright-dispute-1203393300/

#5yrsago Jeannette Ng was right: John W Campbell was a fascist https://locusmag.com/2019/11/cory-doctorow-jeannette-ng-was-right-john-w-campbell-was-a-fascist/

#5yrsago “Christian” hospital charges its own nurse $900,000 for her premature baby https://www.propublica.org/article/how-one-employer-stuck-a-new-mom-with-a-bill-for-her-premature-baby

#5yrsago When the company that made your prosthetic feet won’t repair them https://memex.craphound.com/2019/11/05/when-the-company-that-made-your-prosthetic-feet-wont-repair-them/

#5yrsago The Porch of Doom: a Halloween haunt that sends visitors to a billionaires’ Mars where they are expected to do all the dirty work https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KpfVhfty_4I

#5yrsago The inspiring story of how Cloudflare defeated a patent troll and broke the patent-trolling business-model https://blog.cloudflare.com/the-project-jengo-saga-how-cloudflare-stood-up-to-a-patent-troll-and-won/

#5yrsago Lynda Barry’s “Making Comics” is one of the best, most practical books ever written about creativity https://memex.craphound.com/2019/11/05/lynda-barrys-making-comics-is-one-of-the-best-most-practical-books-ever-written-about-creativity/

#1yrago A link-clump demands a linkdump https://pluralistic.net/2023/11/05/variegated/#nein

[rosebramblewolf]

so. as someone with stage iv breast cancer i am privileged in certain ways. feels weird that thats true but it is

for instance: i got approved for ssdi within 2 weeks, during which xmas happened meaning the govt office that processes the shit was closed for at least 1 day they would normally be open

and this is because they called me on the phone specifically to fast track me, because there was no chance i wouldnt be approved, because i have stage iv breast cancer and it is the law.

most people have to go round and round with social security for their disability benefits for literal years.

[valithiri]

In the continuing saga of Rocky Is Recovering from Spinal Surgery, he still hates the kennel so much that he starts whining and chewing on the bars as soon as you close the door, so he stays up all night (and keeps me up with him 🙃) then sleeps during the day after you admit defeat and let him out. Meaning I only slept from 4-6 am yesterday and from 5-10 am this morning, and I'm officially Losing My Mind.

[bbcphile]

Ohhhhhh (AKA. Happy Anniversary to Me: Escape from the Mold House Edition)

The last week has been A Struggle and while there has definitely been plenty of Bad Shit going on (bad medical news about a friend, having a retraumatizing medical experience, some rough anniversaries of other things that brought up trauma memories, and learning that my gallbladder is very likely a ticking time bomb and btw, everyone please cross your fingers it doesn't rupture and go septic?), it didn't feel like it was quite at the level of Bad Enough (by my incredibly warped standards from too many decades of trauma) to warrant how much of a tailspin I was in.

Well. Now I have figured out the missing piece and am feeling SO MUCH BETTER.

But holy shit, the expression "The body keeps score" is so damn accurate, because of course my body was freaking the fuck out about a very traumatic anniversary that I had conveniently temporarily blocked out even though it was only two years ago (oh dissociative disorders).

To learn about the "My Apartment Almost Killed Me" Saga, keep reading below.

Soooo, here's the backstory: in May of 2022, my health, which had been rapidly tanking over the previous 9 months, took a dramatic nose dive. I was either sleeping or nearly passed out most of the time and couldn't walk across the living room without basically keeling over face first onto the ground because my muscles would go on strike, and then I would have to lie there, unable to move, until @sufficientlylargen could literally pick me up off the ground and put me on the sofa, because the muscle weakness was so bad I couldn't even lift my head or push myself up to my elbows. I had also been in and out of the ER with stroke-like symptoms, but none of the members of my medical team could figure out what was wrong. It was terrifying.

Until one day, at the very end of May, I realized I had been walking without falling over at PT and then stopped being able to walk as soon as I walked into our apartment. I repeated the experiment a few times, and realized that yep, there was definitely something in the apartment that was mostly responsible for whatever the hell was happening. We packed a bag for me and found a friend who let me crash at their place for a week while we hired an air quality expert to come and test our place. It turns out that we had 2 feet of stachybotrys mold growing up the walls of our basement, and the combination of neurotoxins from the stachybotrys plus my MCAS was literally poisoning and killing me. Over the next few weeks, we got rid of 85% of our belongings (including several hundred books, all our clothes, some of my favorite xmas ornaments growing up, which were just about the only happy things about my childhood, and most of our furniture) because we couldn't clean them enough to keep me from keeling over when I was exposed to them, packed everything else (on the porch--because I couldn't go inside--after soaking it all in ammonia so we wouldn't bring any spores into our new place), and simultaneously house and apartment hunted to try to find a place we could move into ASAP because I was supposed to be having neurosurgery in over a month and needed a place to recuperate, and every minute we delayed was a risk I'd permanently lose function due to nerve/brain/spinal column damage. (Things were made more difficult by the fact that there was a non-zero chance I could be paralyzed by the surgery so we needed to find an apartment that didn't have stairs in case I couldn't walk.) There was other drama during this time, too (eg. my new neurologist, who I had been waiting 9 months to see, closed her practice the day before my appointment with her without making any referrals, my new PCP accused me of drug-seeking when I was trying to make pain management plans for after my surgery, etc. etc.), which didn't help. But at least, within 2 weeks of moving out of the Mold House, as we'd dubbed it, I started being able to walk more than a few blocks and to even just think about writing again (and, ya know, also regularly speak complete sentences, since sometimes the neurotoxins had taken that, too), so we knew that we'd made the right decision.

Anyway, the good news is, we found a place and moved in on July 6th, so we only had to spend a month and a bit living in friends' guest rooms, hotels, and airbnbs with our two cats (one of whom developed a UTI and ear infection from the stress and mold, so we were also medicating her), and we were able to postpone my neurosurgery until February, and the neurosurgery was a success, which is why I'm alive and able to do things like write meta and fic again!

All this to say, I hadn't realized until I saw a thing about it on FB Memories (lol) that it had been 2 years since my apartment was literally killing me and I was abjectly terrified. And it never fails to amaze me that my body (and some parts of my mind) clearly remember anniversaries like that even if I don't, because my anxiety will be through the roof and I will be having more flashbacks about Unrelated Trauma Things and just generally feeling like my resilience is at about half its normal level. My working theory is that those aspects that remember the anniversary assume it's happening again and I never got out (oh emotional flashbacks. How I hate you.), and it's only once I make the connection consciously and can reflect on 1. how terrible it was (yay validation?) and 2. the fact that it's over and I survived through sheer stubbornness and good research skills (again) that I can get back to my baseline and things (like writing) become so much more fun and easier.

Last reflection on this shitshow: last year, I was too busy recovering from my neurosurgery to notice what I was feeling about the 1 year anniversary of the Escape From The Mold House (or at least, if I had any reflections on it, I don't remember them), but I'd guess it was probably still too upsetting and traumatizing for me to be ready to look at the memories directly. But right now, at least, I'm really proud of myself. I mean, all of that was horrifying and traumatizing, and I wouldn't wish it on ANYONE, but I'm really proud of myself for saying 'fuck this, something is wrong, and I think I know what, and I am going to solve it because I can, and I refuse to die like this.' I sometimes forget that under all the anxiety and trauma and insecurity, I am fundamentally incredibly stubborn, determined, confident in my opinions, and willing to fight for myself.

I'm hoping I can hold onto that reminder as I go forward, especially depending on what I learn about whether my gallbladder is in fact a ticking time bomb. I can and will argue with my doctors to take this seriously if I have to; I just don't want to need to.

[thewapolls]

So, it's kind of well known that the original Wild Arms had some real janky "translation" issues, most of which actually accounted for transliteration from Japanese phonetics back to various original languages, rather than true translations from Japanese. Not the least of these being almost the entire big boss line up of Zeikfried, Alhazad, Lady Harken(she was the one who was fine actually) and Belselk, being mishandled from "Siegfried," "Alhazred," and "Berserk." (don't worry we'll come back to some of those later)

But one extra bit that gets sort of swept under the rug is Zeik Tuvai, Zeikfried's surprise final boss fight, where the mangled villain pries himself free from the amalgamation with the more conventional JRPG godmode "final" boss Motherfried to try and take the heroes out with him in a kind of suicide bombing run. (at least in the original where he's clearly been half absorbed and merged with his weapon, tearing his own body in half to escape, spinal cord still trailing behind him. Alter Code F seems to just be his own ascended dragon/angel form? Although he does appear to have taken Mother's heart with him when he escaped)

But that name, "Zeik Tuvai," also retained in the Alter Code F remake, is written in Japanese as, SHII-GU-TSU-VA-I[ジーグツヴァイ] which is very clearly meant to be the Japanese approximation of "Sieg Zwei." As in "Sieg(fried) Two."

But backing up a bit, his name, Siegfried is of course a reference to the Norse hero Prince Siegfried(aka Sigurd) of the Volsung saga, immortalized in various poetic, musical and theatrical works of the German and Scandinavian regions for centuries. Also just very well trafficked in Japanese pop culture as The German mythic hero of choice to reference.

And while we're on the subject of Seigfried... His "sword," the Dark/Demon Spear, GRAM-ZANBER (GU-RA-MU-ZA-N'-BAA[グラムザンバー]) as officially romanized in Wild Arms 5's art design, and originally localized as "Glumzamber"(which for the longest time I just sort of assumed was a sloppy juggling of Gloom Saber back and forth between English and Japanese) appears to be a reference to the mythic Seigfried's legendary sword, Gram(aka Balmung) crossed with a contraction of the Japanese zanbato[斬馬刀]: lit."Horse Killing Sword" referring to a type of giant sword used specifically as an anti-cavalry weapon, appropriate for Gram-Zanber's size.

And the sword Gram is specifically featured as a highlight of Seigfried's slaying of the greed corrupted dwarf turned dragon, Fafnir. Fafnir is Which is of course the boss dragon in Wild Arms 3 that Seigfried merges with to become his final form, Dragnaseig. Incidentally some form of Fafnir has been present in nearly every Wild Arms game, but not always as plot relevant or even as a boss monster.

In the original Wild Arms a monster, mistranslated in English as "Fafneil," appears in the same final dungeon that leads to the ZeikTuvai fight, but as a regular random encounter and without any comment or explanation. It is also a recolor of existing Drake monsters elsewhere in the game. This design appears to have been the loose basis of the Wild Arms 3 redesign.(notably the Wild Arms 2 model looks entirely different from either)

Oh and if it wasn't already clear the associations of Siegfried and the Volsung saga are why the villain Volsung, filling a hierarchical role similar to Siegfried's in Wild Arms 5, also wields his own conspicuously labeled version of the Gram-Zanber.

[saga-project]

It had been a while since they had felt so small in Raph's presence. Or in the presence of any of their brothers.

They forced themselves to sit there. To not fidget in nervousness as the tech they'd given their brothers was laid out in front of them, their brothers staring them down like hawks and their heart thudding in their ears. To make eye contact, and keep their voice level as they spoke. "Is this....some kind of intervention?"

Leo averted his gaze. Raph let out a nervous cough, under his breath. Only Mikey kept eye contact, making Saga feel increasingly like a bug under a microscope.

"I....I'm not seeing what the problem is, here. All I did was take the steps necessary to improve our success rate during-"

"You disguised them as gifts, Donnie." Mikey's voice, now, sharp in a way that it hadn't been towards him in months.

"I didn't! I specifically said that they were for--I. I thought you would like them. They're made to be useful! I'm helping to improve the team!" Too terse. Too terse. Dial it back.

"Look, Don, I'm all for improving the team. Just....not like that," Raph spoke, softly. "Mine made me feel....kinda dumb, if I'm being honest."

"It was only to keep you from constantly forcing yourself to take all the hard hits for us! To focus on the bigger--"

"Mine messed up my whole technique, Don! You know how much I like to-"

"It was meant to keep you uninjured! You're not cautious enough sometimes, Mikey. I wanted to keep you safe--"

"And what about mine being a literal shock collar." Leo broke the silence, finally, his voice tight.

"....It was shocking you? Leo, you should have told me! It was only meant to tingle slightly! Oh, I knew I should have taken a closer look at the wiring--"

"The point is, if you were trying to make them gifts, they....they didn't make us feel good, Don." Raph, again. "It kinda felt like you were trying to fix us."

"I didn't mean for any of them to hurt you or make you feel stupid! They were meant-" A thick swallow, while he tried to think of the necessary words to get his point across. "They were meant to tailor to all the points we need to improve on if we're going to be a better team. Caution. Planning. Focus. I was trying to help."

"Oh, sure." Leo was scoffing, then, ignoring the warning glance from Raph as he leaned forward with a sardonic sneer. "And of course you don't have anything to improve on. Because obviously you're so perfect."

"Leo-"

"I mean....of course not. In this aspect. I've already fixed, or have plans to fix, anything that could make me a liability to the team. That's what my tech is for!" Saga gave his tech bo a flourish and a tiny spin before he could stop himself, grinning in spite of the solemnity of the situation. "So I--"

He broke off. Swallowed. Stared at his brothers, who were now looking at him as though he'd suddenly sprouted a second head, with expressions that were equal parts horrified realization and pity. "....what. What did I say."

"What do you mean, Don." Raph's voice, very small.

"W-well. My goggles make up for. Not being able to see out of one side.....but my updated prosthetic should fix that. My spinal implants are to protect my soft shell. I'll make a better prosthetic so I don't limp all the time. The gauntlet is for keeping track of things and summoning Maias, and I added the scythe attachment and all the rest to my bo so I could have an actual ranged weapon instead of just a stupid stick. I made myself better. Stronger. So I could fight. So I could....be a better asset. And it's helped. I'm not the weak link when it comes to the team. So--"

Why were they still staring at him. He shrunk in his seat slightly, coughing. "--I mean, it's not to say that I'm seeing you as weak links. I just. That's what my tech is for. To help with problems. And I have more problems than most, and--"

"So, lemme get this straight, Don. You're using your tech to....fix yourself?" Leo was staring at him now, as if trying to puzzle it out.

"Uh.....yes? It fixes issues that need to be resolved. Is all. When you put it like that, it makes it sound--"

"....like you're basing your whole worth off of how useful you are to somebody?" Mikey, now, gentle. "And you're kinda seein' all your issues as.....things to be fixed?"

".....I. Of course not. I just--"

"....and you kind of projected that onto us?"

"Of course not! My tech is meant to help people. I....I didn't.....I wouldn't.....it's only me that has a problem, not any of you, I---I wouldn't make it so that it was forcing people to change! I wouldn't do that! Is that what you think I was trying to do?" Their breaths came out frantic, then, as they backed away.

Raph held his hands up in a placating gesture, then, churring softly. "Don, hey. None of us are sayin' that. It's just--"

"--if you made the tech you use to fix issues that you see in yourself....it might've influenced our gifts. 'Cause it's a subconscious thing or something."

No. No. They would never do that. They would never treat their brothers and their friends like that. Their tech was just meant to help. They would never force someone to change aspects of themselves, to hide the parts of them that were broken. They hadn't built Theatre's leg for that. They hadn't rebuilt Shelldon for Three for that. They--

--but the ring for Bee. And the devices he'd built for Leon. And the bracelet for Swan. Had those actually been well-meaning gifts, or had he been trying to make them cover up weaknesses that he saw in them all along? Because he was so used to doing the same thing with himself? To look at himself and just see flaws, instead of something to build upon? Had he been subtly insulting his friends this whole time, and they were just too polite to say anything to his face about it?

Had he been projecting what he thought about himself onto---

The realization hit him like a freight train, making his knees buckle, making a sob escape from his throat even as his brothers surged to catch him. Fuck. Fuck. How could he have not noticed, how---

How could he not have noticed that he was still seeing himself as broken? How could he have made his tech reflect the same fucking thing?

He--

Fuck. He needed to re-examine some things.

[ear-worthy]

Flames Of Freedom: A Historical Docudrama About Persecution & Courage

Flames of Freedom is a docudrama podcast chronicling how forty-two courageous Jews risked their lives in 1733 to cross the Atlantic Ocean, hoping to settle in the American colony of Georgia.

The podcast essentially multi-tasks this historical tale of courage through the audio dramatic retelling, a script that enables you to read along with the show, and episodes with bonus content with world-renowned scholars, authors, and historians engaged in a fireside discussion about the Jewish quest for survival and religious freedom in the centuries leading up to the early 18th Century when our story begins.

I am happy to report that the show excels at all levels. The audio docudrama is lovingly and lavishly produced, with superb voice actors and a script that amps up the drama and ramps up our empathy for those persecuted.

The podcast details the untold history of the Jewish escape from European oppression to Georgia in 1733. It has two components: Season One’s 12-episode dramatic series with bonus interviews dispersed between dramatic episodes. The podcast will be available on all major podcasting platforms and YouTube.

Flames of Freedom sets a new standard for historical podcast production values with its ensemble cast of professional actors from around the world, robust sound design, and original music, creating an unparalleled immersive experience for listeners.

Flames of Freedom chronicles the saga of forty-two courageous Jews who risked their lives in 1733 to cross the Atlantic Ocean, hoping to settle in the American colony of Georgia. They were fleeing the Portuguese Inquisition, murderous pogroms of Eastern Europe, and antisemitism in England to build a future with religious freedom and economic opportunity.

They gambled with their lives and sailed across the Atlantic Ocean on the slim chance they would be allowed to settle in the new American colony of Georgia to be founded by James Oglethorpe. Nothing about this journey from oppression to liberty was easy, nor was the desired outcome certain. Given the Georgia Trustees’ blatant objections to Jews settling in the new colony, the possibility that Oglethorpe would reverse course and accept them seemed nearly impossible.

The podcast is produced by Lance Toland Entertainment, which declares that is dedicated to exploring and producing hidden and forgotten stories from Sefarad, highlighting the heroic tales of those who escaped the Inquisition and European persecution to help found the United States of America.

A key partner is the Jewish Heritage Alliance (JHA), which is an academically driven cultural and historical nonprofit dedicated to researching, preserving, and promoting the legacy of Sefarad, the Jews of the Iberian Peninsula.

The podcast is an audio docudrama with lush, multi-layered sound design, and superb voice actors.

For example, Angelines Santaňa, who plays Zipporah, started her acting career at the tender age of 4 in her native country of Mexico. She has been working with her voice since age seven, and has been dubbing movies from English to Spanish since age 11.

Working with her voice has allowed her to voice innumerable roles, advertising campaigns on radio and TV, toys, encyclopedias, e-learning products, phone operator VM, museum-guided tours, and pretty much whatever requires a professional voice. And now, Angie is loving the wonderful world of podcasts.

Producer and Director Mark Simon founded an Atlanta-based production company, Fizz City Films, in 1998 and has since produced thousands of TV commercials and radio spots over the last 20+ years. He is a skilled producer, director, and director of photography. He was the DP on two independent films- Blind Trust and Let’s Make It. Mark’s career has endured over 30 feature films and a dozen television shows that have striped the American landscape — Spinal Tap, Risky Business, The Breakfast Club, Ferris Bueller’s Day Off, Dick Tracy, In the Line of Fire, and thirtysomething.

The writer, Richard Stone, has been writing fiction and non-fiction for the past forty years. Books and other writing include Story Intelligence co-written with Scott Livengood, The Healing Art of Storytelling, Stories: The Family Legacy, The Kingdom of Nowt, On the Spot – A Feature Length Romantic Comedy co-written with Syd and Enid Jackowitz, Sprinkles – A Sitcom co-written with Syd and Enid Jackowitz, The Maggid – A Feature Length Film which Rick has also developed into a one-man performance piece, and two children's books awaiting publication: It Can Be Almost Anything and The Fairytale Factory.

Ian Russell who played James Oglethorpe has won Four One Voice Awards for performances in Videogames (2021 & 2023) and Animation (2020) and the prestigious Voice of the Year award in 2020. He was also presented with the 2022 Voice Arts Award for Outstanding Audio Description for his work with the Hans Holbein exhibition at the Getty Museum in Los Angeles.

Barry Stoltze studied with the likes of Nina Foch and Group Rep Theatre Artistic Director Lonnie Chapman, doing on-camera, voiceover, stage, and stand-up before heading to Georgia, where he has worked in the Entertainment Industry for over 40 years.

In addition to performing on many of the major stages in Atlanta, he can be heard on hundreds of commercials and videos with Southern clients as varied as Georgia Power and The Georgia Lottery, as well as national brands like Coca-Cola, ElderPlan, and BevMo.

Amazingly, Stoltze plays over 20 characters in the audio docudrama.

Here's a summary of the plot:

They were fleeing the Portuguese Inquisition, murderous pogroms of Eastern Europe, and antisemitism in England to build a future with religious freedom and economic opportunity. They gambled with their lives and sailed across the Atlantic Ocean on the slim chance they would be allowed to settle in the new American colony of Georgia to be founded by James Oglethorpe. Nothing about this journey from oppression to liberty was easy, nor was the desired outcome certain. Given the Georgia Trustees’ blatant objections to Jews settling in the new colony, the possibility that Oglethorpe would reverse course and accept them seemed nearly impossible. But an unforeseen epidemic threatening to wipe out the budding colony would completely change that calculus.

In the first episode, we are introduced to Dr. Diogo Nunes Ribeiro and his wife Gracia, who had been arrested in 1703 by the Portuguese Inquisition for Judaizing—secretly practicing Judaism in the privacy of their homes. They were tortured until they admitted their failings and were left to rebuild their lives from the rubble of what was left of their home and reputations. In the subsequent two episodes, we follow their reemergence into Portuguese society as the doctor rebuilds his medical practice.

By 1726, he had become the physician to the Inquisitor General and the King of Portugal, but the entire family was once again reported for aiding Conversos to escape to England (Jews who had been forcibly converted to Catholicism in 1497). How Diogo engineers his family’s release and subsequent escape from the clutches of the Inquisition to England becomes the topic of subsequent episodes.

Below is a listener review that perfectly encapsulates

Flames of Freedom is a tour de force as an audio docudrama. It's powerful, painful because of the persecution, and easy to lose yourself in the music, voice acting, historical tension, and suffering felt by the characters.