#jacqueline crow

[absxntdream]

no thoughts .... merely family man edward crow .

[perfettamentechic]

26 aprile … ricordiamo …

26 aprile … ricordiamo … #semprevivineiricordi #nomidaricordare #personaggiimportanti #perfettamentechic

2022: Ann Davies, Ann Cuerton Davies, attrice britannica. È stata sposata con Richard Briers dal 1956 alla morte dell’attore nel 2013. La coppia ha avuto due figlie, le attrici Lucy e Kate. Una delle sue prime apparizioni televisive è stata nel ruolo del personaggio Jenny nella serie Doctor Who. Ha recitato con il marito nei film Peter’s Friends (1992), In the Bleak Midwinter (1995) e Run for…

[therelignedstars]

Hey, Jackie, have you ever snuck out of the house without being caught?

The teen sighs her hands in her pockets. "Not once I either get caught by Dad, Kyrian, or Uncle Caleb. Mostly Caleb, though. Well, I've gotten out of the house without getting caught. But I never make it to the party without getting caught."

[milliondollarbaby87]

Poker Face (2022) Review

Jake Foley brings his friends together for a very high stakes poker game, but when secrets are revealed which leads to a massive revenge plot unfolding, oh and not forgetting the fact that thieves also breaking into his house. ⭐️ Continue reading Untitled

[thaoworra]

The Science Fiction and Fantasy Poetry Association recently released the poems that made it to the finalist stage for consideration for the 2024 Rhysling Awards for Short and Long Speculative Poems of the year. Congratulations to all of the nominees! This will be the 46th year these awards have been conferred!

Short Poems (50 finalists)

Attn: Prime Real Estate Opportunity!, Emily Ruth Verona, Under Her Eye: A Women in Horror Poetry Collection Volume II

The Beauty of Monsters, Angela Liu, Small Wonders 1

The Blight of Kezia, Patricia Gomes, HWA Poetry Showcase X

The Day We All Died, A Little, Lisa Timpf, Radon 5

Deadweight, Jack Cooper, Propel 7

Dear Mars, Susan L. Lin, The Sprawl Mag 1.2

Dispatches from the Dragon's Den, Mary Soon Lee, Star*Line 46.2

Dr. Jekyll, West Ambrose, Thin Veil Press December

First Eclipse: Chang-O and the Jade Hare, Emily Jiang, Uncanny 53

Five of Cups Considers Forgiveness, Ali Trotta, The Deadlands 31

Gods of the Garden, Steven Withrow, Spectral Realms 19

The Goth Girls' Gun Gang, Marisca Pichette, The Dread Machine 3.2

Guiding Star, Tim Jones, Remains to be Told: Dark Tales of Aotearoa, ed. Lee Murray (Clan Destine Press)

Hallucinations Gifted to Me by Heatstroke, Morgan L. Ventura, Banshee 15

hemiplegic migraine as willing human sacrifice, Ennis Rook Bashe, Eternal Haunted Summer Winter Solstice

Hi! I am your Cortical Update!, Mahaila Smith, Star*Line 46.3

How to Make the Animal Perfect?, Linda D. Addison, Weird Tales 100

I Dreamt They Cast a Trans Girl to Give Birth to the Demon, Jennessa Hester, HAD October

Invasive, Marcie Lynn Tentchoff, Polar Starlight 9

kan-da-ka, Nadaa Hussein, Apparition Lit 23

Language as a Form of Breath, Angel Leal, Apparition Lit October

The Lantern of September, Scott Couturier, Spectral Realms 19

Let Us Dream, Myna Chang, Small Wonders 3

The Magician's Foundling, Angel Leal, Heartlines Spec 2

The Man with the Stone Flute, Joshua St. Claire, Abyss & Apex 87

Mass-Market Affair, Casey Aimer, Star*Line 46.4

Mom's Surprise, Francis W. Alexander, Tales from the Moonlit Path June

A Murder of Crows, Alicia Hilton, Ice Queen 11

No One Now Remembers, Geoffrey Landis, Fantasy and Science Fiction Nov./Dec.

orion conquers the sky, Maria Zoccula, On Spec 33.2

Pines in the Wind, Karen Greenbaum-Maya, The Beautiful Leaves (Bamboo Dart Press)

The Poet Responds to an Invitation from the AI on the Moon, T.D. Walker, Radon Journal 5

A Prayer for the Surviving, Marisca Pichette, Haven Speculative 9

Pre-Nuptial, F. J. Bergmann, The Vampiricon (Mind's Eye Publications)

The Problem of Pain, Anna Cates, Eye on the Telescope 49

The Return of the Sauceress, F. J. Bergmann, The Flying Saucer Poetry Review February

Sea Change, David C. Kopaska-Merkel and Ann K. Schwader, Scifaikuest May

Seed of Power, Linda D. Addison, The Book of Witches ed. Jonathan Strahan (Harper Collins)

Sleeping Beauties, Carina Bissett, HWA Poetry Showcase X

Solar Punks, J. D. Harlock, The Dread Machine 3.1

Song of the Last Hour, Samuel A. Betiku, The Deadlands 22

Sphinx, Mary Soon Lee, Asimov's September/October

Storm Watchers (a drabbun), Terrie Leigh Relf, Space & Time

Sunflower Astronaut, Charlie Espinosa, Strange Horizons July

Three Hearts as One, G. O. Clark, Asimov's May/June

Troy, Carolyn Clink, Polar Starlight 12

Twenty-Fifth Wedding Anniversary, John Grey, Medusa's Kitchen September

Under World, Jacqueline West, Carmina Magazine September

Walking in the Starry World, John Philip Johnson, Orion's Belt May

Whispers in Ink, Angela Yuriko Smith, Whispers from Beyond (Crystal Lake Publishing)

Long Poems (25 finalists)

Archivist of a Lost World, Gerri Leen, Eccentric Orbits 4

As the witch burns, Marisca Pichette, Fantasy 87

Brigid the Poet, Adele Gardner, Eternal Haunted Summer Summer Solstice

Coding a Demi-griot (An Olivian Measure), Armoni “Monihymn” Boone, Fiyah 26

Cradling Fish, Laura Ma, Strange Horizons May

Dream Visions, Melissa Ridley Elmes, Eccentric Orbits 4

Eight Dwarfs on Planet X, Avra Margariti, Radon Journal 3

The Giants of Kandahar, Anna Cates, Abyss & Apex 88

How to Haunt a Northern Lake, Lora Gray, Uncanny 55

Impostor Syndrome, Robert Borski, Dreams and Nightmares 124

The Incessant Rain, Rhiannon Owens, Evermore 3

Interrogation About A Monster During Sleep Paralysis, Angela Liu, Strange Horizons November

Little Brown Changeling, Lauren Scharhag, Aphelion 283

A Mere Million Miles from Earth, John C. Mannone, Altered Reality April

Pilot, Akua Lezli Hope, Black Joy Unbound eds. Stephanie Andrea Allen & Lauren Cherelle (BLF Press)

Protocol, Jamie Simpher, Small Wonders 5

Sleep Dragon, Herb Kauderer, The Book of Sleep (Written Image Press)

Slow Dreaming, Herb Kauderer, The Book of Sleep (Written Image Press)

St. Sebastian Goes To Confession, West Ambrose, Mouthfeel 1

Value Measure, Joseph Halden and Rhonda Parrish, Dreams and Nightmares 125

A Weather of My Own Making, Nnadi Samuel, Silver Blade 56

Welcoming the New Girl, Beth Cato, Penumbric October

What You Find at the Center, Elizabeth R McClellan, Haven Spec Magazine 12

The Witch Makes Her To-Do List, Theodora Goss, Uncanny 50

The Year It Changed, David C. Kopaska-Merkel, Star*Line 46.4

Voting for the Rhysling Award begins July 1; a link to the ballot will be sent with the Rhysling Anthology, as well as with the July issue of Star*Line. More information on the Rhysling Award can be found here.

[saintshigaraki]

my reading list currently looks like....

frankenstein* (ill probably finish this one up in a day or two)

the salt grows heavy by cassandra khaw

dracula

wuthering heights

the death of jane lawrence by caitlin starling

the haunting of hill house by shirley jackson

howls moving castle by dianna wynne jones

the secret history by donna tartt

jane eyre

drive your plow over the bones of the dead by olga tokarczuk

dune by frank herbert

we have always lived in the castle by shirley jackson

birnam wood by eleanor catton

are prisons obsolete? by angela davis

a game of thrones* by grrm

daughter of smoke* and bone by laini taylor

a clash of kings* by grrm

days of blood and starlight by laini taylor

into the drowning deep by mira grant

dune messiah by frank herbert

their eyes were watching god by zora neale hurston

bunny by mona awad

a storm of swords* by grrm

the lottery and other stories by shirley jackson

a psalm for the wild-built by becky chamber

the poppy war by r.f. kuang

the ash family by molly dektar

project hail mary by andy weir

beartown by fredrik backman

a prayer for the crown shy by becky chamber

once there were wolves by charlotte mcconaghy

mother thing by ainslie hogarth

all’ s well by mona awad

the long way to a small and angry planet by becky chambers

the goblin emperor by katherine addison

the memory police by yoko ogawa

our wives under the sea by julia armfield

nightbitch by rachel yoder

the painter’s daughters by emily howes

the will of the many by james islington

a fig for all the devils by c.s. fritz

the devil and mrs davenport by paulette Kennedy

prophet song by paul lynch

our share of night by mariana enriquez

the unmaking of june farrow by adrienne young

the shadow of the gods by john gwynne

the other valley by scott alexander howard

whale fall by elizabeth o’connor

the sword of kaigen by m.l. wang

the cruel prince by holly black

the wicked king by holly black

the dragon republic by r.f. kuang

the burning god by r.f. kuang

starve acre by andrew michael hurley

the assassin's apprentice by robin hobb

the hunger of the gods by john gwynne

a secret history of witches by louisa morgan

the fury of the gods by john gwynne

geek love by katherine dunn

funny story by emily henry

james by percival everett

the seven moons of maali almeida by shehan karunatilaka

book lovers by emily henry

foster by claire keegan

demon copperhead by barbara kingsolver

martyr! by kaveh akbar

small things like these by claire keegan

orbital by samantha harvey

the vegetarian by han kang

the god of endings by jacqueline holland

a feast for crows* by grrm

*rereads

[havendance]

Velveteen vs The Masterpost

When I was in high school, I stumbled across Seanan McGuire’s series of “Velveteen vs.” stories, staring Velma “Velveteen” Martinez, a former child superhero with the power to animate toys, who stumbles from one misadventure to the next. Taking place in a world where superheroics is run almost entirely by a single corporation and child heroes are put through some of the worst abuses of child stars, the series features fun characters, worldbuilding, and relationships, and of course, cool fight scenes. In true comics fashion, it ends on a rather open-ended note and, as far as I can tell, she hasn’t written any stories since 2017, but most of the main arcs are tied up and I definitely recommend you check them out!

(I became obsessed with these stories after finding them. An example of me getting into comics before I actually got into comics.)

(Thank you to https://broken-engines.blogspot.com/ for compiling directory of story links I could borrow for this post.)

Velveteen vs. The Isley Crayfish Festival

Velveteen vs. The Coffee Freaks

Velveteen vs. The Flashback Sequence

Velveteen vs. The Old Flame

Velveteen vs. The Junior Super Patriots, West Coast Division

Velveteen vs. The Eternal Halloween

Velveteen vs. The Ordinary Day

Velveteen vs. Patrol

Velveteen vs. The Blind Date

Velveteen vs. Blacklight vs. Sin-Dee, Part I

Velveteen vs. Blacklight vs. Sin-Dee, Part II

Velveteen vs. The Holiday Special

Velveteen vs. The Secret Identity

Martinez and Martinez v. Velveteen

Velveteen vs. The Alternate Timeline, Part I

Velveteen vs. The Alternate Timeline, Part II

Velveteen vs. The Retroactive Continuity

Velveteen Presents Victory Anna vs. All These Stupid Parallel Worlds

Velveteen vs. The Uncomfortable Conversation

Velveteen vs. Bacon

Velveteen vs. The Robot Armies of Dr. Walter Creelman, DDS

Velveteen vs. The Fright Night Sorority House Massacre Sleepover Camp

Velveteen vs. Vegas

Velveteen Presents Victory Anna vs. The Difficulties With Pan-Dimensional Courtship

Velveteen vs. Legal

Velveteen Presents Jackie Frost vs. Four Conversations and a Funeral

Velveteen vs. Jolly Roger

Velveteen vs. Everyone, Part I

Velveteen vs. Everyone, Part II

Sponsorship: Velveteen vs. The Epilogue

Velveteen vs. The Aftermath

Velveteen vs. Hypothermia

Velveteen vs. Santa Claus

Velveteen vs. Global Warming

Velveteen Presents The Princess vs. Public Relations

Velveteen vs. The Thaw

Velveteen vs. Balance

Velveteen vs. Spring Cleaning

Velveteen Presents Polychrome vs. The Court of Public Opinion and Not Punching Anyone

Velveteen vs. The Melancholy of Autumn

Velveteen vs. A Disturbing Number of Crows

Velveteen vs. Trick or Treat

Velveteen Presents Action Dude vs. Doing the Right Thing

Velveteen vs. The Consequences of Her Actions

Velveteen vs. Going Home Again

Velveteen vs. Everything You Ever Wanted

Velveteen vs. The Retroactive Continuity (2)

Velveteen Presents Jacqueline Claus vs. The Lost and the Found

Velveteen vs. Recovery

Velveteen vs. Temptation

[lotstradamus]

I'm officially calling it! I'm in Ireland of the rest of the year at a family wedding which will NOT be a peaceful reading environment, so:

Things This Infographic Does Not Include: pretty much all of the ‘info’ in ‘infographic’ because it’s ugly as hell this year (again)  

my TOP 15* IN 2023 are:

Mortal Follies by Alexis Hall

The Night of Baba Yaga by Okira Otani

Dark Heir by C S Pacat

The Five: The Untold Lives of the Women Killed by Jack the Ripper by Hallie Rubenhold

The Woods All Black by Lee Mandelo

All the World Beside by Garrard Conley

When Among Crows by Veronica Roth

I Who Have Never Known Men by Jacqueline Harpman

Penance by Eliza Clark

The Intoxicating Mr Lavelle by Neil Blackmore

The Vampire Lestat by Anne Rice

Bright Young Women by Jessica Knoll

What Moves the Dead by T. Kingfisher

Girls That Invest by Simran Kaur

No One is Talking About This by Patricia Lockwood

*in the order I read them in from most to least recent because cba

there were a lot of rereads this year. I'm not listing them because mortifyingly there are MANY that I would have to list TWICE.

follow me on Goodreads + get yours here!

[wrestlinghistorywithkay]

The Forgotten Women’s World Champion: The Sandy Parker Story

( Note : I was scrolling through Facebook and the topic of this article was brought to my attention. I wanted to share the story of professional wrestling’s first black womens’ champion. )

We all have watched women such as Jacqueline , Jazz , Sasha Banks/Mercedes Monè, Bianca Belair , Naomi, Jade Cargill , Sonya Deville, Awesome Kong / and Alicia Fox/Vix Crow make history. However, have you heard of a wrestler named Sandy Parker ? If not , here is her story .

Sandy Parker was born on November 1, 1944 in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada. Parker would be raised by her grandmother as her mother couldn’t raise her. Parker would describe herself as a ‘ Tomboy’ when during her childhood due to her love of fighting , tree climbing, and playing baseball. However , her love of fighting would lead her to the having a career in the wrestling business.

Parker became obsessed with professional wrestling when she was a teenager after attending one match . She kept going to the weekly shows , even going as far as Seattle, Washington, to attend shows before a friend of hers suggested that she start training to follow her dream of stepping into the squared circle . Thus , Parker took her friend’s advice and traveled four hours to Michigan to start training . While in Michigan, she trained under Lou Klein , Lucille Dupree , and Mary Jane Mull. In 1969 , at the age of 23, Sandy Parker would make her in ring debut . Therefore , Parker would find herself in South Carolina to train under veteran wrestler , The Fabulous Moolah. Parker would soon leave Moolah’s school due to having personal issues with Moolah about her double standards. Parker , who was Lesbian, stated in a 2008 interview that Moolah didn’t want her going to gay bars and was two-faced. Parker would train under another veteran wrestler , Mildred Burke, after leaving Moolah’s school.

During the early 70s , Parker would form a tag team with Sue Green. They would go on to defeat the team of Toni Rose and Donna Christanello for the NWA Women’s World Tag Team Championships in 1971. Thus, in 1972 , they would lose the championships to Rose and Christanello. Their title change would be unrecognized. Parker would be in a match against her rivals again, but , with Debbie Johnson as her partner . The two would be unsuccessful in their attempt to become the new tag team champions. This match would occur at the Super Bowl of Wrestling.

Parker would start a tour of Japan in the early 1970s where she would make history . Parker would become the first Black woman to become the WWWA World Single Champion in 1973, defeating Miyoko Hoshino. This championship was a part of the All Japan Women’s Wrestling promotion. She would also become an eight time WWWA World Tag Team champion. She would become the NWA United States Women’s Champion and World Tag Team Champion. When she returned from Japan in 1975, she would have a match against Jean Antoine in Oregon. This would be the first women’s wrestling match in 50 years. Parker would also have a cameo in the show , ‘ The Bionic Woman ’. Parker retired in 1986.

In 2022, Parker was hospitalized in Las Vegas , Nevada. She would lose all contact with her family and her friends. Parker’s friend and fellow wrestler , Susan Green , reached out on Facebook to try and find her. However , Greg Oliver , a wrestling reporter , would find out that she would pass away in June of 2022. Her passing would now be coming to light.

My Final Thoughts:

I don’t understand why Sandy’s death is now being brought to those who knew her personally and to the wrestling community. Knowing that she had to deal with a lot of racism and homophobia was just sad. I’m glad that wrestling has become for everyone . We see wrestlers such as Sonya Deville and Nyla Rose who are a part of the LGBT community killing it in the ring. We also see wrestlers such as Bianca Belair and Sasha Banks/Mercedes Monè who made history main eventing Night 1 of WrestleMania 37. I wanted to tell Sandy’s story because I feel like she was forgotten which breaks my heart . Please look her up and learn about her life and career!

I Love All Of You ,

- Kay

[reginalusus]

Well met, hopefully...

- reginalususart - My own art, please DO NOT repost without permission! - reginareblogs - For discussions, other people's art and posts, and more. - two-dads au - For specifically Harvey and Jason stuff. It pains me to call it an AU because it should be real, but I digress. Basically an AU where Harvey takes Jason under his wing after he returns to Gotham six years after dying. DNI: AI 'artists', general assholes who haven't touched grass. For the love of God, do not spam-like. Spam-reblog with tags all you want, but do not spam-like, please. Ask Inbox Anything is welcome, really. I love questions about anything, especially about any fandom I'm in, and simple doodle requests are fine too! I can't promise I'll do them because I hit motivation issues a lot, but they are welcome! Trigger Warnings My art can sometimes contain blood, gore, smoking, alcohol, drug use and is sometimes, though rarely, suggestive. There will be nothing explicitly NSFW, I have more adult works on AO3. I tag accordingly, so please block these tags if this bothers you.

-My Redbubble Shop! I have some Deltarune items for sale! Though I haven't updated the shop in a while, my apologies. My DR fixation is slumbering ATM.

-My Ko-Fi! Please only tip if you can afford to do so. It helps me. It's basically where I'm going to dump WIPs of stuff.

-My Bluesky! My Bluesky will be solely art, I'll be more active on Tumblr here, but I wanted to try Bluesky in order to reach a wider audience, hopefully!

Fandoms! -Deltarune (Favourite: Spamton G. Spamton). -Silent Hill (Favourite: Heather Mason/Maria). -DC (Favourite: Cheetah/Two-Face/Harley Quinn/Poison Ivy/Red Hood). -Resident Evil (Favourite: Karl Heisenberg/The Merchant/Ada Wong). -Sonic the Hedgehog (Favourite: Rouge the Bat). -Tomb Raider (Favourite: Lara Croft/Jacqueline Natla). -Undertale (Favourite: Flowey the Flower). -Halo (Favourite: The Arbiter). -Six of Crows (Favourite: Kaz Brekker/Inej Ghafa). -Dark Souls (Favourite: Lucatiel of Mirrah). -Elden Ring (Favourite: Malenia, Blade of Miquella). -Metal Gear Solid (Favourite: The Boss/Fortune). -A Plague Tale (Favourite: Arnaud Malpart). -Life is Strange (Favourite: Chloe Price). -Star Wars (Favourite: Darth Talon/Aayla Secura/Din Djarin). -Five Nights at Freddy's (Favourite: Springtrap/Roxy).

[absxntdream]

Love it when the guy is absolutely smitten with his wife <3

[perfettamentechic]

26 aprile … ricordiamo …

26 aprile … ricordiamo … #semprevivineiricordi #nomidaricordare #personaggiimportanti #perfettamentechic

2020: Maurice Poli, attore francese, attivo principalmente in produzioni italiane. Poli ha fatto il suo debutto cinematografico nel 1961. In seguito ha alternato ruoli principali e ruoli secondari, essendo spesso scelto come un duro o un cattivo. È considerato uno dei pochi attori ad aver preso parte praticamente a tutti i generi sviluppatisi in Italia in oltre trent’anni. Dopo il ritiro, si…

[madsmilfelsen]

would love to know your all time/general fav book recs if you have the time!

Hi! Some are repeats but that’s out of love

Mongrels by Stephen Graham Jones

Never Whistle at Night: an Indigenous anthology of dark fiction

Latitudes by Natasha Rao

How to Carry Water by Lucille Clifton

Conflict Resolution for Holy Beings by Joy Harjo

Striptastic: a celebration of dope-ass cunts who like money by Jacqueline Frances (comic anthology)

The Vandal by Hamish Linklater (listen LISTEN, I cry every damn time)

Dogsong and The Haymeadow by Gary Paulsen

To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee

The Color Purple by Alice Walker

The Night Circus by Erin Morgenstern

We Have Always Lived in a Castle by Shirley Jackson

The Wolf Road by Beth Lewis

The Bone Season by Samantha Shannon (first gifted to me by my dad and inspired me to be a writer)

Barkskins by Annie Proulx

Without Remorse by Tom Clancy

Confessions by Saint Augustine

A Swim in a Pond in the Rain by George Saunders

South to America: a journey below the Mason-Dixon Line to understand a soul of a nation by Imani Perry

The Civilization of Charlemagne by Jacques Boussard

No Turning Back: a Hopi woman’s struggle to live in two worlds by Polingaysi Qoyawayma

Enemy at the Gates by William Craig

An Underground Education by Richard Zacks (decidedly not something I should have read cover to cover at the tender age of 9)

Stony the Road: Reconstruction, White Supremacy, and the rise of Jim Crow by Henry Louis Gates, Jr.

An Indigenous People’s History of the United States by Roxanne Dunbar

Bloodstoppers and Bloodwalkers: folk tales of Canadians, lumberjacks, and Indians by Richard M. Dorson

Archaeology of the Night: life after dark in the ancient world (anthology)

Igaruacirpet: our way of making designs edited by Amy F. Steffian

What the Elders have Taught Us: Alaskan Native Ways (anthology)

[qutemag]

The movie guy reviews: Gladiator II

by Benjamin Harkin

Finally, the sequel we’ve been hankering twenty-four years to see on the big screen. A sequel to Gladiator, Ridley Scott’s classic from the middle of his career, sweeping the Academy Awards and setting up Russell Crowe as a household name, the film that shows the gladiatorial games of Rome in all its blood-soaked and inhumanly cruel glory. Tigers are thrown at Russell Crowe. Bigger men are thrown at Russell Crowe. Chariot racing almost kills him. And yet, Russell Crowe proves his mettle as gladiator, grinding any bleeding foe into the white sand and delivering some of the best scenes of carnage in the past few decades of cinema – “Are you not entertained?” he yells to the restless crowds drunk on the gore.

Gladiator II opens with a similarly big canvas of Roman troops invading a fortress town and clearing it to claim their ownership. This gladiator, Paul Mescal, having a Russell Crowe-lite look for most of the film, starts as another troop defending his home. An establishing scene shows his wife joining him in laundry duties, only to prove the motivating factor for Paul Mescal’s absolute hatred of Rome when she is unceremoniously run through with an arrow and swept out to sea.

This is Ridley Scott giving us what we want – an epic of revenge, Paul Mescal’s character broken seeing his wife die at the parapet, managing to salvage the arrow’s feathers that ran through her chest before the Roman troops drag him away in the surf. The haggard face of a man burning with rage. He is drafted into the Roman system, a slave subject to be bought and sold on the gladiatorial arena, proving his stuff beating the crap through a lackey in front of the commanding Denzel Washington as a slave owner and noble. Denzel is very pleased with him and figures to buy him into his services as something of a mentor.

And of course here is where Ridley Scott figures to divert our expectations, similar to his previous effort Napoleon, which took all the grandeur and complexity of the French emperor’s reign and reduced it to Jaoquin Pheonix as a buffoon with mummy issues and small man syndrome. He may as well have put the Egyptian campaign into a hasty montage with Jacqueline scheming, because the military campaigns and substantial reshaping of post-revolution France took a backseat to the weird domination dynamics in the marriage. Napoleon’s theme is an interesting angle, but one that should not have been in a movie that wears the coat of a historical epic, as the sardonic humour of the concept is lost somewhere in the painfully awkward Waterloo sequence that has to balance the history of a general with great military instincts being trounced and the movie’s thesis that Napoleon is actually an idiot who doesn’t know what he’s doing. 

Gladiator II becomes not a story about the gladiator, Paul Mescal, taking vengeance over the death of his wife in the arena. The wife is forgotten about after ten minutes of running time. Instead, Gladiator II sets its sights higher than mere interpersonal conflict. The film morphs into a harbinger for the downfall of Rome itself, a symbol of corruption, greed, a civilisation that’s had its day, with the impoverished slaves rising up against their masters.

A bold aim, too bad the politicking of Denzel Washington forming the crux of the film, is grafted onto a much smaller movie that seemingly is about Paul Mescal as a gladiator at the bottom of the chain. There are shamefully only two or three real set pieces in the arena itself. Ridley Scott nails these as is his rambunctious style of course, and they are suitably exciting theatre of Paul Mescal wrestling rabid monkeys shot up on some ancient equivalent of adrenaline, or a guy riding a giant rhino, or the scene that fills the arena with water and Triremes re-enact some great sea battle. These are well worth the popcorn, and for the fantastical nature of them that outdo the more grounded fights in the first film, the core gladiatorial scenes have that same excitement in them, even if they prove strangely more bloodless than the first film. Of particular note is a decapitation that comes across almost as an error in the editing room, so careful to avoid a proper gory image.

Really the film would be more aptly named Denzel Washington’s Gladiator, because it is Denzel Washington’s commanding performance that takes centre stage. You can see all his machinations in his connections with Roman nobility and politicians, his ways of seamlessly blending in with the spoilt rich while quietly finding common ground with the tired slave rebel Paul Mescal. He plays it brilliantly, and it is in that way an odd thing that his role, as well as Pedro Pascal’s as a side character, overshadow who should be the star – the gladiator.

The dialogue too feels off. Everyone waxes lyrical on Rome’s fate as if they had all read The Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire over one thousand and four hundred years before Edward Gibbon wrote the book. I quite liked Paul Mescal’s quoting of the poet Virgil, and it is slipped into the film well, however the rest of the philosophical lines come across awfully self-serious, too self-aware, and pretentious for what is a story of the rich and the poor. Maybe Rome is going to fall, but this doesn’t need four different characters foretelling it in wistful contemplation.

I figured this wider plot something dreamt up for Ridley Scott to imbue a completely unnecessary Gladiator sequel with some added heft in the material, although on viewing the plot summary for the first, turns out the politics of Rome was an undercurrent of the first Gladiator. I guess Russell Crowe’s bravura performance outshone this underlying plot, or perhaps in making this so integral to Gladiator II that it feels overcooked, and the meat of it, Paul Mescal in the arena biting monkeys, underdone.

And then Denzel’s plot completely usurps anything to do with the gladiator, and the film’s climax is this dizzying rush of bow-tying to the film’s contradictory threads in somehow dumping poor aggrieved Paul Mescal in front of an army to duel the bad guy. I haven’t talked about the emperors much although they do figure in the movie somewhat. I quite liked the idea of making all the nobility look so sickly white in makeup, with the black corners of their mouths, you can see them rotting away on greed. But they aren’t even the villains really. And so the movie finishes with a smoosh of Paul Mescal somehow leading rebellion, a rebellion we the audience and he didn’t know he’d be part of up until the final ten minutes. It’s all very rushed and speaks more to scriptwriters plugging dogleg storylines than it is an enjoyable ride.

Fundamentally, the problem with Gladiator II is that Gladiator is not a movie that needed a sequel. All of the callbacks to the first Gladiator are not only predictable but hackneyed. Derek Jacobi's character cameos, reminding me he's still around, my last memory of Derek Jacobi being in Branagh's excellent who's who film production of Hamlet from 1996. He does nothing of note in this except be there. By the time Paul Mescal dons the famous armour of Maximus, I could only shake my head and consider how much more Mountain Dew was in my drink. I haven’t used their character names either, for reasons that are also predicted at about the halfway point in the film, to be revealed as a twist that frankly serves only to give an eye brow raise of “really?” although let’s be honest where else were they going to go – Russell Crowe kicked the bucket at the end of the first one.

Look, the action scenes are great, and Denzel Washington turns in a great performance, just don’t expect that Gladiator II will somehow be the sequel that was needed. The film more than earns the twenty-four years of indifference to the notion.

Gladiator II is in cinemas from tomorrow.

[nephilimbrute]

show .us

I haven't drawn one of the two yet cuz i didn't have motivation. I'll show my evil circus ocs though

i made these ocs back in like 2022 and my art style improves at a rapid pace, so they're well over due for redesigns. here are the performers/workers though :3c

- cirque de lumiere / circus of light is a french circus upholding a reputation of it being one of the greatest in france, with performances consisting of a giant cheshire cat, world's tallest man, even one of the most spectacular magicians. though, more sinister things happen under the big top

fratellini / The Saint or "Saint the Fool" (knife-juggling clown, she/her). she's very silly and likes to mess with the other performers. montblanc is her best friend

françois / "François the Great" (magician, he/him). flamboyant fuck that does all the "mind-controlling" at the circus. he likes to bother aesop, working with him to steal other's belongings when they're not looking

aesop / "He Who Talks to Crows" (crow tamer, he/him). obviously, he tames crows. kinda like a lion tamer, but his crows steal jewelry from the audience when they are too busy being enamored by the show

^^^ this drawing was made 2 months ago, just haven't got to coloring it. it is a redesign for them though, the names on the bottom are their former names cuz i changed them (or their stage names)

montblanc / "The Cheshire" (cheshire cat, he/him). veery giddy kitty. his voice claim is of course, sterling holloway (voice actor of the cheshire cat in 1951 alice in wonderland). he loves surprises and often dismisses questions, liked by everybody in the circus

apollon / "Big Top" (strongman, he/him). i haven't got to redrawing him yet so the anatomy is off ^^; it's the original drawing. anyways he's cocky and a big show-off. yes he's half spider

as you can see montblanc is also a recent drawing which i haven't colored yet

cassius / "Cassius the Warrior" (stuntman, he/him). he isn't really developed that well, but he performs dangerous stunts for the audience, though he's very jumpy. works well with montblanc and jack

mister (or wilheim) / "The Living Nutcracker" (nutcracker idk what he does, he/him). he's also Severely underdeveloped. made him as a christmas special and revealed him on christmas day last year. he lives up to the whole british soldier thing, he does whatever he is told to do n stuff

vivienne / "Black Widow" (vaudeville/cabaret?, she/her). she's kind of a flirt, she puts on performances for the more mature audiences. i like her and this drawing just made me realize how tall she is

now THIS is old. vivienne is the only one i drew recently, i'll be putting her at the end. also cassius' design was designed by a friend:3

chono (ringmaster, he/him). he's the lead of the circus, very very evil

nato (he/him) is chono's assistant. he's on high alert a good amount of the time

jack (or jacqueline) / "Jack-in-the-Box" (surprise performer, she/her). she loves to surprise people when fratellini cranks the handle on her box and she pops out. she can be foul-mouthed and rude, always getting in people's faces n' such

...yyeaah this one is also old. though i made some adjustments to the colors a few months ago, the style and stuff is still old

vanitas (or nicolaes) / "Memento Mori" (puppeteer, he/him) is the nicest circus performer. he puts on puppet shows, when he speaks he adapts the personality of what puppet he's using, and he'll often make up a conversation. his puppets are commedia dell'arte characters. when not using any puppet, he talks normally + he's polite. his 'face' is a mask by the way

this drawing i made like 3 days ago lol. it's his redesign concept, his original one i just went head-first and i still don't like it >.>

and last but not least these two. first we have baroness (or marie-christine) / "Dangerously Yours" (singing entertainment, she/her). she also puts on shows for the more mature audiences, in which she'll sing on a stage. her songs are often quite dark, the audience never realizes it though. her design is also by the friend who made cassius

and on the right is primadonna (or marcel. mime, she/her) who is, of course, a mime. i think her face is her actual face. my sister helped design this one

i made these doodles like, a month or two ago. just concepts so i can get their designs down

that's Allll for the circus performersssss ^w^^^^ hope u enjoy them. Oh and there's this other one who's been stuck in concept stage (i haven't even drawn them yet), their name is El Lissitzky, based on the real El Lissitzky's paintings. think they're gonna be a painter as well

onto old/new pieces... wwweeew

^ here's that vivienne piece i mentioned. i posted her to this blog already...

the original designs and how they're supposed to look when colored:3c also this montblanc is a slightly updated version of his original drawing to make his fur look better

and finally vanitas' original design... yeaahh. wanted to go for a jester-like look, his design is somehow simultaneously too much and too little. i never really had a proper concept for him beforehand, just the silhouette of what he was supposed to look like. strongly disliking the colors thou

also recent apollon i did as a style test:3 all of these circus performers have a voice claim BTW :P

...I think this was a reaaaalllly long post

[girmmtherianofficial]

I'm making a new pinned post!

I would like to make this explicitly clear that I am a pro ship, pro fiction, whatever you want to call it, blog. I don't post about it much, but I do ship a lot of problematic stuff as a way of coping with my trauma, which often results in some things that may be triggering or uncomfortable. If you are a proship DNI blog, steer clear, or at least leave me alone. I believe in ship and let ship.

That be the said, let's move on to more important things!

I am a system. I have complex OSDDID and haven't fully sorted out exactly what type, but I know I'm a system at the least. I have many blogs (I'll tag them below) for alters, and one normal RP blog for a side character.

@the-arboreal-system is my main system blog. We will not post any shipping or likewise content here, just stuff about systems and political activism (I am a proud extreme leftist).

@kieran-the-panther is my Maine Coon/black panther mix alter. They go by many pronouns and are catgender pansexual polyamorous.

@shadowdemon-girl is Nyx, a trans girl shadow demon, and engaged to Kieran with 12 demon-kittens. She goes by she/it pronouns and is neptunic and polyamorous as well.

@i-wish-i-was-sleeping-rn is one of my MANY fictives, Nico Di Angelo. He (in the system) is gay and trans.

@crystal-creature is another fictive, Hazel Levesque. She is unlabeled as of now.

@son-of-sally-jackson is a Percy Jackson fictive. He is homo flexible.

@daughter-of-wine is my OC and another alter, Lila Garcia. She is bisexual and a daughter of Dionysus.

@jacqueline-cade-daughter-of-ares is another OC alter, and she is a crossover OC between PJO and The Outsiders.

@angel-wings-and-stim-toys is Celine, a little of mine. She is aroace agender and doesn't care about pronouns.

@motherwolf202 is Freya, a wolf alter.

@the-arboreal-system-requests is my request blog. Please look at it for more information.

@tornadowranglertyler is my Tyler Owens fictives, and @its-boonie-baby is my Boone fictive. They will often interact with each other, as they are very in love in system.

@vivi-the-magic-user is Vivian, another little and a child of Hecate.

@cherokeelovergirl is Shel, Piper's girlfriend in PJO and the only non alter. That's just a random RP blog.

@the-shimuras is a joint blog for Kasaki and Tamiko Shimura, who used to be Shigaraki and Overhaul in their canon source.

@arboreal-godposting is my blog for talking about my religion. I am a polytheistic Wiccan Hellenic, and I'm very proud of it.

@the-best-augur-ever is my Octavian alter. He uses the last name Simmons (because of a fanfic I read, sue me).

@the-mosaic-subsystem : our (so far) only subsystem. System of a fictive: Twice from BNHA

@zira-and-crow-1112 Aziraphale and Crowley fictives blog.

@anti-and-tele are Antinous and Telemachus fictives from EPIC the Musical.

@marauders-fictives-arboreal system's Marauders Era fictives. There's 9 of them :3

Please ask me any questions you have, as long as they're not disrespectful or aggressive. I love answering questions!!