#I really like the idea of jr doing ballet

[thejadecount]

I personally headcanon that before he started to use magic and wore himself out Mikey would dance ballet to relieve himself of the stress. Casey Jr saw him do it one day and asked him to teach him, and so he knows how to ballet. I’m going to manifest this into canon by sheer willpower.

[macksartblock]

do you have any specific headcanons for the teens??

I don’t really have too many headcanons for the teens. Most of them tend to draw from my own or my friends experiences/habits bc I find it funny so —

Taylor: has fibromyalgia and once texted the group chat something along the lines of “do you guys ever sleep so hard you wake up to a dislocated hip? I’m so good at sleeping” Scary was the only one who thought it was funny.

Normal: washes his hair in the sink more often than one should. He also wouldn’t have time to blow dry it before he’d put on the Teenie costume so his hair would end up crimped and half wet for the entirety of the day.

Additional HC that’s more family aligned: Before Hero and Normal were born, Sparrow painted a tree mural in each of their rooms. Hero eventually repainted her room when she was 12 but Normal’s tree is still visible :)

Hermie: is double jointed at the elbow and shoulder in his left arm. He can do this weird trick involving moving his clasped hands from behind his back, over his head, to his front. It’s weirdly bendy and uncomfortable to witness.

Lincoln: when he was around 8-9 yrs old, he attempted to convince his dads to help him make a sign that said “Tricks for Kisses (hershey kind)” around Halloween. He explained he was gonna do soccer tricks for kisses but did NOT explain he meant the chocolate kind. They did not make the sign.

Scary: when she was very little, like 4-5ish, Veronica signed her up for ballet classes. She did enjoy them until it was time for her first recital where, before even going on stage, she burst into tears and her teacher had to run out to collect Veronica from the audience. She was then signed up for soccer and was far more interested in that. Veronica still has the picture of Scary in her recital outfit in her wallet bc Scary couldn’t stand the idea of it hanging up in the house around Terry Jr.

[mossyivy]

CHRIS STANS RISE!!! WE NEED TO GIVE THAT MAN MORE LOVE AND ATTENTION!!! 😤

Domestic Chris…Because that’s my specialty. 🥹

I see Chris having three kids, two boys, one girl. He’d be the type of dad to push his boys so hard, always expecting the best of the best from them. His daughter as well, but not as harsh. I see them all pretty close in age, maybe 1-2 years apart for each kid.

He’d have his boys do all sorts of sports and activities. Football, baseball, basketball, tennis, track, cross country, you name it, they do it. Chris would also help them practice, especially in football and baseball. His daughter would probably do ballet, tennis, and be in the Girl Scouts with Cecilia, and maybe do drama with Violet as well.

Also, it’s very much cannon that Chris spoils his daughter 10X more than his boys. His little girl wants to go on a Sephora shopping trip? Take his card and go crazy. His boys want to go out with their friends? Here’s $25 for the both of you.

Chris is also such a loving husband. He’d buy you gifts “Just because”. Or if you mention a new designer purse online, it would mysteriously show up on the dining table to greet you when you woke up…With a handwritten note of course. You were very much a spoiled wife, but he didn’t care, you gave him three beautiful kids for god sakes, of course he’d buy you whatever you want.

If there was ever a time any of your boys were disrespectful to you while he was gone, (Because they know better than to mess with their mother while dad’s around.) He’d give them the “You don’t disrespect MY wife.” Talk. Ugh, 😣 give me a chance Chris…☹️

- Anon! 🎀

🎀 ANON I FUCKING LOVE YOU I'VE BEEN WANTING TO TALK ABOUT HIM BUT NO ONE REALLY DOES MUCH IN THE CHRIS TAG ANYMORE AND THAT PLUMMETS MY MOTIVATION!!!

But I'll scream with you anyday bb!!!

(I'm sorry this is so long I just couldn't help myself 😭)

Okay so I've had the idea that Chris met someone with a child from a previous relationship (Your first born son, Let's name him Oliver and call him Ollie for short! He's like 2 years older than Violet. He struggles a bit in school so they're in the same grade, along with his younger brother, after he was held back in 5th and 8th grade but that's okay! Everyone struggles!)

Ollie was like 2 when they first met. Your ex-husband was a HORRIBLE MAN, absolutely terrible to you and the only good thing he ever did was bless you with Ollie. That's it.

Chris and his wife met through work (let's be honest here, how tf else would he meet a woman? Chris is very much a workaholic.) His wife is basically the lead of the BSAA's dispatch response team (Basically what Hunnigan does at the FOS but the BSAA's version) and she's good at her job. Very strong willed and mouthy as a mf. Isn't scared to go back at anyone over the radio and definitely got into it with Chris once or twice before they officially met.

(catch me posting what happened when they met in person the first chance someone asks)

Anyway!!

After y'all start dating it doesn't take long before you introduce Chris to your son and Ollie is just OBSESSED with Chris. Like you've never seen this kid so excited to see another human being until Chris shows up. You two only started dating for a few months and Ollie already calls Chris dad. You try correcting him scared AF that Chris is gonna get freaked out but he's actually super chill with it. He's use to taking care of people, he basically raised Claire after their parents died but this little guy is much younger and a lot more fun and excitable than Claire was.

A few months into the relationship you find out you're pregnant. Chris is excited but also freaking out with how often he's gone. But everything works out and you end up having your second son, Christopher Jr but CJ for short.

You and Chris end up getting married not long after your first anniversary after the babies born. Not making a big deal out of anything just getting papers signed and having a little get together celebrating everything.

2 years go by, Ollie's in Kindergarten and CJ does daycare. You start getting horribly ill out of nowhere. So you go get checked out and oh God you're pregnant again...

(This would be the point in time where Leon starts bugging for another baby with his wife)

9 months of Chris being a nervous wreck fly by and the world meets your daughter, Talulla, Lulu for short.

Chris would be adamant on sticking the kids in after school activities once they're old enough. His boys would do sports and his baby girl in softball and girl scouts so she can hangout with her pseudo cousins. (Her being 2 years younger than Violet and 2 years older than Cecilia) Until her older cousin quits cause girl scouts are for babies (🙄)

Chris and his wife would be UBER COMPETITIVE when it came to cookie selling season. It's all out war between the Redfield's and Kennedy's every year.

I feel like Ollie would also really be musically gifted and play piano for the school choir and musicals. Lulu would Ed up wanting to do drama but be a stage hand or in the costume department. She's actually very shy.

CJ is basically Chris when he was a kid. Always doing stupid shit... Getting in trouble over the dumbest of things but looking out for others. (Definitely beat up that kid who was picking on Violet when they were 7.)

You're getting calls from the school at least once a month because CJ got in trouble for either getting into an argument with a teacher over rules or another kid tried something stupid.

[sneakydraws]

Okay so!! Here's a little wap design compilation - not exhaustive, both because of the image limit and because there's many things I'm not settled on but I want to post some of it at least~

Organised by families because familial resemblence or lack thereof is one of my favourite factors in chardes! And because Tolstoy is so good at creating these family dynamics of shared traits! First, the Bolkonskys:

Lise, Mlle Bourienne and Nikolai jr. not included for now, maybe later. The shared traits I gave them all (therefore presumably coming from Nikolai's side) are sharp, angular features with a beaked nose and high cheekbones, thin figures and straight, dark hair. Both Andrei and Nikolai are described as short, so initially I wanted to apply this to them all, but then I thought it would be cool to emphasise Andrei's similarity to his father AND separate Marya out by making her much taller than them. It works really well because Andrei and Nikolai are both short yet straightened out to their full height while Marya cowers and hunches to hide hers - which also works to create the unattractive figure she's described as having. I use heads to note height - as in, how many heads tall a character is - mostly because numerous manga art tutorials ingrained those in me <:3c Nikolai has his signature bushy eyebrows, and his clothes and hair are inspired by his depiction in the first soviet wap movie because I really liked it!

In general I spent the most time on Andrei, both because he's my favourite and because he has a lot of tantalisingly sparse and at times interestingly contrasting descriptions - he's meant to look unassuming, his small and slender figure hiding his impressive stamina and his cushy administrative position contrasting with the rugged hussars (and his small hands are mentioned as well) but he has sharp features, and his design should showcase his proud, decisive nature as well.

The Rostovs! Not including the count and countess because while I have some features in mind I haven't made up my mind yet on the overall designs, and excluding Vera for reasons I'll divulge later. These Rostov kids are all energetic, emotionally driven and strong-willed and I wanted to reflect that in their designs - most of all in their hair, which is curly and kind of fluffy, making big, untamed shapes - I decided this they would have inherited from the Count. They're all rather short (I think some of the Rostovs are described as short so I extended it to the whole family) and a little stockier than the Bolkonskys - Natasha's figure is really incosistent because she gains and loses weight a lot over the book, but I settled on the slightly heavier side mostly to contrast with Sonya. I also love freckles and always associate them with energy and youthfulness so they got given to the Rostovs - presumably from the Count's side again. And their eyes and hair are all black or dark brown!

BIG RAMBLING RANT: The Countess is described as having "oriental features" and I wanted to incorporate that into the kids because it's like the most detail we ever get on someone's overall facial features lol but it turned out kind of frustratingly vague. I think my first idea was towards Georgia because Pierre mentions a woman with Georgian features in 1812, and because my ballets russes research included a very orientalist ballet about a georgian queen. I didn't find very good references though and turned next to Armenia, and when I found someone talking about common Armenian features that fit what I already had in mind for the Rostovs I ended up using that. However, later I realised those countries are in Western Asia and don't really fit the descriptor of "oriental (eastern)" from the perspective of Russia... Now I'm looking more towards the Kalmyk and Bashkir people after seeing them mentioned in one of my interlibrary books so I might revise the Rostovs yet. I did get kind of attached to the nose though so I'll do my best to keep it haha

The odd ones out in the Rostov household!! Sonya is, I believe, related to the Rostovs on the Count's side so maybe it would make sense to give her the fluffy hair and freckles, but she has enough descriptions in the book to form a separate design on her own (and she's only a second cousin to the Rostov kids, so it's pretty far away anyway). She's compared to a graceful kitten, described as almost unattractively thin and with a sallow skin, so I thought it would fit her to have a slightly unwell air, with portruding collarbones and a slight hunch. She also has her dark double braid.

Vera was fun once I got the idea to make her look very different from her siblings - to mirror her personality being completely different (cool, impassionate, meanspirited at times) and to visually reflect how she's disliked by the Countess - perhaps almost looking like she's not her parents' child 👀 She's taller and slimmer than her siblings, with straighter and lighter in colour hair, and her features are more smooth and soft. No freckles either.

The Kuragins! Those guys are fun. I have Anatole as the tallest in the cast (save for Pierre), and Helene as the tallest woman, with Ippolit the same height as her. Helene and Ippolit in general are described as having the same features so they ended up almost looking like twins! Later I'll talk a bit more about their facial features and hair but in terms of silhouettes, Helene has to have her round shoulders and impressive bosom (and low neckline), while Anatole has to look all broad-shouldered and masculine. He was actually the hardest to draw because I kept feeling like his head was too small and his whole body too long... I might go back and make him a bit broader still. A book I have says the elite life guards of the Russian army were known for their impressive, immaculate appearance, with some men padding their uniforms to add volume to their chest... That made me think of Anatole lmao.

A little roll call to show everyone's height in relation to each other.

More about the Kuragins! I tackled Helene with the aim to make her beautiful by the standards of the time, and luckily there's actually an 1812 bust of the Greek Helene! It was too poerfect of a coincidence so I leaned heavily into it. I find that typical features of ancient Greek or 19th century Hellenistic busts are a very straight nose that flows smoothly from the forehead, a very round jawline with a somewhat portruding chin and that particular curve of the neck. I gave Helene all of those along with heavily-lidded, downturned eyes and an expression that hopefully conveys calm confidence and intelligence. Ippolit is supposed to have the same features but made to look ugly by his stupid expression - this actually turned out easier than I thought? Though it might just be that the moustache looks kind of stupid - maybe I should try a version without it. Anatole I thought ought to look impressive and masculine so in the end I kept the squarer jaw and strong forehead (and I couldn't resist the slicked back hair) but I considered a more Hellenistic version too, with the short curls and round jaw. Helene's hair was tricky because none of the styles I saw felt quite right - I settled on a sort of combo of the Hellenistic curls from the statue but a bit looser with the braid she's described to have in the book. She'd also probably wear a lot of hair accessories but I'll have to do more research on those.

More Natasha and Sonya, and Andrei - Andrei is so difficult!! I always kind of oscillate between "stern, strong-willed soldier", "sharp-featured intellectual" and "soft pampered prince/troubled poet" (where I try and fail to imitate this gorgeous illustration by Vadimir Serov). The Brutus haircut is tempting in its historical accuracy, but I'm just a little bit too fond of the immaculately slicked back hair...

Edit: I completely forgot @visualnoteslibrary was on Tumblr!! Thank you so much for collecting all the descriptions, you spared me quite the Easter egg hunt through the Gutenberg version <3

[euphraisette]

college au hcs college au hcs !!!

we always talk about les amis studying what they canonically study but what about cosette and eponine !!! (even though i have no knowledge about how college works in america, forgive my british self)

- cosette 100% does something in social sciences like anthropology but then has a dual degree with something that seems random like classics or art history but it makes sense for her despite everyone thinking its cliche that the new money girl that came from a very poor background but elevated socially with her dad majors in anthropology especially since she’s dating marius and ep’ and everyone’s like « oh yeah she’s dating pontmercy of course she’s into social studies » but it goes so much further than wanting to right the wrongs of society !! she wants to understand why people are the way they are and how povs clashes between metaphysical and physical experiences and she loves debating and getting everyone’s opinion and every point of view she can on every event which is why she loves history as well because everything is factual and it allows her to be grounded in something and to have the stability she needs. also she has a greek mythology and ancient politics hyperfixation so it was just the obvious study path for her

- eponine on the other hand is a woman in STEM ill always be an engineering ‘ponine truther !!!! she either does mechanical or electrical engineering because she likes building things and feeling useful and she always pitches the best ideas in her group projects and assignments!! she gets internships so fast and every factory wants to hire her for their internship she’s literally THE woman in STEM !!

Okay I am OBSESSED with these thank you for sharing anon <33333

Cosette has ALWAYS been a dual major in my heart, I've always felt she would go into law or something adjacent after Valjean told her the story of her mother right as she's deciding to leave home to go to college, and from that point on she's determined to become a public defender of sorts to make sure people get help the way Fantine wasn't able to, but she also loves history (i'm obsessed with the greek mythology thing wow) and decides to make that her other major in that and hopes to someday retire from being a lawyer and work in a museum. her minor is either dance or theatre because she's been taking ballet since she was a kid and she's really good, realistically she could go join a company or something but she wants to LEARN (plus in my head all of the Amis are doing SOMETHING in the arts, even just recreationally, and that how they mostly all met)

I LOVE Ep as a kickass STEM lady yessssss I love it. Personally I'm leaning towards her getting into like cyber security or something, since (because of her parents) she knows how people hack and steal money really well, and she even though she doesn't really have the money or a formal education background the school just lets her in once they see how proficient she is and they try to keep plausible deniability by not asking too many questions a la frank abagnale jr. She really likes what she does and likes feeling like she overcame her shitty background to do something really useful in stopping criminals from hurting people, but mostly she's in it for the money. she wants to buy a big ass house for her and gavroche to live in and a few guest rooms for everybody, with more than enough fine clothing and furniture and food whenever they need it, never having to worry about going without and doing it all on the up-and-up. That's really Ep's biggest dream, is to be successful and provide for herself and gavroche without having to resort to crime the way her folks did when she was young, as a way to prove to herself that she's better than them (everybody already knows she is)

[ponds-of-ink]

My P e r s o n a l Rough William Afton Timeline - Part 1 (Human Years)

Disclaimer: This is all speculative backstory built up from the SB therapy tapes as well as random points in the main FNAF lore. I am not solving any of it, but just saying “Hey, maybe this is how we got here”. Also, this is very long and packed with what-if info in a “No, Tumblr, we die like men” style. Get ready, it’s gonna be a bumpy plot-holed ride.

-

Late 1940s: Two people (Bill Afton + [REDACTED]) wed in some small town in Midwest America. They settle into their new home, get their newlywed lives in order, then prepare for their little bundle of joy down the line.

Early 1950s: William “Bill” Afton Jr. is born on [REDACTED]. He grows up relatively normally, even though his Londoner accent has been giving him a hard time at school. But, as long as the family was happy and his books were in reach, then he was fine.

Circa Late 1959 and/or 1960: Unfortunately, it wasn’t meant to last. Rising tension grew within the Afton household, culminating in a rather physical fight between Bill and [REDACTED]. Ready to defend his family, a BB-Gun-wielding Will encountered his mother hobbling out her bedroom with her hand on her chest. He could hear her fuming about Bill “dying of shame” for what he did before she passed out nearby. Thankfully, she managed to live another day. Unfortunately…

1960-ish: This resulted in a custody case spanning several days. Being a witness to the outcome, William was told to lie about his mother’s emotional stability at the time (though he knew she was okay, according to his standards) by his father. Will, not knowing the far-reaching consequences at the time, followed through reluctantly. Bill won soon the case.

1960, a little bit after: Thanks to this, [REDACTED] disappeared. Will almost called the police about it, but a quick peek in the obituary stopped him short. She died, though it wasn’t stated exactly how. In tears, he told Bill as soon as possible. This led to the promise that sealed this boy’s fate: To not breathe a word of what really happened at the scene or the custody case. If he did… Well, bad things could happen.

Mid-1960s to Early 1970s: Will keeps this promise all while going through his preteen and teen years. He still grew up well-adjusted, but he became more secluded than before (definitely not trusting his dad as much. Oof). More days spent studying and less time exercising his creative abilities. Well… All right, apart from that one time he auditioned for clown college in his late teens. But, since he got rejected, it probably shouldn’t really count for anything… Right?

Mid-1970s: Now around college age, he enrolls for a Business Degree in one of Utah’s universities. He finally says goodbye to his father and moves to Utah to be close to his new school. Soon, he encountered Henry Emily, a talented mechanic with a penchant for making animatronics. Fascinated by the idea, William decides to help Henry with his newest innovation: Springlock suits. Fredbear as a concept is made around this time.

Also Mid-1970s: One late night, Henry discovers that William is actually rather good at acting despite not enrolling in theater. Wanting to put this to good use, he comes up with a character to go along with the newly-created Fredbear: Springy, named after the suits he helped make. William, sensing an opportunity with the name, suggests that Springy could be a rabbit instead of another bear. Why was Springy lengthened to Spring-Bonnie? That… I don’t know. Maybe as a tribute to his mother, whose name was Bonnie? Idk.

Late 1970s: It was around this time that he met his future wife, who I’ll call “Justine” until we figure out her real name. They met while she was doing some ballet at that same college. It took a bit of time, but Justine and William grew to have a deep bond. So much so that, as soon as they both graduated, they married. And, a couple years apart, they have two baby boys: Michael and “Evan” (who’ll be referred to as such until we learn something different).

Early 1980: Fredbear’s Family Diner begins as a concept, along with some new tests being made. It was also around this time that William finally felt that he could trust someone enough to break his promise. So, he told both Justine and Henry about what happened. However, due to how tense his last encounter with his father was, William decides it would be best to not bring it up with Mike and his baby brother until they’re old enough.

1982 - Very Early 1983: Much to William and Justine’s surprise, they end up having another baby. This time, a girl named Elizabeth. However, due to complications, she had to spend some time in the hospital for a bit. This meant that the room that they had to leave her newly-furnished room unused for a bit. Also, on top of this, Fredbear’s Diner is under construction along with a television show. Needless to say, Will’s swamped… Much to his own chagrin. How can he get Evan to stop being afraid of the new bots without having to use his dad’s old tactics…? 

Early to Mid? 1983: Fredbear’s Diner finally opens. William starts using one of the prototype Fredbear plushies as a way to how poor Evan’s doing while he’s at work. Unfortunately, due to Michael’s growing frustration about his dad’s (unintentional) neglect, an incident happens that rocks William’s mind. One that is steeped in unfortunate infamy: The Fredbear Bite.

Post-Bite of 1983: The death of Evan takes a heavy toll on William. Not wanting to go down the old “not a word about this” route, he sends Michael to a boarding school outside of Hurricane. His wife either dies (or leaves, given what little we know) shortly after, rendering him alone once again. It is at this point that he resigns from Fredbear’s on leave, which turns out to be a great idea in the long run. He gets jealous of Henry and Fredbear’s growing success without him, but tries to not bring it up when Henry’s around. Conflict is a pain for Will to inflict, y’see.

May 13th, 1983 - In a fit of nostalgic grief, Will decides to visit Fredbear’s and see how it’s doing. This one idea somehow leads to the death of Charlie Emily, his business partner’s young daughter. Now realizing what he’s done, William panics and leaves her outside in the rain. He tells Henry that someone hurt Charlie, which prompts a hurried investigation. When they go back outside, the body’s gone.

Late 1983 to 1985 - Henry resigns, giving the restaurant to new management. William, meanwhile, decides it’s time to change some life choices. He slims down, trains himself to have a more American accident when needed, then tries to raise Elizabeth on his own. It is at this time that he discovers remnant and hatches a plan. His self-assurance of “putting Evan back together” may not be as metaphorical as he once thought… Maybe, if he pulled a Frankenstein without stitching up a body…

1985 to 1987:  Disguising himself as both “Utah-native” Dave Miller and good ol’ Spring-Bonnie, William conducts the infamous Missing Children Incidents at a new Freddy’s Location. One by one, all five known kids go down. Whether or not he’s done more is known to Afton and Afton alone. Whatever the body count, all he thinks is that—if there are ghosts of those kids— that they’ll be haunting in the traditional sense. Just wandering around and controlling random objects. 

1987: Another infamous bite takes place, shutting this Freddy’s down for good. It’s also here that “Dave Miller” is caught and finally reported, but is let go due to lack of evidence. Fearing for his life (and his reputation by his father), William returns to his roots and goes back into business under Afton Robotics. This time, however, he has an ulterior motive.

Early 1990: After some hard developments, Afton Robotics presents its new rival restaurant for Freddy’s: Circus Baby’s Pizza World. With Freddy’s going under, William’s sure to rake in both cash as well as remnant. However… Something doesn’t sit right with him. Maybe it’s guilt that the remains of Fredbear’s might’ve been caused by him. Maybe it’s the growing anxiety of Elizabeth getting too close to the scooper-ready Circus Baby. Maybe he’s just missing his wife, even though he’s made a fitting tribute through Ballora. It could even be his conscience screaming about the dead kids, for all he knows. Whatever it is, it only gets worse when another accident happens. This time, he can only blame his negligence for this.

1993: Circus Baby’s has now been shut down twice, only to be converted into a rental service. Its once-owner has now vanished from the public eye. William spirals in the private confines of his own home, absolutely crushed by the idea that Elizabeth’s soul must be roaming around in some dimension— unable to move around. Guilt seizes him, refusing to let go until he makes up his mind: He must stop all of this. Get rid of the evidence, then possibly himself.

December 1993: A break-in is reported among the lingering staff of the original Fazbear Entertainment company. A lanky figure, covered in shadows, broke in and practically dismantled the main four animatronics. Then, after a quick rest, he was somehow cornered by unseen enemies before putting on a retired Springlock suit. Multiple, simultaneous costume failures happened thanks to… well, a number of reasons. Water damage, improper placements, too much movement, etc. Unfortunately, a mere scream or shadowy image isn’t enough to prove the identity. So, they chalk it up to a disgruntled employee and leave it be. Little do they realize that they were both right and wrong at the same time…

[swanlake1998]

Article: Five Pioneering Black Ballerinas: ‘We Have to Have a Voice’

Date: June 17, 2021

By: Karen Valby

These early Dance Theater of Harlem stars met weekly on Zoom — to survive the isolation of the pandemic and to reclaim their role in dance history.

Last May, adrift in a suddenly untethered world, five former ballerinas came together to form the 152nd Street Black Ballet Legacy. Every Tuesday afternoon, they logged onto Zoom from around the country to remember their time together performing with Dance Theater of Harlem, feeling that magical turn in early audiences from skepticism to awe.

Life as a pioneer, life in a pandemic: They have been friends for over half a century, and have held each other up through far harder times than this last disorienting year. When people reached for all manners of comfort, something to give purpose or a shape to the days, these five women turned to their shared past.

In their cozy, rambling weekly Zoom meetings, punctuated by peals of laughter and occasional tears, they revisited the fabulousness of their former lives. With the background of George Floyd’s murder and a pandemic disproportionately affecting the Black community, the women set their sights on tackling another injustice. They wanted to reinscribe the struggles and feats of those early years at Dance Theater of Harlem into a cultural narrative that seems so often to cast Black excellence aside.

“There’s been so much of African American history that’s been denied or pushed to the back,” said Karlya Shelton-Benjamin, 64, who first brought the idea of a legacy council to the other women. “We have to have a voice.”

They knew as young ballet students that they’d never be chosen for roles like Clara in “The Nutcracker” or Odette/Odile in “Swan Lake.” They were told by their teachers to switch to modern dance or to aim for the Alvin Ailey company if they wanted to dance professionally, regardless of whether they felt most alive en pointe.

Arthur Mitchell was like a lighthouse to the women. Mitchell, the first Black principal dancer at the New York City Ballet and a protégé of the choreographer George Balanchine, had a mission: to create a home for Black dancers to achieve heights of excellence unencumbered by ignorance or tradition. Ignited by the assassination of the Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., he founded Dance Theater of Harlem in 1969 with Karel Shook.

Lydia Abarca-Mitchell, Gayle McKinney-Griffith and Sheila Rohan were founding dancers of his new company with McKinney-Griffith, 71, soon taking on the role of its first ballet mistress. Within the decade, Shelton-Benjamin and Marcia Sells joined as first generation dancers.

Abarca-Mitchell, 70, spent her childhood in joyless ballet classes but never saw an actual performance until she was 17 at the invitation of Mitchell, her new teacher. “I’ll never forget what Arthur did onstage” she said of his Puck in “A Midsummer Night’s Dream” at New York City Ballet during a Tuesday session in January. “He made the ballet so natural. Suddenly it wasn’t just this ethereal thing anymore. I felt it in my bones.”

Marcia Sells, 61, remembered being 9 and watching with mouth agape when Abarca-Mitchell, McKinney-Griffith and Rohan performed with Dance Theater in her hometown, Cincinnati. “There in front of me were Black ballerinas,” Sells said during a video call in April. “That moment was the difference in my life. Otherwise I don’t think it would’ve been possible for me to think of a career in ballet.”

Shelton-Benjamin left her Denver ballet company, where she was the only Black dancer, turning down invitations from the Joffrey Ballet and American Ballet Theater, after reading a story about Dance Theater of Harlem in Dance magazine. Abarca-Mitchell was on that issue’s cover — the first Black woman to have that honor. At her Harlem audition, Shelton-Benjamin witnessed company members hand-dying their shoes and ribbons and tights to match the hues of their skin. Here, no traditional ballet pink would interrupt the beauty of their lines. “I had never seen a Black ballerina before, let alone a whole company,” Shelton-Benjamin, 64, said during a February Zoom meeting. “All I could think was, ‘Where have you guys been?’”

Finding one another back then, at the height of the civil rights movement, allowed them to have careers while challenging a ballet culture that had been claimed by white people. “We were suddenly ambassadors,” Abarca-Mitchell said. “And we were all in it together.”

They traveled to American cities that presented such a hostile environment that Mitchell would cancel the performance the night of, lest his company feel disrespected. But they also danced for kings and queens and presidents. In 1979, a review in The Washington Post declared their dancing to be a “purer realization of the Balanchinean ideal than anyone else’s.” Their adventures offstage were similarly electric, like the night in Manchester when Mick Jagger invited them out on the town. “We walked into the club with him and everybody just moved out of the way,” Shelton-Benjamin said.

Cultural memory can be spurious and shortsighted. Abarca-Mitchell was the first Black prima ballerina for a major company, performing works like Balanchine’s “Agon” and “Bugaku” and William Dollar’s “Le Combat” to raves. In an April Zoom session she said she first realized how left out of history she was when her daughter went online to prove to a friend that her mother was the first Black prima ballerina. But all she found was the name Misty Copeland, hailed as the first. “And my daughter was so mad. She said: ‘Where’s your name? Where’s your name?’ It was a wake-up call.”

While Abarca-Mitchell paused to wipe her eyes, Shelton-Banjamin stepped in: “I want to echo what Lydia said. There was a point where I asked the women, ‘Did it all really happen? Was I really a principal dancer?’ And Lydia told me: ‘Don’t do that! Yes, you were. We’re here to tell you, you were.”

Sells went on to a career that included serving as the dean of Harvard Law School, until she left this year to become the Metropolitan Opera’s first chief diversity officer. Shelton-Benjamin is now a jeweler who recently became certified in diamond grading. She, along with Abarca-Mitchell, McKinney-Griffith and Rohan, continue to coach and teach dance. They all have families, including another grandchild on the way for McKinney-Griffith, who announced the happy news to whoops on a recent call.

But they are done swallowing a mythology of firstness that excludes them, along with fellow pioneers like Katherine Dunham, Debra Austin, Raven Wilkinson, Lauren Anderson and Aesha Ash. It’s true that Misty Copeland is American Ballet Theater’s first Black female principal. It is also true that she stands on the shoulders of the founding and first generation dancers at Dance Theater. A narrative that suggests otherwise, Sells said, “Simply makes ballet history weak and small.”

Worse, it perpetuates the belief that Blackness in ballet is a one-off rather than a continuing fact. And it suggests a lonely existence for dancers like Copeland, a world absent of peers. “We could’ve been Misty’s aunties,” Abarca-Mitchell said. “I wish she was part of our sisterhood, that’s all.”

Dance Theater saved them from being the only one in a room. The work was so hard, the expectations so high, the mission so urgent, that those early days demanded a familial support system among the dancers. “Someone would take you under their wing and say, ‘You’re my daughter or sister or brother,’” McKinney-Griffith said. “The men did it also. Karlya was my little sister, and we kept that through the years.”

Like in any family, the relationships are complicated. The women speak of feeling shut out of today’s Dance Theater of Harlem. They are rarely brought in for workshops or consultations on the ballets they were taught by Mitchell. At his memorial service in 2018, they wept in the pews unacknowledged. “We’re like orphans,” Rohan said with a laugh in a Zoom session. “If the outside world neglects us, it seems all the more reason that Dance Theater of Harlem should embrace us.”

Virginia Johnson, a fellow founding member, is now the company’s artistic director. She assumed the helm in 2013 when Dance Theater returned after an eight-year hiatus caused by financial instability. “It makes me sad to think that they feel excluded,” Johnson said in a phone interview. “And it’s not because I don’t want them. It’s just because I can’t manage. I’ve probably missed some chances but it’s not like I haven’t thought about the value of what they bring to the company. They are the bodies, the soul, the spirit of Dance Theater of Harlem.”

“We all think about and love and respect what Arthur Mitchell did,” she added, “but these are the people he worked with to make this company.”

By the end of May, the five members of the 152nd Street Black Ballet Legacy were fully vaccinated. They traveled from Denver, Atlanta, Connecticut, South Jersey and, in Sells’s case, five blocks north of Dance Theater of Harlem for a joyful reunion. So much is different now at the building on 152nd Street. The old fire escape in Studio 3 where they’d catch their breath or wipe tears of frustration is gone. So are the big industrial fans in the corners of the room, replaced by central air conditioning. But they can still feel their leader all around them in the room. Crying, Abarca-Mitchell told McKinney-Griffith, “I miss Arthur.” (Though they all laugh when imagining his response to their legacy council. “I do believe he would try to control us,” Rohan said. “’What are you doing now? Why are you doing that? Let me suggest that. …’”)

The body remembers. In Studio 3, all Shelton-Benjamin had to do was hum a few notes of Balanchine’s “Serenade” and say “and” for the women to grandly sweep their right arms up. “These women help validate my worth,” Abarca-Mitchell said afterward. “I don’t want to take it for granted that people should recognize Lydia Abarca. But when I’m with them I feel like I felt back then. Important.”

Even as the world reopens and they grow busy again, they’ll carry on with their Tuesday afternoons. They want to amplify more alumni voices. They dream of launching a scholarship program for young dancers of color. This fall, they’ll host a webinar in honor of the director and choreographer Billy Wilson, whose daughter Alexis was also part of Dance Theater.

“What we have is a spiritual connection,” said Rohan, who turns 80 this year. She was 27 when she joined the company, already married and hiding from Mitchell that she was a mother of three young children for fear it get her kicked out. When she eventually confessed a year later, he got mad, insisting he would have increased her salary if he’d known she had mouths to feed.

“Arthur planted a seed in me, and all these beautiful women helped it grow,” she said. “Coming from Staten Island, I was just a country girl from the projects. My first time on a plane was to go to Europe to dance on those stages. I thanked God every day for the experience. This year, coming together again, I remembered how much it all meant to me. I didn’t have to be a star ballerina. It was enough that I was there. I was there. I was there.”

[theblackberrygirl]

I'm BACK Peter, Tony, Steve, and Natasha are all bookworms. Like they love reading. They all love fiction in general, but they all do have other preferences. Tony likes sci-fi, Natasha likes mystery, Steve likes romance, and Peter likes fantasy. And none of them like nonfiction all that much, though they will read it occasionally. The Avengers all get super emotional whenever they watch movies, especially with Inside Out and Onward. Except for Peter, who's just looking at them like ??? Natasha is Peter's celebrity crush, so when they first meet, he's just like freaking out Natasha is constantly helping Peter with his homework, she convinced him to join marching band again, ad it generally like an older sister (Pls I love them so much) If Peter was Tony's bio son (during the baby/toddler years):

-Natasha is go to babysitter, and though she finds it annoying, she loves Peter to death and is really good at it -Peter rarely throws tantrums, but when he does everyone is instantly trying to calm him down -He loves watching Steve draw and Nat do ballet -He also frequently gets into Tony's lab and wreaks havoc -Blueberry pancakes -He cries a lot on his first day of preschool and it takes Nat and Tony a million years to calm him down -He wanders around and gets lost a lot, which means constant worry for the Avengers -Natasha enjoys brushing his hair -She will take him out for walks and take him to the park

April Fools day at the Avengers Compound. Discuss

LETS GO BESTIE I MISSED UOU IM GONNA GET INTO YOU INBOX SOON I PROMISE

YES THEY DO the others mock them for being nerds fjdjjddj. Nat loves mystery because she can always figure it out before the end, and Peter introduces her to some fantasy novels

Ok but I GET SO EMOTIONAL AT INSIDE OUT SO SAME and just the idea of Nat trying to hide her tears bc the depression stuff just hit too close to home- ugh the angst I love it

I KEEP THINKING ABOUT THAT CLIP THATS LIKE “oH mY gOd iT’s rObErT dOwNeY jR” except it’s him with Nat fjdjjddj. Natasha isn’t normally in the spotlight, so this is like, a REALLY NEW EXPERIENCE FOR HER. She’s just like “...you know me? And you wanna talk to ME? I’m literally standing next to captain America” but Peter is just like “hoLY SHIT BLACK WIDOW I LOVE YOU”

I LOVE THEM TOOOOOOOOO OMG THEYRE SO CUTE and yeah I can just see Nat AND Peter being super sleep deprived during finals week and Tony’s just like “...Nat you don’t have finals why are you so tired” and she’s just like “I’m HELPING HIM.”

She pretends to hate it but really she loves it. She always has the best time with him and he’s always really good for her. She will NEVER ADMIT IT but she looks forward to doing it :) she wants him to have the childhood that she didn’t

THEY ALL JUST FLOCK TO HIM LIKE HEY HEY NO ITS OK ITS OK WHY U CRYING ITS OK

Ugh I can just see him being so mesmerized by the creative arts. Just completely entranced by the music and the way that she glides across the stage or how the pencil moves across the paper. They totally encourage it too, and Nat will hold him and dance and Steve gets him a little pencil set

That’s like half of Nat’s babysitting job is just keeping him out and away from the lab haha. One time he got in there and blew out all the windows even tho he was onLY ALONE FOR 5 MINUTES

STEVE MAKES THE BEST PANCAKES HANDS DOWN. If anyone tries to make them Peter will refuse. “This is Steve’s recipe!” “I want the Steve ones” “THESE ARE THE STEVE ONES”

OH HE WOULD THO BC THAT BOY HAS SO MUCH SEPARATION ANXIETY. He does eventually calm down tho and he makes a bunch of friends on his first day bc he’s a little social butterfly

When he’s in the tower, it’s not a big deal, bc they can just ask JARVIS where he went. But it gets VERY BAD when they go out into the city. There is soooo many people there and it’s very hard to find him if he wanders off. Natasha is in charge of holding onto him and carrying him, especially in crowded areas, and Steve is in charge of making sure Natasha doesn’t get swept away in the crowds of taller people

He grows his hair out a little bit when he’s 4 and THAT MEANS BRAIDING. His favorite is French braids, and he wears them to preschool. All the other kids think that it’s SO COOL and Nat ends up braiding a lot of hair fjdjdjdjdjd

Nat’s the one who always takes him to the park bc she’s honestly the only one who likes it. Steve does too, and the three of them will go together sometimes. But Tony doesn’t really like forests that much, Bruce has really bad pollen allergies, and while Clint likes the trees, he’d much rather be in them than under them.

I SHALL DISCUSS ABSOLUTELY

ok so do you know that one post where they play dodgeball and Clint hits Nat on accident and then hides in the roof for hours? “Clint she’s gone you can come down” “NO SHES NOT SHES JUST WAITING”

I imagine it would go something like that. Tony pulls a prank on Nat but makes it look like Clint did it. Clint finds out and FREAKS bc he’s spent many April fool’s days with Nat and she is a prank MASTER. He spends the whole day freaking out that something’s gonna happen, but nothing does. When he goes to his room that night, Nat’s waiting for him and they team up against Tony (please, you really think Nat would’ve fallen for Tony’s framing of Clint? She knows that Clint knows better)

Peter, Natasha, and Clint are the trio to fear on April Fool’s Day. Clint knows his way around the vents perfectly (and since him and Nat spend so much time together, she does too), Natasha is, well, Natasha, and Peter has super strength and can climb walls and basically get around to places the other two can’t. They always target Tony, Thor, and Steve the most (but never Bruce bc it makes him anxious :( but they did pull a very mild switch-the-salt-and-sugar prank on him)

UGH I LOVE THESE OMG

[phoebehalliwell]

If Prue had lived, what do you think her kids would have been like, and how do you think they would have affected the various power level structures of the next gen?

okay so i think there are a couple options based on who’s the father of the child that would yield different results so in a very me fashion imma make this a very long post and break down all of them. this is 2.5k. it’s going under a cut.

andy so i think had andy not died he and prue would have definitely gotten married first i would say somewhere around the season 2 finale maybe the penultimate episode to end on a sweet high note while still setting up season 3 or something i think he and prue would have their first child ehh probably announced in the s3 finale. i think she’d be a girl i think she’d be a telekinetic like her mama and i think her name would definitely be patricia (and i wanna say in her teenage years she’d go by trix) i think her powers would definitely grow to advanced telekinesis by the time she’s of a fighting age. if i were writing her i would give her a gradual power development of like telekinetically lifting herself up in fights (like what we sometimes saw prue do) to levitation to flight if i wanna get really jiggy w it). i would think prue would definitely want multiple kids (ideally three daughters) and i think andy would definitely Also want sorta that white picket fence family. i think that piper and leo would still be pregnant at the end of season four, with prue’s second pregnancy occuring around beginning to mid season five. i also think about halfway through prue’s second pregnancy she and andy would choose to move out into their own home bc well let’s face it the manor’s a lil crowded (paige is also here in the au don’t ask me how). so wyatt matthews halliwell would be born in february prue and andy would probably move out in april their second child would be born hmm let’s say september. a girl named hmm it has to be a p name i’m firm on that but i don’t really wanna go penelope bc then i feel like it’s too locked in to a naming after ancestors thing but like also it would still be a very prue name & prue is already named after her ancestors so what the hell i’ll name her penelope. let’s talk powers. baby wyatt will keep his whitelighter based powers such as an orb shield, orbing, and healing, but he won’t be a telekinetic. he still has the power of projection. the twice blessed isn’t a thing. penelope i think would be the molecular witch, with powers of molecular deceleration & acceleration (but not freezing or combustion) as well as the ability to adjust her own molecular structure and “phase” (a la kitty pryde from xmen). next in the halliwell line would be chris who would still be born in october of 03 with powers of orbing, telekinesis, and telekinetic orbing, followed then by andy and prue’s third daughter born in utopia in s7 lemme go check the family tree for names there aren’t actually that many p names on there so now i guess lemme make one up one that sounds appropriately vintage like okay so i personally hc p bowen (prue’s past life) to be named pearl, p baxter as pauline, and p russel as phyllis out of all of those i think i’d chose pearl okay so i googled 19th century baby names p names i found were parthena permilia philippa pamela patience and priscilla. okay so i’m actually deciding now that the name philippa comes from andy’s side of the family and that’s the name of the third daughter who will follow suit with the charmed one’s schtick and have premonitions, which includes both precognition and retrocognition, as well as clairvoyance and limited telepathy (she’s basically a human lie detector, but if she actually wants to hear someone’s thoughts, she was to have physical contact and be in a quasi-meditative state). piper be pregnant with melinda at the end of s8, melinda’s powers would be empathy along with the whitelighter powers of healing orbing and photokinesis. next would be the twins tam and kat who would still split molecular combustion and immobilization as well as the whitelighter powers basically i wouldn’t change their powers from what they already have henry jr is also here, still a mortal. pj would not be named pj as Prue Isn’t Dead but i think phoebe would still really wanna stick with the p names. since prue’s already burned through the family tree i think she’d pick a more modern name (and i’m sticking with the gender neutral theme all of phoebe’s kids have) so like percy pax pemberley i’m also really tempted by pisces. hmm. pemberly. who i’d give astral projection and then also um well possession. like yeah y’know projecting her astral form into somebody else and being able to like read them while in their bodies all that. parker stays with premonition and uhh i just recently came up with a power progression for parker that i would love to employ but like i think i really wanna keep it a secret for now but i might end up talking about it later peyton would still be a telekinetic and all three cupitches can still beam and sense love. okay!

jack jack gets an obligatory section bc he was one of the few love interests to last more than one episode but uhh that baby would definitely be a whoopsie! or should i say,,, babies that’s right it’s twins. and i don’t think prue and jack would together romantically but i think they’d still be like y’know friends i think jack would be there to support prue & his kids but i do think prue would be the primary caregiver i think jack would maybe get them like on weekends or like every third week of the month. and i’m Really tempted to give them last name first names and have the kids be names warren and sheridan and Yes they’d be both boys. i sorta wanna melinda warren both of em and just like. give em all three powers what the hell. given that it’s so many powers stacked in one witch i don’t think their powers would ever greatly develop i don’t think there’d be any advanced telekinesis or molecular combustion or like astral premonitions but i do think they have all three powers. and they are identical. so they’re both born in 2000, flash foward to 2002 wyatt is born wyatt matthew halliwell with orbing, orb sheild, healing, telekinetic orbing, and telekinesis. cut forward to 2004 piper has her second child who is in this reality a girl, with orbing, molecular combustion/immobilization, & invisibility. her name would be melinda christina halliwell. i think we can fast forward the timeline a bit i think the piper and leo would have their third child at the end of s8 another boy named john after grams’s maiden name, orbing, premonition, levitation. i feel like cosmically we’ve already filled our twin quotient so no tam & kat in this universe so paige and henry only have one kid a daughter i always pick from shakespeare baby names for not!tam&kat bc like. they’ve got shakespeare names. in the past i’ve used isabel and beatrice this time i’m gonna go for jourdain who has the power of projection, as well as the whitelighter power of omnilingualism. henry & paige still end up accidentally adopting a mortal in this au, but here she’s a girl, so instead of making the henry jr joke henry calls her paige jr the name sticks she goes by pj. cupitches once again we’re going pemberley parker and peyton and once again i’m sticking with the same power set from the andy timeline.

bane okay so give me a sign they have sex prue is pregnanté bane is in jail. charges of racketeering, tax evasion, money laundering and embezzlement, but like okay he’s a career criminal, meaning their notoriously hard to catch. and i think he’s have a good lawyer. max sentence for racketeering is 20 years, tax evasion 5, money laundering 20, embezzlement 3. i’m not a law student i don’t know shit about like,, douple jeopardy all that but like. imma say sentenced to ten years in jail let out in 7 on good behavior + they’re all nonviolent crimes so. is that how it works? okay but basically baby #1 prolly a sagittarius born in 2000. i’m saying girl. i think again like with the jack situation this really isn’t prue’s white picket fence family this is strange and rebellious and unprecedented meaning it’s not guaranteed to be a “p” name but nothing’s like. immediately coming to mind. i feel like it has to be a name that captures prue’s rebellious spirit and the sorta intense passion she keeps below the surface so i wanna go for something outta left field. i also feel like prue cares a lot about the meaning / origin of her baby name so i’m gonna pick from a list of witches of myth. hecate’s obvi out as she’s a demon in charmed verse so i’m thinking circe or freyja. i feel like circe’s more associate with turning men into pigs than anything else so i’m gonna settle with freyja who’s technically a goddess and not a witch but like. minutia. i’m giving her the same power set as patricia / trix which is advance telekinesis + eventual flight. yada yada yada baby wyatt chris & melinda are born, powers as in canon (including empathy for melinda which is in fact Not Canon but like canon in my heart). tamora and kat are born, powers as in canon, bane is out of jail, pemberley is born, astral projection + possession, henry jr is there, prue and bane have another kid in ‘08, a girl (i’m sticking with the badass women of myth theme) named atalanta, nicknamed tal rhymes with the cal in calorie. yes i know i’m very white. powers of molecular immobilization & cryokinesis. next born in 09 cupitch parker still with cupid powers and premonition, then prue and bane’s third daughter born in 2010 (i’m telling you bane def has that like white picket fence adoring family dream. he frickin loves kids & like dutifully drives them to ballet practice every day after school type thing. loves the idea of being able to yell “honey! i’m home!” total sap) her name’s probs gonna be like. morrigan. her powers are a riff on the premonition aspect of thee power of three, she can pick up on “psychic reverb” and sense if a great act of magic has happened somewhere as well as sense great good, great evil, and immense power. also with the her psychic power she can mark crossroads and tell if a decision is about to be altering, though she can’t sense which outcome is the “best”. finally baby peyton still a telekinetic cupitch born in 2011.

justin congrats, bud. the only other prue love interest to make it past a single episode. too bad we really don’t know shit about this guy. simp? we can assume? yeah so in this timeline they come together basically when piper & leo are getting married so in this timeline we are still getting wyatt first with all his canonically op self. then we’re getting chris, same as in canon i guess i feel like he should have more powers give him combustive orbing what the fuck why not. okay so like maybe ‘03-’04 prue and justin move out / move in together, married by late ’04 (just before utopia in s7). they have their first daughter in 2005 still s7 once again named patricia and she’s a telekinetic like prue. we’ll push melinda up to ’06 still an empath + other whitelighter powers & tlk orb. 2007 will have both tam & kat with their canon powers, followed by penelope with cryokinesis, closed out with pemberley with astral projection. jump to 09 parker born with premonition in spring and i said philippa was an andy’s family name so patience in the fall. and she can uhh same thing as morrigan she’s psychic. 2011 the final baby is born it’s peyton telekinetic + cupitch powers as always. henry jr is also here placed where he normally is (slightly younger than pj/pemberley)

bonus round!dency addition okay so idk if i’ve said this before but i’ve actually sorted out dency’s relatives in her world one sec i gotta pull up the google doc okay dency born first only child the source’s heir next up is melinda penelope “penn” halliwell the only child of leo & piper aka the twice blessed followed by paige’s sons taran & kai, twins, the ultimate power. but now prue’s in the mix! i’m pairing her with andy bc that was her most significant relationship. as previously stated i think prue and andy’s first child would be born in early season four as patricia, same powers as stated earlier with advanced telekinesis & flight. dency technically would no longer be named dency in this au as once again, prue is not dead. she would be named victoria after her grandfather. same powers that she already holds (pyrokinesis, cryokinesis, flaming, limited telepathy (only the lie detector part) & super strength). her power rivals that of patricia’s despite not being the first born in the generation bc she was infused with the source. she would be born early s5. then keeping with the timeline piper & leo’s firstborn comes mid s5, another girl named melinda. melinda’s powers are orbing, molecular immobilization, and advanced healing. at this point prue is Pregnant Again and calls dibs on the name penelope so that does not become melinda’s middle name. in the dency au coop shows up earlier, which in turn accelerates paige and henry ending up together because i said so. piper is pregnant at the beginning of s6. prue and andy have their second daughter penelope, paige and henry get together, piper and leo have their second daughter christina. s6 ends. penelope gets molecular deceleration & acceleration. christina has orbing, telekinesis, & an orb shield. s7. whoops paige is pregnant. hey it’s twins! tamora & kat. tamora is the physical while kat is the spiritual. tamora can orb, telekinetically orb, and has normal telekinesis. kat has premonitions, clairvoyance, and omnilingualism. s8. prue gets pregnant again at some point. season finale. philippa is born. she can astral project, and will later develop suggestion. piper is pregnant again. it’s still 2006.  now it’s 2007. piper’s baby is born. it’s a boy??? meet baby john. an empath. omnilingual. can orb. henry jr also shows up. at this point it’s been like 5 years since phoebe’s traumatic incident with cole / the source and she decides she wants to have kids again. she and coop have their first daughter in 2008, a girl they name leona. cupid powers of beaming & sensing love, and levitation that will eventually develop into flight. limited precognition. 2010. they have another child, this time a boy, warren. beaming, sensing love, telekinesis, telekinetic beaming. 2011 they final baby of the generation is born, phoebe and coop’s daughter let’s call her charlotte. she doesn’t have molecular immobilization, that magic mix with a cupid’s control over time. she has temporal stasis (& beaming & sensing love) 

[galahadwilder]

Batfamily animated episode plots?

Submitted by Gltter500 (Happystrawberry145@gmail.com)

So I’ve been thinking about a Batfamily plot for a while and had ideas. There’s a lot so prepare yourself:

• An episode showing a younger Batman and seeing his old suit and dealing with malfunctions(aka grapple hook not working) along with seeing him deal with his enemies for the first time

• (This is if you like Dickkory) Dick and Kory would be married and have baby Mar’i Grayson(you can look her up later) and they need the batkids to take care of her but the batkids need to go crime fighting. So they take her with them

- Bonus: Them remembering meeting Kory for the first time as and Damian feeling like he owes her due to him not liking her at first(due to being protective of Grayson)

• Tim and Duke need to work together on a murder mystery

• A batcat wedding

• An episode showing the justice league recalling all the times Batman brought a new kid to the meetings and saying which one was their favorite

• An episode having Damian, Colin Wilkes(you can look him up if you want) and Jon working together

• Having one episode dedicated to each Batfamily member, letting them shine in their own way

• An episode set entirely in Otto’s earth-11(you can look it up) there’s no crossovers or anything. It is literally just in Earth-11

• An episode with Jason and the outlaws(Roy, Kory, Bizarro, Artemis)

• Dick and Kory have to go to Tamarean due to having to present their new baby and people not really agreeing with the fact that she’s half human

- bonus: Galfore and Batman meeting and having a common goal to protect their children

• The family finds a splitting personality gun and it accidentally shoots Tim, splitting him from Joker Junior.(Batman beyond) Now the team has to find Joker Jr on Halloween and stop him from causing havoc all while trying to comfort Tim

• Duke reminiscing the events leading up to becoming the Signal

• A Batman/Batwoman team up episode(giving us that lesbian/bi energy)

• Maybe An episode involving Dick’s Romanian heritage?

• I had a finale idea where they have to fight the Batman Who Laughs and it’s the biggest challenge because seeing this version of Bruce is just scary to everyone

• Stephanie, Cass, Kate, and Barbra having to work on a case together and having to find the others

• I heard that Cass does ballet, so maybe an episode showing a crime boss working inside the ballet studio and she has to find and stop them

- I imagine that in one of the episodes, they’re fighting Harley Quinn and she says “My baby will be here soon” and everybody’s like “great the joker” but then it turns out to be POISON IVY and everybody is just shocked. It takes a moment but then Batman bluntly says “good for you Harley”

• It’s Alfred’s day off, so the rest of the family has to do his daily chores around the house

• An episode showing how Alfred came to work for the Waynes

• An episode where the Teen Titans(old and new) have to work together

• An episode showing Terry from Batman Beyond interacting with the batfamily and being like “hey, your the famous _____”

• An episode showing Selina and the batfamily working together

That’s all I got, if you have more then you can add on I guess. But sorry if this is long, these have just been in my mind for a while and I can’t draw or write well for shit

-

I love these!

[dmydfilmreviews]

MARVEL MOMENTS

 So what they really did, as well as making a good load of films, was actually make a vast tapestry of genius interwoven moments like flicking through a big comic book! Ten years! Twenty something movies! A load of rubbish images at the end of the list because the last three films weren’t officially out on Blu Ray! Avengers assssssssssssssssssssssssssssssss

Tony Builds the First Suit

 Really it was a stroke of brilliance to start the whole shebang with Iron Man the self-made superhero. The backbone of the whole universe is that of Tony making himself and that all kicks off here, in a sequence that’s hugely thematically satisfying given what comes later. There’s also the fact that back in the day all this construction stuff was just fucking cool, a Nolan-lite bedrock for a blend of realism and fantasy that comic-book cinema had never quite nailed before. Seeing Tony improve his tech step-by-step is a quiet pleasure of these movies, the suits getting more and more outlandish but staying absolutely believable, just like the films, and that all kicks off here with one guy and a non-magical hammer.

Pepper Pulls Out Tony’s Heart

 I noted these all down before Endgame, honestly. Sob. It was always his story really. The best example of the foundational relationship of the MCU: They finish each other’s sentences!

‘Truth is… I am Iron Man.’

 They knew what they’d got from the very first. This ballsy coda sets the tone for the whole MCU, one of backed-up swagger, a willingness to fuck with the source material in the name of story and the general feeling that Robert Downey Jr. was God. All in like two hours. That they flipped the egotistically iconic line into an era-defining declaration of responsibility, growth and heroism a decade later is nothing short of remarkable.

Hulk and Betty in the Rain

 It’s uh… it’s a nice comic-book visual of a classic comic book romance, I guess? Look, Hulk came a long way later, but his forgotten love for Betty was the closest they ever came to the source material outside of the Hulk generally smashing and being awesome. It was sweet!

The Bit Where Hulk Suplexes a Giant Zombie Wolf on the Rainbow Bridge of Asgard

 wait was this in the Incredible Hulk

I’ve Successfully Privatised World Peace!’ ‘Fuck you, Mr Stark.’

 They got Garry Shandling in these movies!

The Suitcase Suit

 Now that is a cool-ass adaptation.

Black Widow Kicks Asses

 Yeah, after a whole movie of being reductive eye-candy she was still reductive eye-candy here. But the scene as a whole’s basically a perfect realisation of her moves in the comics, and showed Marvel were capable of doing someone who wasn’t Iron Man. Then they did EVERYYYYOONNNNNNEEE bonus points for Happy taking out that one guy and yelling ‘I got him!’

Tony and Rhodey in the Japanese Gardens

 Look, they just look cool, OK? No one said this was going to be deep.

Tony and Pepper as the Stark Expo Explodes

 They haven’t managed a lot of great romance, but this one hella works: Tony’s overblown mess of a movie expo exploding behind the true love of his life is a visual so great that Shane Black nicked it wholesale for the climax of Iron Man Three: Christmas in Croydon.

The Frost Giant Throwdown

 Wait, what’s happening? I thought these were the movies where Jeff Bridges rode a Segway? Are we in SPAAAAACCCCCEEEE?

Thor Can’t Pull It Off

 Out of the big three Thor’s arc of mythology to humanity might be the deepest and most satisfying of all. That starts here with his tearful inability to be worthy of his father, his world and, crucially, himself, leading directly into the first great Thor/Loki exchange, then a whole host of movies that eventually put him through the emotional wringer to self-acceptance. Hopefully?

Thor and Loki Battle on the Rainbow Bridge

 Yeah, it looks kind of goofy, but this is pure sixties Kirby, shorn of the irony the series would develop later. Beautiful.

Erskine Points To Cap’s Heart

 That’s it. That’s the character.

The Star Spangled Man!

 Who’ll hang a noose on the goose-stepping goons from Berliiiin?

That Whole War Montage That Ends With Bucky Falling From The Train

 Just smash after smash after smash of wartime Cap goodness that we’d never see again, ending with the ‘death’ that’d define the rest of his story. Steve lost as much as Thanos in his quest for peace but, y’know, he wasn’t a total fucking intergalactic dick about it.

‘I gotta put her in the water!’

 Man alive he waited for that date... whether you think the ending of Endgame ruins the moment somewhat (it doesn’t. sort of), this was still the biggest heart-tugger in the MCU at that point, and defined the characters of Cap and Peggy for years to come. Watch Agent Carter! Just bloody watch it!

'Lemme Put You On Hold’

 The stand out moment of The Avengers is basically all of it, but let’s start with the moment Black Widow finally becomes a character, a sequence of broad-strokes skill from Scarlett Johansson and Joss Whedon that begged for a movie she finally got way too long later. Bonus points for possibly the greatest Coulson reaction shot in a history of great reaction shots.

The Helicarrier Ascends

 OK, shit – this is series is big now.

The Whole of Stuttgart

 Whedon’s love of classical posh entertainment is seen in Angel’s superior ballet episode and his fondness for Sondheim, and he even gets a bit of the ol’ jewellery rattling in here in a perfectly pitched Loki-loving sequence that culminates in some fantastic bits for Cap before Iron Man AC/DC’s all over the place. This is where the comic book stuff really kicks off.

‘YOU COME HOME!’

 This Hemsworth’s fella’s really got something...

Forest Bro Down

 Oh my God, oh my God, oh my God. The first real Avengers mash-up is just wonderful. This is where the wish-fulfilment really begins, in a quiet clearing, where three superheroes nearly beat the shit out of each other in classic comic-book style. The Avengers assembled.

The Whole Fuckin’ Helicarrier Sequence

 An absolute masterpiece of blockbuster juggling that had never been done before, this could be the third act of any other film. Over what plays out weirdly like a piece of theatre we get terrifying Hulks, mewling quims and awesome heroics, all expertly laced with wonderful character mash-ups and action we’d never seen before. Then Coulson dies. This is what Joss Whedon does.

‘There was an idea…’

 Fuck shit yeah there was, and it made for a hell of an Infinity War trailer six years later.

ALL OF NEW YORK

 Yep, all of it, but if we’re being picky it’s Hulk v Loki for the comedy side, the tracking shot for the action. As a sequence it’s never been bettered in the MCU, even in the open-mouthed joy-gush of Infinity War and Endgame. FIGHT ME

Go Fish

 Iron Man Three is a wonderful movie that works best as the sum of its parts, but there’s one bit that’s up there with the pantheon: the sky-diving rescue above the bay is such a joyous subversion of the usual third-act super-fisticuffs that it’s like something out of a 70’s Superman movie, only with a hilarious capper at the end where Iron Man explodes under a truck. Beep beep!

Running the Lemurian Star

 The Russo Brother’s action calling-card for their incredible MCU run, this sets up their vision of Cap’s super-subtle-super-serum-super-moves. From the off it’s a game changer in the way action’s shot across the MCU, clean-cut raid-alikes becoming the order of the day. AND THEN HE FIGHTS BATROC ZE LEAPER

Elevator Throwdown

 Yeah, yeah, we all know the actual bit in the elevator that’s spoofed to tremendous effect come Endgame, but remember this sequence ends with Cap TAKING DOWN A FUCKING QUINJET SINGLE-HANDED. The look on his face at the end says it all.

The Winter Soldier Street Fight

HE FLICKS A KNIFE MID PUNCH

Come and Get Your Love

 We’d seen a lot of cool shit from the MCU by this point, but this was something else again. It’s funny! It’s funny as fuck! What the fuck is this movie? And again, they know their own best bits: the return to this in Endgame is top drawer. What a moron.

The Kyln Sequence

 This whole breakout is the Guardians at their very best; squabbling in space, reluctant teamwork, loads of cool shit and leg theft. The bit where it all goes anti-grav is a treat.

WE ARE GROOT

 That’s it. That’s the movie.

…Stark…

 It’s a shame they didn’t delve deeper into Scarlet Witch’s hatred for the man who murdered her parents, but her barely contained rage is the keystone for Age of Ultron: deeper, nastier, more questioning of it’s heroes and their heroism. This one they brought on all by themselves.

Sun’s Gettin’ Real Low

 Yeah, maybe it’s for the best the slightly bumbled Hulktasha relationship was forgotten about, but this moment was pivotal in the character development of both. Beautifully shot, and leads to a primo Ragnarok gag.

Lift That Hammer

 You genuinely could have made a whole movie of these characters hanging out at an open bar. The Stan cameo’s great, the War Machine story bit gets an Endgame alien planet boost much later, but it’s the drunken worthiness competition that’s the real highlight, a seemingly fun throwaway that actually almost single-handedly sets up the whole character of Vision and the most fist-pumping moment of Endgame, a movie nearly entirely composed of fist-pumping moments.

Hulk vs Hulkbuster

 Pure comic-book wish fulfilment again, and how. From Hulk spitting out a tooth to Tony desperately pleading ‘go to sleep go to sleep go to sleep’, this mad clash of science pals knocks every Transformers movie straight through a freshly-bought-building. Veronica!

Well Done.

 Alright, Vision’s no one’s favourite Avenger, but he’s one who’s the satisfying product of several movie plots, one beloved supporting AI and the combined brains, magic and cool red capes of his team. Whedon performs his own mad-skillz level script trick to make us accept this fucking weirdo, first by giving him Jarvis’ voice, then having him stare out at a world and see his reflection in it, then having him lift an unliftable character-establishment hammer. None of this could be done by any other film series.

The Geometry of Belief

 Ultron’s climactic church-a-maggedon is short but perfect, a swirling mass of splash-page insanity that culminates in a glorious trinity of Vision, Iron Man and Thor blasting the shit out of their mad son like a magic triangle. The Avengers at their peak.

Vision and Ultron Have a Chat

 Whedon pops out these gems of detached humanism from time to time, and his sundown final exchange between The Avenger’s success and failure is a doozy. The most poetic little scene in the whole MCU, voiced by two creatures who look like nightmarish dildos. ‘A thing isn’t beautiful because it lasts’ is an all-timer.

Big Bathtub

 Ant Man’s bedrock might be its family values, but it’s the shrinking that makes it stand out. The first time Scott drops into tiny-town is a Pixar-esque fun-burst akin to Stephen Strange’s nutso jump into infinity later, with deadly bath taps, thunderclap vacuum cleaners and mid-day apartment raves (?) all bringing a new level of threat and adventure to a series already teeming with variety. They should carry these ones on foreverrrrr

Cassie’s Room

 There’s something about this scene that sums up Scott’s whole character and hopefully sets up his daughter for future ant shenanigans: he is (was) unique as a hero with a family, and no matter how many Pym Particles he stuffs into his suit he’s always looked like a giant to his daughter. Plus, y’know, Thomas the Tank Engine.

Some Guy Crashes a Car at Night

 The catalyst for the great middle schism. Civil War is a masterclass of twisting, gut-churning reveals, and this is the quiet moment that starts it all.

QUEENS

 The perfect Marvel character, introduced into the perfect realisation of the Marvel Universe, perfectly.

Running Into Each Other At The Airport

LITTLE MAN IS BIG NOW I’M CLINT WE HAVEN’T MET YET I DON’T CARE WHERE YOU FROM KID QUEENS BROOKLYN I’M YOUR CONSCIENCE WE HAVEN’T SPOKEN IN A WHILE YOU GUYS KNOW THAT OLD MOVIE EMPIRE STRIKES BACK HOW OLD IS THIS KID ETC ETC OH MY GOD MY BRAIN HAS EXPLODED

Cap vs Iron Man

 ‘I don’t care. He killed my mom.’  

The Big Brain Burst

 They keep doing bits to expand themselves, and this is one of the best, with the most potential for the future. Fleeting, but dazzling.

New York Mirror Fest

 If the next Strange movies delve into this deranged nonsense then they could end up the greatest of all of them. This is the tip of the iceberg, and it’s still unlike anything else being done in mainstream cinema.

Mr Blue Sky

 In a movie that frequently reaches big and misses, at least it hits the spot at the beginning. This glorious celebration of family, space-craziness and genre subversion is everything Guardians does best. The Gamora / Groot bit is adorable.

Peter’s Civil War Adventure

 The perfect tone-setter for the story’s most-average joe, this ground-level view of the universe’s biggest clash acts as a whippet quick intro to Peter Parker’s world in the big bad MCU. It’s always a thrill to see him where he belongs.

The Homage to Getting Buried Under a Tonne of Crap

 Homecoming’s riffs on classic Spidey-lore are generally pretty subtle, but when it comes time to show what Peter’s really made of Watts rips directly from the best, first with the iconic Parker/Spidey face split and then with him holding up a whole fucking building like he’s nerd Hulk or something. The added ‘come on Spider-Mans’ are the adorable icing on the homage-o-cake.

Anytime That Immigrant Song Plays

Another!

Thor vs Hulk

 Yeah, it’s not perfect and it’s a little CGIey. But it’s Thor fighting the Hulk in a fucking galactic gladiator arena place run by Jeff Goldblum and it smashes and it’s full of fun callbacks to previous movies. Yes! That’s what it feels like!

Thor and Loki Do Get Help

 The perfect encapsulation of Waititi’s irreverent-but-with-tonnes-of-heart freshgasm on the story of Thor, this bit of hilarious dumb shit acts as amusing action beat and neat character resolution all in one. They’re friends again! They’re brothers! Thor throws him around like a rolled up carpet!

What Are You The God of Again?

 Oh right, so he’s the best Avenger now.

Killmonger in the Afterlife

 The bloody heart of the most emotional Marvel movie, when Erik Killmonger enters the Wakandan afterlife he finds himself in his own tiny Compton apartment, exiled with his father forever with the plains of eternity just out of reach beyond the window. Heartbreaking, and brilliant.

Thanos Arrives

 The opening of Infinity War is another example of their absolute mastery of tone; after the megaton funblast of Ragnarok we’re thrown into the end of that movie being ripped apart, before Thanos appears, dragging a battered Thor into frame, beats seven shades of green shit out the Hulk and murders two beloved supporting characters, all without breaking a sweat. If you weren’t excited before you were now.

New York Tussle

 The opening New York section of Infinity War is all very clever, acting as the only grounding Earthy moment in what’s a pretty out-there narrative in terms of existential stakes. You get Tony and Wong helping people off the sidewalk and Strange winking after halting the space-death-machine, but from there on out it’s full-bore comic-book smackdown fun, clashing characters who’ve never met and providing top-drawer banter about wizards and children’s parties. This is the page, up there on screen.

BRING ME THANOS!

 BRING ME THANOS!

The Thanos Fight

 Jesus fucking Christ. Up there with the end of Avengers and the Civil War airport battle, this is a perfect realisation of superhero action, with a bigger dose of high-level insanity courtesy of the Infinity Stones and Doctor Strange. Sublimely realised, incredibly satisfying, with real weight and thought put into the spectacle, it’s also fantastic in the narrative of the film, the culmination of its themes of desperation and inevitability. The first time you saw them try to rip off the gauntlet was unbearable.

The Snap

 Well, yeah. You’ll never get back the first time you saw this. And imagine seeing it as a fucking kid.#

Just a Girl

 Sure the big level-up CGI fest at the end is good, but it’s the comedy smackdown on the Kree ship that’s the most satisfying part of Captain Marvel, the shit-eating joy on Carol’s face as she discovers she’s way more powerful than the assholes who’ve been holding her back. It’s corny sure, but it’s hella fun.

Thor Goes For The Head

 Endgame is a shocking, disorientating blur to begin with, all the characters you loved acting in strange, desperate ways in a super-hero version of post-traumatic stress disorder. Tony’s meltdown is bad enough, but it’s when Thor just straight up fucking murders Thanos that you know this is going to get dark and serious. It doesn’t, it remembers it’s a Marvel movie, but the shot of him walking out into the blurred alien sun, cape aflutter, is a fitting goodbye to a more innocent time of heroics.

Ant Man and Cassie

 A moment that could be worthy of a whole movie itself, a desperate Scott Lang meeting his five-years-older daughter gives a joke character a serious moment in the same way Infinity War did for Guardians. It’s very odd, very sweet and very Marvel.

Love You 3000

 Morgan H. Stark is almost a little too on the nose as a wrap-up for Tony, but hell, she’s still sweet as all hell and a perfect capper to his story of fatherhood and responsibility. It’s a mark of the work they’ve put in that we’ll almost immediately accept the tired trope of kid-taking-over-mantle when she inevitably puts on the armour in a few years.

Steve and Peggy / Tony and Howard

 This is the bit in Endgame where I finally started tearing up: a lot of it is too-neat fan-service, but fuck it, they’ve put in so much effort that it works. This is the scene where you realise both of these long arcs are coming to an end, the resolution of Steve quietly making his decision to go back to Peggy and Tony getting the closer of discussing parenthood with his unknowing father. It’s corny sure, but so are comic books, and setting the whole bit at the height of seventies Marvel Comics mania is a loving nod to the imaginations that made all these crazy possibilities possible.

Widow and Hawkeye

 There’s a theme here. All of these moments are kind of cheesy and rely heavily on callbacks to previous bits… but at the moment it doesn’t matter because ENDGAME WOW. Maybe we’ll look back at it as a corny misstep, but for the moment, Clint and Tasha having one last, ludicrously overblown tussle for who gets to live is a sweet capper that never goes as deep as the others because they’re supporting characters. It still stings, and it’s a neat mirror to Gamora and Thanos in Infinity War. The red’s gone from her ledger! It’s on the rocks! Urrrgh

Nebula Kills Herself

 Again, they’re so good that they can spend a big chunk of time in what’s ostensibly the last big movie for their most beloved characters on making a lesser character beloved. Endgame spotlights Nebula even more than Infinity War did Gamora, using her self-hatred and fear of her father for compelling, wibbly-wobbly plot and character beats. The resolution of her story and her newfound place with her team should make for a whole different Guardians before we even get to Fortnite-Thor joining up.

Cap Wields The Hammer

 ‘I KNEW IT!’

Thanos’ Army

 One last escalation of scale. When Thanos’ army finally arrives it’s like something out of those apocalyptic Turner paintings, where the hordes of a ship-wrecked hell confront eternity under skies ripped from heaven. Only this time they’re facing one guy called Steve, and they’re fucked. Incredible.

Avengers… Assemble

 It almost lives up to what you always had in your head. The Marvel Universe, somehow done right.

Tony Hugs Peter Back

Awwww!

New Avengers Run the Gauntlet

 A surprising amount of Endgame’s grand finale is given over to the future hopes; while Strange gets stuck in with holding back a Biblical flood it’s up to Black Panther to grab the Infinity Gauntlet from Clint in a delightful callback to Civil War, before embarking on an intense relay race across the entire battlefield that begins with Scarlet Witch crushing the shit out of Thanos’ testicles and ends with Captain Marvel engaging the Mad Titan in a bone-crushing show of super-strength. And along the way if finds time to have Peter Parker dragged through the air by Thor’s hammer which was thrown by Captain America before landing on a Pegasus flown by Valkryie across an exploding sky of alien whales. Maybe the most satisfying run of action since the first Avengers.

I am Iron Man

 It was always going to be him really. Bonus points for Downey Jr. originally telling Thanos to ‘Fuck off’. Did anyone else keep thinking he was going to wake up and quip and everything would be OK? That’s how you make movies.

The Funeral

 It looks a little weird actually, like they weren’t all on set. But they were! The Marvel Universe again, holy smokes.

The Kiss

 Now that’s how you end ten years and twenty one movies. They’re movies! It was romantic! It was exciting! It was fun!

For TEN FUCKING YEARS.

Swing a Ding Ding Sir

 After five movies of fresh shit they've finally starting dumping some classic Spider-Man on us; the Euro stuff's fun and all, but it's Far From Home delirious climax that sees Spidey and MJ thwipping through the canyons of New York before bumping into ugly ol' J. Jonah JJ Jay Jay likes it's a freakin' comic book or something. Delightful, and also serves as a wonderful image of hope and joy post-Endgame.

What a fuckin’ ride. Here’s to the next... seventy six? Seventy seven?

wait did I leave any out

[tough-girl-spinelli]

Everything You Ever Wanted to Know about Spinelli...And Then Some

Basic Information

Full Name: Ashley Funcello Spinelli

Nickname(s): Spinelli (do NOT call her Ashley)

Age: 17

Date of Birth: April 19, 2002

Hometown: Queens, NY USA

Current Location: Swynlake, England

Ethnicity: Italian 

Nationality: UK Citizen (formerly USA)

Gender: Female

Pronouns: She/her

Orientation: Demiromantic/Demisexual

Religion: Catholic (not practicing)

Occupation: Secondary School Student

Living Arrangements: Lives with parents

Language(s) Spoken: English, Italian

Accent: A mix between New York and English

Physical Appearance

Face Claim: Dytto (Courtney Marie Kelly)

Hair Colour: Brown

Eye Colour: Blue

Height: 5′4″

Build: short, small frame but with some muscle tone (how else would she be able to pull of a killer right hook?)

Tattoos: None, yet. Her mother would KILL her

Piercings: Ears only...again. Her mother would KILL her

Clothing Style: feminine sporty

Usual Expression: she actually scowls a lot...though she can be friendly in conversation, especially with her friends.

Distinguishing Characteristics: Her wild untamed curls are probably her most distinguishing feature.

Health

Sleeping Habits: she sleeps like the dead and has been known to throw punches at people trying to wake her up 

Eating Habits: Very undisciplined eating habits. Kind of like your average teenage boy actually...only maybe not quite the volume of food. She eats a lot of unhealthy junk food like chips and candy and cheeseburgers. Give her a green smoothie and she might chuck it right back at you.

Exercise Habits: She’s quite active. She takes weekly yoga classes to help with her anger. She loves to rock climb and is a regular at the rock climbing gym in NTO. She also enjoys hip hop/techno/breakdance. She studies ballet per her mom’s insistence but outside class, she dances to her own beat.

Emotional Stability: Spinelli has always had an attitude problem, mainly stemming from her frustration with her mother trying to make her into some painted doll socialite when she’d rather be wrestling or rock climbing with her brothers. But ever since her brother/best friend died a year ago, her fuse has been extra short and she’s liable to blow at any time. If it wasn’t for her family’s status in the community, she probably would have been expelled from school for fighting by now.

Sociability: She’s actually quite social, all things considered but she prefers to spend quality ime with those she deems worthy (aka don’t piss her off on principle)

Drug Use: TBD

Alcohol Use: TBD

Personality

Positive Traits: bold, perceptive, practical

Negative Traits: defiant, insensitive, impatient

Goals/Desires: That’s a great question...she has no idea.

Fears: hospitals, death, death of loved one

Hobbies: yoga, rock climbing, dance, listening to music

Habits: She’s a slob. Her room is an absolute disaster but she’ll tell you she knows exactly where everything is. She also bites her nails...she recently started having gels put on to kick the habit and has since switched to chewing gum. Much to her mothers annoyance.

Favourites

Weather:  Thunderstorms. There’s something thrilling about the sky flaring with a jolt of electricity, making the hair on your arms stand on end. And don’t get her started on the roar of thunder that you can feel deep in your gut. What can I say? She’s an adrenaline junkie.

Colour: Pink and Black. Do not, under any circumstances, tell Spinelli that pink is a girly color. She just might respond with a punch in the arm—if you’re lucky. But seriously, she likes pink, all shades of pink from fuchsia to bubble gum pink. But she’s going to wear it in the least dainty way possible.

Music: Hip hop/Rap. Everything about it from the high energy to the rhythm to the typical fashion style of the genre calls to her. Not only that but it's literally the opposite of what her mother thinks is appropriate for a young lady to listen to. Techno and Reggaeton come in as a close second. Really, anything with a beat she can dance too.  

Movies:  Die Hard. Really any action movie. Spinelli LOVES action movies. But seriously, Die Hard is the best Christmas movie on the face of the planet, ok? Also, Fast and the Furious movies. Catch her having a marathon on any given weekend. Though, if you happened to search her web browser history, you might find a lot of youtube Bollywood film clips in her history. She’ll never admit out loud to liking the genre or even watching it but she likes the dance sequences.

Sport: Basketball. Her brothers were really into it when they left New York and she became a fan herself...both of playing and watching.

Beverage:  Always Coca-Cola. Seriously, the girl’s veins flow with the stuff. Forget coffee, give her a coke anyday.

Food:  Pizza. New York style pizza, straight from Queens. She remembers it from when she was a child and craves it like all the time. Her favorite is triple meat lovers with extra cheese. Oh, and it better be woodfired pizza or they can just go home.

Animal:  Spinelli is a cat person. She likes dogs too, its just that her cat, Pepper, is her bestie at home. She is so chill and has a calming presence. Spinelli enjoys that she’s kind of like a fluffy throw pillow, just sort of hanging around her room sleeping most of the time. Also, she really appreciates the way a cat is “I don’t fucking care what you think of me...Imma gonna do what I want!”

Family

Father: Giovanni Roberto Spinelli Sr./ age 47 / Director of Marketing at Interpride

Mother: Francesca Florence Spinelli / age 46 / Socialite 

Sibling(s): 4 older brothers (Joey - 19, Paolo - 21, Vince - 22, Giovanni Jr. - 23) / 1 Deceased Older Brother (Vito - 18)

Pet(s): Cat named Pepper

Family’s Financial Status: Rich af

Extra

Zodiac Sign: Aries

MBTI: The Entrepreneur [ESTP-A]

Enneagram: The Challenger (8w7)

Temperament: Choleric/Sanguine (She literally got equal points on the quiz for both of those temperments lmao!)

Hogwarts House: Slytherin/Gryffindor

Moral Alignment: Chaotic Good

Primary Vice: Wrath followed closely by Pride

Primary Virtue: Justice

Element: Fire

[kumkaniudaku]

Daddy Duty

Next Chapter >>

A/N: You know I rarely start a story without a note to y’all. Daddy Duty was originally a short drabble that wanted to make into a slightly longer fic. The first draft was 4,000 plus words. I wasn’t even halfway done. So, it’ll be split into a series because you know I love a good series. Here’s part one. I figured, what better way to celebrate my birthday than with a little fluff. The rest of the series should be out tomorrow. Good night and thank you to everyone that sent me birthday wishes. All of you are amazing. And even if you didn’t, you’re still amazing. I’ll shut up now. 

Word Count: 2,150

Warnings: Cursing. 

Your body bounced up and down, one breast free from your button up and bra, as you walked around your bedroom looking for your shoes. The second go at motherhood taught you that a child feeding from your breast didn’t stop you from completing daily activities. In five months, you’d learned to cook, clean and complete simple hygiene tasks with your son attached to you.

“Slow down, Noah,” you giggled at your baby boy. “Mommy has plenty to share.”

“Good, ‘cause I got next.” Chadwick’s long arms wrapped around your waist to pull you against his chest. His chin dropped to rest in the space between your shoulder and neck to observe his son.

“You hear Daddy being silly,” you cooed, catching a glimpse of a smirk from Noah. “Daddy’s a baby, too.”

“I’m not being silly; I'm serious. He’s gotta learn to share one day.”

“The milk is for him,” you scoffed, accepting his kiss on your cheek before he moved to sit on his side of the bed.

“I don’t want the milk. I want the titty. I miss it.”

“You just had one in your mouth last night before you went to bed.”

“Is this not a whole new day,” his smile grew at the memory of burying his face in your chest as much as you would let him the night before. You rolled your eyes in response.

“Alright, AJ, that’s enough. You’re just eating because it’s there, not because you’re still hungry.”

Noah’s small whine was nearly enough to change your mind and allow him to feed for as long as he wanted but, you remained strong. Chadwick offered his assistance by motioning you over and grabbing his son from your arms.

“Mama’s gotta go, son. She’s leaving us to fend for ourselves.”

“Don’t tell him that,” you exclaimed while hitting him in the back of the head with a pillow. “I’m only gonna be away for the day, and I already feel bad about it.”

Despite your reluctance and initial decline, you agreed to help Yvonne with an event she was planning. After leaving your position with the Sparks to focus on your family, the opportunities to work on your terms came rushing in. The Lakers and Clippers were still in negotiations with your representatives to bring you in as a special consultant, and Yvonne frequently used you for your clerical skills when you had a free moment. You assumed being a stay at home mom would be enough to fulfill you but, you still felt the tug to work outside of your home.

“Aww come here, baby,” Chadwick shifted Noah to one arm to make room on his lap for you. With a pout, you slid into the open space and rested your head on his bare shoulder. His kisses to you hair and forehead worked double time to cure your worry and guilt. “You don’t need to feel bad. You’ve been taking care of two kids non-stop for five months. It’s okay for you to go out and work for a day.”

“Yeah but, my babies. Who’s gonna take care of my babies?” You knew full well what you were doing. Looking up at Chadwick’s frown made you giggle in satisfaction.

“Haha, my wife is so funny. Get off me,” he joked, helping you stand to your feet. “I’m on Daddy Duty today so, you know we gon’ be alright. Nothing but candy and cartoons all day. Right, CoCo Jr.?”

Noah smiled a gummy response to his father’s playfulness, not completely understanding what was happening around him. His golden brown skin, just a few shades lighter than his father’s, matched your’s to a “T.” His brown eyes and button nose looked copied and pasted from your face to his and resized to fit a baby’s proportions. You prayed for a baby that resembled you in some way, and God blessed you with a twin of your own. But, only in physical appearance. Noah’s laugh was boisterous like his father’s, and their facial expressions often mirrored each other’s. While you had your personality twin in Micah, Noah was Chadwick through and through.

“So that means you’ll be calling me to complain by 12:30?”

“You’re acting like you won’t be calling to check in by then anyway.”

“Oh no, sir,” you hands extended retrieve Noah as you walked through the threshold of the bedroom into the hallway. “I won’t be calling. You, on the other hand, have a monster that needs to be awake.”

Chadwick followed your head motions to Micah’s room and groaned. He’d forgotten about how his precious little girl could act in the morning. Usually, he’d let her sleep in on the weekends, but she had a ballet class that she needed to get ready for. Fixing his facial expression, he turned his head to you and flashed his bedroom eyes.

“Can you do it, baby? You’re so beautiful and loving. Did I mention smart? And your cooking-”

“Nuh uh, you’re on Daddy Duty right? Task number one is showing me you can handle the monster you created. Move along. She’s gotta be dressed before I leave.”

“And when do you leave?”

“Ummm,” you took a look at the Piaget watch on your wrist to judge the time. “In about...thirty minutes.”

“Thirty minutes!? It’s gon’ take ten to get her awake!”

“Then you better hurry. This is test number one.”

You giggles as Chadwick turned on his heels to start the dreaded trek to his twin’s room. Micah was a well-documented morning grump. It was a daily battle to get her up and ready for school, one that you had perfected, but not without your share of mishaps. If Chadwick was going to succeed, he would need to shed his sweet parent persona and put his foot down.

“You wanna see Daddy try and wake up your big sissy? You think he can do it,” You asked Noah, receiving a spitty gurgle in response. “That’s what I said. No chance.”

Stepping closer to the door, you could hear the battle getting off to a shaky start. Chadwick had managed to pull Micah into his lap, but her body stretched across his arms like a wet towel as he tried to get her to respond to his pleas for her to wake up.

“C’mon, Princess. Daddy really needs to get you dressed before Mommy leaves so she can make you breakfast. You want french toast, don’t you?”

“Nuh uh,” she huffed, clamping her eyes shut and crossing her arms.

“Micah, don’t do that. I promise it won’t even take that long. Your hair is already pretty, and you took a bath before bed last night. All you have to is put on your outfit, brush your teeth and wash your face.”

“I don’t wanna.”

“Micah Noelle,” your voice started both father and daughter as you stepped further into the room. Micah’s head popped up immediately, knowing the tone you were using only led to two possible destinations: getting dressed or getting spanked. “Get up and get dressed, now. We will not tell you again.”

The lanky child quickly shimmied from her father’s lap to shuffle out of the room and into the bathroom down the hallway. You gave Chadwick an amused look and shook your head.

“Tip number one: don’t give her an option. You can’t always be the nice guy, baby. She’s stubborn.”

“Sound like someone else I know.”

“Yeah, but you’re getting better. Don’t be so hard on yourself.”

He couldn’t help but smile at the way you flipped his insult back to him. While he chaperoned Micah’s morning routine, you made use of your extra time to finish breakfast for the house. With Noah in the baby carrier against your chest, you maneuvered around the kitchen preparing french toast and fruit for everyone with teeth. Quick feet rushing down the stairs did little to prepare you for the brown body speeding into the kitchen and crashing against your legs.

“I see my diva is finally dressed. Do you like your new leotard?” Your hands ran over Micah’s “lemonade” braids, making a mental note to tell her Chadwick to take them out before you got back home.

“Yes, ma’am. Thank you,” she half-heartedly replied, more focused on playing with her brother’s fingers and getting his attention for a smile.

“Can I get some of Mama, too?” Before you knew it, all three of your babies were attached to you and soaking up their last few moments of your warmth. Chadwick ran his hand over Noah’s head and sighed. “We’re gonna miss you, baby. I hope you know that. We love Mama, right kids?”

“Yeah,” Micah exclaimed, setting off a nonsensical barrage of babbles from Noah. Your laughter turned into a sad smile as you looked at your family. Was leaving a good idea?

“I know. It’s only for a day, and I’ll miss yall, too. Don’t forget about me.”

“How could we forget about the lady that gives the best kisses and hugs in the whole wide world,” Chadwick spoke into the crook of your neck before kissing you.

“And paints the best nails.”

“I thought you said I paint the best nails, Twin?”

“I didn’t want to hurt your feelings, daddy.”

Your family moment was interrupted by the beep of your alarm alerting you to the moment you weren’t looking forward to. “Well, it’s time for me to go. If only I had three people to walk me to my car. A big strong man, a cute little girl, and chunk baby preferably.”

“Ooh, I’m a cute little girl! And AJ is a chunky baby.”

“Then who’s the big strong man,” you inquired, looking between her and a smiling Chadwick.

“I dunno, but daddy is here. He can come, too!”

“Woooooow. Okay, I see how it is around here.”

The light banter continued to the driveway, temporarily making you forget that you would have to leave for a full twenty-four hours. When you reached the end of the paved path, you and Chadwick made the switch off, trading Noah for your overnight bag and crossbody purse.

“See you later, Boop,” you cooed, kissing her nose and smoothing her hair. “See you later my little Pookie,” Noah giggled at your silly faces and raspberries against his cheeks. “And my big Pookie,” Chadwick was the last to receive affection, relishing the opportunity to kiss you like he would never see you again. His free arm snaked around your waist, pulling your body into his to get you as close as possible. The whispered ‘yuck’ in the background made both of you giggle as you pulled away.

“Be safe, girl. Come back home to me. To us.”

“I will. I promise.”

He pressed another kiss onto your forehead before opening your car door. “Alright kids, blow Mommy kisses. Tell her bye.”

“See you tomorrow, babies. Aaron, Noah has enough milk to last until I get home. Try giving him some of the baby food I made. They’re in glass jars in the fridge. Take down Micah’s braids and put her hair in a bonnet. Make sure-“

“We got it, we got it,” Chadwick assured. “Dad can handle a day by himself. Call me when you get settled.”

The realization came crashing down on you that an entire 24 hours without a loving hug or kiss from your three favorite people, turning the corners of your lips downward. “I love you. I’ll miss you.”

“We miss you already, baby,” closing your door, Chadwick poked his head through the window for one last kiss. “I love you.”

“I love you. Kiss the kids for two times for me tonight.”

Nodding in agreement, he stepped back to allow you to back out of the driveway. Solemn silence sat over the three remaining members of the Boseman clan as they thought of what life would be without you for the remainder of the day.

“Well, kids, what are we gonna do without Mommy today?” A shrug from Micah and a short grunt from Noah didn’t provide many answers. When Chadwick opened his mouth to speak, a foul aroma threatened to trigger his gag reflexes. “Oh, my-what is that?”

With her thumb and index finger pinching her nose, Micah offered an answer. “I think it’s AJ. He’s stinky!”

“Boy, what is your mama feeding you? You smell like a grown man. Is it on your legs, too? You couldn’t give me two hours of calm before you shi-pooped all over the place?”

“Did you say a bad word, Daddy? I think you did.”

“Go inside, Princess. Find your ballet shoes and finish your breakfast,” he quickly responded, turning Micah’s body toward the house. Following his daughter, his took a peek at the soiled area at the bottom of Noah’s onesie. “This is ridiculous, AJ. How you get it on your back!?”

                                _____________

TAGS: @njadont @k-michaelis @wakandanmoonchild @idilly @texasbama @afraiddreamingandloving @inxan-ity @daytimeheroicsonly @onyour-right @brianabreeze @sisterwifeudaku @ironsquad @killmongerdispussy @90sinspiredgirl @willowtree77785901 @maynardqueen101 @heyauntieeee @halfrican-heat @purple-apricots @lalapalooza718 @blue-ishx@profilia @ljstraightnochaser @girl-wtf-lmao @dramaqueenamby @royallyprincesslilly @melaninmarvel @thiccdaddy-mbaku @lavitabella87 @purplehairgawdess @unholyxcumbucket  @airis-paris14 @uhlxis @oshasimone @maliadestiny​ @drsunshine97​ @cozyshack2​ @zxddy-panther​ @queentearra​ @skysynclair19​ @retro-melanin​ @mermaidchansons​ @misspooh​ @melanisticroyalty​ @babygirlofwakanda​ @wakanda-4evr​ @sarahboseman​ @karensraisns​ @blackmissmarvel​ @wakandankings​ @kaykay4454fan​ @ororowrites​ @awkwardlyabstract​ @mixedmelanin​ @brownsugarcocoabutterwildflowers​ @sunflowerpsalms​ @panthergoddessbast​ @justanotherloveaffair​ @jaeee-http​ @iliketowrite1996​ @blackpantherismyish​ @thompettiedatheaux​ @msincognito67​ @reignsxjackson​ @yaachtynoboat711​ @syreanne​ @ilcb7​ @minim236

[ainsworthjess]

Who’s that? Oh, I think that’s JESSABEL ELOISE AINSWORTH. They’re a SEVENTEEN year old JUNIOR at Astoria Prep. I’ve seen them hanging out with the REBELS lately. People call them the FACADE because they’re HEADSTRONG and CREATIVE, but if you ask me, they’re DETACHED and MOODY. Everyone says they look like DOVE CAMERON, but I really don’t see it. I really hope they manage to survive the school year.

i’m just gonna state it now for the record, i’m super awkward and i apologize in advance for that. but anyways, i’m kara and i am super excited to bring you my precious sinnamon roll, jessa. below the cut you’ll find out all about her ( in bullet points bc i’m too lazy to write anything else rn tbh ):

she was born jessabel eloise ainsworth to penelope eloise bordeaux-ainsworth and emerson tomas ainsworth jr. in new york city, new york. her father was a hotshot defense attorney for big names who paid him insane amounts of money to keep quiet about their affairs and ensure that they were found innocent one way or another. her mother was a broadway dancer who danced her way into everyone’s hearts and who opened her own dance studio after Jessa was born.

from day one, jessa had her father wrapped around her little finger. she was daddy’s little girl, insofar that anything she asked for, she got. both of her parents made sure that she never wanted for anything— anything, that is, but their attention, which she was never quite on the receiving end of. but jessa was always okay with only getting to see her sitters, because her parents still made sure they let her do whatever she wanted– without punishment. as far as they were concerned, jessabel was their perfect little angel.

to say she is not a fan of commitment ( of any sort ) would be an understatement. at age two, she batted her eyelashes and asked her parents to sign her up for art classes and she quit after two years. from there, she took vocal lessons, piano lessons, joined several sports teams, and even tried cheerleading– all of which she quit within a few months to a year because she grew bored. when it came down to it, one thing jessa had in common with her parents was her ability to be incredibly flaky and not want to stick through anything for a long period of time.

despite having more money than felt necessary, what jess did not have was friends– and friends weren’t something she ever really wanted anyway. the majority of her classmates had always found her off-putting, in the sense that kindness did not seem to be a word that existed in her vocabulary. lots of people had attempted to teach her to be polite, but it never quite caught on because all she understood was that she had money and some people didn’t and she didn’t necessarily grasp the concept of why she had to feel guilty for being born into a rich family when it was something she had no control over.

if anyone had ever taken the time to notice, they would have seen that her obsession with money was just a way to cover up her incredible loneliness– and that she was showing signs of depression, but her parents didn’t care enough to notice, obviously.

her oh-so–perfect life started to fall apart when when she was about fifteen and her father’s private dealings with his clients were leaked to the public. as it turned out, her father was a dirty lawyer ( something both she and her mother had known but never talked– nor cared– about ) and all the money in the world wasn’t enough to save his job.

it didn’t take long for mommy and daddy to start fighting, nor for daddy to start falling into a depression. before jess had even entered into her sophmore year of high school, her mother was packing their things and moving them halfway across the country to live with her sister.

this was about the time that jess started dabbling in things that she had never tried before, such as drugs and alcohol– particularly weed and her all-time-favorite, pain killers, which were easy for her to get her hands on because her mom never had a shortage thanks to her ‘migraines’. she found that the pills helped, particularly the so-called anti-depressants, when she felt her life getting too out of control.

it was when her grades started slipping that her mother decided she couldn’t handle her anymore— and much like she had rid herself of jessa’s problematic father, she decided to rid herself of her problematic daughter because she didn’t need more press in her life. so, loving mother that she is, she shipped her daughter off to boarding school in the middle of her sophomore year. never mind that doing so would only make jessa spiral farther out of control… it wasn’t like she had ever cared anyways.

now about to head into her senior year at astoria prep, jess is as rebellious, impulsive, and reckless as ever. she presents herself as this polite, innocent little flower to those she feels the need to fool, but anyone who gets the chance to know the real her is aware that she’s anything but… but of course, no one actually knows her.

underneath, the girl could have a heart of gold, but basically she’s decided that there isn’t much of a point in being nice. as her parents have taught her– and really, it’s the only lesson she’s felt they’ve ever taught her— being kind isn’t what gets anyone anywhere in life… it’s having money and she has a lot of it.

anndd that’s it, but here a few things about her personality: she’s super sarcastic and it’s likely to get her bitch-slapped someday ( if it hasn’t already ), money is kind of her best friend which in reality is v v sad. she’s actually incredibly depressed and suffers from both anxiety and depression but she’s never been properly diagnosed so she just thinks her parents are to blame from the way she’s always feeling ( which, in part, they are ). she loves to party, but never in big crowds unless she gets dragged to a party ( basically just bribe her with some kind of pill or any alcohol and she’s down for anything ). she’s actually really smart and somehow manages to maintain a decent grade point average ( v surprising since she never actually studies– to be honest, she could have a 4.0 if she gave a shit, which she doesn’t ). trust is not something she hands out often, if ever. the two people who were supposed to be there for her always never cared about her so she finds it hard to believe anyone else can, annnddd… i think that’s about it. i’ll add more later okay.

additional information:

her mother, penelope eloise bordeaux-ainsworth is very well known for broadway, mostly by her stage name, penny bordeaux. before starting out on broadway, she was a model, as well as a dancer for a ballet compasny in france. she met emerson while he was vacationing in france and the two moved to new york city after getting engaged and that is when she moved from doing small musicals in france to broadway shows in nyc.

jessabel is not the first member of her family to attend astoria prep. her grandfather, emerson tomas ainsworth sr., a prosecuting attorney for the state of new york, is an alum of astoria, and her father, emerson tomas ainsworth jr., is also an alum of the preparatory school.

no one at the school is aware of her father’s reputation as a dirty lawyer ( could be an interesting plot idea idk, if someone were to find out bc i imagine it is something jessa is not proud of and would like to keep secret so blackmail anyone?? ).

because of her mother, she is fluent in french, and bc she’s had so many nannies from different countries, she is fluent in italian and speaks decent Spanish, as well as decent Russian.

sketching and designing are her passions, but she’s a skilled pianist ( self-taught ), guitarist ( self-taught ), and a talented singer. she’s also played several sports, including soccer, basketball, and tennis– none of which she stuck with, because she’s a quitter.

she is a borderline ( functioning ) alcoholic and has an addiction to pain killers, anxiety medications, and antidepressants.

her biggest fears are spiders and failure. the former, she’ll admit to, but the latter, she keeps to herself so no one views her as weak.

she spends more of her time with the rebels because of her rebellious behavoir, but she’s more of a loner than anything else.

[tkmedia]

Jim Ross Reveals Nixed WWF Invasion PPV Plans Involving Eric Bischoff And Paul Heyman

Former WWE Commentator and Head of Talent Relations Jim Ross spoke on Grilling JR about the failed WCW / ECW Invasion angle that occurred in 2001. Having a front row seat during the era, JR also dealt with talent acquisitions during that time and spoke about conversations he had with WCW President Eric Bischoff to come in and represent the company in a match with Vince McMahon. The WWF held an Invasion pay-per-view that consisted of matches between Alliance members versus WWF stars. The Alliance got the better hand in the main event 10-man tag team match after “Stone Cold” Steve Austin turned on Team WWF. Of all the notable missing links to WCW during the Invasion angle, Eric Bischoff was a major one being he was the face of the company as its President during their hottest period. Ross spoke about contacting Bischoff prior to the event to have a match with Mr. McMahon where he would lose and then never reappear on television. Bischoff declined the offer and joined the company a year later as the RAW General Manager. “We didn’t have a good plan and Eric is a pretty smart guy,” Ross said. “He could see it was a short term deal, he was going to be used. He was going to be brought in, going to be beat, going to be humiliated as a part of that process to some degree and sent on your merry way. If I were Eric, I wouldn’t have done it either, it was short term. “We chatted, but we had an icy relationship which I will take responsibility for. There were some open wounds but I think he made the right decision. Vince was thinking short term as if Eric really needed the money and had to have a job immediately to get relevant again on television in this world. Eric didn’t have that same train of thought, I think Eric made the right decision but it was just to test the waters. I do remember the phone call and I think that led to him and I getting back on the same page, my ego got in my way of being taken off the air in WCW when I didn’t think it was necessary. I took it personally and I outgrew that in later years. Eric and I are friends now. He made the right call for him and it worked out fine for him and WWE, he had a good run there.” The Invasion pay-per-view also featured WWF referee Earl Hebner defeating WCW referee Nick Patrick. Ross mentioned that along with plans to have himself face Eric Bischoff in a match, McMahon also wanted Ross to face Paul Heyman on the show. JR talked about the idea being nixed by McMahon, but said if his boss wanted the match, he would have done it. “Paul always had ideas but putting two cows on ice doesn’t mean it’s going to be ballet,” Ross said. “Here’s what happens there, eventually I was involved in a lot of matches, none that I wanted to be in but the minute by minute ratings killed me. It was like watching Nascar, I don’t think they were watching to see me win or have this technical expertise, they were watching for a train wreck, car wreck. If Heyman and I shoot this angle, how do we blow it off? It seemed to me if I recall correctly nobody had the idea of how we were going to blow it off. How do we pay it off or are we just going to half ass this thing? I wasn’t really interested. I worked with a lot of guys that can work including Eric, because I remember him hitting me the head with a cinder block. “So it’s not that I wouldn’t do business, it’s just where do you go with it? What are we doing here? Are we going to help get Paul over? I’m not looking to wrestle. I don’t remember a lot of details with that conversation other than ‘Vince, I don’t know why we’re doing that. I’ll do whatever you want.’ And I would’ve done it. It’s not that JR nixed it and I have veto power over creative. We all know that’s not true. If Vince had wanted that match or angle to be shot, we would’ve shot it but he was like me in the sense of where do we go with this thing? What does it lead to? I don’t know what that answer is. It wouldn’t have been a Funk Briscoe classic, Heyman and JR. Good god almighty, can you even imagine that? Would’ve been hideous.” Ross was asked whether or not Eric Bischoff’s inclusion in the WCW/ECW Invasion angle would have helped save the storyline. At the time, Austin had continued his run as a heel and Ross believes that was a major issue the company was dealing with along with the failed Invasion angle. “I don’t think it would’ve trumped the fact that we didn’t have anybody ready for Steve which he saw the writing on the wall,” Bischoff said. “Eric would’ve played his role out perfectly, would he have been better than Heyman? They’re different characters. Eric could’ve played that Austin card, I FedEx’d your ass a letter that you’re fired and what are you going to do about it? “Nothing. Eric could’ve pulled that off like a champion, that’s another way of looking at it. It’s frustrating to look back at 27 years ago, but it’s easy to figure out problems when they’re in hindsight. I could do a lot of things over in my life if I had the benefit of hindsight. Would have made better decisions in a lot of areas. At the end of the day, it seems as if it worked out for everybody pretty good. At the end of the day, financially, they ended up well but in 2001, the creative was not at its all time best.” If you use any of the quotes in this article, please credit Grilling JR with a h/t to Wrestling Inc. for the transcription.

Read the full article

[yoolee]

Ye Massive Tag-back Post

I have been tagged in stuff. I am slow. Apologies for anyone tagged in this XD

5 facts about me that literally know one needs to know

(tagged by @saizoswifey​)

I get weirdly nervous in grocery checkout lines: I have no idea why. I don’t know if it’s like, the feeling of being trapped in a narrow space (if there’s someone behind you and ahead of you), or the like, awkward social chitchat that I am SUPER BAD AT or what but I get weird. I HAAAATE that the nearest grocery store to me does not have self check-out, and I put off grocery shopping to the last minute. I can improvise a speech in front of a crowd of hundreds, I can jump off high ladders, like, I’m not a naturally nervous person I swear I’m not. But grocery stores...

I once broke into an Irish autorepair shop: Sort of. It’s kind of a long story, but when I was a student in Cork like…8 years ago, they told me to stick to the flatlands and I took a wrong turn and got lost up in the hills and I kinda felt like these two guys who kind of showed up behind me were following me. I did the whole ‘take a couple of right turns’ and it went from two to four guys and I was getting more and more lost and just like NOOOOPE. And then there was trash can on fire and so I like, half-slid down a little cliff, and snuck through/over a chained shut fence and into what turned out to be a repair shop. There were three older guys sitting there eating pizza, and they just blinked at me so I burst out that hey, there was a trash can on fire (like that’s a reasonable reason to bust in, right?). They asked me if I was the one who set it on fire, I said no, they gave me pizza, we waited for the fire brigade. GOOD TIMES. That was the start of a super, super weird 72 hours.

I despise bananas in smoothies: DESPISE. They POLLUTE them, CONTAMINATING everything with awful, horrid, banana-ness. They are smoothie-ruiners. RUINERS. AWFUL, HORRIBLE, TERRIBAD INGREDIENTS OF EVIL. I like banana bread, and my mom’s banana cake, and can sometimes tolerate a banana-nut muffin, but they have no place in my strawberry-raspberry smoothies and they are intolerably smushy on their own. SHUDDER.

I have done a lot of super random jobs at least once: I’ve been a chemist, taught ballet to 6 year olds and figure skating to teens with special needs, charity auctioneer, corn shucker, lighting booth operator, teaching assistant, princess, storyteller, tutor, dining hall worker, medical transcriptionist, editor, corporate recruiter, automated tutorial/phone recording voice, corporate trainer, historical docent, term paper writer, contortionist, martial arts event coordinator, bookseller, video game voice, snake venom analyst (really that and perfumer were subsets of being a chemist, but, worth the callouts), there’s more but like, the list is long and random.

Last time I was in the airport a kid told me I was eating string cheese wrong. I told him that’s how string cheese is eaten on Mars. I recognize none of this make sense, it was 5 AM.

I’m gonna tag @han-pan​, @karalija​, @mylittlecornerofotome​ aaaand @jane-runs-fast​! No obligation >>;;;

2017 Creator Tag

(tagged by @dear-mrs-otome​ and @wonky-glass-ornament​)

Rules: It’s time to love yourselves! Choose your 5 favorite works you’ve created this year (fics, art, edits, etc!) and link them below (say why if you want) to reflect on the amazing things you’ve brought into the world in 2017. Tag as many writers/artists/etc as you want (fan or original!) so we can spread the love and link each other to awesome works. <3

Six Wins and Draw This mostly gets to be here because it had a bunch of characters I had never written before! It was fun to write just a quick few paragraphs (if that) for them. I’d like to do something like this again, because it was much easier than trying to force something standalone for a group I’m not as comfortable with the characterization on.

Compliments I really like fluff. I like communication, and silliness, and sweetness. @juniperotome​ helped tremendously with this piece, but it really turned out to be one of my favs. I actually prefer this to Burn Down, which was fun and which I do like and was the other contender for this slot, but when I put them side by side, I like this one.

THE WAFFLE COTTAGE CHRONICLES (there’s more) This had been rattling in my head since 2016, but I didn’t post this until January 2017. This was my first headcanon shoving ALL OF THE LORDS into a single story. I recognize that it is very American-mindset-centric, but the sheer satisfaction of brain-dumping the beast was cathartic.I wrote 5000+ words in bullet point form in One Single Sitting and just, it was fun. I still think this is hilarious, even if it has issues.

Lick Your Wounds I still have lingering problems with this piece. And there’s a sort of dual fact thing going on - it could be so much better, but it is also the best that I have done, imo. Those are both facts to me. At this point, it’s a very frustrating piece to deal with XD but even when I am not entirely happy with it, I am very happy and very very touched by the response it has gotten, and so it gets a place. #makepuppyhappy

Scraps UGH THIS FIFTH SLOT. I mean. There’s no question this goes to a Kai group piece. I love writing the Kai group, it’s the most comfortable and it comes the most easily. I don’t like writing modern aus but they just sort of vomit out with these characters in a very love-hate way (I love that they have the opportunity to be happy without the specter of history looming, that’s about it – it’s complicated to explain). 

IkeSen Tag

(tagged by @dear-mrs-otome​)

Top 3 Warlords in order: Sasuke Nobunaga Kenshin

Favorite Moment in the game so far OH MAN. HMM. I am going to be unoriginal and echo Mrs O – Nobunaga being a matchmaking troll is A+, but I do also love KEnshin and Shingen’s letter to Nobunaga in the ES where MC starts with them but falls in love with Nobu and they are basically like, be nice to her and let her come visit or DEATH TO YOU

Who has the best hair Masamune (Shingen & Hideyoshi have the worst /sigh)

Which voice do you like the most? MRS O I SWEAR I AM NOT COPYING but Kenshin/Mitsuhide are flat tied. Whispery and low, swoooon

Who do you think you are most compatible with? None of ‘em. I enjoy watching their romance unfold with story MC, but as actual self, there are zero combos that would work out favorably for both parties based on what I’ve seen so far.

Which warlord appeals to your aesthetics? Sasuke. Dude. Sasuke.  

Which warlord makes you the most frustrated? Hmmm! Tough to say. Maybe Kennyo? Only because it’s seems from what we’ve seen that he is very much going against himself for some reason, and it’s hurting him and that is silly. Don’t do that.

Who would you swear loyalty to, the Oda forces, the Uesugi-Takeda forces, or Third Party forces? NNNNNGH. Oda. If I HAD to. Only because there’s a stronger sense of long-term stability and history. But ideally, none of the above. I would be NEUTRAL TERRITORY opening up a little seamstress shop somewhere in the middle that also serves tea and everyone is welcome to come have snacks, tea and fittings but only if they don’t fight XD (or at least take it outside, and no one dies)

BONUS: Mrs O’s Q: If you had to tell one warlord what happened to them in your own original timeline, who would it be and why? Nobunaga. Because what happened to him can’t yet come to pass in his timeline, so it’s moot. He’s shown to accept knowledge with aplomb so I don’t think it would send him into an existential spiral. He could handle it.

My question for anyone who does this – Which lord would make the best roommate?

Music Tag

(tagged by @skullbygloy100​ @dear-mrs-otome​ @wonky-glass-ornament​)

I only have two ways of enjoying music – passively not even noticing what’s on in the background and actively listening to the same song for literal and actual hours on repeat

Passes by Helen Jane Long – I literally listen to this on repeat for hours. HOURS.

Blood // Water by grandson

Cows on the Hill by Jay Ungar

Nowhere to run by Boga

Todo Comienza En La Disco by Wisin ft. Yandel & Daddy Yankee 

Dusk Till Dawn  by Zayn ft. Sia – but basically, anything with Sia

Shark in the Water by VV Brown – this is my Yukkin song lolol

Waterbound by the Fretless ft. Ruth Moody

Wait for It by Leslie Odom Jr 

Clair de Lune by Debussy – performed by literally anyone

ANYONE WHO WANTS TO DO ANY OF THE THINGS just tag me <3 And those of you who tagged me - thank you thank you! This was fun