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#billy koenig
tremorsmackenzie · 4 months
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some of them are short, others are shorter, they are amazing at cod, and just generally the best agents shield has ever seen, without a doubt. now, decide which member of this illustrious family can rightfully be called the king of the koenigs!
(yeah btw koenig is the german word for king, so i thought that was really funny)
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Tinker Gamer Agent Spy (1664 words) by quakinginmystylishboots Chapters: 1/1 Fandom: Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. (TV) Rating: General Audiences Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply Characters: Alphonso "Mack" Mackenzie, Billy Koenig, Nicole Mackenzie, Phil Coulson, Isabelle Hartley, Robert Gonzales Additional Tags: Mack centric, Mack POV Summary: Coulson: You went through rigorous testing when you joined my team. Help me remember. What did you say when I asked if you were loyal to S.H.I.E.L.D.? Mack: I said I was because I am, and that's the truth, sir (AoS 2x15) Mack has a new job and a secret mission but first he needs to convince his prospective employer that he's not Hydra. Or, how and why an engineer became a spy.
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Mid Year Book Freakout Tag 2022
Mid Year Book Freakout Tag 2022
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Sci Fi/Fantasy Men Round 1 Masterpost
All polls are now up!
Ben Browder vs Mark Goddard
Jonathan Harris vs Richard Biggs
Jeff Conaway vs Rene Auberjonois
Lionel Jeffries vs Alan Napier
Paul McGann vs William Forward
Bill Paxton vs David Boreanaz
Jonathan Frakes vs Kerwin Matthews
Kurt Russell vs Jason Isaacs
Sam J Jones vs William Shatner
Michael O'Hare vs Edward James Olmos
Walter Koenig vs Frazer Hines
Edward Van Sloan vs Peter Cushing
William Russell vs Anthony Stewart Head
Alex Winter vs Michael J Fox
Brent Spiner vs Lance Henriksen
Jerry O'Connell vs Scott Bakula
Harrison Ford vs John Phillip Law
Christopher Lee vs Kiefer Sutherland
Adam West vs Danny John-Jules
Bruce Campbell vs Ted Raimi
Avery Brooks vs Ken Marshall
Vincent Price vs Dwight Frye
Michael Dorn vs Jerry Doyle
Gary Conway vs Andre the Giant
Cary Elwes vs Michael York
Charlton Heston vs Leslie Nielsen
Arnold Schwarzenegger vs Rutger Hauer
Dean Jones vs Ernie Hudson
Alec Guinness vs David Warner
Jeffrey Combs vs Peter Weller
Keanu Reeves vs Keir Dullea
Christopher Lloyd vs Malcolm McDowell
Dean Cain vs Christopher Reeve
Peter MacNicol vs Warwick Davis
Alexander Siddig vs Gareth Thomas
Clancy Brown vs Patrick Stewart
Patrick Swayze vs Bruce Willis
Cesar Romero vs Colin Baker
Haruo Nakajima vs Duncan Regehr
Ray Bolger vs Dick Van Dyke
Chris Sarandon vs Wesley Snipes
Patrick Troughton vs Jason Miller
Mandy Patinkin vs Jason Carter
Milos Kopecky vs Georges Melies
Michael Keaton vs Tony Todd
James Spader vs Brendan Fraser
Michael Shanks vs Oded Fehr
James Doohan vs Ricardo Montalban
Will Smith vs David Duchovny
Jeff Goldblum vs Donald Sutherland
Kevin McCarthy vs Leonard Nimoy
Harold Ramis vs Bill Pullman
Claude Rains vs Fredric March
Peter Davison vs Garrett Wang
Kyle McLachlan vs Nicholas Lea
Doug Jones vs Vladimir Korenev
Karl Urban vs Harry Hamlin
Tom Baker vs David Tomlinson
Buster Crabbe vs Billy Dee Williams
Patrick McGoohan vs Ed Wasser
George Takei vs Guy Williams
Paul Darrow vs Bruce Boxleitner
Brad Dourif vs Christopher Walken
Andrew Robinson vs Armin Shimerman
Nicol Williamson vs Sam Neill
David Bowie vs Joe Morton
Peter Capaldi vs Alan Rickman
Mark Hamill vs Rick Moranis
Arnold Vosloo vs Boris Karloff
Peter Jurasik vs Roger Delgado
Andreas Katsulas vs Craig Charles
Stephen Furst vs LeVar Burton
Richard Dean Anderson vs Laurence Fishburne
Tim Russ vs Colm Meaney
Colin Clive vs Tim Curry
Val Kilmer vs DeForest Kelley
James Stewart vs Conrad Veidt
Gene Wilder vs Bela Lugosi
Raul Julia vs John De Lancie
Nicholas Courtney vs Mitch Pileggi vs Rod Serling
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ravenn-darkholme · 4 months
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Permanent Price chapter 2
Alex Summers x Mutant!OC
Summary: Isabella Darkholme, sister of raven Darkholme and Charles Xavier. Also a mutant. Her mutation allows her to blend in with the light rays, turning herself and whatever she's touching invisible.
word count: 1685
warnings: none that I know of
series masterlist
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After Charles introduced Raven and Isabella to CIA agent Moira MacTaggert, they traveled to Virginia to visit the CIA headquarters.
Bella sat next to raven as Charles presented his lecture to the CIA. She didn't need to be a mind reader to know the CIA agents couldn't care less about what Charles was saying. As Charles finished he moved to sit down across from the sisters.
"MacTaggert, you really think that some crackpot scientist is going to make me believe in sparkly dames and vanishing men? You just bought yourself a one-way ticket back to the typing pool. This meeting is over."
"Please sit down, Agent Mactaggart. I didn't really expect you to believe me, given that all you could think about during my presentation was what sort of pie they were serving in the commissary. It's apple pecan. You see, one of the many spectacular things my mutation allows me to do is that I can read your mind." Charles said to the moody CIA men.
"I've seen this before in a magic show. Are you going to ask us to think of a number between one and 10 now?" Isabella wanted to hit that man over and over again, but she couldn't blow her cover. If it wasn't mentioned before she was sitting next to raven invisible and ready to show herself on cue if Charles's plan didn't work. As if sensing her discomfort, raven put her hand on her sister's hand to calm her down. They were both sick of humans calling mutants like themselves 'freaks' or 'clowns'.
"No, agent Stryker. Although, I could ask you about your son, William, who you were thinking about, which is very nice. But I think I'd rather ask you about the Jupiter missile America is currently placing in Turkey."
"He's a goddamn spy. You brought a goddamned spy into this facility!" The CIA agent raised his voice toward Moira. Raven squeezed her sister's hand telling her it was time to show herself. Raven stood up and her blue scales fell down her body revealing herself as the CIA man she was looking at. Then Isabella made herself visible. Gold and purple specs of light cascaded down her body, exposing her to the agents in the meeting. It was as if time had stopped in that room. All the CIA agents including Moira just stared at them dumbfounded. Isabella and Raven looked toward the rude men and just smiled.
"How's that for a magic trick?" Charles smirked.
"Best I've ever seen." A man at the back of the room said with a small genuine smile on his face. Maybe some of these men weren't so bad.
"I want them out of here. And locked down until I can figure out what to do."
"My facility is off-site. I'll take them." The same man said smiling at the two sisters.
They were on their way to the parking garage when Charles spoke to Moira in his mind. He planned to meet her up there and she was going to take them to the new lead on Sebastian Shaw.
"I've always known that there were people like you out there. I've been the laughing stock of this agency for years, but I knew it! You are going to love my facility." The man - Belle learned was named Agent Billy Koenig.
"That's going to have to wait."
"Why?"
"Agent Mactaggert has a lead on Sebastian Shaw, and if we don't move now, apparently, we're going to lose him," Charles said as Moira pulled up in an all-black slick SUV.
"What?" Agent Koenig asked confused.
"Not only can he read minds, but he can also communicate with them as well," Bella said to the man.
"Moira and I have just had a lovely conversation."
"Yes, we did."
"That is incredible! But . . . I-I cannot take you anywhere else without permission from upstairs." He stuttered sadly.
"Like to see one more magic trick?" - "Okay." - "Get in the car." - "Good idea."
Isabella chuckled. He really was a powerful mutant. Three words and he could make ANYONE do whatever he wanted. That could come in handy one day.
as long as he doesn't lose his powers. She thought with a silent chuckle.
Oh, I would never lose them, my dear Isabella. He spoke to her mind with a smirk.
Belle got in the back with raven and Agent Koenig when he suddenly asked her.
"So what can you do? Just turn invisible or can you turn people invisible too? That's awesome-" He began to ramble on. Belle smiled and answered him.
"Well as you saw, I can turn myself invisible but also other people and objects. And I can phase through objects. But that's about it." She told sweetly.
"Wow. That is just incredible. You too." He said looking toward Raven. She just smiled sadly. At least someone liked her for her real form. Don't get me wrong she loved Charles dearly but telling her she needed to hide? Made her upset. Though she knew Isabella loved her true form.
⋆✩⋆
Isabella Adored the ocean. It was probably because she and Raven's mother used to take them to the nearest beach when they were younger and they would all go swimming and have fun. That was one of the simple things she missed dearly from her childhood. Bella had tried to get Charles to go with her and raven once but he was too busy with uni stuff. Isabella also felt safe near deep dark open waters as her powers could save her or the people around her.
"I've lost Shaw," Charles spoke as he tried to read Shaw's mind from his position on the ship. "I've lo- I've lost Shaw." He repeated as he tried to find him.
"Th-There's something blocking me. This has only ever happened with Isabella, before." He informed the Agents around them. Isabella could stop Charles (or other mind readers if she came across them) from entering her mind by simply putting a forcefield around her mind, or trapping the mind reader in one would stop them from reading anyone outside of the bubble.
"I think there's someone like me on that ship."
"Like you?" Moira asked, not really understanding.
"What are you saying, there's a telepath?" Isabella asked, surprised. She knew there had to be others like Charles but it was still shocking to hear.
"Yes. This is incredible." Charles said, excitingly. "I can actually feel her inside my mind. I'm very sorry, but I don't think I'm gonna be much help to you tonight."
"Belle?" The two agents looked at her hopeful.
"I mean there's not much I can do from over here, and even if we were closer we don't know who is on that ship or what they can do," She informed them, watching the agent's faces drop.
"Looks like you guys are on your own, I'm sorry." She added, sad that she couldn't help.
"Get inside," Koenig told the three as they made their way to where Raven was.
"Stop, stop, stop, stop," Charles said as he curled over clutching his head in agony.
"Charles?" Isabella asked worryingly as she placed her hand on his arm, hoping to help him get through the pain. It surprised the two of them when it worked.
"There's someone else out there." He informed the three before they made their way back onto the deck.
"There." Charles pointed to something that was floating in the air. As Isabella looked closer, she saw that it was the anchor to Shaw's boat gliding through the air.
"Oh, my god." Bella gasped as she watched the anchor destroy the boat. Belle tried to search the water for the unknown person, but she couldn't see anyone. It wasn't until she saw a submarine coming towards them did she see a man following behind it.
"Let go! You have to let it go!" Charles called out to the man, knowing what he was trying to do by reading his mind.
"You have to help him. Someone has to get in the water to help him." Belle spoke to the agents while Charles called out the man. But before anyone could react Charles jumped off the ship to help him.
"Charles!" Isabella called out to the man as Moira held her back from going in after him.
"Charles!" She called out again as she tried to get out of Moira's grip. "Let go of me! Charles!"
It's fine, Belle. I'm fine. We're fine. She heard Charles' voice in her head which made her calm down a little.
Would you mind picking us up, Isabella?
And she did as she was told, using her forcefield shaped like a square, to safely pick up Charles and the unidentified man out of the water. Koenig and Moira stared at her in awe, watching her work.
"Incredible," Moira spoke, eyes wide.
She relaxed once Charles was back on the ship, with the unknown man. Bella was quick to pull Charles into a hug once she reached him, not caring about getting wet. Charles was happy to hug the girl back as he wrapped his arms around her.
"I'm happy you're okay." The girl said as she hugged Charles a little tighter before she let go of him.
"God, Charles if you ever do that again, I swear to god!" She said as she lightly hit him on his chest.
"I don't plan on it, belle." Charles couldn't help but let out a small chuckle at the girl.
"But I would like to introduce you to our new friend." He added as he looked between Isabella and the man he found in the ocean.
"Isabella, this is Erik." He introduced the two.
"Well, Erik. It's nice to meet you." She smiled at the new man. Erik just looked the girl up and down without speaking and walking away.
Rude.
be nice, he's had a hard time.
With that she poked her tongue out at her brother, childishly walking away and folding her arms, making him chuckle.
authors note
guess what... BELLA'S MEETING THE LOVE OF HER LIFE NEXT CHAPTER *cheers* and yes I made that CIA agent named billy koenig :) if you caught that hi fellow AOS fan <3
dont forget to vote && comment !
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sshbpodcast · 7 months
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Character Spotlight: Pavel Chekov
By Ames
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Ever hear an old Russian folktale called Star Trek: The Original Series? I have it on good authority that it was written by a little old lady in Leningrad. That’s right: we’re shining the spotlight on the Enterprise’s Russian navigator this week on A Star to Steer Her By, so be prepared to hear way too many tall tales from the garden of Eden, located right outside of Moscow.
Somehow it was easier coming up with enough best and worst moments from Pavel Chekov to fill out our list than it was for Sulu and Uhura, and even Scotty for that matter! Maybe it’s that we’ve just loved picking on Walter Koenig over the years, or maybe it’s that it just sounded like so much fun writing comic relief scenes for him. So read on below and listen to our banter on this week’s podcast episode (chat starts at 1:14:49). It’s definitely worth a couple ham sandwiches.
[Images © CBS/Paramount]
Best Moments
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The Russian waltz “I, Mudd” turns into one of the silliest sequences from The Original Series by the end as the crew puts on a dumb show to confuse the robots into having mental breakdowns. And this includes some pretty great work from Chekov, waltzing with Uhura and then illogically getting slapped by her, and dancing emphatically when he’s been ordered to be absolutely still. Does not compute!
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Scared to death… er, life Despite being a pill throughout most of “The Deadly Years,” Chekov did end up contributing to the antidote for the other crewmembers’ old age problem simply by being a pathetic little coward. Because he was so scared to see Alvin’s dead body, Chekov was immune from the condition due to his increased adrenaline, which Doc deduces. Eek!
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She wants to shop, and I thought I would help her In a rather cute moment in “The Trouble with Tribbles,” Chekov agrees to go shopping with Uhura on Space Station K7. It’s just a small little moment of bonding that could have been any of the characters, but it’s just good of Chekov to accompany the lieutenant while on shore leave, and being there when she adopts her pet tribble.
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You started it, didn't you? We also have to give Chekov some credit for not snitching on Scott’s initiating the massive brawl all over the bar in “The Trouble with Tribbles.” Chekov was itching for a fight himself, but Scott throws the first punch and then Chekov keeps mum about it while Kirk is questioning all the combatants. How did the fight itself go? Well you’ll see…
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Pavel of all trades We see a lot of instances of crewmembers filling in for each other on the ship. Last week, we mentioned how Uhura jumped in to do some rewiring work. And in “The Immunity Syndrome,” we see Chekov manning the science station throughout the episode during moments when Spock is either busy or on a one-way trip into a space amoeba, as one does.
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If he shoots at me, I will just step out of the way Despite getting gunned down like a dog by Morgan Earp in “Spectre of the Gun,” Chekov does manage to help the others figure out the puzzle of their OK Corral setting. Billy Claiborne didn’t die in the shootout in real life (he ran away, like we could imagine Chekov doing), so the others realize this scenario doesn’t have to match history. Thanks, Chekov. Sorry about the dying part.
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Arm… photon… torpedoes… As usual, we’ve got lots more moments to highlight from the minor bridge characters in the movies compared to the television show, so let’s start off with The Motion Picture. Chekov is mostly around to feed various lines of technobabble and to get his arm zapped by his console, but he also successfully juliennes the space potato in that horribly extended wormhole sequence.
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Botany Bay? Oh no! We get a ton of action from Chekov while he’s serving on the Reliant in The Wrath of Khan though! He figures out (too late, mind you) that something is afoot on the Botany Bay when he finds a clue. And even more impressive, he somehow survives having a ceti eel latch around his brain, fighting off Khan’s manipulation that would have coaxed him into killing Kirk!
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And Admiral, it is the Enterprise! As usual, The Voyage Home has the most stuff for the lesser main characters to do, which is a treat. And Pavel gets some time to shine when he and Uhura find the nuclear-powered aircraft carrier Enterprise (a great touch!), infiltrate it, and sneak out some of its photons. And like when he escorted her to K7, he’s an entire gentleman and even lets Uhura beam out first!
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Winter Storm Walter I just find this delightful. Chekov and Sulu hiking in the woods together and enjoying their little playdate in The Final Frontier is sweet enough on its own, but when Chekov wants to save face and avoid telling Uhura that they got lost before being called back to duty, he fakes a blizzard. And just how badly he impersonates the wind is just part of the charm of this scene!
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Warp speed now! Man, we really are seeing The Final Frontier represented a surprising amount in our best moments in this spotlight series! It’s undoubtedly one of Chekov’s best moments, possibly because he has the most to do: tricking Sybok by pretending to be the captain of the Enterprise, going up against a Klingon Bird of Prey, and getting his party back aboard before warping away!
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Next time, stick with synthehol Finally, just a small detail that Jake really liked from The Undiscovered Country. While the dinner scene with the Klingons mostly just came across as racist (as Ames noted in our Kirk spotlight), Walter Koenig just had perfect delivery of the line, “Only the size of my head,” jesting about the radiation surge and his hangover from all that Romulan ale.
Worst Moments
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Hey hey we’re the Monkees Place your votes on which of the early-season-2 wigs was the worst. Watching poor Walter Koenig in these absolutely atrocious Monkees wigs in episodes like “Amok Time” and “Who Mourns for Adonais?” is just painful. They look like really poorly styled women’s bob hairpieces, and I cannot take anyone wearing them seriously.
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We all move up in rank It’s funny how little we actually see mirror Chekov in “Mirror, Mirror,” and yet what a great effect he has in establishing the world. He has all of three lines in the whole episode (plus a whole lot of great Koenig screaming), and yet we understand from how he so utterly fails at mutinying that in this world it’s kill or be killed. And Chekov clearly doesn’t have the chops.
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Trouble on paradise planet On the other hand, we see entirely too much of Chekov in “The Apple,” and it’s mostly all cringe. Literally moments after watching Hendorff get killed and Yeoman Landon is concerned about their safety, Chekov comes onto her with a “I've been wanting to get you in a place like this for a long time.” The two of them are just horny teenagers all episode long and it’s all really immature.
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If I live long enough, I'm going to run out of samples Chekov also comes across as just plain whiny and even more immature in “The Deadly Years” when he’s complaining and complaining about undergoing tests for McCoy to figure out what caused his afore-mentioned immunity. His fellow crewmates and everyone who’d been in that colony are dying / have died of old age, and he’s insensitive enough to complain about a couple samples?
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You heard what he called the captain While the brawl in “The Trouble with Tribbles” is indeed a thing of beauty, it does make Chekov come across as both needlessly violent when Scott has to talk him out of attacking Klingons a couple times, and also as woefully incompetent when all his punches have exactly no effect on his assailant. It’s just a little “Chekov is weak” joke that’s kinda dumb when you think about it.
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Piotr would be ashamed This one comes with a content warning for attempted rape. Like Kirk in “The Enemy Within,” when Chekov is affected by the Beta XII-A entity which is making everyone angry in “Day of the Dove,” he goes straight to sexually assaulting Kang’s wife Mara, and it’s uncomfortable and immoral and shameful. I will not be hearing excuses, energy being–related or otherwise.
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Feeling a little Defiant Hey, another instance of Chekov being influenced by some kind of space craziness, this time by the area of space that also took the Defiant in “The Tholian Web.” Something about this area sends crewmembers into a fury, and Chekov is first on the list to go mindlessly ravenous. I’ve said before that this episode really doesn’t make a ton of sense, and here’s just more evidence.
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Be incorrect, occasionally While we felt Spock and Bones were woefully out of character in “The Tholian Web,” Chekov felt miswritten in “The Way to Eden.” He belittles his old girlfriend’s way of life, and she counters that he’s always been so straight-laced and by-the-book. Since when!? Perhaps this was left over from when she was meant to be McCoy’s daughter, because being judgemental does not feel like a Chekov trait.
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This is Ceti Alpha V! Yes, Chekov, a planet has to be “completely lifeless” for the Genesis Device to test there. We could understand how tricky it might be to account for a tiny organism or something, but you somehow missed a whole colony of augmented humans in The Wrath of Khan. How can someone miss that? And to not notice which planet you’re even on? What is this, amateur hour?
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We are looking for nuclear wessels While I could just give hell to whatever accent Walter Koenig thought he was doing (nuclear wessels, my foot), let’s make this The Voyager Home moment about getting his ass captured by U.S. navy men, absolutely failing to escape and breaking his everything, and needing everyone else to stop what they were doing to get him rescued. And have I mentioned the whole “wessels” thing?
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Put Chekov at the kids’ table from now on I give Nichelle Nichols credit for refusing to say “Guess who’s coming to dinner” in The Undiscovered Country because to have a black woman say a line with such racial undercurrents would be a mistake, so Chekov says it instead. You coulda just read the room and cut it entirely, but whatever. Then Chekov makes a fool of himself by speaking of “inalienable human rights” only to be positively schooled by Azetbur, and rightly so.
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If shoe fits, wear it We’ve been surprised how many of our best moments have come from The Final Frontier, and on the flip side it’s just as surprising how many of our worst moments have come from The Undiscovered Country. Despite being a genuinely good film, it sometimes screws over its characters, like when Chekov is made a fool yet again by not checking crewman Dax’s feet before accusing him of being the movie’s Cinderella.
— Clearly all this has been a Russian inwention. Stay tuned for one final character spotlight from The Original Series, as we’ve only got Nurse Chapel yet to go. We’re also continuing our trip through Enterprise over on SoundCloud or wherever you podcast, you can share Russian tales with us over on Facebook and Twitter, and check to make sure that wig isn’t on backwards.
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evilou · 22 days
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Why do I have a feeling that Billy Koenig is some kind of clone or something lol
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astrabear · 1 year
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Has anyone considered an Agents of SHIELD Old Guard AU?
Proposition :
Quynh as Coulson: they thought they lost her, but then they got her back, only... something isn't quite right.
Andy as May: the grizzled vet with the tragic past, kicks ten kinds of ass, long history with QuynhCoulson that becomes romantic (but it's an AU, so why wait so long if we don't have to)
Nile as Skye aka Daisy: the new kid who turns out to be more capable than anyone expected
Booker as Ward: the mentor, the traitor. Possible to ship with AndyMay and/or NileDaisy depending on your tastes, but neither one will go well because he is so deeply damaged (and a traitor). Could be given a redemption arc, because the point is not to recreate the original storyline exactly.
Nicky and Joe as FitzSimmons: do I even have to explain? Their history at SHIELD Academy can easily be written as rivals or enemies to lovers to make it more kaysanova.
Copley as Nick Fury: hear me out, it's not because they're both Black men, it's because both of them really believed that in spite of whatever moral compromises they were making, ultimately they were doing good. And then they realized they'd been manipulated into doing the work of evil men.
Merrick, Keane, and Kozak are of course all HYDRA.
And what the hell, Lykon as Eric Koenig: minor character, one of the good guys, dies early to establish how high the stakes are (but we've still got Sam and Billy to look forward to...)
This is mostly based on the first season of the show; it could be adapted for later seasons, like having Copley in the Director Mace role instead of Fury. There are lots of options.
I can't imagine ever writing this myself, but if anyone else wants to take it and run with it, you're welcome to.
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jpbjazz · 1 month
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LÉGENDES DU JAZZ
BILLY HIGGINS, ‘’SMILING BILLY’’
“Billy Higgins’s talent will never be duplicated – not that any style can be – but his mark on jazz history is indelible. Billy Higgins represents four decades of total dedication to his chosen form of American music: jazz.”
- Cedar Walton
Né le 11 octobre 1936 à Los Angeles, en Californie, Billy Higgins était issu d’une famille de musiciens. Élevé dans le ghetto afro-américain de Watts, Higgins avait commencé à jouer de la batterie à l’âge de cinq ans sous l’influence d’un de ses amis batteurs. À l’âge de douze ans, Higgins avait travaillé avec des groupes de rhythm & blues, notamment avec des musiciens comme Amos Milburn et Bo Diddley. Au début de sa carrière, Higgins avait également collaboré avec les chanteurs et chanteuses Brook Benton, Jimmy Witherspoon et Sister Rosetta Tharpe.
Surtout influencé par Kenny Clarke, Higgins avait aussi été marqué par Art Tatum et Charlie Parker. En octobre 2001, le chef d’orchestre John Riley du Vanguard Jazz Orchestra avait résumé ainsi les influences d’Higgins: “Billy dug the melodiousness of Max Roach and Philly Joe Jones, Art Blakey’s groove, Elvin Jones’s comping, Ed Blackwell’s groove orchestration, and Roy Haynes’ individualist approach.” Higgins avait hérité de son surnom de ‘’Smiling Billy’’ en raison du plaisir communicatif qu’il avait de jouer de la batterie.
DÉBUTS DE CARRIÈRE
Higgins, qui s’était rapidement intéressé au jazz, avait commencé sa carrière en se produisant avec différents musiciens locaux comme Dexter Gordon, Carl Perkins, Leroy Vinnegar, Slim Gaillard, Teddy Edwards, Joe Castro et Walter Benton. À l’âge de quatorze ans, Higgins avait rencontré le trompettiste Don Cherry. En 1953, le duo était parti en tournée sur la Côte ouest avec les saxophonistes George Newman et James Clay dans le cadre du groupe  The Jazz Messiahs.
En 1957, Higgins s’était joint au quartet de Red Mitchell qui comprenait également la pianiste Lorraine Geller et le saxophoniste ténor James Clay. Higgins avait d’ailleurs fait ses débuts sur disque avec le groupe de Mitchell dans le cadre d’une collaboration avec les disques Contemporary de Lester Koenig. Higgins avait quitté le groupe de Mitchell peu après pour se joindre à la nouvelle formation d’Ornette Coleman, aux côtés de Don Cherry à la trompette, de Walter Norris au piano, et de Don Payne et de Charlie Haden à la contrebasse. Higgins, qui avait commencé à pratiquer avec Coleman en 1955, avait fait partie du groupe du saxophoniste sur une base permanente de 1958 à 1959, participant notamment à l’enregistrement des albums ‘’Something Else’’ (février-mars 1958), ‘’The Shape of Jazz to Come’’ et ‘’Change of the’’ Century’’, tous deux enregistrés en 1959. Higgins avait également participé aux concerts controversés du groupe au club Five Spot de New York en novembre 1959. Commentant la prestation du groupe, le critique Jon Thurber du Los Angeles Times avait qualifié le concert d’un des événements les plus légendaires de l’époque. Thurber avait ajouté: ‘’The event crowded the room with every available jazz musician and aficionado.”
Higgins s’étant vu interdire l’accès des clubs de New York à la suite d’une altercation avec la police,  Higgins s’était joint au quintet de Thelonious Monk. Il était par la suite allé jouer avec le groupe John Coltrane en 1960.
Le 21 décembre 1960, Higgins avait de nouveau retrouvé Coleman dans le cadre de l’enregistrement de l’album controversé ‘’Free Jazz: A Collective Improvisation’’ mettant en vedette le double quartet de Coleman, composé de Coleman au saxophone alto, de Don Cherry à la trompette et au cornet, de Freddie Hubbard à la trompette, d’Eric Dolphy à la flûte, à la clarinette basse et au saxophone soprano, de Scott LaFaro et Charlie Haden à la contrebasse et de Higgins et Ed Blackwell à la batterie.
Devenu un des batteurs les plus en demande du monde du jazz, Higgins avait participé à plusieurs sessions pour les disques Blue Note dans les années 1960, principalement dans des contextes de hard bop. En 1962-63, Higgins s’était joint au groupe de Sonny Rollins avec qui il avait participé à une tournée en France. À la même époque, Higgins s’était également produit avec Donald Byrd, Dexter Gordon, Hank Mobley, Art Farmer, Jimmy Heath, Steve Lacy, Jackie McLean, Herbie Hancock et Lee Morgan.
Le jeu de Higgins à la batterie avait été particulièrement mis en évidence sur des enregistrements comme “Point of Departure’’ d’Andrew Hill, “Takin' Off’’ d’Herbie Hancock (qui comprenait le classique ‘’Watermelon Man’’), “Freedom Jazz Dance” d’Eddie Harris, ‘’Go !’’ de Dexter Gordon et “The Sidewinder’’ de Lee Morgan.
À partir de 1966, Higgins s’était produit régulièrement avec le pianiste Cedar Walton, avec il a enregistré plusieurs albums pour des compagnies de disques européennes jusqu'au milieu des années 1980.
DERNIÈRES ANNÉES
Après s’être fait désintoxiquer en 1971, Higgins avait formé le groupe Brass Company avec le  saxophoniste ténor Claude Bartee et le trompettiste Bill Hardman. Après s’être installé à Los Angeles en 1978, Higgins avait formé avec Walton et le le saxophoniste George Coleman le groupe Eastern Rebellion. À la fin des années 1970, Higgins avait également enregistré comme leader, faisant paraître des albums comme ‘’Soweto’’ (1979), ’’The Soldier’’ (1979) et ‘’Once More’’ (1980).
Dans les années 1980, Higgins avait également collaboré avec Pat Metheny et Slide Hampton. Tout en participant à des tournées internationales avec les Timeless All Stars et à des réunions avec Ornette Coleman et Don Cherry, Higgins avait eu un petit rôle dans le film de Bertrand Tavernier ‘’Round Midnight’’ aux côtés de Dexter Gordon en 1986. Il avait aussi fait partie du trio de Hank Jones. Toujours en 1986, Higgins avait fait partie du Quartet West de Charlie Haden, aux côtés d’Ernie Wax au saxophone et d’Alan Broadbent au piano. Après avoir connu certains problèmes de santé, Higgins avait été éventuellement remplacé par Larance Marable.
Très impliqué socialement, Higgins avait co-fondé en 1989 avec le poète Kamau Daáood le World Stage, un centre communautaire et culturel qui avait pour but de favoriser le développement de la musique, de la littérature et de l’art afro-américain. Le groupe, qui soutenait également la carrière de jeunes musiciens de jazz, organisait régulièrement des ateliers, des enregisrements et des concerts dans le quartier de Leimert Park à Los Angeles. Tous les lundis soirs, Higgins donnait des cours de batterie aux membres de la communauté. Higgins, qui s’intéressait particulièrement aux enfants, avait déclaré au cours d’une entrevue accordée au magazine LA Weekly en 1999:
"They should bus children in here so they can see all this, so they could be a part of it. Because the stuff that they feed kids now, they'll have a bunch of idiots in the next millennium as far as art and culture is concerned. I play at schools all the time, and I ask, 'Do you know who Art Tatum was?' 'Well, I guess not.' Some of them don't know who John Coltrane was, or Charlie Parker. It's our fault. Those who know never told them. They know who Elvis Presley was, and Tupac, or Scooby-Dooby Scoop Dogg--whatever. Anybody can emulate them, because it's easy, it has nothing to do with individualism. There's so much beautiful music in the world, and kids are getting robbed.’’
Également professeur, Higgins avait enseigné à la faculté de jazz de l’Université de Californie à Los Angeles (UCLA). Il avait aussi été très impliqué dans plusieurs activités en faveur de la conservation et de la promotion du jazz.
Toujours très en demande dans les sessions d’enregistrement, Higgins s’était produit sur une base régulière avec le saxophoniste Charles Lloyd de 1999 à 2001. Il dirigeait aussi ses propres groupes.
Atteint d’une maladie des reins, Higgins avait dû mettre sa carrière sur pause dans les années 1990, mais il avait repris sa carrière après avoir subi avec succès une greffe du foie en mars 1996, se produisant notamment avec Ornette Coleman, Charles Lloyd et Harold Land.
Billy Higgins est mort le 4 mai 2001 au Daniel Freeman Hospital d’Inglewoood, en Californie, des suites d’un cancer du foie. Il était âgé de soixante-quatre ans. Ont survécu à Higgins ses fils Ronald, William Jr., David et Benjamin, ses filles Ricky et Heidi, son frère Ronald, son gendre Joseph (Jody) Walker, son neveu Billy Thetford et sa fiancée Glo Harris. À l’époque, Higgins avait divorcé de sa première épouse Mauricina Altier Higgins.
Peu avant sa mort, Higgins avait joué le rôle d’un batteur de jazz dans le film ‘’Southlander’’ de Steve Hanft et Ross Harris.
Au moment de son décès, Higgins venait d’être hospitalisé pour une pneumonie et attendait une seconde greffe du foie. Dans son dernier numéro publié avant la mort de Higgins, la revue française Jazz Magazine avait lancé une campagne de souscription en faveur de Higgins, le batteur n’ayant pas des revenus suffisants pour couvrir ses frais médicaux. Deux ans avant sa mort, le saxophoniste Charles Lloyd avait témoigné de la santé fragile de Higgins en déclarant: ’’Billy Higgins a une santé précaire, et cette fragilité physique confère à son jeu une délicatesse unique. Jouer avec lui, c'est un peu comme jouer à la maison. Il y a une telle conjonction entre nous. Un seul regard suffit et le disque est enregistré.’’ Comparant Higgins à un maître zen, Lloyd avait ajouté: “everybody who plays with him gets that ecstatic high.” Rendant hommage à Higgins après sa mort, son collaborateur de longue date, le pianiste Cedar Walton, avait ajouté: “Billy Higgins’s talent will never be duplicated – not that any style can be – but his mark on jazz history is indelible. Billy Higgins represents four decades of total dedication to his chosen form of American music: jazz.”
Higgins avait livré sa dernière performance le 22 janvier 2001 dans le cadre d’un concert présenté au club Bones and Blues de Los Angeles. Le concert, qui mettait également en vedette les saxophonistes Charles Lloyd et Harold Land, avait pour but de soutenir la lutte d’Higgins contre le cancer du foie.
Reconnu pour son swing léger mais actif, son jeu subtil et raffiné et sa façon mélodique de jouer de la batterie, Billy Higgins avait collaboré avec les plus grands noms du jazz au cours de sa carrière, de Ornette Coleman à Don Cherry, en passant par Sonny Rollins, Cedar Walton, Herbie Hancock, Abudullah Ibrahim, Bheki Mseleku, Roy Hargrove, Pat Metheny, Charles Lloyd, Donald Byrd, Freddie Hubbard, Eric Dolphy, John Scofield, Thelonious Monk, Scott LaFaro, Cecil Taylor, Charlie Haden, Hank Jones, Dexter Gordon, Hank Mobley, Grant Green, Joe Henderson, Art Farmer, Sam Jones, Dave Williams, Bob Berg, Monty Waters, Clifford Jordan, Ira Sullivan, Sun Ra, Milt Jackson, Jimmy Heath, Joshua Redman, John Coltrane, Eddie Harris, Steve Lacy, David Murray, Art Pepper, Mal Waldron, Jackie McLean et Lee Morgan. Higgins avait également collaboré avec le compositeur La Monte Young.
Higgins a participé à plus de 700 enregistrements au cours de sa carrière, ce qui en faisait un des batteurs les plus enregistrés de l’histoire du jazz. Qualifiant le jeu de Higgins, le critique Ted Panken du magazine Down Beat avait commenté: "To witness him--smiling broadly, eyes aglimmer, dancing with the drum set, navigating the flow with perfect touch, finding the apropos tone for every beat--was a majestic, seductive experience." De son côté, le chef d’orchestre Larry Riley avait précisé: “Billy was a facilitator, not a dominator. He would enhance the direction the music ‘wanted’ to go in rather than impose his own will on the composition. You can hear that Billy was a master at creating a good feeling in the rhythm section. Dynamically, he used the entire spectrum— but with great restraint. His comping and overall flow were very precise but very legato.”
Higgins, qui avait surtout appris son métier en utilisant une approche d’essais-erreurs, avait résumé ainsi sa méthode d’apprentissage:
“That’s where you learn. You learn to be in context with the music and interpret. You make your mistakes and you learn. Most of the drummers that are working are people who know how to make the other instruments get their sound. Kenny Clarke was a master at that. It sounds like he was doing very little, and he was, but what he implied made all the instruments get their sound. Philly Joe, Elvin—as strong as they played, they still bring out the essence of what the other musicians are playing. Roy Haynes, Max, Art Blakey—none of them played the same. You try to add your part, but the idea is to be part of the music and make it one. That’s the whole concept for me.” 
Décrivant la contribution d’Higgins à l’histoire du jazz, le contrebassiste Ron Carter avait ajouté: “Billy Higgins was the drummer of the 20th century who put the music back into the drums. He was fabulous. He always played the form, and he was aware not only of the soloists, but also of his rhythm section mates.” Saluant le professionnalisme et la grande préparation d’Higgins, Carter avait précisé: “He was always on time, with his equipment ready, and he contributed to the general outlook of the group no matter where [we were] or how many people were involved. He made the music feel good.” De son côté, le pianiste Cedar Walton avait commenté: “His style is well-documented, but to see Billy in person at his drums was the ultimate jazz experience.”
Billy Higgins avait été élu ‘’Jazz Master’’ par la National Endowment for the Arts en 1997. En 1988, Higgins avait également remporté un prix Grammy conjointement avec Ron Carter, Herbie Hancock et Wayne Shorter pour la composition “Call Sheet Blues” tirée de la bande sonore du film ‘’Round Midnight.’’ Par la suite, Higgins avait fait partie du Round Midnight Band avec le saxophoniste Dexter Gordon.
Le saxophoniste Charles Lloyd avait rendu un des meilleurs hommages qu’on pouvait rendre à Higgins lorsqu’il avait déclaré: "Jazz is the music of wonder and, and he's the personification of it.’’ Higgins s’était toujours considéré comme un peu privilégié d’avoir pu faire une carrière musicale. Comme il l’avait mentionné peu de temps avant sa mort: "I feel blessed to play music, and it's also an honor to play music. You've got a lot of people's feeling in your hands."
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blakegopnik · 6 months
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THE FRIDAY PIC is Nicole Eisenman's “Untitled (Billy Clubs),” from "The History of Hand Knitting," the two-woman show she shares with Rosemarie Trockel at Leo Koenig's gallery uptown in New York.
I reviewed the show for today's New York Times, and as I came up with what I wanted to say, I began to wonder how much of a critic's take can be purely personal, even eccentric, and how much has to be rooted in likely readings that others might come up with in looking at the work. Which is better, a reading of Hamlet that gets at his undoubted self-doubt and procrastination (for the umpteenth time) or one that decides to test the possibility that he's all about identifying with Ophelia's female gender? Which is better, that is, explication or interpretation?
At any rate ... here's what I did come up with for the Times:
So much of our suffering is caused by male aggression. (How many victims of war have been killed by women?) But for all the horror of that violence, there’s often something oafish about it, if only because of the boundless stupidity it represents.
This show captures some of masculinity’s toxic idiocy.
An untitled installation by Nicole Eisenman presents 20 “clubs” leaning against the wall. Each is just a length of scrap wood with a dumb blob of plaster at its top, as though its maker was either too lazy or too dimwitted to perfect his weapons beyond the minimum needed to bash a head. Nearby, also in plaster, a three-fingered blob of a hand sits on the floor, ready to grab at its clubs at the slightest provocation. (“You callin’ ME a blob of a hand?!”)
A blob of a head, about three feet tall and painted blue, looks on dimly from a pedestal, as though helpless to govern its own hand.
Rosemarie Trockel contributes quite different pieces to the show, but they hit similar notes. Back in 1984, she began to order up machine-knit balaclavas, like a terrorist or paramilitary fighter might wear. But instead of being bad-guy black, they had “girlish” patterns knit into them. My favorite covers its wearer’s face in plus and minus signs, like the love charms worn by Frenchwomen that stand for “more than yesterday, less than tomorrow.” It’s not clear if Trockel’s pattern counters the balaclava’s associations with masculine threat, or if instead of pointing to a love that’s bound to increase, it lets its wearer proclaim a hatred that’s always on the rise.
Photo by Shark Senesac
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TSITP 2x06 - "Love Fest" : Playlist
Here the songs of the episode in the chronological order :
"Delicate" by Taylor Swift (Belly & Jeremiah)
"Tonight" by Phoenix featuring Ezra Koenig (buying alcohol - Conrad & Jeremiah)
"Oh Boy" by Cam'ron featuring Juelz Santana (buying alcohol - Belly)
"Doin'Time" by Sublime (Taylor finishing doing Belly's make up)
"New Gold" by Gorillaz (Cam doing the DJ)
"Party in the U.S.A. by Miley Cyrus (Taylor & Steven's dance)
"Treat Me" by Chlöe (Belly & Jeremiah almost kiss)
"All the Small Things" by Blink-182 (Steven & Milo's fight)
"Billie Eilish" by Armani White (Steven & Milo's fight II)
"Boys Don't Cry" by Anitta (Jeremiah & Conrad's fight)
"Snow On The Beach" by Taylor Swift (Belly & Conrad's fight & the end)
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Round 2 Polls Masterpost
(All Round 2 polls are now up!)
Andrew Robinson vs David Duchovny
Fredric March vs Rod Serling
Raul Julia vs James Marsters
Keanu Reeves vs Karl Urban
Kyle MacLachlan vs Garrett Wang
Wesley Snipes vs Ricardo Montalban
Leonard Nimoy vs Jerry O'Connell
Cary Elwes vs Bill Pullman
Ed Wasser vs Paul McGann
Ben Browder vs Jeff Conaway
Bela Lugosi vs Danny John-Jules
Doug Jones vs David Bowie
Tim Curry vs Tim Russ
Walter Koenig vs Dick Van Dyke
Warwick Davis vs Richard Biggs
Alexander Siddig vs Michael J Fox
Avery Brooks vs Tom Baker
Haruo Nakajima vs Sam Neill
Jeffrey Combs vs Bruce Boxleitner
George Takei vs Leslie Nielsen
Peter Cushing vs Milos Kopecky
James Stewart vs Christopher Reeve
Cesar Romero vs Mark Hamill
Craig Charles vs Brent Spiner
Michael Dorn vs Arnold Vosloo
LeVar Burton vs Edward James Olmos
Bruce Campbell vs Jason Miller
Alec Guinness vs Christopher Lee
Laurence Fishburne vs Brad Dourif
William Shatner vs Roger Delgado
Mandy Patinkin vs Ernie Hudson
Jonathan Frakes vs Kurt Russell
Patrick Stewart vs Patrick Swayze
Billy Dee Williams vs Bill Paxton
Vincent Price vs Tony Todd
Anthony Stewart Head vs Brendan Fraser
DeForest Kelley vs Rutger Hauer
Andre the Giant vs Jeff Goldblum
Oded Fehr vs Harrison Ford
Alan Napier vs Peter Capaldi vs Malcolm McDowell
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dossantosspirit · 1 year
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Top 100 songs of 2022
100º Amber Mark – What It Is 99º Suede – She Still Leads Me On 98º The Blaze – The Dreamer 97º Freddie Gibbs – Couldn’t Be Done (ft. Kelly Price) 96º Father John Misty – Q4 95º Chappell Roan – Femininominon 94º Placebo – Beautiful James 93º Sharon Van Etten – Anything 92º The Smile – The Smoke 91º Stella Donnelly – How Was Your Day  90º Bartees Strange – Wretched 89º Sudan Archives – Selfish Soul 88º Demi Lovato – 29 87º Katy J Pearson – Talk Over Town 86º Oliver Sim – Hideous (ft. Jimmy Somerville) 85º Soul Glo – Gold Chain Punk (whogonbeatmyass?) 84º Arlo Parks – Softly 83º Cass McCombs – Belong To Heaven 82º The 1975 – Oh Caroline 81º TSHA – OnlyL (ft. NIMMO) 80º Carly Rae Jepsen – Western Wind 79º Brockhampton – Brockhampton 78º Arctic Monkeys – Body Paint 77º Lizzo – About Damn Time 76º FLO – Cardboard Box 75º Jean Dawson – Three Heads* 74º Stormzy – Mel Made Me Do It 73º Let’s Eat Grandma – Levitation 72º Porridge Radio – The Rip 71º RM – Still Life (ft. Anderson .Paak) 70º Maggie Rogers – That’s Where I Am 69º PUP – Cutting Off The Corners 68º BABYMETAL - Monochrome 67º Sampa The Great – Never Forget (ft. Chef 187, Tio Nason & Mwanje) 66º Dry Cleaning – Don’t Press Me 65º Charli XCX – Beg For You (ft. Rina Sawayama) 64º Laufey – Fragile 63º Rolling Blackouts Coastal Fever – The Way It Shatters 62º Nilüfer Yanya – anotherlife 61º The Beths – Expert In A Dying Field 60º MUNA – Anything But Me 59º First Aid Kit – Out Of My Head 58º Just Mustard – Still 57º Alt-j – Happier When You’re Gone 56º Kendrick Lamar – Die Hard (ft. Blxst & Amanda Reifer) 55º Florist – Red Bird Pt. 2 (Morning) 54º Confidence Man – Holiday 53º Danger Mouse – Belize (ft. MF DOOM) 52º ROSALÍA – Hentai 51º Plains – Problem With It 50º Beabadoobee – The Perfect Pair 49º Beyoncé – Alien Superstar 48º Big Thief – Simulation Swarm 47º Ghost – Darkness At The Heart Of My Love 46º Aldous Harding – Fever 45º Nas – 30 44º Noah Cyrus – Noah (Stand Still) [ft. Billy Ray Cyrus] 43º Fred Again.. – Danielle (Smile On My Face) 42º Beach House – New Romance 41º The Weeknd – Less Than Zero 40º Horsegirl – Anti-Glory 39º Julia Jacklin – Lydia Wears A Cross 38º FKA Twigs – Oh My Love 37º Tomberlin – Happy Accident 36º WILLOW – Split 35º Hurray For The Riff Raff – Pierced Arrows 34º Rina Sawayama – This Hell 33º Vince Staples – MAGIC (ft. Mustard) 32º Kevin Morby – This Is A Photograph 31º Nilüfer Yanya – The Dealer 30º Harry Styles – As It Was 29º Black Country, New Road – The Place Where He Inserted The Blade 28º Mitski – Love Me More 27º Pusha T – Diet Coke 26º Weyes Blood – It’s Not Just Me, It’s Everybody 25º Yeah Yeah Yeahs – Wolf 24º Angel Olsen – All The Good Times 23º SZA – Ghost In The Machine (ft. Phoebe Bridgers) 22º Nova Twins – Antagonist 21º Caroline Polachek – Billions 20º Taylor Swift – Anti-Hero 19º Kae Tempest – More Pressure (ft. Kevin Abstract) 18º Wet Leg – Angelica 17º Megan Thee Stallion – Plan B 16º Soccer Mommy – Shotgun 15º Phoenix – Tonight (ft. Ezra Koenig) 14º Bad Bunny – Neverita 13º Fontaines D.C. – I Love You 12º Alvvays – Belinda Says 11º Alex G – Runner 10º ROSALÍA – Saoko 9º Jockstrap – Concrete Over Water 8º Yeule – Bites On My Neck 7º Denzel Curry – Walkin 6º SZA – Kill Bill 5º Sudan Archives – Home Maker 4º Kendrick Lamar – N95 3º Nilüfer Yanya – Midnight Sun 2º Steve Lacy – Bad Habit 1º Ethel Cain – American Teenager
>>> Link for the playlist on Spotify <<<
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readingforsanity · 1 year
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All Hallows | Christopher Golden | Published 2023 | *SPOILERS*
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New York Times bestselling, Bram Stoker award-winning author Christopher Golden is best known for his supernatural thrillers set in deadly, distant locales...but in the suburban Halloween drama, Golden brings the horror home. 
It’s Halloween night 1984, in Coventry, Massachusetts, and two families are unraveling. Up and down the street, secrets are being revealed, and all the while, mixed in with the trick-or-treaters of all ages, four children who do not belong are walking door to door, merging with the kids of Parmenter Road. Children in vintage costumes with faded, eerie makeup. They seem terrified, and beg the neighborhood kids to hide them away, to keep them safe from The Cunning Man. 
There’s a small clearing in the woods now that was never there before, and a black thorn tree that doesn’t belong at all. These odd children claim that The Cunning Man is coming for them...and they want the local kids to protect them. But with families falling apart and the neighborhood splintered by bitterness, who will save the children of Parmenter Road? 
All Hallows. The one night when everything is a mask...
To note before I get into my synopsis: there are several points of view throughout the book, too many to describe all of them in depth. Therefore, this will just discuss the happenings of the book in sequence that they happen without discussing whose point of view it comes from. 
It is Halloween 1984 in Coventry, MA. The people of Parmenter Road are beginning to gear up for a night of trick or treating and parties. For Tony Barbosa, this will be the last year of his much talked about and anticipated Haunted Woods walkthrough that takes place in his backyard. He and his family are needing to move due to financial troubles, therefore, he’d like to go out all out for the last year they’ll be able to hold the traditional haunted walkthrough. With help from his 17 year old daughter, Chloe, who shares a love for Halloween much like he does, they are finishing up the final steps of the walkthrough. 
Much of the book there isn’t much going on, though we meet a variety of characters. There is Vanessa Montez, another 17 year old girl on the block who trapizes around town with her best friend Steve Koenig. The Koenig’s are throwing a Halloween block party later that night after trick or treating and the Haunted Woods come to an end and everyone is invited. We also meet Barb Sweeney, her husband Donnie and their three children Julia, Brian and Charlie. Barb is sick and disgusted of her husband’s cheating ways, and after he leaves their children to clean up the painting mess and the garage that he said he would clean, she goes out in search of him to all the places she knows that he may be but comes back empty-handed, only to return home and find him in their house as if nothing had happened. 
A large blowout fight ensues between Barb and Donnie, with much of the neighborhood seeing it unfold in their front yard. Donnie leaves, but not before hitting his wife and throwing his daughter to the ground when she comes to protect her mother. Defeated and humilaited, Barb resolves that this is the day that everything will change and she will make things work for her children. Brian and Charlie, getting too old to be trick or treating, almost, decide to stay in that night, though Charlie ventures out into a secret hiding spot after his parents fight and comes in contact with a mysterious girl, dressed in old-timey clown costume, who says her name is Sarah Jane and that she has fled from her parents. When Brian finds him, Sarah Jane has fled but neither of the boys try to follow her, Brian even assuming that he had imagined the young girl. 
Rick Barbosa, Tony’s son, heads out for trick or treating with his friends, including Billie Suarez. She happens to the only black child on the block and is faced with much scrutiny due to the color of her skin. Though this sometimes hurts her, she tries not to let it bother her, especially on Halloween night, likely the last one they’ll be trick or treating and the last that she and Ricky will be together before his move. They are with a larger group of kids, including a strange boy that nobody recognizes dressed up as a scarecrow. Ricky gets weird vibes from him, and even calls him out for following him too closely, which seems to spook the boy, who says his name is Arthur. 
Tony, during the set up of his haunted walkthrough, also comes into contact with one of these strange children: a young girl dressed up as a Raggedy Ann doll. He notes that this is strange, as in 1984, not many children even know who she is. He assumes that the costume was given to her by an older family member, and doesn’t think much of it. 
While trick or treating, Ricky and Billie fall behind and see neighbors Ruth and Tim Burgess helping a scared children into their house. Ruth turns off the lights and even tells Ricky that they no longer have any candy left, to which Ricky calls her out for lying when he sees the full candy bowl. Rumors have swirled about the Burgess’ since their arrival, including they’re swingers and had to flee their previous home after being discovered, having been charged with prostitution and more sinister rumors such as they’re child molesters and abductors. Thinking the worst, Ricky and Billie do what they can to help the scared young boy, going so far as to infiltrate their home after they see them doing strange things to the boy. With the boys help, whose name is Leonard, they are able to flee. 
All of these strange children have one thing in common: they claim to be running from the Cunning Man, and evil creature that will take them back to wherever they came from in mad and sinister ways. They are to hope they can make it to midnight, when they can return to their previous homes. 
While skeptical, Ricky and Billie still attempt to help Leonard, but are chased by Tim through the woods. But, he comes into contact with the supposed Cunning Man, as does Ruth later on, both being murdered by this strange and mysterious creature. 
At the Haunted Woods, things are going smoothly and Tony can’t be more thrilled. He notes neighbors of theirs who appeared to have been having marital issues previously, but now seemed to be in great spirits with each other. His wife, Alice, even appears and begins joking with them, until a massively drunk Donnie Sweeney appears. He notes that he has slept with both this neighbor and Tony’s wife, Alice. The neighbors husband begins beating him, and it is then that Donnie’s daughter, Julia, comes forward after hearing everything he had said, punches him in the face and flees in the night. Tony tells Donnie to remove himself from the property before he calls authorities, and he does so. But Tony is left reeling after the revelation that his wife had cheated on him with a neighbor. 
Julia is surrounded by many friends of hers, including Vanessa. Vanessa, who is a lesbian in secret, likes Julia, and unknown to her until Julia makes a comment, Julia likes her too. The two spend time together at the Koenig’s party, enjoying hidden booze and banter with their friends, along with flirtation amongst them. When they go up on the deck to get food at the end of the night, Mr. Koenig, whom Vanessa has known her whole life and is Steve’s father, makes claims about her being a lesbian. Vanessa’s father overhears everything, charges at the elder Koenig and beats him silly. Steve, wanting to help Vanessa, is actually the reason why his parents know about her deepest and darkest secret, and she is furious. She leaves him after arguing, with Julia in tow. 
These strange children have begun appearing all over the neighborhood and now things are coming to a head. Donnie is essentially possessed by the Cunning Man, who we learn is trying to save the children of Parmenter Road and not abduct them like previously thought. But instead, these strange children are the ones trying to lure the children into the woods to have them as sacrifices to an ancient witch mother, something they themselves had once been, only allowing to return once a year on Halloween for the next sacrifice. They’re terrified of the Cunning Man, as he can stop them. 
First, we learn that Ricky is murdered by Leonard, who shows his true self to Billie: a dead, rotting corpse-like monster. Charlie is abducted by Sarah Jane. Vanessa and Julia are lured into a clearing with a Blackthorn tree by Arthur, and the Raggedy Ann doll attacks Tony in the woods. In an attempt to save the children, Tony and the Cunning Man work together unwittingly. Despite many loses, including Steve and Ricky, the Burgess’ and Donnie are all dead after Tony saves the children from the monsters. 
Everything basically returns to normal after the strange children are either killed or returned to the world they came from. Julia and Vanessa have a budding relationship in the works; despite the death of their son, Tony and his family have placed their house for sale and will be moving into a rental when they can find one along with after Ricky’s funeral; Barb and her children will learn how to navigate and survive without Donnie in the world. 
Honestly, this book was so much like a movie playing in my head that I enjoyed every last bit of it. 5/5 stars. Super well done. 
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Leave the Pieces of a Broken Man
read it on the AO3 at https://ift.tt/rQsgWvV
by Anonymous
Set during and after season 1’s episode “Turn, Turn, Turn” when Garrett is revealed as the Clairvoyant. Fitz is captured and HYDRA attempts to get him to work for them.
Words: 330, Chapters: 1/?, Language: English
Fandoms: Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. (TV)
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Categories: Gen
Characters: Leo Fitz, Phil Coulson, Melinda May, Jemma Simmons, Grant Ward, Billy Koenig, Skye | Daisy Johnson, John Garrett (Marvel)
Relationships: Leo Fitz & Jemma Simmons
Additional Tags: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Hurt No Comfort, There’s definitely some implied FitzSimmons in there, Whump, Torture
read it on the AO3 at https://ift.tt/rQsgWvV
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beansonbread2 · 1 year
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BEANSONBREAD AWARDS 2022 - BEST SONG
AWARD NO.5 - BEST SONG OF 2022
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PAST WINNERS
2021 > Self Esteem ‘Prioritise Pleasure’ (see full list HERE)
2020 > Jockstrap ‘Acid’ (see full list HERE)
2019 > Weyes Blood ‘Andromeda’ (see full list HERE)
2018 > Let’s Eat Grandma ‘It’s Not Just Me’ (see full list HERE)
2017 > Richard Dawson ‘Ogre’ (see full list HERE)
2016 > Solange ‘Cranes In the Sky’ (see full list HERE)
2015 > Kendrick Lamar ‘The Blacker The Berry’ (see full list HERE)
2014 > FKA Twigs ‘Two Weeks’ (see full list HERE)
2013 > Oliver Wilde ‘Perrett’s Brook’ (see full list HERE)
2010 > Untold ‘Stop What You’re Doing (James Blake Remix) (see full list HERE)
2009 > Joker - ‘Digidesign’ (see full list HERE)
2008 > Lil’ Wayne - ‘A Milli’ (see full list HERE)
2007 > Panda Bear - ‘Bros’ (see full list HERE)
2006 > Hot Chip - ‘Over And Over’ (see full list HERE)
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RULES - A maximum of THREE tracks from any one artist. Songs can be tied in the same position.
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*SPOTIFY PLAYLIST WITH (ALMOST) ALL THE TRACKS*
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THE RUNNERS UP (in alphabetical order)..
100 Gecs ‘Doritos & Fritos’
A$AP Rocky ‘Shittin’ Me’
Alabaster DePlume ‘Don’t Forget You’re Precious’ / ‘Mrs Calamari’
Aldous Harding ‘Tick Tock’ / ‘Fever’
Alex G ‘Mission’
Alvvays ‘Pharmacist’
Angel Olsen ‘Big Time’ / ‘Ghost On’
Animal Collective ‘Walker’
Bar Italia ‘Banks’ / ‘Miracle Crush’
Bas Jan ‘Progressive Causes’ / ‘Sex Cult’
Batu ‘Atavism’
Beabadoobee ‘The Perfect Pair’
Beyonce ‘Alien Superstar’ / ‘Cuff It’
Bjork ‘Ovule’ / ‘Atopos’ / ’Ancestress’
Black Country, New Road ‘Chaos Space Marine’ / ‘Bread Song’ / ‘Basketball Shoes’
Black Midi ‘Still’ / ‘The Defence’
Blanck Mass ‘Italia ‘90’
Bolis Pupul ‘Neon Buddha’
Alan Braxe + DJ Falcon feat. Panda Bear ‘Step By Step’
Brockhampton ‘Big Pussy’
Caroline ‘Dark Blue’ / ‘Good Morning (Red)’
Caroline Polachek ‘Sunset’ / ‘Welcome To My Island’
Cate Le Bon ‘Moderation’ / ‘Harbour’ / ‘Running Away’
CHAI ‘Whole’ / ‘Hero Journey (feat. Superorganism)’
Charli XCX ‘Beg For You (feat. Rina Sawayama)’
Charlotte Adigery & Bolis Pupul ‘HAHA’ / ‘Mantra’
Crack Cloud ‘Costly Engineered Illusion’
Cryalot ‘Hell Is Here’ / ‘Hurt Me’
Dagger Brothers ‘That’s Magic’
Dean Blunt, Skepta, Novelist, A$AP Rocky ‘London Tonight Freestyle’
Delifinger ‘I Don’t Even Want To Know’
Denzel Curry ‘Walkin’
Dick Dent ‘Fun Times’
Divorce ‘Checking Out’
Dorian Electra ‘My Agenda (Anamanaguchi Remix)’
Dry Cleaning ‘Kwenchy Kups’ / ‘Gary Ashby’
Eartheater ‘Mitosis’
EASYFUN ‘Audio’
El Michels Affair & Piya Malik ‘Kabhi’
Ernold Same ‘The Reader’
Felicita & Kero Kero Bonito ‘Cluck’
Fences & Bonnie Prince Billy ‘Sympathy For The Devil’
The Financial Year ‘Serpenti’ 
FKA Twigs ‘Meta Angel’ / ‘Oh My Love’ / ‘Honda (feat. Pa Salieu)’
FLO ‘Cardboard Box’
FLOHIO ‘SPF’ 
Gabriels ‘One And Only’
Group Listening ‘Hollywood Dream Trip’ / ‘All Of A Sudden’
Gruff Rhys ‘People Are Pissed’
Hannah Diamond ‘Staring At The Ceiling’
Hercules & Love Affair feat. ANOHNI ‘Poisonous Storytelling’ (Giant Swan remix)’
Hot Chip ‘Eleanor’ / ‘Broken’
Hudson Mohawke ‘Intentions’ / ‘Bicstan’
John Cale & Weyes Blood ‘Story Of Blood’
JPEGMAFIA ‘Hazard Duty Pay!’
KAINA ‘Apple’
Kate NV ‘Early Bird’ / ‘Oni (They)’
Katy J Pearson ‘Talk Over Town’ / ‘Howl’ / ‘Float’
Kelela ‘Happy Ending’ / ‘On The Run’
Kelli Blanchett ‘Peaceful When You Sleep’
Kendrick Lamar ‘N95’ / ‘The Heart Part 5’
Kinlaw & Franco Franco ‘Crocs On The Plough’
Let’s Eat Grandma ‘Happy New Year’
Little Simz ‘Gorilla’ / ‘Broken’
Lizzo ‘About Damn Time’
Max Tundra ‘MBGATE (Kero Kero Bonito remix)’ / ‘Lights (A.G. Cook remix)’
Mura Masa, Lil Uzi Vert, PainkPantheress & Shygirl ‘Bbycakes’
NANORAY ‘Endless Higanbana’
Nilufer Yanya ‘Shameless’ / ‘Stabilise’
Panda Bear & Sonic Boom ‘Gettin’ To The Point’ / ‘Go On’
Pet Simmers ‘Sonder’ / ‘Edge Lord’ / ‘Stream Friendly Play Shifter’
Phoenix (feat. Ezra Koenig) ‘Tonight’
Pictish Trail ‘Natural Successor’
PinkPantheress ‘Do You Miss Me?’
Planet 1999 ‘Crush’
Pozi ‘Slightly Shaking Cells’
Pusha T ‘Diet Coke’
Richard Dawson ‘Thicker Than Water’
Robbie & Mona ‘Clapback’ / ‘Sherry Prada’
Rosalia ‘Saoko’ / ‘Delirio De Grandeza’
Rozi Plain ‘Agreeing For Two’ / ‘Help’
SAULT ‘Time Is Precious’
Savage Mansion ‘The Crucible’ / ‘Football Weather’
SCALPING (feat. DÆMON) ‘Tether’
Self Esteem ‘The Process’
Seraphina Simone ‘Milk Teeth’ / ‘Lovesick’
Shygirl ‘Nike’ / ‘Coochie (A Bedtime Story)’
The Smile ‘You Will Never Work In Television Again’
Snoop Dogg ‘Crip Ya Enthusiasm’
Sobs ‘Air Guita’
Soccer Mommy ‘Bones’ / ‘Shotgun’
Soft Lad ‘2 Know U Betta’
Sorry ‘There’s So Many People That Want To Be Loved’
Special Interest ‘Midnight Legend’ / ‘(Herman’s) House’
Spiritualized ‘The Mainline Song / The Lockdown Song’
Steve Lacy ‘Helmet’ / ‘Bad Habit’
Sudan Archives ‘Ciara’
Sweet Baboo ‘Hopeless’
Syd (feat. Lucky Daye) ‘CYBAH’
SZA ‘Shirt’ / ‘Kill Bill’
Tim Heidecker ‘Buddy’
Tirzah ‘Ribs’
Warmduscher ‘Fatso’
The Weeknd ‘Gasoline’ / ‘How Do I Make You Love Me?’ / ‘Take My Breath’
Wesley Gonzalez ‘A Taste Of Something New’ / ‘Greater Expectations (feat. Rose Elinor Dougall)’
Weston Allen ‘Girls From The Parking Lot’
Wet Leg ‘Being In Love’ / ‘Angelica’
Weyes Blood ‘Children Of The Empire’
Yama Warashi ‘Makkuroi Mizu’
Yeah Yeah Yeahs & Perfume Genius ‘Spitting Off The Edge Of The World’
Yeule ‘Bites On My Neck’
Young Fathers ‘Geronimo’
Zoee ‘Microwave (Voka Gentle rework)’
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THE TOP 25 SONGS OF 2022
25. Tim Heidecker ‘Sirens Of Titan’
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24. Panoram ‘Wandering Frames’
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23. HAIM ‘Lost Track’
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22. Panda Bear & Sonic Boom ‘Edge Of The Edge’
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21. Charli XCX ‘Baby’
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20. Animal Collective ‘Strung With Everything’
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19. Charlotte Adigery & Bolis Pupul ‘It Hit Me’
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18. Pictish Trail ‘Remote Control’
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17. Sudan Archives ‘Selfish Soul’
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16. Dry Cleaning ‘Anna Calls From The Arctic’
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15. Steve Mason & Javed Bashir ‘No More’
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14. Young Fathers ‘I Saw’
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13. Alex G ‘Runner’
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12. Weyes Blood ‘Grapevine’
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11. Self Esteem ‘The 345 (acoustic version)’
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10. Richard Dawson ‘The Fool’
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9. Death’s Dynamic Shroud ‘Judgment Bolt’
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8. Arctic Monkeys ‘They’d Better Be A Mirrorball’ / ‘Body Paint’
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7. Black Midi ‘Welcome To Hell’
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6. Weyes Blood ‘It’s Not Just Me, It’s Everybody’
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5. Jockstrap ‘Greatest Hits’
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4. Caroline Polachek ‘Billions’
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3. Jockstrap ‘Glasgow’
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2. Richard Dawson ‘The Hermit’
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1. Jockstrap ‘Concrete Over Water’
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