#but it sent me into a spiral that involved spending actual real life money on two different books and a movie so

[damthosefandoms]

also if anyone is wondering why so many of us have gone insane over tex and also the dally-mark-tex brothers au go read this fic by @your-unfriendlyghost and you’ll get it

[girlsgonemildblog]

The Girlies are Pressed - The Bachelor, Season 25, Week 4 Recap

Image from abc.com

The episode begins with Matt still coping with Sarah having left. I’ve been thinking about it for the last week, and Matt begging Sarah to stay even after he knew the situation with her father was actually pretty selfish of him.

We then cut to all the girls sitting around and talking about Sarah, the majority of them talking shit. Victoria says of her, “the trash took itself out,” which prompts Katie to tell her to shut up. She then tells all the girls off for talking about someone who is not there to defend themself, which is mostly met with condescending giggles.

Because of Sarah’s antics, the day portion of the group date must have been canceled because the second group date of last week (they cut these episodes so strangely) is only a cocktail party. With a temporary lapse in drama, Matt can actually talk with the girls and seems to be making connections with them. He talks to Chelsea (pictured below) about her having grown up as a black girl in a predominantly white community, the complicated relationship that created for her with her own hair, and her decision to shave her head. As a mixed-race man himself, Matt connects with the story and gives her the rose.

Image from abc.com

Back at the ranch, Victoria confronts Katie about telling her to shut-up and demands an apology for not being allowed to call people trash behind their backs. Katie, while remaining composed and mature, laughs in her face and stands her ground. It is becoming abundantly clear that Victoria is used to being able to intimidate people, and also that Katie is not someone who is easily intimidated.

The next night, the girls go to the cocktail party and discuss how nice it is to not have drama in the house - how naive! Matt and Kit seem to be clicking, as he comments on how he loves spending time with her. Then, as Victoria is sitting down with Matt, she gets interrupted by none other than Chris Harrison. The producer’s choice to make Victoria the one who got interrupted is why they are truly the best to ever do it.

Chris informs Matt that there will be five new girls joining the other contestants, and never has a man looked more scared and overwhelmed than Matt did at that moment. I honestly would’ve respected it if he had just been like, “no thanks. I’m struggling to remember the names of the women already here, I do not need to learn more.” The first woman that Matt meets is Brittany.

Image from abc.com

Brittany introduces herself by “making up for lost time,” grabbing Matt’s face and sticking her tongue down his throat. The girls who were watching from the window did NOT like that.

Another new girl, Catalina, is Miss Puerto Rico Universe because we must always have at least one beauty queen per season.

Image from abc.com

She walks in wearing her sash and a tiara she actually earned and didn’t buy at Party Palace, which destroys any shred of decency Victoria had left in her body. Victoria tells Catalina that she is the “real” queen of the house. (Actually, Catalina is really a beauty queen; you’re just an insecure slob, Victoria.) Then Victoria SNATCHES THE CROWN OFF CATALINA’S HEAD. I gasped. Loudly. You do not touch another girl’s crown. In an effort to get Victoria to give the tiara back, one of the girls tells her that the tiara doesn’t match her outfit. Victoria agrees and then puts the tiara out of Catalina’s reach on the table, instead of handing it back to her as any normal person would have. Catalina proves the statement “she is beauty, she is grace” and doesn’t so much as bat an eye through the whole exchange. (I know she isn’t Miss United States, just let me have this.) The rest of the cocktail party ensues, and the original girls (“OGs” as they have unfortunately dubbed themselves) freak out that the new girls want to meet Matt.

During the rose ceremony, Anna spirals because she still has not spoken to Matt. She also displays the craziest crazy eyes I have ever seen, and I feel comfortable saying that because I, too, can have crazy eyes.

Somehow, she stays another week. The girls who get sent home are Khaylah from North Carolina (hand up, I called that one wrong), Kaili, who I swear I had never seen before, and one of the new girls, Kim.

Photo from Twitter

The first group date of the new week is an obstacle course, which leads to some funny (and some bitchy) moments. Magi gets stranded in the lake while failing to paddle a giant pumpkin across, and Chris Harrison had to confirm on Twitter that a producer finally went to help her.

Photo from Twitter

The course also involved dressing as a squirrel and finding an acorn with your name on it in a pile of leaves, and Anna hides newcomer Brittany’s because she knows people from back home who don’t like her. Mari ���wins” the race, but it is not clear what the actual prize is.

At the night portion, Anna finally gets her chance to speak with Matt and has absolutely nothing to say. She blames this on being distracted by Brittany waiting in her peripheral vision. Mad that her time (which she was not at all using effectively) has been interrupted, Anna complains to Victoria and then tells her that she has heard rumors that Brittany is an escort and “entertains men for money.” The only evidence Anna has to back this up is that Brittany “knows rich men.”  Let the slut-shaming commence.

It made me sick to see women tearing each other down and calling Brittany a slut, a whore, and a disgusting mixture of the two, “slore.” I, of course, support sex workers and genuinely believe that that line of work needs to be destigmatized. To make matters worse, the rumor appears to be completely untrue. I genuinely think that crazy-eyed Anna mentally snapped and came up with this bullshit on the spot just to try to “ruin” Brittany’s life. The truly terrible part is that it will work, to some extent. While many people online are not believing the rumor and are saying it’s wrong to slut-shame whether it is true or not, not everyone in the world is so kind. Lies like this follow women for the rest of their lives, especially when made on national TV.

The group date rose goes to Bri, but because of the slut-shaming drama, the audience didn’t even see her and Matt speak.

The next day Anna tells Brittany the horrible things she said about her, admits that they were horrible, apologizes, but does not explain why she would say something so horrible. Nothing is resolved.

Image from abc.com

The one-on-one date goes to one of the new girls, Michelle, and she and Matt fall head-over-heels in love, and the show is basically a wrap at this point. The two embark on the world’s most romantic scavenger hunt. They start with zip-lining (I would’ve quit the show at this point), then pop balloons with questions to help them get to know each other and say they want three kids at the exact same time. Finally, they ride (and make-out) in a hot air balloon. The other girls watch them through binoculars from their balcony.

During the night portion, Michelle tells Matt about being a teacher during 2020 and helping her students cope with everything that happened. She relates this to his charity helping underprivileged kids. She then begins to quote Maya Angelou, and Matt finishes the sentence, as it is his personal favorite quote. These two just might make me believe in soulmates. She, of course, gets the rose.

Image from Twitter

The second group date is a literal boxing match. The girls go out to the woods (why are they in the woods?) to be trained by boxing champion Mia St. John. They only get a couple of matches into the fights, though, because Serana P gets punched in the face, and Matt doesn’t want to see one of the girls he actually likes get hurt.

At night, we see Matt and Rachel speaking, and he asks her what she needs from him to know he wants her to stay. That’s a great sign for their relationship.

We get a cutaway to Anna and Victoria back at the house, calling the other women stupid bitches and dumb whores. They are literal demons, and they need to go.

Katie, who is on the group date, comes to the same conclusion and decides that she needs to make Matt aware of the situation. She finds him talking to a group of producers, who leave to give them time to talk. She tells him that there are bullies living in the house and that some of the women are starting “life-ruining” rumors. She does not name names, which some people online were celebrating as mature, but I think it allows for a lot of finger-pointing and false accusations. Matt declares that he will address it the next day, and the episode once again ends on a cliffhanger. I am cautiously optimistic that this indicates Victoria and Anna will be leaving the house next week. Let’s keep our fingers crossed!

[littledarlinwrites]

Dream a Little Dream Of Me

1940s!Bucky Barnes x Reader

This is for @teamcap4bucky Summer Sun and Fun Game! Thank you so much for hosting and for being so patient with me when I screwed up the due date. This was specifically written for @majesticavenger, I'm so sorry for the wait, but I hope it was worth it! Anywho, this is the first time I've wrote 40s!Bucky and I'm hella needy at the moment 'cause life, so leave me some love y'all! (Also, as soon as I can jump on my laptop I'll add a keep reading link, I'm not savvy enough to do it on mobile).

You trudged up to your Brooklyn apartment, your cat howling on the fire escape outside your bedroom window to be let in. A tired smile graves your face after a long day of work. A job you were grateful for, but bittersweet under the circumstances, patients sick or dying, and men going off to war only to never return either physically or mentally. You couldn't wait to hide away in your apartment for the rest of the night, draw a hot bath, listen to a radio program before nodding off to sleep. And, if you were lucky, maybe your apartment pen pal had sent you another note attached to your cats threaded collar. The thought of it made you pick up your pace as you climbed your apartment buildings staircase.

You practically ran into your apartment and to your bedroom window, flipping the latch and looking for the paper that was typically wrapped around your cats collar and tied with a baby blue string.

You found the paper, tying the baby blue string to an embroidery hoop with the others you collected. Today the note was short, just a song suggestion, something he would do on a rough day. You drew your bath water while turning up the radio station to catch the song. It wasn't until you were crawling into bed that the song played. Moonlight Serenade. You just hoped Lucky, the nickname he had told you to call him, was somewhere listening to it too.

The following morning you rushed around to get ready for the day and out the door in time. You scribbled your note to Lucky and wrapped it around the cat's collar before shooing it out the window.

----

Bucky laid on his bed, window open, waiting for the furry creature to make its way to him like it always did. Nox, she had said was the cat's name. Usually Bucky appreciated cats from a distance considering they would make him sneezy and itchy, but he couldn't help but enjoy the conversations with his pen pal. Luna, she had said to call her. A nickname her mother gave her due to her infatuation with the giant orb in the sky. He won every single match after he started talking with her, and he didn't consider that a coincidence. 

Bucky heard the mewling from the black cat before he felt it curl up on his chest. He scratched the cat behind its ears causing the cat to purr contentedly before he began unfurling the note attached to its knitted collar. 

“Silently if, out of not knowable

night’s utmost nothing, wanders a little guess

(only which is this world) more of my life does

not leap than with the mystery your smile

sings or if (spiraling as luminous

they climb oblivion) voices who are dreams,

less into heaven certainly earth swims

than each my deeper death becomes your kiss

losing through you what seemed myself, I find

selves unimaginably mine; beyond

sorrow’s own joys and hoping’s very fears

yours is the light by which my spirit’s born:

yours is the darkness of my soul’s return

–you are my sun, my moon, and all my stars”

-E. E. Cummings

Bucky read the poem three times before reaching for a piece of paper and jotting down some words. He wrapped the piece of paper around the cats collar, tying it with a frayed blue string from his work shirt and turned over to get a couple hours of sleep, if only his heart would stop fluttering like a hummingbird in his chest.

----

Walking through your door was a complete relief, even more so after stripping your nurses outfit and stockings. The hot shower relaxing your stiff and sore muscles. You donned your nightgown before opening your window for your cat to come home while running a brush through your wet strands. Eventually you heard the telltale meowing of your hungry cat before you heard its soft padding jumps to your floor from your window. You manage to scoop the black cat into your arms before you have to chase him through your apartment. You pull the thread holding the note onto his collar and unfurl the note to read it.

My lucky star

You shine so brightly

My lucky star 

You guide me through the night

My lucky star

You give me hope

My lucky star

You guide me home

My lucky star

You help me more than you know

My lucky star

Oh how you glow

My lucky star

Please never let me go

The words set fire to your face as your stomach erupted with a swarm of butterflies. You pulled out your journal, pressing the note between the next set of empty pages. You turn your radio on humming along to the song as you lay in your bed fighting sleep just to think about Lucky just a moment more.

When you wake in the morning you grab a paper and something to write with as you write down a couple lines to a song, one of your favorites, before you got ready for the day, humming the tune on your way to work and all through your day. Except, you forgot to leave the window open for your cat to get out to pass on the waiting note.

----

Bucky was fighting sleep waiting for the cat to prance his way through the window before making a home on his bed. Sleep clawed at his mind, his eye lids weighed heavy and sore with a need for rest. And just like that, Bucky fell asleep for the first time without the sound of a cat purring on his bed.

He woke up and walked to the shipyard, loading and unloading pallets until the sun hung low in the sky. He felt off kilter all day. Like he was just a hair off with his footing and could never get it quite right. He was a bit more clumsy than usual. All signs that he should cancel his match tonight and back out while he still could, but he trudged on, assuring himself that he could use the money so maybe he could take his lucky star out on a proper date. He made his way to the Y for his match pumping himself up, he just couldn't help this nagging feeling though that he was missing something.

----

When you got home from work your humming abruptly stopped when you saw your cat staring at you in the middle of the room, tail twitching every so often. Your shoulder slumped when you realized you never let your cat out with your note. You moved slowly to refill the food bowl before making yourself a small dinner. Your gut sinking by the minute that something was wrong. You went to bed that night hoping the feeling would pass by morning.

When you woke you realized you were running late. You dressed quickly before running out the door and to the hospital before checking your patient list, a relatively short one, but you had patients to attend to nonetheless. You made your way through your rounds before stopping at the last bed. A mess of bruises, a boxers fracture, sprained wrist, 2 broken ribs and the rest bruised, a black eye and a concussion. However, one look into the man's eye that wasn't swollen shut took your breath away. You decided then that blue was your all time favorite color. You checked his pulse, administered his medication which involved rousing him from his slumber, and making sure his bandages were fresh and in place. You turned to leave but stopped short at the site of a baby blue work shirt with frayed edges. You thumbed over the loose threads and noticed it was missing a few as if they had been pulled and cut for a purpose. The faintest whisper escaped you.

"Lucky?" A few beats passed before you heard the man you were just attending to clear his throat.

"Luna?" He asked confused. Your hand flew to your mouth as you gasped. You couldn't believe the man that made you blush on more than one occasion, that had worked his way into your dreams even though you had never seen his face, was now your patient.

"You okay there, doll?" He asked. When you barely nodded telling him yes he began to move as if to get out of bed sending you into a flurry of motion. 

"Lucky, you're hurt-"

"Bucky. I mean, my real name is James Buchanan Barnes, but most people call me Bucky." He grits out as pain shoots through his ribcage.

"Well, Bucky, you're hurt, you shouldn't move much quite yet." He nods as he waits for the wave of pain to pass.

"What happened to you?" You can't help but ask.

"I, uh, work at the shipyard during the afternoon, but at night I box. Damn good at it too. Guess luck just wasn't on my side last night, doll."

"Uh, Y/N. My name that is. My name is Y/N." A smile made its way onto Bucky's face.

"Why didn't you write back, doll? Didn't think my on the spot poem was that terrible." The giggle that managed to escape you at his humor about his poetry was like music to his ears, and he decided that he wanted to hear that sound forever.

"Sorry, that was my fault. I wrote you a note, I really did, but I forgot to open the window for my cat to deliver it. I loved your poem actually." A blush crawled upon Bucky's face at your words. 

"What was the note?" He asked curiously. 

"Oh, just some lines from a song, nothing special."

"It's always special coming from you, doll. What was the song?" This time it was your turn to blush.

"Dream a Little Dream of Me." You replied bashfully.

"What lines?"

"Sweet dreams till sunbeams find you

Sweet dreams that leave all worries behind you

But in your dreams whatever they be

Dream a little dream of me."

"That's one of my favorites, doll."

The rest of your shift you spent at Bucky's bedside talking music, poetry, family, pets, friends, where your apartment was and everything else under the sun. You told Bucky you would come by tomorrow to spend the day with him since it was your day off. You couldn't wait to come back, although it was bittersweet realizing there would be no note to come home to. 

When you woke the next morning you heard a tapping at your door. You opened it to reveal Bucky standing there with a bouquet of flowers with a note.

I dreamt a little dream of you.

[tothedarkdarkseas]

What do you think is the REAL difference between Stu and Murdoc? Is it upbringing, age, personality, or cocktail of things?

I’ve gotta tell you, of all the kind asks you sent (and what a nice thing that was of you to do, thank you, they were fun to ponder!) this is the one I’m like… jittery to answer because there’s just so much to be said. Put under a cut because it ended up kinda stupid-long.

I mean, what has to be determined first is– are Murdoc and Stu that different? I tend to think they’re not, not as much as they are alike. That’s actually what I like best about them and something I usually play to when I can, how much they both resemble a certain stereotype but with their own twist. Many of their differences are a little superficial, like Stu being a bit more geezery with his football and all, and Murdoc being less uptight with his hobbies (be it involving cheeky GTA or a gimp mask.) I joked the other day that the biggest difference between the two is just that Murdoc does uppers and Stu does downers, and that’s pretty much it. I do think on a “deeper” level, like a more innate behavioral level, they’re a lot more similar than they actually realize.

But with all that being said, of course they’re not identical, and there’s a lot that contributes to where exactly they differ. I think that everything you said is absolutely relevant to that!

Let’s start with age and upbringing. The age difference between Murdoc and Stu is actually fairly stark when you just look at the years, but it never feels quite that bad to me because Murdoc and Stu are both so emotionally stunted and immature. There’s a line in Bojack Horseman than I think is incredibly on-point here, about how “the age you are when you get famous is the age you stop growing.” I think for Stu, it absolutely damned him to become famous at around 20, it locked him mentally into an age where he should’ve been learning everything wouldn’t be given to him, and instead it was just… given to him. In excess. If you follow that reasoning Murdoc’s sort of odd though, in that he never actually achieved fame on any major scale until he was in his 30′s. It seems more like Murdoc’s exaggerated sense of self-importance (probably a response to knowing, very much knowing, that he was not in fact something towering and impressive at all, and there’s like… something absurdist in really choosing to think he is. That’s almost the ultimate form of his Humor As A Shield– what could be a bigger joke than not hating himself?! Ha! It’s funny because it’s sad!) set in way before he actually became famous. It’s more like his maturity is stalled at the time he started trying to be famous. Stu didn’t actually try to pursue music at all before, while Murdoc spent a decade absolutely convinced that it had to work and doggedly not accepting when it wasn’t. It feels like these two approaches enabled (or damaged) them in different ways, but both end up with the result of men who don’t act their age for many years and have hedonistic, stereotypically rockstarish ways of living far beyond that of their bandmates. Stu can barely claim he knows better though and is perhaps more… people are gonna yell at me for being so hard on him haha, but more spoiled and therefore more ignorant because he never actually lived a responsible adult life. (Does that mean Stu hasn’t had difficulty in that life? Absolutely not. The man has at least three counts of massive head trauma and was in a coma for an undetermined period of time, he has a permanent physical impairment that likely impacts his vision, I think he’s earned a few perks.) Murdoc on the other hand is very aware of what it was like to be a failure, to be conventionally unemployable, and to have so little to lose that he’d make incredibly stupid decisions that could’ve ended his free life. His indulgence now is frankly more extreme, but Murdoc has an even greater sense of believing he earned that and he owes nothing (whether that’s completely true or not.) 

And that’s just touching on the ends of their “upbringing,” not the actual 18+ years that went into it. It goes without saying that Stu and Murdoc had very different home lives– Rachel and David Pot are suggested to be rather precious with Stu out of some probable guilt for his first head trauma, in complete contrast to Sebastian’s humiliation and neglect– but on top of that, what seems to be glossed over at times is how they grew up in very different regions at very different time periods. I’m far from an authority on this or on anything (as always I really suggest asking @elapsed-spiral if you want better information, don’t let the hiatus thing fool you, Danni’ll still talk about British Shit Innit) but I’m told the British school system Murdoc would’ve endured in the 60s and 70s was unremittingly bleak and damaging to a child’s development. Despite his immaturity and my feelings that their age difference isn’t really so pronounced, Murdoc is older than Stu and unfortunately he experienced a much colder and rougher school environment, and it’s tough to argue that didn’t have an effect. (Though on the flipside, Stu was in school during Section 28, a thing I’m also not an authority on. Go figure a working class and very closeted bisexual man in the 80s might internalize some homophobia! The go-go 80s aren’t all they’re cracked up to be.) It’s not exactly surprising that Murdoc, who grew up on the lowest end of working class, in council housing, in an unglamorous Northern town like Stoke with a neo-fascist brother and a neglectfully-abusive alcoholic father, would come away an emotionally repressed and embittered person. It’s almost a bit bold that Murdoc is as “flamboyant” as he is (even if it comes with a hefty side of toxic masculinity)– he could’ve become hateful in a more stony way, but instead he’s like a giddy-cruel showman out of spite. You can argue that Murdoc’s lack of support system results in him feeling much more unfettered. He has no one to thank for getting him out of that and no one he credits for getting him where is. He very much has the mentality of “I take what I can and do what I want, because the world owes me everything.” And in a way, I can see where that’d come from.

He’s wrong though. Because Stu’s there. And Stu owes Murdoc nothing.

I know I’m really running on here, and I think you probably already have a picture of what I see Stu’s upbringing and childhood as. Rachel Pot is the unsung best character in Gorillaz, Stu was quite coddled by his parents, and Stu admits to being largely unmotivated and rudderless. It’s notable that Stu is in fact also working class but he’s presented like he’s not, I think just as a result of looking a lot better in comparison to Murdoc and us Americans not fully knowing the details of the British class system as compared to ours. (I don’t want to condescend to you anon, you may be British and know all this a lot better than I do. But because I am American, what would be more American than assuming everyone’s American?) I would say Stu’s family places on the higher end of that though (again, council housing for Murdoc, Stu had a garden with what must’ve been a decently big tree for him to fall out of) and isn’t portrayed as struggling in the same way. His job at Norm’s seems more like something he does because he’s not allowed to sit in the house all day, and he likes messing with the keyboards and he likes having spending money because he’s too old for allowance, and girls he’s fooled around with occasionally pop in to his work and bring him a pastry from the Tesco Express she works at and they make out in her car. Stu comes away from Crawley with quite a few “tethers” that disallow him from feeling as “loose” as Murdoc– he has a good relationship with his parents, a handful of mates, probably a handful of girls he wasn’t on bad terms with, at least one who’d end up becoming his girlfriend. So why does he have some of the same “cruel showman” qualities as Murdoc? Why does his entitlement end up looking much the same? That’s all personal interpretation of course, but I’d say it’s because Murdoc drove a car into his face and stole an unspecified amount of time from his life. I’d say because he’s out of his parent’s house for the first time in his life, and he’s going full throttle into being this person now. I’d say that in one night, and many unconscious nights following it, Murdoc smashed that same embittered attitude into the front of Stu’s skull. To be clear, that isn’t writing off Stu’s faults on Murdoc; it isn’t to say Murdoc made him egotistical or promiscuous or immature. But the attitude that you are fucking owed something is really only an attitude they share because Murdoc gave Stu someone to spite where he didn’t have that before.

(I recognize this whole dynamic isn’t for everyone and I do get it, and for what it’s worth I think it’s totally correct to say Murdoc gave Stu all the best things in his life. He just also gave him the worst bits too. The reality is neither would be here without each other, for all the good and bad that implies. It’s true that Stu’s famous because of Murdoc, but it’s also true that Murdoc’s famous because of Stu. What a tangled web!)

I’m sorry, I’m so off the question now, I just love this stuff. So, personality! That’s unquestionably a factor, the answer to the nature vs nurture debate will always be a little bit of both. I think if you tallied up all of Stu and Murdoc’s traits, desires, and behaviors after they’ve been living together a few years, you’d find a longer list in the similarities column than the differences. The environmental influence doesn’t just stop at where you’re raised, I think the environment you live in and the people who inhabit it continue to have an impact on you pretty much throughout life; even if moving to a richer city doesn’t “change” you, it changes the way you look at things, understand things, respond to things. It just inherently does. Still, I recognize that’s my own characterization of them and if you just look at the characters in canon, you’d be hard pressed to say they seem like the same guy. There are things about them that are just innately different, some of it learned through their upbringing and some of it dictated by… the way they’re wired.

Which is a point I’m really hesitant to comment on too much, but– mental health. It probably doesn’t look the same between Stu and Murdoc. There are other blogs who will discuss in more depth their neurodivergent headcanons and I see nothing wrong with that, I don’t really think there is any case that can’t be made, but I’m not especially confident making those cases myself. What I’ll say is that I don’t necessarily read Stu as having any specific learning disorder, because I fear it’s a little… iffy to have so many jokes in canon about him being thick or being slow. I think it really is just that, even prior to the injuries I reckon Stu was “a bit thick.” Head trauma doesn’t help that, though. Lifelong migraines and impaired motor function came about from the brain damage, absolutely, and I do imagine he must’ve suffered some neural response slowing, but his “lower intelligence” I feel a little less comfortable casually ascribing to anything and more to just Stu being Stu. Murdoc is also a case to be careful with, but within phase 3 it seems fair to say Murdoc suffers a psychotic break and is dealing with some delusions. Dangerously, I kind of lean into thinking this isn’t something that “just happened” because of the events of El Mañana and Plastic Beach, and that Murdoc had perhaps needed to be on an anti-psychotic like lithium well before that point. Again, I don’t want to insensitively represent this so I try not to really put such a fine point on things, but… I’m a little inclined to think Murdoc went undiagnosed in his young life and still may be demonstrating some effects of that. So, y’know, make what you will of it, but there’s that.

Sorry I nattered on about this, I do really enjoy examining both characters. Jokes about the drugs and stuff aside, I’ve always felt that the biggest difference between Murdoc and Stu is that Murdoc is adaptable, and Stu is malleable. Where that stems from is probably a combination of all these things. Murdoc knows what he wants and has no loyalties, he’s been without a future, he does what he can to succeed because he’s already done what he can to survive; Stu doesn’t know what he wants and he does have “loyalties,” but he has no sense of purpose, and he’s easily nudged in the direction you need him to go. While he can be stubborn, just like Murdoc, he’s also more sincerely shaped by his experiences even later in life into multiple, sometimes disparate versions of himself– I might even wager that’s why Stu becomes such a contradictory character without any of the contradictions feeling inauthentic. The two of them “being what they need to be” is part of the reason they accomplished as much as they did. But it’s also hard to say that they really “held on” to each other through the years, or if they just melded together in parts.

[mobscene-london]

BASIC INFORMATION:

NAME: Henry García.  AGE: 37. PLACE OF BIRTH: Porto Velho, California, United States. AFFILIATION: The Rutherford Family. OCCUPATION: Bodyguard of Lara Rutherford. FACE CLAIM: Manny Montana. AVAILABILITY: TAKEN.

BIOGRAPHY:

(Warning: Mentions of domestic abuse.)

“I don’t want you fighting anymore.”

It was ironic how her tantrums only ever led to more of that.

“Don’t want me fighting, or don’t want me fighting for her?”

Because at the end of the day, that was always what it boiled down to. Vanessa had never batted an eye when he was cracking skulls for the British family, but she sure had a problem with him appealing to the attention of Lara Rutherford. Their relationship had been bitter for years, but this was the first time he’d ever seen her jealous.

The only thing that had ever been harder than growing up in Porto Velho’s shittiest neighbourhood was his fucking marriage. Don’t get him wrong, he’d been in love with her back then; or at least as in love as any seventeen year old boy could be. They’d met during high school, when his main priority had been dealing just enough drugs to pay for the upkeep of the car he raced with his friends. Henry didn’t know what real responsibility was—few teenage boys, especially the ones who grew up in his kind of household, did.

So when he’d found out, both only eighteen years old, that he’d knocked her up, it felt like his whole damn life was unravelling.

Whilst his pops had beat the shit out of him as thanks for becoming a grandfather, his mother had been the one to push the idea of doing the ‘right thing’. Even though he’d never imagined being married at this age—he’d always wanted to go to school, play football, get the fuck out of the city for good—Henry was so scared he’d just rolled with it. In hindsight, he suspects Vanessa only agreed for the same damn reasons.

Things hadn’t been so bad in the beginning. Henry was still dealing drugs for the Rutherfords, but it wasn’t enough of an income to look after the daughter he’d fallen in love with immediately. Maybe he hadn’t exactly dreamed of this life, but he was sure as hell going to do right by her now that he was living it. If that meant taking on more dangerous jobs for the British—becoming some hired muscle they could throw at the Cávado gangs—he’d do whatever it took to earn the money. No daughter of his would ever go without.

Whilst the responsibility of being a dad matured him, it sent Vanessa wildly in the other direction. The little she earned from her job went toward drinking and socializing because she was so ‘stressed out’ over all of her new responsibilities. Like she was the one up all night when Val was crying, or there to bathe and feed the kid. Still, he kept his mouth shut for the sake of peace. Of course, that didn’t stop their fights; the ones she started, but he was blamed for by her overbearing mother.

The life he was living was hell, and Valentina was the only thing that kept him going.

On the rare occasions Vanessa was home, she was almost always drunk; an aggressive one, at that. Though she’d never laid a hand on their daughter—because he sure as fuck wouldn’t have been so forgiving if she had—that didn’t stop her from lashing out at him violently. Once, she’d clocked him so hard that she’d broken his nose. Despite his violent reputation on the streets, however, not once did he put a hand on his wife. To stop her aggressive tirade, he’d locked her in the bathroom to cool off…only for the police to be called over the domestic disturbance, and his ass to be the one that was arrested.

Henry didn’t leave. Only because he couldn’t live knowing his daughter was growing up with that.

As his home life deteriorated to the point of insanity, things were at least on the up when it came to work.

It’d been at Val’s eleventh birthday party they first met.

Lara Rutherford had just moved back to the city. For her to seek him out in the way she had was unorthodox, but he certainly wasn’t complaining. After hearing about how talented he was from a mutual acquaintance, she’d approached him about taking up competitive fighting instead of working on the streets, and whilst Henry had been hesitant at first, when she’d explained how much money could be made, there was no way he could say no. Anything was better than risking his life in shitty gang wars.

To form a genuine friendship with the woman had been unexpected. Everyone who worked under Andrew’s name had heard about her; some worshiped her like a god, whilst others painted her as a sociopath. Henry’s opinion fell solidly in the middle, and maybe that’s why, after three years of fighting on her behalf, he gladly accepted when she asked him to become her bodyguard. Spending every day in her company wasn’t half fucking bad—even if it mostly consisted of throwing insults back and forth until one got so stroppy they started ignoring the other.

Henry vowed never to leave her. There was sure as hell no fucker else who could put up with her high maintenance ass, anyway. So, when he’d blamed himself for her being shot in the street by a rival gang in California—despite the fact he was off duty at the time—it’d taken a particularly shouty lecture from her to keep him from giving up the gig. Seeing her hurt was fucking rough. Whether he’d admit it or not, she really was one of the few people he actually gave a shit about in their awful city, and he’d learned years ago that something like that was worth holding on to.

When he’d found out that she was planning on making a move to London, it came as a bitter disappointment. He was sure their time was finally up.

Even though he’d promised he’d always have her back, even she wasn’t enough to make him leave his daughter behind. Valentina might’ve been eighteen years old by this time—an adult in her own damn right—but he was still her father, and he would never bail on her. When Lara sat him down with perhaps the most sincere and understanding smile he’d ever seen her wear, she told him she would never have expected him to.

“I’m gonna fucking miss you, you know that?”

Well, he could allow her a little bit of smugness.

If he’d had it in his mind that it was time to say goodbye, that shit had flown out the window as soon as she’d walked his daughter into the room. The two were smiling as though they were in on some kind of joke he wasn’t privy to. Fucking annoying. When Valentina held out a piece of paper in his direction, it didn’t take him long to understand why they looked so excited. Henry wouldn’t be leaving his daughter behind because Lara had personally paid for her to attend university in London. To finally get away from her mother now she was old enough to make the decision for herself…

It might just have been the nicest fucking thing anyone had ever done for him. For his daughter. Period. His gratitude knew no bounds. Even if he’d wanted to reject the generosity out of pride alone, he knew that Lara wouldn’t accept it.

Holy fuck.

They were finally getting a fresh start, and he didn’t have to give up doing what he loved?

Of course, he should have said thank you.

“You could’ve fucking told me that before I said I was going to miss you,” definitely seemed more fitting, though.   

SOCIAL CONNECTIONS:

RELATIONSHIP STATUS: Single. Vanessa García (wife, separated, unplayable) FAMILY: Valentina García (daughter, unplayable) CONNECTIONS:

Dev Daryani: Good friend. Though they met whilst working in Cávado together under Johnathan Parsons, it wasn’t until the two of them started fighting for Lara that they really bonded. Henry might be talented with his fists, but he’s got nothing on Dev, and they both know it. He has a lot of respect for the man, and is always eager to learn what he can from him to improve his own game.

Adriana Amaro: Good friend. Lara often jokes that Adriana is the only person she’s ever met who’s sassier than him. Fucking rude, but probably correct, and it’s almost definitely why when the two of them get together, it’s entertaining for everybody involved. Though Adriana probably isn’t the type of person he would’ve associated with if it hadn’t been for her closeness to Lara, he’s glad to have gotten the chance to get to know her better over the years.

Johnathan Parsons: Former boss. Even though he served under Parsons loyally for years, he sometimes wonders whether his antagonistic choices do the family more harm than good. Of course, he was never fucking stupid enough to say it aloud, but now that he stands at Lara’s side, Henry certainly has a better angle to scrutinize him from. All he can hope is that London doesn’t spiral out of control in the same way Porto Velho did because of his decisions.

[fmddevin]

woosh !! so i was trying to keep my ooc identity a surprise until now, but apparently i was stupid and y’all found out before i could get this up so...yay!! anyways, i’ll try to keep this short and simple! i’m jada, and this is my second baby, and the last for a while - mr. daein “devin” kim! he’s 23, the lead vocal & lead dancer of impulse, and an overall mess. he’s got a lot to work out, but i’m excited to see what i can do with him and how he grows & develop! he’s a little more on the chaotic side than micha is, but don’t let it scare you off! i swear i’ve got a plot page coming really soon, like tomorrow, but in the meantime - here’s his profile & bio! i’m more than happy to plot with you, though, so like this for me to hop in your ims!! trivia & some hawaii event ideas / general plot ideas under the cut.~

ok let’s get this started!! i promise to try to make this short & sweet as possible (but you know i’m jada so-). but before i wrote daein’s profile i made like a....3 page bullet summary of what i wanted him to be, so i’m going to be inputting some of those here!! so if it sounds a bit rambly...you know why!

if you’re just here for the event thread ideas, scroll down towards the end, where hawaii event ideas is in bold! <3

born on march 24th, 1996!

parents koreans from seoul, korea. met through a study abroad program @ their college, fell in love with each other and the us! had baby daein, who got plopped in the middle of tampa, florida!

his whooooole childhood felt like he was living in isolation. being one f the only asian-american kids on the block, he definitely felt like an outsider. when he’d bring kimbap, kimchi, or tteokbokki for lunch, they’d always look at him all confused like?? what is that

it made him sad bc he always had felt like his different was a good thing, and he’d been raised to be proud of his culture, but apparently not??

as a sidenote kid misheard his name in middle school and was like “devin?” and he was like “sure that’s it” and started going by that outside of home ever since bc it made him feel more american 

just throughout his whole childhood he was ridiculed for being different, which was really the start of his obsession with other’s satisfaction and being like everyone else!

so he took matters into his own hands, but in the worst way possible. during this time, he went against everything his parents had taught him and essentially rejected his korean culture. he stopped bothering to learn the tidbits of korean they were trying to teach him, never brought up his culture, and kind of distanced himself from his parents. he always was trying to bring up some excuse for why they couldn’t come to events because he was always embarrassed about their english and how different they all looked compared to everybody else. just...not a good time and his parents were very upset w/him

anyways onto happy times!! middle school was when he discovered his passion for dance, hip hop in particular. he would always be so amazed by the dancers at the boardwalk performing and decided that’s what he wanted to do!!

sOooOo he originally started off as being self-taught through videos on youtube, but eventually his parents agreed to let him dance if he a.) promised it wouldn’t mess up his grades and b.) he paid for them his own

and he did!! it was Hard but he made sure his grades were in check & picked up a part-time job at the ice cream parlor near his house to get money. it was minimum wage and he had to wear a cheesy apron with this ice cream cone hat but anyways

he could only afford one lesson a week at the community dance center, but it taught him a lot!!! where he discovered his true passion for dance, and tbh spent more time there than anywhere else

eventually!! he joined a florida dance crew and that’s when his skills really blossomed and people started taking him seriously, basically was there until the beginning of high school

tw: drug and alcohol addiction!

and then high school is when it...all came crashing down. being such a people pleaser, he fell victim to peer pressure. he was scared of being looked down again, because by now he’d formed a name for himself and was pretty popular. so, to continue blending in, started getting heavily into drinking and drugs and just...not good, because he grew really dependent on it and started losing his enthusiasm for everything else. it’s something he continues to struggle with a lot, although it’s mostly drinking nowadays and the only drug he’s involved with on a regular basis is weed?? but he has relapsed and that’s a major reason he needs people around him to keep him stable!!

also the dance team wouldn’t let him back in bc he failed the drug test and his drug spiral just got worse because he had nothing else to focus his energy on.

it was the only thing that really made him feel something other than dance, and now that he was spending all of his money on it he couldn’t even do that.

tw: drug and alcohol addiction - end!

he partially discovered his love for singing after the months he had to go w/o dancing. he really started to enjoy it but only in private because he was Embarrased of what others would think so

his parents were tired of his bs because he was a junior now and they were basically like we’re tired of the people we hang around and you need to be around family, so for spring break they sent him to seoul!!

boy was hEated alr. like i said, wasn’t a fan of his culture, he had to leave his friends who were all going on fun trips, & he knew NOTHING - not the language, the people, anything.

but when he got there??? kind of actually enjoyed it. he got to meet family he’d never met before, picked up a little of the language, all of that. but hongdae??? - that’s what made him really excited.

he never thought of korea to be a very exciting place, until he went there. there were so many other talented dancers and he felt so at home, but unlike in florida, they looked like him!

so this is where it gets a little funny lmao. his family refused to fund his habits but he wanted to go to a club while he was there to have fun and impress girl??? so basically, he went to hongdae, and tried  busking for some extra cash. and he LOVED IT!! for a reference he freestyled to turn up the music by chris brown lol

and it was real fun!! he genuinely had a really good time - but right before he left some random ass man left him a little slip, and he was like ??? and then he asked him his name, and daein barely understood what he said and in english was like “hey i’m devin??” and when the man realized he was like yes!! and daein was like no??? but took the slip anyways and turns out it was an invitation to a gold star audition!!

the second daein read it said kpop he essentially was like “lmao no” and just threw it in his bag. so he went home, and kind of forgot about it all, until a few months after he got home. things weren’t really looking up for him and he really wanted to continue his dance career, he just didn’t know how. he didn’t get accepted to the college he wanted to because of that time his grades had plummeted, and it was hard to land a stable dance job. & his parents were like look if you don’t make this dance thing happen we’re going to throw you into a business job with a suit and tie u need money

and daein!! hates!! corporate!! so he was like hell no and decided to give this idol thing one last chance

so - he submitted a video audition to gold star, and low and behold!! he made it!!

even though this was his saving grace, he really didn’t know what to do about it. because i mean he loved tampa, and he didn’t want to leave?? but when his parents heard the opportunity they were ELATED because they knew dance was the only thing that really put his focus on good things & they wanted him to be in korea with his family and all that. so!! they were like DO IT. and he really had no other choice so he was like uhhhh i guess

flash forward to the end of may!! right after the end of his junior year of school in tampa, he moved to korea to start training. since he had a pretty good experience during spring break of the year before, he expected his life to be better than he’d expected!! but...it was really hard. since he had to live there, and he was only 16, he felt really lost w/o his parents, and his only real family there were his grandparents and cousins he barely every said hi to so that sucked

tw: depression and light substance abuse!

around this time was when he developed signs of depression, just as he started training. because it was when he really discovered that he couldn’t please everybody, something that he’d strived to do his whole life. 

he lacked a support system & didn’t have anyone really close to him to make the transition better, since his parents were back in florida and he could barely hold a conversation with his family in korea. this is a big reason he remained dependent on drinking especially, because it got him out of his funk and to temporarily forget about all that was going on.

because of it, daein started getting less sleep, eating less, and all that. gold star noticed it really soon and got him in touch with a psychiatrist, which, eventually diagnosed him with depression. but it’s not something he goes around telling everyone, he has some evident signs but he probably wouldn’t openly tell more than a couple really close & trusted friends. but gold star has been monitoring his mental health to make sure he’s okay mentally. he takes medication but?? it doesn’t do him much good but they’re always hounding him about it so 

like i said though, he’s a very independent person so he doesn’t like to feel like he’s a burden, which is why he doesn’t want others to know because he feels like they’re gonna pity him!!

tw: depression and light substance abuse! - end

bc of his more tan skin (back in the day from florida, not really anymore) and broken korean, he felt like a foreigner, but also people would mistake him for having korean nationality whenever they would talk to him. so he felt like he couldn’t really fit either mold, because he was out of place in korea and florida. but!! i digress

he felt like he was kind of thrust into who’s next: origin story because by the time it started he had only been a trainee for...4 months?? like it’s crazy & he clearly wasn’t ready, a major reason for him being on the losing end, but he had the loveable foreigner thing going on so he did get a good fanbase!! even though he was criticized for his short training period

i doubt he was a favorite among the trainees because he’s REEEEEALLY introverted,,, especially in social situations where he’s not the most comfortable with people in so i don’t think he was super talkative.

 a big reason he has trouble on variety shows now!! it’s not that he doesn’t like but they’ve kind of turned it into a “mysterious” thing, which is fine to him if it mean he doesn’t have to talk as much

also he hated it because he constantly had to dodge staff & other trainees whenever he wanted to drink or smoke so he was probably always trying to find a way to sneak out when they had any kind of free time

he got a lotlotlot better at singing during training though, though they’re kind of forcing an unnatural tone for his voice which is making him strain and can’t be good for him in the long run but marketing!! so. anyways he loves singing a lot more than he did before, he’d always expected to be just a dancer but they unleashed his potential so!! that’s one thing he really enjoyed about training

basically he’s been marketed as the “sexy foreigner” and he kinda hates it ngl. because while he never was attached to his korean identity, the more he’s been here the more he’s just wanted to be the same as everybody else?? so that’s not helping with anything. he’s always kind of laughed at for being clueless when a joke flies over his head, made to say things in english ALL THE TIME, just all that. it really gets on his nerves bc nowadays he just wants to blend in and they’re not making it any better!!!

it may sound confusing but basically: as a teen he rejected his korean identity to blend in with everyone in florida, now he’s in korea and wants to be known as less of an american to blend it. it all comes down to him wanting to be like everyone else is nearly every aspect!! 

since he feels like he cheated & got to debut way too easy than some others, he’s been trying to develop his creative and performance skills so he can get more credit and make a name for himself due to his actual abilities rather than just,, him being american lmao!! also trying super super hard to get as good as he can at korean

tw: drug and alcohol addiction!

he still has some trouble getting around & he still feels lost, but he’s trying his best. struggling through his alcohol addiction, which bc is mildly aware about but really trying to keep quiet and he’s been on the verge of leaving more than a few times. but as quiet as he is about it, he really relies on his members a lot to keep himself afloat!! so he appreciates them putting through his shit a lot of the time more than he'll admit.

 tw: drug and alcohol addiction! - end

but rn he’s getting better, slightly, focusing more of his energy into music than anything. he really wants to get into the songwriting industry to get a name for himself on his own instead of just being known for impulse!!

just  as a fyi since it’s a bit confusing his birth name is daein, he went by devin when he lived in america, but he goes by daein again now that he’s in korea, but his stage name is still devin and that’s what his friends from america call him. he prefers to be called daein nowadays, though, so that’s probably the safest best!

also this has not been short at all but anyways

hawaii plots!

he likes to drink & get high way too much and what better place than to do that then on vacation?? he’s been trying to stop, but look, it’s vacation and he’s unwinding and if your muse is down they can both have fun!!

such. an. introvert. even more than micha, because 80% of his interactions by choice come from his group?? but i would love to get him some new friends (especially since he literally has none right now lol)

he’s a bit of a hoe ngl so!! hookups are accepted, that’s the one time he’s not afraid of striking up conversation!!

he’s in the red team so like micha, if you’re members in the red team he could use some buddies to be with!!

someone to explore the island with during the night!

general plots!

he lives in an apartment my himself atm, but a roommate would be lovely!! he needs someone to put him out of his funk, anyways. 

drinking buddies ofc

trainee friends? someone who wasn’t put off by him being super quiet and befriended it and he’s super grateful nowadays? 

give me all the angst & romance because he’s a handful, seriously, phew

besties!! someone that makes him soft and happy bc there are few people who make him super happy & excited, so someone fill in the gap!

[tfcrp]

THIS IS YOUR GAME

Name: Sasha Hart-Ashby Age: Twenty One Class Year: Junior Position: Offensive Dealer, #14 Hometown: Malibu, California

THIS IS YOUR MOMENT

TW: drug and alcohol abuse, murder/death

For Irina Seleznyova, the path to wealth and fame was one that required a little death: first, she killed the husband that had helped bring her to America, but was only the first step in her plans; then she killed herself, in a sense, remaking herself into the more all-American Irina Hart, who became a fixture on the daytime soap circuit. Her final act was to marry rich television producer Howard Ashby and, after he gave her three children, he, too, was summarily dispatched, leaving her a not-so-grieving widow in possession of his vast fortune.

She viewed her children not as people in their own right but as extensions of herself, and assurances of the continuation of her empire. Her oldest children were guided into different molds: her only son, Nikolai, studious and responsible; her eldest daughter, Anya, beautiful and charming—and then there was Sasha, somewhere in the middle of those two poles, unsure of what to do or who to be. At first, she turned to sports and, when she quickly earned a reputation on the court as a brawler, a greater calling became clear—every family needed a black sheep, a trainwreck, and Sasha was it.

The Hart-Ashby family motto was simple: whatever you do, be the best at it. And they all took it to heart: her brother was at the top of his class, her sister walked in runway shows and appeared in fashion spreads, and Sasha, as early as her freshman year of high school, was photographed puking in alleyways. But that wasn’t enough. Since their father’s untimely death, Irina had taken to entertaining younger and younger men. And, when Sasha was starting high school, her latest paramour was college aged: he lived in their house and entertained Irina’s every whim, and in return she paid his tuition. He chafed under Irina’s thumb as much as her youngest daughter did, and when Sasha focused her rebellion on seducing him, it didn’t actually prove that much of a challenge.

What she wasn’t prepared for, however, was her mother’s reaction when she found out. Sasha expected to be punished, and had to come to crave even negative attention, but what she didn’t expect was to be coldly dismissed from her mother’s presence—for a undefined and indefinite length of time. Where am I supposed to go? She asked, but her mother only sneered: Maybe you should have thought about that before you disrespected me in my own home.

She did her best to turn her banishment into a never-ending party. What it really was, though, was a months-long bender, a wanton spiral into greater and greater self-destruction. When her mother summoned her back, she dutifully went, but her demons and her new vices came with her. Her nights were spent drunk, more often than not, and sometimes more than just drunk. And she didn’t have to worry about sneaking out her bedroom window when it was just as easy to walk out the front door—her mother’s rage burnt red-hot, but it only came in flashes, she was too self-involved to be a disciplinarian the rest of the time. With no real checks on her behavior, Sasha spiraled further and further out of control, but in the end it wasn’t her that paid the worst price for it: while driving home from a party with her sister in the car, both of them drunk, she ran them off the road—but while Sasha could come back from her injuries, Anya did not.

Her mother’s money, judiciously spent, and words like “good family” and “first offense” were enough for Sasha to avoid a juvenile facility. Even though she was found guilty, her sentence amounted to little more than a slap on the wrist: a fine, community service hours, a suspended license, and mandatory alcohol awareness education. But money didn’t prove enough to allow her to be readmitted to her old high school, whose administrators and parents saw her as a black stain on its reputation. Instead, she was sent far away to an all-girls boarding school, full of rules and strict curfews and boredom that was only broken by Exy—particularly since the team was co-ed, in partnership with an all-boys school a short distance away, providing her with some small distractions to make up for her banishment: fights to start on the court, and hearts to break off it.

SEIZE IT WITH EVERYTHING YOU’VE GOT

Her high school team was good in the way that only money could buy: their racquets were top-of-the-line, the kind used by Class I teams; their coach was a retired Court-ranked player, paid an exorbitant salary to coach bratty rich kids, most of which couldn’t care less. It was something that rich kids and Foxes had in common: entitlement bred a lack of discipline and self-discipline just as surely as whatever stuff it was that made a Fox. And when Sasha was scouted by David Wymack during her senior year at boarding school, she decided to trade in her black sheep mantle for that of a Fox. It seemed like a perfect fit.

Her mother, still reeling from Anya’s death, was happy to keep her daughter on the other side of the country, where she didn’t have to look at her. And just maybe, she thought, her previously useless youngest child could prove herself worth something: Exy was never something Irina had in mind for her children, but fame was fame, and she’d rather Sasha’s name be more synonymous with Exy than with vehicular homicide. Now, without ever meaning to, Sasha has handed her mother more control over her life than she’s ever had before: she’s shown how much she wants to be at Palmetto, how much she wants to play Exy, and her mother has shrewdly used that to force her within the lines. At her mother’s request, Coach Wymack allows her to leave practice early once a week for AA meetings, where she’s physically present but mentally detached, and Irina has made her spending money conditional on passing regular drug tests. With some of her favorite avenues of rebellion closed to her, she compensates by being a bitingly caustic presence on the court to teammates and opponents alike, provoking brawls with words or starting them with fists, earning more than her fair share of red cards. She’s the posterchild—or a caricature—of everything the press thinks a Fox is, and the media can’t get enough of her, loving to hate her, never sure what she’ll say or do next. And she likes it that way—she’s learned from the best, after all.

SASHA HART-ASHBY is portrayed by ADELAIDE KANE and is TAKEN

[thefoxholecourtrp]

THIS IS YOUR GAME

Name: Sasha Hart-Ashby Age: Twenty One Class Year: Junior Position: Offensive Dealer, #14 Hometown: Malibu, California

THIS IS YOUR MOMENT

TW: drug and alcohol abuse, death

For Irina Seleznyova, the path to wealth and fame was one that required a little death: first, she killed the husband that purchased her from her native Ukraine; then she killed herself, in a sense, remaking herself into the more all-American and only slightly exotic Irina Hart, who became a fixture on the daytime soap circuit. Her final act was to marry rich television producer Howard Ashby and, after he gave her three children, he, too, was summarily dispatched, leaving her a not-so-grieving widow in possession of his vast fortune.

She viewed her children not as people in their own right, but as extensions of herself, and assurances of the continuation of her empire. Her oldest children were guided into different molds: her only son, Nikolai, studious and responsible; her eldest daughter, Anya, beautiful and charming—and then there was Sasha, somewhere in the middle of those two poles, unsure of what to do or who to be. At first, she turned to sports and, when she quickly earned a reputation on the court as a brawler, a greater calling became clear—every family needed a black sheep, a trainwreck, and Sasha was it.

The Hart-Ashby family motto was simple: whatever you do, be the best at it. And they all took it to heart: her brother was at the top of his class, her sister walked in runway shows and appeared in fashion spreads, and Sasha, as early as her freshman year of high school, was photographed puking in alleyways. But that wasn’t enough. Since their father’s untimely death, Irina had taken to entertaining younger and younger men. And, when Sasha was starting high school, her latest paramour was college aged: he lived in their house and entertained Irina’s every whim, and in return she paid his tuition. Part-pet and part-prostitute, he chafed under Irina’s thumb as much as her youngest daughter did, and when Sasha focused her rebellion on seducing him, it didn’t actually prove that much of a challenge.

What she wasn’t prepared for, however, was her mother’s reaction when she found out. Sasha expected to be punished, and had to come to crave even negative attention, but what she didn’t expect was to be coldly dismissed from her mother’s presence—for a undefined and indefinite length of time. Where am I supposed to go? She asked, but her mother only sneered: maybe you should have thought about that before you disrespected me in my own home.

She did her best to turn her banishment into a never-ending party. What it really was, though, was a months-long bender, a wanton spiral into greater and greater self-destruction. When her mother summoned her back, she dutifully went, but her demons and her new vices came with her. Her nights were spent drunk, more often than not, and sometimes more than just drunk. And she didn’t have to worry about sneaking out her bedroom window when it was just as easy to walk out the front door—Irina’s rage burnt red-hot, but it only came in flashes, she was too self-involved to be a disciplinarian the rest of the time. With no real checks on her behavior, Sasha spiraled further and further out of control, but in the end it wasn’t her that paid the worst price for it: while driving home from a party with her sister in the car, both of them drunk, she ran them off the road—but while Sasha could come back from her injuries, Anya did not.

Her mother’s money, judiciously spent, and words like “good family” and “first offense” were enough for Sasha to avoid a juvenile facility. Even though she was found guilty, her sentence amounted to little more than a slap on the wrist: a fine, community service hours, a suspended license, and mandatory alcohol awareness education. But money didn’t prove enough to allow her to be readmitted to her old high school, whose administrators and parents saw her as a black stain on its reputation. Instead, she was sent far away to an all-girls boarding school, full of rules and strict curfews and boredom that was only broken by Exy—particularly since the team was co-ed, in partnership with an all-boys school a short distance away, providing her with some small distractions: to make up for her banishment: fights to start on the court, and hearts to break off it.

SEIZE IT WITH EVERYTHING YOU’VE GOT

Her high school team was good in the way that only money could buy: their racquets were top-of-the-line, the kind used by Class I teams; their coach was a retired Court-ranked player, paid an exorbitant salary to coach bratty rich kids, most of which couldn’t care less. There’s something that rich kids and Foxes have in common: entitlement breeds a lack of discipline and self-discipline just as surely as whatever stuff it is that makes a Fox. So, when Sasha was scouted by David Wymack during her senior year at boarding school, she decided to trade in her black sheep mantle for that of a Fox. It seemed like a perfect fit.

Her mother, still reeling from Anya’s death, was happy to keep her daughter on the other side of the country, where she didn’t have to look at her. And just maybe, she thought, her previously useless youngest child could prove herself worth something: Exy was never what Irina had in mind for her children, but fame was fame, and she’d rather Sasha’s name be more synonymous with Exy than with vehicular homicide. Now, without ever meaning to, Sasha has handed her mother more control over her life than she’s ever had before: she’s shown how much she wants to be at Palmetto, how much she wants to play Exy, and her mother has shrewdly used that to force her within the lines. At her mother’s request, Coach Wymack allows her to leave practice early once a week for AA meetings, where she’s physically present but mentally detached, and Irina has made her spending money conditional on passing regular drug tests. With some of her favorite avenues of rebellion closed to her, she compensates by being a bitingly caustic presence on the court to teammates and opponents alike, provoking brawls with words or starting them with fists, earning more than her fair share of red cards. She’s the posterchild—or a caricature—of everything the press thinks a Fox is, and the media can’t get enough of her, loving to hate her, never sure what she’ll say or do next. And she likes it that way—she’s learned from the best, after all.

SASHA HART-ASHBY is portrayed by ADELAIDE KANE and is OPEN

[theconservativebrief]

It’s been a bad week. The sun sets at like 3 pm now. Amazon is coming to Queens.

I keep forgetting to call my gynecologist back to dispute an $800 insurance charge; now they’ve sent me another letter about it. It was my birthday on Sunday, which means I am older than I was, which doesn’t bother me so much as it reminds me that everyone I love is getting older too, which bothers me. What if they die?

This is what I’m thinking about when I take the 2 train uptown from Vox’s office in the Financial District to go to the flagship Macy’s in Herald Square and see the holiday retail pop-up Facebook has installed in the men’s section.

Facebook’s pop-up, which opened on Monday and will run through February in New York and eight other cities, is a Facebook-curated boutique selling items from 100 different small businesses that have Facebook business pages and submitted applications to be part of Facebook: The Market @ Macy’s.

This includes a Charleston burger restaurant that sells barbecue sauce and a place called Bourbon and Boots, which sells Southern-inspired home decor, including a crystal skull-shaped lamp full of vodka.

“The gifts you found on Facebook are now at Macy’s,” is the tagline. (Sometimes you have to go boring-but-informative with your tagline when the premise of your project is confusing.)

Facebook is no longer confined to our computer screens, where it is already doing more than enough

Retail Dive commented on the partnership, saying, “Facebook’s involvement indicates that the storied department store has grasped, at least to some extent, the experiential value of its stores.”

I would like to add that Facebook’s involvement indicates that Facebook is no longer confined to our computer screens, where it is already doing more than enough. And that I suspect it is wiggling into the holiday shopping season in an effort to steal some warm and fuzzy associations from you while your heart is amped up on caffeine and overt sentiment.

Anyway, Facebook: The Market @ Macy’s is immediately inside the front door of the department store, taking up about 200 square feet in between a Samsung Gear VR demo area and something called b8ta, which is where you can buy the Quip electric toothbrushes you see advertised on the subway, the motor-powered Boosted skateboards you see advertised by men on Tinder, a supplement meant to defer dementia, a headband meant to force you to meditate, and a “personal safety device” called D.A.D. (It appears to be pepper spray, though the description says “IT IS STEALTH.”)

I feel it’s worth noting that all of the available gadgets in Macy’s, including Amazon and Google and Apple products, are available exclusively in the men’s section.

Each gift has 250 likes. Kaitlyn Tiffany/Vox

I will not buy any of these items for my loved ones because I am only here for Facebook’s The Market @ Macy’s. I scoot around the edge of The Market taking photos of the signage with my phone, with earbuds in so that I won’t be able to hear it if anyone asks me to please stop taking photos.

Each item in the Facebook market at Macy’s is framed in a mockup of a Facebook post, so you can see how many likes it has received. Each item has received 250 likes. There is also a larger mockup of a Facebook post labeled, “The most liked gift of all,” which you’re supposed to put your face in, so that someone can take your photo. You, as the most liked gift of all, received 450 likes.

What will I buy for my loved ones? Maybe a “LoveBook,” which is actually an instructional booklet that costs $40 and will direct me to a website where I can order a customized children’s book about my relationship with my boyfriend or mom. Maybe a LuMee Instafame lighted case, as seen on television in the hands of Kim Kardashian. Maybe an Inspiralized “noodle twister.” Maybe a Henley, which is sitting next to a framed print-out of an Esquire article titled “14 Gifts That Work for Men and Women.”

A couple of elegant, middle-aged shoppers stop to inspect 4ocean, “the bracelet that’s cleaning the ocean,” but they move on quickly. A clerk in a gold vest asks me “Do you need help, or are you just taking photos?” in a tone that implies that she actually isn’t being passive-aggressive, she literally doesn’t care what my intentions are, she’s just stating two choices for me in case I was frozen in indecision about what to do with the next few breaths of my one short life. I hope she gets the holiday shifts she wants, and not the terrible ones everyone hates.

“As seen on Facebook” gifts for your loved ones. Kaitlyn Tiffany/Vox

I do not subscribe to the look-don’t-touch philosophy of perusing expensive goods you probably don’t have the means to buy, which is why I pick up a box of NeuroGum, which is $20 gum that provides energy, clarity, and focus, to “the artists, the dreamers, and the doers.”

I also touch makeup made by Jessica Alba’s the Honest Company, makeup made by VC darling Mented, and makeup made by FabFitFun sub-brand Ish, all of which, by merit of being in Facebook’s holiday shop, remind me of what “makeup” and “Facebook” typically mean when they appear in the same sentence. I would buy some for my younger sisters, but they are already so beautiful! I write down that Jessica Alba is a small-business owner on Facebook.

Jessica Alba is a small-business owner on Facebook

Obviously, I am making fun of Facebook: The Market @ Macy’s because I don’t think Facebook’s definition of “small business” makes any sense, and I don’t think these choices of gift are any better than the ones on QVC.

But the real reason I’m making fun of Facebook is because I am afraid of it, and the fact that its sterile, thumbs-up definition of affection and approval and time-stamped definition of memory represents such a cold distortion of what we are actually doing when we go out to buy presents for people because it is the end of the year. We are spending money and making lists, sure, but we are also trying to tidy up our mixed feelings and put a bow on them.

We have to take stock of everything we’ve allowed to happen, and then we have to say it’s mostly fine because there was also a Carly Rae Jepsen single. Many of us spent the past 12 months talking about student loans and income inequality and now we’ll have to spend money on each other, which we are glad to do, it’s our pleasure.

The snow will be so good. Maybe next year there will not be snow? Maybe next year global warming will convince the island of Manhattan to slide into the sea. You are obligated to spiral through thoughts like this and then placate yourself with a candy cane. This is what makes you a person!

There is openly no reason for The Market to exist, other than to ingratiate an overreaching monolith to a public that no longer trusts it or likes it. But Facebook is not human; it does not feel dread and warmth at the same time, it is just a tech monopolist edging into our glittery, manufactured rituals, looking for one more data point on what makes us tick.

Original Source -> Why is Facebook selling brain-stimulating chewing gum at Macy’s?

via The Conservative Brief

[one-of-us-blog]

The Living Daylights (1987)

Today Drew is forced to watch and recap 1987’s The Living Daylights, the fifteenth James Bond adventure. It’s a new dawn for Bond, and that means it’s time for another globetrotting adventure. Bond is tasked with helping a KGB general defect, but that spirals into a plot involving gunrunning, stolen diamonds and opium. Can Bond get to the bottom of this ouroboros of a scheme?

Keep reading to find out…

Eli, you’re still killing the recap game! I agree with your thoughts on both “One Old Lady to Go” and “Ebbtide for the Defense”, but I would have sworn Rubin was played by Chong! And it’s always kind of bummed me out that Rose gave such a downer of an ending for Alma after we got to see her so vibrant earlier in The Golden Girls. I’m still playing catch up right now, though, so it’s time for me to hit the bricks and get this recap going!

Buttocks tight!

Screenplay by Richard Maibaum & Michael G. Wilson, film directed by John Glen

We start off with a brand new barrel sequence, now proudly displaying Timothy Dalton as 007, and then we jump into a 00 training exercise. The 00’s need to infiltrate a radar instillation on the Rock of Gibraltar, and it… doesn’t go great. 002 gets taken out of the game right away, then 004 and our own 007 start scaling a cliff face when a real life assassin kills 004 and leaves a note reading Smiert Spionom behind. 007 goes after the assassin, resulting in a rollicking jeep chase that ends with the jeep carrying the assassin going off a cliff while a parachute-wearing Bond lands in a woman’s yacht. He yanks the woman’s old timey cell phone out of her hand, plops down like he owns the place and then delays informing MI6 about the details of his fellow 00 agent’s death by an hour so he can bang this random lady.

With that out of the way we jump into the super saturated title sequence featuring a-ha singing “The Living Daylights” while some ladies pose in water and shoot revolvers.

With that behind us, we cut to Bratislava, Czechoslovakia. Bond is here to help Saunders, head of Section V, with the defection of a KGB general named Georgi Koskov (Jeroen Krabbé). The defection starts alright, but the KGB has a woman sniper (Maryam d’Abo) set up to take Koskov out as he’s trying to flee and Bond just can’t bring himself to shoot a pretty woman. Bond is then a total dick to Saunders, leaving him to lose the KGB agents tailing them while he drives off with Koskov and refuses to tell Saunders how he plans to get him out. Bond’s plan involves shooting Koskov out of KBG territory in an oil pipeline with the help of the Soviet Union’s answer to Rosie the Riveter. Q is there to greet Koskov for no reason, and Bond picks Saunders up like a mom picking her kid up outside the roller-rink while Koskov is sent off in a jet.

At MI6, we meet our first Miss Moneypenny following, with the role now being played by Caroline Bliss. We get an honestly cringe-worthy moment where Q brags about his deadly new boombox (called the ‘ghetto blaster’) before Moneypenny sends Bond off to see M (after he gives her a good natured pat on the ass). Bond is sent to a house in the country where an assassin is posing as a milkman. He meets with M and the cheery Koskov for the debriefing. Koskov informs the Brits that the KGB is now being headed by General Pushkin, who’s hungry for both power and dead spies. Pushkin started the KGB’s anti-spy program known as Smiert Spionom (better known to us as SMERSH). The assassin, who’s name is Necros (Andreas Wisniewski), murders his way through the safehouse and eventually kidnaps Koskov.

MI6 assumes Pushkin is behind this, so Bond is tasked with tracking him down. Bond gets a round of gadgets from Q, including car keys with a lockpick, sleep gas dispenser and an explosive. Moneypenny identifies the sniper Bond refused to shoot as cellist Kara Milovy and Bond tracks her down in Bratislava. Bond arrives in time to see Milovy dragged off a bus and brought before Pushkin (John Rhys-Davies). Bond finds blanks in Milovy’s sniper rifle and deduces that Koskov’s entire defection was a ruse and Milovy is actually his girlfriend. He convinces her he’s a friend of Koskov and she agrees to go to Vienna with him (after first retrieving her prized cello). The KGB are hot on Bond’s tail and we get a standard 007 car chase, this time with extra goofy car gadgets, but eventually Bond, Milovy and the cello make it into Austria.

Meanwhile, Pushkin goes to meet with an American arms dealer named Brad Whitaker (played by the ever repugnant Joe Don Baker) in Tangier. Whitaker is batty and has festooned his complex with grotesque wax sculptures of famous military leaders with his face plastered onto them. Pushkin tells Whitaker that they’re cancelling a contract made between the KGB and Koskov, which Whitaker isn’t thrilled about. We see Bond and Milovy flirting their way through Vienna before we cut back to the actual movie we’re watching and see Whitaker meeting with Koskov and Necros. Koskov lets Whitaker know Bond’s snooping around, and they plan to eliminate him. We sit through Bond and Milovy watching an opera before Bond meets up with Saunders at the Prater. Saunders informs Bond of a history of financial exchanges between Koskov and Whitaker, and then he gets blown up by a bomb placed by Necros.

Bond and Milovy head to Tangier, where Bond confronts Pushkin in his hotel. Puskin denies any involvement with SMERSH getting started up again, and also informs Bond that Koskov is on the lam after embezzling government funds. Pushkin signals for a guard and Bond brutally rips the top off of Pushkin’s girlfriend in order to distract the guard. Bond’s nice enough to throw her a towel before he finished interrogating Pushkin. Later, Necros prepares to assassinate Pushkin but Bond stages a fake killing to save the general’s life and trick Whitaker and Koskov into carrying out their little scheme. While running from the fake assassination Bond jumps into a car with two women inside of it, and they promptly pull a gun on him and take him to a yacht where he’s reunited with our old friend Felix Leiter (John Terry). It’s been a while, Felix! He’s probably been too busy taking care of his son Gordo to spend much time with his buddy James. Bond assures Leiter that Pushkin’s assassination was staged, and then they plan to order some big stuff from Whitaker.

Milovy is left alone too long and gets nervous so she calls Koskov, who tells her Bond is actually a KGB agent and convinces her to drug him. Once he’s passed out, Koskov has Necros load him into a plane with Milovy and an organ transplant container that actually contains an animal’s heart and ice mixed with illicit diamonds. The plane lands in Afghanistan, where Koskov hands both Bond and shocked Milovy over to the local coppers. They escape thanks to the stun gas in Bond’s key fob and free another prisoner (Art Malik) just for kicks. It’s a good thing they did, because it turns out that guy is Kamran Shah, leader of the local Mujahideen. Shah helps Bond and Milovy get to safety, but he’s not willing to help Bond out on his mission. The next day they ride out and Bond discovers there’s yet another link in this unbelievable scheme chain. Those diamonds from that fake organ transplant container? They’re being sold in exchange for opium from the Mujahideen.

Bond plants a bomb among the opium and Milovy inspires the Mujahideen to attack the airbase where the opium is being shipped from. Bond gets caught by Necros and Koskov before he can leave the plane with the bomb on it so he hijacks the plane while the Soviets are distracted by the Mujahideen attack. Milovy manages to catch up to the plane in a stolen jeep and avoids Necros shooting at her long enough to get aboard the plane. She takes the wheel while Bond defuses the bomb. Turns out Necros also managed to get on the plane somehow, though, so he and Bond have to fight before Milovy opens the hatch and causes Bond, Necros and the opium to dangle out of the plane. Bond cuts loose the opium and sends Necros falling to his death, still managing to get back inside the plane in time to defuse the bomb and stop Milovy from steering into a mountain. Bond sees that Shah and his men are being chased across a bridge by the Soviets, so he reactivates the bomb and throws it down onto a bridge the Soviets are crossing. The Mujahideen lives to fight again!

Unfortunately the plane being in a gun fight led to the fuel tanks getting plugged full of holes, so this jet’s goin’ down fast. Bond and Milovy managed to ride Milovy’s jeep out of the plane before it crashes, and they head to Whitaker’s palatial estate. With some help from Leiter, Bond makes it inside and confronts Whitaker. Whitaker is enraged by the destruction of his precious opium, which was supposed to be sold on the streets at heroin in the US, which would have given him and Koskov more money to run weapons and so on and so on. Bond and Whitaker scrap for a minute and Whitaker is killed. Puskin arrives and then Koskov, who’s been found by KGB agents, is brought in. Koskov tries to suck up to Pushkin, but Pushkin orders he be flown home in a body bag.

Later, Milovy puts on a cello performance which M and Pushkin both take in. The Mujahideen also show up, much to Milovy’s delight. Milovy finds Bond waiting for her in her dressing room, and the two celebrate her performance with a duet of their own. A… sexual duet.

The End

~~~~~

Woof, somebody get me a CliffsNotes version of this movie! I know I’m still smarting from the loss of my beloved Roger Moore, but there was just something about this movie that rubbed me the wrong way. There was a smugness to Dalton’s performance that I just didn’t like, and I can’t quite articulate why. And I’m sorry, but I simply cannot take Joe Don Baker seriously as a villain. The plot of this one was really convoluted, and I feel like it took itself way too seriously. Again, I might just be used to the lighter Moore-era romps, but going from A View to a Kill to this was way too jarring for me.

Overall, I give The Living Daylihgts QQ½ on the Five Q Scale.

We’ll see you again soon as Eli gears up to recap “Can’t Stand Losing You” and “Seems Like Old Times, Part 1”, the next two episodes of The Golden Palace, and after that it’ll be my turn at the mic as I cover Licence to Kill, the last James Bond adventure to star Timothy Dalton.

Until then, as always, thank you for reading, thank you for celloing and thank you for being One of Us!