#at which point he revamps his career

[yllowpages]

i love that i've taken johnny from mk canon and just given him my ideal world for him

[depressedraisin]

notes on "mr. snarl"

hello, hello, hello welcome to the mr. snarl is high camp discourse. i've been readin' and thinkin' and drivin' myself nuts over this, so i'll be blabberin' on for a good minute. bear with me.

before we dive into any discussion of camp, we ofcourse need to understand what camp is in the first place. camp as an idea is nearly impossible to neatly put down in a few words or a sentence. it has no definition as of such. camp is loud. camp is ostentatious. camp is exaggerated. camp is 'too much'. camp is gay. camp is ironic. camp is cheeky. drag is camp. marlene dietrich is camp. baroque art is camp. cher is camp. mommie dearest (1981) is camp. the rocky horror picture show (1975) is camp. dostoevsky is camp.

the girlies who get camp get it, those who don't, don't.

however we do have susan sontag's 1964 seminal essay 'notes on "camp"' from where most of our contemporary ideas and understanding of 'camp' comes from. in her essay, sontag noted 58 points on what camp is or might be. for our purposes in this post, we'll go by those. because it is the camp bible of course. and i am a pretentious bitch.

now before we get to the meat of the matter, a quick detour to discuss the many faces of alex turner.

alex's personas have now come to as closely associated to his image as an artist and public figure as blonde wigs are with dolly parton, i suppose. it even has its own section in alex's wiki page. he is one those performers to whom the "eras" concept can truly and perfectly apply. he is a different man on stage with every new album, each 'era' is unique from the other and distinctly defined. a new 'era' for alex is not only a change of a haircut or a new pallette, it is a total revamping of his mannerisms and performance style and public image. be it mr. schwarz (the car era), mark (tbhc era) or oliver tate sr. (early sias era), each one of his personas is another way in which he represents the themes of that album. understanding a persona is integral to understanding the album.

and alex admits to as such. each Performer is a fractured reflection of his own self, and of the album.

but. but. i do not think that he has always made use of the Performer, or atleast, tried to make perceivable distinctions between them. in the first three-four years of his career- during WPSIATWIN and FWN, he presented as just Some Guy. just another normal bloke from sheffield. which, you could argue, was the persona that fit the context of those albums, but i would say that he was probably not putting that much thought into it at the time. it isn't until TAOTU that we see alex using his on-stage fashion to project a certain kind of image that ties in with the music he's playing. (do i think it's miles' handiwork? yes.). the lil suits and ties and beatles-mop cuts, y'know.

the first distinct Performer appears during the Humbug era. the soft-spoken, brooding, fawn-mannered poet who is probably hiding a bagful of secrets and hang-ups behind those layers of brown curls- let's call her him aly. then we have the bright-eyed, puppy-smiled, deep-voiced loverboy of the early SIAS era. i propose to call him oliver tate sr. (after the guy from submarine (2010) obviously). then mr. snarl- we'll get to him later. the loud and theatrical and slutty and deliciously gay EYCTE era persona. then the melancholic space poet mark of TBH&C and finally the suave auteur of The Car- mr. schwarz.

mr. snarl is the one who has garnered the most fascination and endured the most in popular imagination. dare i say, AM-era alex turner is a lowkey late 2010s pop culture icon. it is very easy to understand why- the quiff, the leather jackets, the perpetual sunglasses, the biker boots, the LA drawl tinging his sheffield accent, the devil-may-care wantoness. the girlies on tiktok and pinterest aren't obsessed with him for nothing.

so, what makes mr. snarl camp? what am i yapping on about?

let's get back to sontag.

camp is artificial. camp is ironic. mr. snarl is too. he is a character. he is a mask. *cue the bourne identity and body paint*. 'artificial' does not imply fake or dishonest. we should be careful not to be quick in putting any value judgement onto this artificiality- the aritifice is a quality of camp. you can't appreciate camp, if you snigger at the artificial.

2. camp is character. mr. snarl is a character if there ever was one. extremely defined, visually and behaviourally- you see a performance and can immediately recognise the moment mr. snarl is peeking through. he is also very intensely one thing- very intensely masculine, very intensely rockabilly, very intensely rock god. he is 'instant character' as sontag puts it, which is why perhaps he so immediately and so firmly gripped our collective imagination.

3. camp is exaggerated. camp is style. do i even need to elaborate on this? Ben Beaumont-Thomas of The Guardian said it much better than i could- alex ironically "played with the role" of being a rockstar but simultaneously "can't help but be a real rock star." so, to put it in sontagian terms, he is not a rockstar but a "rock star"

the 2014 brit awards speech is the peak of this ironic, exaggerated performance i think. (i'm still waiting for someone to do a drag performance based on it).

4. but to me, what makes mr. snarl camp is his performance of gender. now let's get one thing clear- camp is not effeminate or queer behaviour. it is the "spirit of extravagance", so any kind of extravagant and ironic presentation of gender can be under the purview of camp.

this performance of gender is not the david bowie or marc bolan or brian molko kind, no. this performance of gender is much subtle, much more nuanced- he wasn't playing around with rigid definitions of gender or crossing gender lines. he wasn't trying to say something with it necessarily. i doubt even, if it was a purposeful thing that he was thinking of back then.

but mr. snarl is a performance of gender. it is a performance of masculinity. and the thing that makes it so very interesting is that it was a cis, straight man doing it.

[if y'all are interested, another interesting example is dolly parton + her persona + her performance of exaggerated femininity. for more on that i'll point you towards be kind rewind's video essay on her.]

mr. snarl was an image of a very certain kind of masculinity. 1950s, elvis presley, rockabilly, greasers, james dean- these are some of the pop culture touchstones that come to mind when we think of mr. snarl. he is also decidedly american. a "fictional character from america" as alex later put it. was this whole persona thing an effort to conquer america then? perhaps...but eh. there is no way i can conclusively say that. it certainly helped that cause. AM the album was very us-american in essence-- it drew from hiphop and r&b after all. the soundscape of the arctic monkeys was very much rooted in its northern british indie roots, and AM was the first one that was clearly not. and mr. snarl was just a visual reflection of that. [for more on how the arctic monkeys conquered the us]

mr. snarl was a certain kind of masculine in a way alex turner personas haven't been previously or since. he has always presented as conventionally masculine. even the humbug persona- him being my girlfriend notwithstanding- is not much different from the aesthetics of say, ray davies or mick jagger or george harrison back in the 60s and 70s. the slightly effeminate dramaticism of eycte is not exactly gender-bending as such.

but mr. snarl was hypermasculine. masculinity has had an interesting place in his lyrics up until they- they are both critical ('brianstorm' 'a certain romance') and fascinated ('jeweller's hand' 'catapult') of more aggressive masculine characteristics. (he does use a lot of very sexual but not necessarily erotic language to describe said masculinity- but that's another can of worms.) mr. snarl was in a way, alex being those characters from those songs he was writing about. mr. snarl also very aggressively straight. straight with a capital s. his songs in AM still had the self-abasing and submissive undertones to the narrator that love songs from humbug and sias, but much toned down. he was out there shouting out his girlfriend on stage. and who can forget the "ladiessssssss!" moment. he had models hanging off him in photoshoots.

you probably saw these photos and thought- "what the fuck?!" with a cackle. that is exactly what makes mr. snarl camp. the irony, the ridiculousness of it all.

5. i don't think alex was trying to be or do camp. camp is best when it is not intentional. i can even confidently wager alex would not take it as a compliment if i showed him this essay. a lot of very "serious" people look down upon camp as something lowbrow and tacky and unserious. but it isn't. i would go ahead and classify mr. snarl under naive camp- he is trying to be straightlaced and serious, but failing grandly, which makes it deliciously camp.

so. mr. snarl was an exaggerated representation of masculinity. in a sense, mr. snarl was basically drag. alex turner being "Alex Turner".

[retiredkat]

Red-UK Magazine Raising the Stakes interview with Jacob Anderson

Must give email address to read the full article

“Jacob Anderson has a very sweet tooth. ‘I’m, like, addicted to sweetness, ever since being in America,’ he says, sipping tea with a sheepish smile. Having come to meet me in North London after dropping his daughter at nursery, the 34-year-old star of AMC’s hit series Interview With The Vampire is sitting with his face towards the morning sunshine, a move unlike the supernatural being he plays. ‘It’s good to have everything in moderation,’ he muses, opening a sachet of sweetener. ‘But the minute you start paying too much attention to quantities of things…’ he pauses, ‘it’s like sucking the joy out.’

It’s an apt metaphor for the show we’re meeting to discuss. Based on Anne Rice’s 1976 novel, the lavish revamp sees Anderson play the brooding vampire Louis de Pointe du Lac as he recounts a life of eternal love and bloodlust to journalist Daniel Molloy (Eric Bogosian). In an era when television feels increasingly bland, the show pulls off theatrical magic with its epic, queer reinvention of Rice’s work. ‘You don’t really get weird stories with scale,’ notes Anderson. ‘And I feel like this show has managed to hit the sweet spot of scale and oddness.’

Having attempted to despatch his paramour Lestat de Lioncourt (Sam Reid) and then moved to Paris with his adopted daughter Claudia (Delainey Hayles), Louis works to untangle his manipulated memories in the second season. ‘There’s a lot of tension building,’ says Anderson. ‘In episode one, in particular, I remember thinking Louis has a tension headache for years. It affects his decision-making, and his outbursts. And he makes a lot of poor decisions in season two.’ There’s a great deal of unresolved trauma, he observes, ‘Louis is very emotionally constipated in that way. I think he’s not quite able to embrace his grief, embrace his first 30 years of vampirism. He’s also unravelling in the present; all of that suppression and repression is coming back to get him.

Therapy is the place where Anderson goes to figure things out. ‘I don’t want to be like a ball of confusion and contradiction. I have two daughters to raise,’ he smiles. ‘I don’t want to be another angry man, because they’re gonna meet a lot of angry, oppressed men in their lives.’ Since playing Louis, though, he suspects the boundaries between fiction and real life have become blurred. ‘There are things about Louis that I justify, like, “I understand this decision, and therefore we’re the same.”’ he laughs. Getting deep into character, I suggest, must lend itself to overthinking. ‘Yeah, I’m a huge overthinker,’ he says emphatically. ‘Sitting here, I just noticed my own body language, and my brain is firing off.’

Despite having been in the public eye for most of his life (both on TV and in his music, which he records under the name Raleigh Ritchie), Anderson keeps a low profile. ‘I’m quite a private person,’ he chuckles. He largely avoids social media, as he has an ‘internal compass’ that guides him towards negative criticism. ‘I think it would be unhealthy to spend too much time indulging in how other people are looking at me,’ he says. ‘I feel like I’d lose my sense of self; the sense of self that I’ve been trying to build up all this time.’

As a child, he was always waiting for adulthood to begin. He moved to London at the age of 17, not specifically to pursue a career in acting, but mainly to leave his home city of Bristol. ‘I have a really healthy relationship with my home city now,’ he says, ‘but at the time, I just wanted to escape.’ He was always resourceful in his pursuit of opportunities. ‘In the beginning, I would get coaches up to London at four in the morning to get to an audition at nine. And I would do that a few times a week. And then if I stayed over for some reason, I’d stay at like a backpacker’s hostel for £19.’ Since that point, he’s worked solidly. ‘I think I have a bit of a work thing,’ he confesses. ‘I really feel like myself when I’m working. I feel like I can key into the version of myself that I most want to be, and it gives me a real sense of purpose.’

Playing the stoic Unsullied warrior Grey Worm in HBO’s Game Of Thrones was an ‘emotionally taxing’ experience at times. ‘The challenging bit was giving myself something to do sometimes, like, keeping myself alive in the scene,’ he recalls. ‘Trying to stay present was a real challenge.’ But it also proved to be a valuable learning curve. ‘You don’t need lines, you don’t need words to tell your part of the story. You can do it with your face. You can do it with your body language. So I learned a lot from doing that. But I was ready for it to be over.’

When he finished the show in 2018, he felt burnt out. ‘That last year was so brutal. It was an amazing experience in lots of ways, but I was also very low and so I just took a break for a bit.’ He considered giving up acting. ‘I was just losing my love a little bit,’ he says. The thing that inspired him again was playing recurring character Vinder in Doctor Who, a show that he aspired to be on as a child. ‘That gave me back my play. It re-energised me.’

He certainly wasn’t prepared for the phenomenon that Thrones would become. ‘It was really surprising,’ he recalls. ‘Whenever we went through the press for it, it felt like being in The Beatles or something. But when we were making it, it was really intimate.’ In any case, he isn’t driven by conventional measures of success. ‘The processes are really important. I’ve really learned that, for me, it doesn’t matter if the thing is good. If making it isn’t a pleasant experience, or joyful in some way, fulfilling or cathartic, then it wasn’t worth it. I don’t really care if something is, like, quote unquote, a hit or success, if making it was miserable, you know?’

What really drives Anderson, is creating work that helps people feel seen; and the enthusiastic response to Interview With The Vampire (plus an early season three renewal) has proved that it’s resonating with audiences on a deep level. ‘To be a part of something that people take into their hearts so much is really special,’ he says. ‘Through music and films and TV was how I learned how to be a human, you know?’ He pauses, looking deep in thought. ‘To see that I’ve contributed in some way to something that does that for other people gives me a sense of “it’s the right thing to do”. Like, I’m still doing this for the reason that I got into it.’ He smiles, ‘So yeah, it’s lovely.’”

[hazbinhotel-bitch]

Alastor x (Name) podcast

Head cannon:

Alastor making fire segues to sponsors

(Name) both loving and hating the segues that he comes up with on the spot.

The two have a lot of banter and sometimes will have arguments live on the broadcasts.

(Name) having to convince Alastor to try and revamp his broadcast by having sponsors.

(Name) also happened to be a well known journalist before she died so she tends to be the bringing in new stories circling the rings of hell.

Alastor eventually learned to enjoy having a co-host for his live broadcasting to help the exposure of the hotel.

(Name) is a Fox Demon (Might Draw what she looks like)

(Name) is a very creative woman who also enjoys the arts of music and dance.

Unlike Alastor she is rather fond and open to many genre of music and has an appreciation of all things old and new.

They often bicker about what sponsors to take on, (Name) was newer things that are deemed more modern but Alastor surprisingly prefers things a little more outdated or a little more sustainable in nature.

(Name) passed away around 21st century, she was roughly in her early 30s when she passed after a bad lead that ended up killing her. She had always been a very cunning woman and knew how to get what she wanted and would do anything to get the information she needed for her articles.

She was a very selfish woman when it came to her career and her promotions but aside from her greed and her pride she was sent to hell due to her questionable behaviour in obtaining said information, it’s a detail she still keeps vague from those around her.

(Name) managed to come across Alastor after she saw the news interview of Charlie prompting her little hotel of redemption, the Hazbin Hotel. She originally pretended to be a sinner who was on the path to redemption, but her original motives were to write a paper giving the inside scope to twist and tarnish the silly cause, but after meeting Charlie (Name) started to rethink her motives.

Alastor as an Overlord scared her when he fought on to her snooping but eventually the two dispute coming from two different eras were able to become the unlikely of friends. (Name) still does write her papers on other subjects and publishes them anonymously until she ends up pissing off Valentino and Vox.

Above all Alastor and (Name) have a very platonic relationship but it can tiptoe around almost being romantic as they are both very protective of each other.

--------- ---------

** Alastor in this Head Cannon I am creating for this Fanfiction is that Alastor is part of the Ace spectrum in his sexuality/orientation. I am not well versed in asexuality aside from what friends have told me about their experience. Alastor in this fanfic is not someone who feels sexual attraction nor does he find any interest in romantic relationships. Not because he dislikes the idea but because he doesn't understand romantic relationship and just doesn't find romance important (this is subjective to change as the story progresses when he and (Name) start to develop a closer relationship). If I had to label his asexuality for this fanfic it would be Demisexual.

I just wanted to be clear here so I don't get anyone getting mad at me. I am aware back in 2018 the creator of Hazbin hotels said Alastor was Asexual and that at some point someone said that Alastor was Aro-Ace (Aromantic-Asexual) which is fine but for the sake of this Fanfiction he is Demisexual **

(Photo of (Name) the fox demon writer)

[lyriquette]

Old RWBY AU description from the Frosen Steel server 12/24/2020:

noticing the trend that I was really really inspired that December 2020.

Anyway Silkpants!Weiss AU and drunkhacker!Willow blowing up on Jacques and manages to take out the company with her. Also the concept of a Ballmer peak (from xkcd) is that a certain precise blood alcohol level confers superhuman programming ability.

----

lilac — 12/24/2020 7:03 PM

Also silkpants!Weiss AU. Nail is that Jacques actually laid a hand on the kids and Willow goes berserk, baulking the unsaid patriarchial traditions in her family. She takes down the company with her own hands by revealing every dirty secret of the SDC which causes the Atlasian government to dismantle the company. Because of her assistance, she's awarded the rest of the liquid assets of the Schnee company, Jacques goes to jail, and Willow's all wow this went better than I could've ever imagined.

Changes involve the schneeblings are closer to each other, Willow works with Polendina and Atlas as the resident hacker and programmer, and Weiss ends up at Atlas than Beacon. Inspired by her mom taking out the thorn in the family, Weiss becomes the big bully of the family, except it's the other rich people that's scared of her.

Bully the weak? Hell no, I’m bullying the strong. Don't like it? You can bite me.

---

“Think it's funny tormenting little kids and making them eat garbage? Come on. Torment me then," said a bobcut-donning Weiss.

“Miss Schnee. It was just a jok-"

Slap.

“I just smacked you with a wad of Lien. It was just a joke.-" Weiss rebutted having pulled a stack of cash from her purse.

“you,” guy holding his face, “When my father hears an-"

Smack. Another stack of Lien hit the floor. A cracking of knuckles.

“It doesn't matter who comes now,” Weiss said as she brandished a pair of knuckledusters, “you're going to lick the floor clean, or I'm going to beat you until you're done.”

---

Part of the reason why the Schnee family doesn’t get messed with despite Weiss's antics is because Willow is a ticking time bomb for everyone. She's a good hacker and an even more protective mom. Someone tried to block Winter's advancement in the military unjustifiably, and Willow responded with releasing her blackmail material on that person, a small part that she's accumulated for years just being a drunk hacker – cause of the phenomenon of Ballmer Peak where a certain blood alcohol level confers superhuman programming skills where she so happened to sit in a majority of the time.

And Willow's like yeah all I care about is making money to support my family and my kids. If you mess with my kids, I don’t care if we both go to ruin. Momma Bear Schnee.

She also discovers the loophole in Atlasian security aka Watt's hack, so the whole system gets a revamp which gets important later with the CCT. Willow still drinks. But only at work. She's the only one allowed to do so cause she can’t program otherwise. “I don’t know how I finished the project. I blacked out and there it was." ????

------

lilac — 12/24/2020 7:06 PM

Yeeee. And also I just imagine someone high in the government going "come on girl what can you do to me." And Weiss releases a multi-continent album with every song dedicated to lambasting the guy and highlighting every bit of corruption and dark point in his career.

Needless to say, he doesn't stay in power xD

lilac — 12/24/2020 7:59 PM

-------

--------

The million lien question. 8) well, it's definitely gonna be Frostbyte first. Willow already works with Polendina in this AU, and Penny's creation and testing is completed earlier in canon. So Weiss'll get to interact with Penny a bit before Atlas and probably will be part of the same team eventually.

Penny doesn't quite get why everyone (mostly the affluent folk) seems to be scared of her friend. It's not like Weiss keeps wads of cash in her purse to smack people with, right? Also, Weiss acts pretty normal and nice when she isn't provoked. Even has a blog just dedicated to her finding dogs and petting them. The Schnee Mansion itself is practically a kennel. Momma Schnee is all whatever makes you happy. Whitley is also weak to dogs and is thinking about becoming a vet in the future given his proximity to them. Winter is allergic sadly but still all "who's an adorable cutie ah-choo!"

I digress.. anyway. So Penny's origins and high up connections aren't known. Per her papers, she only has Pietro as her father, and he's not immediately recognizable as someone special. So people insult her for both her lack of social standing and her quirkiness. Then someone makes the stupid mistake of doing it in front of Weiss.

Later the CCT tower has a couple new additions hogtied and spinning around by their waists on a rope. And they're all screaming "if you mess with Penny, you're messing with Weiss" while in tears. They do this because Weiss promised something far worse if they didn't.

Penny, having teen novel romances and fanfic as her cross-references, take it as a declaration of love. She ends up being the one who supports Weiss and also curbs her need to be and be seen as strong.

---

Headmaster's Office:

Ironwood, sighing as he sees Weiss: what did you do now?

Weiss, unrepentantly: I strung people up from the CCT tower again.

Ironwood: Weiss. The CCT tower is not your personal billboard. Not to mention that messing around with it can have consequences for everyone, even if you're not touching the tower when you climb up.

Weiss: …

Ironwood: …

Weiss: This conversation is going pretty differently compared to our usual ones.

Ironwood: How so?

Weiss: For one, you aren't yelling at me for beating up other people again.. I was getting worried that I ended up in some freaky alternate universe or something.

Ironwood, darkly amused: Would you actually listen if I told you to stop beating other people up?

Weiss pretends to ponder the question a bit before shaking her head.

Weiss: probably not.

Ironwood, rolling eyes: I figured. Besides I know why you did it, and though I can’t officially condone your actions, I can turn a blind eye.

Weiss: soo. If I don’t use the CCT as my billboard, can I hogtie people and hang them from other places?

Ironwood: …just go away already.

Weiss just laughs.

---

lilac — 12/24/2020 8:45 PM

"Please don't start anything in Vale. My dads told me to ask," Penny said with a soft giggle while giving Weiss a hug as they went on the plane.

"Anything else the Headmaster wanted to tell me?" Weiss asked, returning the hug.

"Don't mess with the ciivies. It's one thing to do it in Atlas since it's your home. Another to do it in another continent while being a Hunter,” Penny shrugged, “That's all.”

"Is there anything -you- want to tell me?” Weiss said playfully.

“I love you,” Penny replied with a smile.

“I-I-…” Weiss stuttered, a hint of pink of her cheeks. Every single time. And she still couldn’t say the words she wanted to say to her girlfriend. They just catch in her throat like they always did.

Penny pecked her on the cheek happily. “Don't worry. I know your feelings. See you in Vale!” she finished as she ran towards her designated plane with a wave.

"Ah. Penny! Uh bye!" Replied a flustered Weiss.

--

Streets of Vale during Vytal festival:

Some fancy, bright red car is driving beside her ugly rent-a-car at night. It's been cutting her off repeatedly after she had honked at them for doing it previously. A couple of other cars and a motorcycle were still on the road.

The red luxuxy car drove to her rental's side once more, the people within hollering and making lewd gestures and comments before cutting her off and forcing her to brake.

Continuing to ignore them after a dozen times of this, Weiss finally hears an interesting tidbit as they drove by her for the umpteenth time.

“We're all Hunters. -hic-. From Beacon. Got all that aura and stamina. How about a night Snow Angel?”

Hollers from the back of the car.

Hunters? Really now.

Weiss’s lips curved into the not-smile.

“She's smiling! What a sl-" Whatever the brown-haired guy was going to say trailed off as they sped past her again and hit their brakes.

She didn’t bother to hit hers this time.

Crash! Screech! Crunch! (edited)

[the-laridian]

What's the process of creating a new character/OC like for you?

This ended up being a LOT of writing XD

I figure the best way is to give a couple of examples: Langley (The Outer Worlds) and Volkov (original work, "BDVV" in the daily wordcounts).

Langley was originally created as a side character for the Bad Trip sequel (still named Crossover as of this writing). I needed some extra characters to be part of Felix’s ship crew. Langley’s original character concept was: young, blond, fanboy. That’s literally all I had.

Most of my characters start out rather unfleshed like that, actually. I hate to create their entire history and backstory and all their personal details and thoughts from the start. I prefer to let them form organically.

In Langley’s case, I don’t even remember how I came up with his name! But I did decide he wrote fanfiction - why not? He’s a fanboy, right? In this case, fanboy over Rowan (as the mysterious Captain Dane who appears to be such a threat to Halcyon) and then Felix (who is also super cool and goes on more adventures).

But as I wrote Langley in Crossover, I realized he had to meet Rowan sometime during Bad Trip - so I wrote him into the Tartarus prison break-in. Which meant I had to come up with his occupation. UDL, of course; and you know what? Janitor, like Rowan was, except (as like Rowan) with a fancy title.

Playing around with the concept of “Langley writes fanfiction” and a side essay I wrote about the state of Halcyon fandom (which is to say, Halcyon fandom is terrible), I created Langley’s “internet friends” of fanboys and fangirls.

I still couldn’t tell you what Langley looks like, I don’t have a faceclaim for him, but I can picture him by way of his personality. I also don’t have much more of his backstory than that he’s a UDL janitor-turned-spaceship-crew-and-aspiring-author, but that’s really all he needs. He’s fun, he’s an upbeat character. Maybe a little naive, but probably also the kind that would jump into a fight on your side without a second thought.

Volkov started the other way: with a faceclaim.

Volkov’s concept (Soviet/Russian agent in a Cold War setting) came from a different work of mine, but I revamped him for this one. I found a picture of a Russian man with very intense eyes, and bam: this is the new Volkov. My cowriter (@porkwithbones) noted “wow, those are some intense eyes” so that too is part of his description.

Volkov’s story is set in an alternate universe and it’s 1973; he primarily works in Persia (Iran) and the “Iron Wall” (that universe’s Iron Curtain). Naturally this meant I had to do at least some research on this area even if this fic is purely for fun and will likely never be published.

At one point Volkov mentioned something about the country of Georgia (part of their USSR-equivalent). PWB leapt on that with their character noting, aha, yes, Volkov does seem to have a bit of an accent.

I thought: you know what? Yes. He’s Georgian now. And his family Russified quickly to avoid ethnic persecution or worse when the armies of liberation showed up. So now he has some more backstory; I decided his parents are still alive, too, but he’s an only child (because I like to limit the cast I have to work with if possible).

As a coincidental part of the story, Volkov and his future romantic partner (he didn’t know it then) end up talking about animals, and I then decided: Volkov’s favorite animal are elephants. He’s an elephant nerd. Thinks they’re the coolest thing ever. Also he’s into wildlife photography but in a hobbyist sense (because at the time I needed him to be doing something outdoorsy).

This later enabled Volkov and his romantic partner (once they became that) to easily find each other: meet at the elephant enclosure in the city zoo, if they happen to be in the same city.

So by now, I have his career (undercover agent), some backstory (grew up functionally Soviet Russian), some hobbies (Elephants! Photography!) and having written some more of the story just before writing this essay - he’s got a taste for Middle Eastern food. Not really a foodie or a gourmet, just he likes it and enjoys it. And I have his faceclaim.

You can see here, I start with very loose ideas of the character concept - a look, a personality trait - and build on it, adding to it organically as the story progresses and I come up with things I like. If these are to be published, it does mean some rewriting to correct the earliest parts, to make them consistent with later work.

But I vastly prefer this to coming up with everything at the very beginning, before writing. If I had to come up with Volkov’s interests at the start? I couldn’t do it. I know, because I’ve had those “here’s 100 things to create about your character!” worksheets, and it doesn’t work. I don’t care what their birthday is just yet, and I don’t know what their favorite childhood memory is. It’ll come to me as I need it.

If you’re curious about any other character, feel free to ask!

[themovieblogonline]

Road House Movie Review: Laughs, Brawls & Florida Fun!

Yo movie lovers, buckle up for a review of the new "Road House." This ain't your daddy's bar brawl flick (although let's be honest, those were pretty sweet). This revamped #RoadHouse throws some serious punches, hilarious jokes, and a whole lotta Florida sunshine our way. Let's break it down into the good, the bad, and the beautiful, shirtless fighting men (looking at you, Jake Gyllenhaal). https://youtu.be/SUEFYZTFXkY The Good: Buckle Up, Buttercup, It's a Wild Ride The Florida Keys have never looked so good. Seriously, the filmmakers must have made a deal with the devil because every shot practically screams "vacation time." Palm trees swayin', turquoise water sparklin': it's enough to make you forget about the crazy fight club scene happening two blocks down. And the fight choreography is on point. That first brawl sets the tone for the whole movie: brutal, balletic, and guaranteed to make you wince (in a good way). This movie knows how to have a good laugh. The jokes are well-timed, the dialogue keeps things interesting, and there's a certain absurdity to the whole situation that makes it all the more enjoyable. We're talkin' bad guys with questionable taste in facial hair and a bar so beautiful it should be on a postcard. This movie doesn't waste your time with long speeches or boring exposition. The story unfolds through action, clever camerawork (like that awesome shot through the boat window with Jake G's training as Elwood), and some truly bizarre dream sequences (hello, haunted by your past UFC career?). Brant, the bad guy, is equal parts terrifying and hilarious. His goons are a motley crew, with one dude even being a bit of an Elwood Dalton fanboy. It's like watching a supervillain convention gone wrong, and honestly, we're here for it. The bands in the Road House play on NO MATTER WHAT. There's a bar brawl happening? Keep playin' those sweet tunes! Someone's getting tossed out the window? Don't miss a beat! It's a bizarre detail that somehow works perfectly in this wacky world.  The final showdown is glorious. There's payback, there's redemption, and there's a healthy dose of "holy crap, that was awesome!" Plus, the ending leaves things open for a sequel, which, honestly, we wouldn't mind seeing. The Bad: A Few Hiccups on the Highway to Hell Our main man, Elwood Dalton, is a bit of an enigma. We get glimpses of his past as a UFC fighter, but his motivations and personality remain a bit opaque. While Jake's dry humor adds charm to his character, there's a sense that there could be more depth to his personality. Maybe they're saving that for the sequel (see above). The love interest feels somewhat shoehorned into the story, lacking the development needed to feel truly meaningful. One minute Elwood is all stoic badass bouncer, the next he's smooching the sheriff's in a romantic setting. It's not a bad thing, necessarily, but the transition feels a tad rushed. We're led to believe that Post Malone might be a recurring character, but then... poof! He vanishes quicker than a free beer at a frat party. Wasted opportunity, or a cunning cliffhanger for the future? Only time will tell. The Verdict: Road House (2024) - A Knockout (With a Side of Laughs) Look, this movie isn't trying to win Oscars. It's here to entertain you with a healthy dose of action, humor, and Florida weirdness. And entertain it does. If you're looking for a film with a plot tighter than a boa constrictor's grip, this might not be it. But if you want to see Jake Gyllenhaal unleash his inner badass while simultaneously cracking wise, then "Road House" (2024) is your jam. Just grab some popcorn, suspend your disbelief for a couple of hours, and get ready for a wild ride. This movie packs a punch (and a punchline) that will leave you saying, "Whoa, that was fun!"  Let's just say there's a gator involved, and let's just leave it at that. All you need to know is, this gator deserves his own movie (sorry, not sorry, crocodiles).

[smokedanced]

@virmireisms said: 1, 10, 11, and 14 from here!

asks for muns with a multimuse or more than one muse    /    ACCEPTING ↷

is there a muse that you wish gets more attention? :: Iris and Jillian being primary muses and both OCs I've written for 10 and 5 years respectively. And trust me, I plan to push them harder once I've revamped their about pages to the new format XD As in... obviously not push them on people who aren't interested in them nor guilt-trip people, but just post more interaction calls on the dash that are muse specific, these two being prioritised for who gets interaction calls first... Also, no shade at all towards people who don't want to write with them.

which muse is the most fun to write for? :: Entirely about context of the thread, and which muse I have the most muse for, but in general terms, Hannibal is really, really fun in the sense that narrating him has legit made me use words that I've never used before in prose ("titillating"), and his mind is just interesting to explore, and he's my comfort character outside of my portrayal of him, as well. So many times I've just -internal screaming- at the shit he even thinks, it's awesome.

is there another muse you’ve been thinking of adding or writing for? who? :: Yes, I have an OC I've been planning to add for a really long time (I will when I feel like my current muses' pages are better), called Jackson "Jake" Takizawa, with whom I'm using an old, old idea I used to have for a totally different original muse who never really launched, of him, instead of having dreams of his own, entering into other people's dreams when he sleeps. I have his faceclaim (Kazuya Kamenashi) set (me watching jdrama like it's 2009 and I'm a KAT-TUN fan still and using Jake as an excuse as if I needed one), I have his factual background semi-checked (Japanese mom and Japanese-American dad, siblings, close relationship with his family, his mom's pottery shop, his dad's teaching career) but his personality is very malleable still. Also yes I've already thought of a Mass Effect verse for him so I'm coming for you, Sera. (OK, I haven't thought of it in full, but I know he's a biotic Alliance soldier.)

Also, I think I may want to try to test run Sacha Dhawan's Master from Doctor Who. Because I love him. But because I'm not Timeless Child arc compliant on my Thirteenth Doctor either, I wouldn't be Timeless Child compliant on the Master, so essentially he'd be completely canon divergent with only his personality intact, seeing as his canon plot entirely revolves around that story.

which muse has the most aus or verses? :: I'm not sure, but I think actually Castiel on my other blog? I do so much verse-merging it's like... Jillian only has one verse but she technically is the most compatible with different AUs since she inherently can be inserted anywhere, but it's the same verse still. Cas used to have so many verses for his canon timeline I had like four verses for a season at some point, and canon has AU verses within canon, and then I have several AU verses so... I think him, based on that, even though I condensed his canon verses a lot.

[nyaruelle-oc-archives]

"Deirdre, a curator beyond compare, crafts stories from artifacts rare."

Name: Deirdre Grim-Kelly Emoji: 🌓 Age: 38 Birthday: 9th of Calocera Pronouns: they/them Species: Phantom Profession: Curator Orientation: Pan Residence: Bronzewick City MBTI: ENFJ Role: Main Story (Supporting Character) Status: Alive Goal: Adopt a child together with Solomon Flaws: Nitpicky but doesn't realize it until pointed out

History:

Deirdre, a curator at Bronzewick's local museums, is highly regarded within the curator community. Their career trajectory took an exciting turn when they interned for a renowned artist who subsequently endorsed them to curate their artworks for the local museum. Deirdre is characterized by their strong work ethic, ambition, and exceptional organizational skills, which they consistently apply to their professional endeavors.

Extra: - Deirdre's design is revamped from Death Reaper, one of my older OCs from deviantART. - Deirdre was born with a special genetic mutation in their left eye that causes the sclera to appear black, however the mutation is not harmful in any way

Relationships:

Solomon Grim [Spouse]

Solomon and Deirdre are a loving couple who have been married for a decade, having started their romantic journey as high school sweethearts. Their enduring bond is characterized by deep affection and unwavering support for each other in their individual career pursuits. Deirdre, in particular, is a devoted partner who not only attentively listens to Solomon as he shares his daily experiences but also stands by his side when he faces adversity, offering him a dependable source of comfort and strength.

~~~

Alignment: Rogue Skill: ✦ [Blue fire] Able to breathe blue fire

✦ [Blanc Eye] Deirdre possesses a remarkable capability in their left eye to rapidly process extensive amounts of information. This skill proves invaluable when they're in a hurry to extract essential details, as seen when they effortlessly speed-reads through a book, making it an incredibly useful asset.

✦ [Void Realm Usage] Ability all Phantoms have that allow them access to use the void realm for storage and teleportation

Headcanon Voice:

TBA

~~~

Design Reference:

TBA

Design History:

[tonkiyu]

Efootball pes 2020 pre order

#Efootball pes 2020 pre order update

#Efootball pes 2020 pre order pro

#Efootball pes 2020 pre order pro

He will be joined on the main cover by his eternal rival Cristiano Ronaldo, Alphonso Davies of Bayern Munich and Manchester United star Marcus Rashford.EFootball PES 2020 for PC is the nineteenth offering from the Pro Evolution Soccer series and the first to feature the word ‘eFootball’ in front of the title. The Argentine is prominent in the launch trailer and the promotional imagery on the official website, but he is not alone. Lionel Messi was on the cover of the standard edition of PES 2020 and the Barcelona captain will remain the face of the game worldwide. Return to top Who will be on the cover of PES 2021? Master League, the PES equivalent to FIFA's Career Mode, could also be revamped. Gameplay and graphics improvements should come with the next-gen consoles, and fans have long requested features such as dynamic weather, with changing conditions having an impact on matches. Konami secured an exclusive partnership with UEFA, meaning Euro 2020 will not feature on FIFA 21.

#Efootball pes 2020 pre order update

Such an update had been expected for PES 2020 but, with the real-life tournament delayed by a year, the PES game mode was put off. Other potential features which had been rumoured before the Season Update was announced could be included in the next-gen release.Ī bespoke Euro 2020 (2021) patch update is expected at some point. The exclusivity means that Juventus are known as 'Piemonte Calcio'in FIFA 20 and FIFA 21.Īrsenal is another club that will definitely feature as an officially licensed team after agreeing to extend their agreement with Konami for a further three years in 2019. Similarly, we can be sure that Juventus will be a key feature of PES 2021 because the Serie A giants agreed 'a long-term' exclusive partnership with the company in 2019. We know for certain that Barcelona will remain in the game as an official partner, having signed a new four-year deal with Konami in 2019. Konami has recently been increasing its number of licensing agreements and the company has landed several star attractions in the past few seasons, including Juventus, Barcelona and Manchester United. Return to top What licences will PES 2021 have? It is likely that the price of the game will be somewhat more costly when it is eventually released on next generation consoles such as the PS5 and Xbox Series X. The 'Legend' edition of PES 2020, which featured Ronaldinho on the cover, was a bit more expensive at £59.99 in the UK and $79.99 in the U.S. In 2019, the initial sale price of PES 2020 was £47.99 in the UK and $59.99 in the U.S., which made the game slightly cheaper to buy than its FIFA 20 counterpart. Those special prices are half the usual price of the new PES games, which tend to fall in the region of £50 in the UK or $60 in the US. The standard edition of PES 2021 can be bought for a special price of £24.99 in the United Kingdom or $29.99 in the United States.Ĭlub editions (for Barcelona, Bayern Munich, Juventus, Manchester United or Arsenal) cost slightly more at £29.99 in the UK and $34.99 in the US. Return to top What is the price of PES 2021? Konami released a trailer for the game on July 16, which can be watched below. Since the game is mainly an update, no demo will be released. This year, FIFA will be released on October 9, 2020, slightly later than usual. The early September release date is consistent with the apparent policy of launching roughly two weeks before EA Sports' FIFA series. PES 2021 was released on Septemin keeping with previous launch dates - and it will be available as a downloadable 'season update'. Which consoles will PES 2021 be out on?.Goal takes a look at when PES 2021 was released, what the price is, which licences it has and much more. Konami has marked the 25-year anniversary of the hugely popular Pro Evolution Soccer series in 2020, with eFootball Pro Evolution Soccer 2021 - PES 2021 having already hit the shelves.Įvery year, PES is up against its arch-rival FIFA in the clash for football video game supremacy and, having clawed back some ground from EA Sports' best-selling title, Konami will be hoping to continue in the same vein.

[thornescratch]

 According to Backstrom, the commercial was shot before the start of the season at a Capitals’ season-ticket holder’s home in Arlington, Va., near the team’s practice facility.

“Everything was very convenient and their house was great,” said Backstrom, in a telephone interview from Washington, where he is still rehabbing from offseason hip surgery.

Backstrom said he doesn’t eat much cereal normally and hasn’t touched any since shooting the commercial. But that day, he consumed a lot.

“Actually, the producer wanted me to say my line when I had cereal in my mouth, so there was a lot of cereal eating – and a lot of slurping milk, too.”

Maybe the best part of the entire spot is what happens after Backstrom delivers his one-and-only line: The camera shifts to a table that features two photographs. One is from Ovechkin and Nastya’s wedding; the other is of Backstrom celebrating his 500th career assist, with Ovechkin leaning in, smiling. The wedding photo is significantly smaller – and clearly dwarfed by the larger enlargement of two long-time teammates, marking an important milestone in Backstrom’s career.

But Backstrom says: “My favorite part of the commercial is, no one expected me to be in there at the start. Then they just Zoom in on me – and it’s kind of like Ovie and Nastya having a normal conversation at home and all of a sudden, I’m showing up.”

Presumably, he’s not always over at the Ovechkins for breakfast?

“I’m not … but that day I was.”

David Abrutyn, Ovechkin’s marketing representative and a partner at Bruin Capital, said the original plan was to cast an actress to play the part of Alex’s wife, until he pointed out that Nastya Ovechkin is an actress herself. That solved one problem immediately.

MassMutual is an NHL corporate sponsor and last year, during the revamped schedule, had their name attached to the East Division.

“MassMutual wanted to focus on duos and the ability of duos to deliver a breakthrough message,” said Abrutyn, “and so they reached out to us. Obviously, we’re biased. I suppose there’s an argument to be made for Leon (Draisaitl) and Connor (McDavid) as the top duo, but when it comes to a body of work, I think Ovie and Backy and what they’ve done together, in terms of duos in the NHL, they’re right there.”

But Ovechkin has a long history of success in front of the camera, going back to his rookie season, when the NHL featured him in a spot with Sidney Crosby as the twin new faces of the game. Over the years, Ovechkin’s natural charisma just comes through whenever he’s trying to promote the game, which Abrutyn says is more necessary than ever given the financial challenges the pandemic has created in the business of hockey.

“You can look back at the spots Alex has done over the years and it’s why he is who he is,” said Abrutyn. “To me, his ESPN late-night commercial is top five of the hundreds they’ve done – so creative. Alex just has an understanding of what that means from a marketing standpoint.”

It took only about half a day to shoot all the necessary raw footage for the MassMutual piece to come together.

“When you actually dissect the shots, there’s some wide-angle shots and closer-angle shots, and the way they put it together is, you have to shoot both running with dialogue,” said Abrutyn. “I think Alex ate an entire box of cereal and he had to have a mouthful of it when he was talking. There were a bunch of takes, but there’s not a huge reel of bloopers either.

“Credit to his wife too. No surprise – they came to the set prepared. It wasn’t like they were starting from scratch in terms of what the dialogue was.”

According to Backstrom, the project came together quickly. The NHLPA reached out to him, asked if he was willing to do it and when he said yes, he was sent a script. Within a week or two they started shooting.

“There were different versions, one longer, one shorter, but I think when I saw it, I gave the green light,” said Backstrom. “It was a funny script and personally I think it turned out pretty good. I don’t read too much on social media, but the people who’ve commented on it, so far, they all seem to love it. The feedback has been good.”

Ovechkin doesn’t get nervous in front of the camera, not before and not now.

“We basically just sit on the couch and you have to remember your line but – yeah it was pretty cool, pretty fun.

“If I don’t have fun, I’m not going to do it.”

- Duhatschek notebook: Behind the scenes of the Alex Ovechkin-Nicklas Backstrom commercial

Release the twelve hour Backstrom milk slurping ASMR video right now please.

[popculturebuffet]

Pirate Month: Ducktales 2017: Sky Pirates In The Sky! Review (Comission for WeirdKev27)

Avast all ye happy people and welcome back to Pirate Month. And while we're winding up the sails with just one more pirate review to go, it's time to take from the seas to the skys as we soar into familiar territory.

Ducktales is a show near and dear to my heart and what got this blog jumpstarted. While I made an attempt at comic reviews and eventually got back into those, it was talking about Ducktales season 3 as it came out that truly cemented this blog and brought Kev to said blog, which allowed me to make it a career. I've reviewed a LOT of duck and disney afternoon content: At this time i've done a retrospective on The Three Cablleros, on the arcs for seasons 1 and 2, reviewed all of season 3 as it came out, revieweid all the episodes introducing the justice ducks and fearsome four for darkwing duck along with a few others, every disney afternoon pilot , and the epic legend of the chaos god. I even reviewed the excellent A Goofy Movie and got a retweet from Kevin Lima himself. I also have covered a good chunk of life and times with scrooge mcduck and PLAN to finish it. For real I swear.

So you may be asking why with all of that and much more than I could fit in there, why haven't I done a ton of duck stuff lately? A couple of reasons. The first is that a LOT of these big projects are done on Kev's dime, and we both haven't thought of any new retrospectives (Though if you have ideas please feel free to pitch or comission them), and he's had other stuff he wanted to do this year from this very pirate month to next month's look at some other disney stuff as we go to infinity and beyond. That's the same for me: I love this show and various other disney stuff, but i've had other stuff i've wanted to do or needed to do and with me slimming down my schedule and how forgetful I can be I simply hadn't made time for any. I will be finishing LIfe and Time's main story this year (And will get to the rest eventually), and may try to do more duck stuff next year, I simply had a lot going on this year both in and out of the blog and thus things were a bit messier. Add in having to scale back for my own sanity and having times where i've slipped and you can see why it's been a while.

That being said going back to it was like I never left and this is a decent ep to come back to as this month woudln't be complete without the fearsome, the famous, and the handsome Don Karnage! I may do a tailspin one if I do this again next year, which all signs point to Yarr. So let's talk about this handsome devil.. and this episode I guess.

This episode.. is alright, and since the good part of the episode is the whole reason it's part of this theme month, let's start there: Don Karnage steals the whole damn show here and rightfully so: Jamie Camill is a delight, and Disney has made good use of him in Star Vs and Legend of the Three Cabs, so he was a shoe in for this revamp of the classic Tailspin villian. Instead of being Ricky Recardo but a wolf pirate, a sentence that makes me happy I get paid to say things like that, he's a younger, suaver, sining version, putting on a show.. while also using it to confuse his enemy. He's egotsitical, belivies it should all be on him, but geninely wants to push his crew to be the best and has reasons for not letting them have solos or throwing them overboard. He's ruthless.. but he's got style and standards. He's also according to the creators the son of the original Karnage, a nice way to explain the diffrences while still letting him be his own man. What happened to the original

We didn't get Season 4 so unless details like that are in the behind the scenes book or in a future movie or followup series, we'll never know.

Naturally given how some fanboys default reaction to anything is

Naturally some complained but like many changes it calmed down. I'm not saying some changes to a work can be bad but maybe wait a second or find out if it was studio mandate before you shake your fist and strike up the mob ya know?:

One complaint I get SLIGHTLY more is that Karnage is a TailSpin villian, and this isn't that, and they might of saved him for a reboot. Given that still hasn't happened, that part's passed but as a fan of comics like the creators themselves I got and welcomed the logic. Often in comics you see villians transfer from one rogues gallery to another and given Youngberg and Angones were fans of Chris Claremont's iconic run on x-men, it's no suprised they'd take a page from chris' book as SEVERAL now iconic x-foes were characters Chris had created elswhere but fit better into his magnum opus: Arcade started as a Spider-Man Villian, Mystique fighting Carol Danvers, and Sabertooth as a foe of the immortal iron fist. They simply took that sort of malablity here.

And honestly it works. It was too early in the show to throw in the rest of the cast but Karnage works just as well as a McDuck family villian given Tailspin has the same pulp adventure styling, just slightly diffrent. It's a blast seening the Iron Vulture gobble up the Sunchaser and pirates work very well. So he fits in perfectly.

On top of that he gives Dewey a nemisis as in theory each of the main kids were clearly supposed to have one: Huey with Mark Beaks, Louie with Doofus, Webby with Magica and Ma Beagle (She got two) and thus Dewey with Don Karnage. Out of them though only Karnage and Doofus really stuck as truly nemeses, with Karnage even outright only joining the legion of glom in season 2 because he could kill Dewey. Magica is more one to both webby AND lena, by season 2 it's clear beaks is more fenton's nemisis, and Ma Beagle faded from relevance. Karnage on the other hand stuck all three seasons, with the two even getting a dramatic showdown in the final episode. While it's more on Karnage's side as Dewey upstaged him, took his crew (if temporarily and bested him, Dewey forgets him, Deweys till clearly loves having an arch enemy and Karnage is a perfect Foil: he's all of dewey's ego and selfishness, but with more focus and just as much flair. Dewey needed an arch as operatic and attention whoring as he is and he certainly got it.

That does bring us to the episode's weakpoint though; While Camill is a delight as is the rest of the crew, the scientest bit STILL gets me even after all this time, the duck side of things falls flat.. into the jungle. See the show is trying to teach the moral that Dewey feels neglected, that no one is listneing to his cool hat story. And while I get it, kids often have times where their parents and siblings are just busy here.. their all busy doing important stuff and for the mission while Dewey wants to ramble about a hat: Louie and Webby are taking inventory, Huey is trying to keep Launchpad from killing them all, and Scrooge is busy with..

Not only that Dewey ALWAYS wants attention. Always. It's one of his main personality traits. He enjoyed being in a sitcom reality later simply because he got applause, his dreams are a himcentric version of high school musical, he says his name as a verb at least once an episode if he's in focus. It's what makes us love him, no doubt, all of that's amazing, but it makes this aseop not work with him. It would've worked better with say Huey or Louie, who as we find out next season really does feel out of place. But you can't make an aseop about someone being starved for attention when that person is begging for attention every hour of every day wether it's healthy or not. I do know that Dewey's need for attention comes from a deeper place, that it's to fill the void Della left when she was shot up into space, I get that... but the episode dosen't USE that. It's just "Well they were all busy that moment". Dewey's part of things does work a little as he realizes from letting all the pirates have too MUCH spotlight that too mucha ttention can be bad.. but Scrooge apologizing feels weird and them not noticing dewey was missing... is stupid. Scrooge mistaking Huey for Dewey, yeah that's funnya nd works. But no one ELSE noticing a sudden calm makes no sense. The family has to be stupid for Scrooge's words to have weight.

So this episode is decent: The fight scenes are thrilling and the clever trick of having EVERYONE pretend to be d3ewey was both hilarious and badass, the music is goregous and really gets into your head, the don karnage song is every bit as catchy as Launchpad finds it.. it's just held back by a weak main emotoinal throughline. Not a terrible episode of ducktales but one that's more forgetable than an episode with singing air pirates has any right ot be.

Also there's a subplot with Louie and a diamond. It sure is there. Thanks for reading , consider joining my patreon and please follow for more!

[purecantarella]

Revamped Rhapsody

double update? who is she? HAHAHA but for real i wanted to release these two at the same time to sort of compensate for being gone for a week. i hope you all enjoy this one too! im nayeon x idol!reader disclaimer/s : i had fun writing some good good angst

Words were important to you, it was a part of your passion and your work. Language was something that you'd adored since you were younger but the premise that you always found it a little odd how words could be twisted to mean or imply different things, just on tone and situation alone.

You wouldn't know or understand it was when you were permitted to write your own songs in your company. The blend of different meanings and people made you find a deeper understanding for the words and lyrics of songs. Then when you met Im Nayeon, the only person who could fill your mind and heart with a rhythm that followed the way you fell in love with her.

It began when you met after you entered the practice room she reserved by mistake.

You tapped away at your phone, your bag hanging lazily over your shoulder as you pushed in the door of the practice room. A familiar song that wasn't yours blasted through the speakers. Your head slowly raised as you saw the eldest member of TWICE staring intently at herself as she danced. You'd watched live performances and met once or twice backstage very briefly, but it was a different sensation to see her in her zone. No cameras and no expectations.

'She has a good form...' You thought to yourself, in an awestruck daze. Just as you were about to retreat to find the right room, a sharp thud and a small squeal sliced right past the blaring music from the speakers. You hastily turned around to see the vocalist on the floor, holding her leg.

"Oh gosh, are you okay?" You asked dropping your bag and sliding to her side. When she got over the initial shock, she recognized you. Her celebrity crush. The vocalist blushed and nodded quickly. The sparkle in her eyes as she gave you her iconic bunny smile made your stomach turn in the best way. "Y-Yeah, I'm good!"

A smile graced your lips as you saw the usually confident extrovert awkwardly fidget with her fingers. "You wanna get up or is this whole floor thing a part of your routine?" You joked to which she laughed, shoving your shoulder gently.

"Oh gee thanks, jerk!" You chuckled before getting up and offering your hand to the shorter woman. Once she took it, you pulled her up slowly, making sure she wouldn't tumble over. "Is your leg okay?" Nayeon nodded quickly.

For a second, there's a silence and a pause. You two just staring at each other like you had for years. Like you knew each other in a much deeper way than just idols who shared the same company. There's a point where she thinks that you might just lean in but nothing comes of the inkling.

"Uh, well I should go. Leave you to it..." You rushed as you took your bag from the ground. Turning to face Nayeon then the door then back to Nayeon. "Uh, I'll see you around?" You asked, readjusting the strap on your shoulder.

"I'll be counting on it." You grinned as you left, the lead vocalist running through your head the entire time you were practicing for your latest comeback.

Brushing past each other in the hallway of the company building became more frequent, on some occasion you both even ate lunch together rather than with her group and your managers or other friends. You both became a little more than smitten with each other and wound up dating a couple months after you first met.

Im Nayeon became your inspiration for working hard, to build to become the person you know she deserves. Of course, she thinks you're pretty great. She was your muse, she just hadn't put all the pieces together yet.

When your latest song dropped, of course she listened to it immediately. Then as she listened to the lyrics that you wrote, the way you described the perfect girl for you, how you began to fall in love with this girl, it clicked in her head. Nayeon rushed out of the TWICE's practice room, making the girls look at her with either a smirk or a look of genuine concern.

She sprinted across the building to reach you in your practice room. As the door flung open, your body shifted to the side, immediately smiling as you saw your girlfriend. "Nayeonie, hey what's u—" She pressed her lips to yours, cutting you off in a passionate meeting much to the dismay of your managers who sat behind you both.

Jumping into your arms, you placed your hands under her thighs as you pulled away. The dopey yet confused smile on your face made her giggle again as she placed a series of kisses over your face.

"You wrote a song for me..." You smiled even wider and placed a kiss on her cheek. "Of course I did, Nayeonie..." You paused for a second before adding, "I love you."

The smile on her face mirrored your wide and bright one as she kissed you again. Deeper and overflowing with an intense amount of love. "I love you too, dummy..." She whispered against your lips.

Despite how much you loved each other though, two years into the relationship both of you became extremely busy. Busier than you'd ever been since you were breaking into the international market and as was TWICE. Coming home to each other tired and grouchy. You'd tried to push it further but with one last fight after a long day of taking orders, you called it quits and left her dorm.

Your break-up was the toughest time for both of you, since you'd never gone public, you both had to maintain the happy facade for both your fans. It was particularly rough on you since a lot of the songs you'd been set to sing all the time were about and for her.

She anticipated every one of your songs since it was the only way she could hear your voice. Hearing how you forced yourself to be bouncy and in love with someone. At least she hoped you were forcing yourself.

On the day of your Sponsored Events, the day your latest song was to be performed during the event. The vocalist watched and saw the visible tiredness under your eyes but you still performed your heart out. Then a familiar melody played. One that Nayeon listened to all the time.

It was the first song you wrote about her. Except the lyrics were different. They were sadder, depicting your break-up rather than how you were beginning to fall in love with her. The lively guitar sound of the original was traded in for a softer and more delicate piano instrumental. As she looked at your face and heard the words that fell from your lips, it all came back to her in a wave, making her heart shatter all over again.

The rest of the girls came in after a while to check in on her and opted to stay with her to offer her some sort of comfort.

Nayeon watched your face intently, the ‘idol’ smile that was plastered onto your lips. You didn’t want to be there. She knew that. The interviewer went through a series of questions about your career and finally about the song. Your song for her, both versions. The smile on your face grew tighter, uncomfortably so.

“So two years ago, you released a song that you revamped and performed for us.” The interviewer asked you and you nodded, a dry chuckle falling from your lips. “And you said before that that song was written for a very special girl. What’s the story behind that one?” He pried making your jaw evidently clench. The girls sitting next to Nayeon eyed her carefully as she stared at your tense form. Silently anticipating what you were going to say.

For a moment, you collect yourself. The sadness swirling in your chest again from rewriting the song that you wrote for her. Having to channel all those emotions without crying on national television. You took a deep breath, releasing it with a pathetically winded laugh. “Short of it is that sometimes you need to let go of things to keep them whole. Uh…” You cleared your throat softly. The smile on your face fell a little, a sad and wistful grin left in its place. “Some things just need to happen to make way for better things, I guess.” You finished, the interviewer stunned.

A silence hung over the live feed for a moment. Nayeon and the rest of TWICE waited patiently to see what would happen next. The man leaned forward, propping his elbow onto his knee as he looked at you and asked, “If you could change the circumstances, Y/n…Would you choose to stay with her?” A somber smile on his face as your head upturned a little, eyes red and watery. Without a second thought, you nodded slowly.

Nayeon’s held tears trickled slowly down her cheeks as she held back a soft sob. “If I could…” You took a deep breath, lifting your hand to fan the tears out of your eyes, laughing softly at yourself before continuing. “I would leave everything behind to be with her.” The vocalist’s members had their arms around Nayeon as you spoke. She had pretty much bawled her eyes out as the unspoken confessions left your mouth.

“But I could never do that to her, not after all her sacrifices. I can’t.” Your voice finally cracked as the feed finally cut. The room echoed the eldest’s soft sobs while you did the same on the other side of the city.

okay, so this one was a little wobbly because i was not sober when i wrote this. had a bottle of soju and i'm feeling good HAAHAHH anyway, i hope you all enjoyed this and remember that requests are open and comments and criticism is completely welcomed! keep safe everyone and i will see you all very soon 😊😁

[thevindicativevordan]

On Kong Kenan/Super-Man

It should've been him. He should've been the Superman of 5G/Future State/right now not Jon, and he should be the one getting an HBO Max series not Val. Hell he should be getting a movie!

God this dude is literally the best legacy character Superman has ever gotten, wholly his own person with his own lore and status quo while still building on the idea of "Superman". I am so pissed at DC for essentially just dropping him after his ongoing ended, what the hell Lee? You keep trying to make the Wildstorm characters happen, I need you to get my man Yang another Kenan book.

Have to admit I was a bit nervous at first about whether or not Kenan would be a worthwhile character. Yang's New 52 Superman run had been a disappointment to me overall, with only the the arc where Superman has underground wrestling matches against forgotten gods really sticking with me. Now he was introducing a brand new Superman? Didn't feel like he had "earned" that yet. But from the first issue I was hooked on this new character.

Kenan was unlike any other member of the Superfamily. He wasn't kind or sweet, he was an asshole! He was a bully! He was fantastic! Right from the start Kenan was set up to undergo a very different kind of character journey than the other members of the Superfamily. Empathy, humility, respect for people weaker than himself, these are all traits most heroes wearing the S-shield already posses by the time they first don the crest, but not Kenan.

Like all bullies he was even a bit of a coward himself at first, trying to bail on the experiment meant to give him Superman's powers right as it begins. After "saving" Lixin (the kid he bullies and steals lunch from every day) from Blue Condor he demands all the money Lixin has on him as payment. He's not courageous or selfless either at the start, Kenan is as much of an opposite of Superman as you can get short of being Bizarro. Learning the appeal of these traits formed the basis for his growth over the course of his series.

Seeing Yang bring in a lot of recognizable "Superman" elements in the series, but with a twist, was also great. Kenan is the one who bullies "Luo Lixin" rather than the traditional Clark/Lex friendship of Pre-Crisis and Birthright. Initially Kenan develops a crush on intrepid reporter for Primetime Shanghai, Laney Lan, but she dismisses him as too young and Kenan eventually ends up pursuing Avery Ho (Flash) instead. Baxi the Bat-Man of China has a similar relationship with Kenan as the traditional Superman/Batman in terms of being vitriolic best buds, however Baxi is the one who has the most respect for authority while Kenan is the rebel. Kenan is a part of the "Justice League of China" which does not meet with the approval of the already established Chinese superheroes, the Great Ten. That contrasts nicely with the good relationship the Justice Society and Justice League have, as well as seeing Yang lampshade the "Chinese copy" trope and incorporate that into his storytelling.

One of the funniest differences is how Kenan chooses to immediately reveal his identity as Super-Man to the world by taking off the compliance visor he was forced to wear, contrasting with Clark's choice to hide his identity. He was so eager to impress people that he never gave any thought to the danger he could put himself or his family in by revealing his identity until it was too late, something Clark is well aware of and has taken great pains to keep his identity secret. Was a missed opportunity for DC to have Kenan comment on Clark copying him for once when he outed himself under Bendis.

But one of the most poignant differences between Clark and Kenan is the gulf in separation between their relationship with their parents. Clark has a loving relationship with Ma and Pa Kent, trying to live up to their lessons as best he can. In contrast Kenan's mom was believed to have died in an airplane crash when he was just a child, and he never really knew her. His father was distant from him after that and the two weren't really close despite Kenan's attempts to impress him. So Kenan lacks that strong connection while still clearly loving both of them.

Pa Kent's death is one of the most tragic examples of Clark's love for his parents, and I've always been a fan of takes where Clark promises his father to fight for the powerless on Pa's deathbed. Kenan gets a similar scene at the start of his career, his dad "dies" (after being exposed as Flying General Dragon, a pro-democracy "supervillain" from the Chinese authorities perspective) and wants Kenan to promise he'll fight for Truth, Justice, and Democracy. But because Kenan's dad never really bonded with him, Kenan doesn't know what those mean, and can only promise that he never wants to see people die, something his father takes comfort in at least. In classic comic book fashion it's revealed that Dr. Omen, Kenan's "boss" and the one who gave him his powers, saved Kenan's father, because she is Kenan's mother! Kenan's relationship with his parents forms a lot of the crux of his character arc, and seeing how Yang utilizes the classic Superman concept of family kept the storytelling exciting.

Yang's brilliant exploration of the concept of "Superman" through the prism of Chinese culture was a great way to differentiate Kenan as well.

I absolutely freaking love how he tied to the concept of Qi to the S-shield in particular. Connecting the shape of the shield with the way Kenan has acquired his powers along the path of the Bagua (eight trigrams used in Taoism that represent the fundamental principles of reality), with his octagon S-shield outline representing all eight principles together, was mindblowing! So was the idea of restricting Kenan's access to his powers unless he was actually acting in a Superman manner, that tied his character growth to his power growth in an entertaining manner. There were so many characters and concepts that meshed Chinese and DC lore together, like how Emperor Super-Man was Kenan's "Doomsday", they even recreated that iconic dual kill shot! The Chinese Wonder Woman Peng Deilan, being based on the Chinese Legend of the White Snake! There was even some Korean mythology referenced with the Aqua-Man member of the JLC "Dragonson".

Yang also managed to do a Superman Blue/Superman Red story with Super-Man Yin/Super-Man Yang!

Shameful that it took me a while to realize what Gene Yang was doing but once I caught on I was touched. You can tell how much Yang loved Superman and his mythology, and how he was excited to incorporate as much from Clark as he could, while still using it in a way that was solidly Kenan's. And not just Superman's mythology, but the history and lore of the entire DC Universe. I-Ching got to be brought in, fleshed out, and used as Kenan's mentor! The "Yellow Peril" villain from Detective Comics #1, the comic DC gets its name from was brought in and revamped as I-Ching's twin brother All-Yang! Hats off to Yang for taking a racist caricature and attempting to make him into something more.

This series was a beautiful attempt by Gene Yang to build a space for Asian heroes and villains where they could be more than stereotypes, Kenan himself being a defiant mold-breaker in every regard as the complete opposite of most Asian characters in Western media (a jock, a bully, loves his dad but not on great terms with him, a powerhouse as a hero, etc). So much thought and hard work was poured into this by Yang and his team of artist collaborators.

Especially the costumes, man Kenan had so many great looks. From his starting outfit (which is my favorite Superman variant not worn by Clark himself), to the one with the Yin/Yang shield he acquired later on, to his Super-Man Yin & Super-Man Yang outfits, Kenan looked damn cool. Part of me is bummed they didn't go with the Chinese character shield they toyed around with, but I loved how Yang used the "s-shield" as a plot point, so I'm not too broken up over it.

All that great work Yang did to build that space up has been more or less forgotten sadly. It was nice to see Kenan in the DC Asian Month Celebration issue. Avery is going to be in Justice Incarnate at least (unsurprising considering she was created by Williamson). So fucking bummed that Superman Family Adventures cartoon didn't happen, they were going to have Kenan and John Henry Irons in it! Would've been a dream come true for me to see Irons in animation again, and Kenan making the jump to outside media! Maybe that would've encouraged DC to let Yang keep writing New Super-Man, or at least encouraged them to use him elsewhere instead of allowing him fall into Limbo.

Unfortunately I'm not sure what the future holds for Kenan. Jon is being pushed as Clark's replacement in the comics, with DC keeping all the other contenders such as Kon benched. Calvin is leading the Justice Incarnate team likely due to the upcoming Coates reboot that will make Clark black. Val will probably get something once Taylor leaves Jon's book or once they officially announce the HBO Max show is happening. So where does that leave Kenan, my new favorite PoC legacy hero? Currently my only hope is that Yang is working on something for DC involving him. Yang left Batman/Superman, where I was hoping to see a Baxi/Kenan team up, to go work on "exciting other opportunities" per his Twitter. So fingers crossed that there's something in the works for Kenan!

One day I hope he gets his day in the sun again.

[theunderestimator-2]

Legendary UK d-beat/hc band Discharge, hardcore royalty at the time, performing at Olympic Auditorium, LA, Dec. 9th, 1983, in epic shots by Alison Braun (check out the link for more of her brilliant photos and her book “IN THE PIT ~  Photography by Alison Braun 1981-1990″)

"At first, Discharge didn’t stand out from the legions of punk bands that sprang up in the wake of the Sex Pistols’ incendiary 1977 debut (...) The first wave of punk burnt out quickly...

Abandoning its Pistols-worship, Discharge began forging its own path. In the process, the band helped kick off punk’s second wave. Discharge’s revamped version of punk bore little resemblance to anything that had come before. It was faster, harsher, and often almost entirely lacking in melody. The riffs were generally three-chord affairs, but they were played at warp speed, accompanied by a rumbling bass and a merciless, galloping drumbeat.

Soon, Discharge was topping the UK’s independent charts and making waves across the globe. Even reviewers who hated the music couldn’t help but admire the band’s uncompromising attack. “I certainly never wish to listen to this record again when I’ve completed this review,” a critic wrote in Sounds magazine. “And yet Discharge are the very best of their kind. Their energy, as we used to say in ’77, is amazing.” 

A short video shot in Toronto in 1983 captures the band’s live show in its heyday (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tSf9PMLcaqM) . Cal, sporting a soaped-up mohawk, stalks the stage like an apex predator, swinging the microphone and hanging over the stage’s edge to bait the crowd. His neck veins bulge as he screams. Pooch, the guitarist, and Rainy, the bassist, stand stock-still to either side of Cal, spike-haired golems, while the strobes flash behind them. Garry anchors the attack, pounding out a racing, relentless drumbeat. The camera cuts frequently to the crowd, which in its writhing resembles a human storm pattern.

At this point in its career, Discharge was hardcore royalty, the keeper of punk’s true flame. It was a dangerous place to be..."

theappendix.net

(via)

[ryuzakemo128]

The Devil and Death

Chapter Three: The Start Of Something

Trigger Warning: Cursing, mention of smut/ sex scenes

Chapter Summary: The uphill battle of starting a criminal career while still having their core values intact.

<Previous Chapter / Next Chapter>

Red and Galina is on the way to meeting with their Russian friend, Ramon. He recently made contact to start up a brothel in Moscow. He wanted to meet with them before he decided to do anything other than pick out the right area to start up in. As it wasn't legal because they didn't want to look into crimes against sex workers or something like that. As Ramon liked to say to them as often as usual.

Ramon looked like a himbo in every sense of the word and the feeling of that word. He has three assistants behind the scenes to help with the majority of the harder work that he couldn't do. But he usually brought in most of the female sex workers into the business and the meeting with both Red and Galina is about the cut in return of protecting his brothel.

Ramon is a a six foot four inches tall with a slight tan, he has his mum's name tattooed on his right shoulder with the date she is born and the date she passed away in a love heart. He has long shaggy dirty blonde hair and a beard that is a slightly darker tone. Toned in the terms of physical appearance and he had talked to Red about just deciding to dedicate time away to focus on just that.

Red and Ramon spoke in more detail about how he wanted his establishment protected. While Galina inspected the area to see if anything needed fixing up or replacing, writing down details whenever anything showed up.

"Regular maintenance is covered, last thing we both want is for this place to crash. So I'll look over what kind of improvements we could make now and the ones to work towards," Galina stated, as she continued look around.

"14 guys, round the clock protection and they'll listen to you," Red stated, as she walked into his office, "They'll be there to protect your girls and guys from aggressive patrons, Two of them outside your office, two of them outside the entrance and five each to just keep the area feel safer,"

"I also want to throw in one or two of your expert people,"

"Deal, what kind of expert though?"

"I'm talking about her," Ramon said pointing to Galina.

"Ask her, I can't say whether she'll agree to it, but even if she did. Don't expect her to stay longer than three years,"

"Fine by me, I'll go talk to her about it,"

Red and Galina agreed that if they helped out here, they'll be able to spread out further afterwards. Although Galina didn't like the factor of sinking in three years staying there to improve the look and feel of the brothel. Hidden behind a rather prominent bar owned by his twin brother Vanya. Thus still protected by the people his brother hired rom Red and Galina.

Vanya is identical to his twin, Ramon in the terms of looks and the main difference between the two is that he slightly smarter than him in some ways. Just like Ramon is smarter than Vanya in other ways. But his intelligence is shown through his ability to multitask. Ramon on the other hand is smart in the terms of charismatic ability.

The result of the meeting is a net positive for both sides, Galina didn't see it as that and certainly went to town on her part to improve the look of the brothel first. She took three weeks to renovate each part of the brothel. Just to make sure it looked nicer in every sense and Ramon received more from the renovated room than the older ones. Which just fueled his romantic desire for Galina even further.

Red went home after those three weeks, as it was agreed to stay with them while this went on to see if it's beneficial enough to revamp the brothel part of the building. Plus she wanted to get gifts for Ruby and Charlie while she is in Russia.

Three weeks after Red is in England and Galina is still in Russia to keep working on the renovations. Thomas had a break from the frequent visits from her friend and later that night. They finally had enough privacy to fuck without being afraid of someone interrupting them. Although it cost Red being without being in consistent contact with Galina. But at this point, the cost is worth it as they'd get more money in the long run.

"This is going to be a peaceful three years for the both of us," Red said afterwards.

"I'm fine with that," Thomas responded with a slight smirk.

"I'm certain she'd send Masha to live with her grandparents while she's over there," Red pointed out.

"I'm also certain that I don't want to speak to them ever again"

Three Years Later

Ramon's business is booming, renovations were completed long after the first year and regular maintenance throughout. Galina decided to help out with the bar by the last few months. The more money they brought it, the more the two brothers seemed to have liked her. In terms of making them a substantial amount of money.

Red didn't expect her to break in after she brought her children home from school. Which caused Red's heart to lurch and it felt like it almost jumped right out of her.