#valerie jones

[midnight-nightrose]

Everly and Val in a tense situation

Original art done by @hugs-and-stabbies

[theconjurervfx]

Conan The Barbarian (1982) dir. John Milius.

[creepy-kooky-mysterious-spooky]

I genuinely feel sorry for Jenna and Emma, because a majority of their fans doesn’t treat them like they are actual human beings, they treat them like they are dolls they can project their fantasies on to.

[princeloww]

rivals plot summary (including content warnings)

What to expect from the new DT show, basically. Vague spoiler warning.

Tony Baddingham, DT's character, runs a British television company in the Cotswold area. He is a lord and, as you might guess, extremely rich. He tends to manipulate people and spend their money instead of his, so that when his ventures go wrong, other people are left scrambling to pick up their losses, while he's completely fine.

He has a long-lasting rivalry with the tory minister for sport, Rupert Campbell-Black. Rupert is extremely charming and athletic, and has a new mistress every week. He is divorced and does not see his two children very often. He's an athlete at heart, and adores his horses more than people --- but politics are a lot more stable than that.

The plot follows a very large cast of characters, which can be quite confusing at first. I had to go back and work out who Beattie Johnson was, for example, because I'd completely forgotten who she was and who she was involved with. There are lots of wives and husbands and mistresses and children, so it gets a bit complicated. Most of the characters are somehow linked to Corinium, Lord B (Tony Baddingham)'s TV company.

Tony hooks up with and employs an American director/writer, Cameron Cook. She moves to England to work at Corinium. Her arrival and bad attitude forms tension in the Coriunium workspace, and the tension furthers when Declan O'Hara, an Irish TV presenter and author, arrives at Corinium. He is a leftist (in contrast to the conservatives around him) and often discriminated against for being Irish. At times he is accused of having IRA links, mostly just to make him look bad. He and Tony's personalities clash, leading to a fall out at Corinium. Declan, in a drunken rage, quits his job and falls into a bit of a bad state.

Recovering from the publicity of his departure, Declan groups up with Rupert Campbell-Black and a few others (including Tony's brother, Basil Baddingham) to create a rival television company, Venturer, to challenge Corinium and Tony for the franchise.

There is a lot of romance and a LOT of subplots. Declan's daughter, Taggie O'Hara, is a dyslexic cook who struggles to find work due to her inability to read and write. She develops a crush on Rupert, who is considerably older. If I start talking about how much I despise their relationship, I will never stop. Taggie will probably be quite a main character in the show, I'm guessing. Declan also has a wife, Maud, who is a failed actress and spends all of his money.

Tony's wife, Monica, is very charitable and employs Taggie despite Declan and Tony's rivalry. She is aware that Tony is having an affair with Cameron Cook. An affair which, while Cameron is under his employment, becomes extremely toxic and abusive.

I'm sure the show will be rounded out a bit for modern audiences, but warnings wise (at least in the book), Rivals includes themes of sexual assault (particularly groping), misogyny, domestic abuse and much more. A big majority of the characters are rich and extremely corrupt. Tony, the baddie of the story, has some of the worst moments. There is a scene where he hits and throws a woman until she is bleeding, because she's 'betrayed' him. He also threatens to kill somebody. On a separate occasion, he tells a distraught SA victim not to tell anybody, because the attacker is somebody who he needs on his side, for money. There is also, obviously, given the kind of characters we follow, a lot of classism. Valerie Jones, for example, exists as a punching bag for a middle-class Northern woman who wants to be like the rich Southerners.

Tony might be the bad guy, but Rupert, who we're supposed to like, is also awful. He's Jilly Cooper's little golden boy, despite being horrible. I hate him so much but Jilly clearly loves him. He gropes eighteen-year-old girls and objectifies every single woman he speaks to.

Again, I'm sure a lot of this will be toned down, but watch with caution. The story has light moments and lots of romance, comedy and drama --- it just occasionally dips into dark themes. There will probably be lots of dinner parties, as every other scene is a giant social gathering. As much as I have issue with Jilly Cooper, she is absolutely excellent at writing large social scenes with dozens of different subplots combining.

There's also a weird theme of characters describing 14-year-olds (specifically 14-year-olds) in weird predatory ways. It's weird though, because a strange amount of characters do it -- to the degree where I think it's just Jilly Cooper describing them weirdly. She acts as though being a teenage girl is a woman's prime and that she is wasted after that. She has also gone on the record to state that she hates feminists. I'm not a giant fan, frankly.

On a lighter note, if you want to tell who's supposed to be a good guy, just remember that the good guys always quote poetry and like animals.

Despite its many flaws and dark themes, Rivals really is an interesting read. Jilly Cooper says the weirdest, most fucked up things ("she's like a little sister", thinks Rupert, right after staring at the 18-yo's ass) but the story really supports itself. It's interesting, gossipy, raunchy and very well written. Cooper is an expert at big scenes, and works so well with the giant ensemble cast. I disagree with a lot of things she says, but I think the show will be really good. I'm super excited and can't wait to watch it. There's a particular scene with David's character that I'm looking forward to; while in the book it was a bit scary, because we know how Jilly is with teenagers, there's a scene where Tony drives Declan(his enemy)'s daughter home, and is actually very nice to her before realising who she is. I think DT will do this scene a lot better, and it might actually be a bit endearing. Idk, I don't wanna jinx it, but I think it has potential to be a sweet scene, with the charm DT typically brings to these roles.

If anyone has any plot-related questions, or about David's character or anything, please feel free to ask! I'm more than happy to ramble about this book, because I do really like it. I see and dislike its flaws, but personally I am able to look past them and appreciate the story and characters. They're all horrible people, but let's be honest. They're politicians and rich, tory lords in the 1980s. They were always going to be horrible. You can like something that contains problematic characters without necessarily, immediately condoning and agreeing with those things. People online and especially on places like TikTok seem to struggle with this concept, but I'm a firm believer in media literacy and accepting flaws. You can like something that is bad. You can like villains. It's fine.

Declan is my favourite btw. Live laugh love Declan O'Hara

[scoobydoobaday]

The New Scooby-Doo Movies S02E02 - The Haunted Showboat (1973) Hanna Barbera Productions

[come-along-pond]

OC PRIDE MONTH CHALLENGE 2024. week four: queer artists week. day twenty-eight - june 28th.

My LGBTQIA+ OCS + 'The Rise and Fall of a Midwest Princess' by Chappell Roan who identifies as a lesbian!

'Uh-huh, I'm through With all these hyper mega bummer boys like you Oh yeah, I need A super graphic ultra modern girl like me We're hot, we're drunk Wow, look at her moving, baby, she's the one Oh yeah, I need A super graphic ultra modern girl like me'

For this week, you’re invited to create edits or write pieces inspired by all your favorite LGBTQIA+ artists. Whether it’s a Sylvia Plath poem, a Hayley Kiyoko song, or a Warhol painting, this week is all about celebrating the creatives that paved the way through our own creations. Good Luck, Babe!

+ BONUS

taglist: @bravelittleflower @ginger-grimm @dancingsunflowers-ocs @foxesandmagic @shrinkthisviolet @wordspin-shares @oneirataxia-girl

Send an ask/message if you wish to be added or removed!

[screenshotingmonstertv]

[letterboxd-loggd]

The Satanic Rites of Dracula (1973) Alan Gibson

March 30th 2024

[bughead-in-the-comics]

From Riverdale Diaries Vol. 1: Hello, Betty! (2020).

[jonesbrianshining]

Young love - teenage Valerie Corbett and Brian Jones (cca 1959). Valerie becomes pregnant and on May 29th 1960 Brian Jones' first son Barry David is born. A disagreement between Valerie and Brian over their future together causes several months old Barry David to be put up for adoption.

Little Barry David was named Simon after his adoption. Simon did not find out who his biological parents were until 2004, and then only because he had health problems and needed to find out what his hereditary predispositions were. At that time, his biological parents were no longer alive and Simon's attempts to contact his biological grandparents were unsuccessful.

[gleesongtournament]

[midnight-nightrose]

Evil Art Style Challenge:

- Saturated colors

- Same thickness of line art

- No / dramatic lighting

- Light realism

- Reds and greens

1st Normal

2nd Evil

3rd Mixed

[theconjurervfx]

Conan the Barbarian (1982) dir. John Milius.

[dirtyriver]

Archie: The Decision, written by Tom King, interior art by Dan Parent (pencils) and Bob Smith (inks), main cover by Dan Parent

[soovermyself]

WHCD recap…

[scoobydoobaday]

The New Scooby-Doo Movies S02E02 - The Haunted Showboat (1973) Hanna Barbera Productions