#andy allen

[psikonauti]

Andy Allen (Czech, b.1989)

Rabbit 3 (Rabbit of Caerbannog), 2022

Oil on canvas

[moonstruck-poet]

A Chef OC?

Masterchef Australia season 14 based small series fic. The OC wades through the rough and exhilarating journey of the culinary competition while also making some beautiful relationships with the fellow contestants and judges to last for a lifetime.

She is also one of the youngest contestants to ever enter and be qualified for the competition. She develops a special bond with the judges, especially Jock Zonfrillo that stays throughout the contest and beyond.

===============================

Hello!!! This is just an idea that came to my jead because of my recent obsession with Masterchef Australia. And it just became stronger when I heard about the passing of Jock. If it isn't clear already, I admire and love him so much. This is just my small tribute to the incredible chef who made me laugh and smile through a tv screen.

I don't know if many people will be interested in reading it and of course that's a fear that many writers have. But I need to get this out.

So my idea is a small series based on the season 14 of the show. I'll obviously include the scenes that are most important and heartfelt.

That's it ig..

Let me know what y'all think about the idea and please do leave suggestions if you feel so. I'll love for some encouragement and motivation.

I'll hopefully start working on it soon and in the meantime I also have a few drafts that I've jotted down for Ben Barnes and Kaz Brekker.

Thank you for reading all this <33

[estreleta]

bottle of siren tears | interview

[les4nobody]

The Professionals can't lose!! They have Steve Jones the sex symbol!!

Round one

REO Speedwagon 

Formed in: 1967

Genres: Rock, pop rock, hard rock, arena rock

Lineup: Kevin Cronin- vocals, guitar

Gary Richrath- guitar

Neal Doughty- keyboards

Bruce Hall- bass

Alan Gratzer- drums

Albums from the 80s:

Hi Infidelity (1989)

Good Trouble (1982)

Wheels Are Turnin’ (1984)

Life as We Know It (1987)

Propaganda: 

The Professionals

Formed in: 1979

Genres: Punk rock

Lineup: Steve Jones- vocals, guitar

Paul Cook- drums

Ray McVeigh- guitar

Paul Myers- bass

Andy Allen- bass

Albums from the 80s:

I Didn’t See It Coming (1981)

Propaganda: 

[oxventure]

In just a few short hours our explosive playthrough of the brand new Discowlrd TTRPG arrives!

Tune in to this incredibly special Oxventure featuring the illustrious talents of @domjallen!

🕓 4pm BST | 11am EST | 3pm PST 🔗 https://youtu.be/ATV8TbbDqsI

[wwprice1]

Ben and Ezra on the set of The Flash. Shared by Barbara Muschietti on her Instagram.

[citizenscreen]

Andy Griffith, Steve Allen, Imogene Coca, and Elvis Presley rehearsing a skit called 'Range Roundup' for “The Steve Allen Show” in New York on June 29, 1956.

[susieandhobbes]

I feel bad because Ayo is clearly legitimately pissed about the baseball video of her and Jeremy blowing up like this and her feelings are valid but in my extremely unprofessional and not at all certified PR perspective - she/her team are handling it SO BADLY.

Deleting her tik toks or IG pics, not dropping another vogue partnership video that (allegedly) was coming today, reposting that video about filming people in public - BABY THE STREISAND EFFECT!!!

The more rattled you seem, the more the internet is going to think they caught you at something and the harder they're going to read into everything. Hell, half the people who saw the video were like "oh this must be a marketing strategy" and while that makes literally no sense because you don't promote a ~platonic~ friendship by stirring up dating rumors, it was still something people were willing to believe. She should have posted "anyway The Bear Season 3 airs June 27th! Go cubs" on her IG story and kept it pushing

[wasabe777]

[psikonauti]

Andy Allen (Czech, b.1989)

Tiger Tiger, 2021

Oil on canvas

[artist-issues]

I saw you answer an ask on Toy Story, which was super interesting, and also say:

"It’s an incredibly good movie series. Not Toy Story 4. But the rest of the series."

I didn't actually see Toy Story 4 because I felt the first three tied the story up very well, and we got a really good arc through those first three. It just felt unnecessary, and what I did see from it didn't make me eager to go out and watch it.

Could you expand on where you think Toy Story 4 goes wrong? If the other three convey selflessness, living and finding purpose, then what does that Toy Story 4 try to convey? Does it contradict the others?

I think Toy Story 4 goes wrong by trying to make Woody selfish. I mean, you could say that he isn't selfish to leave Bonnie and his friends and embrace the "Lost Toy" lifestyle. You could say "he just went from taking care of one kid who didn't really need him anymore to taking care of every lost kid who could need him, and finding lost toys homes. That's what was happening with the lost little girl at the end!"

Okay, you could say all that, but you'd be wrong, because 1) that is not what was happening at the end. And 2) even if it were, that is not a selfless ending for Woody. Furthermore 3) it undoes all his character development and progression from the first three.

You didn't see the fourth movie, right? So let me break it down a little.

Woody's character progression goes like this:

1: Obsessed with being The Most Important Toy to Andy --> Remembering that what's great about being a toy is being there for Andy when he needs them, regardless of how often or special that is.

2: Fine with no longer being The Most Important Toy to Andy, but considering leaving because Andy will eventually not need him, ever --> Realizing that being there means being there, even if it's just to watch and love from a distance, instead of protecting yourself to no end.

3. Committed to Being There even if he's not needed --> But this includes being there for his friends, even after they choose to abandon him and the mission. (It's important to note that Woody only offers ((by getting in the box to Bonnie's)) to leave Andy if Andy chooses to give him to a kid who needs him more.)

The whole idea is that Woody belongs to someone. He's not his own. He's a toy. Toys belong to their kid; they don't have the right to just leave. If they did, they'd be bad toys. Because you never know how much a kid will be heartbroken, or whether or not they might need you down the road. Every movie before Toy Story 4 is Woody doubting that, but then coming back to it. That's why in Toy Story 3, when everyone is in Andy's Room sad because he won't play with them and he's about to leave, Woody is totally onboard with staying in the Attic for years—because maybe they'll get to be played with by Andy's kids. He's loyal, and selfless, because he knows he's not his own. He's willing to go to Bonnie only because it'll mean staying with his friends where they're needed; but ONLY if ANDY willingly gives them up.

Enter Toy Story 4.

Woody's having a hard time adjusting to Bonnie's Room because 1) he doesn't get played with, his role in the games is taken by Jessie. So he's right back where he was in the first movie, stuck in a closet watching another toy get played with. And 2) Dolly is the leader of the room, so he's not even really allowed to be helpful to his friends during their off hours, because she's got that covered. So he feels directionless.

UNTIL Bonnie goes to school for the first time. She's not allowed to bring toys. Dolly is fine with this but Woody goes anyway because he's sure Bonnie will need something.

And in this beautiful first portion of character development for Woody, he does not sneak out of the backpack and get Bonnie to gain comfort from him, her one and only toy, at daycare. Even though he totally could've. He could've seized his moment in her heart. But he didn't. Because he already learned that lesson in Toy Story 1-3: he doesn't need to be everything to the kid. He just needs to do what's best for the kid, and to do that, he has to be there.

So instead he throws her a bunch of craft supplies to play with when nobody sits with her. She gets distracted by making Forky, a toy made from a spork and some pipe cleaner.

Bonnie is, from that moment on and throughout the rest of the movie, without exception, OBSESSED with Forky. There is no other toy in her mind. But Forky is a lot like Buzz was in the first movie after learning he's a toy: he doesn't understand what's so great about that, and would rather go back to being trash. He keeps trying to jump in garbage cans while Bonnie's family takes a road trip. And for some inexplicable reason, none of the other toys really care about this. But Woody, knowing what Bonnie needs, basically posts a 24-hour suicide watch on Forky and keeps pulling him back over to Bonnie, out of the trash.

The problem is, Woody isn't that excited about this. He is just doggedly resigned to it as his duty. He keeps rescuing Forky and getting no love in return; Buzz sort of tries to be supportive and offer to help, but nobody else seems to care about Bonnie and Forky, and Woody thinks this is his only way to be useful so he really doesn't want their help.

Which is stupid. Because if he were really committed to being selfless and loving Bonnie, he'd let everyone help. Because the point isn't "how will I feel if I fail to do this on my own? What's my purpose?" That's selfish. It's "you-focused." The point should be "How can we get this job done best for Bonnie?" with no consideration of "self." That would be selfless, which is the point of Toy Story movies.

Anyway. I'll speed up.

Basically by Act 2 Forky comes to understand (thanks to Woody) how great it is to be a toy. But no sooner does he want to go back to Bonnie (on the road trip) than Woody suddenly gets distracted. His whole life's mission of doing what's good for his kid is derailed because he finds Bo Peep again. Meanwhile, Forky is captured by a villainous antique doll with no voice box, who is fixated on being bought by a little girl and thinks that if she had Woody's voice box her dreams would come true.

Bo Peep has been living as a Lost Toy. Basically the movie sets this up as if Lost Toys take care of each other, patching up injuries and having fun together even when no kids are around: they're just doing the same sort of thing that the reformed toys at Sunnyside Daycare do. But in a playground/fairground setting.

Bo Peep doesn't want to be with one kid. She wants to keep doing this more selfish lifestyle, where she can be played with whenever she wants, help toys whenever she wants, and avoid the heartbreak of a kid abandoning her.

Understandable.

But thats the opposite of everything Woody's learned in the last three (and a half) movies. He could've made the decision Bo Peep is making at any point in Andy's childhood. But he's already learned that being there means Being There, regardless of what the kid can do for you.

I mean, I hate to point it out, because I know people will try to make it an allegory for "staying in an abusive situation," even though that's NOT what I'm saying, but seriously—think back to Sid's House in the very first movie. They don't lead all the broken toys to a life of freedom. They force Sid to be a better kid, but the broken toys stay there. Because they're Sid's Toys.

Contrast that with the "hardship" Bo Peep has been through...Bo Peep just...got pawned off. She didn't have body parts removed and sewn onto other toys. She didn't get strapped to a firework or melted down. But she's treated like this revolutionary, independent, strong-woman toy who's introducing this great concept of freedom to Woody.

That's all wrong for Woody. And for most of the movie, he resists it, so that's good.

But what it comes down to, at the end, is Woody deciding to choose what he wants over his ideals of selflessness and loyalty. He wants to stay with Bo Peep (because romance) and he wants to be needed. Lost Kids and Toys "need" him more than Bonnie.

To be fair, they try to build up to this in a way that makes sense for his character. They try really hard, they do. They show that Woody is still selfless when it comes to the happiness of kids and toys; he willingly gives up his voice box so that Forky can go back to Bonnie, and the doll villainess can have a shot at her dream. They show that he's ready to support that villainess and help her find a kid she could be true to even after the kid she wanted rejects her. They show that he really was going to leave Bo, even at the very end, even though he didn't want to—and it takes Buzz insisting that Bonnie will "be all right" without him for Woody to give it all up.

They do try.

But that's the thing. The only way they could set up Woody's decision to abandon his friends and his kid for life as a Lost Toy was by centering it around this idea of "where I'm needed."

But 1) "where I'm needed" is too self-focused for Woody, because of all the reasons in Toy Story 2 and 1, and 2) you can't have it both ways. You can't say Woody's all about "where he can be of service best" and all about "what he wants." Those two focuses contradict one another, in Woody's case.

That's what it boils down to. They took the characters that are literally made to say, "live your life for others, love regardless of whether or not you're loved back," and they try to say, "nooo, actually, that's toxic, you have to do what you want, what feels most fulfilling to you, self-care, etc." And they do their best to shoehorn Woody into that by saying "what he's most fulfilled by is being needed."

That's all wrong for Toy Story. Woody developed away from making all his decisions based on where he's "needed" in Toy Story 2. Woody expressed loyalty to both Andy and his friends perfectly in Toy Story 3 by putting himself in Bonnie's box and letting Andy decide, his owner decide, where he should be.

And then Toy Story 4 comes along and says, "No, Woody gets to decide, and he decides where he's needed, and he's fine with separating from not only his kid, but his friends."

This post is already too long but also, if you try to spin it so Woody's still in-character and selfless by helping Lost Toys find kids, it starts to make no sense. If the Lost Toy lifestyle is so great, because you can pick up playtime with kids and put it back down whenever you feel like it—and you should, because kids will always get older and throw you out—why should Woody ever help Lost Toys find a kid to go home with? Why wouldn't he say, like Bo, "hey that's nice but eventually they'll grow up, it's a dead-end, just stay out in this playground with us. That's what's best for you. Be a Lost Toy like us."

The only possible answer to that question, which IS supposedly Woody's fulfilling ending, is, "Because maybe some toys just 'want' to go home with one kid. And if they do, they should be allowed to do what they want. And Woody can help them, because helping them is what he wants."

Allll back to "what YOU want" which is the opposite of being a toy. Anyway. The horse is dead, I'll quit beating it.

[estreleta]

bottle of siren tears  †  the caravan of the two queens

[the-hottest-band-tournament]

Round Two

The Smiths

Defeated opponents: The Who

Formed in: 1982

Genres: Indie pop, indie rock, jangle pop, post-punk, alternative rock

Lineup: Morrissey - vocals, percussion 

Johnny Marr - guitar, piano, keyboards, harmonica

Andy Rourke - bass

Mike Joyce - drums, percussion

Albums from the 80s:

 The Smiths (1984)

Meat Is Murder (1985)

The Queen Is Dead (1986)

Strangeways, Here We Come (1987)

Propaganda: Possibly the most important and influential rock (not metal) band of the 1980s. Their intellectual lyrics and unique sound sparked many imitators on both sides of the Atlantic, some (like Radiohead) becoming legends in their own right.

They are quite pretty and the music is so good. I don’t have much else to say

Def Leppard

Defeated opponents: Meat Puppets

Formed in: 1977

Genres: hard rock 

Lineup: Rick Savage- bass 

Phil Collen- guitar 

Steve Clark- guitar 

Rick Allen- drums

Joe Elliott- vocals 

Albums from the 80s:

 On Through the Night (1980)

High 'n' Dry (1981)

Pyromania (1983)

Hysteria (1987)

Propaganda: This is the first band I ever saw live. I was seven and up way past my bedtime but their stage show is so energetic and explosive, I never got bored or felt tired. Every member of the band is nice looking but also! There is Lore: So in 1984 their drummer, Rick Allen, was in a car accident that severed his left arm. Instead of replacing him, the band supported him through his rehabilitation and set him up with a custom electronic drum kit he could play with one arm and both feet and he is still playing with the band to this day. 

[helplessdreamersworld]

[release-the-mccracken]

Andy Hurley + Based shirts