#the fact that julia was the one interviewing all of them

[gwendolynnderolo]

oh my god the last episode of daisy jones and the six BROKE ME

[factcheckingmclennon]

banana milkshakes in paris: fact or fiction?

"John and I went to Paris on birthday money he received from a relative. He must have been fond of me to spend that money. He let me have all the banana milkshakes I wanted." -Paul McCartney

this quote goes around a lot. so...

did paul mccartney say john "let (him) have all the banana milkshakes (he) wanted?"

rating....

no, this quote is completely fake. however, there IS a real quote about the banana milkshakes. let's get into it!

first let's get into the fake part.

the oldest source of this quote online seems to be this deviantart post from 2011. it's full of other pretty bizarre quotes, including john saying him and paul had sex, and after that it's only turned up on tumblr/other forums. (disclaimer: as it's over 10 years old, i'm linking directly. if you are this user and you want me to take down this link, let me know please! and if you know this user, don't harrass them. it also has a collection of some other quotes that get passed around. i haven't deep dived into any of them, though i do know the quote about sex and love from john IS real as there's video of it, but take a gander and take the rest of these w a huge grain of salt if you see them around as well.)

so the quote itself???

but as for the real quote, it's actually still pretty similar so idk why anyone would make this up honestly. possibly just this user misremembering this quote & paraphrasing without saying they were paraphrasing? anyway.

from a 1987 interview with julia baird (john's sister):

PAUL: We went to Paris �� we were supposed to be in Spain, but we couldn’t get past Paris, we enjoyed that so much – on the strength of his hundred quid [given to him] when he was twenty-one. We went hitchhiking. We kind of said, “Well, look, I mean, we can get to Spain on this,” you know, a hundred quid, and he was kind of um… I mean, I don’t think he was funding me as much as he was spending. JULIA: Yeah, yeah. PAUL: And I’d be there for the banana milkshake. [Julia and Paul laugh] You know, I’d just happen to be there while he was spending. I think I kind of paid my own way. But we hitched, we hitched out. And we used – we realised that in – hitching, in those days, was much safer, obviously, than it is to hitchhike now – and we realised that we had to have a bit of a gimmick. So we both had these leather jackets and we had bowlers, we got bowler hats. We thought that’ll take the edge of the kind of hoodie look, you know, that sort of ruffian look, in these bowlers. And you kind of go, “Hey!” and people would stop, you know, because this is just a couple of daft guys in bowler hats, they don’t look like a threat.

(source) (sidenote, yes that source is my blog, but since it's audio, that's something i'm willing to buy from blogs. same with video. there's really nothing too mclennon-y about this audio, so there'd be no reason to go through all that trouble faking it. i just saved it on archive.org for when i inevitably change my url on my main.)

so, did john buy paul banana milkshakes in paris?

(also, quick shoutout to @beatlesbabytrapping for correcting me on this one back on my main! i originally thought it was completely fake but penny came in clutch w this audio)

[faun-the-fawn77]

hello lovely!! i was scrolling through x reader (as girlhood demands in the middle of the night) and i was hoping i could do smth about your empty hp!masterlist!! leaving everything up to you but i would love love love a soft!tom riddle fic with slytherin f/gn!reader (whichever you're comfortable with!!) maybe in 2nd ppov but that's personal preference 😭😭 thank you!! have a lovely day 💐💌

"𝓕𝓞𝓡 𝓨𝓞𝓤"

Soft!Tom Riddle x F!Slytherin!Reader

Genre: SO MUCH FLUFF!!!!

Word Count: 765

Warnings: tooth-rotting fluff, Tom being OOC but that's okay.

Desc: Despite being strict towards other house students for breaking curfew, Tom just can't seem to apply the same rules to his girlfriend when she wants to sit and watch the stars by the Black Lake. A comfortable silence soon broken by the soft voice of his Slytherin Princess with questions about the future.

Notes: AHHH MY FIRST REQ/FIC OUTSIDE OF HELLAVERSE STUFF!!! Now, please don't come after me if make Tom OOC. I'm going to try my damndest to make him...him? And if you don't know, most of my fic titles are based off a song that either inspired this or was something that fit the vibe. I was listening to "For You" by Angus and Julia Stone and it just spoke to me. I love this song and if you happen to know what show it's from then please be my friend:( I need some to talk to about it.

Note 2: So....I got this request forever ago and I just now got around to completing it(work is kicking my ass) and I thought: Why not work on some things while sick? So here we are! I wanted to finish this req cause I have been feeling SOOOOO guilty for not completing upon receiving but I have done it! I guess my req's will take time to come out since I work 5-6 days a week:( But I get them done!

Waiting for Tom to come back from Head Boy duties was like watching paint dry. He was always meticulous about the things he did.

You sat by the vibrant green fire of the fireplace in the Slytherin common room with an abandoned book next to you. Your (E/C) eyes lit by the fire, were staring out into space as you thought about what to say to convince Tom to sneak you to the Black Lake.

Despite the fact that it was lightly raining outside, you had wanted to go outside. Certain thoughts about the future have been racing through your mind for the last few months. You and Tom were in your last year of school before being thrust into the lives of adults. Job interviews will take up your time along with apartment/house hunting. Did you want to go back to America? Do you want to travel first? So many questions and all of them you had to discuss with your stoic and unmovable boyfriend.

The entrance to the Slytherin chamber scraped open and a quiet set of footsteps walked up to you. Tom was usually (Or unusually) as quiet as a mouse when moving about the castle but when he knew you were awake then he'd be a bit more loud to notify you of his presence which you greatly appreciated.

"Is it raining cats and dogs or is it light enough to sit out by the lake?" Tom turned to you with curiosity swirling in his dark eyes.

"Sprinkling. Why on Earth would you want to sit out in the rain anyway?" You turned your body to face him and grabbed one of his cold hands.

"I have a few things to ask you but I am sure that we have a few pests lingering about this late in the evening." Tom turned to look but you raised a hand to his cheek to guide his eyes back to you.

"We'll talk about that later but for now, show me the way, Head boy," you cheekily smiled and stood up brushing the little dust that clung to your skirt. Tom stood as well and led you out the chamber and down the halls that he knew had less activity.

"Reminds me of home, you know?" You murmured while looking up at the moon with the light rain sprinkling down on your head. Tom knew where you used to live and that being transferred to Hogwarts took its toll on you considering you came in halfway through 4th year. You always talk about Alaska and how beautiful it was. You wanted to travel with Tom through your state starting with your home town and going from there.

"Are you leaving when we graduate?" The look Tom had given you after asking broke your heart. You knew his financial situation, how hard it is to get through with just a pocketful of change to last the school year.

"I want to go home, but I'll only go if you come with," Tom opened his mouth to protest when you clasped a hand over it, "And I will pay. I want to show you where I grew up. And we'll give you more happy memories so you can work on conjuring up that corporeal patronus!"

Tom gently removed your hand from his mouth. His face was blank but you could see the different emotions flickering in his eyes. You pulled him into a hug, resting your chin on his shoulder and whispered into his ear, "You will always hold a special place in my heart, Tom. If you wish to stay here and pursue a job at the castle, then I won't stop you. You are welcome to join me for the year I go and travel Alaska so when I come back here I'll remember my home forever."

Tom squeezed your waist a bit tighter, like he didn't want to let you go or like he was going to lose you. You knew he was dabbling in dark magic. You have tried everything to get him to stop without him knowing the you knew. Maybe travelling for a bit will help? Or if you guide him in the right directions that he'll completely abandon it altogether.

What you didn't expect was Tom to agree to come with you.

"You're the brightest star in my universe. I love you with all of my heart and I will love you till death do us part. My star..."

What you didn't know was that Tom was born under the Amortentia potion and while those who are cannot feel love, this was the closest Tom has felt to that feeling and he will never let it slip from his grasp.

If you wish to request more then don't hesitate to fill up my inbox!

Here is the link to my Ultimate Masterlist so you can see what I write for. Depending on what you feel like seeing from me then got to the specific masterlist there and pick a character on there! If you don't wanna go through all that then just head to my pinned post:)

[canirove]

My neighbour Rúben | Chapter 4

Author's note: On this chapter there are some things that give away that this story was written a long time ago, like the fact that it says that he is City's captain... Or that he dresses well 😅 P.S. I'm joking, please no one get mad at me 😭

Previous chapter | Next chapter

Masterlist

"Did you sleep well, darling? You look tired" grandma asked me the morning after the game.

"It probably was all the excitement from yesterday. She was still buzzing like young people say" grandad laughed.

"I think it was a mix of not being on my own bed and getting out of my comfort zone. I'm not used to it." 

Which was a lie. Mostly. I did miss my own bed, the one at my grandparents' house had the worst pillow ever. But if I looked dead and tired, it was because I had stayed up until 2 am reading about Rúben, watching his videos and looking at his photos.

Some would call it stalking. I call it doing research.

I read about his career, watched proper interviews and other videos where he was being silly, finding myself smiling like the idiot I am. I even watched some in Portuguese, the fact that I speak Spanish being very helpful to understand what he was saying. Or at least half of it.

I spent an hour just on his Instagram account, looking at everything he had posted, and especially the posts where he was topless. Like... He couldn't be real. He couldn't have a body like that, it had to be Photoshop. And it wasn't just the abs and the biceps. It also was his back. His legs. Everything. And judging by the photos where he was wearing clothes and the couple of times I had met him, he also knew how to dress and make the most out of that perfect body of his, which was unfair for the rest of the human population, both male and female.

I also spent a lot of time reading fanfic about him. There are so many talented people out there! And horny, which made me feel less alone. Because my dreams... Well. They were similar to the ones I had been having since meeting him for the first time, but now I knew what was under his clothes, and they weren't happening just on the lift or Lucy's house. Now that I knew that he was a freaking professional football player, there were so many new scenarios to explore... And I explored a few last night, like the changing room at the Emirates.

"Darling, are you sure you are alright? Should I take you to the doctor?" grandad said, bringing me back to reality. 

"To the doctor? Why?" 

"You look... I don't know. Off. And look at your cheeks."

"My cheeks?" I said, touching them. They were feeling very warm.

"Let me take your temperature" grandma said. "I don't want you traveling alone back to Manchester with a fever."

Oh, if only she knew. 

I wasn't traveling back to Manchester with a fever. I was actually traveling back to Manchester to meet the cause of my fever. And just the thought of it was making my stomach do funny things, not sure if good or bad ones. 

━━━━━━❃━━━━━━

"Oh, c'mon!" I said when the shopping bag slipped from my hand as I reached to call for the lift, all its contents slipping on the floor.

"Let me help you with that" a male voice said behind me. No. Not just a male voice. The male voice. Rúben. 

"You don't need to, I can manage."

"And I want to help" he said, already picking some things from the floor. "Doesn't Lucy have someone to do the shopping for her?"

"Yes, but that's the weekly shopping. This is different."

"I can tell. I don't see Lucy letting Julia eat so much chocolate and sweets" he chuckled.

"Tonight we are having a movie night, that's why I bought all this. I'm not planning on feeding her just sugar for the whole weekend, I'm not crazy."

"Good to know" Rúben smiled. "What movie are you watching?" he asked while calling for the lift, the shopping bag on his hand.

"Not sure yet. Something from Disney I guess."

"What's your favourite Disney movie?"

"What?" 

"Mine is "Aladdin". Love the songs" he said, walking into the lift once the doors had opened. 

"I'm not sure about mine" I said, following him. "As a child I loved watching the "Swan Princess", but that isn't Disney."

"I think I've never heard of it before. Is it cartoons?"

"Yep. It is about a princess who is under a spell that turns her into a swan during the day, and at night she goes back into her human self but only if she is on a certain lake and when the moon is shining."

"Do they sing?"

"Oh, yes, they do. They have great songs."

"I'll have to check it out."

"What?" I laughed.

"Don't tell anyone, but I love watching kids' movies." 

"Worried your teammates may bully you?" I chuckled as the lift's doors opened at our floor.

"Nah, they already know. By the way, the Emirates was the last place where I expected to see you" Rúben said, walking towards my door.

"Same."

"Lucy hadn't told you?"

"We've never talked about you." Which is true. But mainly because I knew my face would give away that I am very attracted to Rúben. Like, a lot.

"Now that you know... What do you think about it?"

"I don't know" I said, opening the apartment’s door. "It's just a job. A special one, but a job."

"Your opinion about me hasn't changed then?" he asked, following me inside and into the kitchen.

"Why would I change my mind?"

"You know what they say about football players. Just a bunch of idiots that kick a ball, who earn way too much money, who just party and cheat on their wives... Those things."

"I don't know enough about you to judge."

"Then we must do something about that" he said, leaving the shopping bag on the table. "Do you think Julia would mind if I joined you on your movie night?"

"I'm sorry, you want what?"

"It'll be a way to get to know each other a bit better. And I don't have plans tonight, so watching a Disney movie in good company sounds great."

I don't know what happened after that, what I said or did. Probably that yes, that he could come, because I remembered his smile and a "see you tonight." But my brain was stuck on his previous two last sentences.

For some reason, he wanted to get to know me better. Me. And I apparently was good company? He could have said it just about Julia, he clearly adored her. But he wasn't talking about her. We weren't talking about her. So... It was about me, right? I was good company. Did that mean that he was flirting with me? Rúben Dias, Manchester City captain and international player with Portugal, was flirting with me? The piano teacher turned into nanny?

It had been years since a guy had tried to flirt with me, I was very rusty. So maybe he was just being nice and I understood everything wrong. Or maybe not.

Whatever it was, I would be finding out in just a few hours... 

[ingravinoveritas]

A post containing discussion about The Thing in Good Omens season 2 (more related to Michael/David than Aziraphale/Crowley). Spoilers herein, so read at your own discretion:

Okay.

So.

It’s been a week, and I am home, and I have finally let last week’s insane news sink in to my brain, and all I can say is...

HOLY SHIT, MICHAEL AND DAVID HAVE KISSED.

We can now say--with absolutely 100% perfect certainty--that Michael Sheen and David Tennant have definitely fucking kissed (at least) once that we know of. And that’s not even counting however many takes it took to film the kiss...which, knowing Michael, was probably quite a few.

What gets me, however, is that I feel like at least some of us just knew. From the moment--the second, even--that those pictures were posted of Michael looking so unbelievably smug on that one day of filming (Valentine’s Day, of all bloody days), we knew. Because what other reason on this Earth, in Heaven, or any one of the nine circles of Hell would Michael have to look that smug and naughty unless he’d just gotten to finally--FINALLY--kiss David on camera.

There is just so much I’m dying to know. Whose idea was it? Michael’s? Or Neil, spurred on by Michael absolutely refusing to not kiss David on screen? I keep thinking of the movie The Wedding Singer, when Robbie and Julia kiss to “practice” a kiss for Julia’s wedding, and it ends up being a real kiss and revealing so much more about the characters’ feelings for each other. We saw so much on camera last season, saw Michael’s feelings for David spilling out all over the place in every glance, every gesture. I can only imagine what we will see now, especially with Michael and David being even closer than they were four years ago.

More than anything, I am just so happy for the two of them (especially Michael). I do fully believe that Michael wanted the kiss not only so he could kiss David, but because it is the right thing for the characters. And with David putting so much more of himself into Crowley this season (as we saw in the trailer), I feel as though we are going to see another side of him that we haven’t previously--both on and off screen.

I know there is still so much we don’t know about the kiss--context, plot details--but the fact that it actually happened is more than I ever expected, and almost more than my little shipper heart can handle. Truly hoping that we will get some interviews with Michael and David in July, because if the flirting between them was outrageous four years ago, it is going to be fucking nuclear now. Fingers crossed...

[padfootagain]

I understand we all can lose inspiration for a while, but if you're saying you write and feel inspired only if Ben has "big and important projects", I'm sorry but I don't think you're much of his fan as you want to be. Literally it feels like you're wrapping up "Something good" just so you can continue with Hozier and you're making it feel rush. Would you "lose inspiration " an stop writing about Hozier when he stop with his music too?

Hello, anon!

Considering I've been an active fan of Ben's since Narnia, and have been writing dozens of fanfictions over the past 9 years for him and the characters he's played, I do believe that I am a fan, indeed.

Now, besides the fact that there is no such thing as 'better fans', what I meant was that there is more things to draw inspiration from when a person is active to write about them, simply because you can draw from what they're doing to invent new situations (and considering the number of fanfics I've written about Ben over the years, it's nice to play with new cast members, or new information he gives us in interviews).

Also, I'm not wrapping up SG to hurry back to Hozier, as you seem to believe, the final chapters were ready before I started working on OAA, but I wanted to post on Hozier at that moment and post the whole fic, which is why I delayed posting SG. I also delayed because, as opposed to what you're insinuating, this fic has been with me for a very long time and I feel very emotional at the idea of parting with it for good. I am not rushing the final chapters, I simply had to close Ben's arch, and it's literally the only thing I have left to do in this fic. The couple is happy together, Sally has accepted Ben, Liam is coming around, we only had Julia left to deal with, which is what I've done in the previous chapters. I have one last chapter to post to wrap up the theatre project, and all the elements will be completed. Besides, I don't reckon that I'm rushing through a story that is over 95k-words and 28-chapters long.

Now, about Hozier, I've just begun writing for him, so for now I have many ideas and AUs I want to play with, which is why I am very active in my writing for him atm. Of course, once I've written all of my ideas down, I will probably take a break and wait for a new idea to come around. Whether he releases new music or not is not important, the problem is to get new ideas and feel inspired to write something new, and it's harder to do that for someone you've written about as much as I've written about Ben. For now, I'm more inspired about Hozier, and will thus write mostly for him for a while. Especially considering that this is a hobby I am not paid for and that will give me little back but the joy I get with creating a story I enjoy.

If you don't like the way I write or who I write for, feel free to unfollow/block me, your remarks will certainly not be missed.

Have a good day!

[cryptidkoretmblr]

Wednesday Addams

Anyways here’s my takes and opinions about some of the most talked about aspects of the show that no one asked for!

1) Wednesday vs love interests, let’s break it down! 

Tyler: I think I’m in a minority when I say I was rooting for them and still are? It is the most ADDAMS family thing ever to be dating a Hyde. Like you’re telling me they wouldn’t revel in that? I’m also a big enemies to lovers or lovers to enemies to lovers again fan so that explains it. I know his friendzone comments were out of left field, like many have pointed out as feeling odd to them, but Hunter Doohan said in an interview (https://collider.com/wednesday-tyler-relationship-hunter-doohan-comments/) that Tyler was always manipulating her. So if he NEEDED to be close for his and Laurel’s plan, then it just makes sense. On the topic, Hunter’s acting in the station when he drops the facade sent chills down my spine. Their relationship just tickles so many of my favorite tropes. 

Enid: I also was rooting so hard for Enid!!! Also the show writers literally had to be coding her. Like I actually don’t know how the topic of wolfing out and c0nversion therapy came up and was greenlit otherwise like ,,,,, but yes, Enid transforming to save Wednesday, to hugging her, to actually being the one to crack her walls... *chefs kiss* I ALSO love the golden retriever and black cat vibe (I am in fact the black cat to my partners golden retriever). But yes, of course friendships can be just as rewarding and meaningful as romantic relationships which takes us to 

No one (Aro/Ace): I also would be so happy if she is Aro/Ace, or anywhere on the spectrum. I have some friends who are, and romantic relationships aren’t everything!!! And the aro/ace community is long due for mainstream media representation. 

Xavier: Look. I wanted to like him so bad. He had so much potential. I hope they up his character development because I was so lost by the time the Rave’N came around like what even was that with Bianca. Also why did he think she was using her siren song on her? 

3) Gomez. Luis Guzman is literally the best casting of the comics you could have asked for. The younger version of him was phenomenal. I do wish he had some more energy, I really liked how eccentric and outgoing Raul Julia’s Gomez had been. 

4) The biggest plot point that made exactly zero sense to me was the murders. In what world would either Addams be ashamed or try to hide it? It just seemed so out of place and is the biggest characterization flaw in the entire show tbh. 

5) Arnisen as Fester. That’s it. That’s my take. Literally I could watch him all day. 

Anyways that’s all I have for now. I’m obsessing over this show and need to scream into the void about my special interests :) 

[angelosearch]

Overthinking "Eyes on Me" and it's 3 AM and here is my crackpot theory with cited sources:

In an interview with Nobuo Uematsu, Final Fantasy VIII’s composer, in the 2005 Ultimania Omega, Uematsu says Celine Dion was considered for the Final Fantasy VIII theme, “Eyes on Me” (GameFAQs). This fact has been rolling around in my head since I learned it a few weeks ago. I started to listening to “Eyes on Me” with fresh ears. Sure, I thought, I could imagine Celine Dion singing this. It would be great.

Tonight, I was listening to Celine Dion (to be completely transparent, stoned) and “Eyes on Me” doesn’t just sound like something Celine would sing. It is a Celine song. Sonically, it sounds a lot like “My Heart Will go On” (1997) – especially the opening of both songs. Listen to them back-to-back.

Also similar in sound is “Beauty and the Beast” (1991).

I wish I knew more about music theory to explain what else sounds similar about these songs. But anyway.

It’s not just that these songs are sonically similar to “Eyes on Me.” The vibe is the same. The love stories, especially the ones told on her “most critically and commercially successful album” Falling Into You (1996), have the same intensity and drama as Squall and Rinoa’s love story (Wikipedia).

And isn’t that what Final Fantasy VIII (1999) is all about, an epic love story? Look at the logo. It’s literally Squall and Rinoa holding each other. The other Final Fantasy logos are not like that.

Celine is at the top of her career in the mid-to-late 90s. She is internationally known as the “Queen of the Power Ballad” (MTV). She tours in Japan in 1998 on her “Let’s Talk about Love” tour (that’s the album my “My Heart Will Go On” is on) and her tickets sell out in a day (Wikipedia).

And this videogame, where the love story is the focus, has the special opportunity of being the first Final Fantasy with a full-length live-recorded vocal track, something Squaresoft had been wanting to do for years (finalfantasy.fandom.com). This is a moment that needs to blow people’s mind.

Celine Dion would be the perfect choice for this song, from a marketing perspective. I believe she was a strong contender for the performance, and, honestly, I think they tried to get her but couldn’t.

Why do I believe they shot their shot with her and failed? Okay, this is where I go full conspiracy theory.

Because the song was such an integral part of the game, the developers wanted Julia to share similarities with the actual singer of the song. This is why, in the final game, Julia was animated to look like Faye Wong (finalfantasy.fandom.com).

But it turns out Julia has some things in common with Celine Dion. Celine started her career singing in a piano bar. Like Julia, she became an instant success with her public debut. Celine first got famous singing in French, and while I know she is French-Canadian, I find it interesting that Galbadia has a lot of French symbolism. Deling City, where Julia performs, has the Arc de Triomphe after all (finalfantasy.fandom.com).

Those are the strongest comparisons. But also, for your consideration:

The first song that she recorded ("Ce n'était qu'un rêve" which translates as "It Was Only a Dream" or "Nothing But A Dream" – also Final Fantasy VIIIish title) was sent to René Angélil who first became her manager, and, later, her lover. He was 26 years her senior. To me, this has a lot of tonal similarities to Julia/Carraway’s relationship.

Does anyone else think this red cut-out Versace gown at the American Music Awards in 1993 kinda looks like Julia’s dress? Even if not, look through Celine Dion’s outfits from the 90s. This is the kind of thing she would have worn, and also red seems to be her color (BAZAAR).

Final Fantasy VIII also SEEMS like it was heavily influenced by “My Heart Will Go On” and/or Titanic in general. I think there’s a reason there are dozens of “My Heart Will Go On” Final Fantasy VIII AMVs on YouTube – The song fits the game perfectly. Have you SEEN the official music video for this song? I don’t know, I see lots of parallels.  

Some of the most romantic scenes in Final Fantasy VIII either take place on a balcony or in view of the ocean, just like in Titanic. Titanic has a dance scene too, though I cannot speak to how similar these are. This seems too outlandish to be relevant but I am going to throw it out there: River Phoenix, who Squall’s facial features were based on (Wikipedia), was considered for the role of Jack in Titanic (IMDb). Maybe the developers wanted a “Jack” of their own.

And DO NOT GET ME STARTED on the Final Fantasy VIII/Beauty and the Beast parallels. I’m just going to link to these gif sets: [x] [x]

And then in FREAKING 2007 Celine Dion comes out with, GET THIS, “Eyes on Me.” But it’s a completely different song. So if you Google “Celine Dion Eyes on Me,” you can’t find anything about them considering Celine for the videogame theme under all the other search results. CELINE WHAT ARE YOU HIDING?!

So here is my stupid conspiracy: I think the game was written, at least in part, as a love letter to Celine Dion in an attempt to do anything to get her to sing for them. I am pretty sure videogames did not have big artists featured at the time, and she was literally the artist of that moment. It would not be easy to convince her to work with them, so they put in Celine easter eggs to try and get her to agree. Because imagine how much bigger Final Fantasy VIII could have been if they could say Celine Dion was attached to it? Hell, I am pretty sure my mom would have played it if that was the case.

I know that the story is that they went through CDs and Faye Wong was the top choice—and don’t get me wrong, she did a great job, and she still made the song super famous—But I just think this is A LOT OF PARALELLS to just ignore.

All I am saying is, what the fuck is Final Fantasy VIII about if not “The Power of Love”?

Thank you for coming to my TedTalk.

[lavanderglass]

It’s time to talk about my theories.

So to start out let’s cover what I will be calling the characters throughout my posts, as I do have headcannon names for all of them.

Life itself- Chuck Rogers

Starting out with a character that has a cannon name! So I don’t need to explain this one.

Youth- David Rogers

Onto the justification for most of the list; No idea why I picked this, just vibes.

As for the Surname, I will talk more about it when I cover Mama’s Gun.

S2E3- May Keets

Ha ha. May is short for Mayonnaise and I’m unoriginal. But her last name is based on a lyric from Poplar Street (as it and Mama’s Gun have the most context for the setting) the singer of Poplar street talks about Ms.Moore sleeping around with a “Mr.Keets”. Does this relate to May or her story at all? Not really. But it’s my post and I can hc whatever I want.

In fact if you choose this line of thinking then you’re you can offer an explanation for her poor mental health as it would explain why she would be cut off from her family/support system. Relying on her vices instead of the people in her life. (But we can talk more about her when I eventually do her character analysis)

Pork Soda- Adam and Carol Jennings

Now once again; names are vibes. But the last names are Cannonical as stated in this interview

Mama’s Gun- Laura Rogers

Now in Mama’s Gun the first lyric is “in the summer took my gun.” Meaning that the title is referring to her as Mama for a reason, that being that she is a mom. (Duh, Lavender get to the point)

Based on the Life Itself music video it’s shown that Chuck is riding in the car to save David with Laura. Meaning they have to know each other at least. And know each other, and this kid, to the point where Laura would have to be willing to be the getaway driver for Chuck after he threw a smoke bomb into Ms.Moore’s hotel room to save David.

So this is my theory; Laura married a man and had Chuck, then some years later adopted David after he was surrendered by his mother. (The waitress from premade sandwiches). Then the events of Mama’s gun happen and the father dies of “an unknown gunman”. And I will go into far heavier detail when I do my Mama’s gun analysis.

Cane Shuga- Dustin Sinclair

This one comes from Mama’s gun, again.

“Dirty Dustin says he saw him playin’ ball with Dizzy Jim“

I believe I remember an interview where The Cane Shuga guy was described as being a “crooked businessman” or something along those lines (would be a good reason as to why he can afford an expensive drug like cocaine.)

I imagine “dirty Dustin” is a name that’s said behind his back. As for his last name, I just thought about a name that sounded expensive and fancy.

Premade Sandwiches- Julia Jennings

Once again, vibes. As for why I hc her as the child of Adam and Carol, it’s kinda based in lore, mostly based on her appearance and how her son is blonde when she isn’t. I will explain how I see their relationship in the Premade sandwiches and The Other Side of Paradise analysis.

The Other Side of Paradise- James “Jim” Blue.

This one is me reaching again but hear me out.

“Dirty Dustin says he saw him playin’ ball with Dizzy Jim. Dizzy Jim had never spoken, whispered back, “You murdered him”. “

Much like how I said that “Dirty Dustin” was a name he was called behind his back, “Dizzy Jim” sounds like a cruel nickname for someone with his head in the clouds, wanting to be a superstar.

As for the last name Blue, I had the concept of the chorus “Bye Bye Baby Blue” being a reference to a childhood nickname he had. Maybe he’s a JR, so the nickname “Baby Blue” would make sense.

Like I said, I’m definitely reaching. As the lyric could just as closely be tied to a literal baby, or it’s a Glass Animals-ism that is just for flavor text but I don’t think so. What are your thoughts?

Take a Slice- Adrienne Leary

Again, vibes. I wanted to go with something gender neutral because while the actor is more feminine, the story this song is based on is about a man. And I think this character definitely engages in gender fuckery because it’s fun.

Poplar Street- Mrs.Moore

I’m not giving her a first name because she doesn’t deserve to be known by one. Mrs.Moore, based on how I view the story, is a black cloud that hangs over the town more than she is a person. She is a vile human being that needs nothing more to be said about her.

What I can say in terms of character analysis is that she is married, so her husband is either that painfully oblivious or he doesn’t care. So honestly I’m glad he’s not present anywhere else in the story.

Agnes- Agnes

I’m going to be straight forward and say that beyond things that we can definitely know about how he exists in the plot, I don’t really want to make outlandish headcannons about Agnes. Mainly because out of everyone in the cast, he feels the most real. He is likely the closest character to Dave Bayley and beyond the moodboards and the exact lyrics of the song, I’m not going to theorize more than that.

I’m so excited to start working on my character analysis!! I can’t promise when it will come out, but I’m working on it! And by all means, if you want to share your HC’s with me, I am all ears!!

[conspire24]

Arranging "At All Costs" in 4-part harmony

Tldr; Attached on my MuseScore link at the top of my profile is a special arrangement I made of "At All Costs" from Disney's Wish; I've made it so that it works as a 4-part harmony between the characters Asha, Magnifico, Amaya, and the scrapped StarBoy. It acts as two duets (one for each couple) sung simultaneously. Hoping to inspire someone with this.

So, I've been thinking about how so many fans have chosen to look at "At All Costs." I find it so funny how we as a fandom collectively looked at it, went "yeah, that's a love song," then saw a potential love interest for Asha and immediately thrusted the song onto them, assuming it was always meant for them. I've absolutely loved all the animatics and rewrites that involve Star Boy. Even though I haven't seen Wish, as a Disney fan, I feel so crushed to see Disney scrap concepts that could've made a story better, and I assumed "At All Costs" being a love song was one of them.

And yet, having read interviews with Julia Michaels, the actual context feels so bizarre to me. So, it was always intended as a duet between Asha and Magnifico, but Michaels really wanted to write a love song, so she wrote it for the hero and villain while also making it sound like a love song out of context. Like, I guess that's kinda funny, but then why does the song not have language that takes advantage of the fact that it's a hero and villain singing together? It just feels off.

So then one day, I thought, what if there was a way it could work in both contexts? As both a hero-villain song a love song within the actual context of the story? And then it hit me, why not turn the duet into a quartet made of two duets - i.e., why not have it be sung between Magnifico, Amaya, Star Boy, and Asha in a 4-part harmony?

Essentially, how I'd picture it is that the song would take place over a scene between Magnifico and Amaya singing with each other as well a scene with Asha and Star Boy singing with each other, with the film cutting intermittently between them. As I was arranging this, I wanted to make sure each duet had one person with the melody and the other with harmony, that would both duets would work well if it was just them singing on their own - because in the context of this song, they are. Neither duet knows the other duet is singing the same thing because they're in different locations.

Verse 1 starts with Magnifico singing, similar to the movie version, with Amaya either listening or joining in with her own harmony by the chorus, showing how both are in love with each other (or not, depending on your preferred characterization - I marked the harmony as optional in the score). Then after the chorus, we cut to Asha singing to Star Boy in Verse 2, again similar to the movie version, with Star Boy taking the harmony by the chorus. Then, as we enter the bridge and the final verse, all four are singing together, with Asha and Magnifico taking the melody in different octaves, while Amaya and Star Boy taking different harmonies, as we cut between each couple for the rest of the song.

What I love about this version is that it shows each person is expressing their own desires for love and the future and protecting each other, yet through the different harmonies, we know each couple's desires are separate from the other. I'm also glad I got to give Star Boy that one harmony in the bridge that's non-diegetic in the original song. I love cool little moving harmonies like that, so I'm glad it could be sung by someone with the diegetic context (even though it is a little higher in the range, have fun tenors!). I also gave Amaya her own harmony for the chorus, which depending on context, could serve to show how different her views are from the other characters.

So anyway, I have attached my arrangement of the vocals to an unlisted MuseScore document. (Hopefully it doesn't get taken down, still fairly new to MuseScore). I hope soon, I can get a fully-sung version going, but for now, I'm proud of how the score turned out.

Feel free to steal this idea for any potential rewrites or animatics if you are so inspired! Also, let me know if you have any feedback/suggestions for this idea.

https://musescore.com/user/64836931/scores/14060935/s/DIQrlx?share=copy_link

*Note: this is technically a repost; in the initial post I put the link at the top and I'm wondering if that might've affected whether or not the initial post got shown with tags*

[starry-mist]

Alright, I’ve mellowed a tiny bit, and here’s where I’ve landed:

While nothing has officially stated that Charah have broken up, there were very strong vibes in the characters’ actions that lead me to the conclusion that it’s a strong possibility.

Setting up this subplot with Sarah taking time off to go back to school feels like a parallel to Julia going back to school and the end of Charlie’s first marriage. I don’t love that. It could also be a way of explaining reduced screen time for Mayko, and with that, she could have another project on the go (though I follow her on Insta and have read recent interviews and nothing suggests that that’s currently the case.) Or, and I hate this option, it’s the show pandering to the anti-Sarah crowd.

And I know we got genuine-sounding reassurances from Sarah to Joe that she’s not going anywhere. And I know that this picks up that thread from late season 4 when Sarah mentioned an interest in criminal psychology. So there are all kinds of possibilities in which this might be a positive. But at the same time, planting the “Sarah might leave” seeds in episode two (which tbh would have worked much better as episode one) when I already have trust issues based on prior seasons…I’m definitely going to react strongly to any hint that she might be leaving the show.

Charlie. Oof. Charlie seems different this season so far. I did not love that scene at his house alone with Rex, working on the motorcycle that apparently Sarah knows he’s back to but also she’s not around? He seemed distracted. He looked troubled. We could chalk that up to the stuff about his dad, but he also seems…I don’t know, it’s almost like he’s emotionally shut down again. It’s reminiscent of seasons 3/4 Charlie. While I don’t mind some occasional brooding, I need to see some of that warmth he had in season 5.

If they’re going to put the focus mostly on Charlie and Rex, I need the acting to be believable and it feels to me like Charlie has regressed. And, like others, I’m worried it’s symptomatic of an offscreen Charah breakup.

We did get Sarah reaching out, inquiring about his dad’s friend, his motorcycle which for whatever reason she hasn’t been around for. We did get him seeming to tease her a bit in the lab, which is normal for them. There were some fun reactions during the coffee sweetener discussions. But all of that was overshadowed, in my view, by Sarah taking time off and Charlie being home alone. That’s what I’m stuck on, that’s what’s had me spiraling, and the fact that this is affecting me emotionally to this extent two episodes in gives me pause.

We also had Rex seeming upset in a couple of the Charlie/Sarah interactions, and Charlie having to reassure him at least twice with “it’s okay.” Rex is often used as the narrator with these two, and I very much think he was saying something was off.

If Charah are still together, I actually do have some fluffy ideas that I could use for fic purposes. Stuff like them supporting each other in their interests. And I’ll likely write those.

But for the moment, I can’t see myself continuing to watch this season until I know more about how it’s going to pan out. I’d love to see someone interview whoever the new showrunner is, perhaps to assuage some of my doubts, or at least to confirm my suspicions that things might be going in a direction I don’t like.

I’m frustrated, I’m annoyed that I’m frustrated, and I’m just generally down about this show I love and the main parts I love about it. I honestly don’t know how much I’ll continue to engage right now. It’s taking a lot of emotional energy for something that isn’t currently sparking a lot of joy, and I’ve found in the past that it’s going to be better for me in the long run to just take a step back when my fandom faves go downhill.

[brainwormsprompts]

TMA x The Mechanisms: The Bet

So the other Mechanisms notice that Jonny is in a funk after Out (sry folks, Out is canon here) and in an effort to try and distract and/or cheer him up, they offer up a bet. The details of the bet are up to you but the end goal means that Jonny ends up pretending to be Jonathan Sims the Archivist and works at the Magnus Institute.

Who else is in on the bet and what they have to do is up to you. If you don't want to write all of the Mechs, you can have this happen during the Bifrost Incident so Raph, Ivy, and Marius are imprisoned on Midguard. Ashes as Basira would be a particular choice done for irony purposes and to make sure that Jonny isn't the only one suffering (you can't tell me that they wouldn't be petty like that). Now TS could be Nikola oooorrrr we can go with a potentially angsty option and have Nikola take TS's voicebox (remember, it has to follow any orders given to it). Those are the major characters who share VAs with the Mechs so those are really the only ones I have a suggestion on.

Now one of the bets is to prevent any coworkers they have from knowing that they are immortal space pirates. This is part of the reason why Jonny puts on the skeptic attitude for the Archivist. He definitely has a group chat where he's making fun of the statements, the statement givers, and the institute in general. However, when the connections between the tapes start coming, he gets invested and actually starts caring a bit. (You can't tell me that he wouldn't.) I can also see him eating the teeth apple from Lionel Elliot gleefully (TS has probably given weirder things to eat).

Now, Jonny probably knows that Elias is older than a normal human because of his eyes. So in the interview, he tenses up and try purposefully asks if Elias has met with Dr. Carmilla and is thus another Mechanism. Elias is confused and denies it and then Jonny puts back the actor mask and it goes fairly normally.

Jonny is absolutely not going to get in the way of Tim and his revenge. In fact, I can see him inciting it and encouraging him to be destructive. With the Unknowing coma, there's probably a Mechanism sitting nest to Jonny at all times. This is both out of concern for him (bc he should be awake, his Mechanism healed him, why isn't he awake?) and to mitigate panic when he wakes up. Dr. Carmilla has left a lot of hospital trauma to them and they are a tight knit bunch who are there for each other.

At the America trip, Jonny's inviting one of the other Mechs along. (It's America, we have guns and violence in spades, it sounds like a playground for these chaos space gremlins.) They steal the skin book and maybe kill Trevor and Julia. Though they may or may not release Gerry in a timely manner, he's only been suffering for a couple decades at most while they've been around for millenia, he can hold on for an extra couple of month.

Jonny is laughing internally when Daisy makes him dig his own grave and then threatens him. He's making faces to Ashes when they come to try and talk Daisy down (if they do that). Jonny is definitely giving Daisy points for making him dig his own grave when the secret gets out. He is not gonna interfere with Ashes' decision about joining the Archives. The Mechanisms know all about the Archive drama and they are immortal space pirates, they can make their own decisions. However, he is ready to back them whether or not they want to murder Elias or not.

Jonny's probably going to take the Archivist powers in stride and is trying to exploit them on the rest of the Mechs while he can. He's long considered himself morally corrupt so not being human and getting cool narrative powers sounds cool. The Mechanisms have also tried to let the Assistants quit after killing Jonny hoping that his Mechanism regains slow enough for them to make it.

One thing's for sure. Elias nor the Earth at large is ready for the chaos these space pirates are going to bring with them.

[andreabaideas]

Djats review by non fans aka my Dad part I

My dad gave me his opinions , so i'm sharing them, because his lack of filter Its just XD

Context : My mom and me forced him to read and watch Djats to see how he would react.

AN = Authors note. /// ?! = What ?! I dont agree or fully agree

Dad reviewing things: Daisy Jones and the Six part I.

Warning : my father lacks of filter and takes no bullshit, so brace yourselves for hard truths said by an older man almost at his sixties, sorry 59 XD

Let's start with the Book rating : 5/10 (and he is being generous).

He liked : - Daisy and Karen. *Autors note : Especially Karen , he adored her.

- Warren laidback attitude.

- The book cover and Its cover writing font.

- The book writing font.

- The abortion story cause he found It original and brave to write about.

- Daisy takes no shit from Billy "as she should". Thats It!!! *AN : "I just read this shit because I LOVE you and your Mom, kid XD"

What He didn't like *AN : Its long but worth reading"

- The interview format present all the time It was too much, and sometimes boring to read.

-Also he found It lacked of complex vocabulary, too simple.

- The songs are "shitty poetry I can't imagine how they would sound. Don't look like real songs."

- He dislikes romantic books, especially those aimed at Young Adults " Why dont teens read good shit like Orson Scot Card, J.R. Tolkien or Úrsula K Levuin instead??" *AN: Of the Young Adult genre he Only liked The Hunger Games series. He thinks most teens are dumb...And It may be my fault for complaining loudly about some of them at home, as i work as highschool teacher XD.

- 70's rock stars men were unfaithfull and didnt regret It , they didn't gave a crap, period. No 70's man who liked a woman and was reciprocated by that woman just went and didnt have an affair with that girl later, dont be naive. They were lying because Julia Its the interviewer.

- Daisy stopping singing and becoming writter doesn't fit her and was loser behaviour, cause " she was the musically talented one she shoulve kept singing".

- Camila developement (?! ), he disliked her and called her fake , calculating and unfaithfull golddigger. "Kid Its obvious that She just married him after he got his music contract, hadn't he got it she wouldn't had married him...That IS a Golddigger in the making, Kid"Also she didn't visit her husband at rehab, may be a good Mom, but she is a bad wife".

- He found the book unrealistic and too obviously "written by a woman for other women as a rock and roll 70's fantasy" : 

1 - "Billy never relapsing Its not real. Period. Alcoholism doesnt work like that." 

2-  Camila and Daisy's final conversation.  "It isn't realistic and IS obviously a book scene. She should've dumped Billy. No woman speaks that calmly to her husband's lover".

3 - "Billy and Daisy's affair IS just not real"... I asked why and he told me that: 

 "Most men wouldnt even consider as wrong (or even as an affair) a non physical relationship"

All of his friends would see It like that...

As he said to me "Dont be naive kid, most men philosophy IS : No skin  = No  sin"  In spanish It was "Nada fue tocado = No hubo pecado" 🙄. 

He does think a non physical affair is an actual affair and considers it wrong and doesn't get why Camila IS with Billy, "because he is Hot and wrote her a lousy song? "Because he stayed the second time she gave birth, as if that were something meritory, every decent man should do that!!! "...(he hadnt watched the series yet so, imagine how he'll react XD)

*AN:  He is a rarity among men his group. When you see him you realise he IS a weird one: he doesnt smoke, he doesnt drink, he never lies in fact he IS too truthfull... never ask him if you look fat with a dress or a pair of jeans , cause he'll tell you the truth XD and he worships my Mom (as he should)...  

And I thank God for that weird blunt Dad of mine every single day. 

Thats part one!!!

(I can't wait to do the Twilight and the hunger games ones!!!)

[notetaeker]

Goodbye 2022

@peregrination-studies thank u for the tag! I love love planning and reflecting on the year so this was such a fun tag for me to do

What are things you've grown to like this year?

The process honestly. I've always been impatient when it comes to seeing results but over this year I started to appreciate the process of things? I've always been the type to start a project and then work on this project for 3 days until I'm done and by then I'd get so tired of it or be unsatisfied with the result because it doesn't reflect my tireless 3 days worth of work. But nowadays I start projects, put them away, continue it later, and it's been so enjoyable. I take time to fix any small things I would have ignored in the interest of time, start over if necessary. Just you know, processing it slowly. Instead of rushing toward the result, the experience of whatever it is- is the most important. It's still a work in progress but i think this is one of the things that surprised me the most in myself - the fact that I'm even able to do it. Other things I've grown to like: autumn lol and maybe even winter just a teensy bit.

What are things you've learned this year? Oof a lot of things actually. I think I'll make a list from my journal - Every morning I get to decide how to live my life / what I prioritize - Allah will open doors for you from placed you couldn't imagine - But you have to put in some effort and show you're trying - Living is much easier when you accept it instead of fighting it -Surely as the evening comes after a scorching hot day, so too will respite from whatever you're struggling with, it is the law of the world (the mercy of Allah) and all that was only until June asdlkj let me not make this too long lol maybe I'll make a post on stuff I learned this year

What works did you enjoy this year, be it films, books or other art? Books: The Secret Garden, Born a Crime Movies/Anime: Spy x Family, Julie and Julia, Also I watched all the spiderman movies on some random week like a crazy person Other art: sarah burns studio on youtube and her seascape watercolor paintings. They're so simple but also really beautiful

Is there something you're still looking forward to this year? There's only 2 days left! I was looking forward to buying yarn and I got it yesterday, so excited abt that. I'm hoping to go the beach today or tomorrow and see (sea) the ocean so :') excited for that if it happens (its so cold tho who knows). OH ALSO i wanted to bake cookies for my students for the first day of classes back from break and might make those early so that too ! :D

What would you like to see happening next year? SO MUCH omg - 1. Improve my arabic: I enrolled in an Arabic class because I've literally forgotten so many things so excited abt that. I also signed up for some other islamic studies classes b/c there was a discount so hopefully those are fun too! 2. take more notes !!! I keep reading / listening to such good stuff and telling myself I'll write it down when I have more time later and never doing it D: so next year hopefully I fill up a notebook or smth with those 3. Hopefully get comfortable with traveling / visiting places and then do exactly that 4. D: waiting on the result of my interview for a 2023 internship 5. turn some good deed into an unconscious daily practice. Rn I'm thinking sunnah prayers, because I've kind of dropped off from regularly doing them in the last year :( 6. ART. MORE REGULARLY. like i was doing this year :') im pretty pleased with the amt of art i did this year alhamdulillah

Tagging: @wayfaringmuslimah, @gushuwa, @wecandoit, @frenchiepal @humble-boness, @ckmstudies, @juliistudies, @heliops, @museeofmoon, @iwillsurvivecollege, @learnelle, @caffeinatediaries, @caramelcuppaccino

[heartsoulrocknroll]

AEW Dynamite 4/10/24

Swerve attacks Joe before his scheduled eliminator match with Dustin Rhodes and spears him through a table!!

Adam Copeland (c) vs. Penta El Zero Miedo for the TNT Championship -- Penta goes for Fear Factor on the apron, but Copeland blocks it and pushes him into the ring post. Penta runs at Copeland, who catches him with a powerslam on the apron! Copeland goes for a spear outside, but Penta moves and he hits Alex instead. Penta lands an avalanche Code Red inside, then snaps back Copeland's arm, and covers for two! Penta springboards off the ropes, but Copeland takes him out of midair with a spear for the pinfall!

Solid match here with Penta getting a lot of offense in. Kinda dragged on for me though. Rating: 3

Body King and Julia Hart surround Copeland after match. Willow comes out to help.

Renee is with Jericho, Hook, and Shibata. Jericho says Hook and Shibata will sit under the learning tree of Chris Jericho. Lmao. He lays out what they need to do to beat Shane Taylor Promotions. After Jericho leaves, Shibata uses Google translate to ask what Jericho's deal is. Then he tells Renee that he likes her necklace. Lol.

Renee is now with Copeland, Willow, Stokely, new ROH World Champion Mark Briscoe, and Eddie Kingston. Stokely suggests that Copeland defend the TNT Championship against Willow, which I think is a phenomenal idea that should absolutely happen. But they agree to a mixed tag team match against Brody and Julia.

The Bucks are backstage with a screen to show the All In footage that AEW has been hyping up all week. God. They mention the altercation between Jack Perry and someone who tried to make everything about himself, someone who is a friend of FTR. Nick suggests that FTR is behind the whole thing. Matt says they can't make accusations without proof, which is an obvious sarcastic shot at the Punk interview. Matt says they had to be EVPs at All In and had to neglect being professional wrestlers, so there should be a big asterisk next to FTR's victory over them that night. They show the footage of Punk shoving and choking Perry backstage, before the people around them stop the fight. Matt says that isn't the worst part. The worst part is filling a building with the most people ever at a wrestling show, only to be distracted by something so stupid that you lose on your big night. And FTR had the balls to stick their hands out and ask them to shake hands. Nick says at Dynasty, they're not shaking hands, you pricks.

Where do I begin? I think blaming the Punk/Perry fight on FTR and using that as an excuse for the Bucks being distracted and losing to FTR at All In is a fine angle. But obviously, the only reason this is being done at all is to give AEW an excuse to show the footage, because Tony got his feelings hurt by the recent Punk interview that no one will shut up about. I think it's a bad look for AEW to still be dwelling on this eight months later, as if they need to rely on this drama for ratings, or need to prove something to someone. Although I am not sure what Tony thinks this footage proves, as it only shows exactly what Punk said happened and only gives Punk, the well-known attention whore, more attention. This company cannot keep acknowledging every shot someone takes at them. It looks pathetic. Tony Khan is a huge man baby and needs to hire someone else to run this company and make the decisions, because he clearly isn't capable of doing it.

FTR come out to the ring with a mic. Cash asks why the Bucks are showing this footage, other than to have an excuse for losing. They are ready to move on and put this in the past. Despite the fact that AEW is now doing some of their best shows ever, they are still showing footage from eight months ago. At Dynasty, FTR have to win, not for their legacy, not to be considered the greatest of all time, but because they are sick of these "petty little bitches," the Young Bucks.

Dax says they have eclipsed the Bucks as the best tag team on the planet. At one time, the Bucks cared about the three letters AEW, but now, three other letters have taken over, and they only care about what is best for the EVPs. Dax says they are building AEW so that wrestlers can have a choice. They are building AEW for hard-working people who spend their money on tickets. And if the Bucks don't want to be part of that AEW, they can go home, because FTR have got this. Dax says the Bucks may have laid the foundation, but FTR are going to put the roof on top of the house, just to blow it right back off!!

Great delivery by Dax here. I am not sure what to make of this, as FTR basically said everything I was thinking about that All In footage being shown. It's kind of strange to show the footage, and then have someone else on the show acknowledge why showing the footage was a stupid thing, as the reasoning for why it was stupid can be applied to the real-life "man" Tony Khan as easily as it can be applied to the kayfabe Young Bucks characters. Weird to acknowledge that you knew it was a stupid thing to do, but you chose to do it anyway. I don't know anything anymore.

Ospreay comes out to the stage for an interview with Renee. He addresses the recent comments that Triple H made about not wanting people who want to work a lighter schedule and who don't want to "grind" in the WWE (comments which were obviously about Ospreay). He says there is a rumor going around that he is afraid of the grind. And he is not sure where that comes from, because he is flying back and forth from the UK to the US every week and delivering some of the best matches the world has ever seen. Normally, he wouldn't rise to this type of bait, but seeing as the person who said it is "only in the position he is in because he was grinding on the boss' daughter," he will. Ospreay says he is in no position to tell Ospreay what the grind is all about.

I have a lot of thoughts about this. I think Triple H's comments were completely asinine and unnecessary. Who wouldn't pick the lighter schedule and more money?? An idiot?? But regardless, we're back to tonight's theme of this company being unable to ignore shots taken at them and let their own programming speak for itself. I kind of get the feeling that this is all coming from Tony Khan, and isn't necessarily what these guys want to be showing or saying on TV. But who knows. It's a mess either way.

Ospreay then moves on to Danielson. He mentions Danielson saying that Ospreay is stronger and faster, and his only chance to win is to ground Ospreay. Ospreay says healthier, younger, and better men have tried and failed. But Danielson is a living legend. And Ospreay can't call himself the best wrestler in the world until after he pins Danielson. It is time for him to show everyone why he is the ace of AEW.

Yeesh. So we are back to cringe Ospreay promos after a couple of unusually good weeks. I hated every second of that. Lmao.

Chris Jericho, Hook, and Katsuyori Shibata vs. Shane Taylor, Lee Moriarty, and Anthony Ogogo -- Jericho lands a lionsault, then a top rope rana on Moriarty early on. Shibata tags in with nasty elbows and a nasty round kick to the back of Moriarty!!! Huge lariat from Taylor to Hook! Hook and Taylor trade elbows, Taylor takes Hook down with a headbutt, Hook lands a German suplex on Taylor!!! Wow! Beautiful Shibata hot tag action, as he comes in with boots in the corner, rapidly alternating jaw jabs and chest chops, a running corner dropkick, then a nice snap suplex for two on Moriarty! Shibata lands a back heel trip and goes for a tag, but Jericho pulls Hook off the apron, yelling about the plan and the learning tree. Lmao. Shibata gets a sleeper on Moriarty, but Taylor comes in with a big right hand to Shibata to break the hold, then Moriarty lands the Fang on Shibata for the pinfall!! Wtf.

I really enjoyed this match. I thought everything was done well here. Shibata looked awesome as always. Really sick of Shibata eating losses left and right though. Rating: 3.25

Dustin is with Renee. He says his strategy doesn't change since Joe was attacked. It is always grit, passion, and glory for him, and tonight will be no different.

Kazuchika Okada vs. Cristiano Argento -- Okada lands the knee neckbreaker, a dropkick, and a Rainmaker for the pinfall and looks so bored 💕❤💕. Rating: AWESOME SQUASH

Okada gets a mic and calls out Pac. He says he accepts Pac's challenge and will see him at Dynasty. HELL YEAH!!!!!!!!! Pac heads to the ring! The Bucks come from behind to attack Pac. FTR come out to even the odds. They set Matt up for Shatter Machine, but Okada grabs a chair. The Bucks go nuts with superkicks. Okada swings for the fences with chair to Pac's head. Damn!!! I CANNOT WAIT FOR THIS MATCH!!!!!!!!!!

Bullet Club Gold promo about what happened at Supercard of Honor with the Acclaimed and Billy Gunn.

Renee is with Thunder Rosa and Toni Storm for a "champagne toast" that Storm has organized. Storm just throws the champagne in Rosa's face and partially wipes her face paint off with a towel. Purrazzo comes out to try to help, but Rosa pushes her away. This was a really weird segment.

Anna Jay vs. Mariah May -- They trade overhand chops. Anna with a nice blockbuster neckbreaker, then a neckbreaker over the second rope. Mariah lands a headbutt. Anna with a back elbow then a spinning heel kick in the corner. Mariah lands a missile dropkick off the top and a hip attack for two. Anna gets a couple of nearfalls with a hook kick and a back heel trip. She goes for something else, but Mariah reverses into a roll up for the pinfall.

This was alright. Not much to it. Rating: 1.75

Anna chokes Mariah after the match. Mina Shirakawa comes out to help Mariah. She feeds Mariah champagne and kisses her on the lips. Mariah is very happy about this. What is going on.

Alex Marvez has a sit-down interview with Mercedes. Mercedes says AEW made history with their first pay-per-view in Vegas, and she wants to make history again this year at Double or Nothing. Julia and Willow are both some of the best. She has been in the ring with Willow before. She talks about losing to Willow for the New Japan Strong Women's Championship and getting injured. She hates to lose. But she always has a plan, and she is on a mission. The lights go out. There is commotion. The lights come back to reveal Mercedes on the floor.

Samoa Joe vs. Dustin Rhodes (AEW World Championship Eliminator Match) -- Dustin with right hands outside. Joe sends Dustin face-first into the ring post. Dustin's head is busted open. Joe with jabs, elbow, chops, Manhattan drop, big boot, running back senton, and a cover for two. Dustin with a powerslam. They trade rights hands. Dustin with jabs and a bionic elbow, then Code Red for two! Joe blocks a bulldog attempt and pummels Dustin with a huge lariat, sending him outside. Dustin grabs the belt and thinks about hitting Joe, but then throws it aside. Dustin lands Cross Rhodes for two. Joe with a huge STO in the corner! Joe grabs Swerve's steel chain. The ref takes it and hands it outside. Joe grabs the belt while the ref is distracted and nails Dustin in the face, then covers him for three.

Perfectly fine match. Just short with an obvious result. Rating: 3

Joe locks in the Coquina Clutch on Dustin after the match, but Swerve comes out to break it up with a House Call kick, then lands a right hand to Joe's head with the steel chain!! Security comes out to get between them. Nana hands Swerve the AEW World Championship.

[msmercury84]

"I Double Dare You" "Filming 'The Breaking Point.'"

*For the hbowardaily Bobweek2023 writing challenge Day 7 Crossover*

*Author's note: The account of how Bill Guarnere got down a ladder came from the book he wrote with Babe Heffron. Guarnere never considered himself handicapped, that fact has been stated by his granddaughter. Bill described the way he felt in Bastogne (due to the weather) in an online interview.

Guarnere's account of the events of January 3, 1945 came from his book. I used his dialect instead of writing the quotes as they appeared in the book.

Bill told his portrayer that men like those in Easy Company still existed. When the 9/11 terrorist attacks took place, he called Hughes to tell him,

"You see those men goin' into those buildings? I told ya there were men around who would do the right thing just like we done back in the war." The information Bill gave Frank John Hughes about the condition of his leg came from a 20th anniversary commemoration of the movie that was a podcast.

Bill had a room filled with eagle figurines, etc. in his home. Frannie Guarnere made two rugs with eagles in the pattern. The story about the one legged stuffed toy eagle is true. I found it at a website with Easy Company reunion pictures.

The story about Babe came from a podcast with Bill's granddaughter Debi and her father, Gene. Debi nicknamed Bill and Babe, "Grumpy and Stumpy. Bill got a laugh out of his nickname. I don't know what Babe's reaction was to " Grumpy."*

***********************************************************************

London outskirts, the late 1990s

Bill, Leigh and Babe were flown to London and housed in The Ritz. All expenses were paid by HBO. Tom Hanks wanted Guarnere 's and Heffron's opinions about the accuracy with which the episodes "Bastogne" and "The Breaking Point" were filmed. Bill asked Leigh to accompany him on the trip.

Leigh wore her hair a few inches shorter. It was white and still curly, but she preferred to have it styled so it appeared silky in texture. She still wore makeup and nail polish and appeared about ten years younger than her chronological age. Leigh also exercised and kept a watchful eye on her figure.

Bill's thick black hair was white and he was still strikingly handsome. Using the crutches had given him very muscular arms and he was still a very strong man. He was about five to ten pounds over his usual weight, but he looked good.

Guarnere credited his slight weight gain to his wife's culinary skills. He sometimes favored wearing jeans instead of trousers and a variety of T-shirts with pictures of eagles on them. Bill also wore either dress shirts or polo type shirts with a bolo tie that had the logo of the 101st Airborne Association on it.

Bill collected figurines, stuffed toys, framed pictures and paintings of eagles. One stuffed toy eagle had its right leg missing. Someone at an Easy Company reunion altered the toy's appearance before giving it to Guarnere. He commented on how it looked like him and it became one of his favorite items on display.

Billy's former bedroom was turned into the place where all of the eagle memorabilia was displayed on shelves he built. Leigh made two rugs and a few counted cross stitch pictures of eagles that he proudly displayed. One eagle hooked rug she made had a permanent place of honor in the living room.

He would sometimes tell visitors to his and Leigh's home,

"Go upstairs to the first room on your right if ya wanna see the eagles. There's so many of 'em that they'll knock your eyes out."

Babe had lost some of his hair and gained some extra weight over the years. He could be charming, singing a few stanzas of an Irish folk song, "Bridget O'Flynn, where have you been, Bridget O'Flynn?" on a newspaper reporter's answering machine. Other times, he could be an irritable curmudgeon.

During a trip to New Orleans with Bill, granddaughters T.J. (Teresa Julia) and Maria, Babe wanted to stay in his hotel room and order room service. T.J. and her sister insisted that Babe accompany them and their grandpop to a restaurant.

When a waitress asked if anyone wanted to order drinks, Heffron stood up and kicked a nearby table over before leaving the restaurant to call a cab to take him to the hotel. When his Teresa and Maria expressed being embarrassed by Babe's behavior, Bill told his granddaughters,

"Ya shouldn't have made him come wit' us."

Heffron also enjoyed wearing jackets with either the Screaming Eagle or 101st Airborne embroidered on it. He was fond of using an old saying from the 1940s, "Oh, my achin' back." Babe loved to sing, his favorite song was, "I'll Be Seeing You."

The newspaper reporter to whom he sang "Bridget O'Flynn" said in a feature article she had written about Guarnere and Heffron, that he delivered "A Broadway caliber performance" of his favorite song. Her article was the genesis of the book written by Bill and Babe.

During a trip to Hatfield, England, Guarnere met the actors for the first time, Bill told Tom Hanks and Hughes the story of how he rescued Joe Toye. Guarnere had never spoken about the incident with Leigh for obvious reasons and he never discussed it with any family members.

Bill told both men,

"War is, plain an' simple, hell. A situation like Bastogne, ya feel helpless. Where's the rest o' the Army? Where's the ammunition, where's the food, where are the clothes, what the hell is goin' on?

You don't know you're in the middle o' the largest, bloodiest land battle in history. Ya find that out later. The men who weren't in leadership positions, they could let their guard down, some cried. In Bastogne, your tears would freeze. I done more prayin' than anythin' else."

He told Hanks and Hughes about the brutal living conditions due to the weather, the enemy and the lack of food.

"I don't even remember when I ate, how I ate, or what I ate. We were so damn cold an' frozen that my priority after stayin' alive was keepin' warm. Sometimes I'd realize, hey, I haven't eaten in a day or two, I'm hungry. I looked around an' grabbed whatever I could. Somebody always had somethin', an' they shared it.

We were able to make coffee usin' Sternos. It's a little can about two or three inches deep, ya take the top off an' put a match to it, an' it makes a little blue flame, so you could take some snow an' make coffee.

Most o' the time we drank the fluid in the Sterno, it had alcohol in it, so we took a swig. I don't know what the hell it was, but we drank it! It didn't kill us, did it? If ya had a tea bag, you could make tea, or we melted chocolate. That was a treat. And how!"

Then, Guarnere began his story of the events of January 3, 1945. Both Tom and Frank paid rapt attention to Bill as he said,

"The Germans started poundin' us wit' artillery. When you got an artillery bombardment, shells went screamin' over your head, you dove into a foxhole an' crouched down as low as ya could. The shellin' was unbearable. Never saw so many shells in my life. It was Boom! Boom! Boom!

The ground, dirt, snow, body parts, blood, goes shootin' up all around you. The ground shook like an earthquake, worse than an earthquake. The noise made ya deaf. You can't believe you're still alive. If you're a sergeant, you have to make sure the men are in their foxholes, an' then ya take cover.

The Germans had us zeroed in. It was horrendous, there's no way to describe it. Shells were hittin' all over the place an' everybody was runnin' to get into a foxhole, anybody's foxhole. Guys were gettin' hit, screamin', hollerin' for medics all over the woods, an' there were very few medics around, ya understand?

Joe Toye was runnin' around tryin' to get everyone to take cover. Next thing I know, Joe Toye is hollerin', 'I'm hit, I'm hit!' I looked up an' he was lyin' on the ground about six to eight feet away from me. His leg was blown to bits. He was bleedin' all over-from the chest, back, head, arms, legs. I thought he was dead.

I ran out to try an' get him to safety. As soon as I got to him, Wham! A tree burst exploded over our heads. I was hit. I fell next to Joe. I felt like I was on fire, like someone took a sizzlin' hot poker an' was burnin' me. I thought I was dead. My right leg was full o' shrapnel.

I went from burnin' hot to freezin'. Me an' Joe lay there freezin' in the snow, shiverin', bleedin', both of us were full o' shrapnel. He said, 'Jesus Christ, what the hell do I have to do to die?' It was Joe's fifth time hit. Lipton, Malarkey an' Babe came runnin' over to help, I was half out o' it. Doc Roe was right there, tryin' to patch us up. Wit'out him, we wouldn't be alive. They put me on a stretcher before Joe, I said, 'I told ya I'd beat ya back to the States,' an' then I passed out."

Both Hanks and Hughes were deeply moved by the story. Bill wasn't upset, feeling that the event was, in his words, "Ancient history." Then, Guarnere described the day after he was seriously injured, telling Tom and Frank,

"They took me to Bastogne and medics tried to get out the shrapnel as best they could an' stop the bleedin'. Thanks to the medics, I got out alive. I think the cold weather coagulated your blood, otherwise, we both woulda bled to death. I was in extreme pain from all o' the shrapnel dug into my body.

They couldn't get the wounded out to hospitals, we were still surrounded. We were out in the open, on stretchers in a churchyard somewhere; we couldn't keep warm. I was sure I wasn't gonna make it. I started thinkin' about my mother, father, Leigh an' my brothers an' sisters.

I wondered, 'Who's gonna tell 'em I'm dead?' So many thoughts go through your mind. I thought o' Henry. Ma and Pop losin' two sons. It was almost a year to the day Henry died. The next day, I woke up an' thought, 'Good, I'm still here.' It took three or four days before they were able to push the Germans away an' get us out.I was sent to a hospital in Paris."

Then, Bill told Hanks and Hughes about waking up and seeing Leigh sitting in a chair beside his bed.

"I asked her, 'Baby, am I dreamin' or are ya really here?' They gave me morphine, an' I was still kinda out o' it wit' the anesthesia. It made me feel a little bit stronger knowin' Leigh was there for me.

Then, she decided to ask a nurse if she could cook for me an' bring the food in. The nurse said I'd probably gain weight faster if I had somethin' I liked to eat, so she told Leigh it was OK to cook an' bring in the food.

From that point until I left the hospital in Scotland, she cooked two meals a day for me an' brought 'em in every day, even in terrible weather. I told her I would eat what the hospital served for breakfast. Hell, after nearly starvin', even hospital food tasted good.

At first, I didn't want my baby in that (he pronounced the word as 'dat') hospital. Those military hospitals had horrifyin' sights an' smells. I'll never forget the smell of burned flesh. I thought it would be more than she could take." Guarnere chuckled,

"She looked me right in my eyes an' said, 'Bill, General Patton himself couldn't keep me out of this hospital. I'm not leaving you by yourself in here.'" Tom and Frank smiled when they heard this. Hanks started to plan a chapter about Bill and his songbird.

One morning, a driver with a limousine picked up the former Easy Company soldiers and Leigh at the hotel. They were driven to a large hangar on the outskirts of London.

The interior of the hangar had been painstakingly transformed into the Bois Jacques. A few tons of shredded paper made realistic looking snow. Pine trees were constructed on the set and they were made of fiberglass and wood.

Bill, Babe and Leigh were escorted inside by security officers. Both men were momentarily taken aback by the extremely accurate depiction of Bois Jacques. The hangar was very warm due to the lights used in film making, but Guarnere and Heffron felt a slight chill for an instant. Bill told Babe,

"The only thing missin' is the cold an' the noise from the Krauts shellin' us." Heffron agreed,

"Get a load of those trees, ain't they just like the real things? Holy God, they even have some that got hit with tree bursts." Leigh was taking in the entire scene. She noticed mannequins depicting dead, frozen German soldiers and cringed a bit, finding them entirely too lifelike.

Hanks shook hands with the Guarneres and Babe. Bill and Babe made an earlier trip to help with the filming of the episodes in Normandy and they were well acquainted with Tom Hanks. He told Leigh,

"Mrs. Guarnere, we're getting set up to film some battle scenes for Episode 6. Tomorrow, we're shooting the scene in which your husband is injured during his rescue of Joe Toye. You're more than welcome to attend. Are you up to seeing the scene? I don't want it to be too upsetting for you."

"I honestly don't know how I'll respond. Don't worry, I'm in excellent health and there's no chance of me collapsing due to a heart attack or a stroke. It will probably be emotionally jarring. I obviously wasn't there when Bill lost his leg. I saw him in the hospital after he had his first surgery." Hanks apologized for implying that Leigh was too frail to withstand the emotional scene.

"Mr. Hanks, there's no need to apologize."

"Mrs. Guarnere, please, call me Tom. I understand that you cooked for Bill and brought him food twice a day when he was recovering. Given the way you met your husband and your role as the Songbird of the 506th, I think there's enough about you to warrant another chapter in the movie." Leigh told Hanks that while she found it flattering that someone would find her story interesting, she added,

"Please don't make that part of the movie. I'm a microscopic part of this. I don't want to take anything away from the telling of Easy Company's story." Tom Hanks respected Leigh's wishes, but he deeply regretted not adding an additional chapter to the movie that told the story of Guarnere and his songbird."

Some of the actors portraying the men of Easy showed up early to see Bill and Babe. They met the men during the time the episodes set in Normandy were shot and the actors immensely enjoyed spending time with the men Tom Hanks called, "My boys from South Philadelphia."

Hanks had briefly spoken with the actors, telling them that Bill Guarnere's wife Leigh was on the set. He told them where she was located in the hangar and some of the men wanted to meet her.

Leigh was surprised at the resemblance of the actors to the men they portrayed. She gasped at the sight of Kirk Acevedo in costume as Joe Toye. After introducing himself to her, Acevedo said,

"I hope I didn't cause you to relive anything painful connected to Mr. Toye." Leigh assured him that she was fine,

"It's striking how much you resemble Joe. He was a good friend and Joe was one of Bill's groomsmen at our wedding." She also told Kirk about Bill and Joe racing each other in wheelchairs in the Atlantic City military hospital. Acevedo thought that a scene showing Joe and Bill racing each other in wheelchairs should be included in the movie. Ron Livingston was next to introduce himself to Leigh. He said,

"Mrs. Guarnere, you look as if you've seen a ghost."

"You look so much like Nix that it's almost eerie. He is the one who told me about Bill being seriously injured. Nix looked out for me, ensuring that I had a hotel room and something to eat. Lewis took me to the American Hospital to see Bill after his first surgery." When Ron asked about Nixon's personality, Leigh laughed,

"On occasion, Lewis could be a tiny bit of a snob. When we were speaking to a receptionist in the American Hospital in Paris, he seemed surprised that I spoke fluent French.

I deliberately spoke French to show him that he wasn't the only intellectual in the room." Livingston laughed and Leigh continued, "I'm guessing that the image of a woman with a few years of college was incongruous with his unsaid, but palpable feeling that he found Bill a bit too low brow for his tastes.

Nothing was ever mentioned and Nix did genuinely care about Bill. He was a good man, and very complex. There was an emotional detachment about him. Lewis comforted me after he gave me the news about Bill and he seemed to be sort of stiff and uncomfortable.

You've heard without a doubt about Nix always having his flask of whiskey with him. Before leaving my dressing room, I asked if he had the flask and I drank a little bit of the Vat 69 to give me some liquid courage. I was so upset that I nearly left my purse behind. Lewis grabbed it up and brought it with him." Livingston thanked Leigh for her insights regarding Nixon.

Damian Lewis grinned as he introduced himself to Leigh.

"It's an honor to meet the Songbird of the 506th. I heard the recording of you and the Andrews Sisters. You're a fabulously talented woman." Leigh thanked him,

"It's as if I'm talking to the 1940s version of Dick Winters. You even sound a bit like him." Lewis asked her, using his natural British accent,

"Do I still sound like him now?"

"It's amazing how much you learned to sound like him. Dick caught my garter at our wedding and he blushed. He is the one who told me about the USO audition. As you are undoubtedly aware, he's a wonderful man and he was an excellent, natural born leader." Damian shook hands with Leigh, telling her,

"It's been a pleasure to meet you, Mrs. Guarnere." Rick Gomez was next in line. Tears came to Leigh's eyes as she told him,

"George Luz was a very dear friend. You look quite a bit like him." When Gomez asked if she had any good stories about Luz, Leigh made Rick laugh as she told about George Luz getting the false eyelashes stuck on his eyes, the impressions he did and the reactions of Luz's buddies to his predicament.

Then, Dale Dye approached Leigh. He shook hands with her and introduced himself.

"I know who you are. It seems as if I'm talking with my former boss again." Dye wanted to know more about Colonel Sink and Leigh told him about Sink bringing the champagne for the attendees at the impromptu gathering at the NCO Club and the way he came to her defense when Captain Sobel lost his temper.

She also told of how the colonel was the one to tell her about getting the gig with the Andrews Sisters and the way he seemed to regard her as a daughter.

A young man wearing an Army fatigue jacket, a black t-shirt, jeans, a New York Yankees baseball cap, wire framed glasses and sneakers was next in line. He had black hair, a scruffy black beard (grown for filming both Bastogne episodes) and blue eyes. The young man shook hands with her,

"Mrs. Guarnere, my name is Frank John Hughes and I'm honored to play the part of your husband." He paused, adding in Bill's dialect,

"So, whadda ya think, Doll? Do I sound like him?" Leigh smiled,

"Yes, you sound exactly like Bill. My husband thinks very highly of you and he's enjoyed talking with you." Guarnere also told the actor, during one of their many telephone conversations, about the strip of muscle that connected his mangled leg to his foot. Bill tapped on the receiver to illustrate how the muscle pulsated.

Hughes wanted to know how she and Bill met, so Leigh told the story of the member of Dog Company, getting a laugh from the actor. Then, he asked about how Bill dealt with his life changing injury. Leigh described her husband's attitude of,

"They'll give me a wooden leg an' I'll be fine." She explained that he never considered himself handicapped and that she never kept Bill from doing things he believed he could do, citing how he got up and down a ladder.

"He says, 'I climb up and down the ladder, but I do it in a different way. I may climb down on my ass, but I get it done.'" Then, Leigh told the story about the airplane having engine trouble and Bill hopping on one leg, demanding a parachute so he could jump out of the plane.

Hughes thanked Leigh for her time. She found him to be extremely polite and committed to his portrayal of her husband. After talking with the actor, Bill came up to Leigh, asking,

"What did ya think of the kid? He sure as hell sounds like me."

"He sounds just like you, but you're better looking."

"Not every guy can be good lookin' like ol' Guarnere." Leigh laughed and kissed him,

"Not every guy has your penchant for telling the truth while being an adorable smart ass." He chuckled at his wife's comment. The time arrived for the battle scenes to be filmed. Leigh was surprised to see the artificially created pine trees exploding as the effects of the enemy shelling was depicted.

Babe and Bill intently watched the actors. If they were bothered by what they saw, they never indicated having a problem with reliving the Battle of the Bulge. Tom Hanks asked both men during a break in filming if they wanted to leave the set. Both Guarnere and Heffron refused. Bill said,

"It's ancient history, Kid. I kinda expected to see more explosions." Hanks explained that some scenes would have explosives rigged to go off, but the majority of the explosions would be added by computer animation. Babe told Hanks,

"It's too bad you couldn't make it cold so those kids could really understand what it was like for us. They'll never understand what it was like to be in that freezin' weather day in an' day out." Bill added,

"Tom, if ya wanna know what it was like, just imagine wearin' pajamas an' gettin' 'em soakin' wet wit' freezin' rain an' snow. Then, go stand in a blizzard wit' lots of high speed wind an' stay outside that way for a few months."

"I'm telling the actors what you just said, word for word, Bill. You boys were beyond tough. I'd like to think that the young men of today could do that, but they don't make men like you guys anymore." Guarnere disagreed,

"There are still men like us. Just wait and see, someday they will have to step up an' do the right thing in war or if somethin' would happen in the states." The following morning, Bill, Babe and Leigh returned to see the depiction of Guarnere's leg being destroyed. Bill noticed a special effects man bringing something onto the set. The man set up the scene in the paper snow. Guarnere had everyone laughing when he told Heffron,

"Look, Babe, there's me leg." For this scene, hidden explosives were used to simulate the shelling of Bill and Joe. Tom Hanks insisted upon the trio wearing some industrial ear plugs due to the intensity of the sound. At first, Bill and Babe wouldn't wear the ear plugs. They watched the scene, agreeing,

"It sure as hell sounds like it did back then." Both men decided to put in the ear plugs after experiencing ringing in their ears from the noise.The scene began with Bill hearing Joe's voice. Leigh stifled a gasp when she saw Kirk Acevedo dragging himself in the snow, saying,

"I've got to get up...I've got to get up." Leigh watched intently as Hughes darted from the foxhole to save Acevedo. She was so involved with the scene that she saw Bill and Joe instead of the actors. Leigh could almost hear the real voice of Buck Compton shouting,

"Come on, come on!" Then, the massive explosion detonated, sending paper, black dirt and tree fragments into the air. The following scene was set up and the actors were positioned in the paper snow tinted with red to simulate blood.

Although she never made a sound, tears flowed down Leigh's face as she saw the lifeless looking bodies of the young men in the scene. She managed to stop herself from crying out in horror at the depiction of Bill's foot being connected to his right leg by a pulsating strip of muscle.

Knowing the living hell Guarnere experienced was like a body blow to Leigh. She felt like sobbing until she couldn't produce more tears and she couldn't help but see Bill lying in the red tinted paper snow instead of Hughes.

This brought back the heartbreak and horror she experienced when Nixon delivered the bad news about Bill. She had no idea how he was able to tell her, after waking up to find her in a chair beside his hospital bed,

"I can see you've been gettin' too upset about me. I'll be fine." A young woman working behind the scenes kept a close watch on Leigh. There was an agreed upon a signal she could give if she needed to leave the hangar during filming.

Bill wanted to stand beside or behind Leigh, but a camera mounted on a dolly for tracking shots blocked his path and he didn't want to hold up filming by having to take a detour around the hangar to stand by her. He was standing close to the young woman watching his wife. Guarnere noticed the tears flowing down Leigh's face and he felt guilty for bringing her to the set.

When Leigh saw the badly mangled leg and the agony Bill had in the aftermath of the shelling, crying out in pain as he was loaded onto the stretcher, she raised her left arm. The young woman led her off set to a quiet area where she could sit down and get away from the intense scene.

Leigh was almost ready to sit in a canvas director's chair when she noticed Bill following her. He quickly went to her, balanced on one crutch and pulled her close to him, stroking her back as she sobbed with her head against his shoulder. Guarnere could feel her trembling.

"Sweetheart, it's OK. That was a long time ago." Leigh answered, with her voice breaking,

"I had no idea what you went through. It's like a knife in my heart to see how badly those bastards hurt you. Dear God, all of that suffering!" Guarnere kissed the top of her head,

"Honey, I shoulda insisted that you stayed home instead o' talkin' ya into comin' here. I was too damn selfish wantin' you to come along. Leigh, I really didn't think you would take it so hard after all these years. I don't want nothin' hurtin' you like this an' I'm sorry."

"It isn't your fault. If I wanted to stay home, I would've stayed. Even if it's all make believe, this was the first time I saw what happened before you arrived at the hospital." Guarnere got a handkerchief from a pocket in his jacket and he dried Leigh's tears. She got a tissue out of her purse, blew her nose and deposited the used tissue into a nearby trash can.

"Baby, do you wanna go back to the hotel. I'll go wit' ya. They're done wit' that scene. Let's just go back an' take it easy. I wanna hold ya close to me while we relax on the bed."

"Yes, I'd like to go back to the hotel." Bill got the attention of the limousine driver assigned to him by Tom Hanks. He asked the young man to please take them to the hotel and to let Babe know where they were going.

Meanwhile, Tom Hanks had noticed Bill leaving the set. He guessed that Guarnere was going where Leigh went with the assistant. Tom saw Bill comforting his wife. Hanks tapped Hughes on the shoulder, telling him,

"If you want to know more about the type of man Bill Guarnere is, just look over there." Both men respected the Guarneres' privacy and they didn't intrude. Seeing the tender side of the still tough former staff sergeant gave the actor a better understanding of Bill's personality.

The driver went to find Heffron, giving him Bill's message. Then he returned, walking with Bill and Leigh to an exit. He asked them to wait while he got the car. Soon, the large limousine pulled up to the door. The driver got out and opened the back door for the Guarneres. Bill stepped aside to allow Leigh to enter the car first.

They were soon en route to The Ritz. Guarnere smoked a cigarette during their ride to their plush hotel suite. Once they entered the suite, Bill and Leigh went back to the bedroom. Leigh removed her coat and shoes, reclining on the bed. Bill took off his coat and shoe, setting his crutches beside the bed. He stretched out beside Leigh, pulling her close to him and wrapping his arms around her.

Guarnere had never seen his wife as upset as she had been in the hangar. He kissed her, gently rubbing her back,

"Are you OK now, Baby? I don't want anythin' upsettin' ya like that again." He nuzzled his face into her hair, adding, "I love you, Leigh. You got me through all o' that stuff, bein' there for me an' cookin' for me." She snuggled close to him,

"I'm OK, Bill, and I love you, too. Thank God Mama and Pop never had to see that. It would've broken their hearts." Guarnere continued to rub her back,

"You're right, Baby. It's a blessin' they didn't see how bad it was." Leigh was quiet for a moment and then she asked him,

"Do you think the kids and grandkids should be told ahead of time about that scene? It's emotionally devastating. Granted, I'm probably not as strong as you are. I don't know how the hell you can watch it and not let it upset you.

I hate to admit it, but I don't think that I can sit through it with our family. My emotions feel as raw as they did the day I got the news from Nix."

"Baby, the kids an' grandkids need to know the truth. We can tell 'em ahead o' time that it's gonna be hard for 'em to watch an' they can make up their own minds.

The truth ain't always pretty or nice. It don't bother me seein' it, 'cause it was a long time ago. I always knew I had it in me to live wit' the injury. Survivin' was the hard part, at first, but it beat the hell out o' dyin'.

Honey, you're a strong woman. If it hurts ya that much, then I don't expect ya to sit through that part. Like I said, I don't never want you hurtin' like that again. You're still my everythin', Leigh." Bill tenderly kissed her.

"The kids and grandkids can decide for themselves if they want to see that scene. You're right, Honey, they should know the true story. You're one hell of a man, Bill Guarnere, and you're still my everything, too."

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