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georgiapeach30513 · 2 years

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Night Moves, Part 2

Summary: Carter is not happy with Lloyd

Pairings: Carter Baizen X Lloyd Hansen, Lloyd Hansen X Reader

Rating: mature

Warnings: language, prostitution, 18+ ONLY

Word Count: 1.5K

Series Masterlist

*Divider created by @firefly-graphics

Lloyd ruffles through your rough draft of your profile yet again. Tapping his fingers on Carter’s desk, before swirling his pink lollipop in his mouth. Carter rolls his eyes watching his friend and partner stew over the papers.

“It’s in her handwriting,” he laments, leaning back in his chair. “What’s the deal with you?”

“I was the one that told Marshall to give her our card,” Carter runs his tongue over his teeth as he listen. “Yes, I got involved before she ever got here. She needed us.”

“And the problem with her profile?” he can’t even think straight knowing that Lloyd got involved. “Did you pay for her?”

“I don’t fucking pay for sex,” his voice angry and toying on the line of annoyance. “I simply told Marshall to give her our card. She needed our protection.”

“You mean yours? And I see you skirted over her profile question.”

“You asked a second question which warranted more attention. I don’t pay for sex, Baizen. We can’t send her out on stage and let people like Drysdale, Langley, the Winchester’s, or even Billy fucking Lee just ogle her with this shit on her dos. It’s like leading a lamb to the slaughter. Are you sure she wrote this? That sweet little sugar cookie put this down as her kinks? I’m calling bullshit. Did you get to her? Did Natasha?”

“You know I don’t get involved,” he rolls his eyes, pulling up your paperwork and laughs, “This doesn’t have Natasha’s fingerprints on it at all. You know she’s a Dominatrix, right? Her clients get off on pain and humiliation. And she gets off by inflicting it.”

Lloyd pulls the sucker out of his mouth, and sniffs the watermelon confection, “Please don’t tell me you shoved that up her,” he chuckles shaking his head no at Carter. “Good. I see insertion is on her kinks, and you’re mouth fucking that candy. Lloyd, you gotta let this go.”

“She cannot be put on the menu with this shit on her profile. Sweeten it up. She’s into praise, and dressing up. Sweet love making, maybe a bit of a daddy kink. Don’t put breeding on there. Barber will snatch her right up. A bit of hair pulling or something.”

“Are you fucking serious right now?” Carter starts to slam his fist on the desk, but stops. “She wrote that. What if some of those you’re suggesting is her hard nos?”

“Keep reading. They’re not. She makes a note and says they’re not. See,” his finger points some more at her notes. “She says while they’re not her kinks, she can do them,” Carter’s eyes narrow at Lloyd shaking his head no. “I’m not in too deep, and I haven’t tainted the merchandise. Yet,” he adds with a smirk. “I’m only kidding.”

“No, you’re not. That’s the thing. This,” he throws the file at Lloyd, a deep frown line in between his brows. “Do not go trying to mold her to you. Girls get jealous easily. You make her fall for you, take her off the menu, and then what? You continue your show and tell for the other girls? And then she gets jealous and tries to harm them.”

“You leave that fucking cunt Laurie out of this. I didn’t do anything like that. I tried to set her up with a husband, and Andy didn’t want her. I can’t help it that stupid girl equated sex with love. Imagine, a prostitute falling after sex,” Lloyd’s face softens because he knows that Carter is beyond pissed off and trying to protect their assets, but also their asses.

“All I’m asking is for time,” Carter shakes his head no at him. His face glowering at Lloyd. “Please? One week. Let me feel her out.”

“No. You’ve found your perfect little whore. Housewife? I read the profile. Andy would be a good fit,” his fist finally connects to the desk, as he stands up finishing the conversation. “She’s not yours, Lloyd. She’s our employee. Just because she ticks off every single one of your fucking kinks does not mean she is yours. Set her up with Rumlow for an evening.”

“No! Listen, I just want to make sure that sweet face is really into this kinda thing. I haven’t even went over the safety rules with her,” Carter hums out a whatever as he holds the door open for Lloyd.

“When was the last time you visited Nat for an evening. You need to loosen up, Baizen. She enjoys topping you.”

“Get the fuck out. One week. And I’m sending her profile to Rumlow,” Lloyd clenches his teeth at the mention of you with him. He’d have to come up with a plan to make you seem unappealing. “Why don’t you go check on your newest recruit. You talk to her about her kinks. Pick her out a pretty dress. Talk about her assignment with you. You know, the Lloyd Hansen schtick. Just keep your emotions out of this.”

“I’ll try, sunshine.”

“Lloyd! You’re messing with my business and my money. You can mess with yours all you want to, but I am your partner.”

“Yeah, yeah. Let me go talk to the little one,” cocking up an eyebrow he watches as Lloyd walks out. Your profile in his hand, and his mind racing trying to figure out his next move.

With a sigh, Carter pulls up his phone. A quick phone call won’t hurt anyone. Placing the device on his head, he gets that gruff voice, “Rumlow, I think I found something you’ve been looking for. A bit pure, and her profile matches yours quite perfectly.”

“Hmm, when will she be available?” Brock says gruffly. Putting down the stack of bills he was counting. His fingers snapping at his men in the room to leave.

“We’re working on it. She’s a bit nervous. But I think she’ll be ready to comply.”

“Those words. How’s your mens division doing? Those sweet little puppies ready to play again?”

“No,” Carter answers. While the two had been curious about what Brock would dish out, they ultimately weren’t ready for him. “But this one is real sweet. I’ll forward the rough profile over to you.”

“She’s that new, huh? No one’s disgusting hands have touched her? Not even Lloyd’s?” Carter answers a quick not yet, as he sends over your profile. “Maybe I don’t want to know if he can break her. Maybe I want to see those pitiful little tears as she begs to fucking cum.”

“A week. Give her a week, and she’ll be offered as a private dessert for you. At the estate. You won’t be taking her off sight like Steve and Bucky.”

“You’re no fun. Fine. I’ll be patient. Send me Maximoff in my spare time. Tell her I’ll play nice. I know she doesn’t like her legs to be bound,” Carter bids the man goodbye.

Walking out to let Stacey know that Wanda needed to go to Brock’s compound with her guard, Vision. “Mr. Baizen, is this a good idea?”

“He’s already wired the money. He’s waiting for the new girl.”

“Maybe it’s time to cut times with Rumlow. He’s…”

“Maybe you worry about yourself. Get it done, now.”

Lloyd’s hand smooths over the duvet of your new bed. Those sweet eyes of his glowing as he smiles up at you, “Have a seat, Sugar pie. I had a chance to look over your profile, and I had some questions.”

Sheepishly you sit beside him. Trying to avert your gaze to anything, but him. You forgot how he was going to be reading that. “I can explain.”

“No need to. What turns on us isn’t wrong, as long as it’s not at the expense of someone else. Your kinks aren’t too extreme, just not what I was expecting from a sweet girl, like yourself.”

He reaches to pull your chin to look up at him. His lips turn up into a smile, and you find your cheeks heating up with embarrassment. Butterflies beat in your belly, and your chest feels tight, throat dry, and unable to do anything but croak.

“We have a lot in common, Sugar. I’ll tell you what. You choose something off your list. And I can demonstrate the proper etiquette for you. Make sure you come up with a good concise safe word. But also your code word for your guard. I think that Clark would be a good fit to protect you. So what do you think you want to try?”

“Umm…do you think I should change my answers? Maybe not to go too dramatic so quickly?”

“That’s up to you, Sugar. I’ll never make you do anything. But, we do have some clients that can go a bit extreme.”

“Um, yeah. I think…maybe…can we try this one? And I decide afterwards?” his eyes scan down to see where your finger lands, and his petal pink lips turn up in a grin.

“Of course. Whatever you want.”

Masterlist

Taglist: @tis-thedamn-season @marveloustaylortot @sstan-hoe @pono-pura-vida @buckysteveloki-me @peaches1958 @sarcasmoverlordxo @randomagnes0210 @bambamwolf87 @whimsyplaty92 @feyfantome @infatuatedjanes @filthy-gorgeous-library @potatothots @openup-yourmind

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xoxoalette · 1 year

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Voice head canons for the twins?

Anon I love you so much for this question and I’m so sorry it took so long for me to answer

Eddie:

I have to hold back my urge to say Marshall Lee from adventure time for Eddie but it just fits so well but is so CLICHE OF ME

But until I can find a better voice claim for him, I’m choosing Marshall Lee

But his singing voice? https://open.spotify.com/track/3A7Etq2wGE9cYqLIma97Tt?si=9IW-IcRsSqqYW6nMGm2YPw

Diva:

Imagine a little more energetic Yunjin from Genshin impact

(I wanted a soft tone for the twins so)

But her singing voice is either the tone of Just a waste by pinkpantheress or the tone of boy’s a liar

I was also thinking uuuh this

https://open.spotify.com/track/6UVRuALsY1Q9THdXLouEUe?si=4LuCdlycTfOuPHesbHE5oA

#basically just soft smooth voices for both #hot killer babes ⭐️#hot killer babes vn #💗xoxoeddie #💗xoxodiva #silkbab3y

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nordleuchten · 3 years

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La Fayette in Les Misérables

Les Misérables is one of my absolute favourite books. I never get tired of it – funny coincidence, La Fayette is also in there. I have read the book in three different languages now and noticed that the amount of La Fayette varies in the different versions. The French original sets the precedent of course. The English translation (or, as there are of course several different translations, the English translation I read) featured La Fayette ten times (just as often as the French original). My two German translations feature La Fayette less often than the French and my English one. With that being said, I present to you the La Fayette-szenes in Les Misérables (Les Misérables by Victor Hugo, translated by Lee Fahnestock and Norman MacAfee, based on the translation by C. E. Wilbour, published by Signet Classics, 1987)

Courfeyrac had a father whose name was M. de Courfeyrac. One of the false ideas of the Restoration in point of aristocracy and nobility was its faith in the particle. The particle, we know, has no significance. But the bourgeois of the time of La Minerve considered this poor de so highly that men thought themselves obliged to renounce it. M. de Chauvelin became M. Chauvelin,.M. de Caumartin was M. Caumartin, M. de Constant de Rebecque simply Benjamin Constant, M. de Lafayette just M. Lafayette. Courfeyrac did not wish to be backward, and called himself simply Courfeyrac. (Marius, book four, The Friends of the ABC, p. 653)

So the bourgeoisie, as well as the statesmen, felt the need for a man who would say "Halt!" An Although-Because. A composite individuality signifying both revolution and stability; in other words, assuring the present through the evident compatibility of the past with the future. -This man was found ready-made. His name was Louis-Philippe d'Orleans. The 221 made Louis-Philippe king. Lafayette undertook the coronation. He called it "the best of republics." (Saint-Denis, book one, A few Pages of History, p. 829)

I can not give you a direct written example where La Fayette said “the best of republics” but the statement mirrors his early impressions on Louis-Phillipe’s reign perfectly.

These memories associated with a king fired the bourgeoisie's enthusiasm. With his own hands he had demolished the last iron cage of Mont-Saint-Michel, built by Louis XI and used by Louis XV. He was the companion of Dumouriez, he was the friend of Lafayette; he had belonged to the Jacobin Club; Mirabeau had slapped him on the shoulder; Danton had said to him, "Young man!" (Saint-Denis, book one, A few Pages of History, p. 834)

These doctrines, these theories, these resistances, the unforeseen necessity for the statesman to consult with the philosopher, confused evidences half seen, a new politics to create, in accord with the old world, and yet not too discordant with the ideal of the revolution; a state of affairs in which Lafayette had to be used to oppose Polignac, the intuition of progress glimpsed through the riots, the chambers, and the street, rivalries to balance around him, his faith in the Revolution, perhaps some uncertain eventual resignation arising from the vague acceptance of a definitive superior right, his desire to remain in his lineage, his family pride, his sincere respect for the people, his own honesty-all of this preoccupied Louis-Philippe almost painfully, and at times strong and as courageous as he was, overwhelmed him under the difficulties of being king. (Saint-Denis, book one, A few Pages of History, p. 841)

The distress of the people; laborers without bread; the last Prince de Conde lost in the darkness; Brussels driving away the Nassaus as Paris had driven away the Bourbons; Belgium offering herself to a French prince, and given to an English prince; the Russian hatred of Nicholas; at our back two demons of the south, Ferdinand in Spain, Miguel in Portugal; the earth quaking in Italy; Mettemich extending his hand over Bologna; France bluntly opposing Austria at Ancona; in the north some ill-omened sound of a hammer once more nailing Poland into its coffin; throughout Europe angry looks peering at France; England a suspicious ally, ready to push over anyone leaning and throw herself on anyone fallen; the peerage sheltering itself behind Beccaria to deny four heads to the law; the fteur-de-lis erased from the king's carriage; the cross tom down from Notre-Dame; Lafayette weakened; Lafitte ruined; Benjamin Constant dead in poverty; Casimir Perier dead from loss of power; the political disease and the social disease breaking out in the two capitals of the realm, one the city of thought, the other the city of labor; in Paris civil war, in Lyons servile war; in the two cities the same furnace glare; the flush of the crater on the forehead of the people; the South fanaticized, the West uneasy; the Duchesse de Berry in La Vendee; plots, conspiracies, uprising, cholera, added to the · dismal mutter of ideas, the dismal uproar of events. (Saint-Denis, book one, A few Pages of History, p. 843)

In an instant the little fellow was lifted, pushed, dragged, pulled, stuffed, crammed into the hole with no time to realize what was going on. And Gavroche, coming in after him, pushing back the ladder with a kick so it fell onto the grass, began to clap his hands, and cried, "Here we are! Hurrah for General Lafayette! Brats, my home!” Gavroche was in fact home. (Saint-Denis, book six, Little Gavroche, p. 956-957)

Hence, if insurrection in given cases may be, as Lafayette said, the most sacred of duties, émeute may be the most deadly of crimes. (Saint-Denis, book ten, June 5, 1832, p. 1052)

A circle was drawn up around the hearse. The vast assemblage fell silent. Lafayette spoke and bade farewell to Lamarque. It was a touching and noble moment, all heads uncovered, all hearts throbbed. Suddenly a man on horseback, dressed in black, appeared in the midst of the throng with a red flag, others say with a pike surmounted by a red cap. Lafayette looked away. Exelmans left the cortege. This red flag raised a storm and disappeared in it. From the Boulevard Bourdon to the Pont d'Austerlitz a roar like a surging billow stirred the multitude. Two prodigious shouts arose: "Lamarque to the Pantheon! Lafayette to the Hotel de Ville!" Some young men, amid the cheers of the throng, took up the harness and began to pull Lamarque in the hearse over the Pont d'Austerlitz, and Lafayette in a fiacre along the Quai Morland. In the cheering crowd that surrounded Lafayette, a German was noticed and pointed out, named Ludwig Snyder, who later died a centenarian, who had also been in the war of 1776, and who had fought at Trenton under Washington and under Lafayette at Brandywine. Meanwhile, on the left bank, the municipal cavalry was in motion and had just barred the bridge; on the right bank the dragoons left the Celestins and deployed along the Quai Morland. The men who were pulling Lafayette suddenly saw them at the bend of the Quai, and cried, "The dragoons!" The dragoons were advancing at a walk, in silence, their pistols in their holsters, their sabers in their sheaths, their muskets at rest, with an air of gloomy expectation. At two hundred paces from the little bridge, they halted. The fiacre bearing Lafayette made its way up to them, they opened their ranks, let it pass, and closed again behind it. At that moment the dragoons and the multitude came together. The women fled in terror. (Saint-Denis, book ten, June 5, 1832, p. 1059-1060)

Ludwig Snyder was a historical person who indeed existed and not a person that Hugo made up.

Alarming stories went the rounds, ominous rumors were spread. "That they had taken the Bank" ; "that, merely at thencloisters of Saint-Merry, there were six hundred, entrenched and fortified in the church"; "that the line was doubtful"; "that Armand Carrel had been to see Marshal Clausel and that the marshal had said, 'Have one regiment in place first,' " ; "that Lafayette was sick, but that he had said to them, 'I am with you. I will follow you anywhere that there is room for a chair' "; "that it was necessary to keep on their guard; that at night people would pillage the isolated houses in the deserted neighborhoods of Paris (the imagination of the police was recognized here, that Anne Radcliffe element in government)" ; "that a battery had been set up in the Rue Aubry-le-Boucher" ; "that Lobau and Bugeaud were conferring; and that at midnight, or daybreak at the latest, four columns would march at once on the center of the emeute, the first coming from the Bastille, the second from the Porte Saint-Martin, the third from La Greve, the fourth from Les Hailes"; "that perhaps the troops would evacuate Paris and fall back on the Champ de Mars"; "that nobody knew what might happen, but that certainly, this time, it was serious." (Saint-Denis, book ten, June 5, 1832, p. 1067-1068)

I could not find any historical reference about the chair-quote and I am pretty sure that Hugo made that up - however, it sounds very much like something that La Fayette would say - and Hugo and La Fayette probably knew each other, although superficially. Toward the end of La Fayette’s life, when Hugo was still a young men, there were different salons in Paris that both attended and it is quite likely that they both ran into each other during one of these meetings.

At this moment the bantam rooster voice of little Gavroche resounded through the barricade. The child had climbed up on a table to load his musket and was gaily singing the song then so popular:

En voyant Lafayette

Le gendarme repete

Sauvons-nous! Sauvons-nous! Sauvons-nous ! (Saint-Denis, book fourteen, The Grandeur of Despair, p. 1143)

This scene is not featured in my German version. It is mentioned that Gavroche sang a song but the text is not given in that translation.

They take you, they hold on to you, they never let go of you. The truth is, there was never any amour like that child. Now, what do you say of your Lafayette, your Benjamin Constant, and of your Tirecuir de Corcelles, who kill him for me ! It can't go on like this." (Jean Valjean, book three, Mire, but Soul, p. 1317)

La Fayette did not made it into the musical version of Les Misérables (neither in the French Original nor in the more popular English version) although he would have fit perfectly in there. I also have never seen him featured in any of the countless movie or TV adaptations - officially at least. Some adaptations that feature the funeral of General Lamarque have some extras running around that I sometimes turn into La Fayette - that was not the intended casting but it worked out for me nonetheless :-)

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foreverdavidbyrne · 3 years

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David Byrne’s interview in NME magazine

In 1979, David Byrne predicted Netflix. “It’ll be as easy to hook your computer up to a central television bank as it is to get the week’s groceries,” he told NME’s Max Bell, sitting in a Paris hotel considering the implications of Talking Heads’ dystopian single ‘Life During Wartime’.

He predicted the Apple Watch in that interview too: “[People will] be surrounded by computers the size of wrist watches.” And he foresaw surveillance culture and data harvesting: “Government surveillance becomes inevitable because there’s this dilemma when you have an increase in information storage. A lot of it is for your convenience, but as more information gets on file, it’s bound to be misused.”

In fact, over 40 years ago, he predicted the entire modern-day experience, as if he instinctively knew what was coming. “We’ll be cushioned by amazing technological development,” he said, “but sitting on Salvation Army furniture.”

The 68-year-old Byrne says today, “You can’t say that you know,” chuckling down a Zoom link from his home in New York and belying his reputation for awkwardness by seeming giddily relieved to be talking to someone. “It’s crazy to set yourself up as some sort of prophet. But there’s plenty of people who have done well with books where they claim to predict what’s going on. I suppose sometimes it’s possible to let yourself imagine, ‘Okay – what if?’ This can evolve into something that exists, can evolve into something more substantial, cheaper – these kinds of things.”

It’s been a lifelong gift. Byrne turned up at CBGBs in 1975 with his art school band Talking Heads touting ‘Psycho Killer’, as if predicting the punk scene’s angular melodic evolution, new wave, before punk was even called punk. In 1980, Talking Heads assimilated African beats and textures into their seminal ‘Remain In Light’ album, foreshadowing ‘world music’ and modern music’s globalist melting pot, then used it to warn America of the dangers of consumerism, selfishness and the collapse of civilisation. Pioneering or propheteering, Byrne has been on the front-line of musical evolution for 45 years, collaborating with fellow visionaries from Brian Eno to St Vincent’s Annie Clark, constantly imagining, ‘What if?’

The live music lockdown has been a frustrating freeze frame, but Byrne was already leading the way into music’s new normal. Launched in 2018, the tour to support his 10th solo album, ‘American Utopia’, has now turned into a cinematic marvel courtesy of Spike Lee – the concert film was released in the UK this week. The original tour was acclaimed as a live music revolution. Using remote technology, Byrne was able to remove all of the traditional equipment clutter from the stage and allow his musicians and dancers, in uniform grey suits and barefoot, to roam around a stage lined with curtains of metal chains with their instruments strapped to them. A Marshally distanced gig, if you will.

“As the show was conceptually coming together, I realised that once we had a completely empty stage the rulebook has now been thrown out,” Byrne says. “Now we can go anywhere and do anything. This is completely liberating. It means that people like drummers, for example, who are usually relegated to the back shadows, can now come to the front – all those kinds of things – which changes the whole dynamic.”

With six performers making up an entire drum kit and Byrne meandering through the choreography trying to navigate a nonsensical world, the show was his most striking and original since he jerked and jived around a constructed-mid-gig band set-up in Jonathan Demme’s legendary 1984 Talking Heads live film Stop Making Sense.

The American Utopia show embarked on a Broadway run last year, where Byrne super-fan Spike Lee saw it twice and leapt at the chance of turning the spectacle into Byrne’s second revolutionary live film, dotted with his musings on the human condition to illuminate the crux of the songs: institutional racism, our lack of modern connection, the erosion of democracy and, on opener ‘Here’, a lecture-like tour of the human brain, Byrne holding aloft a scale model, trying to fathom, ‘How do I work this?’

“I didn’t know how much of a fan Spike was!” Byrne laughs today. “He’d even go, ‘Why don’t you do this song? Why don’t you add this song in’. We knew one another casually so I could text him and say, ‘I want you to come and see our show; I think that you might be interested in making a film of it’.”

Are the days of the traditional stage set-up numbered? “Yes, I think so,” he replies. “At least in theatres and concert halls the size that I would normally play, yes. The fact that we can get the music digitally [means] a performance has to be really of value. It has to be really something special, because that’s where the performers are getting their money and that’s what the audience is paying for. They’re not paying very much for streaming music, but they are paying quite a bit to go and see a performance, so the performance has to give them value for money… It has to be really something to see.”

How does David Byrne envisage the future possibilities of live performance?

“I’ve seen a lot of things that hip-hop artists have done – like the Kanye West show where he emerges on a platform that floats above the stage,” he says. “I’d seen one with Kendrick Lamar where it was pretty much just him on stage, an empty stage with just him on stage and a DJ, somebody with a laptop – that was it. I thought, ‘Wow’. Then he started doing things with huge projections behind. There are lots of ways to do this. I love the idea of working with a band, with live musicians. ‘How can I innovate in this kind of way?’ It’s maybe easier for a hip-hop musician who doesn’t have a band to figure out. The pressure is on to come up with new ways of doing this.”

In liberating his musicians from fixed, immovable positions, American Utopia also acts as a metaphor for freeing our minds from our own ingrained ways of thinking. As Byrne intersperses Talking Heads classics such as ‘Once In A Lifetime’, ‘I Zimbra’ and ‘Road To Nowhere’ with choice solo cuts and tracks from ‘American Utopia’, he also dots the show with musings on an array of post-millennial questions: the health of democracy; the rise of xenophobia and fascism; our increasing reliance on materialism and online communication; the climate change threat; the existential nightmare of the dating app; and, crucially, the distances all of these things put between us.

“The ‘likes’ and friends and connections and everything that the internet enables,” he argues, “even Zoom calls like this, they’re no substitute for really being with other people. Calling social networks ‘social’ is a bit of an exaggeration.”

Byrne closes the show with the suggestion that, rather than isolate behind our LCD barriers, we should try to reconnect with each other. In an age when social media has descended into all-out thought war and anyone can find concocted ‘facts’ to support anything they want to believe, is that realistic?

“I have a little bit of hope,” he says. “Not every day, but some days. I have hope that people will abandon a lot of social media, that they’ll realise how intentionally addictive it is, and they’re actually being used, and that they might enjoy actually being with other people rather than just constantly scrolling through their phone. So, I’m a little bit optimistic that people will, in some ways, use this technology a little bit less than they have.”

A key moment in American Utopia comes with Byrne’s cover of Janelle Monae’s ‘Hell You Talmbout’, a confrontational track shouting the names of African-Americans who have been killed by police or in racially motivated attacks – Eric Garner, Trayvon Martin, George Floyd and far, far too many more. Does Byrne think the civil unrest in the wake of Floyd’s death and the rise of the Black Lives Matter movement make a serious impact?

“We’ll see how long this continues,” he says, “but in projects that I’m working on – there’s a theatre project I’m working on in Denver, there’s the idea of bringing this show back to Broadway, there’s other projects – those issues came to the fore. Issues of diversity and inclusion and things like that, which were always there. Now they’re being taken more seriously. The producers and theatre owners realise that they can’t push those things aside, that they have to be included in the whole structure of how a show gets put together.”

“At least for now, that seems to be a big change. I see it in TV shows and other areas too. There’s a lot of tokenism, but there’s a lot of real opportunity and changed thinking as well.”

Elsewhere, he encourages his audience to register to vote, and had registration booths at the shows. He must have been pleased about the record turnout in the recent US election? “Yeah, the turnout was great. Now you just got to keep doing that. Gotta keep doing it at all the local elections, too. It was important for me not to endorse a political party or anything in the show but to say, ‘Listen, we can’t have a democracy if you don’t vote. You have to get out there and let your voice be heard and there’s lots of people trying to block it.’ We have to at least try.”

Will Trump’s loss help bring people together after four years with such a divisive influence in charge?

“Yes. I think for me Trump was not so much a shock; we knew who he is. He was around New York before that, in the reality show [The Apprentice], we knew what kind of character he was. What shocked me was how quickly the Republican party all fell into line behind him, behind this guy who’s obviously a racist, misogynist liar and everything else. But it’s kind of encouraging – although it’s taken four years and with some it’s only with the prospect of him being gone – that quite a few have been breaking ranks. There are some possibilities of bridge building being held out.”

But, he says, “It’s too early to celebrate,” concerned that Senate Majority Leader and fairweather Trump loyalist Mitch McConnell will use any Republican control of the Senate to block many of Biden’s policies from coming into effect. “[This] is what happened with Obama… I want to see real change happen. [Climate change] absolutely needs to be a priority. The clock had turned back over the last four years, so there’s a lot to be done. Whether there’s the willpower to do everything that needs to be done, it remains to be seen, but at least now it’s pointing in the right direction.”

How will he look back on the last four years? Byrne ponders. “I’m hoping that I look back at it as a near-miss.”

American Utopia is as much a personal journey as a dissection of modern ills. Ahead of ‘Everybody’s Coming To My House’, Byrne admits to being a rather socially awkward type. He claims that a choir of Detroit teenagers, when singing the song for the accompanying video, had imbued the song with a far more welcoming message than his own rendition, which found him wracked with the fear that his visitors might never leave. How does someone like that deal with celebrity?

“In a certain way it’s a blessing,” Byrne grins, “because I don’t have to go up to people to talk to them – they sometimes come up to me. In other ways it’s a little bit awkward. Celebrity itself seems very superficial and I have to constantly remind myself that your character, your behaviour and the work that you do is what’s important – not how well known you are, not this thing of celebrity. I learned early on it’s pretty easy to get carried away. But it does have its advantages. I had Spike Lee’s phone number, so I could text him.”

Talking Heads drummer Chris Frantz’s recent book Remain In Love suggests that the more successful Byrne got early on, the more distant he became.

Byrne nods. “I haven’t read the book, but I know that as we became more successful I definitely used some of that to be able to work on other projects. I worked on a dance score with [American choreographer] Twyla Tharp and I worked on a theatre piece with [director] Robert Wilson – other kinds of things – [and] I started working on directing some of the band’s music videos. So I guess I spent less time just hanging out. As often happens with bands, you start off being all best friends and doing everything together and after a while that gets to be a bit much. Everybody develops their own friends and it’s like, ‘I have my own friends too’. Everybody starts to have their own lives.”

The future is far too enticing for David Byrne to consider revisiting the past. “I do live alone so sometimes it would get lonely”, he says of lockdown, but he’s been using his Covid downtime to cycle around undiscovered areas of New York and remain philosophical about the aftermath.

“We’ll see how long before the vaccine is in, before we return to being able to socialise,” he says, “but I’m also wondering, ‘How am I going to look at this year? Am I going to look at it as, “Oh yes, that’s the year that was to some extent taken away from our lives; our lives were put on pause?”’ We kept growing; we kept ageing; we keep eating, but it was almost like this barrier had been put up. It has been a period where, in a good way, it’s led us to question a lot of what we do. You get up in the morning and go, ‘Why am I doing this? What am I doing this for? What’s this about?’ Everything is questioned.”

Post-vaccine, he hopes to “travel a little bit” before looking into plans to bring the ‘American Utopia’ show back to Broadway, and possibly even to London if the financial aspects can be worked out. “Often when a show like that travels, the lead actors might travel,” Byrne explains, “but in this case it’s the entire cast that has to travel. So you’ve got a lot of hotel bills and all that kind of stuff. We wanted to do it. There might be a way, if we can figure that out.”

Once we all get our jab, will everyone come to recognise that, as Byrne sings on ‘American Utopia’s most inspiring track, ‘Every Day Is A Miracle’? “Optimistically, maybe,” he says. “There will be a lot of people who will just go, ‘Let’s get back to normal – get out to the bars, the clubs and discos’. That’s already been happening in New York; there’s been these underground parties where people just can’t help themselves. But after all this it’d be nice to think that people might reassess things a little bit.”

And with the algorithm as the new gatekeeper and technology beginning to subsume the sounds and consumption of music, what does the new wave Nostradamus foresee for rock in the coming decades? Will AIs soon be writing songs for other AIs to consume to inflate the numbers, cutting humanity out of the equation altogether?

“It seems like there’ll be a kind of factory,” Byrne predicts, “an AI factory of things like that, and of newspaper articles and all of this kind of stuff, and it will just exaggerate and duplicate human biases and weaknesses and stupidity. On the other hand, I was part of a panel a while back, and a guy told a story about how his listening habits were Afrofuturism and ambient music – those were his two favourite ways to go. The algorithm tried to find commonalities between the two so it could recommend things to him and he said it was hopeless. Everything it recommended was just horrible because it tried to find commonalities between these two very separate things. This just shows that we’re a little more eclectic than these machines would like to think.”

And in the distant future? Best prepare to welcome your new gloop overlords. Byrne isn’t concerned about The Singularity – the point at which machine intelligence supersedes ours and AI becomes God – but instead believes that future technologies will emulate microbial forms.

“I watched a documentary on slime moulds [a simple slimy organism] the other day,” he says, warming to his sticky theme. “Slime moulds are actually extremely intelligent for being a single-celled organism. They can build networks and bunches of them can communicate. They can learn, they have memories, they can do all these kinds of things that you wouldn’t expect a single-celled organism to be able to do.”

“I started thinking, ‘Well, is there a lesson there for AI and machine learning, of how all these emerging properties could be done with something as simple as a single cell?’ It’s all in there… when things interact, they become greater than the sum of their parts. I thought, okay, maybe the future of AI is not in imitating human brains, but imitating these other kinds of networks, these other kinds of intelligences. Forget about imitating human intelligence – there’s other kinds of intelligence out there, and that might be more fruitful. But I don’t know where that leads.”

His grin says he does know, that he has a vision of our icky soup-world future, but maybe the rest of the species isn’t yet advanced enough to handle it. But if we’re evolving towards disaster rather than utopia, we can trust David Byrne to give us plenty of warning.

December 18, 2020

#david byrne #talking heads #music #new wave #post-punk #art pop #avant funk #worldbeat #interview #nme magazine #2020

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michelles-garden-of-evil · 3 years

Text

Episode 43 Review: Curiouser and Curiouser

{ YouTube: 1 | 2 | 3 }

{ Full Synopses/Recaps: Debby Graham | Bryan Gruszka }

Maljardin, an isle of mystery. Much remains unknown on Jean Paul Desmond’s isolated island, including the locations of the conjure doll, silver pin, and the missing cyanide, the contents of the final week of Dr. Menkin’s missing notes, and the true cause of death of Jean Paul’s beloved wife Erica. Now that a mysterious black rabbit has appeared on the island which has known no wildlife for three hundred years, new mysteries arise, including one that literally surrounds that rabbit’s neck.

In Ian Martin’s original timeline, this would be the point where the Reverend Matt Dawson exorcised Raxl and Quito’s writing box (although whether that would have revealed the Conjure Man’s also mysterious original message is anyone’s guess), but executive meddling required him to negate that timeline and write about the Rabbit of Evil instead. Come, let’s follow the black rabbit into the increasingly bizarre rabbit hole that is mid-Maljardin-era Strange Paradise.

A minute and a half in, and Cosette Lee is already in top form. Chew that scenery, Cosy!

We open with a recap of the séance from a week and a half ago, courtesy of Raxl and Jean Paul. Raxl gives us the great line above comparing the falling chandelier to “a fist of the devil,” which she delivers beautifully. She connects the falling chandelier to the rabbit who just appeared--or, as she calls it, "this THING that mocks the problem!"

This is Jean Paul’s concerned face.

When she reminds him that the black rabbit appeared out of nowhere on the island which previously harbored no wild animals, he looks increasingly concerned. Whereas in yesterday's episode, he dismissed her claims as superstition and the rabbit as a harmless animal that probably came over on the boat, now he appears willing to think them over. At least that’s how it appears in this part of the scene, although it’s also possible that he’s just worried about Raxl’s sanity. Raxl may be melodramatic and she may sometimes go to extremes in her efforts to protect her home from THE DEVIL JACQUES ELOI DES MONDES, but she is arguably saner than you are, Jean Paul.

"Oh, master, believe me!" she begs. "This…thing, this…thing in the form of an animal is a manifestation of evil!"

“Evil, in your eyes, Raxl,” corrects Jean Paul, or so he thinks.

“Not only mine. Look at Quito. He has eyes, too. He knows. Oh, master, believe me! This black rabbit is an emissary of DEATH!”

Jean Paul continues his mansplaining.

Oh, Jean Paul! To think, I had so much hope for you! I guess that, even after repeated possessions, Dr. Menkin's mysterious death, a leaking capsule, a falling chandelier, and all the things that have happened to Holly, you still refuse to believe in "superstition." You know that, down in Hell, Jacques is kicking back in his peacock chair, gloating about this again:

Jacques: “Jean Paul, what was that again about your IQ of 187?” *evil laugh*

"Then how could it be on Maljardin?" she asks.

"The supply boat, perhaps," he repeats from last episode. "Holly Marshall had no trouble in hiding herself in order to get over here. Surely a small animal like this would be even less likely to be noticed." It sounds plausible, but it’s still doubtful that the rabbit would have lasted so long after the supply boat returned to Maljardin without eating some poisonous plant and dying. I doubt that Quito leaves fresh produce just lying around on the boat.

"If you want to, believe that," replies Raxl, "but I believe it is possessed by EVIL!"

"Raxl, it seems that you are the one who is possessed by fear.”

"It seems the Devil is possessing us all, quietly, cunningly, and each day just a little more," she says, before leaving for the crypt. Quito follows behind, carrying the rabbit, who is just as enthusiastic as it was last episode about being part of one of Canada's first domestically-produced soaps. The way it squirms trying to escape from Quito’s arms in the crypt scene is priceless:

ROFLMAO

Meanwhile, Jean Paul argues with Jacques about the rabbit. Jacques agrees with Raxl on the rabbit's supernatural origins, which further angers Jean Paul. He asks him why he wants to convince him of that, and Jacques gives this cryptic reply: "Big beings have little beings on their backs to spite them, and little beings have smaller beings, and so on, ad infinitum."

"Now, perhaps Raxl is right," Jean Paul muses. "Now just what is in your mind?"

"Perhaps you'll find out at the séance," Jacques teases. He goes on to suggest to him that perhaps Erica did not want to be frozen in the "ridiculous" cryonics capsule. Jean Paul gets all defensive in response and accuses him of trying to break their pact. "Isn't it about time that you delivered her back to me?" he demands.

"We'll find out at the next séance," says Jacques, and Jean Paul demands that he not attend. Jacques implies that there may not be another séance (but why not?), and Jean Paul flips out on him:

FEAR the finger of DOOM!

The acting from both Colin and Cosette in this episode is so over-the-top that it’s somewhere in outer space.

And then...

The Reverend Matt Dawson walks in on him arguing with Jacques and thinks that he was talking to himself.

How does Jean Paul respond? Why, by gaslighting him, of course! “It’s hard to imagine that a man of the cloth would lose control so easily,” he says as though Matt were the one with a screw loose. Now, isn’t that charming?

Matt warns Jean Paul that the people on Maljardin--himself included--are looking for an escape. "We are not children, and we are not completely powerless," he tells Jean Paul. "We will find a way to cut the knots that bind us here."

He also says that his faith, which was challenged when he arrived on the island, is returning. Jean Paul uses this as another opportunity to gaslight him: “You are not regaining your faith. You are merely losing your faculties.” One would think that was a Jacques line, but it’s not. There’s neither a shot of the portrait disappearing, nor any Jean Paul headache faces followed by Jacques’ beringed hand grabbing his face, nor is Fox-C grinning psychotically like Jacques would probably do while saying that. It’s Jean Paul at his most unpleasant.

“On Maljardin, only I speak,” he continues. “Others listen.” It’s like he’s determined to be as much of an asshole as possible in this episode. Bless his heart.

But all the despotic orders in the world won’t shut the Reverend up. “Now I know why I came to Maljardin,” he replies, and it’s not to stalk a twenty-year-old teenager. “It was my destiny to be a force of good among all the evil here.”

“A savior?” Jean Paul asks.

“Perhaps,” he replies. “Is there one here who needs saving from himself?”

Sometimes I wonder if Reverend Dawson was intended to be the real hero of SP.

Raxl and Quito enter the Not-So-Hidden Temple of the Serpent with the rabbit. She pleads and begs for the Serpent to give her answers about the Rabbit of Evil, calling the adorable animal a “monster.” This scene is classic Raxl and belongs on any list of Raxl’s best scenes. Here are my two favorite lines from it:

Raxl: "Speak to me, Great One, for the sake of my master and his beloved visitors and for all the spirits in this house who are roasting on the spit of the fire of evil. OPEN YOUR SPEECH TO MY UNDERSTANDING!"

"Quito, TAKE THIS EVIL THING! Its foulness has stilled temporarily the voice of the Great Serpent!"

But it doesn’t stilt the Serpent for long. The mysterious locket at the beginning of this review appears around its neck, where it wasn’t before. When Raxl touches it, it stains her hand with blood.

Meanwhile, in Jean Paul’s hidden monitor room...

Jean Paul: "Erica, my darling, I wonder how you will find me when at last we are together again? I fear the strain of all this has made me hard and cynical. The Reverend is good, twice the man he was when he first arrived. If only he could see the rightness of my cause, he would make such an ally for my purposes." [You’re deluding yourself, Jean Paul. You have zero chance of convincing Matt that your cryonics scheme is anything but blasphemy.]

"Some serve me, to their honor and reward. Some cross me--to their death!"

*reading Teleprompter* "No one understands. There is an inner circle, my love, and it is big enough for just the two of us."

Jean Paul: "My darling, the second séance is very close at hand. The Conjure Woman recovers and this time nothing will stop us!"

*more obvious Teleprompter reading* "You will come, you will speak, and at last for the first time, for just a little while, you and I will be together."

He’s so cute! <3

Like the previous episode, it’s obvious that they rushed this one even in comparison to the others, because of how often Fox-C reads the Teleprompter. I’ve noticed that he does so more often starting during this week of the show and increasingly until Cornelius Crane takes over writing the show--which won’t be for another two weeks--before slowly petering out until Desmond Hall. I see this as a measure of how hastily an episode was slapped together, although I could be making assumptions.

Anyway, Raxl asks Quito if he noticed the bloody locket before, and he shakes his head. “I am right!” exclaims Raxl about her belief that the rabbit was a demon. She follows this up by asking the Serpent, “Where did it come from?” and we cut to the camera panning over the cryonics capsule:

Obvious foreshadowing is obvious.

Quito leaves the temple to find Matt and Holly sneaking into the crypt, and chases them back up to the Great Hall. Holly demands to know where the rabbit is and Raxl (who enters just then) announces that it ran away!

“Discovered something, didn’t you?” Matt asks Raxl. He asks if she found the doll and pin or the week of missing notes, to which she answers no and no. “For Heaven’s sake, what? Another demon?”

Just as baffled as I am that a Christian minister like him doesn’t believe in demons, she accuses him of mocking her. He accuses her of turning irrational, which means that Jean Paul’s “everyone is irrational but me” delusion must be rubbing off on him. Holly accuses Raxl of having already killed the rabbit.

“Foolishness! Madness!” Raxl shouts. “I tell you that-”

Matt interrupts to point to the rabbit, who, despite its tall ears, is somehow able to sleep through this argument. Must have selective hearing.

Holly grabs the rabbit and Raxl starts screaming for her to hand it over. “IT IS EVIL! IT MUST BE KILLED!” she cries as Matt restrains her. “IT MUST BE DESTROYED BEFORE IT IS TOO LATE!” Fortunately for Holly (but unfortunately for Raxl), Jean Paul hears the commotion and comes downstairs to take the rabbit from them.

When he does, we hear the sound of a small object dropping. He leans over to pick it up and reveals the strangest detail so far in this mystery:

Jean Paul: "This locket…" Raxl: "Yes, master, I-" Jean Paul: *more pained* "This locket…was…Erica's!"

Everyone’s jaw drops--which we see in a series of close-ups of all five human actors in this episode--and the music swells. After commercial, Raxl tearfully reveals that Jean Paul gave Erica the locket on her birthday, and tells Jean Paul and the others that she knows that the locket was not around the rabbit’s neck until after she called upon the Serpent. Holly accuses her of being superstitious, and they get into a fight where Raxl tells Holly that she and her fellow Christians don’t understand the spirit world and Holly calls Raxl’s beliefs “mumbo-jumbo.” Matt also accuses Raxl of lying about how the locket appeared “so that we would believe in spirits and demons.” I know that not all Christian denominations believe in the literal existence of spirits and demons, but it’s still odd hearing the Reverend deny their existence.

Raxl calls him a fool, too, and says once again that the rabbit must be killed. She and Holly are about to go back to arguing when Jean Paul cries out, “YOU ARE ALL WRONG!” And then we have yet another shocking revelation: Erica was wearing the locket upon her death, and still when she was entombed in the cryonics capsule!

Somehow he’s able to get the rabbit to hold still for a few minutes, even with all the shouting in the final scene.

In case anyone’s wondering why this entry took so long, it’s because I’ve also been working on a couple posts reviewing Ian Martin’s entire period headwriting this show. That’s what I plan to do at the end of each arc or at the end of each writer’s stint on the show (with the exception of those writers who only wrote a few episodes, like James Elward, Joe Caldwell, and the team of Ron Chudley and George Salverson). You can expect my two-part review of Ian Martin’s SP shortly after my review of Episode 44, which may also be slightly delayed because of it.

Coming up next: Ian Martin’s final episode, the much-anticipated second séance and its shocking conclusion.

{<- Previous: Episode 42 || Next: Episode 44 ->}

#strange paradise #review #maljardin arc #ian martin #week 9 #episode 43 #the bloodied locket #jean paul's monitor room #foreshadowing #great serpent #lost episode summaries #the not so hidden temple #passive aggressive jean paul #rabbit of evil #scenery chewing #times infinity #sp and religion #tape recorder journal #teleprompteritis

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checkered-madness · 3 years

Note

1, 3 and 4 for whoever you like

1. What’s your oc’s most irrational fear? Is there a specific reason this fear came about?

Al- He has a fear of being touch on the neck and he also doesn't like stuff that are super close to his neck which he’ll refuse wearing ties. His fear was from a Legionnaire that strangled him as a child.

Alec- Everyone he gets close to ending up dying. It started with his dad and then with a few more people as well.

3. What does your oc’s voice sound like? (Or, if you have one, what’s their voiceclaim?) Can they sing, whistle, or roll their rs? Do they have any speech impediments or notable dialects/accents?

Alec- For voice claims I would imagine him sounding like Marshall Lee from Adventure time. He does sing sometimes but most likely only if he’s alone. He also can whistle.

Al- For voice claims I don't know yet, I say the male courier's voice ingame sounds close to his range but I wouldn't say that would what he exactly sounds like. Still figuring out how he would exactly sound like something more tone down and a bit lower from that.

He tends to use Ain't and dropping Gs out of words that ends with ing, after being shot in the head he now tends to mispronouncing some words and struggle to say them right if he's really angry he'll start stumbling on his words more and become incoherent. Al’s accent is California, He grew up around the eastern parts of it. He can sing and whistle

Mara- I would say I am perfectly fine with her having the female Sole Survivor's voice since I feel it suits her.

4. Is your oc good at keeping secrets?

Alec- Depends on the secrets, He won't keep it a secret if you're hiding something from someone, He won't keep it if this is something that person needs to know.

Al- Same as Alec, Will keep it unless it's hiding something from the person.

#strangulation tw #violence tw #abuse tw #child abuse tw #just to be safe #Alucio Lucas #Al facts #alec miller #Alec facts #Mara Di Salvo #Mara facts #mixed on Al's voice since hearing the voice talking from other npcs ingame doesn't suit th pitch for him speaking

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mostlysignssomeportents · 4 years

Text

Pluralistic, your daily link-dose: 27 Feb 2020

Today's links

Ripping the window-dressing off the .ORG selloff: It's not even an ethos.

CDC guide to filter-mask-friendly facial hair: You're good to go with a Zappa, Villain or Hitler, but stay away from the Dali, Hulahee and the dread F(l)u Manchu.

Don't trust Google to build Toronto's Smart City: Sidewalk Labs's sleaze has disqualified it.

A "girls-only" social service wants to analyze your facial bone structure: "It's science!"

Norman Rockwell turned into a radical civil rights activist: His last painting was of Nixon, too.

Gmail's filters are blocking opt-in election emails: Mayo Pete and Andrew Yang are winning the spam-filter primary.

Talking Radicalized with The Next Chapter: Shelagh Rogers is a national treasure.

Neoliberalism kills, the coronavirus edition: And you thought capitalism would kill us all with climate change!

Bernie Sanders and Public Enemy LA rally this Sunday: With Sarah Silverman and Dick van Dyke!

Venezuelan women's "army" break into dead factories to reboot them: "Only the people can save the people."

Meet Akil Augustine, voice of the Raptors…and Radicalized: A fighter in my corner.

This day in history: 2019, 2015, 2005

Colophon: Recent publications, current writing projects, upcoming appearances, current reading

Ripping the window-dressing off the .ORG selloff (permalink)

The latest on ISOC's shameful attempt to flog off .ORG to a group of sketchy billionaires: Ethos Capital's promises concerning its stewardship are pure window-dressing.

https://www.eff.org/deeplinks/2020/02/empty-promises-wont-save-org-takeover

Its binding promise not to increase prices for .ORG domains? Still allows it to DOUBLE prices in 8 years, then allows UNLIMITED increases afterwards. Its "Stewardship Council"? Handpicked by Ethos's own bagmen, & only empowered to rule on very narrow questions of de-anonymization and censorship, AND Ethos can simply ignore its rulings by declaring them to be required by a government or consistent with anti-abuse policies.

In an open letter in the Nonprofit Times, Cindy Cohn of EFF and Amy Sample Ward of NTEN break it down:

https://www.thenonprofittimes.com/npt_articles/commentary-org-still-wouldnt-be-safe/

"Your proposal cabins the council's authority by placing anything construed as 'advice or recommendations regarding day-to-day operational, financial or budgeting matters, or pricing out of bounds. It would be trivial to categorize harmful practices as 'operational.'"

CDC guide to filter-mask-friendly facial hair(permalink)

The CDC has an infographic enumerating the effect of various styles of facial hair on filtering respirators.

You're good to go with a Zappa, Villain or Hitler, but stay away from the Dali, Hulahee and the dread F(l)u Manchu.

https://www.cdc.gov/niosh/npptl/pdfs/FacialHairWmask11282017-508.pdf

Don't trust Google to build Toronto's Smart City (permalink)

Google is planning to turn a vast swathe of Toronto into a high-tech "smart city" through its Sidewalk Labs division. They've been incredibly misleading and opaque about their plans, and yet the city keeps greenlighting through successive phases.

The latest phase is the publication of the Digital Strategy Advisory Panel's report, a wide-ranging critical report from technologists and tech experts on Google's plan to instrument the city and extract its data.

https://quaysideto.ca/wp-content/uploads/2020/02/DSAP-Supplemental-Report-on-Sidewalk-Labs-Digital-Innovation-Appendix-DIA-Appendices-FINAL.pdf

It's pretty sharp stuff. Michael Geist's introductory letter gives a taste of things.

https://quaysideto.ca/blog/dsap-releases-supplemental-commentary-on-the-digital-innovation-appendix

But far more pointed is Andrew Clement's Appendix D, a kind of minority report that makes it abundantly clear that Google has totally disqualified itself from this project.

Question One: Does Sidewalk have a strong track record as an urban innovator appropriate for Toronto?

Short answer: No

(Sidewalk lied, omitted other projects that were terrible, and literally followed a grifter's playbook called "BOLD")

Question Two: Can Sidewalk Labs' core claims be relied on?

Sidewalk "consulted" with 21,000 Torontonians, but it hasn't shown that it's willing to take any of that consultation advice to heart ("corporate self-defense").

Sidewalk claims it's not "tech for tech's sake," but the whole plan reeks of it.

Sidewalk claimed it's not about extracting data, but the plan is totally about extracting data.

Question Three: What does experience with Sidewalk to date in this project indicate about its reliability as a partner? In particular, has Sidewalk respected its contracts and other commitments?

Nope. For example, it held its expert panel to NDAs after promising it wouldn't.

Question Four: Can Sidewalk be treated as independent of its parent Alphabet/Google and its wider enterprise?

Obviously not! "In business strategy, financing and overall managerial control, there are clear indications that Sidewalk is unlikely to diverge from Alphabet/Google."

"Nearly all Alphabet revenues are earned by Google and they have the same CEO, Sundar Pichai, and same CFO, Ruth Porat."

Question Five: What are the risks of partnering with an Alphabet enterprise?

"It has been fined a combined $9.5 billion since 2017 by EU antitrust regulators while facing further significant government investigations for its anti-competitive behaviour."

"It will be challenging to make a positive determination absent public evidence of a thorough, independent risk-benefit analysis of the prospective partnership or other contractual relationship."

A "girls-only" social service wants to analyze your facial bone structure (permalink)

Well, this is the most "now you've got two problems" moment in recent memory. "Giggle" is an all-girl social network. To be "all-girl" they have keep men off of the platform. How do they do that? With FACIAL BONE STRUCTURE scans.

"It's science! Just like archaeologists do with mummies."

JFC.

The impulse to start a girl-only social space is a potentially fine one, but deploying what amounts to eugenics – heavily borrowed from the incel movement's obsession with facial bone-structure – is idiotic.

"Unfortunately it doesn't verify trans-girls."

No shit. Also, it doesn't verify people whose bone-structure fails your digital phrenology tests. And it WILL verify men and boys who generate false positives in the system.

https://pipedreamdragon.tumblr.com/post/611048332070109184

I can't believe I need to say this, but: The goal of making girls feel OK with who they are cannot be attained by subjecting their facial bone-structure to algorithmic femininity assessments.

Norman Rockwell turned into a radical civil rights activist (permalink)

I hadn't known that at the end of his career, Norman Rockwell became a political radical, breaking with the Saturday Evening Post over his desire to depict the civil rights struggle.

https://www.vox.com/the-highlight/2020/2/19/21052356/norman-rockwell-the-problem-we-all-live-with-saturday-evening-post

Writing in Vox, Tom Carson describes how Rockwell's personal tragedies – the death of his wife – and the advice of his therapist helped him transform into an acerbic, radical painter, the opposite of who we remember him as.

Switching from the Post to Look Magazine, Rockwell depicted such subjects as 6-y-o Ruby Bridges being escorted into an all-white school by federal marshalls who led her past howling mobs of white supremacists.

He went on to paint a depiction of the imagined last moments of civil rights workers Mickey Schwerner, Andrew Goodman, and James Chaney, who were tortured and murdered by white nationalists.

http://www.nrm.org/MT/text/MurderMississippi.html

A staunch anti-war activist, he pestered LBJ with an endless stream of telegrams demanding negotiations, not bombings, in Vietnam (ironically, he voted for Nixon in the hopes that he would end the war).

Further irony: the last substantial painting he completed was of Nixon after his election win: "This time around, he managed what he'd once said was impossible. His subject looks like a nice man who is, nonetheless, unmistakably Richard Nixon."

It's the only Rockwell painting in the National Portrait Gallery.

https://npg.si.edu/object/npg_NPG.72.2

Gmail's filters are blocking opt-in election emails (permalink)

Gmail's spam filters perform very differently when it comes to fundraising emails from Democratic leadership contenders: Mayo Pete evades filters 63% of the time, Yang lands 46% of the time. EVERY Warren campaign email tested got filtered to spam.

https://themarkup.org/google-the-giant/2020/02/26/wheres-my-email

These are all emails that Gmail users have opted to receive, too, but most are filtered to the "promotions" inbox, rather than "primary." In all only 11% of emails from "candidates, think tanks, advocacy groups, and nonprofits" reached primary.

It's turning email — the last federated platform on the internet — into Facebook, a filternet whose rules are set by unaccountable algorithms operated by a secretive monopolist.

Goog has a conflict of interest here: "While Gmail does not sell ads in the primary inbox, advertisers can pay for top placement in the social and promotions tabs in free accounts."

This was Facebook's media-killing strategy: when you started your media outlet's FB presence, the company delivered 100% of your posts to your followers, then, once you depended on that, it dialed delivery down unless you paid for "reach."

The pretense of Big Tech is that you they connect you to the stuff you ask for (this is also the premise behind Net Neutrality). The reality is that they decide, unaccountably, invisibly and inexplicably, what you may see.

While the overfiltering might in error, it's an error Goog is incentivized to wontfix: "'You're not precluded from buying an ad in the promotions tab, or offering a deal,' said Lee Carosi Dunn, who at the time led election sales, political outreach and policy for Google."

Talking Radicalized with The Next Chapter (permalink)

My book Radicalized is a finalist for Canada Reads, the CBC's national book prize

https://www.cbc.ca/books/canadareads/meet-the-canada-reads-2020-contenders-1.5433115

That means all kinds of good stuff, but one of the highlights was talking with Shelagh Rogers for The Next Chapter. I grew up listening to Shelagh, and she's so incredibly smart about books.

The interview came out great! (How could it not, given the interviewer). We ranged widely over "Canadianness," "Americanness," literary forms, anxiety and creativity, and the substance of the stories themselves.

https://www.cbc.ca/radio/thenextchapter/full-episode-feb-22-2020-1.5469642

You can get the MP3 here:

http://16523.mc.tritondigital.com/CBC_THE_NEXT_CHAPTER_FROM_CBC_RADIO_P/media-session/fecd5192-14ef-43b6-b9a7-7c125875d93b/nextchapter-0I9Y1liD-20200226.mp3?ttag=season:12

It's also been included in my podcast feed, which you can subscribe to here:

http://feeds.feedburner.com/doctorow_podcast

Neoliberalism kills, the coronavirus edition (permalink)

Neoliberalism kills, a play in two acts

Act I: UK employers are not required to offer sick pay to asymptomatic potential coronavirus carriers, even if those workers' doctors have ordered them to "self-isolate" to avoid spreading pandemic.

https://memex.naughtons.org/self-isolation-and-employee-rights/28723/

Leaving workers with a stark choice: perform your duty to the public health and lose your wages or even your job, or turn up for work and infect your co-workers and customers.

Typhoid Mary vs Moral Hazard in action, there.

Act II: Alex Azar, the US Health and Human Services secretary, has ruled out price controls for a coronavirus vaccine, arguing that pharma companies need "incentives" to produce.

https://twitter.com/mmcauliff/status/1232784696792297472

"Alex Michael Azar II (/ˈeɪzər/ born June 17, 1967) is an American attorney, politician, pharmaceutical lobbyist, and former drug company executive who serves as the United States Secretary of Health and Human Services."

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alex_Azar

This former pharma lobbyist, whose industry gobbles public subsidies like a tweaker gobbles bennies, firmly believes that his once-and-future paymasters must be permitted unlimited gouging, and if they choose to leave those who can't pay to die, that's "the market."

Lambert Strether, 2014:

"I propose two simple rules to which neo-liberalism can be reduced. They are:

"Rule #1: Because markets.

"Rule #2: Go die!"

https://www.nakedcapitalism.com/2014/03/neo-liberalism-expressed-simple-rules.html

It turns out that all those people who thought late-stage capitalism would exterminate the human race through climate change were wrong! It's going to kill us all with pandemics, instead.

Herd immunity has a well-known leftist bias.

Bernie Sanders and Public Enemy LA rally this Sunday (permalink)

Angelenos! Bernie Sanders is doing a gig with Dick Van Dyke (!), Sarah Silverman (!!) and Public Enemy (!!!) this SUNDAY (Sunday Sunday Sunday!) at the LA Convention Center.

Admission is free, but you need to RSVP here. Doors open at 3, rally starts at 5, ends at 7. Word of warning: the last Sanders rally I attended (in 2016) started REALLY late, like 2h.

https://events.berniesanders.com/event/252466/

Campaigning presidential candidates have hard-to-predict schedules apparently (but warn your babysitter).

Venezuelan women's "army" break into dead factories to reboot them (permalink)

The "Productive Army" is a Venezuelan women's collective that has been operating since 2017. They visit shuttered factories, get workers to explain what's needed to reopen them, break in and start them up again.

https://translate.google.com/translate?sl=auto&tl=en&u=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.elsaltodiario.com%2Fmapas%2Fbatallas-ejercito-productivo-obrero-venezuela-guerra-no-convencional

They organize themselves like military units, with captains, etc, and the units generally have to beg their bosses for time off to roam the country, putting it back on its feet. Operations typically run for less than a week, and incorporate weekends to minimize time off.

They describe themselves as carrying out the Chavismo doctrine of "workers' control of factories," which even Chavez largely treated as a slogan, and which his successors have been even less committed to.

They remind me of the elite Chinese students whom Xi ordered to read Marx and Lenin, who then decided Xi was a bourgeois sellout and took to the road to support wildcat workers' strikes against Xi-aligned factory owners.

https://www.nytimes.com/2018/09/28/world/asia/china-maoists-xi-protests.html

The Productive Army's slogan is "Only the People Can Save the People." Its missions are "productive battles." A productive battle might involve repairing the furnace in a sardine canning factory to get it running again, then turning it over to workers: "In the EPO they say that they not only repair machines but, above all, consciences."

One of the crispest definitions of "rightism" came I've heard came from Steven Brust: "Ask them what's more important: property rights, or human rights? If they answer, 'Property rights are human rights," they're on the right." (I quoted this in Walkaway).

When people want the things the factory produces, and workers want to produce those things in the factory, but the spreadsheet says the factory isn't viable, the problem is with the spreadsheet, not the people.

Meet Akil Augustine, voice of the Raptors…and Radicalized (permalink)

In the #CanadaReads national book prize, each book gets a "champion" – a defender who speaks for the book in a series of televised debates. My champion is the incredible Akil Augustine, voice of the Toronto Raptors.

Akil and I met in Toronto last month when they announced that my book Radicalized was a finalist for the prize, and the CBC sat us down for a rollicking joint interview.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=duL6rZeNJY0

I love that Radicalized connected with Akil, given how divergent our interests are (I can't even name a single basketball goalie!). I love even more how competitive he is. As someone who grew up at hippie summer-camp playing "co-operative volleyball" I'm very grateful to have a fighter in my corner who plays to win!

This day in history (permalink)

#15yrsago Halle Berry accepts "Razzie" for Catwoman, calls it a "piece of shit" https://web.archive.org/web/20050306093431/http://www.reuters.com/newsArticle.jhtml?storyID=7748301&type=entertainmentNews

#5yrsago Mass surveillance hip-hop from the director of the Bill of Rights Defense Committee https://shadowproof.com/2015/02/26/after-hearing-capitol-police-arrest-lawyer-for-shouting-question-at-clapper-about-nsa-surveillance/

#1yrago Bunnie Huang's tour-de-force explanation of how hardware implants and supply chain hacks work https://www.bunniestudios.com/blog/?p=5519

#1yrago AOC grills Equifax CEO: the Congressional record now contains the obvious, infuriating truth that everyone else already knew https://www.washingtonpost.com/technology/2019/02/11/rep-alexandria-ocasio-cortez-takes-aim-equifax-credit-scoring/?utm_term=.cbab554db359

#1yrago Fox hit with $179m (including $128m in punitive damages) judgment over shady bookkeeping on "Bones" https://variety.com/2019/biz/news/fox-bones-arbitration-emily-deschanel-179-million-1203150879/

Colophon (permalink)

Today's top sources: JWZ (http://www.jwz.org/blog/), Pipe Dream Dragon (https://pipedreamdragon.tumblr.com/), Metafilter (https://metafilter.com/), Karl Bode (https://twitter.com/karlbode), RCB Leon (https://twitter.com/rcbleon), Naked Capitalism (https://nakedcapitalism.com/).

Hugo nominators! My story "Unauthorized Bread" is eligible in the Novella category and you can read it free on Ars Technica: https://arstechnica.com/gaming/2020/01/unauthorized-bread-a-near-future-tale-of-refugees-and-sinister-iot-appliances/

Upcoming appearances:

Canada Reads Kelowna: March 5, 6PM, Kelowna Library, 1380 Ellis Street, with CBC's Sarah Penton https://www.eventbrite.ca/e/cbc-radio-presents-in-conversation-with-cory-doctorow-tickets-96154415445

Currently writing: I just finished a short story, "The Canadian Miracle," for MIT Tech Review. It's a story set in the world of my next novel, "The Lost Cause," a post-GND novel about truth and reconciliation. I'm getting geared up to start work on the novel now, though the timing is going to depend on another pending commission (I've been solicited by an NGO) to write a short story set in the world's prehistory.

Currently reading: Just started Lauren Beukes's forthcoming Afterland: it's Y the Last Man plus plus, and two chapters in, it's amazeballs. Last week, I finished Andrea Bernstein's "American Oligarchs" this week; it's a magnificent history of the Kushner and Trump families, showing how they cheated, stole and lied their way into power. I'm getting really into Anna Weiner's memoir about tech, "Uncanny Valley." I just loaded Matt Stoller's "Goliath" onto my underwater MP3 player and I'm listening to it as I swim laps.

Latest podcast: Gopher: When Adversarial Interoperability Burrowed Under the Gatekeepers' Fortresses: https://craphound.com/podcast/2020/02/24/gopher-when-adversarial-interoperability-burrowed-under-the-gatekeepers-fortresses/

Upcoming books: "Poesy the Monster Slayer" (Jul 2020), a picture book about monsters, bedtime, gender, and kicking ass. Pre-order here: https://us.macmillan.com/books/9781626723627?utm_source=socialmedia&utm_medium=socialpost&utm_term=na-poesycorypreorder&utm_content=na-preorder-buynow&utm_campaign=9781626723627

(we're having a launch for it in Burbank on July 11 at Dark Delicacies and you can get me AND Poesy to sign it and Dark Del will ship it to the monster kids in your life in time for the release date).

"Attack Surface": The third Little Brother book, Oct 20, 2020.

"Little Brother/Homeland": A reissue omnibus edition with a very special, s00per s33kr1t intro.

Posted on February 27, 2020Tags 2020, akil augustine, apple, basketball, bernie sanders, books, canada, canada reads, cbc, cdc, cdnpol, chavismo, coronavirus, democrats, dick van dyke, dotorg, dweb, eff, elections, ethos, facebookification, facial hair, federation, filternet, gmail, google, hip hop, isoc, los angeles, onpol, pir, politics, private equity, public enemy, radicalized, sarah silverman, science fiction, sidewalk labs, smart cities, surveillance, toronto, torpol, venezuela, walkawayLeave a comment on Pluralistic, your daily link-dose: 27 Feb 2020 Edit "Pluralistic, your daily link-dose: 27 Feb 2020"

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kopikokun · 4 years

Note

also omg besides the dy ask maybe u could do a ship 😣 with nct i'm an estp, really loud and open, i like making new friends but its hard for me to be close to people. i love physical affection and cookinh for other people. i am really smart, and quite good at languages doh im majoring in bio-engineering. im not sporty but im quite active (my balance is bad so im quite clumsy) i draw a lot and its one of my charms, i still watch adventure time everyday like a kid but 😛

— :: 𝐬𝐡𝐢𝐩 𝐫𝐞𝐪𝐬 𝐚𝐫𝐞 𝐂𝐋𝐎𝐒𝐄𝐃.

Wow babe, bio-engineering? So, you smartsmart, huh? And you still watch Adventure Time? What do you mean, like a kid? You mean like an absolute ICON! Right? Honestly, I didn’t watch Adventure Time a lot as a kid, but I know that I went NUTS for Marshall Lee. Like absolutely INSANE. Anyway, enough about my weird childhood crushes (because I could go on for ages about that), I think you and Winwin would be amazing for each other!

»» ──────　[*:. ☁︎ .:*]　────── ««

— GETTING TO KNOW DONG SICHENG.

Unlike you, Sicheng isn’t someone who’d like to be the center of attention.

At a party, he’s more the type to teeter along the edge of the room, sticking close to those he’s already familiar with.

You, however, are a completely different story.

Being an ESTP, you’ve just got a natural charm which people gravitate towards.

Wherever you go, there’ll always be at least a few people surrounding you, finding themselves drawn in by your witty humour and eccentricity.

So when Sicheng first meets you, he’s quick to try and distance himself from you.

Honestly, at the beginning, he thought you were just way more than he could ever handle.

You start to gradually integrate yourself into Sicheng’s friend group.

You start to especially click with Ten, since he’s so similar to you.

Despite what Sicheng had first thought, even Kun seems to warm up to you.

He had been the most reluctant to open up to you, but you’d been persistent, whether you had realised it or not, which you probably had.

There were times where he’d be irritated by you.

But once he finally gave you a chance, just like everyone else, he was absolutely enamoured.

You just had this undeniable air about you, and Sicheng was weak against you, like a moth to a dancing flame.

He grew fonder and fonder of your personality, your wit, your personality, your vibe.

He finds you to actually be someone with depth.

You’re smart, like really smart.

He thinks it’s impressive that you know such a wide range of languages since he knows first-hand how challenging learning a foreign language is.

He didn’t think he’d fall for you.

You two are complete opposites.

You’re a free soul, unbound by traditional rules, wings spread as far as the eye can see, while Sicheng is grounded, a fish in a bucket, unable and unwilling to adventure any further than the confines of his plastic home.

He knows that he’s fallen for you.

He won’t try to convince himself he hasn’t.

But he is hesitant to tell you about it since you two are polar opposites and Sicheng feels like he’d only hold you back (aww poor baby).

At first, he thought you and Ten maybe had something, so one day he pulls Ten to the side, face tense and asks him if you two are a thing.

Ten laughs at him, saying that no, you two could never be into each other like that, you’re just too alike for that. He’ll smilefondly and tell Sicheng something along the lines of, “Go get her.”

Sicheng will confess by buying you something you’d like, (courtesy of Ten after he’d badgered him about it for ages) a resolute edge in his eyes but a shy lilt in his voice. He’ll bring you out for a picnic, basking in the sight of you enjoying the view and smiling to himself.

— DATING DONG SICHENG.

Ten is the only person who’s caught on so far (and Kun has a gut feeling) since Sicheng isn’t very obvious about his feelings towards you.

So when the two of you show up, Sicheng holding your hand in his, a timid smile playing at his lips, the rest of the members are shocked.

Actually, shocked is an understatement.

Lucas is very obnoxious about it, letting out exaggerated gasps and, “What????????”

Hendery is all smug, acting like he’s known from the very start although he had practically no idea.

Xiaojun is patting Sicheng on the back and happy that you two are together.

Yangyang is so soft for you guys, like “Aww, that’s so cute.”

Kun is just a whole ass proud dad, yet he still is a bit protective over you and warns Sicheng that if he does anything stupid, he’s gonna get it. Though, Kun knows that Sicheng could never do anything to hurt you, not on purpose anyway.

Ten’s just smirking slyly in the background, teasing Sicheng about the way he was so serious the other day.

Sicheng is just so happy you accepted and reciprocated his feelings for you.

Once you two start dating, his favouritist thing ever will be your cooking.

If you cook him a little meal, he’ll be so happy.

He’ll get that signature Winwin smile, as his eyes glimmer in pure adoration for you.

He’ll pass out if you pack him a cute little lunch/bento box for practice.

He’ll lowkey show off to his friends, but he won’t be loud about it. That’s not who he is.

He’ll just munch on what you’ve made for him, feeling his chest bubble with warmth as he imagines you over the stove, humming softly or grinning toothily as you cut his sandwich into cute shapes.

Is very much teased about it, especially when you make he food in the shape of little animals or a heart.

Makes him feel like a little kid, but also really appreciated.

He’s the type to just subconsciously be the sweetest boyfriend ever.

He doesn’t even think about it, it just happens.

When you try to steal his food, he’ll just feed you it instead.

Holds your hand as you cross the road and wipes off your makeup if you accidentally fall asleep in it.

Isn’t into PDA, he doesn’t like flaunting you too much and he’s a private person, so he prefers to be intimate behind closed doors without any prying eyes.

He doesn’t mind if you initiate contact, but he’s not shy to do it first either. He likes to kiss or nibble your ears. He thinks it’s cute when you squirm.

But it’s not like he doesn’t get shy either. If you find his sweet spot, he’ll definitely crumble and give into you easily.

Since he’s not an extroverted person, he won’t be keen on going out in a large group too often, so he doesn’t mind if you’re out with your friends for long.

He trusts you, and why should it bother him? You’re not doing anything wrong and he doesn’t want you to feel like you’re being trapped in a cage.

Which relates back to that initial fear of his that he’s holding you back.

So, make sure to reassure him that he’s not.

Thinks it’s really cool that you’re studying bio-engineering (though he doesn’t know a single thing about it).

He understands your schedule can be hectic and he respects that sometimes you need time to yourself.

Sicheng is not a clingy boyfriend. He respects your space and hopes you respect his too.

Since he’s quite active, he’s glad you are too. If you’re down, he’ll invite you to work out together.

Likes to look at you draw, though once again, he doesn’t know much about it.

Is glad that you and Ten can vibe over that since he can’t, so he likes when you invite Ten over since Sicheng can talk to him too. Overall, just glad that you get along well with his friends.

Honestly, Sicheng’s a little rigid around your friends at first, but he tries his best to warm up to them.

His favourite routine with you is watching you study or draw as you nibble on the small bowl of fresh fruits and nuts he got for you and cuddling until you two fall asleep while you watch Adventure Time together.

He will subconsciously murmur the songs :)

»» ──────　[*:. ☁︎ .:*]　────── ««

— 𝐫𝐞𝐪𝐮𝐞𝐬𝐭𝐬 𝐚𝐫𝐞 𝐨𝐩𝐞𝐧. | 𝐫𝐮𝐥𝐞𝐬.

#toaster asks #toaster ships #nct ships #winwin ships #sicheng ships #tHIS GOT SO LONG AHHHHHHHHHH #IM SO SO SORRY #can u tell i really like wayv

6 notes · View notes

placetobenation · 4 years

Link

This is the week that COVID-19 hit the wrestling world hard. Among those confirmed with the coronavirus are Renee Young, producer Adam Pearce and Kayla Braxton. With Young having the virus, All Elite Wrestling was also affected as AEW Champion Jon Moxley, Young’s husband, was forced to sit out Wednesday night’s live show in Jacksonville as was QT Marshall, who was also exposed to someone who had COVID-19. On Friday night SmackDown, we even got some superstars wearing masks for the first time, yet no mention of it by Michael Cole or Corey Graves.

Man. What a few days. My show gets cancelled and I get Covid. Wear your masks and wash your hands. Stay safe, everyone

— Renee Young (@ReneeYoungWWE) June 25, 2020

It’s no surprise that the wrestling biz has been touched by the virus, all segments of our society have been. It’s now a matter of how the business reacts to it and keeps all in the various companies safe. Any talk of fans entering the arenas is probably now off until this latest crisis is contained. Our thoughts and prayers are with all those affected by the deadly disease.

I just wish the WWE would be more transparent when dealing with this pandemic. It makes no sense for the WWE to hide it at all. We are all dealing with the deadly virus. Showing us how it affects the WWE Superstars would lead to a better connection with the WWE Universe. I even reached out to the powers that be in the WWE on Twitter for an answer as to why they continue to hide what they are doing to protect their employees and also those who haven’t been seen in months – Roman Reigns chief amongst them.

@wwe @StephMcMahon @TripleH Why aren't you more transparent with fans about how you are dealing with the #Covid19 pandemic? We can handle the truth. Plus, it would be good to hear from @WWERomanReigns @FightOwensFight @ReneeYoungWWE and more on how they are dealing with it.

— The Crowe's Nest (@thecrowesnest) June 26, 2020

They always say that storylines are best when they are closer to reality. Well, the WWE has missed a golden opportunity to stand out on this issue and be a leader. Unfortunately, I don’t think their stance will change since it’s only voice that is being heard and only one voice that matters in Stamford, CT.

Now, onto the week.

RAW

RESULTS

RAW Tag Team Championship Match: The Street Profits defeated The Viking Raiders to retain titles

RAW Women’s Championship Match: Asuka defeated Charlotte Flair

24/7 Championship Match: R-Truth defeated Akira Tozawa

Natalya defeated Liv Morgan

WWE Women’s Tag Team Championship Match: Sasha Banks & Bayley defeated The IIconics

United States Championship Match: Apollo Crews defeated Shelton Benjamin

Loved it:

Will @SashaBanksWWE join @itsBayleyWWE in being a DOUBLE champion at #ExtremeRules when she challenges @WWEAsuka for the #WWERaw #WomensTitle? https://t.co/B8pIjvcikO

— WWE (@WWE) June 23, 2020

Ladies Night – From the swerve of Sasha Banks teasing a match with Bayley for the SmackDown Championship to the Asuka vs. Charlotte Flair title match to the Liv Morgan vs. Natalya with Lana (edited, but still good) storyline and more, we got an interesting night from the Women of WWE. Sasha vs. Asuka could be a classic if they give it enough time and breathing room. We’ll miss Flair not that she’s been taken out by Nia Jax and will be having surgery (elective or not). Where Liv, Nattie and Lana go next is intriguing too! Although, I’m not too pleased to see Morgan jobbed out lately. She deserves a bigger push than that.

Anything you can do, we can do better … right?#WWERaw @AngeloDawkins @MontezFordWWE @Erik_WWE @Ivar_WWE pic.twitter.com/YewJ36fES3

— WWE (@WWE) June 23, 2020

Clean Finish – Full golf clap for the clean finish between the Street Profits and the Viking Raiders tag team match. Dug the honor and respect notion portion of their feud. Now, will they be allies when it comes to taking out Andrade and Angel Garza?

Predictable:

24/7: Sure, we knew that the Ninjas and Akira Tozawa were going to take the title from R-Truth, with help from Bobby Lashley of course. I just hope they continue with the antics out of the ring because that’s where the 24/7 fun really begins.

WE HAVE A TRADE

@HEELZiggler fills us in: He and @RealRobertRoode are coming to #WWERaw in exchange for @AJStylesOrg's move to #SmackDown! pic.twitter.com/P1PqaxkoKL

— WWE (@WWE) June 23, 2020

Time will tell on this trade:

Dolph traded to RAW – So, we now know who SmackDown traded to RAW for AJ Styles. It was Dolph Ziggler and the Glorious Bobby Roode heading to Monday night. How convenient too in that Drew McIntyre needed an opponent for Extreme Rules and Ziggler is here to collect. They’ve got history, but it doesn’t seem like enough to get for The Phenomenal One.

The Legend Killer continues:

The Viper vs. The Big Show – I’ll be honest, I half expected Randy Orton to go crazy and take out Ric Flair instead of the tried and true of taking on The Big Show down the road. That would’ve been fun and a nice twist that Orton really wants to relive the Legend Killer days. Maybe down the road. But for now, it looks like Show is the next victim.

Not all in:

Monday Night Messiah vs. Mysterio – I’ll admit, after weeks of back-and-forth, I’m still not fully buying in to the whole Seth Rollins vs. Rey Mysterio and Dominick feud. There’s just not a lot there for me to take a bit out of. Maybe it will get some more sizzle at Extreme Rules, but I’m not holding my breath.

NXT

RESULTS

Cameron Grimes defeated Damian Priest

NXT Cruiserweight Championship Non-Title Match: Santos Escobar defeated Jake Atlas

Dakota Kai & Raquel Gonzalez defeated Kayden Carter & Kacy Catanzaro

Karrion Kross defeated Bronson Reed

Rhea Ripley defeated Aliyah

Dexter Lumis defeated Roderick Strong (count-out)

North American Championship Triple Threat Match: Keith Lee defeated Finn Balor & Johnny Gargano to retain title

Loved it:

There can only be one. #WWENXT @RealKeithLee @AdamColePro pic.twitter.com/mZI2u2oenS

— WWE NXT (@WWENXT) June 25, 2020

Lee rides tall – Keith Lee is now THE man and next in line for the NXT Championship. A very solid triple threat main event leaves everyone strong and a huge title match in two weeks between Lee and Adam Cole. It wouldn’t shock me if we are basking in the glory of the NEW NXT Champion on July 8th.

What a BATTLE between @RealKeithLee, @JohnnyGargano & @FinnBalor! This is your #WWENXT MAIN EVENT! pic.twitter.com/f95Dpq7ufa

— WWE (@WWE) June 25, 2020

Rhea Ripley – Dare I say that Rhea Ripley is funny! It’s nice to see the “other” side of Ripley as we all know she’s a beast in the ring and has some depth to her as well. Next week, Robert Stone will be on more than just the trashy side of her physicality. Maybe he’ll throw a shoe again!

The end came for @bronsonreedwwe.

#WWENXT @WWEKarrionKross @Lady_Scarlett13 pic.twitter.com/zBn8UhsfGh

— WWE (@WWE) June 25, 2020

Karrion Kross vs. Bronson Reed – Oh sure, we knew there was no way that Reed was going to pull off an upset, but to see these two brutes wage battle against each other in a very physical matchup was entertaining.

THE BASH. IS. BACK!

The tradition of the #GreatAmericanBash comes to #WWENXT NEXT WEDNESDAY on @USA_Network! #NXTGAB pic.twitter.com/XR1wHCdgt9

— WWE NXT (@WWENXT) June 25, 2020

The Great American Bash – Bringing back tradition is a good thing. First In Your House and now this WCW/WWE Summer Special. I just hope we get a few vignette highlight packages too of GAB of yesteryear. Those were some really good cards!

Fun and productive:

Kayden & Kacy vs. Raquel & Dakota – I like the build-up with Carter & Catanzaro in their mini-feud with Kai & Gonzalez. Both teams look stronger coming out of it too.

Dexter Lumis – Strong, silent and looking quite deadly. Roderick Strong, even after his Undisputed Era Therapy breakthrough, wanted no part of him but will now be strapped to him in next week’s first ever Strap Match at The Great American Bash.

SMACKDOWN

Due to the COVID-19 positive tests, we got a special tribute to The Undertaker on this week’s SmackDown. They are saying that the Boneyard Match at WrestleMania 36 was UT’s final match. That will remain to be seen. The full first hour was devoted to special vignettes (taken from The Undertaker’s Last Ride WWE Network special) and the broadcast premiere of the Boneyard Match between The Undertaker and AJ Styles. Quality stuff even if you were watching for the second time.

.@WWEGranMetalik picks up the win for #LuchaHouseParty and #NewDay on #SmackDown! pic.twitter.com/bvJGfq2Ovg

— WWE (@WWE) June 27, 2020

NIKKI DID IT! It will be @NikkiCrossWWE vs. @itsBayleyWWE for the #SmackDown Women's Title at #ExtremeRules: The Horror Show! pic.twitter.com/4gF4jjavWZ

— WWE (@WWE) June 27, 2020

As for the rest of the show, a fun second hour with in-ring action. We got Nikki Cross gaining her first PPV shot at Bayley’s SmackDown Championship at Extreme Rules. Really enjoyed the eight-man tag team match and it was nice to see Lucha House Party get the tv win as well.

"What do you say we go back to the swamp?"#SmackDown @BraunStrowman @WWEBrayWyatt pic.twitter.com/I79FHvSnx9

— WWE (@WWE) June 27, 2020

Universal Champion Braun Strowman set up his “swamp match” with Bray Wyatt for Extreme Rules. After asking for more to the storyline last week, I’m glad we got it out of Strowman by acknowledging his dark side past and inviting it back into his present. We can only imagine what kind of goodies we’ll get in that cinematic match with Wyatt’s twisted mind at work.

#ThankYouTaker.#SmackDown @undertaker pic.twitter.com/7nqJ0hzoWl

— WWE (@WWE) June 27, 2020

In the main event, it was an interesting sight to see all the SmackDown superstars at ringside to support Hardy’s tribute to The Undertaker against Corbin. LOVE the “Corbin sucks” chants too! A fitting end to the night too with Hardy, Strowman, Big E and Matt Riddle all getting their finishing moves over on Corbin. It was a nice nod to what used to happen at the house shows of yesteryear.

One question though – why was Riddle at ringside but nothing done to build on his win over AJ Styles last week until the final minute of the broadcast with a passing mention by Cole. And oh yeah, what happened to Styles vs. Drew Gulak for the Intercontinental Title? Details people!

RESULTS

Fatal Four-Way SmackDown Women’s Championship #1 Contender’s Match: Nikki Cross defeated Alexa Bliss, Dana Brooke & Lacey Evans

8-Man Tag Team Match: Lucha House Party & The New Day defeated Cesaro, Shinsuke Nakamura, The Miz & John Morrison

Jeff Hardy defeated King Corbin

Extreme Rules PPV – Updated Card

WWE Championship Match – Drew McIntyre vs. Dolph Ziggler

RAW Women’s Championship Match: Asuka vs. Sasha Banks

Universal Championship Match: Wyatt Swamp Match – Braun Strowman vs. Bray Wyatt

SmackDown Women’s Championship – Bayley vs. Nikki Cross

PARTING SHOTS:

Sorry to see WWE Backstage get cancelled. Although, I’m not surprised. The 11pm eastern timeslot never gave them a chance! Signing CM Punk to pair with Renee Young was a nice coup, but not having him there every week hurt. When he was on, ratings went up. Plus, it never quite achieved the insider status it hope to get. Production-wise, the show was good. There just wasn’t enough of it at good spot and oh yeah, not too many TV viewers have or know of FS1. Put on a real network, it may have succeeded. For now, now that it’s been downsized in the pandemic age, we’ll see it again around the major PPVs.

Wear you masks people! It may be awkward, but it saves lives!

COMING UP THIS WEEK:

RAW: Double Contract Signing WWE Championship – Drew McIntyre & Dolph Ziggler RAW Women’s Championship – Asuka & Sasha Banks

NXT – Great American Bash – Night 1 Aliyah & Robert Stone vs. Rhea Ripley Fatal Four-Way NXT Women’s Championship #1 Contender’s Match: Candice LeRae vs. Mia Yim vs. Dakota Kai vs. Tegan Nox Strap Match: Dexter Lumis vs. Roderick Strong

SMACKDOWN: Sheamus Toast to Jeff Hardy

Thanks for letting us share our thoughts! Shoot me an email at [email protected]. We’d love to hear your comments and suggestions! You can also check out my blog, The Crowe’s Nest as we delve into more pro wrestling, sports entertainment and the World of Sports. My apologies ahead of time – I AM a Patriots, Red Sox, Celtics and Bruins fan! If you’re not down with that, I’ve got TWO WORDS for you… NEW ENGLAND!

#IFTTT #Place to Be Nation

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theconservativebrief · 6 years

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Today, an internet connection makes it possible for anyone to sit just a few inches away from their favorite makeup artists and beauty personalities and feel like they’re learning everything they wanted to know about them. This connection is a profitable one, as brands and gurus have parlayed their number of loyal subscribers into hundreds of thousands of dollars in sponsorships and multimillion-dollar cosmetics lines. It’s also a tenuous one, as a handful of the online beauty community’s brightest stars have recently learned.

The beauty community was recently rocked by a fight that has nothing to do with makeup and everything to do with racist tweets, backstabbing, and apologies. What began as an insular, churlish fight among former associates/friends has now blossomed into business-threatening drama after a series of racist tweets were dug up from what were thought to be social media graveyards, followed by a series of apologies of varying degrees of perceived sincerity.

I get it: The online squabbling of professional pretty people might seem like inconsequential, self-perpetuating insider drama. But if you peel back its perfectly primed, bronzed, and highlighted skin, it reveals the inner workings of a highly lucrative and powerful industry, how a devoted community helps enable that industry, and how internet celebrity functions today.

The locus of this drama is an ongoing conflict between beauty guru and business exec Jeffree Star and some of his former friends: Laura Lee, Manny MUA (MUA is an acronym for makeup artist), a.k.a. Manny Gutierrez, Nikita Dragun, and their friend Gabby (Gabriel) Zamora. Star is considered one of the most influential beauty gurus in the industry right now, with a controversial past that’s seemingly inextricable from his current success.

Star’s origin story begins with MySpace, where he amassed a cult following (and accusations of racism — more on that in a bit), which he parlayed into a music career that eventually stalled and led him to cosmetics. The 32-year-old now has his own highly lucrative makeup line and more than 10 million subscribers on YouTube. His videos — which range from reviews of new products to stunts like him applying a full face of luxury makeup on a speeding raft to him showing off his various luxury automobiles — regularly grab millions of views, making him one of the most important influencers in the cosmetics and beauty community.

“Community” is a helpful way to understand how beauty gurus position themselves in relation to the rest of the beauty industry. Gurus sell themselves as faces and voices who purport to speak for their fans and who keep the industry on its toes, whether by praising great products or speaking up when brands fail customers.

Community is also a way to think about how beauty gurus interact with one another. There’s a certain give and take: A lot of gurus’ videos are inspired by other gurus, and some gurus will review or hype others’ brands on YouTube or social media. And when it comes to certain beauty gurus — Star being one of them — there are also very public-facing friendships and inevitable breakups within that community.

This last aspect in particular can sometimes make following beauty gurus feel like following a soap opera or reality television show — one where Star is a recurring character.

Previously, Star was known for his deep friendship and ugly feud with reality television star, tattoo artist, and makeup maven Kat Von D. After their falling-out, Star developed very public friendships with fellow gurus Lee, Gutierrez, and Dragun: They featured on one another’s channels, and Star and Gutierrez collaborated on a collection for Star’s makeup line.

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But like Star’s relationship with Kat Von D, something soured behind the scenes, with Star and the rest leaving their followers a trail of social media breadcrumbs to decipher what happened.

It started around November 2017 when Star, in a deleted tweet, said that Lee’s soul was “pure evil”; that was accompanied by more subtle falling-outs with Gutierrez and Dragun, who had disappeared from Star’s feeds and vice versa. And in recent months Lee, Gutierrez, Dragun, and Zamora began appearing more on one another’s channels and showcasing their clique in crossover videos:

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“With my ex-friends, people still don’t really know what went on,” Star said recently in a four-part, hugely popular YouTube documentary in which he was profiled by YouTuber Shane Dawson. The first part of the series, “The Secret World of Jeffree Star,” has more than 20 million views.

The popularity of Dawson’s series, combined with Star’s acknowledgment of his “ex-friends,” seems to have struck a chord with those very ex-friends. This being the age of YouTube and social media, people were expecting a rapid response, and it wasn’t long before one appeared.

The simmering drama came to a boil when Zamora tweeted a photo of himself with Lee, Gutierrez, and Dragun mugging and raising middle fingers with the caption “Bitch is bitter because without him we’re doing better.”

Fans quickly deciphered whom the tweet was referring to, which was confirmed when Zamora sent another tweet dredging up Star’s past, stating: “Imagine stanning a racist? I could never,” adding, “Honey, every time I was around him he would constantly say racist things about black people.”

Zamora is referring to Star’s past as a MySpace scenester, when he, among other things, threw around the n-word and derogatorily referred to Mexicans as poor. During their falling-out, Kat Von D made similar accusations that Star was racist. In 2017, Star posted a 15-minute video addressing those accusations and apologizing for his past.

“Stanning” means being a huge fan of someone, so in Zamora’s tweet about “stanning a racist,” he’s referring, with disgust, to the huge number of views the Dawson documentary has hauled in. (Dawson has also had to apologize for past racism after appearing in blackface in a selection of his early YouTube videos, a shared past he a Star discuss briefly in the documentary.)

Zamora’s tweet backfired, though. Lee and Gutierrez initially favorited Zamora’s tweet, but then retreated after they began receiving backlash, claiming they hadn’t read the caption accompanying the photo. In the days following, people then proceeded to dig up old, offensive tweets from Zamora as well as Dragun and Gutierrez: Zamora had dropped the n-word in a tweet from 2012, Dragun wrote in 2012 that she “could never” imagine being black, and Gutierrez recently posted a Snapchat of him side-eyeing an Uber driver for not speaking English. Also in 2012, in the months following the death of Trayvon Martin, Lee reportedly tweeted, “Tip for all black people if you pull ur pants up you can run from the police faster.” (Lee deactivated her account briefly in the fallout.)

This since-deleted Lee tweet, among others, had resurfaced before the Zamora photo, but the combination of the fallout from the Star documentary and the photo sent Lee, Zamora, and Gutierrez scrambling to film similar tear-filled apology videos.

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But despite the efforts at damage control, Lee, Dragun, and Gutierrez have seen their subscribers — and their potential income — drop. Lee, a burgeoning star in the community known for such hits as doing her makeup with products from Ross, Marshalls, and the Dollar Tree, has had it the worst.

Since the drama with Zamora’s photo, Lee has gone from more than 5 million subscribers to a current 4.5 million, hemorrhaging around 485,000 subscribers in the past 30 days, according to Social Blade. As Polygon explained, losing 200,000 subscribers cost Lee an estimated $75,000 per year. And makeup brands and stores like Ulta, Boxycharm, Morphe, and ColourPop have reportedly stopped selling her makeup.

For those outside the beauty community, it may be hard to reconcile how this talk of racism, ex-friends, and bitches doing better somehow equates to tens of thousands of dollars in lost business opportunities. But if you step back and look at how the beauty industry operates nowadays, it begins to come into focus.

Back in the day, fashion and beauty magazines like Vogue, Harper’s Bazaar, Allure, Glamour, and Cosmopolitan used to be the way the public learned what was in fashion, what was good to put on our faces, and what we needed to buy to look fabulous. But after the 2008 financial collapse took its effect on consumers as well as advertisers, the growth in democratized platforms like YouTube, Snapchat, and Instagram began to rapidly disrupt the beauty industry.

Suddenly, consumers didn’t need a magazine to tell them what to purchase, what was good and what was skippable. Conversely, no one needed to be printed in a magazine to be considered an authority on the newest foundations, blushes, and bronzers. Beauty gurus, or beauty influencers, as they came to be known, delivered a promise: that they’d give honest opinions on products, that they wouldn’t be swayed by advertiser dollars (though this would eventually change), and that they were more like you and me and all the other people watching than some high-paid beauty editor in a glass tower.

Today, beauty recommendations take the form of Desi Perkins’s (3.1. million subscribers) everlasting fidelity to MAC Strobe Cream and NARS Radiant Longwear foundation in the shade Barcelona; Jackie Aina’s (2.6 million subscribers) mission to find eye shadows that look good on dark skin; Tati’s (4.5 million subscribers) holy grail of mixing Guerlain’s hydrating and firming gold primer and Tarte’s pore-filling Clean Slate potion on her face; and NikkieTutorials’ (10.7 million subscribers) deep-seated disdain for “no makeup” makeup looks and desire for cheekbones that shine like a glazed doughnut.

But the sell doesn’t stop at beauty products: Beauty gurus themselves have become products.

Beautubers’ authority is born out of a perception of authenticity, and many gurus underline this authenticity by opening up about their personal lives onscreen. Gurus reveal their darkest secrets and talk about miscarriages, or their plastic surgery. They constantly reassure their subscribers that they wouldn’t have gotten this far without them. They ask their subscribers to pick their makeup looks. Some even ask their followers to appear on their channels. Lee is no stranger to this approach:

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What gurus are chasing with these appeals to authenticity are the little digits underneath their names on their YouTube channels: their subscriber numbers. Subscriber numbers show not only how well a guru has built her fan base, but also that these millions of subscribers trust what this guru has to say enough to follow every video she makes. Having more subscribers means brands will take notice, and the more brands take notice, the bigger the opportunity there is for a sponsored video or a collaboration, and maybe eventually the opportunity to launch their own makeup lines, as Lee and Star did.

To grasp the enormity of the potential fortune available to a successful guru, just take a look at Star’s absolutely bonkers estate from the aforementioned Dawson documentary (it begins around the 6-minute mark):

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This is why Zamora, Lee, and their cohorts’ tweets pose such a threat to their income. Because so much of their (and really all gurus’) personal identity is wrapped up in their product, and so much effort is spent assuring us every Snapchat, Instagram story, and YouTube video is truly them, it’s difficult for them to then distance themselves from offensive statements they’ve made in the past, even long-deleted ones that predate their beauty guru fame.

The personal connection between subscriber and guru also explains why the beauty community reacted to Zamora’s tweets the way it did. Because they break down the barrier between fan and friend, gurus have developed subscriber bases that operate more like fervent fandoms, following their faves’ every move and defending them against those who might insult them. That’s why Zamora’s direct attack on Star and his massive fan base lit a match, inviting an explosive reaction from Star fans defending their friend.

As beauty gurus become more successful, some of that grassroots trust on which they build their brands can fade away. Some gurus are considered shills for giving positive reviews to stay in the good graces of beauty companies. Some of them have been called scammers for selling questionable products. And it’s easy to see how someone who’s driving a Ferrari and buying houses with YouTube money might not be seen as the same person they were before the advertising money and sponsorships and brand collaborations rolled in.

Star’s case is particularly illustrative in how he’s slowly and surely crafted a narrative that transitions from being an upstart underdog into a massive success story into the community’s best friend, despite his controversial past.

His racist and misogynistic episodes and feuds of the past have been well-documented, but he has, in recent years, been very open about learning from his mistakes. How much you believe Star depends on how cynical you are, but he’s addressed the hurt he’s caused and the hate he’s spread in videos where he explains himself, compellingly, directly to his followers.

“I don’t know who that person was,” he said in a video posted last year, explaining his anger, depression, and racist behavior of the past. “I know who I am today, but I do not know who that person was.”

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Star has also become more vocal in championing diversity (he lauded the shade range for Fenty Beauty) and criticizing makeup companies that fail to cater to darker skin tones. For example, in a video posted earlier this year, he took Tarte Cosmetics to task for not having multiple shades in its foundations for nonwhite women.

“Are women of color an afterthought to Tarte?” he asks in the video, which has more than 4.8 million views. “When you have a huge platform … you do have a choice to talk about something and bring it full forward”:

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I’m not going to claim that Star’s motivations are completely altruistic, nor do I condone what he’s said in the past. But companies see videos like this and notice the millions of views he’s responsible for — Tarte has since expanded its shade range to 25 after Star and other gurus’ criticism of the foundation.

Star has rehabilitated his image by playing up the idea that we can learn from our mistakes, no matter how awful they are. And considering the obscene wealth and aspirational lifestyle he’s amassed since atoning for those mistakes, who wouldn’t want to believe in that? Even if you aren’t fully convinced, it’s hard to deny he’s a hell of a pitch person.

Compared to Lee, who has been dragged for not being genuine in her apology video, Star is fluent in how to speak to his fans and subscribers in a way that feels authentic. Perhaps Lee’s apology, on the heels of a subscriber exodus, can’t help but feel more like someone being sorry she got caught and is bleeding subscribers than someone genuinely distraught by her own racism. (In her video, Lee blames her tweets on myriad things, including being raised in Alabama.) Or perhaps it’s as simple as feeling that if we’re friends with Jeffree, it’s now impossible to be friends with Lee.

At this point in Star’s career, attacking him, as Zamora did with the photo, was an act self-immolation. And it seems that Zamora has realized that — or at least learned from it.

On August 21, Zamora uploaded a 48-minute apology to his fans and Star. Wearing no makeup, he talks about cutting ties with Gutierrez and Lee and removing toxicity from his life. It has 3.7 million views, making it his most-viewed video by a wide margin.

On August 22, Zamora gained 204,112 new subscribers and is still gaining more. And, perhaps even more crucially given what we’ve learned, it’s the only apology from that clique that Jeffree Star has accepted and approved.

Original Source -> Laura Lee, Jeffree Star, and the racism scandal upending the YouTube beauty community, explained

via The Conservative Brief

#IFTTT #The Conservative Brief

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politeoffbeatsister-blog · 6 years

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Imagine Community cosplays Adventure time

Abed goes as Prismo, having done his research on the entire series.

Annie as Princess Bubblegum, b/c smart, cute and perky! (& love-interest assuming Jeff will be Finn)

Britta as Fiona the Human, because strong female leads are just as good as male heroes!

Chang as Magic Man, because you all assumed he'd go as Lee the rainicorn. It's none of your business!!

Dean as Abracadaniel on a rumor that wizard battles are slang for 'college appraisal strategies'

Jeff as himself, until he needs a favor. Then goes as Finn until a slime incident makes him Fern the Human.

Pierce as Ice King upon learning IK and Finn are BFFs (and assuming Jeff will be Finn)

Shirley as Cake the Cat, offended at the suggestion she should go as Tree Trunks. There's more to her than baking!

Troy as Marshall Lee, on recommendation from Abed for da ladies; also, spot on voice impression.

#community #adventure time #cosplay #imagine

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bravelywego · 6 years

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The Capture.

@ribbedxgloves

Note: Takes place after Azami, Kamii and Declan’s initial meeting, and before Azami revealed to Declan that she captured Kamiizumi and therefore before “Our Game Begins.”

Kamiizumi expected a trap the moment he entered her house. She was the Poison Lady, after all, and he knew she was a tricky sort, even if she was someone from the Crystal Orthodoxy.

So he wasn’t wholly surprised when Noa, her personal servant, tried to hit him in the head with a fist. Kamiizumi blocked it, only for the other man to punch at him with the other hand, but he blocked that, too. Both of them stared into each other’s eyes, and then the fight was on.

Both men grappled at each other, slamming each other into the walls, hisses and growls escaping Noa’s throat as he clawed at the Swordmaster, who kicked, writhed, and then shoved him away, trying to make distance between them. Noa hit the ground, but got up, glaring daggers.

“I thought the hospitality would be a little nicer than this, honestly!” The Swordmaster scoffed as he took out his katana. It was clear that Azami had no intention of letting Kamiizumi go, and if it was a fight she wanted on behalf of getting her personal servant to do her dirty work, she would get it.

Noa opened his mouth to say something, then stopped, shutting it, before taking out something from his pocket—a vial, and a clean needle to attach it to. Kamiizumi had watched Qada from the Eisen Civil War use these more than a few times, enough to know what exactly the man was up to. Kamiizumi grabbed a nearby vase, throwing it at Noa, but the man dodged it. The vase shattered on impact with the wall, and the personal servant growled again, lunging at the Swordmaster.

Kamiizumi dodged him, deciding it was best to flee. They were in narrow corridors, and even worse was that the Swordmaster did not know the full layout of this house. However, he did know where the front door was, and ran towards it, flinging it open—

Only for Noa to pull him backwards, trying to aim the needle towards his neck. Kamiizumi hissed, elbowed him in the chest, before turning and knocking him back with the hilt of his katana. Noa hit the ground again, groaning, but that was when a voice spoke.

“Ahem. How about we stop this now?”

Both men looked to each other, and then to the direction of the voice. A ghost stood there, somewhat transparent in appearance but otherwise solid. Black hair, past shoulder length, was pulled back in thick braid, and his eyes gazed at both of them as he clasped his hands together, dressed in a white kimono with pink cherry blossoms embroidered on it.

“This is fruitless.” The ghost spoke, looking to Noa. “I think you know that, too, don’t you?”

Noa gasped, backing up against the wall, eyes widening. Kamiizumi was surprised the man did not scream out of shock—because Noa and the ghost in particular looked incredibly alike.

“Azami is not in this immediate area. She’s upstairs. You may speak whenever you’d like. I’m not stopping you, and neither will my dear son.”

Noa looked shocked, speechless and stunned, and....it took the Swordmaster a moment to realize why the man was so stunned. Noa had never spoken at all when Azami was around? The ghost was right. That was true.

What exactly had Azami done to Noa that made him so speechless most of the time, unless she permitted him speaking? Kamiizumi wasn’t sure if he wanted to know, but if Azami made that kind of impact on Noa...what kind of things did she have for Kamiizumi himself?

The ghost smiled softly at Kamiizumi. “My sweet Tsuna,” Naoto cooed, “I know why you’re here.” He then frowned. “You shouldn’t have come here.”

“I had to. To investigate her activity, as well as the Beast. I just have a hunch that they’re connected.” The Swordmaster frowned faintly back at the ghost. “Master Naoto...how..?”

Naoto pointed to the open front door. “She didn’t put ghost wards right at the entrance, just on the door itself.”

“I see.” Kamiizumi offered him a faint smile. “I’m just glad to see you after all this time.”

Naoto smiled back, before looking to Noa. “Now, as for you,I give you two choices. One,” He pointed to the door, “Freedom. Run as fast and far as you can to the Duchy of Eternia, to Grand Marshal Edea Lee, and report to her of Azami’s doings. If you happen to be in Gathelatio, inform Yew Geneolgia of this as well. I’m sure you’ve heard of both those names. You won’t be caught, because I’ll just take your place. Consider it your safest option.”

Noa nodded, silent, taking in the information. Naoto smirked.

“Choice two...the mole. I will possess you. It makes perfect sense—we look alike, and I don’t think she’ll notice a ghost inhabiting a live person too well, despite her studies. Also, information you have about her and her activities adds towards my own understanding. But...this also places you in more danger—”

“I’ll stay.”

Kamiizumi looked to Noa, who spoke for the first time, and out of his free will. The man trembled where he stood, tugging a bit at the golden-lace choker around his neck, before speaking again.

“I’ll stay.”

Naoto tilted his head. “Why? I imagine you’d want to run. She’s hurt you.”

Noa trembled, but the words spilled out. “Faye...must protect...her. And...” He looked to Kamiizumi, “If I keep you in this hell, I want to help you get out.”

Naoto looked to his son, taking a deep breath. “What do you think, my dearest pupil? Do we let him?”

Kamiizumi hesitated. He didn’t want more innocents to be in danger. But if Noa was so willing...well, he wasn’t about to stop him.

“If that is what you wish, Noa,” The Swordmaster finally stated, “I agree with this decision.”

Noa offered him the faintest smile, only to gasp again as Naoto stood in front of him, going silent. Naoto took a deep breath, taking his hands into his own as he gazed into his eyes. “This will hurt a little, okay? But only for a few moments.”

Noa nodded once, in understanding. Naoto took a deep breath, before tilting his head forwards so that their foreheads touched. Naoto vanished from view, a soft light enveloping Noa’s body. The man whimpered, and Kamiizumi could do nothing but watch. After a while, the glow faded, and Noa briefly slumped against the wall. It was like he’d passed out, or fallen asleep, but then...

He opened his eyes, and they turned silver. Standing up straight, he looked down at his hands, his own body, and then up at the Swordmaster, who took a deep breath.

“I follow your lead, Father. You know what to do, and I trust you with those plans.”

Naoto nodded a bit, picking up the vial and needle. It was not broken or damaged in any way. Good. The ghost took a deep breath, walked towards his son, and Kamiizumi closed his eyes.

He felt a hand caress his cheek, Noa’s hand, Naoto controlling it, as if comforting him, before he felt the needle’s point prick his neck.

Naoto caught his unconscious son in his arms, cradling him close to him, and then took a deep breath, before dragging him towards the dungeons. He could see the layout in Noa’s mind as of where to go.

Into the belly of the beast we go...Destroying it inside out is our only way...or, at least, the way we want to do it.

As he descended with the body of his son, he smiled.

This is going to be fun.

#drabble #Poisoned Minds (AU verse)#The Madness of Our Great Minds (AU verse)#violence tw #drugging tw #abuse mention tw #ribbedxgloves

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onthegoinmco · 7 years

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For the past 30 years Disney Legends awards have recognized the remarkable contributions that individuals have made to the Disney Legacy, and this year’s ceremony hosted by Disney Chairman and CEO Bob Iger at 10 am on Friday, July 14, in Hall D23 of the Anaheim Convention Center during the D23 Expo 2017 is shaping up to be extraordinary!

“The Disney Legends Award is the highest honor our company can bestow on an individual, reserved for those few who have truly made an indelible mark on the history of The Walt Disney Company,” said Disney Chairman and CEO Bob Iger. “It’s a celebration of talent, a recognition of achievement, and an expression of gratitude to the men and women whose work has significantly contributed to Disney’s enduring reputation for creative excellence.”

The 2017 Disney Legends Award honorees (listed alphabetically) are:

CARRIE FISHER became an overnight sensation in 1977 with her iconic performance as Princess Leia in Star Wars. But throughout her career, Carrie took on many roles—as an actress, author, playwright, screenwriter, and outspoken advocate for mental health awareness. For Disney, Carrie appeared in Scream 3 (2000) and Jay and Silent Bob Strike Back (2001) for Dimension Films, and, in 2015, she returned to the role that made her famous, starring as General Leia Organa in Star Wars: The Force Awakens. She reprised the role for Star Wars: The Last Jedi, which will be released in December.

CLYDE “GERRY” GERONIMI joined the Disney Studio in 1931. His first assignments as an animator were for several memorable Mickey Mouse, Silly Symphony, and Pluto cartoons, and he eventually contributed to more than 50 of the Studio’s shorts. Gerry made the leap to sequence director with 1943’s Victory Through Air Power, and he subsequently contributed to The Three Caballeros, The Adventures of Ichabod and Mr. Toad, Cinderella, Peter Pan, and One Hundred and One Dalmatians. He also directed segments for television’s Mickey Mouse Club and contributed to episodes of Walt Disney’s Wonderful World of Color. The apex of his Disney career came when he served as supervising director for the 1959 masterpiece Sleeping Beauty.

MANUEL GONZALES was one of 33 artists selected from thousands of applicants to join Disney in 1936. In 1938, he took over penciling duties on the Sunday Mickey Mouse comic strip from Disney Legend Floyd Gottfredson. He brought Mickey Mouse to newspapers nationwide for nearly 40 years. At its peak, his Mickey-starring comic strip appeared in 120 newspapers around the world with a collective circulation of more than 20 million readers each week. Manuel was presented a “Mousecar” award by Walt Disney in 1966.

MARK HAMILL began his career in 1970, appearing in numerous television series guest-roles and several TV movies, including a recurring role on ABC’s General Hospital and starring in MTM's acclaimed The Texas Wheelers. He achieved worldwide attention as Luke Skywalker in the original Star Wars trilogy, which included The Empire Strikes Back and Return of the Jedi. He returned as Luke in The Force Awakens and will appear in the upcoming The Last Jedi. His stage career includes Broadway shows and the first national tour of Amadeus directed by Sir Peter Hall. A prolific voice-over actor, he has performed in countless animated television shows, feature films, documentaries, and video games. He appears on Disney’s Miles from Tomorrowland and Milo Murphy’s Law, and has also provided the voice of The Joker in the Batman animated series, a role that recently earned him a BAFTA Award.

WAYNE JACKSON began his career as a Walt Disney Imagineer in October 1965, and in the decades that followed he would put his technical skills and know-how to great use in the development and installation of Disney attractions around the world. Originally trained in aircraft tooling, he began as a technician and machinist assigned to rebuild the shows from the 1964–65 New York World’s Fair that were slated for installation at Disneyland. Instrumental in the early development of Audio-Animatronics technology, Wayne would go on to help bring Pirates of the Caribbean and the Haunted Mansion to Disneyland. He went on to work on the construction and installation of attractions and show systems at Walt Disney World Resort, Tokyo Disney Resort, and Disneyland Paris.

STAN LEE got a job as an office assistant at a comic publisher in 1939 called Timely Comics—forerunner of the powerhouse we all know as Marvel. Stan made his debut with a Captain America story in 1941, and by the next year, at the age of just 18, he was promoted to editor. In 1961, Stan teamed up with Jack “King” Kirby to create the Fantastic Four and ushered in a spectacular new age of comics. Stan co-created an enormous roster of Marvel characters, including Iron Man, Hulk, Thor, Spider-Man, Doctor Strange, the X-Men, Daredevil, and Falcon. He became Marvel’s editorial director and publisher in 1972, and eventually was named chairman emeritus. His well- known cameos in Marvel films began with 1989’s telefilm The Trial of the Incredible Hulk, and since the release of X-Men in 2000 he has appeared in nearly every Marvel film project. Outside the super-hero realm, he has even popped up as a wedding guest in Disney’s The Princess Diaries 2: Royal Engagement.

GARRY MARSHALL began his career in Los Angeles writing for a number of hit shows, including The Dick Van Dyke Show and The Lucy Show. But his big break came in 1970, when he produced The Odd Couple for ABC, the first of many big hits he created for the network. Beginning with Happy Days in 1974, he developed a shared universe of spinoffs including Laverne & Shirley, Mork & Mindy, and Joanie Loves Chachi. His other ABC sitcoms during these years included Angie, The New Odd Couple, and Blansky’s Beauties. Garry was also a successful movie director, with 18 films to his credit. At Disney, he made stars of two young actresses: Julia Roberts, in Pretty Woman, and Anne Hathaway in The Princess Diaries. He directed Bette Midler in Beaches, as well as in The Lottery, a short film that for years was a fixture of the Backstage Tour at the Disney-MGM Studios Theme Park. Garry was known for his acting, as well, and he appeared in Disney’s Race to Witch Mountain, Chicken Little, and as the Devil in Hocus Pocus.

JULIE TAYMOR is a Tony, Emmy, and Grammy winning and Oscar nominated filmmaker who has changed the face of Broadway with her innovative direction. Her adaptation of The Lion King debuted in 1997, becoming the most successful stage musical of all time; 24 global productions have been seen by more than 90 million people. The show has played in more than 100 cities in 19 countries. It received 11 Tony Award nominations, earning Julie Best Director, Costume Designer, and Best Musical for the show. Her production of The Magic Flute is currently in repertory at the Metropolitan Opera in New York City. Her films include A Midsummer’s Night Dream, Titus, The Tempest, the Golden Globe-nominated Across the Universe, and the Oscar-winning Frida. Taymor is a recipient of the MacArthur “Genius” Fellowship and an inductee into the Theater Hall of Fame for Lifetime Achievement. She is currently directing M. Butterfly on Broadway, opening Fall 2017.

OPRAH WINFREY is a renowned award-winning producer, actress, talk show host, and philanthropist. For 25 years she was the host of the award-winning talk show The Oprah Winfrey Show, which ran for 25 seasons on hundreds of stations domestically and in more than 100 countries around the world. Oprah is also an Academy Award nominated actress for her role in Steven Spielberg’s 1985 hit The Color Purple. In 1998, she starred in Beloved for Disney’s Touchstone Pictures, a film that she also produced. Oprah also produced and starred in ABC’s 1989 limited series The Women of Brewster Place, and would go on to produce many films for ABC, including Tuesdays with Morrie, Before Women Had Wings, and Their Eyes Were Watching God under the “Oprah Winfrey Presents” banner. She performed as Eudora in Disney’s The Princess and the Frog in 2009 and will co-star as Mrs. Which in Disney’s 2018 film A Wrinkle in Time.

Disney Legend Honorees receive a two-foot- tall bronze Disney Legends sculpture that signifies the imagination, creativity, and magic they have brought to the Company. Disney Legends Award recipients will also participate in a handprint ceremony at the end of the event, and their bronzed prints will be displayed in the Disney Legends Plaza at the Company’s Burbank headquarters.

Admission to the Disney Legends ceremony will be on a first-come, first-served basis and is included in the price of a ticket to D23 Expo 2017.

Tickets for D23 Expo 2017 are available for $81 for one-day adult admission and $59 for children 3–9. Members of D23: The Official Disney Fan Club can purchase tickets for $72 for a one-day adult admission and $53 for children 3–9. Multi-day tickets are also available. For more information on tickets and D23 Expo 2017, visit D23Expo.com.

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