#these span from 2007 to 2010

[mondstalgia]

BL ships that I will never forget:

In a few weeks it's gonna be 14 years of obsessing over queer media, especially BL, so here are the ships always on my mind in no particular order.

Arata & Shingyouji (Takumi-kun Series 4: Pure, 2010): Listen the Takumi-kun Series from 2007 to like 2011 was my life as a (pre-)teen. In hindsight really sketchy but anyway haha. Those two really caught my eye back then though (especially their racy kisses) and I was happy they got their own bigger part in one of the movies.

Evan & Isak (Skam Season 3, 2016): Was there a queer European teen that wasn't obsessed with this season of Skam? I remember re-watching it so many times I could recite their text without speaking Norwegian. Plenty of beautiful Skam universe parallel couples out there but these two will remain the iconic blueprint.

ChenAi (Kiseki: Dear to me, 2023): Almost unfair to put them on here but seeing how I haven't been able to think about any other ship every single day for the last 3 months, I feel like it's justified. They just have everything I want and need to get hyperfixated on.

Seiryo & Yuzuru (Seven Days, 2015): Oh my, the way I loved this silly concept and how funny it was yet they managed to get me all emotionally involved in the span of two movies? Insane chemistry and just..everything I needed back then. Especially since it was then one of the very few BL's I saw without a sad ending.

KornKnock (Bad Romance 2016, Together With Me 2017 - 2018): Listen, plot wise Manner of Death is the absolute height to me but when it comes to MaxTul I will never forget them as Korn and Knock in these series. Forever grateful to all the fanvids that led me to finding my BL fathers. Chemistry forever out of this world. Also shout out to Yiwha, best female character in any BL and my wife.

WinTeam (Until We Meet Again 2019, Between Us 2023): The couple that made me aware of what second lead syndrome was because I waited so long for more of them, it felt eternal. I don't think I will ever get tired of these two.

VegasPete (KinnPorsche, 2022): Who said I couldn't like a toxic ship? These two took me by surprise, I didnt even know they were going to be a ship in the series. Definitely acknowledging how fucked up they are yet at the same time it's the forst toxic ship that really got me. I love them, in my own weird way.

HaoGu (HIStory 3: Make Our Days Count, 2019): I mourned them like I have mourned no other couple. I should have known from the title but they really lead me astray. My beautiful boys, the star crossed lovers. They still get me emotional now, I might go cry now.

Hira & Kiyoi (Utsukushii Kare, 2021 - 2023): Before ChenAi there were Hira and Kiyoi who absolutely owned my heart. I love how misunderstood by BL fans they were who claimed their toxicity. Meanwhile I simply love how weird their relationship is and getting to see a real Tsundere in action. I'm obsessed with them.

Honourable Mention: Kim Jae Wook as Min Sun Woo in Antique Bakery, 2008. The very first gay character I saw in Korean media. Forever iconic, forever in my heart.

[darkcircles4lyfe]

labor of love

Thinking back on the books and shows that have captivated me most over the years, I’ve noticed that a significant part of my enjoyment comes through glimpses of the creator themselves. The human, fallible, subjective, personal, and unique perspective that bleeds through. I'm forever trying to see things from the other way around instead of as the audience. As I become more familiar with a person’s work, I almost imagine myself as the close friend who can see bits and pieces of their loved one in everything the write. 

When I deal with fandoms or read and listen to media criticism, I inevitably get slapped in the face by the absence of this habit in other people. Maybe it’s because of concepts like “entertainment” and “consumption” making art into a product we spend our money on, and therefore we feel it owes us something. Maybe it’s the trend of pretending arbitrary differences in taste are actually somehow a basis for objective criticism. Regardless, even though I see plenty of reminders all over fandom spaces encouraging people to just enjoy things without worrying about whether they have some sort of intellectual merit, I don't see much acknowledgement of the creator’s point of view here. 

So let’s talk about creative work as what it is: somebody’s dream, which brewed in the dark and solitary chambers of their mind, real but invisible to the outside world. By some miracle of good fortune and incredibly hard work, that dream is made accessible to us, the audience. It’s difficult to express how surreal that really is. Not all media is like this, of course. But sometimes you can see when a story is made with love, that the creator is so in awe of this miracle that they bring all of themselves into it. When that happens, I too fall in love, and preference no longer seems to matter. It’s not, “I enjoy this thing because it’s so ME,” it’s more, “I enjoy it because it’s so THEM.”  

I worry sometimes that I have rose-tinted glasses on, but here’s the thing. We seem to over-associate criticism with logic, and praise with delusion, when in reality they are both limited. What I’m talking about here is neither. Sorry if this sounds cheesy, but I think “to love,” means “to know.” It’s where flaws and strengths blend together into a whole that is understood as it is cherished. 

All these various observations have been tumbling around in my head more and more since I’ve gotten into this funny little thing called Boku no Hero Academia. It’s so popular, so polarizing, it draws in such a wide range of opinions from so many different kinds of people. I find it fascinating to watch, but, like I just said, it also tends to slap me in the face. Not out of personal offense, mind you. More than anything I’m stunned by how disconnected a lot of people are from this human element, whether they are being negative or positive. Even if they know enough to invoke the name of Horikoshi, they treat him like more of a figure than a real person. 

It’s true none of us can actually truly know him. However, I think that while the author/audience relationship is a somewhat parasocial one, it’s worth acknowledging the mutuality of it as well. Let me take you all on a little journey to bring “the creator” down to Earth. 

First, a few plain facts: Before bnha, Horikoshi was able to get two other manga into serialization: Oumagadoki Zoo and Barrage. The former lasted 37 chapters from 2010 to 2011. Barrage lasted 16 chapters, in 2012. Juxtapose this with Boku no Hero Academia, which as of writing this, has been running for over 370 chapters spanning 8+ years since 2014. Horikoshi is currently 36 years old (born in 1986). 

Now let’s go back even further. His first one-shot was published in 2007, when he was 21. It’s called Tenko, and you can read it in English here. Most obviously, we can see that this Tenko character was later adapted to the Tenko we know in bnha, with a similar power, backstory, and appearance. But I actually think there are a few other ways we can draw comparisons from this genesis of Horikoshi’s career, all the way to the present. 

Here is the intro that prefaces the 2007 one-shot:

^I get chills looking at this, and it makes me grin, no joke. Please take a moment to read all the little tidbits. It sounds like the intentionally foreshadowing first scene of a famous person’s biopic, but no one had a clue back then. I just find that so hilarious and moving at the same time.

So think of the Tenko one-shot as a window into who Horikoshi was as an artist and a storyteller pre- pro industry, with the assumption that certain aspects of his work are probably simultaneously a bit more upfront but also underdeveloped. You know, like a kid. There’s both honesty and naivety there. I can also think back to being around 21 myself (only a few years ago lol), about the stories I was writing in school, the workshop classes I was in with other people my age, what they were writing, the things that were important to us that we discussed informing our work. It’s a formative time, right?

One of the primary things I notice about the Tenko one-shot is that it centers themes of power, heroism, and trauma, and has a resolution which involves bridging misunderstandings. 

It’s all very ideological, but also full of raw emotion. I read somewhere (sorry can’t remember where) Horikoshi saying that in formulating his idea for the ending of bnha, he has kept asking himself, what does it truly mean to be a hero? It seems he started asking that question way back in 2007, through this little story about swords and their wielders. The Tenko one-shot acknowledges that people and power are morally complicated, as is the idolization of heroes. The ending is hopeful, and looks ahead to times changing for the better by the will of progressively-minded and determined people. 

This reminds me of the current arc of the bnha manga, and how the whole story might eventually end. Horikoshi has shown us that the villains are worthy of sympathy, that they are a product of society’s willful ignorance, that “heroes” have also done abhorrent things. But he has also embraced the pure optimism of youth. He seems eager to ask the big questions about right and wrong, and present us with both ambiguity AND certainty. The final fights are not at all a contest of strength, and there are no winners and losers. I’m very curious to see how far he takes this. I’m sure it will ruffle some feathers, and leave some people unsatisfied, but that’s probably a good thing.

The other major thing I notice in the one-shot is the character Hana. Now, as she shares her name with one of the main characters in Oumagadoki Zoo, and they are also similar in personality, that could be where the comparison ends. However, that’s nothing to say Horikoshi didn’t continue her themes elsewhere. The Hana in the Tenko one-shot is primarily preoccupied with her goal of becoming a warrior, and she was inspired some time ago by a warrior who saved her. This other warrior, conicidentally, turns out to be a brutal, a-moral, self-proclaimed demon, and he actually doesn’t take Hana seriously. In some ways, this reminds me of Hawks with his own idols, Endeavor and Lady Nagant, and more generally the idea in bnha that someone you look up to might not be all you imagine them to be. Like All Might and his hidden suffering. Or like Ochako looking up to Izuku up until his solo arc, after which she proclaimed, “special powers are one thing, but there’s no such thing as a special person.” 

Speaking of Ochako. Hana’s primary source of angst in the story is that since she is a woman, her “masculine” ambition is laughed at and dismissed. Her dialogue with other characters is very direct about this, which I find pretty interesting. 

You can really feel her frustration and see the blatant misogyny in how she’s treated. Even though things are stated kinda bluntly, it feels genuine, ya know? Note that she also wears men’s clothes, and nothing about her appearance is catered to the “male gaze.” I mention all this because to me it contextualizes Horikoshi’s more recent female characters. We can infer that he carried this perspective on, but in subtler and more nuanced ways that might not be immediately noticed. They may sometimes look like shonen stereotypes and be influenced by a misogynistic world, but this is likely an act of parody and/or criticism on Horikoshi’s part. For example Ochako’s fight in the sports festival illustrates a similar point to Hana’s struggle as Katsuki is the only one who takes Ochako seriously while other male classmates see her and other female opponents as inherently weak or potential love interests. 

Hana remains ambitious, fostering her own motivation beyond her previous idol, and her ultimate goal is to help people. She reminds me so much of Ochako’s recent convictions. Ochako is fully herself now, and I’m confident her fight with Toga will show this even more, in a way that is much more direct. Since ch 374, I anticipate we may be getting confirmation of things pretty soon, so I wanted to restate that ASAP. 

I’ve said this before, but it really does trouble me how a lot of people assume so much about bnha based on other shonen, disregarding the fact that Horikoshi is his own person. This either leads to undo criticisms or expectations that will likely not be delivered on. It makes me sad because I want people to enjoy this story for what it is. I hope this is a reminder that although it may seem on the surface like Horikoshi is rehashing the same old thing, his work really is a labor of love, of knowing. It is an homage, which both celebrates and deconstructs. Please remember that for the day when folks will be scrambling trying to figure out how we got here. Ironically, the signs were there all along, from the start of Horikoshi’s career, if you only care to look. 

[batsplat]

seeing the jorge celebrations you posted is so interesting, but besides the gladiator, i didn't even know any of them. dorna and the motorcycle media have been talking valentino's celebrations for years, with stuff like "top 10 valentino rossi celebrations," but they're so indifferent to everyone else's. it's so unfair. thanks for showing me

wait a minute I think melandri said something like this in 2010

obviously jorge himself was a bit of a critic lol

anyway, yeah, of course there is a bit of a disparity, which is in part because dorna knows what will get clicks but is also a bit of a self-perpetuating cycle. I mean, you may have noticed but much of that post was like... me scrounging together screenshots from the actual race footage rather than finding actual nice photos. if you don't show people this stuff, of course they're not gonna decide for themselves whether they're into it or not. it's a shame, because it's kinda also interesting specifically in relation to valentino? like, everyone who was doing celebrations after he '''started'''' it was kinda inevitably in conversation with his approach, and it's an interesting element of his impact on the sport

with jorge specifically, I do think part of it is that it did kinda tail off. you have this 2007 stuff... then you have a few other fun ones like that time he almost killed himself jumping into the water jerez 2010 or the chair in le mans 2010 melandri thought was like, sophisticated subliminal mind games via the colour of the chair. what an incredible sentence to type out. and of course various championship celebrations but... it did change, he still did the lorenzo's land stuff and the jumping on the podium, but it also changed a bit tonally? a little more defiant, not always wanting to give a gift to the fans as much it was rubbing it in their faces. valentino is unique in that he has these kinda staged celebrations over the span of so many years, so you do also have a little bit of an arc there. the way he's changed his approach over those years, when he kinda went back to that over the years and what that meant to him (cf 2003-04) - but then the memorable celebrations post-2006 are really the spontaneous ones (kissing the corkscrew, pointing to the 99, celebrating to the empty jerez grandstands). it's a well he keeps coming back to in one way or the other, but it's hardly a uniform approach. jorge's celebrations tail off way sooner in his career way more sharply - and beyond his actual popularity or lack thereof with the general fanbase at that time, that's probably part of why they haven't stuck in people's minds in the same way

that being said!! yes!! motogp content mills are SO uncreative like!! come on, there's more shit out there!! mine those mills!! or something! let the new fans see jorge jumping over an imaginary rope! also, can I just say, there's two jorge/dovi title fights out there and I bet dorna still has some juicy stuff in their archives the rest of us don't have access to. come on, please, the people are starving

[maranello]

Why is Santander the root of all evil 😗 very curious to know

Sigh. Okay. Just know that I am not un-biased and I am just. tired and fed up fed up with Ferrari F1 shenanigans. Buckle up, kids, this is going to be a long one:

1. In the two periods of Santander's relationship with Ferrari (2010-2017; 2021-current), we have seen a Spanish driver in a Ferrari seat, questionable-at-best management decisions and from the pit wall, the phrase "internal politics" underlie every conversation surrounding why Ferrari has not won another title since 2007/2008, while Red Bull somehow are snagging consecutive titles. Did I mention our cars are not performing well either?

So if I had a nickel. For every time this has happened. I would have two nickels. And two times is not much in the grand scheme of things, but it is in the span of 15 years. Like. 10 out of the 15 years. You know, the very same 15 years since Ferrari last won an F1 title.

I personally think if you have not won a title in 15 years maybe you should stop doing the same things that have not won you a title in those 15 years. 2. Putting the viscerally unsavory flashbacks of longsuffering tifosi and outright conspiracy theories aside, to put it bluntly: Santander Group, a Spanish bank, had been the title sponsor (first period) and is one of the the biggest sponsors (current period) of Scuderia Ferrari F1. When you are such a big sponsor, you have a say in things, and Santander have a vested interest in seeing the Spanish driver they are backing to succeed at Ferrari. Now, whether that is in Scuderia Ferrari's best interests or gives it the best shot at winning anything is a different matter— The board and the management of Ferrari are obligated to contend with what Santander wants. It would be wrong to assume that Santander can single-handedly call the shots in Ferrari as a big sponsor, but it would also be wrong to deny that they can, possibly do, and likely have played a part in the famed internal politics of Scuderia Ferrari in the time(s) that they have been sponsors. 3. It is one thing to say that Silverstone 2022 was "gifted" to Carlos Sainz Jr. But another to highlight what Santander's official account posted under Ferrari's post praising Charles' efforts in the race (after the pit wall royally screwed his race up with a win on the line and more importantly, a championship, mind you, at that point, still to play for):

While we always have to keep in mind that official social media accounts are often just corporate personas and are very deliberate about what they do to get your sympathy and your engagement— What can you possibly gather from a comment like that?

I want to see Scuderia Ferrari consistently challenging for and winning championships again. I want to see decisions being made that support this goal. At that point in 2022, Charles was still our best and realistically only shot. To see a comment being made like that so blatantly on an official account that could (and from a PR standpoint, should've!!!) easily be using corporate teamwork language?

It was hard to give Santander the benefit of the doubt that this partnership, this time, does enough to serve Ferrari in its goals rather than obstruct it. And a large part of that is also on management for not being firm with how much input to take balancing what a sponsor wants and what is good for the team.

4. The bulk of the issues that Ferrari fans have with this whole Santander situation has a lot more to do with Ferrari's internal politics getting in the way of doing what needs to be done on a management level to win - and the way that affects the relationship of Ferrari with other talented drivers, such as Kimi Räikkönen (which this article someone dug up on Twitter from 2012 goes into) and Felipe Massa, whom I need you to remember was not just some almost-world champion of 2008, but was considered one of the very best talents of his generation and groomed to be the heir of Michael at Ferrari in 2006.

This is not a knock at "Santander-backed" drivers or to say they unfairly got their positions and brought nothing to the table. I, for one, have a soft spot for the Fernando Alonso years because he was the first Ferrari driver I actually got to see race in person. He came so close to the title in 2010. And to this day I still have no idea how he was a title contender to the end with that car in 2012. And clearly in the year of our lord 2023, you see he still has that killer drive to get to whatever team it takes that can give him the best shot at winning and still has all the talent in the world + experience as a 2X F1 world champion/Le Mans winner today to back it up. (I would have loved to be watching him race if I could bear to look at Formula 1 this year with how Ferrari is doing.)

Charles Leclerc is, to the tifosi, and I believe to good part of Ferrari itself and many who had been a part of Ferrari, special, though. He is a generational talent. He has grown up through the ranks of Ferrari's own driver academy and is the very first to make it to the works team, in a very short time too. To many of us longsuffering Ferrari fans, it seems that surely, provided he has the right car and a good team in the pits and on the wall, he will bring the championship back to us. If Ferrari cannot win with him, who has been steadfast and loyal even through a rough year like 2020 and has performed nothing short of miracles with a shitbox of a car, then Ferrari's the problem. And the biggest problem being things—whether it is internal politics (largely) or ego (also huge) or plain bad decision making (I don't know how to fix this) or technological development (least of our problems really, Ferrari is capable of producing good cars)—keep getting in the way of Ferrari fixing its problems and winning a goddamn championship.

So, we are at Santander Ferrari 2: Electric Boogaloo. Charles' current 5-year contract is ending in 2024. If, let's just say, poor decision-making from the pit wall at crucial moments costing not just wins but potential championship contention, internal politicking that seem to leave a legendary racing marque completely unable to get out of a 15-years-and-counting deep hole it keeps digging further, technological developments that despite sacrificing seasons for keep missing the regulations and even when it gets marginally right will ultimately be sniped by poor pit wall calls or the FIA & co. anyways, etc., Charles, who has taken the brunt of a lot of blame off the shoulders of the team and repeatedly reiterated his dedication to winning the title with Ferrari, decides to look elsewhere—

Do you see why alarm bells are ringing for Ferrari fans?

I feel that it's just such a misrepresentation to say that all the reaction we have been seeing against Santander are just Charles Leclerc fangirls looking to discredit Carlos Sainz Jr., making up conspiracy theories about "Sainztander," and bullying his fans etc. Santander meddling in Ferrari is not a newly invented narrative nor is it a completely unfounded suspicion by salty fans.

To me, Ferrari will always come first. Ferrari always should come first. So it is great when the interests of big sponsors, drivers, the management, and the team itself all align. It is also incredibly rare. This entanglement with Santander, from 2021 onwards, just increasingly feels like a mistake because it seems that—and I hope to God I am wrong—Ferrari has not learned anything from our first stint with Santander, and it will cost us.

5. So we arrive here: the morning of April 15, 2023.

Lapo Elkann, with his wild eyes and tattoos, colorful personality (and personal history) to match the blazers and pants he wears, has been in a lot of contact with his brother John Elkann, the chosen heir of the Agnelli family of Fiat fortune, recently. After a period of rather unusual quietness on his usually busy Twitter— perhaps coinciding with the various woes that have been falling upon family-owned sports franchises named Juventus FC and Scuderia Ferrari, of which he is an avid and active fan of— Lapo has returned to the public light, tweeting his thoughts on anything that he sees fit, punctuated with pithy uses of CAPITALIZATION and a variegated arsenal of emojis 🔥♥🙏👀.

AND SO, on this fine morning of April 15, 2023— nearly two weeks after a disastrous Australian Grand Prix to forget for Scuderia Ferrari— Lapo Elkann tweeted thus:

Ferrari 🏎️ needs ❤️ Seriousness and [a] Winning Team in the Pits and Outside it's time to WAKE UP enough with politics and games like this WE WILL NEVER WIN ‼️ ‼ ‼ ‼ ‼

Is—

Is that—

Mamma mia.

Here we go agai—

[droughtofapathy]

The Gilded Age's Broadway Divas: Dorothy Scott (Audra McDonald)

As Peggy Scott's pianist mother, Dorothy isn't afraid to give her husband a piece of her mind at every opportunity. Though enmeshed in bettering Black society up north, she worries for her daughter's safety down south. As she should.

Here she is boys, here she is world, the one you've all been waiting for. Six-time Tony winner Audra McDonald. *The* Broadway Diva. Our reigning queen. Our legend. Our great soprano. Audra has won more Tony Awards for performance than any other actor, and is the only one to have an award in each of the four competitive categories for which she is eligible (Best Leading Actress in a Play/Musical, Best Featured Actress in a Play/Musical). As such, she is one of three theatre greats to have nominations across said categories: the others being the late greats Jan Maxwell and Angela Lansbury. With ten nominations in total, she is tied with Julie Harris and Chita Rivera for most performance nominations and will certainly surpass them the next time she comes to Broadway.

Audra McDonald's repertoire is so vast that this post became the hardest to narrow down. I have elected to highlight a little of everything: songs from shows that deserve a little more love here on Tumblr, Audra favorites, obscure gems, etc.

#1: "The Glamorous Life," Sondheim's 80th Birthday Celebration (2010)

We have no choice but to start with Sondheim. The third of six performers in the iconic Ladies in Red segment of the Sondheim 80th Birthday Concert, Audra takes on this exquisite A Little Night Music number sung by the teenaged Frederika in the movie version (we don't talk about it).

Among Sondheim standards such as "The Ladies Who Lunch" (Patti LuPone) and "Losing My Mind" (Marin Mazzie), some considered the inclusion of this number a little misplaced. I adore it.

According to the Word of God (Donna Murphy), some of the Ladies in Red were being sewed or even taped into their dresses just minutes before taking the stage.

#2: Lady Day at Emmerson's Bar and Grill (2014)

Though this particular show features music throughout and has a phenomenal cast album, it is classified as a "play with music," thus Audra was able to win her multi-record-breaking Tony in 2014. She plays the iconic Billie Holiday in 1959 at the tail end of her career. Here, she performs in a run-down nightclub and grows increasingly drunk and demoralized throughout the evening. It is an incredible piece of both singing and acting.

#3: "As You Make Your Bed," Rise and Fall of the City of Mahagonny (2007)

Though the costume is something I feel we should all bear witness to, Audra's demonstration of her full operatic range adds another layer of excellence. A Weill and Brecht collaboration, Rise and Fall of the City of Mahogonny was first performed in 1930. This clip is from the 2007 Los Angeles Opera production starring Audra and Patti LuPone. Audra plays Jenny Smith, "a whore." The production was recorded for PBS's Great Productions and won two Grammy Awards.

Truly, is there anything Audra can't do?

#4: "Wheels of a Dream," Ragtime Reunion (2023)

Ragtime. Oh, Ragtime. That we live in a world where Ahrens and Flaherty's magnum opus lost Best Musical to The Lion King is my villain origin story. Natasha Richardson (Cabaret) beating out Marin Mazzie for Leading Actress is something I have to accept, but this? In 1998, Ragtime won Best Book, Best Original Score, Best Orchestrations, and Best Featured Actress for Audra McDonald's glorious Sarah. Sarah is a young woman at the turn of the century who has a baby with Brian Stokes Mitchell's (Broadway's Leading Man) Coalhouse Walker, and is taken in by Mother (Marin Mazzie), an upper-class white woman with no name after she is caught having partially buried the living child in Mother's yard. It is a masterpiece of musical talent with a breathtaking score and story.

This role won Audra her third Tony in the span of five years. Listening to Audra and Stokes reunite may well be the closest you ever get to hearing divinity. I implore you to seek out the full original cast album.

A reunion concert was planned for April 2020, but was postponed until this past year with Kelli O'Hara stepping in for the late Marin Mazzie as Mother. The concert was done as a benefit for the Entertainment Community Fund, and dedicated in memory of Marin, who passed away in 2018 from ovarian cancer, book-writer Terrence McNally who died of COVID complications in 2020 (lung cancer), and director Frank Galati, who died in 2023, also of cancer complications.

#5: Master Class (1995)

Master Class is yet another Terrence McNally work, this one a play depicting a fictionalized master class given by opera singer Maria Callas towards the end of her life. Audra, as Sharon, takes the part of her student, the second soprano. This play won Audra her second Tony, and garnered a Tony for the brilliant leading actress Zoe Caldwell, whom Audra partially named her firstborn child after some years later. Her daughter's middle name is in honor of Audra's other close friend, the late Madeline Kahn, who like Marin Mazzie, died of ovarian cancer at 57, the same age, though many years prior.

LINK TO MASTERPOST

[hadestownreconstruction]

Hadestown Reconstruction Project

Well howdy there! Did you know that this video has a total of ten minutes of footage from the 2007 production of Hadestown? This is, to my knowledge, the only pre-studio album footage available on the Internet.

You might also know that Anaïs Mitchell's book, Working on a Song, contains lyrics from cut and reworked songs? Fragments of those very songs can be found in the video.

With those fragments, and the lyrics given to us in the book, I plan to reconstruct a handful of altered or cut songs from the 2007 era. This project will, assuming I complete it, span a couple of months. I'm gonna start with vocals, and depending on who and what I have available to me, later consider recreating the instrumentals to match.

Songs I plan to recreate include:

Epic I

Way Down Hadestown

Everything Written (including the reprise)

Wait for Me

Cloud Machine

Of course, not all songs are possible to recreate at this intersection. For example, the only footage of Everything Written is of the verse altered for the reprise, which tells me nothing about the melody or rhythm of the body of the song. That one's gonna take some effort.

I've got the lyrics prepared for Epic I, Way Down Hadestown, and Wait for Me pretty much sorted out, and I'll hopefully be recording a one-part track soon.

If anyone knows anything about anything pre-2010 Hadestown, gimme a shout! And of course, stay tuned for more updates to come. Seeya!

[the-physicality]

you know there's a lot of yaps about oh stewie beats dt records by 1 game per. well arike set 3972 [dallas franchise record] in 193 games, stewie in 194, dt in 195. [a'ja in 197, edd in 198]

but as far as ages go, it's lj, dt, arike. [asterisk obviously being lj came in at age 20 and americans came in at 21 or older. in this instance lj started just after her 20th, and dt just before her 22nd. lj is a month and a year older than dt. fun fact maya moore is exactly 7 years younger than dt]

and interestingly enough in the span of a week in 2009, 3 people hit that milestone: becky [8/29], dt [9/1], tamika [9/4]

sheryl swoopes, tina thompson, and katie smith all did it in june of 2006 [2-19]

lisa leslie was the first person in the w to hit this milestone, in 2004, nearly 2 years before anyone else would do it

sue and becky took the same number of games to get there [315]

of the 20 youngest people to hit 3972 [everyone who's hit it under 31 years], the list consists of 14 number 1 draft picks [db and arike went 5, cappie went 2- after Seimone augustus who is also on this list, tamika went 3-but drafted with an sei, and candice dupree and crystal langhorne went 6]

48 players have hit this milestone. of the ones that entered the regular wnba draft [ie were not allocated]

5 did it from 1999, 2004, and 2006 draft classes

4 did it from 2001 class [LJ, penny taylor, tamika catchings, katie douglas]

3 did it from 2002, 2008, 2009, and 2013 classes

2006 draftees 1-4 have all hit it

2013 is the only class to have only 1-3 make it

no one has hit this milestone from the draft classes of 2000, 2005, 2007, or 2017

tangela smith [1998], plenette pierson [2003], tina charles [2010], kayla mcbride [2014], jewell loyd [2015], stewie [2016], a'ja [2018], and arike [2019] are the only players in their draft class to hit the milestone

of the 2019 draft class, only 8 players have hit 1000 points, and the next closest to arike [3972] is napheesa collier with 2724, and she was out for a year on maternity leave

arike has also played nearly 800 minutes more than the next 2019 player, jackie young

[virulentmastermind]

𝐁𝐋𝐔𝐄 𝐔𝐌𝐁𝐑𝐄𝐋𝐋𝐀

I follow the lore implied that Wesker is behind Blue Umbrella/is the Umbrella Co. executive.

There are a lot of ties to this theory.

After betraying Umbrella and testifying on the stand, he stole the last of the Archives from the Caucasus base. Wesker would keep the archives he recovered and took over all of Umbrella's assets, planning to establish a new Umbrella.

In 2017, the Umbrella Co. Anti-Bioweapon Development Bureau based in the U.S. developed the "Anti-B.O.W. Arms Albert System Weapon Series" using Wesker's research results. The smallest unit in this series was the Samurai Edge Albert W. Model 01 handgun deemed to be humanity's penultimate anti-biohazard armament and based on Wesker's custom Samurai Edge. Another was the Thor's Hammer Albert.W.Model 02, a 12-gauge automatic shotgun. Umbrella conducted development based on mass-production to be supplied for testing to anti-biohazard units such as the BSAA. His anti-B.O.W. research results were extremely effective in redeeming most of the old Umbrella's dark legacy and mesmerized the researchers.

The entire Anti-B.O.W. Arms Albert System Weapon Series was created from Wesker's own research. Joseph Kendo, who worked on S.T.A.R.S's weapons is also under employ by Blue Umbrella. The executive and owner of Blue Umbrella remains anonymous, completely enshrouded. . . but his telling information about Las Plagas, TRICELL's involvement in Africa, and the 2004 Abduction of the President's Daughter all line up to show that Wesker is the executive.

But, Viktor, why would Blue Umbrella be created?

In the event that Wesker's plan fell through, he had to create a backup: Blue Umbrella. Knowing that the BSAA was corrupt, Albert simultaneously worked on Uroboros & Blue Umbrella so if one plan could not heal the world, the other could. Blue Umbrella was inspired by Chris Redfield; Albert figured that if his modality of purging the earth could not save it, then perhaps Chris's notion of defending it was better.

Since 2007, Blue Umbrella has been slowly collecting evidence for a case against the BSAA. Things changed in 2010, as Blue Umbrella secretly had its own Defense Force activated as the UN wished for Blue Umbrella to catch the BSAA in a sting operation; they were sanctioned by the UN & NATO in a hush-hush manner. There, Dr. Albert Wesker revealed he was still alive, but in a generous show of resources and technology he had been working on, he offered to defend the world instead of kill it. He provided documentation from his time with TRICELL to show other organizations that went heel and had added to corruption within the BSAA. Citing Chris Redfield as his reason for his turn, sharing Project W content with the UN, and showing himself as owner of Blue Umbrella, Wesker was trusted to fulfill Blue Umbrella's goal of a better world. His information also incriminating the previous Umbrella Co was a show of his integrity.

With a life-time prison sentence hanging over his head if he messed up, Wesker maintains clear decorum when interacting as the Captain of Blue Umbrella's Defense Force. On the surface, the organization uses outside talent. . . except for the Blue Umbrella Defense Force.

By the time of approval, the Defense Force was made up of two personnel, both B.O.W.s: Dr. Albert Wesker & Shiloh, a Cerberus that was trained & found personally by Wesker. Knowing about the Blue Umbrella Defense Force requires Top Secret Clearance. In the time span between 2010 and 2017, Albert operated under the name "Barret Welkes," an anagram of his name, and used it during missions. Upon meeting Chris again in 2017, Albert dropped the alias and started using his name again to identify himself.

Then, when Chris accepts the offer to join Blue Umbrella fulltime, Albert steps down as Head Captain of the Defense Force, and becomes team medic and handler/trainer to the C-9 (Cerberus) unit. He still retains his captain designation, but answers to Chris. Chris's Hound Wolf Squad eventually joined under the Blue Umbrella banner. Because of this, Wesker was also a member of Hound Wolf Squad: he chose the name Remus, and Shiloh had the name Romulus.

Blue Umbrella has invented many things:

The Med Injector

Anti B.O.W. ammo: custom tailored to not harm Shiloh or Wesker or those carrying the antibodies from their blood

Anti-Regen Ammo: RAMRODS (for fungal B.O.W.s)

A personal phone / communicator device

Vaccines for every B.O.W. they come into contact with

- Cure for E-Type Infection

AMD Helmet Hud + System (switches to Rebreather Mode and has an oxygen tank that refills; can be upgraded with various parts like Nightvision)

And more!

Members of the BUDF are often innoculated with a vaccine made of Albert Wesker's blood that has the Uroboros virus isolated.

They handle many cases with B.O.W.s and their uniforms and equipment are patterned off of S.T.A.R.S.

They have a headquarters in Munster, Indiana.

Mentioned

↳ @valour-bound

[kwebtv]

Adrian Townsend Schiller (February 21, 1964 – April 3, 2024)

An actor with a career spanning over thirty years, Schiller began his career appearing in an episode of Prime Suspect in December 1992.

Schiller was the face on the anti-drink-driving PIF Moment of Doubt on British TV, part of the DfT's 'Think! Road Safety' campaign from 2007. The advert won won Best Casting at the BTACA awards in December 2008.

In 2021, he played Pasha Verdinikov in two episodes of Death in Paradise.

His other credits include:

Terry Pratchett's Going Postal (2010) (cast as the Banshee, Mr. Gryle)

Being Human (Season 2, 2010)

A Touch of Frost

A Little Chaos (2014)

Doctor Who (2011, episode "The Doctor's Wife")

Victoria (2016–2017)

The Last Kingdom (2018–2022)

Raised by Wolves (2020)]

(Wikipedia)

[legoharrypotter1]

The Evolution of LEGO Harry Potter Sets Over the Years

LEGO and Harry Potter, two iconic and beloved brands, have had a magical partnership that has spanned over two decades. Since the first LEGO Harry Potter sets were released in 2001, fans of both the wizarding world and the colorful bricks have been treated to a series of sets that have grown in complexity, detail, and scale. In this retrospective, we'll take a journey through time to explore the evolution of LEGO Harry Potter sets, from their humble beginnings to the enchanting creations we have today.

2001-2007: The Early Years

The partnership between LEGO and Harry Potter began in 2001, coinciding with the release of the first Harry Potter film. The initial sets were characterized by their simplicity and charm. They featured iconic scenes and characters from the early books and movies, including the Hogwarts Express, the Sorcerer's Stone, and the Chamber of Secrets.

These sets provided a glimpse into the world of Harry Potter, with minifigures of the main characters and magical accessories like wands and broomsticks. While they may appear quaint compared to later releases, these early sets were instrumental in establishing the LEGO Harry Potter brand.

2007-2010: The Hiatus

After several years of producing Harry Potter sets, LEGO took a hiatus from the wizarding world due to changes in licensing agreements. During this time, Harry Potter fans had to make do with the existing sets or seek out discontinued sets on the secondary market.

2010-2011: Return to Hogwarts

The hiatus came to an end in 2010 when LEGO reacquired the Harry Potter license. This marked the beginning of a new era for LEGO Harry Potter sets. The designs became more sophisticated, and the sets grew in size. Notable releases during this period included the massive Hogwarts Castle set, which featured detailed interiors and iconic locations like the Great Hall and the Room of Requirement.

2018-Present: The Golden Era

In 2018, LEGO introduced a new wave of Harry Potter sets, marking the start of the "Golden Era" for lego howgwarts castle enthusiasts. These sets have set a new standard for detail and playability. Some of the notable features of this era include:

Minifigure Diversity: LEGO has expanded its range of minifigures to include characters from all seven books and eight movies, ensuring that fans can collect their favorite witches, wizards, and magical creatures.

Highly Detailed Sets: The sets have become increasingly detailed, with more intricate architecture and advanced building techniques. Iconic locations like Diagon Alley and Hagrid's Hut are brought to life with remarkable accuracy.

Interactive Features: Many sets now include interactive features, such as moving parts, hidden compartments, and play functions. For example, the Hogwarts Castle set from this era features rotating staircases and secret passages.

Collectibility: LEGO has embraced the collectible nature of the Harry Potter universe, releasing sets that cater to different aspects of the wizarding world, from the Hogwarts Castle to the Quidditch Pitch and magical creatures like Buckbeak and the Hungarian Horntail.

Expansion of Accessories: The variety of accessories has expanded significantly, with an array of wands, broomsticks, and magical items that allow for creative play and customization.

Conclusion

The evolution of LEGO Harry Potter sets over the years is a testament to the enduring appeal of both brands. From the early, simpler sets to the intricate and immersive creations of the present, LEGO has continued to capture the magic of the wizarding world and bring it to life in brick form.

The "Golden Era" of LEGO Harry Potter sets has elevated the franchise to new heights, offering fans the opportunity to build and display their favorite magical locations and characters with unparalleled detail and playability. As the partnership between LEGO and Harry Potter continues to thrive, fans can look forward to more enchanting sets that will keep the magic alive for generations to come.

[dreaminginthedeepsouth]

The Ultimate Padded-or-rather-Completely-Fabricated Resume

Tennessee congressman Andrew Ogles’s résumé is too good to be true

Analysis by Glenn Kessler

“That is the state of politics in America today. They want power and control so badly that they are willing to say and do anything to get there. If you don’t have the integrity to just be you and run on what you’ve done, then I don’t want you in Congress. And so that’s how I present myself to you.”— Rep. Andrew Ogles (R-Tenn.), speaking to supporters while running for election, July 23

Ogles, a newly elected member of Congress, has been the subject of news reports by a Nashville television station for having exaggerated his background. When Ogles was one of the holdouts to approving Rep. Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.) as House speaker, he claimed he was “an economist” — a claim he has made several times — along with other embellishments. But NewsChannel 5 in Nashville found that he had taken only one course in economics, at a community college, and received a C. 

Ogles first entered college in 1990 and did not get a degree until 2007.

Now 

The Fact Checker has uncovered more evidence of résumé inflation by Ogles — this time about his business career — that sheds light on a politician who said in his recent congressional campaign that you shouldn’t be in Congress “if you don’t have the integrity to just be you and run on what you’ve done.”Our reporting shows that Ogles’s résumé enhancement is not a recent development. In a 2009 résumé submitted for a job, he claimed numerous roles with businesses and on boards of organizations that were exaggerated or could not be corroborated. A consulting firm he claimed to run from 2003 to 2010 cannot be found in Tennessee corporate records. 

Indeed, during his various bids for public office in this period, local newspapers described him as a restaurateur, not a business consultant.Ogles now tends to skip over this period of his past. His LinkedIn page lists job history starting only in 2011, when he was about 40. In a January C-SPAN interview, when asked what he did before he came to Congress, Ogles said: “I was an entrepreneur young in my career. Fast-forwarding to my midlife crisis, I was in law enforcement and international sex crimes.”

As NewsChannel 5 documented, Ogles was sworn in as a volunteer reserve deputy with the Williamson County Sheriff’s Office in July 2009 but lost that position two years later for not meeting minimum standards, making no progress in field training and failing to attend required meetings. The “international sex crimes” referred to a part-time position as chief operating officer of an anti-trafficking group, Abolition International, that paid a total of $4,000 in 2011, according to the tax filing of the organization.

We sent a long list of questions to Ogles’s communications director and then to his staff director but did not get a response.

In response to the NewsChannel5 coverage, his staff had said that he had condensed his résumé on the campaign trail and that the reporting was fueled by political bias. In a statement, Ogles acknowledged he had wrongly claimed to have earned a college degree in international relations.

Now let’s look at his entrepreneurial claims, using a 2009 résumé originally posted by NewsChannel5 that covers the period now not listed on Ogles’s LinkedIn bio. (Ogles has not disputed that this is his résumé.)

Consulting business

Ogles lists impressive achievements as an executive at E. Net Media & Consulting of Nashville from 2003 to 2010. (The résumé says he was an executive vice president, but his 2015 LinkedIn profile described him as president and owner.) The résumé states that at E. Net Media he represented “a variety of clients ranging from small start ups to Fortune 500 companies.” We could not corroborate his assertions.

No corporate record exists for E. Net in Tennessee state records, although Ogles has set up other corporate entities, public records show. Tennessee corporate records show two companies with similar names were formed by other people before 2003, but neither was associated with Ogles.Ogles claimed that while with E. Net Media, he:“Developed recruiting and training program to reduce attrition for Merrill Lynch, saving up to $15 million annually.”“Evaluated management structure of Merrill Lynch and recommended reducing regional districts from 19 to 12, with projected savings of up to $30 million annually.”

Neither of these statements can be verified. Bill Halldin, a spokesman for Bank of America, which acquired Merrill in 2008, said that Ogles for less than a year worked as a financial adviser for individual investors — a stockbroker — in a Merrill Nashville office from November 2002 to September 2003. (Ogles had lost his first race for Congress in 2002.) Halldin declined to comment on whether Ogles would have performed consulting work for Merrill.As a stockbroker, Ogles would have needed to acquire Series 7 and Series 66 licenses, which are required by law. On his résumé, Ogles listed having those licenses, but he does not mention having been a stockbroker at Merrill. The National Association of Insurance Commissioners has an online record of Ogles holding an “insurance producer” license for one year, from March 25, 2003, to March 24, 2004. Kevin Walters, the communications director for the Tennessee Department of Commerce and Insurance, said the one-year license was for selling life and accident/health insurance.

The résumé also claims Ogles “secured [a] $10 million tax incentive, for film industry positioned VR Limited, to negotiate $35 to $50 million development package in Tennessee.” But no such deal can be found in a search of Tennessee news clips, let alone a company called VR Limited in the film industry. Bob Raines, the executive director of the Tennessee Entertainment Commission, has been with TEC since 2002 and said he was unfamiliar with any such deal.

Other claims on the résumé, such as guiding a $15 million Korean venture fund, are too vague to verify. Not a word about E. Net appeared in Tennessee newspapers, despite the significant deals that Ogles has claimed the company made.The Tennessean reported in 2009 that Ogles had started a company with a partner called “Clipazine.com,” described as an online portal for coupons for local restaurants. That business is not mentioned on the résumé. An online mention of Clipazine from 2009 leads to a dead domain name, and Ogles’s partner does not list it on his LinkedIn page. Archived webpages exist only up to 2011.

Investment firm

Ogles’s 2009 résumé says he was vice president of another Nashville company, called Franklin Investment & Holding, from June 1995 to January 2002. The résumé says that the company had “varied investments in retail, restaurant, real estate, hotel, and apartment properties” and that Ogles “increased portfolio share” by 25 percent and achieved continued growth of 18 to 25 percent a year.But Tennessee corporate records show the firm, formed with Ogles’s brother Justin and a third partner, was in existence only for a fraction of that time. It was created in August 2001 and then dissolved a year later.

Ogles did create a company called Ogles Enterprises Inc. in 1996. This was a short-lived travel agency that was part of Travel Professionals International. The company and Ogles were sued by a landlord in 1997, and the company was cited by a travel arbiter for having “failed to pay for dishonored sales drafts worth $7,123.” It was dissolved by the state the same year.

With his father-in-law co-signing a loan, Ogles bought a doughnut shop in 1997. Then, in 2001, he expanded it to serve three meals a day, with his brother Justin as full partner, according to a June 10, 2001, Tennessean article.In 2002, before being dissolved, Franklin Investment received a business license to operate the Mason Jar Café in nearby Brentwood, Tenn. In April 2003, during Ogles’s first, unsuccessful run for Congress, the Ogles brothers’ Daylight Donuts was put up for sale, with owner financing offered. That same year, the state issued a tax lien on the business.The LinkedIn page for Justin Ogles lists him as owner/operator of Daylight Donuts and Café from June 1998 to February 2010. Reached by phone to explain his brother’s role in the company, Justin Ogles demurred. “I’m not in politics or anything,” he said. “It’s best you take it up with my brother.”

Directorships

The 2009 résumé also says Ogles served on the boards of directors of the YMCA of Franklin from 2005 to 2006, Nurses for Newborns in Tennessee from 2002 to 2007, the City of Franklin from 2004 to 2008, and something called “DDCA” in Franklin from 2006 to the present.The YMCA in Franklin is a branch — not a distinct legal entity — of the Young Men’s Christian Association of Nashville & Middle Tennessee. The Association’s IRS filings for 2005 and 2006 do not show Ogles as a member of its policy/governing board. “Rep. Ogles wasn’t ever a member of that board,” said Jessica P. Fain, the chief strategy officer of YMCA of Middle Tennessee. She said it’s possible he was on a non-policy advisory committee, with no fiduciary or policy authority, at the local branch. Fain checked with the most tenured Franklin staff member, who arrived in 2007, and confirmed that Ogles was not a volunteer board member at that time.The city of Franklin has no “board of directors.” The city is governed by a board consisting of an elected mayor and eight elected aldermen (four from city wards and four at-large). Ogles never served in any elective position, and he does not appear on any of the various city advisory committees where citizens serve alongside aldermen, according to archived lists from 2004 to 2008.Ogles claimed to have served from 2002 to 2007 on the board of Nurses for Newborns — an organization based in Missouri that has a second office in Nashville — but according to IRS filings, Ogles has never served on the board of directors. Matt Robertson, the executive director of the Tennessee office, said Ogles was a member of a nonvoting advisory board for the local office from July 1, 2005, to June 30, 2006.As for DDCA, which stands for Dallas Downs Community Association, in Franklin. 

Ogles’s mother, Beverly, had helped Ogles and his wife buy a house there in 2002; the home was known for its Christmas lighting display. Archived webpages show Ogles was briefly president (and in charge of the pool) toward the end of 2008, but in 2009 his name disappears from the list of board members.

The Pinocchio Test

Ogles’s résumé suggests that he was a savvy business consultant and investor with a number of board memberships. But even as he was supposedly saving Merrill Lynch millions of dollars through his consulting work, he was also briefly a stockbroker there and co-owned a doughnut shop. [He also exaggerates or invents his service on various boards.]

He earns Four Pinocchios.

* * * *

Why we can’t have nice things. 

Because criminals, con men, frauds, hucksters, liars, those who have never really accomplished anything or learned anything can get themselves elected to Congress.  These people are unbelievable. Only in Congress to enrich themselves and run further cons to further enrich themselves.

[desertsquiet]

Name one favorite band from each decade

Omg this is such a cool ask!!

1950s: Idk not much of a “band” decade. Possibly The Crickets? This is truly one of the all time great bops and always will be.

1960s: The Who

Yeah, yeah, Who’s Next and Quadrophenia are AMAZING (and I love The Who By Numbers as well) but they’ll always be the quintessential 60s band for me. Punky, psychedelic, orchestral, baroque, heavy, progressive: they truly did it all in the span of 4 years.

1970s: Led Zeppelin

As much as I love the fact that they have 2 albums from 1969 (proving my theory that it’s the best ever year for music), when you listen to those 2 albums you can hear the 60s coming to an end and leave way for the 70s. They simply defined the decade like no other.

1980s: it’s probably between U2 and The Smiths. They each have one album I was completely obsessed with at some point and I have little to complain about their output in general as far as the 80s are concerned

1990s: The Magnetic fields

I could never thank Neil Gaiman enough for introducing me to their music. It takes awhile to get used to their very unique sound and feel, but once you do they are absolutely amazing. I remember putting on The Charm of the Highway Strip on a plane for the first time and enjoying the heck out of it.

2000: Muse and My Chemical Romance. Like everybody I had my 2000s emo/alternative phase and these two definitely take the cake for my favorites of the decade. Although my favorite Muse album is technically from 1999. Lots and lots of fond memories there and lots of great music as well.

That’s all because I have no clue about any 2010s bands, sorry lol

[systematicallycapricious]

[AoN] PxDN Lore Snippet: R-00 + R-01 Reactivation

Yep, I read Persona x Detective Naoto, and yep, I'm incorporating it into this story. Why? ‘Cause it’s not a bad read, and more importantly it’s got a lot of feasible world lore I can use to enrich the setting, of which I can do all sorts of fun stuff with. Also, Sousei and Sho share a lot of similarities in terms of circumstances and behaviors, so any chance for him and Sholar to cross paths has lots of fun potential as well, even if it's only once.

Anyway, this is just a little snippet from the full AoN-PxDN lore doc that I'm getting straightened-up, 'cause I'm excited about how nicely I got it to fit together. \o/

Spoilers for: Persona x Detective Naoto, Persona 3, Persona 4 Arena/Ultimax, and my fic "Apropos of Nothing" (very mildly though, otherwise I wouldn't be posting it xP)

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

(For quick reference, the R-series ASSW project spanned from roughly 2006 to 2009, with Sousei's run being from 2007-2008, Ai's spanning 2008-2009, and their endings being Yūri's death and Aigis's reactivation respectively. SEES is first founded in Spring 2006 (being Mit/Aki/Shinji), and P3 happens as normal from 2009-2010. The 7th Gen ASSW project also ended with the explosion & creation of the Dark Hour on Sept 10th, 1999.)

So, several times throughout 2011, Minazuki accesses Ikutsuki's isolated server + the Ergo database server in general, with the first instance of the latter catching the ShadOps/KJG's attention. A bit spooked by the unauthorized access, everything related to Ergo (both current and old) is given a thorough security check, resulting in the discovery of 3 ASSWs sitting around in storage, among other things.

(Note: the database server access happens differently in this AU, so up until now, Minazuki had been accessing the isolated server legitimately via Ikutsuki's whitelisted computer with admin credentials, and then attempted to access the general server with an unregistered device. I still have to learn how databases work though, so I might have to adjust that in the future.)

Pretty much no one seems to know much about this mysterious 5th Gen and two R-series androids, despite there actually being a decent bit on information on-file for the latter once they decrypted it, and so, alongside a bunch of other old Ergo artifacts, the three are shipped out to the Yakushima Ergo quarantine facility for inspection and threat assessment. Some of the staff who were cited to work on the R-series are also contacted by Mitsuru to get further information.

(Note: unlike OG, the transport goes smoothly, because canon-divergence. /o/)

Mr. Tsuge Tetsuma has been employed as a researcher in the Kirijo Ergonomics Robotics Division for a long time now, but more importantly since the R-Series project was abruptly halted and its products stuffed away into storage. Now, he was nowhere near happy about having to leave Sousei and Ai in there for all this time, mind you, but he didn't have the authority nor the opportunity to get them back out of storage on his own, and so it was all he could do to stick with the company until an opportunity might arise. Getting a phone call from Mitsuru provided one such opportunity.

With the aid of Tsuge, the three ASSWs are reactivated and inspected, and once Mitsuru learns that they're not threats and are sentient beings with "hearts" of their own, they're given official rank as auxiliary members in the ShadOps to keep Public Safety from trying to confiscate them on the grounds of being "highly dangerous weapons". And… I guess I haven't figured out the specifics beyond that point yet, like if they actually help out the ShadOps or not. I feel like they might given Sousei’s determination to prove his usefulness and Ai’s desire to help out overall, but Sousei’s determination to have a combat-type Persona might also undermine that? Anyway, Tsuge is also brought into the fold as an official ShadOps researcher and tasked with being the supervisor of the Kurogamis due to his past experiences and relations with them and their creator.

(Fun fact: the reactivation order goes Ai, Sousei, Labrys because they have more information on, and familiarity with, the R-series units than the 5th Gen unit, so there's less risk involved with activating the Kurogamis than there is with Labrys. (Plus, in the event that Labrys ends up being hostile or out of control, the Kurogamis could be called in to help suppress her.) Also, Tsuge knows that Sousei will be rowdier than Ai, so as one of the chief specialists on the team, he's making the executive decision to give the team the ‘easier’ one to start with, lol.)

A year passes (which is what makes up a lot of Sousei's impression of "smoldering away at a lab, not yet fulfilling his mission as a suppression weapon"), and in late 2012 the National Police Agency entreats the KJG for technological aid in civilian safety and law enforcement measures. With the Kurogamis’ robotic physique and Sousei’s Past Reading in mind, this opportunity gets presented to Tsuge and the Kurogamis, of which Tsuge eventually gets Sousei on board with when he learns that they can be stationed at Yagokoro's PD, where Aoi Touko works. Ai didn't really need a ton of convincing, being content to be wherever Tsuge and Sousei are and determined to help out where she can.

(Note: part of the "last year's brutal crimes" is influenced by the Inaba kidnapping and murder cases, as it caused quite a stir across the nation, though the other part is probably more mundane, non-magical crime. Also, other technology and robotics were implemented in other PD's across Japan, but Yagokoro was the only one to make use of ASSWs specifically.)

And from there, PxDN happens more-or-less as normal, although certain events may or may not have Naoto meet the Kurogamis and/or Tsuge before PxDN occurs. It depends on if they end up staying on Yakushima for the whole time or if they go to an Ergo or ShadOps facility on mainland Japan, and furthermore if it happens to be the one Naoto visits or not. Most likely, if they do cross paths at all, it'll be brief, or else an off-handed mention of them by someone else, but I'll have to see as I solidify more of that part of the timeline. P:

Also, Tsuge’s employment with the ShadOps lets him distribute Evokers to Touko and Naoto during PxDN’s events, perhaps special models more recently designed for use outside of the Dark Hour/CoUn, because they really shouldn’t be able to summon their Personas so casually in the conscious world. It’s somewhat believable for when Naoto Awakens to Amatsu Mikaboshi and when she’s trying to save Touko, given the circumstances, but outside of that. :P

[freifraufischer]

British Leotard Fit: the London Quad

One of the small notes in the Whyte Review into the abuses at British Gymnastics mentioned that the coaches would deliberately order competition leotards a size too small. I was asked during my watch to keep an eye out for evidence of this (since the Whyte Review was a little light on the circumstances of that). The reason to dig into this is that in an era of fast fashion a lot of people don't know what they're seeing when they see badly fitted clothing and what was being done here was extremely manipulative and dangerous. Viewers being aware of the signs of bad fit in leotards that span an entire team is a sign of abusive behavior that may be right in front of people.

When I last checked in I thought I saw systematic evidence of this in the Beijing Quad, with British leotards looking like they fit as well as any other federations until around 2006 when they started to develop some extreme fit issues (wrinkles in the armpit area and under the bust indicating that not enough room was in the garment in the shoulders or for breasts). By 2007 the fit issues were wide spread, enough that the 2007 Worlds qualification leotard fit exactly no one on the team well.

The video from 2008 isn't really good enough to judge in most cases though Beth Tweddle's finals leotard has some fit issues that @darthmelyanna said were odd to her professional seemstress' eyes.

My immediate reaction after watching 2009 and 2010 was that the practice might have stopped or eased at least. British leotards generally fit well even for gymnasts who did not have flat chests--though there was one from 2009 that had the same fit issues as earlier. I don't feel comfortable speaking much to 2011 because that is a year with relatively few meets surviving. I had wondered after Beijing if this was a pressure tactic that go worse towards the Olympics.

The answer at least for London was no. For the most part the British team leotards across the London Quad fit as well as any other federation. The exception though I think is worth talking about. No pictures this time because I don't think it's possible to take screencaps of what was going on here without crossing lines into what could be perceived as sexualization even if it isn't the intent of the discussion.

As I said earlier there was a gymnast in the early years of the quad who had what I thought of as a pretty badly fitted leotard and it struck me that the issue was that she was being expected not to have breasts. As an aside my mother in the 1960s while she was a very athletic young woman (a life guard who had passed tests involving carrying a 200 lb man across a pool) was put on thyroid pills to make her loose weight despite being 120 lbs largely because my grandmother and her doctor perceived her large chest as evidence of fat. I have wondered if that was what was going on with a lot of this leotard nuttiness because so many of the fit issues seemed to be with athletes that had breasts who were being given leotards for prepubescent girls.

But the single worst leotard fit issue I saw happened in 2012 and can't be put down to that. It is a first year senior and the leotard had what I've now come to think of as the classic wrinkling at the arm pit of a garment that doesn't have room in the shoulders or bust area. This leotard also had the vertical wrinkles at the bottom that are a sign that the entire garment is too short for the torso. You can also see her underwear coming out the bottom. The problems are so bad that they can be seen in long shots on television.

Given that she was a young senior I am honestly wondering if the leotard was ordered before a growth spurt (because I don't think this was an issue of one size too small but perhaps several). Given that the rest of the British teams leos appear to fit quite well it seems isolated and she doesn't have this issue at the Olympics.

That said... since this is one leotard we're talking about I can't believe her coaches let her wear the same leotard a second time given that you would have to be blind not to see that this one didn't fit her.

[kylesvariouslistsandstuff]

Ever-Changing Disney & Pixar Slates From 2008 to about 2016...

I'll have this here for reference as well...

Preface: DreamWorks' next film is something we know next to nothing about, and the only films on their slate are a TROLLS threequel and KUNG FU PANDA 4. A movie called MEET THE GILLMANS, per a few reports and other clues, is supposed to open before TROLLS BAND TOGETHER does... The rest of DreamWorks' slate is sparse, despite the studio reportedly having a big plan in place... So why the skittishness to say what's coming out?

I think I know why...

Anything can happen with an animated movie... Even if it's *this* close to completion. The animated adaptation of Nate Stevenson's NIMONA got shut down - alongside the studio it was being made at, Blue Sky - in February 2021 despite being 75% complete, but luckily it was revived at another studio (Annapurna) and will be completed and released this year. Henry Selick's THE SHADOW KING was maybe halfway done when Disney pulled the plug on it in mid-2012. DreamWorks halted in-production movies like ME AND MY SHADOW (shadows have bad luck in animation picture business, don't they?) and LARRIKINS. Disney threw out a 2D/CG picture with a lot of working titles, one of which was A FEW GOOD GHOSTS, despite the amount of work done on it.

The list is even longer, so I wanted to re-chronicle a weird history of Walt Disney Animation Studios and Pixar on here... In an age where long-term slates being laid down is commonplace.

We'll start at April of 2008...

I remember seeing this slate back in the day and thinking, "Wow, this is massive." This predated Marvel releasing gargantuan half-decade plans for interconnected movies... This was a long-term plan spanning four years from both Walt Disney Animation Studios and Pixar. This was a little after The Walt Disney Company's historic acquisition of Pixar in early 2006, and the subsequent installation of Pixar stalwarts John Lasseter and Ed Catmull as heads of a revitalized WDAS. Perhaps after the release of MEET THE ROBINSONS and RATATOUILLE in 2007, there was a newfound confidence in both studios.

WDAS had gone through a rough period in the early 2000s, where films either lost money due to various circumstances (THE EMPEROR'S NEW GROOVE) or didn't get great critical reception (BROTHER BEAR)... Sometimes both. (ATLANTIS: THE LOST EMPIRE, HOME ON THE RANGE) MEET THE ROBINSONS got mixed-to-positive reception at best, and did flop at the box office. The film had cost around $100m to make, and failed to double that worldwide. It was indeed dumped by the marketing department and heads, for it was perceived as more of a band-aid ripping than the first in a line of new-fangled WDAS movies sure to win back the critical acclaim and box office glory they once possessed in the early '90s. No, that distinction would go to BOLT, as it's often pointed to as the first of the "Revival" features, or at least the first of the Lasseter/Catmull pictures.

Anyways, that same year, RATATOUILLE became another Pixar blockbuster and seemed to prove that that Emeryville studio really could do no wrong. People doubted many of their films, each new Pixar movie seemed like their first flop. Michael Eisner infamously predicted FINDING NEMO would be a flop when he had seen a rough cut of the film around a year before its eventual release and subsequent record-breaking run at the box office. By the time you got to RATATOUILLE, people jeered that this movie starring a rat (gross! disgusting!) that wants to cook would be their first dud... But it wasn't, it defied the odds and it took home the Oscar on top of that.

So you could imagine that Disney was quite confident in their animation slate going forward, from both Pixar and WDAS... And so, they laid out a slate, in addition to the films already on the release boards... (Pixar highlighted in blue, WDAS in green)

WALL-E - 6/27/2008

BOLT - 11/26/2008

UP - 5/29/2009

THE PRINCESS AND THE FROG - Christmas 2009

TOY STORY 3 - 6/18/2010

RAPUNZEL - Christmas 2010

NEWT - Summer 2011

THE BEAR AND THE BOW - Christmas 2011

CARS 2 - Summer 2012

KING OF THE ELVES - Christmas 2012

Wow... Back in 2008, that seemed like *a lot* of movies... And Pixar releasing *two films* in a calendar year? What is this sorcery??

For anyone not entirely in the loop here, THE BEAR AND THE BOW is the movie that eventually got re-named to BRAVE. KING OF THE ELVES was to be an adaptation of the Phillip K. Dick story, from BROTHER BEAR directors Aaron Blaise and the late Robert Walker.

Now, a slight adjustment was made to this slate by fall of 2008... CARS 2 had curiously traded places with NEWT, and was now opening a year earlier than expected.

Some time passes by, by mid-2009, THE BEAR AND THE BOW is now BRAVE...

A new project based on Winnie the Pooh fires up. The company has a very short-lived desire to do a full-on reboot of the franchise and get it up to speed, as it had been kinda lost in Pooh Corner for quite some time. Pigeonholed as a preschooler property more so than something to be enjoyed by the whole family... This very brief push for a brand new Winnie the Pooh results in a hand-drawn animated feature, landed in the lap of Disney Animation. It is hastily greenlit and fast-tracked for a 2011 release. WDAS now has a movie to release that year.

Then we get to the end of 2009... THE PRINCESS AND THE FROG is not the blockbuster it should've been. The first hand-drawn feature from the studio since 2004, this performance causes a very weird blowback to fairy tales within the company, in an era where they were very concerned about one single demographic... The 6-to-12 year-old boy. Keep in mind, this is the year Disney launched the channel Disney XD (replacing Toon Disney), a channel tailored to that group. Marvel was also purchased that year, too, meaning Disney-released Marvel Cinematic Universe movies that would appeal to those. Their verdict was that the movie having "Princess" in the title was what killed it, as it scared away that boy audience... Though if you ask me, PRINCESS AND THE FROG had far more outside problems going on that affected the movie than some random little Timmy not wanting to see a "girly movie".

So now, by early 2010, the mandate was... No more fairy tales, those are passe. And 2D was pretty much not coming back, either. WINNIE THE POOH was in production, yes, but it was dead on arrival. An adaptation of THE SNOW QUEEN was... Forgive the pun, *on ice*...

However, there was one movie that stood in the way... It was the next movie, too... RAPUNZEL... The movie was hastily re-titled to TANGLED, in an attempt to make it seem less "girly". I love that movie, but I always hated that title... But it's the one they went with for the domestic and UK releases. Many countries retained the RAPUNZEL title, albeit in other languages. (For example, in French, it's RAIPONCE.) TANGLED couldn't be cancelled, it was far too deep into production to have that happen to it... It was still on track for Thanksgiving of 2010. Elsewhere in the "Hat Building", KING OF THE ELVES is but dead, with Blaise and Walker having moved on to other things. WINNIE THE POOH was moved to the day the final HARRY POTTER movie was supposed to open, instead of a much more ideal early spring slot. (It was an April release in the UK and much of Europe.) Conspicuously, Pixar does not pull the plug on BRAVE, which itself is a fairy tale-inspired fantasy story with a princess in it...

Now around this time, a project called REBOOT RALPH was starting to make the rounds, and eventually it secured a release date of March 22, 2013. Why not fall 2012, where KING OF THE ELVES used to be? Well, that's because Pixar - out of nowhere - had announced that a MONSTERS, INC. 2 was in the works for a fall 2012 release... And that NEWT was outright cancelled, leaving the summer of 2012 to BRAVE. By the time TOY STORY 3 came to theaters, the slate now looked like this...

TANGLED - 11/24/2010

CARS 2 - 6/24/2011

WINNIE THE POOH - 7/15/2011

BRAVE - 6/22/2012

MONSTERS, INC. 2 - 11/2/2012 (or possibly the 16th)

REBOOT RALPH - 3/22/2013

We can see the "two Pixars a year, WDAS settles for the year after" pattern starting to take shape here...

Now we get to early 2011... MONSTERS, INC. 2 turns out to be a prequel titled MONSTERS UNIVERSITY, and REBOOT RALPH is retitled to WRECK-IT RALPH... RALPH is now a fall 2012 release, and MONSTERS U moves to summer 2013. No "two Pixars" in 2012...

TANGLED does well at the box office, proving that fairy tales aren't passe at all. At Disney Animation, THE SNOW QUEEN is put back in development, and according to the defunct insider blog Blue Sky Disney, it was put in a "production race" of sorts with KING OF THE ELVES, now under BOLT director Chris Williams. Both are competing to be the next WDAS film after the release of WRECK-IT RALPH because right around that time? There wasn't anything really else on the horizon that was in shape to go forward... Early work was being done on what would eventually become BIG HERO 6, pitches for movies that later became ZOOTOPIA and MOANA were just taking shape around this time. So it was either SNOW QUEEN or ELVES...

In August, at the inaugural D23 fan expo, Pixar announces two original movies with no titles... They are announced as THE UNTITLED PIXAR MOVIE ABOUT DINOSAURS and THE UNTITLED PIXAR MOVIE THAT TAKES YOU INSIDE THE MIND...

They are later slated for 11/27/2013 and 5/30/2014 respectively...

That is, until THE SNOW QUEEN - now baring the TANGLED-esque adjective title FROZEN - took the dinosaur movie's slot... So by the end of 2011, things looked a bit like this...

BRAVE - 6/22/2012

WRECK-IT RALPH - 11/2/2012

MONSTERS UNIVERSITY - 6/21/2013

FROZEN - 11/27/2013

UNTITLED PIXAR MOVIE ABOUT DINOSAURS - TBD

UNTITLED PIXAR / INSIDE THE MIND - TBD

Come CinemaCon, April 2012, things are cleared up about the dinosaur and mind movies... They have titles, aaaaand release dates...

BRAVE - 6/22/2012

WRECK-IT RALPH - 11/2/2012

MONSTERS UNIVERSITY - 6/21/2013

FROZEN - 11/27/2013

THE GOOD DINOSAUR - 5/30/2014

INSIDE OUT - 6/19/2015

Later in the year, two adjustments are made to this slate...

BRAVE - 6/22/2012

WRECK-IT RALPH - 11/2/2012

MONSTERS UNIVERSITY - 6/21/2013

FROZEN - 11/27/2013

THE GOOD DINOSAUR - 5/30/2014

UNTITLED DISNEY ANIMATION - 11/7/2014

INSIDE OUT - 6/19/2015

UNTITLED PIXAR - 11/25/2015

Once again, Pixar trying to have two a year...

In April 2013, a FINDING NEMO sequel called FINDING DORY is officially confirmed to exist, and it takes the Thanksgiving 2015 slot... Also right around this time, Disney Animation confirms that their Marvel comic adaptation BIG HERO 6 is on the boards for fall 2014...

May 2013 is where things get big... This, I believe, is in response to how well WRECK-IT RALPH does for Disney Animation. The film manages to be the studio's second big hit after TANGLED, and that they were in good standing. With that, many more dates were locked for WDAS films in addition to Pixar films...

MONSTERS UNIVERSITY - 6/21/2013

FROZEN - 11/27/2013

THE GOOD DINOSAUR - 5/30/2014

BIG HERO 6 - 11/7/2014

INSIDE OUT - 6/19/2015

FINDING DORY - 11/25/2015

UNTITLED DISNEY ANIMATION - 3/4/2016

UNTITLED PIXAR - 6/17/2016

UNTITLED DISNEY ANIMATION - 11/23/2016

UNTITLED PIXAR - 6/16/2017

UNTITLED PIXAR - 11/22/2017

UNTITLED DISNEY ANIMATION - 3/9/2018

UNTITLED PIXAR - 6/15/2018

UNTITLED DISNEY ANIMATION - 11/21/2018

Talk about "eatin' good"... That was *five* whole years of new animated features to look forward to, and only folks who were in the trenches knew what was possibly coming out on those dates...

The next D23 Expo takes place, where ZOOTOPIA is revealed to the public for the first time. Later, Disney confirms that it'll be WDAS' March 2016 release. However, a little after an odd presentation... It is revealed that Pixar's THE GOOD DINOSAUR has hit a snag... The director was removed, and a month later, Pixar up and delayed the movie. THE GOOD DINOSAUR migrated to Thanksgiving 2015, kicking FINDING DORY to summer 2016... 2014 is the first year to be without a Pixar feature since 2005...

FROZEN - 11/27/2013

BIG HERO 6 - 11/7/2014

INSIDE OUT - 6/19/2015

THE GOOD DINOSAUR - 11/25/2015

ZOOTOPIA - 3/4/2016

FINDING DORY - 6/17/2016

UNTITLED DISNEY ANIMATION - 11/23/2016

UNTITLED PIXAR - 6/16/2017

UNTITLED PIXAR - 11/22/2017

UNTITLED DISNEY ANIMATION - 3/9/2018

UNTITLED PIXAR - 6/15/2018

UNTITLED DISNEY ANIMATION - 11/21/2018

All is quiet for a little while... FROZEN erupts into a blockbuster phenomenon, but Disney remains mum on what's on the horizon beyond the spring 2016 release of ZOOTOPIA. Wisely so.

During an investor's call in March, CARS 3 and INCREDIBLES 2 are confirmed to exist, but are not given release dates.

In October, during another investor's call, TOY STORY 4 is revealed and has a release date: June 16, 2017.

On the Disney Animation front that same month, MOANA is confirmed to be the studio's fall 2016 release.

BIG HERO 6 - 11/7/2014

INSIDE OUT - 6/19/2015

THE GOOD DINOSAUR - 11/25/2015

ZOOTOPIA - 3/4/2016

FINDING DORY - 6/17/2016

MOANA - 11/23/2016

TOY STORY 4 - 6/16/2017

UNTITLED PIXAR - 11/22/2017

UNTITLED DISNEY ANIMATION - 3/9/2018

UNTITLED PIXAR - 6/15/2018

UNTITLED DISNEY ANIMATION - 11/21/2018

2015 means a new D23 Expo, and possibly a lot more information on what's coming from both studios...

But first, in March of 2015, Disney announces FROZEN II is happening. No date is set or implied.

At D23, COCO is revealed to be the Pixar's fall 2017 release. GIGANTIC, from Disney Animation, is announced but no release date is given. It is implied to be a spring 2018 release.

Then shortly thereafter, The Walt Disney Company announces a massive film slate encompassing all pictures - animated and live-action, Marvel and Lucasfilm...

CARS 3 is dated, taking TOY STORY 4's 6/16/2017 slot, TOY STORY 4 takes 6/15/2018. INCREDIBLES 2 is dated 6/21/2019, a WDAS film is slated for 11/27/2019... GIGANTIC is confirmed for spring 2018. Three 2020 animation releases are added, too. Wow! Two Pixars, one for 3/13/2020 and the other for 6/19/2020, and one WDAS, 11/25/2020...

THE GOOD DINOSAUR - 11/25/2015

ZOOTOPIA - 3/4/2016

FINDING DORY - 6/17/2016

MOANA - 11/23/2016

CARS 3 - 6/16/2017

COCO - 11/22/2017

GIGANTIC - 3/9/2018

TOY STORY 4 - 6/15/2018

UNTITLED DISNEY ANIMATION - 11/21/2018

INCREDIBLES 2 - 6/21/2019

UNTITLED DISNEY ANIMATION - 11/27/2019

UNTITLED PIXAR - 3/13/2020

UNTITLED PIXAR - 6/19/2020

UNTITLED DISNEY ANIMATION - 11/25/2020

2016 comes about with a few updates...

A WRECK-IT RALPH sequel is confirmed to exist, and is slated for 3/9/2018. It pushes GIGANTIC to fall 2018.

TOY STORY 4 and INCREDIBLES 2 trade places...

By fall 2016, things are looking like this...

MOANA - 11/23/2016

CARS 3 - 6/16/2017

COCO - 11/22/2017

WRECK-IT RALPH 2 - 3/9/2018

INCREDIBLES 2 - 6/15/2018

GIGANTIC - 11/21/2018

TOY STORY 4 - 6/21/2019

UNTITLED DISNEY ANIMATION - 11/27/2019

UNTITLED PIXAR - 3/13/2020

UNTITLED PIXAR - 6/19/2020

UNTITLED DISNEY ANIMATION - 11/25/2020

One last development I'll bring up is the cancellation of GIGANTIC in fall 2017, leaving March 2018 vacant. WRECK-IT RALPH sequel, titled RALPH BREAKS THE INTERNET: WRECK-IT RALPH 2 (the subtitle was removed right before its release), takes the fall 2018 slot.

Other than that, very little changed... The slate played out the way it was supposed to. INCREDIBLES 2 came out summer 2018, with RALPH 2 following in the fall. TOY STORY 4 was summer 2019, FROZEN II was fall 2019. ONWARD was spring 2020, but due to the COVID-19 pandemic, some adjustments were made to the slate... But it otherwise resembles what it looked like circa late 2017. SOUL went from summer 2020 Pixar release to Christmas Day streaming release. Fall 2020 WDAS title RAYA AND THE LAST DRAGON had to move to March 2021 because of that, but then the slate remained the same... Pixar's LUCA was a summer 2021 release, with WDAS' ENCANTO following in the fall. 2022, this past year, two Pixars as planned: TURNING RED in the spring, LIGHTYEAR in the summer, and one WDAS in the fall, that was STRANGE WORLD.

Their slate now?

ELEMENTAL - 6/16/2023

WISH - 11/22/2023

ELIO - 3/1/2024

INSIDE OUT 2 - 6/14/2024

Only covers this year and next year... One WDAS movie, three Pixars... And a ton of Marvel movies laid out til 2026 and AVATAR sequels into 2028... Disney's taking it easy with announcing what's on the horizon with animation... DreamWorks is doing the same... Heck, Universal's animation slate alone goes up to about mid-2024 with Illumination's DESPICABLE ME 4. A Swiss Universal slate document has various animated films slated for fall 2025 and fall 2026, but no word on those dates here in the states...

Maybe there is a reason they, and specifically Disney, don't announce long-term slates anymore... NEWT and GIGANTIC alone tell one why...

Maybe next time, I'll do DreamWorks, though that's a major-league cluster-cuss of its own. Till next time, fellas!

[prcdiglson]

                                               INTRODUCING  ...

WHAT  HAPPENS  WHEN  SOMEBODY  TELLS  A  STORY  /                          THAT  HAS  REAL  PEOPLE  IN  IT?

GENERAL DETAILS.

FULL NAME:  killian  ean  holder  ii NICKNAME(S):  kel,  ian AGE:  forty DATE OF BIRTH:  june  12th PLACE OF BIRTH:  johannesburg,  south  africa ETHNICITY:  white,  english  &  german  hailing GENDER:  cismale PRONOUNS:  he / him ORIENTATION:  bisexual  demiromantic RELIGION:  nonpracticing  jewish OCCUPATION:  independent  film  maker FINANCIAL STATUS:  one  of  the  top  earners  in  his  field, worth  over  $80  million. SPEAKING VOICE AND ACCENT:  londoner  gone  abroad,  seems  people  are  still  charmed  by  his  english  lilt. SPOKEN LANGUAGES:  german,  yiddish,  english,  french    POSITIVE TRAITS:  frank,  devoted,  observant,  self - assured,  acute NEGATIVE TRAITS:  priggish,  cynical,  impulsive,  stubborn,  impatient

FAMILY, RELATIONSHIPS, ETC.

MOTHER:  iona  levin - holder  ( 67,  alive ) FATHER:  george  holder  ( 71,  deceased ) SIGNIFICANT OTHER:  mackenzie  kennedy - holder  ( m.  2016 ) SIBLING(S):  stefen  holder  ( 38,  younger  brother ) CHILDREN:  emmett  holder  ( son,  b.  2017 ),  elijah  holder  ( son,  b. 2020  PET(S):  bernese  mountain  dog  named  kubrick

TIMELINE

1982:  the  second  of  his  name,  killian  is  born  to  south  african  born  humanitarian,  iona  levin - holder  &  english  screenwriter,  george  holder.  killian  is  a  child  born  a  novel  shade  of  similar  circumstance.  half  dead  and  half  alive  in  the  same  body,  nearly  strangled  by  his  own  embellical  cord.  but  he  survives,  and  at  2:38  that  morning  his  birth  time  is  recorded.

1984:  the  year  of  change.  killian  had  was  brought  up  in  his  mother’s  hometown  of  johannesburg,  south  africa  up  until  this  point.  within  the  span  of  seven  months  the  family  not  only  made  the  official  move  to  london,  but  his  younger  brother,  stefen,  was  also  born.

2000-04:  killian  attends  and  graduates  from  london  film  school  with  a  degree  in  film  with  a  minor  in  ethnology;  his  brother  would  follow  in  his  footsteps  while  attending  cambridge  two  years  later.

2006:  killian  &  stefen  enter  the  field  independently  as  a  film  maker  duo  &  start  their  own  film  studio  named  ‘ levin  -  hold  studios, ’  after  their  parents  --  but  most  namely  their  mother.

2007:  the  holder  bros.  release  their  first  collaborative  work,  days  are  over  --  a  feature  length  film  debuted  at  the  sundance  film  festival  and  awarded  with  their  first  standing  ovation.

2008:  the  pair  briefly  split  after  allegations  arise  and  a  drug-induced  escapade  lands  stefen  in  a  rehabilitation  center.  killian  also  releases  his  first  independent  film  in  his  brother’s  absence,  beware  of  pity.

2010:  playboy  era  ensues.  the  holder  bros.  become  a  household  name  for  more  reasons  than  one.  killian  becomes  known  for  his  dirty  designer  taste  in  friends,  and  knack  for  covering  up  his  brother’s  inconsistencies.  their  second  collaborative  work  hedy  is  released  and  awarded  with  their  first  joint  oscar.

2014:  on  a  yatch  coasting  along  the  maldives,  killian  and  mackenzie  kennedy  are  spotted  looking  particularly  close  amid  a  slew  of  mutual  friends.  rumors  are  abuzz  the  next  day.

2015:  killian  and  mackenzie  keep  a  tight  lid  on  their  relationship  status  after  being  spotted  together  several  times  after  their  vacation  abroad.  the  rumors  are  confirmed  with  a  40  carat  diamond  ring.  george  holder  passes  away  from  health  complications  on  christmas  day.

2016:  killian  and  mackenzie  have  a  highly  publicized  yet  intimate  wedding  in  the  summery  alps  of  italy.  the  holder  bros.  release  bad  dog.

2017:  emmett  is  born.

2020:  elijah  is  born.

2021:  the  holder  bros.  release  their  most  recent  film,  this  is  an  adventure  in  honor  of  killian’s  sons  and  are  awarded  with  their  first  joint  oscar.

HEADCANONS

his  work  is  akin  to  that  of  the  greats,  a  feast  for  the  eyes  and  then  some.  the  aesthetic  of  his  films  are  entirely  deliberate:  rich  color  palettes,  themes  of  tradition  &  longing,  serenity  with  vast  tonal  changes,  and  eccentricity  grounded  in  real  experiences.

notable  for  dating  the  who’s  who  of  hollywood, so  mack  was  no  different.  the  announement  of  their  engagement  unceremoniously  heralded a  slew  of  ‘ love  or  lust ’  headlines  due  to  their  age  gap.

always  had  a  knack  for  putting  pen  to  paper  so  his  first  ambition  was  to  become  a  poet.  as  he  swiftly  discovered,  he  wasn’t  much  of  a  wordsmith;  thus  his  interest  turned  to  film.

caffeine  addict  but  only  indulges  espresso  shots;  takes  the  shot  part  literally  and  downs  them  as  such.

evil  little  british  man  who  adores  his  wife  and  children.

has  accrued  a  cult - like  fandom  that  value  his  earlier  works  more  than  that  of  recent  years;  he  often  frequents  letterboxd  to  see  what  his  beloved  idiots  have  to  say  about  his  life’s  work.

mostly  refuses  appearances  alongside  his  wife  and  children  on  keeping  up  with  the  kennedy’s,  fans  have  noted  that  he  has  been  spotted  on  the  show  only  five  times.

does  what  he  can  to  be  present  for  his  children.  goes  as  far  as  to  bring  them  along  with  him  to  the  studio  when  he’s  shooting.

though  their  bond  was  severed  toward  the  end  of  his  father’s  life,  killian  does  well  to  fly  home  as  often  as  possible  to  visit  his  father’s  grave.

says  most  things  with  an  unclear  diction  both  intentionally  and  the  latter,  thus  making  him  somewhat  believable  in  most  circumstances;  will  lie  to  you  simply  to  test  if  you  believe  what  he  says.

FILMOGRAPHY 

coming  soon.