#ik the cover released ages ago but i still like to talk about it

[dramamines]

something something atsushi is in the middle of fyodor and fukuzawa because of his conflicting feelings of right and wrong, and how he's starting to question his morals due to the desperation of the situation

[scented-morker]

h o t e l k e y

1.6k words chenle x fem!reader fluff, humour, suggestive based off of the song “hotel key” by old dominion (ik ik a country song gross)

“it makes her think of me, and that night we left our hearts on our sleeves and our clothes all over the floor”

You find yourself releasing yet another deep sigh as your father beckons you from across the ballroom, but you still put in your brightest smile as you make your way through the heavy throng of people, preparing to be introduced to yet another business associate who's name you'll forget way before the end of the night.

"This is my daughter, Y/N"

He was already gesturing and introducing you by the time you made it to the place next to him, and you accepted the hand of the older man standing in front of you.

"Oh she's grown very well, such a pretty girl"

"You aren't the only one to think so, she was recently crowned Queen of the Seoul Pageant, you're looking at a future Miss Korea"

You tried to keep yourself from cringing as your father blatantly boasted about you, hoping the other man would pretend not to notice.

He didn't, instead he did something even worse.

"Oh that's great, my son is about the same age, he just performed his third concert at the Golden Hall of Vienna"

You could see your father controlling his face as to not appear impressed, but when the other man turned around to find his son, you got the pointed look you knew meant 'be better than whatever his child is'.

The man turns back around and you pretend to pay attention while he introduces his son who isn't there yet, the exact same thing your father did.

At the end of his sentence a boy your age approaches, and it might be the first time you've actually been interested in something going on all night.

Because my goodness, he is gorgeous.

"Chenle, this is Mr.Y/L/N"

He shakes your fathers hand and you can't spot a single thing he does that is less than perfect.

"I was just telling him about your concert a few weeks ago"

There's a flicker of something in his eyes and you think maybe he feels the same thing as you, though he quickly recovers into the golden boy he's expected to be.

"Oh I hope you weren't bragging, it wasn't anything that special"

"Now don't be so humble Mr.Chenle, that is very impressive"

You laid on the charm you knew your father wanted, and his short nod of confirmation validated your thoughts.

It seemed that Chenle hadn't noticed you until the words left your mouth, and his eyes seemed to shine when he did.

"You are very beautiful Miss.L/N"

"She's going to be Miss Korea"

You made sure only Chenle could see your small eye roll as your fathers launched into another round of 'my-child-is-better-than-yours".

"How about I get the lovely lady a drink?"

Both of your fathers seem thrilled by the idea, and you weren't going to pass on an opportunity to get away, so you politely nodded and let him lead you away.

"You are an angel, thank you for saving me from that conversation"

He laughed at your immediate character switch, "I hope you weren't there for too long before I got there to save you".

"Doesn't even matter, as long as we're safe now"

He laughed at your dramatic phrasing, walking straight past the bar and towards the front door.

"You wanna get out of here"

"I thought you'd never ask"

He pulled you along with him out the doors, getting his car from the valet and driving out onto the main road.

You inhaled the scent of lemon and new car while you fiddled with the radio, Chenle tapping his fingers on the arm rest while he spoke out loud about ideas of where you could go.

By the time you pull up to some random fancy hotel, you're both laughing to the point of stomach pain, and you don't know why but you had never felt so comfortable with someone so quickly.

"Hello I'd like an executive suite"

You zoned out while he spoke to the woman at the counter, and was only pulled back in when he wrapped his arms around you and yanked you towards his body.

You looked up with wide eyes, but a quick scan of the scene told you what was going on, and your eyes narrowed at where the female worker had her hand still hovering over Chenle's chest, obviously having just been removed from an attempt at flirting. The current contact you had with the boy and the two pairs of eyes on you told you that he had used you as a cover, and he had obviously said something, something they were both waiting for you to respond to.

"I'm pregnant"

They both looked at you, the woman's eyes wide with horror, Chenle's wide with bewilderment, probably at why that was your panicked response.

You looked up to meet his eyes and you both immediately broke into loud laughs, Chenle swiping the key cards from the counter as you both ran towards the first hallway, his hand holding yours the entire way.

When you finally stepped out of the elevator and made it to your suite, there were tears dried on your face from laughing so hard, and Chenle was still teasing you.

"I'm pregnant," his words were once again cut off by his laughter and you smacked his chest as you inserted the card into the door and yanked it open, throwing yourself onto the bed while he came in still laughing.

He tossed himself next to you, turning onto his side and propping his chin on his hand to looks at your face.

"I told her that we had just gotten married and needed a room" he wiggled his eyebrows as you laughed, mirroring his actions as you turned to look at him in the same manner.

"Well I said I was pregnant, so at least she won't get the wrong idea about what we're doing up here"

"Oh yeah? What do you think she's thinking?"

His voice gets softer and he leans in towards your face, to the point where your lips are only centimeters away.

"You know"

"No I don't think I do?"

"The devils tango. The sideways salsa. The no pants dance. Hanky panky"

He had lost it by the first euphemism, but you kept going, although making him laugh that hard while being so close proved to be a bad idea, and you felt his head hit yours before you had the chance to move away.

"I was going to kiss you but after that I don't think I want to"

He barely got the words out between his laughs and you acted offended, although disappointment was the real emotion you were feeling.

"Why? Because I'm too funny?"

"Yeah, uh-huh that's totally it"

He had finished his laughing fit and was able to speak clearly, a smile on his face while he rolled his eyes, continuing his path back to your lips.

You were barely a millimeter apart when your phone started ringing, both of your groans echoing throughout the room while you blindly reached for the device.

"Where are you? I cant find you and Chenle's father seems to not be able to locate him either. You better be making smart decisions. I'll let you go this time but we've got another party next week and you will be there the entire time"

Your fathers voice was loud through the phone, and you were sure Chenle heard every word.

"Ugh" you let out an angry groan as the voicemail finished, throwing the device somewhere across the room.

"Why do they always do this?"

Chenle got a similar text from his father, and now both of you were mad, knees touching as you sat angrily on the hotel bed.

"What do you think they'd do if we just ran away?"

He looked at you in amusement, not a single ounce of surprise in his gaze.

"I've thought about it, leave the city"

"Maybe the country" you added, and chenle let out a melodic laugh, content to sit in some random hotel with you and talk about running away together.

But that wasn't what you wanted right now.

Right now the thought on both of your minds was to make you fathers mad.

“You better kiss me before we get interrupted again”

You don’t have to tell him twice, within a second his lips are crashing into yours, tongues clashing and hands grabbing at whatever they can reach, both of you trying to contain your smiles at the feeling of freedom.

When you woke up the next day the alarm on the side table read 3:00 and a laugh left you mouth as you woke up the boy next to you.

“Chenle we were supposed to check out three hours ago”

His eyes widen but he joins in your laughter anyway, both rushing around the room to locate your belongings.

The same check in lady at the desk from yesterday glares at you as you run through the halls, and since you paid yesterday you thankfully don’t have to speak to her, Chenle just throwing the key card down on the front desk and running with you in his arms towards his car.

He was too busy dismissing calls from his father and screaming along with the radio to notice the way you slipped the other key card into your small purse.

“we both know we can’t open the door no more, but she kept the hotel key”

[prettylittlebrownskingyal]

i’ll keep on waiting 🌟

Note: Ik you guys are mostly here for ‘x reader’ content but I was projecting and procrastinating and I wrote a stephcass thing.

Words: 2.2k

Steph is of the opinion that she should really hate Conner Kent. Like, loathe him, actually. Because he just has a way of making a move on everyone she has/had feelings for, and the sad fact of the matter is, he makes it look so easy.

She’s woman enough to admit that. What, with the perfect clone smile and the leather jacket and blue eyes. Of course, she can see what Tim and Cass saw. But that doesn’t mean she has to rationally like him. Yet, she can’t find it in herself to want him dead either.

She has, on occasion, thought about pulling him aside and threatening to shove a piece of Bruce’s kryptonite up his-

“Steph! Hey, how’s it going?”

And there he is, suit and tie and charming smile. She would punch him in the face if she didn’t know he was practically invincible. “Hey, Kon. Enjoying the show?”

He laughs and averts his gaze to the spectacle across the room; Tim and Cass, arms swung around each other, twin Wayne grins and immaculate posture, stealing the souls of a bevvy of old rich ladies.

“It’s creepy that they can just switch it on like that.”

“It’s even creepier when Bruce does it.”

“Bruce is always creepy to me.”

Despite her reservations, she cracks a smile at him and allows him to pull her into a debate about the last Knights versus Monarchs game.

So what if he is Cass’s ( somewhat ) ex, he’s really in the same boat she is. With the exception of the fact that he and Tim are actually dating and she and Cass are well, her and Cass.

She swears, for someone who can level her way through an army with swift and unattached efficiency, Cass is oblivious when it comes to the gigantic, hulking crush she has on her. Or maybe, Steph is just so bad at feelings that she’s the one at fault.

Either way, she has nothing to compare this yearning too. She and Tim started with a brick to the face and the coincidence of being teen vigilantes in the Hellmouth that is Gotham. They were a product of proximity and hormones and though she knows some part of her will always be in love with Tim— the way she’s a little in love with all of them—- they were better off as friends.

The conversation with Conner peters out to a comfortable silence as they watch Tim wrap up his jovial conversation. It’s early enough that Steph knows the schmoozing isn’t over yet, they're going to be at it until they milk all these rich schmucks for what their worth and have the fundraiser’s goal paid in double by the end of the night.

Cass catches her eye across the room, and mouths “You want a drink?”. She signs back, “I need it to live through this,” and feels her whole body flush when Cass laughs.

She makes her way across the room, striding as her dress trails behind her, with two champagne flutes. She and Conner exchange smiles as she approaches, which reignites Steph’s desire to deck him before he goes to take Cass’ place at Tim’s side.

Cass presses the glass into her hand, nose wrinkling in amusement as she watches Stephanie knock it back with no sense of class at all. She’s hoping the alcohol will cover the pink tinge she’s sporting— a recent development, that seems to only happen when Cass comes close to her— and she accepts the second flute and Cass’ wry amusement without complaint.

This little moment, in this little bubble, will be cut short soon when Cass has to go back to being one of the elite Wayne-angel kids. So, fueled by the champagne in her bloodstream, she works up enough courage to ask, “Do you wanna dance?”

Her heart’s hammering in her throat when Cass slips a scarred hand into hers, the other moving to tuck a lock of dark hair behind her ear. Steph follows the movement with baited breath, and with what she hopes is a blank expression, when Tim’s voice calls out to them. And the moment, the little bubble, it bursts. Ending with Steph’s tiny glimmer of confidence crawling back into her stomach to hibernate.

“I’ll owe you,” Cass whispers, patting her hand as she slinks off again.

Steph watches her walk away and then looks back at where Conner and Tim are cuddled together, letting the feeling of longing grow and sour inside her until she’s sick of herself.

***

Harper is laughing at her.

She’d stumped her big toe on the foot of their shitty couch and went down on the floor between the living room and the kitchen, arms and legs akimbo and dignity nowhere to be found. That was ten minutes ago, and Harper is still laughing at her, manically. Cullen, who was in his room until his sister started imitating a hyena, takes pity on her. He gives her face one sure look and places a tub of ice cream and a spoon near her head. She takes it with a pathetic wave of thanks and holds it close to her stomach, while she waits for the sweet release of death. She texts this to Damian, telling him he has free reign on offing her. He replies with the middle finger emoji and that gif of Judge Judy rolling her eyes.

“My God, Brown. You really are a mess aren’t you?”

“Physically, mentally or emotionally?” she snorts. “Yes to all of them.”

Harper knows what this is truly about. Because Harper has a way of knowing everything sometimes. She can see right through all of Stephanie’s walls when she really wants too, it makes her brand of tough love pretty great to have around. Except, she isn’t going to offer to fix this one for Steph. Her pining could be easily solved with one conversation, and if Steph is too much of a stubborn brat to have it, she isn’t going to go to Cass and say ‘Hey, my friend is in love with you. You should date her.’ That’s too middle school and she’s sure Cass won’t appreciate it.

“Are you just going to keep lying there? Polluting the apartment with your teen angst bullshit?”

“I’m no longer a teen. And yes. Yes, I am. I’m not moving until I die.”

“ Stephanie .”

“What?”

Harper sighs, rubbing a hand down her face. “How long am I going to have to put up with this?”

“Put up with what?” Her mouth is full of ice cream now, she waves the spoon around as she talks. “I’m not doing anything. I’m just here. Suffering. When will the universe give me a break?”

“Maybe you should stop waiting on the universe and just talk to her.”

“To who? The universe? I’m not really-”

“No, you dumbass .” She flings a throw pillow at her. “To Cassandra. About all of your feelings. And then you can put the rest of us out of our misery.”

Steph drops her hands flat to her sides and nudges the ice cream container away as she thinks. “Nope.”

Harper throws another pillow.

***

She gets into a pissing contest with Damian and Jason on Friday’s patrol. Ideally, she should have known better than to take on their combined force by herself; not when their both cut from the same cloth of anger, violence and ruthlessness that has much to do with Talia Al-Ghul.

They're playing a game of ‘How many criminals can you take down before midnight’, which under usual circumstances, Steph was exceptionally good at. And for the first few hours of patrol, she was. Until Tim informed her through the comms that he and Cass were rooting for her as they watched from the CCTV footage in the cave. It then went from beating Jason and Damian’s sorry asses to look cool, look effortless, look badass because Cass is watching.

Obviously, because sometimes the universe is a tepid bitch that likes watching her suffer, she knocks out two guys with quick jabs and follows the third down a fire escape by attempting to grapple to the ground before he descends the stairs, only to get her wire tangled. Which results in her smacking into the side of the building like George of the jungle. At least, that’s what Tim tells her she looked like as he checks her for a concussion. She’s fine, because she’s tougher than she looks honestly, and all she has to worry about is the sore bruise across her forehead that gets her barred from patrol for the rest of the weekend.

Damian and Jason, the sentimental little pricks, project their guilt into treating her nicer than they usually would. Jason sends her a flurry of blackmail pictures of Dick’s questionable fashion moments over the years that she’s sure he got off of Roy. Damian brings her waffles from an expensive cafe across town and spends most of his Saturday on her couch, watching trashy reality shows. Before he leaves, he fixes her with a look that’s somewhere above his usual range of disdain to indifferent. It’s close to pity, but not quite and it makes him look so much like Bruce for a moment that she finds herself sitting up, paying closer attention.

“Can I ask you something?”

“Yes?”

He rolls his eyes at her near-confusion, looking years above his age as he says, “You have feelings for my sister. Yes?”

She’s taken aback and almost ready to deny it when she remembers that she isn’t exactly subtle and the only person that really doesn’t know about her crush on Cass, is Cass herself.  “Yes,” she answers, surely this time.

“And what do you intend to do about it?”

“Is this a shovel talk? Are you...are you really about to warn me?” she cackles despite his murderous little face, “You never did this when I was with Tim.”

“You and Drake were a mess, it wasn’t necessary,” he waves a hand in her direction, dismissing the thought. “And no, Brown. I do not need to warn you about what will happen if you screw up, you already know who I am. I’m merely... offering some advice.”

“Which is what?”

“If you wish to have a relationship with Cassandra, you’re going to have to swallow your stupidity and your fear and tell her that yourself. She will not come to you with a proposal, no matter how much you mope.”

With that he exits out the window, leaving her feeling like an open wound. The treads that she’s bound herself together by threaten to unravel on her living room floor, so she retreats to her bedroom and locks the door behind her.

Steph was a smart girl, she knew her friends were right. She knew the only way out of this sick hole of self-pity was to pick herself up and do what needed to be done. But rejection was just a cliff waiting for her to tumble over, and she wasn’t quite sure how she would ever be able to survive the fall.

She took a long, hard look at herself in the mirror. Breathed in her dishevelled hair, Dick’s old Gotham academy sweatshirt that she bummed from Tim after he stole it off Damian, and the stained sweatpants that she took from Harper’s clean laundry pile because she hadn’t gotten around to her own. She felt weird. Floaty. Like she was on the cusp of grief but she was being strong-armed by something else entirely, something delirious. It’s the flitting hope and anchor of lovesickness that had her sticking her ear pods in, music cranked up to full base as she twirled aimlessly around her bedroom. It was a cliched attempt at willing away the tightness of worry in her spine. It works, after a few songs. She sinks into it, almost gratefully, goes completely zen.

She doesn’t notice Cass until she stumbles into her. The window’s cracked open, letting in the cool night breeze of the city. Cass has her hands on Steph’s shoulders, righting her as she sways, a pretty smile tugging at her mouth. Even in her full Black Bat gear, hood pulled back, Cass looks like an unearthly thing, something good, something angelic.

“You’re sad?” she hums, swiping a hand up to Steph’s cheek, and if she had to die right there she’d be fine with that.

“No,” she lies, leaning into the offered comfort. “I’m fine.”

Cass presses a kiss to the sore bump on her forehead, tentatively, like she doesn’t know Steph is incapable of ever moving out of this moment. She takes the earbuds out Steph’s ears, plucking the phone out of her hands and taps until the music fills the room.

“I do owe you a dance,” she says, tugging Steph into a vague waltz.

She lets Cass manoeuvre her, hoping and praying that this is her salvation, finally. That the waiting will pay off, the waiting that she hadn’t even realized she was doing, will culminate into spilled feelings and she’d finally be able to look at Cass with the love-sick smile Tim saves for Kon, Bruce for Selina.

“I have to tell you something,” she inhales deeply, lungs filling with the smell of Cass’s favourite shower gel, sweat and leather. She’s giddy, as she says, “I should have told you sooner.”

“What is it?”

Cass’s forehead is pressed to hers, there’s a hand on her waist, a palm curved into her own and they're own personal, circle of moonlight haloing them. The words fill Steph’s mouth like bundled cotton, she hears Damian’s voice in her head—   “She will not come with a proposal,”— and remembers that Cass’ cornerstone of communication is tactile contact. She leans in, knowing fully well that of this advance was not wanted she’d be on her ass by now, and with as much grace as she can muster, presses a soft kiss into her mouth.

There’s a brief moment, not of shock but perhaps a beat to ground herself, before Cass is tugging her closer, flush against her and weaving a hand into her hair to keep her in place. Bitterly (and pettily) she thinks ‘Suck on that Conner Kent’ before her brain complete shorts out by Cass’ tongue slipping into her mouth. Her heart thuds away wildly against her ribs as Cass gathers her up in her arms.

It feels like days have passed when they finally break for air, noses brushing and lips bitten pink.

“I like you so much,” she admits, finally.

“Really?” Cass teases, soothing her hands down her spine. “I didn’t even notice.”

[bluemoonpunch]

So the Mandela Effect, thoughts?

I think it’s a legit thing, but so much bullshit has been added into it that really drowns out the legitimacy of it. Like a lot of the Mandela Effect things I’ve heard from people have more to do with them mishearing something as a child and then growing up to realize that they’ve been saying something wrong. Like I’ve always called nail polish “paint nail polish” and didn’t realize that no one else around me did until I was 14 and my aunt pointed it out. Some people would try to say that that was a Mandela Effect, that I was once part of a separate universe where nail polish was collectively referred to as “paint nail polish,” but really I’m just a dork who got used to calling it that because no one corrected me.

Like I saw a Mandela Effect thread once about Tostitos and people saying that when they were young the Tostitos chips were called Totinos… but like… Totino's is a different thing. Totino's is like the pizza bagels and the pizza rolls, Tostitos is the tortilla chips and salsa/dips. They both exist, but if you’re a kid and your parents are getting you Totino's pizza rolls (very popular in the 90′s and early 2000′s as I recall) and around the same time Tostitos was popping off as a party essential, something you’re not too into when you’re like 5 - 9 years old, then you might hear it and get it switched around. It’s just slightly off so other people might not even notice that you’re mixing them up especially if you’re saying “Tostitos pizza rolls” rather than “Totino's pizza rolls” because most people are going to know what you’re talking about and might not even catch it. Same as me saying “paint nail polish” rather than just “nail polish” It’s just one extra syllable I’m throwing in there and technically what I’m saying is not wrong, it’s just slightly off. 

So, when it comes to weird little random things I don’t believe it to be a Mandela Effect, I think it’s just people remembering and saying shit wrong as a child and then not wanting to consider that they’re wrong as an adult. Like… it’s easier and maybe more fun to say that I was once in a separate universe where Totino's pizza rolls were actually Tostitos pizza rolls rather than just saying I ate pizza rolls way more than I ate tortilla chips and just got them confused because they were both popular foods and I got them mixed up. 

99% of Mandela Effects I feel can be debunked pretty easily by just… spell checking something lol, but shit like THE ACTUAL MANDELA EFFECT where massive amounts of people remember Nelson Mandela dying a long time ago both inside and outside of his country is very interesting. A lot of people claim to have very detailed memories of him dying in prison and those recollections match up with other people’s, so that’s interesting but again, it can be debunked as well I think.

The Mandela Effect was a very American thing, a lot of the popular ones are based around American history and what not. I always thought the reason people thought Mandela died a long time ago was that he was part of our history lessons when it came to the Civil Rights movements. He was not an American activist, but we learned about him right next to Martin Luther King and Malcolm X, two very prominent black men who were part of the Civil Rights movement in the US in the 60′s. They were both killed in the mid to late 60′s, so if you’re like 12 and you’re not really paying attention and you’re learning about three significant black men in the 60′s and you’re just kind of getting a sprinkling of Nelson Mandela in there, you might assume he was dead too, that he was assassinated along with Martin Luther King  and Malcolm X.

Even though Nelson Mandela was (and is) a huge historical figure, a lot of his work, of course, is centered in South Africa and therefore people elsewhere who aren’t really paying attention, such as people that are are tiny children in 1990 when he was released from prison, you might supplement that information into “Nelson Mandela died in prison in 1990.” You already think he’s dead so having information about him being released from prison when you’re still a small child or when you’re just an American who doesn’t really care that much about what’s going on in South Africa, you can mix things up and just believe them to be true.

American’s were very detached from political occurances in other countries, especially places that don’t really pop up on the radar like South Africa, so again, to the average person what he was doing, even when he became president, a good majority just didn’t care. The name was familiar but not many people realy stopped to pay attention until he actually died and the whole world paid attention to this huge historical figure passing away. Then all of the sudden people (mostly Americans) were like, “I thought he died a long time ago.” And then boom, Mandela Effect. And of course, herd mentality kind of pulls other people along. They’ll hear something like that and not be sure either way but will be more ikely to go along with the side that seems to have a more compelling case. You have like 20 people sayig it’s a split in the Universe and 5 people saying it’s just you being an idiot and not knowing history, and then 15 other people just not giving a shit, you’re more likely to hang out with the 20 other people who talk a lot and don’t point out that you’re just wrong about something.

Even with things like that that are older than the Mandela Effect like the Berenstain/Berenstein Bears thing, it’s the same. “The Berenstain Bears” logo thing on all the books was written in a cursive font, something that the children in that age range probably couldn’t read. Not only that, everyone I know always pronounced it “Bare-en-steen” never “Bare-en-stain” which is what the actual spelling would make most people say. So, “mispronunciation” mixed with the inability to actually make out the letters on the cover, and then hearing it be pronounced as “Bare-en-steen” all the time it can be quite mind blowing to realize that it’s spelled in a way that would give the pronunciation “bare-en-stain.” 

So again, it’s mostly CHILDREN mishearing and mispronouncing something a lot and never being corrected because it’s really not that big of a deal or because the mistake is so small that no one really notices it, and then growing up and noticing that mistake themselves and having their world crash down around them because they’ve been living a lie and the only logical explanation is not that they were simply saying it wrong but that… they… were once in a different reality where they were right. 

Like, in my mind, EVERYONE said “paint nail polish” not “nail polish” because my brain would just automatically switch it out, kind of like a bilingual person automatically translating something in their head into their secondary language. EVERYONE was actually saying “nail polish” always, no one but me was saying “paint nail polish” but I was “translating” it to fit my “language” or what I was aready familiar with. Just like if you’re used to saying “Bare-en-steen” you’re always going to translate it to that even if someone says “Bare-en-stain” because that’s the pattern of sounds your brain liked best. 

I think the Mandela Effect can definitely be thing, but a lot of the ones that I’m familiar with can be debunked in this manner, especially on massive scales like that. 

[jswdmb1]

Time

“And then one day you find ten years have got behind you.  No one told you when to run, you missed the starting gun.”

- Pink Floyd

I still owe you that playlist from 1971 and I promise that it is finally coming later today.  It’s been delayed because, like almost anything that I do, it has turned into a much larger project with questionable value.  Nevertheless, I am going to share the results with you because, after all, this blog is “the biggest waste of time on the internet” and why not keep within the spirit of that slogan?

The project got big because I realized while listing to last week’s Saturday Morning Flashback of 1971 that I had a book on the music of that year.  It goes chronologically through the year by month to build a case that it was the year that defined rock music for the ages.  That statement is certainly debatable, but that is not what got me sidetracked.  Rather, a comment by the author that the start of the decade that we know as the seventies really started in 1971 and not in 1970.  Lots of examples are given, but the one that sticks out is that the Beatles officially broke up on New Year’s Eve 1970 when Paul had his lawyer send a letter to the other three that it was all over.  The argument is that act officially ended the pop era of the sixties and started a new wave of rock with bands such as Led Zeppelin who defined what we call “classic” rock today.  Again, debatable and not my point here, but it did make me curious about when a decade really begins and ends and whether we even have decades anymore after the new millennium began.

As for the first point, logic dictates that a new decade cannot start until the previous one ends.  We have been led to believe that the third number of the year drives a decade (e.g., any year falling within 197x is “the seventies”) but I say that is a fallacy.  Why you ask?  Well, go back to year zero.  The B.C.s ended (wonder if they made a big deal about it like we did for Y2K?) and the A.D.s began.  A decade = ten years, so that first decade of the first millennium didn’t end until the end of year 10 A.D.  Roll that forward a couple thousand years and the math plays out to say that 1970 was the last year of the sixties, 1980 belongs to the seventies, and so on.

Before I go much further, do now you see how I don’t get anything done.  Who sits around and thinks like this?  And this is with me taking all my meds!

Anyway, if we firmly establish 1971 as the start of the seventies, then 1981 would naturally be the start of the eighties.  What evidence, though, supports that beyond just adding 1971 and 10?  Well, WXRT just happened to select 1981 for this week’s flashback this morning and the music made a strong case for a true start to the eighties happening in that year.  Debut albums by the Go-Go’s and Stray Cats went along side early U2 along with Rolling Stones singing “Start Me Up”.  Lots of other iconic eighties music came out that year including albums by the Police, Genesis (and Phil Collins solo), Van Halen, Journey, Foreigner, Hall & Oates...and on and on.  I think that would be enough to back the claim, but I offer two other pieces of evidence.  First, Ronald Reagan took office on January 20, 1981.  With his swearing in, the American hostages in Iran were released and two depressing symbols of the seventies were ushered out (the other being Jimmy Carter).  It’s pretty much a universal truth that Reagan personifies the eighties so this makes a lot of sense (if I say so myself).  Second, 1981 was the birth of MTV.  MTV not only changed music but pop culture.  If Reagan isn’t the best symbol of the eighties, then MTV certainly has to take that spot.  

As I thought about it, 1981 made an even better case than 1971 for getting a new decade rolling musically and otherwise.  That made me decide to go one step further and check out the music of 1991 again.  Now, I have always considered 1990 as part of the eighties since that was the year that I graduated high school.  I never think of any of my time in high school as anything but the eighties and for me that is an absolute truth.  Still, I wanted to test my hypothesis into the third decade for which I have been alive to see if the music also signified a cultural shift into a new decade.  My research netted plenty of evidence that says yes but I’ll give you four albums that leave no doubt.  The first two are without argument the defining records of grunge in a decade that is musically known more for that than anything else.  I am speaking of Nirvana’s “Smells Like Teen Spirit” and Pearl Jam’s “Ten” which both came out that year.  The other two albums were REM’s “Out of Time” and U2′s “Achtung Baby”.  While both of those bands emerged in the 80′s and were plenty big then, these two albums moved them both into superstar status and probably represent their finest work.  Whether you agree with that last part or not, there is no doubt that the impression left by both records on pop music was indelable and shaped the sound of the decade.

While none of this is scientific, I went ahead and created three playlists, one for each year, so that you can judge for yourself.  Actually, mashing the three years together makes for a really great mix of music as each year produced amazing music from some of the best artists of our generation(s).  You may ask where my playlist for 2001 is, and my answer would be that there is no need for one because we stopped living a decade at a time after the nineties were over.  To me, every year since is just part of the new millennium and the eighteen or so years since Y2K have just blended into one weird era.  Part of it is because it’s hard to say (the aughts?  the 00′s?  both sound stupid).  I think the other part though is time moves too fast to get overly nostalgic about a group of 10 years anymore. Think about how long ago it seems that you didn’t have a smart phone, or social media.  Doesn’t it seem like more than a decade ago that people still talked to each other?  Remember when you didn’t wake up to a new scandal every morning?  None of that was very long ago in time and yet it is hard to define when things changed.  Don’t even ask me to figure it out from a musical perspective.  My finger left the pulse of that scene well before the millennium started, but I still cannot define any distinguishing sound between “the aughts” and whatever we are calling this hot mess of a decade (I like the “teen years” since it’s about as disastrous as mine were).  However it adds up, I just don’t care anymore about decades, so my 1991 playlist is the last you’ll get from me.

If you have actually read this whole post through to this point, I really applaud you.  You clearly enjoy wasting time as much as I do and I don’t think you could find a better way to do it.  The next step is for you to listen to the playlists and run off on your own with this goofy tangent of my mind.  I will release them one at a time over the next few days from my sister “Dear Mr. Fantasy” blog.  There will be links through those posts to the actual music that I have created for you on Spotify (I am an avid Apple Music user, but I know how people feel about actually paying for content so enjoy your free music over on Spotify you mooch).  Each list contains 40 songs and i tried not to repeat any artists.  As such, it is not a “best of” list of each year but rather an attempt to be an illustration of how I think the music represented the start of each respective decade.  I have taken the time to order them in a manner that I like, but certainly shuffling through those is fine too.  I would also recommend doing a mash up of all three years at some point.  I am listening to that as I write this and it has produced some real gems (last three songs: “Genius of Love” by Tom Tom Club, “I’ve Been Waiting” by Matthew Sweet, and a cover of “Proud Mary” by Ike & Tina Turner.)

So happy listening everyone.  I would also wish you a happy weekend, but I have another post coming tomorrow.  Whether you asked for it or not, I am feeling quite full of crap lately and have a lot to share.  Until then, let the music play.

Cheers,

Jim

[stillwooozy]

im still really fucking disjointed and idk if i should go the rehab or not probably depends how sick i feel and if i can keep myself from drinking tonight. i drank last night which kinda put me down but i never get a rule against alcohol and weed. if im an alcoholic that is a problem for later in life.

last time i was hospitalized and then sent to inpatient then residential i was 18.... doesn't feel long ago but it was. now this will be my choice, unlike then. i'm not psychotic rn im in touch w/ reality more or less. and i'm not going to talk about killing myself.

oh yea my worry tho ironically is that being around ppl kinda makes me go haywire but as in - I stop giving a shit and treat life like a game. whatever, rooted in fear of ppl and fear of being """uncool""" (lame as that is lmao) or something. If I consent to sex I can't be raped!!! i haven't had sex in a while. i'm not going to have rehab sex. but if I do~~~~. not funny. I don't have a functional personality but irl IK i must have an entertaining personality cuz, man, do my improv skills SHINE in group therapy. not in a way that therapists like me. but the ppl who I want to like me do.

except why can't shows just start again and I do the same thing but, oh yeah, now put myself in more medical debt. it's going to be so expensive it will be painful. not like student insurance can cover this bullshit. and id need to disclose all this to my mom cuz what if i'm not released in time to move out??? my lease is up soon fuckkk. so i'd have to give my mom my apartment keys and probably fork over all my remaining saved $ to hire ppl to purge and clean my apartment. hey, minimalism. it's a pig sty ngl i look like a hoarder who can't clean which ya know isn't far off from reality. fuck. cr4ugr4ug48y4ugrou4wotwogvcyvhfiyrf. im just angry at myself. i hate myself. jk but i also love myself wayyy too much. idk. i wish i was okay. why the hell do i not know how to function in this age/society/culture/etc.

[four-loose-screws]

Ike x Soren Radiant Dawn Endgame Secret Conversation - Translation

Getting furious over localizations is nothing new for Fire Emblem fans. After playing Radiant Dawn back when it came out, I heard news of a secret conversation between Ike and Soren that could be unlocked in the very final map of the endgame chapter. I looked it up on YouTube and found masses of Fire Emblem fans angered that it had been censored for the Western release, to remove connotations that Ike and Soren have romantic feelings for each other. 

Well, while looking through the Radiant Dawn Tellius Recollection book, I found the conversation in Japanese, and decided that it was time to finally lay this case to rest. (Not that I’m the first person to do so, though.)

TLDR: Some lines were added in the backstory part of the conversation. But it’s not any more gay in the Japanese than it is in the localized English.

[セネリオ]

アイク……　その… あなたは…もしかして……▼

Soren: Ike… um… Did you… maybe……

[アイク]

忘れてて、すまなかった。▼

Ike: I forgot. I’m sorry.

[セネリオ]

！▼

Soren: !

[アイク]

思い出した、全部。 ガリアでのことを…… お前と出会った時のことを。▼

Ike: But I remembered everything. About Gallia…… and how I met you.

[セネリオ]

………あ……………▼

Soren: ………Oh……………

[アイク]

あの日…… 母さんはミストを連れて 買い物に出かけ、▼ 俺は…街をぶらぶらしながら 森の入り口のほうへ向かった。 そこに黒い髪の男の子が倒れていた。▼

Ike: On that day…… Mother took Mist shopping, and I… walked to the entrance of the forest while wandering around town. I found a black haired boy lying there.

[セネリオ]

…………▼

Soren: …………

[アイク]

俺と同じぐらいの年に見えたが…… ひどく細くて汚れていて いまにも死んでしまいそうだった。▼ 俺は自分の昼飯を差し出した。▼ 最初は警戒していたようだが おそるおそる俺の手から 食べ物をひったくると夢中で食べていた。▼ 俺はもう食べるものをもってなくて うちに来ればいいと誘ってみたが その子は首を振るばかりだった。▼

Ike: He appeared to be about the same age as me… he was very, very thin and dirty. He looked like he was about to die. I gave him my lunch. At first, he was wary of me, but he timidly took the food from my hands and ate it ravenously. I didn’t have any more food, so I told him it was okay to come to my house, but he just shook his head.

[セネリオ]

…………▼

Soren: …………

[アイク]

じゃあ明日また同じ時間に ここに食べ物を持ってくるからというと、 ずいぶん時間をかけてからやっと頷いた。▼ あのとき俺は、自分がはじめて 人の役に立った気がして嬉しかったんだ。▼

Ike: So I said, “Okay then, I’ll come here at the same time tomorrow with food!” and he hesitated, but then nodded. That was the first time I felt that I had helped someone, so I was very happy.

[セネリオ]

……僕も…嬉しかった。 飢餓が満たされたことより、▼ 自分に声をかけて 助けてくれる人がいたことが…… とても…嬉しかったんです。▼ だから次の日も…村へ。 村人たちの冷たい仕打ちにあうのは 怖かったけど…それでも……▼ Soren: ……I was… happy, too. My stomach was full, but…… what made really happy… was that someone reached out to me and helped me. So the next day… I also went into town. I was afraid… that the villagers would be cold and cruel to me, but I went anyway… And then…

[アイク]

………そうか。 あそこはガリアだったからな。▼ べオクたちは ラグズとの揉め事を避けるために “印”のある子供に冷たかったんだな？▼

Ike: ………That’s right. That was in Gallia. The beorc wanted to avoid conflict with the laguz, who would shun a “Branded” child, so they were cold to you, right?

[セネリオ]

ええ…疫病神だと言われ 石をぶつけられました。▼ だけど、村は様変わりしていた。 そこら中に散らばる死体。 村人と…鎧をつけた兵士たち……▼

Soren: Yes… they said I was a god of the plague and threw rocks at me. But then, the village changed completely. There were dead bodies scattered around everywhere. They were the villagers… and even the soldiers clad in armor…

[アイク]

…メダリオンの【負】の気で 暴走した親父が…やったことだ。▼

Ike: …That was when my father was taken over by the negative energy of the medallion… and went on a rampage.

[セネリオ]

僕は、あなたがいないかと 死体を１つ１つ調べてまわりました。 そして…そこにあなたはいなかった。▼ だからきっと生きていると思い 村にあるお金と食べ物を持って べオクの国クリミアを目指したんです。▼

Soren: You weren’t there, so I examined the dead bodies one-by-one. And… you weren’t one of them. So, thinking that you were still alive, I took some money and food from the village, and headed for the beorc nation of Crimea.

[アイク]

…セネリオ……▼

Ike: …Soren……

[セネリオ]

その道中の樹海で、 幾度も獣牙族に遭遇しました。▼ 初めは���ろしくて震えましたが、 襲われたことは ただの一度もありませんでした。▼

何度めかに気付きましたが…… 獣たちは、僕の何かを察知し それで見えないように振舞うのだと。▼ 見る目でわかるんです。▼ いきなり、さも汚い物を見るような 蔑んだ冷たい眼差しを向け その後、何も見なかったかのように去る。▼

それは…ある意味、襲われるよりも ずっと心を冷たくする行為でした。▼

自分はこの世に存在してはいけない者。 ただそこに居るだけで 嫌悪されるモノなのだと………▼ 僕は…自分にそんな思いをさせる 獣を憎みました。▼

Soren: While traversing the dense woods, I encountered many from the beast tribe. At first, they made me tremble with fear, but not once did they attack me. Then I noticed what happened each time…… The beasts would sense something about me, and then act as if they could not see me. I knew what they thought of me. Suddenly, they would look down on me with a cold stare, as if they had seen something dirty, and then, they would walk away pretending that they had not seen anything. That… was an act that froze my heart even more than attacking me. I am a being that should not exist in this world. I am a being that is hated just for existing……… That’s… how the hatred of the beasts made me think about myself.

[アイク]

…………▼

Ike: …………

[セネリオ]

クリミアについた僕は 一番近い教会を訪ねました。▼

そこでは、僕の“印”が役立ち 魔道の才のある子だということで それなりの世話が受けられました。▼ 話し方や一般的な常識を学んだ僕は、 クリミア国内を数年さ迷って…… やっと…あなたを見つけた。▼

Soren: Once I arrived in Crimea, I visited the closest church. The people there cared for me as a child who had the brand of a Spirit Charmer. Once I had learned how to speak and behave normally, I wandered Crimea for many years…… until… I found you.

[アイク]

…だが、俺は……▼

Ike: …And I had……

[セネリオ]

あなたは記憶を失くしていた。▼ だけど…それでもよかった。 僕はただもう一度だけ あなたに会いたかっただけだから。▼ ただ１人だけ…僕に 暖かい手を差し伸べてくれた 少年に会いたかっただけだから。▼

Soren: You had forgotten. But… I was still happy. I just wanted to see you one more time. I just wanted to see that boy. The one person who had extended a helping hand to me.

[アイク]

セネリオ、泣くな。▼

Ike: Soren, don’t cry.

[セネリオ]

泣く…？ 僕は……泣いて…？▼

Soren: Cry…? I’m…… crying…?

[アイク]

おまえ、頭がいいのに 普通のことが下手くそすぎだ。▼ ほら、来い。▼

Ike: You’re smart, but really bad with normal stuff. Come here.

[セネリオ]

こ、子供扱いしないで��ださい。 僕は……そんな…………▼

Soren: D-Don’t treat me like a child! I’m not…… like that…………

[アイク]

いいから。▼

Ike: C’mon.

[セネリオ]

………▼

Soren: ………

[アイク]

ったく、世話の焼ける。▼

Ike: Jeez, I’ll come to you then.

（アイク近づく）

(Ike moves closer to Soren)

[アイク]

ほら。▼

Ike: It’s okay.

[セネリオ]

……っ…▼ う……っ　う…うぅ…… うわぁああああああああああ うわぁああああああああああぁっ▼

Soren: ……Ah… Wah…… Wah…Waaaah…… Waaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaah Waaaaaaaaaaaaah…

Localization:

Soren: Ike… Um… Were you joking when you said you couldn’t remember how we met? Ike: Well, sorta. It was a long time ago. Soren: How could you forget? Ike: Relax, Soren. I got to thinking, and I remembered. I remember what happened in Gallia on the day we first met. Soren: Ike… Ike: Mother had gone shopping with Mist that day. I was wandering around the village all alone. I walked to the edge of the forest, looking for a stick I could pretend was a sword. There was a raven-haired boy lying on the ground. Soren: I remember the huge oak tree by the clearing… I’d been sleeping in the hollow by the roots. Ike: He looked like he was my age. He was as skinny as a twig, wearing rags and covered in dirt. He looked like he was near death. I took out my lunch and I handed it to him. He made a noise like a scared animal and shied away. He was suspicious of me at first, but eventually he took my sandwich and started to eat. It was like he’d never eaten before in his life. I didn’t have anything else to feed him, so I told him to come to my house. But he kept shaking his head no. Soren: I was afraid you were going to trick me. Afraid that you were going to chase me away after taunting me with food, just for a laugh… Ike: I told the boy that I’d bring him some food the next day at the same time and place. He finally nodded when I said that. It made me happy. I felt like I was doing something right, helping this boy. Like I was the only one who’d do that. Soren: …I was happy, too. Not just because I wasn’t hungry anymore. Because someone finally would talk to me. So I went back to the village again the next day. I was scared of the other villagers and their rocks and sticks, but I still went back. Ike: That’s right. That was Gallia back then. The beorc abused and tormented the Branded because the laguz shunned them. They wanted to avoid upsetting the laguz. Soren: The villagers threw stones at me, called me an animal and a devil. But on the next day, the village was littered with corpses. Soldiers and peasants were in a panic. Ike: It was my dad. He went crazy when the spirit of chaos in the medallion touched him. Soren: I walked through the empty streets, checking bodies to see if you were dead. But I couldn’t find you. I decided that you had to be alive. I took money and food from the village and headed for Crimea, a land of beorcs. Ike: Soren… Soren: On my way to Crimea, I kept seeing laguz from the beast tribe. They were terrifying, but after a while I realized something. They never attacked me. They all seemed to notice something about me, and then pretend they couldn’t see me. That look was burned into my mind, and it was always the same. They’d scowl, then walk away like they’d never noticed me. In a way, that left me feeling colder and more alone than if they’d attacked me. Hate… That I could understand. This was denial. They made me feel like I wasn’t supposed to exist at all. That my simply being alive was an affront to the world. That was how the beasts treated me. And I hated them for it. It sat in my heart like a lead bar. Like a glacier. Ike: … Soren: When I reached Crimea, I took refuge in a church along the way. They took my brand to be a sign that I had been trained in the arcane arts. They took good care of me, and taught me things. Once I had learned to speak and behave like other people, I wandered Crimea for several years. Then I finally found you. Ike: But I’d… Soren: Yes. You’d forgotten that day in Gallia. But I didn’t care. My only wish was to see you again. I just wanted to see the only boy who had held out a warm hand when I had nothing. Ike: Soren… Don’t cry. Soren: Don’t cry? What? I’m not crying… Ike: Soren, you’re smart, but you’re no good when it comes to your emotions. Come over here. Soren: D-don’t treat me like I’m a child! I’m not that– Ike: Come on. Soren: Shut up! Shut up… Ike: Then I’ll come over to you. Ike: It’s all in the past, Soren… Soren: …Sniff… Sniff… Gwuh… Wahhhhhhhh! Ahhhhhhh!

[wbwest]

New Post has been published on WilliamBruceWest.com

New Post has been published on http://www.williambrucewest.com/2017/06/13/toy-biz-hotline-bling-used-call-wall-phone/

Toy Biz Hotline Bling: I Used To Call You On My Wall Phone

If you’ve been to this site before, you were probably brought here for my weekly pop culture news review, West Week Ever, that I post every Friday. It didn’t always used to be like that, though. No, I used to write about anything that popped into my mind, as you’ll see in my archives. Over my time online, however, I’ve found that anything I can do, a lot of other folks can do better. When it comes to the nostalgia game, no one does it better than Matt over at Dinosaur Dracula. So, imagine my surprise when something popped into my head that he hadn’t covered yet! That’s right, kids – today we’re gonna talk about the Toy Biz Hotline.

A few days ago, I saw that a Facebook friend had shared the video for a Knight Rider hotline where you’d call and K.I.T.T. would tell you a story. Considering William Daniels actually respects himself, it was more likely the chance to hear a randomization of pre-recorded dialogue from a K.I.T.T. impersonator. One of the perks of calling the hotline, however, was that you’d receive a free “Wuppie”, which is basically a cotton ball with googly eyes and feet. You’d be surprised how many hotlines used the promise of a Wuppie to lure kids into calling.

If you’re a youngin’, then let me educate ya on something: the 80s were chock full of these hotlines, mainly because we didn’t have the Internet yet and unscrupulous business folks learned how to monetize that thing hanging on your wall in the kitchen. To put it in 2017 terms, 900 numbers were the “in app purchases” of the 1980s. While they were required to tell kids to get their parents’ permission, these hotlines were designed to trick kids into racking up high phone bills – ya know, so they could talk to Santa and get a toy cotton ball.

While we were obsessed with our phones in a different way than we are today, I can assure you that not everything was designed to make a dollar. Before you could tweet your displeasure at a company account, you used to have to call them. That’s right, you had to be indignant and ask an employee, “What’s the number for corporate?!” Remember, you couldn’t Google that shit yet. If they weren’t too busy using that slide thingy to process a credit card transaction, they would take out a Lisa Frank pen and write down a number for you. If you were lucky, that number would connect you to a phone system that MIGHT eventually lead to a real person on the other end. Basically, customer service was handled solely by phone. Some companies, instead of just waiting around for complaints, decided to be proactive with their customer service hotlines. That’s what brings us to Toy Biz.

http://thecomicscode.weebly.com/x-men-toy-biz.html

“But what’s a Toy Biz, Uncle Will?” Well, back in the late 80s/early 90s, all comic book-based action figures briefly came from the same company! I’ll let you catch your breath there for a minute, as I know that’s a crazy notion in today’s competitive world. Not only did Toy Biz land the license for 1989’s Batman (for which they produced an assortment of a whopping THREE figures), but they also handled DC Comics Super Heroes, based on Kenner’s old Super Powers molds. Then, shifting into the 90s, they dropped DC in favor of the Marvel license when Marvel CEO Ike Perlmutter bought the company. We initially got a Marvel Super Heroes series, but their real claim to fame was the 8,000 X-Men figures they would go on to produce. I’ve always said that nobody mines a property quite like Playmates, but Toy Biz was a close second.

This was probably the first toy line to teach me about waves, meaning that the toys were released in batches at a specific time.  Most toys don’t include an “evergreen” line of toys that you can always find on shelves at any time. They used to differentiate the multiple iterations of a character by Roman numeral. So, “Wolverine” eventually gave way to “Wolverine XVII”. For example, if Wolverine II came out in September of 1994, then you’re probably not gonna be able to find him on shelves in October of 1995, because Wolverine III will be out by then. How would you know which figures were supposed to be in stores, without your parents wasting all their gas driving around? That’s where the Toy Biz hotline came in.

  Listed on the cardbacks of all Toy Biz figures was a hotline that you could call that served as Toy Biz’s customer service line: 1-800-634-7539. While I guess you could call them to let them know your Colossus had two left legs, that’s not why people called it. No, the hotline had a prerecorded message where an emotionless male voice rattled off the names of the figures in the latest wave, in many cases mispronouncing them because they couldn’t give two shits about what they were actually saying. So, you’d get them just putting two words together, like “Omega Red”, but you’d also get mistakes like them calling the X-Men villain “Mag-NET-o”, instead of “Mag-NEAT-o”. I can’t speak for other folks, but I didn’t care! My best friend, Brett, and I used to call that number ALL THE TIME. It was the centerpiece of our sleepovers. It was like “So, should we call the number?” as if we were discussing digging out one of our dad’s old Playboy stash.

From what I could gather, it seemed like the message was updated about every 6 months or so. As the Toy Biz catalog increased, the message got longer. There was the X-Force subset, and the Hulk series, the Fantastic Four series, and more. If you wanted to, you could just listen to the dude drone on for a good 30 minutes. I have to admit, though, that once Power Rangers mania hit, I left Toy Biz in the past. So, I missed the evolution of the basic figures into the dynamic, articulated sculpting of the Marvel Legends that soon dominated Toy Biz’s offerings.

The hotline also had an answering machine portion, where you could ask questions about the toys. You were told to leave your name, number, and address, and they would get back to you. To date, I don’t know a single person who ever heard back from them. According to this article, it doesn’t seem like anyone heard back from them.

Since most of Toy Biz’s output was Marvel figures, it made all the sense in the world for them to change the name to Marvel Toys in 2007 – only to give up the Marvel license to Hasbro later that year.

So, we were left with a Marvel toy company that couldn’t make Marvel toys, and the company circled the drain as it cranked out Lord of the Rings and Total Nonstop Action Wrestling figures. The hotline remained a fixture on Marvel Toys packaging through the release of 2007’s Legendary Comic Book Heroes line. By this point, they had established a website, but were still advertising the number as the best way to reach them. In 2008, with no fanfare, the Marvel Toys website was taken down, signaling the end of the hotline and the company itself. Nowadays the number belongs to a DirecTV promotions department.

Despite what the ladies of LiveLinks would have you believe, the age of the interactive hotline is over. The Internet came along with its promises of instant gratification and all the correct AND fake news that you could want. Still, there was something quaint about the “personalized” experience of calling a hotline. Sure, we knew the messages were prerecorded, but that didn’t matter to us. When calling that hotline, we felt like we were getting insider information. We could go back and tell the news to our friends who lacked phone privileges. “Wolverine VII? Yeah, he’s not out yet, but Black Tom Cassidy is. Oh, you don’t know who that is? Well, I can’t help you there.” The Toy Biz hotline: Building fandom snobs before the Internet.

So, am I alone in remembering this? Do any of y’all have fond memories of dialing up this number? Share your memories in the comments!

[secretfuneagle]

My crashed marriage? Don’t go into that Nollywood actress Chika Ike

Charming Nollywood actress, Chika Ike is quite an interesting personality to hang-out with. On the other hand, the sultry actress who hails from Ekwuluobia, Umuchiana village in Anambra State confesses that she has learnt some lessons in life. The once married thespian talks about her acting career, her thriving business and other related issues in this interview with KUNLE AKINRINADE.

HOW true is it that you have a bad temper?

That story is not true, and those who are saying that obviously don’t know me. I can be very terrible when I am angry, but I know how to manage my anger very well. It’s either I take a walk from the scene or I stay alone to calm down, because I know that a man could say the worst things when angry.

If you are not an actress, what would you have been doing?

I would have opted for interior decoration, painting and other similar things because of my passion for things that has to do with arts or better still modeling. And as a matter of fact, I started off as a model, but acting has taken that from me now. Modeling is lucrative when you are on billboard or television commercial. But acting has made me busier than modeling. However, I must confess that I still want to be on the runway as a model, but acting is not allowing it.

What lessons have life taught you so far?

Taking a look at my life lately, I think I have learnt a lot of lessons so far. Life has taught me to be very patient and not to be in a hurry to do anything. It has also taught me to be less judgmental on people and to look before I leap; but more importantly, not to give up.

Talking about looking before leaping, does it have to do with your crashed marriage?

I rather not talk about that because it is my private life and I would like to keep it as that. That part of me is one of those things I would rather have you not talk about.

But something must have happened to you before you can conclude on such matters…

Cuts in… You are still inching toward my private life and I think we should not delve into such things.

What has changed about you?

Nothing has changed about me at all. I am still the same Chika Ike. I strive to achieve more in my career because it is good to aim big for career improvement.

You recently marked your birthday on a film location in Enugu State. How did you celebrate it?

I threw a party at PK Garden in Enugu. I am also planning a charity show for street children because my foundation is concerned with the plight of street kids in our society. I threw up a similar party for them a couple of months ago.

How do you manage the home when you are away on location?

(Laughter) I know what you want to get at, and I would not oblige you. You want to fly through the window to get an answer to your earlier question about my private life, but I bet you won’t get me.

What do you consider when accepting roles; money or good script?

I consider the story, the plot, the cast, the crew and the total output of the movie. Apart from these, I also consider the publicity around the project. I don’t take roles because of the financial gain. I have had cause to turn down scripts because of the poor content or because the role is not challenging at all. At times, I decline scripts because of my busy schedule. I have a sucker for stories that are emotionally challenging and not uninspiring roles.

How busy are you?

Right now, I am busy and greatly occupied for the rest of the year, even up till January 2013. I have been in Enugu for some weeks, and I don’t have time for any other thing because it’s only fair for me to finish the jobs I had been paid for at the moment.

Which job are you working on at the moment?

It is not my project; I am only being featured in the movie. The working title is “kleptomania” and I played a lead role in the movie. It is a big project and the movie was quite challenging because in one of the scenes, I played the role of an accident victim and was on clutches. It was indeed tough. But I think the role is also a career booster, because it also portrays me as a versatile and dynamic thespian.

What are your plans for the future?

I intend to run fashion outfits, not just in Nigeria, but all over Africa. And hopefully, we would soon start it. Although it’s still in the pipeline, but I am already working on it with all my vigour. And because of my fashion business, I am planning to bring models on the runway soon. By next year, I’ll also be part of a movie project in the United States of America (USA). Thank God, I have a great manager, publicist and people that make my life easy for me. They have ensured that I don’t naturally get stressed up, so I can focus on my career and other businesses.

How do you run from scandals?

It just happens. For example I have been busy for several weeks; I have been traveling from one state to another to take part in one movie or the other. For me, it’s not just about being overly careful or intentionally trying to avoid scandals, but being pre-occupied with jobs. Believe me; celebrities cannot insulate themselves from scandals because even if you don’t curry one, the press could give you a bad press, such that you will be trying frantically to exonerate yourself.

Love for Charity work

This year in the month of May, Chika hosted over three thousand kids at a party, held in Agodo, Lagos. The party was part of the activities by Chika Ike Foundation, marking Children’s day. School supplies and snack boxes were handed out to the children who attended the party. She was also presented with an award of recognition at the occasion by the traditional ruler of Agodo who was present at the party.

Achievement as an actress

Between the years 2005 -2006, she did well over 20 movies to her credit. This was to the amazement of a lot of people given her quick and sudden rise to stardom and was appreciated by many. In the year 2008, Chika Ike became an unexpected star after she was cast in a leading role as an African Princess in an epic movie called Mirror of Beauty which was shot on 35mm to the international scene and was shown in seven Cinemas in London (Odeon and Cineworld) where it was premiered.

The movie was later selected the only African movie to be screened during the CANN film festival in CANNS 2008 because of the quality and beautiful African Culture exhibited in it. It also got nominations and ward in Africa. The University of Lagos, Human kinetics and health education graduate (Unilag) has graced the covers of many local and international magazines. She has appeared on numerous television shows on TV and Red Carpet events.

Entry into other venture

In September 24, 2011, Chika opened an upscale fashion accessories store, Fancy Nancy Collections in the city of Abuja, the Federal Capital Territory, which is now a must shop- store for those discriminating, yet fashionable taste. The free spirited actress, entrepreneur and model who is blessed with beauty, brain, fame and fortune is a recipients of several awards and honours with the most recent one from United Nation Organization as World Youth Ambassador.

Background

Born on Friday November 8th to the prominent family of Ike and grew up in a close knit family of eight in Lagos, Nigeria. She was raised by her religious parents who did not fail to imbibe discipline hard work and tolerance. Chika as a child was nick named by her nanny – Rebecca, Fancy Nancy because of her fanciful and funny character as a child. She was sometime caught in her mum’s room wearing mums high heel shoes and mimicking her mother in front of the mirror, with heavy makeup on her face.

The famous actress was called a drama queen severally by her friends and peers while growing up. Owing to her discipline, she earned the position of senior prefect and her beauty always made her to be crowed the most beautiful girl in her school. The covetous beauty started acting at age six in her local church and watched a lot of movies while growing up; this became the inception for inspiration and challenge to join the movie industry. Never backing down from challenges, she laced her shoes and stepped into the movies auditioning ground in 2004 where she was auditioned for a movie. Her hard work, patience and discipline helped her face and got prepared for most things in life, but needless to say; she was surprised and overwhelmed when called back four months later to pick up a script to do a role in Nollywood movie.

Despite the fact that the role was a minor one, she took it as a stepping stone to greater heights in her aspiring career as an actress and did it so well. This landed her another movie role, this time to play a major character. After the African beauty – first major role in movie was released; it was adjudged chart buster and a sell out in the market, resulting in directors and producers recommending her for jobs and roles in movies. That same year Chika did over five movies and was nominated as the best upcoming actress (AMAA), an Africa Movie Academy Award in 2006 and a recognition award for that same year.

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