#they're mostly actresses but two were also princesses

[florelia12]

well flora is the magix version of latina, so saying she might not be is a bit inaccurate. especially because she was based on someone with latin ethnicity.

and the design choices are interesting to me because it's clear that planets in magix don't follow a certain pattern. in melody musa is based on a chinese actress and so is her family, but the princess of melody looks german. same with flora and her lynphean people or stella compared to chimera.

but for helia, I don't believe you should get that defensive. I think the specialists are up for interpretation. helia isn't based on anyone in particular and I also read on his page that he was supposed to be a female character too. with the way he was designed, that's pretty much obvious.

it's like when people hc him as gay or transgender based on his looks, but that does not mean asian people look that way or are like that. it's just that he's a fun character to play with that isn't suited to a single stereotype.

helia is very much bishounen or androgynous, whatever you wanna call it. I notice his design is similar to female characters from winx rather than looking like brandon, sky or timmy. same goes with riven's eyes for example.

I'd say riven is the equivalent of a korean man, especially with the colored hair.

going back to the differences between the winx and people from their planets, I think the winx and specialist designs were just made exclusively to be immersive and present different cultures. it's also why I hate that they killed nabu when he was representing indian and south asians very well, then aisha had to choose between two white guys. they're white right?

so if I had to describe helia according to irl traits, he looks half caucasian half asian (like japanese) to me, especially because saladin is a white old man. although at first I didn't even think he was more asian until people mentioned it, then I changed my perspective. the drawing style is also a bit inconsistent with the body built and height, but helia looks like he could be very tall.

I agree with you that he could be the tallest because he just gives the vibe. around 1.84 and 1.85 suits him a lot.

but still, helia is the specialist people have the most fun with, just because he's not just supposed to fit one appearance.

Hi

Despite the diversity in the main characters, the show itself has its moments. It is not perfect and free of making mistakes such as the princess of the realms of Flora/Musa looking different. 

We have to take into account that these are entire planets they are talking about. We have the unique genetics and features we do because our bodies adapted to the regions they were inhabiting. So even these realms could have countries and colder or hotter regions. But of course, it’s mostly obvious when it is whitewashing that is happening and not world-building that is being done here.

I apologise if I came off as making it seem as though my statement was that Helia is Asian and every other perception of him is wrong. But I do think it is rather problematic when some refuse to see his Asian coding because most of the time, there is underlying prejudice or ignorance. I would have not snapped the way I did if I thought they were coming from a good place. I don’t believe they were.

To say that it is obvious Helia was meant to be a female character would be unfair imo. Also to say “when people hc him as gay or transgender based on his looks its not to say asian people look that way or are like that” is not entirely true. 

When it comes to assigning or discussing races, gender and sexualities or even religions of a character, there needs to be an understanding there there are intersections here. 

Firstly, when it comes to the opinion that Helia was meant to be a female character, there are quite a bit inconcistencies. To start with, I don’t see the point in them wanting to either introduce another female character (they did that with Aisha) or change the gender to “give Flora a boyfriend”. Helia was introduced to be Flora’s boyfriend, there is no doubt in that. So for that, considering this was early 90s and 2000s and a kids cartoon, it was always meant to be a guy they wanted to introduce in season 2. Changing the gender would imply that Helia as a character (regardless of his gender) was meant to serve a plot point or at least be relevant outside of being Flora’s partner before they decided to make him her partner. Did Helia have that? No. We saw next to nothing of his interactions with the other Specialists or Winx or any other character. Almost every time we see Helia, it was to further his development with Flora.

Secondly, it is the reasons why they say Helia was meant to be a female character that I wouldn’t entirely agree with either. For example, his hair. Avalon, Valtor, Tritannus, Nereus and a lot of extras have long hair too. It’s not something unique to their depictions of asian-coded characters or considered female characteristics in the Winx world. Another one would be his name, which has feminine and Greek origins. Maybe that could be a reason, but then there would be the meaning behind the name which is sun. Then following the Winx naming conventions (“Flora” for a flower fairy, “Musa” for a Music Fairy, Tecna and etc) it could imply that he was supposed to be a sun fairy or have sun magic. But then Helia as a character doesn’t really give me ‘sunny’ vibes. Funnily enough, I like to think of it as a contradiction to his character. 

Though one point I haven’t seen around is that Helia could have also been added for diversity. Aisha was admittedly added for diversity, but at least the main Winx already had 2 other poc characters. The Specialists had none that were explicitly said to be poc. So it makes more sense to me that they would add him as an Asian or poc character rather than change the gender of a character that doesn’t truly serve the plot. Then again, I don’t think they cared that much because even if it was to include diversity, they still fell into stereotypes about Asian men.

This brings us to his “androgynous” features and the intersectionality I was talking about earlier. Because it all comes back to stereotypes we have to be extremely mindful of when it comes to perceiving or interpreting characters.

Poc and specifically Asian men have a history of being stereotyped as “feminine” for their appearances and personality by white people. It could stem from wanting to put them down or to emasculate them and a sexist way to do that is compare them to the “weaker gender” aka females. Even the pacifist hcs can be harmful because “feminine men” are considered weak or emasculine for not being aggressive or wanting to fight. So it is not the same as changing up Sky’s gender or sexuality ( I say this as he is a character who with blonde hair and blue eyes that’s mostly associated with white people) because he has longer hair than what would normally be considered masculine. Outside of that, to immediately also go since Helia has long hair and “feminine” features he can’t be masculine or was meant to be a girl has its issues because you’re feeding into the stereotype that guys have to look a certain way to be accepted as a male. 

Helia is absolutely a fun character to work with but not because he is entirely a blank canvas. He has certain characteristics that when changed, twisted or ignored can cause more harm than good. Helia having close to no development or backstory are some of the things that make him the fun character to play with. 

In the end there is nothing inherently wrong in perceiving him as androgynous or ‘feminine’ but you always have to ask yourself why you see him that way and why not the other Specialists. Because if you want to go along with stereotypes, Timmy is almost always seen as white and with a leaner body type in his civilian clothes, is considered meek, and sometimes emasculine. But we avoid it because it is harmful to consider men who aren’t super macho or bulky as weak or feminine. Yet we don’t hold that same reservation with poc or poc-coded characters. 

But then to also make Helia make super violent without reason could be harmful because poc men are at more risk for being assumed to be dangerous.

So yes it is a grey area, but it’s also not too complicated once you ask yourself why. Just one small question can help you differentiate amongst the intentions behind wanting to assign certain races, genders or sexualities to specific characters. Once you do, you can always tell when it comes from a place of experience and knowledge (such as a trans person seeing Helia as trans compared to a cis or white person doing it) or ignorance. Because informed takes on Helia’s gender or expression or sexuality are often quite interesting. I love seeing non-binary Helia and I also see him as bi. 

At one point, I too explored Helia being half-white and half-asian. But, I also wouldn’t say Saladin is definitely an old white man. I think his design is also ambigious as there was one scene of him where they showed the company of light in their younger days and he looked very similar to Helia. 

I do see Riven as Asian too, I think there is a lot to explore with that. And, yes definitely killing off Nabu then attempting to replace him with supposedly white guys is harmful. Though Nex could be Latino if he’s from Linphea since he studied in Linphea College but Thoren from Eraklyon is also there so they both could come from other realms or Thoren could be mixed since he is Sky’s cousin. So yeah, there’s a lot to explore and everyone is free to do it. Just be mindful and don’t be careless with how you describe races, genders or sexualities.

I used to think about his body built too as he looks leaner in his normal clothes. But I would assume the Specialists uniform would have the necessary paddings in certain ares for protection that gives him the built he has when he is in uniform. 

[princessasmosprincess]

Lettie Anastasis

I wanted to introduce you to my Twisted Wonderland teacher OC (*˘︶˘*).｡.:*♡

***

Full Name: Violet (Lettie) Anastasis

Allusion: Anastasia Tremaine

Gender and Pronouns: Female, she/her

Age: 30

Height: 5’3/160cm

Eye Color: Brown

Hair Color: Auburn

Homeland: Shaftlands

Subject Taught: Music, also private voice and piano lessons.

Personality: Kind and friendly to mostly everyone. She can be a bit of a spitfire when riled up. Lettie is also quite vain.

Unique Magic: Sing Sweet Nightingale

Lettie can communicate directly into the mind of anyone she can see. Whoever she is speaking to is able to speak back as long as she maintains the connection by keeping them in her sight (even if she’s viewing their reflection). Direct eye contact is not required, although that is when her magic is the strongest. People she knows take less energy to speak to than strangers, the stronger the personal connection the stronger her magic.

Lettie is the niece of NRC Professor Trein, who got her the job at the school after she experienced a stroke of bad luck and failed auditions. Her true dream is to become a stage actress in musicals, but she’s found her size puts her at a disadvantage compared to slimmer, more universally accepted actresses. Her hair began going gray two years ago and that certainly doesn't help her insecurities. She’s at a transitional period in her life and she wants to get back to auditioning but right now she needs money and a steady job. Her contract at NRC is temporary. She loves the students and most of her coworkers but if she could snap her fingers and be onstage, she would.

Lettie is not very strict as a teacher, preferring a gentle approach; not every student will be naturally talented in music and she doesn't want struggling students to be discouraged. She wants her classroom to be a stress-free haven, especially after the several overblots that have occurred during the school year.

Her feud with Divus Crewel began at her first NRC faculty meeting, which you can read about in my ficlet, Pink and Red, when she had to listen to him refer to the students as “puppies”. After the meeting she confronted him, telling him that behavior was unacceptable. In response, he insulted her fashion (something that highly offended her, especially because she had taken great care in picking out her outfit for the first day so she would make a good first impression) and he walked away. Their second encounter didn't go much better when he decided to start their conversation by saying, “Pink again, I see,” disdainfully commenting on her outfit. Seething, she took that opportunity to use her Unique Magic on him for the first time and called him an “arrogant peacock,” directly inside his mind, leaving him confused and speechless. After that she purposefully filled her entire office with pink decorations to get on his nerves. The piano was temporarily painted pink with magic but in her anger the magic didn't stick so now only the formerly white keys remain pink. The grand piano in the music classroom underwent similar treatment.

Despite all this she finds Crewel extremely attractive. They might have an enemies to lovers arc in the future (･ω~)

***

As mentioned above, Lettie is Professor Trein’s niece, but she also has two older brothers named Damien and Elias. They’re based on Drizella Tremaine and Cinderella, respectively.

Damien is 35, and works as a lawyer, and Elias is 33, and works as a librarian. Elias was adopted as a toddler a year before Lettie was born, when their parents weren't sure they would be able to have any more children. Lettie was a surprise. All of the children were loved equally and they're all somewhat close but Elias and Lettie are the closest, as a toddler he was very excited to become an big brother so after she was born he did his best to look after her. Lettie is definitely the little princess of the family.

Get To Know My OC Questions

1. Lettie isn't a big drinker but she’ll have a glass of wine at a dinner party or champagne during the holidays. She prefers water most of the time. Lettie also has all sorts of herbal tea recipes that are supposed to be good for the voice and most of those taste good to her.

2. Sweet is her favorite flavor but she’ll eat bitter and spicy foods as well.

3. Her favorite food is crêpes with fruit and whipped cream.

4. She likes dinner the most since she can usually relax after a day at work, plus it’s fun to have dinner with friends.

5. Lettie dislikes cheese, although there are a few instances she’ll eat it.

6. She has an average spice tolerance.

7. Her favorite animal is the cat, any type of cat.

8. Lettie usually wears sleep shorts and a t-shirt to bed but she has a few cute silk nightgowns for when she wants to pamper herself.

9. She usually sleeps on her stomach or side, she tries to sleep on her back to prevent wrinkles but it’s not as comfortable.

10. She’s a night owl.

11. Lettie is a relatively heavy sleeper, she won’t wake to most random noises in the night, but she’s not impossible to wake up and she becomes alert upon waking pretty quickly.

12. Lettie loves the rain, the sound is soothing to her. She’ll definitely stay in but she might practice her singing or piano and look out the window.

13. She loves the smell of lavender and eucalyptus.

14. She wears perfume every day, something fruity and floral. If this were our world she would wear Anna Sui Mermaid Fantasy or Versace Eros Pour Femme.

15. She mostly takes showers but she’ll indulge in a bath with a nice bath bomb every once in a while.

16. She’s a quick learner when it comes to cooking and she likes to try new things (when she has the time) she usually doesn't experiment much, she’ll go by a recipe. So she’s a pretty good cook.

17. She loves spring for the flowers and fall for the cozy weather.

18. She likes Halloween, she’s always loved to dress up.

19. She loves receiving gifts, it’s always nice to be thought about.

20. She is 5’3 and is usually happy with her height but she wonders if she’d be prettier if she was taller.

[diioonysus]

beautiful women of the past (imo) ii

[aros001]

Going in blind: Watching season 1 for the first time. Random thoughts.

This show is kind of nice because I have no memories of the original She-Ra show, or even any of He-Man, honestly. I'm not sure if I ever watched the original, so I have no frame of reference for how the series is "supposed" to be. I can just take it and judge it as is.

Of the bat, all I know is that supposedly She-Ra and Catra get together as a romantic couple later, but I'm also a huge My Hero Academia fan and the fandom around me ships every character with every other character, so for all I know that might just be shipper wishful thinking I've been seeing and hearing. Given fandoms for Gravity Falls, Thor, and Supernatural ship even siblings together, I've learned not to trust anything except for what I see in the series for myself.

By the way, this isn't a review, just random thoughts and comments I'm having as I'm going through season 1 for the first time.

Episodes 1 and 2: Right off, I really like Catra's "No duh" response to Adora about the truth of the horde. She knows they've been lying to them and have been doing terrible things, she just doesn't care. If she and Adora play their cards right they could end up being the ones in charge and then they'd have all that power. Not necessarily to make things better but enough to where they could do whatever and live however they want. That's a good build for an antagonist. Not ignorant to the fact what they're doing is wrong, just simply so selfish that they don't care.

Episode 3: It really feels like there was no good reason why Glimmer didn't just outright introduce Adora to her mother and every reason she should have known it was a bad idea to try and hide her for a surprise. Being a former horde soldier she'd probably get treated with hostility if Glimmer brought her to the front gate but you'd almost guarantee Adora would get arrested or outright killed if she got caught while no one else knew she was there.

On the other side, we have Hordak being pretty intelligent in promoting Catra. He probably knows Shadow Weaver already doesn't like him, so it's not like he's losing anything making her upset with him, and it's clear she favors Adora way more than Catra, so that little bit of advancement towards Catra probably goes a long way in earning her loyalty to him and a person on the inside with Shadow Weaver.

Also, I'm not the only one who saw Madam Razz and immediately thought Adora had found her Yoda, right?

Episode 4: I don't know how it was in the original She-Ra and He-Man series but I kind of like She-Ra being this title from legend. Adora is not the first She-Ra, given what Razz was talking about with a Mara, so instead of being something new, impressing everyone with abilities they've never seen before, and creating the legend, Adora is placed in a position WAY over her head where she's having to live up to what came before her.

Episode 5: Calling it now, as long as her personality is genuine I think Scorpia is going to be one of my favorite characters in this show. She's...endearing, I think is the best word. She's like a mix of Kronk and a nicer Shego.

For a little bit I thought Mermista was voiced by the same actress who played Poison Ivy in the Harley Quinn animated series. She's not but they do have the same kind of Daria-ish inflections, thus by confusion. Given the prom episode, Sea Hawk feels kind of like her Kite Man.

Episode 6: Okay, now it's between Scorpia and Entrapta who are likely to be my favorites by the end of this. She's fun and quirky.

Episode 7: Quite the lore drop. Shadow Weaver was once a Mystacor sorceress known as Light Spinner. I like to imagine we'll get more on that later. Her haunting Adora reminded me of the Teen Titans' episode where Robin was similarly haunted by Slade. This didn't go as far as that but that's probably for the best, since TT had two and a half seasons to build that dynamic up with Robin and Slade while we're only now halfway through the first season.

Episode 8: Well dang. Again, I don't know for sure if Adora and Catra do end up together but boy do I buy why they're shipped together after that dance. Also, good on Bow for standing up for himself. It's clear that he'll always be Glimmer's friend and this won't change that but that doesn't mean he has to just accommodate her. I understand where her issues stem from but I am still glad he gave her a reality check. It helps him feel a little more like his own character.

Also, another nice little bit of lore and worldbuilding. Scorpia's a princess, the horde landed where her people lived, and they seemed to join them willingly.

Episode 9: Surprisingly don't have a lot to say about this other than I don't buy for a second that Entrapta is dead (EDIT: She's not). This was mostly action.

Episode 10: Not going to lie, this one kind of annoyed me a little, at least the first half. The conversation between Glimmer and her mother saved it a bit. It was a bit of a trifecta. You have the alliance breaking apart, saying that the loss of Entrapta only happened because they were all together...even though Entrapta only "died" because of her own machine obsession that caused her to deliberately walk back into the purging chamber. You have Entrapta who might be turning to the horde's side because she feels abandoned by the other princesses...even though they thought she was dead, and again it was her fault they got separated. And you have Glimmer refusing to tell her mother that Shadow Weaver's dark magic has caused her powers to go on the fritz and is causing her great pain. It just feels like none of this would be an issue if most of these people would stop being self-absorbed for three seconds and talk like any normal person would. It feels very CW drama, like something I'd see in a bad season of Arrow or The Flash. The only person whose issues I buy is Adora, who is basically a soldier who was never properly raised to deal with emotion or loss and is already struggling with the burden of being She-Ra, the legendary savior. I get why she's beating down on herself for not being able to do more even if nothing that happened was her fault.

Episode 11: JEEEEEEEEEZZZZ, that was such a good episode! Focused entirely on Adora and Catra and their past together. Like, just showing someone this episode alone could probably get them to want to watch the series. That was everything you needed to know about their dynamic and history together.

Also, that moment when Catra and her past self are looking at each other, while obviously Catra takes the opposite lesson, it reminded me of this fanart I'd once seen of Jason Todd, the Red Hood, looking at his past self as Robin. The past says to the future "You ruined everything". Catra could be happy but, ironically for someone who hates Shadow Weaver, she's probably going to be a lot like her, sacrificing everything for power and ambition.

Given the way she looked, I'm guessing Shadow Weaver is either addicted to the power of the Black Garnet or she suffered some kind of past injury and its power is the only thing keeping her going. Or both.

Episode 12: I'll be honest, Swiftwind being able to talk kind of gobsmacked and I needed a moment to recover. What a great voice they chose for that character.

So She-Ra is kind of like the legendary heroes from Rising of the Shield Hero, coming from a long line of people chosen to wield the sword. I tend to dislike chosen one types of stories because I think prophecy takes a lot of weight out of the character's actions, so this and Avatar are more what I like. The MC is special but not the only one who's ever been special and they can still easily fail. Their destiny was only to be able to use the weapon, not that they would succeed in any specific purpose.

And dang, Catra's turn against Shadow Weaver happened faster than I thought it would but I'm not complaining. That great "This is what you've really been preparing me for" speech and Hordak, again, being an intelligent villain. "Oh, this experiment could net me a MASSIVE gain and all it could potentially cost me is this rock I already gave away to someone who lately hasn't been producing any results and has been consistently disobeying me. Yeah, I'm going to let this play out."

Episode 13: That was kind of a brutal fight between Adora and Catra. Not the worst I've ever seen even in other shows for this age range (Samurai Jack, for example) but those punches are connecting and those claws are leaving marks.

Also, maybe I'm just misunderstanding the exact situation but shouldn't the good guys' side be called the Resistance instead of the Rebellion? Being a rebellion would imply they are rebelling against an established power or rule over them, but the actual conflict we are shown is the established power and rule that is the kingdoms of Eternia resisting an outside force that wishes to establish a new order over them.

Season 1 verdict: I'm into it. I'm definitely more invested in the villains' side of things but that's not a fault of the series, that stuff is just way more geared towards me than the current princess stuff. I actively am at attention whenever the horde main characters are on screen. For the good guys it's mostly Adora and the She-Ra stuff I'm invested it. That isn't to say I have any real dislikes for that side. Bow especially I'm liking much more than I thought I might. He has kind of this gravitational pull around him. You will be his friend regardless of how much you might want to resist. He's definitely the rock for everyone else to hold onto.

Minor side note, kind of like Korra in Legend of Korra, I love how even when her powers aren't active Adora is shown to still be pretty strong physically with how easily she was lifting people up at the prom.

And I was right, Scorpia is my favorite side character.

On to season 2!

Original Reddit post: https://www.reddit.com/r/PrincessesOfPower/comments/nyll2e/going_in_blind_watching_season_1_for_the_first/

[tabloidtoc]

National Examiner, April 12

You can buy a copy of this issue for your very own at my eBay store: https://www.ebay.com/str/bradentonbooks

Cover: Mark Harmon quitting NCIS

Page 2: Stars Who Rock Around the Clock -- they believe in the healing power of crystals -- Naomi Campbell, Shirley MacLaine, Adele, Mary-Kate and Ashley Olsen, Uma Thurman

Page 3: Debra Messing, Goldie Hawn and Kate Hudson, Megan Fox, Katy Perry, Gisele Bundchen

Page 4: Eddie Murphy's roles and costumes

Page 6: George Clooney is turning 60 in May, and he says being an older dad to toddlers has its benefits -- his son isn't ever going to feel competitive with him and he'll be gumming his bread by the time he'd feel competitive with him, jokes the Oscar-winning actor, whose twins Ella and Alexander turn 4 in June -- George is well aware that growing up with two highly accomplished parents (his wife Amal Clooney is a successful human rights lawyer) can put a lot of pressure on a kid and that's why the couple is already guiding Ella and Alexander with strong values and kind hearts because George says it's their job to make sure that they care about people and that they challenge people in power and look out for people who don't have power and those are the things he was raised with -- the known prankster is also passing the practical joke tradition down to the next generation and he taught Alexander to take a piece of banana, chew it up and then spit it into a napkin, then stand next to him mom, pretend to blow his nose into it and look down until Mama looks at it, then eat it

Page 7: Partridge Family star Shirley Jones turned 87, and she's brimming over with gratitude for her wonderful life that's been chock-full of extraordinary experiences -- she says you have to have a good time and enjoy life to the fullest and before you know it you'll be 87 -- Shirley has three sons (her stepson David Cassidy died in 2017) and 13 grandchildren

Page 8: Take your etiquette test for tea with Queen Elizabeth

Page 9: Brain foods that may help prevent dementia

* Study says new drug slows Alzheimer's

Page 10: Jennifer Garner recently opened up about her real feelings on her body -- she's 48 and single and has three children with ex-husband Ben Affleck: daughters Violet and Seraphina and son Samuel -- in a recent interview, she admitted that her body has changed a lot since having three kids and she doesn't mind one little bit, even though she was hurt when a friend hinted she may be expecting again, saying there are some women whose bodies just, no matter how many babies they have, they bounce right back to that slim-hipped, no stomach and she has so many girlfriends who have that physique and she's so happy for them, but she's not one of them and she can work really hard and she can be really fit and she will still look like a woman who's had three babies and she always will

Page 11: 6 stomach symptoms you should never ignore -- catch problems before the become deadly

Page 12: After more than two decades, James Brolin says he's discovered the way to keep his marriage to Barbra Streisand going strong: negotiation -- it's taken two marriages and 22 years for him to figure it out and he and his wife have gotten so close being locked down together -- his mother was the sweetest person so he never really learned to negotiate with women but now he knows if you sit down and talk about a situation, you can work it out

Page 14: Dear Tony, America's Top Psychic Healer -- don't make snap judgments; you may lose the perfect mate -- Tony predicts a very hot summer coming and a lot more street crime

Page 15: Folks getting their COVID-19 vaccinations at the Berkshire Community College in Massachusetts got a shocking treat: a mini-concert from world-famous cellist Yo-Yo Ma -- while waiting out his 15-minute observation period, the musician sat down to play a socially distant symphony for his fellow inoculees

Page 16: Duchess Kate is never seen without a purse, but what exactly does she keep inside it? There's quite a history between royal women and their handbags: Princess Diana used her clutch bag to cover her cleavage from prying photographers, Queen Elizabeth moves her handbag from one arm to the other to signal to her staff when she's bored of chatting with someone, and Kate carries her bag in her left hand so she can keep her right hand free to greet and shake hands with guests and she holds her bag in front of her when shaking hands might be awkward -- according to royal protocol pre-pandemic, Kate must extend her hand first for another person to shake hands with her, so if she prefers to just smile instead of touching other folks, she uses her clutch to do that -- author Marcia Moody who wrote Kate: A Biography, says the duchess always carries four must-have items: in her small clutch, she carries a compact mirror, a handkerchief, blotting paper and lip balm and every now and then, if she's going to attend a tennis match, for example, Kate will carry a pair of sunglasses -- unlike Queen Elizabeth, whose purses come from a company called Launer, the duchess favors different brands, but mostly a company called Mulberry -- nowadays with three small children, the mom gravitates toward midsize bags with handles because she's got to take more items with her like a handy bunch of tissues, good for wiping little noses and faces, and also takes her camera along

Page 18: William Shatner confesses that when he starred in Star Trek during the mid-60s, he had no idea it would become a worldwide phenomenon still popular today -- Shatner, who turned 90 in March, says it's unimaginable and it's all beyond anybody's imagination or ability to repeat and the greatest thing about being the captain of the Enterprise for three years was his relationship with the cast and the roles were written so well

Page 19: Brandy is a one-in-a million cat because those are the odds she'd ever be found again after she went missing 15 years ago -- when Charles got the phone call from a California animal shelter that his missing pet has been found, he could scarcely believe his ears and the Los Angeles man was skeptical and thought it must be a mistake but he had made sure the two-month-old kitten had a microchip and sure enough, the malnourished stray they found was his Brandy -- Charles did break down and cry because he thought about all of the years he lost from her and when he picked her up, she started to purr and it was very emotional

Page 20: Mark Harmon finally lured wife Pam Dawber out of retirement to star alongside him on NCIS, but the pairing will be short-lived because he's leaving the show after 18 hit seasons -- the 69-year-old star is finally fed up with the backbreaking hours, endless rehearsals, and feuds with cast and crew, and plans to ride off into the sunset with Pam and retire to the couple's Montana Ranch -- Mark's contract is up after season 18, and he's agonized over whether to sign a new one and he's being offered the moon and the stars to come back for a few more seasons, but he says his heart just isn't in it and Mark has faced problems on the set over the past few years and he feels his age, he just doesn't need the aggravation anymore -- NCIS recently teased a possible departure of his character Leroy Gibbs when the special agent commander was suspended for assaulting and nearly killing a suspect but despite that, Harmon insists Gibbs not be killed off so he can leave the door open for a possible return

Page 22: Legendary actor Michael Caine just turned 88 and he's still going strong, starring in an upcoming comedy Best Sellers and says he knows he's old but he doesn't feel old, not in his head, where it matters

Page 24: They say money doesn't buy happiness, but what do people spend their money on that can buy happiness? You don't need millions of dollars to afford the things that happy people buy to stay that way and studies show that anything over $75,000 a year in income is gravy, which means yachts, jewels, second homes and art collections are not at all required -- the best thing to drop your cash on is experiences and doing is better than having and in other words, an object you own will never give you the consistent pleasure of an experience that creates good memories that live on forever -- also the best experiences are the ones that involve other people like having a picnic with family, going rafting with pals, or even just walking and talking with an exercise buddy

Page 25: Freshen Your Fridge -- make a clean start with this 5-step plan

Page 26: Tony's Mystic World -- may the force be with you -- the life force can be drained out of you by fear or worry

Page 28: Sensational Snaps From Around the World -- photo contest captures amazing sights

Page 31: When to trash it -- the useful lifespan of refrigerated food

Page 32: It's been 40 years since Marilu Henner starred on the hit sitcom Taxi, but the great memories and wonderful co-stars are always on her mind because she's still pals with them -- they always stayed in touch with each other and never lost touch and do a Taxi Zoom every two months and they're all very current with each other and they have a text chain as well and they're in contact every week -- Marilu is close with cast members Tony Danza, Judd Hirsch, Danny DeVito, Christopher Lloyd and Carol Kane

Page 33: Garth Brooks is overjoyed wife Trisha Yearwood has finally bounced back from her bout with COVID-19 -- she seems to be 100 percent, according to Garth, and at the end there during fatigue she got real impatient, really kind of mean and sassy and he thought well, she's back to herself -- after announcing in February that Trisha had the coronavirus and Garth said he had tested negative

Page 40: The grass is always greener when you use these simple gardening tips

* Avoid cat-astrophe -- the right way to add a stray

Page 42: 10 things you never knew about Glenn Close -- the wildly successful actress turned 74 in March

Page 44: Eyes on the Stars -- Sylvester Stallone and wife Jennifer Flavin leave a Florida hotel (picture), Jane Seymour is still looking on the bright side even as the world continues to weather the pandemic, one year after the death of Kenny Rogers his family thanked fans as they honored his life, Sharon Stone is dishing dirt about her Hollywood past in her recently released memoir like one moviemaker who told her to have sex with a male co-star to improve their on-screen chemistry, 28-year-old twins Lady Amelia and Lady Eliza Spencer who are the nieces of Princess Diana recently stepped out in South Africa as bridesmaids for fellow high society girl Leila Osato, director Christopher Columbus pooh-poohed internet rumors about the existence of an NC-17 cut of Mrs. Doubtfire but he did confirm there's an unreleased R-rated version

Page 45: Good Morning America co-host Cecilia Vega mugs it up for the camera on the morning show (picture), Gretta Monahan gets out of a car (picture), longtime GMA veteran Robin Roberts displays her ever-present sunny side on the set (picture), the Hollywood Hills home of Johnny Depp recently had some uninvited guests when a man was spotted loitering by the property's pool but ran off after being confronted by a neighbor and not much later Johnny's security team called police about another unwanted visitor who had taken a shower and helped himself to the actor's booze, Elsa Pataky has been married to Chris Hemsworth for 10 years and says patience and communication and understanding are what help their relationship be successful

Page 46: A Texas man has helped thousands of people by donating his blood platelets a staggering 962 times over the past 37 years

Page 47: Celebrity Weddings Gone Wrong -- Ryan Reynolds and Blake Lively, Cameron Diaz and Benji Madden, Nicky Hilton and James Rothschild, Chrissy Teigen and John Legend, Jessica Simpson and Eric Johnson, Freddie Prinze Jr. and Sarah Michelle Gellar, Katherine Heigl and Josh Kelley

[sozzledjuja]

Lolirock AU Idea - Actors AU

Ok. Ok. Hear me out. An AU where lolirock is still a TV show but all the characters are actually actors playing their assigned roles.

I have some ideas:

The princesses' magical hair are just wigs;

Both Amaru and Banes are made in CGI (sorry Amaru);

Their characters names are not their actual names but I'm too lazy to come up with them;

Talia is really cheerful and sensitive, she tells lots of jokes, cries over the most random things, and always brings snacks to share with the rest of the cast;

Auriana was not a professional actress but she was friends with Talia and went with her to the audition just to watch and support her friend, but the Team immediatly fell in love with her and casted her on the spot;

Gramorr is actually a really cool dude who complains all the time that he can't breathe with his mask on, and that his gauntlet is heavy as fuck (laughing behind his mask 100% of the time);

Talia and Izira aren't actually sisters in real life, but they're super close, so they're almost like actual sisters;

Same thing with Auriana and Jodan - even though these two only worked together in like two episodes, they get along really well;

Mephisto and Praxina are still siblings, but they're not twins (Mephisto is actually the oldest);

Those two literally can't do ONE scene without bursting out laughing or interrupting each other by saying some stupid shit at the most random times;

They also get confused a lot and end up saying eachother's lines by accident;

Iris and Mephisto are CONSTANTLY forgetting their lines, 'cause their memorization skills are terrible (they often improvise a lot);

All the scenes in the battle arena or in the magical library are filmed in a green screen;

Iris and Nathaniel are also dating in real life (they met each other on set and absolutely fell in love);

Lyna and Carissa get along superbly and they are definetly the pranksters of the cast;

The cast has a swear jar - the money in there is mostly from Iris, Mephisto, Praxina, Lyna and Gramorr (Aunt Ellen, Auriana and Nathaniel don't swear, and Talia and Carissa swear like old ladies;

Both Praxina and Talia have to be constantly told to stop smiling or laughing, which is honestly so hard for them because they literally cannot keep a straight face for the life of them;

Iris and Lev have already made lots of movies and TV shows together, so they are pretty comfortable around each other;

Mephisto and Praxina are the CEO's of ruining props, like the Ephidean book of spells, which suffered a lot of damage and had to be replaced several times, because they kept ripping off the cover by accident;

Surprisingly, during the filming of the first couple of episodes Iris and Auriana didn't really get along that well, so it was a little hard for them to act their parts, but by the time they got to the end of season 1, they had already become great friends;

Mephisto's ear thingie is constantly falling off, which annoys him to no end;

Also Praxina complains all the time that her bangs make her eye itch;

Her evil laughs always end up with her actually crying of genuine laugher, 'cause once she starts it takes a couple of minutes for her to be able to stop and keep a serious face;

Aunt Ellen is a renowned actress and has starred in many movies;

Gramorr usually plays the bad guy in the shows he's in and he lives for it;

Izira is also a very well known actress - she started her acting career as a kid in a Disney Channel show, but quickly stepped up to more serious and known movies;

The rest of the cast will never understand how Iris manages to break her necklace so many times (CEO number 2 of ruining props) - there were about 58 copies of that necklace and she broke all of them;

After every long day of filming, the cast always goes to the smoothie bar and enjoys some well deserved rest.