#and neither does evita! you know!!!

[ellavei]

Always treasure in my heart the canon that France and Spain used to exchange letters (thank you, Pierre).

Most of the time it must be political stuff, but I like to think that they sometimes quoted a lot of poems to express their personal feelings for each other. For me, poetry is something very Frain.

I can imagine they had a big quarrel again and France had not written to him for a long time. Spain waited for Pierre for days (and also checked his mailbox so many times), but there was no new letter from France.

France is usually very sweet and romantic with him, but personally, I think Spain is one of the few people who knows how intense France's rage can be. Their personal relationship is also full of troubles and disagreements, not just hearty meals and fresh roses.

France often came to him when he needed joy and comfort, but what if Spain could not bring those things to him?

Instead of a long letter pouring everything out (which Spain would actually like to do at some desperate moment), he would quote some lines from Lorca's ''Gacela del recuerdo del amor'' to send to France.

''No te lleves tu recuerdo. Déjalo solo en mi pecho, temblor de blanco cerezo en el martirio de enero.'' (Don't take your memory with you. Let it stay here in my heart, a shivering white cherry tree in the torment of January. English translation by Paul Archer of Lorca's Gacela del recuerdo de amor.)

You can understand how France's heart is filled with complex explosions when reading those lines. He longs for Spain again. And France would quote ''El poeta pide a su amor que le escriba'' by Lorca to reply:

El aire es inmortal, la piedra inerte ni conoce la sombra ni la evita. Corazón interior no necesita la miel helada que la luna vierte. Pero yo te sufrí, rasgué mis venas, tigre y paloma, sobre tu cintura en duelo de mordiscos y azucenas. (The air is everlasting; the lifeless stone neither knows the shade nor shuns the gloom. The innermost heart doesn’t need the frozen honey that comes pouring from the moon. But I suffered for you; ripped my veins, a tiger and dove wrapped your waist in a tussle of bites and lilies. English translation by Paul Archer of Lorca's El poeta pide a su amor que le escriba.)

Their dispute certainly does not go away and will still linger in some corner of the relationship. Maybe one day it will jump out and swallow both of them.

But France and Spain come back together and that is the only thing they care about that day.

[supercantaloupe]

it really does feel to me like david byrne is trying to create Evita 2: Electric Boogaloo but is either ignoring or does know realize the fact that the optics of a white american making a musical girlbossifying a filipino dictator’s wife are in fact different from a white brit making a musical girlbossifying an argentinian dictator’s wife. like say whatever you will about evita, i don’t really care at the moment, but neither the uk nor the us were major colonizing powers in argentina in the same way that the us VERY MUCH WAS in the philippines

[mischievouslittlecreature]

@evita-shelby Ahhhh I read this last night but I was a little hysterical over...*gestures vaguely* everything so I decided to wait until today to leave a comment.

My baby girl Lucy I just wanna squish her 😭😭😭 she's just drowning in her guilt.

I love Eva a lot here. It breaks my heart that she has to be the strong one because Tommy and Lucy are falling apart, but it says so much that she went to so much effort to save Lucy and do what she can to try to lift at least some of the guilt off her shoulders. She's such a kind, wonderful person and neither of them deserve her! 🥺

And because Lucy wants to see if Tommy would be happy without her here.

I love this! She may not really be intending to, but I definitely think a part of Lucy is testing him by leaving. She wants to see if he and Eva actually will remain separated without her there as an obstacle, and if he will continue to love her even if she's gone.

“You should’ve told me we were making you feel unloved.”

Ahhhh, thank you for including this! Lucy can be monstrously selfish, but she does have a good heart, and it would make her so sad to know that Eva has been so hurt by everything. I hope that they can still be friends in the future after Lucy comes back!

Oh Tommy 🤦🏻‍♀️ Ughhhhhh it's so unfair to Eva! 😭💔 She did the right thing by saving his lover's life and he's out here throwing accusations her way! 😒 I'm glad see that he realized that he went too far, and he's just taking out his own heartbreak of losing both his girls on her, but still.

I really liked how you included this, though! I makes a lot of sense why Eva would be so hostile to him and refuse any attempts at reconciliation despite Lucy's departure.

I'm so glad that this has become a full fledged series, Juli! It's so good! 🖤🖤🖤

The Wreckage

sequel to Look Both Ways where we get the reason why Lucy left and why Tommy and Eva couldn't make it work after she filed for divorce.

cw: refrenced suicide attempt, mental illnesses, unhealthy coping mechanisms, angst, drama, murder accusations.

you know something nice to distract yall from the US Elections tonight

@justrainandcoffee @mischievouslittlecreature @zablife @call-sign-shark @hoodeddreams13 @thegreatdragonfruta

After Eva had that vision of Lucy blowing her brains out, she takes the first train back to Small Heath and gets there just in time to stop her.

They have a much-needed talk, it falls on Eva to convince the redhead that it is not her fault.

Considering they are all in various states of disrepair, the witch fucking hates to be the Strong one while the other two points of the triangle get to lose their shit about it. Eva is too busy trying to keep them from hurting themselves to even mourn her own loss.

Tommy isolated himself and got so drunk he ended up in a holding cell for his own safety, Lucy ended up believing the Shelby Clan’s words that she shouldn’t have remained Tommy’s lover when he decided to court and marry Eva.

Eva barely had time to settle in her new leased townhouse before the Universe decided she could not just wash her hands of them and move on with her life. She hates it when her powers force her to be a better person.

The witch had to explain how her previous relationships had not left her in the condition needed to accept having a man who is not entirely hers, how she knows they will all be the better for it and that if anyone is at fault it is Eva for being too desperate to avoid her impending execution.

“How do you hold yourself together like that?” Lucy had asked as she confided in her about her plans to seek out her maternal family. She needed time as well, they all did.

“Because neither you nor Tommy have given me the chance to properly fall apart.” The witch admitted wryly, she was as honest with Lucy as she was with Tommy ---sometimes she’d use it to purposely hurt them to assuage her need of space and the fear that Tommy didn’t love her as much as she did him. “Trust me, I should have been in London crying my heart out and fucking a stranger with a thing for pregnant women instead of bailing Tommy out and keeping you from making my decision to save myself obsolete.”

“Then why save me? You could have been happy with him; you are giving him a child.” The redhead ---still wallowing in her despair and guilt--- demands to know why Eva didn’t seize her chance at happiness. “He said you told him you’d have four children and live in the country.”

“And if I had let you die, I would still be second place even if you were a ghost tormenting him. No life is worth living with a man who doesn’t love you the way you need him to anyways.” The dark-haired woman answered bluntly as they sat down a little further away from what would have been a crime scene.

“I can’t stay here. Not when everyone blames me for it.” By everyone she does mean everyone.

The Shelbys had taken Polly’s side and everyone else correctly guessed Tommy having a lover is what destroyed the fairytale romance.

It was a terrible place to be, Eva had not considered how cruel they’d be to Lucy only focused on leaving a man who placed Lucy over here time and time again. Why Tommy couldn’t just marry her and avoid this mess was beyond Eva’s comprehension.

Marriage is safety when you do not love in the conventional way.

“Have you finally given my suggestions to find your mother and your aunt some thought?” she asked the Red Demon who had been reluctant on accepting Eva’s offer to help her find her family because neither she nor Tommy appeared to be capable or surviving without the other.

They could, they are just too pessimistic and they refuse to give it a real, honest try. Eva had been there once, and now seeks to pull them out of the dark waters even if they like it there.

“Yes, maybe if I had said yes when you offered the first time we wouldn’t be in this mess.” And because Lucy wants to see if Tommy would be happy without her here. Not by being the ghost haunting him, but as the lover who left him. “You should’ve told me we were making you feel unloved.”

“I know, but I feared losing him, and while I do get on with you, I do not like you that way. We are just too different.” Part of Eva still wants the life she saw with Tommy that morning in Brighton. Is it wrong for her to desire her own happiness after life took everything from her? Why was she losing her one thread to life again? Why couldn't someone else be the one to sacrifice their happiness for her instead of her doing it every single time?

“I had guessed as much. I am not as ignorant as Polly makes me look.” Her ex lover nodded in agreement, and both said their goodbyes before parting ways.

The last person seen with Lucy was Eva. A gunshot was heard and only Eva came back.

There was no body nor signs of a struggle, but he knows what the witch is capable of. She had one demand when he refused to sign the papers in London.

Me or Her.

And when he refused to choose her then and there, he left to drown out his sorrows and make his choice.

He loved both women. He loved Eva fiercely, loved her fire, her strength and her ambition to take back everything she had lost.

But he loved Lucy more. He couldn’t just leave her like this. It would kill her.

“We will have everything we have ever wanted, mi amor.” She had proclaimed that morning after their wedding.

Four children, a baronetcy, a career in politics. They would be as happy and as in love as they were that morning.

He had been a fool to assume she saw Lucy in it.

And because he was going to choose Lucy over her, Eva killed her.

She was just as damaged as them. Lost everything she ever had, and now that she stood to lose the chance to have it all again with him, the witch took it.

What Lucy was capable off wasn’t close to what Eva could do. Eva had the advantage of money and magic.

“You killed her!” he cannot contain himself when he finds her still packing up what she owned in Ada’s old room. She had moved there when it became clear he would sleep with both women.

Eva is shocked from his words angry in ways he had never seen. The words had hurt her like a blow to the stomach and woke the beast underneath the soft warm skin

“Oh, yes, because I would be so fucking sloppy as to have the murder weapon in my hands and be so obvious!” The witch mocks him and denies it. "If I had killed her, you would have never found out about it."

He should’ve known she wanted him to choose her.

He couldn’t choose so she choose for him.

“You killed Lucy!” he shouts again as he comes to shake her and demand to know why she did this to her.

Eva slaps him hard enough to leave a mark.

“I didn’t fucking kill her! Why would I go through all the trouble of divorcing you if I intended to kill her?” the witch shouts back when even her hand on his cheek is not enough to break him out of that thought.

“Then where is she? Why were you the only one to come back here?” He knows deep down she didn’t and yet he cannot stop his mind from finding a reason to believe she did.

“She needed time away from here, to get away from a place that hates her. Just as I am doing.” We need to be away from you.

“Then why didn’t she tell me?” he asks the woman who he knows won’t ever forgive him.

“You wouldn’t have let her go, just as you are not man enough to let me go.” She hates as strongly as she loves, and now Tommy knows what the Witch’s anger feels like. “Just as you are so fucking full of it that you fucking came here and accused me of killing your precious Lucy.

Me, the mother of your child, the wife you promised to love and cherish before God and Men; and you couldn’t even love me enough to give me the presumption of innocence.” Her anger turns to hot tears as she lets him have it. “I should’ve left England when I had the chance.”

Tommy has only seen Eva cry three times in his life. The day he taught her to shoot, the day she left him and the day he killed her love for him.

“I'm sorry, I don’t know what came over me. I know you would never do that.” Even when he means it, even when he tries to show her how truly sorry he is for the way he acted, for the fucking way he doubted her like this, his wife flinches away form him.

Moves away from him as if his touch physically hurt her.

“If it had been me who disappeared, you wouldn’t have accused Lucy of killing me.” She won’t ever forgive him, there is no love for him in her eyes only hatred he created and he will have to live with that for the rest of his days. “You do not love me like you love her, now I wonder if you ever loved me at all.”

But he does love her, and that is what makes it all worse. He’s lost her even when that is the last thing he wanted to do.

“Evie, please---” Tommy chases after her, refusing to accept the defeat he crafted with his own bloody hands.

“I will never set foot here unless you are dead.” The witch refuses to look at him as she too walks out of his life and leaves him standing on the wreckage of their love.

She was right when she called him a fucking fool when it comes to love. Always right when it comes to him and not once has she ever lied to him.

Which is why he will set this right, even if it means following her to London.

[trvelyans-archive]

:)

[thejakeformerlyknownasprince]

In Eleutherophobia, what do Jake's parents think about the Matter over Mind group? Have they tried joining? What do they think about Tom and Eva's participation and activities for the group?

This hasn't come up in my fics, but I believe their mom is jealous. Ragingly, seethingly jealous. Kinda-dislikes-Eva jealous.

But Jean knows it's irrational, and she does her best to be a good mom. So if she has any say in it, then Tom and Jake will never know.

Because Jean knows that she missed a chunk of her sons' lives. Knows better than they do that she did almost nothing to help during a time they were being mangled and mutilated by war. Knows that they were being formed, becoming adults, during those years... and she wasn't there for them.

And neither one will let her be there now.

In some ways Jake is easier, because at least Jake will communicate with them. Jake dreams, Jake screams himself awake, Jake lets himself be held when she comes running. It's possible to tell what Jake is thinking. Jake is quiet when he's scared, loud when he's angry, sweet and solemn all the times in between. With Jake, at least, Jean saw the changes happening and had time to adjust, even if she had no idea of their cause.

In some ways Tom is easier, because at least Tom is good at pretending. Tom freezes, Tom goes blank, Tom stops mid-word, and when you do finally get a response it's in the form of him rapping knuckles on his head like he's restarting a stalled car. It's him making a joke about forgetting to wind his brain. Often it's him genuinely being okay, just distracted. Often it's not. But with no way to tell, at least you can pretend.

But neither one will let her in. No sleepy-eyed boys waking her after a nightmare. No hugs, no held hands, no tears where she can see.

Instead, Jean gets managed. Jean gets go back to sleep, Mom, it was only a bat. Jean gets just back from the hospital, oh, no reason. Jean gets don't worry about the window being open, Tom and I have it handled. Jean gets Jake and I are at the police station, we'll tell you later. Jean gets reassured. Jean gets told after the fact. Jean, she nastily suspects at times, gets parented.

Eva, on the other hand?

Jake let Eva in during the war. Tom let Eva in after.

Eva's their first call in an emergency. Eva was the only person Jake would lean on, during those last months of the war. Eva gets Tom eight hours a day, five or six days a week, when Jean has already lost so much of his time. Jake takes Eva out to lunch. Tom smiles without trying when Eva's name appears on his phone. Eva gets trusted. Eva gets asked for help. Jean gets parented.

And Jean would like the record to note that she is not a fucking civilian. She had a yeerk in her head, thank you very much. She has nightmares too, Jake. She's a zombie too, Tom. It's not like she can't handle the sound of a dracon beam or the sight of her son's blood. She does actually know why the window is open in the middle of the night and there are feathers on the floor, she is perfectly aware why flies have to be put outside, she is not a child and she is no longer naïve. She could be the mom they need. Even if she is late to the game when compared to Santa Fucking Evita.

But Jean knows that none of this is right, or reasonable, or fair. So she stays well away from Matter Over Mind. She sticks to small talk with her dead friend. She tells all this only to Steve, who doesn't feel the same but all the same knows how she feels. And otherwise, she keeps it all to herself.

[dossi-io]

An introduction to DeVita

Do you want to learn all about the AOMG artist DeVita? This article will cover everything you need to know about the third female member to join the labels roster.

The content of this article is also available in video format, embedded at the bottom of this article.

Prelude

In early April of 2020, the Korean hip-hop label AOMG ambiguously announced that a new artist was signing onto the label. This label was grounded by the Korean-American triple-threat; Jay Park, who’s also one of its executives. This is a label with a very organic feel and artist-oriented nature, which stands out compared to many other music labels.

On April 3rd, the label’s official Instagram account posted a video. It was titled, “Who’s The Next AOMG?” where fellow AOMG members talked about this upcoming recruit. They sprinkled small hints and details by sharing their thoughts on the artist without mentioning who.

Around the world, fans immediately began speculating on who this could be. The major consensus was that it had to be the solo artist Lee Hi, due to reporting like this: “AOMG responds ‘nothing is confirmed’ to reports of Lee Hi signing on with the label”

A few other names got thrown in fan speculations like Hanbin (B.I), previous member of IKON, Jvcki Wai, and MOON (문) aka Moon Sujin. This despite a few of these already being signed to other labels.

On April 6th, three days later, the account was updated with a part two. This time dropping more hints, which would exclude many names from fan speculations.

On the 7th of April, the label’s official Instagram account posted a short teaser. The video sported an 80’s retrofuturistic setting, with a woman turned from the camera, dressed in all black, rocking braids, and some glistening high-heels. As it seemed to be a female, some were now certain that it had to be Lee Hi. A small few actually guessed correctly that the one who would be joining AOMG would be Ms DeVita.

Finally on April 9th, it was official! She debuted with the music video, from which the teaser clips was taken from, EVITA!, which accompanied the release of her EP, CRÈME.

What does the name DeVita mean?

The name DeVita, draws inspiration and meaning from two things. Firstly, Eva Perón – also known as Evita – who was Argentina’s former First Lady. When Chloe was learning about Eva’s life, it inspired her to combine “Devil” and “Evita”, thus creating “DeVita”. The name signifies the duality of how both Eva Perón and DeVita could be perceived. Either being a devil, or an angel depending on the eye of the beholder. Secondly, Salvatore Di Vita, a character from Cinema Paradiso, was also a source of inspiration.

An introduction to DeVita

Chloe Cho – now known under the artist name DeVita – was born and raised in South Korea, until the age of eleven. In 2009, she moved to Chicago, where she would learn English.

In 2013, she went back to Korea and participated in the third season of the show; K-pop Star. A talent show, where the “big three” (the three largest music labels in Korea) hosts auditions to find the next big k-pop star. However she didn’t win, therefore neither got signed.

Later on, she returned to Chicago and graduated high school. After reflecting on what she wanted to do next, she decided to make music. In 2014, her pursuit to become an artist brought her to the talent show Kollaboration. On this show, she performed covers and actually ended up being a finalist. Despite her talents, she did not triumph as the winner of the show.

Not letting these losses stop her, she started releasing music on Soundcloud. The earliest release I could find, Halfway Love (Ruff), was from 2016. Her catalogue consisted of both covers and original music.

One day, Kirin, an artist and CEO of the music label 8balltown Records, was introduced to DeVita’s music. He liked what he heard and the two linked up. In May of 2018, WEKEYZ, one of 8balltown’s producer duos released a track titled Sugar. This track featured both DeVita, and the AOMG rapper Ugly Duck. This was the beginning of many collaborations to come.

On August 28th of 2018, just a few months later, AOMG released Sugar (Puff Daehee Mix).

This was a remix done by Puff Daehee, the alter ego of Kirin. Along with this track, it was accompanied by a music video starring Kirin, DeVita, and Ugly Duck. For most people, this was their first time seeing DeVita.

DeVita continued doing features on many songs by Korean artists while creating a little buzz for herself. There’s one notable feature, which could be seen as an important milestone in her career. That is her feature on the track Noise, from AOMG artist Woo Won Jae’s project, titled af.

In a tweet a few days after the release of CRÈME, she shared the significance of this moment.

“I was still making minimum wage working at a restaurant back when Noise dropped- I wrote my part during my shift on the back of this receipt paper. This was about a year and a half ago. A little bit after that I got a call from Pumpkin at 3am Chicago time. He said Jay wanted to meet in Philly in 4 hours. They put me on a plane and the rest is history.”

The phone call she mentioned in her tweet, about Jay wanting to meet, must have been made around September 2018. Jay was performing in Philadelphia at the time. The moment they met in Philadelphia was actually captured through a photo of the two. However, this picture ended up getting removed later on.

Fast forward a few months and Jay had just released his Ask About Me EP. The project focused on a western audience, so he went to the States on a promo run. During his visit, he also met up with DeVita once again, as can be seen here.

Finally, on April 9th, her being signed to AOMG was officially announced and she debuted with her EP titled CRÈME. Her joining AOMG, looked like something that happened pretty naturally. The vast majority of artists she had collaborated on tracks with happened to be AOMG members. Getting comfortable with the AOMG family, likely made the decision to join crystal clear.

Artistically

Just a quick look at her body of work thus far, a majority of it is in English. However, she has no issues singing in Korean, as proven by her feature on Code Kunst’s; Let u in. The tone in her voice has this sort of mixture of many singers, a melting pot of sorts. It reminds me of Audrey Nuna, SAAY, H.E.R, some vocal riffs from Dinah Jane, and at times, just a tiny bit of Ariana Grande.

As an artist, she’s still in the early stages of carving out her own unique sound and style. There’s incredible potential here, but her distinct identity is not completely there yet. I see before me a caterpillar that within a couple years, will transform into a butterfly, with its own identifiable pattern to spread its wings out on.

From what she’s shown so far, I would say she seems most comfortable doing R&B and soul music. However, beyond a quick description I prefer to refrain from categorizing her. Mostly because artists generally feel limited when categorized. More importantly, because we have no idea what she has in store for the future.

Debut EP: CRÈME

CRÈME is DeVita’s “crème de la crème”. She constantly modified the tracklist to present her debut project in a way that held her personal standard; essentially presenting us her best tracks. The result is CRÈME, which consists of five tracks, with a runtime of fourteen minutes altogether.

This EP showcases the fact that she is a competent songwriter, able to write some soulful, emotional ballads. It is completely in English and all the tracks are written by her, telling both life stories of her own and that of others. A majority of the production was handled by her “musical soulmate”; TE RIM, but other notable names, like Code Kunst show up as well.

Tracks:

Movies, introduces the project in a very gentle manner. In the track, DeVita paints a picture of a criminal couple, getting a rush, by committing crimes together. The lyrics feel inspired by movies like Bonnie and Clyde. My initial thoughts were that, for some ears, it could possibly be “too” calm as an opener. It doesn’t demand attention the way EVITA! does. Simply put, it’s not a bad track. I would just have put this track later on in the EP.

EVITA!, is something different compared to what I hear from others in the K-R&B lane. I love the 80’s aesthetic in both the track and music video. Sonically, the nostalgic saxophone riffs, warm lush synth pads, thumping bass line, results in a trip back to the 80s. With this recipe, topped with DeVita’s “current” contemporary soul and R&B voice makes for an interesting combination. The music video had that futuristic 80’s look with the neon colors, and I loved how the guns she played around with looked a lot like the “Needlers” from the Halo franchise.  The title is once again just like DeVita’s name, an ode to the controversial Eva Perón. The instrumental was originally used by TE RIM, the producer of the track in 2017. His version has the same title as DeVita’s version and I recommend giving that one a listen as well, as it has a different feel to it. This track was definitely one of the highlights of the EP.

All About You, is a simple yet beautiful piano love ballad. Originating from her own tales of love, her vocals effortlessly capture what she felt during these moments.

1974 Live, is yet another ballad, but this time, with a calm guitar backing, playing a poppier R&B chord progression. DeVita’s voice is given a lot of space to be in the center of the track. As soon as I heard this track I became curious. What was the significance of this year, which would have her title the track as such? My questions were left unanswered… until the EP had marinated a while, when she tweeted: “1974 Live is about Christine Chubbuck”. In case you’re unfamiliar, Christine Chubbuck was a television news reporter, who made history in 1974. She was the first person to commit suicide live on air. According to her mother Christine’s suicide would on paper be due to an unfullfilling personal life. All throughout her life, she had experienced unreciprocated love. With this information tying back to the track, it becomes a lot less ambiguous and reveals a more cohesive narrative.

Show Me, is the final track of the EP, featuring immaculate production from the talented CODE KUNST. The sound is very moody, which fits her voice like a glove. This is my favorite performance on the entire EP, both lyrically and vocally. The lyrics present someone who’s fed up dealing with men, who talk the talk but don’t walk the walk. Now she’s looking for love with someone who’s honest and “real”.

With the project being a year old now, it has already gotten her nominated for both Rookie of the Year along with EVITA being nominated for Best R&B & Soul Track in the 18th iteration of the Korean Music Awards.

A majority of listeners seemed to enjoy the project. Many seem to be in love with her voice judging by the endless amounts of praise she has received, often described as painfully addicting, soothing, smooth, and so on.

I also asked a friend who’s a huge fan of Korean music, especially the hiphop and r&b scene to share her thoughts on the project. Here’s what she said:

"This whole project is empowering, in particular the tracks Show Me and EVITA! DeVita being a new artist, managed to impress me and many more listeners through this EP. As mentioned earlier, empowering lyrics with unique melodies and beats. Especially with the track EVITA! The fact that 1974 Live and EVITA! was referring to, two historically important women, is something that I love. This is one of my favorite EP:s of 2020 and DeVita is now included in my list of favorite artists." @Haonsmom

From what I’ve seen, only a few have been vocal about not really being too fond of the project. Some were left a bit disappointed, as they were expecting more hip-hop and R&B from an AOMG artist. The lack of “danceable” tracks was also a concern to some. Despite these criticisms, one thing was always mentioned; the girl has a beautiful voice and is obviously talented.

After listening to this EP, I hear a lot of potential. Being an EP with just five tracks, it definitely avoids overstaying its welcome. It’s brief enough to allow a listen through the entire project, no matter what you’re doing. My favorite tracks would have to be Show Me and EVITA!, but I found the whole project to be enjoyable. This EP is sprinkled with lovely vocal performances and simple but captivating production. I do still stand by my opinion that Movies would have fit better later in the tracklist if you’re chasing that mainstream ear.

I think the way EVITA! kicks you in the face, demanding attention, would’ve been a better fit as the opening track. In contrast to the other tracks, the energy level is unique, making the placement feel odd as the rest of the tracks have a chill vibe. All in all, this project gave me a taste of the “crème” but left me with a curious yearning for what this chef will whip up for dessert.

Bright future ahead

The addition of more female artists to the AOMG roster was much needed. Hoody was the first and only female member for about four years. This was the case up until late 2019, where she was then joined by sogumm, who had just won AOMG’s audition program called SignHere. Now funnily enough after DeVita, Lee Hi actually did end up officially signing with AOMG on July 22, last year.

Based on what I’ve heard during Devita’s Kollaboration days, she has improved immensely. This topped with her leaving the impression of someone passionate about their craft, bodes well for what's to come. She seems to be someone who'll constantly evolve.

Following an artist, at the early stages of their career, is something that I always find exciting. With such a lovely debut, I cannot wait to see what the future has in store for DeVita.

To view the content of this article in video format simply play the video embedded below.

Thanks for reading, watching. If you enjoyed this content feel free to follow my socials to stay up to date on when new content is posted.

https://allmylinks.com/dossi-io

Credits:

The first image in article: Original photo, pre-edit from @jinveun

Gif from the Sugar Puff Daehee MV: @moxiepoints

[dreaminginthedeepsouth]

The President is having a rough time. That much we can easily infer by reading both the medical and the political tea leaves that have dropped all around him in recent days. As of October 7, 2020–27 days from the Presidential Election — here’s where we stand.

It is a story in three parts:

1. Trump has, or at least had, severe Covid. We can infer that from the drugs he’s been prescribed.

For the past five days he has been on a course of Remdesivir, an antiviral medication that can interrupt viral reproduction. According to the Financial Times, the FDA “authorised the emergency use of Remdesivir for Covid-19 in May for patients with severe coronavirus who need extra oxygen or mechanical ventilation to help them breathe. In August, the FDA extended the emergency use authorisation to anyone in hospital with Covid-19, however severe their disease.”

He has also been given Regeneron’s multiple-monoclonal antibody therapy, a drug that directly kills the virus. He was given an 8-gram dose, which is very high, indicating that his viral load was significant when they got him to the hospital on Friday. This drug has not yet even been authorized for emergency use, but his doctors leaned on the regulatory agencies and the company to be able to prescribe it for compassionate use. This is the drug that, in my opinion, likely saved his life. At least for now. Note, this drug does NOT stop the virus from resurging, but it can be administered again without harm, so long as his body does not develop a resistance to the antibodies, themselves.

Notably, neither of these drugs will help to reverse damage already done to the organs.

The third big-hitter drug he received was a steroid called Dexamethasone. It is used to help prevent the body’s immune system from doing more damage than the virus. When the immune system goes into overdrive, there is significant swelling that can, itself, severely damage the organs. With Covid, that swelling can be so bad that it kills the organs, then the patient. The World Health Organization advises doctors to only use the drug in severe or critical cases, because it can have powerful side-effects — both physiological and psychological.

Physiologically, it SHREDS the immune system. That is, literally, what it is intended to do, which — in this case — is good for him, because he’s getting the Remdesivir and the Regeneron cocktail to fight the Covid, but BAD for him because for the next week or so, he’s got no meaningful immune system and that bathtub mold left behind by William Howard Taft in the White House jakes might take him out quicker than he can kill anyone else with his coronavirus.

Psychologically, it can lead to mania or more severe depressive states — which has got to at least rate a bit of a worry among Trump’s advisors, right?

Well, maybe not — and that brings us to the next point.

Donnie is all alone.

2. The second thing we know, or can infer from the past few days’ events, is that President Trump is finally — and fully — leading his own parade. There really is no sane doctor in the land who, short of wanting to fluff the Commander-in-Chief, would have authorized either his Sunday night joyride, or even his discharge from the hospital as if he’d just come down with a touch of 24-Hour Covid.

But, well, Trump. Even casual observers quickly learn that he does not tolerate independence in his advisors. They either show a willingness to bend to his will, or they are drummed out of service. As such, when he needs someone to finally stand up to him, even for his own good, they are long, long gone. Some folks are lamenting Dr. Sean Conley for tarnishing his reputation this past week, but in truth, you could have inferred that from the simple fact that he’s Trump’s personal physician. It’s the same for everyone. Persistent exposure to his toxicity either leads to outright rejection, or total corruption and collapse. At this point in his life and his Presidency, there simply are no grown-ups left in the room.

That goes for his political team, too. But with them, it’s even worse: Not only have the ones with actual backbone long since been ejected from the West Wing, the toadies that are left are now all down for the count because of this virus. Here’s a list of his people who are currently either ill or in quarantine:

Hope Hicks, chief adviser to the president.

Bill Stepien, campaign manager.

Kayleigh McEnany, White House press secretary.

RNC Chairwoman Ronna McDaniel.

Chris Christie, top political advisor.

Melania Trump, his wife.

Nicholas Luna, assistant and “body man” to the president.

Kellyanne Conway, former White House senior adviser.

Stephen Miller, his pet Nazi.

Lord knows what sort of protocols are in place in the East Wing of the White House, right now, but given the pacing and the lunacy of the Tweets, there’s just no one there to stop him. He is amped up on steroids, likely a bit delirious, and clearly surprised — and offended — that his “triumphant return” was mocked by everyone outside of his Proud Boy Fan Club as a weird, pathetic Evita routine wherein he was clearly gasping for air. He’s pissed off, alone, and facing the greatest humiliation of his life in 28 days. CNN today has Biden up by 16 points — 57% to 41%. That is getting into Ronald Reagan / Walter Mondale ’84 territory, when the Gipper beat the Man from Minnesota by an Electoral College margin of 525 to 13.

Clearly, Donald is losing his mind — likely due to the drugs, but also because he is all alone, scared out of his wits, and can’t seem to do a damn thing about it. There is no one left to bully.

So, what does he do?

He lashes out like a haunted madman at the nation he purportedly leads.

3. In his almost four years at the helm, he has typed nearly every single type of public obscenity into his iPhone that a Manson Family member could imagine — but he save the most purely foolish of them for today. A few hours after the Fed Chair — you know, the guy in charge of global capitalism — came right out and said, in essence, “Hey, Washington, we need massive government spending NOW to save the economy!” Trump tweeted, literally and explicitly, “I have instructed my representatives to stop negotiating until after the election when, immediately after I win, we will pass a major Stimulus Bill.”

Holy shit!

The Fed Chair screamed: “STEP ON THE GAS!” and Trump, instead, slammed on the brakes. The market reacted by cratering nearly 600 points. They will pause for a moment, before again jumping off the cliff tomorrow, when no course correction is offered. This is very, very bad.

Backed into a corner, and with the economy teetering over the abyss, he has decided to take the entire country hostage — with an implicit promise that we either elect HIM, or he will let the entire country burn.

You know, I like to think that if McDaniel, or Stepien, or McEnany, or Hicks, or even Conway were there, they might have at least tried to talk him down from such an utterly insane position — one from which he has ZERO room to retreat without looking like a fool — but maybe not. Maybe after the Covid and the Roids and the Evita jokes, he would have gone ahead and set the world on fire regardless of what any advisor suggested.

Now we’ll never know. That die has been cast. And with it, I believe, his Presidency is all but over — short of straight-up election theft, or an auto coup d���etat.

Both, sadly, are still possibilities.

But shy of that, this President has demonstrated to everyone in the past few days that he has come undone. He is unbalanced, unhinged, disconnected from reality, physically ill, and getting his ass kicked by a dude he calls Sleepy Joe.

To put it lightly: It’s not a good look.

On top of that, his idiot son Eric — a used piece of moral toilet paper, who got busted two years ago for stealing money from a children’s cancer charity — just got deposed in a court case that will almost certainly spit out a basket of Trump Family indictments before Christmas this year, and Vladimir Putin — his patron (and banker) in Moscow is either prepping the piss tape for TMZ once his gimp is no longer useful, or burning the evidence trail so none of this can ever be tied, definitively, back to him.

All in all, Trump should count himself lucky if that Taft fungus rises up from the drain pipe and puts him out of his misery. Nothing good happens for him from here. He can still drag us all down with him, but he won’t get back up off this mat.

Or so, at least, it seems.

Love to you all.

[douxreviews]

Cloak & Dagger - ‘Shadow Selves’ Review

"What if I just want to hurt people?"

Well, this one certain gives us a few things to unpack.

Cloak and Dagger catches up with some supporting characters, while bringing us up to speed on what Mayhem has been up to since last season's finale. Oh, and gives us a mediation on the essential nature of self, as you do.

The 'shadow self,' according to Jungian philosophy, are those parts of one's personality that you reject or choose to not know about. That's a horrific oversimplification, and I apologize to any psychology students who might be reading this. It's not really my field. I had to google just to confirm that much.

Most obviously this is a reference to Brigid and Mayhem, implying that Mayhem is that shadow self that Brigid has always had inside of her, neatly separated off into its own body. I believe there was a Star Trek episode where something similar happened to Kirk, but it was a little less... let's be polite and say 'nuanced,' than what we get here.

Actually, the Star Trek comparison is useful here, particularly when compared to the explanation that Mina gives us in this episode. Since I'm going to actually talk about it, I've felt obligated to look up what it was called, and it's 'The Enemy Within,' for anyone wondering who didn't already know. Additional apologies to Star Trek fans for the oversimplification I'm about to launch into. Fans of both Jung and original series Trek, please contact me directly and I'll send you an apology fruit basket or something.

In 'Enemy Within,' Kirk is split into 'good Kirk' and 'evil Kirk,' and the point is very much that even good people have bad stuff in them and it's a character study of who Kirk is as a complete character. That being the purpose of the experiment, one Kirk is very definitely 'good,' and the other definitely 'evil.' In 'Shadow Selves,' Mina describes the process that's been splitting her test mice into two, and therefore by proxy what's happened to Brigid, as resulting in one version of the self with no activity in the brain's rage center, and the other version having activity only in the rage center. Your basic Hulk scenario.

But neither of those descriptions fit what we actually see of Mayhem's character this week.

Mayhem isn't full of rage, particularly. She's task-oriented and happy to kill people she views as 'bad,' but that's not at all the same thing. If anything, Mayhem is a much better cop than Brigid. Sure, her first instinct is to track down and kill her other half, but she gets distracted almost immediately by wanting revenge on the guy she was already looking to get revenge on before the personality split, and then never shows an inclination to kill Brigid again, despite the half a dozen times this episode alone in which she could have done so.

Great job to the showrunners for the Mayhem backstory we get tonight, and the way it pulls a lot of the pieces of this season's plot together. Mayhem starts with wanting revenge on Connors, isn't able to find him, and then decides that since she wants to kill people anyway she should focus on finding bad people to kill, becoming Dexter with Day-glo fingernail polish. Plus, she's clearly capable of being thoughtful and kind, as shown in her comment about Ty being her friend. It was nice that Delgado gives her the advice that pushes her in the direction of punishing the guilty, by the way. Put a pin in Delgado, we'll circle back to him in a minute, but there's one last point about Mayhem that I want to touch on before we move on.

This show is one of the rare examples in which every single change they've made to the source material has made the show stronger. The exception, as I've said before, being not having Ty stutter, but that's more of a practical consideration, so we'll let that slide. In the comics, Mayhem is essentially what you'd get if Toxic Avenger and the Punisher made a beautiful love child, but having Mayhem and Brigid be two separate beings who share Brigid's memories and thought processes was a brilliant move and is really paying off for them. The way that Mayhem clearly wants Tandy to side with her and be her partner on the investigation is just one aspect of the overall impression that what Mayhem really wants is to prove that she's better than Brigid, and that's fascinating. I can't wait to see where this is going.

But Brigid isn't the only one whose darker side has come to the fore here, and now we get back to Formerly-Father Delgado. Wow, was I not prepared for how dark they went with Delgado. I questioned last season why they threw in such a randomly dark note as the reveal that Delgado had killed a kid while driving drunk, but now I think they were just preparing us for this next stage in his character development. I don't have a ton to say about drunk street preaching nihilist Delgado except that I'm impressed that they went there, and it was nicely handled how he factored into Mayhem's evolution from seeking vengeance to becoming an actually effective rescuer of human trafficking victims. That was not where I saw any of that going.

And last but not least, Ty and Tandy continue their promised power-up. Tandy's ball of light which lit up the whole warehouse was cool looking, but my inner fangirl nearly passed out with joy when Ty finally unveiled his full body of darkness effect and then we got to witness firsthand someone inside the dark realm of his cloak being tormented by visions. Now all I need to die happy is for Tandy to ride 'inside' him to crime scenes and leap out throwing light knives.

Bits and Pieces:

-- The debate between Ty and Tandy as to whether they should just step back and let Mayhem kill the human traffickers had valid points all around. Generally speaking, I'd put myself on team 'yes, please murder the human traffickers' but Ty's concerns about the victims being collateral damage was fair. That said, I did not feel bad when Mayhem ran that one over with a truck.

-- Mayhem climbed out of the lake 242 days earlier, so Evita's statement last week that it had been eight months was more or less on the nose.

-- The extremely mini story-arc of Dale, the skeezy desk clerk at the transient hotel, was a thing of beauty. From creeping on Mayhem, to backing away, to the obedient puddle he'd become by the time Brigid came to find the hotel was just perfection. This show really does understated very well.

-- Haven't we all wanted to beat up a refrigerator?

-- Oh Mina Hess, I'm so glad that you're OK. Mina has apparently now added microbiolical bio-chemistry and behavioral research fellow to her already impressive track list of Structural Engineer, Thermodynamics expert, plumber, renewable energy expert, and about twelve other unrelated specialties. At this point I think it's best to view Mina like Reed Richards, i.e. all purpose science-y person who knows all the science-y stuff when it's needed. Plus just maybe she'll encourage a few more girls to pursue STEM careers, and that's a good enough goal in its own right.

-- Today I learned that SRO stands for 'single room occupancy,' a type of hotel that in a less dignified age I would have referred to as a flophouse.

-- Tandy mentions in passing that she and Mina have kept in touch. I feel like we were cheated out of a few highly entertaining explanation scenes.

-- Special shout out to Emma Lahana for the physical work she's doing to differentiate Brigid and Mayhem. Mayhem moves in a very distinctive shoulder forward way, which is very different from how Brigid walks. It's a nice, subtle detail, and should be praised.

-- Apparently I was overcomplicating the kidnapped girl plot last week. They seem to just be human traffickers who panicked and let Mikayla go because Ty had suddenly appeared in their ambulance so they had to cover their tracks. I kind of appreciate the show letting me work that out for myself.

-- 'The Glitter Gutter' is a great name for a strip club.

Quotes:

Mina: "Don’t worry, these cosmetics were tested on humans."

Brigid: "She’s not me." Tandy: "She’s got your face and she’s got your badge."

Dale: "No one went in your room. I didn’t mean to make eye contact, I’m sorry."

Tandy: "What is this?" Brigid: "This is Mayhem."

Mayhem: "And in another lifetime, Ty was a friend. At least he was to me, I don’t know if he’d say the same."

Tandy: "Hey Ty, look. Ya got a deranged map twin."

Mayhem: "You don’t get to play the victim. (Slashes his throat) Well, now I suppose you can."

Fuchs: "Who’s up for Awkward reunion pancakes?"

Lots of good stuff here, with only a couple of awkward plot contrivances to really criticize. For example, it's a little hard to swallow that Brigid being pulled from the lake would make breaking citywide news under those circumstances. Still, if that's the show's biggest sin, my shadow self is happy.

Three and a half out of four shadow dimensions.

Mikey Heinrich is, among other things, a freelance writer, volunteer firefighter, and roughly 78% water.

[lyricswrittenbythesecretdreamer]

I’ll Cover You

Five times Marinette references Rent and one time she can't.

The first time she does it, her class are having a quiz. "How many minutes are there," Miss Bustier pauses for dramatic effect, smirking at her class. They're on the edge of their seats, hands ready to fly up into the air, "In a year?" There's a chorus of groans as people begin to try and calculate in their heads. Max is halfway there when a shrill voice from beside Alya shouts out: "Five hundred twenty-five thousand six hundred minutes! Five hundred twenty-five moments so dear!" Alya looks over at her small friend who is flushing crimson head to toe. "How on earth do you know that?" Marinette shrugs, giving an embarrassed smile. "Rent - I saw it with my Nonna. I couldn't stop singing it for the whole weekend." The second time she does it on patrol. She and Chat are slinking through the dark Parisian streets and notice a couple arguing behind a dumpster. "Well if you hadn't been flirting with that woman in the - what's it called?" "Rubber?" "That's right, rubber! If you hadn't been flirting with her then I wouldn't have got angry-" "Oh, so it's my fault, is it?" She looks pointedly at her lover, not noticing the two teenage superheroes watching them. "There will always be women in rubber flirting with me!" Hisses Ladybug under her breath, causing Chat to jerk his head around at her, a wild expression on his face. "Excuse me?" The two women look up at Chat and Ladybug. Chat offers an awkward wave, but too caught up in the moment and not able to resist, Ladybug jumps down from the roof and points at the angry woman. "There will always be women in rubber flirting with me! Give me a break!" And she promptly bursts into song, only stopping after being dragged away by Chat who whispers countless apologies to the two women, who can only stare in amazement. The third time she does it, it's at karaoke night at the local youth club. Nino drags the three of them there if just to enjoy the music. It's when a familiar tune crawls out of the speakers that Marinette gives out a cheer. Letting go of her fears, she drags Alya out of her chair and up to the stage, when then promptly begin singing a slightly out-of-tune version of 'Out Tonight'. It's not meant to be a duet, but they just about manage it. Of course, when the song is over, Marinette regrets it all. Especially singing it in front of Adrien. The fourth time she does it is after moving out of her parent's house, and going to University. Juggling three jobs and with an eviction notice hammered onto her door, she is tired of living in expensive squalor and hides under her fabric. Then: "How do you document real life when real life's getting more like fiction each day?" She sings softly a small tear running down her cheek. She wanted to prove to everyone that she could be independent. She wanted to prove to herself she was like Ladybug. Strong, brave, resourceful. "How we gonna pay last year's rent?" Transforming, she leaps out of the window and jumps from roof to roof. "The music ignites the night with passionate fire! The narration crackles and pops with incendiary wit!" And then, from behind her: "How do you leave the past behind when it keeps finding ways to get to your heart?" Shrieking, she leaps around to discover her feline companion giving her a weak smile. "Chat! You scared me!" "I'm sorry, My Lady." "Draw a line in the sand and then make a stand." "When they act tough, you call their bluff!" And then, in unison: "We're not gonna pay; last year's rent, this year's rent, next year's rent!" The fifth time they're at a cafe where a group of suspicious-looking teenagers are sitting, whispering. Alya is desperately trying to catch what they're saying, but the voices are too quiet, too quick. And one of them starts having an argument with another group of teens behind them. And then: "Who died?" And Marinette can't help herself. "AKITA!" She belts. The teenagers laugh and cheer. "EVITA!" Alya looks from the teens to Marinette. "What just happened?" "La Vie Boheme." Breathes Adrien. Marinette giggles. Then enter a flash mob. She joins in, of course. "Dearly beloved, we gather here to say our goodbye's...here she lies, no one knew her worth...the late great daughter of mother earth..." "German wine, turpentine, Gertrude Stein..." "To S&M!" It's a couple of months later and the heroes find themselves fighting a gang of bank robbers holding half a dozen people hostage. They've called in the big guns - Rena, Queenie and Carapace. Carapace and Rena are defending the hostages from two of the gang - brilliantly. Queen Bee has recharged twice now, taking two men down with her. Ladybug and Chat are fighting side by side, as per usual. The robbers won't kill them - they know that. As much as Hawkmoth wanted them dead, even the lowliest criminals accept that Ladybug and Chat Noir are the reason Paris remains safe. After the terrorist attack, no one wanted to take any chances and the two then-teenagers were made the official security of Paris. Alongside the police, of course. "This is exhilarating, M'Lady!" Bellows Chat, hitting one of the criminals over the head with his baton, causing the delinquent to fall over, out cold. Ladybug throws her head back and laughs. "Exhilarating? You're an odd one, Kitty!" "You love me!" He teases, throwing her a flirty wink. This was their routine. It was what made them such good friends; the not-so-intimate intimacy; the slightly on edge way Ladybug turned him down. "You wish, you mangy feline!" He fakes a sign of mock hurt as she tangles another one of the masked thieves in her yoyo string. She giggles and then it turns into a full-blown laugh and then a bullet leaps out from nowhere and there is a bang and suddenly she is bowled over, face contorted in pain. Chat lets out an unholy scream that is not a cry of pain, not a cry of anger but both and neither at the same time. And Ladybug falls. He drops to his knees and takes her head in his lap. The fighting around them has stopped (except for Queen Bee, who was using all her efforts to find and tranquilise the shooter) but it could have carried on and he would have stayed, still, by her side. A fat tear rolls down his cheek and onto Ladybug's nose. He wipes his eyes furiously, but there is no stopping time. She is going to go and it is his fault for being an idiot and flirting with her. She coughs, trying to say something, but it won't work. All voice has been lost. And then, from behind: "Live in my house, I'll be your shelter," Carapace begins to sing softly, his deep voice still carrying over the deathly silence. His holds Rena to his chest, who looks up as he sings. "Just pay me back, with a thousand sweet kisses," Her voice wavers, but she sings on anyway. Why are they singing Rent? How do they know... He looks down and Ladybug is no longer there. It's Marinette and her transformation is up. How could he not have seen this? She lies, broken, in his arms and he doesn't know what to do. "Be my lover..." Sings Queenie, and Chat didn't even realise Chloe had even seen the goddamn musical. He decides to sing along. "And I'll cover you," Marinette's eyes are full of sorrow, full of apologies. He smiles down at her and kisses her forehead, calling his transformation off. If anyone is shocked, they don't show it. "Open your door, I'll be your tenant," "Don't have much baggage to lay at your feet," "But sweet kisses I've got to share, I'll be there," "And I'll cover you!" "I know that they meant it," "When they said you can't buy love," "Now I know you can rent it," "And at least you were my love!" One by one, the heroes release their transformations, singing Marinette's pain away as she falls further and further away from them. Or at least until the ambulance arrives. When she's better, Marinette scolds them for being overdramatic and "Ow, Chloe, I've still been shot and your bear hugs hurt!"

[selkymaiden]

“I know what you are.”

The creak of the door, scrape of some boots, and the sound of her voice don’t turn Arthur her way. Instead, it makes him grit his teeth but otherwise; he keeps his eyes peeled on the bounty poster in his hands. ‘Shit.’ Of all the places to be found out in, a sheriff office.

“And pray tell, ma’am, what is he?” Sheriff Malloy chimes in, not sounding very curious but neither denying any added information about his bounty hunter.

Yet he can’t quite remember her name, he should by now. They’ve ran into each other several times, even before Blackwater. ‘Evette? Eevie? Eve . . . No, goddamn that’s not it.’ Before he can even look up, however, the poster is snatched out his hands.

He can feel her eyes bore into the side of his face, “out of the job.” Something akin to relief floods his posture and Arthur finally loosens up to turn towards her. Squaring his shoulders to take stock of her.

Their eyes meet before hers dart to the wanted poster. “Lucky here’s an amateur, whatever he’s brought in so far was pure dumb luck.” Smirking she turns toward the sheriff and one of his deputies, ignoring the outlaw in the midst of lawmen. And woman. They make banter amongst themselves.

Arthur can’t help but wonder if this is how she feels when she’s surrounded by his like. An imposter among the lawless. Now it was his turn, an imposter among the law enforcers. 

“I guess we’ll just have to see who brings him in first.” He remembers his tongue, grabbing the poster from her before storming out of the Sherriff’s. 

--

Evita’s footsteps are light on the wooden stairs outside, the sun beating down on them both, as of course, she does follow him out. “Lil’ rude, don’t you think?” Somehow she’s not surprised in seeing Arthur M*rgan again, in fact, she feels almost giddy. Like a cat with a mouse she was more interested in the game then the kill. Turn him in? That’s that, that’s the end of this ... all ... Whatever it was. But toy around? Well, there were bigger bounties to take and let him cut and run. “Don’t be so sensiti-”

“What’re you playing at?” His voice cuts across hers easily, intimidating, no-nonsense. ‘So he means business?’

Thoughtful now, she’s quiet as he adjusts his horses saddle hitched out front. “Nothin’. This meeting? Pure coincidence. I’ve traveled around Valentine long before you and -” Evita pauses, letting it be known shes sure his gang is around also. “your kin came to town.”

“Well, my kin and I don’t want no trouble.” Arms crossed she watched him swing up onto his horse, turning the great grey around and heading up main street.

“Then don’t make any!” It probably falls on deaf ears until -- 

“I won’t, Miss. Erika.”

Erika?

“That’s not my name and you know it!”

Before he’s out of earshot, and she don’t care if she looks like a fool shouting in the middle of the street, she hears a:

“Don’t care!” Before he’s turning towards the post office.

[chucksnerdthoughts]

Thoughts on, “Back Breaker” (Cloak & Dagger)

Solid lead up to the season finale.

1. There was a lot of good stuff here, but I gotta start with the frame they used this episode; the father talking about a hero’s journey. I have mixed feelings on it. At times it felt kinda on the nose and just over explaining the drama that’s happening. But there were other times where I was like, this is super smart! I feel so conflicted about it. What’s really surprising, though, is that this is like the third or fourth time they’ve done a framing device like this. Why do they keep coming back to this format? It works in general and I’m totally fine with them doing it. Its just surprising to see it happen so often. Repetition points to deeper meaning, but I don’t see it. Maybe when I rewatch the whole season, it’ll become clear.

2. I gotta talk about O’Reilly first. I could see her weight as she sunk lower and lower this episode. Going from the house to the bar to getting her ass kicked by the bastard who killed her boyfriend. This was a rough day! I really loved how they kept her silent. She can say so much with no words. It was so satisfying when she finally hit Conners. They built it up perfectly with that super cool flashback sequence. I’d honestly love to see more stuff like that. Very creative! But back to the fight. It makes so much sense for O’Reilly to lose here. She needs that win, But the loss here gives Conners the weight he truly has. He killed a kid and got away with it. He’s not going down with a video and a stick. And the thing is, when O’Reilly finally does take him down, it’ll make her even more of a badass. And I am happy to wait for that because it’ll be so damn satisfying!

3. Tandy is kinda really pissing me off, but the thing is, I completely understand it. Her hero, her measure for goodness, was a piece of shit. That sucks. That really sucks. So her collapsing in on herself makes complete sense. Its good storytelling. That being said, I still don’t have to like it! She’s breaking my heart man. Like, when she took Mina’s hope; that freaking destroyed me. SHE JUST WANTS A PRETTY GARDEN AND YOU TOOK THAT AWAY FROM HER!!!! Sorry. Getting emotional here. I just really hope that Tandy can return the hopes. And she really does need Ty as a partner. He really does help keep her in check. It’ll be really nice to see the day she finally realizes that. 

4. “No one knew it was ok to stop fighting” I think I’ve heard that line before, but it gets me every time. Its Its so great and so true, especially for Ty and Tandy. Tyron’s whole conversation with the father was amazing! Such a wonderfully powerful scene. And they ended it in such an incredible way! Seeing that the father’s greatest fear is that he’s going to kill a kid while drunk driving. That’s a rough one! Part of me thinks that it might have already happened. Regardless, I loved how that moment really put Ty and the father on the same level. It was a needed moment. Neither is worse off then the other. They can help each other and hopefully they realize this now.

5. Evita has abilities!!! That was so awesome! I think its more so voodoo stuff and not like she’s a mutant or something. But that was still really cool to see her basically mentally tell Tandy to f-off. Actually a better word is satisfying because Tandy was being a real prick at this point. But yeah. I’m super excited to see how this is developed from here.

I’m really excited going into the season finale! I know its gonna deliver and I can’t wait for season 2!!

-Chuck

[tumble4rpdr]

I was thinking back to the interview that B did with GiGi Gorgeous's podcast where she spoke of dating and being afraid to committ. She said she was single and that the guy she dated last year(Andres) was like dating but thier not. I wonder if B gets comfortable to a certain point and then stops herself for getting too deep in. They literally hang out alot but it was strange that it didn't look like she attended the last Evita party of the year and Andres and friends went to Palm Springs and she wasn't present there either but seemed at home. So I wonder if she has boundaries and she tries not to cross those boundaries to where she doesn't want to hurt anyone else. Just a thought!

Sorry it took me a little while to answer this anon but I wanted to give it the thought it deserves. Like you I’ve given B’s comment on Gigi’s podcast a lot of thought and I have a few different feelings

Firstly, I have to always remind myself that we are basing our beliefs on what B says in interviews (which doesn’t necessarily give us the full story plus we have to consider the timing of everything and the fact that B’s feelings might have changed since then) and on what we see on social media (which again doesn’t give us a complete/true understanding of everything and is very much only giving us what B wants/allows us to see) so for me I feel like I’m at times changing and questioning my opinion about the reasons behind why B says and does certain things

I (like you) noticed that B didn’t attend the last Evita party and part of me rationalized it because she’s been filming and working a lot and could’ve been busy or just exhausted but there was a part of me that questioned it since we know how much she loves going to Evita and spending time with her friends and how much she cares about and supports Andres (and this was a pretty big event for him). While I don’t necessarily think that this was a moment of B putting walls up and “stopping herself from getting too deep” (since she very easily just didn’t go for a very understandable reason that Andres completely gets and is fine with), I do understand what you’re talking about and I think that B does do that, though I continue to question if it’s intentional or not

I believe that B has a very loving, friendly nature and is extremely affectionate with everyone she cares about (friend or otherwise). We know that she has some social anxiety so I feel like when she trusts someone and gets along with them she gets comfortable with them very easily (almost like a sense of relief that she got over the anxiety and that she can be herself) and has a lot of positive feelings for them and I think that this is even more true for B when it comes to relationships. While I think B can get comfortable with someone pretty easily, I do think that she has fears and doubts when it comes to relationships (and the expectations she believes come with being in one or officially calling someone her boyfriend) so she may (purposefully or not) stop herself from fully giving in to her feelings or fully committing and putting a label on things and acting like a couple. I think that B worries about both the permanence/stagnancy of a relationship (since I remember her saying in a podcast that one of her concerns was that “this will be the rest of my life”) and that it will change/hurt the close relationship she has with the men she’s romantically interested in (and that she’d rather preserve what they have and keep them as good friends) and I feel like her anxieties could play a part as well and make her doubt herself and (like you brought up) create boundaries for herself so that things don’t go wrong (whatever that would mean to B) and that neither she nor the person she cares for gets hurt

I think that as B has more experiences with relationships and finds the person (or people) that she loves and trusts enough to want to commit to, I believe that the fear she feels will start to lessen (I feel like she has matured and is now more comfortable with the idea of a relationship now than she originally was years ago) and that she won’t feel the need to protect/limit herself and (intentionally or unintentionally) put up any walls

[lesbianfunkykong]

1-5 spencer, 30-35 david, 20-25 bonnie (these are random numbers so if there's weird questions in there? don't judge me)

Spencer

1. What’s their full name? Why was that chosen? Does it mean anything?Her full name is Spencer Anne Keller. It doesn’t mean anything specific, just that her mom’s name is Anne and that she liked ‘Spencer’ when she saw it in a baby book. tbh when Spencer was born, the name was kind of the least of her mom’s worries. 2. Do they have any titles? How did they get them?lmao nope, she’s a normie. Her highest degree is high school. 3. Did they have a good childhood? What are fond memories they have of it? What’s a bad memory? She liked her childhood. It wasn’t perfect, but she was never lonely. Her favorite memory was probably the first time her uncle let her build something by herself. She almost sawed her thumb off but she quickly decided that was just part of the process and that she should be proud of it, which her uncle thought was hilarious coming from an eight year old. A bad memory was when she was she was six and swallowed a nail so she had to have open-stomach surgery.  4. What is their relationship with their parents? What’s a good and bad memory with them? Did they know both parents? She doesn’t know her dad very well, they’ve met like three times and it’s been pretty uncomfortable every time. Spencer isn’t too worried about keeping him in her life. She and her mom are on better terms but they’ve never been close. They have friendly conversations when they’re together but neither of them make an effort to put each other first. Both memories will be about her mom because of this. A good one is when she was twelve and her mom came to visit for her birthday, which was great because she was nervous the kids she invited to her party would think it was weird that her mom wasn’t there because... A bad memory is her eleventh birthday party when everyone thought it was weird that her mom wasn’t there. :(5. Do they have any siblings? What’s their names? What is their relationship with them? Has their relationship changed since they were kids to adults? Nah she’s an only child. She has two lizards, though. Kanga and Roo.

David

20. Do they like musicals? Music in general? What do they do when they’re favourite song comes?David does like musicals, but when choosing between the shitty versions and the good versions, he’ll always think the shitty one is better. His favorite musical is the Madonna version of Evita. He loooooves rap music and thinks he can rap well (he cannot.) When his favorite song comes on, he raps loudly and badly. 21. Do they have a temper? Are they patient? What are they like when they do lose their temper?It takes a ridiculous amount to get David angry to the point of yelling. He’s very patient, because his way of thinking is always to try and understand where people are coming from, so even if they’re saying some dumb bullshit it’s a challenge for him. When he does lose his temper, which is super rare, he tries to do something productive with it but like, whatever his angry mind thinks is the productive thing to do, which might just be “punch this guy in the mouth it’ll be good” 22. What are their favourite insults to use? What do they insult people for? Or do they prefer to bitch behind someone’s back?David doesn’t insult people a lot, tbh. Hardly ever to their faces, and behind their backs mostly in a good humored venting way, but if he’s gonna insult someone it’ll be with a bad impression of them doing the thing that was bugging him. He’d insult people if they’re being openly rude to himself or his friends in a way that’s obviously intentional. 23. Do they have a good memory? Short term or long term? Are they good with names? Or faces?His memory’s probably about average, but he thinks it’s great. (He thinks everything about himself is great.) He’s better with long term memory, and he’s good at both names and faces because he hates it when people forget him so he tries to remember people. 24. What is their sleeping pattern like? Do they snore? What do they like to sleep on? A soft or hard mattress?He sleeps until 10am if he can, or 2pm if he was drinking the night before. He snores if he sleeps on his stomach but he never sleeps on his stomach so that’s dine, and he’s still young enough that he doesn’t have a mattress preference but he does want one of those Purple mattresses because he likes the muppets on the adds. 25. What do they find funny? Do they have a good sense of humour? Are they funny themselves?David has the worst sense of humor and I hate him. I know I was just roasting you for watching Adam Sandler so you’re gonna think this is me making a joke about you but no, David loves the shit out of Adam Sandler, he thinks he’s so goddamn funny. He thinks he’s probably funnier, though. David is Not Humble. 

Bonnie   

30. Do they exercise? Regularly? Or only when forced? What do they act like pre-work out and post-work out?She doesn’t really work on in the typical way, but the whole demon hunting lifestyle kind of takes care of that for her. She likes wearing her amethyst necklace after that, because it’s a good calming stone. 31. Do they drink? What are they like drunk? What are they like hungover? How do they act when other people are drunk or hungover? Kind or teasing?Bonnie doesn’t drink at all. Conner probably bought them all beer once and Bonnie had one sip and thought it was gross. 32. What do they dress like? What sorta shops do they buy clothes from? Do they wear the fashion that they like? What do they wear to sleep? Do they wear makeup? What’s their hair like?She dresses like a hippy got lost in the forest for 50 years and is just now coming back to society. She likes thrifting, not just because her parents are always broke, but she really likes Free People even though she has never actually bought anything from there because damn it’s pricey. To sleep, she wears the footie pajamas Willow and Tara got everyone one year sort of as a joke but mostly because Willow and Tara are cheesy. She doesn’t wear makeup, except sometimes when she and her mom have fun makeover days, but it’s not something she prioritizes and she likes her face how it is. Her hair is always very long and usually braided. 33. What underwear do they wear? Boxers or briefs? Lacey? Comfy granny panties?She’s 14 I’m skipping this34. What is their body type? How tall are they? Do they like their body?14, so not getting into specifics, but I don’t think being raised by Cordy would leave room for serious self esteem issues tbh.35. What’s their guilty pleasure? What is their totally unguilty pleasure? Her guilty pleasure is probably Taylor Swift? She loves Taylor Swift. But also she doesn’t feel bad about that so that answer is for both. 

[orbemnews]

Women say St. Louis County's family courts bring financial and emotional stress ST. LOUIS (KMOV.com) — The St. Louis County family courts can be an emotional venue for child custody battles. Multiple women are making their cases public to shine a light on a system they claim is all about the money. Cortney Nolan said her contentious divorce costs upwards of a “million dollars.” Much of that money was spent on attorneys, but she also said she spent tens of thousands on fees she didn’t expect. Nolan claims she was ordered to see Dr. James Reid for a mental assessment during her custody battle. Reid is a licensed psychologist in St. Louis County. She said she didn’t have a say in the matter and “that was a motion filed by opposing council and they selected him.” During her assessments with Reid, Nolan claims she was given written tests including one known as the MMPI or the Minnesota Multiphasic Personality Inventory. It’s a psychological test that assesses personality traits and psychopathology. Nolan said one of them “probably had 500 questions.” According to Dr. James Butcher, a retired psychology professor at the University of Minnesota, the MMPI test is an objective test. Butcher spent his career studying the MMPI test and said the results can “suggest diagnosis” for various personality disorders. Nolan said she was under the impression her written tests did not reveal anything extraordinary, but she was diagnosed with multiple disorders. She said she was diagnosed with major depressive disorder, generalized anxiety disorder, borderline and narcissistic. “It was purely subjective,” Nolan said. “It was given by Dr. Reid. He said there was no way those tests could have been right and made reference that I cheated on the test.” Evita Tolu says she can relate to Nolan’s situation and added, “I was completely naïve.” Tolu also saw Dr. Reid during her child custody battle. She said she was referred to Reid by her guardian ad litem, Elaine Pudlowski. A guardian ad litem (GAL) is hired by both parties in a child custody battle to look out for the best interest of the children. Like Nolan, Tolu’s diagnosis surprised her. “I was diagnosed as a sociopath,” Tolu said. “I was diagnosed with borderline personality disorder.” Tolu said Dr. Reid did not explain how he arrived at the decision, but said, “we called him for a deposition. He could only tell us that was his subjective opinion.” When asked if Tolu was ever diagnosed with a personality disorder in the past she said “I’ve never heard of some of them.” Both women say the court-ordered therapy was not only emotionally stressful, but financially stressful as well. According to court filings, Tolu and her ex were billed $30,000 by Reid, another $5,000 to depose him and nearly $3,000 so Tolu could obtain a copy of her file. Nolan claims she spent $35,000 with Reid, another $50,000 hiring experts to challenge him, and then nearly $17,000 to depose Reid. Tim Roldan represents Tolu and has filed a lawsuit on her behalf against Elaine Pudlowski, Dr. James Reid, and another therapist named Jennifer Van Luven. According to Roldan, Van Luven was hired to work with Tolu’s children. “We have alleged in general as a lay person term malpractice, each one of them in different areas,” Roldan said. According to the lawsuit, Dr. Reid released Tolu’s report to Pudlowski, and Pudlowski filed a motion to limit release of that report. Roldan is accusing Pudlowski of sharing Tolu’s diagnosis with Van Luven, the therapist seeing Tolu’s children. According to the lawsuit, Van Luven, “discussed the custody case in great detail” and “shared adult information” with both children and discussed Reid’s diagnosis. The lawsuit claims Tolu addressed the issue with Pudlowski. According to the lawsuit, Pudlowski stated that according to Van Luven, the children discussed the contents of the Reid report. The lawsuit also says Pudlowski failed to address Tolu’s concerns in “any meaningful way.” Tolu claims the impact was so detrimental she no longer has a relationship with her children. The lawsuit has caught the attention of those who work within the St. Louis County Family Court system. During a recent zoom meeting, approximately three dozen GALs (guardian ad litem) discussed the legal challenge facing Pudlowski. The zoom call was recorded and anonymously posted to YouTube. Sarah Pleban who also works as a GAL stated during the meeting, “one of the things I know is we all have each other’s backs.” Pudlowski briefly spoke about her legal challenge and said, “my motion to dismiss is basically about judicial immunity, quasi-judicial immunity.” As the meeting progressed the various GALs offered financial support to Pudlowski. It was also revealed there can be challenges to finding therapists like Dr. Reid to evaluate people like Nolan and Tolu. Pleban said, “we don’t have many people to do custody evaluations. The pool is this deep, so I’m sure everybody has some pros and cons about Jim Reid, but he is one of the substantial ones. If he’s knocked, or if says like Elaine does, and Jen’s getting ready to do. I don’t want to do this anymore it’s not worth it then where are we?” Pudlowski stated, “I already have tons of people that won’t call me back. I don’t take it personally, but when I call, ‘I’ve got a case are you interested?’ No, no, no, no. No one is going to if I mention the last couple of cases I referred people they got sued on, that’s a problem.” As for people like Nolan, she recommends couples find an amicable way to settle their divorce outside of the confines of family court. She said court-ordered therapy did nothing to help her emotional or financial well-being. “Ultimately it was the two of us coming back together and saying take them all out of it. This has been a nightmare,” Nolan said. “Let’s come together for the kids. Let’s get on the same page, with a different way of doing it, with the same goals in mind and we settled it.” Pudlowski’s attorney has filed a motion to dismiss Tolu’s lawsuit. The attorney added, “We are eager to argue our motions. As to many specific allegations in the lawsuit or the questions posed in your email it is my policy not to discuss such matters while litigation is pending.” Dr. Reid did not respond to News 4’s request for comment, neither did Jennifer Van Luven. Both parties have also filed a motion to dismiss Tolu’s lawsuit. As for Sarah Pleban, she did return an initial phone call, but did not return a follow-up call. At this point every judge in the 21st judicial circuit has recused themselves from hearing Tolu’s case. The case will now be transferred to the Missouri Supreme Court for reassignment. The ex-husband of Tolu reached out to News 4 prior to the airing of the story. He said he believes the money spent with Dr. Reid was well-spent, and only totaled a small fraction of the overall money spent during the custody battle. Tolu’s ex-husband said he believes Reid’s report ultimately protected him and the couple’s two children. !function(f,b,e,v,n,t,s) if(f.fbq)return;n=f.fbq=function()n.callMethod? n.callMethod.apply(n,arguments):n.queue.push(arguments); if(!f._fbq)f._fbq=n;n.push=n;n.loaded=!0;n.version='2.0'; n.queue=[];t=b.createElement(e);t.async=!0; t.src=v;s=b.getElementsByTagName(e)[0]; s.parentNode.insertBefore(t,s)(window, document,'script', 'https://connect.facebook.net/en_US/fbevents.js'); fbq('init', '2164750607119309'); fbq('track', 'PageView'); Source link Orbem News #bring #civillaw #cortneynolan #countys #Courts #Emotional #evitatolu #Family #Financial #Investigation #jamesreid #Law #local #Louis #news4investigates #st.louis #Stress #Women

[insomniasix]

Night-out.

@nemo-ne-impune-lacessit said:73 or 101? I put Evie in your hands, plus anyone else you choose 😘

A/N: A failed attempt in humor, as always. This didn’t entirely turn out the way I wanted it to, but I’ll write something else as well. 

A/N2: Takes place in the same universe NoEnd House does.

Warnings: Swearing | Words: 800 | Characters (Appearing and mentioned) : Evita Hemlock, Six Ulric, Gladiolus Amicitia, Ignis Scientia

Nighttime in Lestallum was always nice. Whether you were outside, enjoying the nightlife, the lights and the people roaming around in the filled with music streets; or stayed inside, a movie, a warm bed with a good book in hand, or just a few more perfect hours of sleep.

Lestallum was haven for most.

It was heaven for me too; a girls’ night out with my best friend, and now a warm bed.

Perfect preparation for the day to come…

Until the door to the room opened and his heavy -way to heavy -steps filled my ears.

My eyes opened instantly, so there was no reason to act like I was still asleep; besides, he’d know.

I raised underneath the warmth of the blanket and heard him turn around instantly.

“Is there a reason you’re naked in my bed?” his voice… trembled?

I turned my eyes from his tattooed back to myself, not entirely sure what he meant by “naked”. I was in my underwear, most of my skin being covered by either the blanket or my very-covering sports bra.

“I’m in my underwear, Gladiolus, I’m not naked. Besides, your girlfriend is here too.”

“Well then,” he smirked a cocky smirk “Is there a reason why I’m not in my bed?”

What?

“Wait, what am I even…?” he regretted his words right away and I could help but laugh, I bet he’s blushing, wishing Six is indeed sleeping.

“Don’t be an asshole, asshole.” I laughed, turning to look at my friend sleeping soundly, she’d laugh her ass of on that one “She’s asleep. You know you can turn around, and I don’t know... check on her, you idiot.”

He did what I said right away; she was right, the boy does know how to follow orders.

Gladio made his way to the side of the bed, kneeling down and caressing her hair “What happened? And one more time, why are you na- in your underwear, sleeping next to my girlfriend? Shouldn’t you be in Your room, with Iggy?”

I laughed at his comment; if I were, this would have turned out to be very awkward.

“Evie?” I turned to look at him, he was seriously worried, I guess being a Glaive means you’re always ready for a fight, even when you’re sleeping. It must seem weird to him how she’s not up on her toes and ready for battle.

“Don’t worry about her, she’s fine.” I take another look at my knocked-out friend, what the hell happened? He’d want to know. I should get my thoughts back in order before he looks up from her.

“I thought you two were going out for a drink.”

“We did!” I rubbed the sleep away from my eyes, I need to be awake for this “You know, I thought she could hold her liquor, for an immortal.” He didn’t find it as funny as I did “She gave a special recipeh to the bartender and he made her up to five drinks of it. Once the walls started to dance alongside us, I grabbed her and started for the Leville. We met a couple of guys just outside.”

So now his eyes are piercing me with the famous Amicitia-death-stare! Relax, Romeo!

“They got way too friendly with us. One of them saying Six turned him down last time, and something about her guard-dog not being around anymore.” His fist clenched “I’m guessing he meant you.”

“Did they hurt you in any way?” his voice was dark now. The dude wasn’t bluffing about having met them before.

“They tried. Two of them started for me but I punched them unconscious. Somehow I found myself in the fountain outside the hotel.”

“And her?”

“She got pissed! Her eyes changed; by the time I was on my feet and out of the water, they fuckers were running for their lives; and she hadn’t even moved from her spot.” I smiled proudly, expected no less, and apparently, neither did Gladio “When I got next to her, she muttered something about ‘being awake now’, but then fainted in my arms. I carried her all the way to the room, but I couldn’t just leave her. I had to make sure she wouldn’t choke in her sleep.”

Gladio didn’t say anything. He placed a gentle and sweet kiss on her hair and made his way to me, making me lay down and bringing the blanket up to my chin “Thank you. I’ll take care of this. Get some rest before Iggy starts freaking out trying to find you.” He kissed my forehead and left towards the door, his fists so tight his knuckles had turned white, he was going out to find them and this time they wouldn’t have time to run.

Damn, those two are a terrifying couple.

Tagging : @nemo-ne-impune-lacessit​ @mzargentum @alicemoonwonderland​ @fieryfantasy​ ​ @nykamito​ @theyearofdiamonddogs​ @mandakatt​ @thedragontamerying​ @mp938368​ @stunninglyignis​ @lady-asuka​ @ladye11e​ @daschstuff​ @expectogladiolus​ @ffxvhoe​ @valkyrieofardyn​ @insomniacapples​ @frostca11 @eve-is-random @themissimmortal

(If you wanna be tagged or removed please let me know, I don’t wanna bother ^^)

Thank you for all the love and support! <3

[levieuxquartier]

Body and Appearance

1. Describe the character's height and build. Is he heavyset, thin, short, rangy? Menuda y delgada. Pero en cuanto abre la boca descubres que no tiene nada de frágil.

2. How old is he? Ha cumplido 47 el 9 de agosto.

3. Describe his posture. Does he carry himself well or does he slouch? Recta, pero relajada. Tiene naturalmente buena postura.

4. How is his health? Is he fit or out of shape? Any illnesses or conditions? Any physical disabilities? Sana, excepto las leves molestias de la menopausia inminente. Usa gafas para la vista cansada.

5. How does he move? Is he clumsy, graceful, tense, fluid? Grácil y sigilosa. Es de las que no te enteras de que ha entrado en una habitación hasta que se hace notar.

6. How attractive is this character physically? How does he perceive himself in the mirror? Ha aprendido a superar sus inseguridades y se ve bien. Cuidándose siempre, claro.

7. Describe his complexion. Dark, light, clear, scarred? Clara, es muy rubia.

8. Describe his hair: color, texture, style. Rubio y últimamente, corto.

9. What color are his eyes? Azul claro.

10. Does the character have any other noteworthy features? Pómulos altos y rostro anguloso, en general.

11. What are his chief tension centers? La espalda y los hombros.

12. What is the character's wardrobe like? Casual, dressy, utilitarian? Bright colors, pastels, neutrals? Is it varied, or does he have six of the same suit? Depende del contexto. Útil y cómodo siempre que puede (aunque se ha acostumbrado a llevar ropa "incómoda", incluso a los tacones), para el trabajo en colores neutros, y algo más arriesgada en su vida privada.

13. Do his clothes fit well? Does he seem comfortable in them? Para no. En su entorno te juzgan mucho por tu aspecto y si eres una mujer más.

14. Does he dress the same on the job as he does in his free time? If not, what are the differences? Para el trabajo es siempre un poco de lo mismo: trajes o vestidos en colores neutros y camisas. En su vida personal la puedes encontrar fácilmente con un jersey o camiseta y vaqueros la mayor parte del tiempo.

15. You knew it was coming: Boxers, briefs or commando? Tiene debilidad por la ropa interior cara y bonita.

Speech

1. What does this character's voice sound like? High-pitched, deep, hoarse? Grave y pausada.

2. How does he normally speak? Loud, soft, fast, evenly? Does he talk easily, or does he hesitate? Lento y calmado, pero con autoridad. Es de las que aparentemente nunca pierde los nervios y no se deja cortar en una conversación.

3. Does the character have a distinct accent or dialect? Any individual quirks of pronunciation? Any, like, you know, verbal tics? Tiene acento británico. No lo ha perdido.

4. What language/s does he speak, and with how much fluency? Inglés, español y alemán. Se defiende con bastante fluidez en todos ellos.

5. Does he switch languages or dialects in certain situations? No realmente, aunque con su familia irlandesa o del Reino Unido o cuando viaja allí se le marca más el acento.

6. Is he a good impromptu speaker, or does he have to think about his words? Es de reacción rápida.

7. Is he eloquent or inarticulate? Under what circumstances might this change? Pocas cosas hay que la dejen sin palabras, pero alguna habrá.

Mental and Emotional

1. How intelligent is this character? Is he book-smart or street-smart? Más de libros, tal vez. Siempre ha sido estudiosa y seria en ese departamento, pero también tiene la diplomacia necesaria para que la gente no se le de mal.

2. Does he think on his feet, or does he need time to deliberate? Es reflexiva, pero no se eterniza. A nadie le han dado premios por resolver problemas tres años después de que se presenten.

3. Describe the character's thought process. Is he more logical, or more intuitive? Idealistic or practical? Lógica y práctica. Es lo que aprendes cuando te hartas de oír cómo te tachan de emocional (incluso si no lo eres) y ves que de sueños no vive nadie. Un cierto grado de idealismo es necesario, pero hay que ser realista y tomar decisiones duras, a veces, para alcanzar lo que deseas.

4. What kind of education has the character had? Fue a un colegio de monjas de Liverpool durante la primaria y la secundaria. Se graduó con buenas notas y después estudió administración y finanzas en la universidad, en Edimburgo. Desde entonces no ha dejado de formarse y mejorar a través de cursos y seminarios.

5. What are his areas of expertise? What, if anything, is he interested in learning more about? Aparte de su trabajo, los negocios y la empresa, es una página de IMDB andante.

6. Is he an introvert or an extrovert? 50/50. Es extrovertida en el sentido de que no es tímida y habla con facilidad con todo el mundo, e introvertida porque como más cómoda está es en su propia compañía.

7. Describe the character's temperament. Is he even-tempered or does he have mood swings? Cheerful or melancholy? Laid-back or driven? Es emocional, pero no deja que lo vean. Un estereotipo de las mujeres que no necesita que relacionen con ella en el mundo empresarial, así que se mantiene calmada y estable. Al menos todo lo que puedes.

8. How does he respond to new people or situations? Is he suspicious, relaxed, timid, enthusiastic? Le gustan los cambios y novedades, por lo general, si bien se las toma con cautela.

9. Is he more likely to act, or to react? Reaccionar. Primero calcula y luego decide qué hacer.

10. Which is his default: fight or flight? Enfrentarse. No adora discutir, pero tampoco lo evita.

11. Describe the character's sense of humor. Does he appreciate jokes? Puns? Gallows humor? Bathroom humor? Pranks? Aunque parezca lo contrario, es de humor fácil y simple. Aunque a algo más negro y descarado tampoco le hace ascos.

12. Does the character have any diagnosable mental disorders? If yes, how does he deal with them? No, aunque hace años que toma ocasionalmente tranquilizantes suaves para ayudarla a dormir.

13. What moments in this character's life have defined him as a person? Mudarse a Estados Unidos después de que Henry Loring se la "robara" a la empresa en la que trabajaba. Tener que renunciar a formar una familia y elegir su carrera profesional.

14. What does he fear? Que su esfuerzo sea en vano.

15. What are his hopes or aspirations? No es que aspire a mucho, considera que tiene todo lo que puede pedir, excepto quizá más reconocimiento a su trabajo.

16. What is something he doesn't want anyone to find out about him? Que no es tan calmada y segura como aparenta.

Relationships

1. Describe this character's relationship with his parents. Buena, aunque la distancia la complica. Su padre falleció hace unos años, pero ambos estuvieron siempre muy orgullosos de ella y la apoyaron en todas sus decisiones.

2. Does the character have any siblings? What is/was their relationship like? Es hija única. Sus padres tenían problemas para concebir.

3. Are there other blood relatives to whom he is close? Are there ones he can't stand? Sigue teniendo contacto con su tía, la hermana de su madre, y un par de primos (los hijos de esta) en Liverpool. Con la familia paterna es otro rollo, la consideran una estirada y ella no tiene tiempo que perder en convencerles de lo contrario.

4. Are there other, unrelated people whom he considers part of his family? What are his relationships with them? Su difunto marido, Brian.

5. Who is/was the character's best friend? How did they meet? Sus primas de Liverpool, si cuentan como tales. Se criaron saliendo juntas y compartiendo toda clase de secretos y aunque estén a distancia, hablan todos los días.

6. Does he have other close friends? Sienna Loring, tal vez. Aunque son amigas de trabajo, sobre todo.

7. Does he make friends easily, or does he have trouble getting along with people? Se le da bien, pero es de las que necesita espacio y tiempo sola para recargar.

8. Which does he consider more important: family or friends? Por lo general, la familia es la que ha seguido a su lado.

9. Is the character single, married, divorced, widowed? Has he been married more than once? Viuda. Su marido murió hace tres años por un problema renal.

10. Is he currently in a romantic relationship with someone other than a spouse? No ha vuelto a tener una relación desde su marido.

11. Who was his first crush? Who is his latest? El primero fue elsacerdote que les daba misa y religión en el colegio, un hombre joven y agradable por el que temió ir al infierno muchas veces de adolescente. Ya ni se acuerda de la última vez que tuvo alguno.

12. What does he look for in a romantic partner? Respeto, igualdad, complicidad, y que tenga un carácter algo distinto al suyo para complementarse y no chocar.

13. Does the character have children? Grandchildren? If yes, how does he relate to them? If no, does he want any? No. Se quedó embarazada a los treinta y largos, al borde de recibir un ascenso en el trabajo, y decidió no tenerlo. Su marido respetó su decisión, aunque ambos se quedaron con las ganas.

14. Does he have any rivals or enemies? Es la que les dice a todos los miembros de Lore Co. lo que están haciendo mal, así que quizá no caiga muy bien, pero tampoco es que le importe.

15. What is the character's sexual orientation? Where does he fall on the Kinsey scale? Es heterosexual. Ha tenido alguna experiencia con una mujer, pero no es lo suyo.

16. How does he feel about sex? How important is it to him? Sólo piensa en ello de vez en cuando, pero si lo hace no tiene problema en buscarle solución lo antes posible. Últimamente sólo sin compromiso, le da toda la pereza meterse en una relación.

17. What are his turn-ons? Turn-offs? Weird bedroom habits? La echa atrás el egoísmo, estas cosas son tarea de dos. Últimamente, todos sus rollos han sido hombres más jóvenes que ella.

Beliefs

1. Do you know your character's astrological (zodiac of choice) sign? How well does he fit type? Es Leo, diría que de manual.

2. Is this character religious, spiritual, both, or neither? How important are these elements in his life? Es católica. Hace años que no va a misa todos los domingos ni nada de eso, pero sigue haciendo visitas y rezando como le enseñaron.

3. Does this character have a personal code of morals or ethics? If so, how did that begin? What would it take to compromise it? Nada más allá de lo básico. No tratar como no te gustaría que te trataran, no hacer daño... o al menos, en un mundo competitivo como en el que se mueve, minimizarlo.

4. How does he regard beliefs that differ from his? Is he tolerant, intolerant, curious, indifferent? Respeta toda clase de creencias que no sean perjudiciales, pero no soporta a los que no respetan las suyas.

5. What prejudices does he hold? Are they irrational or does he have a good reason for them? Conoce a demasiados hombres forrados de dinero para no tener ciertas precauciones con ellos.

Daily Life

1. What is the character's financial situation? Is he rich, poor, comfortable, in debt? Más que cómoda. Tiene un puesto directivo en una empresa enorme.

2. What is his social status? Has this changed over time, and if so, how has the change affected him? Ha mejorado, sin duda. Se crió en una casa relativamente desahogada, pero de clase media. A ella personalmente no le ha afectado mucho, sigue siendo cautelosa como lo ha sido siempre y no se lo tiene creído, pero quizá sí que disfrute de sus ganancias con más tranquilidad.

3. Where does he live? House, apartment, trailer? Is his home his castle or just a place to crash? What condition is it in? Does he share it with others? Un piso en el centro de Nueva Orleans donde se mudó al quedarse viuda. Pasa más horas al día en la oficina que en casa, pero le gusta volver, tenerlo todo bien arreglado y pasar allí el tiempo que necesita consigo misma.

4. Besides the basic necessities, what does he spend his money on? Buena ropa, objetos de decoración, y envía dinero a casa de su madre todos los meses. También en tener a mano un par de botellas de vino caro, que es su debilidad delante de la tele a última hora del día.

5. What does he do for a living? Is he good at it? Does he enjoy it, or would he rather be doing something else? Es jefa de riesgos en las empresas Loring. Henry Loring no te lleva consigo si no eres excelente en lo que haces, así que no se le debe de dar mal. A ella le gusta. Es buena líder, sensata y presta atención al detalle.

6. What are his interests or hobbies? How does he spend his free time? Viendo películas o series (le gusta mucho ir al cine, normalmente sola), haciendo pilates con vídeos en casa, porque a ver a qué clase te apuntas con sus horarios, y saliendo ocasionalmente a tomar algo los fines de semana.

7. What are his eating habits? Does he skip meals, eat out, drink alcohol, avoid certain foods? Es de las que la mitad del tiempo se olvidan de comer, así que procura desayunar bien y después sobrevive a base de fruta y barritas de cereales. Entre semana depende de un servicio de comida por encargo para la cena, pero algunos días lo cambia por un menú de comida basura y no se arrepiente. Adora su copa de vino por la noche mientras ve sus series.

Associations

Which of the following do you associate with the character, or which is his favorite:

1. Color? Plateado 2. Smell? Flores frescas 3. Time of day? Amanecer 4. Season? Primavera 5. Book? Biografías de actrices clásicas. Marilyn Monroe y Natalie Wood son sus favoritas. 6. Music? Un poco de todo. Pop, rock, clásica... según el momento del día. 7. Place? Cerca de cualquier masa de agua, mar, río... 8. Substance? Chardonnay. 9. Plant? Rosas blancas. 10. Animal? Gaviota.