#april 2022 contest

[milligramspoison]

Hi! First two MCR shows for 2024! Except part of the list started in 2023 thanks to fucking Mikey and Chris!

I also have a list of MCR’s 2022-2023 tour if you also want to check that out! Anyways ty Mikey and Chris for starting this list off 11 months early 😭

MCR @ WWWY

Hey Chris commented a sunset emoji under Mikey’s post that announced day 2 of WWWY, referring to Pete’s Amazing New Mexico Sunset post from 2005 (writing this on November 17th, 2023- 11 fucking months to go lmao)

Mikey also replied to Chris’ comment

Mikey is also very excited to play Disenchanted! (Love this for him)

Not WWWY but it deserves to be here -> Gerard’s cat costume from Toronto night 2 made it into the show Carol & the End of the World! (Hi it’s January 29th, 2024 as I’m writing this bullet point)

Frank is back on his fortune cookie bullshit (hello it’s March 18th, 2024 as I’m writing this)

American Idol contestant Abi Carter sang WTTBP for her top 20 performance on April 14th, 2024!

Chris posted the Pete and Mikey emo critters on his story on May 17th, 2024, using 🌅 as the fucking caption 😭

My Chem’s facebook got hacked on July 25th, 2024 😍

They’re doing additional songs after they do TBP in full, possibly the B Sides and Living With Ghosts 👀 (update they didn’t do either 😭)

Teenagers surpassed 1 BILLION streams on Spotify!!

I’m Not Okay will be added to Fortnite October 17th! (And will already be in the game by the time this post goes up!)

Close up of MCR’s (and FOB’s) merch for the festival!

The Swarm fly also returns for whatever reason 👀 (it was a big symbol during the last tour so I’m surprised it’s back for two one off shows)

DAY BEFORE WWWY WE HAVE THE BAND SOUNDCHECKING FAMOUS LAST WORDS (it’s officially WWWY weekend!!!)

MCR’s first show since March 26th, 2023!! (That’s 573 days aka 19 months!!)

Frank’s first tonight’s our night post involving MCR since last year 🥲

Mikey was spotted watching Mayday Parade’s set!

A CLIP OF THEM SOUNDCHECKING ON THE 18TH

Mikey was also spotted watching Dashboard Confessional’s set!

A third Mikey (and this time Kristin too!) spotting!

A fourth Mikey spotting and he’s with Patrick of FOB this time!!

WHITE FLOORING IS BEING LAID OUT

MCR’S STAGE AROUND THE BEGINNING OF FOB’S SET

MCR’S STAGE TOWARDS THE MIDDLE OF FOB’S SET

MCR’S STAGE AROUND 9:45PM

Pete of FOB hyped up the crowd for MCR’s set during the FOB set!!

WHATEVER THIS IS THEYRE TESTING STUFF FOR MCR’S SET

4 separate stage lights for them as of rn…….

GERARD AND MIKEY’S PARENTS ARE THERE

GERARD GOT A HAIRCUT

THE END FOR THE FIRST TIME SINCE OCTOBER 7TH, 2007

DEAD FOR THE FIRST TIME SINCE AUGUST 27TH, 2011

RAY ALSO HAD TWO GUITARS (obvi but still exciting nonetheless 😭)

“Fuck yeah” ~ Gerard

“Kisses for you!” ~ also Gerard!

SHARPEST LIVES FOR THE FIRST TIME SINCE MAY 9TH, 2008

RAY’S WINE RETURNS

“Spicy, you're fucking spicy” ~ Gerard ofc

I DON’T LOVE YOU FOR THE FIRST TIME SINCE OCTOBER 17TH, 2022

Gerard asked the audience to bark as they were going into House of Wolves 😭

HOUSE OF WOLVES FOR THE FIRST TIME SINCE MARCH 20TH, 2023

CANCER FOR THE FIRST TIME SINCE MARCH 19TH, 2023

They also got a violinist for Cancer and it sounded incredible

The violinist was Kayleigh Goldsworthy!!!!!

DISENCHANTED FOR THE FIRST TIME SINCE OCTOBER 7TH, 2007

There was also blooming and decaying flowers during Disenchanted!!

And there was also swords at some point during the set too…

RAYRARD MOMENT

“I got all this fucking honey in my mouth, it broke my ass! The fucking softest hands!” ~ Gerard, whatever he was rambling about 😭

WTTBP WAS REPRISED AT THE END OF FAMOUS

Blood was played on tape for the first time in many years!!

The band had an encore following the entirety of TBP!

I’m Not Okay was the first song of the encore!

A fan rushed the stage and touched Frank before being escorted off 🤦‍♀️ (BE NORMAL PPL they’re human just like the rest of us)

The look Gerard gave the stage rusher was super funny tho 😭

And they ended night one off on Helena!

DAN AND PHIL REFERENCED NO BUT SERIOUSLY IMAGINE IT

VIDEO OF THEM REFERENCING IT

Frank and Gerard goofing around <3

Marina Toybina styled their outfits (or at least Gerard’s) for night one of the festival!! (She also styled a lot of outfits for Gerard on the last tour!)

“Hey everybody!” ~ Gerard as he was going backstage!

MIKEY WATCHED FOB’S SET AND SANG ALONG TO MMRS

Gerard got on their tippy toes to reach over to fans on the other side of the fence 🥹

FRANK SPOTTING (WWWY night 2)

Cherry, Miles, and Lily (Frank’s kiddos) watching the Dunes set from yesterday <3 (and a bonus- it’s also Frank’s second tonight’s our night post for MCR since last year!)

Pete of FOB once again hyped up the crowd for MCR’s set during FOB’s!!!

GERARD IS IN THE SAME OUTFIT

RAY IS IN A BLACK SHIRT AND JEANS

“FUCKING ACE MAN” ~ Gerard!

Pixels of Mikey and Frank!!!

“Thank you” ~ Gerard after I Don’t Love You 🥹

KAYLEIGH RETURNED ON VIOLIN

SERENITY PRAYER BEFORE MAMA

KAYLEIGH ALSO DID VIOLIN ON MAMA TONIGHT

“BAG FULL OF KNIVES”

“There was a summer, I started collecting knives. Big bags full of knives. It’s because my friend died. And I was hoping somebody would try to hurt me so I could kill them. And he fell down. And one day he went to sleep forever.” ~ GERARD BEFORE SLEEP

“Vegas, I want you you to let go of everything. Everything!” ~ also Gerard before Sleep!

Gerard also laughed during Sleep 😭

“BELLISSIMO”

“THIS IS A SONG ABOUT BEING IN THE DREAM. AND DYING. BECAUSE THATS ALL DREAMS DO” ~ GERARD GOING INTO DISENCHANTED

WTTBP REPRISE AGAIN DURING FAMOUS

NA NA NA IS THE FIRST SONG OF THE ENCORE

SECOND SONG OF THE ENCORE IS HELENA

“Good night Las Vegas!” ~ Gerard before Helena!

WWWY POSTED PROFESSIONAL FOOTAGE OF MCR’S SET

GERARD WRAPPED THE MIC CORD AROUND THEIR NECK JUST LIKE OLD TIMES

This photo of Gerard…

AND THIS PHOTO OF GERARD WITH RAY AND MIKEY

Gerard met some fans after the show!!

RAY’S STAGE LEFT TATTOO HAS MADE AN APPEARANCE

Some of the photos Beemer took last night!

RAY AND HIS WINE RETURN ONCE AGAIN

INCREDIBLE video of Gerard

Hi if you’ve made it this far! Welcome to the 2024 list for MCR!- that feels so good to say omg

I’m so excited to be posting this after having it in my drafts since last November. And it was so exciting to be liveblogging about an MCR show again with everyone!!

I hope it isn’t a long time before we all can do this again. Following the tour was such an incredible experience for me and to do it again for two nights only this weekend was amazing

Anyways, thank you if you’ve made it this far. And I hope all of you enjoy looking back on the list!!

My Chemical Romance forever and ever, okay? <33333

[beardedmrbean]

Far-left, pro-Palestine Councilmember Shahana Hanif is suddenly bending over backwards to show support for the Chosen People — now that she’s in a tight challenge against a Jewish primary opponent.

Until just four months ago, Hanif, 33, who reps the 39th district — which includes parts of Brownstone Brooklyn, including liberal bastion Park Slope, but also heavily Orthodox Jewish Borough Park — has almost never bashed Hamas or spoken up for Israel.

But when the Israeli restaurant Miriam was vandalized last week in Park Slope, the councilwoman fired off a statement to condemn the vandalism

“This hateful act threatens the safety of our community,” she wrote on X.

On the first anniversary of the Oct. 7 massacre, Hanif released a statement of support calling out the terrorist bloodbath — something she rarely does.

Hanif was singing a far different tune before a primary threat emerged in August from Maya Kornberg, a Jewish Democrat who works at NYU’s Brennan Center for Justice.

In April 2023, Hanif was one of just two council members to vote against an ‘End Jew Hatred Day’ resolution — calling it a “far right” idea.

In the days after Hamas’ attack Hanif insisted in a since-deleted post on X “the root cause of this war is the illegal, immoral, and unjust occupation of the Palestinian people,” and that “no peace” should be expected.

At a “Cease Fire Now Rally for Gaza” in Bryant Park  where Hanif was arrested, hundreds of protestors shouted the anti-Israel chant, “From the river to the sea, Palestine will be free.”

Another since-deleted X post from Hanif demanded a “ceasefire” just five days after the slaughter in an effort to shut down any military response from Israel.

So far, Hanif, elected in 2022, has raised about $68,000 for the June 24 primary contest, while Kornberg is nipping at her heels with almost $63,000 in the bank, according to campaign finance data.

Rabbi Andy Bachman, a former senior rabbi at Congregation Beth Elohim in Brooklyn, said Hanif called him to offer support in August after a bookstore in her district canceled a talk from him because he was a “Zionist” — but described her recent outreach “too little and too late.”

“My perspective is as a lifelong proud Democrat, any politician who is unwilling to . . . condemn Hamas as a terrorist organization is simply not fit to lead,” he said.

In a statement Team Hanif said she would “always work to keep all New Yorkers safe by addressing the root causes of violence” and insisted that she had “repeatedly and categorically condemned Hamas.”

They refused to send any past example of her doing so.

[thebandghostofficial]

[MESSAGE FROM THE CLERGY]

An important (and overwinded) announcement regarding this blog below the cut.

Hello everyone! This is Rawkin Ghoul/ Tumblr Ghoul/ Tumblrina/ Soda/ etc etc.

First thing’s first: no, this blog is not an official Ghost social media account.

I started this blog in late 2022 when ghost-official started blowing up (I do not believe this one to be real either, and honestly I won’t believe they have a Tumblr until it is linked on their official website) and thought, “wow, I could make a better Ghost blog than that. One that’s way better organized and actually advertises properly for them, and posts regularly!” So I did.

Originally it was meant as just that, a little joke between some friends, and wasn’t meant to really get farther than that. But then I thought, Ghost does have a lot of fans on Tumblr- a lot of exquisitely talented and devoted fans. Maybe I can kinda “roleplay” it for a while, build almost a bit of a portfolio, and then either offer the blog to management or offer to run it for them officially, for fun, if they were interested.

More time passes and more people followed. I thought “xofficial” as a username was a common enough joke/ gimmick that people would realize it wasn’t for real (and in fact, when I first searched the URL, I found that this username was once in use years ago! Sorry, previous owner), especially after posting that April Fools joke post- this was wrong of me to assume. There are a lot of roleplay/ joke “official” Ghost accounts all over the web but I failed to really properly disclaim that I was one of them.

I of course don’t plan to reach out to Ghost anymore and haven’t for some time, for multiple reasons including Tumblr just not being a good website for advertising. But another one is I got pretty loose on here. Tumblr is so different from Twitter and Insta and all that- you guys (and myself! I go here too) don’t want to have someone sell something to you- but you do love interaction and jokes and solving things together.

I think we can all admit it- when Ghost is dormant, the fans can get bored and even agitated, and can start to have a go at eachother. I’m certainly not guiltless there either. I wouldn’t say I’m notorious or even particularly well known in general but I’ve gotten into drama here and there. I figured the blog would be a fun way not just to distract the community, but really engage with it. The blog passed 5k a month or so ago and I started thinking, we could do something really cool with it. Smaller events like fanart contests and zines. But what if we did more? Organizing pre-ritual meetups. Larger community projects like fan-made music videos. ARG. Maybe even a short video game- there are so many incredibly skilled and hard-working Ghost fans and I wanted to try to bring them together because I think our love for Ghost, for whatever reason we love them, screams so loud and everyone deserves recognition (also a reason I started Fanart Friday as a regular thing).

You guys know I do my best to keep up with your tagging and what you’re saying and everything and I’ve seen the people pointing out the blog isn’t real from the beginning- I didn’t want to address it directly at first because I thought if nothing else people enjoyed the mystery.

But, more lately there’s been more and more people who are agitated, disappointed, and even a little scared to hear that this blog is not official.

I want to offer my very sincere apologies to people who I made feel that way. I should have made it obvious sooner- I know so well that there are a lot of very young Ghost fans especially who wouldn’t necessarily surmise that this isn’t real. I’m really sorry to those of you I disappointed.

I will never ask you for money here, or any personal information, or send asks anonymous or otherwise from here or my main personal blog as “Tumblr Ghoul”. I have had one person ask to message me so I messaged them to allow them to do that. If somebody contacts you claiming to be the person running this blog, they are lying. Please block them. My interactions here I aim to keep as public as possible, hence being increasingly liberal with replies and reblogs as the number of people interacting grew.

My only goal with this blog is to advertise for a band that I love and to entertain/ help the fandom when and where I can. I love and appreciate all the fanart and interest in the character of Tumblr Ghoul but I don’t want anybody to feel obligated to me and I especially don’t want to hurt anybody. I started this blog for fun and that how I want it to remain- fun for everyone.

People pointed out when I didn’t post for some time a few months back and it was because I had lost interest in the blog and was going through a rough time- and then one particularly bad day I got on to check it by chance and just seeing your guy’s tags and comments made me feel so much better. I tell people that I found Ghost when I really needed a friend and they fulfilled that for me, but the past few months you guys have done just the same for me. I am so sorry to have betrayed that and made you feel unsafe and lied to in return.

As of posting I do intend to still run the blog as I have been (with a disclaimer added to the bio regarding the legitimacy of this account)- posting about tours, chapters, merch, etc, as well as Fanart Friday. I 100% understand if anybody doesn’t want to be involved in that, so anybody who has tagged me in something and don’t want it on the blog now, I can open messages and you can let me know. I will probably close them again after a week or so if I get a large flood of unrelated messages.

Please do not message me asking me who I am, who knows about the blog, etc. Gaining popularity was never something I wanted from this so I will stay anonymous, for the time being at the very least. A very small number of people know who is behind the blog and to my knowledge only one of them is even on Tumblr and in the fandom.

Thank you for all the support you’ve shown me, Ghost, and eachother. It can be easy to see the bad parts of a community and roll your eyes electing to keep your distance, but since starting this blog I’ve been reminded what good community is even when it’s frustrating sometimes.

Thank you for reading, I won’t hold it against anybody who wants to separate themselves from this blog at this point, and please don’t let my oversight and general dummyness sour your experience with Ghost or its other fans. Enjoy the rest of this tour and whether it’s with or without me, please keep rawking 🤘 Be good to eachother.

Thank you.

[offender42085]

Post 1388

Jacob Hunter Manuel, Florida inmate C22618, born 1999, incarceration intake February 2025 at age 25, scheduled for release April 2063

DUI Manslaughter

In February 2025, a man charged with driving under the influence and causing a wreck that killed two people in 2022 was sentenced to a 40-year prison term.

Jacob Hunter Manuel, 24, of Panama City, pleaded no contest to two counts of DUI-manslaughter and one count of DUI with serious bodily injury. He could have faced life in prison if convicted as charged.

On May 10, 2022, Manuel hit a car from behind going 130 mph on John Pitts Road. The crash killed Tallulah Montez Beaman Ellis and her daughter Tammy R. Hughes.

Hughes' daughter, who was 9 at the time, was critically injured but has since recovered.

The families of both victims approved the terms of the plea deal before it was offered to the court.

Manuel's car spun off and caught fire, but he was pulled out and saved. The victims' vehicle was crushed in the collision.

5m

[eurovision-facts]

Eurovision Fact #821:

"Fairytale," the winning song of the 2009 contest by Alexander Rybak, has consistently been one of the 20 most watched songs on the Eurovision Song Contest official YouTube since the channel started publishing its monthly top 20 lists.

In the first list from January of 2022, the song was the 4th most watched song of the month. According to this first video, the song had spent 8 months in the top 20 at this point.

In February of 2022, it was the 7th most watched song of the month. The following month, it was only the 15th most watched song. In April, the song climbed up to 12th place. However, in May, the month of the contest, the song was not included in the top 20 list for the first time.

The rest of the year's rankings are as follows:

June: 4th most watched

July & August: 3rd most watched

September: 4th most watched

October: 3rd most watched

November: 2nd most watched

December: 4th most watched

In 2023, "Fairytale" opened the year by maintaining its spot as 4th most watched song of the month. The rest of 2023's rankings are as follows:

February: 9th most watched

March: Did not place

April: 16th most watched

May: Did not place

June: 6th most watched

July: 5th most watched

August & September: 3rd most watched

October & November: 2nd most watched

December: 3rd most watched

To open up 2024, Rybak's song was the 2nd most watched song of January. The rest of the year, as of November, is as follows:

February: 6th most watched

March: 8th most watched

April: 2nd most watched

May: 14th most watched

June: 7th most watched

July: 6th most watched

August: 2nd most watched

September & October: Most watched song of the month

[Sources]

Eurovision Top 20 Most Watched: January 2022, YouTube.com.

Eurovision Top 20 Most Watched: February 2022, YouTube.com.

Eurovision Top 20 Most Watched: March 2022, YouTube.com.

Eurovision Top 20 Most Watched: April 2022, YouTube.com.

Eurovision Top 20 Most Watched: May 2022, YouTube.com.

Eurovision Top 20 Most Watched: June 2022, YouTube.com.

Eurovision Top 20 Most Watched: July 2022, YouTube.com.

Eurovision Top 20 Most Watched: August 2022, YouTube.com.

Eurovision Top 20 Most Watched: September 2022, YouTube.com.

Eurovision Top 20 Most Watched: October 2022, YouTube.com.

Eurovision Top 20 Most Watched: November 2022, YouTube.com.

Eurovision Top 20 Most Watched: December 2022, YouTube.com.

Eurovision Top 20 Most Watched: January 2023, YouTube.com.

Eurovision Top 20 Most Watched: February 2023, YouTube.com.

Eurovision Top 20 Most Watched: March 2023, YouTube.com.

Eurovision Top 20 Most Watched: July 2024 | #UnitedByMusic, YouTube.com.

Eurovision Top 20 Most Watched: April 2023, YouTube.com.

Eurovision Top 20 Most Watched: May 2023, YouTube.com.

Eurovision Top 20 Most Watched: June 2023 | #UnitedByMusic, YouTube.com.

Eurovision Top 20 Most Watched: July 2023 | #UnitedByMusic, YouTube.com.

Eurovision Top 20 Most Watched: August 2023 | #UnitedByMusic, YouTube.com.

Eurovision Top 20 Most Watched: September 2023 | #UnitedByMusic, YouTube.com.

Eurovision Top 20 Most Watched: October 2023 | #UnitedByMusic, YouTube.com.

Eurovision Top 20 Most Watched: November 2023 | #UnitedByMusic, YouTube.com.

Eurovision Top 20 Most Watched: December 2023 | #UnitedByMusic, YouTube.com.

Eurovision Top 20 Most Watched: January 2024 | #UnitedByMusic, YouTube.com.

Eurovision Top 20 Most Watched: February 2024 | #UnitedByMusic, YouTube.com.

Eurovision Top 20 Most Watched: March 2024 | #UnitedByMusic, YouTube.com.

Eurovision Top 20 Most Watched: April 2024 | #UnitedByMusic, YouTube.com.

Eurovision Top 20 Most Watched: May 2024 | #UnitedByMusic, YouTube.com.

Eurovision Top 20 Most Watched: June 2024 | #UnitedByMusic, YouTube.com.

Eurovision Top 20 Most Watched: August 2024 | #UnitedByMusic, YouTube.com.

Eurovision Top 20 Most Watched: September 2024 | #UnitedByMusic, YouTube.com.

Eurovision Top 20 Most Watched: October 2024 | #UnitedByMusic, YouTube.com.

[louisupdates]

Louis Tomlinson's 35-hour marathons in Chile: the singer who revived pop fanaticism

Fans crowded at the airport, the hotel, the radio and the stadium; the four stops that the British artist had on his fleeting return to the country last April. On May 24, he returns to perform his fourth solo show after filling the Movistar Arena three times in 2022, and expectations are high. What does the artist have who came to think that he would be nothing without One Direction and today he moves masses? Those who witnessed his last visit decipher it.

By Dove Couple, 16 May 2024

If it weren't for the teenagers of the 60s, -in part- The Beatles would not be the legend they are today. That so-called "uncontrolled fanaticism" resulted in a single word: Beatlemania. The girls were called hysterical, however they were the first people to see the potential of John, Paul, George and Ringo.

FIRST STOP: SANTIAGO AIRPORT

On the night of April 3, the performer stepped on Chile for the third time, the first approach with his fans was at Santiago Airport, who waited anxiously for him after his flash visit was surprisingly confirmed to promote his May 24 show at the La Florida Bicentennial Stadium.

At 32 years old, the Briton already had experience in our territory, he had tried success in 2014, when he came as a member of One Direction with some very young Zayn, Liam, Harry and Niall. The group filled the National Stadium twice.

"Since their last three shows at Movistar Arena in 2022, the girls have been asking when the new tour begins, and the expectation is to see Louis' growth on stage," Rodrigo Ostolaza, Representative in Chile of the BMG label, and in charge of marketing and promotion, told La Cuarta.

Tomlinson greeted kindly those who were waiting for him, but visibly tired, he went straight to the Mandarin Hotel - where there was another group of young people shouting his name - that was his "home" for the about 35 hours he stayed in the country.

SECOND STOP: RADIO LOS40

The next day, he had scheduled a visit to Los40 radio, where he spoke live with the host Martina Orrego and answered the questions asked by the followers who won a contest to meet him. While others crowded on the outskirts of the Iberoamericana building.

"It was something that didn't happen a long time ago, but in a way I expected it, he is an artist who has an important fan, his audience has accompanied him in the development of his career, so I found it very exciting," Orrego confided to us.

The co-director of Los40 and creator of the program Mujeres Que Suenan, said that one of the most entertaining things "was to have the fans on the radio and that they could share more closely with him. It's something that happens so rarely and they were wonderful, they behaved super well."

THIRD STOP: HOTEL MANDARÍN

Back at the hotel, Louis had a press round with various media, including La Cuarta.

"What he provokes is something super unique and special, he is an artist very close to his fans and concerned about his environment, that the person who interviews him or talks to him is comfortable or comfortable," Rafaella Fornazzari, Media Manager of DG Media, in charge of the concert, told us.

The return of the star had the production company until the wee hours of the morning enlisting details. "Louis' visit was a nice challenge, it's been a long time since an international artist in this category came to promote a tour, we had to work together with the entire region where he will be performing with his 'Faith in the Future World Tour'," Rafaella added.

FOURTH STOP: BICENTENARY STADIUM

Indeed, his fleeting passage through South America included Brazil, Chile and Argentina; and in all these countries he visited the venues where he would appear. In which he took advantage of playing football for a while, recalling his past as a Doncaster Rovers footballer. And yes, he took the luxury of scoring a goal.

There he also had a meet and greet with followers, but the fans who were waiting outside the venue did not run with the same luck, they only saw him for a couple of seconds through the van that took him out of the place. Even so, they were happy.

THE SECRET OF SUCCESS

The expectations of the May 24 show are very high. "It comes with a new album and that immediately translates into a different show than those of 2022. In addition, it has the challenge of a larger capacity enclosure," Fornazzari revealed. "He is a very committed artist and involved with his career, he likes to deliver the best," he added.

For his part, Rodrigo Ostolaza hopes: "To see the Bicentennial Stadium full, he brought as a drag what was the One Direction phenomenon and those concerts they did at the National Stadium. It always moved a lot of people, and that lasted over time."

For Ostolaza, what happened in April reminded him of the visit to Chile of the RBD Mexicans, at the peak of his career: "We took them to Mekano and it was also crazy, a little what happened to Louis." Martina Orrego says that the effervescence that was lived can be assimilated to contemporary phenomena such as K-pop.

And the performer, who at some point thought he could not continue without One Direction, today has two successful albums - "Walls" and "Faith in the Future" - countless triumphs and a loyal community that he loves, protects and defends.

Unlike other singers, he does not charge for meet and greet, the events are always competitive, his lyrics go deep but he does not release so many commercial songs - as in his boyband time - that they can easily enter the radios, that's why the challenge of moving the masses is greater; on the other hand, fashion or social networks are not his strength, his thing is the live shows and the charts, where he goes up with his pop rock sound.

So, what is his secret? Beyond talent and charisma, he is a recognized worker, he finished a tour and immediately started another; and above all, he is close, simple and connected with people. Records sharing distly with your followers abound on the Internet.

"The successful boybands after a break have had their members as soloists. The 1Ds were the new generation of the good and beautiful that pop delivered, now Louis is the soloist who remains in contact with his fans," Fornazzari concluded.

Louis Tomlinson will perform at the La Florida Bicentennial Stadium on May 24. The latest tickets are still available through Ticketmaster.cl

[theanticool]

One of my favorite boxing writers, Malissa Smith, has finally published a sequel to her book on women’s boxing history!

The Promise of Women’s Boxing: A Momentous New Era for the Sweet Science is now available!

The must-read book on the rise of elite women’s boxing

On April 30th, 2022, the first boxing super-fight of the era, headlined by two women and fought at Madison Square Garden, lived up to its hype and then some. The two contestants fought the battle of their lives in front of a sold-out crowd and garnered 1.5 million views through online streaming. It was the culmination of a long, three-centuries arc of women’s boxing history, a history fraught with highs and lows but always imbued with the heart and passion of the women who fought.

In The Promise of Women's Boxing: A Momentous New Era for the Sweet Science, Malissa Smith details the exciting period from the 2012 Olympics through the true “million-dollar baby” women’s super-fights of 2022 and beyond. Rich in content, the stories that emerge focus on boxing stars new and old, important battles, and the challenges women still face in boxing. Smith examines the development of the sport on a global basis, the transition of amateur boxers to the pros, the impact of online streamlining on the sport, the challenges boxing has faced from MMA, and the unprecedented gains women’s boxing has made in the era of the super-fight with extraordinary seven-figure opportunities for elite female stars.

Featuring the stories of women’s boxing icons Katie Taylor, Amanda Serrano, Savannah Marshall, and more, and with a foreword by two-time Olympic gold medalist and three-time undisputed champion Claressa Shields, The Promise of Women’s Boxing offers unprecedented insight into the incredible growth of the sport and the women who have fought in and out of the ring to make it all possible.

[wardrobeoftime]

Master Post - A to M

If you notice any show, movie or character missing that I’ve made gifs of, please let me know. Characters are sorted alphabetically by first their last name and then their first name.

Last updated: April 12th, 2025

A

Aladdin [2019] (Princess Jasmine)

Allerleirauh (Princess Friederike | Princess Lotte)

American Song Contest (2022)

Aschenputtel [2010] (Marie/Aschenputtel)

Aschenputtel [2011] (Annabella | Aschenputtel/Cinderella)

Australia [2008] (Sarah Ashley)

B

Barbie (Stereotypical Barbie)

Beauty and the Beast [2017] (Madame de Garderobe | Mrs Potts)

Becoming Elizabeth (Amy Robsart | Mary Tudor)

Blood, Sex & Royalty (Anne Boleyn | Mary Boleyn)

Bridgerton (Tilley Arnold | Lady Berbrooke | Benedict Bridgerton | Daphne Bridgerton | Eloise Bridgerton | Francesca Bridgerton | Hyacinth Bridgerton | Violet Bridgerton | Queen Charlotte | Cressida Cowper | Agatha Danbury | Penelope Featherington | Philippa Featherington | Prudence Featherington | King George III | Siena Rosso | Edwina Sharma | Kathani "Kate" Sharma | Mary Sharma | Tessa | Marina Thompson | Extras)

Britain’s Bloody Crown (Margaret of Anjou | Margaret Beaufort | Elizabeth Woodville)

C

Cinderella [2015] (Anastasia Tremaine | Drisella Tremaine | Ella)

Corsage (Elisabeth “Sisi” of Austria)

D

Das Adlon (Sonja Schadt)

Death on the Nile [2022] (Jacqueline de Belleforte | Linnet Ridgeway-Doyle)

Die Galoschen des Glücks (Princess Aurora)

Die Kaiserin (Charlotte of Belgium | Maria Alexandrovna / Marie of Hesse | Elisabeth “Sisi” of Austria | Archduchess Sophie of Austria)

Die Salzprinzessin (Princess Amélie | Princess Eugenia | Princess Isabella)

Die Schöne und das Biest (Elsa)

Disney Live Action (see the individual movies | Extras)

Doctor Who (Ashildr | Cyril Arwell | Lily Arwell | Madge Arwell | Reg Arwell | Rosanna Calvierri | Miss Chandrakala | Agatha Christie | Hugh Curbishley | The Doctor | Twelth Doctor | Clemency Eddison | Jack Harkness | King James I | Katherine | Donna Noble | Madame de Pompadour | Amy Pond | Bill Potts | Robina Redmond | Becka Savage | Willa Twiston | Extras)

Domina (Agrippa | Antonia Major | Antonia “Antonina” Minor | Emperor Augustus | Julia the Elder | Livia Drusilla | Marcella | Octavia Minor)

Downton Abbey (Lucy Branson (née Smith) | Cora Crawley | Edith Crawley | Mary Crawley)

Dune: Prophecy (Natalya Arat Corrino | Ynez Corrino)

Dynasty [2017] (Kirby Anders | Fallon Carrington)

E

Effie Gray [2014] (Euphemia “Effie” Gray)

Elizabeth Duology (Elizabeth I)

Emerald City (Langwidere of Ev)

Emma [2020] (Isabella Knightley | Emma Woodhouse)

Eurovision Song Contest (1970 | 1974 | 1979 | 1980 | 1982 | 1988 | 1991 | 1992 | 1993 | 1995 | 1996 | 1998 | 2003 | 2004 | 2005 | 2006 | 2007 | 2008 | 2009 | 2010 | 2011 | 2012 | 2013 | 2014 | 2015 | 2016 | 2017 | 2018 | 2019 | 2021 | 2022 | 2023 | 2024)

F

Frauen, die Geschichte machten (Catherine the Great)

G

Galavant (Madalena)

Game of Thrones (Myrcella Baratheon | Cersei Lannister | Ellaria Sand | Sansa Stark | Daenerys Targaryen | Margaery Tyrell)

Good Omens (Aziraphale | Crowley)

Grey’s Anatomy (Lexie Grey | Izzie Stevens)

H

Hamilton (Angelica Schuyler | Eliza Schuyler Hamilton)

High School Musical incl. Sharpay’s Fabulous Adventure (Sharpay Evans)

House of the Dragon (Jeyne Arryn | Alicent Hightower | Mysaria of Lys | Aegon II Targaryen | Baela Targaryen | Helaena Targaryen | Rhaena Targaryen | Rhaenyra Targaryen | Rhaenys Targaryen | Laena Velaryon)

I

J

K

Kronprinz Rudolf [2006] (Elisabeth “Sisi” of Austria)

Ku’damm (Helga von Boost)

L

Legacies (Jo Laughlin | Hope Mikaelson | Elizabeth “Lizzie” Saltzman | Josette “Josie” Saltzman)

Legend of the Seeker (Jennsen Rahl)

Les Misérables [2018] (Cosette | Fantine Thibault)

Little Women [2019] (Amy March | Margaret “Meg” March)

Live Performances (Jennie Kim | Victoria Monét | Alexandra Rotan)

Ludwig [1973] (Elisabeth “Sisi” of Austria)

Ludwig II [2012] (Elisabeth “Sisi” of Austria | Ludovika, The Duchess in Bavaria | Sophie in Bavaria)

M

Maleficent Duology (Princess Aurora | Queen Ingrith of Ulstead)

Märchenperlen (see the individual movies)

Maria Theresia [2017] (Maria Anna of Austria | Empress Maria Theresia |  Mademoiselle de Chartres | Elisa Fritz)

Marie Antoinette [2006] (Jeanne du Barry | Marie Antoinette | Empress Maria Theresia | Marie Thérèse Louise of Savoy, Princesse de Lamballe | Extras)

Marie Antoinette [2022] (Marie Antoinette)

Mary Queen of Scots [2013] (Mary Stuart)

Maximilian - Das Spiel von Macht und Liebe / Maximilian and Marie de Burgogne (Maximilian of Austria | Mary of Burgundy | Bishop de Clugny | Johanna von Hallewyn | Rosina von Kraig | Georg Rudolfer | Margaret of York)

Merlin (Morgana Pendragon)

My Fair Lady (Eliza Doolittle)

My Lady Jane (Jane Grey | Mary Tudor | Petunia)

Go to N-Z

[eurovision-song-bracket]

Welcome to the Eurovision Song Bracket!

!!Post updated April 11!!

Pinned post. I'll be editing this post as the tournaments progress to keep things as accurate as possible.

What is this blog about?

This is a tournament style blog, focusing on songs from the Eurovision Song Contest. There will be various themes for tournaments, but only one theme will be going on at a time.

Addressing concerns about boycotting Eurovision over Israel: We do not support genocide. However, the previous artists from Israel are not responsible for current world events. I do not wish to punish artists for things their government is doing. Thus, I've decided that songs from Israel pre-Oct 7, 2023 will still be allowed to participate, but songs from Israel after that date will not be allowed in any of my tournaments. This blog will run as if Israel is not participating in Eurovision, much like Russia. Songs from Russia pre-2022 will still be allowed, because once again the artists are not their governments. Please do not let current events influence your votes. Please continue to vote for your favorite song, not country.

What is the current theme?

We are currently running the Decades Tournament! Songs will compete against other songs from their own decades. Once all decades are complete, the winners will have a final showdown. As of right now, we are on the 90s and 2000s

Can I submit songs?

Yes and no. As the Decades tournament is currently ongoing, spots are extremely limited. Each decade may only have 32 entries for this tournament. The 90s and the 2000s are currently ongoing, which means the next rounds are for 2010s, and 2020-2023. all of which are now full! 2024, and 2025, will not be included simply because that bracket had already filled up before the 2024 contest took place. If this blog grows, and people want the 2020s to be a bigger bracket, then I'll consider it.

Once the Decades tournament is over, we'll do something else. I do have some ideas, but I am open to suggestions on tournament themes, and of course when that happens I will make the appropriate forms and you can submit songs again.

Decades Tournament Winners:

The 50s: 1958 - "Lilla stjärna" by Alice Babs (Sweden) The 60s: 1965 - “Poupée de cire, poupée de son” by France Gall (Luxembourg) The 70s: 1974 - “Waterloo” by ABBA (Sweden) The 80s: 1988 - “Ne partez pas sans moi” by Céline Dion (Switzerland) The 90s: [Ongoing] The 2000s: [Ongoing] The 2010s: [Not Started] 2020-2023: [Not Started]

Current live polls: !! I've decided that I'm going to try to run the 2000s at the same time as the 90s due to fear that I might lose motivation !!

1996 - “The Voice” by Eimear Quinn (Ireland) vs 1998 - “Diva” by Dana International (Israel)

2007 - “Dancing Lasha Tumbai” by Verka Serduchka (Ukraine) vs 2006 - “Hard Rock Hallelujah” by Lordi (Finland)

2009 - “Miss Kiss Kiss Bang” by Alex Swings Oscar Sings! (Germany) vs  2007 - “Molitva” by Marija Šerifović (Serbia)

Who runs this blog?

Hello! You may call me Cyrus, I am a transman, he/him, and I am in my 30s. This is a side blog, so you will not see any likes or follows from this blog. I am, unfortunately, a USAmerican (please save me) However I am learning Norwegian and would absolutely love to move to Norway or somewhere else in Europe some day. Preferably soon. That being said, English(and US spelling just because of habit) is the main language that this blog will be using, although you are welcome to send asks/comments/etc in your own language and I'll do my best to translate. Obviously, as previously stated, it will be easier for me to translate Norwegian and sometimes Danish and Swedish, but any language is welcome, not just European languages.

Do you vote in the polls?

After much thought put into it, yes. I do vote on every single poll, because at the end of the day I am also a fan of these songs... and I don't like having to wait a week to see how the polls are doing. However, I have decided that if a poll comes to tie, I will consider my vote void, and the one that I did not vote for will move on.

and here's the songs that made it in (feel free to send asks with propaganda or links to the grand final performances since I appear to be region blocked on a lot of them):

2010s

2010 - “Satellite” by Lena (Germany)

2011 - “Running Scared” by Ell and Nikki (Azerbaijan)

2012 - “Euphoria” by Loreen (Sweden)

2013 - “Only Teardrops” by Emmelie de Forest (Denmark)

2014 - “Rise Like a Phoenix” by Conchita Wurst (Austria)

2015 - “Heroes” by Måns Zelmerlöw (Sweden)

2016 - “1944” by Jamala (Ukraine)

2017 - “Amar pelos dois” by Salvador Sobral (Portugal)

2018 - “Toy” by Netta (Israel)

2019 - “Arcade” by Duncan Laurence (Netherlands)

2010 - “Run Away” by Sunstroke Project & Olia Tira (Moldova)

2015 - “Grande Amore” by Il Volo (Italy)

2019 - “Hatrið Mun Sigra” by Hatari (Iceland)

2016- “If Love Was a Crime” (Bulgaria)

2019 - “Zero Gravity” by Kate Miller-Heidke (Australia)

2019 - “Spirit In The Sky” by KEiiNO (Norway)

2010 - “OPA” by Giorgos Alkaios &Friends (Greece)

2013 - “L’essenziale” by Marco Mengoni (Italy)

2019 - “Soldi” by Mahmood (Italy)

2018 - “Fuego” by Eleni Foureira (Cyprus)

2015 - “Amanecer” by Edurne (Spain)

2013 - “Believe In Me” by Bonnie Tyler (UK)

2015 - “Here for You” by Maraaya (Slovenia)

2014 - “Round and Round” by Tinkara Kovač (Slovenia)

2017 - “Hey Mamma” by SunStroke Project (Moldova)

2018 - “Higher Ground” by Rasmussen (Denmark)

2013 - “I Feed You My Love” by Margaret Berger (Norway)

2012 - “La La Love” by Ivi Adamou (Cyprus)

2010 - “Allez Ola Olé” by Jessy Matador (France)

2018 - “Mall” by Eugent Bushpepa (Albania)

2018 - “Monsters” by Saara Aalto (Finland)

2017 - “My Friend” by Jacques Houdek (Croatia)

2020-2023

2021 - “Zitti e buoni” by Måneskin (Italy)

2022 - “Стефанія / Stefania” by Kalush Orchestra (Ukraine)

2023 - “Cha Cha Cha” by Käärijä (Finland)

2022 - “Spaceman” by Sam Ryder (UK)

2021 - “SHUM” by Go_A (Ukraine)

2023 - “My Sister's Crown” by Vesna (Czechia)

2023 - “Tattoo” by Loreen (Sweden)

2023 - “Promise” by Voyager (Australia)

2021 - “Dark Side” by Blind Channel (Finland)

 2022 - “Eat Your Salad” by Citi Zēni (Latvia)

 2023 - “Carpe Diem” by Joker Out (Slovenia)

 2021 - “Voila” by Barbara Pravi (France)

2022 - “Fulenn” by Alvan & Ahez (France)

 2022 - “Give That Wolf a Banana” by Subwoolfer (Norway)

 2023 -“Blood and Glitter” by Lord of the Lost (Germany)

 2023 - “Soarele si luna” by pasha parfeni (Moldova)

 2022 - “Not The Same” by Sheldon Riley (Australia)

 2023 - “Due vite” by Marco Mengoni (Italy)

 2023 - “D.G.T (Off and On)” by Theodor Andrei (Romania)

 2022 - “In Corpore Sano” by Konstrakta (Serbia)

2023 - “Évidemment” by La Zarra (France)

2023 - “Ai Coração” By Mimicat (Portugal)

2023 - “Because of You” by Gustaph (Belgium)

2022 - “Intention” by Intelligent Music Project (Bulgaria)

2021 - “Last Dance” by Stefania (Greece)

2023 - “Like An Animal” by Piqued Jacks (San Marino)

2023 - “Power” by Diljá (Iceland)

2022 - “Sentimentai” by Monika Liu (Lithuania)

2022 - “SloMo” by Chanel (Spain)

2021 - “Tick-Tock” by Albina (Croatia) 

2021 - “SUGAR” by Natalia Gordienko (Moldova)

2022 - “Trenuleţul” by Zdob şi Zdub & Advahov Brothers (Moldova)

[mariacallous]

On Tuesday, the Supreme Court of the United States will hear oral arguments in a challenge to abortion pill access across the country, including in states where abortion is legal. The stakes for abortion rights are sky-high, and the case is the most consequential battle over reproductive health care access since Roe v. Wade was overturned in 2022.

At the center of this fight is mifepristone, a pill that blocks a hormone needed for pregnancy. The drug has been approved by the US Food and Drug Administration for more than two decades, and it’s used to treat some patients with Cushing’s syndrome, as well as endometriosis and uterine fibroids. But its primary use is the one contested now—mifepristone is the first of two pills taken in the first 10 weeks of pregnancy for a standard medication abortion, along with the drug misoprostol.

If the justices side with the antiabortion activists seeking to limit access to mifepristone, it could upend nationwide access to the most common form of abortion care. A ruling that invalidates mifepristone’s approval would open the door for any judge to reverse the FDA approval of any drug, especially ones sometimes seen as controversial, such as HIV drugs and hormonal birth control. It could also have a chilling effect on the development of new drugs, making companies wary of investing research into medicines that could later be pulled from the market.

Pills are now the leading abortion method in the US, and their popularity has spiked in recent years. More than six in 10 abortions in 2023 were carried out via medication, according to new data from the Guttmacher Institute. Since rules around telehealth were relaxed during the Covid-19 pandemic, many patients seeking medication abortions have relied on virtual clinics, which send abortion pills by mail. And it keeps getting more popular: Hey Jane, a prominent telemedicine provider, saw demand increase 73 percent from 2022 to 2023. It recorded another 28 percent spike comparing data from January 2023 to January 2024.

“Telemedicine abortion is too effective to not be in the targets of antiabortion folks,” says Julie F. Kay, a longtime reproductive rights lawyer and director of the advocacy group Abortion Coalition for Telemedicine.

Tomorrow’s argument comes after a long, tangled series of legal disputes in lower courts. The Supreme Court will be hearing two cases consolidated together, including FDA v. Alliance for Hippocratic Medicine, in which a coalition of antiabortion activists filed a suit challenging the FDA’s approval of mifepristone, asking for it to be removed from the market. The Alliance for Hippocratic Medicine is represented by the Alliance Defending Freedom, a right-wing Christian law firm that often takes politically charged cases.

Despite decades of scientific consensus on the drug’s safety record, the Alliance for Hippocratic Medicine has alleged that mifepristone is dangerous to women and leads to emergency room visits. A 2021 study cited by the plaintiffs to back up their claims was retracted in February after an independent review found that its authors came to inaccurate conclusions.

In April 2023, the Trump-appointed judge Matthew Kacsmaryk of the Northern District of Texas issued a preliminary ruling on the FDA case invalidating the agency’s approval of mifepristone. The ruling sent shock waves far beyond the reproductive-rights world, as it had major implications for the entire pharmaceutical industry, as well as the FDA itself; the ruling suggested that the courts could revoke a drug’s approval even after decades on the market.

The US 5th Circuit Court of Appeals narrowed Kacsmaryk’s decision a week later, allowing the drug to remain on the market, but undid FDA decisions in recent years that made mifepristone easier to prescribe and obtain. That decision limited the time frame in which it can be taken to the first seven weeks of pregnancy and put telemedicine access, as well as access to the generic version of the drug in jeopardy.

Following the 5th Circuit ruling, the FDA and Danco Laboratories sought emergency relief from the Supreme Court, asking the justices to preserve access until it could hear the case. In its legal filing, Danco aptly described the situation as “regulatory chaos.”

SCOTUS issued a temporary stay, maintaining the status quo; the court ultimately decided to take up the case in December 2023.

As all this was unfolding, pro-abortion-rights states across the country were passing what are known as shield laws, which protect medical practitioners who offer abortion care to pregnant patients in states where abortion is banned. This has allowed some providers, including the longtime medication-abortion-advocacy group Aid Access, to mail abortion pills to people who requested them in states like Louisiana and Arkansas.

Though the oral arguments before the Supreme Court begin on Tuesday, it will likely be months before a ruling. Court watchers suspect a decision may be handed down in June. With the US presidential election in the fall, the ruling may become a major campaign issue, especially as abortion access helped galvanize voters in the 2022 midterms.

If the Supreme Court agrees with the plaintiffs that mifepristone should be taken off the market, some in the pharmaceutical industry worry that it will undermine the authority of the FDA, the agency tasked with reviewing and approving drugs based on their safety and efficacy.

“This case isn't about mifepristone,” says Elizabeth Jeffords, CEO of Iolyx Therapeutics, a company developing drugs for immune and eye diseases. Jeffords is a signatory on an amicus brief filed in April 2023 that brought together 350 pharmaceutical companies, executives, and investors to challenge the Texas district court’s ruling.

“This case could have easily been about minoxidil for hair loss. It could have been about Mylotarg for cancer. It could have been about measles vaccines,” Jeffords says. “This is about whether or not the FDA is allowed to be the scientific arbiter of what is good and safe for patients.”

Greer Donley, an associate professor of law at the University of Pittsburgh and an expert on abortion on the law, doesn’t think it’s likely that the court will revoke mifepristone’s approval entirely. Instead, she sees two possible outcomes. The Supreme Court could dismiss the case or could undo the FDA’s decision in 2023 to permanently remove the in-person dispensing requirement and allow abortion by telehealth. “This would be an even more narrow decision than what the 5th Circuit did, but it would still be pretty devastating to abortion access,” she says.

The Supreme Court could also decide that the plaintiffs lack a right to bring the case to court, says David Cohen, a professor of law at Drexel University whose expertise is in constitutional law and gender issues. “This case could get kicked out on standing, meaning that the plaintiffs aren't the right people to bring this case,” he says. “If most of the questions are about standing, that will give you a sense that that's what the justices are concerned about.”

As the current Supreme Court is considered virulently antiabortion, reproductive-health-care workers are already preparing for the worst. Some telehealth providers have already floated a backup plan: offering misoprostol-only medication abortions. This is less than ideal, as the combination of pills is the current standard of care and offers the best results; misoprostol on its own can cause additional cramping and nausea. For some providers who may have to choose between misoprostol-only or nothing, it’s better than nothing.

Abortion-rights activists have no plans to give up on telehealth abortions, regardless of the outcome of this particular case. “Let us be clear, Hey Jane will not stop delivering telemedicine abortion care, regardless of the outcome of this case,” says Hey Jane’s CEO and cofounder, Kiki Freedman.

“They’re not going to stuff the genie back in the bottle,” Kay says.

[justforbooks]

Jean-Marie Le Pen

Leader of the Front National who took the far right into the mainstream of French politics

On the evening of 21 April 2002 the result of the first round of voting in the French presidential election was announced. It had been widely, though not universally, assumed that the outcome would see the field reduced to two contenders: the incumbent conservative president, Jacques Chirac, and the socialist prime minister, Lionel Jospin, with whom Chirac had uneasily shared power for five years.

A shudder of shock, shame, disbelief and, in many places, delight, swept the country when it became clear that Chirac would face not Jospin, but Jean-Marie Le Pen, the leader of the far-right, xenophobic and racist Front National (FN), who has died aged 96. Jospin was beaten into third place and eliminated.

It hardly mattered that hundreds of thousands of protesters took to the streets in the days that followed and that Chirac was eventually re-elected in a landslide, thanks largely to the ballots of appalled and penitent voters of the left. Le Pen, who had won 0.74% of the vote when he first stood for president in 1974, obtained 16.86% in the first round and 17.79% in the second.

If his overall impact were to be measured only in seats won during his years as president of the FN at local, regional, national or European elections, it could be minimised. His success, until standing down in 2011, lay in taking the far right into the mainstream of French politics and in dragging conservative discourse to the right.

At one point during the 2012 presidential contest, there seemed to be a real chance that his successor as head of the FN (since reinvented as the National Rally), his much more personable daughter Marine, might repeat her father’s exploit and reach the second round – this time at the expense of the sitting conservative president, Nicolas Sarkozy.

In the event, the victor was the socialist François Hollande, while the FN established itself as France’s third political force.

In 2017, representatives of the traditional right and left were seen off in the first round, and it took another mould-breaker, Emmanuel Macron, at the head of the newly formed centrist party En Marche!, to defeat Marine by 66% to 34%. Jean-Marie’s granddaughter Marion Maréchal-Le Pen also emerged as a prominent figure in the party.

The rebranding of the FN as the National Rally in 2018 marked an attempt to appeal to a broader range of voters. The margins between Macron and Marine were narrower still in 2022; and the National Rally’s gains continued, with the party at one point seeming to be on course to win a majority in parliament in summer 2024.

Though Jean-Marie had positioned his party to benefit from the surge in nationalism and populism felt in much of Europe and the US, he received little credit for having done so. Marine wanted to detoxify the FN of overt racism, and Jean-Marie’s third reference to the gas chambers of the Holocaust as being a detail of history led in 2015 to his expulsion from the party of which he was by then honorary president. When his daughter ran for president, it was largely as “Marine”, and in May 2018 Marion dropped the Le Pen from her surname.

Jean-Marie continued as an MEP until 2019, casting a malignant shadow over the political life of France and Europe, just as he had for decades. He seemed politically indestructible: evidence and often proof was assembled that he was a racist, liar, bully and torturer, but it seemed to have little effect on his overall popularity. He was prosecuted on several occasions, the most recent instance coming last year, in a case concerning the misuse of EU parliament funds.

Le Pen’s own electoral successes were modest – regular election to the European parliament, three spells as a member of the National Assembly, election to regional assemblies – but his name entered the political lexicon when the lepénisation des esprits, the spread of Le Pen’s ideas into people’s minds, became shorthand for the ratchet effect of the causes he espoused. He would mock his political opponents for stealing his programme, asking why people should vote for the copy when they could have the real thing.

Often portrayed as a boorish oaf, Le Pen was no fool: he was an intelligent man with a gift for demagoguery. Anyone who heard him speak, as he would do for an hour or more at a time without notes at the FN’s May Day celebration or his party’s annual fête on the edge of Paris – mixing heavy sarcasm with mockery, abuse and a vision of an all-white France – had to acknowledge the brutal power of his oratory.

His use of language was often elegant and effective, even if his excesses regularly got him into trouble with the courts. The potential flaws in his economic programme – drastic tax cuts, extra spending on French citizens but not foreigners, a return to the franc, exit from the European Union, protectionist measures – did not worry his backers.

His message was aimed at the resentful petites gens who felt neglected, ignored and discriminated against. Once, their votes had gone to the Communist party; millions switched to Le Pen, who offered them a world in which immigrants were the cause of their ills, and once they had been expelled – and abortion outlawed, the guillotine restored and the police given drastic powers – all would be well. He was successful in federating a variety of social categories: reactionary Catholics and pagan romantics, skinheads and members of the haute bourgeoisie, unemployed factory workers in the north and well-heeled wine growers in the Midi.

Born in the Breton fishing village of La Trinité-sur-Mer, he had the birth name of Jean. He reportedly changed it when he first stood for election. His parents were Jean, a fisherman who died after a mine was caught in his net when his son was 14, and Anne-Marie (nee Hervé), a seamstress.

At university in Paris, he studied politics and law, and led a ­rightwing student group with a reputation for violent and racist behaviour. It was widely thought that the loss of his left eye was the result of a fight, and his account of the circumstances varied over the years. More recently he said it was the result of an accident while he was erecting a marquee for a political meeting.

In 1953, he volunteered for military service in Indochina, now Vietnam, enrolling as a parachutist in the Foreign Legion and attending officer training school. Demobilised after two years, at the age of 27 he became his country’s youngest member of parliament as a backer of Pierre Poujade, whose support for small shopkeepers and businessmen, and hostility to tax prefigured elements of Le Pen’s later policies. He soon fell out with Poujade, and in 1956 again enlisted, serving in north Africa. Allegations that he was involved in the torture of Algerian prisoners dogged him for years.

Re-elected in 1958, he lost his parliamentary seat in 1962 and spent most of the 1960s engaged in far-right politics and in running a business devoted to the sale of recordings of rightwing political figures. In 1972, he founded the FN, and two years later made his first presidential bid.

Le Pen’s circumstances were transformed in 1976 when Hubert Lambert, a wealthy admirer, died and left him a fortune and a mansion in Paris. Lambert was heir to a cement fortune, but was physically frail, with psychological troubles. For years there was controversy over the manner of his death at 42. Members of his family sought to have the will annulled, and eventually the legacy was split with another claimant.

Le Pen’s new wealth did not enable him to find enough sponsors to run for president in 1981, but throughout the 1980s and 90s elections showed considerable underlying support: 14.3% in the 1988 presidential vote, 15% in 1995; almost 10% in the elections of 1986 and 1998; 15% in 1997 (though only 10% in the 2007 presidentials). Many on the conventional right, though not Chirac, were ready to flirt politically with a man who commanded such support.

The first round of the 2002 presidential election marked the high point of Le Pen’s long and turbulent career. In the legislative elections that followed, his candidates scored respectably but won no parliamentary seats. Inevitably, the question of his succession arose, but Le Pen made it clear he planned to continue: with the presidential term reduced to five years, he would be a mere 79 in 2007.

Marine was given an enhanced role, to the discontent of some of his older and more traditionally minded supporters. After the defection of his chief lieutenant, Bruno Mégret, in the late 90s, no obvious successors emerged: none of the possible contenders had a fraction of his charisma.

Marine took as a priority the task of humanising her father’s image, and began increasingly to take over as his political heir. She set about “de-demonising” the FN, and became an altogether more formidable figure, with Jean-Marie marginalised in the battle for the soul and legacy of their party.

In September 2024, father and daughter were among 25 people charged with embezzling funds for fake jobs for European parliament assistants between 2004 and 2016. Jean-Marie’s health had been poor, and he did not appear in court. The verdicts are expected shortly.

He married Pierrette Lalanne in 1960, and they had three daughters, Marie-Caroline, Yann and Marine.

After an acrimonious divorce in 1987, Pierrette denounced Le Pen, and posed for Playboy when he refused to pay alimony. In 1991 he married Jany (Jeanne-Marie) Paschos. She and his daughters survive him.

🔔 Jean-Marie Le Pen, politician, born 20 June 1928; died 7 January 2025

Daily inspiration. Discover more photos at Just for Books…?

[hardstudentobject]

Total Drama headcanon-timeline of the seasons

Island: July-August 2007

Action: September-October 2007 (starts 2 days after Island)

World Tour: February-March 2008, with the finale occuring on April 2, 2008 (one day after Cody's birthday)

Revenge of the Island: July 2008

All-Stars: July 2009

Pakhitew Island: August 2009

Ridonculous Race: November-December 2009

Reboot, part 1: July 2022

Reboot, part 2: July 2023

Notes:

In Pakhitew Island, Chris say he is 30 years old. Granted, it wouldn't be out of character for him to claim that he is younger than he really is, but for the sake of my headcanon let's assume he was telling the truth. Since his DOB is confirmed to be November 18, 1978, and assuming that Pakhitew Island takes place during summer, that would mean Pakhitew Island takes place in 2009.

I know that Total Drama is inconsistent about how long do seasons last, so I am gonna assume that 13 episodes roughly equal 1 month, and 26 episodes equal 2 months. I base this assumption on the fact that Total Drama Island was supposed to last 8 weeks.

Owen, Noah and Geoff are supposed to be 16 years old in Island and 19 years old in RIdonculous Race. It can be explained by assuming that they were all born in late 1990. For example, Owen could be born in October 10, 1990, Geoff on November 11, 1990 and Noah on December 12, 1990. As for why they were not seen celebrating or talking about their birthdays during show? Well, it could be explained by the fact that they were too busy trying to win million dollars to bother talking and they simply celebrated it off-screen/in private. After all, the only time we see a contestant celebrate his/her birthday during show is Cody in World Tour.

In the last episode of Reboot Part 1, Chris says that the next season will take place next summer.

[awritingcaitlin]

2024 Wrap Up

It's still before New Years where I'm at! So let's slide this in!!

Some stats! Words Written: 283031 (give or take) WIPs Worked on: 10 Books read: 3 Beta reads: 10

WIPs Drafting Stage: 8 WIPs Revision Stage: 3

I'm gonna post some snippets from the year under the cut!

January - Finished editing Draft 15 of TBW, and workshopped it with my critique group. In January in specific, it was mostly writing the last chapter. Here's some content from then: Nathaniel and Riela in the hospital after all the shit went down.

For those of you who are newer, TBW is something I've been working on for ages with my co-writer. (If the number of drafts isn't any clue.) But we're 10+ years now. Anticipate seeing more of it as we're probably going to try to do revisions again this coming year.

February - Did some revisions on Heist. Honestly, it was nothing major because I spent that month packing (for a move that never ended up happening -_-) Here's a conversation I was tweaking at the time, having already rewritten the first few chapters of Heist in 2023. (Also this says Draft 3, but it was really more like Draft 2.5. This content is now in Chapter 5.)

Heist is a staple you've all seen me talk about I'm sure! It's set in the same universe as TBW, but with different MCs. I started it in 2022, started Draft 3 in late 2023, and as you'll see, started Draft 4 in late 2024. Still, I'm loving how it's all coming together!

March - Revising stuff in the first 5 chapters of Heist Draft 3. Some content from that time for you: Lelia and Ronan talking!

April - I'd made it through 15 Chapters of Heist Draft 3. However, midway through the month, I had some Life Happen, and stepped away from Heist for Reasons. I'll share some snippets from those works too. Here's a new Em and Vinny conversation that I wrote during that time.

April Part 2 - Due to Grief reasons, I ended up rereading most of CTQ, which is my GriefWIP™, and expanded on one of the scenes for a flashfic contest at that time, now in second person!

April Part 3 - I also ended up working on Aftermath, another Grief WIP. Which did not actually start as a WIP about grief... but I suppose when the premise is surviving after overthrowing an evil dictator, I can see how it went that way.

May - I started working more on Heist again, and got through 22 whole chapters! Some content for the time: the Jam Session!

June - I got Heist up to 34 chapters! Have some theology! It was very hard to find a snippet that was new content compared to the previous draft but also was not a blatant spoiler.

July - I got Heist up to 35 chapters, but then got stuck. Yes, this snippet says it's from Chapter 36 and that's because later I went back and added a chapter (and also had to restructure this whole area of the WIP.) New content: Lelia and Marcella conversation!

July Part 2 - I started working on my Dragon Age fanfic. The premise being that all the origin characters survive and join the party (though not as Grey Wardens.)

August - Heist revisions looked a lot like I didn't know how to number chapters at the time. Chapter 34, Chapter 35, Chapter 36, Chapter 35, Chapter 35, Chapter 36, Chapter 37..... Anyway, this is when I went back and added a chapter that fixed the problem I'd been having. So here, have Lelia and Ronan talking!

August Part 2 - While all that was going on, I also put another 10k into my WardenWIP.

August Part 3 - I also wrote a crossover fic with @rarmaster. This was an "ending" of sorts for two characters from our respective Kingdom Hearts fanfics.

Premise: The Riku Replica survived Chain of Memories by going to another universe. Years later, he and Namine talk about how they made it.

August Part 4 - Lastly, I wrote a thinly veiled Dragon Age fanfic, modeled after the Urn of Sacred Ashes trailer.

September - I got Heist up to 44 chapters and wrote one of my favorite sequences ever!

September Part 2 - I also wrote another 20k of WardenWIP.

October - Finished Draft 3 of Heist! Then I kind of just rested. (As was my right.)

November - I worked on worldbuilding documents, both my encyclopedia and my history doc.

Working on the Magic Encyclopedia was something that's a long-time coming. There's a very in-depth magic system for the world of Tyrysius, and half of drafting up an encyclopedia for how magic works is so that way we can minimize contradictions! I expect to go back to it in 2025 and continue fleshing it out.

November Part 2 - Working on the History document was good for nailing down what has transpired since the cataclysm 1200 years ago, what nations have risen and fallen, what technology has done, and plenty else. I anticipate working on this more in 2025 as well.

November Part 3 - I also spent a lot of time working how Draft 4 of Heist was going to come together because I already had ideas for revisions and the motivation to do them.

No fancy snippet but:

“Shierdi has rejected my last offer for it. So you’re going to steal it. Shierdi isn’t looking for you because you haven’t done anything for me.” “Yeah but you’ve been trying to get my attention for a year.” “She doesn’t know that. She works through mortal staff a lot and has been wrapping me up in red tape. But, one of the benefits of being known as the drunken god is that none of the other gods think you can make up a plan.” “Yeah but there are other gods of alcohol.” “Everyone knows Adelus can’t plan! Even still, Shierdi thinks I’m more of a drunk than he is.”

December - Dove into Heist Draft 4! Have a snippet of a new conversation between Vinny and Em, that recycles dialogue from a scene with Lelia and Em that got cut.

December Part 2 - Also I started writing another crossover scene. The premise of this one is that Xion decides the Riku Replica is her little brother. It was rar's idea.

“Sister?”  She giggled. “Yeah.”  He blinked and mouthed the word again, as if tasting it on his tongue. His eyes lit up and he smiled. “Sure,” he laughed. “Why not? Why can’t my family get ridiculously bigger?” “That’s the spirit!” she said. “Want to go get ice cream?”  

That has not really gone anywhere yet, but I needed to get the initial dialogue out of my head.

Anyway, yeah, that was 2024 was a lot of writing. Here's to a good 2025!

[itsstarseason]

╭┈──── ◌ೄ◌ྀ ˊˎ

╰┈➤ ❝ NAOKO’S BACKGROUND !

✰ DISCLAIMER

Quoted paragraphs indicate that Naoko has talked about the topic in front of cameras before; therefore, the information is known to the public. Mentions of death.

Wordcount: 0.5k

╭┈──── ◌ೄ◌ྀ ˊˎ

╰┈➤ ❝ 2000–2018: EARLY LIFE !

Kuroda Naoko was born on February 28, 2000, in Nōgata, Fukuoka, Japan. She is the only child of mother Kuroda Minami and father Kuroda Yuka.

Her parents both own and work on a farm. Although Naoko lived with them, she was raised by her grandparents who took care of her while her parents were busy with work. Naoko doesn’t talk much about her childhood, so little is known about her from that time.

In 2006, Naoko started elementary education. She graduated elementary school in 2012 and began secondary education the same year.

At 14, Naoko got interested in dance after discovering K-pop. She wasn't able to attend dance classes, so she taught herself how to dance at home.

❝I started dancing when I was about 14. I saw K-pop groups dance and I got interested, but my parents didn’t have money for dance classes, so I danced at home.❞

In 2015, Naoko graduated from junior high school and started senior high school. She was an average student. Naoko graduated from senior high school in 2018.

╭┈──── ◌ೄ◌ྀ ˊˎ

╰┈➤ ❝ 2018–2022: TRAINEE LIFE !

Months after graduation, Naoko was street cast by a JYP employee and was asked to come to Korea and train. She was hesitant at first, but ultimately decided to try. In September 2018, Naoko moved to South Korea and became a trainee at JYP Entertainment.

Naoko quickly became one of the best trainees at JYP. She was already good at dancing and seemed to find no struggle with singing. She was often praised for her skills and visuals. After she had finished the basic training, Naoko trained with ITZY members, but she was dropped from the lineup 2 months before ITZY’s debut.

In June 2020, Naoko’s grandparents died. She then left JYP and considered going back to Japan. However, 2 months later she was scouted by a CUBE Entertainment employee and became a trainee again, this time at CUBE.

❝My grandparents died during covid. I think I didn’t know what to do at the time. I didn’t want my parents to be alone, but I didn’t want to go back home yet. I left JYP without thinking it through.❞

While training at CUBE, she worked part-time jobs. The longer she trained, the more hope she was losing of ever debuting, but she tried to stay determined until the end.

╭┈──── ◌ೄ◌ྀ ˊˎ

╰┈➤ ❝ 2022–PRESENT: BOYS PLANET AND ZEROBASEONE !

In July 2022, NAOKO applied for BOYS PLANET after her trainee friend encouraged her to do so. She was chosen as one of the contestants months later. At the end of 2022, BOYS PLANET's filming began.

❝I auditioned for BOYS PLANET with my friend who was also a trainee, but he didn’t get picked.❞

On April 20, 2023, Naoko placed 10th during BOYS PLANET's finale, making her a member of ZEROBASEONE. She debuted as a ZEROBASEONE member on July 10 with the group’s first mini album "YOUTH IN THE SHADE".

Despite thousands of doubts and uncertainty, Naoko’s debut in ZEROBASEONE was like a turning point in her life. It’s obvious—she smiles wider, sleeps better, and her heart beats a little faster. And although the future is still unknown, Naoko makes the most out of every moment she has with her fans and members. The success is more than personal; her popularity from BOYS PLANET carried over into ZEROBASEONE, and from debut until the present, she has remained one of the most popular members of the group.

itsstarseason 2024 ✰

[pinkyjulien]

I won Nexus's halloween VP contest and there's already people going "it looks like a 3D render"

Oh man FEELS JUST LIKE APRIL 2022

At least people can't say I won because "I'm friend with the devs" this time lmaooo

[itsvivace]

— VIVACE . . THE DISCOGRAPHY . . !

VIVACE is a fictional thirteen-member girl group formed by the survival show I-Doll, where seventy contestants competed for a chance to debut in a group under the company I-Teen Media. VIVACE is split into three active sub-units, but today, we’ll be talking about the main group’s music, which has captured the hearts of fans worldwide and solidified them as one of the best Kpop acts of the current generation. VIVACE has stated that they want their music to be reminiscent of the older generations in Kpop and music for girls all around the world to feel empowered by.

— 2019 - 2020 . . ORIGINS OF A SUPERSTAR . .

After the finale of I-Doll, I-Teen Media announced that VIVACE would debut in mid-September, leaving fans in anticipation of their upcoming debut. VIVACE officially debuted on September 17, 2019, with the self-titled mini album “VIVACE” consisting of five tracks, including the title track “Gee!”. VIVACE debuted with 63K album sales and Gee! charted #22 on the global charts within the first 24 hours. Gee!’s cute sound and second-gen influence attracted even more attention to the group, and by the end of the first week, both the title track and album topped the charts at #1.

With their debut a huge success, many waited for VIVACE’s first comeback, announced to be released in December of the same year. On December 12, 2019, their first single album, “QUEENDOM,” was released consisting of three tracks, including the title track, “Royalty.” Royalty captivated fans for its themes of self-love and upbeat lyrics but wasn’t enough to get it to more success than “Gee!” with Royalty charting #48 on global charts and QUEENDOM earning 15K album sales, a lot of netizens were saying VIVACE was one-hit wonders and would end up flopping after this comeback.

VIVACE would take a small break and focus on their sub-unit releases until they came back on July 5, 2020, with their second mini album, “SUMMER VACAY,” which consists of five tracks, counting the title track “Drunk In You”. Despite the low reception of “QUEENDOM”, SUMMER VACAY instantly trended for its catchy songs and fresh sound, which earned the album 98K album sales, and the entire album charted in the top ten on the global charts. SUMMER VACAY was known as the uprising of VIVACE and the start of their international stardom.

By their next comeback, VIVACE had become one of the biggest Kpop acts of 4th Gen, especially with all of the popularity their sub-units were getting. Their third mini album, “PAPARAZZI”, was released on October 24, 2020, with the album consisting of six tracks, including their breakout title track, “RUN”. RUN was a darker, more mature sound than what VIVACE usually did, but it ended up going viral just from the teasers alone, earning the album 283K sales and 8 million views in just the first 24 hours. Fresh off RUN's success, VIVACE released their first digital single, “Ladies Night”, on December 25, 2020, as a Christmas gift to fans. The song charted #2 on Melon and went #1 on global charts.

— 2021 - 2023 . . LIVIN’ IT LIKE A STAR . .

VIVACE took an almost year long hiatus as a group to further focus on sub-unit releases until they finally made a comeback with their first full album, “CELESTE”, on September 17, 2021. CELESTE is a two year anniversary album with thirteen tracks, including the title track, “YES, YOU”. CELESTE introduces a retro theme, which, despite not having done so before, fans say sounds authentically VIVACE. CELESTE sold 1.4 million copies, a huge jump from PAPARAZZI, after gaining an insane number of fans during the group’s hiatus. The entire album charted within the top 20, and the top 5 spots on the charts were all VIVACE. Fans refer to this era as the start of VIVACE’s prime.

With VIVACE releasing only CELESTE in 2021, fans went into 2022 hoping for a release sometime soon; they got their wish when VIVACE released their second full album, “MY IMPACT”, on April 19, 2022. MY IMPACT is an album consisting of 11 tracks along with the title track, “The Boys”, where VIVACE talks about their impact on the kpop industry and also empowers women not to let gender discrimination hold them back from their dreams. MY IMPACT sold almost 9 million copies, the most copies VIVACE has sold to this day, and most of the songs off the album charted within the top 10. MY IMPACT ended up being the most successful era they had so far with them winning Song Of The Year, Artist Of The Year, and almost winning Album Of The Year for 2022.

On November 13, 2022, VIVACE released their fourth mini album, “ALL I ASK”, consisting of six tracks, including the title track, “SAVE ME”. The album has a slower, elegant sound than some of their previous releases, earning the album 7 million album sales and the title track charting #3 in Korea and #9 internationally. ALL I ASK is known as one of VIVACE’s forgotten eras, a lot of fans even think VIVACE themselves don’t remember the album.

As a collaboration project with the Barbie Movie, VIVACE released “Barbie Girl”, their fifth mini album, on June 10, 2023. The album consists of five tracks, including their first English title track, “VALENTINE”. VIVACE promoted the album completely in the United States, and the album sold 7.8 million copies and charted #1 on iTunes. VALENTINE ended up being the end credits song, which attracted even more international fans to the group.

VIVACE’s most recent release, “1-800-LOVERGIRL”, is their second single album, released on December 29, 2023. It consists of three tracks, including the lead title track, “YOUNG LOVE.” 1-800-LOVERGIRL sold 6 million copies, and the title charted #2 on Korean charts and #5 on global charts. As of July 2024, VIVACE has not made any news on a comeback, including with any of their sub-units, leaving fans wondering when VIVACE will make a comeback.