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sanssouci-sims · 1 year

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the crazy lore of my caliente and landgraab families

So for some reason, the Caliente and Landgraab families in my game have weird intertwined lives.

I’ve already talked about Johnny Zest (who you may or may not know is related to the Landgraabs) and his wholesome life with his adoptive daughter in a previous post, but the rest of his family has been up to quite a bit.

First of all, for the record: Geoffrey and Nancy Landgraab along with Katrina Caliente are deceased. They died of old age a while ago long before I conceived the idea of creating a blog to document my sims’ lives, so I haven’t grabbed a lot of funny screenshots of them.

But anyway...

The whole gang lives in this little section of Oasis Springs, aka Bedrock Strait (I only have Johnny Zest’s household as playable since tbh I like them the most. I honestly don’t care for the rest of them lmao). As you can see, everyone but the Zest family likes to show off how big and bougie their homes are.

Malcolm Landgraab (son of Nancy and Geoffrey) is married to Don Lothario (who lived with the Calientes) of all people.

My personal headcanon is that Malcolm got tired of the richy rich snooty super-straight lifestyle that his parents tried to raise him in but didn’t know how exactly to get out of it at first. Don, on the other hand, realized he may be bi-curious though he wasn’t sure how Katrina and her daughters would take that considering they were crazy for him. One thing led to another, and Don started to fall for Malcolm. Once Malcolm reciprocated his feelings, they eloped and moved into their own place together.

Now here’s the crazy part: Don and Malcolm share four children together. Malcolm actually had his two eldest children (Jayme, who is a teenager, and Dusty, who is a child) with KATRINA MOTHERTRUCKING CALIENTE. Presumably, this was before he found himself attracted to Don and it’s probably how he wormed his way into the Caliente family in the first place. Who knows how Malcolm and Katrina broke up, but as I’ve said before, she’s currently dead and out of the picture. He has two daughters with Don (half-sisters of Jayme and Dusty): Jodi, who is a toddler, and the most recent addition to the family, newborn Alisa.

For two people who have the noncommittal trait, they sure are loyal to each other. I mean, Don was willing to put up with someone sleeping with a woman he was probably attracted to at some point, and then marry that person and raise the children he had with Katrina as his own. That takes... something.

Oh, and, Don is currently an elder, so he’ll probably kick the bucket pretty soon. Well, at least he can spend the remainder of his life with his lovely family. This is basically the whole reason I wanted to make this post so I could have their crazy relationship recorded for the ages, lmao

Now I bet you’re wondering how Katrina’s daughters are faring without Don...

Dina Caliente is married to Gavin Richards (from the Roomies household) of all people. Meanwhile, her sister Nina is still single AND living with them. I’d imagine she’d be, well, less than pleased, lmao. Why she doesn’t just move out, I don’t know. Maybe she thinks she’s prettier than her sister and deserves Gavin more than her.

Dina and Gavin share three sons together. Their genealogies weirded me out at first but it seems like Dina adopted a son named Laurant, who’s now a teenager (he’s the one with mid-length red hair). Gavin, on the other hand, adopted a son named Heath, who’s also a teenager (he’s the one with the short brown hair). I imagine they get along pretty well and are close to the same age, so they’ll always tend to hang out with each other.

Their third son is Gordon, who is an infant. He’s a weird one, because his genealogy shows he’s the biological son of Dina and Gavin. However, when I looked at the genealogies of his brothers, he was shown as either adopted by Gavin (according to Heath’s genealogy) or adopted by Dina (according to Laurant’s genealogy). Even if that seems to be one thing the brothers will fight themselves over, all that matters is their parents have acknowledged their baby brother as their own, and they seem to be very much in love (they had a lot of flirty interactions that seemed to rival another one of my sim couples...)!

Moving on to the Caliente sisters’ other siblings (because Katrina apparently got busy before she died)!!

Tonya Caliente is (I believe) Katrina’s eldest “non-canon” child (if you didn’t catch on already, it’s because I have neighborhood stories turned on for my townies/”other households” so they’re able to have lots of babies). A while ago, when Katrina was still alive and having more and more kids, I decided to move Tonya and a few of her younger siblings out and into their own place (only for Katrina to replace them with more babies). Back when I moved Tonya and her siblings out, she was (I think) either a teenager and they were just children, but now she’s a young adult and they’re all teenagers.

Tonya is the one with the short dark pixie cut, reddish cardigan, and black pants. Her younger siblings (at the moment, I don’t know if she’ll adopt more or anything) are Wendell (the only boy, who’s sitting off to the left), Gem (the blonde with the blue dress), Rylie (the one who for some reason generated with a flipping Victorian dress, no joke), and Elise (the fan of the color blue playing with her phone off to the right). They haven’t done anything too earth-shattering yet; in fact, they’re probably the most normal of the extended Caliente-Landgraab family (I suppose Dina and Nina’s little family could be considered “normal” too, if you ignore Nina still living with her married sister and keep in mind Dina’s healthy romantic relationship with her husband).

As for the rest of the Landgraabs (yes, Geoffrey and Nancy got busy too), it appears that Malcolm’s siblings have inherited their parents’ home. They all live there together.

There’s Russell and Irvin, who are a teen and young adult, respectively. At first, I assumed they were possibly twins considering their shared hairstyle, but knowing their age difference, it isn’t possible, lol. Sure isn’t stopping them from sharing a bedroom, though. When I looked at Irvin’s genealogy, it appeared he fathered a daughter with a random townie woman, Alexandra Weir. However, they actually don’t seem to have any kind of relationship with each other. I can only assume they were one of those people who dated in high school and ended up having a one-night stand which resulted in her getting pregnant and him ditching her because he wasn’t ready to have a kid. Yeah, weird (this post is getting messy on its own so I don’t think I’m going to throw Alexandra in here too. Maybe she’ll get her own post one day...).

Then there’s Gideon and Kailani, who are both young adults. Kailani has quite a few unfortunate traits (she’s gloomy, evil, and has the “sinister” major impression personality - courtesy of the Wonderful Whims mod) though has surprisingly gotten along well with everyone so far.

Gideon, on the other hand, received the notification below as I was literally in the middle of writing this post. It seems like he’s taken after his brother Irvin and had a one-night stand with Cassandra Goth of all people, and now they’ve got an infant daughter. And of course it’s the girl who’s raising their child on their own.

“Ok”. That’s all he can say, lmao.

Lastly, there’s Halle (a young adult), who has also taken the same path as her brothers and had - well, adopted, actually - a little girl of her own named Lila. As you can see, Lila has a very interesting sense of fashion. I actually headcanon Halle (whose originally appearance was generated by default to be the most “hipster” or “LoOk aT mE i’M sPeCiAL aNd NoT LiKe ThE oThEr GiRLs”) to be quite a fangirl of the notorious Willow sisters (my OCs) and wants to emulate them. It’s likely due to the fact that she was the most spoiled of her siblings and is now passing that down to her daughter, whom she also wants to be special and unique (hence her qUiRkY appearance).

Guess I should prepare for the Caliente-Landgraab dynasty to flourish and drag in more people throughout my town...

#the sims 4 #the sims 4 screenies #the sims 4 storytelling #the sims 4 screenshots #simblr #the sims community #the sims 4 townies #sims 4 screenshots #sims 4 screenies #sims 4 screencaps #ts4 #ts4 screenshots #ts4 screenies #ts4 screencaps #san's townies

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nehswritesstuffs · 8 months

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The Thick of UNIT - RECAP - Part 2 of 6

So, you know how tumblr's dashboard has been made jankier and jankier with each passing update? I'm taking it into my own hands to make some masterposts of some of my long-form fics because even though they have a side-page on my blog, I don't know how long that will hold out, and this is easier to share anyhow.

The Thick of UNIT - 225k words - a crackship crossover Doctor Who/The Thick of It AU centralized on the Malcolm Tucker/Kate Stewart ship

Broken into six parts because tumblr is such a webbed site.

Part 1 - [Part 2] - Part 3 - Part 4 - Part 5 - Part 6

Part XVI [FFN]/[AO3]

Malcolm Tucker has it all: a loving–if haphazard–family, a nice house in the country, and a wonderful woman at his side. Nothing could spoil this year’s end-of-calendar-holidays, even his parents and brother coming into town. They can’t, right?

Part XVII [FFN]/[AO3]

When Malcolm’s brother is being at his worst, a surprise visitor arrives on the doorstep and paradigms get shifted. Terribly.

Part XVIII [FFN]/[AO3]

Convinced by the Doctor, Malcolm needs to figure out what is anchoring him in the deadly dream before it’s too late.

Part XIX [FFN]/[AO3]

With his life no longer in danger, Malcolm is able to reflect on what the alien hallucination tortured him with.

Part XX [FFN]/[AO3]

Malcolm gets a call from an old mate, which leads to an interesting turn of events that leaves his travel party one short.

More under the cut!

Part XXI [FFN]/[AO3]

Both away from work–for once–Kate and Malcolm host a party.

Part XXII [FFN]/[AO3]

Malcolm Tucker, Scourge of Whitehall and Bane of Backbenchers, did not sign up for any of this. #ThePlanesHaveStopped

Part XXIII [FFN]/[AO3]

With the Tripartite Earth Residency Accord being tested, Malcolm finds himself in a position he does not want to be in.

Part XXIV [FFN]/[AO3]

Trapped and boxed-in and completely alone, what’s a bollocking-shark to do when there’s no one around to bollock?

Part XXV [FFN]/[AO3]

It’s been three full weeks since the Zygon Insurgency and Malcolm was shoved into the panic room; now he is free, braced to see what had changed in the meantime.

Part XXVI [FFN]/[AO3]

It’s time to mop up the remains of the mainframe, get things in order, assign new posts while getting back to old ones, because nothing’s going to fix itself on its own.

Part XXVII [FFN]/[AO3]

It’s evident now that Malcolm really doesn’t know much about one side of his family tree, and Kate wonders if she should change that.

Part XXVIII [FFN]/[AO3]

Malcolm attempts to help Gordon move house, though a certain Time Lord has other plans.

Part XXIX [FFN]/[AO3]

Themba has finished doing preliminary digging for Kate–what secrets will it hold for her and Malcolm?

Part XXX [FFN]/[AO3]

It’s been a few days since Kate and Malcolm’s row and their coworkers are starting to notice. Why aren’t Director Stewart and Department Head Tucker all over each other… and better yet, can they get over it?

CONTINUED IN PART THREE!

#The Thick of UNIT #satstewart #bollockingUNIT #Malcolm x Kate #Malcolm Tucker #Kate Stewart #Doctor Who #The Thick of It #fan fiction #repostober

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celticbarb · 2 years

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Book: The Scot Who Loved Her

Author: Eliza Knight

Series: Scots of Honor, Book 4

Book Length: 247 pages

Book Release Date: August 16, 2022

Publisher: Knight Media

Overall Book Review Rating: 5 Stars

Blog Review Rating: 5 Saltire Flags

Book review

Malcolm Scott has no love for women as a child his English mother broke his heart and despised everything Scottish. Plus she had abandoned him and his father taking his sister Caroline with him. From that point he never trusted women besides his best friends wives of Lorne Gordon, Alec Hay and Euan Irvine. Well they were all taken. Now he works as a spy for his code name is Raven he had received to a top secret document from some traitors. It was not without bloodshed his hands as always the traitor do not care if it causes the life of their own country men as the French line their pockets with gold!

Now he gets shot by a woman in the forest and when he wakes up the document which had been in his shoe is missing! The last thing he wanted to do and he was told to try to hide his Scottish brogue too. Now Malcolm is certain this woman is another traitor that must be dealt with so he has to go disguise himself in Londond society. Now Malcolm is shocked to find himself awake in a strangers bed with his bullet wound cared for. Olivia had to do it all secretly as her father hated Scots! Why she had no idea. The last thing he wanted to do and he was told to try to hide his Scottish brogue too. Of course he was totally wrong on this suspect whose name is Lady OliviaAshton. After all he had been on her father’s land and she was only trying to save his life’s from this boar.

Now it was just another thing her family held against her. As she was banned from polite ton society due to her temper. Well people. As insanity runs in their family and her parents committed her to an asylum, Olivia defend her sister to the death! All this will do is put a target on Olivia’s back, even though Malcolm is very wrong on his accusations.

Furthermore, Malcolm and Olivia are both very attracted to each other like a moth to a flame. Will they act on these emotions or ignore them? Like putting away neatly in closet? Will their true enemies harm or murder Olivia and Malcolm in retaliation? Will Malcolm ever forgive is mother for her abandonment ? Will he rekindle a kinship to a sister he never knew? Read and find out in the fourth installment in the exhilarating Scots of Honor series.

Again Eliza Knight pens another brilliant book I could not put down! It is another action packed romantic adventure filled with espionage, treachery, heartbreak and deception! Plus the backdrop between Scotland and England. I have read every book in the Scots of Honor series which you can read as a stand alone book or in series order, Another book I highly recommend.

Buy & Promotion Links:

Amazon: https://amzn.to/3PSLLdV

Barnes and Noble: https://bit.ly/BN_TheScotWhoLovedHer

Apple Books: https://apple.co/3oaTeJj

Kobo: https://bit.ly/Kobo_TheScotWhoLovedHer

Audible: https://adbl.co/3chozHz

Goodreads: https://bit.ly/Read_TheScotWhoLovedHer

BookBub: https://bit.ly/Share_TheScotWhoLovedHer

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a-typical · 2 years

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OSSIE DAVIS ON MALCOLM X

[Mr. Davis wrote the following in response to a magazine editor's question: Why did you eulogize Malcolm X?] You are not the only person curious to know why I would eulogize a man like Malcolm X. Many who know and respect me have written letters. Of these letters I am proudest of those from a sixth-grade class of young white boys and girls who asked me to explain. I appreciate your giving me this chance to do so.

You may anticipate my defense somewhat by considering the following fact: no Negro has yet asked me that question. (My pastor in Grace Baptist Church where I teach Sunday School preached a sermon about Malcolm in which he called him a "giant in a sick world.") Every one of the many letters I got from my own people lauded Malcolm as a man, and commended me for having spoken at his funeral.

At the same time-and this is important-most of them took special pains to disagree with much or all of what Malcolm said and what he stood for. That is, with one singing exception, they all, every last, black, glory-hugging one of them, knew that Malcolm-whatever else he was or was not_Malcolm was a man_!

White folks do not need anybody to remind them that they are men. We do! This was his one incontrovertible benefit to his people.

Protocol and common sense require that Negroes stand back and let the white man speak up for us, defend us, and lead us from behind the scene in our fight. This is the essence of Negro politics. But Malcolm said to hell with that! Get up off your knees and fight your own battles. That's the way to win back your self-respect. That's the way to make the white man respect you. And if he won't let you live like a man, he certainly can't keep you from dying like one!

Malcolm, as you can see, was refreshing excitement; he scared hell out of the rest of us, bred as we are to caution, to hypocrisy in the presence of white folks, to the smile that never fades. Malcolm knew that every white man in America profits directly or indirectly from his position vis-avis Negroes, profits from racism even though he does not practice it or believe in it.

He also knew that every Negro who did not challenge on the spot every instance of racism, overt or covert, committed against him and his people, who chose instead to swallow his spit and go on smiling, was an Uncle Tom and a traitor, without balls or guts, or any other commonly accepted aspects of manhood!

Now, we knew all these things as well as Malcolm did, but we also knew what happened to people who stick their necks out and say them. And if all the lies we tell ourselves by way of extenuation were put into print, it would constitute one of the great chapters in the history of man's justifiable cowardice in the face of other men.

But Malcolm kept snatching our lies away. He kept shouting the painful truth we whites and blacks did not want to hear from all the housetops. And he wouldn't stop for love nor money.

You can imagine what a howling, shocking nuisance this man was to both Negroes and whites. Once Malcolm fastened on you, you could not escape. He was one of the most fascinating and charming men I have ever met, and never hesitated to take his attractiveness and beat you to death with it. Yet his irritation, though painful to us, was most salutary. He would make you angry as hell, but he would also make you proud. It was impossible to remain defensive and apologetic about being a Negro in his presence.

He wouldn't let you. And you always left his presence with the sneaky suspicion that maybe, after all, you _were_ a man!

But in explaining Malcolm, let me take care not to explain him away. He had been a criminal, an addict, a pimp, and a prisoner; a racist, and a hater, he had really believed the white man was a devil. But all this had changed. Two days before his death, in commenting to Gordon Parks about his past life he said: "That was a mad scene. The sickness and madness of those days! I'm glad to be free of them."

And Malcolm was free. No one who knew him before and after his trip to Mecca could doubt that he had completely abandoned racism, separatism, and hatred. But he had not abandoned his shock-effect statements, his bristling agitation for immediate freedom in this country not only for blacks, but for everybody. And most of all, in the area of race relations, he still delighted in twisting the white man's tail, and in making Uncle Toms, compromisers and accommodationists-I deliberately include myself-thoroughly ashamed of the urbane and smiling hypocrisy we practice merely to exist in a world whose values we both envy and despise.

But even had Malcolm not changed, he would still have been a relevant figure on the American scene, standing in relation as he does, to the "responsible" civil rights leaders, just about where John Brown stood in relation to the "responsible abolitionists in the fight against slavery. Almost all disagreed with Brown's mad and fanatical tactics which led him foolishly to attack a Federal arsenal at Harpers Ferry, to lose two sons there, and later to be hanged for treason.

Yet today the world, and especially the Negro people, proclaim Brown not a traitor, but a hero and a martyr in a noble cause So in future, I will not be surprised if men come to see that Malcolm X was, within his own limitations, and in his own inimitable style, also a martyr in that cause.

But there is much controversy still about this most controversial American, and I am content to wait for history to make the final decision.

But in personal judgment, there is no appeal from instinct. I knew the man personally, and however much I disagreed with him, I never doubted that Malcolm X, even when he was wrong, was always that rarest thing in the world among us Negroes: a true man. And if to protect my relations with the many good white folk who make it possible for me to earn a fairly good living in the entertainment industry, I was too chicken, too cautious, to admit that fact when he was alive, I thought at least that now when all the white folks are safe from him at last, I could be honest with myself enough to lift my hat for one final salute to that brave, black, ironic gallantry, which was his style and hallmark, that shocking _zing_ of fire-and-be-damned-to-you, so absolutely absent in every other Negro man I know, which brought him, too soon, to his death.

The Autobiography of Malcolm X

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department-shoe-stud · 4 years

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This is easily the most ambitious comic I’ve ever made. Look at all these MCs. Look at them.

And here’s the moment where Mitch and Erik realized, “Oh shit, that’s going to be my cousin-in-law.” The MC Summer BBQ has never had so much drama, not even when Charlie and Charlie Inc sang for thirty minutes straight, or when Wendy and Annie dropped Belch Powder into all of the drinks.

Malcolm Elmswood belongs to @cursebreakerelmswood

Erik Apollo and Carewyn Cromwell belong to @carewyncromwell

Charlie Copper and Wendy Gordon-Copper belong to @drinkyoursoupbitch

Mitch, Chip, and Annie belong to me!

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queenofcats17 · 4 years

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Okay, so, through the asks @year2000electronics‘ blog, I learned that Malcolm/Kittle got his happy ending and I’m really happy and I wanted to write it.

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Your name is Malcolm Challender.

You’re 26 years old.

You work as an accountant and it’s a horrible job. Video games are the only thing that brings you joy anymore. Your life is just one big hamster wheel of soul crushing monotony.

You have no friends. You’re alone. You’ve been alone for a long time. It doesn’t bother you. You’ve gotten used to it. Besides, it’s a huge pain to care about people and be open. Easier to just shut yourself off from the world.

You aren’t lonely. You aren’t.

You hate your life.

Except....That’s not true anymore, is it?

Let’s start again.

Your name is Malcolm Challender.

You’re 26 years old.

You’re a Twitch streamer who specializes mostly in seeing just how far you can break a game. It’s a lot of fun and your audience enjoys lovingly bullying you. You may have opened up a little, but you’re still not great at mushy gushy shit. You prefer being razzed by your fans because you know they’re not trying to tear you down.

You have two roommates, one of whom you’re dating and one of whom is kind of like your brother somehow.

Player is adorable and you just want to protect him, even if you hate that he makes you feel like that. He’s like the little brother you can’t help but love. It’s a constant struggle not to noogie him. He likes pigeons a lot and you have to keep the windows closed most of the time because pigeons really like him too. He’s like a fucking Disney princess. You know it would make him happy to have his little feathery friends around, but it’s not worth pigeon shit all over your stuff.

Darnold is one of the sweetest people you’ve ever met and you still don’t understand why he wanted to date you. He’s kind and considerate, always making sure you and Player are doing well and reminding you to eat when you forget, which...happens more than you’d like to admit, and he picks up groceries when you’re having a bad mobility day. He’s also maybe a little too enthusiastic when it comes to his rocket boots and potions, but you can deal with that. It’s just nice to see him happy.

You and Player are both dating Darnold, which somehow works. You’re not going to think too hard about it because you’re afraid of ruining a good thing.

You’ve somehow ended up with a bunch of friends from different dimensions, which is weird as shit but you’re not complaining.

It’s...nice not to be alone. Not that you’ll admit it.

Neo’s your gamer bro. You love hanging out with them to play video games, and you two often trade games back and forth. It’s really interesting to see the differences in games between your two worlds.

Your relationship with Swap is...complicated. But then again, Swap’s relationships with most people are complicated. He’s weird and a little hard to understand sometimes, but he’s cool. You haven’t forgotten his actions toward you on the ship.

Spork is pretty much one of the best people you’ve met. Not only are they a killer programmer, they’re also chaotic as Hell and just a lot of fun to be around.

Gordon B is pretty hilarious to mess with given how tightly he’s wound. He’s also genuinely sweet and caring, which means you tend to reject his concern most of the time. Even if you secretly appreciate it.

The little robot Science Team are hilarious but also incredibly chaotic and dangerous, so they’re not allowed at your house too often.

Gordon B’s Benrey sometimes sneaks onto your computer and messes with your game when you’re streaming. Like with the rest of the robot science team it’s both funny and incredibly annoying. At this point you’re kind of used to it.

Freeman and his friends are pretty chill. You don’t talk to them as much as the others, but you like them enough.

You and your interdimensional friends all get together to hang out sometimes, whether it be playing video game or throwing a party like you did after you took down that evil G-man.

It’s...nice.

All of it is....nice.

You smile a lot more than you used to, even if you deny it when people point it out.

You don’t dread waking up every day anymore.

Your name is Malcolm Challender.

You’re 26 years old.

And for the first time in a long time...You’re happy.

#hlvrai #hlvrv #fanfiction

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mariacallous · 4 years

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Top 5 Sondheim songs, Top 5 TTOI scenes, Top 5 Marina songs, Top 5 New Labour pols/spin doctors/or otherwise associated NL folk.

In no particular order (because it’s top 5)

Top 5 Sondheim songs: -You Could Drive A Person Crazy -I’m Still Here -The Ladies Who Lunch -Could I Leave You? -Rose’s Turn

Top 5 TTOI Scenes: Nicola Murray: Come off it! We're not in a prison drama, are we? Malcolm Tucker : We are in a prison drama. This is the fucking Shawshank Redemption, right? But with more tunneling through shit and no fucking redemption.

Glenn Cullen: Well, that's Hugh gone, then. Terri Coverley: It's so sad, isn't it - Hugh? Ollie Reeder: You don't give a shit! Terri Coverley: ...No, perhaps I don't.

Peter Mannion: Why does the useless one keep staring at me? Phil Smiith: Because she's a mentalist and she loves you. You ever crash your car in the mountains, she'll be the one waiting to drag you out. (both chuckle) You've seen Misery? Peter Mannion: I'm in the fucking BBC, aren't I?

Julius Nicholson: You've done some pretty awful things to me in my time, but this takes the bloody biscuit. And you've pissed on that biscuit and I've got to eat it. Well, here's the news, Malcolm, I will not eat the pissy biscuit! Malcolm: Sam, no pissy biscuits.

(Malcolm Tucker and Cal Richards are giving pre-election pep talks to their respective parties) Malcolm Tucker: I know what people say to you, right? They say: 'We hate you. I hate you, I hate you, I hate you.' Everybody hates you. So fucking what? Some people, they just fucking love to hate. Some people, they'd fucking walk around the fucking Garden of Eden fucking moaning about the lack of fucking mobile reception. These are the kind of fucks who watched Mandela – fucking Nelson Mandela – walk to freedom, and said 'Is Diagnosis: Murder not on the other side?' So we fucking forget about them. Cal Richards: This government has run this country into the ground. This used to be a green and pleasant land, now it's the colour of the fucking BBC Weather map. It looks like anaemic dogshit. Malcolm Tucker: JB, Cal Richards, and their hordes of fucking robots, they're coming over the hill, towards us! And all you have got to do is this: bend down, pick up any fucking weapon you can, and twat the fuckery out of them – Cal Richards: This government is maimed, but it can't be shamed. It will. Be. FUCKED! Malcolm Tucker: Let's get out there, and let's fucking kill them, LET'S SET FIRE TO TEARS! Let's go! (all applaud and cheer) Come on! Let's go, yes! Cal Richards: OK, let's get going.

Top 5 Marina songs: -Numb -Primadonna -How To Be A Heartbreaker -Sex Yeah -Karma

Top 5 New Labour peeps (oh fuck me we’re getting nostalgic for NuLab): Alastair Campbell (obvi) Gordon Brown Mo Mowlam (probably one of the top favorites in this group tbh) Jack Straw David Miliband (the hotter of the 2 brothers and that is that on that)

#arathesane

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clair-void-ance · 4 years

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Startup and Guidelines

Startup:

Here’s a list of the type of content that I’m allowing to be requested for time being (until my no thoughts head empty lookin brain gets its crap together lmao). I’ve listed a few fandoms and the characters in them that I’ll be willing to write for at the moment. I’ll be adding more soon, so keep an eye out for when I do! Even request a few and I’ll say if I can do them or not! (It’ll be based on if I’ve seen or read any of the media suggested, but if i haven’t seen or read it yet I’ll add it to the list!)

Types of Content:

Full fics

Playlists Maybe?

Headcannons

Drabbles (If I can handle writing so little)

Imagines

Etc.

Fandoms: (bolded means I write best for those***)

(Will do almost any character and any type of reader! Just give me ideas and a detailed description of what you’d like and I’ll try to get to it :) I may have to do research if I don’t understand a topic, but I’ll try to do my best!)

Buzfeed Unsolved: Shane Madej and Ryan Bergara

Conan O’Brien [cause honestly, why not?]

Ghost [the band]: Cardinal Copia, Papa Nihil, Papa Emeritus II, and Tobias Forge

Good Omens [book and movie]: Crowley, Aziraphale, Gabriel, Anathema Device, Newton Pulsifer, Hastur, War, Death, Famine, Pollution, and Beelzebub

Harry Potter [books and movie]: Severus Snape, Cho Chang, Barty Crouch Sr. and Jr., Cedric Diggory, Amos Diggory, Albus Dumbledore, Argus Filch, Hermione Granger, Rubeus Hagrid, Viktor Krum, Tom Riddle, Silvanus Kettleburn, Neville Longbottom, Golderoy Lockhart, Luna Lovegood, Xenophilius Lovegood, Remus Lupin, Draco Malfoy, Lucius Malfoy, Narcissa Malfoy, Minerva McGonagall, Alastor Moody, Garrick Ollivander, Poppy Pomfrey, Harry Potter, Quirinus Quirrell, Newt Scamander, Kingsley Shacklebolt, Aurora Sinistra, Sybil Trelawney, Blaise Zabini, Fred Weasley, George Weasley, Molly Weasley, Arthur Weasley, Bill Weasley, Percy Weasley, and Ginny Weasley

Joker: Arthur Fleck and Sophie Dumond

Law and Order SVU: John Much, Olivia Benson, George Huang, Odafin Tutuola, Melinda Warner, Sonny Carisi, Rafael Barba, Ed Tucker, William Dodds, Mike Dodds, Carl Rudnick, and Greg Yates.

Network: Max Schumacher, Howard Beale, Diana Christensen, and anyone else you want

Sherlock Holmes [books, movie, or tv show versions! I love them all!]: Sherlock Holmes, Moriarty, Mycroft Holmes, Greg Lestrade, Philip Anderson, Molly Hooper, Irene Adler, and Charles Magnussen

Sofia the First [kinda cringe, but let ya boi live man]: Cedric, Greylock, Baileywick, and maybe Roland

Stephen Colbert [Because, again, why not?]

Supernatural [sort of? I haven’t seen it fully yet, but I got a feel for the characters!]: will list later (way too many characters; gotta love them tho)

The Lord of the Rings/ The Hobbit [book or movies. I write pretty decently for all of these and maybe a few more]: Boromir, Pippin, Gil-Galad, Bilbo, Gandalf, Aragorn, Arwen, Elrond, Lindir, Galadriel, Eowyn, Faramir, Grima Wormtongue, Haldir, Saruman, Denethor, Thranduil, Radagast, Ori, Bofur, Thorin, Nori, Tauriel, Beorn, etc.

The Matrix [currently watching, so hopefully I’ll get a good grasp of the characters: Agent Smith, Morpheus, Neo, and anyone else I suppose

The Office [U.S. version, although I may do the U.K. one if I watch enough of it]: Toby Flenderson, Dwight Schrute, Andy Bernard, Darryl Philbin, Gabe Lewis, and Michael Scott

The Thick of It: Glenn Cullen, Hugh Abbot, Malcolm Tucker, Peter Mannion, Phil Smith, Emma Messinger, Jamie, Cliff Lawton, and anyone else I suppose

Top Gear [UK]: James May, Jeremy Clarkson, and Richard Hammond

Twin Peaks: Dale Cooper, Audrey Horne, Jocelyn Packard, Andy Brennan, Lucy Moran, Laura Palmer, Leland Palmer, Tommy “Hawk” Hill, Lawrence Jacoby, Albert Rosenfield, and Gordon Cole

Watchmen [movie and comic for now until I finish the new series!: Walter Kovacs, Jonathan Osterman, Daniel Dreiberg, Nelson Gardner, Byron Lewis, Hollis Mason, Ursula Zandt, Adrian Veidt, and Moloch

To Be Continued....

Will do:

The best that I can with what is asked! I’ll even write for super old or niche media as well if I know it; asking would probably be the best option though :)

Will not do:

To sum up: anything offensive or that is morally wrong. If you aren’t sure about something, just ask! I’m down to answer questions! :)

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callmebrycelee · 5 years

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Charmed: Season 2 episodes ranked.

Just like my last post, I’m going to rank the episodes of the second season of Charmed.

Chick Flick

Witch Trial

Apocalypse Not

The Painted World

Ex Libris

Pardon My Past

They’re Everywhere

Reckless Abandon

Morality Bites

Murphy’s Luck

P3 H20

Astral Monkey

Be Careful What You Wish For

Ms. Hellfire

That Old Black Magic

Awakened

She’s a Man, Baby, a Man!

Heartbreak City

Give Me a Sign

How to Make a Quilt Out of Americans

Animal Pragmatism

The Devil’s Music

Chick Flick. I love magic. I love horror. This episode blends the two perfectly. This episode also reminds me of the “The Tale of the Midnight Madness” episode of Are You Afraid of the Dark with characters coming in and out of the film. This episode is also very heavy on comedy and Prue, Piper and Phoebe do comedy very well! Such a fun episode!

Witch Trial. I love that Charmed did not gloss over the events of the season 1 finale where Andy Trudeau (T.W.King) was killed. Prue is still grieving and not in the mood to fight evil while Phoebe and Piper are all about embracing their magical destiny while celebrating their anniversary of becoming the Charmed Ones. There’s an appearance by Grams (Jennifer Rhodes) and the demon Abraxus is pretty cool.

Apocalypse Not. The Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse vs. The Charmed Ones...what’s not to love? Prue is arguably the strongest Charmed One so it’s always interesting to see what happens with the other sisters when she’s removed from the equation. I love that the Charmed Ones have to work with their enemy to save their sister - and this will not be the last time they will have to work with a demon (or two). I also love the moral dilemma posed in this question: Is it better to save all of humanity or one family member? Oh and Paula Cole performs at P3 which is pretty cool!

The Painted World. I like this episode because I love stories where people get trapped inside of things. Prue may be the oldest sister and the strongest Charmed One, she doesn’t always make the best decisions. You’re a witch, Prue! Why on earth would you start reading Latin out loud? I love that Phoebe is the one who has to save the day. I love the picture she drew for Jenny. I love the misdirect with the demon Malcolm. This is such a fun episode.

Ex Libris. This episode is heavy on the drama which Charmed does very well. Even though there is a demon in this episode - The Libris demon - the real evil in this episode is the store-owner Gibbs who murdered Cleavant Wilson’s daughter. I love that Phoebe is able to help her classmate Charlene after she is murdered by the Libris demon. We also get some backstory on Leo Wyatt (Brian Krause) which is pretty cool. This is the episode that also pretty much cements Piper and Leo as endgame. P.S., I hated Dan Gordon (Greg Vaughan). I reckon he was a good guy but he was just not the guy for Piper.

#charmed #prue halliwell #shannen doherty #phoebe halliwell #alyssa milano #piper halliwell #holly marie combs #leo wyatt #brian krause #dan gordon #greg vaughan #penny halliwell #jennifer rhodes #the four horseman of the apocalypse #tw king #andy trudeau

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weekendwarriorblog · 4 years

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The Weekend Warrior 10/16/20: SYNCHRONIC, FRENCH EXIT, TRIAL OF THE CHICAGO 7, LOVE AND MONSTERS, HONEST THIEF, THE KID DETECTIVE and More!

After the last couple weeks, I really need a break, which is why I’m writing most of this in transit to Columbus, Ohio to see my mother, sister and all (or some) of the friends that I made during my sabbatical to the city seven years ago for cancer treatment.

On, and look... Variety wrote about the movie theater chains and NATO lobbying Governor Cuomo to reopen movie theaters, showing that there’s been no proof of any cases leading back to movie theaters. (And more from The Hollywood Reporter…) New York leads and the world follows? More like ED leads and the world follows. Been saying this shit for months now and putting up with all sorts of needless abuse for it.

This week’s “Featured Flick” is actually a movie coming to theaters on October 23, but since I’m not sure I’m writing a column next week, I’m gonna review it this week! Cool? The movie is SYNCHRONIC (Well Go USA), and it’s the follow-up to Aaron Moorehead and Justin Benson’s amazing sci-fi film The Endless from a few years back. This ome stars Anthony Mackie and Jamie Dornan as parademics in New Orleans who have been coming across a series of bodies that have died in gruesome ways, all connected by a designer drug they were all taking.

I’ll just say right from the start that I loved almost everything about this movie from the amazing performances by Mackie and Dornan to the entire look and tone of the movie, which shows the duo taking huge steps forward as filmmakers, particularly Benson as a screenwriter. Unfortunately, I’m not sure what I can say about the movie and its plot without spoiling other’s enjoyment. I will say that it involves a designer drug and time travel and Mackie’s character has something odd about his brain that makes him better suited to figure out what is happening to the victims than others might be. Also, Dornan’s character Dennis has family issues, particularly with his daughter Brianna (Ally Ioannides), who disappears mysteriously, but it’s so nice seeing Katie Aselton as Dennis’ wife, as well as in another movie out this week.

I’ll also say that people who watch this movie will inevitably make comparisons to the work of Alex Garland and maybe even the more-versed ones might see a little of David Cronenberg’s Videodrome in the film’s trippy nature. The thing is that the movie is super-smart, and it’s obvious that Moorehead and Benson must have done a lot of research to make every aspect of it feel authentic. It’s just amazing what this duo can do with a small fraction of the money that Christopher Nolan had to make Tenet, and yet, they can create a complex and unique premise that’s actually easy to understand. Things like the camerawork, the music and sound design all add to the amazing tone and the mood that the duo have created.

I also think it’s Mackie’s best role and performance in many years, maybe even going back to The Hurt Locker, so as a long-time fan, I’m glad he connected with Moorehead/Benson to show that he’s more than capable of leading a movie like this.

Again, Synchronic will be in movie theaters and drive-ins NEXT Friday, October 23, but I want to give you an advance heads up, because Synchronic is likely to be the most original sci-fi or genre film you see this year. If you can’t get to the drive-in and don’t feel comfortable going to a movie theater, then I’m sure it will be on digital soon enough, but you definitely shouldn’t miss it!

Next up is Aaron Sorkin’s THE TRIAL OF THE CHICAGO SEVEN, streaming on Netflix starting Friday and the movie I was most looking forward to seeing this week. I was such a huge fan of Brett Morgen’s Chicago 10 documentary, which opened Sundance in 2007, especially with how he recreated the court trials using animation and a talented roster of voice actors including Hank Azaria, Mark Ruffalo and Geoffrey Wright. Sorkin has just as an impressive list of actors for his version, including Mark Rylance, Eddie Redmayne, Sacha Baron Cohen, Frank Langella, Joseph Gordon-Levitt and many more.

If you don’t know about the protests outside the 1968 Democratic National Convention in Chicago – you see, back in those days, the Democrats were the bad guys… how times have changed!! Those protests led to a number of arrests but a few years later, the federal government charged a number of individuals with inciting the riot. The accused include Black Panther leader Bobby Seale, played by Yahya Abdul-Mateen II from Aquaman and Watchmen, Abbie Hoffman (Cohen), FBI agent Tom Hayden (Eddie Redmayne), Jerry Rubin (Jeremy Strong), David Dellinger (John Carroll Lynch) and two more. The six white guys are defended by Mark Rylance’s William Kunstler, who faces the tough Judge Hoffman (Langella) who is not putting up with any guff from these young revolutionaries.

All of the characters are quickly introduced with a quick-cut opening montage with actual newsreel footage, but then we’re quickly moved to a meeting to the Attorney General (Keaton) with the trial’s prosecutor (Gordon-Levitt). From there, we’re right into the trial about 16 minutes into the movie, although Sorkin frequently cuts back to the actual day of the Chicago protest to recreate what happened as testimony is given. Probably the part that will have the most impact and resonance is the way Seale was mistreated compared to the others, getting so riled up at the judge that the judge orders him chained and gagged. The trial would end up taking place for almost 7 months even though the results were eventually overturned.

This really is perfect material for Sorkin, and maybe if I hadn’t seen Chicago 10 first, I would have been a lot more fascinated by the trial sequences, though Morgen did an equally great job working from the transcripts. Basically, what happened happened. Where Sorkin’s screenplay and film excels is showing what’s going on outside the courtroom, whether it’s the recreations or just conversations taking place between the plaintiffs. As might be expected from Sorkin, the screenplay is great with lots of fast talking, making for a movie that moves at a kinetic pace for its two hours.

If I had to pick a few of the best performances, I’d probably focus on Cohen’s Abbie Hoffman, which is more than just an accent, he and Strong’s Rubin bantering back and forth like a seasoned Vaudeville act; Rylance’s Kunstler is spot-on, and Langella is just great as the crusty judge, the film’s only true antagonist. I also appreciated John Carroll Lynch and in fact, all the performances, although I felt that with so many characters, Sorkin wasn’t able to give Bobby Seale the time his story truly needed. Still, I would be shocked if this isn’t considered a SAG Ensemble frontrunner.

Ultimately, The Trial of the Chicago 7 is a fine recreation of a certain moment in history that still feels relevant and timely fifty years later, even if it’s so heavy at times you either need to focus or, like me, watch it on Netflix in two sittings. I still liked Steve McQueen’s movie Mangrove that takes place in a similar era and also culminates in a trial just a little bit better.

Before we get to the rest of this week’s new movies, I have one last review from the New York Film Festival, and it’s the closing night film, FRENCH EXIT, from director Azazel Jacobs and writer Patrick Dewitt, who has adapted his own book. The film stars Michelle Pfeiffer as Frances Price, a Manhattan widow from wealth who discovers she has no more money, just as her son Malcolm (Lucas Hedges with longer hair than usual) has decided to marry his girlfriend Susan (Imogen Poots) though he hasn’t told his mother that yet. With no other options, Francis takes her son on a ship to live in Paris for a while at the home of one Mme. Renard (Valarie Mahaffey), an elderly woman who is a genuine fan of Francis and welcomes them as her guests.

This is one of those ensemble character dramedies that I wouldn’t even be able to begin to tell you why you should see it unless you miss seeing Pfeiffer in a semi-decent performance, but one that doesn’t do much as the film itself is so boring and insufferably pretentious most of the time I’m not sure I can even recommend it for that.

Jacobs and Dewitt previous made the movie Teri maybe ten years ago, and I was never really a fan, so I’m not sure why I thought that Dewitt adapting his own book would bear better results. Once Frances and Malcolm get to Paris, there’s just an influx of odd characters who show up, some who have more impact than others. I liked seeing Danielle Macdonald as a psychic medium the duo meet on the ship across the Atlantic who Malcolm bonks. She’s brought back when Frances wants her to conduct a séance to communicate with her late husband who she thinks is now inhabiting an omni-present cat. Like everything else, the relationship between Malcolm and Susan and how that’s affected by her meeting a new guy just never goes anywhere.

For the most part, the whole thing is just dull and uninteresting, and so pretentious it never really leads to anything even remotely memorable. I have no idea why the New York Film Festival would decide to close with this one. (Although the 58th NYFF is over, some of the movies will hit its Virtual Cinema soon, so keep an eye out! For instance, this Friday, FilmLinc begins a Pietro Marcello retrospective as well as showing his latest film Martin Eden in FilmLInc’s Virtual Cinema.)

Liam Neeson stars in Mark Williams’ HONEST THIEF (Open Road), a crime-thriller in which he plays Tom Carter, the uncaught robber behind 12 bank robberies who decides to settle down with Kate (Grey’s Anatomy) Walsh’s Annie Wilkins, who he meets while renting a storage space to hide all the money he’s stolen. After a year of things getting serious with Annie, Tom decides to retire so he calls the FBI and says he’s ready to give back the 9 million, but two crooked FBI agents (one played by Jai Courtenay, the other by Anthony Ramos) decide they’re going to take the money instead. Their plan to steal the money Tom’s trying to return leads to a number of deaths, including putting Annie in the hospital. When that happens, Tom has had enough, and honestly, there’s no one better at getting revenge than Neeson. (Did we mention that Carter is ex-Marine? I mean, of course he is!)

Many will go into Honest Thief expecting the typical Neeson action revenge flick ala Taken or maybe one of his high-concept thrillers, but Honest Thief isn’t nearly that exciting. It starts out fairly slow and dry with no real crime or action elements, although Williams does throw them in from time to time. The whole thing is pretty dry, and it’s a good 54 minutes before we get to the revenge aspect of the story and that’s after a lot of bad decisions being made across the board. Anyone who is still wondering how Jai Courtney has a career won’t be changing that decision by his turn as the villain, and it’s a lot odd when the movie tries to make a sympathetic character out of his partner, played by Ramos.

Regardless, any elements that make Honest Thief unique from other Neeson action movies are quickly tossed aside for the same usual cliches, and the action scenes aren’t even that great. While Honest Thief may not be an awful or unwatchable movie, it’s probably not the action movie you might be expecting from Neeson – more like a bargain basement The Fugitive with one plot decision that almost kills the whole movie.

Delayed a number of times and now dumped to PVOD (with minimal theatrical) is Paramount’s LOVE AND MONSTERS, which is written by the prolific Bryan Duffield (The Babysitter, Spontaneous), directed by Michael Matthews and produced by Shawn Levy’s 21 Laps Entertainment. In the movie, Dylan O’Brien plays Joel Dawson, a young man surviving the apocalypse with a small community after the government’s plot to blast a couple asteroids heading to earth backfires. Instead, it creates giant, carnivorous monsters out of the earth’s animals who eliminate 95% of the earth’s human population. (We learn all of this through a Zombieland-like animated prequel getting us up to speed.) Before the earth fell into disarray, Joel was in love with Jessica Henwick’s Aimee, but they were separated by the fateful events. Seven years later, they’re reconnected via radio and Joel has sworn to travel the 85 miles across the creature-covered wasteland to reunite with her. Hence, the title “Love and Monsters.” Get it?

I actually didn’t hate this movie, although it’s not really a family film or one meant for young kids, because it’s PG-13 for a reason, including mild violence i.e. people being chomped by monsters, and some sexuality. Dylan O’Brien does a decent job carrying it, but it relies just as much on the other people he meets, particularly Michael Rooker’s Clyde and his young ward Minnow, played by Ariana Greenblatt, the latter who is such a scene-stealer that it’s disappointing they’re only in the movie for a small chunk. They’re probably the funniest part of the movie.

I like giant monsters and these ones are certainly … interesting. They seem to have been toned down a bit maybe to be more kid-friendly, more like the kid-friend Godzilla than the terror we’ve seen in recent incarnations. There are also a number of great action set-pieces, and some good post-Apocalyptic ideas we haven’t seen, especially when Duffield’s dark sense of humor is able to come out and keep things fun.

Still, Love and Monsters is not a kids’ movie, and there’s something about it that might make people wish the filmmaker just went full-on R, because going further towards PG would have made even the best parts quite painful to get through. As it is, Love and Monsters is a suitably fine boy and his dog adventure – oh, did I mention the dog? – that would make a perfectly fine streaming movie.

We’ll get back to some of the other theatrical releases in a bit, but I wanted to get to two movies that were pleasant surprises, maybe because I went into them with absolutely zero expectations.

I wasn’t really sure what to think about Cooper Raiff’s SH#!%HOUSE (IFC Films) at first, maybe because it’s title is a little off-putting and not really particularly representative of what the movie is. Raiff himself plays Alex Malmquist, a fairly new arrival at his college but already missing home and his mother (Amy Landecker) and not really adjusting to the crazy college lifestyle as exemplified by his roommate Sam (Logan Miller). After a party at a frat called “Shithouse” (hence the title), Alex meets and connects with his dorm’s R.A. Maggie (Dylan Gelula) and the two spend the night bonding and hanging out.

Obviously, someone at IFC Films loves these platonic indie two-handers about people meeting and hanging out over the course of a night, because Shithouse is the second such movie after Olympic Dreams earlier in the year. They also must know that I’m a sucker for these kinds of semi-rom-coms, because just like with that other movie, I totally ate up everything Raiff was trying to do and say with his movie. The chemistry between the two leads is undeniable, and maybe it won’t be a surprise that Gelula also appeared in Raiff’s previous movie.

As with any relationship, things do come to an end, and this one crashes and burns in a very sad way for Alex the very next day. Maggie starts to pretend she doesn’t even know him, and she ignores his incessant texts saying how much he enjoyed their night together. Boy, I have been there back in my reckless and romantic days of youth.

At first, I wasn’t that into Raiff as an actor – remember what I’ve said about filmmakers casting themselves? – but Alex definitely grew on me. Gelula is absolutely amazing, and frankly, I can see someone “discovering” her in ten years and becoming a new Parker Posey, Kate Lynn Sheil or other similar indie ingenue.

The combination of the two is what makes Shithouse such a special experience, since their situations are quite relatable and Raiff does a great job with the characterization in his writing to make this quite enjoyable to see how things will resolve themselves.

I also wasn’t quite prepared for how much I’d enjoy Steve Byrne’s THE OPENING ACT (RLJEfilms), maybe because I was unfamiliar with Byrne, and as usual, I didn’t read the description of the movie before sitting down to watch it. If I did, I would have known that Byrne is a stand-up comic and presumably this movie is somewhat based on situations that have happened to him. It stars Jimmy O. Yang from Crazy Rich Asians (a great comic in his own right) as Willy Chu, a young comic who has always dreamed of making it in stand-up but instead, has been stuck trying to get slots at an open mic night, while holding down a day job working at an insurance company. One day, his friend (Ken Jeong) sets him up for an MC gig in Pennsylvania at the Improv where his idol Billy G (Cedric the Entertainer) will be performing, so Willy quits his job to pursue his dream.

Much of Byrne’s movie deals with Billy’s “adventure” in Pennsylvania with the club’s womanizing featured act (played by SNL’s Alex Moffatt) and trying to face the struggles of stand-up in hopes of getting to the next level. There have been better movies about the subject, like Mike Birbiglia’s Sleepwalk with You, but Byrne’s film is a nice addition, particularly because Yang plays such a likeable, benevolent character you want to see him do well even after he crashes and bombs on a Saturday night and is at risk of losing the Improv gig.

It’s obvious that Byrne pulled in a lot of favors from friends to get such a great cast of comics – even getting Whitney Cumming to make a cameo – but the likes of Bill Burr actually take on key roles, like Willy’s boss in that case. Moffatt is particularly hilarious expanding on some of his outrageous SNL characters to play a stand-up who actually does help Willy, even as he puts him in pretty awful situations. Cedric also gives another fantastic performance as Willy’s idol who gives him the cold shoulder at first but eventually comes around and offers him the mentoring that Willy needs.

The Opening Act isn’t anything particularly revelatory, but it is thoroughly entertaining, and a nice little indie that I hope people will discover for themselves, especially those who like (or perform) stand-up.

Edward James Olmos directs THE DEVIL HAS A NAME (Momentum Releasing) starring the great Oscar-nominated David Strathairn as almond farmer Fred Stern, who has been running his orchard for three decades with trusty second Santiago, played by Olmos himself. Things are going well until they notice that some of the trees are rotting. It turns out they’re being poisoned by the water that’s been sullied by crude oil run-off from the nearby Shore Oil rigs. Around the same time, an opportunist named Alex Gardner, played by Haley Joel Osment, offers Fred a very low-ball offer to buy the farm, though Fred suspects something is up, and sure enough, Shore Oil is responsible.

Another movie I didn’t know what to expect other than a few cursory elements is this movie “based on a true story” movie about the little farmer taking on “The Man.” In this case, Shore Oil is represented by Kate Bosworth’s Gigi Cutler, a tough exec. at the corporation who thinks their lawyers (one of them played by Katie Aselton!) can crush this local troublemaker. When Stern’s lawyer (Martin Sheen) sues the oil company for 2 billion, they need to start taking things seriously, bringing in a tough “fixer” played by Pablo Schreiber.

I’m not sure where to begin with this movie that certainly has noble intentions in telling this story but suffers from quite a few issues, mostly coming from the script. I was a little concerned once I knew the premise, because I was not a huge fan of Todd Haynes’ Dark Water from last year, although I did enjoy the Krasinski-Damon-Van Sant ecological venture, Promised Land. This one falls somewhere in between, and probably its biggest issue is that it tries to create some humor out of the erratic behavior of the characters played by Bosworth and Schreiber; both performances are so off-the-rails at times it regularly takes you out of Fred’s story. (Osment is also pretty crazy but at least he fits better into his role.) Strathairn is great and well-cast, and Olmos is equally good, and I imagine that it’s partially because many of their scenes are together, allowing Olmos to direct with his acting. Aselton and Sheen are also decent, especially in the courtroom scenes.

Oh, and did I mention that Alfred Molina plays the Big Boss, who is interrogating Cutler as a needless framing device? Yeah, there’s a lot of characters, and when you hold this up against something like The Trial of Chicago 7, it’s just obvious that the film has too many elements for any filmmaker to be able to juggle at once.

Because of this, The Devil Has A Name is an erratic real-life dramedy that’s too all over the place in terms of tone, it ends up shooting itself in the foot by trying (and failing) to be funny despite the serious subject matter.

Next up is 2 HEARTS (Silver Lion Films/ Freestyle Releasing), another movie based on a true story from the Hool Brothers, who I really wasn’t very familiar with. I assumed this was going to be a faith-based movie, and maybe in some ways it is, but not really. It essentially tells two stories set in different time periods that you assume will somehow be connected. Ooh, boy.

First, there’s Jacob Elordi of Euphoria and The Kissing Booth – neither of which I’ve seen, mind you – who plays Chris Gregory, a college kid who connects in a meet-cute way with Tiera Skovbye’s Sam. Before we get too far into their story, we cut back to what looks like Cuba in the ‘50s and 60s, and meet Jorge Bolivar (Adan Canto), the son of an alcohol magnate, a soccer player who suffers a serious lung issue that puts him in the hospital. Years later, Jorge is travelling to Miami when he meets Radha Mitchell’s Leslie working as a flight attendant.

Both guys are pretty suave smooth-talking pick-up artists, and the movie spends almost an hour cutting between two very corny and cheesy romance stories that really don’t offer much in terms of story. Instead, it keeps following Chris and Sam’s life as they have kids, taking forever to get to the connection between the stories. I was getting pretty bored of the movie, but I felt like I had to stick it out to see what happens.

When you call a movie “2 Hearts,” you kind of expect it to be about a heart transplant of some kind, right? But no, it’s actually about a dual lung transplant that Jorge receives. Want to take a wild guess who the donor is? I certainly don’t want to spoil what happens, but for a movie that spends a good hour setting up the relationships between the two men and their pretty blondes with ups and downs that makes it seem like a Nicholas Sparks movie, it really throws a spanner into the fairy tale with all the melodrama that’s to come. It’s such a whiplash in terms of tone it pretty much destroys any chance of one enjoying the movie for what it is. It also loses a lot without Elordi, since the actors who play his family aren’t very good at all.

I had to actually look up the story to see how much if it was true, only to learn that Jorge was based on Jorge Bacardi who actually received a double lung transplant from one Christopher Gregory, inspiring him to create the Gabriel House of Care. The problem is that the time periods get so messed up by setting one story decades in the past. Using the same actors to play the people over that time with pretty shabby make-up just makes things that much more confusing. The big problem is that it spends so much time avoiding the actual plot and point of making the movie that by the time it gets to it, you just don’t care about the characters anymore.

The whole thing is very by the books and predictable, but ultimately, it’s hard to believe any of it, despite it being based on a true story. If you go into this movie expecting love and romance and all that kind of mushy stuff from the title, you’re likely to be disappointed when the movie finally gets to its point. (In other words, it could have used some giant monsters.)

Here’s another movie that I didn’t really know what to expect going in and that probably should have helped me enjoy it more… if it was anything resembling a good movie. Picked up at the Toronto Film Festival where it premiered last month, Evan Morgan’s THE KID DETECTIVE (Sony) stars Adam Brody as Abe Appelbaum, the “kid detective” of the titles, who as a child was one of those super-smart kids who have the deductive powers to help the people in his community, but as a 32-year-old, he just isn’t taken as seriously any more. When a high school girl named Caroline (Sophie Nélisse) comes to Abe to find out who murdered her boyfriend, Abe finally realizes that he has his first grown-up case, though he’s still obsessed with the disappearance of the mayor’s daughter (and his kid receptionist) Gracie many years earlier.

I’m sure there’s gonna be people out there who watch and appreciate The Kid Detective for what it is, a wry and slightly clever noir pastiche pseudo-comedy, but anyone who has seen Rian Johnson’s first film Brick or the underrated Mystery Team (starring Donald Glover very early in his career) might feel that this doesn’t live up to either. Besides the fact that Brody really hasn’t developed much personality as an actor, the film rolls along with a fairly flat, deadpan tone that just never gets remotely exciting. The humor is subdued and yet it feels like everyone is constantly trying too hard, particularly Morgan, while at the same time not really taking any chances. This is a movie that could have been edgier but instead, it milks its flimsy high-concept premise as long as possible before giving up.

Like Love and Monsters, Sony is releasing The Kid Detective into theaters on Friday, and hopefully parents will check that rating before assuming it’s a kid flick. Although there isn’t so much bad language or anything that wouldn’t warrant a PG… other than the fact that it’s not particularly funny or even entertaining and kids will be super-bored.

I can’t believe there’s still more! Amazon’s “Welcome to the Blumhouse” anthology series continues this week with two more movies in the series of eight, which you can now watch on Prime Video:

Easily my favorite of the four movies I’ve seen is Zu Quirke’s NOCTURNE (Amazon), which follows a pair of twins, Julie (Sidney Sweeney) and Vivian (Madison Iseman), who are both competitive concert pianists at the Lindberg Academy, although Vivian is clearly the better, as she’s heading off to Julliard while Julian is taking a gap year.

Before we meet them, we see a young violist jumping off the balcony to her death for some reason, and we learn that she was the finalist to play a concerto, so now that slot is open and both Julie and her sister desperately want it.

Nocturne is certainly more like the horror movies we expect from Blumhouse, which is both good and bad. The good is that it is indeed quite scary as Quirke’s team uses really eerie lighting effects and other things to create suspense. But there’s also an artiness to what Quirke does that elevates Nocturne above the normal high-concept horror-thriller.

Quirke, who also wrote the film, delivers all the characterization you expect from a good horror film so that you really care about the characters, and she’s put together such a fine cast, particularly Sweeney who has to run a gamut of emotions as Julie. I also like Rodney To as Julie’s tough instructor Wilkins

Again, I won’t say too much more about the actual plot, although if you can imagine a Faustian bargain and how that plays out for those around Julie, you can probably understand why a super-fan of The Omen might dig what Quirke did in this environment.

The fourth movie in the “Welcome to the Blumouse” series is EVIL EYE (Amazon), from Indo-American filmmakers Elan and Rajeev Dassani, a relatively innocuous thriller based around the relationship between Pallavi (Sunita Mani from last week’s Save Yourselves! and GLOW) and her mother Usha, played by Sarita Choudhury. Pallavi is in her late 20s and single and her mother keeps wanting to get her set-up with a nice man, as a good Indian mother is wont to do. When Pallavi meets Sandeep (Omar Maskati), things are going well since he has money and her mother thinks her daughter has hit the jackpot, until she realizes that Sandeep has a dark secret.

Here’s another thriller where it’s really tough to talk about the plot, because obviously the filmmakers want the story to unfold in the specific way it was written. Apparently, this one was once an Audible story, and the first thing I noticed was how amazing Sunita Mani looks from her fairly glammed down roles in other things. I think she’s just wearing make-up and has her styled different but I’m not sure I would have known it was the same actor in Save Yourselves! Because I had to do a double take.

The problem with Evil Eye, and it’s been a problem with some of the other “Welcome to the Blumhouse” movies, is that it isn’t necessarily what I’d consider horror. It really plays a lot more like a romantic drama, other than the fact that Pallavi’s mother has visions and believes in astrology enough to send her daughter trinkets to protect her from the “evil eye.” In fact, the movie just gets weirder and weirder, as it starts introducing supernatural elements, and without giving the big plot twist away, it does expect one to believe in reincarnation.

I wish I could have liked this more, but it really seems like it would be better suited for a show like “The Outer Limits” or “The Twilight Zone,” since the premise is stretched so think for about 30 minutes longer than necessary. I think the filmmakers did perfectly fine with what they had to work with – the two main actresses are just fab – but I think I’d need to see some of their other work to see if the issues I had were just cause the story isn’t that interesting or by their limitations in making it.

(And I promise that I do have a feature on all the filmmakers from the first four “Welcome to the Blumhouse” series coming over at Below the Line, but it’s been a pretty tough piece to write.)

I reviewed Alex Gibney’s new doc Totally Under Control (Neon/Participant), co-directed with Ophelia Harutyunyan and Suzanne Hillinger, in last week’s column but it’s now available to watch On Demand and then it will be on Hulu starting next Tuesday, October 20. Obviously, everyone wanted to get this out there and make sure people see it before they get too in-deep with the election.

I also reviewed David Byrne’s American Utopia (HBO), directed by Spike Lee, a few weeks back, but it will be on HBO and presumably HBO Max on Sunday night. Not as big an event as Disney+’s Hamilton but still worth watching, especially if you’re a fan of Byrne or his band the Talking Heads, because it actually acts as a nice counterpoint bookend to the late Jonathan Demme’s fantastic Stop Making Sense, one of the best concert documentaries ever made, or at least top 5. I’m bummed I missed Byrne’s show on Broadway, and it doesn’t sound like Broadway will be coming back anytime soon so I guess this HBO documentation is the best any of us can wish for.

Of the movies I didn’t have time to watch this week, the two that I’m hoping to still get to are two docs: Inna Blockhina’s SHE IS THE OCEAN (Blue Fox Entertainment) and Rick Korn’s HARRY CHAPIN: WHEN IN DOUBT, DO SOMETHING (Greenwich). She Is the Ocean explores the lives of nine women who all have a passion for the ocean. The Harry Chapin doc may be more self-explanatory, and I wish I was a bigger fan of Chapin, the famed singer/songwriter/activist, because maybe I would have watched this movie earlier. (But seriously, look at how many movies came out this week, when I was hoping it would be “slower”!) Also, I’m a little bit interested in the K-Pop doc #BlackPinkLightUpTheSky that will air on Netflix, just because, I dunno, I like adorable, young Asian women, so sue me?

Premiering on Disney+ this Friday is Justin Baldoni’s CLOUDS, starring Fin Argus as musician Zach Sobiech, who has only months to live when his cancer starts spreading, but he follows his dream to make an album and becomes a viral music phenomenon. I’m not sure if this is a true story but it certainly sounds a lot like a faith-based film called I Still Believe that hit theaters just before they all shut down due to the pandemic. Coincidence? I think not.

Also this week, the 32nd ANNUAL NEWFEST LGBTQ FILM FESTIVAL begins on Friday, running through October 27 with opening night being the well-regarded Ammonite, starring Kate Winslet and Saoirse Ronan, but it will be done as a drive-in, so I’m out. Over in Los Angeles, the AFI FEST starts on Thursday and runs through October 22, and that’s also showing a lot of cool festival/awards films that I haven’t had a chance to watch yet like The Father, I’m Your Woman and more. I missed my chance to get press accreditation, so yeah, I guess I’ll be waiting on that.

And then we get to all the movies that I didn’t have time to see or didn’t receive a screener, so here we go. This week’s unfortunate dumping ground:

Lupin III: The First (GKIDS) (This anime film is being released as a Fathom event on Oct. 18 – dubbed, and Oct. 21 – subtitled)

Belly of the Beast (I’ve actually heard good things about Erika Cohn’s doc about illegal sterilizations being conducted in a woman’s prison.)

Don’t Look Back (Gravitas Ventures)

Rom Boys: 40 Years of Rad (101 Films)

The Antidote (Cinetic/Brand New Story)

Monochrome: The Chromism (Tempest)

J.R “Bob” Dobbs and the Church of the Subgenius (Uncork’d)

Monster Force Zero (WildEye Releasing)

Ghabe (GVN Releasing)

The Accidental President (Intervention)

In Case of Emergency (Kino Lorber)

I’m not sure how much of a column I’m gonna write next week since I won’t have nearly as much time to watch movies or write about them in the coming week, while I’m in Colmbus. There are a couple high profile movies I hope to get to, so we’ll see what happens.

By the way, if you read this week’s column and have bothered to read this far down, feel free to drop me some thoughts at Edward dot Douglas at Gmail dot Com or drop me a note or tweet on Twitter. I love hearing from readers … honest!

#TheWeekendWarrior #Movies #Reviews #VOD #Streaming #Synchronic #TrialOfTheChicago7 #FrenchExit #LoveANdMonsters TheKidDetective #Nocturne #2Hearts #Shithout #THeDevilHasAName #TheOpeningAct

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blueboxesandtrafficcones · 4 years

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The Nuptial Necessity - Chapter 14

A 12xRose Human AU

Despite an unglamorous job description, Rose loves the work she does with The Thistle Foundation, a charity founded by her best friend’s great-uncle. It doesn’t hurt that her boss, her friend’s father, is easy on the eyes. With a great job, wonderful friends and a loving family, life couldn’t be better – except for having someone to share it with.

All of that is threatened, though, when the great-uncle dies – and sets a strange condition for his nephew to inherit, jeopardizing the Foundation and Rose’s future, sparking a chain of events that might just get her everything she dreamed of and more.

Chapters will be posted on Saturdays and Tuesdays. Many thanks to my beta, @stupidsatsuma

Rated: Explicit, for eventual smut

@doctorroseprompts

AO3 | Masterlist

—

Friday - the wedding, pt. 2 / 2

Breathing deeply, Rose let out a sigh of contentment. The ceremony had gone off without a hitch, the luncheon had been wonderful, and now she was on the dancefloor, swaying in Malcolm’s arms. Her head nestled against his shoulder, body flush to his as they moved, was her idea of heaven.

It was why the Gala was her favorite night of the year, more than her birthday or Christmas, New Year’s, or any other bank holiday. The opportunity to be so close to him, to breathe in his scent, to have him hold her closer – they always danced together for several slow songs. The first was often spent whispering about how the event was going, the second was for sharing any juicy gossip, and the rest… She liked to think the rest were just because he wanted to hold her as much as she wanted to be in his arms. It was silly, bordering on deluded, but- she was in love.

And he wouldn’t hold her like this if he didn’t want to.

“You look beautiful,” Malcolm murmured out of the blue, grip tightening on her slightly as the song changed. Other couples joined the floor, but Rose paid them no attention, trusting him to keep them from crashing into others.

“Thank you.” Opening her eyes she glanced up at him, gaze tracing along the line of his jaw. It was only mid-afternoon but his five o’clock shadow was already strong, and it wasn’t just the champagne that wondered what that would feel like against her bare skin. “You look handsome yourself. I expected your tux, but this is actually better.”

He was dressed in a morning suit, including a waistcoat, looking very dapper and dashing. The accent colors even matched the light shade of blue and cream she’d chosen for their colors.

“A tux?” Malcolm sniffed, affecting a haughty tone. “During the day? What am I, a savage?”

Rose laughed, and his mock-disgusted expression melted into a grin.

“No, this was more appropriate. Besides, I’ll be wearing the tux next weekend, for the Gala. And if I do say so myself, I look particularly debonair in it, and I didn’t want to take the chance of upstaging the bride.”

“Oh, I get it,” she beamed up at him. “I’ll be much more dressed up for that as well.”

“As you should – you’re a proper Lady now, Viscountess.” His thumb began a gentle back and forth motion along her spine, and even though the thick material of her dress separated him from her skin, it was intoxicating.

“Noted,” was all she could manage, breathless, and his crystal blue eyes darkened a bit in response; they even flickered down to her mouth, and for one wild moment she thought (hoped, prayed) he was about to kiss her again. When he had, at the officiant’s direction, her knees had gone weak and she would’ve sunk to the ground if he hadn’t been holding her up. It had been dream-like, and all she wanted was for him to do it again, longer this time, deeper, and most importantly, because he wanted to. She was equal parts pleased and disappointed that no one had yet clinked their glasses to make them kiss; while she would like the excuse, the idea hurt too much, of him doing it only because it was expected.

“Rose?”

“Hmm?”

“Can I tempt you to another slice of cake and glass of bubbly?”

She waited a beat before opening her eyes, hoping the disappointment wouldn’t slow. “Yeah, course.”

Malcolm led her to their seats; at some point between her visit that morning and the ceremony someone had decided to space out the tables along the wall so they wouldn’t have to go all the way around behind people, and Rose didn’t care whose idea it was- she was just grateful.

“Thank you, my Lord,” she teased him as they settled into their seats, grinning at him. “Too kind.”

Their glasses had been refilled while on the dance floor, but Malcolm gestured to their server to bring them cake before lifting his flute, Rose copying him half a second behind.

“I propose a toast,” her new husband said, sending a thrill through her. “To you. For being the wonderful, selfless human being you are. Your kind heart and generous spirit constantly amaze me. And… if I may, for a moment, be selfish, I am very much looking forward to spending more time with you for the foreseeable future.”

Rose smiled, cheeks turning pink. “Thank you. And to you, for… for being a good man, kind, trustworthy… I agreed to this because you are you. I wouldn’t have done this for… anyone else, basically.” She pretended to think about it for a moment. “Maybe Chris Hemsworth. Or that bloke that plays that detective on that show I like. But no one else.” Her smile faded, and she added softly, with a bit too much emotion in her voice, “Just you.”

She met his eye, and slowly, his expression changed, grew more thoughtful and curious and just a touch hopeful.

“Rose-”

He knew, rationally, that she didn’t mean it the way it sounded. It had been an emotionally charged day, the free-flowing champagne only complicating matters. But his treacherous heart refused to hear it, trying to beat its way out his chest and across the small space to hers, to be forever entwined as they had promised to do in their vows. He wanted that, a life with her for real, so terribly, and all of this was just a tease, an offer that would never pan out.

And then she looked at him that way, all doe eyes and earnest expression, like he was the only one in the world, the only person she could see, that they were alone in a roomful of people, and he dared to dream.

It occurred to him, then, with a bitter irony, a sucker punch to the gut, that this wedding was the final death knell for any potential relationship. That now, as her husband as well as her boss, the difference in their power balance was too great. He could never be certain that, were he to actually be brave enough to ask for what he wanted, and by some miracle she agreed to more, that it was because it was what she wanted, and not because she was trying to please him- her entire life depended on him now, he was responsible for everything in her daily life, and he could never be sure.

This realization took his breath away, a visceral, physical ache in his chest. And, judging by the concern spreading over her face it was visible on his, and he glanced around desperately in an attempt to distract her.

“Brigadier!”

His old friend was standing at the edge of the dance floor talking to Clara and Danny, and by the pale expression on the young man’s face, giving him quite the talking-to, which Malcolm appreciated. Glancing up Alistair nodded, and a moment later, made his way towards him while Clara and Danny escaped to the dance floor.

“Hello, Malcolm,” Alistair rumbled, stopping on the other side of the table from them. “And Mrs. Tucker, a pleasure to make your acquaintance. I’ve heard a fair bit about you, over the years.”

Ah, shit, Malcolm thought, belatedly remembering that he had, in fact, mentioned Rose to him once or twice over the years. Or during every bloody conversation. “Rose, this is Brigadier General Alistair Gordon Lethbridge-Stewart. We go way back. Brigadier, this is Rose Tyler.”

“It’s lovely to meet you, Brigadier,” Rose said warmly. “I believe I’ve taken a few of your calls over the years. Malcolm hasn’t told me all that much about you, but what he has says quite a bit.”

“Is that so?” Alistair narrowed his eyes at Rose, as though sizing her up. “And what, precisely, does that say- does he say?”

Malcolm held his breath, but Rose hardly blinked at the challenge.

“That you are one of the best men he’s ever known, and one of the few he would trust with Clara’s life, no questions asked. That the world could do with more men like you.” Then she grinned. “His actual words were ‘he’s an old friend, and would sometimes watch Clara for me when Wallace couldn’t’.”

Malcolm’s ears went red, but Rose and the Brigadier both burst into laughter, so he was willing to suffer a bit of embarrassment in favor of two of the most important people in his life bonding.

“Did he ever tell you how we met?” the Brig asked, still chuckling, as he came around to sit in the chair on Rose’s other side.

She shook her head, shooting Malcolm an appraising look. “No, he didn’t, an omission I hope you’re about to rectify, Sir.”

“Most certainly. And, please, call me Alistair. Now, it was-”

“You know, I don’t think I ever got the story of why you’re here,” Malcolm cut in. He didn’t have serious expectations of being able to keep Rose from hearing the story, but he was inclined to keep them from getting too chummy. The Brig knew too many of his secrets for their friendship to be comfortable for him. Even a ten-minute delay seemed a wise move.

Both shot him knowing looks tinged with exasperation, saying they knew what he was doing. “Very well,” the Brig said, “if you must know right this moment. Clara called and asked me to come- begged, really. She was surprised to learn I’d never received an invitation, and that was the first I was hearing of this- you, remarrying.”

Fuck. “I tried to get in touch, but was told you were very busy in Geneva,” Malcolm said stiffly. “I don’t think your assistant liked me very much- Dorothy? Doria?”

“Doris?”

“That’s it.”

The Brig smirked. “You’re right, she doesn’t. She’s my wife.”

Rose snorted, and Malcolm gave her a wounded look. “Don’t laugh, how was I supposed to know?”

“You’ve met her at least a dozen times.”

“Still.”

“All right, all right,” Rose interrupted, smirking. “You’ve gotten your answer. I was about to get a story- a wedding present, if you will. You wouldn’t deny a bride her wedding present, would you?”

Malcolm could deny her nothing on an average day; certainly not now that she had made such a sacrifice. “Go ahead.”

“So-”

“Maybe I should tell it.”

The Brigadier rolled his eyes. “If you insist. But I will correct any falsities.”

Taking a long sip of his champagne and bite of cake, Malcolm nodded. “So, it’s our first weekend in London- divorce finalized on Tuesday, packed up the car on Wednesday, and now it’s Saturday. Having effectively never been to the city, I decide to take Clara to some of the historical tourist sites, as one does. We sign up for a tour. Not twenty minutes into it do I realize that somewhere between the ticket gate and Traitor’s Gate- roughly 100 meters, mind you- this girl has vanished. Gone. I about lost my fucking mind. So I alert the security guard, they start a search party, you’d think someone had said ‘hey, where’d the crown jewels go?’ it was that level of seriousness, which I did appreciate.” Pausing for another sip, he appreciated how intently both were listening to the story, relishing in their anticipation.

“Everyone’s searching for her, calling her name, everything. And don’t I hear behind me, ‘Dad, there’s a girl missing with the same name as me, isn’t that weird? Can we help look for her?”

Rose burst into laughter, so loud half the guests turned to look, including Clara, who got one glance at the three of them and marched over, Danny trailing behind as her ears turned red.

“Oh please, please, please tell me you didn’t tell her,” Clara begged, glaring at him. “Please.”

“This explains so much,” Rose gasped, holding her napkin to her mouth in a failed bid to repress her laughter. “Remember? You did exactly the same thing in Edinburgh, I even called Malcolm, and he said, I quote, ‘She’ll turn up. Don’t bother calling for her, she’ll think it’s a coincidence’. Now I know why!”

“It was the first time she did that, but not the last,” he confirmed, grinned at Rose’s good humor.

“Oh, I love it. Doesn’t explain you two meeting, though?”

The Brigadier beat him to the punch. “I joined the army at eighteen. When this occurred I was stationed at the Tower working security when this five year old comes wandering down stairs I’m fairly certain haven’t been used in five hundred years, absolutely off limits even to us. Well, I very slightly outranked my fellow guard, and decided to take her back up myself. My daughter’s a few years older, and done the same thing once or twice, so I understood the panic. We’ve been friends ever since.”

“Wow.” Rose turned back to Malcolm, flashing him a grin. “That is a great story. Much better than being uni roommates.”

“Hey, I like our story,” Clara protested, giving an exaggerated pout. “It’s good too.”

“Of course it is.” Rose leaned back in her chair, examining the Brig with a considering eye. “I bet you’ve got lots of stories about these two back in the day.”

To Malcolm’s dismay but not surprise, a coy grin grew over the soldier’s face. “Why yes, indeed I do.”

“Alistair, I believe this is going to be the beginning of a beautiful friendship.”

#bbatcfic #ficandchips #Doctor Who #doctorroseprompts #Human!12xRose #Human!Twelfth Doctor #Rose Tyler #human!au #AU #The Nuptial Necessity

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1indienation · 4 years

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1 Indie Nation Episode 125 Summer in the City

Greetings lover bunnies! How are you enjoying summer? I hope you are having the most fun you can! Stay hydrated and cool! Take a dip in the pool! I have a 90 min mix from DJ JS-1 // NYC // Rocksteady Crew. He plays dozens of tracks from different genres of music. You will enjoy this one. It has a little something for everyone. Follow DJ JS-1 on Instagram and Twitter @djjs1

Please wear a mask (in public) and wash your hands! Courtesy Reminder.

Tracklist:

01 - Imagine Dragons - Radioactive 02 - Pink Floyd - Comfortably Numb (Moonrock Rmx) 03 - Cold Play - Paradise 04 - Elle King - Ex's and Oh's 05 - Vanessa Paradis - Paradis 06 - OutKast - Funk Ride 07 - Eagles - Hotel California (Left Coast Rmx) 08 - The Beatles - Dear Prudence 09 - Grace Jones - Nightclubbing 10 - The Dramatics - Whatcha See Is Whatcha Get vs Big Shot 11 - The Pharcyde - Otha Fish 12 - Bill Withers - Use Me Up 13 - BB King - Chains and Things 14 - Dido - Thank You 15 - Esthero - Superheroes 16 - Tony! Toni! Tone! - It Never Rains 17 - Maxi Priest and Shabba Ranks - House Calls 18 - Erykah Badu - Window Seat 19 - The Stylistics - People Make The World Go Round 20 - John Lennon - Watching the Wheels 21 - Beyonce - Me, Myself, and I 22 - The Isley Brothers - Between the Sheets 23 - Smokey Robinson and The Miracles - Cruisin' 24 - Billy Idol - Eyes Without A Face 25 - M.I.A. - Paper Planes 26 - Barrington Levy - Black Roses 27 - Counting Crows - Big Yellow Taxi 28 - Wings - Let 'Em In 29 - Funky Fresh Few - First Met You 30 - Amerie - Why Don't We Fall In Love 31 - Miguel - Adorn 32 - Wayne Smith - Under Me Sleng Teng (Spooky Remix) 33 - Candy Flip - Strawberry Fields 34 - The Cure - Close To Me 35 - Arrested Development - Everyday People 36 - Maceo - Better Half 37 - Lee Moses - Time and Place 38 - Faith Evans - Mesmermized vs Ready or Not 39 - Masters At Work - Blood Vibes 40 - Marvin Gaye - Inner City Blues 41 - Bernard Wright - Haboglabotribin 42 - Bee Gees - Love You Inside Out 43 - Malcolm Mclaren - Hey DJ 44 - Lupe Fiasco - Superstar 45 - Amerie - Why Are You 46 - Michael McDonald - I Keep Forgettin' 47 - Dennies Edwards - Don't Look Any Further 48 - Aloe Blac - I Need A Dollar 49 - Mtume - Juicy Fruit 50 - De La Soul feat Chaka Khan - It Ain't All Good 51 - Sybil - Don't Make Me Over 52 - Jamalski - Jump Spread Out 53 - ATCQ vs Al Green - Let's Stay Together 54 - Jaheim - Ain't Leavin' Without You 55 - Arrested Development - Tennesse 56 - The Spinners - It's A Shame 57 - Next vs Lucy Pearl - Dance Too Close Tonite 58 - Curtis Mayfield - Give Me Your Love ( Tangoterje edit) 59 - Tara Kemp - Hold You Tight 60 - Ben Harper feat Rahzel - Steal My Kisses 61 - Brand New Heavies - Never Stop 62 - Sade - Paradise (apiento edit) 63 - ATCQ vs Marvin Gaye - What's Goin On 64 - Toto - Waiting For Your Love 65 - PM Dawn vs Spandau Ballet - Set Adrift in Time 66 - Staples Sisters - I'll Take You There 67 - Amy Whinehouse feat Ghostface - I'm No Good 68 - Jade - Don't Walk Away 69 - Tony! Toni! Tone! feat Dj Quik - Let's Get Down 70 - Mary J Blige - Rock Steady 71 - Fatback Band - I Found Lovin' 72 - Meli'sa Morgan - Fool's Paradise 73 - KC and The Sunshine Band - I Get Lifted 74 - Kelis - Trick Me 75 - Stevie Wonder - That Girl 76 - The Rolling Stones - I Miss You 77 - The Roots feat Cody Chestnut - The Seed 78 - Kraak 'N Smaak - Squeeze Me 79 - Davie Bowie vs Lady Gaga - Just Fame Dance 80 - Bruno Mars - Treasure 81 - Billy Ocean - Nights (Feel Like Getting Down) 82 - Daft Punk vs Michael Jackson - Billie Jean Gets Lucky (DJ Keno edit) 83 - Boz Scaggs - Lowdown 84 - Rosco Gordon - Let's Get High

If you feel the kindness in your heart to donate to the 1 Indie Nation Podcast please do so in any amount! I accept cash app $rachaeldepp venmo and paypal! please email me or DM me for those accounts. Love my bunnies so much. You make me happy and bring me joy! Stay tuned for more mixes. I got some house mixes coming up by yours truly :)

Check out this episode!

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72crowe89 · 5 years

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Race-lifting Gingers

In honor of Halle Bailey being casted as Ariel in the live action The Little Mermaid movie, I wanted to explore the recent trend of changing redheads into Black people, and the significance of gingers within different media and the implications of that with regards to making those characters Black.

Examples both Old and New

Although The Little Mermaid is an animated movie to live action movie example, many of these race lifts involve redheaded comics book characters. Examples include:

Iris West-Allen--- Candice Patton (Arrowverse’s The Flash) and Kiersey Clemons (slated to appear in The Flash movie)

Wally West--- Keiynan Lonsdale (Arrowverse’s The Flash)

Josie McCoy--- Ashleigh Murray (Riverdale)

Mary Jane “MJ” Watson--- Zendaya as Michelle “MJ” Jones (MCU Spider-Man series)

Starfire--- Anna Diop (Titans)

Jimmy Olson--- Mehcad Brooks (Supergirl)

An earlier example of this phenomenon can be seen in the character Ellis “Red” Redding from Stephen King’s Rita Hayworth and Shawshank Redemption, portrayed by Morgan Freeman in The Shawshank Redemption.

Of course, changing White gingers into Black people is not ubiquitous. Sometimes, their hair colors change just change (Scott Lang in the Ant-Man movies, Daredevil in both the series and the movie); sometimes the actors dye their hair red to maintain that character trait (Black Widow in the MCU, Archie in Riverdale). Rarely, a character will even be changed into a ginger (Lois Lane in the DCEU).

Now, what makes gingers so special, and what does that imply when they are race-lifted into Black people? To answer this question, I will mainly focus on gingers in comics, but my observations are applicably to gingers in other media.

The Significance of Gingers in Comics and Other Media

Early in comic book history, many people in the industry were either uncomfortable, unwilling, or unable to create characters of color. Because of this, characters were often identified by their hair colors. Due to being a part of a constructed world, redheads are a lot more prevalent in comics than they are in the real world; they are, however, still not as common as blond or brunettes. Because of this, whereas most comic book characters aren’t notable until they do something of note, as soon as the audience sees a ginger, they automatically knew that the character was going to be significant because of their unique hair color.

Most of the time, however, most gingers had the role of love interest, famous examples being the aforementioned Mary Jane Watson, Iris West-Allen, Starfire, as well as later versions of Barbara Gordon, earlier versions of Jean Grey, and Pepper Potts. Other roles include sidekicks (Wally West’s Kid Flash), villains (Cletus Kasady/Carnage), or other supporting characters (Jimmy Olson). Redheads were rarely the main characters of their books, exceptions being both Archie Andrews and Josie McCoy from Archie Comics. Regardless, most of these characters were well-developed, and as time went on writers made them main characters who had stories completely independent from the heroes they were supporting.

With regards to gingers in other media, I will use the specific example of Ariel. Until the creation of Merida, Ariel was the only redheaded Disney Princess. When you saw her in the line up with the rest of them, she stood out. Now, you have her, Merida, and Anna (sometimes...Disney goes back and forth with considering Frozen a Disney Princess movie). Ariel and Merida pull focus with their vivid red hair; Anna’s hair is more muted, so she doesn’t stand out as much. The only one who probably stands out more is the white-haired Elsa.

Painting It Black

So why change gingers into Black people? A cynical person may say that it’s a way to add diversity with making a Black person the star of the property. This attitude, however, is dismissive of the complexity of the portrayed characters and the honest efforts of the producers to add diversity. Also, gingers are not always supporting characters-- Ariel certainly isn’t.

I have two theories for why producers make this switch.

First, finding natural redheads is very difficult due to it being a recessive gene. Many producers will use dye or wigs to compensate for that, but those methods can oftentimes look unnatural. It is easier not to bother, and if they’re changing the character’s hair color, why not also change their race? Especially since most of the time, being a redhead is not significant to the character.

Second, gingers are almost guarantee to be well-developed characters. As stated earlier, characters having red hair told the audiences immediately that they were important-- that these characters have their own stories and deep characterizations. By making them Black, producers know that they will have round and dynamic Black characters, which would be harder with many non-gingers, especially early characters of color, who were often exaggerated stereotypes.

What Ginger Would Be Cool Black?

Now, most of the characters I would like to see race-lifted are not gingers because I have a particular love for redheads. If I had to choose one, however, I would love to see a Black Jean Grey. Throughout the Marvel Universe, Jean has been one of its most powerful characters, most respected leaders, and most desirable women; it would be amazing to see a Black woman in a role with that much significance.

Black Gingers

I will conclude on this note: throughout this essay, I have talked about gingers and Black people as separate identities. There are, however, many Black gingers in the world, whether natural or not. Anna Diop, for example, plays Starfire as a Black ginger. Pictured below are examples of Black people with red hair.

And of course, one of the most famous Black gingers, Malcolm X

Archie Harrison Mountbatten-Windsor looks like he might grow into one as well

So, in the future, just like Starfire, studios may race-lift gingers but maintain the red hair when they do!

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rottenappleheart · 5 years

Photo

My current bookshelves, more or less in the actual order they appear! Deets below the cut. ( I really want to know what people believe about me based on what’s on these shelves...)

Top Left:

Richard Adams: Watership Down

Katherine Addison: The Goblin Emperor x2 (1 copy is signed)

Elizabeth Alder: The King’s Shadow

Svetlana Alexievich: The Unwomanly Face Of War

Hans Christian Andersen: Fairy Tales

Laurie Halse Anderson: Speak

K.A. Applegate: Animorphs: The Hork-Bajir Chronicles, Animorphs: The Andalite Chronicles

Kang Chol-hwan: The Aquariums Of Pyongyang

Margaret Atwood: Cat’s Eye

Lundy Bancroft: Why Does He Do That? Inside The Minds Of Angry And Controlling Men

Brooke Barker: Sad Animal Facts

J.M. Barrie: Peter Pan (illustrated by Trina Schart Hyman)

Peter S. Beagle: Giant Bones, The Last Unicorn x2 (1 copy illustrated by Peter B. Gillis)

Robert Jackson Bennet: City Of Stairs, City Of Blades, City Of Miracles

Allan Bérubé : Coming Out Under Fire: The History Of Gay Men And Women In World War II

Carol Birch: Jamrach’s Menagerie

Isabella Bird: A Lady’s Life In The Rocky Mountains

Pierre Boulle: The Bridge Over The River Kwai

Ray Bradbury: The Martian Chronicles

Paul Brickhill: The Great Escape

Bonus: my grandpa’s mug from the FBI, a picture book of sloth wisdom

Second Left:

Gillian Bradshaw: The Beacon At Alexandria, The Wolf Hunt

Assorted Brontës: The Tenant Of Wildfell Hall, Agnes Grey, Villette, Jane Eyre, Wuthering Heights, Shirley, The Professor

Lily Brooks-Dalton: Good Morning, Midnight

Allie Brosch: Hyperbole And A Half

Carol Rifka Brunt: Tell The Wolves I’m Home

Bill Buford: Heat

Lois McMaster Bujold: The Curse Of Chalion, Cordelia’s Honor

Joseph Campbell: The Hero With A Thousand Faces

Novella Carpenter: Farm City

Susanna Clarke: Jonathan Strange And Mr. Norrell

Susann Cokal: Breath And Bones

C.J. Cherryh: Rider At The Gate, Cloud’s Rider, Rusalka, Chernovog

Bonus: two Willow Tree figures and my ABRA-CA-FUCK-YOU cross-stitch

Third Left:

C.J. Cherryh: Alternate Realities, Foreigner, Invader, Inheritor, Precursor, Defender, Explorer

Henry Chancellor: Colditz: The Definitive Story

Evan Dahm: Rice Boy

Ellen Datlow & Terri Windling: The Year’s Best Fantasy And Horror (#16)

Tiffany DeBartolo: How To Kill A Rock Star

Gavin DeBecker: The Gift Of Fear

Tom DeHaven: Sunburn Lake

Charles DeLint: Dreams Underfoot

Seth Dickinson: The Traitor Baru Cormorant

Carole Nelson Douglas: Exiles Of The Rynth

Arthur Conan Doyle: The Lost World

Brendan Duffy: House Of Echoes

William Faulkner: The Sound And The Fury, Flags In The Dust, Selected Short Stories

Elizabeth Warnock Fernea: Guests Of The Sheik

M.K. Fisher: How To Cook A Wolf

Fannie Flagg: Fried Green Tomatoes At The Whistle Stop Cafe

Fourth Left:

James Gurney: Dinotopia

Gillian Flynn: Sharp Objects

Anker Frankoni: Mexican Eskimo

Charles Frazier: Cold Mountain

Nancy Garden: Annie On My Mind

Maeve Gilmore: A World Away

William Goldman: The Princess Bride

Nicola Griffith: Ammonite

Marie Haskell: The Princess Curse

Frank Herbert: Dune

Victor Hugo: Les Miserables

Shirley Jackson: We Have Always Lived In The Castle

Mira Jacob: The Sleepwalker’s Guide To Dancing

Paulette Jiles: Enemy Woman

Susan Kay: Phantom

Brian Jacques: Martin The Warrior, Mossflower, The Outcast Of Redwall, Mariel Of Redwall, Pearls Of Lutra, Salamandastron

Stephen King: Duma Key, Rose Madder, Hearts In Atlantis

Bottom Left:

Stephen King: The Girl Who Loved Tom Gordon, The Gunslinger x2, The Drawing Of The Three, The Waste Lands, Wizard And Glass, Wolves Of The Calla, Song Of Susannah, The Dark Tower, Lisey’s Story

Andrew Lang: The Green-, Olive-, Yellow-, Orange-, Red-, Pink-, and Grey Fairy Books

Rudyard Kipling: The Jungle Books

Jon Krakauer: Into Thin Air

Ursula K. LeGuin: The Left Hand Of Darkness

Madeline L’Engle: A Wind In The Door, A Swiftly Tilting Planet

Gail Carson Levine: Ella Enchanted

C.S. Lewis: Til We Have Faces, Out Of The Silent Planet

Lois Lowry: The Giver

James W. Loewen: Lies My Teacher Told Me: Everything Your American History Textbook Got Wrong

George MacDonald: The Light Princess & Other Stories, The Princess And The Goblin, At The Back Of The North Wind

Helen MacDonald: H Is For Hawk

Top Right:

Marie Manilla: The Patron Saint Of Ugly

Yann Martel: Life Of Pi

Gavin Maxwell: Ring Of Bright Water

Bernadette McCaughrean: Peter Pan In Scarlet

Patricia McKillip: The Forgotten Beasts Of Eld

Robin McKinley: The Hero And The Crown, The Blue Sword, Spindle’s End, Rose Daughter

Water M. Miller Jr.: A Canticle For Leibowitz

Herman Melville: Moby Dick x2 (1 copy is abridged and illustrated for children)

China Miéville: The Scar

Rand Miller: Myst: The Book Of Ti’Ana, Myst: The Book Of Atrus, Myst: The Book Of D’Ni

Hayao Miyazaki: Nausicaa Of The Valley Of The Wind, The Art Of Nausicaa, The Art Of Castle In The Sky

Elizabeth Moon: Remnant Population

Lady Murasaki: The Tale Of Genji

Audrey Nieffenegger: The Time-Traveler’s Wife

Bonus: “but you are not weak” embroidery, hand-painted page from H Is For Hawk

Second Right:

Sena Jeter Naslund: Ahab’s Wife: Or, The Star-Gazer

Patrick Ness: The Knife Of Never Letting Go, The Ask And The Answer, Monsters Of Men

Garth Nix: Sabriel

Naomi Novik: Temeraire, Throne Of Jade, Black Powder War, Empire Of Ivory

Ann Patchett: Bel Canto

Mervyn Peake: Gormenghast

Julie Ann Peters: Far From Xanadu

Patrick O’Brian: Master And Commander, Post Captain, HMS Surprise, The Mauritius Command, Desolation Island, The Fortune Of War, The Far Side Of The World

Bonus: pottery my dead friend made, pottery I made, slab of picture jasper, my “Fun Things To Believe In” cross-stitch

Third Right:

Edgar Allen Poe: Stories

Phillip Pullman: The Golden Compass

Lawrence Raab: The Collector Of Cold Weather

Erich Marie Remarque: All Quiet On The Western Front

Mary Renault: The Charioteer x2 (1 first edition)

Alistair Reynolds: Revelation Space, Redemption Ark, Diamond Dogs, Turquoise Days

David L. Robbins: War Of The Rats, The End Of War, Last Citadel

Mary Doria Russell: The Sparrow, Doc

Karen Russell: Swamplandia!

Alexander Afanasyev: Russian Fairy Tales

Louis Sachar: Holes

J.D. Salinger: The Catcher In The Rye

Sarah N.B.: It Begins In A Garden

William Shakespeare: Hamlet, Othello, King Lear, Macbeth

Mary Shelley: Frankenstein

Gene Stratton Porter: A Girl Of The Limberlost

Alexander Solzhenitsyn: One Day In The Life Of Ivan Denisovich

Caitlin Starling: The Luminous Dead

Noelle Stevenson: Nimona

Fourth Right:

Bram Stoker: Dracula x2 (1 illustrated by Becky Cloonan)

Elizabeth Kostova: The Historian

J.R.R. Tolkien: The Hobbit, The Fellowship Of The Ring, The Two Towers (x2), The Return Of The King, The Silmarillion, Unfinished Tales

Elizabeth Whalen Turner: The Thief, The Queen Of Attolia

Catherynne M. Valente: Deathless, The Orphan’s Tales: In the Night Garden, The Orphan’s Tales: In The Cities Of Coin And Spice

Sheldon Vanauken: A Severe Mercy

Brian K. Vaughn: Saga (#1)

Tillie Walden: On A Sunbeam

Jen Wang: The Prince And The Dressmaker

Helene Wecker: The Golem And The Jinni

Elizabeth Wein: Code Name Verity

T.H. White: The Once And Future King

Simon Winchester: The Professor And The Madman

Bottom Right:

Gary Trudeau: The Doonesbury Chronicles

Adam Edgerton: Rediscovering Adak

Walt Whitman: Leaves Of Grass

Jane Yolen: Twelve Impossible Things Before Breakfast

Daniel Woodrell: Winter’s Bone

Patricia C. Wrede: Dealing With Dragons, Calling On Dragons, Searching For Dragons

Malcolm York: Mervyn Peake: My Eyes Mint Gold

Bonus: assorted DVDs and 1 lonely VHS tape, any manga I didn’t purge, plus some children’s books and self-published comics by high school friends

#books books books #the misc bits used to be more evenly distributed across all shelves but story has started to go mountain climbing #so the lower shelves are 'faced' to the edge of the shelf now #it's... not helping that much

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