#francis pratt

[francispratt]

[francisprattphotography]

"Keep on Truckin"

[surfingkaliyuga]

“Corto Maltese” Francis Portela 2022

[browsethestacks]

Corto Maltese

Art by...

1) Vlad Legostaev

2) Francis Portela

3) John Paul Leon

4) Simone DiMeo

5) Darwyn Cooke

6) Michel Fiffe

7) Bill Sienkiewicz

8) Matías Bergara

9) Tim Sale

10) Hugo Pratt

[dozydawn]

Promotional photos for General Hospital (1980) starring Bianca Ferguson, Susan Pratt, Jackie Zeman, and Genie Francis.

[ghclassic]

[fuokir]

Aena Florence Cowell - Profile

◊ Basic Information ◊

▹ Gender: Female ▹ Date of birth:  19th of February ▹ MBTI: Defender ISFJ-A ▹ Nationality: British | Welsh ▹ Blood status: Pure-blood ▹ Wand: English Oak Wood | Unicorn Core | 14 ½" Length | Slightly Springy flexibility ▹ Nickname: - ▹ House: Slytherin ▹ Patronus: Red Squirrel ▹ Boggart: Dragon/Fire ▹ Amortentia: Juniper, menthol, lime ▹ Animagus: -

◊ Appearance ◊

Aena is slightly above average height. She has long blond hair, to be honest it's hard to say what color, her hair was once very burned out in the sun, I would call it a pearl blond, with a warm undertone. Violet eyes, in her favorite sly squint. A long, straight nose, it is very easy for them to get into other people's business. Freckled skin and two facial scars.

▹ Clothing style: Ready to dress up in anything, the main thing is that it be washed and ironed. She loves trendy blouses and comfortable shoes, otherwise she just wants to look neat. ▹ Accessories: Silver earrings. A brooch with which she secures a bow on her collar. ▹ Other distinguishing features: Two scars. First received before Hogwarts, her younger sister hit her with a candlestick in a fit of rage. This scar cuts through her upper lip. The second one was obtained approximately between 4-6 class step (I still haven't decided) in a fight with Aisha. This scar is located across the bridge of the nose.

◊ Personality ◊

Aena is a person who values connections very much, and, first of all, values her own comfort. She can come across as rude due to her bluntness, although she usually tries to choose her words. For close people, Aena is the figure of an older sister, patronizing and ready to help with deed or advice. She is still clueless in conversation, but it has its own charm. If you come to her in a bad mood or in tears, she will definitely coo around you and if words do not help, then be sure that you will be taken to have fun in Hogsmeade, even if Professor Weasley did not give permission to visit the village. Due to her rather reserved nature, it is very difficult to catch her own resentment or bad mood. As a rule, she suppresses bad emotions if the pressure on her is very strong. Cowell is inclined to break loose on someone, but more often than something (Ferdinand Octavius Pratt will never forgive her for his torn portrait that once hung in the Trophy Hall). Otherwise, she learned to live such moments in herself, not wanting to impose her problems.

▹ Traits: Self-confident, imposing, diligent, cunning, communicable. ▹ Likes: Feeling of winning, gift gifts to friends and family (she is one of those people who will see a wild flower, remember you and pick it to give), To speak caustically. ▹ Dislikes: Gobstones, hates all kinds of sweets and candies (childhood trauma). ▹ Good at: Chess, persuasion, remember things quickly. ▹ Bad at: Flying on a broom (she gets motion sick), to be tact. ▹ Hobbies: Board games, Herbarium, calligraphy. ▹ Fears: Fire, fatal disease. ▹ Ambition: Become an influential person in the magical world.

◊ Family ◊

▹Father: Ambrose Thomas Cowell ▹Mother: Lavinia Marjorie Cowell (nee Brown) ▹Sibling: Aeva Francis Cowell (little sister) | Darcia Arthur Cowell (little brother) ▹ Paternal grandparents: Bertram Caspar Cowell and Marjorie Rose Cowell ▹Maternal grandparents: They do not communicate for one reason or another / Aena does not know them, as much.. ▹ Other noteworthy relatives: Angus Beresford Cowell (uncle), Anna Rayne Brown (aunt), Victor Brown (cousin), Cain Beresford Brown (cousin, illegitimate son of Anna and Angus).

▹ Pet: Couple Mooncalfs and Jobberknoll ▹ Family home: Cardiff ▹ Blood Status: Pure-Blood ▹ Social standing: Middle class family, i guess... Aristocracy? ▹ Family background: The relationship between the Browns and the Cowells became very tense after the announcement of the engagement between Lavinia and Ambrose. Both Aena's parents were strong-willed and strong-willed, and although the families did not want this union, in fear that the newlyweds would quickly fall out of love with each other when they were drawn into the routine, this did not happen. The birth of Aena, the first-born, was not accepted by applause, the parents were still very young, just about to graduate from Hogwarts. it was also that Anna, Lavinia's cousin, and Angus, Ambrose's brother, were not careful and their families found out about their union. And although the Cowells, as a fairly young purebred family, were not well known, everyone whispered about the Browns. This angered the Browns and almost all ties between the families were cut off. This did not prevent the girl from growing up in love and care, even in some kind of permissiveness. Aena was a mischievous child. In particular, she adopted the confidence of her father, and inherited from her mother an unshakable determination. Of course her uncle Angus, who frequents them (living for a while with his brother and his family), also contributed. He was cunning, playful, witty and an excellent gambler. During the early years of Ambrose and Lavinia's marriage, he often stayed to babysit his niece while his brother and his wife worked at Gringotts Wizarding Bank. It would be nonsense if, in the end, Aena did not learn to play almost as well as her uncle. Over time, her sister was born, and now not only Angus was the nanny, but Aena herself, because her sister turned out to be a completely restless child.

The Cowell family can be safely called an example of a healthy family, where everyone listens and hears each other. Where conflicts are not hushed up, but resolved. In their house there is always an atmosphere of warmth and comfort. Family members value each other, they will never refuse to help friends and relatives. Her parents still work in a bank. Grandfather was an Auror, and her grandmother worked as a curse breaker. Her uncle Angus does not work anywhere, but thanks to his skill as a card sharper, he squanders money in all directions.

◊ Relationships ◊

It is difficult to write down with whom Alena is friends to one degree or another, since she tends to call a friend a person with whom she communicated a couple of times both of them at school. Anyway, she was the most frequent communication with Amit Thakkar, Aisha Werdy(oc), Grace Pinch-Smedley and Imelda Reyes. With the advent of the New Fifth Year, Aena's friend list has become noticeably larger! Since the fifth year, a new student has appeared in Cowell's inner circle (I would like to use a specific character, but I love many MCs so much … this is a difficult choice for me, in general, your character could be here !!!). Through the new fifth year, Aena became closer to Sebastian Sallow and Ominis Gaunt. This was an interesting experience for Aena, who was very prejudiced against Gaunt due to rumors and stories from her parents. Although her parents did not want to appear biased, because they had also been the subject of all sorts of dirty rumors before, they were very afraid of ties with the Gaunts. Interestingly, thanks to MC, Cowell stopped communicating with Cressida Blume. One day, Aena managed to overhear a conversation between a newcomer and Ominis in the Hogwarts library, where the MC told in detail what he had read in a Gryffindor girl's diary. She also had a quarrel with Imelda for a while, Reyes was tirelessly talking dirty about the new one and Aena was so tired of it that she asked Imelda not to talk to her until it was all over.

Any more serious and romantic feelings were alien to Aena for a long time. Probably the culprit was gambling, through which she received joy and adrenaline. When she was strictly banned from playing within the walls of the school for as much as 2 years, for Cowell it was a global catastrophe. She was still holding small sessions of games in Hogsmeade, Aena could not find a place for herself and did not know what to do. She struggled with background anxiety for a long time, at some point losing any interest in games. Ominis became her distraction. They bumped into each other on the way to Hogsmeade, talking. Gaunt had another problem with his parents (and more problems with Sebastian), Aena had complete emptiness and disappointment in herself as a person (she was really ashamed of her actions). The Slytherins entered into a playful agreement, Aena helped the boy create the appearance of the life that the Gaunts wanted for him (minimal, but this, as it turned out, was enough), and in return Ominis was supposed to simply brighten up Aena's especially lonely days. And so, with slow steps, they became closer and closer to each other.

◊ little things ◊

Heather Mason - Silent Hill 3

Dana Scully - X-Files

Morrigan - Dragon age:Origins

Suki - ATLA

Princess Leia Organa - Star Wars

Rhaenys Targaryen - House of the Dragon

[scarlettjohanssons-mistress]

Winter painting

Warnings: First meetings, alternate universe - canon divergence,

Word count: 1.9 K

Pairing: Carol Aird x Fem!Reader

Prompt: Y/N feels like she's not good, she feels sad and she's tired.

But seeing a woman on the street indirectly invites her to draw again, and not only does it make her feel better about drawing her, it also makes her feel better in other ways.

Requests: OPEN

[Main masterlist] [Carol masterlist]

She was twenty-five years old and depressed.

Y/N was twenty-five years old and in a terrifying depression.

She knew her family had a history with the melancholy episodes that occurred every winter; but this was different.

College was killing her in one way or another.

Her family had hated the mere thought that their eldest daughter would have preferred to study, rather than marry the perfect prospect in their eyes, and not only had she decided to study, she had decided to start studying fine arts.

Pratt Institute offered an exceptional curriculum for those who wanted to study the fine arts.

Y/N knew she had a special gift with drawing. She never said it, but she knew it. Her grandmother always told her.

But, she was tired. The pressure of college, constant creator's block and bouts of melancholy were only making her paintings disastrous. At least that's how Y/N saw it.

Moving to New York had also hurt her melancholic attacks.

While she was almost always in constant conflict with her family, moving more than two thousand kilometers away from them, and from her only support, her grandmother, was difficult.

At least not everything in life was bad. New York in December was spectacular, almost magical, and her nice room in a building near downtown Brooklyn only helped this almost ephemeral romanticization of her college life.

————————————————————————

This vacation Y/N was not going to be able to travel back to her hometown because her parents had decided to travel to Travel to post-war England to visit one of her great-aunts, who was even more absurdly rich than her own parents. So, the woman decided that to kill some time and get some money of her own, she would work in a coffee shop near downtown, and in the evenings she would stay at home, anyway, it was a vacation and she wanted to rest.

And while she hated the bourgeoisie, to which, ironically, she belonged, she also had to admit that she hated her job.

She didn't know if it was the coffee beans, the smell of the flavoring syrups, the Italian coffee machine that always broke down in the mornings, her partner Francis who every morning flirted with her, with some hope of dating her, or maybe it was her boss, a bitter man who reminded her of her own father.

But, at the same time, hating her job made she appreciate her evenings all the more.

She would make herself a cup of chocolate and sit on the balcony of her apartment. She would sit in search of something to cheer her up, something to inspire her, but it never came.

Until she saw her.

Her eyes roamed over her from head to toe.

Black sneakers, slim ankles and calves that were only increasing in proportion. A brown fur coat that hid the clothes she wore; a coral-colored scarf, but that even so, despite that, left a little skin in sight, white, firm and elegant; a defined jaw, and a round chin, thin lips, well defined and outlined by a red lipstick, red perfection; an odd nose, not long, not curved, not upturned, but pretty; eyes as blue as the sky and protected by long, dense lashes, obviously made up with some mascara; perfectly sculpted blonde eyebrows; and blonde hair, short and combed, it looked and Y/N was almost sure she had taken at least a few hours to fix it.

Y/N had never seen a woman with that presence, with that elegance, and with that beauty.

The woman was staring at a sideboard in front of her building, so, quickly Y/N went back inside to pull out her drawing blog and began a quick sketch.

The long legs, the misty coat, the elegant hair, the hands covered by leather gloves.

The woman walked away from the sideboard and continued walking, until she was lost in the horizon.

Y/N closed her eyes and tried to vividly recall every color and texture of the woman.

She went back into her apartment and pulled out the crayons.

After finishing the perfected sketch, he began to fill the drawing with color. The cheeks, the hair, the scarf, the skin and the muscles of her neck.

What will it feel like to kiss her neck?

What will it feel like to run your fingers through your blond locks?

What will it smell like?

What will your perfume be?

Thoughts wouldn't let her continue with her drawing, so she simply left the blog on the table by the balcony and went inside for a third and final time.

————————————————————————

The next time Y/N saw the blonde, she was accompanied by another, equally beautiful, brown-haired woman. The blonde had the same coat, but the brunette had a much darker one. Both wore a pashmina instead of a scarf.

They both looked at the shop window that the blonde had seen the previous time.

Y/N took out her notebook again and began to perfect her drawing, as she watched the two women enter the store.

In the end they only stayed for a few minutes, leaving empty-handed, but leaving Y/N to finish her work.

As the blonde walked where she had come from, while the brunette looked around, until her chocolate eyes met Y/N's. The latter quickly put the blog away and tried to hide her face by putting the cup of green tea she was drinking in front of her.

And before the brunette's insistent gaze roamed over her disheveled figure, Y/N slipped back into her room and closed the door.

Back in the privacy of her home, Y/N admired the work she had done.

And for the first time in months, it didn't seem catastrophic.

Yes, I wasn't happy with the final result (she hated working with pencils and in her college notebook), she knew I could have done a better job with the textures, the colors, the shadows… the red of the lips seemed almost pale, almost one-dimensional; the hair lacked that semi-golden glow it possessed. But it wasn't absolutely horrible.

Y/N turned the page to look at her latest drawing. A memorial portrait of her younger sister. There were so many beginner's mistakes that Y/N almost wanted to pull the hair out of her head.

Finally, I was making progress.

————————————————————————

Days passed, and the mysterious blonde never physically appeared again. But in Y/N's mind she never left.

Another day, she had decided to take out her easel, canvas and acrylics, and thanks to the confidence she had gained from her last drawing, she decided to start a landscape painting. Snow-covered New York was something worth capturing.

She started with the sky, moved on to the trees, and when she least noticed, a brown coat and a blonde mane appeared in the frame.

Admiring the top of one of the trees.

By the time Y/N realized it, it was too late, she was almost done with the beautiful woman in the painting.

Even without her here, she couldn't stop painting it.

She put her things in and set the canvas down for the paint to dry. She left her cup of hot chocolate in the sink, grabbed her coat, put on her boots and left her apartment.

She needed to see Fred.

————————————————————————

Y/N met Fred one day on the city subway.

Fred was studying psychology at Columbia University in the City of New York, but they always went to the same café to study.

They became fast friends, Fred trying to psychoanalyze each and every painting in her surrealism class as well as its colors, while Y/N was always trying to bring out the blond man's artistic streak.

When the woman arrived at the man's apartment, she hadn't even finished taking her coat off her shoulders when she asked the question:

What does it mean when you can't get someone out of your head?

Fred got excited and ran up to his room. He returned with more than three giant books in his arms. He was going to psychoanalyze her.

Freud said that love was an idealization of the subject himself, because it came from the Id. A narcissistic aspect from which no human being was free.

Fred explained to Y/N that humans juxtapose attributes of their own ideal id on the other person to generate an emotional bond beyond the sexual.

Y/N returned home and admired the now completely dried painting.

She did not attribute anything to this mysterious woman, she had not even crossed words with her, how could she attribute anything to her?

————————————————————————

Christmas had passed without accidents.

Y/N had decided to go celebrate at the home of one of her friends.

After several drinks, she ended up falling asleep on her friend's couch.

They woke up, ate some reheated food and Y/N went home.

Just as she reached the front door of her building, Y/N rummaged through her purse to find that she didn't have her keys with her. She was literally left on the street.

She had to walk to the corner and find a pay phone. Her friend confirmed that her keys were in her house. She asked her to stay outside and wait for her friend's boyfriend.

Y/N sat down on the outside stairs and took out a small notebook that she always carried. She took out the pen that her friend had given her the night before and began to draw the phone she had been on minutes ago.

Y/N began to be guided by the sunlight, until out of the corner of her eye, she could notice a shadow, and before her head turned, a voice interrupted her.

"Excuse me, do you know what day the store across the street is going to open?"

And in front of Y/N's eyes, stood the blonde, her muse.

Sapphire eyes, defined red cheeks, with a few freckles scattered all over her face.

"I don't know. "

Y/N could tell that the corners of the red lips were pulled down a little.

"Ohh"

Y/N was metaphorically struck, so she hastened to remedy her mistake.

"But, I live in this building, and my balcony overlooks the premises".

"Oh, in that case, could I leave you my phone number so you can let me know? Really, it's urgent that I buy a gift. I should have bought it from the first day, but, I decided to wait," said the blonde, letting out a genuine and deep laugh.

"Sure, you can write it down."

Y/N turned the page and handed the woman the notebook and pen.

The woman quickly wrote down her number, but by accident, she saw the multiple drawings in the notebook.

"Thank you very much…"

"Y/N"

"Thank you very much Y/N"

"You're welcome."

The woman held out her notebook to her, causing their fingers to brush for a few seconds.

"Well, that's that, Merry Christmas." the blonde said goodbye.

"Merry Christmas."

The woman started to walk away, but suddenly turned around to find that Y/N's eyes had not moved away.

"I like your drawings," the woman winked and then disappeared for good.

Y/N felt a constant tickle in the back of her neck and lower stomach, her hands were sweating, and she felt a warmth running from her neck to her cheeks.

Y/N opened the notebook to see the woman's handwriting.

Carol Aird

+16469806357

Note:

It's literally my favorite fanfic. I LOVED writing this.

I hope you enjoy it

I appreciate the reblogs, the likes and the comments

taglist: @littlebitchsposts // @xxsekhmet

message me or send an ask to be added to my taglist!

[my-deer-history]

Francis Kinloch at Eton

Here is the entry from the The Eton College register, 1753-1790 showing that Francis Kinloch attended in 1772 and 1773.

The "F. Yonge" indicates where – or rather, with whom – he was lodged. Frances Yonge was one of the Eton "dames": women who ran specialised lodgings for Eton students, providing rooms, meals, and other domestic services like laundry. The same register provides this short biography:

Jordley's – or more correctly Jourdelay's – was the first purpose-built student residence at Eton and is still in use today.

The register also gives the following names of other students who also lodged with Mrs Yonge during Kinloch's stay:

John Amyatt

Anthony Linacre Askew

John and Edmund Bastard

Blackwell

Charles Boddam

Henry Bosanquet

Boyle

James Dawes

George Dupuis

Gerard Noel Edwardes

Charles and George Mitchell

Edward Pratt

Taylor

[lulu2992]

I've been doing an introspective RP with a friend and I've become very attached to Deputy Hudson. It feels like the game doesn't actually give us much info about her, since you have to dig through files and triggering her dialogue naturally is somewhat difficult.

Said friend recalls hearing a piece of dialogue somewhere suggesting or flat-out stating that John didn't actually "do much" to torture her. That she was even allowed to walk the halls of the gate and that her fear/isolation were what took the biggest toll. That John did torture her violently at least once, (the audio of which was turned into a sermon that you can hear at outposts), but other than that he mostly stuck to threats.

I was wondering if you had any thoughts on this? If you've heard the files or had any ideas about the methods of torture used. Just trying to paint a picture, since she and Staci deserve more justice than what they got.

We indeed don’t know a lot about Joey Hudson… Apparently, she and Pratt were originally supposed to be Guns for Hire, which probably explains why they have more combat lines than they need. However, I don’t remember anyone in the game saying that she was (relatively) well-treated or free in John’s Gate.

While she’s in the bunker, the Resistance and civilians are worried and hope she will be rescued soon. They say that she’s tough, but they think it’s not necessarily a good thing because “John loves a challenge”. As for cultists, one comments that Hudson is one of John’s “special projects” and another that he spends a lot of time with her. I suppose it’s because she was stubborn and therefore hard to break, so she required more “work”, but also because, as the Junior Deputy’s partner, she was bait. If they didn’t want to come for him, John hoped they’d at least want to come for her.

I believe she did receive “special treatment”, in a way, but that mostly included being broadcasted across the entire valley either looking in danger or screaming in pain so her colleague would want to save her. John often threatened to hurt her in retaliation, but in the end, I don’t know if she was tortured significantly more than the other captives. That’s clearly what he wanted the Deputy to believe, though.

I looked through oasisstrings and found what Hudson says about her time in John’s Gate:

That hell hole of a bunker -- I was trapped in it but my mind was somewhere else. I sorta just went through the motions, gliding along… Like you would in a nightmare. It never ended. I can't remember all of it… Just flashes… I begged people for help, but they just… smiled. I've never been around that many Peggies in one place, and every single one of them just smiling.

When you escaped the bunker… John didn't say it… but you could see it in his face. Failure. Things got worse from there… Like he was trying to make up for something. Prove to his brother he could… I never thought I'd make it out of there.

This is all surreal to me – being alive I mean. When I was in that bunker, all I could think about was the ways I would die. Think about who I was leaving behind. How every moment in my life came together and drove me to this point – this… end… You prepare yourself to die, because everything is telling you you're about to… But I'm not, and I just feel… numb.

She doesn’t talk about being able to walk freely in the bunker, so I’m not sure she (or any other hostage, for that matter) was allowed to do it. In comparison, it seems Pratt had more freedom, in the sense that he could walk around a bit in St. Francis and wasn’t always in a cage. That said, his mind, like the Marshal’s, wasn’t free at all…

As for what exactly John does to people, it’s unclear because the game doesn’t really give details, and neither do the people who had to Confess or say “yes” to him. What’s certain is that they still seem affected by what happened, ashamed of what he managed to make them say (even Jerome), and that most of them don’t want to talk about it.

In the Confession room, there’s a blowtorch…

…but how (or if) it was used, we don’t know. And it appears his toolbox only contains a screwdriver, a tattoo gun, and a stapler.

According to Sharky, John “knows all these pressure points and can make you feel pain beyond anything you ever imagined”. Another NPC, who Confessed, says he “messes with your head, asks you questions, makes you say shit you don’t wanna be saying”, but then refuses to elaborate. John knows how to hurt people physically, but it seems he doesn’t always need to do it. Sometimes, as we saw when he made Nick say “yes”, a few well-chosen words are just as effective, if not more.

Narratively speaking, I think it was a good idea not to tell us what John does or says to make people comply so easily. That, plus the fact that those who Confessed are too uncomfortable to talk about their experience, makes him an impactful villain. Players can only guess what his methods are and, given the circumstances, tend to imagine the worst. How exactly he tortures people, physically or psychologically, is a mystery, and that makes him look more threatening.

[direwombat]

a wip wednesday? on my birthday? it's more likely than you think 🎉

tagged by @adelaidedrubman and @g0dspeeed to share some wip (tysm~! <3)

enjoy the first little bit of katc chapter 6/interlude ii

Hope County, MT. September 13, 2018. St. Francis Veterans Center, Whitetail Mountains. 10:35pm.

Toiling away by the light of a single desk lamp, Jacob Seed sits hunched over his desk, going over the day’s reports. Throughout the course of the evening, his reading glasses have slipped down the bridge of his nose and now perch at its tip. His neck and shoulders ache, but the night isn’t over yet.

Years of meticulous planning and intense preparation have gotten them this far, but all that time, they were operating in the shadows. They were outcasts by choice, keeping to themselves and biding their time until given the order to strike. Joseph had taken care to amass an army, just as Jacob, John, and Faith kept them well trained, motivated, and dumb. But now that the Reaping has begun, now that they’ve declared war, they need to act fast

Victory is never a guarantee, and the longer the fight goes on, the more likely it is that the Resistance will start gaining ground. The element of surprise is gone; now, he and his soldiers are digging in for the long fight. 

This is his final stand against the world who wronged him. His swan song. His way of ensuring a better future for his brothers and sister to make up for the way he failed once before. 

He will not fail again. He can’t. 

Just as Noah survived the flood, so too will they survive the fires of war. 

And when his family is safe -- when they’re underground, hibernating in the safety of their bunkers, he can finally rest. He’ll watch the world burn, and when the smoke fills his lungs and his body gives out from exhaustion, he’ll lay his head down and close his eyes one last time. 

His work will be done. He’ll have served his purpose.

But until then, he must remain vigilant and on guard. He is their sword and shield. He has a purpose, and he can’t allow himself a moment’s weakness until that purpose is fulfilled. 

He sits up and groans as his spine realigns and a series of violent pops sound loudly in the silence of his office. With a heavy sigh, he lets the report he’d been reading float back down onto his desk. His hand reaches for the mug that rests off to the side and lifts it to his lips. The coffee inside has gone from tepid to cold since he last took a sip. His face scrunches involuntarily, the acrid bitterness too much, even for him. 

Rising from his desk, he takes a moment to stretch before moving over to the coffee maker resting on one of his filing cabinets for a refill. What’s left in the carafe is still warm, and he stops pouring only when the surface tension threatens to break. Carefully lifting the mug once again, he takes a sip. It burns his tongue and he breathes a small sigh of relief. That’s better. 

His attention turns to the bulletin board on the nearby wall and regards it with a critical eye. He’d been adding pins and grainy photographs to it as he’s been getting reports in. Overall, the Reaping has been going according to plan -- at least according to his Chosen. He holds an iron grip over the Whitetails, and according to the faxes he’s received from the Valley and Henbane, the infantry has done well to overpower the average citizen of the county.

His men are all in position and the outposts are secure. Roadblocks are in place at all entrances and exits to the Whitetails and there are regular boat patrols along the shores. Radio jammers are blocking all non-Project frequencies, cutting off enemy communication. Jess Black has been captured and is being held at the lumber mill, and Deputy Pratt is set to be shipped to the Grand View for conditioning at dawn. 

And with the rogue Deputy currently in John’s custody, he can focus his attention on neutralizing the one threat that’s his own damn fault. 

Eli Palmer knows too much.

Jacob should have known it was a mistake to trust him. Bringing in outsiders is always dangerous, but he’d been so sure he could convince Eli to join the cause. He was a former soldier and current prepper. He saw the state of the world; knew it was only a matter of time before it came to an end. It’s how he’d convinced the man to help build the bunkers in the first place. He never said anything to confirm or deny, but he’d allowed Eli to think that the bunkers were meant for everyone in the county. Or, at least he did up until a few weeks ago when he’d asked him to join the project; fight as one of his Chosen. 

After all Jacob had done to give Eli purpose -- especially after his wife took the kid and ran -- all he got in return was betrayal. The other man had all but spit in his face before sneaking away in the dead of night not just with the blueprints for the Armory, but his siblings’ bunkers as well. He’s been hiding somewhere in the Whitetails ever since, and if Jacob’s intel is to be believed, then it sounds like Eli’s trying to piece together his own army to fight back. 

The very man who helped build their arks -- their salvation -- could just as easily destroy them. Jacob needs to stop that before it happens. He needs to nip that little problem in the bud before Eli gathers enough bodies to launch a counter-attack. 

Eli Palmer needs to die.  

tagging: @wrathfulrook, @harmonyowl, @ivymarquis, @jillvalentinesday, @cassietrn, @poetikat, @confidentandgood, @strafethesesinners, @afarcry5fromstraight, @miyabilicious, @simplegenius042, @inafieldofdaisies, @josephslittledeputy, @aceghosts, @madparadoxum, @socially-awkward-skeleton, @voidika, @strangefable (taglist opt in/out)

[francispratt]

Mural Collab with Aphex 2022

[francisprattphotography]

"S w a m p B o y"

[socially-awkward-skeleton]

Chapter 38: Protect Me From Men of Violence Who Plan to Trip My Feet    

Chapters: 38/? Fandom: Far Cry 5, Far Cry (Video Games) Rating: Explicit Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Major Character Death Relationships: Female Deputy | Judge/John Seed, Female Deputy | Judge/Jacob Seed Characters: Female Deputy | Judge (Far Cry), Joseph Seed, Cameron Burke, Earl Whitehorse, Mary May Fairgrave, Nick Rye, Kim Rye, Boomer (Far Cry), Grace Armstrong, Jerome Jeffries, John Seed, Faith Seed, Tracey Lader, Virgil Minkler, Hurk Drubman Jr., Sharky Boshaw, Adelaide Drubman, Joey Hudson, Peaches (Far Cry), Jacob Seed, Staci Pratt, Eli Palmer, Wheaty (Far Cry), Jess Black, Original Male Character(s), Project at Eden's Gate | Peggies, Tammy Barnes, Richard "Dutch" Roosevelt Additional Tags: Canon-Typical Violence, Religious Cults, Religious Imagery & Symbolism, Swearing, Torture, Unhealthy Relationships, Animal Attack, Threats, Threats of Violence, Stabbing, Knives, Guns, Shooting, Non-Consensual Drug Use, Hallucinations, Sexual Humor, Sexually Suggestive Dialogue, Kidnapping, Blood and Violence, More Biblical References to Lions Than You Can Shake a Stick at, Trauma, Suicidal Thoughts, Not Canon Compliant, Past Child Abuse, Social Darwinism, Obsession, Flashbacks, Enemies to Lovers, Physical Abuse, Hand Feeding, Smut, Internalized Misogyny, Hurt/Comfort, arrow wounds, Menstruation, Coercion, Manipulation, Bloodplay, Strangulation, Disembowelment, Dead Dove: Do Not Eat, Cannibalism, Stockholm Syndrome Summary: 

Kit races into the Henbane to collect the former cult member from the jail before he can expose any of Eden's Gate's secrets. Later, she comes back home to Saint Francis with Peaches in tow and gets her new Jacob-approved cult makeover

[chazz-anova]

Lost and Found

Fandom: Far Cry 5 Word Count: 2.4k Summary: Roman Ayson is one of Jacob's most competent Chosen, but is he up to the task in front of him? (raising a puppy) Warnings: Brief mention of animal death, implied abuse A/N: WOW i haven't written in such a a long time, but i couldn't get the idea of Roman finding his Judge out of my head!!! this is also the first time i've written for Ro so this one is special 💖💖

read it on ao3!

Grey clung to the clouds like smoke stains on the walls of a chain smoker’s apartment.The ground was damp, but Roman didn’t even recall it raining. It must have been three in the morning when Jacob awoke his preferred squads of Chosen; one of the evening kennel attendants hadn’t secured a Judge’s pen and it had escaped. Ro sighed as his boots squelched in the wet peat moss consuming the forest floor. ‘What’s one damn wolf when we have dozens?’ He thought groggily.

Jewel-toned sunlight peeked over the Whitetail Mountains as dawn approached. A rough calloused hand swiped sharply through brunet tufts of hair- Roman had wasted no time trying to look presentable before answering his commander’s call. The lean man was clad in mud caked boots, a red flannel over a white undershirt, and jeans that had seen better days.

When a hand on his shoulder brought him from his thoughts, Roman whipped around to see his colleague, Staci Pratt. Pratt was a new addition to the Church- he was a squirrely little guy with a mean streak. It was surprising to see him unglued from Jacob’s hip. “Fitting to send a pet to find a pet.” Ro chuckled, earning a glare from the other. 

“This one isn’t just a pet… she’s special.” Staci said pointedly, not responding to the jab. It was something he’d become accustomed to from Jacob’s men. 

“Hmph.” Rome shrugged dismissively, “Either way, sooner we find it the better.” 

Out of the two teams searching, their pair seemed to be having the shorter end of the stick. When sunlight was just beginning to filter through the forest canopy Roman’s radio sprung to life at his hip. “Ro, we found her… I think we’ll need some extra hands though. Meet us on the shore of Cedar Lake; just north of the McKinley Dam.” The other team’s alert sounded somber. Roman shared a pondering look with Staci, who’d been slinking behind him.

“Roger that, be there in ten. With the pup.” Ro responded, smirking at his dig while Pratt frowned. 

Almost ten minutes later on the dot, the pair coalesced with the rest of Jacob’s men. The scene was eerily quiet, three other men in drab colors gathered around something. The newcomers peered over their shoulders to see a large grey wolf in the center- dead in a pool of its own blood. 

Quickly, Roman saw the reason they’d requested help: a litter of wolf cubs were nuzzling into the mother’s sticky matted fur, their eyes closed as they whimpered quietly. Eden’s Gate recruited some of the most hardened individuals as their Chosen, but this sight was enough to shake them all. “She was pregnant?” Roman frowned as he slowly stepped forward. 

One of the other men shook their head ruefully, “That scientist said it wasn’t possible for them to breed, that once they got the treatment it sterilized them…” 

“It was impossible. Things change.” Staci commented, looking on with dull eyes. “We’d best get the pups back, let Jacob know what happened.” As he issued their next steps, the other men eyed him hesitantly. Breeding the Judges was news to all of them except one, apparently. The deputy pushed forward and grabbed one of the cubs- his hand staining red with wolf blood as he cradled one and then grabbed another. Each man followed his lead and soon they were leaving behind the corpse of the mother wolf; all while the babies cried for milk that was never going to come. 

Back at St. Francis Veterans Center the group found Jacob in the main office. It was decorated to his taste, which is to say the decor was minimal. The eldest Seed had taken over what must have been the director’s office before Eden’s Gate requisitioned the Center and hadn’t changed much. On the walls hung the merits he’d earned serving under the 82nd Airborne Division; a small framed photo of Jacob and his brothers was presented next to the medals. The man didn’t turn around as Roman, Staci, and the other three men entered the room but he rolled his shoulders and perked up as the door opened. “What happened to the wolf?” His tone was matter-of-fact, only wanting the particulars. No emotion. 

Staci immediately went to Jacob’s side- shoulders hunched as if he subconsciously needed to make himself smaller in the Seed’s presence. When no one immediately spoke up Roman found himself the de facto spokesman of the group; clearing his throat he responded “It… she had pups. Didn’t survive giving birth. We have all of them down at the kennel.” His voice mimicked Jacob’s unspoken request: present only the facts. While Ro spoke the other men stepped back, in a line behind him as he elucidated. 

Jacob turned finally- quiet for a moment before glancing at the men behind Roman. “Leave.” The other Chosen gave curt nods before turning on their heels, no doubt relieved none of them would have to be alone to report to their leader. The office door was creaking to a close as Staci made no move. ‘Presumptuous.’ Rome thought as he watched Jacob shoot him a hard look and nod towards the exit. Staci bowed his head, hustling himself out immediately. When Jacob said jump, everyone’s boots left the ground. 

Once the two men were alone Jacob regarded Roman for a few moments silently. The Chosen cleared his throat and resisted the urge to squirm under the soldier’s gaze. Not many people made him feel self-conscious, but he knew he was far from the perfect killing machine Jacob was trying to conjure from his men. Strength was not something Ro lacked; however he had many sins and vices he was still atoning for that marred him both mentally and physically. A shiver ran through Roman as he recalled his time in John’s bunker, being cleansed to become the Chosen he was today. 

“At ease Ayson… you did good today.” Jacob spoke finally, coming around the desk while rolling his sleeves up over scarred skin. “I’ve been keeping an eye on you, on your work. Seems like you aren’t afraid to get your hands dirty.” This sentence triggered flashes in his mind of his work. Blood on his hands, bodies on the floor, bullet shells clattering at his feet. 

“Thank you, sir.” 

Jacob smiled crookedly as he approached and put a hand on Rome’s shoulder. “My point, Roman, is that you are ruthless. Just like a good soldier should be. Doing what you need to do to be strong, intolerant of weakness.” Praise wasn’t something Roman was used to receiving even though he craved it. This praise fell deep down into the bottomless hole within him before he could snatch any validation from its clutches. 

Hand falling, Jacob shook his head, “Nothing like that Alistar, I never should have given him the last shift of the night; he’s incompetent.”  Lamenting the mistake of the kennel attendant, there was a twinkle in his eye. No doubt Alistar paid for his transgression. “But maybe, this accident gives us a chance to try something new.” He continued. 

Watching his commander Roman nodded slowly, unsure where he was going with this. 

“That wolf was supposed to give birth with the vet on call, not out in the woods where anything could go wrong. We needed her to watch the young, show them how to act. Grow them into the perfect Judges.” Jacob was the kind of man who talked with his movements as well, his hands in front of him gesturing with each point. “Now we don’t have that, and their sire is too aggressive to raise them. We need someone to show these pups how to be part of our platoon… and now that’s you.” 

Roman’s eyes widened in surprise; out of anything he’d thought would come next- this wasn’t one of them. He knew better than to object though. Jacob must have seen the look on his face because he chuckled. 

“Not all of them of course, nothing you couldn’t handle. Go down to the kennel, grab one of them, take care of them. You’ve had a dog before right?” He questioned, not really caring for the answer. Ro knew he didn’t have a choice. 

Another clearing of his throat he responded, “Once.” 

“Then you know the basics- feed it, water it, take it outside. Only one extra objective- it’s not gonna be a pet. It’s gonna be a killer. I know you’ll make it good at that.” 

There was only a beat of silence before Roman nodded, “Understood… I’ll go down there now.” He was careful to keep his tone neutral despite his distaste for this particular assignment. With Jacob’s approval- he was off.

Behind St. Francis was the extensive training grounds and kennels; Roman watched as men and women ran through their required trials weaving their way up the mountains above. There were endurance courses, combat courses, anything you could think of to get a soldier ready for battle. The fabled Collapse was likely years away and the Church of Eden’s Gate was still a relatively small organization, but they were to be feared. 

The kennels were a maze of chain link- every turn identical and filled with runs for the Judges to be kept in. As soon as he’d come outside, Roman heard the mournful howl of a wolf lamenting the loss of its mate. The sound chilled his skin and vibrated his bones with sorrow that was soul deep. Right where he and his men had left them, he found the litter all together in a cage. One of the attendants had cleaned them of their mother’s blood and they wriggled around crawling over one another and sniveling. ‘They don’t even know what they’ve lost.’ Roman thought, a frown creasing his features. 

Unstoppable memories trickled through the dam holding back the worst things, and the best things he couldn’t allow himself to recall. He remembered his mother: her kind eyes and soft smile. His next memory was her face bruised and battered. The visceral image made Ro shake his head and take a deep breath. He really needed a drink. 

Roman steeled himself as he observed the animals before him. Many of them took after their mother- but there was one that seemed to favor its father. The runt had short stocky legs and a grey-brown coat, his eyes were screwed shut; unready to see the horrors of the place he’d been thrust into. The little one mewled out small whines and whimpers begging for some sort of comfort and without a second though Roman swept this one into his arms. 

In two weeks the pup was walking and growing like a weed; all the while dread built in Roman as he thought of turning this carefree cub into a weapon. Despite its parents, the wolfling seemed to not have any of the more aggressive traits Jacob and Joseph had been hoping for when breeding a Judge. The horror of this act had held him from even naming the beast. 

The two were in Ro’s bedroom within the Center at the end of the night. It had been a long day of scouting more land in the Whitetails and the Chosen was exhausted. He strode into the room ragged and dirty, but satisfied with what he’d accomplished today. High in the mountains west of the Moccasin river his squad had found an abandoned military radar station, a great place to keep an eye on all of Hope County and establish their footprint even more. While he was out, his Judge stayed in the kennels with its brethren. Upon picking him up, the afternoon attendant chuckled as she handed the cub over, “He missed you.. he cried almost the whole time you were gone!” 

“He was probably just hungry or something.” Roman deflected automatically. 

Back in his room as the brunet flopped onto his bed without even taking his shoes off, he heard a whine from the floor. 

Brow creased, Rome lolled his head to the side to see what was wrong. At the edge of the bed- the wolf looked up with bright yellow eyes that had just recently opened to see the world. His head was leaned on the frame of the bed as he stared at Roman and emitted another whine. “What?” The man asked with a thread of exasperation in his voice. He felt like he was on eggshells with the animal below him, trying to hold it at a distance emotionally but bonding despite his pessimism. When he spoke the wolf cocked his head to the side- regarding him curiously as though asking ‘What?’ right back. Roman’s mouth was a thin line as he turned his gaze back to the ceiling of his room. 

Another whine. This one intoned with the impatience of a puppy not getting its way. 

Roman rose and turned fully to look down at the little wolf. “What do you want, you want to get up here or something?” He questioned reluctantly. In response the wolfling put his big front feet up as far as he could- jumping a little and letting out a demanding yelp. Ro couldn’t help a long sigh as he paused. To see something wanting to be with him, to see something that maybe saw something more in him than a hardened warrior, to see an innocent thing he was meant to desecrate and sacralize at the same time; he didn’t know how to reconcile what he felt when he looked at this little puppy.

Tenderly, Rome put his hands under the pup and lifted him up onto the bed. On the softer surface the cub wobbled unevenly before flopping down against Roman’s side. He couldn’t help but smile a bit as the wolf nuzzled into his side and buried its head into his flannel. It took him a couple wiggles, but the puppy finally found the perfect position to cuddle in and close his eyes. 

Against his better judgment the Chosen traced a couple fingers through the soft fur on the nape of his neck. “You need a name don’t you…” Roman murmured. He looked at the little creature in his arms, admiring his brown coat and the almost translucent grey fuzz springing through every other hair. “How about… Ranger?” He pet the wolf’s flank and those big yellow eyes looked up to meet his as he said the prospective name. 

“Ranger it is.” Roman smiled at the pleasing alliteration with his own name. 

They sat there in silence for a few moments and soon little snores drifted from Ranger, who had an equally long day wrestling with his siblings no doubt. Rome continued petting his companion as he leaned down to the pup’s ear to whisper, “This world is scary and big, but just know I will never let anything hurt you.” He placed a kiss on the cubs head, “I promise.” 

[historyhermann]

The Proud Family: Louder and Prouder Season 2 Review

The Proud Family: Louder and Prouder is a coming-of-age animated sitcom and adventure by Bruce W. Smith and Ralph Farquhar, two well-known producers. It is a revival and soft reboot of The Proud Family, a classic Disney series by Smith which aired in the early 2000s. This review will have spoilers.

Reprinted from Pop Culture Maniacs and Wayback Machine. This was the twenty-third article I wrote for Pop Culture Maniacs. This post was originally published on February 13, 2023.

This animated series centers on Penny Proud (voiced by Kyla Pratt), a 16-year-old Black girl in the town of Smithville. She attempts to navigates her home life, filled the antics off her father, Oscar (voiced by Tommy Davidson), who owns a failing snack business, her mother, Trudy (voiced by Paula Jai Parker), a well-off veterinarian, her grandmother, Suga Mama (voiced by Jo Marie Payton), and her two siblings, Bebe and Cece. At high school, she has four friends-of-sorts: Michael Collins, Dijonay Jones, Zoey Howser, and LaCienega Boulevardez. They are voiced by EJ Johnson, Karen Malina White, Soleil Moon Frye, and Alisa Reyes respectfully. All the while, two new kids, Maya and KG, raised by two dads (Barry and Randall), try to adapt to their new life in Smithville.

The show's first season broke ground for featuring openly gay characters, unlike in the original series, such as Michael, who is also gender non-conforming. His voice actor even considered gender transition. This character is joined by an interracial couple: Barry and Randall Leibowitz-Jenkins, who voiced by two gay actors (Zachary Quinto and Billy Porter). They are the adopted fathers of Maya and Francis "KG", voiced by Keke Palmer and "A Boogie" Dubose. Palmer previously voiced Izzy Hawthorne in Lightyear, a lesbian character who has a wife named Alisha. She has also stated that she does not want her sexuality to be defined by labels and that people should be fluid when giving themselves labels.

The series has been swept in the culture wars, with claims it is promoting the "gay agenda" or is "anti-White". In reality, there are various White characters, including Zoey and Barry, and often promotes themes of racial togetherness, rather than division. Additionally, Michael is the only protagonist in the series who is part of the LGBTQ community. Barry, Randall, and Makeup Boy (voiced by Bretman Rock), with the latter beginning to date Michael later in the second season, are only recurring characters. In fact, Penny and Dijonay both have boyfriends, Darrius St. Vil (voiced by Chance the Rapper) and Kareem Abdul-Jabbar Brown (voiced by Asante Blackk), by the end of the season. Furthermore, Zoey is sweet on Myron (voiced by Marcus T. Paulk), and Maya romantically connects with one of the Chang Triplets, Billy.

Like the original The Proud Family, the series is not neutral when it comes to politics. It often focuses on racial injustice, whether noting past bans on interracial marriage, reparations, prejudice of Black people toward White people, anti-Black racism, sexism, or White skin privilege. This is interwoven with an emphasis on the importance of Black history, friendship, family, indigenous rights, harmonious neighbors, paying people fairly, respecting people for who they are, going beyond the color of their skin, and the folly of celebrity worship. Many books are name-dropped throughout the series, like Africans and Native Americans, as are the names of intellectuals such as Michelle Alexander, Robin DiAngelo, Elizabeth Acevedo, Leslie T. Chang, Saeed Jones, and Ta-Nehisi Coates. Many of these names are displayed during the English class taught by Kwame (voiced by Leslie Odom, Jr.).

Similar to season one, the second season of The Proud Family: Louder and Prouder provides more background about the characters, whether about Suga Mama's short-lived romance with an indigenous cowboy named Quanah (voiced by Wes Studi), and how Barry and Randall met, or the history of the Soul Vibrations band composed of Oscar and his brothers, and Giselle. As Penny says, in one episode, "you can't know yourself unless you know where you come from". This interconnected with the meaningful, and well-done, episode in which Bebe is diagnosed with autism, with the Proud family trying to figure out what to do with him, and coming to accept him, even if he requires more attention from them.

Other episodes focus on family conflict and fissures between friends, and neighbors, all of which are resolved before the end of each episode. This includes an episode when everyone is enamored with LaCienega's uncanny athletic ability (because of her big feet) and realize they have gone into a frenzy, another about Oscar, Felix, Puff, and Suga Mama fighting one another in an absurd parody of TV court shows, and one in which animals protest the awful Proud Snacks created by Oscar Proud. One of my favorite episodes in Season 2 featured a Princess Ball, with references to other Disney princesses: Penny dressed up as Princess Tiana, Dijonay as Cinderella, LaCienega as Princess Elena, Michael as Pocahontas, Maya as Beyonce, and Zoey as Princess Merida.

There are many notable characters in The Proud Family: Louder and Prouder like the Principal Hightower (voiced by Patricia Belcher), who insults and demans the students, reporter Vanessa Vue (voiced by Brenda Song) or incredibly wealthy Wizard Kelly (voiced by Aries Spears) who is shown as too tall to fit on the screen. However, in this season, Maya comes into her own, especially in the season two finale. In the episode, the ghost of Emily (voiced by Storm Reid), a Black girl enslaved by the town's founder, Christian A. Smith, guides her, revealing her diary which proves that Smith is a slaveowner, contradicting the common town myth.

In an interesting depiction of wealth-as-power, Wizard Kelly orders the police, clad in riot gear, to stop Maya, and her friends, who are protesting a ceremony dedicating Smith, with chants and placards. As a result, all of them, and their parents, are thrown in the city jail, despite the efforts of Barry to protect his children. His detective badge shown to mean nothing, as the police, who are serving as Kelly's goons, step over it with their boots.

Although Maya is just as determined as Wednesday Addams, in Wednesday, she does nothing equivalent to her. The latter, with the help of Thing, lights the statue of Joseph Crackstone, the Pilgrim founder of Jericho, on fire, causing it to melt. In fact, Kwame counsels his students to not pull down Smith's statue. This makes it ironic, then, that some reactionary media and personalities are all up-in-arms about the series, acting like it either "ruins" the original, or is "causing" division. Where were these people when Wednesday came out? They could have said some of the same things about that series, but they did not.

In many ways, the Season Two finale of The Proud Family: Louder and Prouder sets the series apart from methods of police control over the citizenry depicted in Velma or the incompetent police force shown in The Simpsons. That is because this series emphasizes how some can control and distort history to their benefit, covering up what they don't want others to see. There is no acceptance of the town myth which Lisa Simpson conceded to in The Simpsons. Instead, the town's name is changed to Emilyville and a new statue is erected. In a possible indication of the long-standing nature of the existing economic system, Kelly becomes the mayor of the town, and faces no consequences for cracking down on Maya, her friends, family, or other town residents.

This series features many guest stars like Jane Lynch, Gabrielle Union, Al Roker, Ceelo Green, and Andre Jamal Kinney, along with other lesser-known ones like Forrest Goodluck, and sports stars Laurie Hernandez, Gabby Douglas, and Dominque Dawes. Of the guest characters, I liked Dr. Lord (voiced by Holly Robinson Peete) best as she gives Penny a chance to talk about her experiences as the oldest child in the family, in which she is given additional responsibilities.

All of the episodes of the second season of The Proud Family: Louder and Prouder all aired on February 1st, unlike the previous season, which aired over a two month time period. There's strong animation and backgrounds which make the show stand out, as does the voice acting and music selection, which fit with stories and characters. It is unfortunate this 10-episode season isn't spread out across two months, because it would be easier to watch the series and take in all that happens. Even so, this season is much less glitzy than season 1 and that is to the show's benefit.

Furthermore, I appreciate that the series did an episode based on the little-remembered, or regarded, but wild, The Proud Family Movie, which seemed like an episode from Milo Murphy's Law, especially when they are fighting the Pistachions. In some ways, the episode reminded me of the annual Treehouse of Horror episodes of The Simpsons.

It is hard to know where The Proud Family: Louder and Prouder goes from here. If it follows the recent pattern of Disney series, such as Amphibia and The Owl House, it will have at least one more season. If that was the case, it would have one more season than the original series. However, it would need another 32 episodes to match the original, which aired from 2001 to 2005. This revival is different because the episodes range from 27 to 30 minutes, similar to the first season.

This series comes at the time that Disney is producing and airing series with diverse casts, like The Ghost and Molly McGee. In fact, this year, Iwájú, Kiff, Marvel’s Moon Girl and Devil Dinosaur, Primos, and Hailey's On It! are set to air. Disney has also contracted to produce series such as Cookies & Milk, Moana, and Tiana. On the other hand, Disney series with similar casts such as Mira, Royal Detective and Amphibia ended last year, while The Owl House is set to end this spring.

The Proud Family: Louder and Prouder is more unique, incorporating perspectives of Black creators, unlike Hamster & Gretel, Phineas and Ferb, Kim Possible, and Star Wars: The Bad Batch, which likely have mostly White writers rooms and have casts largely composed of White characters. As production coordinator, Breana Navickas, recently wrote, the show's writer's room is Black, and much of the staff is Black and "a mix of asian folks, latine folks, white folks". This shows in this season even more strongly than in the first season, with the series establishing itself more, and putting the original into the dustbin.

This series is not alone. Craig of the Creek, Victor and Valentino, Carmen Sandiego, Arcane, and Glitch Techs are all recent series with diverse stories and characters. As such, The Proud Family: Louder and Prouder, comes at an opportune time, when some executives are cutting back resources dedicated toward animated series, or squeezing workers in tough working conditions.

All in all, I thoroughly enjoyed the second season even more than the first, and hope that Disney orders another season sometime this year, considering the amount of people watching it. There are so many more stories to tell with these characters. This could include Penny getting new, and non-toxic friends. Even so, I doubt this will happen because the plot of the series depends too much on their existence to bring in new friends, just as Futurama would fall apart without the antics of the Planet Express crew keeping its current members. In addition, considering the issues with colorism in the original The Proud Family, and somewhat replicated in the first season, it was good to see that the Gross Sisters (Nubia, Olei, and Gina), all by Raquel Lee, only had a small part in this season. The fact that Maya had a bigger part in the season, instead of the Gross Sisters, is a welcome development.

One of the series' downfalls is repeating elements of narrative set-up in the original series. Although I still believe the series could be stronger if it focused on older versions of the cast, the second season made the characters, at their current age, workable. It didn't fall into simple tropes used in Kim Possible and Totally Spies!, both animated series centered in school environments.

Seasons 1 and 2 of The Proud Family: Louder and Prouder is currently airing on Disney+. While you are at it, you can watch The Proud Family and The Proud Family Movie on Disney+ too!

© 2023 Burkely Hermann. All rights reserved.