#deaf cal weathers

[roe-and-memory]

lots of posts today but i’d like to talk about one of my favourite tidbits of the deaf cal hc

it does not stop bobby and lightning from pranking him.

bobbys favourite “prank” is just dumping water on their heads. its not anything big or funny, but he’ll do it after races so they have to do interviews soaked and annoyed. he gets the most kick out of it than anyone.

BUT.. because cal has hearing aids, bobby has to play it safe. so, he’ll walk up behind cal, clamp his hands over his ears, and make sure he doesnt have them on before inevitably dumping water on his head (he’s got separate hearing aids for racing specifically, connected to his mic and headset already so he doesnt have to spend forever connecting and disconnecting his regular ones, so typically before interviews he wont have them on yet, thats bobbys window to do it)

(lightning isnt so lucky, bobby is sneaky as fuck and doesnt give lmq a warning like cal gets, he just gets slammed with a freezing cold water on live television while bob and darrell laugh hysterically on the broadcast.)

[jasper-pagan-witch]

Jasper Gets Mad About "The Goodly Spellbook"

Also, re: Coven Olvenwilde, FUCK THEM. Their spellbook is shit and appropriative, they're big on that whole fucking duality of gender thing, and they have some of the grossest fucking takes of all time. And this is coming from the Monarch of Cold Takes themself, so you know it's bad.

Here's an excerpt from the Two Polarities section on page 75 that made my eyebrow pop off of my forehead:

The cosmos is inherently balanced. It provides both light and dark, both life and death, both laughter and tears. For every yang, there is a yin; for every day, there is a night; for every active, outward, or upward action, there is a passive, inward, or downward reaction - and vice versa. Male and female, Sun and Moon, rich and poor, fat and thin, I and you, us and them - there is no one without the other.

And then on page 164, under the title Three Times' the Charm, we have:

Crafters' cosmology contains many triplicities: matter, magic, spirit natural, celestial, and ceremonial magic Goddess, God, and spellcrafter Maiden, Mother, Crone seeker, initiate, elder virginity, fertility, wisdom male, female, hermaphrodite birth, life, death past, present, future beginning, middle, end up, down, around in, out, throughout and so on...

Like, maybe I'm just a weird Gen Z kid (I say, as a 20-year-old grown-ass adult), but it's pretty tone-deaf to say that male and female are pure opposites and then say that they're actually two out of three genders (ignoring the fact that the term "hermaphrodite" is generally seen as a slur and the preferred term is "intersexed", which has been in use since well before this book was published).

Did I mention that the G slur is used more than the term Romani is? This book actively contributes to the exotification of Romani as "terrible sorcerers and powerful healers".

And I get it, this is a very specific Wiccan coven's craft that we're seeing a snapshot of here, but that doesn't excuse the fact that a good half of the spells written in here are derived from cultures that the very, very white members of Coven Oldenwilde have no business sticking their noses into. There are so many spells here derived from all kinds of cultures with no respect whatsoever for their origins, gods called down without any context of what they're actually like, and a weird obsession with purity as it's connected to the color white, which I'm sure my dearest mutuals have already torn apart enough of.

In the healing section alone, we have:

To Summon Strength's alternate variation, which has you create a mojo bag (which is NOT the same as a spell bag, let's be clear) and invoke a Welsh figure (Olwen) that some people believe to have once been a sun goddess. It also lists "Chinese magic" as part of the inspiration for this version of the spell, but I for the life of me can't figure out where the connection is.

To Induce Therapeutic Sleep, which is said to come from Greek and Native American magic but namedrops a Roman god.

To Break A Drought, which "originates" in Korean, African, European, and Native American magic, calls explicitly to invoke a Korean figure (Aryong-Jong) that the writers claim is a rain goddess. This spell's first line in the spell variations category is, "Stop a drought in deliciously Witchy fashion - strip skyclad, go adoors, and dance in the light of the full Moon amidst droplets from a water sprinkler." Don't do this, especially as the weather turns colder, or you will get sick because you're prancing around naked in sprinkler water.

To Heal Computer Eyestrain which claims to be "Romani magic" (naturally using the G slur instead, because we can't possibly see Romani as people, now can we? SARCASM); did I mention that this book cites Charles Leland for this spell? CHARLES FUCKING LELAND?

To Heal Wounds And Broken Bones is somehow derived from traditional European magic, "German variant", Voodoo herbalism, Irish magic, and Coven Oldenwilde's own practices. Did I mention is also calls for you to invoke Woden?

To Ease Childbirth somehow draws on lore from Ozark Mountain, Hawaiian, Filipino, Roman, German, Sumatran, Chittagong, Punjabi, and Sumerian cultures. It's a whole buffet and isn't even a fucking spell! It's just a list of superstitions!

And we can't leave well enough alone, can we? Because the final spell in the healing section is To Cure Mental Problems. Yes, It's just as ableist and bad as you think it is.

In conclusion, fuck Coven Oldenwilde.

I'm gonna go eat chocolate until I get sick now. Peace out.

[sarcastically-defensive17]

No - C. Hood

TRIGGER WARNING - ATTEMPTED SEXUAL ASSAULT, DATE RAPE, PROTECTIVE CALUM AND MENTIONS OF SEXUAL VIOLENCE. PLEASE DO NOT READ IF THIS MAY TRIGGER YOU IN ANY WAY.

Thank you so much for this request. Sorry it took me so long, it was a lot to take in and I tried to do it justice in the best way I could. I am so sorry if any depictions are inaccurate, or if you don’t like this! Please do not read if this may trigger you in any way. Your own mental health is important so please take care of yourself. You will always have my support. No means no, and things depicted in this fic are NEVER okay.

Also, side note, so sorry for all of those who have sent in requests and are still waiting! I just finished uni for this semester so I will catch up on all requests during my break!

Original story by sarcastically-defensive17

The lights were flashing all around them. Strobe flashes dancing across the skin of each person crowded on the dance floor.

The bass of the music was thumping through the building, shaking the floor and reverberating through Y/N’s chest.

It was the final show of the tour, which called for a celebration. As such, Ashton had declared that the four men, and their significant others attend one of the more lowkey clubs in L.A. as to not draw much attention and to be able to enjoy themselves and celebrate the long tour they had put their all into.

The night was going well. Y/N danced until her skin glistened with a thin layer of sweat, Calum stayed by her side for most of the night until he was pulled away to do shots with Michael and Crystal, leaving his girlfriend with KayKay at the bar.

She had put effort into her appearance, donning a fierce up-do and a sultry red lip. Calum could barely keep his eyes away from her all night, and she ravished the attention.

She hadn’t been with them for most of the tour, as she had her own work commitments, so she was more than ecstatic to have her love home, and to be able to catch their last show and celebrate afterwards.

She had missed the man that she spent many days waking up next to. Her bed had never felt so empty, and her and Duke visibly longed for the presence of the Maori man.

Even now, as she stood with KayKay, her eyes stayed locked on Calum. He was focused intently on the conversation he was engaged in with Ashton and Michael. Crystal said something that they all perceived as funny, and Y/N’s face split into a wide grin as she watched Cal throw his head back in a laugh.

His cheeks rounded more, allowing the apples of the muscles to stand out. His teeth were on show, an infectious display that could force many to mirror him. His eyes shrunk, lids overtaking until they looked near shut, crinkles at the corners as evidence of a lifetime of laughter and joy. His smile was her favourite thing to gaze upon.

KayKay leaned in close to distract her from her stares, near shouting, yet her words were still muffled by the thumping bass and the sound of voices all around them.

Both women had grown accustomed to the struggle of hearing over loud music, as they had both spent much time in the crowd watching their men perform.

“I’m going to head to the bathroom. Don’t get into too much trouble,” her purple haired friend winked, sending her an air kiss before strutting away.

Y/N and KayKay had been close since they met, and the former couldn’t thank her best friend enough for introducing her to Calum.

She watched her friends retreating figure before casting her eyes towards the bar and sending a smile to the bartender who placed her cocktail down. They had a tab going for the band, so her card was refused as she offered to pay.

A hand slid across her lower back and she leaned back into the feeling of the large appendage, believing it to be Calum.

“Hey pretty baby,” a voice whispered in her ear. It was an eerie tone that sent the hair on the back of her neck standing on end. Her body involuntarily jerked away from the person and met a smug grin on a pasty complexion.

The man in front of her would have been slightly attractive if she hadn’t already given her everything over to a man she believed to be twice the person that another could be. She was deeply in love with Calum, and no other could even begin to amount to the admiration she held for him.

“What’s a pretty little thing like you doing all alone?” The man transitioned his grin unto a smirk, and Y/N found herself disliking the feeling of his blue eyes on her. They traversed up and down her body, lingering on her chest.

“I’m here with my friends and my boy-“

“Can I buy you a drink?” He winked, disregarding her attempt to shut him down and the fact that she had a drink in her hand.

She sighed, placing her cup between the two of them on the bar, “No, thank you. I already have one. I’m really not interested, I’m sorry-“

He stepped closer to her, enveloping her in his scent of BO cutting through the overdone cologne. “You don’t need to play hard to get with me, baby. I can see that you’re dying for a good time.” He winked and she found herself wanting to throw her drink in his face.

She cringed, looking over to the direction of the bathrooms in hopes to see KayKay come out but she frowned at the sight of her friend with Ashton and Calum.

A sigh left her red tinted lips as she turned back to the man in front of her. She picked up her drink and downed the remainder of it before fixing him with a deep frown. “Im sorry, I’m really not interested. Please learn to take a hint.” Her cocktail glass clinked against the bar as she rushed to the bathroom.

She emptied her bladder, washed her hands and just stared at her reflection in the mirror. She always felt uneasy when sly people resisted taking a hint, and she wanted nothing more than to head to Calum and spend the rest of the night with him and their friends.

Her stomach felt like it was flipping within her abdomen and a wave of drowsiness overtook her. She hadn’t felt so dizzy in a long time and she was struck with confusion at the sudden wave. She had been in the bathroom for maybe 15 minutes, and it had come on so suddenly.

Her eyelids felt unnecessarily heavy. When she blinked, she was sure her eyes stayed closed for at least 10 seconds. She hadn’t felt like that before, and it brought anxiety to the top of her stomach. Her hands were shaky, almost numb as she lifted them to brush sweat from her, now glistening, forehead.

It was a struggle to pull the door open, but she breathed a sigh of relief as two women opened the offending blockage allowing for her escape. She needed to find Calum, something wasn’t right.

She had only downed two drinks, no where near enough to be this intoxicated, nor had she taken anything that sketchy people in the club had been offering.

Her stomach was flipping and she could feel her pulse pounding beneath her skin. The thudding was vibrating through her skull, doing nothing to quell the dizziness.

Calum was over the other side of the club, she knew that much, yet everywhere she stepped she connected with another person.

Hands had brushed across her feverish body, sending her nerves alight and the lighting was beginning to make her eyes ache.

She wandered across the dance floor, eyes searching for her brown-eyed boyfriend but to no avail.

She had grabbed many people to save herself from falling over, her heels doing nothing for her legs that felt as shaky as a baby deer’s.

A hand secured around her upper arm as she fell into another body. The familiar blue eyes stared down at her and she tightened her grip on the man.

“Luke! Where’s Calum?” She slurred, standing as best she could with her current condition. “Somethings wrong. D’know what happened.”

Luke knew that Y/N wasn’t okay. He had known the girl for a long time, and had spent much time with her, as she was the girlfriend of one of his best friends. Y/N wasn’t the type to get drunk often. He had only seen her have more than three drinks once, and even then, she maintained her composure almost perfectly.

This was out of the ordinary.

Sierra was alarmed immediately. Y/N looked physically sick, but what set her off more was the man that looped his arm around her friends waist.

“There you are, baby. I’ve been looking for you everywhere!” The main exclaimed, and Y/N gave him a tired look, unable to remove the offending arm.

“Excuse me, who are you?” Sierra gripped Y/N’s arm below Luke’s slowly tightening grip. Neither of them knew the man, and Sierra had a guess as to what his intentions were.

“I’m her boyfriend. Who do you think you are?” He glared at the two people, a smug grin on his face that sent a chill of anger down both Sierra and Luke’s spines.

“Si, go get Calum,” Luke told his girlfriend and she rushed off immediately, her small frame moving through the crowd quickly. “Look, mate, just let her go.”

“Are you deaf, asshole? She’s my girlfriend!” The man was getting angrier as the seconds passed and Y/N fell further and further out of consciousness.

“Bullshit.” Luke snapped. “What did you do to her?” His eyes were flaming with protectiveness. Y/N was part of his family and he felt every bone in his body wanting to hurt the man who had hurt her.

“I did nothing,” he grinned. “Now, if you don’t mind, my girl and I need to head home. As you can see, she’s a little under the weather.” His grin was sly, slimy. His eyes had a deeper motive hidden underneath the smirk and Luke’s stomach dropped at what he could imagine was going through the mans head.

“Like fuck you are,” a voice growled from behind the men, and the man who held Y/N turned with her body slumped against his in her now unconscious state. “Get your hands off of her before I break them.” Calum’s jaw was clenched, and he wanted nothing more than to throw his fist into the guys face but he wouldn’t do so while he had Y/N. He wouldn’t dare risk her getting hurt more so than she already had.

The man looses his grip slightly and Sierra grabbed a hold of Y/N. KayKay was on her other side, both supporting the woman as they led her outside and away from the men.

The man visibly retracted. His eyes became flitty, and his Adam’s apple jumped as he swallowed heavily. Calum easily had some height on him, and the addition of both Ashton and Michael behind him definitely did nothing to lessen the building fear.

“What did you do to her?” Calum growled once again, every fiber of him spinning with anger at the man who tried to take advantage of his girl. “What the fuck did you think you could do to her?”

The man stumbled over his words, stepping back slowly, only to hit into Luke who remained behind.

“I slipped something into her drink. Look man, I was just looking for a good time, s’all. I didn’t mean anything by it.” The man raised his hands, face paling.

“You didn’t mean anything by it? Well that just makes everything fine!” Calum snarls, laughing sarcastically with malice shaking his every syllable. He stepped closer, trapping the pervert between himself and the other guys. “If I ever catch you trying that shit with Y/N or anybody else, I will make you wish you never had the thought to do that. You think you can just roofie and rape people and excuse it? You’re fucking lucky that you didn’t get her out of the door.”

The man was shaking in fear now, his body trembling as he fought to draw his eyes away from the angry Maori in front of him.

“I have half a mind to beat the shit out of you right now, but I need to do make sure my girlfriend is okay. If I ever see your face again, you won’t know what fucking hit you, you piece of shit,” Calum snarled, his face so close to the man that he could feel the hot breath on his cheek as he was threatened.

Luke nodded at Calum over the head of the man, signaling for him to leave as the guys waited for the security guards being sent their way.

Calum was alight was rage. He wanted to cry, scream, beat the shit out of that guy and apologise to Y/N all at the same time.

How could he leave her alone? How could somebody think it was acceptable to do that to another person? The night could have ended horribly for her, and he would never be able to forgive himself if it had have.

Y/N was unconscious as the women helped Calum take her home, and she slept the entire night. Calum could barely will himself to walk away from her, let alone sleep. He slept for barely 3 hours that night.

A groan startled him as the sun rose, Y/N sitting up slowly. His shirt was polled around her legs, and she had dark circles underneath her eyes.

She was upright for barely a second before she was stumbling to the bathroom, followed by Calum who sat beside her with her hair secured in his hands.

He had made sure to get her out of her party clothes last night and into one of the many shirts she had stolen from him. His heart broke even more as he watched her empty the contents of her stomach.

The retching ceased after a few minutes and she attempted to stand, but failing on shaky legs.

“Hold on, baby,” Calum told her, grabbing a cup from the cabinet above the sink and filling it with water for her. “Here.”

“Thanks...” her hand was pressed against her forehead, memories of the night before appearing in fragments in her mind. She knew she hadn’t had much to drink, but it took her a few minutes to remember what happened the night before.

The feeling of the venomous blue eyes watching her. The tangy taste of her drink. The heaviness of his hand on her waist and the way her eyelids refused to stay open.

She felt as if she had been struck by the worst motion sickness possible, and guilt washed over her as she thought of how her actions must have ruined the previous night.

“Are you okay?” Calum moved his hand towards her slowly, waiting for any sign of disapproval before gently resting his hand on her knee.

She shook her head, trying to stop tears from falling as she thought of the man from the previous night. “I’m so sorry.” Her voice was barely above a whisper, and she didn’t raise her eyes to meet his.

If she had have, she would have seen the perplexed frown that he adopted. “What for?”

She sighed, hoping he would simply be mad at her, allowing her to forgo the explanation that she thought obvious to both of them.

“I should have been careful last night. I was stupid and because of me, I bet the night was ruined.”

“You should have been careful?” Calum gaped, watching as she softly nodded. “Babygirl you shouldn’t have to be careful.”

She rose her head, catching his eyes as he sat on the bathtub edge, staring down at her frame that was resting against the Basin cabinet. She cricked an eyebrow, confusion setting in her features.

“But I didn’t pay attention to my drink. If I hadn’t have found Luke-“

“A woman should be able to go to a damn bar and not need to worry about some sleezebag taking advantage of her, Y/N. I’ve been fighting with myself all night. I shouldn’t have left you alone, and I am so sorry that I left you to get into a position like that on your own, but you should be able to be fucking safe, on your own, in a fucking public space.” Anger was coursing through his body once again and he clenched his fists together, resting his forehead on them to try to hold back the angry tears. “A woman shouldn’t need to constantly have somebody witness her to guarantee her safety, and I want to ring that little assholes neck for thinking he could try and take advantage of you like that. I should have, but I didn’t. I should have been there for you, and with you. If you hadn’t have found Luke then I would never forgive myself.”

His shoulders began to shake softly, tears dripping down his forearms and onto the times beneath his feet.

She sat up on her knees and placed her hands on his shoulders to still his movements. Her own tears had been flowing for so long that she hadn’t realized the cool wetness on her flesh.

“Calum, baby, you have nothing to feel guilty about,” she met his brown eyes with her own orbs, his head shaking in disagreement as he sniffed. “You did absolutely nothing wrong. The only one to blame is that scum bag. I’m

going to report him today. I don’t want him to think he can try shit like that with any other person.”

“Want me to come with you?” He used his hand to brush some tears from her cheeks.

“Of course I do. I always want you with me, Cal,” she whispered to him, brushing the tears as they fell.

“I love you, and I’m so sorry that you went through that. I’m sorry I wasn’t there from the beginning.”

“It’s not your responsibility to watch over me constantly because other men think they have the right to do what they want to women whenever they want.” She smiled softly, pressing a soft kiss to his lips. “You have nothing to apologise for, my love. I’m just thankful that I have somebody like you to help me through this.”

“You’ve always got me, baby.” His eyes bored into hers with intensity, and she shifted forward to press her forehead against his.

“I need to thank Luke and Sierra. Between them and you, I basically have my own team of beautiful superheroes by my side.”

Calum laughed softly, standing and pulling her to her feet beside him, encircling her in his arms and pressing a kiss to her forehead.

“I’ll always protect you, baby.”

Tag List: @mantlereid @theanswertoeverythingisl0v3 @starshonerose @another-lonely-heart

[ducktracy]

162. porky and gabby (1937)

release date: may 15th, 1937

series: looney tunes

director: ub iwerks

starring: mel blanc (porky, gabby, truck driver)

a new name in the director’s guild for the first time in 9 months! feels longer, doesn’t it? ub iwerks, as in flip the frog creator and co-creator of mickey mouse iwerks, landed a very short term gig at warner bros. his warner bros gig was essentially a freelance gig as he floated around studios. he got some work to do, and leon schlesinger was able to meet his cartoon quota. he only directed 2 cartoons until one day he just up and left, leaving his unit to bob clampett. after jack king left the studio in 1936, iwerks came. bob clampett, who had been promised a position by schlesinger for quite some time, wasn’t too happy that this new guy was stepping in and taking a directorial position after HE had been promised a position for quite some time, so schlesinger appointed him to help iwerks out and to get that looney feel in the cartoons. clampett took chuck jones, bobe cannon, and manager ray katz with him. thus, when iwerks left, clampett inherited the unit. essentially, he, chuck, and bobe acted like co-directors on the iwerks films, refining them to give the films a more warner bros feel. clampett’s first entry, porky’s badtime story, was started by iwerks before he left the studio. this newly formed unit became known as the ray katz unit, separate from the leon schlesinger unit.

with a new director comes a new “star” (or not): gabby goat. gabby was warner bros’ response to donald duck. a temperamental, brash, angry sidekick to balance out the good-natured, happy go lucky, though slightly bland porky, whose personality was still up in the air. bob clampett credits cal howard for the creation of gabby, who would actually voice him in gabby’s final appearance, get rich quick porky. gabby himself only starred in three cartoons, never making it out of 1937. however, storyboards for clampett’s porky’s party (1938) DO show gabby (and petunia) starring alongside porky in the short. gabby really interests me as a character. he was so rude that his brash personality was considerably toned down by his last entry. he paved the way for daffy as a sidekick—in fact, clampett would remake porky‘s badtime story in 1944 with tick tock tuckered, daffy usurping gabby’s role in the cartoon. while gabby (and iwerks)’s stint was short, he was actually revived in the second season of wabbit/new looney tunes in 2018, voiced by bob bergen! he’s an interesting case who i like a lot, even though he doesn’t have much to show for himself.

the synopsis speaks for itself: porky and gabby are headed for a peaceful camping trip, but a variety of mishaps threaten any ounce of their enjoyment.

iris in with porky and gabby (literally) trucking their way through the rolling country side, their car brimming with camping essentials and more. a jolly motif of “gee, but you’re swell” scores quite a majority of the cartoon, and the opening scene is no exception. gabby doesn’t seem to share the same appreciation porky does for the outdoors, haughtily slumped over in his seat as porky asks “sure a swell day to go camping, isn’t it, gabby?” 

before gabby can respond, their jalopy hits a rock, which catapults all of their camping supplies up into the air. thankfully--because why else?--the supplies piles back up neatly in the trunk, recovering from the bump. that is, except for one. a frying pan smacks gabby right on the head and gives him a shiner, much to porky’s amusement. gabby, full of malice, growls “YEAH!” in porky’s face.

just then, the two get stuck behind a moving van. we hear excessive honking as their jalopy zigzags back and forth, attempting to squeeze past, but the van is too big for the small country road they’re on. gabby is the perpetrator behind the horn, doing a fleischer-esque shiver take in anger as he honks on the horn and hurls insults. “hey you! get that big crate off the road! move over, we ain’t got all day! what’s the matter with you, you deaf!? you can hear that, can’t ya!?” while gabby engages in his hotheaded rant, porky, behind the wheel, is able to pull up next to the van, where gabby now yells at the bewildered truck driver in person. “get over, ya big sheep!” 

as gabby threatens to “bounce one up [his] chin”, the truck driver pulls on a lever, attached to a hand shaped paddle. the paddle smacks gabby right in the face, causing him to spin around and dangle helplessly from the outstretched paddle as porky drives on ahead, clueless. reused from porky’s romance and from the radio show community sing, the truck driver tells gabby not to get excited. gabby retaliates in a flurry of sped up anger (the voice clip reused from porky’s romance) “EXCITED?? WHO’S EXCITED!? I’M NOT EXCITED!!!”

conveniently, the paddle dumps gabby right in a mud puddle, sparking another angry outburst, now spewing insults and mud alike. porky, still driving on his merry way, overhears gabby’s rampage and screeches to a halt, now driving in reverse. the animation in this scene and the next one is nice and rubbery, very elastic and stretchy. ub’s cartoons are hardly the most entertaining, but i do love how rubbery and tactile his animation is. a jolly underscore “gee, but you’re swell” triumphantly scores porky’s demise as he too is smacked by the passing paddle on the moving van. he’s then tossed out of the driver’s seat and splayed onto the hood of the car.

while gabby continues his muddy ranting and raving, the car conveniently runs right over gabby, halting just above him. porky looks around, befuddled, stuttering “hey, gabby! where are you?” mel’s deliveries as gabby are more than amusing as gabby growls back “where am i! where am i? now ain’t that a smart question! i’m under the car, you big fathead!” porky, unscathed by the remarks, climbs back into the driver’s seat and tells gabby he’ll pull up. he does so, running over gabby’s head in the process. more scathing remarks from gabby, with some particularly fluid and lovely animation as he jumps up and down in the mud puddle.

transition to the two back in their car, inching their way up a very steep incline. there’s some lovely synchronization between the animation and music as the car trucks its way up, the water in the engine spurting with each push up, all in time with the music. this collaboration is furthered as the score slows down, now as fatigued as the car trying to truck its way up. very clever indeed. just as they finally reach the top, the engine dies.

porky suggests pushing, much to gabby’s chagrin, making his distaste known by slamming the door as he begrudgingly exits the car. more rubbery animation as porky pulls at the bumper from the front, gabby pushing from the back, griping about how he wishes he’d stay home. “i don’t like camping, anyway!” porky manages to pull the bumper off the car entirely, just in time for gabby to get a running head start and ram into the back of the car, causing the car to topple over porky and barrel down the hill.

quite an interesting switch in angles as the duo run down the hill to catch the car, the decline turning into an incline once more, with the car slowing considerably and beginning its journey up the hill. now, porky and gabby run AWAY from the car, not towards it, as the car slides back down the hill, seeing as it can’t accelerate or decelerate on its own. predictable, yet fun to watch as porky and gabby engage in a game of cat and mouse with the car, the car ultimately barreling into them, sending the two twirling up into the air and landing neatly back in their respective seats. cartoon physics to the rescue!

a bit confusing as the car suddenly gains life again, trucking uphill, exhaust coming out of the pipe, but so be it. porky and gabby FINALLY reach their destination, the score now a rendition of “speaking of the weather” (which is the title of a frank tashlin merrie melody as well!) but, as we all know, this is only half the battle. porky triumphantly declares “well, here we are! i’ll put up the tent. you unload the car.” judging by the way porky moves and how gabby squints at him in contempt afterwards, i’d wage this as bob clampett’s animation. gabby retorts “yeah, i get all the hard work!” he struggles to untie the endless luggage piled up on the car. instead, he pulls the weight of the entire car on top of him, luggage spilling out on the ground as the car does a few barrel rolls, landing neatly right side up. gabby pokes his head out of the luggage pile, giving the audience an angry trademark Gabby Wink/Grimace. 

elsewhere, while porky’s setting up the tent, a pesky bee comes to assess the situation. i wonder if bees in cartoons are an ub iwerks thing, or just a coincidence--in porky’s badtime story, which was started by ub, there’s a scene where porky tries to swat a bee away with a pillow, hitting gabby in the process. this could have been a clampett gag, but it wasn’t included in the tick tock tuckered remake, so who’s to say. some more interesting rubbery animation combined with a shiver take as porky angrily attempts to swat the bee away, getting stung in the ass in the process. the tent collapses, pinning porky and the bee together under the same tarp. the animation is just lovely to watch as the bee swoops around in circles, the tarp leaving a trail behind. very rubbery and malleable.

gabby begrudgingly prepares the furniture when he hears porky. “gabby! gabby! get a sly fwatter--a-a--a fly swatter!” gabby mutters to himself, scouting out a fly swatter, when he hits gold. a shovel. three times as big and three times as effective! gabby’s gleeful, slightly twisted grin as he charges towards the tent wielding the shovel is priceless. he’s a little too eager to bash some sense into that bee. 

porky’s still being stung to pieces when gabby arrives. this is probably one of the funniest moments in an ub cartoon at WB, the timing is just too good: gabby hesitates, watching porky writhe around in agony under the tarp, before bashing porky’s head in. porky (rightfully) cries “OW!” and we hear silence. no movement. even better is when gabby carefully picks up the tarp and looks inside, making sure his pal is still breathing. instead, the pesky bee flies out from the tarp and stings gabby right on the nose.

more wonderfully fluid animation and speed lines as gabby now chases the bee with the shovel, cursing all along the way. ub’s flip the frog cartoons didn’t shy away from cursing (lots of “damn!”s), so i wonder if he ever thought about giving gabby a proper sailor mouth. seems likely. the bee lands on the exhaust pipe of their car, and when gabby hits the pipe with his trusty shovel, the force is enough to knock out the engine of the car, popping out of the grill.

more bob clampett animation as porky recovers, struggling to tie the tent’s rope to a stake in the ground. now, porky asks for a piece of rope, much to gabby’s chagrin. “rope... rope... i ain’t got any rope! guy’s always wantin’ something. why don’t he get his own rope? ah, here’s a piece!” sure enough, a spare piece of rope slithers out from the pile of junk by the car. treg brown’s use of a donkey braying as gabby pulls on the rope is a great touch. 

unfortunately, we see that the rope is attached to the outboard motor. gabby gives a hearty tug, and the rope is freed from the motor, which activates it. the motor flies into the air, threatening to guillotine anyone who comes in contact with the blades. gabby is knocked into a hole the motor dug into the ground, peering out of it for safety (in a very similar manner to porky poking his head out of a hole in porky’s last stand). speaking of porky, he dives into his tent for safety as the motor cuts the tarp away into pieces. 

the animation in this sequence is lovely, accented by carl stalling’s favorite “black coffee”. gabby resorts to shooting at the motor with a rifle. cartoon physics--the knockback from the rifle sends gabby flying, landing on a car horn, which catapults him forward. he shoots, he bounces, he shoots, he bounces, and so forth. one excessive shot sends him flying onto a spare mattress, the spring catapulting him into the air. gabby shoots himself down, but it’s no use. the spring gets caught on a tree branch. the motor threatens to graze gabby as he yells at porky for help (”i’m caught on a limb!”). rather, the motor runs into him, sending gabby twirling around the branch and hurtling towards the ground, the spring coming loose. it’s difficult to put into words, but it’s a lovely scene with some lovely animation. 

porky, who has now miraculously found some rope, fashions a lasso and corrals the motor. “i got it! i got it!” but, as always, there’s a catch. a loop ties around porky’s legs, the motor dragging porky along in the wild goose chase. gabby scales up between two, lanky trees for safety, the motor cutting the bottoms off and making makeshift stilts. more beautiful animation as gabby struggles to stay put. eventually, the rope attached to the motor ties the two trees together, the rope loosening from porky’s legs and sending both him and gabby toppling to the ground. 

befuddled, both investigate the eerie silence--no motor in sight. that is until the familiar sound of whirring grows louder from off screen. in a panic, the two bump into each other as they scramble to escape, both flopping to the ground just in tiem for the motor to rocket over their heads. 

all hopes of a camping trip are out the window as the two scramble into their car. the engine, which had been catapulted out the front, is now pulled inside as the two speed away, hoping to outrun the deathtrap. i LOVE the detail of porky paddling at the air as they drive away, as if his meager attempts to paddle would speed the car up even more from the motor that flies threateningly close behind them. 

meanwhile, they encounter an old friend: the moving van that gabby had harassed from before. once more does gabby berate the innocent driver (”HEY! MOVE OUTTA THE WAY, WE’RE COMIN’ THROUGH!”) as we get an interesting angle of the motor heading straight towards the audience. 

porky and gabby duck, ready to meet their demise when the motor crashes into their car, pushing the car forcefully into the moving van. a cloud of smoke as the crash ensues. the truck driver has a tire dangling from his next, much to gabby’s delight. gabby bursts into a fit of hysterical, bleating laughter, nudging a dazed porky so he can get a good look. the van driver pulls on his trusty lever, and the hand shaped paddle from before gives gabby a well deserved smack. iris out as both the van driver and even porky beam at gabby’s humiliation.

what an interesting cartoon, to say the least! there’s a lot of layers to it, while simultaneously, there aren’t at all. to put it bluntly, at surface level, this isn’t a very good cartoon. a few plotholes (like porky randomly finding a rope after he needed one, the car miraculously working again after it had died, etc--but these are mainly cases of cartoon logic, don’t take these too seriously. these are observations rather than critiques), and the plot itself is very bare-bones. this is moreso a series of mishaps rather than a cartoon with a concrete storyline.

yet, with that said, i still enjoy it. the animation is the best part of the cartoon. i’m a very detail oriented person, and not a big picture person, which serves me well and detrimentally at the same time. so, i absolutely love how fluid, bouncy, and fun the animation is in this cartoon. that’s certainly an incentive to watch it. carl stalling’s music score, as always, compliments the cartoon quite nicely. and furthermore, this cartoon has some historical significance to it. not very much, but it’s there: it’s gabby’s first cartoon. that serves as another incentive to watch--gabby isn’t too exciting of a character, but he’s so fascinating to me that i can’t help but like him. he’s like a hidden secret. porky’s first sidekick, unless you count beans, but porky was moreso beans’ sidekick rather than beans being porky’s sidekick. gabby’s pretty obscure, but someone from the simpsons was a big enough classic cartoon fan to know who he was--they make a reference to him as “disgruntled goat”. this could be a coincidence, sure, but i’m definitely thinking this is a reference, especially considering another episode referenced friz freleng’s pigs is pigs from earlier in 1937. 

in all, this isn’t a great cartoon, and you probably COULD go without watching it and be fine, but i say watch it. there’s some wonderful animation and it has some interesting history, such as ub iwerks’ first cartoon at WB and gabby’s first cartoon. check it out for yourself and see what you think!

link!

[pussypoppinhippo]

Show me How you Burlesque|| Ballum

Summary: When a burst pipe threatens the Friday night Drag show at the Prince Albert the Vic offer to host instead. The show stars Walford’s own Diana Dee Izzuez but just which one of the residents of the square is behind the glamorous performer? 

A/N: I haven’t written anything like this in maybe ten years but this struck me tonight, beware of spelling mistakes and saucy dancing below.

Spotify Playlist for this fic: https://open.spotify.com/playlist/7jVrM8LP1qwd0OvO3vqcgo?si=DtdQVAY4RkKo2ZBmbv6r4A

It was a little past seven at night on a semi busy Friday in the Vic when Tina, somewhat dripping wet despite the wonderful summer weather, came bursting through the pub doors. No one really batted an eyelid at the sight, Linda who was stationed behind the bar wasn’t all that taken aback when the soaking wet woman accosted her talking a mile a minute about drag queens, burst water pipes and a plea to move some sort of theme night into the local pub.

At a table just by the door Jay, Lola and Whitney were chatting waiting for Calum to bring the next round of drinks over from the bar, Whitney and Calum had broken up a year prior just before their wedding day after a blow up argument about the lads clear disinterest in their impending marriage. They’d only really started speaking properly again after Easter and tonight was the first real night in the pub they’d embarked on as friends.

“Apparently some sort of pipe disasters driven everyone out of the Prince Albert” Calum nodded his head over to Tina who was now drying off with a towel Mick had fetched her “ they’re moving their drag show here, starts at eight and apparently they’ve got this local performing as the main act”. Placing the drinks down on the table he took his seat next to Jay “Tina says we can stay for free if we fancy it” he added.

“A local act?” questioned Lola “I wonder if it’s that ...deedee? Ben was talking about the other week there you remember that?” she nudged Jay with an eyebrow raised.

The ginger rolled his eyes affectionately at the mention of his brothers latest nightlife obsession “ Di I think he said, apparently she’s from Walford and if I remember quite rightly he said she was pretty enough to make him consider the other side”.

Calum swallowed at the mention of the handsome mechanic, they’d started dating in secret in November and while Ben wasn’t best pleased with being kept a secret he’d understood that halfway’s father moving to Walford had made his impending coming out much more difficult.

“I say we stay! it sounds like a good laugh doesn’t it?” Whitney piped up with a grin, “ What do you think Cal?”. Nodding he gave her a smile as he reached down to send his boyfriend a cheeky text about missing out on the fun. “Speaking of Ben where is he tonight?” she asked taking a sip of her drink.

“He said Something about some hot totty” Jay snorted with a head shake “ same old Ben ain’t it? though I’m sure he’ll be sad to have missed out on all this” he motioned to the filling pub and the makeshift stage that Mick and Tina were creating toward one end of it.

They fell back into relatively normal conversation about life as they enjoyed their drink, managing to grab another round just before Kathy announced the show would be starting in five minutes time. Checking his phone Calum noted the text from his lover with a smile

‘ Sounds like I’m missing out don’t get stolen away by Walford's blue eyed temptress now ;) x’

He didn’t have time to reply to it as Kathy Introduced the nights entertainment.

“ Please give a warm Walford welcome to the Incomparable Walford vixen Miss Diana Dee Izzuez” she grinned as the first few notes of ‘Welcome to Burlesque” filled the air.

The figure that stepped onto the makeshift stage was like a vision from a Hollywood film, while the person was not particularly tall the glittery red high heels made the fishnet stocking encased legs that peeked from the slit in an equally sparkling floor length gown look long and the dress with its corseted top hugged the figure of the person it encased in all the right places. Long flowing wavy black hair framed a perfectly painted face with lips that could have been painted in blood and as they parted Calum thought he quite possibly could have died as the voice of an angel fell from them.

“Show a little more, show a little less

Add a little smoke, welcome to Burlesque”

It was seductive every move graceful and every word of the song perfectly sung as the queen on staged greeted her audience with an at ease smirk. Everyone in the pub was captivated, the Prince Albert faithful watched on with an admiration for someone they loved and the Vic’s usual punters looked on in an almost awe at the masterful mystery before them. It was only as the second verse began that a vague sort of recognition rang in Calum’s head, he’d heard that voice before he was almost certain but he couldn’t quite place where.

The seductress on stage waved an elbow length black glove encased hand at someone in the crowd as her eyes scanned the rest of them passing over the table at the back of the room with a disgruntled Phil, an interested Sharon, a captivated Louise and a fed up looking Keanu in mild interest before landing on the friends sat near the door with a smirk.

“If you wanna a little extra, well, you know where I am

Something better in the dark, just playing with your mind

There's nothing in the days, that's just for the bump and grind

Show a little more

Show a little less

Add a little smoke

Welcome to …….Burlesque.”

The song finished up and Diana took her applause with a graceful smile and leant down to accept a drink from someone.

“Y’know she does look sort of familiar” Lola popped up eyes narrowing as she studied the figure on stage “y’reckon we know her?” she asked the group who were also studying the drag queen with interest.

“Maybe it’s kush?” added whitney “ I can’t really tell the lighting here is awful”.

The ginger snorted “ can’t be we all know after New Years karaoke Kush’s tone deaf, what do you think mate?” he nudged Calum unaware that the penny had just dropped for the former army officer, Diana Dee Izzuez was sporting a rather prominent hickey just above a classic pearl necklace, a hickey that the man knew matched perfectly with one he’d given Ben mere hours before in the Arches and that singing voice one that reminded him so much of Ben singing in a hotel shower after a sneaked weekend away a month or so back.

“Uh I…no idea mate” he stumbled out trying to hide his surprise with a sip of his drink as he tried to make sense of the fact that the beautiful performer on stage could in fact be his rough around the edges boyfriend.

“Welcome Ladies, Gentlemen and those who are somewhere in between, my name is Diana Dee Izzuez but you my friends can call me Di” the queen purred voice husky with a musical lilt that had Calum second guessing if his suspicions about this being Ben were right.

“I’m going to sing a few songs and do a touch of dancing for you tonight, if you enjoy my performance there are tip jars on the bar we’re collecting money in aid of AKT who help support LGBT+ homeless youth” Di smiled before taking a sip of her red wine and setting it down on the side of the stage. Clicking her fingers above her head the next songs started up the plucky piano recognisable to anyone who enjoyed a Broadway show almost immediately.

"The name on everybody's lips

Is gonna be Roxie

The lady raking in the chips

Is gonna be Roxie”

Highways mouth went dry as he watched Di swing her hips seductively on stage, every word was sung with that same devilish smirk that he could pinpoint as the one Ben used along side witty one liners, that was most definitely his boyfriend. Her hips swayed as she clicked her fingers to the beat teasingly kicking her leg out from the slit in the dress so the audience could catch a peak of the lacey black garter and matching suspenders underneath.

“From just some dumb mechanics son

I'm gonna be Roxie

Who says that murder's not an art?”

While the change in lyrics may have went over almost everyone in the pubs head it had Sharon and Louises eyes widening in recognition although Ben hadn’t made it that subtle he’d coupled the line with a little kiss blown toward the table.

His boyfriend certainly caught it and it had confirmed what he’d been thinking, Walford’s blue eyed vixen was none other than Ben Mitchell. On stage the performance went on Di was shimming along to the beat, the little break in the music was filled with a slow seductive turn and a pretty impressive high kick showing off more of the lace hidden underneath the eye catching dress. Taking a step off the stage the crowd practically parted  as Di didn’t miss a beat heels clicking in time with the music as she purred the lyrics.

Think of those autographs

I'll sign,

'Good luck to ya, '

Roxie!

She leaned over signing a piece of paper that was offered toward her with a flourish, she made her way toward the back of the crowd interacting with people as she went. Di never wavered once while singing leaning over to kiss a miserable looking Keanu’s cheek as she breezed past the Mitchell table and worked back toward the stage leaving the woman at it stifling giggles. Reaching the group of friends at the front she shot Calum a wink.

“the audience loves me!

And I love them

And they love me for loving them

And I love them for loving me

And we love each other

And that's because none of us

Got enough love in our childhoods

And that's showbiz

Kid”

Di had leant toward them as she’d sung the lines and the last few  had definitely been aimed toward Calum who was trying his best not to turn beet red. He was definitely going to have to have a long talk with Ben after this and perhaps he’d suggest those heels make an appearance at their next weekend away. She climbed back onto the stage finishing the song with a flourish and a smile before smoothing her hands over her curves then bending down to pick up her wine.

“Y’know those pearls…. they looks a bit like the ones you showed me with the one pink pearl in the centre” Jay arched an eyebrow at Calum who hadn’t quite managed to get his blush under control.

“No…no don’t think so mate” the taller man spluttered trying to avoid eye contact, he’d noticed it as well that  the pearl necklace Di was wearing was identical to the one he’d bought Whit for their wedding day but had never given her, the one he was sure was supposed to be nestled in his bedside drawer back at the flat.

“Wait ...do you know who she is Cal?” Whit questioned as everyone at the table turned toward him, looking at him expectantly she leaned in a little more “have you figured it out?”

Shaking his head he was just about to blurt out an excuse when a voice from the stage interrupted.

“ For this next song I’m going to need a handsome volunteer” Diana pretended to scan the audience her eyes almost immediately landing on Calum who was trying to lean away from his ex almost wife who had leant in to try and get information out of him, the little flash of jealousy in Di’s eyes was gone almost as soon as it appeared.

“hmmmm you” she purred pointing to Highway “ give that tall glass of water a round of applause as he makes his way up here oh and barkeep?”. She waved a hand toward Mick with a dazzling smile “ two of your finest whisky please for me and my friend here”.

While she’d been speaking Kathy had slipped a chair onto the stage, of course she knew exactly who Di was, Ben had approached her about the drag nights after he’d done a few gigs at other clubs but she wasn’t quite sure why exactly instead of the usual anonymous handsome punter he’d picked Calum for this bit.

Making his way onto the stage after some pushing from the others Cal allowed himself to be pushed down into the chair eyes taking in just how gorgeous the other was up close in drag.

“ be good for me lover boy” Di purred in his ear as the music for the next song started up leaving Calum blushing to stand behind the chair.

“The demon queen of high school has decreed it

She says Monday, 8am I will be deleted

They'll hunt me down in study hall

Stuff and mount me on the wall

Thirty hours to live, how shall I spend them?”

Up close like this the taller man could smell the perfume Diana wore, the musky floral scent was definitely expensive and the note of something very strictly Ben peeking through it was definitely making it that much more alluring. Diana's hand slid down Calums chest as she sang undoing the top button of his white button up with gloved hands. Her hips still swinging she danced around the man in the chair using him as a prop to help enhance her performance. Every word of the song was sung with such passion the lanky man was sucked in, so enchanted he wasn’t expecting the lap full of Di that he ended up with.

"Shh…

Sorry but I really had to wake you

See, I decided I must ride you ‘til I break you

'Cause Heather says I gots to go

You're my last meal on death row”

She guided his hands to her hips and faced the audience as she seated herself in his lap the pleased smirk of blood red lips saying it all the watching audience. Calum’s eyes drifted toward his group of friends who were giggling, grinning and wiggling their eyebrows at him as he received what could best be described as a lap dance from the other. He was most definitely past blushing and was now an almost permanent shade of pink that perhaps could only be matched by the shade of red Phil Mitchell had turned when his wife had explained exactly who the tart on stage was really.The Dance continued just as raunchy as Di rolled her hips and halfway hands wandered ever so slightly to run over the curve of waist the corset was giving the beautiful babe in his lap.

Get your ass in gear

Make this whole town disappear

"Okay, okay!"

Slap me, pull my hair

Touch me

There and there and there

And no more talking!

Whoa!

Love this dead girl walking!

A slap to the man's thigh and then hand tugging halfways hair in time with the song sent the crowd cheering and they only got wilder as Diana stood in front of him and ripped the skirt from her dress revealing lace boy short style panties that at that moment only Calum could see had the word ‘saucy’ stoned in red gems on the back and that matching lace suspender set that held up fishnet stockings. Hitting the note at the end of the song the place practically erupted as Di took a bow and then the whisky offered on a tray by Mick handing one to Calum before cheersing him. Downing it the undertaker stood up moving to make his way off stage but not making it very far as he was caught by Miss Diana who spun him around and promptly kissed him on the lips. Despite the moment of panic it brought immediately Calum found he didn’t actually care and pulled the other closer to deepen the kiss ever so slightly appreciating that with Ben in such high heels he didn’t have to bend into the kiss so much.

Parting to wolf whistles from the crowd Halfway slipped off of the stage and back to his table where he was greeted by raised eyebrows.

“SO you don’t her then?” questioned Jay as he crossed his arms.

“ never kissed me like that cal” Whitney added reaching over to wipe a spot of red lipstick that had transferred over to the corner of his mouth.

“ So c’mon spill, who is the mysterious Diana Dee Izzuez” prompted Lola as they all leaned in toward the other so they would be able to hear his answer over the beginnings of Britney's Toxic.

The door near the back of the pub slammed followed by a muffled “Phil!” and Calum could only chuckle his eyes were drawn back to the dancing figure on the stage who had gone from Hollywood glam to sex kitten.

“ Well I’d say he’s a talented man with daddy issues” he grinned, glancing over to the others at the table “but I think you’d know him better as Ben Mitchell and he’s my boyfriend”.

[mlephoebe]

Y NOT FESTIVAL!!!

Head of tape returns and gets promoted to head of signs too. Stay tuned for the full story.

So after 1 day at home I head back out to Y Not festival. Once arriving at Cromford train station I genuinely thought I was going to be mugged by fairies, if you have ever been to that dainty station you will thoroughly understand. After paying £25 for a taxi to sight I was there and first thing I will mention is how beautiful the surrounding area was. We were quite literally in the middle of nowhere, with the landscape being absolutely stunning.

Upon arrival I was starving but the beautifully wonderful Cal and Em saved me lunch from catering which I think really shows how beautiful those 2 are as the pudding that day was absolutely to die for, it was chocolate lasagne, that’s the best I can describe it to you. Once I’d filled my tummy the wonderful Flynn aka Finley helped me with the tent set up, this time we had a table in the middle of all our tents which was great as it really felt like a family camping weekend haha.

There were some new faces joining us for Y Not to which we all greeted with big smiles. Wednesday was kind of the slow day, making some of the riders up but mainly dividing and labelling the wines. And of course organising the fridges so obviously the trusty production line was back, and boy did the team work result in the dream work yet again.

Before I fully get into this post I think I should address the cat in the room, that is the headlines that have been circling this years Y Not festival. And honestly after this past weekend talking to someone who works in crowd management and hearing how even they, who were not even on sight thought that everything that could possibly be done had been, kind of reassured all the negativity that I heard despite knowing fully well that everyone on sight handled it to the best of the abilities at hand.

So this festival began on Thursday, only a limited amount of acts were performing that day, making it have a relaxed feel before the storm ahead. The weather was beautiful, spirits were high and it all ended on such a fab note with Feeder headlining, who might I add were bloody insanely fantastic. Also want to give a shout out to a band called The Skints who performed on Thursday. Just generally fab people on and off stage and honestly some of the most genuine performers I met all weekend. Would highly recommend checking them out if ska/reggae is your thing, or even if it isn’t they just infect the audience with a posi, bobbing vibe and the way they incorporate the sax, just fab.

What I loved about Wednesday and Thursday was the camp site and how relaxed everyone was, bonding over cards and some left over wine from riders at truck, just gonna add here the wombats have fantastic taste in wine, so thanks guys for not drinking it(:

Friday was upon us, aka the first day of the what would turn into a messy weekend. Did it actually stop raining on this day? I don’t think it did and it honestly got to the point where I was so soaked through to the bone I lost all motivation to actually attempt to stay out of the rain, because quite frankly that was impossible. I also fell down the ramp to the Quarry stage, causing myself to be covered in mud, before 12pm! I think that was a strong hint as to how the rest of the weekend would go ahah.

So I was placed on the Quarry stage where acts such as Idris Elba, Twin Atlantic, Frank Turner, new found love of Banfi and the fantastic Everly Pregnant Brothers were set to slay the stage. On Friday I was on my own, artist liaison wise on that stage until my side kick Lauren arrived that evening. Friday was a smooth day, other than a little bump thanks to security, it went calmly to plan. We were all A ok as far as dressing rooms went this day, despite the weather making life a little bit harder for us all(: Shout out to Frank Turner who was an absolute gem, and genuine humble guy!

As you can see in the image above this is what Lauren and I had to go by on the Quarry stage. All 6 dressing rooms would be labelled on the doors each morning with timings and which bands would be in there. This simplified and made our lives so much easier through this little piece of paper. This also came in super handy on Saturday when our dressings rooms got a little messy so some jiggling around had to be done. This piece of paper helped us get riders and dressing rooms prepared in plenty of time, and quite frankly was a little life saver.

In this post I want to highlight some acts that really stood out to me that I got to catch on Friday the Everly Pregnant Brothers graced the Quarry and wow they held the audience fantastically we were all blown away as to how loved they were, it's great to watch an audience really love something and this was a performance that stuck out majorly. I will be posting a clip of their performance separately to this post as I can not quite figure out how to include it in here lol.

I also got to catch the amazingly brilliant Heck and Bury Tomorrow on the Nest stage, firstly if you like heavier music, Heck are an absolute MUST SEE LIVE they're honestly brilliant with their performance, slaying each and every time. I honestly don't think most of the audience was quite prepared for what was going to be witnessed ahaha.

Bury Tomorrow blessed us all at Y Not as well as Truck and I somehow ended up singing with them, CRAZY I know, especially because I can't sing but I am still on a massive high from it because they're such a big band in British metal. As per usual they were fantastic!

 Saturday was not a great day at all, not for anyone. The ground was a mess, not surprising due to the mass of people and the crazy downpour of rain the day before, luckily though it would be dry until late afternoon, this was appreciated by a lot of people. This picture below was taken out the back out the Quarry stage. This made walking to the stage from the dressing rooms a bit of an effort(

 My feet this day were not in a great place either, little tip for you all, it may be a clever idea to go out and buy walking boots to wear on a festival site but keep in mind you WILL need to wear them in prior to the event, other wise your feet with be ruined. And we do not realise how much we take those parts of our body for granted until its too late. Just coming from an idiot that made that very mistake. so obviously that did not bode well.                                                                       If you read the Truck blog, would recommend in doing so if not you will remember the brief mention of Deaf Havana's rock and roll moment of damaging their dressing room, well that dressing room was put up on the quarry stage, to which the act Cast were put in on Friday evening, lovely people I must say but despite their age, they were party animals still, quite clear from the aftermath of said dressing room. I did cover the holes in said room to make it look semi- presentable for them, covering them up to look a slight bit better did work, fear not. But Saturday morning came with chocolate cake everywhere, and I mean everywhere and not just cake but anything and everything that was on their rider. It was VILE. Smudged into the holes on the floor in empty bottles, food and drink covered the walls, I don't think I have ever seen anything quite like it. So obviously with everyones dampened mood this was just the cherry on the icing for myself and Lauren(: But it's the nature of the job and we battled through slowly cleaning and taking breaks to make it seem not that bad.

Here is the only picture I snapped of I think Lethal Blizzle's dressing room, couldn't be too sure on that, but this kind of highlights the layout of riders once displayed in the dressing rooms. I'm very annoyed with myself that I did not snap a pic of the amazing job of bunting I did, the wind and rain did not defeat me there (:

Due to the weather the main stage was unfortunately juggled around massively, but us lot on the quarry stage didn't mind too much as it meant we got main stage acts put on ours, when I say we were happy, it is manly due to the fact the lovely Mr Motivator was put on early Saturday morning and my god did he quite literally lift everyones spirits up, I can not scream this from the top of my lungs enough. So of course we danced along side stage and had to get a team pic, it was only right(: Team Quarry Fam!

 To lighten up the mood of this blog, because to be honest despite the downside of this festival a lot of good things came from it. I honestly believe Mr Motivator brought the goodness. On the Quarry stage we had BBC introducing acts, to be honest I had never heard of any of them prior but good gracious me were some of them insane, and need to be mentioned. First up Oddity Road, I don't think you will find anyone who caught them that would disagree with me when I say they were insane live, and completely owned the audience and stage, their stage presence and sound for an up and coming band was shocking and I could not quite believe how little time they had been together, they reminded me of a rockier version of the Vamps.

Unknown Era also graced our stage on Saturday and wow they were nuts, If you like reggae, ska, punk, indie sounding music defo give them a listen, or maybe hit them up on youtube as it's worth watching a live performance as they were sick, and really were having a fab time. Also shout out to their outfits because their style was on point, must have been freezing but they looks lit.

My new found love of Banfi also blessed our stage on Saturday, just the 3 of them rocked up again to Y Not and sweeped the stage away with their soft, catchy tunes.

Yet with an up comes a down and boy did Lethal Blizzle bring the down, obviously he didn't quite literally do anything wrong but his set went from buzzing to dead, quite literally and that's when the real shit kicked off. I came back from getting Idris Elba's managers pizza and was trying to get through the Quarry tent to get back stage when I was hit with the crowd evacuating the tent, obviously being very confused as to what was going on the worse things pass your mind especially when there are 3 girls on the floor, going to skip the deets but scary shit happens at festivals and its honestly made me think about drinking the water sent out at shows in future because you can never be too careful, trust me. I also think if you have not realised how muddy it was at this time this is also the set we had a guy break his leg in the mud, lovely, absolutely spectacular. But this is when security was the tip of the cake for us, and the 5 of us on the quarry stage had to act as security which was a massive pee take omg.

So as you can probably tell the rest of Saturday ended on a sour note, and our moods needed another motivator lift(:

  I woke up on Sunday morning and honestly struggled so much to get out of bed, however the thought that the wonderful Twin Atlantic were on my stage, made the effort worth it as the whole TA team the previous week were fab. This was a factor that honestly got us all up that day. Once at the liaison cabin I discovered that the night had been long for a few of the team due to the making of the heavy decision of cancelling the final day of Y Not and honestly I can not stress how relived I was that it was shut off early. The right decision had fully been made as the resources just were not there to carry on in the state we and the site itself were in. So with that news came that fab team work ethic everyone had, we all put on our hi-vis and headed out to direct the public to car parks, pic up points and buses, as quite honestly security were not there to do so. This was fantastic, the sun was actually out, a bit too out as I got majorly burnt on my face, which did not go visually well with a very tired looking face on the train home, a few people stared too long (: This role was enjoyable I must say, talking to the public and realising that they did have a great time and helping those really struggling drag their luggage through the mud. Obviously with happy customers ca some negative ones but nothing a smiley face couldn't fix. And what I loved most was how everyone just had a bloody smile on their faces, despite the reason we were all their navigating punters it didn't matter. Lunch was distributed to us on which was a blessing and it realy just puts a massive grin on my face thinking back to it as despite all the shit we went through that weekend this day was like the weight had been lifted and we all just bonded and got on with it anyway(:

So with the punters away it was down to us to either leave or stay in the glamping tents till Monday, I chose to head home, my bed was calling for me and with that Y Not was over. Let's just hope next year's rolls a little smoother ahaha(:

 Roll on 2Q Lincoln in October ayeee(:

[roe-and-memory]

post cars 1 but before the 2007 season (so like, the january of 2007)

[roe-and-memory]

in the case of strip and cal, i think a little bit about bill and chase elliott — specifically the pictures and silly interviews from when chase was a baby. except, in this case, cal is the itty bitty nephew that strip wants to show off to everyone because “this kid is gonna continue my legacy one day, i just know it”. and i just think its adorable. but i also just think about strip and cal a lot in general.

cal grows up on the track, his parents are super close to his aunt and uncle and they basically do everything together, and cal gets so many cool opportunities to see how racing works from the pit crews pov. he gets to wear headphones, sit beside strips crew chief in the pit box, and he gets to watch the races up close and personally. i dont think anyone ever pushed racing onto cal, but he did know he wanted to be a driver and everyone made sure he didnt feel pressured to be one.

strip taught cal how to drive in the fields behind the farmhouse, and although these lessons were rare because cal lived in a city three hours away, he picked up a lot of information fast and started karting.

after the accident however, when his parents passed, he lost his hearing, and he was placed in the care of his aunt and uncle, a little bit of that spark died and became fear. he’d put so much effort, so much of his life, into racing already, that it felt near impossible to choose something else. he wanted to do it, but he was so terrified of the crashing aspect, and so heartbroken because everything happened so damn quick, that he almost didnt tell strip. almost.

it was nerves more than anything, the first practice in the fields since everything happened, and he’d already been strapped into the car and was about to be on his merry way when he abruptly blurted out that he was terrified and he didn’t know if he could do it anymore.

strip kind of paused, but understood where he was coming from and decided he would vow to protect cal from any crashes, no matter what it takes. he taught the kid defensive driving, how to drive in a pack and avoid the big ones, and any skills he would need to stay safe, alert, and unharmed.

obviously, racing careers are lame without crashes, but by the time cal is 19 and having his debut race in the piston cup, the 2007 fireball 500, that fear of crashing is almost gone. hes a grown up now, the accident was 6 years ago, and he feels much safer in that car than he wouldve in a regular car driving down a highway. he will continue strips legacy.

[roe-and-memory]

lightning has two sides to watching a movie: super annoying and talkative (mostly making fun of the movie) or being completely locked in.

bobby would more or less be on the annoying side, making him and lightning the ultimate “nobody wants to sit around these two” in a theatre duo. cal, on the other hand, isn’t necessarily locked in — he’ll make the odd comment here and there on the films content — but he also struggles. So Bad. with watching movies because of his hearing impairment.

he gives lightning and bobby crazy side eyes if theyre too loud, because Yes he loves them but also stfu!! he cant hear it!!! he’ll turn his hearing aids up and be in despair at the fact he can just hear Them even louder now.

he prefers movies that lightning will get super into because, lets be real, lightning isnt all that great at controlling his own volume so he’ll sometimes get a little loud (on accident. hes not good at whispering At All. cal cant fault him for that because thats so real)

bobby, however, is much better at getting cal’s annoyed hints than lightning is, so sometimes he’ll just tell lightning to stop and watch the movie because they were getting a little Too goofy

[roe-and-memory]

the trio should all have their own respective injuries/issues so thats why im opting to break bobby swifts sternum and multiple ribs in a wreck 👍

like its a ROUGH injury. 3 or more months to heal, i can imagine bobby going stir crazy not being able to drive but cal and lightning make sure to include him in their celebrations whenever they win

he’ll be at the track for every race, RSN hires him as a temporary guest pit reporter, and he gets to goof around with his friends even if laughing makes it feel like someones stabbing him in the chest . i can imagine there are pictures out there of bobby and lightning or bobby and cal standing beside a trophy together (they won it together) (technically they didnt but the bromance is Strong) (they just Act That Way. 100% theres a photo of lightning goofing around and holding bobbys side like theyre in a romance)

[roe-and-memory]

cal weathers parents died in a car crash and he’s deaf (also from the crash, hes just Lucky he didn’t die.) toodles!

[roe-and-memory]

Cal headcanons maybe??? :3333

ANON, WE’RE BEST FRIENDS NOW. THANK YOU

cal is my boy, my son, my shining star, my silly, and many more.. allow us to fucking ruin his life (the favourite character treatment, if you will)

i hope u enjoy these 💥🔥

- hes deaf! this is my favourite hc ever i came up with it myself. hes Deaf and uses hearing aids - this was caused by the crash his parents died in (as he was in the vehicle with them if it wasnt obvious)

- he was 13 when his parents died

- he grew up watching his uncle race. he was a STAPLE in the dinoco pit box and when he was 11 or 12 he was strips crew chief for a race (strip won it too)

- strip taught him how to drive in one of the fields at their house - he mowed a track around it with a tractor, made cal get in the drivers seat, and told him to just Drive. (he was taught using Lynda’s old derby car because as strip expected, the very traumatized 14 year old he put behind the wheel DID in fact crash into the corn stalks and strip had to chase after him and pull him out of the car)

- he is probably the most careful driver you will ever meet. its the trauma, dare i say, but the probability of him crashing is much less than the Other Two. bobby and lightning poke fun at him for being so careful behind the wheel because “he doesnt have fun”, and whenever he gets serious behind the wheel they both giggle and quietly make fun of him (its like when you turn on the light in the car and your dad yells at you, white knuckling the steering wheel staring straight ahead and u dont understand why its so serious)

- cal’s the oldest of the three as well, hes a little less than a year older than lightning, so they’d both be the same age for like a 4 month period, bobby is the youngest and gets relentlessly bullied for it.

- i dont think cal ever learnt extensive sign language after the accident. his aunt and uncle didnt know it, and they were cautious of the situation so they found ways to communicate that they could all understand - he only learnt it after meeting red, because he was curious, and it wasn’t that hard.. plus it was a bonus that he could say things to lmq and bobby that they didn’t understand

- hes the only member of the trio with a consistent brain cell. hes the Reason, but hes also silly as hell which puts him barely a brain cell level higher than his friends

- he doesnt trust other people driving him places, he will ALWAYS volunteer to drive

- cal has a lot of his old, early racing days/pre-racing days memories on one of those old, handheld film cameras. he records a lot of stuff on it when theyre all running around the infield being silly

- his silly ass is so socially awkward its AWFUL. hes great in front of cameras but as soon as someone normal asks him a question or starts a conversation hes like. erm. Um. sure? (it was not a yes or no question)

- adhd

- hearing issues also comes with auditory processing issues, he’ll ask someone to repeat themselves and then realize halfway through their repetition what they said and be like OH YEAH TOTALLY!

- after the accident he went through a phase of being Terrified that strip and lynda were trying to replace his parents. he acted out, he hated every minute of their care and affection for a while, and finally he couldnt handle Not telling them why he was acting the way he was. they were both forgiving of course, they told him they understood he was scared and this was all New and they would NEVER try to replace his parents. that Helped.

- cal is short for calamari, full name calamari weather's (roe)

- hes blonde! he and strip are both blonde - and people HAVE mistaken strip for his dad instead of his uncle, but in reality cal just looks a Lot like his mother (who was strips sister)

- adding onto above: cal being upset makes strip think of his Sister and it fucking tears him apart every time. that kid looks so much like his mother its awful.

- when he was finally old enough to drink, he won the race, got to hold the champagne bottle and pop it open but it was so horribly hot outside that he fainted while on top of the car in victory lane, fell off, shattered the champagne bottle and smelt like berries for almost a week because it WOULDNT GET OUT OF HIS HAIR. he scraped up his elbows and tore the back of his t-shirt but there was nothing worse than smelling like alcohol for six days.

- he has a baby face and its his worst enemy.

- when he was a kid and a teenager he was obsessed with picking up small animals he found in the forest behind strip and lyndas house, and hes GOOD AT IT TOO. he once brought in a whole opossum into the house shortly after the accident, totally out of it on pain medications, and told his aunt and uncle that he wanted to keep this cat he saved from the garbage can down the side of the house. they were more shocked he got outside? how did he even..?

- he also picked up a habit of eating random berries he found in the woods? hes regretted it on multiple occasions and lynda has continuously told him to stop, but what made him really stop was accidentally grabbing blueberries that just so happened to be surrounded by poison ivy. he had it up and down his arms and all over his hands for three weeks.

- boy loves bugs, every bug ever he could identify and pick up with no issue whatsoever

- he had a marine biology phase and still LOVES the aquarium

- escape artist essentially

THIS IS SO MANY thats enough for now.. I HOPE YOU ENJOYED i love him so much. i hope none of this comes off as me woobifying him because i will lose my mind 💀