#black actress compilation
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All the Black Femmes || Arcane
Mel Medarda: Toks Olagundoye, Imogen Faires
Ambessa Medarda: Ellen Thomas
Sevika, Apothecary: Amirah Vann
Shoola, Jules: Mara Junot
Sky Young, (Additional Voices): Kimberly Brooks
Other Additional Voices: Debra Wilson, Kimberly Bailey, Shondalia White
#All the Black Femmes#Black Femme Character with Black Voice Actor#Arcane#Black Actresses#Black Voice Actors#Nesha Photosets#compilation#black actress compilation#adult animation#black female cartoon characters#voice actor compilation#Toks Olagundoye#Ellen Thomas#Amirah Vann#Mara Junot#Kimberly Brooks#Imogen Faires#Kimberly Bailey#Shondalia White#Debra Wilson#Behind the Voice Actors#Mel Medarda#Ambessa Medarda#Sevika#Shoola#Sky Young#Jules Arcane#Apothecary Arcane#Black Women in Fantasy#Girl That's Queuedt
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Bc of all this stuff of "Billy is the first gay character in the MCU", I have decided to compile a list of queer characters in the MCU, sorted by date so y'all know who the actual firsts are
The conditions are thus:
It is confirmed in the project by either the character themselves or by another person. Maybe they speak of a partner, or say "I'm gay" onscreen
It is confirmed outside of the project by a director, actor, writer, etc. The specific thing about this is that it must be spoken about openly, not just "oh I like that idea!". No, it must be said, "yes, we intended for this" "this character is queer", you get the idea. This means cases like where Chloe Bennet voiced support for an openly bi Daisy Johnson in "Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D." will not be counted, for while she does like it, she doesn't confirm Daisy as bi
The project must be set in the MCU timeline. If it is the subject of a multiverse, then that must be when the multiverse started branching out. "Deadpool and Wolverine" counts, but all other X-Men movies will not count
With these conditions, it also means cases like Iceman will not be considered, as even though him being a mutant is written like a coming out scene, he is still treated as being entirely het
Does that make sense? Good, let's get going
Victoria Hand (Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. season 1, 2013-2014): Lesbian, confirmed by actress
Isabelle Hartley (Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. season 2, 2014-2015): Lesbian, stated by actress
Joey Gutierrez (Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. season 3, 2015-2016): Gay, confirmed on screen
Jeri Hogarth (Jessica Jones, 2015-2019): Lesbian, confirmed on screen
Valkyrie (Thor: Ragnarok & Thor: Love and Thunder, 2017/2022): Bisexual, confirmed by actress and later confirmed on screen
Korg (Thor: Ragnarok & Thor: Love and Thunder, 2017/2022): Gay, only confirmed on screen in Love and Thunder
Karolina Dean (Runaways, 2017-2018): Lesbian, confirmed on screen
Nico Minoru (Runaways, 2017-2018): Bisexual, confirmed on screen
Ruby Hale (Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. season 5, 2017-2018): Aesxual, confirmed by actress
Aneka (Black Panther & Black Panther: Wakanda Forever, 2018/2022): Lesbian, confirmed by actress
Ayo (Black Panther & Black Panther: Wakanda Forever, 2018/2022): Lesbian, confirmed on screen
Unnamed character played by Joe Russo (Avengers: Endgame, 2019): Unknown, confirmed on screen
Marcus Benson (Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. season 6, 2019): Gay, confirmed on screen
Loki Laufeyson (Loki, 2021): Genderfluid and bisexual, confirmed on screen (it is worth noting that Loki was only confirmed as queer in the series, ten years after he made his debut, which is why I only count the series here. However our main timeline Loki is suggested to be same)
Sylvie Laufeydottir (Loki, 2021): Bisexual, confirmed by creators
Yelena Belova (Black Widow & Hawkeye, 2021): Aroace, hinted on screen, confirmed by writer
Phastos (Eternals, 2021): Gay, confirmed on screen
America Chavez (Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness, 2022): Lesbian, confirmed by actress
America's moms (Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness, 2022): Unknown, confirmed on screen
Mister Immortal (She-Hulk: Attorney at Law, 2022): Bisexual, confirmed on screen
Agatha Harkness (WandaVision & Agatha All Along, 2021/2024): Unknown, potentially sapphic or wlw, confirmed on screen
Rio Vidal (Agatha All Along, 2024): Unknown, potentially sapphic or wlw, confirmed on screen
Billy Maximoff (Agatha All Along, 2024): Gay, confirmed on screen
#queer characters#if y'all feel like any other characters should count just tell me#this is what i found based on research and my own knowledge#agents of shield#agatha all along#agatha x rio#billy maximoff#america chavez#loki#phastos#runaways#jeri hogarth#marvel#mcu
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Propaganda
Lena Horne (Cabin in the Sky, Stormy Weather)— Incredibly talented biracial actress, singer, dancer, and activist (she did so much work towards integrating audiences). Because of the racism of the era, she rarely got to be the lead actress but filmmakers loved her so much that they would often create stand alone segments within a film to highlight her beautiful singing, knowing that these segments would ultimately be cut from the film by censors in areas that forbid films with Black performers. Also, she's just so wonderful in Cabin in the Sky as a gold-digger villain who is not the least bit subtle about her intentions. I would highly recommend checking out her work.
Ginger Rogers (Swing Time, Top Hat)—Look I’ll level with you, I’ve never seen her in a musical and I know that she’s an amazing dancer and she’ll be even hotter when I finally watch Top Hat but I’m not submitting her as a dancer I’m submitting her as an ACTRESS. Her comic timing is impeccable!!!!! She’s full to bursting with life and in every role she seems to be having FUN, you can practically feel the twinkle in her eye. With her natural warmth it’s like she’s letting you in on the joke, y’all get to have this fun together! Making me laugh is hot!!! [If you'd like to see Ginger dance, videos below the cut]
This is round 3 of the tournament. All other polls in this bracket can be found here. Please reblog with further support of your beloved hot sexy vintage woman.
[additional propaganda submitted under the cut.]
Lena Horne:
64.media.tumblr.com
Black American powerhouse singer and actor who faced all the usual bullshit that any BIPOC faced in vintage Hollywood and achieved legendary status anyway. Also a Civil Rights movement icon.
She was a gem
She was so beautiful and those dimples are amazing! Truly depressing how badly Hollywood treated her because she was black. I would love to have seen what she really could have been if they didn’t cast her in so many yikes roles. She’s got gorgeous eyes and that body! Her joyful smile makes happiness sexy!
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Civil rights actress, singer, dancer, actress, she's got the whole package
Lena Horne was a wonderful singer and actress who largely starred in black cast musicals. While she had a lot of main stream success, she ultimately lost the lead role in showboat (a role she had played on the stage) to a white actress due to hollywood's prejudices. She was also blacklisted during the HUAC hearings, but she still managed to be hot be hot as fuck and have a career spanning decades, working with more well-known stars like Judy Garland in musicals, and working on stage and releasing albums when her hollywood career began to suffer.
Miss Horne became famous during a period of time when Hollywood had very few meaningful roles for people of color. Although she is more so known as a performer, she starred in two successful all black productions (Cabin in the Sky & Stormy Weather). If that wasn't enough, she also guest starred on the Muppets (Season 1, Episode 11)
Ginger Rogers propaganda:
She needs no introduction! An undeniable powerhouse on the dancefloor, and no less talented an actress. I once watched a compilation of cinema's greatest dance scenes and one of her and Fred Astaire's dances was featured, and one of the talking heads said he pitied her for 'having to keep up with him' - or something to that effect. Bullshit, I cry. Ginger Rogers was his absolute equal, and underplaying her incredible skill is downright criminal. I want the 'Cheek to Cheek' sequence from Top Hat to be permanently burned into my memory.
"Backwards in high heels", as the saying goes (though the pedant in me must point out that she in fact spent her fair share of time leading or dancing side-by-side). One of the earliest twinkle-toed ladies of the silver screen, and in terms of acting/persona, her balance of wide-eyed cuteness and movie-star glamour has never quite been replicated.
we all know her beloved string of musicals with fred but ginger also has an extensive and varied non-fred filmography that she's great in! a few ginger moments that are important 2 me personally ginger singing “we’re in the money” in gold diggers of 1933, complete with a verse in pig latin bc this whole movie is kinda mocking the concept of anyone actually being in the money in 1933; ginger and una merkel singing a verse of “shuffle off to buffalo” in 42nd street, providing some statler & waldorf-esque commentary on newlyweds from the upper berth of a railway car (interesting that belly was apparently a risque word in 1933 - maybe its bc the lyric is innuendo-ing about out of wedlock pregnancies - and that panties was a term for men’s underthings!); a favorite fred & ginger number
Ginger Rogers could do everything! She could sing, dance and act. She was hilarious in comedies, moving in dramatic roles (she won an Oscar for Kitty Foyle in 1940) and absolutely gorgeous!
Listen, no shade to Fred Astaire at all, but she both kept up with him step for step and then later went on to WIN AN OSCAR FOR ACTING. (which he did not.) truly a double threat!!!
One of the best dancers in Hollywood! Her work with Fred Astaire is just incredible.
ONE LINE: "Everything Fred did, Ginger did backwards and in heels" AND THEYRE RIGHT! Rogers was a total dance badass, and a lot of movie buffs know the story, but the Never Gonna Dance number from Swing Time took almost 50 takes, and allegedly by the end of filming it her white shoes had been stained pink because her feet were bleeding. As a note, she looks crazy gorgeous in this number. Watching these two dance is insane. They match up to each other in a way my mom describes as "divine" and she's right. DANCE NUMBERS!
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Let's Call The Whole Thing Off (Shall We Dance, 1937, dancing starts at 3:14, they're in ROLLERSKATES)
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(Ginger Rogers is the hottest woman ever to live in this number. seeing this as a teenager altered my brain chemistry)
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(also watch her feet and how she moves opposite Astaire in this one. We all know our boy Freddie had that precision demon but jesus christ Miss Rogers, let a girl live!)
Pick Yourself Up, Swing Time 1936 (Everyone's seen this one but by god you are going to see it AGAIN!)
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Shall We Dance, 1937 (duet begins at 2:34)
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Smoke Gets In Your Eyes, Roberta 1935 (There's just something about Ginger Rogers in a slick black dress man)
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The Continental, The Gay Divorcee 1934
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God she's MAGIC in this one.
Gay Divorcee's Ending Montage 1934
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The infamous table and chairs spin happens at about 0:49. Pay CLOSE attention to her in this bc it looks like witchcraft and I feel lightheaded whenever I watch this movie bc shes THAT awesome.
She is a miracle to watch. Sorry for the sheer amount of clips. My entire family is like madly in love with Ginger Rogers.
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[TRF] Norma II
• Related to this : The Rust Factory - Norma (<- comics)
• Related to this : The Rust Factory - Norma (<- comics) I had SO much fun doing the vintage style of flash backs and imagination: I would have kicked myself for ignoring this very impactful style for its time.
Audrey pic: Context - Extract from the 2022 RP "It was the story of a corporate that had made a great scientific revolutionary invention! It was called D-Sire, a simple, medicated, fabulous everyday object that people couldn't live without. But during the process of improving the product, which was intended to target wider markets to make more profit, the D-Sire had unfortunately gone awry, causing a great catastrophe unparalleled among mankind. All cities had been wiped off the map, leaving only willless mutant humans and animals. The heroine had to flee her city, survive and fight her way back to the creator of the D-sire, who had abandoned his company and changed his identity. Coal was terrified of this cheap soap opera with its terrible special effects made of modelling clay and the saturated offbeat sound of the black-and-white picture on the small TV screen." A more than obvious reference to the AU Truffula Flu. And a huge reference to @audtreegrace, @miru667 's character. So of course, I don't have all the context since it's a vast AU with lots and lots of details, but I've got enough of a basis for my friends to recognize and that's good enough for me :> Nathan has already confused Audrey Grace with Audrey, the actress from their series HAHA. Alas, the Audrey and Ted of his world won't be born for several years. He didn't find the actress, but he did find a good friend with whom to talk for hours about anything and everything ♥
Norma Bellini pic: Well, Norma pin-up, because why not! In vintage calendar mode, because I love vintage aesthetics. And yes, those are the right dates I went to check on good old calendars haha. At first I wanted to do it in a swimsuit, but then I preferred the picnic. I love picnics.
Too big to fail pic: I had to do it! Of course I had to! The only time I've redone such an iconic portrait was for the first version of Cashtea-ler in the Let It Flow fanzine, in 2022 (I should do a new one with his new head). Nathan Cole (@1940s-onceler | @nalak-bel 's), in black and white in his best soot-colored suit!
Compilation : Just Normaler, to appreciate Normaler. On a more serious note, I like the idea that Nathan was guided throughout his first times by ladies, and not the reverse. I love this not-so-little whining man.
#The Rust Factory#Normaler#OC Coal#1940sler#40sler#Norma Bellini#Norma#oc#ocrp#original character#oc art#roleplay#Doodle#digital#doodle#Truffula Flu#the greedler#the onceler#the lorax#the once ler#onceler#once ler#fandom#lorax#greedler#greed ler#onceler fandom#lorax fandom#black and white#art
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Uika and her inner monster, Doloris
Admittedly when I first watched It's MyGO and Ave Mujica 0th, I didn't really think much of Uika. She and Doloris are presented as such vastly different entities that my brain kind of glossed over her, because I don't tend to go crazy for characters who are presented to us as always being bright and warm. Even when the last episode aired and I saw her undergo the transformation from Uika into Doloris, it still hadn't fully set in for me (though perhaps this is simply because I was busy losing my mind in excitement about seeing Ave Mujica at all as well as the sequel announcement).
But reading the interviews that came out after the anime finished airing completely changed that. Uika is Tomori's opposite in every regard? She has a secret so intense it made her voice actress stand out of her chair and yell when she heard it? I need to know more! What on earth could this seemingly kind character be hiding?
I've been keeping a close eye on her content ever since, and it's slowly making me feel insane. So, in anticipation for the anime, as well as their 4th concert which will happen in December and thus give us even more Doloris lore, I wanted to compile a post on the both of them in which I will present my various thoughts and theories.
Doloris
Uika is, in the most literal sense, Doloris' actress. This could perhaps lend to many believing that Uika is not Doloris, or rather that Doloris is not Uika. At the same time, I want to pose a very simple question.
Who came first: Doloris or Uika?
Timeline-wise, Doloris came first. Can Uika even exist without Doloris? Can she be who she is without us immediately recognizing her as being Doloris? What came first was not "Doloris is a puppet persona Uika plays as on stage," but rather it was "Uika is Doloris from Ave Mujica." This was their intent; to introduce Doloris to us, and then to introduce this girl who has an identical design to her in the anime, who is seemingly her exact opposite. What weight could Uika's scenes hold, if not to tell us that she will later turn into the monster known as Doloris? On her own, without Doloris, what does Uika represent?
Doloris herself talks about wanting to be seen for her true self. Is Uika Doloris' true self, or is Doloris Uika's true self? Which is it that they want us to believe? Which one does "Uika" want us to believe? Which one is Sakiko, or perhaps Oblivionis, trying to convince us to believe? Who is "Uika"?
Our introduction to this character was not a Sumimi scene, or her consoling someone, or a frame of her smiling, or of her expressing her love for music. It was this.
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This creepy, disturbing montage of Doloris, covered in blood, inviting someone into her cult. Inviting you into her cult. Inviting you to dig deeper.
Though if you want to go even further back, I would argue our first, true genuine introduction was Black Birthday itself.
You see, I don't believe there's any true and correct way to interpret Ave Mujica's songs. The songs are whatever you make of them. That's part of the insanity of Ave Mujica; of never having a proper answer, of always wanting to dig deeper. So I won't say this is that correct reading, but rather one of the infinite possibilities. That said, after watching the intermissions from their concerts as we currently know them, I can't help but feel their first 6 songs perfectly tell the story of Doloris. It goes something like this:
Black Birthday: Doloris' rebirth into her true self. The dyeing of one's purity into corruption. Finally being able to see what was once unseeable (perhaps the light in the pitch black darkness, which she discusses a lot in their stage plays). It's a disturbing birthday party welcoming the new her.
The Two Moons ~Deep Into the Forest~: Now reborn, she finds herself lost in a forest. The play sequence in the last episode of It's MyGO feels reminiscent to this song; Doloris straying into a forest (Loft Moon), while Oblivionis ridicules her, and yet she's so beautiful she cannot take her eyes off her despite the pain of having her heart torn asunder. The song even has imagery describing candles lit on a table, which we can see in the anime rendition of this scene.
Choir 'S' Choir: She's slowly giving in to the insanity of Ave Mujica. This song reminds me a lot of Perdere Omnia; when she finally stops her denial and begins to understand why the others wish to destroy the world. She's letting herself become an esquire, a fallen angel if you will. She hears voices screaming at her, and she knows she's being hunted down, but she keeps dancing anyway. She's testing out her new abilities.
God, You're a Fool: This song represents her inner doubts. What exactly are they fighting for? For whose sake? Why do they have to be in this situation to begin with? If God wasn't a fool, surely everything would be fine... right?
Mas?uerade Rhapsody Re?uest: She's decided she no longer cares about anything. No longer cares how corrupted she becomes, no longer cares to hide her dark feelings. She's just going to fully embrace it all, she's going to let herself be taken by the shadowy jesters. The mask is a part of her now.
Ave Mujica: With her mask as her skin, it's her turn to lure others in. She's going to corrupt you. She reassures you that those with masks will fulfill your any wish, and that even though this is a place of no return, don't worry, there's nothing to be scared of.
It's interesting, because while the songs can apply to anyone (the other dolls for one, and perhaps even the listeners themselves), I can't ignore the parallels between the story these songs are telling, and the story of Doloris as we've seen in the concert intermissions. (Regarding the Utopia single and the ELEMENTS series, those songs were written more to fit a specific narrative, and I don't think they apply to the dolls themselves as directly. That's just my own personal take on them though and is why I won't be analyzing them here)
As for the intermissions themselves, there's a lot going on in them and much of Doloris' dialogue isn't about herself, but I want to go over some general observations:
Doloris uses 僕 (boku). This is significant because she's the only one who has a personal pronoun that differs from her actress; Uika uses 私(watashi). Ave Mujica songs use 私 (watashi) as well, though I don't think this means much in the context of Uika or Doloris because it's just for formality (if anything, it's interesting because it's an inverse of Uika's narrative opposite, Tomori; who uses 私 (watashi) in her daily speech but 僕 (boku) in her songs). That said, in Quaerere Lumina, there's a segment where "Doloris" switches to 私 (watashi), which many found haunting because it almost felt as if those words came from Uika herself, and that she switched back to Doloris after speaking vulnerable words from her heart.
She uses 君 (kimi; "you") in an interesting way. In Perdere Omnia, this referred to Oblivionis. In Veritas, however, she uses this repeatedly in the context of "someone" who she wants to be reborn with. It's someone who extended a hand to her, and who took her mask off her. It's someone she wants to be with for the rest of her life, just the two of them. And at the end, she uses it in reference to you, the audience, who will surely attend their next concert. Who is it that removed her mask? Oblivionis, or us? (Like many things in Ave Mujica, my own interpretation on this is that it's probably Oblivionis, because at its core, this is a yuri band, and Oblivionis is in fact someone who we've seen accept Doloris for who she is)
Each doll has a specific thing they focus on: Oblivionis stands her ground despite everything but also talks about finding things pitiful, Timoris is logical and an observer who wants to be acknowledged, Amoris talks about her lost love and boredom, Mortis talks about peace and quiet as well as the beauty in death. For Doloris, the thing she highlights that the others don't is us watching her slowly spiral into insanity, and particularly as of Veritas, her sense of her own body (as well as this attachment to someone else, as mentioned above). She sees herself as an empty shell, which is true for the others as well, but on top of this she has a fixation on her mask and the relationship it has with her body. It's her skin, and simultaneously, if you remove it, below that you'll find her true, perhaps ugly self. It means a lot to her that someone could love the her that exists without the mask. (Is this intended to be foreshadowing for the relationship between Doloris and Uika, and which of the two of them is her truest self?)
Doloris is an embodiment of insecurity, and simultaneously, she's a ferocious monster when she performs. Rico Sasaki herself claims that she feels like Doloris possesses her when they hold concerts. Her voice is cold, bitter and pained; it's a far cry from Uika's speaking voice, which is so warm and comforting. She is plagued with sorrow, of which she would rather die and be reborn than have to deal with. Her ideal world is simply one of being together with the one who accepts her in all of her ugliness.
Uika
There's a sort of trend to Uika's scenes: when she's around someone else, she waits for them to talk or express emotion before she matches their energy, and when she's alone, she drops the happy idol facade. The very first time we ever see her, she's doing just this.
This is also apparent in two other (coincidentally Sumimi) scenes, where the same thing happens in each: Uika is matching the energy of who she's talking to, but the second she's separated from them by a door, she has an almost empty expression on her face.
(The fact this has happened for both Sumimi scenes, when Uika has so little screentime so every second we see of her is supposed to be precious, has me really wondering just how much she likes her "dream job." Also, I wonder if this is a coincidence: immediately after both of these shots, she looks at her phone and sees Sakiko on her screen which cheers her up (the first is an old text, the second is a phone call))
It's something that on its own feels a bit deliberate, but when you take a certain intermission from their concerts into consideration, it really does become something you can't ignore.
This is the one part of the concert intermissions in which Doloris uses 私 (watashi). This is what many interpret to be Uika's words.
To put this simply, she feels as if she's an empty shell who has to match the energy of the people around her. When nobody is there to give her something to react to, she reverts to that husk. This is exactly the vibe I get from a lot of her scenes in the anime.
(I talked in depth about these two scenes in my Taki&Uika writeup so please do check that out for my thoughts on them, but to recap for this context: it's interesting to me how she looks so "empty" until she reads Sakiko's message (and feels seen by her, thus breaking her out of that state; I also want to mention she never messaged Sakiko first despite having her phone number, which to me is such an explicit example of her feeling like she doesn't exist unless someone else contacts her first that you may as well have a bright red arrow pointing at it), and on the right we can see her matching Sakiko's energy)
And actually, she almost implies as much to Mana directly.
"It's easy for me to sing when I'm with you, Mana-chan." On the surface, this just seems like something she's saying to make her excitable partner happy, to show agreement even though she's exhausted and not nearly as excited as she is. Mana reacts, calling it a compliment. But is it really? Her wording here is deliberate: she can only sing well because she's with her. Because she's being seen by someone else. Watching all of their scenes, I can't shake the feeling that Uika would not "shine" as an idol without Mana by her side. Immediately before this, Mana's happily waving and thanking the filming crew while Uika gives them a more heartless nod. Uika's appeal as an idol is that she's "cool" (this is written on her character bio), so it's not that I would expect her to match Mana's energy in that sense (who's appeal is her energy)... but I do wonder what she would be like in this context without Mana, given she already seems rather tense even with her. (Here's an easily missable clip of her sighing the second she's alone)
What about her comforting Tomori? Surely that was the one scene where she was acting of her own emotions? And what about when she talked to her in the final episode? It's not as if she was matching Tomori's energy 1:1! She reached out to her on her own!
And maybe that's true. However, consider this: that happened after she got Sakiko back in her life. Is an empty husk still just a shell if the one who's there to look at her―and bring her to life―is by her side now?
Let's take a closer look at these scenes though, shall we?
The planetarium. Uika was there to look at the stars, which are reflective of her childhood memories with Sakiko. Then, she finds Tomori, who she recognizes as being from Crychic (because she attended their concert a year ago). I could believe it if she sat next to her because Tomori looked upset; Tomori has subtle facial expressions yes, but it's pretty obvious when she's hurt. She decides to sit next to her, but her seat won't recline (I've seen people point out that she's been there before, so she surely would have known how to put the seat down; I think this is very funny and could be true, though I do want to point out Tomori said "this seat works like this" and Uika was sitting in a different seat than we saw in episode 8 anyway). Tomori helps her and they make indescribable eye contact briefly before they go back to watching the stars.
Then she kept an eye on her when they left and caught her on the stairs. Pretty standard stuff. From the get-go though, she was matching Tomori's energy. This is really subtle and more obvious in motion, but when she's asking if Tomori's okay, Tomori's head dips down twice, and each time Tomori's head dips, Uika's dips down a second or two later to match her.
If it was just once, I wouldn't think anything of it, but twice? Why is she studying her reaction this closely to the point of replicating it?
Then this happens, and I'll just leave my commentary from a year ago because it still applies:
Uika stares at Tomori and the Crychic photo that she saw on their social media comes to mind. She focuses in on Sakiko and Tomori... but moreso Sakiko. This kind of goes under the radar as it comes across as her bringing up stars because she knows it's something Tomori clearly likes and thus could be a bridge of conversation between them, so to speak, but I can't shake the fact that thinking about Sakiko was what prompted her to start talking about the stars she can see in Tokyo. Sakiko, who she was separated from for so long and who she was only able to reunite with in Tokyo.
(As a side note before I continue, this conversation makes me wonder how familiar she is with Tokyo. I'm not well-versed in Japan's geography nor do we really know anything about Uika's personal life, but I do know she lived on an island as a kid because she says Sakiko visited her island. It's also her chat icon)
Another easily missable detail, but when she picks up Tomori's notes, she waits a second for Tomori to give "consent" (via eye contact) before she continues talking. I'll also just mention here that I do think Uika meant what she said about singing being something that conveys someone's heart, and I feel like this was the most honest she was in the entire show.
Moving on to the episode 13 confrontation. I'll be honest, this whole interaction is very weird and as I'm typing up this post I'm still not sure what to make of a lot of it.
Once again, Uika is in the planetarium, this time in the same seat she was in for episode 8 before she met up with Sakiko (starting to see a theme here). Then she spots Tomori and grabs her shoulder, calling her Tomori-chan. Tomori seems confused so she checks that it really is "Tomori" and says they met there before. She does the same thing she did in episode 10 where when Tomori shifts her head, she shifts hers too while she's talking to her.
I like this shot because it feels like she instantly goes into "handsome" mode when she realizes this girl is a fan of "Sumimi's Uika."
This is where this interaction gets weird, because Tomori says she doesn't know who Uika is, and Uika responds with... "I'm glad she doesn't." Huh? Even Anon herself says "Huh?" out loud here. I could not possibly give you an explanation for why Uika would be "glad" that Tomori doesn't know who she is. Why is she trying to get close with her if she doesn't care that Tomori doesn't know her?
Then she asks if Tomori's song worked and Tomori says yes. It still feels like she's trying to gauge her feelings (but for what?). Then she claims she doesn't know Tomori, they just "met at the planetarium before." Anon seems pretty weirded out still. Then she changes the subject and asks if the two of them are in a band. When Anon shows her her phone, which has all the band members listed, she stares at it for a second before asking if she can follow.
(Anon's face being cut off here is interesting to me given this is from Uika's point of view, and really what could be so interesting in that photo?)
The length in which she stares at it makes me think this is likely how she learned MyGO exists, though I can't really piece together what she gets out of this aside from knowing what band Tomori is in. Then she asks if she can follow them and leaves. The whole interaction feels so pointless yet so deliberate: we didn't get closure on Taki's character arc in this episode, but we got this scene of Uika following MyGO's social media account? I'll be interested in seeing how this is relevant later on.
Oh, and the most important part of this scene: Tomori never told Uika her name. Anon is visibly weirded out by this. Of course, this scene is also followed by another shot of Uika not having to match anyone's energy, looking stern as she seems to whenever she's by herself. (She's looking at Crychic's social media page and commenting on how Tomori is from Sakiko's old band, by the way; how did she pull that up so fast? She just sat down?)
Uika and Tomori are narrative opposites. The director for the anime stated that Uika is her polar opposite in every regard. Ricochi also pointed out that while Tomori's songs turn her human, Uika's turn her into a monster. Their episode 10 confrontation was intended to be them meeting before the Ave Mujica ball gets rolling, so to speak, in order to allow them to contrast greater when the sequel comes out.
In general, what I make of Uika's cheerfulness is it's reflective of something Ricochi said in regards to Ave Mujica as a whole: like the moon, she can't shine on her own, but when others look at her, a light glistens from her. It almost makes me wonder if she wanted to become an idol in order to, like she said in her introduction clip with Mana, "make others feel better too" with her songs, at an attempt to mask the fact she can't shine when she's alone herself.
Those are the biggest points I wanted to articulate, so below I'll drop some other observations.
Regarding the flashback scene of Uika and Sakiko as kids... Uika is blushing here when Sakiko is not.
Normally I wouldn't think anything of this, because that's just how the models are (for instance, Sakiko's casual clothes model seems to always have the blush regardless of her mood, while Oblivionis of course doesn't; Uika's model also doesn't have a constant blush), but this scene was hand drawn. It's more deliberate. I don't want to insinuate that this implies Uika cares more about Sakiko than Sakiko cares about Uika because I don't think that's what they meant here at all, just that these specific memories may hold different meaning to Uika than they do for Sakiko. Perhaps more importantly though (and even less obvious) is that Uika's hair looks longer in the shot of them looking at the stars than it was for their meeting and the bug catching. It makes you wonder how much time may have passed between those two memories. (I do recognize this may have just been a continuity error of sorts, but she is wearing a different outfit too)
In Sakiko's conversation to Nyamu, she hints that she got Uika for her band because of Sumimi's popularity. This is interesting to me because in episode 7, she absolutely... glares? at the Sumimi music video.
...Which makes you wonder how she really felt looking at it. In any case, I don't think it was just for the fame because you don't exactly call somebody and tell them to help you forget everything if it's just for the money. That's a pretty intimate thing to ask somebody, and especially for Sakiko who up until then had been actively avoiding speaking anything from her heart. We also know that Uika does the lyrics for Ave Mujica, so we can truly only make guesses as to what transpired between their talk and the final episode...
Oh, also, when Sakiko calls Uika, she blushes. Which feels pretty notable to me when seconds beforehand she was in "cool, kind of broody idol" mode.
As for the last episode...
When Nyamu asks if she can go to Uika's place, she says yes! It makes you wonder how close she is with everyone by this point, and also what her home life looks like.
This one is sold on the voice work, but she sounds super happy to get to see Sakiko.
This also happens at the end of the episode, when she asks if she can ride the train home with Sakiko despite the fact she got there in a cab. I wrote my thoughts about this here, but it is interesting to me how it implies she might not know about Sakiko's home life at this point.
For this line, it's not lost on me how similar this dialogue is in reflection to what Doloris says in their stage play immediately after; with Oblivionis talking about them being dolls, and Doloris questioning her every word. It's as if she'd turned into Doloris the second she put her mask on...
Tying it all together
What's striking to me is that in all the trailers for the Ave Mujica anime―which by all means will be where we learn more about Uika―we've only seen one shot of her.
The rest have been Doloris. From this we can presume that the doll lore from their concerts will be relevant to the actresses, we just don't know to what extent.
It's scary really, because... seriously, even if Uika does feel like an empty shell, there's more to it than just that. And despite all of my analysis up until this point, I have not a single clue what her actual deal could be. Even after I post this, I'll continue to watch her scenes over and over, trying to piece things together with what little we have right now.
I'll be very interested to see both Doloris and Uika in the upcoming anime, and in what ways the lines between them are blurred.
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Kailee and Me
Kailee Robinson was a ‘Video Vixen’ in the Naughties (2000-09) who you may have seen in Firm Hand and Real Spanking videos – and someone I sort of relate to. So, for fun and for background on some future stories, I thought I’d compile a comparison of the two of us.
(okay, disclaimer: I’ve never met Kailee and don’t know if that’s her real name, probably not. I’m comparing myself, mostly in late high school and early college, to pictures I’ve seen of her in spanking videos.)
(also, no, no pics of me)
If you’ve never seen Kailee in action, I've provided the gif (above).
Right off you notice her ‘dark’ look – black shirt, blackened hair, black necklace (mine would be a choker)… in stark contrast to the ‘sweet’ girl she’s spanking!
As far as some details:
Black eyeliner, top and bottom – sometimes smudged. Red streaks in my hair (not shown, but she has them sometimes). I think I have that exact belt and a top very like the red one. My wardrobe was black red, and black-and-white check, sort of ‘Hot Topic before it went mainstream’. Big clunky shoes and boots. In contrast, I don’t have any tattoos and, in high school anyway, never had a sore bottom!
Also, I favored Goth/ punk/ rocker accessories (which the actress may have in real life):
Not all at once, though! Choke chains, handcuff jewelry – and lots of collars…
The ONE thing, though, that Kailee has in every video and makes her most like me is the surly teenaged pout that I wore constantly throughout my last two years of high school:
Even when it was NOT smart to be wearing it! (love the choker in the bottom pics!)
One in a great while I might get rid of it and pretend to be listening politely, but inside my head, believe me, the scowl was firmly in place:
Like Kailee, I kept this attitude even when it was very clear that I should not!
In her defense, she ‘stuck to her guns’ and kept it right up to the last minute!
I might not have been able to keep it that long if things had ever gotten this serious:
In fact, my whole high school career might have turned out differently if this had happened once in a while!
In fact, things got really serious for Kailee on a pretty regular basis!
I have to imagine (and can only imagine) that if this…
had a tendency to turn into that…
Leaving me smudging my make up from time to time…
And here’s something I know would have worked, because we ‘tried’ it quite few times in college and I did much, much better!
Maybe I should count myself lucky, though – I was never spanked on my hands (ouch!)
Also, I never wore a school uniform – my ‘schoolgirl skirt’ had skulls down the sides!
And I was never spanked with my feet up (blush!) or in front of a friend (double blush!)
And I never got to spank someone else, either!
(I like to think that I would have done a good job!)
(Of course, as time went on a lot of those things changed, eventually.)
So, it probably took me longer to get rid of my surly expression (and accompanying bad attitude) than it took Kailee…
Another difference is that I’ve never appeared in a video and never will…
And there are NO nude photos of me on-line (and, God willing, never will be…)
While of course there are plenty of Kailee. No, I’m not going to post them here!!! Use Google!
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Betty White Vs. Gracie Allen
Propaganda
Betty White - (The Mary Tyler Moore Show, The Golden Girls, Life With Elizabeth) - I mean - does she really need an introduction? It's Betty White, people! The First Lady Of Television! What *hasn't* she done? She had an incredible career (in fact, she earned the Guinness World Record for the longest TV career by a female entertainer *twice*!) with an infinite list of successes - she won seven Emmys, three SAG awards, and even a Grammy. I personally know her best for her spectacular portrayal of Rose Nylund in The Golden Girls, but she's played so many great characters in her long career. A lesser known but marvelously charming role is that of the titular character in Life With Elizabeth, a 1950s sitcom which she also co-produced at the age of *28*! She was also a great advocate for a number of causes - animal welfare, gay rights (she used to accompany her friend Liberace to events to help him avoid being outed as gay), and racial equality: she famously hired Arthur Duncan, a Black tap dancer, on one of her shows, and when threatened with going off-air if he wasn't fired, she just declared "He stays, live with it." She's the whole package - amazing actress (and comedienne and producer!), kind and hilarious, and of course - beautiful! Just look at her - that smile! Those eyes! That charm!! Watch her in action if you can (they're too long to link here, but entire episodes of Life With Elizabeth are on youtube!), but honestly - her pictures alone are enough to make me swoon!
Gracie Allen - (The George Burns and Gracie Allen Show) - she's SO funny
Master Poll List of the Hot Vintage TV Ladies Bracket
Additional propaganda below the cut
Betty White:
Have you seen her?? Look me in the eyes and tell me that Betty White's smile doesn't have the power to turn anyone's heart to mush. She looks adorable one moment, and can come up with the most out of pocket lines the next (all while still looking innocent about it). People know her best as Rose Nylund in The Golden Girls, of course, where she played the show's most naive character. But reportedly, Betty was actually the cleverest person on set. She didn't even have to learn her lines; reading the script once was enough for her, and she'd be able to remember any additional changes throughout the week without a problem. Which is pretty amazing if you ask me! Anyway, Betty is an icon. Her television career spanned seven (7!!!) decades, covering basically the entire tournament's time period (and then some!). She *almost* turned 100 and her outliving other celebrities was a Tumblr meme for ages. She had her own talkshow in the 1950s, for which she hired a female director, and had an African-American tap dancer (Arthur Duncan) as a regular cast member. When faced with criticism for the latter and the threat of being boycotted, Betty responded with "I'm sorry. Live with it" and gave Duncan *more* airtime. She was also the first woman to ever produce a sitcom (Life with Elizabeth) in which she played the lead, and looked absolutely stunning doing it. All in all: Betty was a badass, had a heart of gold, and she's absolutely stunning!
I think I might cry at how pretty she is honestly
that SMILE!!!
some soft butch realness
she's even pretty when she's not smiling... ahh...
she is marvelously bitchy as Sue Ann Nivens. please for the love of god watch these videos
Betty White / Sue Ann Moment #1: Coffee Experts Agree
youtube
Betty White / Sue Ann Moment #3: Massive Mudslides Wreak Havoc
youtube
Betty White / Sue Ann Moment #5: Have a Sexy Birthday
youtube
Gracie Allen:
Gracie Allen--Best Lines Compilation 1
youtube
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On this day: November 18, 2005
The biopic Walk the Line made its US theatrical debut, distributed by 20th Century Fox. The film is based on Cash's autobiographies, Johnny Cash: Man in Black: His Own Story in His Own Words (1975) and Cash: The Autobiography (1997), and addresses Cash's early life, his marriages to Vivian Liberto and June Carter, his rise to stardom, his drug addiction, and his performances at Folsom Prison. Joaquin Phoenix stars as Cash, and was nominated for the Oscar Award for Best Actor for his role. Reese Witherspoon won the Oscar for Best Actress at the 78th Academy Awards for her portrayal of June Carter Cash. The film was also nominated for the Oscars in Best Sound, Best Costume Design, and Best Film Editing. The film was a box office success and was the highest-grossing music biopic of all time until it was surpassed by Straight Outta Compton in 2015. Released alongside the film were the albums The Legend of Johnny Cash and Walk the Line: Original Motion Picture Soundtrack, the latter of which was performed exclusively by the film's actors and received the Grammy Award for Best Compilation Soundtrack Album for Motion Pictures, Television or Other Visual Media at the 49th Annual Grammy Awards in 2007.
#johnny cash#country music#outlaw country#country#johnny cash history#walk the line#joaquin phoenix#reese witherspoon
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Editor's Note from The Black Sands of Socorro by Patricia A. Jackson
While researching Patricia A. Jackson’s entire body of Star Wars work for a short story anthology, I came across the West End Games sourcebook Star Wars: The Black Sands of Socorro (1997.) It’s a crucial work of Star Wars ephemera: The first creator of color writing for Star Wars in an official capacity, writing not just about individual characters of color, but centering entire cultures populated by non-white characters. A young Black woman in the 1990s wrote science fiction for Star Wars, worldbuilding with concepts like antislavery, indigeneity, linguistic divergence, and settler colonialism...while Disney-Lucasfilm in the 2020s ineffectually positions Star Wars as a post-racial fantasy.
I non-hyperbolically refer to Patricia A. Jackson as the “Octavia Butler of Star Wars,” not because fans of color need to be officially sanctioned by Lucasfilm to create Star Wars content, but because of how difficult it is to carve out anti-racist space in a transmedia storytelling empire. Challenging even in transformational fandom spaces (e.g. fan works), to broach race in affirmational fandom spaces—or while writing content for the property holder—is to be unflinchingly subversive.
And Jackson did it first. In an interview with Rob Wolf in 2022, Jackson described her experience writing race into Star Wars in the 1990s as an “experiment.” The planet, peoples, and cultures of Socorro were a way for Jackson to obliquely, yet concretely, center Blackness and racial justice into Star Wars, pushing the racial allegory constrained by the original trilogy to its limits.
Since it’s inception, Star Wars has spent much of it’s storytelling on the fringes of the galaxy (whether it’s Tatooine or Jakku, Nevarro or Ajan Kloss.) The Black Sands of Socorro is an extension of that trope, but where the Star Wars films used indigeneity as set dressing (eg. “Sand People”, Ewoks, Gungans, etc.) Jackson creates a vivid world where indigenous culture and settler colonists collide; where characters are coded with dark skin and central to the action. The planet Socorro is distinct as a Star Wars setting. As one of the only places in the galaxy where slavery is eradicated with a vengeance, Socorro refuses to let go of a plot line Star Wars media often leaves behind. Socorro is a haven from Imperial fascism, a space where readers are invited to imagine a story that does not center around occupation.
When I learned that Patricia A. Jackson no longer has a physical copy of The Black Sands of Socorro, I realized that I had the materials and the means to create a fanbound hard copy for her home library (well, and also for my own home library.) While this handmade book is not an exact reproduction of the RPG supplement, I hope my renvisioning of the supplement as an in-universe travel guide lives up to the original work.
As the idea of creating a travel guidebook based on the original material percolated, I reflected on the State of Race in Star Wars in the year since I compiled Designs of Fate, an anthology of my favorite Patricia A. Jackson short stories. In May 2022, actress Moses Ingram debuted as Inquisitor Reva Sevander, the deuteragonist in the Dinsey+ streaming Obi-Wan Kenobi series. As predicted by Lucasfilm—and any fan sick of alt-right Star Wars related “whitelash”—Ingram was promptly subjected to a firehose of racialized harassment and misogynoir.
Yep, fascist self-proclaimed fanboys complained about a Black woman Inquisitor in 2022, having no idea (or deliberately whitewashing) that one of creators of the entire freakin’ concept of Inquisitors was a Black woman writing for the Star Wars Adventure Journal three decades ago.
Then, a public facing Star Wars account (@StarWars on Twitter) broke precedent and slapped back at the trolls. Lead actor Ewan McGregor filmed a video retort, posted on @StarWars, stating “racism has no place in this world” and telling off the racist bullies: “you’re no Star Wars fan in my mind.” A few months later, Disney+ debuted it’s second flagship Star Wars streaming series of the year, starring a Latino actor as the protagonist. In the opening episode of Andor, a police chief describes Diego Luna’s eponymous lead as a “dark-featured human,” perhaps the closest the franchise has ever gotten to acknowledging out-of-universe constructions of race, to date. The series explored aspects of imperialism with more depth than Star Wars had previously done on screen, such as the Empire’s treatment of the native people of Aldhani. And, in November, the The Acolyte, a Disney+ series co-developed by Rayne Roberts, announced Amandla Stenberg and Korean actor Lee Jung-jae as its top-billed leads. Stenberg will be the first Gen Z, mixed race, Black, Inuit, queer, and non-binary actor to lead a major Star Wars series.
On the Patricia A. Jackson Star Wars front, in 2022, Jackson’s character Fable Astin was an easter egg in the Obi-Wan Kenobi series. Jackson will again write for Star Wars in an official capacity in From a Certain Point of View: Return of the Jedi, due for publication in Fall 2023. A series about Lando Calrissian, the galaxy’s most famous Socorran, is still in production, so I have my fingers crossed that we may soon see Socorro on camera.
I wonder if this past year will have been a fulcrum year for BIPOC fandom. Maybe Disney has finally realized it’s bad for business that the alt-right uses social media algorithms and Star Wars fan spaces as a soft recruiting ground to radicalize young white men? Maybe Star Wars as a franchise will continue to loudly disavow fan whitelash and firmly position performers of color in true leading roles? I really hope so. On the other hand, as much as I am in favor of increased representation in Star Wars storytelling, I am also troubled by Disney-Lucasfilm’s framing of the Galaxy Far, Far Away (GFFA) as “colorblind.” Recently, Star Wars fans have been asked to accept that in the (a long time ago) sci-fi futurepast GFFA, humans have always been post-racial, and it’s just a coincidence that racialized people were not caught on camera the way white characters have been for years. The galaxy is post-racial and it’s just acoincidence that the movers and shakers of the galaxy have largely been depicted as white men for the past 40 years of media.
For example, in the decade since Disney rebooted the expanded universe, fans have learned that Star Wars’s biggest galactic war criminal to never be depicted on screen is Admiral Rae Sloane, a bisexual Black woman who was the leader of Imperial remnant forces, one of the architects of the First Order, and personal mentor to General Hux. Under Disney-Lucasfilm’s post-racial retcon of the Star Wars universe, the allegorical fascists are intersectional equal opportunity employers (at least in expanded universe content like animation, video games, and novels.) Along those lines, several of the franchise’s newly introduced, prominent women of color have been part of the Empire: Imperial loyalist Cienna Ree (Lost Stars), Inferno Squad leader Iden Versio (Star Wars: Battlefront II) former stormtrooper Jannah (Episode IX), First Order pilot Tamara Ryvora (Star Wars: Resistance), Inquisitor Trilla Sundari (Jedi: Fallen Order), Captain Terisa Kerrill (Star Wars: Squadron) and, most recently, Inquisitor Reva Sevander. Once the sole purview of stodgy, very white and very British men (demonstrably so even in the sequel trilogy movies,) now anyone can be a stooge of the Empire.
That’s not to say that marginalized people can’t collude with fascism, or that there haven’t been heroic characters of color introduced in recent years. Rather, I posit that in order to sell audiences on the post-racial/colorblind GFFA, fascist-of-color characters like Rae Sloane or Giancarlo Esposito’s Moff Gideon (The Mandalorian) are created by necessity. The franchise wants to at once be racially inclusive and yet never directly address race. In Star Wars, real world oppression is primarily explored through allegory—such as Solo (2018)’s bit on droid rights, the clone army, or the myriad of non-human alien bodies that nonetheless are coded with racial stereotypes. A lot has been said about how allegory in sci-fi allows audiences to grapple with inequality from a comfortable distance, and not enough has been said about which audience is being prioritized for comfort.
What does it mean when race is supposedly a non-issue for humans in the GFFA, but creators and actors with marginalized identities cannot participate in Star Wars in any capacity without experiencing identity-targeted harassment? In the past ten years, this has been true even for white women like Kathleen Kennedy and Daisy Ridley, but the vitriol has been most strongly directed towards Black women like Lucasfilm Story Group lead Kiri Hart, author Justina Ireland and The High Republic Show host Krystina Arielle. Can the Galaxy Far, Far Away truly be “colorblind” or “post-racial” (never-racial?) if the narrative continually centers white characters and replicates all the common racial inequities seen in commercialized Hollywood storytelling? Upon the release of The Force Awakens in 2015, critic Andre Seewood aptly described Finn’s positioning in the story as “hyper-tokenism,” even presciently predicting that Finn would continue to be hyper-tokenized in Episodes VIII and IX. As the narrative veered away from Finn, it also left unrealized a stormtrooper rebellion plot line where Finn could have been, in effect, a Black abolitionist. Actor John Boyega’s critique of his experience in the sequel trilogy aligns with Seewald’s assessment: “Do not bring out a Black character, market them to be much more important to the franchise than they are and then have them pushed to the side.”
Published in 1997, The Black Sands of Socorro came before Finn, before Mace Windu, back when all the melanin of Star Wars could be found in Billy Dee Williams’s singular swagger and James Earl Jones’s distinctive voice. Back then, the most prominent Black actress in the original trilogy was dancer Femi Taylor, who played Oola, the hypersexualized green twi’lek fed to the rancor in Return of the Jedi. Bantam Spectra, the publisher that held the license for Star Wars from 1991 to 1999, had no leading characters of color in its’ Expanded Universe. The first full length Star Wars novel by a writer of color, Steven Barnes’s The Cestus Deception15, would not be published until 2004. Even though the book featured two protagonists of color, they would not be depicted on the cover. At Comic-Con in 2010, I spoke with Tom Taylor, a white Australian comic book writer who tried to make the lead family in Star Wars: Invasion (2009) a Black one, but was shut down during the creative process. The comic instead depicts a family of blondes, because the publishers did not think fans would embrace leads of color. All this to say, the inclusion of melanated characters in Star Wars has been so, so hard fought. It’s incredible The Black Sands of Socorro exists at all. It’s more than worthy of celebration, and I’m floored that more attention has not been brought to it.
Patricia A. Jackson is a smuggler.
This sourcebook was explicitly written to assist fans in telling their own Star Wars stories, and in it Patricia A. Jackson smuggled in emphatic allusions to the Black Panther movement and the trans-Atlantic slave trade, smuggled in commentary on indigeneity and settler colonialism, and smuggled in multiple ways for fans to envision characters of color. Her writing has consistently added richness to the GFFA, and in The Black Sands of Socorro she envisions multiple histories for multiple cultures coded as non-white. She ensured the existence of not mere tokens, but flourishing societies of people of color in Star Wars.
The coda for The Last Jedi again shows how perilously close to tokenization characters of color, particularly Black characters, are in modern day Star Wars. In this film, the franchise returns to itsprevious exploration of slavery with the depiction of enslaved children on Canto Bight. The last speaking lines of the film are from Oniho Zaya (played by Josiah Oniha, a young Black British actor) who recounts Luke Skywalker’s heroic exploits to the other children. The film then closes out by showing that one of the downtrodden children is Force-sensitive—a future hero in the Star Wars mythos. In a film where every single Force-user depicted is white, the next generation kid with the potential is, again, a young white boy. Once again, the Black character can only serve the narrative in a supporting role. A franchise depicting a colorblind fantasy continually reifies racial and gender hierarchies in America. With The Acolyte, scheduled for release in 2024, it’s possible the franchise may finally be shifting past hyper-tokenism. In the meantime, fans of color and our erstwhile allies will continue doodling in the margins.
In the end, the sequel trilogy left the Canto Bight plot line (and the overarching slavery plot line started in Episode I) unresolved. I’d like to think the Black Bha’lir strafed Canto Bight and grabbed those kids. It seems like something they would do. Out among the stars, Oniho Zaya is adventuring with Drake Paulsen, and his story does not bracket another characters’; he is central. The Black Sands of Socorro is a launching pad for stories like that. It represents how fans of color have always carved out pieces of Star Wars for ourselves.
#socorro#star wars legends#swrepmatters#star wars adventure journal#star wars d6#patricia a. jackson#fanbinding#binders note
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Black Starlets Around the World
Black Australian Women in Entertainment
Aisha Dee | Alice Hunter
Charmaine Bingwa
Deborah Mailman | Deni Gordon
Emelia Burns/Emilia Burns An ongoing struggle with her name. I still haven't found any confirmation from her of which way it is actually spelled.
Madeleiene Madden | Marcia Hines | Miranda Tapsell | Molly Fatnowna
Paula Arundell
Sara Zwangobani | Sisi Stringer | Sophie Wilde
Talijah Blackman-Corowa
Zahra Newman
I know this list needs work. Australia is one of those places that I really have never cared about or looked into. But, I began noticing that there were a few Black actresses from out there popping into my awareness, so I was like... That means there’s a Black lady market/circle that I haven’t represented (not that I can cover everywhere, because We Are Everywhere), but I’ma do what I can, when I can.
Notes: I forgot Sisi Stringer...
#Black Starlets Around the World#Black Women in Entertainment#Australian#Australia#International#Black Actresses#Black Actress Compilation#Aisha Dee#Charmaine Bingwa#Emelia Burns#Emilia Burns#Marcia Hines#Miranda Tapsell#Paula Arundell#Sara Zwangobani#Sophie Wilde#Talijah Blackman-Corowa#Zahra Newman#Girl That's Queuedt#We Are Everywhere#Black Australian Women in Entertainment#Alice Hunter#Deni Gordon#Deborah Mailman#Madeleiene Madden#Molly Fatnowna#Sisi Stringer
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Let's go to the beach
Pairing: Pedro Pascal x actress!reader
Summary: first sighting of the newly announced couple in public (a compilation of sightings in Hawaii)
Date: 2018 March
Warning/s: age gap, the first "video" was from a pap, the word screeching, not in your pov.
Taglist: @benonlinear, @t-stark35, @heyitsme-2, @elleeeee21, @holmesstrange, @tagakalat, @flyestvenustrap, @oldermenaremyreligion, @cherryred444, @avengersheart, @guacala, @pukka-latte, @hobiismyhopeu, @lilvampirina
a/n: I put this out because I want to but also because I might do something later too since I was inspired by one comment from you guys. Anyways hope you enjoy this !!!
Series Masterlist
Video from @deathalinechase
The wind hit the camera as soon the person started filming, it was obvious that the person was from a far distance hence the total zoom they did to get a clearer and closer look at you guys.
The cast of Triple Frontier: Oscar, Charlie, Garrett and Ben were on the shoreline talking to most probably their instructor for the day. They were all sporting the topless and swim trunks look, seeing that they were being told to dive.
On the far left, under the shade of a large rock and an umbrella, the newly announced couple was seen lying down on the sand, Pedro on his knees, wearing something similar to his cast mates, while you were wearing a black bikini. The two of you were seen talking— most probably teasing each other after you were seen playfully punching his chest as he gracefully fell next to you on the blanket.
The video blacked out but came back almost immediately, just in time to see you lean in for a short kiss, before taking Pedro’s sunglasses. He was called in by staff later on, leaving you in the shade to read your book.
Video from @.shashaila4013
The video started off with the usual, “I unexpectedly met Pedro Pascal and Y/n L/n while on vacation.” Shaila, as per her handle, introduced herself before heading straight to how she met the two.
“So my friends and I were in this place in Hawaii, that was recommended to us by the locals. It was all fun and games before we headed out for a dip at our place. So when we got there there were all these vans and like cars out in the specified parking area, which made our taxi stop and lead us to walk to the beach itself.” She explained showing pictures and videos of her and her friends.
“When we rounded up near this big ass rock, we were stopped by these people in black saying there was a shoot going on. At that moment we were annoyed since it meant we had to walk all the way back, which was a long walk by the way. So on the way back, we decided to just keep walking and exit the other way, AND THIS IS WHERE IT HAPPENED.”
“A friend of mine, Katie, pointed out the cameras and the amount of crew on the beach so being the troublemaker that she is she slipped past the fence for a minute to go and see who was there. So she ran back all smiley and shouting names we weren’t able to hear at first. Katie babbled on seeing that the one from King Arthur was there, along with Ben Affleck. She then like jumped up to join us on the other side, now shouting that she has seen Pedro and Y/n walking in our direction.” She breathes out to calm herself as she reminisced on the feeling.
“Ok, so we didn’t believe her at first. But of course, it had to be true because they really appeared in front of us, hand in hand with two other staff members assisting them. So us being the fangirls that we are screeched our lungs out making them look at us, actually let me just show you the messed up video we took."
As said, screeches were heard as soon as the video was played, you and Pedro were seen standing directly in front of them assuming they were waiting for something or someone. Pedro was seen wearing a loose white shirt and his swimming trunks, while you were wearing this Hawaiian print button-up shirt that was evidently Pedro’s because of the size. Hearing the noise, you turned to look only to make eye contact with Shaila herself. An audible noise was made from the back of her throat before she was seen waving at you. You having fun seeing their reactions waved back which resulted in guess what?… more screeches.
One of the girls asked if they can take pictures with Pedro, which Pedro looked at you first before nodding at them, beckoning them to stand near him. The video stopped at that, making her continue her not-so-short story now.
“The video accidentally ended when we went to them so let me tell you what happened. At first, y/n thought we were going for Pedro alone so she kind of like stranded away from him, but of course Pedro seeing her actions looked at us, like really LOOKED at us. Not in a judgy way but in a why, and kind of like asking way?-" she questioned herself.
"-Before extending a hand out for y/n, she insisted that she was okay, but me being a bigger fan of hers called to her asking if we can take a picture WITH her. She looked at me like with the largest eyes before nodding-“
“-And so yeah we took a couple of pictures after that.” shaila then placed the photos on screen, seeing the genuine smiles you had on your faces. As well as the sweet and protective stance Pedro had on you seeing that in the picture you were surrounded by the group which made him wrap and arm around your waist so that you won’t get squeezed or pulled back due to the people moving around you to fit in the picture.
“Assuming you guys would be asking questions about them, let’s start off with Pedro. Both of them were shocked to see us by the way, I mean who wouldn’t, we were screeching and all. And he looked good as hell by just wearing a plain white shirt. he had the warmest voice I’ve heard coming from a guy and had one of the sweetest smiles. I also didn’t expect he’d be that taller than me given that I was 5’7, but yeah he was towering over us. Now, this is the cute part, y/n was small— like small-small, I think she reached just below my ear which made her look up at us. Her height difference with Pedro was adorable, she just reached up to like under his chin- something like that, al-and-” Smiling wildly at the camera, she buried her face in her pillow. Before getting up as quickly.
“-She’s the sweetest I’m telling you, they were the most humble pair of celebrities I’ve ever met, after we said our thanks and apologies for interrupting them they just like smiled and said thank you back like it was nothing, they also offered us the drinks they ordered, which was the reason as to why they went our direction in the first place. They were also so sweet to each other seeing that Pedro was blocking her out of the sunlight and her asking if he was fine after a minute. They also argued about who’d take the most drinks back but someone helped them so they took like a bag each. Yeah, so that’s the story of how I met my now favourite celebrity couple. Thank you!”
Video from @gabefkundest17
Like the first video, this was shot from a far distance since the area you were in was closed off hours ago for a night celebration.
The sun was already setting at that time, making people go out of their cottages to watch it. Gabe’s group were one of those who went out and at the right timing saw you guys setting up to watch it too.
“It’s really them, I’m telling you.” Assuming this person was Gabe, said looking in the direction of the blocked-off area.
Mumbling was heard coming from a friend of his, making him shake his head. “No, it was leaked they’d be filming in Hawaii, just not which part of Hawaii. If I do get this right you’ll buy me drinks the whole night.”
Gabe was seen walking closer to the shore, almost parallel to you guys, and zoomed in. And at that moment he sucked in a breath hiding his excitement. slapping his friend in front of him, “I told you it was them.”
There in front of them were you and Pedro, laying down on a beach towel near the shore. Music coming from your side of the beach was heard in the video, confirming that it wasn’t just a spot for the two of you. It was uneventful, to say the least before the music switched up into something more lively.
Pedro being the dancer that he is turned to look at you and grinned. Wordlessly, he extended a hand out to you, beckoning for you to go dance with him. The group Gabe was in was silent during the whole interaction, they, however, let out similar squeals when you were seen reaching up and pulled into Pedro’s arms as you both tried to stay on beat, Pedro being the most on par.
“Aww isn’t that the cutest. If I knew they’d be like this, I would’ve stayed tuned for years.” One friend cooed which made Gabe chuckle. Zooming in a bit more, you were both seen with large grins on your face, laughing when one of you makes a mistake, which the majority of the time was you.
Your little moment was then interrupted when Charlie called to Pedro from afar saying that something was ready. This only made Pedro shout out an audible, “Yeah, we’ll be there.”
He turned to look back at you and walked closer, for him to be able to wrap an arm around your shoulders. You were still laughing when you leaned in closer to him, arm now around his waist. Pedro was seen leaning down to kiss your temple, making you smile up at him before pecking his jaw.
Muffled sounds of excitement were the last things heard on Gabe’s end before he said bye ending the video.
#pedro pascal#pedro pascal x reader#pedro pascal x you#pedro pascal x actress!reader#pedro pascal x y/n#pedro pascal fanfic#pedro pascal fanfiction#pedro pascal fic#pedro pascal imagine#pedro pascal fluff#pedro pascal x female reader#jose pedro balmaceda pascal
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Spent way too many hours making this collage. A compilation of actors/actresses who have made SVU what it is. Can you identify all the actors and their characters? (2nd image shows the black and white of those who have passed on).
#rafael barba#raul esparza#rauleesparza#dominick carisi#peter scanavino#sonny carisi#mariska hargitay#olivia benson#elliot stabler#chris meloni#fin tutuola#ice-t#john munch#richard belzer#brian cassidy#dean winters#monique jeffries#michelle hurd#adam beach#chester lake#amanda rollins#kelli giddish#dann florek#don cragen#nick amaro#danny pino#george huang#bd wong#casey novak#diane neal
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LYDIA LUNCH, Toronto 1988
The closest thing I had to a photographer's studio in early 1988 was an unused room behind the bar at the Silver Dollar Room, a former showbar-turned-strip club that was reopened as a rock club the previous year. This was where I'd do a series of portrait shoots that turned out to be pivotal in my early career, beginning with Lydia Lunch, who came to Toronto on January 26, 1988 on a spoken word tour. Lydia was a star in my little world, famous since her band Teenage Jesus & the Jerks had four songs on the landmark No New York compilation album a decade earlier. She was by this point known as a force of nature, making records and films and publishing books, with a personal style that was as influential as Siouxsie Sioux in that every town's scene had at least a couple of dozen young women who looked exactly like her.
Lydia Lunch showed up performing the material she'd later release on her Oral Fixation record, a pioneer of the spoken word genre (along with former Black Flag singer Henry Rollins - more about him shortly) that would turn out to have real longevity. My photos of her were meant to accompany an article my friend Tim was writing - a paean to the woman who was a kind of nihilist sex symbol in the underground subcultures that had formed since punk rock. So I tried to approach the shoot as something like glamour photography, not dissimilar to the photos I'd take of actress (and onetime Bond Girl) Jane Seymour for a fashion magazine a couple of weeks later. Bringing along my little portable studio - a light stand and umbrella bounce, a portable flash and a big white painter's tarp I carrried around in a gym bag - I cleared a space in the storage room at the Silver Dollar and found an unbroken bar stool that I place midway between my tarp backdrop and my flash.
Delivering a decent shot must have been a priority when I photographed Lydia Lunch because I shot two whole rolls of 120 film that evening hoping for something worthwhile. If you know anything about Lydia you'll have some sense of how intimidating she can be, by choice. (I don't think she'd have a problem with that statement.) My contact sheets show me moving closer with my camera as I got a bit more confident with my subject, who (perhaps accidentally) presented a bit more than her usual defiant face as we talked and took pictures. Lydia had just released Honeymoon in Red, working with guitarist Rowland S. Howard (about whom more soon) and members of The Birthday Party; when I told Howard (in the same back room at the Silver Dollar) that I'd photographed Lydia just a few weeks later, he asked how she was, and I said that there were occasional frames where I got a glimpse of the Catholic girl from upstate New York. He smiled and agreed, laughing that while he'd seen the same aspect of Lydia, he was sure she wouldn't be pleased about it being revealed.
#portrait#portrait photography#photography#black and white#film photography#lydia lunch#punk rock#musician#author#early work#some old pictures i took#photographer#mamiya c330
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If the Curious Minds was a tv show which actors would be totally different “irl” to what we see in the story?
Oh my god this is such a fun question!!!
I think Link and Zelda would be totally different. Link would be chatty and like a golden retriever, always fun in the interviews and causing chaos wherever he went. I can imagine him being a big fashion icon too. Maybe he was a model first, actor second.
Zelda wouldn’t be as sad as she is in the ‘show’, she would be very bubbly. Her hair would be short, and I think she dress very androgynous, different from Zelda. No one can say a bad word about her.
I think Impa be exactly like he character. She’s giving black cat energy, and I think she would have been a singer turned actress. She would have one album that’s an absolute masterpiece, and never sing again.
Quentin, my baby, would also be quite similar. He would be clumsy, and the internet’s baby girl. Quentin is also like, a child actor, who stared in everything as a kid, and has crazy contacts in the industry. He would casually call up A- List celebs who literally could never decline his call.
There would be a compilations of ‘Quentin Brinston being a gay icon for 8 minutes gay’ ‘Link and Quentin being in love’ ‘Impa and Quentin bickering like a married couple for four minutes straight’ ‘Zelda and Impa being so done with quink ’
I would be here for it
#that was so fun to answer#imagine them on a sitcom#love#quink would take about 1000 seasons to get together#they be the Nile’s and Daphne#if you know you know#zelda fanfiction#the legend of zelda#legend of zelda#botw#botw link#legend of zelda fanfiction#tloz#botw fanfic#zelda#fanfiction
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Pack Hellsing Part 1
Alexander was walking home from another long discussion with his manager regarding his lackluster performances. He runs into his long time friend, and on screen rival, Alucard, but it appears something is wrong with the man.
Set in an omegaverse au where some of the main characters of Hellsing are actors and actresses within the big city.
[drawing from Pinterest, artist unknown.]
This story has also been posted to my Wattpad so feel free to follow me there as well, anyhow, I hope y'all enjoy.
Word count: 1,855
The downpour of rain fell around Alexander in a silvery curtain as it rolled off his umbrella. He’d left his apartment earlier that afternoon in hopes of making it back before the rain started. Though, to his displeasure, his manager had picked today of all days to go on another long tangent instead of staying on topic. An hour-long conversation about how poor his acting had turned into a nearly four-hour-long monologue about how Alexander was still packless as he approached 40. He’d told the man that he’d rather be alone than deal with all the legal compilations that came with joining a pack, or even starting his own. Truth be told he wasn’t only lying to his manager but to himself as well. If someone were to look closely they would see how much living outside a pack weighed on him.
He’d been wrapped up in his thoughts so tightly that he hadn’t seen the man coming towards him until they collided with a loud thud. The impact untangled him from his thoughts as he grabbed the man by the shoulder pushing them back slightly. Opening his mouth to yell at them but the sudden realization as their eyes met caused whatever angry words he’d been ready to throw at the man to escape him. Finding a familiar pair of chestnut brown eyes staring into his slate gray ones. “Al? What are you-” he cut himself off as the man’s scent hit him with the full force of their normally muted perfume. A normally earthy and slightly floral scent had a syrupy sweetness coating every breath Alexander took.
He didn’t need to express what Alucard’s scent was telling him, the man in his grasp who had fooled everyone into believing he was an alpha was clearly an omega. One that was dangerously close to their heat. Alexander removed his hand from Alucard’s shoulder to opt for holding onto his wrist instead. Choosing to pull the now shivering omega behind him as they hastily walked alongside the side of the brick buildings. Making use of the still open umbrella in his hand he hid their faces from view. Being thankful that the man he was pulling behind him was dressed casually in a black sweater and dress pants, rather than his signature red suit. As they made their way through the scantly filled streets they came to an intersection where the lights of a heat hotel came into view. The hazy neon glow of looping red letters spelled out ‘Heat & Rut extended stay’. In that moment it felt like the glow of the sign was equal to that of the stained glass windows of an old church.
The pair quickly crossed the street parting the tinted glass doors of the hotel, no bell chimed as they entered into the saving grace. They were greeted by the sight of a large screen, Alexander was silently thankful that the hotel wasn’t run by another human. He let go of Alucard’s wrist for a second as he closed his umbrella, the loss of warmth making the omega let out a choked whine that was quickly cut off by a cough. The alpha couldn’t help the smirk that crossed his lips nor the unease that was still settled deep in his gut. Still being able to feel his friend’s heat on his back was the only comfort he had as his fingers quickly typed away on the screen. He slid his card into the reader just below the screen a moment later a red key card and ticket came out of a slot next to the reader.
Holding his collected items in one hand and maneuvering his closed umbrella to the crook of his arm he was able to hold onto Alucard’s wrist again. Both men let out a joined sigh as the small point of contact was reestablished between them. They made their way deeper inside the hotel, after taking a few twists and turns down the vacant hallways they found their room. Alexander unlocked the door, ushering Alucard inside before himself. He took a moment to glance down both ends of the hallway pleased at not finding anyone watching. Stepping into the room just in time to hear the click of the bathroom door closing.
The room before him was bathed in a dim warm light with the walls being covered in dark oak paneling. A wooden cubby was flushed against the wall to his left, having a pair of black Chelsea boots already within one of the slots. Alexander slipped off his pair of burgundy oxfords placing them into the slot next to the boots. Letting out a soft sigh as his sore feet sunk into the plush gray carpet. Taking off his dark gray trench coat and hanging it on the wall opposite the cubby. Rolling up the sleeves of his white dress shirt as he walked down the short hall that led to a large open space. In front of him was a sunken circle covered with bedding in various fabrics and textures all in neutral colors. Two dark oversized armchairs sit against the far wall facing the pit, choosing to sit himself down in one of the chairs with his legs outstretched and his fingers intertwined in his lap as he waits for Alucard.
It wasn’t long before the dark-haired man stepped out of the bathroom dressed in a black silk robe that was tied loosely at the waist. Where the robe hung open allowed for his pale skin to peak through from the inky pool of darkness that was the silk, underneath which he wore only a pair of red boxer briefs. His arms were crossed over his slim chest as his eyes bounced around the room before meeting Alexander’s from where he stood at the archway. The two stared at each other in silence for a long moment before Alexander’s voice broke through the stillness of the room. “How long?”
Looking away from the man sitting in the chair, his voice was hushed as he answered, “It should be about two or three days.” There was an annoyed exhale from the man. “And you thought now would be the perfect time to be outside like this? What the fucking hell was so goddamned important Integra or Walter couldn’t grab you!” his tone came across as angry, though it was one of concern but that didn’t stop Alucard from letting out a sound somewhere between a huff and a growl. As annoyed as Alexander was with the omega, he was glad to see some of the fire coming back to his personality. “That’s none of your fucking business. I’m just going to stay in this fucking room with you until my clothes are dry.” Taking off his glasses and tilting his head slightly to the side, he stared at Alucard. “It’s nine in the evening Al, I’m not letting you leave this room until it’s morning so you might as well get comfortable.” The omega huffed, throwing his hands in the air. “You’re not my alpha Alex, you don’t have any right to keep me here!” Letting out a huff, the alpha stood. “I wouldn’t have to if your alpha actually gave a damn about you and kept you home!”
“I don’t need anyone to take care of me you fucking asshole! I’m not some weak little flower that would crumble with a gust of wind!” Each word the omega spoke came out with a rumbling growl as he stomped his way across the room to stand a few feet away from Alexander. “I never said you were weak Al, just that you should’ve been kept home. You should be taken care of during your heat, not out running around doing gods knows what.” all anger was gone from Alexander’s voice as he looked down at his pissed friend. “What would you know about taking care of an omega?” Alucard squinted his eyes at the man who was nearly twice as wide as he was but only a few inches taller.
He wasn’t going to back down from going home tonight, he wanted to be in his own nest, with the ghost of Integra’s scent wrapped around him. Alucard had gotten good at taking care of himself during his heats, no longer needing Integra’s touch to get through the blinding lust and pain. It wasn’t like the two of them were bonded to each other, the alpha didn’t feel how much it hurt him that she wasn’t there. It was Alucard’s fault, he had made it known from the beginning he wasn’t looking to be marked by the alpha or even have her there during his heats. She’d shared his nest with him in the early days of being a pack, enough to mark it with her scent in the hope of making his heats a little easier. It had worked for a little while, he’d found comfort in the pillowcases that held the whispers of her within their threads.
They’d known each other since they were young, having met in college as they were both studying for their bachelor's in fine arts. She’d found out about his secret on a rainy night similar to this one. She’d offered him to join the Hellsing pack, seeing him turn up his nose to society's ideas of what an omega could and couldn’t do to be commendable, an attribute in a friend she’d want in her life forever. He’d accepted her offer without thinking of the emotional bond he’d have towards her. Being orphaned to a church as an infant, he never knew what it was like to be part of a pack, and with the little taste Integra had given him, he was grateful to just have that. A taste of something he’d come to wish to have a feast of.
Alexander couldn’t help but chuckle at him, “In my twenties, I signed up with a few omega centers to help their omegas get through their heats. It’s something PR likes to keep out of the public eye as you could understand.” Alucard looked away, his brow furrowing. “If I were to stay, would you, would you help me through my heat?” The question caught the two of them off guard, Alexander just staring at him in the uncomfortable silence. “I’m not asking you to fuck me per se, I’m just asking you to, to hold me for a little while Alex.” he sounded unsure of himself, still not meeting the taller man’s eyes. “I’m not against fucking you Al, I just want you to be certain that’s what you want, that I’m who you want here right now.” his tone was gentle, kind even. Alucard met the man’s gaze, sureness, and determination in his eyes as he nodded his head. Alexander exhaled slowly, closing his eyes as he put his glasses back on. “Okay, but I want you to answer a question.” Alucard hummed in response, already climbing down into the nesting area. “Why were you out tonight?” the omega’s movements paused as he was beginning to rearrange the blankets.
#hellsing#fanfiction#Alucard/Alexander#Alexander Anderson#Alucard Hellsing#omegaverse fic#omegaverse#actor au#Pack Hellsing#hellsing ultimate#fanfic#Hellsing fanfic#omega Alucard#alpha Alexander#part 1
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TIME Magazine Snubs Elon Musk in 2024 ‘100 Most Influential in AI’ List, Includes Scarlett Johansson
(L) Tesla CEO Elon Musk leaves the Phillip Burton Federal Building on January 24, 2023 in San Francisco, California. / (C) A protester steps on a picture of Time Magazine in 2017. / (R) Scarlett Johansson attends the “Fly Me To The Moon” photocall on July 11, 2024 in Madrid, Spain.
TIME Magazine placed actress Scarlett Johansson in the running, but left out tech mogul and AI program creator Elon Musk off of its yearly list of the “100 Most Influential People in AI.”
For its 2024 cover, the magazine combined images of eighteen AI leaders, led by Jensen Huang, the CEO of Nvidia, with a large image of the “Black Widow” hero.
Released on Thursday, the second annual TIME100 AI edition featured prominent CEOs in the rapidly expanding area, such as Dario Amodei of Anthropic and Sam Altman of OpenAI, in addition to founders and influencers.
— DogeDesigner (@cb_doge) September 5, 2024
Musk was noticeably missing from its list. Musk introduced xAI last summer, and his AI chatbot Grok has gained popularity over competitors like ChatGPT.
Salesforce CEO Marc Benioff, whose software company has made huge investments in AI startup Anthropic and created a $500 million AI fund to support new startups, is the owner of the old magazine.
“Disclosures are included throughout the TIME100 AI list for any companies mentioned that are backed by Salesforce Ventures, the corporate venture capital arm of Salesforce, where TIME’s owner and co-chair, is CEO,” a Time spokesperson told reporters.
Social media backlash followed TIME’s perplexing decision to pass over the founder of SpaceX, Tesla, and xAI .
“Every person on this top 100 list, if asked, would say Elon should be on this list,” one user said on X.
The billionaire established Neuralink in 2016, and the company gained notoriety at the beginning of this year when it successfully implanted a brain chip in a paralyzed patient, enabling him to use his thoughts to surf the web and play video games.
Musk also launched Colossus, the most powerful Nvidia GPU supercomputer in the world, online this past week.
“I thought it was cute that Elon Musk wasn’t on the cover of TIME’s 100 most influential people in AI,” another user posted on X. “I had to check for myself when I heard he didn’t make the list at all. My f*cking car drives itself lol.”
Additionally, culture and media critics questioned the inclusion of YouTuber Marques Brownlee and Hollywood actor Anil Kapoor on the list of celebrities which also included actress Scarlett Johansson, who had a falling out with OpenAI over the owner’s alleged use of her voice to train a chatbot without her consent.
Rivals of Musk, such as Mark Zuckerberg of Meta, Sundar Pichai of Google, and Satya Nadella of Microsoft, were also included on the list.
“If the world of AI was dominated by the emergence of startup labs like OpenAI, Anthropic, and their competitors in 2023, this year, as critics and champions alike have noted, we’ve seen the outsize influence of a small number of tech giants,” said Editor in Chief Sam Jacobs. “This year’s list offers examples of the possibilities for AI when it moves out of the lab and into the world.”
According to a news release, the list was compiled by TIME’s editors and reporters, who solicited suggestions from numerous “industry executives.”
Stay informed! Receive breaking news blasts directly to your inbox for free. Subscribe here. https://www.oann.com/alerts
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