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writemarcus · 3 years ago

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Lin-Manuel Miranda, Annaleigh Ashford, Neil Patrick Harris, Telly Leung, Ruthie Ann Miles and More The New York Public Library for the Performing Arts’ Virtual Benefit I’m Still Here at 90

On June 23, 2021 at 8:00 PM, an unprecedented, one-time-only virtual benefit, I’m Still Here, will stream on Broadway On Demand to benefit The New York Public Library for the Performing Arts’ Billy Rose Theatre Division.

The exciting evening is a celebration of the division’s 90th Anniversary, and the 50th Anniversary of its beloved Theatre on Film and Tape Archive and will honor Harold Prince and George C. Wolfe.

Tickets to the fundraiser will be donate-what-you-can, with a recommendation of at least $19.31 in honor of the year the division was founded. To purchase tickets, visit stillhereat90.com

I’m Still Here will feature never before publicly shown archival content of Broadway productions from the Theatre on Film and Tape Archive, shown exclusively for this occasion, including Savion Glover, Jimmy Tate, Choclattjared and Raymond King in Bring in ‘da Noise, Bring in ‘da Funk, Meryl Streep, Marcia Gay Harden and Larry Pine in The Seagull, Lin-Manuel Miranda, Robin de Jesús, Christopher Jackson, Karen Olivo, Andréa Burns, Janet Dacal, Eliseo Román, Seth Stewart in In The Heights, Glenn Close in Sunset Boulevard, and even more to be announced. The program will also feature interviews with Broadway legends and emerging creatives and reconceived performances of classic musical theatre songs, including “A Trip to the Library,” “Wheels of a Dream,” “Another Hundred People,” “Love Will Find a Way,” “I’m Still Here,” and more.

I’m Still Here features artists and figures from the theatre community including Annaleigh Ashford (Sunday in the Park with George), Alexander Bello (Caroline, or Change), Laura Benanti (She Loves Me), Malik Bilbrew, Alexandra Billings (Wicked), Susan Birkenhead (Jelly’s Last Jam), Shay Bland, Stephanie J. Block (The Cher Show), Alex Brightman (Beetlejuice), Matthew Broderick (Plaza Suite), Krystal Joy Brown (Hamilton), David Burtka (“A Series of Unfortunate Events”), Sammi Cannold(Endlings), Ayodele Casel (Chasing Magic), Victoria Clark (The Light in the Piazza), Max Clayton (Moulin Rouge!), Calvin L. Cooper (Mrs. Doubtfire), DeMarius Copes(Mean Girls), Trip Cullman (Choir Boy), Taeler Elyse Cyrus (Hello, Dolly!), Quentin Earl Darrington (Once on This Island), Robin de Jesús (In the Heights), André De Shields (Hadestown), Frank DiLella (NY1), Derek Ege, Amina Faye, Harvey Fierstein (La Cage aux Folles), Leslie Donna Flesner (Tootsie), Chelsea P. Freeman, Joel Grey (Cabaret), Ryan J. Haddad (“The Politician”), Sheldon Harnick (Fiddler on the Roof), James Harkness (Ain’t Too Proud), Marcy Harriell (Company), Neil Patrick Harris (Hedwig and the Angry Inch), Mark Harris (“Mike Nichols: A Life”), David Henry Hwang (M. Butterfly), Cassondra James (Once on This Island), Marcus Paul James (Rent), Taylor Iman Jones (Hamilton), Maya Kazzaz, Tom Kirdahy (The Inheritance), Hilary Knight, Michael John LaChiusa (The Wild Party), Norman Lear (Good Times), Baayork Lee (A Chorus Line), Sondra Lee (Hello, Dolly!), Telly Leung (Aladdin), Ashley Loren (Moulin Rouge!), Allen René Louis (“Jimmy Kimmel Live!”), Brittney Mack (Six), Taylor Mac (Gary: A Sequel to Titus Andronicus), Morgan Marcell, Aaron Marcellus (“American Idol”), Joan Marcus, Michael Mayer (Spring Awakening), Sarah Meahl, Joanna Merlin (Fiddler on the Roof), Ruthie Ann Miles (Sunday in the Park with George), Bonnie Milligan (Head Over Heels), Rita Moreno (West Side Story), Leilani Patao (Garden Girl), Nova Payton (Dreamgirls), Joel Perez (Kiss My Aztec), Bernadette Peters (Into the Woods), Tonya Pinkins (Jelly’s Last Jam), Jacoby Pruitt, Sam Quinn, Phylicia Rashad (A Raisin in the Sun), Jelani Remy (Ain’t Too Proud), Leslie Rodriguez Kritzer (Beetlejuice), George Salazar (Be More Chill), Marilyn Saunders (Company), Marcus Scott (Fidelio), Rashidra Scott (Company), Rona Siddiqui (Tales of a Halfghan), Ahmad Simmons, Rebecca Taichman (Indecent), Jeanine Tesori (Fun Home), Bobby Conte Thornton (Company), Sergio Trujillo (On Your Feet), Kei Tsuruharatani (Jagged Little Pill), Ben Vereen(Pippin), Jack Viertel, Christopher Vo, Paula Vogel (Indecent), Nik Walker (Ain’t Too Proud), Shannon Fiona Weir, Helen Marla White (Ain’t Misbehavin’), Natasha Yvette Williams (“Orange is the New Black”) and Ricardo Zayas (Hamilton).

“From the Great Depression of the 1930s to the COVID crisis, the Billy Rose Theatre Division perseveres and preserves the greatest treasures of theatrical history,” said Doug Reside, the Lewis and Dorothy Cullman Curator of the Billy Rose Theatre Division. “As I look back on the last 90 years of our history, I’m struck by how our division has managed to document almost every aspect of the creative process and the people who bring theatre to life. I am so grateful for the opportunity to celebrate our first 90 years in such spectacular fashion, and to the theatre community for its support. As we plan for the next 90 years and beyond, my hope is that the collection continues to grow and flourish and reflect the diversity of voices that have shaped the theatre as we know it and are shaping its future.”

“The Billy Rose Theatre Division has served as the collective memory for our community by capturing the ephemeral nature of our unique art form. Until we can all experience the joy of live theater again, we are thrilled to look back into the archives to highlight theatrical masterpieces from their vast collection,” said producers Julie Boardman and Nolan Doran. “Our hope is to raise funds to ensure the archives remain accessible to future theatre makers for generations to come.”

The virtual benefit is produced and conceived by co-founder of the upcoming Museum of Broadway and four-time Tony nominee Julie Boardman (Company) and Co-Executive Producer of Broadway For Biden Nolan Doran (Head Over Heels), featuring direction by Steve Broadnax (Thoughts Of A Colored Man), Sammi Cannold(Endlings), Nick Corley (Plaza Suite), Grammy Award Winner Ty Defoe (Straight White Men), Drama Desk winner Lorin Latarro (Waitress), Mia Walker (Jagged Little Pill) and Tony Award winner Jason Michael Webb (Choir Boy), choreography by Ayodele Casel (Chasing Magic), Lorin Latarro and Ray Mercer (The Lion King), with new music arranged by ASCAP Award winner Rachel Dean (Medusa) and Annastasia Victory (A Wonderful World), with arrangements and orchestrations by Brian Usifer(Frozen). Casting is by Peter Van Dam at Tara Rubin Casting.

Tony Marx is the president of The New York Public Library, William Kelly is the Andrew W. Mellon Director of the Research Libraries, Jennifer Schantz is the Barbara G. and Lawrence A. Fleischman Executive Director of the Library for the Performing Arts, and Doug Reside is the Lewis and Dorothy Cullman Curator of the Billy Rose Theatre Division. Patrick Hoffman is the curator of the Theatre on Film and Tape Archive. Henry Tisch serves as Associate Producer and Travis Waldschmidt is Associate Choreographer. Animation and Motion Graphics by Kate Freer, Graphic Design by Caitlin Whittington, Sean MacLaughlin is Director of Photography and Ian Johnston is B Camera Operator. Dylan Tashjian is Onsite Coordinator with COVID compliance by Lauren Class Schneider.

HOST COMMITTEE: Ted & Mary Jo Shen, Barbara Fleischman, Lizzie & Jon Tisch, Kate Cannova, Joan Marcus, Daisy Prince, Gayfryd Steinberg, Van Horn Group

LIBRARY FOR THE PERFORMING ARTS THEATRE COMMITTEE: Emily Altman, Margot Astrachan, Ken Billington, Julie Boardman, Ted Chapin, Bonnie Comley, Van Dean, Kurt Deutsch, Scott Farthing, Barbara Fleischman, Freddie Gershon, Louise Hirschfeld, Joan Marcus, Elliott Masie, Arthur Pober, Ed Schloss, Morwin Schmookler, Jenna Segal, Ted Shen, Kara Unterberg, Abbie Van Nostrand, Kumiko Yoshii

THE NEW YORK PUBLIC LIBRARY FOR THE PERFORMING ARTS DOROTHY AND LEWIS B. CULLMAN CENTER houses one of the world’s most extensive combinations of circulating, reference, and rare archival collections in the field of dance, theatre, music and recorded sound. These materials are available free of charge, along with a wide range of special programs, including exhibitions, seminars, and performances. An essential resource for everyone with an interest in the arts — whether professional or amateur — the Library is known particularly for its prodigious collections of non-book materials such as historic recordings, videotapes, autograph manuscripts, correspondence, sheet music, stage designs, press clippings, programs, posters and photographs. The Library is part of The New York Public Library system, which has locations in the Bronx, Manhattan and Staten Island, and is a lead provider of free education for all.

#NYPL #new york public library #New York Public Library for the Performing Arts #THE NEW YORK PUBLIC LIBRARY FOR THE PERFORMING ARTS DOROTHY AND LEWIS B. CULLMAN CENTER #Marcus Scott #MarcusScott #WriteMarcus #Write Marcus #George C. Wolfe #Harold Prince #Billy Rose Theatre Division #TOFT #Theater #Theatre

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weshallc · 5 years ago

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Berns Night.

So we’ve had a lot of birthdays @thatginchygal @rahleeyah @wednesdaygilfillian (sorry I missed that one) @roguesnitch coming up and @ilovemushystuff is celebrating too! and @h4t08 finally joined Tumblr and @clonethemidwife has returned and there are lots of new folk. Sooo I felt like throwing a party and there ain’t nothing like a Crown Inn party!!!!

This was supposed to be a Crown Stoppy Back but had other ideas so I will post the first chapter tonight as people are still recovering from Burns Night. Don’t worry if you are not familiar with the Burns Night traditions they will be explained more in chapter two. Probably 3 in all. We shall see as they say!

As always, I would be lost without @lovetheturners endless patience and thanks to @roguesnitch for encoraging me. This is dedicated to the most bonniest of lads I hope you had a great birthday and Burns Night with the Bard himself this year😉😘🤗

CHAPTER ONE: FAIR FA’ YOUR HONEST, SONSIE FACE

“Fair fa' your honest, sonsie face, Great chieftain o' the pudding-race! Aboon them a' ye tak your place, Painch, tripe, or thairm : Weel are ye wordy o'a grace As lang's my arm.” Address to a Haggis by Robert Burns 1786.

Monday 25th January 2016

“His knife see rustic Labour dight, An' cut you up wi' ready sleight, Trenching your gushing entrails bright, Like ony ditch; And then, O what a glorious sight, Warm-reekin', rich!”

The room was swept in darkness apart from the light of the wolf moon and the north star penetrating the cold window panes. All eyes were facing towards a wooden table and the elderly man stood behind it. He was in his 60s and wiry, small for a man, but with a silver mess of what once must have been a bonnie head of fire red hair. The body may have looked weak, but the intensity in his bright blue eyes cut through the dimly lit surroundings.

As he spoke again, his voice filled the room, cut through the anticipating silence. It was a voice that could take a knife and slice right through a soul. The knife in his hand in turn sliced through the offering in front of its high priest. Years of performing the same action with such a passion resulted in precision. The faithful entranced by the spectacle all gasped as one as the incision was violently made. No one daring to speak. Suddenly the trance was lost as artificial light rudely brought everyone back to the present with a blast of the pipes.

“All done then Reverend Mannion? Can I serve the Haggis now? Don’t want it getting cold now do we, not at £15 a head.”

“Aye, Violet the ceremony is over, it’s time for eating and drinking something the bard would have approved of, rightly so.”

The kilted clergyman winked at an auburn-haired girl in the crowd and tipped his whisky tumbler toward her. She raised her own glass and winked back. Her companion at her table was much taller with dark hair styled in a tidy no-nonsense bob.

The tall one leaned toward the small one and asked, “If it’s already dead, why does he have to kill it?”

“What?”

“The Haggis if it’s already dead why does he have to kill it?”

Her friend opened her mouth to speak, but she saw a tender hand take hold of Chummy’s arm and explain it was all just ceremony, it was tradition.

“Like all that malarkey at our passing out parade, the day we got our badge. That wasn’t about police work, was it? It’s just tradition. It’s what the English do well.”

He had been doing really well up until then, but a golden raised eyebrow made him alter his stance. “It is what us Brits do best.”

The raised eyebrow whispered to the police constable. ”Peter, Chummy really doesn’t think a haggis is a real animal, does she?”

He was not the kind of man that would turn heads, but he had a kindness in his eyes and an openness in his face that she thought some would see as attractive. If only Camilla wasn’t his superior, and they didn’t work such long hours together, what might have been?

She knew her friend well and sensed more queries would follow. Not sure as a Scot brought up on Tweavenside and now living in London she could provide satisfying answers. Picking up their empty glasses and heading to the bar was a strange sort of refuge for a vicar's daughter and inner-city missionary.

There was a queue well sort of a queue. In London a queue was made up of people standing in an orderly line and the person who had been stood the longest getting served first. In Poplar-on-Tweaven it resembled more of a rugby scrum and the person who shouted the loudest being ignored and anyone who called the barmaid by name being bunked up the order. She wasn’t familiar with busy bars but she was bright enough to work out the system.

“Val, when yer ready hen.” The request came from someone not sure that was their own voice they had just heard yelling those words.

All her life she had been immersed in the wonders of the Bible and was still amazed at how so many miracles had been performed. She had heard all the CPR arguments regarding resurrections and all that, and was still not convinced. But she now knew how Moses had parted the Red Sea, he had known the barmaid’s name was Valerie.

“What can I get you, chick?”

“Here! I was first.” A grumpy voice struck up.

“Oh Al, you are always first. Let me serve this lass and then I will sort you out”

“Promises, promises.”

“Yeah in your dreams, pal.”

She was starting to feel uncomfortable she hadn’t meant to jump the queue. Maybe she should go back to the table and let Peter get the drinks. A man’s voice interrupted her thoughts, it was quieter than Al’s but held an authority. It wasn’t a Tweavenside accent, but it had a northern softness.

“You serve our impatient friend Valerie, I will see to this young lady.” Then turning to his new customer, “What can I get you, pet”

“Erm a whisky and lemonade and erm a pint, please.”

“Which whisky and a pint of?”

She wasn’t sure; she nudged her bottom onto a vacant stool for security.

“Are you with the law?” The tall bartender nodded towards Chummy and Peter,

“Yes, yes I am.”

“OK, so that’s a Grouse and diet lemonade, just a dash and a pint of Buckles Best

and for you?”

He stepped back a minute. “Your Reverend Wilf’s daughter?”

“Yes, I am.” Bernie suddenly felt more sure of herself. She was never completely certain of who she was when back in Poplar

“Bernadette?” The stranger was grinning now, his brown eyes glinting under the harsh bar spotlights, or were they green?

“Well, that’s my Sunday name most people call me Bernie, even Dad.”

“Well, since I’ve never seen you in here on a Sunday or any other day. I will call you Bernie. I am Patrick Turner, most people call me Paddy, a few Doc.”

“Oh no, you won’t have seen me here on a Sunday or any other day. I live in London now and before that, well I am not a big drinker.”

“What can I get you then?” asked Paddy loitering near the coke and lemonade pumps.

“A gin and tonic please, better make it a double it’s quite busy, save me coming back.”

Paddy smiled. “Premium gin?”

“Yes.”

While the optic was emptying into the glass, he asked, “You must have known this old place when Evie ran it?”

“Yes, I know Evie and J..Jenny”

“Oh yes. Jen was here when me and the wife took over she was a great help. We get a text every now and again, doing well for herself now all loved up.” He winked at her as he ended the sentence causing her to panic slightly.

“I was sorry to hear about your loss.” She wished she hadn’t said it.

Val had seemed to deal with ten customers to Paddy’s one and now there was just the two of them alone at the bar. He looked at her in a sort of a non-direct, sort of direct way, under that infuriating fringe she wanted to reach out and push back.

“Loss is as much a part of love as is healing,” he replied with a hint of melancholy but without irony.

She was stunned and tried to find a corresponding Bible verse, but she drew a blank.

She focused on what was real and what was present, her dad had taught her to do that. What was in front of her at this precise moment was a glass of gin and ice and a twist of lime. He was now unscrewing a bottle of Mediterranean slimline tonic.

She yelped, “No!” as he lay the bottle alongside the glass.

“Sorry most people add the tonic to the gin and I cannae bear it drowned.”

“Wouldn't dream of it surely that would be very presumptuous of me.”

“Aye well, most people I've met are very presumptuous.”

“Maybe you have spent too much time in London. if you don't mind me saying, Bernie.”

“Well, to be fair we don’t spend a lot of time sitting on stools and propping up bars in my part of London.”

“More's the pity.”

“Can I bother you for a...”

Paddy popped a black straw into her tumbler.

“I will make sure when you come home next time none of my staff will be presumptuous.”

“Oh, I doubt you will remember me, Paddy. I only come up to see my Da. I can't imagine you will be seeing much of me in the future, hardly likely that I would ever be considered a regular.”

“Now who is being presumptuous?”

Bernie went to put the straw between her lips but paused, realizing the stranger was still watching her. She suddenly felt uncomfortable. As heat rose in her cheeks and she suddenly felt awkward on the stool, squirming to find some sort of comfortable position. The stranger smiled in a way she could not understand; it wasn’t smug or suggestive, but as if there were sharing a joke, but she wasn’t sure what the joke was.

She hopped off her seat, for a brief moment realizing her arse was in the air and prayed he had altered his gaze. Focusing anywhere but behind the bar she grabbed her glass and bottle in one hand, put the whisky against her elbow and waist, the pint in her other hand, turned and swiftly moved toward her thirsty friends.

Shelagh Bernadette Mannion don’t you dare look back and see if he is watching you he is recently widowed with a son, Da said. He is, what do they call them now, a bloomer or something like that. God has shown you his path for you and it certainly does not include the Crown Inn, Poplar-on-Tweaven.

He is still watching me, I can feel it.

#call the midwife #crown jewels #turnadette au #call the midwife au #paddy and bernie #and everyone else #al's fic

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spooner-the-trinity · 4 years ago

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How Infinity Train pulled from Infinity War’s Playbook for Doctor Who’s final curtain

Funding for Shaffrilas is provided by: Skillshare, the sponsor of today’s video. Stay tuned for a train ride to discountkosh at the end of the video.

O hai, Tetsuya Nomura. That’s a nice hole you’re digging with your Kingdom Hearts, what do you wanna do with it? Keep digging? Why thou? O for a production company? That’s great, whacha gonna do with it? Name and develop the town the Toy Story flicks take place in? Yeah, alright. Add the goofy jock from Glee as a best friend for Andy that the Triceratops assumes is just a Dinosaur Toy down the street? What a funny joke idea! Nix the final playtime they’ve hoped to cap off the film with and save it for a later project? A tad disappointing, but alright. Make Sora a vessel for Xehanort? Whoa, that sounds hella har- A sexy Genie of the Rose who grants a wish for every petal on that collar-mounted rose of hers? Unique concept, but I smell some Hans Christian Anderson shi- The genie’s life force is bound to the Rose so she croaks when the last petal falls ala Beauty and the Beast? And there it is, Color me unsurpri- The Genie finds Andy and drags him into a sex scene to the tune of Aladdin’s Friend Like Me? I don’t think the parents would be okay with their kids watchi- Toonami’s airing this show? Wait, isn’t it on a competing networ- Lewis from Meet the Robinsons is Deleted by DOR-15 Ala the Nanobots from Jimmy Neutron? Mister Enter would be insulted on how you did his favorite Disney flick dirty like thi- Andy is shot into a wormhole and is mutated into a photosensitive Beast? Guys, It’s starting to look like a bad ide- The Genie is an aged-up Bonnie and she’s pregnant with Shantae!? Get me off this crazy tr-

Infinity Train Productions is one of the boldest associates Disney has in its corner right now, from wrestling away ownership of three Gainax originals to collaborating with competing animation company Dreamworks, the IT guys are pretty renowned for their kooky crossovers and kookier cinematic universe. And they’ve made sure to make their acquired goods count towards that universe instead of burn it to the ground LUCASFILM. Starting off by stating this is a universe where Second Impact prevented the assassination of JFK by means of tanging up 13% of the world’s population and weaved a few stitches of train tracks across the globe, naturally the space race escalates exponentially and they begin to develop new technologies and elect Walt Disney himself to be the President of the United States with Nixon as his running mate. That alone resulted in a Sequel Show to Brigadoon where a 24-year-old Marin Asagi boards the Challenger and ends up cast into the future with Melan, a retelling of the first arc of Gurren Lagann that featured Yui Ikari as a supporting character that saves Kamina from death, a twenty-six episode miniseries featuring Andy from the Toy Story gaining a magical genie bound to an enchanted rose, and that’s just the first half of its initial decade. I could go on about its repertoire of shows both original and acquired: Twelve Forever, Evangelion, both Arcadia trilogies with the elder of the two being started by the aformentioned show with that genie of the rose titled, erm… Genie of the Rose, but the one I’m aiming my sights on is the latest acquisition, one that they made in secret. Doctor Who and how they pulled from the playbook of Infinity War to bring the story to its last stop.

Now, quick recap on how Infinity War makes a powerfully heartfelt mass market appeal joyride out of a thoroughly depressing story about failure. Where most Marvel Villains are merely obstacles for the characters to overcome, Thanos acts and reacts as a real person. Where most conflict have certain factors that tip the scales in the favor of who’s tipping them, the conflict is one where either side could come out victorious, where the Comedy of the Last Farcebender ended with the good guys laughing off their failure, Infinity War ended with a content smile from Thanos and our heroes dead silent save for a minor peep of: “Oh, god.” Where the bad decisions in Farcebender are made from genuine stupidity, Infinity War’s stem from worrying whether or not certain sacrifices are worth it. With that crash course out of the way, let’s dig in.

First thing’s first, is the villain a compelling character? Well, although Sacha Dhawan has the same unhinged energy expected out of any incarnation of longtime enemy, the Master, complete with moments of geniuine affection to his former best beff, he’s ultimately not the main baddie of this piece, that honor goes to Alrick. Believed to be dead after a dirtbike accident, it turns out that he had been picked up by the train and has spent a good three decades or so fucking with the systems to construct an empire starting with the crazy world of Elmore all the way to the Lanes Between and yes, he has shown himself to be a caring father figure to Grace and Simon throughout the second half of Cracked Reflections which leads into the episode, he’s concerned for his future as he’s clearly not as lively as he was when he first climbed aboard and even expresses hope for Jesse returning to the train after taking the exit and getting seperated from MT. And oh, look! He returns after the big moment, that’s nice.

So yeah, compelling villain, that’s one tick. Is there equal opportunity for either side to win? Well, MT and early on Jesse before his aformentioned exit have the additional assistance of the Watterson family, Banana Joe, and seemingly Penny for a scene only to reveal her in a new shell complete with mind-control and reflective surface to sick the Po-Po on MT. But despite being the protagonist of his show of origin, she’s not the opposing side to Alrick this time around, it’s the wibbly-wobbly timey-wimey biatch herself and man, does it set up a curious comparison. Alrick is focusing his will into projecting his consciousness into the Doctor’s heart, an alien with countless eons worth of memories under her belt compared to Alrick’s measly sixtysomeodd laps around the sun. Not only that, but the Doctor is able to expel regeneration energy to fry the shit out of him if he feels the need to get a little messy. But with her locked up in the Time Lord Matrix which the Master has already skimmed through, there’s nowhere for the Doctor to run or even hide from Alrick. Throw in the Master’s ability to have his mind occupy two hearts at the same time whilst he’s chatting it up with the Lone Cyberman and the Doctor’s pretty pinned but still has a chance to outfox Alrick at the end of it all.

Bad decisions, the Doctor doesn’t trade lives so she keeps asking about the Timeless Child, what it’s supposed to be and why it drove the Master into absolutely butchering Galifrey after all the hard work each incarnation of the Doctor had. It turns out that this Timeless Child was a Pheonix Denizen created by Alrick to create a perfect world but One-One cast it out in hard-light beam form, striking Takeru and Ryou from This Ugly Yet Beautiful World from 2018. From the clipped wings came Hikari and Akari respectively whilst the main body crashed out of a wormhole into the sights of Tecteun who adopted the kid in time for a spaceship of highly-evolved snake people to crash land due to Kate and Leopold rules of time travel causing their machinery to get mucked up by Time Police in an episode of Rick and Morty of all shows, causing the child to fall to its doom and promptly regenerate, making her the first to do so in Galifreyan history. One of the survivors offers the gift of Time Travel in exchange for the power of Regeneration and Tecteun, scientist and explorer, jumps at the chance by means of tearing out the child’s soul for every three days that elapse. Obviously, she’s a fucking monster and she eventually does crack the code and test it on herself and the results allow the gift of time travel to bestowed upon the newly minted Timelords by Omega. Wow, all of this from a formally great show, (Doofenshmertz: what are the odds.) The Doctor is obviously unsurprised that Omega dangled the keys to time travel over the heads of the Shobagan race, but what horrifies her is that the very thing she and every other Time Lord we’ve seen had taken for granted was pilfered from a denizen that she learns after the life of abuse was created by some dude who hijacked some Train Car manufacturing equipment to build a perfect world. And it’s here where we see the main lynchpin of Alrick’s character: Perfection.

Those of you who’ve seen the whole series of Cracked Reflections will know that Alrick is an obsessive perfectionist first and foremost hence the plan to transform every Denizen of Elmore into full-blooded humans with leftover energy from this same Timeless Child. But not many of us recognize that this is only part of Alrick’s shtick. A simple man with complicated motives, a futurist in the trade of nostalgia, a conservative obsessed with progress, a gentle mentor with an impatient temper. These are just a handful of the ways to describe Walt Disney that were used by Ben Bouqulet, Mic Graves, and Owen Dennis to depict Alrick over the course of the last two seasons of Gumball leading into Cracked Reflections and Garrick Hagon truly gives his all portraying all the various shades of this man especially here when he is sharing his story of how he created a literal god only for One-One to cast it aside upon regaining control of the train from the very woman he spent the past 33 years building a perfect world for, a woman he cherishes like his older sister cherished his girlhood friend, a woman that even now still believes him to be ‘One-One: Gone forever?’ That is some next level tragic shit right there.

Of course, the Doctor is still concerned for this child and it’s here where a familiar face crashes the party to let the cat out of the bag, Morbius from the Fourth Doctor Adventure Brain of Morbius outing himself as the infamous Timeless Child as well as harboring his disembodied heart in the Doctor after his ill-fated Mindbending Battle. This swerve may have served to provide added tension towards his motives, is he really wanting to go back to his home and views traveling with the Doctor as his only way there, or is he biding his time, waiting for his chance to overwhelm the Doctor when she’s not looking. As we see more of Morby’s checkered past in excruciating detail, slavery to the Division with everything down to his personality programmed and dictated into a mind-melded Morby by an enigmatic cult dubbed ‘The Master Writers’ An organization build solely and specifically for Infinity Train Productions to use in their portfolio of works. And when they were done with their enslaved progenetor, the Division in which they served lined him up for an execution from the Fugitive Doctor, during the 2nd Doctor’s orientation. Then they promptly merc poor Ruthie to regenerate her into the 3rd Doctor, closing the gap between Troughton and Pertwee. So yeah, The Division, they’re run by total assholes and Numero Dos only agrees to work there if his first assistant is longtime companion Jamie McCrimmon. But look at his face, does this look like the face of concent and tolerance to you? ‘Joe (Help, I’m a Fish!): Of course not!’ Props to Sam the Man with a Plan Troughton for filling his father’s shoes in this emotionally tense scene. And this ain’t the chilling twist that shocked the fandom.

Alrick: “Whoever harbors the heart of the child is the child in of itself.“

Doctor: “Wot?”

Alrick: “It means that I will have my prize whether you like it or not!” (Punches through the Doctor’s Chest, crushes the Smash Ball within, causing the Doctor to turn into a pheonix before dissipating into Alrick’s body with the Smash Ball. Alrick’s Number skyrockets as his body regresses to his prime, the man laughing maniacally as the Timeless Child’s ultimate power rushes into him)

So yeah, Morby’s been reconstituting his powers over the centuries the Doctor had lived hence the golden energy during the later regenerations. How we find this out is by the titular character of the BBC’s last remaining reason towards that sweet TV Licence Money getting outright merced by Alrick in front of a guy that deep down still admires his childhood friend. This closes out An Untimely Caviat, the final episode in Doctor Who’s revived series, and leads us right into the finale of Cracked Reflection where he goes full on Disney Villain. Mercing the Master to make him a conduit to gijinkafy the entirety of Elmore, Co-Opting his Cybermaster drones as a mechanical army, ludiccrous speed incubating a pocket-dimension frog to house the Train Cars his empire had conquered via that same energy he channeled through the aformentioned Master, yeah, this does not sound like the man Amelia planned to marry if not had already married outright. Well, that’s the point. He’s drunk with power, it’s more likely that this is his ambition talking. No doubt he’s relishing in his own arrogance much to Marnie’s horror. Oh, yeah, Old Marnie’s doing her astral projection thing to react to her younger brother’s madness and watches on as MT gets roughed up by Super Alrick in front of an audience of his adopted children.

Of course, MT does find some santuary in the Number Car and re-unites with Jesse, resulting in the now sempailess Agent Sieve phasing through the glass screen whilst the train is figuring out how to solve Jesse’s seemingly unsolvable problem of getting a denizen off the train. But that just gives the Fleck some time to witness the madness of this rumored Apex fella as he ankleholds MT and gijinkafies Gumball and Darwin to demonstrate his final offer, her response is to break out a Denizen Ex Machina by prompting Alan Dracula to slice the monkeyfigher in half, causing him to regenerate into a pair of innocent, mindless little babies that will never bother anyone ever again… The Crown grieve for their master, Sieve calls off the manhunt for the rouge slither, the companions go their seperate ways with Graham staying on Earth to deliver the bad news the two youngest raising the two babies up to the Doctor’s standard… or at least one of them due to Yaz getting arrested by a Judoon Platoon before she could legally adopt Zarc. The expression of the companions are grim, and rightfully so, the one guy-or-gal that has kept the 21st century from falling into tyranny is no longer around to do the job they enjoyed doing whenever there was a sitch to see through. But after the wide shot of Yaz getting locked up in Shada we cut to MT, off the train and safe with Jesse in Arizona. Jesse’s brother Nate comes up to find his older brother with the very Chrome Girl he met on a magical train, Nate asks for the girl’s name and her answer?

Jesse: Dracula 2?

MT: (looks to the Lake, concerned that the Flecks would come after her but eases up when its clear that there are no Flecks coming.) I’m Lake.

We get a nice little callback to close out the series as the song Kibō plays in the credits, indicating that Hope is still out there in the cosmos, Doctor or No Doctor. And that is a powerful message to send to the audience and I have a pretty good feeling that whether or not the Doctor ends up getting revived in Kingdom Hearts III alongside all the absent heroes that Infinity Train productions had raked in over the years doesn’t quite matter, the studio does not need Doctor Who and its universe does not need the Doctor. And I have a pretty good feeling that the Doc may end up giving up their ticket back into the land of the living, leaving the universe to all the other champions of the cosmos that Toonami has flaunted over the decades. The Doctor has overcome many frightening, haunting, tyrannical, violent and downright Orwellian things in life and man, oh, man have we got a whole plate of them to overcome even now. Would I go back to this expansive world for further analysis, sure, if the views get gud. But the impact of the Doctor’s Death is a pretty big deal that actually caught a bunch of us by surprise despite the minor hints scattered throughout. (One-One: All aboard for emotional maturation on the finest freighter in all of Trenzalore) The Destiny of the Doctor News heard around the world, and the outpour of memories and grief rivalling even Mr. Peanut but unlike the legendary legume, our favorite timelord will probably be gone for a lot longer than just a couple of weeks and the time it takes will show how deep the rabbit hole goes. It will also show who’s willing to step up and find ways to make a difference in the lives of others, and they’re going to need to learn a thing or two to do so. (Cletus from the Simpsons Movie with the Skillshare Logo slapped onto his face in post: My time to shine.)

#schaffrillas productions #Doctor Who #Infinity Train #The Amazing World of Gumball #Timeless Child #Alrick #submission

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glutko · 6 years ago

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FNaF Bootleg Merch VI: China Edition

View the previous five parts here.

To cut a long story short, AliExpress and Wish.com had enough bootleg FNaF stuff for me to make a sixth part to this series, and maybe even a seventh. This series just won’t die!

Anyways, let’s dive right in. This one’s longer than usual due to some interesting design choices made by the bootleggers.

Let’s start off with a bootleg of a Funko Pop! The most beloved of merchandise have gotten the quality treatment from bootleggers across the ocean. How does it fare?

Badly. I’ve shown this off previously in an unrelated post, but it’s too good to not include here. This figure of “Funtime Foxsde” - every FNaF Pop made by these guys have ‘sde’ at the end of the character’s name - has the body of a white Springtrap, yet clearly shows the original body for it on the box.

Speaking of the box, it drags out the esses of the FNaF logo like a snake character, and is made by a company called “Popipo Games”. So, what, did Hatsune Miku make this bootleg herself?

While looking up Popipo Games, I ended up finding these bootleg “Minecraftimm” Pops on a Russian site! These seem to have articulated limbs, which automatically makes them better than their FNaF Pops. We have “Creeperer“ with a horrified expression, “Steveve“ with a broken neck, his clone in “Diamond Armoror”, and a “Ocelotot” with a Skeleton’s body and blue eye-shadow.

Pure quality. Thanks, Russia. That is, if you even come from Russia.

Let’s get back on track now. This is FNAF Bootleg Merch, after all! Here’s some figures based on Freddy Fazbear’s Pizza Simulator.

Uh... wow. These are something, alright! From left to right, top to bottom, we have bra-wearing Scrap Baby who fell into a vat of paint stripper, a statue of Orville Elephant carved out of pumpkins, a sunburnt Pigpatch holding a giant spoon, Rockstar Foxy with an exploding briefcase and a giant foot, a horrified Rockstar Freddy, and a melting chocolate El Chip with a UFO strapped to his head.

Phew, that was a mouthful. Let’s look at a phone case I found on Wish.com that has fanart of Vincent on it!

It’s a “Phone Upgrade”, apparently. But if anything, it’s more of a downgrade - you’ll be supporting art theft, have a crappy phone case that might cause future problems due to dubious quality, and be marked for death by the Rebornicult. Ah, the wonders of the Internet!

Also, it was originally $40? Really?!

Here’s some bootleg FNaF not-LEGO minifigs, featuring more stolen fanart, Freddy and Bonnie after eating bees, and a microphone and hook made out of cheese. I’m surprised that it took this long for bootleg LEGO minifigs to show up in this series!

At some point, the LEGO bootleggers thought that it’d be sweet to make larger figures based on the Sister Location/Twisted Ones blind bags. Which is how we ended up with these monstrosities, and I ain’t talking about the animatronics!

For the most part, these bootlegs look okay, if a bit crap when it comes to their paint job. And then we have Ella the doll, who has stolen Chica’s bib as well as Toy Chica’s short shorts, and has horrid, nasty monkey feet. Good job, guys! This won’t be the last bootleg from WZP Pong...

Let’s take a look at some bootleg stickers, according to the listing’s name. They look more like trading cards, but whatever.

For the most part, these stickers are as generic as they can be - stolen fan renders, stolen artwork, you know the drill. But there are two notable outliers in this set; the first has a screenshot of a bootleg FNaF dentist mobile game. So we’ve got another case of bootleg Inception. Nice!

The second is a pinup featuring a familiar-looking Purple Guy and Phone Guy. Because, you know, it wouldn’t be a FNaF Bootlegs post without a little bit of the Rebornica AU thrown in!

Let’s move on to some more bootleg figures. We’re not done with Minecraft just yet - here’s a full playset featuring the main four animatronics in the blockiest world ever!

There’s a lot to cover here, so I’ll just rapidly state some oddities about this set, starting now! The ore is green like emeralds but has the standard ore texture, and seems to be a sticker slapped on a cardboard box. The horse looks like it’s diseased. What are those two pebbles at the bottom for? Why are there LEGO minifigs on the box? What are those flowers from? Who designed the original skins? Foxy’s eyepatch looks like an afterthought. The bed looks like a matchbox.

And done. We’re almost at the end, I promise!

I picked this bootleg out simply because of its amazing display image. It seems to depict Nightmarionne dying in Nightmare Freddy’s arms like Michelangelo’s Pieta, while Nightmare and Toy Foxy watch with a look of impatience and deep thought, respectively.

Meanwhile, Nightmare Chica and Bonnie are completely ruining the scene by re-enacting Jack and Rose from Titanic, while also T-posing to assert their dominance over the scene.

And finally, from WZP Pong, we have a bootleg FNaF race track centered around a fake McDonald’s. (Maybe it’s the Pizzeria?)

Rumor has it that this bootleg inspired Scott to add Midnight Motorist to FFPS. No, I don’t know why there are two Bonnies. Or why the drive-thru menu only shows a picture of Foxy.

It’s best to not question this set, alright?

#not corruption #five nights at freddy's #fnaf #long post

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auri-ahna · 7 years ago

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which stelena scenes do you think it’s underrated?

THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR THIS QUESTION.

Everyone that follows me know these two are my everything. I started watching TVD when it first came on, and from the first time Stefan and Elena made eye contact outside the boys bathroom, I was hooked. They had something few people ever find in this world. Love, loyalty, friendship, and respect. They may be fictional, but what they represented as a couple was the realest thing to me.

so, for me naturally the most underrated scene to start with is 1x01.

Their first meeting…or so Elena thought.

This moment was pure MAGIC. Their chemistry was instant, and even though this wasn’t the first time Stefan had met Elena, it was certainly her first time laying eyes on him and you could tell she was very intrigued by what she saw. Yes, he’d wanted to get to know Elena at first, because she looked like Katherine but he did it in a respectful way unlike trying to scare the girl by pretending to be a damn crow in a cemetery. I just knew these two were going to be something special, and I wasn’t wrong.

Next, the aftermath of my favorite episode of the show, 1x10 | The Turning Point.

So, if you’re a Stelena shipper you KNOW how big of an episode “The Turning Point” was, and if you don’t then I guess you are heartless because this episode just hit every major feel I had and then some. First, there was already tension with Stefan wanting to leave town to protect Elena, and not to cause anymore trouble for her but Elena didn’t agree.

It ends in a beautiful scene of Elena declaring her love for him, and them making sweet love in just the best way, but to me what is so special about this is the after. When they’re just lying in bed with no worries, and so in love with each other. They’re glowing, and just in the moment and even though it didn’t last long because of her finding Katherine’s picture, in this moment it was utterly perfect.

Moving on the 1x19 & 1x20.

As much as i loved the loving scenes between SE, i also really enjoyed the not-so-loving scenes. This was one of them, because in S1 we’re shown the character of both brothers. Damon is the evil brother, and Stefan is the good brother. Stefan at his core is a good man, but he had demons that he had to face, and we’re presented with this side of him that isn’t so saintly. He has a weakness for blood, a deadly one and that’s why he shied away from human blood altogether.

Elena had no idea and when she saw just how bad his addiction was during the pageant, she didn’t cower or run away, she helped him in the best way she knew how and even though initially Stefan didn’t want to accept it he let out his feelings and they were able to work through this. It was intense, but it was real because in real life, relationships aren’t always happy. it’s gets hard sometimes, but it’s what you do in those situations that tells the difference.

Now onto…2x05.

Okay so maybe this isn’t really “underrated” as much as it is just the cutest little scene between SE. They had to see each other in secret, because Katherine was on the loose, and she was dangerous especially since she saw Elena as a threat. So, since they were going to out around in each in public they had to be discreet and devised a plan that they’d have a code that whatever they said to each other in disguise of a fight, they’d really be saying “i love you.”

Just the absolute sweetest thing.

Straight on to 2x08 | “Rose”.

“Rose” was the episode that introduced the Originals into the picture, and Klaus who’d been searching for Katherine all these years hears about her doppelganger, Elena so she’s taken by Rose to be given to Elijah. Using Bonnie’s magical tracking skills, Stefan and Damon were able to find her and this scene is the end result.

It’s underrated to me, because of how raw Elena’s emotions are in this scene when she sees Stefan after being apart. They way she just burrows into him like they’re the only ones in the room just melts my heart every time.

2x14 | The bittersweet beautiful lake scene of “Crying Wolf.”

I feel like everybody knows how epic of a moment this is already, but I still had to include it as being underrated, because of how it really shows what could’ve been. Stefan decides that Elena needs a weekend away so they take a trip up to her family’s cabin in the woods to be alone. She starts out by herself on the dock, and then Stefan joins her by wrapping his arms around her shoulders and they talk about their future.

It’s so bittersweet, because in this moment they think they’re going to be together forever, but we as the audience know now that it didn’t end that way. I hate the turn that this show took from separating them, because we are shown later in S5 what they’re life could’ve been and it would’ve been beautiful. I just hate that it never came to fruition.

2x20 | the truthfulness & beautiful goodbyes of “The Last Day.”

The Stelena scenes in this episode were definitely underrated to me, because Elena admits for the first time that she didn’t want to be a vampire. There was a build-up because of Klaus’s arrival, and so Stefan wanted to get Elena out of Mystic Falls for the day and so he took her up the mountains and told her to just say it, “it” being that she doesn’t want to be a vampire. He’d known that she didn’t want that fate, and he understood.

What made SE so great was the respect they had for each other. Stefan may not have liked some of Elena’s decisions throughout the show, but the one thing he always respected was her CHOICE. No matter when they were together or not, her choice mattered to him and in this moment he respected her choice not to become like him. She wanted to grow up, and experience life, and he wanted that for her.

Then when they return back to MF, Klaus is waiting and Stefan and Elena both know it’s time to say goodbye. Klaus holds the power in this moment, but SE still have their little moment. A kiss goodbye, but it’s so heart wrenching, because Stefan doesn’t want to let her go and Elena knows Klaus could kill him so she calms him down, but the love between them is so palpable in that scene it just crushed me.

3x14 | THAT DAMN DANCE of “Dangerous Liaisons.”

SO. MUCH. SEXUAL. TENSION.

I know people better give credit to this scene for being hot as hell! So S3 had so many epic SE moments that need no mention, but THIS one. I HAD TO MENTION. So Stefan of course had joined Klaus in order to save Damon, and became a ripper again to show his loyalty. When Elena started to search for him to get him to come home, she came up empty, but found him in Chicago where he put on this front of no longer wanting to be with her. He does eventually come back, and when Klaus sees just how much he loves Elena, he makes him shut off his humanity.

So we get half of a season of Stefan showing the effect of having his humanity gone, and Elena dealing with that. When this dance comes up, it changes the whole game. She starts out dancing with Damon, and when he twirls her, who does she end up with? Stefan’s fine ass. That smoldering look he gives her, Elena looks so shocked, but turned on, I mean its just such a good scene and really shows that as much as he tries to push her away, and not feel anything that love is still there.

3x22 | Their last kiss with her as a human in “The Departed.”

The last episode of S3 is important, because this is really the last time we see Elena as a human mostly. There was this tension between her and Stefan all throughout the season, and even though he’d turned back on his humanity, went to the dance, and were getting back to a good place we still didn’t know where they stood. Elena has this struggle going on with which brother to choose, because she’s also grown close to Damon as well.

So, before parting ways Stefan gives her this kiss, and he’s not trying to influence her decision, but he needed to kiss her one last time before they part, because he doesn’t know what’s going to happen. We all know she ends up choosing Stefan before she dies, but this is underrated to me, because even though Elena’s in the ‘in like’ stage with Damon, she’s still reminded that she never fell out of love with Stefan and that’s the difference.

4x21 | Stefan helps Elena turn her humanity back on in “She’s Come Undone.”

Now to semi-unbearable season 4. I’m going to be honest, I hated S4 as a whole, because that’s when this show went downhill. I believe that sire bond was the beginning of the end, and from then on I didn’t enjoy the show like i did with S1-S3. However, S4 did have its moments, like this one. When Elena went off that bridge at the end of S3, that truly was the end of us seeing the real her. Once the sire bond stage entered, and DE entered, that’s when the BS started. Even though Stefan and Elena weren’t together though didn’t mean they didn’t care for each other. He still respected her, and her choices. He still loved her, and she him and they were there for each other.

When Jeremy got killed, she couldn’t take it so Damon’s dumbass made her turn off her humanity unleashing the worst in herself. What a shock. Anyways, she was very unpleasant, and they realized they had to get her back to how she was so Stefan stepped in and reminded her to just calm down, and breathe. Damon then proceeded to almost kill Matt in front of her and that brought her humanity back, but it was because of the help of Stefan that she was able to do that. Damon’s face just shows how he’ll always be the 3rd wheel on a ship he was never supposed to be on. This scene is underrated just because it shows stelena’s connection, and how even if they’re not together, the chemistry they have is still there.

6x22 | A goodbye that had me literally crying in “I’m thinking of you all the while.”

So my last underrated scene is the final goodbye before Elena left in S6, because I honestly was barely watching at this point, but I knew Nina was leaving and knew that they wouldn’t have Elena go without saying goodbye to Stefan. There’s just so much history between them, and love that I can’t understand why this show never gave them the rekindling they deserved. What they had was so epic, and so real. I will always love them, and even though they deserved better, i’m thankful for the love story they gave us.

Honorable mention:

I don’t know what scene this is from, but it gets honorable mention because of how adorable it is. Look at Elena’s face. A small scene, but with much meaning behind it.

…and i’m done! i know i probably skipped a million underrated scenes, but I wanted to just cover the scenes that people sometimes overlook. Again thanks for this question, anytime i get to talk about my Stelena, I love it!

#stelena #stefan x elena #stelena shippers club #otp: i'll see you soon

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fivepercentgodsandearths · 7 years ago

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9 Reaches To Decode Black Panther **SPOILERS ALERT** After seeing the Black Panther film I knew I had to pen a think piece to share what I saw. Not to debate the pros or cons of seeing it but to share with those who did see it some deeper insight into the symbolism, folklore and science throughout the film. Even though Black Panther is a 1966 comic developed by a couple of Jewish guys, Stan Lee and Jack Kirby, when Christopher Priest, a black man, began writing the Black Panther comic in 1998, this character served as the inspiration behind the Marvel Studios film Black Panther. The story is about T'Challa, heir to a mythical NE African throne in the land of Wakanda; an isolated society comprised of 18 tribes who for centuries has possessed an alien element called vibranium that they acquired from a fallen meteor. Nearly indestructible and one of the most powerful substances on the planet, vibranium is used to create wealth and the highest technological advances known to humans. It is also the element that was used to forge Captain America's shield. Wisely hidden away from the outside world, the Black Panther and his council of tribal of elders known as the Taifa Ngao, have primarily kept Wakanda safe and free from outside influence for the majority of their existence. Like the Five Percent as in Wakandan culture, education or knowledge is viewed as a fundamental building block of its nation. As all things change, Wakandan culture is eventually discovered and the 10% [world’s powers] plot to pillage their vibranium. T’Challa’s father T'Chaka, the current Black Panther and King of Wakanda, is assassinated at the UN thus forcing T’Challa to step up and lead his people as the next Black Panther. The film covers his transition into that role and the challenges, literally, that come along with it. Before I get into the symbolism, folklore and science throughout the film, I think I need to give some context into why Black Panther Ain't Nuthing Ta F' Wit. First and foremost he is wealthier than any superhero in the DC or Marvel Universes. In other words, he's got more paper than Bruce Wayne, Tony Starks and Floyd Mayweather combined, and he has actual superpowers. Black Panther has super strength, psychic abilities, invisibility, super stamina, clairvoyance, master acrobat, healing factors, necromancy and other powers. If you, and especially the youth around you, have never really checked out the Black Panther comic I would encourage you to. If it's not you, what other fictional or nonfictional images of power are youth exposed to? If you cannot think of any, don't complain; either create them or support those who are creating them. Alright, here are some things I peeped in the Black Panther film that I think are worthy of sharing with you: 1. For my Yonians, central to the Wakandan culture was the worship of the Neteru Bast. Bast, in her ancient Kemetic zoomorphic form, is the symbol of the cat; what some people, particularly men, call a p*ssy. Partly symbolizing a protectress, Bast is the reasoning behind the powerful woman-led Dora Milaje warriors. This is also why present day f*ckboys seek to shack up with Bast women and take advantage of her Okoye loyalty. The heart-shaped sacred herb, a symbol of Bast's transferred power that enhances a person's strength, mobility, stamina, endurance and instincts, resembled a yoni and was cultivated in the subterranean regions of Wakanda... 2. A 'Monger' is a dealer or trader. 'Erik' is a Norse or Proto-Germanic name which means eternal ruler. Thus Erik Killmonger means "an eternal ruler who deals death." As a sexual innuendo of his toxic masculinity, his notches for "bodies" [body counts] went well beyond his belt and covered his entire upper body. He clearly had no love for women as shown by the non-relationship with his mother, shooting his Bonnie & Clyde companion in the head, choking out a elder caretaker of the heart-shaped herb and demanding that she burn its sacred garden, slitting the throat of one of the Dora Milaje, slicing Nakia across her leg and almost murdering Shuri. This is what he did, yet many women have still shown sympathy for Killmonger's actions. "I understand what he was trying to do" I've heard many women say, "to fight for oppressed people" -even though there was no tangible evidence of him working with oppressed people, which includes women. This helped me better understand why some women, not all women, rationalize staying in abusive relationships, keep dudes around because the sex is Killmonger and follow conscious community miscreants; Stockholm syndrome. Some of us love words and potential yet fail to acknowledge what folks are actually doing. I've seen the argument that Killmonger is the result of being left in America, disconnected from his people, and it's not his fault. I agree that abandonment was not his fault and Killmonger's feelings about that family dysfunction were understandable; many black people in the wilderness of North America can relate and feel the same way. Yet his resolve with those feelings, as an eternal ruler who deals death, was not wise nor did it make him a hero. From his own mouth he prided himself on his assimilation into "the white man's" society, via his military experience, and he brought those colonialist ways to Wakanda. King T'Chaka was wrong for abandoning Killmonger as a child in America and Killmonger was wrong for how he handled that disappointment, as an adult, with his family and people. We need warriors with the aggression and passion of a Killmonger, especially as a Border tribesman, but not sitting on no throne. His inconsideration for other men and insensitivity to women, children and the society at large were qualities of a self appointed tyrant who rules by fear, not the qualities of a just and true King. Killmonger's "Bury me in the ocean with my ancestors who jumped from ships, cause they knew death was better than bondage" quote and other revolutionary words were noble but I didn't see one act that demonstrated his capacity to be a loving Husband [King], a Father raising children [successors to the throne] with integrity and a Man of his people wisely working with his counsel of elders. 3. The burial ritual to connect with Wakandan ancestors and inherit the Bastian power of the Black Panther is similar to the Recapitulation technique some warriors in indigenous tribes use to also connect with their ancestral past and gain clarity of their life purpose. In Freemasonic lore it's also symbolic to the shallow grave the Master Architect Hiram Abiff was buried in before he was raised with a lion's paw grip. After you select an appropriate burial spot, usually among trees and in an isolated area beyond human disruption, a shallow grave is dug East [head] to West [feet] about 2 feet deep that's a little longer and wider than ones body. Next layer the bottom with a blanket. After that search the area for sticks and large leaves to cover the tomb that stops the soil from filtering through. You start covering the grave from the bottom to the top and once it's almost complete you climb in and finish covering it as you lay inside leaving a small hole for air. Fasting is important before you do it and the length of time you remain varies. I've done it for 24 hours and the best time to leave the grave is sunrise or sunset. The whole idea is to meditate on our demise as a form of detachment from the world. An earthen self-deprivation chamber, this is literally a place to reflect upon the past and present life and what they can do in the future. 4. M'Baku, King of the Jabari Tribe, in the comic he is the leader of the White Gorilla Cult because he gained his superhuman powers by killing a white gorilla, bathing in its blood, eating its flesh, and then he took on the name Man-Ape. The M'Baku line, "If you say one more word, I'll feed you to my children! I'm kidding. We're vegetarians" in the film was a play on that comic book backstory. Although the mountain ranges M'Baku and his tribe inhabit is nowhere near the Caucasus Mountains, I found it interesting that pre-Farrakhanian Nation of Islam members under the Honorable Elijah Muhammad [THEM] openly taught that white people [devils] that were exiled from our homeland and living in the caves tried to graft themselves back into the original black man. In the process some became [white] gorillas. In fact, he taught that the entire monkey family are from the 2,000 year history of the white race living in the Caucasus Mountains. Although M'Baku carried a shillelagh, THEM also taught that the guards of these mountain boarders kept weapons [flaming swords] to stop these humanoids from coming back among the original people. The above image is from the first page of the 1998 Black Panther comic by Christopher Priest where Agent Ross remarks that, "ZURI was into his THIRD re-telling of how the great god T’Chaka ran the evil white devils out from their ancient homeland." Naw I don't think Stan Lee, Ryan Coogler & Joe Robert Cole drew these parallels and wrote that. Christopher Priest obviously had knowledge of this and I could see the parallels. 5. After Get Out Chris Washington got WOKE, changed his gubment name to W'Kabi and started a rhinoceros farm on the fringes of Wakanda as leader of the Boarder tribe. After Rose 'Beckyed' him it's obvious he ain't been right since. 6. Tobias Whale is Killmonger's uncle; Killmonger's mother's brother. Whale developed a hatred for Black Lightning because N'Jobu reminded him of the Wakandans and the metahuman Black Panther who exiled albinos to the lands where they were hunted, killed and their bones ground up as a power potion, as Lady Eve reminded him. Green Light is a synthetic form of vibranium and when Quentin caught wind of what Killmonger was doing he came back to the Chi to re-stake his claim as a Frank Lucas-like vibranium plug for the 100. Lastly, Kevin was around at the end of the film asking T'Challa questions about his ship because he was with his family in Cali who happened to stay in the hood Killmonger grew up in. Kevin was out there laying low after shooting Ronnie. 7. When it comes to even just conceptualizing a Wakandian society, one of the downfalls of many men is trying to f*ck the Nakia's, Okoye's, Ayo's, Shuri's and Xoliswa's on their team instead of working with them. One of the downfalls of many women is allowing them to. 8. I loved seeing all of the Wakanda inspired regalia at the Black Panther movie premieres around the country. I haven't seen it since Kwanzaa and I look forward to seeing it again during Juneteenth. 9. Black Panther had the fifth biggest opening of all time and broke box office records during its opening weekend. It's the largest opening for a black Director, the second biggest opening for a Marvel Studios film and currently the #1 RATED FILM OF ALL TIME via Rotten Tomatoes. Not only does this demonstrate the earning potential of films told from our perspective but this, along with Get Out, is reshaping the false narrative that black themed films not doing box office numbers domestically and internationally. While some may see this as production houses and film companies becoming more open to our pitched ideas and potential larger pay dates, I see it as a watershed moment of self reliance and cooperative economics. Many of us already know our buying power as a black community, but willfully this galvanizes us to do more, culturally and artistically. Some felt as though nothing could top the response of Get Out, but here we have it, and this film won't be the last. Peace, Saladin Black Panther stars Chadwick Boseman, Michael B. Jordan, Lupita Nyong'o, Danai Gurira, Martin Freeman, Daniel Kaluuya, Letitia Wright and Winston Duke, with Angela Bassett, Forest Whitaker and Andy Serkis. The film is directed by Ryan Coogler and produced by Kevin Feige with Louis D’Esposito, Victoria Alonso, Nate Moore, Jeffrey Chernov and Stan Lee serving as executive producers. Ryan Coogler & Joe Robert Cole wrote the screenplay.

http://atlantisschool.blogspot.com/2018/02/9-reaches-to-decode-black-panther.html

#black lightning #Black Panther Movie #Prince Hall Freemasons #Free Masons #Black Africa #Afrikan #african #african gods #chadwick boseman #Angela Basset #Michael B Jordan #Elijah Muhammad #nation of gods and earths #Nation of Islam #African Tribes #lupita nyong'o #Black Love #Black Family

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sprnklersplashes · 7 years ago

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Hullo, saw your views on Rose, and I do agree a lot. I was wondering what you thought of the other companions, like Martha, Donna, the Ponds, River, etc?

I am glad you liked my thoughts. I’m sorry for keeping you waiting, but this ask prompted, wait for it, 2.5 thousand words on my love and appreciation for each of these darlings, because I do love them all.

Under the cut we go!!!!

Martha- Martha Jones walked away from all of time and spacebecause she wouldn’t do it with someone who did not respect her (no offense to10 but she deserved better than you) and that ladies and gentlemen is thedefinition of a strong female character. Even from her first episode I lovedMartha balancing doctor training with her incredibly dysfunctional family andinstead of taking a moment to break down and scream (which is what many of uswould do) she just gets on with it, a little sarcasm and eye rolling sure but she doesn’t let it put her down and doesn’t get bogged down in her stressful life. There’s also how she is a badass withoutneeding to be physically violent or use weapons. In fact I don’t remember a lotof scenes where she does use weapons (thought it’s been a while). She walksacross the Earth using nothing but her bravery and wits, she finishedShakespeare’s spell to the witches on the spot even when the Doctor couldn’t doit (also, Expelliamus, you babe, Martha), ended Joan Redfern with her knowledgeof the bones of the hand (which is some pretty complex information she whippedout off the top of her pretty little head), and talked down to the Daleks(which yes used a weapon but it was a weapon given to her). Whether she wasbluffing or not in that instance, that took some serious guts and homegirl didnot break a sweat while doing it. A small but beautiful moment for her is inher first episode where she says “How many people want to go to the moon? Andhere we are!”. She knows how scary the whole thing is but at the same time shesees the absolute beauty and knows how unique an opportunity it is, and that’sa beautiful thing for her.

Donna- Oh Donna Donna Donna. If there was ever a characterwho was more fitting of the ‘deserved better’ label, it’s her! I don’t think itis physically possible for someone to dislike Donna. Let’s get the obviouspoint out of the way first; best lines ever. I mean between “oi watch itspaceman” and “don’t get clever in Latin” she had some of the funniest lines onthis show. Now that that is out of the way, can we appreciate the hope she has?She sticks out with the belief she will see the Doctor again after the Runaway Bride, and I feel likeher changing her mind humanised her a lot. She said she didn’t want to butthen, things changed, because people change. I liked her taking matters intoher own hands re: Adipose and investigating thinking she could run into theDoctor there. Even from there, she is on equal footing with him. Now we move onto her compassion which is so lovely, especially towards other women, like MissEvangelista (and I love their relationship because I feel like Donna was comingfrom a place of understanding with her, knowing how it feels to beunderestimated, and making sure she thanked her and noticed her even if no oneelse did), Evelina, Jenny whom she immediately bonds with even when 10 isprickly towards her. She just wants to make friends with all the people shemeets and I think that’s an amazing character trait. Not to mention how she demands to be treated as an equal, no matter if it’s a UNIT soldier (”I’ll have a salute”) or an alien ( “Every bit as important as Time Lord, thank you very much”). Her growth was amazing.She didn’t acquire a lot of new skills, just the confidence to utilise the onesshe had! I am still so bitter and upset about her ending because she did notdeserve to have all her amazing adventures and development that came with thatstripped away from her.

Amy- Amy is “my first bb girl” in that s6 of Doctor Who wasthe first one I watched, and the first fandom I was in and Amy was my firstfavourite female character, so I am very protective of her. When we first meether adult self, Amy is desperate to shed the “Amelia” part of her, kick out thechildhood dreams, but even in season 5 we still see a sort of childlikeexcitement because she has not suppressed her inner child and that isbeautiful. She also has a lot of insecurities in her arc, shown in herrelationship with Rory-not in a “I worry that he’s too good for me” way but ina “I don’t know if I am ready for this level of commitment” way-which 1. imomade for a very relateable character and 2. Gave way for a whole level ofcharacter development, because by around the end of series 5/start of series 6she was wholly comfortable in that relationship. But even then she can’t sitstill as it were, she says to the Doctor that she can’t keep a job and, while Ido acknowledge is in part to the fact she is waiting for him to come back, sheis also finding herself, which right now, I relate to massively as a youngwoman. She doesn’t keep a job because she doesn’t know what she wants. Shemodels, she writes, she makes perfumes, she can’t sit still. Amy’s story islargely about growing up and learning to stand on her own two feet, and that iswhy it culminates in her choosing to go back in time with Rory. Now this is abit of my own personal thinking here, but to me Rory represents “normality”, anadventure free, dull life while the Doctor represented everything else. Thiswas her growing up and saying she was choosing normality, her “not a littlegirl anymore” moment. She doesn’t outgrow her flaws, she’s still very impulsivein season 7 but she learns to deal with them maturely. I imagine a lot of hertroubles come from the neglect she endured as a child and I curse Moffat fornot allowing her to deal with her trauma in a healthier way. But anyways, Ithought her growing into her own and maturing was lovely to watch.

River Song- Ah River, or as I like to call her “who my 13-year-oldself aspired to be”. She’s just, so beautifully complex. I think what I lovemost about her is she lives her life on her own terms. She takes a lot of risksbut she…. well I wouldn’t say doesn’t care but she certainly seems to thinkthey’re worth it. And she lived her life totally on her terms, even when shewas in jail! She just casually breaks out and in as she pleases, just waltzingaround like a babe! She also has so much confidence it’s inspiring. She’sclever and she knows it. She has most people wrapped around her finger, evenfrom her first expedition in the library we can see she is the (unofficial)leader. I don’t know if I would call her fearless, but she rarely showed fear.Vashta Nerada? Weeping Angels? She has got this. Plus, homegirl graffitied theoldest cliff face in universe like can you get any more iconic? She is alsogorgeous and she knows it. She has a great body and flaunts it because it makesher feel good and that’s a good lesson we ca all take away from her. I thinkthere is also a hugely tragic side to River. Every character on this show hadfamily issues; Rose lost her dad, Martha’s parents split, Amy was neglectedetc. and then there is River, who was kidnapped, tortured and brainwashed. Andyet she kept on fighting and as a child managed to fight her way out of anastronaut suit and braved the streets of 1960s New York as a child. And that’sjust the tip of it. I saw a post once that in the s6 premiere, when she isalone talking to Rory, in that moment, she isn’t just someone talking to a guyshe just met, she is a little girl running to her daddy and telling her she’s scaredand wants her parents, and it hurts god damn it, it hurts. Underneath thebravado, the flirting, the teasing, she’s scared. I am not amazed that she cameout of it a good person, I am amazed she came out of it sane. But she is such agood person. She managed to overcome her brainwashing and kill the person sheloves most, and then sacrifices herself in the library. One of my favouriteRiver moments is her moment with Donna when Donna asks “How come I’m not in thefuture” and River’s face (huge props to Alex here) just falls so much and thereis so much empathy in that scene. I also think her determination to rebuild herrelationship with her parents is so beautifully inspiring and we were cheatedout of scenes. I also think her past adds to her relationship with the Doctorsince he was likely the only person outside of her parents to care for herwhich is why she latched on to him (not saying that avoiding killing him was atall right, it was definitely wrong sorry bby girl, but it is kind ofunderstandable).

Clara- Oh Clara my Clara. If you couldn’t tell by my bio, Iam a massive Clara Oswald fan, and she is currently in a three way tie forFavourite Fictional Character Out Of Anything Ever (tied with Emma Swan andKillian Jones from Once Upon A Time). Where do I even start with her? Even fromher first episodes, confidence oozes out of her every pore and it is earned.From Oswin (who I fell in love with in 2 seconds flat) and her “total screaminggenius” to modern day Clara and “Clara Oswald for the win” she just knows howamazing she is and I totally love it. It’s not conceited arrogance, not “I ambetter than you” but “I am awesome and I know I am”. Now let’s move on to asimilar topic, baby girl is very smart as heck, even without the computerknowledge uploaded into her via Great Intelligence. She noticed the littledetails “a chimney that doesn’t blow smoke”, she thought on her feet “I’m theDoctor”/ “Your daughter, Skaldak”, she keeps pushing Bonnie and manages to stayequal with her by using her wits (sidenote, can we give all the awards to Jennain that episode because good lord), her whole time in Flatline (which isprobably my favourite Clara episode ever), with the clockwork robots she keptthem talking, risking her own life in the process because she knew how to.Also, right from the word go she is making it clear with the Doctor that she ishis equal and that she is the one in charge here, right from “come backtomorrow” and “see you next Wednesday”. This continues later in her arc “you’reone of my hobbies”. One of my favourite lines of hers is “I’m not a bargainbased stand in for someone else, I’m not going to compete with a ghost” and itjust sticks with me because she is there asserting her authority on the TARDIS,prepared to walk away right now if he does not respect her for who she is, andit is marvellous to watch. And then this comes back in 12’s run where she goesoff on him for abandoning her and I feel like he needed her to ground him andmake him more human. She is not afraid to call the Doctor out on his shit,whether it’s something big like in Kill The Moon or something relating to herdirectly, “speak for me again and I’ll detatch something from you”. Now let’smove onto another, beautiful topic, Clara and kids! We see this in the Bells ofSaint John how she gave up her plans to travel to look after Angie and Artieand then again in the next episode she comforts and all but adopts Merry Gallel,and her with young!Doctor, soothing his fears. It’s a little topic but it’s sobeautiful. She is also, for a lack of a better word, beautifully badass! Shehas stared down Cybermen, Daleks, Missy, all the Doctor’s greatest enemies, andnot blinked. That is how badass she is. She is also incredibly brave, rightfrom the start she volunteers to go into the Ice Warrior, she jumps into theDoctor’s timestream, she sacrifices herself for Rigsy. She’s a beautiful exampleof how bravery and fearlessness are not the same thing. Her dying words are “letme be brave”, which is a beautiful moment for her. There is also something somagical about her, so fairytale, the excited traveller. Her first request is tosee “something awesome”. She doesn’t care, she just wants to be impressed. She practicallydances when she arrives somewhere new. Underneath her no-nonsense “bossy controlfreak” exterior, there’s an excited young woman getting to travel. She ishugely flawed but she is aware of it, which I find amazing. She says in HellBent “I’d say I’m sorry but I’d do it again”. She is reckless and a littleselfish, and she knows it. Ultimately, it is what kills her, but it still makesfor a wholly unique and beautiful character.

Bill Potts- Ah my precious Bill. I think the quote either Moffator Pearl gave “she’s got her feet on the ground and her heart in the stars” (orsomething) is so perfectly her. She is just so open and in my opinion, we needcharacters like that, who smile through rainstorms. I mean, she wanted to go tothe future because she wanted to see if it was happy, which is kind of tragicbut also pretty beautiful when you think about it. I think the fact that sheshowed up at lectures even though she wasn’t a student was so great. All shehad was a love of learning even if she wouldn’t do anything with it, and yes, anatural curiosity about the Doctor himself. The Doctor says that when she doesn’tknow something, she smiles, which is another lovely detail on her character andagain shows her curiosity and just how much of a sunshine she is. There’s nofrustration in not knowing, it’s a new chance for her to learn. Her reactionsto everything around her are so amazingly realistic, calling the Victorianorphans “cute as”. I think her question to the Doctor in her first episode, “Doyou know any sci-fi?”, shows a lot about how she is the dreamer, the one whothinks up impossible scenarios and answers, she dares to think outside the box.Bill has such a strong mind that even being a cyberman could not stop her fromcaring and fighting back. Her teasing the Doctor is absolutely adorable and isreally her way of establishing her own authority on the TARDIS, unlike Claraand Martha, she doesn’t do anything where she demands his respect, she gentlyeases it out of him with her quirky teasing (“Time Lord, sounds posh”), notsaying one way is better than the other, just that it’s a cute and unique wayof her building an equal relationship with him. I think Bill is definitely oneof those characters we so desperately need more of in TV, little rays ofsunshine who want to make everyone else’s days brighter, who want to pushforward and achieve and try because why not, even if it won’t lead them anywhere,who wants to see if the world will still be a happier place tomorrow. And Ilove her for it.

#bill potts #clara oswald #river song #amy pond #donna noble #martha jones #doctor who #moffat for ts #dw meta #can u believe I wrote 2.5k on DW and cant write 1000 for an academic paper?#lolz

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kprciffdw · 4 years ago

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Ratchet and Kim Possible Chronicles: The Solanian Revolution-Part 15

Returning to the moon system, they were able to fly into the third moon, which use to have been encased in a force field. As soon as they landed inside and got out of their ship, they had a chance to look around. Ron: "Whoa…just look at this place. This is like…some sort of dance studio-themed evil lair." Kim: "I would guess that this is where Courtney would have set up her base." Ratchet: "It seems like her kind of place, alright. Come on, let's go see if we can find Skidd around here."

They rushed through the entire place as fast as they could.

The place was indeed very unique. The deeper they went, the more they believed that they would find Courtney aside from hoping to find Skidd.

They kept on going till they were able to reach the last chamber of the place. There, they saw what appeared to be a lab of sorts. Ron: "Whoa, just what kind of freaky place is this?" Clank: "This is the testing lab for the Biobliterator." Kim: "The what? Wait! Clank, how is it possible for you to have known that? There's nothing here that could have imply that." Ron: "Hold on for a minute. Are we going to be able to find out what that Biobliteration thingie does?" Ratchet: "I would hope so. Let's see what Nefarious has been up to."

They checked out a nearby screen. On it was Skidd hooked up to a machine that Courtney planned to test on him. With 1 zap of a laser, Skidd was transformed into a robot version of himself. The group was greatly shocked to see this, but Ron was very, very distraught. Ron: "SKIDD! NOOO!"

He fell on his hands and knees and banged his fist on the floor. Ratchet: "They turned Skidd into a robot!? But…that's impossible!" Clank: "Not for Dr. Nefarious…uh, apparently." Kim: "So, Dr. Nefarious plans on turning all organic life forms into robots?" Courtney: "That's right, but don't be afraid. The transformation doesn't hurt…much."

They were then warped out of the room.

They arrived within another chamber that they have seen before. Ron: "Hey, I remember this place. This is the room that we saw that…that horrible music video." Courtney: "I can see you gross organics have checked out my latest work."

Before them was Courtney. Kim: "Courtney!" Courtney: "It seems that the test was a huge success. Soon, the entire galaxy will be populated by robots. Wouldn't you enjoy being a robot? I think it's a lot more fun than being a disgusting, squishy organic." Ron: "You're just another rotten diva, Courtney!" Ratchet: "No kidding, Ron! She's even worse than Bonnie!" Kim: "Oh, for sure!" Rufus: "(growl) Courtney!" Courtney: "Aw, is that your initial reaction to what we have planned for the future of the galaxy? Such a pitiful shame. Fine, if you won't submit, then I will force you to undergo the process." Kim: "Heh! You wish! We will never give in to this despicable plan of yours but go ahead and try." Courtney: "Gladly, but before we start, allow me to introduce you to my new "back up dancers". They're sure to be quite killer."

A nearby platform rose up near her. The group watched this occurring, within that time, they saw something that greatly startled Kim and Ron. Ron: "No way…!" Kim: "It…can't be…!"

Standing on the platforms were the Bebe bots. Ron: "It…it's the…it's the…" Kim: "The Bebes…!" Ratchet: "Those are the Bebe bots? The ones that Drakken warned us about?" Bebe 1: "We shall annihilate…" Bebe 2: "All organic life forms…" Bebe 3: "In the name of Dr. Nefarious." Bebes: "Fore he is the greatest." Courtney: "So you're acquainted with these bots? They came from some nowhere planet infested with too many organic vermin. I feel really sad for them for coming from such a backwater place." Kim: "Hey! That's our home planet you're talking about!" Ratchet: "That's it! I've had it with you! No one insults my friends or the planet they're from! I hope you can fight better than you can sing because we're taking you down!" Courtney: "Heh! Not likely, but go ahead and try. Bebes, let's fight these disgusting squishes and make them one of us!" Bebes: "Affirmative."

The group began their epic fight against Courtney and the Bebes. The vicious robot girls were shown to be very formidable and very, very dangerous, just like how Kim and Ron remembered them to be. They even went as far as nearly beating the group, but the group really held their own as they were persistent and were very able to endure. At one point, Ron sought his chance to send Rufus over to climb all over Courtney, which really, really bothered her. She let out a loud scream. Courtney: "Get this disgusting, ugly rat off of me!" Bebes: "Bebes, crush that hairless freak!"

The Bebes went towards Courtney and tried to do away with Rufus, but he was too quick for them. With the Bebes distracted, the group managed to get the upperhand against them, especially Ratchet, whose weaponry have already shown to be a decent match against the vicious bots.

Soon enough, the group was able to subdue Courtney and the Bebes, bringing them down. Courtney fell to the floor. Courtney: "Oh, no! How will my fans live without me?"

Kim walked up to her, bent down directly in front of her and got really close to her face. Kim: "You're a huge disappointment to all of your fans; robots and organics alike. They will move on and they're better off without you."

She stood right back up and walked off. Ratchet: "I know I am."

He walked off after Kim. Ron glared at Courtney for a bit then walked off. Rufus jumped off of Courtney, kicked her in the head, then let out a raspberry before rushing off back to Ron. The group stopped and stood near another. Clank: "Oh! Transmission from the Phoenix."

A portable screen appeared, displaying an image of Sasha. Sasha: "Guys, we've located Nefarious' star cruiser. It's currently refueling at the Zeldrin Starport. Qwark is already on his way there now." Kim: "Huh! It's about time that big, stupid oaf is doing something useful for a change." Ratchet: "Hold on for a sec. It might be a trap." Kim: "Hm…you know, I was suspecting the same thing." Ratchet: "I think Courtney Gears is setting us up." Kim: "Yes…in a way. Still, it could be our only way to get to Nefarious." Ratchet: "My thoughts exactly, Kim. We'll meet Qwark at the starport." Sasha: "Be careful, you guys." Kim: "Let's go." Ron: "But what about Skidd?"

They looked over and noticed Skidd walking back and forth with his arms held in front of him. Skidd: "Arr…like, destroy all squishies…and stuff." Ratchet: "We'll…have Wade figure out what to do with him. Come on, let's get to the starport."

They returned to the ship and left the moon.

They flew through space for a very long time. Ron was looking out the window. Clank edged closer to Ron. He whispered a bunch of nasty things to Ron, telling him that Kim was planning to stab him in the back by going for Ratchet behind his back while she's still dating him. He even told him it's the only reason why Kim even wanted to date him in the first place. Ron was shocked to hear this from Clank then looked at Kim suspiciously.

#Kim Possible #Ratchet and Kim Possible Chronicles #Ratchet and Clank #Up Your Arsenal #Ratchet #Clank #Ron Stoppable #Rufus #Solana Galaxy #Courtney Gears #Bebes #Skidd McMarx #Captain Sasha

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cwnerd12 · 4 years ago

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4. In Celebration of Queen Mother Harriett Fairweather of Samaria

Jack opens the front door, and Monique bursts in, “Where is my new little nephew?!” Jack greets her with a hug, “He’s with everyone else.” The go into the living room where Abby holding Daniel, along with Michelle, Shay, Joel, Asher, Betty, and their baby daughter Pearl. Everyone greets her, “Hey, Monique!” Monique makes a beeline for Daniel, “Oh my god, he is too damn cute!” David sticks his head from out of the kitchen, “Hey, Monique! Dinner's almost ready!" Monique, “What we havin’?” David, “Eggplant biryani.” Monique, “Ooooh, Indian.” She goes over and fusses over Pearl, “Hey, Pearlie Girl.” Betty laughs, “Hey, Auntie Monique.” Monique turns and sits down on the sofa, "You know, DeMarcus and I are thinking about adopting." Michelle, “Are you, really?" Monique, “We're just thinking about it. Nothing official yet.”

Cut to: Everyone sits around the dinner table, digging into the food that David has made. Monique, “Next week we're back on official Royal Duty. Going to Samaria for Queen Mother Harriet’s 90th birthday gala.” David, “Yeah, I can handle that.” Monique, “Can you?” Abby, “I’ll be there to keep him on a tight leash, as always. And besides, all anyone’s going to want to talk about is the new baby prince.” Monique, “Mercy and Grace also got invited.” Jack, “Seriously?” Michelle, “Grace has always been friends with Iris and Tabitha. It’s been a big part of Samaria keeping the peace with Ammon.” Monique, “And Mercy is technically a princess, so she got invited.” David, “It’s a celebration, everyone likes Harriett, I’m not going to be rude and cause trouble.” Asher, “So what are we going to do when that’s over?” David, “I want to look into some way to prevent future coup attempts, not just in Moab, but here, and in the other countries.” Joel, “Stopping coups in Ammon means we’re stuck with Wayne.” David, “We’re stuck with him anyway. Anyway, it’s just theoretical. Something to think about.” Monique, “I’ve been talking with this friend of mine, she’s a director… she wants to do a documentary about the AFG.” David makes a face, “They’ve already written a book.” Monique, “She wants to do more than just a movie. She’s thinking a TV special. Six or seven parts. She’s got channels making her offers. Honestly, David, someone’s going to make this documentary, and it might as well be my girl. She’s damn good at what she does.” David still makes a face. Jack speaks up, “Sounds good. David's gonna be David.” Jack grins at him, “Fussy,” he adopts a husky, dramatic voice, “I don't want to talk about it.” Monique, “I told her getting David to talk would be difficult.” David, “Come on, I know you all have stuff you don’t like to talk about.” Asher, “Is this going to be shown in other countries?” Monique, “Definitely not in Ammon, but I know there’s a market for it. We’re very popular on the international scene.” David, “It's not a bad idea, I just- I need to get used to the idea is all. Prepare myself for it.” Monique, “It’ll be after the gala, anyway. You got plenty of time to think about it.”

Across town, Frieda sits having dinner with Andrew and Chloe, “Of course I was horrified to learn that she was doing diplomacy in the delivery room. I'm hoping that in talking to you, I can help convince Abigail to act like a mother. That is off the record, of course." Across from her, Andrew sits with a huge, toothy, unctuous smile plastered across his face. He is not only back on his bullshit, he never left his bullshit to begin with, “When did you last speak with her?" Frieda, “Shortly after my grandson was born. I’m sure she only agreed to it because Frankie insisted.” Andrew, “And what did she say to you?” Frieda, “Only the polite things. We didn’t speak for very long.” The smile on Andrew’s face tightens, “Is… is that all?” Frieda, “What do you mean, is that all?” Andrew, “While I understand your desire to share the truth with the world-” Frieda, “I need money. The widow’s compensation I receive isn’t enough to meet my current needs.” Andrew, “You must understand, OMGossip does sell a certain product, as it were.” Frieda, “I have private pictures of Prince Daniel. It’s nothing truly revealing or alarming, but it’s enough that I know the king will come to realize that my financial situation needs improving. Are you really telling me you’ll say no to these pictures? There’s plenty of other places I could sell them to.” Andrew keeps the smile on his face, even as anger flashes in his eyes, “We will happily give you the price you’re asking for.” Frieda smiles, “You aren't out of luck. King David may offer to amend my finances, but if you can do a better job… I do have some choice thing to say about... I don't even know what to call him. He's not my son-in-law.” Chloe, “Your grandbabydaddy.” Frieda, curtly, "I've never been fond of him. But you may not quote me on that. Not yet."

Later, Andrew bitches to Chloe, “Ooooh so she doesn't like David. How scandalous, what an outrage!” Chloe, “You can still make hash out of it.” Andrew, “I swear, this business used to be fun! Things are so boring now that David is all happily married and not taking any captives.” Chloe, “Have you thought at all about making a change?” Andrew, “What kind of change?" Chloe, "I dunno, any kind of change.” Andrew, "What am I supposed to do, go back into the weapons business?” Chloe, “I mean, you could.” Andrew pouts, “Maybe I should. I’ve always wanted to be an important man, and peddling royal baby pictures isn’t that.”

David talks with Mercy and Grace, a sign language translator for Grace. David, "You don't have to go.” Mercy, “I don't understand, why was I invited?” David, "Queen Harriett has always been involved in helping orphans and refugees from Carmel, and she’s been very impressed with the advocacy work you’ve done. She really wants to meet you.” Mercy nods, “Okay. Sounds fun.” David, “Really, you don’t have to go, it’s it’s going to be upsetting…” Mercy, “No, I mean it. It sounds fun. A lot better than a funeral.” David, “I will personally make sure Wayne stays away from you.” Grace sits with her brow deeply furrowed, “I want to see my family, but I’m afraid going will be a bad idea.” David, “I can give you a full security detail. Have people monitoring your food, even.” Grace, "I don't even know what I'd wear. I didn't bring any jewels. I don't have much money." David, "Rose can lend you something." Mercy signs to Grace, "You should think of the diplomatic advantages we could take. It could be a sign to the public there's no ill will in your family. Galas like this can bring in a lot of supporters for any charity you’re endorsing. And, if you show up looking pretty enough, you can make yourself very popular. Tell a story with your dress." David, "It's up to you.”

Grace sits anxiously at a computer in the living room of the modest home she shares with Gus. On the screen appears Queen Mae and Princesses Bonnie, Mackynzie, and Rosaleigh. Grace gives a pained smile and signs hello. Mae signs and speaks, “I thought you would never call us.” Grace replies, “I thought it was unwanted.” Bonnie and Rosaleigh glance quickly at Mackynzie. Mae, “Why are you calling us now?” Grace, “I was invited to Queen Harriett’s 90th birthday gala. Apparently, the Fairweathers believe we are still on good terms.” Mae, without raising her voice, “And they’re going to continue to believe this. You’re going, aren’t you?” Grace nods submissively. Bonnie smiles nervously, “I’m so happy you’ll be joining us.” Mackynzie mutters, “She’s not joining us, she’ll be with the Gilboans.” Mae, “I’m still very glad you’re going. It’s of utmost importance that we appear as a family, united under your brother, the king.” Grace, “Gus is going to be there with me.” Bonnie smiles brightly while Mae and Mackynzie smile politely. Bonnie, “We’ll all be very happy to see Gus!” Grace, “Wayne is going to have to be polite to him.” Mae, “Of course. I certainly hope you’re going to maintain your standard of modesty and show the world that Gilboa hasn’t corrupted you.” Grace, “Yes, yes. I want Wayne to stay away from Gus. David is giving us extra security to make sure nothing happens.” Mae, “Don’t disrespect your brother like that! With your father gone, he is the man who is in charge go this family!” Grace, “Gus is my husband. I am a part of my husband’s family.” Mae grimaces and clasps her hands, “Let us pray!” Bonnie and Mackynzie clasp their hands and bow their heads. Grace simply clasps her hands and watches Mae. Mae, “Lord, we ask for your guidance through these difficult times….” Grace squints to see Mae’s lips, but the screen is too small.

In the palace dressing room, Mercy and Grace look at fancy ball gowns, giggling and grinning like little girls. Mercy twirls around, holding a dress up to her. Grace signs, "I always wanted to do this with you as a little girl, I'm so glad I can, now." A group of guards pushing a cart stacked with jewelry boxes enter the room. An aide says, “The jewels, your highness.” Grace, "Ah, thank you,” She turns to Grace and Mercy, “You girls are free to borrow from my jewelry collection.” She goes over and opens a box with a tiara in it. She smiles and turns to the girls, “Mercy, dear I have something for you." She holds up the box, containing a sunburst tiara with a large yellow diamond in the center, the one worn by Esperanza Abbadon in her only official royal portrait. Mercy gasps when she sees it, and tears fill her eyes, "The Sunburst!” she steps forward and takes it out of the box, “I thought it was destroyed!" Rose, “No, I wouldn't let a piece of history be destroyed or sold off. I actually have quite a bit of your mother's jewelry in the vault. I want to give it to you." Tears fall down Mercy's face, “My mother… she looked so beautiful when she wore this. Thank you, Rose. Thank you so much.” Rose, “The things you wear tell a very important story about you. You have to be very careful to tell the kind of story you want to tell.” Grace’s translator translates this into sign. Grace looks down at the modest dress she’s holding, and then places it back on the dress rack.

David sits in the limousine with Jack, Abby, Michelle, and Rose, all dressed up for the gala. David, Jack, Abby and Michelle all look at David’s phone. David smiles brightly, “Hi, Daniel! We miss you!” On his phone Jessie holds Daniel in her arms while Daniel puts his fist in his mouth. Already, he has a thick tuft of blonde hair. Abby, “How is he?” Jessie, “Oh, he's fine. Just thinks he’s spending the night with Grandma.” Daniel coos and grasps at the phone, causing everyone to laugh. Michelle, “We’re gonna be showing pictures off all night.” David, “We’ll try to leave as soon as we can in the morning. Im trying to make it through this with as little drama s possible.” Jessie, cheerfully, “Okay. I’m gonna give Daniel another bottle in a little bit and then I’m gonna put him down for the night.” Abby’s hone dings, and she gets it out of her purse. David, “Okay. We'll see you tomorrow. Good night.” Jack and Michelle both say goodnight, and David ends the conversation. He looks at Abby, “What’s up?” Abby, “Frankie's coming.” Jack, “What? How?” Abby, “Quentin pulled a few strings.” David, “Huh. Good for him, I guess.” Abby puts her phone away, “Benefits of being a prince's best friend."

Guests arrive at the Palace of Samaria. Chloe and Andrew walk arm in arm. Chloe wears a kicky retro look, she beams and looks around, “Oh my god, this is so much fun! How’d you get such a last-minute invite?” Andrew, smirking, "The OMGossip archives have some photographs of Prince Luke that Queen Harriet hopes never see the light of day.” Chloe, “Oooh, you’re so smart." Royals start arriving. The Judds arrive. Hattie wears an enormous, fluffy hot pink dress and an obnoxiously large tiara, while the other women wear subdued modest gowns. Immediately upon going inside, they’re greeted by Andrew, “Ah, Your Majesty! I was hoping to run into you tonight! My name is Andrew Cross, I’m the owner of OMGossip.” Chloe says to Hattie, “Oh my god, I love your dress!” Hattie, “Bless your heart! Thank you so much! You look beautiful, too!” Wayne, “Pleased to meet you, Mr. Cross. I’m quite familiar with your publication.” Andrew, “I’ve heard how you’re trying to expand the Ammonian weapons industry. I have a few ideas that I think might be of interest to you.” Wayne begins to reply, when he's interrupted by a man in his mid-30s, "There you are! You can't ignore me, now! I want my family’s property returned!” Wayne signals to his security guys, and they pull the man away. protesting. Wayne, "My apologies. Zachary White still insists that he's the rightful heir to the throne of Ammon, and he won't shut up about it.” Andrew, “Pathetic.” Back outside, The Gilboan limo rolls up, and David gets out. He waves at the photographers, and then helps Jack get out. Inside the palace, Frankie greets everyone with hugs. David, “Hey, Frankie, how you doin?” Frankie, “I’m doing fuckin’ great, man. Tonight’s a big night. Have you seen Quentin at all?” David, “Uh, yeah, I think he's right over there…” HE points around and spots Quentin, who sees them both and comes over. Quentin ignores David and greets Frankie with a big hug, "You ready for tonight?” Frankie, "Of course, man.” Quentin’s Fiancée, Miranda, comes up behind them. Her radiant smile and glittering pink and gold dress make her look like a warm sunrise, “David! Congratulations on your new son! The pictures are so cute!" David, slightly confused, "Uh, thanks.” Back outside, Gus gets out of a limo, and then helps Mercy and Grace get out. Mercy wears a slightly sexy strapless dress. It’s far from slutty, but it goes against Ammonian modesty standards. Gus signs to her, "You looks so beautiful.” Mercy wears the sunbeam tiara and a flow yellow lace dress. They both look absolutely stunning, and cameras flash madly at them. David greets Laura with a hug, “You don’t know how glad I am that you’re here.” Laura, “Trust me, I’m very happy to be here. How is Daniel?” David, “Absolutely wonderful.” Laura spots Andrew over his shoulder, still talking to Wayne and Hattie. Laura cautiously says, "Don't turn around, but Andrew Cross is behind you." David, “Aw, Jesus, is he?” Laura, "Looks like he's talking to Wayne.” David shakes his head, “Doesn’t matter. I’m determined to have a good time tonight. He can go skulk in the shadows like he always does. If he tried to get near me or Jack, my security will deal with it.” Laura, “I’m surprised you didn't have him arrested after the allegations about Gath came out.” David, “Michael fucked up the investigation. We didn’t find anything conclusive.” The aide from before comes over and greets them, “Your majesties, the picture.” Back with Andrew and Wayne, Andrew goes on, "You see, my family was in the weapons business for nearly four hundred years, and I was the beneficiary of all this accumulated knowledge, until my scheming cousin stole it out from under me..." Grace, Gus, and Mercy enter the palace, and a wave of camera flashes hits them. With the Judd women, Bonnie and Mackynzie see her dress, and Mackynzie says to Bonnie, “She’s turning Gilboan." Wayne stares helplessly at Mercy as Andrew prattles on, “I believe with my expertise, I could help grow the Ammonian weapons industry…” Mercy laughs and chats with some other princesses, when suddenly, Zachary White comes up to her, “That tiara is a family heirloom!” Mercy, taken aback, "I beg your pardon?” Andrew talks to Wayne, “I assure you, I can completely revolutionize your weapons output…” Without saying anything, Wayne hurries off toward Zachary and Mercy. Zachary, "My grandmother wore that tiara!" Mercy, "Oh, you're the White heir, aren't you?” Wayne comes over and pushes him out of the way, "Leave her alone!” With David, Laura says, “Oh, shit.” David turns around and sees the escalating situation, “Fuck.” He approaches Mercy, “What’s going on?” Zachary, "That tiara belongs to my family!" David, "It's a gift to Miss Abbadon from Queen Rose. It belongs to no one but her.” Wayne glares and starts to say something, but an aide approaches, "Your majesties, the picture.”

In a room set up with a camera and lighting equipment, the monarchs all pose behind Queen Harriett, who sits in a chair. Rose, Gloria, and Mae are also with them. Rose awkwardly stands next to Hattie with her big poofy skirt. Rose grimaces and tries to move the layers of tulle out of the way, “If you don't mind, dear.” Hattie gives her a huge, beaming smile, “I would just love to speak with you later. Really, I’ve tried so hard to model myself on you- the beautiful queen and the woman behind a great man. I admire your sense of style so much.” Rose gives her a simpering smile, “Then let me give you some fashion advice: this dress is the kind that is best worn with a plastic tiara.” She turns and smiles at the camera. Hattie realizes she's been insulted, and looks at Wayne to defend her. He's preoccupied with his thoughts. Without saying anything, Hattie tries to force a smile as the photographer says, “Smile!” Posed along the elegant and refined queens, she looks tacky and out of place.

In the ballroom, guests mingle. Andrew and Chloe sit at a table with Zachary White. Zachary, “The sunburst tiara was a wedding gift to my great-grandmother, Queen Gladys. It was my grandmother's favorite. I have many fond memories of her wearing it. When Judd and Abbadon took power, they took everything from my family, even our most precious heirlooms. We were left with nothing.” Suddenly, Chloe's face lights up with recognition, “Oooooh! I know who you are! Your granddad was the dude who sent soldiers to central America so they could protect drug traffickers and sell all their cocaine in North America!” Zachary scowls, “King Allen, yes. He and my father were both brutally murdered by Judd and Abbadon when I was a child.” Andrew, "You have all my sympathy. King Silas drove my father from Gilboa.” Chloe, "Yeah, but Alek Amal was the one who murdered your dad, remember?" Andrew, “That was never confirmed.” Chloe, “But Amal said he did. He made that recording. I am Alek Amal and I ended William Cross’s pathetic and worthless life.” Andrew ignores her, "My cousin stole our family's company out from under me. I know very well what it's like to have everything taken from you." At the entrance of the ballroom, a herald announces, “Announcing her Royal Highness, Queen Mother Harriett Fairweather of Samaria.” The doors swing open, and King John escorts his mother into the ballroom. The guests all stand and applaud as Harriet waves. Behind them, the other monarchs all enter. David sees Andrew glaring at him. He says to Jack, “I’m gonna keep Andrew away from you tonight, don’t worry.” Jack, “Don’t punch him.” David grins, “But what if he deserves it?” They both laugh. An aide approaches them, “Your majesty, Queen Harriett has requested you for the first dance of the evening.” David, “What, seriously?” Behind the aide, Harriett smiles at him, “I’m ninety years old, and all I want is to dance with a handsome man!” David sputters, “I, um i-if my husband is all right with it.” He looks at Jack. Jack cackles, “Go for it, babe!” David, “Okay.” He goes over to Harriett, who holds her hand out. David takes it, and leads her to the dance floor. Harriet, “Do you know the foxtrot?” David, “Yes, I do, actually.” They get into position. The music begins, and they dance. From the sidelines, Wayne watches in disgust, “Good God, King Harold is in his grave, getting cucked!” David hears none of it. He smiles brilliantly and twirls Harriett around while cameras flash wildly. Harriett, “You are a wonderful dancer!” David, “As are you!” The music ends. David bows, and Harriett curtsies. Everyone applauds wildly. Harriett laughs, “Thank you, David, for giving an old woman exactly what she wants!” David, “You are most welcome!” He goes back to Jack, and greets him with an apologetic kiss. Other couples dance on the dance floor. Grace and Gus capture the attention of photographers, a ridiculously attractive couple. Harriett dances with John, and David dances with Jack. Quentin dances with Miranda, “Look Miranda, I um… I have something very important I need to tell you later this evening. I don’t want to cause a big scene, but I need to talk to you and my family later in one of the private rooms.” Miranda, eyes growing huge, “Really?” Quentin, “Yeah, just keep it quiet.” Miranda, “I thought this night would never come!” Wayne dances with Hattie, keeping a sharp eye on Mercy. Mercy sits at a table by herself, looking beautiful but alone. A handsome young man with a Samarian accent approaches her, “Pardon me, Miss Abbadon?” Mercy looks at the young man, “Yes?” Young man, “I’m Prince Luke of Samaria, and I’m a big admirer of the charitable work you do.” Mercy smiles graciously, “Oh, thank you very much.” Luke, “I was wondering, might I share this dance with you?” He holds his hand out. Mercy beams, “Yes, a dance would be wonderful.” Luke leads Mercy out to the dance floor, and they begin to dance. Wayne sees it, and fury flashes across his face, “That degenerate is trying to dance with Mercy!” Hattie, “Wayne, you are dancing with me! Forget about Mercy!” Off on the sidelines, Miranda gushes to Princess Carrie of Aram, “Oh my God, Carrie, I think Quentin is finally going to propose to me!” Carrie gasps, “Oh my god, congratulations!” She hugs Miranda tightly. Miranda struggles not to cry, “I was so jealous of you at your wedding, watching you become a princess!” she sniffs, “I’m finally gonna be a princess, too!” Luke twirls Mercy around, and Mercy laughs, having a great time. Wayne dances with Hattie, but he can’t stop looking over at Mercy. Mercy laughs at a joke Luke tells and puts her head on his shoulder. Wayne seethes. The evening goes on. Back at their table, David shoes Princesses Iris and Tabitha pictures of Daniel. Iris, “He is so cute!" Miranda comes up to them, “Oh, is that Prince Daniel?" David, proudly, “Yes.” Miranda, “Oh, I've always wanted to be a mommy. Quentin is going to make a very big announcement in one of the receiving rooms, I’d like for you all to be there!" David, “Oh, okay. I guess we'll go there, then."

Frankie leads Abby and Michelle down a hallway to the room where everyone is supposed to meet. Abby, "So how big of an announcement is this?" Frankie, “Huge. Life-changing.” Michelle, jokingly, "What, is he coming out?” Frankie doesn't reply. Abby and Michelle exchange nervous glances. Frankie opens the door of the receiving room, and then says, "Oh, shit." All of the royal families are packed into the room. Quentin nervously talks to Miranda, "I told you just to gather my family. I didn't want this to be a big deal.” Miranda, "But this is a big deal!" Lawrence, grumpily, "What big announcement are you trying to make, Quentin? Get it over with!” Where they're seated, Grace’s interpreter signs. Quentin glances over at Frankie, who nods and shuts the door. Franke says to Abby and Michelle, "You two should sit down." They go and take seats beside David and Jack. Quentin takes a deep breath, “Okay, first of all, I would like to say that I am pansexual.” Grace's interpreter repeats this, but in sign. Lawrence, “What is that?" Quentin, "It means I'm attracted to women, men, and all non-binary gender identities." Jack, "Good for you, man!” Lawrence looks directly at David, "What's the difference between bi and pansexual?” David, "I, um, they- they're basically the same, it's just, um-” Quentin, “Pansexual is sexual attraction based more on an emotional and spiritual connection regardless of gender." David, “Yeah, that.” Quentin, “Not only am I pansexual, I am in love with Frankie Hatch.” Frankie swells with pride and tears fill his eyes. Miranda, completely deflated, “What?" Quentin, “Miranda, I'm sorry, but I don't want to marry you, and everyone is just going to have to accept it!” Grace’s interpreter continues to sign. Grace’s jaw drops, and she looks from the interpreter to Quentin. Miranda’s chest begins to heave, "Oh my God…” Quentin, "I told you just to gather my family.” Miranda, “Oh my God! You were supposed to propose to me!” Quentin, "I said I'm sorry.” Princess Celeste (Quentin’s mother) gets up and goes to comfort her. Lawrence, “Did David have anything to do with this?!" David, fully panicking, “What? Me?! No! I wouldn’t-” Quentin, "I met Frankie ad David's coronation ball, but I fell in love with him on my own! I didn't want to do this like this, but you guys kept putting so much pressure on m to marry Miranda, I had to do it in a way I couldn’t go back on!” Miranda wails, "Oh my god, my life is over!" Quentin, “You dated a prince. That still counts for something.” Lawrence stands up, “That is enough! You are no longer the heir to the throne of Edom!” Quentin, “You know what? That’s fine! I really didn’t want to be king, anyway. You can disown me all you want, but all that's gonna do is make you look like a homophobic old douche while I'm the heroic prince who gave up the throne for true love." He goes over to Frankie, and takes his hand, “And I do love you, Frankie.” Frankie, “I love you, too!” They share a passionate and beautiful kiss. Frankie, breathlessly, "Let's get out of here, man.” Quentin glances nervously over at his family, and then Miranda, and back at Frankie. He nods, “Yeah, let's get out of here." He takes Frankie's hand, and they both leave. The remaining royals all sit there in awkward silence. Harriett finally says something, "Well. Before we go back to the party, does anyone else feel the need to come out?" Awkwardly, Princess Denise of Aram says, “I made out with a girl in college, once. It was pretty nice." Jack bursts out laughing, and David has to laugh as well. Miranda, sheepishly, "It's not funny!" Jack, “Trust me, you're better off!" Other start to laugh and get up. In their corner, Prince Luke says to Mercy, “Would you care to join me outside? I’m not going to declare my undying love, but I would like to speak with you.” Mercy smiles, "That sounds nice." Mercy quickly goes over to David, "I'm going to speak with Prince Luke outside. So if you're wondering where I went, that's where I am." David, “Sure thing.” Wayne watches Mercy leave with Luke. Hattie says to him, "I'm not done dancing, yet. Come dance with me some more.”

In a hallway, Mercy and Luke are stopped by Zachary White, “That tiara belongs to me!" Luke, "Now isn't the time, Zach!” Mercy snaps, "You know what? Fine!” She takes the tiara off of her head, “Take it! It can go with all the other jewels your family smuggled out of Ammon!" Zachary takes the tiara. Mercy, “You still have all your family's wealth, and property, and connections, and for years I had nothing! Literally nothing to remind me of my mother! I wasn't even allowed to tell people about my her, even when she was slandered and disgraced as the wife of a madman! Finally, Queen Rose gave me something that she wore, something that I remember her wearing, and looking beautiful in, and being happy in, but of course, it belongs to you, and it'll go into your jewel vault, where it will sit and never be worn again!" Zachary awkwardly turns around and walks away, still holding the tiara. Luke tries to go after him, but Mercy stops him, “No, forget about it. I don't need a tiara. Take me outside."

Behind the palace is a rich garden, flooded with moonlight. Mercy and Luke walks arm-in arm. Mercy, “It's so beautiful.” Luke, "The gardens were first installed in 1871 by my great-great grandmother, Queen Eudosia. After the defeat in the war with Edom, she felt that Samarians sorely needed something to be proud of again.” Mercy, “Then you must be really proud of all this.” Luke, “Oh, I am.” He sits down on a stone bench, "Please, come sit with me.” Mercy sits down beside him. Luke goes on, “You look absolutely beautiful tonight.” Mercy, "Thank you." Luke, “I must confess, when you first identified yourself in public, I was quite interested in you. I thought, there's someone whose story is similar to mine, who might understand me.” Mercy, “You’ll have to forgive me. For a long time, I kind of kept myself under a rock, as a survival mechanism of sorts. I- I know your parents died in a car crash, but I don't know the details of it.” Luke, “My father was the black sheep of the Fairweather family, and my mother was the beautiful hellcat he married at far too young of an age. My father was drunk and high, driving a sports care at over a hundred miles an hour, screaming and fighting with my mother. I was in the back seat. The car crashed. They were killed, I survived. I was eight years old.” Mercy reaches over and puts her hand on his. Luke, “For a long time, I dealt with my grief by living like they did. I honestly expected to be dead before I turned twenty-one.” Mercy, softly, "Yeah, I know what that’s like.” Luke, “The rest of my family had written me off as a tragedy waiting to happen, but my grandmother refused to give up. She sent me to therapy, and helped me find a purpose in life. I came to realize, I’m uniquely situated as a prince. I've experienced loss and trauma, yes, but a lot of people have. I can help them. I'm being sincere when I say that I greatly admire the work you do.” Mercy, “I can't undo what my father did. But I try to make what's left better. It makes me feel better.” Luke, "I think that you and I can do some truly outstanding things together." Mercy smiles, flattered.

Inside, Wayne sits at a table with Andrew. Andrew goes on, "You see, CrossGen has long supported Ammon. There's a reason my father turned to your father when he was in need.” Wayne, “I’ll be frank with you, Ammon has plenty of weapons experts. There’s nothing new you can offer me there.” Andrew’s expression sours. Wayne, “What you can offer me is information about the happenings in the royal palace. I want to know if David is doing anything illicit with Mercy Abbadon.” Andrew, “I don’t know.” Wayne, “Lord knows he’s fucked half the women in Gilboa, and most of the men, too.” Andrew, “Actually, you’ll be very disappointed to learn that David is faithful to his husband.” Wayne, “Then you’re completely useless to me.” His eyes sweep the room. He spots Zachary holding the sunburst tiara, and rises sharply to his feet. Andrew, “Is something the matter, Your Majesty?” Wayne marches over to Zachary, “Where the hell did you get that?!" Zachary, “Miss Abbadon gave it to me.” Wayne, "You will give it right back to her!" Zachary, “I will not.” Wayne turns around and goes over to his team of big, burly security guys. They all nod, and then look at Zachary. A look of dread washes over his face as they all come over to him, grab him by the shoulders and lead him away.

In an empty hallway, Wayne holds the sunburst tiara in his hands, looking down at it imperiously as his security guys beat the crap out of Zachary. Wayne, “Good work, fellas.”

Back outside, David approaches Mercy and Luke, “Hey, Jack and I are going to go back to the hotel. Abby and Michelle want to stay a little longer, but Jack's feeling pretty tired." Mercy, "I was enjoying my conversation with Luke here. Do you mind if I stay a bit longer?” David, “No, that's fine.” Wayne and his security guys approach them. He has the tiara in his hand, "Mercy!" Mercy utters, “Shit. What do you want, Wayne?” Wayne holds the tiara out, “I got your tiara back." Mercy shakes her head, "I don't want it." Wayne, "What?" Mercy, "I don't want it if you have to give it to me." Wayne, "Don't say no to me, Mercy!” Mercy, “Wayne-” Wayne, "I still love you!" Mercy, “Wayne, please!” Luke steps in between Mercy and Wayne, "Don't cause a scene." Wayne, “Don't you dare touch me, you low-life! I won’t let you defile her!” He turns to Mercy, "Do you know who he is? What he's done, the kind of man he is?!" Luke, "I was just speaking with Abbadon quite frankly about my past behavior. There's no excuse for it, but I've done my best to become a better man.” Wayne, "I have loved Mercy since I was a child!" He steps over to her, and holds the tiara out, “Mercy, I want to marry you." Mercy, "What? You're already married!” Wayne, "The kings of the bible had multiple wives, and I can, too!” David waves for his security guys, and they move to pull Wayne away. Wayne drops the tiara, and pulls away out of their grip, “Keep your goddamn hands off of me!” His security guys shove David's security guys. Wayne yells at Mercy, “I loved you when I was a boy, and I still love you with all the fire in my soul!" Mercy turns to Luke, “I'm sorry, but I’m going to go with David.” Luke, “That’s quite alright.” Wayne rushes over and punches Luke, “How dare you speak to her!” David puts his arms around Mercy’s shoulders and tries to lead her away. His security guys try to restrain Wayne, who keeps screaming, “I love you Mercy! I will marry you! Where are you going? I will go to war with Gilboa! I swear I will!” David hurries Mercy away. Wayne keeps screaming, “Mercy! Mercy! Mercy!” (Music: “Miss Jackson” by Panic! at the Disco “Out the back door, goddamn…”)

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magicalincorrectrobodokiquotes · 11 days ago

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"Pens and Needles" Clip

“No, no, all mine. I do dumb shit for food.” Guy reminded.

“…Well…it…still feels bad.” Alice admitted. “Are you going to be okay?”

“Probably.” Guy shrugged.

“Pfffft, ‘probably’?” Past!Nate scoffed.

“What, it feels like hell…” Guy admitted.

“Please don’t scare the kids, we just had a jinx with Alice and mini-me.” Future!Booloo admitted. “How’s the hospital food?”

“Haven’t really tried any yet…must’ve lost a lot of blood…”

“Yeah, you did…” Glitch shivered.

“I’mgladididntseeit-” Past!Booloo quickly spoke.

“Glad we agree.” Future!Booloo whispered. “Ave found the broken glass and that’s how the two of us found out.”

“Glad to see I don’t get scared in the future.” Past!Booloo sighed.

Beat.

“So…” Past!Nate got on his communicator. “Hey Roxie, we’re good, don’t worry. We’ll meet ya back at the studio in a while.”

“Yeah, I heard.” Past!Roxie sighed. “I’m NOT telling Guy this’ll happen. Or our Ave.”

“Yeah…” Past!Nate whispered.

“What’s this button do?” May looked at one.

“Oh, that’s how you get hospital food.” Skye explained.

(pic coming soon)

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aroacemisha · 4 years ago

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some weird dreams I had list:

(in order in which they occurred, some are from 2-3 months ago).

one where people, including me, liked some guy, then it turned out that apparently he's bad because he was whispering locations of drugs or something? I think I and someone else were escorting that guy somewhere, but he ran off. then I chased that guy (I think that was him), lost him, and then chased a random goat for some reason (I'll just assume the guy turned into the goat) and also lost it. but then saw it again, behind a grid fence, and it was covered in some weird black worm/caterpillar-like things. the dream was pretty vague. the color palette was cool though.

one where Bassie and JM kissed. yes that happened.

one where a fucking n@zi invasion happened. first two of them shot two of my (apparently) classmates?, but I don't remember seeing the bodies, after that I think I was involved in some fighting? and then I found out there's a whole army of n@zis. not sure if it was in Moscow or somewhere else. it seemed like it was winter in that dream. I also could fly/float for some reason.

one where some youtuber was getting called out/accused of something, and I decided to watch a video of that youtuber(I think?). and idk if the following stuff was the same dream or not, but I saw it in first person and I was in the FNaF 1 pizzeria talking to a dark blue Bonnie(?) and at one point we saw regular Bonnie passing by and I think we threw an insult at him for something. I was tall so I definitely wasn't myself. this is the second vaguest dream so far.

one where I was trying to get past some dudes, it seems like they were (likely American) politicians, and I think when I didn't move I looked like Michael Jackson to them so they didn't question me?? or I was invisible?? or both?? I had some form of disguise, but can't remember it exactly. also the neighbor from Hello Neighbor was there at the beginning. eventually I got past them and I was able to fly for some reason, and I went to a museum, where I was floating up to the top of the things to see them up close. not sure why.

one where someone was giving advice on how to write gay characters, and gay marriage was mentioned as well. I appreciate the effort, dream, but I know more than you. also this dream was on the same night as the previous one.

one where I was in the police station from Case: Animatronics?, and I was hiding while the animatronics (that looked similar to the C:A ones) passed by the door. I think they looked a bit different and then as the dream progressed they started looking more and more different. eventually I was noticed by the owl and then the cat(?), and I think I befriended them?? but kept hiding from the wolf?? I don't remember the second half of the dream that well.

one where I guess it was a new SU or SU: Future episode? but anyways uncle Andy was there and he was very out of character, super aggressive, and I think he was like an antagonist or something? and I was very upset with that. and then I woke up and remembered that uncle Andy didn't appear in Future at all.

one where I once again was flying, and I was going and flying around some castle? or something of that sort? I don't think anyone lived there. and I also think it was winter in that dream. I don't remember it that well.

one where I was taking a Russian language test/exam. I'm not sure why the hell I'm seeing something so boring in my dreams. I haven't had that many dreams lately, or at least I don't remember many of them.

one where I was back at school. 0/10, bad dream, would not recommend. did nothing but stress me out.

one where I was going somewhere with some people? they were my friends I guess? anyways the dream was wild. first we were just going somewhere at either evening or night, possibly trying to find a place to stay or something. then they messed with some wires, I was kinda involved, but pretended to not know what was going on when asked. and then for some reason there were guns? and shooting? but they also weren't shooting at people? and we got into a (presumably) stolen car and drove away? there was some other stuff but I don't remember it as well. also I think Japan was mentioned. were we in Japan? or somewhere close? I don't know.

one where, I don't remember most of it, but at one point we were talking about some random (famous/mildly famous?) people. I was shown some portraits/photos, and at one point we walked up to a picture of some guy, and the person talking about the pictures was like "son of two sisters- [pause]" and then said something like "father wouldn't approve" or "god wouldn't approve", but anyways it was kinda funny. but also I agree, it's gross.

one where I and someone else were running around at evening/night, looking for a building? I think it was like a school or college or something. I did a couple of badass things while running around, then finally came to the building I needed. I walked in, there was a bright corridor with white walls in front of me, but I went up the stairs on the right (I think??), and for some reason it was more of a small apartment there? and it looked kinda strange? but I loved my room and started putting wallpapers with flowers on them (roses I think) on the walls.

one where two random dudes were robbing me? and I think the only reason I decided to do something about it instead of just pretending to sleep is that I was afraid they'd take my drawing tablet. I think I caught/stopped them but I'm not sure. it felt like a comedy movie tbh.

one where I was hiding away from Springtrap, I think it was like FNaF 3 but cooler, also the building was weird, because I think it had bedrooms and stuff. at one point I think I hid in a closet for something, I kept moving between multiple closet doors very close to each other, and then there was a normal door? (maybe it was a transition between dreams?). I opened it and there was a woman, she saw me and was like "[gasp] Adam Sandler?" (I'm in tears). I think I said yes and started going back into the closets, but then the woman realized I wasn't Adam and started yelling something. I don't remember the rest that well, but there was some shooting and going around the house. and it may all have actually have been one dream, because I think I was thinking we should be more quiet (to hide from something?).

one where Wilbert and Alan were flirting. slightly suggestive.

one where, once again, I saw JM and Bassie, and Bassie said that they are both sexy (which, I mean, he's not wrong) and that, quote "we should try it". I'm not sure what that means but I hope it's not suggestive, or I better not see the continuation.

one where it was December 20th (idk what year) and I was shocked at how quickly time has passed, and how I remember preparing for the last New Year as if it was only a week or two ago.

one where a friend of mine who hasn't been on Tumblr for a while returned and I was talking to her again... now I'm sad...

one when I was playing/was in a weird version of Hello Neighbor. don't remember it exactly but it was pretty cool. I was jumping and flying around like wild.

#md thinks aloud #michael's weird dreams #long post

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writemarcus · 4 years ago

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NYPL Billy Rose Theatre Division Will Celebrate 90 Years with I'M STILL HERE Virtual Benefit

I'm Still Here will feature never before publicly shown archival content of Broadway productions from the Theatre on Film and Tape Archive,

by BWW News Desk

May. 27, 2021

I'm Still Here, a new virtual benefit for The New York Public Library for the Performing Arts' Billy Rose Theatre Division, will stream on Broadway On Demand on June 23.

The evening is a celebration of the division's 90th Anniversary, and the 50th Anniversary of its beloved Theatre on Film and Tape Archive and will honor Harold Prince and George C. Wolfe.

Tickets to the fundraiser will be donate-what-you-can, with a recommendation of at least $19.31 in honor of the year the division was founded. To purchase tickets, visit stillhereat90.com

I'm Still Here will feature never before publicly shown archival content of Broadway productions from the Theatre on Film and Tape Archive, shown exclusively for this occasion, including Savion Glover, Jimmy Tate, Choclattjared and Raymond King in Bring in 'da Noise, Bring in 'da Funk, Meryl Streep, Marcia Gay Harden and Larry Pine in The Seagull, Lin-Manuel Miranda, Robin de Jesús, Christopher Jackson, Karen Olivo, Andréa Burns, Janet Dacal, Eliseo Román, Seth Stewart in In The Heights, Glenn Close in Sunset Boulevard, and even more to be announced. The program will also feature interviews with Broadway legends and emerging creatives and reconceived performances of classic musical theatre songs, including "A Trip to the Library," "Wheels of a Dream," "Another Hundred People," "Love Will Find a Way," "I'm Still Here," and more.

I'm Still Here features artists and figures from the theatre community including Annaleigh Ashford (Sunday in the Park with George), Alexander Bello (Caroline, or Change), Laura Benanti (She Loves Me), Malik Bilbrew, Alexandra Billings (Wicked), Susan Birkenhead (Jelly's Last Jam), Shay Bland, Stephanie J. Block (The Cher Show), Alex Brightman (Beetlejuice), Matthew Broderick (Plaza Suite), Krystal Joy Brown (Hamilton), David Burtka ("A Series of Unfortunate Events"), Sammi Cannold (Endlings), Ayodele Casel (Chasing Magic), Victoria Clark (The Light in the Piazza), Max Clayton (Moulin Rouge!), Calvin L. Cooper (Mrs. Doubtfire), DeMarius Copes (Mean Girls), Trip Cullman (Choir Boy), Taeler Elyse Cyrus (Hello, Dolly!), Quentin Earl Darrington (Once on This Island), Robin de Jesús (In the Heights), André De Shields (Hadestown), Frank DiLella (NY1), Derek Ege, Amina Faye, Harvey Fierstein (La Cage aux Folles), Leslie Donna Flesner (Tootsie), Chelsea P. Freeman, Joel Grey (Cabaret), Ryan J. Haddad ("The Politician"), Sheldon Harnick (Fiddler on the Roof), James Harkness (Ain't Too Proud), Marcy Harriell (Company), Neil Patrick Harris (Hedwig and the Angry Inch), Mark Harris ("Mike Nichols: A Life"), David Henry Hwang (M. Butterfly), Cassondra James (Once on This Island), Marcus Paul James (Rent), Taylor Iman Jones (Hamilton), Maya Kazzaz, Tom Kirdahy (The Inheritance), Hilary Knight, Michael John LaChiusa (The Wild Party), Norman Lear (Good Times), Baayork Lee (A Chorus Line), Sondra Lee (Hello, Dolly!), Telly Leung (Aladdin), Ashley Loren (Moulin Rouge!), Allen René Louis ("Jimmy Kimmel Live!"), Brittney Mack (Six), Taylor Mac (Gary: A Sequel to Titus Andronicus), Morgan Marcell, Aaron Marcellus ("American Idol"), Joan Marcus, Michael Mayer (Spring Awakening), Sarah Meahl, Joanna Merlin (Fiddler on the Roof), Ruthie Ann Miles (Sunday in the Park with George), Bonnie Milligan (Head Over Heels), Rita Moreno (West Side Story), Leilani Patao (Garden Girl), Nova Payton (Dreamgirls), Joel Perez (Kiss My Aztec), Bernadette Peters (Into the Woods), Tonya Pinkins (Jelly's Last Jam), Jacoby Pruitt, Sam Quinn, Phylicia Rashad (A Raisin in the Sun), Jelani Remy (Ain't Too Proud), Leslie Rodriguez Kritzer (Beetlejuice), George Salazar (Be More Chill), Marilyn Saunders (Company), Marcus Scott (Fidelio), Rashidra Scott (Company), Rona Siddiqui (Tales of a Halfghan), Ahmad Simmons, Rebecca Taichman (Indecent), Jeanine Tesori (Fun Home), Bobby Conte Thornton (Company), Sergio Trujillo (On Your Feet), Kei Tsuruharatani (Jagged Little Pill), Ben Vereen (Pippin), Jack Viertel, Christopher Vo, Paula Vogel (Indecent), Nik Walker (Ain't Too Proud), Shannon Fiona Weir, Helen Marla White (Ain't Misbehavin'), NaTasha Yvette Williams ("Orange is the New Black") and Ricardo Zayas (Hamilton).

"From the Great Depression of the 1930s to the COVID crisis, the Billy Rose Theatre Division perseveres and preserves the greatest treasures of theatrical history," said Doug Reside, the Lewis and Dorothy Cullman Curator of the Billy Rose Theatre Division. "As I look back on the last 90 years of our history, I'm struck by how our division has managed to document almost every aspect of the creative process and the people who bring theatre to life. I am so grateful for the opportunity to celebrate our first 90 years in such spectacular fashion, and to the theatre community for its support. As we plan for the next 90 years and beyond, my hope is that the collection continues to grow and flourish and reflect the diversity of voices that have shaped the theatre as we know it and are shaping its future."

"The Billy Rose Theatre Division has served as the collective memory for our community by capturing the ephemeral nature of our unique art form. Until we can all experience the joy of live theater again, we are thrilled to look back into the archives to highlight theatrical masterpieces from their vast collection," said producers Julie Boardman and Nolan Doran. "Our hope is to raise funds to ensure the archives remain accessible to future theatre makers for generations to come."

The virtual benefit is produced and conceived by co-founder of the upcoming Museum of Broadway and four-time Tony nominee Julie Boardman (Company) and Co-Executive Producer of Broadway For Biden Nolan Doran (Head Over Heels), featuring direction by Steve Broadnax (Thoughts Of A Colored Man), Sammi Cannold (Endlings), Nick Corley (Plaza Suite), Grammy Award Winner Ty Defoe (Straight White Men), Drama Desk winner Lorin Latarro (Waitress), Mia Walker (Jagged Little Pill) and Tony Award winner Jason Michael Webb (Choir Boy), choreography by Ayodele Casel (Chasing Magic), Lorin Latarro and Ray Mercer (The Lion King), with new music arranged by ASCAP Award winner Rachel Dean (Medusa) and Annastasia Victory (A Wonderful World), with arrangements and orchestrations by Brian Usifer (Frozen). Casting is by Peter Van Dam at Tara Rubin Casting.

#Marcus Scott #MarcusScott #Lincoln Center #Theatre on Film and Tape Archive #NYPL #new york public library #George C Woolfe #Harold Prince

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liliannorman · 5 years ago

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Today’s nico-teen addicts: What role does ‘juuling’ play?

Parents may not recognize on sight a JUUL or similar pod-type electronic cigarette, but many of today’s tweens and teens will. These have quickly become the leading vapes of choice for the legions of U.S. e-cig users 18 and under. Vaping isn’t a healthy choice for anyone. And, new data show, these pod-type e-cigs might just be the worst choice of all for kids who have decided to experiment with tobacco products.

U.S. minors cannot legally buy vapes. And that’s one reason the majority of them find these pod-like devices so appealing, says Bonnie Halpern-Felsher. She’s a developmental psychologist at Stanford University in California. These pod vapes have a deceptively large amount of nicotine, she notes.

That nicotine can harm the developing brain, adds Suchitra Krishnan-Sarin. Whether kids know it or not, their brains will undergo a lot of developmental changes between the ages of 10 and 25. Krishnan-Sarin works at the Yale University School of Medicine, in New Haven, Conn. There, she studies how nicotine affects smokers and vapers.

Explainer: The nico-teen brain

Most nicotine research has taken place in rodents. “In adolescent animals,” she notes, “nicotine is a neurotoxin.” It keeps the brain from maturing normally during adolescence. This can harm the ability to learn, to make memories and to maintain attention, she explains. It can even lead to hyperactivity.

Krishnan-Sarin spoke at a news briefing for reporters earlier this year. Adolescent animals, she noted, “are very sensitive to even low levels of nicotine.” And that, she explained, “means they get addicted very easily.” The same, she added, is likely true for human teens.

Yet some kids aren’t aware that pod-like e-cigs contain any nicotine. That was one finding of a new survey. At an October workshop at the National Institutes of Health in Bethesda, Md., Halpern-Felsher and her Stanford colleague Karma McKelvey shared data from their survey of 445 teens and young adults. Each had been asked whether they knew about — or used — pod-like e-cigarettes. The researchers focused on such devices, they said, because JUUL now accounts for between 70 and 85 percent of e-cigarettes vaped in the United States.

Nearly one-quarter of the students said they had vaped. Of those, more than half said they had used JUUL or other pod-like e-cigs. These devices all are really small. And they don’t look like earlier types of e-cigs. Those had resembled mechanical cigarettes or were clunky. JUUL’s sleek pods look a bit like thumb drives. What’s more, they release a relatively small cloud of the vapors from which vaping takes its name.

But these devices hold more nicotine than most earlier e-cigarettes, says Halpern-Felsher. Each JUUL pod, for instance, contains 41.3 milligrams. That’s as much nicotine, she notes, as someone can get smoking 26 to 40 conventional cigarettes (depending on how they are puffed).

Moreover, the salt-based form of nicotine in the pods feels less harsh than the nicotine in true cigarettes and earlier e-cigs. So the pods’ nicotine is less likely to turn off a new user, Halpern-Felsher says. And that may encourage kids to overdo it as they experiment.

Bonnie Halpern-Felsher’s team at Stanford developed this visual illustration of the high quantity of nicotine in several types of pod-based e-cigs — shown in terms of their cigarette equivalence.Tobacco Prevention Toolkit, Stanford Univ.

Some kids are already paying a high price for their covert vaping. Data released Dec. 18 by a federally funded study — Monitoring the Future — finds that 8.1 percent of U.S. 12th graders say they are hooked on vaping. That’s more than twice the 2018 number. What’s more, Halpern-Felsher has found, most teens “don’t recognize how addicted they are.” Some nicotine addicts she surveyed didn’t realize they were hooked at all.

Yet newly emerging data suggest the nicotine delivery by pod-like e-cigs likely makes them at least as addictive as cigarettes.

‘Juuling’ has become a teen thing

Those pods have become so big that they now define much of teen vaping, note Halpern-Felsher and others. Ask kids if they vape and some may say no. To them, she explains, they’re doing something cooler: “juuling.”

Liam Dell, 17, agrees. He’s seen it throughout his Buffalo, N.Y., community. When scientists at the Roswell Park Comprehensive Cancer Center asked this City Honors School student what his classmates were using, “I said JUUL,” Liam recalls. “You can’t get around it as a high-schooler. You see kids using it as they walk down the street. You see it at friends’ houses. You even see it at school. It’s absolutely everywhere.” Kids describe their use of these devices as juuling, he says.

Even some adults may not view JUUL use as conventional vaping, notes Taylor Reed. She’s a research associate who conducts vaping studies in and around New York City. One of her roles, at New York University Medical School, is setting up in-home visits. “Typically,” she says, “on the phone, I’ll ask an adult if anyone [in their home] uses tobacco or nicotine products. And some will say, ‘No, I juul.” They don’t see a pod as a tobacco product.

First-generation vapes (shown left to middle) tend to loosely resemble the cigarettes they had been designed to replace. Later mod-type e-cigs had a bigger well into which people could put custom-selected e-liquids. These vapes also allowed users to boost their temperature for a bigger nicotine hit. Later came the pod-type devices. Though smaller, their innovative use of nicotine salts delivers nicotine more efficiently into the bloodstream, new data show.Tobacco Prevention Toolkit, Stanford Univ.

But the U.S. Food and Drug Administration does. It describes e-cigs as ENDS — short for electronic nicotine delivery systems. Because tobacco is the source of that nicotine, FDA has ruled vapes as tobacco products. Indeed, e-cigs were developed as a way for smokers to wean themselves off cigarettes. Because smokers are addicted to nicotine, e-cigs would help smokers only if they could supply that nicotine.

Yet many teens who never smoked don’t know that, Halpern-Felsher has found.

But Liam does. In fact, he did a study of JUUL’s nicotine as part of his sophomore science fair project. We caught up with him in Pittsburgh, Penn., where his work was being judged as part of the Intel International Science and Engineering Fair. (That fair is a program of Society for Science & the Public, which publishes this magazine.)

Small device, big hits

For his chemistry analyses, Liam used instruments at that nearby Roswell Park cancer center. He confirmed that JUUL vapors carry more nicotine than standard e-cig vapors. His data also show they dispense what he describes as “a more addictive form” of nicotine. Known as non-ionized (Non-EYE-oh-nyzed) salts, it “is able to bond more easily to your lungs and to your brain,” he says. “So you could say it sticks more.”

These boxes of colorful Juul-like pod e-cig systems appeal to teens and young adults. But if users don’t see the packaging, they might not realize that these devices dispense high concentrations of tobacco’s nicotine, an addictive drug.E. Karey

The manufacturer “doesn’t seem to hide the fact that JUUL dispenses high levels of nicotine,” Liam says. It’s on the label. However, the label does not mention what chemical form this nicotine takes. Liam found that “99.4 percent of the nicotine salts were in the non-ionized form. That’s just ridiculously high.” For comparison, he says, “nicotine in e-cigarettes is typically around 80 percent un-ionized.”

He didn’t measure how much of that nicotine ends up in the body. That’s what Jessica Yingst and Jonathan Foulds have just done. These public health scientists work at Penn State Cancer Institute in Hershey. They headed a team that measured blood levels of nicotine before, during and after someone had smoked a cigarette or had taken 30 puffs from an e-cig over a 10-minute period. All the vapers were former smokers.

The vapers used their own devices. In the first of these studies, those recruits used early models of e-cigs. A few of the vapers used so-called cig-alikes (which look somewhat like cigarettes). The rest used advanced “mods.” These allowed users to choose the flavor of liquid they vaped.

Blood levels of nicotine rose as someone vaped. But that average rise (8.2 nanograms per milliliter, or ng/ml) was far lower than in the 10 smokers who each puffed normally on a single cigarette (about 21 ng/ml).

That was “a bit of a surprise,” says Foulds. After all, some of these pre-JUUL devices had vaporized liquids that contained a lot of nicotine. The only explanation, he says, was that these e-cigs “just didn’t deliver nicotine efficiently.”

His team published its findings July 25 in PLOS One.

These data, Foulds realized, might explain why many smokers who had tried vaping went back to cigarettes. Perhaps they just didn’t get a big enough hit of nicotine to sate their cravings.

To test this, his team ran the same trial in six JUUL users. And as soon as the blood data came back, Foulds says, “We went, whoa! That’s a lot of nicotine.” The rise averaged some 28.6 ng/ml.

The Penn State team reported these findings November 15 in JAMA Network Open.

Addiction becomes a real threat

That was a small survey, Yingst admits. Still, she notes, “the nicotine delivery in all six people was pretty similar.” That suggests, she says, they were getting far more nicotine than do users of earlier types of e-cigs. In fact, these new data show, “JUUL delivers nicotine very similarly to a cigarette.”

The company that makes these pods knows that, Foulds adds. His team’s new data are “comparable to what [JUUL Inc.] found in its unpublished data,” he says. The company referred to those data in its patent, he found. He notes that, “[The company] also presented it in a poster at a conference we were at.”

So if these devices deliver as much nicotine as a cigarette, Yingst says, they “would have a similar potential to cause addiction.” In fact, Yingst and Foulds also have just measured the extent to which the JUUL users experience symptoms of addiction. Penn State has a special survey to measure that in users of tobacco products.

Its researchers surveyed cigarette smokers on this 20-point scale. Higher numbers indicate higher levels of addiction. On average, smokers scored a 14, Foulds says. Among users of the pre-JUUL types of e-cigs, the average addiction rating was 8. But among people who vaped JUULs, he notes, the average was 14. These preliminary data now seem to “confirm what many people had suspected,” he says — “that this product is as addictive as a cigarette.”

That should prove as true for teens as for the adults in these studies, Halpern-Felsher says. Yet kids don’t know that, her team finds.

Her group used a different survey to measure addiction. On its 10-point scale, “even scoring a 1 signifies addiction,” she says. And most teen vapers that her team surveyed averaged a 2.5 to 3 on this scale. People who are addicted have a very hard time quitting. Yet these kids don’t realize how dependent they have become on the nicotine they vape.

“They don’t know they’re addicted,” Halpern-Felsher says. “But we do.” She’s published data on this. The young vapers were asked such questions as how quickly did they feel a need to vape after waking? Or did they need to vape even after being told not to use e-cigarettes? “The point is,” she says, “most of today’s youth don’t truly know what addiction means.”

In one October 2018 study, her team assessed how teens and young adults view pod-type e-cigarettes. Ironically, those young people rated the pods “as posing less harm or addictive potential [than other vapes].” At the same time, these so-called juulers showed more nicotine dependence than users of other types of e-cigs.

“It’s just the perfect bad storm,” concludes Halpern-Felsher of juuling.

New trends prompting action

Just eight years ago, teen vaping was virtually unheard-of, note analysts at the Universities of Michigan and Minnesota. They work for that long-running Monitoring the Future program, which has been tracking teen substance abuse for 45 years. Last January 10, they wrote a letter that appeared in the New England Journal of Medicine. In it, they noted that the current growth in vaping seen in high school teens is the greatest jump in nicotine exposures that their program has witnessed in 44 years. Today, more than one in four U.S. high school seniors has at least tried vaping in the past month. The survey’s just-released 2019 data show that more than one in 1 in 10 of these kids now vape daily. Nearly the same share of 8th graders now report they’ve vaped in the past month.

Some states, New York included, have raised to 21 the age at which people can buy vape products. But that hasn’t slowed the rise in teen vaping. Doctors and others are aggressively looking to reverse this trend.

Patrice A. Harris is one of them. This physician is president of the American Medical Association. On November 19, she issued a statement saying, “It’s simple — we must keep nicotine products out of the hands of young people.” That, she explained, is “why we [the AMA] are calling for an immediate ban on all e-cigarette and vaping products.”

On the same day, Letitia James filed a lawsuit against JUUL Labs, Inc. As the attorney general of New York, she has a lot of clout. Her state’s lawsuit charges that “JUUL’s aggressive advertising of its multi-flavored products has contributed to a public health crisis.” Indeed, it argues, this crisis “has left countless New Yorkers — many of them teenagers — addicted to its products and fighting for their health.”

youtube

“How Juul made nicotine go viral” is a historical review of the way the sleek, discrete design of this e-cig brand helped it overtake the e-cig market, especially among teens and young adults.

California’s attorney general also sued JUUL. His office and the city of Los Angeles also argued that this company and other pod-makers have targeted kids. “JUUL and other nicotine product makers must be held accountable” for not preventing sales to underage users, says Los Angeles District Attorney Jackie Lacey.

“There can be no doubt that JUUL’s aggressive advertising has significantly contributed to the public health crisis that has left youth . . . across the country addicted to its products,” noted James. The company’s advertising has been “glamorizing vaping, while at the same time downplaying the nicotine found in vaping products,” she added. “I am prepared to use every legal tool in our arsenal to protect the health and safety of our youth.”

Halpern-Felsher’s team has its own Tobacco Prevention Toolkit aimed at doing this. Its materials can be downloaded free from the Stanford School of Medicine’s website. They describe a wide range of non-cigarette products that can hook kids on nicotine. They also explain how the toolkit can be used to better inform today’s tweens and teens on those risks — hopefully, before they get hooked.

Today’s nico-teen addicts: What role does ‘juuling’ play? published first on https://triviaqaweb.tumblr.com/

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