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olympic-paris · 1 month

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THIS DAY IN GAY HISTORY

based on: The White Crane Institute's 'Gay Wisdom', Gay Birthdays, Gay For Today, Famous GLBT, glbt-Gay Encylopedia, Today in Gay History, Wikipedia, and more …

August 17

1893 – On this date Mae West, the American actress, sex-positive, gender-blurry icon, was born (d.1980). West was born Mary Jane West in Bushwick, Brooklyn, delivered at home by an aunt who was a midwife. She was eldest surviving child of John Patrick West and Matilda "Tillie" Doelger, who had emigrated with her family from Bavaria.At five years old, West first entertained a crowd, at a church social, and she started appearing in amateur shows at the age of seven. She often won prizes at local talent contests. She began performing professionally in vaudeville in the Hal Clarendon Stock Company in 1907 at the age of fourteen. West first performed under the stage name Baby Mae, and tried various personas including a male impersonator, Sis Hopkins, and a blackface coon shouter. She was was said to have been inspired or influenced by female impersonators Bert Savoy and Julian Eltinge, who were famous during the Pansy Craze. Her first appearance in a legitimate Broadway show was in a 1911 revue A La Broadway put on by her former dancing teacher, Ned Wayburn. The show folded after just eight performances. She then appeared in a show called Vera Violetta, whose cast featured Al Jolson.

Her famous walk was said to have originated in her early years as a stage actress. West had special eight-inch platforms attached to her shoes to increase her height and enhance her stage presence. Though she had not yet matured, the slinky, dark-haired Mae was already performing a lascivious "shimmy" dance in 1913 and was photographed for a song-sheet for the song "Everybody Shimmies Now." She was encouraged as a performer by her mother, who, according to West, always thought that whatever her daughter did was fantastic.

She began writing her own risqué plays using the pen name "Jane Mast." Her first starring role on Broadway was in a play she titled Sex, which she also wrote, produced and directed. Though critics hated the show, ticket sales were good. The notorious production did not go over well with city officials and the theater was raided with West arrested along with the cast. She was prosecuted on morals charges and, on April 19, 1927, was sentenced to 10 days in jail for public obscenity. While incarcerated on Welfare Island (now Roosevelt Island), she was allowed to wear her silk panties instead of the scratchy prison issue and the warden reportedly took her to dinner every night. She served eight days with two days off for good behavior. Media attention to the case enhanced her career.

Her next play, The Drag, was about homosexuality and alluded to the work of Karl Heinrich Ulrichs. It was a box office success but it played in New Jersey because it was banned from Broadway. West regarded talking about sex as a basic human rights issue and was also an early advocate of homosexual rights. She famously told policemen who were raiding a Gay bar, "Don't you know you're hitting a woman in a man's body?" — a daring statement at a time when homosexuality was not accepted. During her entire lifetime she surrounded herself with Gay men and stood up for Gay rights at any and every opportunity.

In 1932, West was offered a motion picture contract by Paramount Pictures, when she was 38 years old (although she kept her age ambiguous for several more years). She made her film debut in Night After Night starring George Raft. At first, she did not like her small role in Night After Night, but was appeased when she was allowed to rewrite her scenes. In West's first scene, a hat check girl exclaims, "Goodness, what beautiful diamonds." West replies, "Goodness had nothing to do with it, dearie." Reflecting on the overall result of her rewritten scenes, Raft is said to have remarked, "She stole everything but the cameras."

She brought her Diamond Lil character, now renamed Lady Lou, to the screen in She Done Him Wrong (1933). The film is also notable as one of Cary Grant's first major roles, which boosted his career. West claimed she spotted Grant at the studio and insisted that he be cast as the male lead. The film was a box office hit and earned an Academy Award nomination for Best Picture. The success of the film most likely saved Paramount from bankruptcy.

She appeared in a series of hits, many of which caused controversy because of their risque nature. They included I'm No Angel, Klondike Annie, and Go West Young Man. In 1939, Universal Pictures approached West to star in a film opposite W. C. Fields. Having left Paramount eighteen months earlier and looking for a comeback film, West accepted the role of Flower Belle Lee in the film My Little Chickadee (1940). Despite their intense mutual dislike, and fights over the screenplay, My Little Chickadee was a box office success, outgrossing Fields' previous films.

West appeared in her last movie during the studio age with The Heat's On (1943) for Columbia. She remained active during the ensuing years. Among her stage performances was the title role in Catherine Was Great (1944) on Broadway, in which she spoofed the story of Catherine the Great of Russia, surrounding herself with an "imperial guard" of muscular young actors, all over six feet tall. The play was produced by Mike Todd and went on a long national tour in 1945. She also starred in her own Las Vegas stage show, singing while surrounded by bodybuilders.

When Billy Wilder offered West the role of Norma Desmond in Sunset Boulevard, she refused and pronounced herself offended at being asked to play a "has-been," similar to the responses he received from Mary Pickford, Greta Garbo, and Pola Negri. Ultimately the more amenable Gloria Swanson was cast in the role. In 1958, West appeared at the Academy Awards and performed the song "Baby, It's Cold Outside" with Rock Hudson. Her autobiography, titled Goodness Had Nothing To Do With It, was published by Prentice-Hall in 1959.

The famous West quip "Is that a gun in your pocket, or are you just happy to see me?" is accurately attributed to her. She made it in February 1936, at the train station in Los Angeles upon her return from Chicago, when a Los Angeles police officer was assigned to escort her home. She first delivered the line on film in My Little Chickadee, and again to George Hamilton in her last movie, Sextette. It is one of the most quoted lines in movie history. Another favorite, said to Ezra Pound, no less, "An ounce of erection is worth a pound of allure."

After a 26-year absence from motion pictures, she appeared in the role of Leticia Van Allen in Gore Vidal's Myra Breckinridge (1970) with John Huston, Raquel Welch, Rex Reed, Farrah Fawcett, and Tom Selleck in a small part. This movie failed at the box office, despite popular excitement. It became a camp classic, however, due to its sex change theme. It has since been re-released several times doing much better than originally and has also had successful multiple releases on DVD and VHS. Near the end of her life, she was known for maintaining a surprisingly youthful appearance. She stated in her autobiography that she spent two hours every day massaging cold cream into her breasts to keep them youthful. West continued to surround herself with virile men for the rest of her life, employing hunky companions, bodyguards and chauffeurs. Mae West is buried, with her family, in Cypress Hills Cemetery, Brooklyn, New York.

1907 – Roger Peyrefitte (d.2000) was born in Castres in south western France and educated in Catholic boarding schools in the region. The most lasting effect of this religious education was his life-long hostility to the Roman Catholic Church. He went on to study at the University of Toulouse and in Paris.

He had his first homosexual experience at eighteen and thereafter led an active sex life, hunting for teenage boys across Europe. He also had occasional affairs with women, whom (by his own account) he introduced to the delights of anal sex.

Peyrefitte entered the French diplomatic service in 1931 and served as secretary at the French embassy in Athens from 1933 to 1938. Forced to resign in October 1940 because of his relations with a fourteen-year-old boy, he was recalled to duty three years later to serve the collaborationist Vichy government in German-occupied Paris.

After the Liberation, France's provisional government dismissed him on suspicion of collaborationism in February 1945. Peyrefitte later appealed his dismissal and the Council of State finally ruled in his favour in 1962, but the Foreign Ministry refused to reintegrate him. He was by then, in any case, a professional writer with no desire to return to state service.

Peyrefitte's first, best, and best-known novel, Les Amitiés Particulières (Special Friendships), tells the story of love between two teenage boys in a Catholic boarding school. The book may have been based on his own experience. Peyrefitte later explained, 'I was a young diplomat, and I wanted to show the origin of those things: [i.e. homosexuality] that it was not simply under the influence of a disgusting adult that young boys could feel that sort of attraction.'

Critically well-received, the novel won the Prix Renaudot. It caused a first scandal when it appeared in 1944 and a second when made into a movie in 1964. During the making of the film, Peyrefitte befriended a fourteen-year-old extra, Alain-Philippe Malagnac, who eventually became the great love of his life as well as his secretary and business partner.

In the course of his long life (he died at 93), Peyrefitte published dozens of books, including numerous novels, a three-volume fictionalised biography of Alexander the Great, and two volumes on Voltaire (whom he claimed to have been homosexual). He also wrote about Baron Jacques d'Adelsward-Fersen's exile in Capri (L'Exilé de Capri, 1959) and translated Greek pederastic love poetry.

Much of his work provoked scandal for his wide-ranging accusations and implications that various people (and popes) were homosexuals, Nazi-collaborators, or both.

In his memoirs Propos Secrets, he wrote extensively about his youth, his sex life (homosexual mainly and a few affairs with women), his years as a diplomat, his travels to Greece and Italy,] and his troubles with the police for sexually harassing male teenagers.

In two volumes of oral memoirs (1977 and 1980), he divulged the secrets (especially sexual) of numerous celebrities, including himself. Among those he portrayed in a negative light were Alain Delon, André Gide, and Marcel Proust.

Peyrefitte appeared to value the commercial success of his books far more than he cared about their quality.

Peyrefitte was certainly no radical gay liberationist, but he did support gay businesses - he financed a gay nightclub, Le Colony, and Paris's first gay sex bar, Le Bronx, both of which opened on the Rue Sainte-Anne in late 1973.

His political views were deeply conservative: 'I have a profound respect for order. . . . I hate all revolutionary movements. . . . I am too bourgeois . . . to approve of . . . the enemies of the bourgeoisie.' In his last years, he came out in open support of the extreme right-wing politician Jean-Marie Le Pen and his xenophobic and homophobic party, the National Front.

Peyrefitte died on November 5, 2000, in Paris, after a long battle with Parkinson's disease.

Wesley Eure, Then and Now

1951 – Wesley Eure is an American actor, singer, author, producer, director, charity fundraiser, and lecturer. He is best known for appearing as Michael Horton on the American soap opera Days of Our Lives from 1974 to 1981, during which he also starred on the popular children's television series Land of the Lost. He later hosted the popular children's game show Finders Keepers in 1987 and 1988, and co-created the children's educational television show Dragon Tales in 1999. He subsequently published several books (for children and adult), and has produced plays and raised funds for HIV/AIDS and other causes.

Eure wanted to be an actor since the age of five. While the family lived in Illinois, he enrolled in a summer program at Northwestern University, where he took acting lessons. His first break came when he was 17 years old and working part-time at the New Frontier Hotel and Casino in Las Vegas selling artwork. He was hired as a driver for Robert Goulet and Carol Lawrence during their summer tour. He spent most of 1968 and 1969 as their driver.

Eure moved to Los Angeles in 1973 after discovering it was cheaper to live there but offered just as much opportunity to become an actor. He was hired to star in a pilot for a Kaye Ballard TV series, The Organic Vegetables, created and produced by the team behind The Monkees. When that series was not picked up due to the 1973 writers' strike, Eure answered an ad in an industry trade publication to audition for a television show. He learned that David Cassidy was threatening to leave The Partridge Family, and that the audition was for a role as a "neighbor boy" who would take over the lead in the family band from Cassidy. Eure won the audition, but never joined the show. Why is not clear, as Eure has said that Cassidy agreed to stay on the show but also that the show was canceled before the next season started.

Although his acting career seemed stalled, Eure continued to sing. He became friends with Shaun Cassidy and Leif Garrett, and some of his music was produced by Bobby Sherman. Motown Records placed him under contract, and he was in a boy band whose music was produced by Mike Curb. He also sang a few times with the Jackson Five.

In 1974, Eure tried out for and won a role on NBC's Days of Our Lives. Eure had previously met producer Sid Krofft and committed to do an audition for a new children's show he was working on. Eure flew to New York City at the request of Broadway producer David Merrick to try out for a role in a theatrical production of Candide, and didn't want to audition for Krofft due to his commitment to Days and because he'd be playing a 16-year-old boy. But Eure auditioned and won the role of Will Marshall on Land of the Lost. He kept his commitment to both shows after the Kroffts repeatedly asked him to star on Land of the Lost.

Although Eure had sexual relationships with women, he knew he was homosexual. He met movie star Richard Chamberlain in the early 1970s, and they entered into a serious relationship in 1975. According to Eure, the two men lived together until their breakup in 1976, after which Chamberlain met his long-term partner Martin Rabbett. During this time, Eure says, he lived a fairly open life with Chamberlain, with many of his co-stars, producers, and crew aware of their relationship and Eure's homosexuality. Eure says of the relationship, "It broke my heart. I was destroyed. I was a kid, and he was a much older guy. ... I remember we broke up and I was on Days of Our Lives, I couldn’t stop shaking. I was crying so hard. I was a kid, comparatively. I went to the studio that day, and I was sobbing in the dressing room."

Eure was fired from Days of Our Lives in 1981. According to Eure, he was given many reasons for the cancellation of his contract after nine years on the show. But Eure says he believes the real reason was his homosexuality, which attracted attention and threatened more deeply closeted producers and actors. Years later, Eure says he met Earl Greenburg, the head of NBC's daytime programming division at the time he was fired. Greenburg confirmed that Eure was fired because of rumors about his homosexuality. Eure also says one of the stars of Days of Our Lives confirmed that Eure's sexuality was the cause of his dimissal.

When Chamberlain was outed by a French magazine in 1989, Eure (who had already been named in one book as a closeted homosexual) feared he would be exposed as well. But with the assistance of a friend at the National Enquirer, Eure's name was kept out of the American tabloid press

Eure did not act in film or television for six years after leaving Days of Our Lives, and attributes this difficulty to Hollywood gossip about his sexual orientation. He continued to sing, however, and had a Las Vegas act at Harrah's casino. During this time, some of his recording was produced by singer Bobby Sherman, but a full album was never completed

It was during the premiere of the Land of the Lost film in 2009 that Eure decided to come out of the closet. He attended the premiere with a friend, Days of Our Lives production assistant Deanne Anders. While on the red carpet, Eure decided he would never again hide his sexuality. Already scheduled to do an interview with the LGBT news and lifestyle Web site AfterElton.com about his HIV/AIDS charity work, Eure decided to come out of the closet in the interview.

During the 1980s, Eure lost most of his gay friends to AIDS—including one of his best friends, the director John Allison. Subsequently, Eure became a fund-raiser for a number of HIV/AIDS causes. He has helped to organize and host the LalaPOOLooza HIV/AIDS fund-raiser in Palm Springs, California, for many years. He has also raised funds for and assisted with Project Angel Food, a nonprofit organization that feeds homebound AIDS patients.

1951 – Richard Hunt (d.1992) was an American puppeteer, best known as a Muppet performer on Sesame Street, The Muppet Show, Fraggle Rock, and other projects for The Jim Henson Company. His roles on The Muppet Show included Scooter, Statler, Janice, Beaker and Sweetums.

Hunt was born in The Bronx, New York City. The family eventually moved to Closter, New Jersey some years later. Hunt came from a family of performers. As a student in middle school and high school, he put on puppet shows for local children, and was a fan of the then-fledgling Muppets. After high school graduation, and a four-month stint of doing weather reports at a local radio station, Hunt pursued a meeting with Jim Henson. He cold-called from a payphone and was invited to audition.

After being hired to work on Sesame Street, Hunt mostly performed background characters. One of his first major performances was as Taminella Grinderfall in The Frog Prince, physically performing the character while Jerry Juhl portrayed the voice. Hunt performed Scooter and shared Miss Piggy with Frank Oz until the final quarter of the first season of The Muppet Show.

His characters on Sesame Street included Forgetful Jones, Placido Flamingo, Don Music, Gladys the Cow, and Sully; Hunt also briefly performed Elmo before Kevin Clash was cast in that role. On Fraggle Rock, Hunt's main role was the performing the facial expressions and voice of Junior Gorg; he also performed Gunge (one of the Trash Heap's barkers) as well as several one-shot or minor characters.

Hunt also worked as a director of several home video releases such as Sing-Along, Dance-Along, Do-Along and Elmo's Sing-Along Guessing Game, as well as an episode of Fraggle Rock. Hunt was close friends with fellow puppeteer Jerry Nelson. Several of their characters were paired, such as Nelson's Floyd Pepper with Hunt's Janice; the Two-Headed Monster; and Nelson's Pa Gorg to Hunt's Junior Gorg on Fraggle Rock.

Hunt was openly gay. When Rudolf Nureyev, also openly gay, made a guest appearance on The Muppet Show, Nureyev bluntly flirted with Hunt. Hunt was in a relationship with Nelson Bird, a painter from Alabama, until his death in 1985.

On January 7, 1992, Hunt died of HIV/AIDS related complications at Cabrini Hospice in Manhattan, aged 40. He was cremated, and some of his ashes were sprinkled over the flower beds at the Hunt Family home in Closter, New Jersey. The Muppet Christmas Carol was dedicated to his memory.

1960 – Sean Penn is an American actor, screenwriter and film director, also known for his left-wing political and social activism (including humanitarian work). He is a two-time Academy Award winner for his roles in Mystic River (2003) and Milk (2008), as well as the recipient of a Golden Globe Award for the former and a Screen Actors Guild Award for the latter.

On February 22, 2009, Penn, a heterosexual, received the Academy Award for Best Actor for the film Milk. In his acceptance speech, Penn said

" ... I think that it is a good time for those who voted for the ban against gay marriage to sit and reflect and anticipate their great shame and the shame in their grandchildren's eyes if they continue that way of support. We've got to have equal rights for everyone!"

1969 – An Atlanta art theatre was raided during a showing of Andy Warhol’s film Lonesome Cowboys saying it was a hotbed of homosexuality. Police photographed everyone in attendance as reference material for the vice squad. Written by Paul Morrissey, the film is a satire of Hollywood westerns. It won the Best Film Award at the San Francisco International Film Festival.

1982 – Ryan Driller, aka Jeremy Bilding, is an American pornographic actor, director, and model who has appeared in both straight and gay pornography. In 2016, he received the XBIZ Award for Male Performer of the Year. Men's Health has described him as "one of the biggest names in the industry".

Driller was born and raised in Littleton, Colorado. Driller was a member of the Boy Scouts. At 18, he moved to Key West, Florida, where he lived for seven years. Before entering the adult film industry, he worked as a radio promotions coordinator.

Driller entered the adult film industry after reaching out to agents about performing and receiving replies. He has performed in straight pornography under the name Ryan Driller and in gay pornography under the name Jeremy Bilding. He appeared in an episode of The Burn with Jeff Ross, in which Ross did a comedy skit during one of Driller's porn shoots.

1982 – Jon Lovett is an American screenwriter, speechwriter, television producer, and podcaster. After working as a speech and joke writer for President Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton, Lovett co-created the NBC White House sitcom 1600 Penn, and served as a writer and producer on the third season of HBO's The Newsroom. He is a founder of Crooked Media and currently hosts the podcasts Pod Save America and Lovett or Leave It.

Lovett was born to a Reform Jewish family in Woodbury, Long Island that operated a box factory started by his grandfather. He attended Syosset High School. Lovett graduated from Williams College in 2004 with a degree in math. His senior thesis, Rotating Linkages in a Normed Plane, led to a publication in American Mathematical Monthly. Lovett was also the 2004 Williams College Class Speaker at his commencement. After graduation, Lovett spent a year working as a stand-up comic in New York.

In 2004, Lovett volunteered for John Kerry's presidential campaign. He was asked to write a statement for the candidate, and his work led to an offer of a writing internship. He then briefly worked in Jon Corzine's Senate office. He was hired in 2005 to assist Sarah Hurwitz as a speechwriter for then-Senator Hillary Clinton, and he continued to write speeches for her through her 2008 presidential campaign.

When Clinton lost the 2008 Democratic primary contest, Lovett won an anonymous contest to write speeches for President Barack Obama in the White House. Lovett wrote speeches in the Obama administration for three years, working closely with Jon Favreau and David Axelrod. Prominent speeches that he wrote include policy speeches on financial reform and don't ask, don't tell, as well as remarks at the White House Correspondents' Dinner.

Lovett officiated the first same-sex marriage in the White House, secretly and counter to the policy of the Obama administration.

Before Barack Obama ran for re-election, Lovett moved to California to become a screenwriter. Lovett collaborated with Josh Gad and Jason Winer on 1600 Penn, of which Lovett was a co-creator, executive producer, and writer from 2012 until 2013. Lovett then worked as a writer, producer and advisor on season three of HBO's The Newsroom.

Starting in March 2016, Lovett co-hosted The Ringer's political podcast Keepin' it 1600 with former fellow Obama staffers Jon Favreau, Dan Pfeiffer, and Tommy Vietor.

Shortly after the November 2016 election, Lovett, Favreau and Vietor founded their own company, Crooked Media, and launched a new podcast, Pod Save America. In March 2017, Lovett began hosting Lovett or Leave It, a panel show podcast from Crooked Media, recorded in front of a live audience in Los Angeles. Lovett and Crooked Media have embarked on national and international tours featuring live versions of Pod Save America and Lovett or Leave It.

Lovett's partner is Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist Ronan Farrow, son of Mia Farrow and Woody Allen.

Today's Gay Wisdom: Mae West

Goodness had nothing to do with it, dearie. - in response to an exclamation, "Goodness! What lovely diamonds!"

I only like two kinds of men, domestic and imported. - I'm No Angel (1933)

When I'm good, I'm very good. When I'm bad, I'm better. - I'm No Angel (1933)

I used to be Snow White, but I drifted. - I'm No Angel (1933)

Between two evils, I generally like to pick the one I never tried before. - Klondike Annie (1936)

A man in the house is worth two in the street. - Belle of the Nineties

It's not the men in your life that matters, it's the life in your men. - I'm No Angel (1933)

When women go wrong, men go right after them. - She Done Him Wrong

One and one is two; two and two is four; and "five will get you ten" if you work it right! - My Little Chickadee

I feel like a million tonight. But one at a time. - Myra Breckinridge

To a young actor: How tall are you without your horse? Six foot, seven inches. Never mind the six feet. Let's talk about the seven inches! - Myra Breckinridge

An orgasm a day keeps the doctor away.

On handling men: Tell the pretty ones they're smart and tell the smart ones they're pretty.

Give a man a free hand and he'll run it all over you.

He who hesitates is a damned fool.

His mother should have thrown him away and kept the stork.

I believe in censorship. I made a fortune out of it.

I consider sex a misdemeanor; the more I miss, de meaner I get.

I do all my best work in bed.

It is better to be looked over than be overlooked.

Love conquers all things except poverty and a toothache.

Marriage is a fine institution, but I'm not ready for an institution.

Men are like Cigars, If you don't attend to them, they go out.

Sex is an emotion in motion.

Sex is like bridge; if you don't have a good partner, you better have a good hand.

Sex with love is the greatest thing in life. But sex without love — that's not so bad either.

She's the kind of girl who climbed the ladder of success wrong by wrong.

Too much of a good thing can be simply wonderful.

You can say what you like about long dresses, but they cover a multitude of shins.

You only live once, but if you do it right, once is enough.

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foxtatopuff · 1 year

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First Post! Starting off with my MC Maebelle! Info below!

Name: Maebelle Loba

Nicknames: Mae, Mae-Mae, Rosebud, Wolfy

Age: 28

Gender: female (She/they)

Height: 5'2

Orientation: Asexual

Color: Purple

Ability: Lycanthropy

Status: taken

Partner: Damon

Occupation: Cashier at convenience store

Likes: Animals, cats, video games, naps, snuggles, fluffy things, plushies, anime.

Dislikes: Violence, heavy gore, being watched, being bored, rudeness, loud noises.

Kinks: Size difference, teratophilia, biting, masochism, dirty talk, praise

Voice Claim: Salma Hayek

Theme songs: "Into You"-Arianna Grande, "She-Wolf"-Shakira

Trivia:

-Maebelle is wolf-like in appearance. her body is covered in short soft fur. it's fluffier around the belly.

-She is flat chested, sometimes mistaken for a male but she doesn't mind.

-She is a tomboy.

-She is half Hispanic.

-She is very much an introvert and shy. it takes a lot to get her to do things she doesn't want to do.

-She's very sweet around animals.

-She's generally easy to get along with. she's quite derpy in fact.

-She can be naive and dense sometimes.

-She can pick up scents up to several feet away.

-She's a furry.

-She is also a streamer. she only streams video games or urban exploration. her streamer name is Loba Violetta.

-She has rather long and sharp canine teeth. her other teeth are sharp as well.

-She met Damon at her job, noticing he was looking down and decided to help cheer him up.

-She may be Ace but get her comfortable enough and she will perform sexual acts.

-Her purple eyes can turn to slits when angry.

-She is an old revamped OC.

-She often wears her paw shoes.

-She has three kids; twin boys from Damon and one from Rasmus as a result of a one night stand.

#br<3ken colors #br0ken colors #Br0ken Colors OC #oc #original character

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foppishmuses · 2 years

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My Muse List + Rules

Dwight Fairfield, Dead by Daylight

Arthur Hastings, We Happy Few

Wheatley, Portal 2

Dirk Gently, 2016’s Dirk Gently’s Holistic Detective Agency

Varrick, The Legend of Korra

King Wu, The Legend of Korra

Sokka, Avatar: The Last Airbender

Rhys, Tales from the Borderlands

Lena “Tracer” Oxton, Overwatch

Kiriko Kamori, Overwatch

Mei-Ling Zhou, Overwatch

Amélie "Widowmaker" Lacroix, Overwatch

Doug "Cypher" Ramsey, Marvel Comics (specifically X-Men)

Illyana "Magik" Rasputina, Marvel Comics (X-Men)

Warlock, Marvel Comics (X-Men)

Onoda Sakamichi, Yowamushi Pedal

Gadget the Wolf/"The Rookie", Sonic Forces

Infinite, Sonic Forces

By request only, OCs from my webcomic, Elysium Heart (bios to be added):

Corey "Newt" Newton (everyman cyberpunk protagonist)

Violetta Mae (CEO of the evil Olympus Co)

Ken Kaneko (android con artist)

Leon Hughes (corporate cult leader)

I also have a Doctor Who multimuse @timetreatment and a Homestuck multimuse @ectobiologlitch.

I’m Sam, he/her, and I’m 29. I write for myself and other adults, so please only follow if you are 18+. There is sometimes dark and triggering content on this blog, but I always try to tag it. Muse activity fluctuates, but all muses are available with plotting. Shipping is welcome for most muses.

Crossovers and OCs are very welcome! No knowledge of the canon required.

#ooc

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peithoaphro · 3 years

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first names and middle names

aleksander tate cassius mason echo valeria elijah daniel florence idonia gabriel samuel octavia seelie olympia margaret willem raven adelaide meadow daisy mae hendrik spade petrus kaiden silas helios alexandrina lore adrianus silver christian dane grace everly nemesis harrow selene magnolia spencer march remus ace henry gage ellis charles alice marina ares vulcan emelie rose holland sparrow rosanna april victoria sage violetta sparrow roselie willow hyperion wolfe espen arrow atlas stone carter reign feyre sun lucien everett sebastian vallen

#my list of names #my name list #peithoaphro #babynames #babynamesuggestions #characternameideas #nameideas

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talkfastromance4 · 3 years

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a weekend away--Luke&Lily oneshot

A/N: just a cute little something and a catch up on our flower family🙂

Word count: 2.7k

Warnings: talks of pregnancy, a lot of cute baby stuff

Masterlist

Luke&Lily Masterlist

Enjoy!☺️

••••••

“I don’t think we should go,” you tell Luke for the hundredth time while you’re packing your weekend bag. The girls’ bags have already been packed along with their swimsuits and other pool toys.

Luke’s arms fell slack into his suitcase, he was in the process of folding his favorite red caravan t-shirt. He looks up at you and you admire him for a moment ahead of your worry. His hair is pulled back in the middle of his head in a bun, a few strands frame his face. He’s kept his beard for a while now you can’t even remember what he looks like without it.

“Y/N, we’ve discussed it with Dr. Wilson, Oliver is where he should be. His heart is strong,” he moves in front of you resting his hands on your tense shoulders. “His oxygen levels are good, he’s eating and sleeping longer through the night. And we have the pediatric staff near the compound in case we need them.”

“I just want to make sure he’s safe,” your fingers play with the hoodie strings hanging in front of Luke’s chest.

“I know, lovie, I do too. We’ll be with him the whole time.”

“What if someone asks to hold him? I’m not ready for that yet and I don’t want them to think I don’t trust them,” you shake your head vehemently.

“I know, I know,” he hushes and starts to rub at your shoulders. His fingers rub up to your neck and below your ears, twisting at the tension placed there. “They’ll understand, lovie. Besides, Violetta will be there and I’m sure Cory and Ella are looking forward to some adult time.”

You sigh and close your eyes letting him continue his ministrations on your tense muscles.

“I know you’re right, this is the first time he’s going to be away from home since we brought him here. And it’s only been a few months. All of his stuff is here.”

“We’re going to bring it along. Crystal made sure there’s beds for the girls and bassinets for the babies. We’re all a family,” he smiles and kisses your forehead. “Okay?”

“Okay,” you whisper, then wrap your arms around his waist. He hugs you to him tightly and you find comfort easily in his embrace. Your body relaxes but your mind is going haywire with any and all outcomes that could happen.

“Mama look!” Posy shouts when you’re all at The Big Bearian. She ran to the wide glass sliding doors and pointed out the window of the pool below her. There were already floaties moving lazily around in the water.

“And a slide!” Lily exclaims joining her sister, their noses pressed against the glass.

“A slide? I call going down first,” Ashton says, dropping his and KayKay’s bags on the floor.

The rest of the adults shuffle in behind you with Luke bringing up the rear carrying Oliver in his car seat. He slept the whole way here.

“Me too! Me too!” Posy claps her hands and jumps up and down in her spot.

“First, we need to have lunch,” you say standing in between your girls. You brush your fingers over their hair lightly. “Then we need to find your rooms, my babies.”

“Then can we swim?” Lily pouts up at you.

“We’ll see,” you smile.

All of you split up for the first few hours getting rooms situated while you got lunch sorted with the help of Lily. When you cut up the vegetables, she placed them on the plate by color. The rest of the family entered the kitchen, Posy was in Ashton’s arms and Luke sidled up next to you, his hands on your waist.

“How is he?” you ask, watching as the others go down the food line you assembled for sandwich making.

“He was starting to wake up a little but it’s almost his lunchtime, too,” Luke grins, picking up a plate.

“I’ll go in there soon and feed him,” you sigh, watching everyone.

Crystal is holding Violetta in her arms, bouncing her lightly and kissing her cheeks. Violetta is three months old and she really looks a lot like Ella, but you can see Cory in her face as well. Then you remembered the bassinets Crystal had promised.

“Is he in the bassinet? There is one in the room, right?”

“I kept him in his carrier for now and yes, it’s right by the bed. Try to relax this weekend?” he ducks his head down to give you a soft kiss. You melt into him.

“I hope you guys are using protection. Give yourselves a break before baby number three comes along,” Calum teases taking a big bite out of his sandwich.

“Cal,” Luke sighs, pulling away from you.

“Protection of what?” Lily looks up at her favorite uncle.

You, Luke, and Cory all shoot glares at Calum whose eyes are wide. Cory is closer to him so he smacks the back of his head.

“Ow!”

“Thanks for that,” Cory shakes his head then turns to Lily. “Mommies and daddies need to be careful sometimes before they have a baby. You don’t have to worry about it though, okay Lils?”

“Okay,” she chirps, then moves to the table to sit next to Ella. You, Luke, and Cory exchange looks of relief that she dropped the topic so quickly.

“Mama can we swim noww?!” Posy whines.

“Eat your last grape,” you nod to her plate and she pops the small triangular cut piece in her mouth.

“Thank you. Now we need to find your swimsuit,” you say trying to stand but you just started feeding Oliver. He was tucked to your breast under the wrap you had around yourself.

“I got it lovie, you're busy,” Luke touches your shoulder gently then lifts Posy in his arms. “Let’s get you changed my little fish.”

“I not a fish!” Posy giggles when Luke tickles her belly and leaves the kitchen/dining area.

“Do you want to go swimming, Lily?” you ask her.

“I can pull you in the unicorn floaty,” Cal smiles and her eyes light up.

“Okay! Can Olly come?” she asks, looking at you.

“Oops, we need to put Vi down,” Ella says as Violetta lets out a mangled and tired cry. “I might take a nap myself.”

“I’ll come with, I’m beat from driving,” Cory stands then stretches his arms above his head. He kisses Lily’s head when she skips past him to stand in front of you.

“He’s too small to go swimming,” you explain gently to Lily. “But we can sit and watch you in the water.”

“Okay mama, I’ll show him how I can swim underwater!”

“Go ask dada to help you, okay?”

“I’m already in my suit so I’ll meet you all out there,” Ashton stands. “Coming babe?”

“I’ll help Crys clean up,” KayKay shakes her head. “You guys have fun.”

“Guess I’ll go change,” Cal sighs and leaves the room.

Crystal and KayKay start gathering plates and then Michael sits next to you, he gives you a small smile.

“How’s my buddy doing?”

“Good. I was nervous to come but Luke convinced me.”

“I’m glad he did. It wouldn’t have been the same without you all here,” he folds his arms over his chest in a makeshift hug. He looks to Crystal and KayKay who are chatting by the sink.

“What’s wrong?” you nudge him with your elbow being careful not to jostle Oliver.

“Nothing, nothing,” he shrugs, shaking his head but his eyes are still on Crystal.

“Mike,” you give him a look and he sighs heavily.

“Crystal and I are trying to have a baby,” he informs quietly.

“Really?! Oh, that’s so exciting!”

“Yeah, it was at first,” he winces, his eyes a sad green. “We thought she was pregnant but it turned out to be a false positive.”

“When did you start trying? If I can ask.”

“Of course, you can ask, you’re the leader of most kids around here,” he chortles and scratches at his scruff. “Um, I think a few weeks ago? Yeah, the end of last month.”

“Sometimes it takes a few tries, Luke and I tried for months for Oliver and nothing was happening. And now look,” you glance down at his small form beneath the wrap. Michael smiles at his nephew. “Is Crystal stressed about it?”

“I don’t think so, just me.”

“Don’t put so much pressure on yourself. Just...enjoy the process.” You both laugh awkwardly. “Sorry for the talk of your sex life.”

“Please, I’ve heard enough about yours, it’s only fair.”

“You’re joking.”

“Nope, Luke wouldn’t shut up about it when you first started dating.”

“That’s embarrassing,” you mutter, then rub his arm affectionately. “It’ll happen when it’s supposed to, and when it does, you two are going to be amazing parents.”

“Thanks Y/N.”

You adjust Oliver from under the wrap and rest his head gingerly on your shoulder. Your fingers tap on his back.

“I’m going to have a talk with my husband,” you say absentmindedly.

“Don’t mention my name.”

“I’ll blame Cal. Oh! There’s a good burp, baby boy.”

“He’s gotten bigger since the last time I saw him.”

“He’s eating a lot more now, too,” you boast proudly.

“Is he going to nap now that he ate?”

“Probably, so he won’t be that entertaining.”

“I’ll go see if Crystal needs help.”

He leaves you be and as you’re in the process of shifting Oliver back in the crook of your arm, he spits up a little.

“Oops, ate a little too fast, huh?” you reach into his back for a burp rag when you hear Posy’s excited shouts. They must be on their way to the pool. She runs past you through the back door but Luke or Calum aren’t anywhere in sight.

“Posy! Luke!” you shout trying to stand up but your feet are tangled in the bag and then pairs of hands are on you. You look to see Crystal holding you and Michael’s hand is cupping Oliver’s small head. “Posy is by the pool by herself--I need to--LUKE! Take him!”

You hand Oliver off to Michael and run out the door taking the stairs two or three at a time, you aren’t sure but you’re flying. On the last step your ankle rolls a little and your heart is pounding in your ears, adrenaline pulsing through your veins.

Posy is screaming. You’re screaming. Luke is screaming behind you and then he collides into you when you turn the corner to see Posy in Ashton’s arms. She’s giggling and Ashton looks up at you like a dog with his tail between his legs.

“Hi mama!”

“Posy Mae.”

She stops giggling, her dimples disappear at the tone of your voice. She knows it’s the ‘I did something bad’ voice. Ashton moves through the water to the edge of the pool where you and Luke are standing. The two of you kneel on the deck and Ashton hands Posy over to you.

“Posy Mae look at me,” your voice shakes from fear of what could have happened. Posy looks up at you, her lower lip jutting out. “What are mama and daddy’s rules about the pool?

“Can’t be by myself,” she whispers through a sniff and you wipe at the round tears rolling down her cheeks.

“Don’t you do that again. You wait until me or daddy, Uncle Ash, or Aunt Kaykay or anybody are with you, okay?” you cup her face so her eyes stay trained on you, she nods. “You scared mama.”

You pull her into your arms and she latches hers around your neck tightly.

“Sorry mama.”

“We don’t want you to get hurt, bug,” Luke strokes her cheek delicately.

You give her multiple kisses to the side of her head and cheeks before pulling away. You smile at her.

“You stay with Uncle Ash while we get your floaties now, all right?” You give her one more kiss before handing her over to Ashton again.

“Good thing I was already down here,” Ashton says and sets Posy onto his back. He holds onto her hands that are under his neck.

“I was going to jump in if you weren’t,” you exhale then turn to Luke. “What even happened?”

“She got too excited about the unicorn and floaty and ran off before I could catch her. I was about to jump over the rails and break my neck for her,” he shakes his head.

“Yeah, I almost broke my ankle on the last step,” you flex your foot and wince at the slight discomfort. You take Luke’s hand and start up the stairs again where you see everyone is standing.

“What happened?” Calum asks.

“Is she okay?” Michael asks and you smile at the sight of Oliver in his arms.

“She’s okay, Ashton’s with her,” Luke sighs. “Do I need to check your foot, lovie?”

“I’m fine,” you shake your head and move into the house to get Lily and Posy’s floaties.

***

The rest of the day was spent by the pool and you couldn’t find it within you to take Oliver away from Michael and Crystal. They would switch off holding him and from what he shared with you earlier, it warmed your heart to see them loving on him.

Crystal would rub at his soft peach fuzz hair and Michael would talk quietly to him when he was nestled on his chest. Lily and Posy were having a blast in the pool with their uncles and not too long after, KayKay joined them.

Posy loved running her fingers over KayKay’s buzzed haircut because it “felt fuzzy and tickled.” Lily would chase Calum in her unicorn floaty and when she caught up to him he would pull her as fast as he could through the water.

You and Luke sat next to Michael and Crystal, your foot you rolled rested on Luke’s lap as he rubbed it.

When dinner rolled around, the guys prepared the grill food while you and the girls made salads and cooked the rolls in the oven. Ella had Violetta wrapped around her torso while she worked and you smiled each time Violetta peeked her head up.

After dinner it was only customary to have smores on the upper deck where the fire pit was. Oliver went to bed just as the sun was setting but you had the monitor next to you while you helped Lily with her marshmallow. She shared her sweet treat with Calum while Posy sat on Ella’s lap.

“For you my love,” Luke holds a smore in front of your mouth.

“Am I supposed to take a bite?” you laugh.

“Yes,” he chuckles.

You open your mouth and take a big bite, graham cracker crumbs tumble down your chin and you feel melted chocolate on your lips. Luke takes the seat next to you and takes his own bite, a big grin on his lips.

“Good?”

“Messy,” you nod.

“C’mere,” he motions you forward. He rubs the chocolate and graham cracker from your lips, licks it off and then captures your lips with his. He tastes like chocolate and is a little sticky from the marshmallow but it gives you butterflies nonetheless.

“Don’t you two ever keep your hands off each other?” Calum groans from across the fire.

“You’re just jealous,” Ashton scoffs.

“I am, have some pity on my single heart.”

Your laughter breaks the kiss you and Luke are sharing. After a while, when Lily and Posy are asleep in Cory and Ashton’s laps respectively, you and Luke decide to take your girls to bed. Posy is half asleep when you change her into her pajamas and Lily crawls into the small bed they’re sharing very slowly.

You and Luke kiss your girls goodnight, leave on a nightlight and then move next door to your room where Oliver is still fast asleep.

“What an eventful day, huh?” Luke yawns loudly, settling into your bed.

“I hope this is all that happens.”

“Knowing our big group, I highly doubt that,” he smiles and pulls you to his chest.

“It’s going to be a long weekend.”

“Maybe we can leave the kids here and go get some massages.”

“Mm, that sounds nice.”

“A weekend away with you is always nice,” he kisses your forehead and soon you’re fast asleep.

****

Taglist: @calumance @in-superbloom @calpalirwin @karajaynetoday @wiiildflowerrr @sunshineeeluke @littledrummeraussie @suchalonelysunflower @hoodhoran @Fobodob @thew0rldneedsmcreycghurt @sunshineeashton @ashtonsunflower @mymindwide @itjustkindahappenedreally

#luke & lily writing #luke & lily oneshot #luke & lily fic #dad!luke #dad!sos #luke hemmings fluff #luke fluff

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otaku-sama-us · 2 years

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buenas amigos hoy les traigo la parte 1 de la información de cada uno de estos bellos y divertidos personajes primero empecemos con

la lider

shan

ella como en este AU es mas imperactiva y le gusta mucho entrenar con sus amigos y tener aventuras (de las locas /suicidas)

es pelirroja con ojos dorados

ama a sus yeyes

tiene un peluche de mono que le dio su yeye/zuzu (sun)

ella tiene un excelente control con su magia de demonio

le gustan tanto las cosas picantes y dulces

odia a los idiotas demonios que se creen mejor que su grupo y ella

es muy protectora con sus amigos y mas con su hermano menor

odia las cosas ácidas

sus mejores amigos es lixin , pinke , mae y ling

le gusta mucho el rojo

le encanta pasar el rato con su baba (Mk) y su padre (Red son)

ella es muy fuerte y siempre debe de tener cuidado con su fuerza con los demás

siempre esta en su forma humana pero le gusta combinar su forma humana con partes de su forma de demonio toro

ella es un poco torpe igual que su baba

tiene 17 años

pinke

ella es la mayor de los hijos de pigsy y tang

es pelinegra con ojos azul marino

es igual de gruñona y del mismo carácter que su padre

odia a los idiotas igual que shan y los que no pagan su comida

ella es la siguiente dueña en tener el restaurante de su padre y continuar con sus pasos

ella al igual que su padre es una fanática de chang'e y intenta ser igual que ella

ella tiene una pequeña (sino grande lo verán mas adelante lo sabrán) riña con Lixin y siempre se pelean aunque ella siempre gana en las discusiones

ella al igual que shan controla perfectamente su magia de demonio y siempre esta en su forma de cerdo demoníaco nunca cambia a la humana

le gustan los postres de fresa

sus mejore amigos son ling ,yue y shan

le gusta el azul

tiene 19 años

lixin

es el gemelo mayor de los hijos de macaque seis orejas y sun wukong

es igual que su baba (sun) tiene su pelaje de color naranja brillante como Wu Kong, con la excepción de la punta de la cola y un pequeño parche de pelo negro ahumado en la frente. También tenían seis orejas similares a Macaque en su verdadera forma, y tenían marcas en la cara de color rojo intenso.

su color de ojos son dorado ámbar

es divertido, despreocupado y introvertido pero siempre se mete en problemas

cuando va con sus amigos a explorar algún lugar siempre molesta a pinke en el camino y siempre discuten asta llegar a los golpes

increíblemente pinke es la que gana siempre y lixin solo gana uno que otro ojo morado o moretón o chichón del tamaño de un durazno

el como su hermano controlar su magia perfectamente

odia bañarse

es infantil

sus mejores amigos son shan y jiajy

le teme mucho a su baba enojado y a pinke (aunque la ame en secreto)

siempre esta en su forma de mono aunque igual que shan le gusta combinar su forma de mono con su humana

le gusta el amarillo

tiene 19 años

yue shi

es el gemelo más joven de los hjos de macaque y wukong

el es todo lo contrario a su hermano mayor es tranquilo, serio y timido.

sus ojos son de un color ámbar durazno claro

Tiene el pelaje negro sombrío de Macaque con una pequeña parte naranja en la punta de la cola incluido su frente con un mechon del mismo color. No tenía muchas orejas como su hermano, pero tenía las marcas faciales de color más claro de Wu Kong.

es el mejor amigo de shan y pinke

tiene un interés romántico con tao (mas adelante)

le gustan las cosas dulces,la lectura y estudiar

odia el ruido y las cosas apestosas (por ejemplo la habitación de su hermano...es una pesadilla hay adentro)

ama mantenerse limpio y siempre se baña 1 o 3 veces al dia

al igual que su gemelo y shan le gusta combinar su forma demonio y humana...le parece mas cómodo

le gusta el violetta

tiene 19 años

tao

es el hermano pequeño de pinke y segundo hijo de pigsy y tang

al igual que su baba un nerd y friki geek

pelinegro con piel blanca con y sus ojos son de color lima (extraño no?)

le gusta la cocina igual que su hermana pero la mayoría de eso le gusta investigar sobre famosos platillos y chefs para ayudar a su hermana a estar mas preparada a ser la dueña de restaurante familiar

tiene un interés romántico hacia yue shi

tiene su propia biblioteca en su habitación llena de pesados y granes libros algunos son de la biblioteca celestial ( no pregunten por que los tiene)

odia a los ignorante trogloditas( lo dice por lixin que no se toma casi nada enserio)

le gustan los bollos de frijol frito y la comida de su hermana

es algo infantil

su mejor amigo es jiajy y mae (mas adelante segunda parte)

le gusta el verde

y tiene 17 años

jiajy

es el pequeño hijo de red son y mk

es muy apegado a su hermana y baba (pero lo es mas con su padre)

su pelaje es color caramelo claro excepto por un mechón en su frente que es un poco mas oscuro que su pelaje

sus ojos son de un color ámbar durazno (o un color caramelo)

es tímido y le gusta dibujar a su familia y amigos

ama a sus abuelitos (dbk,sun y pigsy)

le teme un poco a su zuzu (pif) pero aun asi la quiere y respeta

es el mejor amigo de tao y lixin

odia a los idiotas que se meten con su hermana

le teme a los demonios y las aventuras locas que su hermana y sus amigos tienen a diario

le gusta las cosas dulce y acidas

le gusta igual combinar su forma demonio y humana

le gusta el naranja

y tiene 12 años

aun tiene un peluche que su yeye le dio ( uno de toro)

y bueno asta aquí la primera parte de las presentaciones pronto la segunda se publicara solo esperen

se despide otaku-san ( •̀ ω •́ )✧

#shan #pinke #lixin #yue shi #tao #jiajy #new oc's #my art #my AU Mk New chaos #presentaciones #part 1 #child oc #my AU

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spoilermartina · 3 years

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ults, stan, e support listas!

oi :) aqui está minhas listas de ults, stan, e support.

ULTS

martina stoessel, 1997

selena marie gomez, 1992

STAN

aitana ocaña morales, 1999

camila gallardo, 1996

olivia rodrigo, 2003

SUPPORT

pilar pascual, 2001

lola indigo, 1992

omar rudberg, 1998

SERIES/FILMES

young royals

only murders in the buildings

rebelde (rbd e netflix)

go! vive a tu manera

violetta

simona

mae so tem duas

boy/girl meets world

clueless

legally blonde

é isso! um beijo galera ♥️

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dissidiawol · 4 years

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playlists ive made so far

odin

walter white 1 / walter white 2

dean

luna violetta 1 / luna violetta 2

mae

jon

robin

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elysiumheart · 10 months

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I drew this to celebrate hitting 50 pages of my comic, Elysium Heart!

Set in a cyberpunk dystopia, Everyman Newt gets a promotion that isn't quite what he expected, leading to a fever dream of love and desire that may eventually change the world. Read here, on this Tumblr blog!

#indie comic #original comic #original art #original character #artists on tumblr #cyberpunk #yandere #corey newton #violetta mae #art

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foppishaplomb · 10 months

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some OC doodles

#elysium heart #ocs #corey newton #violetta mae #angelique quintana #leon hughes #rendered with foppish aplomb

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elysiumheartrp · 11 months

Note

💚 for a coming idea that still needs development!

I don't know if these answers are for the blog so much as the universe and its characters, but I've been thinking a bit about Chanmi, Violetta's AI assistant. She carries the likeness and personality of Violetta's childhood best friend (also named Chanmi), who Violetta killed. I don't think she should be Violetta's assistant forever (god what a sad fate that would be), but I haven't worked out all the details of what happens yet.

I was thinking maybe Violetta sneaks her like a virus into Newt's cybernetics to keep an eye on him. Through watching Newt Chanmi realizes how people are supposed to treat each other, and that she hasn't been treated right. She starts lying to Violetta to protect him and eventually reveals herself to him. I think maybe she ends up as his cameraman, the AI that pilots his camera drone?

#lore #oc: chanmi #oc: violetta mae #((thank you for asking!))

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timeless-hollywood-classics · 4 years

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Mae West (born Mary Jane West; August 17, 1893 – November 22, 1980) was an American actress, singer, playwright, screenwriter, comedian and sex symbol whose entertainment career spanned seven decades. She was known for her lighthearted, bawdy double entendres and breezy sexual independence, and often used a husky contralto voice. She was active in vaudeville and on stage in New York City before moving to Los Angeles to pursue a career in the film industry.

West was one of the most controversial movie stars of her day; she encountered many problems, especially censorship. She once quipped, "I believe in censorship. I made a fortune out of it." She bucked the system by making comedy out of conventional mores, and the Depression-era audience admired her for it. When her film career ended, she wrote books and plays, and continued to perform in Las Vegas and the United Kingdom, on radio and television, and recorded rock 'n roll albums. In 1999, the American Film Institute posthumously voted West the 15th greatest female screen legend of classic American cinema.

Mary Jane West was born on August 17, 1893, in Brooklyn (either Greenpoint or Bushwick, before New York City was consolidated in 1898). She was delivered at home by an aunt who was a midwife. She was the eldest surviving child of John Patrick West and Mathilde "Tillie" (later Matilda) Delker (originally Doelger; later Americanized to "Delker" or "Dilker"). Tillie and her five siblings emigrated with their parents, Jakob (1835–1902) and Christiana (1838–1901; née Brüning) Doelger from Bavaria in 1886. West's parents married on January 18, 1889, in Brooklyn, to the pleasure of the groom's parents and the displeasure of the bride's parents and raised their children as Protestants, although John West was of mixed Catholic–Protestant descent.

West's father was a prizefighter known as "Battlin' Jack West" who later worked as a "special policeman" and later had his own private investigations agency. Her mother was a former corset and fashion model. Her paternal grandmother, Mary Jane (née Copley), for whom she was named, was of Irish Catholic descent and West's paternal grandfather, John Edwin West, was of English–Scots descent and a ship's rigger.

Her eldest sibling, Katie, died in infancy. Her other siblings were Mildred Katherine West, later known as Beverly (December 8, 1898 – March 12, 1982), and John Edwin West II (sometimes inaccurately called "John Edwin West, Jr."; February 11, 1900 – October 12, 1964). During her childhood, West's family moved to various parts of Woodhaven, as well as the Williamsburg and Greenpoint neighborhoods of Brooklyn. In Woodhaven, at Neir's Social Hall (which opened in 1829 and is still extant), West supposedly first performed professionally.

West was five when she first entertained a crowd at a church social, and she started appearing in amateur shows at the age of seven. She often won prizes at local talent contests. She began performing professionally in vaudeville in the Hal Clarendon Stock Company in 1907 at the age of 14. West first performed under the stage name "Baby Mae", and tried various personas, including a male impersonator.

She used the alias "Jane Mast" early in her career. Her trademark walk was said to have been inspired or influenced by female impersonators Bert Savoy and Julian Eltinge, who were famous during the Pansy Craze. Her first appearance in a Broadway show was in a 1911 revue A La Broadway put on by her former dancing teacher, Ned Wayburn. The show folded after eight performances, but at age 18, West was singled out and discovered by The New York Times. The Times reviewer wrote that a "girl named Mae West, hitherto unknown, pleased by her grotesquerie and snappy way of singing and dancing". West next appeared in a show called Vera Violetta, whose cast featured Al Jolson. In 1912, she appeared in the opening performance of A Winsome Widow as a "baby vamp" named La Petite Daffy.

She was encouraged as a performer by her mother, who, according to West, always thought that anything Mae did was fantastic. Other family members were less encouraging, including an aunt and her paternal grandmother. They are all reported as having disapproved of her career and her choices. In 1918, after exiting several high-profile revues, West finally got her break in the Shubert Brothers revue Sometime, opposite Ed Wynn. Her character Mayme danced the shimmy and her photograph appeared on an edition of the sheet music for the popular number "Ev'rybody Shimmies Now".

Eventually, she began writing her own risqué plays using the pen name Jane Mast. Her first starring role on Broadway was in a 1926 play she entitled Sex, which she wrote, produced, and directed. Although conservative critics panned the show, ticket sales were strong. The production did not go over well with city officials, who had received complaints from some religious groups, and the theater was raided, with West arrested along with the cast. She was taken to the Jefferson Market Court House, (now Jefferson Market Library), where she was prosecuted on morals charges, and on April 19, 1927, was sentenced to 10 days for "corrupting the morals of youth". Though West could have paid a fine and been let off, she chose the jail sentence for the publicity it would garner. While incarcerated on Welfare Island (now known as Roosevelt Island), she dined with the warden and his wife; she told reporters that she had worn her silk panties while serving time, in lieu of the "burlap" the other girls had to wear. West got great mileage from this jail stint. She served eight days with two days off for "good behavior". Media attention surrounding the incident enhanced her career, by crowning her the darling "bad girl" who "had climbed the ladder of success wrong by wrong".

Her next play, The Drag, dealt with homosexuality, and was what West called one of her "comedy-dramas of life". After a series of try-outs in Connecticut and New Jersey, West announced she would open the play in New York. However, The Drag never opened on Broadway due to efforts by the New York Society for the Suppression of Vice to ban any attempt by West to stage it. West explained, "The city fathers begged me not to bring the show to New York because they were not equipped to handle the commotion it would cause." West was an early supporter of the women's liberation movement, but said she was not a "burn your bra" type feminist. Since the 1920s, she was also an early supporter of gay rights, and publicly declared against police brutality that gay men experienced. She adopted a then "modern" psychological explanation that gay men were women's souls in men's bodies, and hitting a gay man was akin to hitting a woman. In her 1959 autobiography, Goodness Had Nothing to Do With It, West strongly objected to hypocrisy while, for surprising and unexplained reasons, also disparaging homosexuality: "In many ways homosexuality is a danger to the entire social system of Western civilization. Certainly a nation should be made aware of its presence — without moral mottoes — and its effects on children recruited to it in their innocence. I had no objection to it as a cult of jaded inverts... involved only with themselves. It was its secret, anti-social aspects I wanted to bring into the sun. As a private pressure group it could, and has, infected whole nations." This perspective, never elaborated upon by Mae West in other books or interviews seems inconsistent with the Mae West persona. In her 1975 book Sex, Health, and ESP, Mae West writes on page 43, "I believe that the world owes male and female homosexuals more understanding than we've given them. Live and let live is my philosophy on the subject, and I believe everybody has the right to do his or her own thing or somebody else's -- as long as they do it all in private!"

West continued to write plays, including The Wicked Age, Pleasure Man and The Constant Sinner. Her productions aroused controversy, which ensured that she stayed in the news, which also often resulted in packed houses at her performances. Her 1928 play, Diamond Lil, about a racy, easygoing, and ultimately very smart lady of the 1890s, became a Broadway hit and cemented West's image in the public's eye. This show had an enduring popularity and West successfully revived it many times throughout the course of her career. With Diamond Lil being a hit show, Hollywood naturally came courting.

In 1932, West was offered a contract by Paramount Pictures despite being close to 40. This was an unusually late age to begin a film career, especially for women, but she was not playing an ingénue. She nonetheless managed to keep her age ambiguous for some time. She made her film debut in Night After Night (1932) starring George Raft, who suggested West for the role. At first she did not like her small role in Night After Night, but was appeased when she was allowed to rewrite her scenes.[45] In West's first scene, a hat-check girl exclaims, "Goodness, what beautiful diamonds", and West replies, "Goodness had nothing to do with it, dearie." Reflecting on the overall result of her rewritten scenes, Raft is said to have remarked, "She stole everything but the cameras."

She brought her Diamond Lil character, now renamed "Lady Lou", to the screen in She Done Him Wrong (1933). The film was one of Cary Grant's first major roles, which boosted his career. West claimed she spotted Grant at the studio and insisted that he be cast as the male lead. She claimed to have told a Paramount director, "If he can talk, I'll take him!". The film was a box office hit and earned an Academy Award nomination for Best Picture. The success of the film saved Paramount from bankruptcy, grossing over $2 million, the equivalent of $140 million today. Paramount recognizes that debt of gratitude today, with a building on the lot named after West.

Her next release, I'm No Angel (1933), teamed her with Grant again. I'm No Angel was also a box office hit and was the most successful of her entire film career. In the months that followed the release of this film, reference to West could be found almost anywhere, from the song lyrics of Cole Porter, to a Works Progress Administration (WPA) mural of San Francisco's newly built Coit Tower, to She Done Him Right, a Betty Boop cartoon, to "My Dress Hangs There", a painting by Mexican artist Frida Kahlo. Kahlo's husband, Diego Rivera, paid his own tribute: "West is the most wonderful machine for living I have ever known – unfortunately on the screen only." To F. Scott Fitzgerald, West was especially unique: "The only Hollywood actress with both an ironic edge and a comic spark." As Variety put it, "Mae West's films have made her the biggest conversation-provoker, free-space grabber, and all-around box office bet in the country. She's as hot an issue as Hitler."

By 1933, West was one of the largest box office draws in the United States and, by 1935, West was also the highest paid woman and the second-highest paid person in the United States (after William Randolph Hearst). Hearst invited West to San Simeon, California. "I could'a married him", West explained, "but I got no time for parties. I don't like those big crowds." On July 1, 1934, the censorship of the film Production Code began to be seriously and meticulously enforced, and West's scripts were heavily edited. She would intentionally place extremely risqué lines in her scripts, knowing they would be cut by the censors. She hoped they would then not object as much to her other less suggestive lines. Her next film was Belle of the Nineties (1934). The original title, It Ain't No Sin, was changed due to the censors' objections. Despite Paramount's early objections regarding costs, West insisted the studio to hire Duke Ellington and his orchestra to accompany her in the film's musical numbers. Their collaboration was a success; the classic "My Old Flame" (recorded by Duke Ellington) was introduced in this film. Her next film, Goin' to Town (1935), received mixed reviews, as censorship continued to take its toll in eroding West's best lines.

Her following effort, Klondike Annie (1936) dealt, as best it could given the heavy censorship, with religion and hypocrisy. Some critics called the film her magnum opus, but not everyone felt the same way. Press baron and film mogul William Randolph Hearst, ostensibly offended by an off-handed remark West made about his mistress, Marion Davies, sent a private memo to all his editors stating, "That Mae West picture Klondike Annie is a filthy picture... We should have editorials roasting that picture, Mae West, and Paramount... DO NOT ACCEPT ANY ADVERTISING OF THIS PICTURE." At one point, Hearst asked aloud, "Isn't it time Congress did something about the Mae West menace?" Paramount executives felt they had to tone down the West characterization or face further recrimination. This may be surprising by today's standards, as West's films contained no nudity, no profanity, and very little violence. Though raised in an era when women held second-place roles in society, West portrayed confident women who were not afraid to use their sexual wiles to get what they wanted. "I was the first liberated woman, you know. No guy was going to get the best of me. That's what I wrote all my scripts about."

Around the same time, West played opposite Randolph Scott in Go West, Young Man (1936). In this film, she adapted Lawrence Riley's Broadway hit Personal Appearance into a screenplay. Directed by Henry Hathaway, Go West, Young Man is considered one of West's weaker films of the era, due to the censor's cuts.

West next starred in Every Day's a Holiday (1937) for Paramount before their association came to an end. Again, due to censor cuts, the film performed below its goal. Censorship had made West's sexually suggestive brand of humor impossible for the studios to distribute. West, along with other stellar performers, was put on a list of actors called "Box Office Poison" by Harry Brandt on behalf of the Independent Theatre Owners Association. Others on the list were Greta Garbo, Joan Crawford, Marlene Dietrich, Fred Astaire, Dolores del Río, Katharine Hepburn and Kay Francis. The attack was published as a paid advertisement in The Hollywood Reporter, and was taken seriously by the fearful studio executives. The association argued that these stars' high salaries and extreme public popularity did not affect their ticket sales, thus hurt the exhibitors. This did not stop producer David O. Selznick, who next offered West the role of the sage madam, Belle Watling, the only woman ever to truly understand Rhett Butler, in Gone with the Wind, after Tallulah Bankhead turned him down. West also turned down the part, claiming that as it was, it was too small for an established star, and that she would need to rewrite her lines to suit her own persona. The role eventually went to Ona Munson.

In 1939, Universal Studios approached West to star in a film opposite W. C. Fields. The studio was eager to duplicate the success of Destry Rides Again starring Marlene Dietrich and James Stewart, with a comic vehicle starring West and Fields. Having left Paramount 18 months earlier and looking for a new film, West accepted the role of Flower Belle Lee in the film My Little Chickadee (1940). Despite the stars' intense mutual dislike, Fields's very real drinking problems and fights over the screenplay, My Little Chickadee was a box office hit, outgrossing Fields's previous film, You Can't Cheat an Honest Man (1939) and the later The Bank Dick (1940). Despite this, religious leaders condemned West as a negative role model, taking offense at lines such as "Between two evils, I like to pick the one I haven't tried before" and "Is that a gun in your pocket, or are you just glad to see me?"

West's next film was Columbia's The Heat's On (1943). She initially did not want to do the film, but after actor, director and friend Gregory Ratoff (producer Max Fabian in All About Eve) pleaded with her and claimed he would go bankrupt if she could not help, West relented as a personal favor. Censors by now, though, had curtailed the sexual burlesque of the West characterization. The studio had orders to raise the neck lines and clean up the double entendres. This was the only film for which West was virtually not allowed to write her own dialogue and, as a result, the film suffered.

Perhaps the most critical challenge facing West in her career was censorship of her dialogue. As on Broadway a decade before, by the mid-1930s, her risqué and ribald dialogue could no longer be allowed to pass. The Heat's On opened to poor reviews and weak performance at the box office. West was so distraught after the experience and by her years of struggling with the strict Hays censorship office, that she would not attempt another film role for the next quarter-century. Instead, West pursued a successful and record-breaking career in top nightclubs, Las Vegas, nationally in theater and on Broadway, where she was allowed, even welcomed, to be herself.

After appearing in The Heat's On in 1943, West returned to a very active career on stage and in swank clubs. Among her popular new stage performances was the title role in Catherine Was Great (1944) on Broadway, in which she penned a spoof on the story of Catherine the Great of Russia, surrounding herself with an "imperial guard" of tall, muscular young actors. The play was produced by theater and film impresario Mike Todd (Around The World in 80 Days) and ran for 191 performances and then went on tour.

When Mae West revived her 1928 play Diamond Lil, bringing it back to Broadway in 1949, The New York Times labeled her an "American Institution – as beloved and indestructible as Donald Duck. Like Chinatown, and Grant's Tomb, Mae West should be seen at least once." In the 1950s, West starred in her own Las Vegas stage show at the newly opened Sahara Hotel, singing while surrounded by bodybuilders. The show stood Las Vegas on its head. "Men come to see me, but I also give the women something to see: wall to wall men!" West explained. Jayne Mansfield met and later married one of West's muscle men, a former Mr. Universe, Mickey Hargitay.

When casting about for the role of Norma Desmond for the 1950 film Sunset Boulevard, Billy Wilder offered West the role. Still smarting from the censorship debacle of The Heat's On, and the constraints placed on her characterization, she declined. The theme of the Wilder film, she noted, was pure pathos, while her brand of comedy was always "about uplifting the audience". Mae West had a unique comic character that was timeless, in the same way Charlie Chaplin did. After Mary Pickford also declined the role, Gloria Swanson was cast.

In subsequent years, West was offered the role of Vera Simpson, opposite Marlon Brando, in the 1957 film adaptation of Pal Joey, which she turned down, with the role going to Rita Hayworth. In 1964, West was offered a leading role in Roustabout, starring Elvis Presley. She turned the role down, and Barbara Stanwyck was cast in her place. West was also approached for roles in Frederico Fellini's Juliet of the Spirits and Satyricon, but rejected both offers.

In 1958, West appeared at the live televised Academy Awards and performed the song "Baby, It's Cold Outside" with Rock Hudson, which brought a standing ovation. In 1959, she released an autobiography, Goodness Had Nothing to Do With It, which became a best seller and was reprinted with a new chapter in 1970. West guest-starred on television, including The Dean Martin Show in 1959 and The Red Skelton Show in 1960, to promote her autobiography, and a lengthy interview on Person to Person with Charles Collingwood, which was censored by CBS in 1959, and never aired. CBS executives felt members of the television audience were not ready to see a nude marble statue of West, which rested on her piano. In 1964, she made a guest appearance on the sitcom Mister Ed. Much later, in 1976, she was interviewed by Dick Cavett and sang two songs on his "Back Lot U.S.A." special on CBS.

West's recording career started in the early 1930s with releases of her film songs on shellac 78 rpm records. Most of her film songs were released as 78s, as well as sheet music. In 1955, she recorded her first album, The Fabulous Mae West. In 1965, she recorded two songs, "Am I Too Young" and "He's Good For Me", for a 45 rpm record released by Plaza Records. She recorded several tongue-in-cheek songs, including "Santa, Come Up to See Me", on the album Wild Christmas, which was released in 1966 and reissued as Mae in December in 1980. Demonstrating her willingness to keep in touch with the contemporary scene, in 1966 she recorded Way Out West, the first of her two rock-and-roll albums. The second, released in 1972 on MGM Records and titled Great Balls of Fire, covered songs by The Doors, among others, and had songs written for West by English songwriter-producer Ian Whitcomb.

After a 27-year absence from motion pictures, West appeared as Leticia Van Allen in Gore Vidal's Myra Breckinridge (1970) with Raquel Welch, Rex Reed, Farrah Fawcett, and Tom Selleck in a small part. The movie was intended to be deliberately campy sex change comedy, but had serious production problems, resulting in a botched film that was both a box-office and critical failure. Author Vidal, at great odds with inexperienced and self-styled "art film" director Michael Sarne, later called the film "an awful joke". Though Mae West was given star billing to attract ticket buyers, her scenes were truncated by the inexperienced film editor, and her songs were filmed as though they were merely side acts. Mae West's counterculture appeal (she was dubbed "the queen of camp"), included the young and hip, and by 1971, the student body of University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) voted Mae West "Woman of the Century" in honor of her relevance as a pioneering advocate of sexual frankness and courageous crusader against censorship.

In 1975, West released her book Sex, Health, and ESP (William Allen & Sons, publisher), and Pleasure Man (Dell publishers) based on her 1928 play of the same name. Her autobiography, Goodness Had Nothing to Do with It, was also updated and republished in the 1970s.

Mae West was a shrewd investor, produced her own stage acts, and invested her money in large tracts of land in Van Nuys, a thriving suburb of Los Angeles. With her considerable fortune, she could afford to do as she liked. In 1976, she appeared on Back Lot U.S.A. on CBS, where she was interviewed by Dick Cavett and sang "Frankie and Johnny" along with "After You've Gone." That same year, she began work on her final film, Sextette (1978). Adapted from a 1959 script written by West, the film's daily revisions and production disagreements hampered production from the beginning. Due to the near-endless last-minute script changes and tiring production schedule, West agreed to have her lines signaled to her through a speaker concealed in her hair piece. Despite the daily problems, West was, according to Sextette director Ken Hughes, determined to see the film through. At 84, her now-failing eyesight made navigating around the set difficult, but she made it through the filming, a tribute to her self-confidence, remarkable endurance, and stature as a self-created star 67 years after her Broadway debut in 1911 at the age of 18. Time magazine wrote an article on the indomitable star entitled "At 84, Mae West Is Still Mae West".

Upon its release, Sextette was not a critical or commercial success, but has a diverse cast. The cast included some of West's first co-stars such as George Raft (Night After Night, 1932), silver screen stars such as Walter Pidgeon and Tony Curtis, and more contemporary pop stars such as The Beatles' Ringo Starr and Alice Cooper, and television favorites such as Dom DeLuise and gossip queen Rona Barrett. It also included cameos of some of her musclemen from her 1950s Las Vegas show, such as the still remarkably fit Reg Lewis. Sextette also reunited Mae West with Edith Head, her costume designer from 1933 in She Done Him Wrong.

West was married on April 11, 1911 in Milwaukee, Wisconsin to Frank Szatkus (1892–1966), whose stage name was Frank Wallace, a fellow vaudevillian whom she met in 1909. She was 17. She kept the marriage a secret, but a filing clerk discovered the marriage certificate in 1935 and alerted the press. The clerk also uncovered an affidavit in which she had declared herself married, made during the Sex trial in 1927.

In August 1913, she met Guido Deiro (1886–1950), an Italian-born vaudeville headliner and star of the piano-accordion. Her affair, and possible 1914 marriage to him, as alleged by Diero's son Guido Roberto Deiro in his 2019 book Mae West and The Count, went "very deep, hittin' on all the emotions". West later said, "Marriage is a great institution. I'm not ready for an institution yet."

In 1916, when she was a vaudeville actress, West had a relationship with James Timony (1884–1954), an attorney nine years her senior. Timony was also her manager. By the time that she was an established movie actress in the mid-1930s, they were no longer a couple. West and Timony remained extremely close, living in the same building, working together, and providing support for each other until Timony's death in 1954.

West remained close to her family throughout her life and was devastated by her mother's death in 1930. In 1930, she moved to Hollywood and into the penthouse at The Ravenswood apartment building where she lived until her death in 1980. Her sister, brother, and father followed her to Hollywood where she provided them with nearby homes, jobs, and sometimes financial support. Among her boyfriends was boxing champion William Jones, nicknamed Gorilla Jones (1906–1982). The management at her Ravenswood apartment building barred the African American boxer from entering the premises; West solved the problem by buying the building and lifting the ban.

She became romantically involved at age 61 with Chester Rybinski (1923–1999), one of the muscle men in her Las Vegas stage show – a wrestler, former Mr. California, and former merchant sailor. He was 30 years younger than she, and later changed his name to Paul Novak. He moved in with her, and their romance continued until her death in 1980 at age 87. Novak once commented, "I believe I was put on this Earth to take care of Mae West." West was a Presbyterian.

In August 1980, West tripped while getting out of bed. After the fall she was unable to speak and was taken to Good Samaritan Hospital in Los Angeles, where tests revealed that she had suffered a stroke. She died on November 22, 1980, at the age of 87.

A private service was held at the church in Forest Lawn, Hollywood Hills, on November 25, 1980; (the church is a replica of Boston's Old North Church.) Bishop Andre Penachio, a friend, officiated at the entombment in the family mausoleum at Cypress Hills Abbey, Brooklyn, purchased in 1930 when her mother died. Her father and brother were also entombed there before her, and her younger sister, Beverly, was laid to rest in the last of the five crypts less than 18 months after West's death.

For her contribution to the film industry, Mae West has a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame at 1560 Vine Street in Hollywood. For her contributions as a stage actor in the theater world, she has been inducted into the American Theater Hall of Fame. On June 25, 2019, The New York Times Magazine listed Mae West among hundreds of artists whose material was destroyed in the 2008 Universal fire.

#mae west #golden age of hollywood #classic hollywood #classic cinema

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