#golden boot 2022

[nationalistbharat]

अर्जेंटीना बना फुटबॉल का नया बादशाह

अर्जेंटीना बना फुटबॉल का नया बादशाह

नई दिल्ली:फुटबॉल के 64 मैचों के बाद, यह तय हुआ कि कि अर्जेंटीना फुटबॉल का नया बादशाह है। रोमांचक और शानदार मैच में अर्जेंटीना ने पेनल्टी शूटआउट में फ्रांस को हराया। इससे पहले, दोनों टीमें कुल 120 मिनट के दौरान तीन-तीन गोल से बराबरी पर थीं। फ्रें�� स्ट्राइकर एम्बाप्पे ने इस मुकाबले में महत्वपूर्ण भूमिका निभाई, जिन्होंने इस मैच में तीन गोल किए, यानी वह फाइनल मैच में हैट्रिक बनाने वाले पहले खिलाड़ी…

[randomrichards]

THE TOP 10 BEST FILM OF 2022

HONOURABLE MENTIONS

GLASS ONION

Rian Johnson proves he’s still got the touch with another subversively comedic addition to the Knives Out franchise. He delivers the twisty mystery, unique characters, and witty dialogue we know and love from the predecessor. There are side splitting gags galore from the characterizations (Dave Bautista as an MRA influencer who still lives with his mom) and the dialogue (“Please tell me you don’t think sweatshops are where they make sweatpants”).

DECISION TO LEAVE

On the surface, Decision to Leave is a modern film noir about a kind detective who develops an infatuation with a femme fatale after her husband falls off the top of a mountain. But as you would expect from a Park Chan-Wook film, the film becomes something much more.

ALL QUIET ON THE WESTERN FRONT

Decades after the original best picture winning classic, Edgar Berge adapts Erich Maria Remarque’s classic anti-war story of a small group of eager young Germans who enthusiastically sign up to fight during WW1 only to be destroyed by the horrors of war. Many films show the devastation of war and its traumatic effects, but this film showcases the terror of being in the battlefields.

PUSS IN BOOTS: THE LAST WISH

Puss competes against a group of baddies to reach a wishing star in the sequel nobody asked for that ended up being way better than it had any right to be.

First, it uses Spider-Man: Into the Spider verse’s animation technique to create an animation style that resembles illustrations come to life and create some dazzling action scenes. It also gives Puss some unforgettable villains ranging from the hilariously sociopathic Big Jack Horner (John Mulaney) to Dreamwork’s most terrifying villain the Wolf (Wagner Moura). Finally, it gives Puss some depth as he is forced to confront his mortality and how his obsession with his legacy has kept him from forming meaningful connections.

TAR

Cate Blanchett gives one of the year’s best performances as a narcissistic and well-respected composer whose actions eventually comes back to haunt her.

THE TOP 10 LIST:

10)          THE MENU

Satirical Comedy and unsettling horror make strange bedfellows in this unique tale of a Margot (Anya Taylor-Joy), an average woman who joins her foodie boyfriend (Nicholas Hoult) to an all exclusive dinner led by renowned chef Julian Slowick (Ralph Fiennes). What they don’t know is that Julian plans to deliver some just desserts for his latest customers.

The plot plays like a mystery. With each dish served, we try to guess what Slowick’s got planned for these elites. And Slowick’s motives grow more and more unsettling. It’s best to go in knowing as little of the movie as possible.

The actors are more than game for their respective performances. Fiennes is unsettling as a stern perfectionist who has a bone to pick with all of them. Taylor-Joy makes the perfect audience surrogate as she calls out the absurdity of the food arrangements. The rest of the cast play into the caricatures of their characters from Hong Chau as Slowick’s fanatical waitress to Janet McTeer as a pretentious critic. Hoult in particular relishes his role as a devoted know-it-all. Just the scene of him crying over tasting bread accompaniments without the bread is sure to bring a snicker.

This film ruthlessly mocks the elitist foodie culture. Most of the customers care more about the status than the meal, never just enjoying the dishes. With each dish, Slowick calls the customers out on their privileges.

Available on Disney+

9)            THE BANSHEES OF INISHERIN

In a small village in WW1 era Ireland, Padraic Suilleabhain (Colin Farrell) and Colm Doherty (Brendan Gleeson) spend their days enjoying glasses of Guinness at the local pub. But then one day, Colm decides he doesn’t like Padraic anymore and cuts him out of life to focus on making music. But the daft and offended Padraic can’t seem to take a hint much to Colm’s annoyance and Padraic’s spitfire sister Siobhan (Kerry Condon) chagrin. The locals aren’t much help, with many prying to know more about this incoming feud..

After earning acclaim (and some awards) with his Hollywood features Seven Psychopaths and Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri, writer/director Martin McDonagh returns to his roots and reunites his In Bruges stars Farrell and Gleason. McDonagh brings his trademark dark comedy to a folksy environment from his biting dialogue (“If punching a policeman is a sin then we may as well pack up and go home”) and surprising violence.[1] It also fits into McDonagh’s reoccurring theme of men who are unable to handle emotional moments like mature adults. While it can be devastating for a friend to sever ties with you, but Padraic can be clingy. Colm isn’t helping matters by threatening self-mutilation. Farrell and Gleason’s performances prevent these two from being unbearable. Farrell stands out by bringing a childlike eagerness and naivety that makes Padraic likeable.

At the same time, McDonagh regards these characters with empathy. He shows as much understanding for Padraic’s gratefulness for his simple life as he does with Colm’s need to create a legacy through his music.

Also, McDonagh does an excellent job of creating a sense of environment with the village. There’s also a strong sense of community in this village, with everyone knowing each other. There is also a unique set of personalities in this village, from the eccentric old Mrs. McCormick (Sheila Flitton) to the timid Dominic Kearney (Barry Keoghan). This simple area feels like a warm and inviting home many would like to live in.

The Banshees of Inisherin is a dark delight.

8)             THE BATMAN

Who would have thought that there’d be a Batman movie that could pull off the feel of a David Fincher film? But Matt Reeves (along with co-writer Peter Craig) surprises the world with DC’s answer to Se7en and Zodiac. He brings the world a young Batman (Robert Pattison) in his second year who attracts the attention of the Riddler (Paul Dano), whose killing off key political figures in Gotham City. As he tries to get to the bottom of the Riddler’s murders, Batman comes to realize how corrupt Gotham’s world truly is and is forced to confront the sins of his father.

After two dark and gritty reboots of Batman and a post-pandemic world, this version really needed to impress. And it didn’t disappoint. Reeves delivers refreshing takes on every aspect of the iconic franchise. Gotham City has never looked seedier than it does in this film, with endless rain, decaying infrastructure and array of street gangs. This Batman we get is a young man who has let his Batman persona consume his life to the point where he barely has anything to do with Bruce Wayne.[2] But the most surprising update is the complete reinvention of The Riddler. This villain goes from being one of most mocked of Batman’s rogue’s gallery to being a Zodiac-like menace who seems to be constantly 10 steps ahead of everyone[3].

All these characters work because of the performances. Pattison proves himself a worthy Batman whether he’s interrogating Oswald (Colin Farrell) or taking down an army of muggers. Paul Dano weaponizes his everyman looks to hide an intimidating and sociopathic genius behind the green mask and distorted vocals. Farrell goes beyond the heavy makeup to create a ruthless, fast-talking version of the Penguin. Zoe Kravitz’ performance is probably the most comic accurate portrayal of Catwoman, especially when it comes to her dynamic with Batman. That’s not even getting into how Jeffrey Wright and Andy Serkis perfectly capturing the essences of Jim Gordon and Alfred respectively.

There’s also way more focus on the Detective aspect of Batman than in most versions. While we do see him in some kickass action scenes, for the most part, we see the World’s Greatest Detective use his sleuthing skills to solve the Riddler’s twisted riddles and investigate crime scenes. This brings more focus on the intrigue of the mystery.

And that score. That glorious musical score. Michael Giacchino delivers an epic, booming score worthy of joining the batman scores provided by Danny Elfman and Hans Zimmer.

It’s not a perfect movie. The biggest problem is the running time, which can lead to some dragging scenes that will be too much for some audiences. But the strengths of the film make up for these flaws. Here’s hoping Reeves keeps this up for the inevitable sequel.

Available on Crave

7)             BOILING POINT

Writer/Director Philip Barantini seems to have taken a lesson from Uncut Gems on how to make a film feel like a relentless panic attack when he made Boiling Point; a tense drama about a stressed-out head chef (Stephen Graham) trying to get through the busiest night of the year.

Barantini and cinematographer Matthew Lewis make the risky move of shooting the whole film in a single take. It is easy for this to become gimmicky, but they use it effectively to emphasize how stressful it is to work in a restaurant. As the camera moves across the kitchen and into the dining area, it’s clear there’s no escape from the stress not even when head chef Andy Jones heads to his office to try and catch his breath. The rumbling of the kitchen as Andy sits alone in his desk makes it clear he has nowhere to hide.

Barantini also keeps the stress going by surrounding the environment with multiple clashes. The dishwasher’s upset that her replacement is hours late. The sous chefs and head waiter are at each other’s throats. Andy’s co-owner has invited a critic to dine with him. Barantini does an excellent job of balancing the multiple storylines within the short 92-minute screen time. He even manages to create some satisfying set ups and payoffs. One perfect example is a reoccurring arc with one chef whose constantly being told to roll up his sleeve. The revelation behind this arc with stay with you.

Boiling Point has a phenomenal cast who all deliver compelling performances as they scream over each other trying to get their point across. Usually typecast as the villain, Graham delivers his best performance as a man trying to keep it together while his life is going down the tubes. He makes you feel his hopelessness and overwhelming strain as he downs bottles of whisky, trying to get through the day. Even at his most self-destructive moments, you feel for him.

The result is a drama that does a better job of keeping the audience at the edge of their seat than most thrillers wished they could.

6)             RRR

With the growing interest in Tollywood films, RRR makes the perfect gateway drug. Rarely in recent years has there been an action film so unapologetically epic as RRR, which has broken into the mainstream.

As with many Tollywood action films, Director S.S. Rajamouli, co-writers Vijayendra Prasad and Sai Madhave Burra along with the cast and crew take every element of the epic action flick and turn them all up to eleven. In a time when there is a call for more flawed, relatable protagonists in movies, RRR gives us a duel of superhuman action heroes performing impossible feats of agility. The opening scenes alone have rebel leader Komaram Bheem (NT Rama Rao Jr) chasing a wolf and a tiger and misguided soldier Alluri Sitarama Raju (Ram Charan Teja) leaping over a fence and fighting a whole crowd to capture one suspect. Let’s see the Fast and Furious franchise have its heroes leap over a bridge on a motorcycle or a horse and swing on a rope carrying the Indian flag to rescue a boy from a fire.

While there is a pressure for films to keep any messages nuanced and subtle, RRR serves as a three hour middle finger to the British Empire. That empire is embodied by the mustache twirling Scott and Catherine Buxton (Ray Stevenson and Alison Doody) who literally kidnap a little girl and kill the mother in the first scene.  There would have been a danger of the villains being cringe, but Stevenson and Doody savour their villainy like a classic Disney villain. Even they get in on the over the top violence, with Mr. Buxton firing a machine gun while flying out a crashing car. It makes their downfall more satisfying.

If that isn’t enough, RRR also has musical numbers as epic as the action scenes. They manage to appear in the unlikeliest of moments like a motorcycle/horse race and one character being tortured with a whip. Most notable standout is a dance off between the heroes and one snobby British soldier.

But at its core, RRR is a story about a friendship between two men who don’t realize that one’s supposed to arrest the other and a tale about a tribal leader on a mission to rescue a little girl from rich captors. The fact this film makes us care about story and keep the audience hooked over its long screentime shows the power of this epic.

Available on Netflix

5)             THE NORTHMAN

After taking the horror genre by storm with The Witch and The Lighthouse, writer/director Robert Eggers gives us something completely different with The Northman. In contrast to his previous low budget A24 arthouse horror flicks, Egger’s latest is a big budget epic historical action flick. It may be his most accessible film, but that doesn’t stop him from bringing his boundary pushing style into this film.

The Northman is Hamlet-like revenge tale of Almeth (Alexander Skarsgaard), a Viking prince who seeks vengeance on his uncle Fjolnier (Claes Bang) who kills his father King Aurvandil (Ethan Hawke) and marries his mother Queen Gudrun (Nicole Kidman). After years in exile, Prince Amleth disguises himself as a slave and enlists the help of an enchantress (Anya Taylor-Joy) to bring down the King Fjolnier the Brotherless.

Eggers brings a refreshing take on the Viking historical drama with his trademark style. Like his previous films, Eggers (along with his co-worker Sjon) goes out of his way to make his stories as historically accurate as possible. As a result, we get the ugliest side of the Viking life. The images of people in chains makes it clear that Amleth’s family owns slaves. When Amleth’s in exile, he joins a group of Vikings in pillaging and terrorizing innocent people. In one horrifying scene, those Vikings trap women and children in a cottage and burn it down. Keep in mind that the protagonist watches this happen.

What’s strange is that Eggers also includes fantastical moments that draws from Norse Mythology. The result is otherworldly imagery of Amleth meeting with the Seeress (Bjork). It doesn’t seem like this should work, but somehow these elements make strange bedfellows.

Unlike his previous films, Eggars doesn’t go for historically accuracy with the dialogue. As a result, the audience has a better grasp of what the characters are saying. The dialogue is still kind of Shakespearean but just enough to the characters are still easy to understand.

Of course, the action scenes are awesome with the blood and dismemberment you expect from an R-rated movie with Vikings. It leads to a most metal ending with Amleth and his uncle going head-to-head in a volcano in their birthday suits.

With this film bombing at the box office, it’s doubtful Eggers will ever have the means to make a film as epic as this one.

Available on Crave

4)            GUILLERMO DEL TORO’S PINOCCHIO

2022 was the strange year where we got three Pinocchio movies in a row. After listening to Pauly Shore butcher lines and Disney butcher their original classic, most moviegoers knew Guillermo Del Toro’s stop motion version would be the best one by default. But even without the other two films, there would still be major anticipation for Del Toro’s first animated feature film. With his trademark fleshed out mythology, creative character designs and compelling storytelling, many expected him to perfectly capture the macabre tone of Carlo Collodi’s tale. What we got is a refreshing take on the classic take on the wooden boy who longs to be a real boy.

Del Toro (alongside codirector Mark Gustafson and co-writers Patrick McHale and Matthew Robbins) perfectly balances capturing the story’s dark tone and core storyline while changing many elements of the story. This Pinocchio (Gregory Mann) is a lot closer to the disobedient troublemaker of the original story than Disney’s sweet but gullible character. Like Collodi’s tale, this story has our hero causing grief for his creator/father Geppetto (David Bradley), being led astray by crooks and trouble making teens only to suffer the repercussions before the climax of trying to escape from inside the whale. It even includes both the Christian undertones of the original story and even its dark comedy (among them a reoccurring gag of Sebastian the Cricket (Ewan McGregor) constantly being squashed.) It also borrows a bit from the Disney version with the Blue Fairy (Tilda Swinton) bringing the puppet to life and the cricket trying to guide him.

But this film also makes a lot of changes from the original story. First, Del Toro sets the film in Italy during Mussolini’s reign. Not only does this fit into Del Toro’s reoccurring theme of life under fascism, but it brings nuance to the original story’s message of obeying your parents. While the film does have Pinocchio deal with consequences for misbehaving, the film also shows the dangers of blinding obeying those in power and makes the case that disobedience is necessary when it involves doing the right thing. The film also fleshes out the characters to bring complexity. While Pinocchio is still a disobedient troublemaker, he also has his heart in the right place and will stick up for others. Geppetto is a broken man grieving the loss of his dead son Carlo (also Mann). Sebastian is a wannabe writer who makes his home in Pinocchio’s chest. Del Toro also brings in an array of unique characters from ruthless ringmaster Count Volpe (Christoph Walz) to terrifying fascist enforcer Podesta (Ron Pearlman). All the actors do excellent jobs of making their characters engaging, especially Mann.

Co-Director Mark Gustafson perfectly brings Del Toro’s trademark style into the animation world, resulting in some unique visuals. Pinocchio has never looked more wooden with spiky wooden hair, tiny black dotted eyes, and multiple nails in his back. The Blue fairy aka the wood sprite (also Swinton) is this otherworldly blend of Hari Krishna and a mermaid. Death is this sphinxlike creature in a world of blue sand. What’s most notable is how the settings and character design resemble classic storybook illustrations come to life.

The film is also a musical, with songs created by composer Alexandre Desplat alongside Del Toro and lyricist Roeban Katz. The old timey style perfectly serves to further the narrative and reveal more about the characters, but they don’t stand out the way Encanto’s songs did. The one exception is “Ciao Papa.” When Pinocchio pours his heart out to his long distant father, you can feel that longing so much it may bring you to tears.

No wonder many see this as the front runner for the Best Animated Feature Oscar.

Available on Netflix

3)            AFTERSUN

Most filmmakers try to make their films memorable. Aftersun is a rare film that feels like a memory.

On the surface, it’s a simple story of a single Dad (Paul Mescal) and his daughter (Frankie Corio) taking a trip to a Turkish beachside resort. There is no real plot. No central conflict. It’s just segments of a father and daughter on vacation. At least, that’s what it seems like at first. Hidden in plain sight are signs of the father hiding some personal pain from his daughter.

In her debut feature, writer/director Charlotte Wells takes us into segments of this vacation, even replaying some moments on camcorder. The result is a film that feels like we’re entering the daughter’s memories as she tries to understand her father.

The strength of Wells’ filmmaking is how she avoids the temptation to dramatize any element of the plot in favour of making it as naturalistic as possible. Never does she make it clear what the dad’s going through. You only get the most subtle of hints. She only applies any artistry with the ending that will stay in your mind long after the credits roll.

That’s helped by the performances by the two leads. Mescal and Corio bounce off each other perfectly, making us believe they are an actual family. They both also maintain low key naturalization throughout the film.

Put all these together and you get an unassuming drama that stays with you long after the credits roll.

2)             (TIE) BEFORE I CHANGE MY MIND, GOLDEN DELICIOUS AND YOU WILL LIVE FOREVER

I admit that I have a habit of putting ties in my lists, not helped by me including a three-way tie in this one. But these 3 films have so much in common that I felt they deserve to be put together. Well, that and these are probably the least known films on this list, and I feel they deserve more attention.

All three are Canadian films centered on LBGT teens who move into new locations, which leads to developing deep relationships. They’re similar yet different. The most important commonality are the compelling stories of relatable, flawed young people trying to fit into their world and figure out what they really want in life in the process.

First, we have Before I Change My Mind. Set in 1987, the movie centres on Robin (Vaughn Murrae), a non-binary preteen who moves to a small Albertan town from the US with their father (Matthew Rankin). There are of course questions from the students what Robin’s gender is. To fit in, Robin tries to befriend the school bully Carter (Dominic Lippa). On one hand, it makes it easier for Robin to form friends. On the other, it leads to Robin making misguided decisions.  

Director Trevor Anderson and co-writer Fish Griwkowsky capture the everyday life of preteens as they make snide comments during music class, pick fights with each other and just hanging around in the living room. What makes this film special is how it captures the difficulties of being a preteen. Robin and their classmates try their best to fit in with their peers. Sometimes it can be found in healthy activities like hanging around in the mall. Other times it comes from misguided decisions including sneaking into their parents alcohol or in one student’s case, completely changing his personality after being bullied.

The film also captures the frustration of dealing with emerging emotions you have no understanding of and now healthy means of channeling them. That’s especially true with Robin who has no idea of their own gender identity since non-binary wasn’t a common term in the 80s. As a result, they become targets for fellow classmates who keep demanding to know if they are a boy or a girl.. Being non-binary themselves, Murrae makes the audience feel how lost Robin feels. Anderson and Griwkowsky do an excellent job of using subtext to capture this feeling. And they never offer any easy answers.

There are also some funny moments in the film. When gym class separates the boys and girls, Robin sits in the middle. Robin and Carter try to convince a drag queen (dressed like Madonna) to buy them beers. But the comedic high point is the school’s disastrous rock musical rip-off of Jesus Christ Superstar.

Next, we have Golden Delicious. Jake (Cardi Wong) seemed to be living the perfect teen life as a basketball player whose relationship with his girlfriend Valerie (Parmiss Sehat) is popular on social media. But he finds his life turned upside down when new student Aleks (Chris Carson) moves next door. As Jake and Aleks both train for the basketball team, Jake is forced to confront the pressure his father George (Ryan Mah) places on him.

Director Jason Karman (through Gorrman Lee’s screenplay) channels his youth to capture the pressure of having to live up to expectations. Jake tries his best to please his father, despite not being the best skilled in the team. Georges’s pressure is embodied by the old, decaying basketball hoop he forces Jake to practice on. Through Aleks, Jake’s confronted with the fact that he has never learned to live for himself.

Lee also fleshes out Jake’s family, who is dealing with their own pressure. George and his wife Andrea (Leeah Wong) are trying to keep their Chinese restaurant afloat, but the stress of running the restaurant has taken its toll on Andrea. When their daughter Janet (Claudia Kai) discusses her interest in being a chef, Andrea tries to forbid her. Janet has her own arc where Janet tries to create her late grandma’s dishes. This family feels so achingly human and relatable.

Of course, there’s excellent chemistry between Wong and Carson as their characters build from a friendship into a relationship.

And finally, we have You Can Live Forever. Rebellious teen Jaime (Anwen O’Driscoll) is forced to live with her aunt Beth (Liane Balaban) while her mother recollects herself after her husband’s death. Beth is a Jehovah’s Witness whose husband Francois (Antoine Yared) hopes to be the leader of his congregation. While being forced to attend sermons, Jaime develops a friendship with fellow devout Marike (June Laporte). Soon that develops into something more, which is risky in a homophobic fringe community.

A romantic film like these lives and dies on the chemistry between the leads. When two leads have such differing personalities/worldviews, it’s very important that the two leads have convincing chemistry for the relationship to make sense. O’Driscoll and Laporte pull that off beautifully, conveying a warm intimacy between Jaime and Marike as they hide in plain sight with little intimate gestures. It helps that both actresses make their characters feel like real people. O’Driscoll portrays Jaime as a typical teen whose big glasses and grunge wardrobe hides a slightly rebellious teen frustrated at being stuck in a situation outside of her control. Laporte makes Marike a timid girl devoted to her religion yet forms an infatuation with Jaime. Writer/Directors Mark Slutsky and Sarah Watts avoid the temptation of melodrama in favour of grounded empathy. They allow us to understand what Marike finds in her faith while showing how it can be stifling for Jaime.

All three deliver achingly human stories of young people trying to find what they truly want in life.

1)            EVERYTHING, EVERYWHERE ALL AT ONCE

In a time when franchises consume movie theatres, Everything, Everywhere All at Once came out of nowhere to deliver an everything bagel the zeitgeist can sink its teeth into.

Evelyn (Michelle Yeoh) finds herself dissatisfied with her life as a struggling Laundromat owner, further aggravated by her goofball husband Waymond (Ke Huy Quan), her contentious relationship with her daughter Joy (Stephanie Hsu) and her overly critical father (James Hong). If that wasn’t bad enough, she’s being audited by the IRS, forcing her to deal with an austere IRS agent (Jamie Lee Curtis). Suddenly, Evelyn finds Waymond possessed by an alternate version of himself and Evelyn’s tasked with saving multiple universes from the mysterious and all powerful villain known as Jobu.

The Dynamic Duo of Daniel Kwan and Daniel Scheinert already proved their originality with their music video Turn Down for What and their feature film debut Swiss Army Man. Who would have thought they could create an existential tale of a mother daughter relationship involving googly eyes, hot dog fingers and a ratatouille parody?

As you expect from the Daniel’s previous works, it delivers on the weird and hilarious imagery (often involving leud objects). One minute, Waymond is gluing googly eyes on everything, and the next he’s taking down security guards with a fanny pack. That’s just one of many examples of the creative and well-choreographed fights scenes the Daniel’s have in store for the viewers. Only they could image fight scenes either involving Waymond intentionally giving himself paper cuts or henchmen trying to shove a trophy up where the sun don’t shine.

With moments like these, you would never expect anything profound in the film. And yet, the Daniels somehow balances these silly moments with deep, philosophical themes. Evelyn comes to realize how the little choices she made in life can have major outcomes after glimpsing versions of herself as a famous actress, a kung fu artist and a chef. Her journey also forces her to reexamine her perceptions of her husband and reconcile her relationship with her daughter. The battle between Evelyn and Jobu shows how perception can alter how one handles the meaningless of life. It’s surprising how deep this film can get.

The result is a cinematic miracle that delivers a truly unique experience.

Available on Prime Video

[1] When Colm threatens to cut off his fingers if Padraic talks to him again, you know a finger’s going to come off at some point.

[2] So consumed that he only has around 3-4 scenes as Bruce Wayne. It’s funny. In his Godzilla reboot, he barely showed the iconic monster on screen. For The Batman, we get all the caped crusader we could ever want.

[3][3] He also seems to be doing a better job of getting rid of corruption than Batman is.

[cenestpasaudrey]

Mbappé deserved to be the MVP 😭

Not to disrespect the winners and the effort of the rest of his teammates but he really did give a 120+ minutes worth of performance. What a finals!🔥

[knittinganddrinkingtea]

Dolce & Gabbana Fall 2022

[lauriel816]

*pretend to be surprised* 🙄

[f0x-gl0ves]

Forgot to post my art vs artist here anyway I have a cool ratatouille bucket hat

[saxafimedianetwork]

World Cup Qatar 2022 Top Goal Scorer Tracker: Golden Boot Rankings

World Cup Qatar 2022 Top Goal Scorer Tracker: Golden Boot Rankings

(more…)

[thenewsfactsnow]

Argentina vs France: Mbappe's hattrick to Messi Magic, it was an edge of the seat thriller Final of all time

Argentina vs France: Mbappe's hattrick to Messi Magic, it was an edge of the seat thriller Final of all time , Mbappe wins hearts, Messi realizes his dream #FIFAWorldCup2022 #Mbappe #Messi #GoldenBoot #GoldenBall #YoungPlayerAward #Football

FIFA World Cup Final 2022 Argentina vs France match was an edge of the seat thriller. From a dramatic turn, when France was allowed a penalty, for a foul not entirely dissimilar to Argentina’s first goal, the match went on to produce the magical moments from Messi, and Mbappe who scores a hattrick. Lionel Messi and Kylian Mbappe’s team played their heart out, but eventully it was messi and his…

[sleeppykitten]

Congratulations argentina !!

tho if france managed to score the last two goals and save at least one of argentina's balls in the tie-breaker theyd have won

also yes im aware this is practically a day late, but the match continued till after 12am and i had to ✨ study✨ this morning

france shouldve had more supporters ngl. their team was pretty amazing

~a france supporter if that wasnt obvious

[allfifaworldcup]

World Cup 2022 Golden Boot: Messi and Mbappe level ahead of final

World Cup 2022 Golden Boot: Messi and Mbappe level ahead of final

Teammates at club level, the Paris Saint-Germain pair will meet inside the iconic Lusail Stadium in a battle for the ultimate glory. Messi currently leads due to his higher number of assists (3 to 2) and the battle to finish as the tournament’s top scorer has even another added layer. Argentina forward Julian Alvarez and France striker Olivier Giroud have both scored four each and could both…

[thebytenews]

FIFA World Cup 2022 top goal scorer: who could win Golden Boot?

FIFA World Cup 2022 top goal scorer: who could win Golden��Boot?

The 2022 FIFA World Cup in Qatar has entered the knockout phase, and one of the top honours players will be competing for is the Golden Boot, awarded to the player with the most goals in the tournament. The number of assists by a player is considered in the case of a tie for goals scored. If players are tied on both counts, the winner is decided by who played the fewest minutes. England captain…

[racecrafting]

I touched home soil after my trip to Greece to the announcement of this news. I’ve been compartmentalizing my feelings as best as I can so that I don’t grieve a living person, but the jet lag and dehydration had me up at 3am with tears streaming down my face. I won’t ever love a driver the way I love Daniel. I don’t think it’s possible, but also I won’t allow myself to care this much again. I try to think about the humorous positives of a millionaire kicking back at his farm or the peace in knowing he won’t be scooped out by lecherous pundits and he can finally return home. But then I remember him at 17, in that decrepitly furnished Italian apartment, watching an old Australian film so he wouldn’t lose his accent — because to dream in some ways is to sacrifice in others. And him going to meet Helmut Marko and stepping into a fountain because he was so distracted by the opulence of the building. Wet sneakers squelching all the way there. And I think of him disposing of his racing boots and sauntering around the asphalt paddock with his too thin socked feet like one does in their own home, comfortable and radiant with the joy of winning again. Is that not a return home?

And I think about how graciously he left in 2022 after doing donuts in some dark part of the track — away from prying eyes. And I think about Singapore now, how it ended with a whisper of all things. 13 years in this sport. Jenson said before that Daniel wasn’t used to this kind of loss because he’s always been the golden boy. I’ll always feel hurt about how he’s been misrepresented as a fool or jester in the paddock when he’s the reason so many of us found this sport. He has made this sport lighter with his willingness to give so much of himself. And it’s difficult to think about how he wasn’t ready to leave, how he sat in the cockpit and left the track last because he wasn’t ready to part with a sport he said he’s loved his whole life. I hope he takes time to be with those he loves most, and I hope he enjoys time away from the callous flash of a lens or intrusion of a mic. But the thing about Daniel is he’s mesmerizing, you can’t feed gold back into the dirt once it’s been held under the radiance of daylight.

[mrs-stans]

GQ Hype

How Sebastian Stan became Donald Trump in The Apprentice

With an uncanny performance as a young Donald Trump in The Apprentice and an even less recognisable turn in A Different Man, the shapeshifting actor is embracing his freaky side

By Ben Allen Photography by Daniel Jack Lyons

Coat by Loewe. Boots by Dolce & Gabbana.Necklace by Cartier.Daniel Jack Lyons

When Sebastian Stan was growing up in Romania in the 1980s, he began to learn English through passive immersion. His mother, a concert pianist, would regularly play English music and language lessons on the family record player while they were going about their day. “I’d be playing with toys and I’d hear, like, ‘frog’ and ‘dog’, or whatever,” Stan says. It meant that by the time the actor moved to Vienna at age eight, where he attended an American international school – and later, when he moved to New York at 12 – he had a decent jumping-off point. “I’m a big believer in putting yourself in a situation where, subconsciously, there’s work being done.”

In the past two years, Stan has put that method to use in a very different way. As he entered preproduction to play Donald Trump in Ali Abbasi’s The Apprentice – which charts the former President and current Republican candidate’s early rise through the New York property scene – he started spending his waking hours with tapes of the young Trump playing in his ears. He brushed his teeth with Trump, he went grocery shopping with Trump, he spoke to friends with one earphone in, Trump still nattering away in his ear. “I slept with him, by the way,” Stan says, well aware of how strange that sounds. “It just sort of ends up taking over your life.” He’s sitting somewhere in Los Angeles at lunchtime, speaking to me over Zoom, with the afternoon sun reflecting off his chlorine-blue eyes.

Jacket and shirt by Gabriela Hearst. Hat by Gladys Tamez. Ring by Cartier.

The Apprentice, which Stan first signed up for in 2022, explores the question, ‘How did Trump get like this?’ (The answer, it posits, has a lot to do with Roy Cohn, a lawyer and prosecutor who had risen to prominence in the 1950s as Senator Joseph McCarthy’s attack dog in the communist witch-hunts.) The film is the latest in a string of freaky, transformation-heavy roles that have run parallel alongside Stan’s very mainstream 13-year-and-counting stint as Captain America’s pal Bucky Barnes in the Marvel Cinematic Universe, which has made him a globally recognised action star. The Apprentice lands this month in the UK, two weeks after A Different Man, an A24 production in which Stan plays an aspiring actor with neurofibromatosis, a genetic condition that has caused the growth of non-cancerous tumours on his face. They’re not your typical actor-in-between-superhero-outings roles – and the fact that Stan is spending so much time in the make-up chair outside of the blockbusters is indicative of a desire to get truly lost in his work.

I started to think a lot about the American dream. What is it? Is it a ghost you keep chasing?

Preparing to play Trump, he says, was like any other time he has portrayed a real-life person – take, say, Tonya Harding’s ex-husband, Jeff Gillooly, in I, Tonya, or Tommy Lee in Pam & Tommy. But this time around it came with an added layer of stress. “There’d be nights when my anxiety levels would be through the roof, because I’d be like, Why did I say yes to this?” he says with a laugh.

But Stan thrives when he leans into fear. He had been terrified of I, Tonya, and even more terrified of Pam & Tommy – which, in its exploration of the couple’s romance and sex tape, involved a scene where Lee converses with a silicone puppet of his penis. (The latter earned him Golden Globe and Emmy nominations.) Trump was a different beast. “I thought, I don’t know if this is doable. I don’t know if I have it in me,” he says. “But it’s not not gonna happen because I’m scared of it.”

Coat, shirt and tie by Ludovic de Saint Sernin. Trousers by Gabriela Hearst. Boots and gloves by Versace. Hat by Gladys Tamez. Daniel Jack Lyons

Jacket and shirt by Gabriela Hearst. Hat by Gladys Tamez. Daniel Jack Lyons

When his mother told him he was going to be leaving Vienna for the United States at 12 years old, Stan felt like the floor had fallen from beneath him. “It was like you were telling me that my life was over,” he says. His mother was a single parent and had met an American man and fallen in love; he wanted to bring them both to live with him in New York. Stan remembers crying in the shower in the days leading up to the move. After departing Romania a few years before, he had worked hard to forge new friendships. Now, he’d have to rebuild from the bottom up again. “That did feed me resilience, because it did allow me to get better at restarting and restarting,” he says. “It fed a lot of who I am.”

Upon arriving in America, he started working on his impersonation of an American teenager. “I was so traumatised by being different,” he says. He refused to speak Romanian, even at home. He didn’t tell anyone he was from a foreign country. “I wanted to change my name to Christopher,” he says. “I wanted to be as normal in America as anybody else.” Having already set the ball rolling with his passive English lessons as a child, he was able to adopt a seamless New York accent, leaving little to betray his otherness. He tried out every personality marker available to him at school, to figure out which one fitted: debate team, forensics, every sport he could muster, and drama, eventually gravitating towards the latter. “I became popular in high school through acting,” he says. “I went on dates. I found my path.”

Still, this otherness was a part of Stan, as much as he initially tried to suppress it. As he came to appreciate life in America – in a middle-class household, with a good education – he began to reappraise his background, and felt a sense of gratitude to his stepfather for bringing them over, and for the drive it seeded within him. “This idea that you’ve been so lucky to have been selected to get this opportunity,” he says. “I was able to seize it and work with it, but on the other hand it’s a never-ending burden because you go, ‘You better not blow it!’” He remembers taking a walk through the city on their arrival, gawping up at the skyscrapers, when his mother impressed upon him that very sentiment: “You see these buildings? This is where you have a chance to become something.” He thought about this conversation quite a lot while he was playing Trump, probably because it feels like a scene ripped right out of a more varnished biography of the former President. “I started to think a lot about the American dream, and sort of like, what is it?” he says. “Is it a ghost you keep chasing?”

That was a way of me understanding that you're just out there, like target practice.

When Stan was doing theatre in high school, he loved getting a chance to transform and become a different person entirely. “You’re 14, 15, and you’re playing parts where you have to be, like, 35 years older than you are, and you have to change your appearance, you have to change everything, and you have to walk a certain way,” he says. “That shit was fun.” He would find himself craving those meatier transformations later, after landing a run of roles in Hollywood playing traditionally hot villains and heroes in Gossip Girl and in the Captain America movies. “Watching Christian Bale do The Fighter and watching him do Batman and Vice and The Machinist… He was a guy that, to me, could have made very conventional choices because he’s very good at any of it. But then he’s trying these things.”

Opportunities like this aren’t necessarily afforded to nascent actors. In a weird way, you kind of have to wait for your face to become recognisable before you’re allowed to start messing with it. The first real taste Stan got of this was in 2017 – after he had been solidly established as a Marvel hero – in the Margot Robbie-led, Oscar-winning I, Tonya, which told the story of the assault on figure skater Nancy Kerrigan, orchestrated by her Olympic rival Tonya Harding’s camp. For Harding’s ex-husband – who sets the assault in motion – they were looking for someone very different to Stan. The real Gillooly is slight and short, with narrow features. Stan felt his teen-drama looks would work against him in the audition process. “I’m like, ‘I’m gonna walk into that room and they’re gonna see the taller guy, The CW [the young-people-melodrama US TV network that first aired Gossip Girl] guy.’ I felt like I was going to be immediately judged.”

Coat and pyjamas by Dolce & Gabbana. Daniel Jack Lyons

I, Tonya director Craig Gillespie saw in Stan a capacity to become Gillooly. “I was familiar with Captain America: Civil War and his work there, and I couldn’t quite picture it [at first],” Gillespie tells me. “But he actually turned up [to the audition] in the turtleneck and the moustache, almost in character. And the transformation, and his instincts tonally and comedically… He was actually improvising things in the scene that worked incredibly well.”

Gillespie was impressed not just by how Stan had remoulded himself in the shape of someone else, but by his ability to tap into the character’s humanity, too. “It has to be emotionally resonant,” he says. “You have to be able to connect to the characters… He completely commits, which is an incredibly scary proposition for an actor.” Still, Stan was filled with anxiety heading into I, Tonya. “The amount of fear I had was almost traumatising,” he says. But then he did it. “I worked so hard for that movie, and it worked.”

A DIFFERENT MAN takes things up another notch. The film was written and directed by Aaron Schimberg, a rising indie director whose work has explored how disability has impacted his life (Schimberg was born with a cleft lip and palate). In it, a prosthetics-heavy Stan plays Edward, an actor whose biggest break to date is a small role in a corporate training video about how to treat employees with facial differences in the workplace. Edward’s spirit has been crushed by the world around him, weathered by the relentless gawping of strangers and rejection. Then, he takes part in a clinical trial for a new drug that could remove the tumours from his face. It works. Edward fakes his death and adopts a new identity, looking just like regular old Sebastian Stan. But when Edward’s kind neighbour – played by The Worst Person in the World’s Renate Reinsve – stages a play about him, he finds himself in competition with Oswald (played by Adam Pearson, a British actor with neurofibromatosis) for the part. It is, to put it mildly, a confronting drama, excavating both society’s unwillingness to treat people with disabilities fairly and the fallacy of our terminal dissatisfaction with our looks.

Coat by McQueen. Shirt by Louis Vuitton. Trousers by Louis Vuitton. Tie by Dolce & Gabbana. Boots by Versace. Daniel Jack Lyons

Though the film treads across the noir and comic horror genres, and at points tips into the absurd, it feels most like a parable. “It’s another version of the American dream, right?” Stan says. “Don’t wish for the things you want; you don’t know what’s going to happen.”

During the shoot, Stan often had long stretches between having his facial prosthetics applied and his call time (the film’s make-up designer, Michael Marino, was simultaneously working on The Marvelous Mrs Maisel, and would sometimes have to squeeze Stan into make-up in the early hours before running to that job). So Stan would walk around New York, including parts of his own neighbourhood, wearing hyperrealistic prosthetics, getting just a little taste of what his life would be like if he had been dealt a different hand. At one point, he went to his local coffee shop, where a barista he has known for years was working the counter. “She was so busy handling stuff, and suddenly she turned and she didn’t expect to see me,” he says, “and I could see the shock going immediately into overcompensation.” Pearson told him that those are the reactions that he is most often confronted with as a person with a disability: shock verging on repulsion, and guilty, over-the-top kindness.

Schimberg helped Stan to draw a neat line between Edward’s life and his own experience of fame. The one thing they had in common is how they’re observed in public spaces. “He said, ‘You have to think about what it’s like to be recognised. And the sense that you’re fair game out there.’ That I could understand,” Stan says. “I’ll go to lunch with my mom and somebody will be filming me the entire time, pretending they’re not. Or I’ll see somebody look at me strangely and then they’ll whisper to their friends. Or I’ve had someone come and tap me and run away. The invasiveness of that… And I can’t do anything but just receive it.”

Stan is quick to clarify that his experience as a famous person is not really comparable, that it comes with all sorts of upsides. But this point of similarity helped him to fully embody the character. “That was a way of me understanding this thing – that you’re just out there, like target practice.”

Coat and pyjamas by Dolce & Gabbana. Daniel Jack Lyons

Production on The Apprentice was hazardously stop-start. Several times over, Stan began his Trump immersion routine – which also involved pounding Coca-Colas and peanut butter and jam sandwiches, among other things, to put on some very un-superhero bulk – only to find out that production had been suspended. At one point, the project came so close to overlapping with his next Marvel outing, next May’s Thunderbolts, that he had to start shredding instead – only for Thunderbolts to be postponed because of the WGA and SAG-AFTRA strikes. Straight back to the PB&Js. All that work wasted. “I’m fuckin’ 41; I just worked pretty hard to get in shape here!” he says.

Stan’s Trump is admirably nuanced, particularly for a person who has been so widely imitated – on SNL, on late-night talk shows, every second of every day by comedians trying to make a name for themselves on TikTok – as to be reduced to a caricature in the public consciousness. Initially, it feels quite removed, but then you spot the shape his mouth curves into while enunciating words like “deal” and “loser”, a subtle pursing of the lips when he’s being spoken to, a hand gesture. As the movie progresses, the man with whom we’re all exhaustingly familiar comes closer and closer to the fore.

Suit and boots by Versace. Vest top by Schiesser. Hat by Gladys Tamez. Watch by Cartier. Daniel Jack Lyons

The challenge, in Stan’s eyes, was to tread the very fine line between interpretation and imitation. “It’s a balance between having the familiarity without it becoming sort of a schtick,” he says. “There is a small window of time where you are going through the impersonation phase, because you’ve got to get through that in order to come out the other end,” he says. “There is a mechanical, technical piece to it, and that comes from actually studying a person.” According to Stan’s mother, he spent much of his childhood relentlessly impersonating people he came in to contact with. “I’ve always been good at watching people,” he says.

I'm going to commit the fuck out of it and surrender myself to the story.

Once he got comfortable enough, he would take the show on the road – trying versions of the character out in restaurants to see if anyone would pick up on it. “Because there’s a thing getting born,” he says, “and you want to test it out in the world, but you don’t want to overdo it too quickly – then it gets frozen.” No one seemed to notice in the moment, which was at least some indication that he hadn’t tipped over into parody, but some friends who have seen the movie realised retrospectively: “They’ve come up to me after and said, ‘Now I see this fuckin’ weird thing you were doing!’”

When we meet Trump in The Apprentice, he is a footsoldier in his father’s company and significantly less self-assured, though he’s got the trademark wispy hair and the ill-fitting suits. The wheels begin to turn when he meets Cohn – portrayed here in typically committed fashion by Succession’s Jeremy Strong, with whom Stan only had the chance to interact in character on set – who begins to sculpt Trump in his own image, laying out his rules for success, which will be very familiar to anyone who has paid attention to Trump’s political career: 1) attack, attack, attack; 2) admit nothing and deny everything; and 3) always claim victory and never admit defeat.

Coat, trousers and shoes by McQueen. Vest top by Ami. Sunglasses by Jacques Marie Mages. Pin by Cartier. Daniel Jack Lyons

Stan seems reticent to get into the politics of The Apprentice, which depicts Trump as, among other things, a rapist, in a scene referencing allegations made in a deposition by his first wife Ivana during their divorce proceedings. (Trump has previously denied the rape allegation; Ivana later issued a statement clarifying that she had felt violated, but was not raped in a “literal or criminal sense”.) But the movie speaks for itself. And Trump’s camp is already speaking back: after the film premiered at Cannes in May, the presidential campaign’s chief spokesperson Steven Cheung called the movie “garbage”, “pure fiction” and “election interference by Hollywood elites”, while also threatening a lawsuit. In a press conference at the film festival, Abbasi suggested that an ideal release date would be in mid-September, to align with the second presidential debate (but the film, as it happens, is now due out on 11 October in the USA, and 18 October in the UK). It wouldn’t take Alan Turing to decipher the message being transmitted. But I try and press for a direct answer: does Stan feel an added sense of responsibility playing Trump in an election year? “You can’t not think about it,” he says. “But I had tremendous trust in Ali Abbasi and his vision for the movie. And it is an important story – I think the movie makes a great attempt at exploring: how did we get here? But I approached it with the same responsibility as I approached anything I ever got involved with, which is, I’m going to give this my all. I’m going to research the fuck out of it; I’m going to commit the fuck out of it and surrender myself to the story.”

Does he have any concerns about backlash from Trump or from MAGA supporters? “I mean, is there anything out there now that doesn’t get backlash? You can’t worry about what people think,” Stan says. “But I’m fully aware that I’m doing things that are not going to be for everybody.”

He’s not far off the mark. Even Marvel, the world’s highest-grossing movie franchise of all time, has faced quite a bit of criticism in recent years – in part for the way in which they’ve handled the transition to a new set of heroes and storylines since 2019’s Avengers: Endgame. Stan doesn’t have any time for it. “I’ve never been part of a company that puts so much heart and thought into anything,” he says. “I think if Marvel was gone, it’d be such a big hole to try and fill up. Don’t just go out there and shit on something without offering something better.”

Coat by Loewe. Boots by Dolce & Gabbana. Necklace by Cartier. Daniel Jack Lyons

He’s certainly not done with the MCU yet. Thunderbolts, which he’ll headline alongside Florence Pugh, will arrive in May next year. And he’s already looking beyond that, to a potential reunion with Robert Downey Jr, who has been announced to return in the next Avengers movie – not as Iron Man, but as the villain Doctor Doom. “I hope I’m in a scene with him,” Stan says. “Is there any other guy that could pull that off? I don’t know, probably not. After Tropic Thunder, is there anything that guy can’t do?” he says, laughing. It is perhaps the movie that I least expect Stan – or anyone, to be honest – to reference in 2024, but I should know better. Downey Jr is a transformation master, too. Game recognises game.

Trump doesn’t exist in the Marvel universe – or at least not yet – but if you spot a hint of him in Thunderbolts, you’ll know why. “I went off to Marvel after [The Apprentice],” Stan says. “And we were doing scenes, and I would do something, a thing or two, and be like, ‘Fuck! This is still living somewhere.’”

Styled by Sean Knight Hair by Erica Adams Grooming by Kc Fee using iS Clinical at Redefine Representation Set Design by Daniel Horowitz Production by May Kielany

[sumwan]

I thought it would be interesting to look at c!Dream's inventory and ender chest both before and after the prison.

Before the prison

The latest time he showed his inventory before the prison was on August 31, 2020, when he was remodeling the Community House [x]

Armor, weapons, and tools

Netherite Helmet (Protection IV, Unbreaking III)

Netherite Chestplate (Protection IV, Unbreaking III)

Netherite Leggings named "Punzo Chaps" (Protection IV, Unbreaking III, Mending) (given by c!Punz after c!Dream fell and lost his armor)

Netherite Boots (Protection IV, Unbreaking III, Feather Falling IV, Depth Strider III, Mending)

Netherite Sword named "Netherite Sword11" (Sharpness V, Unbreaking III, Looting III, Fire Aspect I, Mending)

Netherite Pickaxe named "pp2" (Efficiency V)

Netherite Shovel (unenchanted)

Netherite Axe (unenchanted)

Bow (Punch I, Unbreaking III, Power V, Flame, Infinity)

Crossbow named "DEFINITELY NOT PENIS" (Quick Charge III, Piercing IV)

Shears

Food and support items

2 full stacks of arrows

16 ender pearls

1 water bucket

56 golden apples

2 enchanted golden apples

2 full stacks of steak plus one stack of 62 and one stack of 25

Various building blocks for remodeling the Community House

Ender chest

He doesn't show his ender chest in this stream, so the latest I could find was on July 31, 2020, which is shortly before the L'Manberg revolution war. [x]

1 full stack of diamonds and a stack of 22

2 full stacks of golden apples and a stack of 11

4 full stacks of iron ingots plus two stacks of 32

4 enchanted golden apples

1 dark oak log

60 arrows

1 full stack of steak

Diamond helmet (unenchanted)

1 pink bed

3 full stacks of ender pearls

1 potion of swiftness

1 netherite ingot

1 Cat music disc (not c!Tommy's disc)

1 Blocks music disc

After the prison

The last time c!Dream showed his inventory and ender chest after the prison was on April 22, 2022. [x]

Armor, weapons, and tools

Full set of enchanted Netherite Armor (given by c!Punz)

2 Netherite Swords (one given by c!Techno and one picked up from c!Bad during jailbreak)

2 Netherite Axes (also one from c!Techno and the other from c!Bad)

1 Netherite Pickaxe (given by c!Punz)

1 Netherite Shovel

1 trident (Riptide)

Shield (either given by c!Techno or picked up from c!Bad)

Bow named "Wardens Bow" (Infinity, Flame, Power V, Unbreaking III) (picked up from c!Bad)

Food and support items

1 splash potion of fire resistance

1 splash potion of strength II

4 full stacks of golden apples

10 enchanted golden apples

2 stacks of steak, one of 59 and one of 57

1 milk bucket

2 water buckets

1 full stack of regular arrows

54 harming arrows

1 full stack of obsidian

12 TNT

4 full stacks of ender pearls and a stack of 9 ender pearls

2 WARDEN ACCESS keycards

Various random items and stacks of dirt

Ender chest

53 diamond blocks

46 iron blocks

1 lava bucket

1 full stack of steak

1 full stack of flint

2 full stacks of gold blocks

6 netherite ingots

1 book and quill (unknown content)

2 full stacks of golden apples

1 full stack of feathers

1 full stack of arrows

7 nether stars

There's a lot that can be said about this, but I'm sure it's very normal to have two swords, two axes, and four stacks of golden apples on you at all times.

[marsspeedway]

COD HEADCANONS! (1?)

This is translated from Spanish so I'm really sorry if there is a translation error or a word that shouldn't be there!

SIMON RILEY GHOST

His casual outfit is really simple: jeans and a t-shirt or hoodie, his shoes of choice (usually his sneakers or boots) and a leather jacket if it's a more "formal" outing (a date?) or if he feels like dressing up.

Yes yes, balaclava on the base and cloth mask off the base.

Due to his past he has developed a defense mechanism of making jokes to "get over" or lighten his trauma.

After the betrayal of his team and his capture by Robas he basically got used to survive with very little. Therefore: he doesn't eat much, doesn't sleep much and is always in alert mode.

His chuckles are low, deep and feel mocking 99% of the time even though they are not. Instead his real laughter, his guffaws, are LOUD but very very strange to hear.

This man does NOT have a driver's license.

He has constant nightmares and/or night terrors so he tends to sleep very little.

Simon "Ghost" Riley is sleep deprived.

Ghost is the soldier, Simon is the human. So, Ghost is the armor that protects Simon, the tough exterior that protects the sensitive and too fragile interior. 

His room is simple, he doesn't have many belongings and the few he has are really valuable for him.

Ok yes, "Ghost collects knives" or "Ghost collects guns" but... Ghost collects lighters.

Bonus if you think he's a smoker.

Bonus X2 if you think he's an EX-Smoker!

Sleeping near Soap, or cuddling him, surprisingly calms him down (considering how much he dislikes and discomforts physical contact).

Soap is like his safe place, then Price follows, but he doesn't get that close to him physically (almost not at all really).

His closeness to Price has been very helpful to him, the man is a great listener and a great advisor and Simon can't thank him enough for always being there when he needs a shoulder to lean on or someone to give him good advice.

Ghost's "Fucking hell..." at the moment of meeting Soap in MW2 is mainly because he didn't expect to meet him again, he didn't expect to see him again after Makarov, let alone have to WORK with him again. It's not that he dislikes him, he just didn't expect the guy to be HIS sergeant instead of Price's.

During "Alone" Ghost tells jokes and talks to help Soap through the bad time, to calm him down and help him move forward but he also does it for himself because damn: just betrayed at the border of a country/city they don't know, with the colonel who received them captured, with a (his) wounded and messed up sergeant who is the only ally he has right now and who in turn is trying to get to him, with mercenaries nipping at their heels... I think the poor guy has a right to be a little bad. Well, Simon is bad because Ghost seems to be hiding it well.

Hairless?

He tends to eat fast, very fast.

JOHN "SOAP" MACTAVISH

He told Price that they should make varsity jackets with the Task Force logo on them...

Guess who has varsity jackets with the Task Force logo on them?

OG!Soap (2009) hates dogs (according to a line of dialogue) but personally I think Reboot!Soap (the current Soap, the one from 2022) likes them quite a bit.

He's a bit (too much) hyperactive.

He tends to gift and buy things for Ghost, little trinkets or things he knows Simon can use. It goes from clothes to some toy he thinks Ghost might like, they are usually toy soldiers, little action figures or legos (or anything that reminds him of Ghost).

Simon keeps them all. Every single one, even if it's a rock or a note that Soap left him or a doodle that Soap gave him.

He's a freaking master with butterfly knife tricks.

No, he doesn't use them to impress Ghost....

Maybe he does...

Ghost pretends the tricks don't impress him but they do.

He gives me Golden Retriever Boyfriend vibes that can send a bomb to your house.

Let's not forget he's a 30 year old man, military, explosives expert who basically operates in an elite task force... I mean, he could easily kill you. But, still, he's got a nice vibe, he's sociable and it's hard to dislike him.

Bookworm! He'll devour a book in a matter of hours and if he likes it enough he'll do an essay or summary.

He's a homebody with a big, big family. And he would love to have his own family with his own little house in the camp.

To pass the time he usually draws and occasionally writes in his journal. That thing is a little bit of everything: drawings, notes, stories, a personal diary, etc. Anything goes in there.

He cuts his mohawk himself and also usually takes care of rookies' hair, or really anyone who asks (nicely).

He can actually do more than cut mohawks or shave heads, his mother knows how to cut hair and he learned how to do it himself.

You want him to braid your hair? Of course, he's the one! He grew up with several sisters, so of course he knows how to braid. Ponytails? Go ahead. A bun? Sure. You ask and he'll know what to do and if he doesn't, he'll find it.

He can cook a little, just enough to get by and not live on instant noodles and take-out.

[grantgustluv]

his champion - lando norris

pairings: lando norris x fem!footballer!reader

author’s notes: THIS IS MY FIRST IMAGINE AHHHH so let me know what I need to improve on. Also, just pretend that it wasn’t the Hungarian GP on 31st July 2022

warnings: some mentions of anxiety, implied smut (i’m not ready to write that yet sorry)

comment any requests please - i’m going to try and put a new one out every Wednesday

30th July 2022 - the night before the final

Lando and Y/N had been together 4 years, but known each other since the age of 4 and despite their demanding work schedules and busy lives, still found time to love and support one another. They decided to keep their relationship private (with the exception of close friends) because they knew just how brutal their “fans” could be with the introduction of a significant other in their lives, and, although they considered themselves too young to be fully settling down yet, they still only saw each other as their future and they didn’t want that ending yet, especially not by fake fans.

~

Lando was incredibly proud of his girlfriend and all her achievements despite her only being 23, he had been by her side through everything, all the best parts, like signing for her childhood club, scoring her first goal for both Manchester United and England and making her first appearance at the 2015 World Cup at the age of 16, but also all the lowest moments of her career too, the injuries, the hate, the doubt and all the rumours. Lando had been there through it all and he would always be her biggest supporter no matter what. The same could also be said for Y/N, she was his biggest fan and came to as many of his races as she possibly could and Lando insisted that she was his lucky charm. The only way they could support each other while not physically being there was by sporting the number 4 on their backs, Lando being McLaren’s number 4 and Y/N being number 4 for both Manchester United and England. It was their number. They were each other’s person.

~

The Women’s Euro tournament had been life changing for England’s Lionesses so far, they had truly done their country proud in every game, but they still had one more to go, the final, against Germany, their toughest opponents yet. Y/N was the top scorer of the tournament so far and was determined to walk away with the golden boot, but she knew it wouldn’t be the same without also winning the Euros altogether with her team.

She never usually got nervous before her games, but this was different, it was one of the biggest games of her career. But all that took over her mind was that she knew that Lando was going to be there. Thankfully, a break in the f1 season had fallen right on the day of the final, which meant Lando and a few of the other drivers were able to come and show their support.

Y/N couldn’t help the smile that took over her face when she looked at her phone, more specifically, her home screen as a notification popped up. It was a picture of Lando wearing her football shirt from last season with the cheesiest grin on his face. Lando hated the photo, but she absolutely loved it, because whenever she would look at it, it would brighten up her day. In that moment she couldn’t believe how lucky she was to have someone that radiated so much joy and happiness by her side. He was the daylight in her life.

A soft knock interrupted her thoughts. Slowly, she walked over to the door of her hotel room and opened it to be greeted by a bouquet of gorgeous roses and the very same smile she was grinning to herself about a few minutes ago. “Missed me?” asked Lando as he handed her the flowers. Y/N didn’t even answer as she jumped straight into his arms and held him as tight as possible. They both breathed a sigh of relief at finally being back in each other’s arms and they weren’t ready to let go yet, they could’ve stayed like this forever. Y/N pulled away first and looked at the flowers. “They’re gorgeous Lan, thank you,” she beamed as she walked over to put them on the side table. She felt his arms wrap around her waist and the tickle of his faint stubble in the crook of her neck. “Not as beautiful as you sweetheart,” he mumbled softly, kissing her neck. He gripped onto her hips and spun her round so they were face to face. “How are you feeling?” he asked, knowing how anxious she could sometimes get before big games like this. “I just feel like I want to get out there and play, I hate the waiting around before,” she ranted. He chuckled lightly, “I know baby, but you’re going to do so amazing, Daniel and I have already predicted what’s going to happen” she raised her eyebrows encouraging him to carry on. “You’re going to score, I just know it. And not just one, but two. It’ll be a tight game but I really believe you girls will win, you all deserve it so much, especially you Miss L/N” he finished. She just gazed at him lovingly and said with a teasing smile, “I hope you’re right Mr Norris.”

~

It was the day of the final at Wembley and all the girls were getting ready in the changing rooms for the last push of the tournament, giving each other encouraging talks and of course a last minute motivational speech from Leah. Higher up within the stadium was Lando, he was in one of the family boxes with the rest of the L/Ns and had brought along Daniel, Carlos, Max, George, Lewis and Charles (Y/N’s second family, she would call them), all there to support not only their friend’s girlfriend, but someone who had supported them in their careers too.

As Y/N was listening to her pre-game music, her phone buzzed, it was a message from Lando. She tapped on it and chuckled to herself, it was a picture of Lando, Daniel, Max, George, Carlos, Charles and Lewis looking out onto the pitch, all wearing an England shirt with her name and number on the back. She felt a tear form in the corner of her eye at the sweet gesture from the boys and replied back quickly with a red heart when she felt a tap on her shoulder from her teammate, signalling that they need to go line up ready to walk out.

Stood behind her was Jill who squeezed her shoulders and said “We’ve got this kiddo.” Y/N laughed at the nickname that had stuck since the first time she played with Jill in 2015 when she was in fact still a kid. She took a deep breath and replied with “Yes we do.” All of a sudden she was walking out into a packed out Wembley, screams and cheers surrounded her as the two teams made their way onto the pitch. Lining up, Y/N started to look around and her eyes locked onto him. There he was. They gazed at each other lovingly and Lando waved down at her and then made a love heart with his hands, causing Y/N to blush and a big grin to take over her face showing off the dimples that Lando loved so much. It wasn’t until a nudge in her ribs from Lucy Bronze broke her loving gaze from him, letting her know that the national anthem was about to start.

~

The first half had been pretty uneventful with neither teams scoring a goal and England knew they needed to up their game in the second half or their dream of winning might just slip away. It was in the 62nd minute when Lucy was running down the wing and spotted Y/N outside of the box with no one marking her. Y/N saw the ball coming her way but she knew she wouldn’t have time to stop the ball in order to get the right angle for her shot, so as it came closer she prepared herself and as the ball made contact with her right boot, she volleyed it into the top corner of the net. She couldn’t believe it. She had scored for her country in the European final. She ran to the corner of the pitch towards the England fans and the subs that were warming up alongside the rest of her team, with Leah launching herself onto Y/N’s back. All she could hear around her was her famous chant the fans had come up with a few years ago and the encouragement from the girls. This was a dream come true.

The stadium was still buzzing as the players made their way back to their positions, she looked around for him and when she spotted him she held up an ‘L’ with her fingers and then formed a heart. Lando got a few teasing shoves and comments from his friends. “I think that one was for you mate,” Daniel said with a chuckle. Lando just blushed and mumbled “I know” back to him.

Unfortunately, due to Germany scoring as well and bringing the score to a draw, the game was forced into 30 minutes of extra time. The last thing any of them wanted was it going to penalties, because they knew how much pressure they were, especially in a final. Everyone was on the edge of their seats as it edged into the last 2 minutes of the game and Germany were given a corner. Y/N decided to hang back instead of getting in the box with every other player, even the Germany goalkeeper had joined the rest of her team in the box in hopes of scoring a last minute winner. The delivery into the box was near perfect but no way was Mary letting that ball into the goal at this point so she pushed it away straight out of the box. The ball flew over all the player’s heads and straight towards Y/N and the player that was marking her. She collected the ball, turned around and started running as she already knew that she was onside. She could feel the German player close to her trying to catch her up but she kept pushing. She was running towards an open goal and they were surely into the last minute by now, so she increased her pace as much as she could for one last push. She kept her gaze forward as she took the shot just after entering the box.

Time slowed down completely as she and nearly ever person in the country watched the ball hit the back of the net. Everything felt like it was moving in slow motion as she ripped her shirt of her head and swung it round throwing it to the ground as she saw her teammates running towards her. She looked around the stadium. The fans were screaming, the girls were grinning from ear to ear and Lando was cheering and beaming down at the love of his life. He already thought that he was madly in love with her but right now he swore he had never felt this much love for a person, his heart felt like it was about to beat out of his chest and without thought reached into his pocket to feel the little box he had been carrying around with him for the last 3 months. He wanted this, he wanted forever with her, no, he needed forever with her. He caught her looking up at him and nearly fell to his knees when she grinned up at him with teary eyes, pointing to herself, forming a heart and then pointing at him. Lando chuckled nervously to himself, wiped his eyes and then repeated the action.

All the players were eagerly awaiting the full time whistle from the referee and finally it came. Y/N dropped to her knees and burst into tears, they had done it. She had done it. She felt herself being lifted off the floor by a few of her teammates and they couldn’t even produce words as they just cried into each other’s embraces. They approached the German players, congratulating them on a good game and comforting those in tears.

‘Three Lions’ started blaring through the speakers after a few minutes causing the girls to start dancing and singing on the pitch, the whole of Wembley sung in unison and gazed down at their Lionesses, their champions.

After applauding their fans and the German players receiving their silver medals, it was time for the Lionesses to collect their Gold medals, she was nearly there. “And now, give it up for your golden boot winner, your player of the tournament, your number 4, Y/N L/N!” the announcer spoke and suddenly, a loud roar burst through the stadium. She couldn’t believe it. To have the support of your family and team was one thing but to have the support of your country was like no other feeling in the world. She shook Prince William’s hand after receiving her medal and walked over to the trophy, admiring it before walking over to the rest of the team who were now just waiting for their skipper Leah to bring over the trophy ready for the proper celebration to begin.

She didn’t think it was possible, but as Leah lifted up the trophy into the air, the stadium grew louder than ever. Y/N and Millie were then handed a bottle of champagne each and they knew exactly what they needed to do. Y/N turned up to her families box and winked at Lando and he immediately caught on as to what was about to happen. She gave the champagne a little shake and with some force banged the bottom of the bottle against the floor, causing the champagne to shoot out of the top and high into the air, the screams of her teammates then took over as Rachel stole the bottle out of her hands and started spraying everyone with it. Y/N looked up at Lando and could see Daniel and Max next to him cackling at the stunned and lovestruck expression on his face. He was a little embarrassed by himself with how easily that turned him on.

The girls all jumped around on the pitch taking turns holding the trophy and when it was finally handed to her, Y/N kissed the top of it and lifted it high into the air. Just as she was about to pass it on, she felt multiple pairs of arms lift her up in the air and the stadium yet again let out a huge cheer for their number 4. The girls had never experienced an atmosphere like this, things were changing and they knew that they were a part of that change.

As the celebrations had died down, the player’s families were allowed to come down onto the pitch, and as Y/N was getting yet another picture with the trophy, she felt arms wrap around her from every angle. She turned around to be met by the proud expressions of her mum, dad and little brother, she shared tight hugs with all of them before she heard her name being called by a familiar voice behind her. She turned round and jumped straight into Lando’s arms as her legs wrapped around his waist. After a few moments she unhooked her legs and Lando placed her down onto the ground with their foreheads still touching, neither of them could care less about being private anymore as they both leaned in and connected their lips together in a loving and passionate kiss, hearing the sound of cameras clicking around them. They were pulled apart by the sounds of fake gags coming from behind them, they turned around to be met with the boys sharing fake looks of disgust on their faces. Y/N and Lando went over to them and they all joined together for a group hug, which again, caused a ricochet of camera clicks to go off around them. This moment was exactly what Y/N had waited for, winning the European Final and doing it with her team, her family and the love of her life.

~

Lando and Y/N walked out the stadium hand in hand, heading back to the hotel to get changed ready for the real celebrations to begin.

Lando couldn’t tear his eyes away from her all night, she was jumping up and down to the song playing, her hair bouncing as she did so, her dimples prominent due to the gorgeous smile on her face, her dress clinging to her beautiful figure and her angelic glow causing her to stand out perfectly in the room full of people. Lando could confidently say that he was the luckiest man on earth to have a girl as perfect as her being in love with a guy like him.

It was getting into the early hours of the morning now and both Lando and Y/N were ready to go back to the hotel room, both had craved to be sleeping in each other’s arms again after a month away from each other. They arrived back at the hotel room 15 minutes later and Lando watched as Y/N flopped onto the bed dramatically. Chuckling to himself, he began to remove her heels that she had been complaining about for the majority of the evening and placed them to the side, before carefully lifting her up with her clinging to him like a koala and carrying her to the bathroom and placing her gently on the countertop. Lando stared at her lovingly and softly pushed her hair out of her face. Her eyes flickered open slightly and she let out a little hum as her eyes met her favourite person. Lando proceeded to gently remove the makeup from her face and then carry her back through to the bedroom before removing her dress and replacing it with one of his tops that drowned her figure.

Just as Lando had snuggled in beside her, he felt her shift slightly in his hold. “I love you Lan, you’re everything to me” she mumbled tiredly, followed shortly by her soft snores. The faint traces of the early morning sunrise had started to peek through the curtains allowing Lando to gaze at her sleeping figure. Being careful not to wake her, he placed a gentle kiss on the side of her head, “I love you too my champion,” he whispered softly into the kiss, before drifting off to sleep, holding his girlfriend tightly to his chest.