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Hobbit Soulmate Pt 31

Two flights later and you were flinching up from the spare bed in your grandparents’ apartment building in St Petersburg always having been designated as yours. From the spare mattress on the floor they allowed Richard to stay on as you shared with your dad to allow you time together while enforcing a try to limit when great grand babies would show up a low grumble came followed by an arm with hand to pat your foot near the end of the bed. “Didn’t we just go to sleep?”

“It’s a conspiracy.” You muttered reaching out to grab and glare at the vibrating chiming alarm clock to groan, “Why is this going off now?! We have four hours!” The doors opened letting in golden streams of light from the hall drawing grumbles from your dad who pulled your pillow over to cover his face. Hiding from the team of people to open the blinds revealing the grey predawn sky while another came over to you with a facial mask to help you get started on the pre breakfast pampering section of your morning leading up to the stop in on the top morning show in the country.

Seated upright on your knees you simply held the hair band holding back your curls as another woman wound your curls back in a clip. Though your legs were brought forward for the walk to the bath where you were sat up in Richard’s wide eyed process of his own mask being applied to the sound of your dad huffing and relenting to his own to just get this over with. A nap friendly exfoliating scrub was followed by a rinse job and lotion to follow with heated towels for hands and feet before you were allowed to head down for what seemed to be a twelve course cleansing and filling breakfast to ready you all for the day ahead.

Smiling with one side of your curls pinned back leaving the half with your side swept bangs down to linger around the shoulders of your long sleeved forest green velvet dress reaching your knees. The scrub and lotions purpose shown as your legs were bared even at your insistence of using tights when your grandmother had put her foot down insisting this was the best way to show off your legs. Entirely in Russian the interview went and almost to your shock it was a great deal more light hearted than you had expected as you shared your history of dance and how you loved working with the Bolshoi Dancers chosen for this film once again. Still leaving a bit to mystery a film clip played you had edited and a smirk lingered on your lips at the ominous tone of it that just drew you in so you would learn the answers of what the film was about other than your alluring self goading people in with violin in hand through an en point dance to the big show to a song fading for the ominous words of ‘The Bard’ who is out to devour the Beasts of the world. Of course wrapped up with a fierce plotting gaze from the inspector out to capture the Bard at any cost, even possibly your life in the process.

The film would be out here first as they were the easiest to negotiate release dates with Paris to follow the next week as you would be premiering there next. You weren’t certain how the film in English would go over out here but you hoped it might go well at least for the fact that by your family roots people seemed thrilled the Russian lead role had been given to an actual Russian.

The weight was there all the more as with the pride of your heritage came the number of hats you wore for the film scoring for it as well replacing the Italian they had chosen before with all seemingly eager to see what one of their own could do. Even in the youth and seemingly experience free rank you saw yourself. The weight kept rising and if you didn’t know you were on a sound stage you were certain you were up to your neck in water at that moment. Finding it a bit harder to breathe as the day wore on through a second brief press stop for a paper and magazine interview before the final change and touch up post meal for the cliff you were being led to on the farce of a premier.

For the premier at least you got your tights. Though they went unseen underneath your long sleeved velvet bright red dress to the floor with lace sections in diamonds on your ribs to your hips in black flashing the tiniest glimpses of skin in this frigid day when you would pass over the fur shawl your grandmother loaned you for the carpet for the brief section for pictures. Richard along with the other men beside your dad will manage in their stylish outer jackets over their suits sure to be photographed at the after party.

Outside your room however while you sat trembling on the end of your bed post primping session from the make up team your father stopped your grandparents from entering. “Three minutes.”

“The limo is outside.”

“Three minutes, she’s had the weight of the world all day, just imagine her zipper is stuck.” Your grandmother huffed at least until she caught sight of your doubled over self with elbows pressed into your knees and trembling hands trying not to tap your forehead to disturb the faintest bit of powder there. On her feet she shifted with lips parted listening as your dad squatted in front of you lacing his large hands around yours. Rumbling lowly, “Can’t believe we have to go and watch this film about this artichoke family.” That had your eyes up and on him seeing his faint grin and kind gaze locked on yours, “Dad and daughter, last names of vegetables. Just insane right?”

Half heartedly you forced out a meager breath in a try to chuckle that failed making him double down. “Limo is outside, and even though we lost this bet with your cousins and have to dress up to head to the one pony theater for this artichoke film we most certainly are not in just think of it this way. If we hate it we get to spend the whole ride back trashing it mercilessly.” That had a half a giggle and a pained grin from you. And his hands tightened doubling your fight not to cry right now to keep from spoiling all your makeup. “We are not in this movie, come on,”

“We are not in this movie.” You whispered back and his smile crept wider.

“There’s my Pumpkin. So strong. I want you to just breathe, because it’s just you and me, your teddy bear, and the grandparents out to deal with this unhinged group of guys who have been wreaking havoc on this city taking pictures of people just out and about their business.” Making you giggle again warming the hearts of your concerned grandparents and Richard watching from the closet with tie in hand. “Just an odd little film we most certainly aren’t in dressed way too fancy then we get to come back to eat buckets of food and ice cream then hibernate.”

“Sounds like a plan,” you said with a smile feeling the crest of your panic subsided and nerves easing backed by his hold of your hands revealing your trembling had subsided.

To the side his head ticked and he said, “Now, how about you help that teddy bear of yours with that tie of his.”

You nodded and stood up as he did releasing your hands smiling in walking to the hall where as you smiled reaching Rich there who hummed lowly, “Better Love?”

You nodded accepting the tie, “Peachy, Richy Rich.” You said adjusting is tie around his neck to fashion the black bow he had fumbled terribly on his first try in his distraction seeing you so upset. Simply properly beside himself on how to help you out uncertain of the best way to do so.

Lowly your grandmother asked, “What-, is she alright?”

After a sigh Joe replied, “There was a guy out in Oxford when she did her interview studying there who said the general consensus is that since her first lead role in Broadway landed her with a Tony she should be Oscar worthy in her first lead film role or her studying in Oxford and Julliard was a waste.” That dropped their jaws and he said, “They didn’t tell her, but that’s what people have said, and she knows the prestige of those schools, and how hard she worked to afford it and me working on an oil rig, on which I almost died, which devastated her. All of that would be worthless if her role didn’t win her a statue, that she didn’t deserve her spot in those schools.

She wants to be perfect to make us proud, her flawless scores reflected that to have deserved her spot and she is phenomenal, but she never wants there to be any doubt. There’s always going to be another film, another role, but you put your name on the line to help her get this role and you’re more than on the board to Bolshoi to her. Even without baking cookies or knitting sweaters you’re her grandparents and she cares what you think and how she reflects upon you. She doesn’t need to be the pride of Russia on her shoulders too. At the end of the day she’s a 21 year old kid who filmed a role in a movie that she got asked to do some music for it.

Tonight has to be family, she’s gotta go to Paris and talk about it and then watch it again with some famous friends and then go to England where most her famous friends are coming and talk about it and watch it then go to the US and talk about it and watch it again with more famous friends. It’s just really heavy for a kid on her first big role on that screen, and we were there the full time she is every bit of what everyone is saying that she is beyond words, we just have to give her a bit of courage. Not that you haven’t been with all this help and letting us all stay with her all night. She’s stronger than she realizes sometimes and other times it all just stuns her a bit what all she took on.”

Your grandfather nodded and said, “We have brownies we bought for tonight afterwards, double fudge, would that help?”

Your dad smiled wider, “Yes. Brownies always help. You’re doing well, don’t worry you’ve pushed, just been months of hearing how high others expect her to attain. She’ll be better when she sees if they messed something up in editing or if they left it how she handed it over to them when scoring was completed.”

Your grandfather chuckled, “Ah, well no wonder on that front we know for a fact they wouldn’t spoil her work knowing who they had to do the scoring.”

Nice and warm, at least in your own mind, you stood with fur shawl resting in the bends of your arms smiling at the side of the Director in the forefront of the first of the cast pictures. Never past five feet away Richard remained close through the climaxing of his own anxiety on being so close to what could be his biggest role yet as far as exposure goes. Not that hefty on the lines for him outside of scenes with you he mainly lingered, though for him it held a weight of his own as outside of the theater all he could think of were those nights together with you working on that soundtrack.

Sweet words of adoration and devotion he meant every syllable of in and out of this role were shared and etched into ink and page brought to life in this same film always holding evidence for eternity. He wanted this to be perfect, to be every bit as masterful as he saw you leave it as the chosen composer. Justifying all the sleep sacrificed and stress involved with pulling this film together. He wanted this film to show every bit of that and to mesmerize everyone else just as he had been to the near to final product he saw over your shoulder and dared to imagine more so with the two and a half hour marvel he was itching to see. The final image seen outside the theater doors was the one on the poster with the Inspector scowling your way opposite the shadowed figure of your father as the Bard, up front slightly sideways en point you stood with ankles crossed and Richard behind you in caped tux and top hat. His gloved hands easing your Selkie coat over your shoulders eyes fixed on your mournfully distant staring self with palms full of silver coins.

Snug in the assigned seats with you between him and your father both of your hands were taken for the opening speech. One shaky breath later and the lights went down. Soft and slow your Russian lullaby began swelling through the camera being escorted through the lamppost lit cobbled town with violin growing stronger. Names and titles etched into buildings and street and building signs with posters of the shadowy villain wafting on the breeze fallen free from those pasted to walls and fences.

‘There you are, I see you there.’ Low and guttural the Bard growled out a letter scrawled to the police the yet to be seen Inspector is reading. ‘Lost and misused this town has grown weary from Beasts like you. Keep scratching and clawing at the meek and weary, then you will hear me. Keep about your days and savor the moments yet only for so long, once in my clutches your breath ends with my song.’

Another corner turned and following a wisp of silk cloth from within a mist and shadows of milling crowds your body appeared on one foot with violin in hand playing through an en point dance. Enchanting the crowd closer to you and the trio of male dancers taking turns in aiding your flips and lifts, including a split across two dancer’s shoulders while playing. That ended in a drop backwards caught by another dancer hunched forward to support you before his swivel away leaving you in a string of pirouettes stepping back for an exaggerated arch and smirk filled dance. In that once the crowd had grown fled up the steps into the theater with an eager race following your group to the sound of the Inspector growling about the missing citizens and bodies located that had something to do with the traveling troupe now in town. Mid spin a hand off of the violin and bow your skirt tore free rippling out a longer flowing dress for the opening number of the packed show including the freshly arrived Richard who stepped off the freshly arrived carriage who lingered against the back wall at the lack of chairs.

Haunting and alluring through the background the music swelled between the dazzling musical show numbers to glimpses of murders in black and white pictures tacked on a board in the police station and missing person flyers. Steadily while the story of how you were captured by the Ringmaster came with Richard lurking more even in the less crowded theater days scouring for this hiding of your coat. Assuming his own explanation for the murders succubus was misdiagnosed by the avid monster hunting Inspector growing angrier by the day as more and more men shown to attack or prey on others were literally torn out of the screen by a large hand and arm.

Rich did more and more to subtly manage you out of the line of the Inspector who was up to inciting panic and unrest in the already fragile town while sharing more about his own past and painful injury sidelining his dance aspirations. Those few sentimental moments shared between the pair of you gave glimmers of hope in the city drenched with nearing frenzy to the rising death count. The music lifted to crescendo through a fight causing a fire in the pub causing just enough reason to send you on a different path avoiding it. From behind a handful of your hair spun you around through a heart clenching gasp to the crescendo of the panic. Breathless the crowd help their breath as the hand clenched around your throat slamming you carelessly into the wall behind you sending a trio of buttons flying and loosening the hair comb once managing your curls seeping out to freedom. Wide eyes full of tears clenched shut at the hard blow sending blood splattering across your cheek and now bared neck causing the Inspector to go flying.

Around your waist to the lull of the Bard’s song hands folded lowering your trembling self to your feet, “Breathe,” he growled out to a hand freeing his own spare clasp on his cloak used to secure the tear in your blouse over your neck with calloused fingers to brush the droplets away. Open eyes again saw clearly the face the camera had yet to see with nearly half of you in his shadow for just a moment in the camera panning back to view his turn away saying, “Go child, walk and leave this beast to me.” Inhaling shakily you turned wetting your lips to the Inspector’s knee top shout to stop ending at the hand gripping his hair and back of his neck dragging him away with great ease while your stroll gained confidence in the rise of your hands to fix your curls back into the comb. In the Bard’s walk away the faintest flicker of purple eyes and raven curls under the brim of his hat seen passing reflected stream from a lantern gave a nod to why he might have been trailing your traveling troupe.

Silence in the crowd seemed to set in at Richard’s frantic discovery of you while the Ringmaster screamed for his fleeing creatures to return. All your things were packed and with him and refusing to stay having heard his heart wrenching plea side by side you sped to catch the final train. Upon which the duet with you and him ‘Down Below, My Bedfellow’ began to play tightening Richard’s hand in yours through the sea of muted misty eyed viewers at the night view of the lit city the train was speeding from to his hummed answer to your whisper of where you would go from here. “To the sea,” around your shoulders the formerly unnoticed Selkie coat that was stolen from you years prior was smoothed over by his hands.

A quiver of your lips came with evident instant grateful tears in your eyes, hands lifted to clench the ends of that coat shimmering in its melt around your torso drawing it to a close in a sliding shot shifting to follow him. One of the cars containing a bathed and properly dressed Bard given away by the braided back curls and purple eyes reading a book following his path to your car. Past the main hall to your shared car he went finding a pitcher of water making him hastily close the door and tug at his cravat. Loosening that and his collar to his lustful gaze at the pitcher gills easing open on his neck left him groaning fighting his same urge he felt each time near liquids through the film he always refused or avoided. A couple outside the door had his hand easing his collar tighter and free hand tugging one of your scarves down to coat the pitcher that wafted to fold over it in his plop onto his bench seat. There he retied his cravat in time for you to be seen outside the car door you eased open to slip inside and shut behind you again. Across from him you sat with eyes locked on his to the swell of the song in the pitch black of a tunnel flickering to an image of a secluded shack by the sea on a small island your eyes scoured over blind to his adoring gaze fixed on you.

From inside a cottage the pile of bags were seen along with the pair of you walking to the shore through the window with the well dressed Bard following at a distance. Once barely at the water fear crept into your eyes looking between him and the sea until his silent tug on the cravat he let float away on the breeze to fold back his collar exposing the gills open at his feet covered in the lapping waves. Up you sprung with arms fixed around his neck spreading his smile in the moment of foreheads touching, his arms fixed around your back to a silent chuckle in his turn lifting your legs to his side walking you deeper into the water down to his chest where the sunrise caught the silhouette of a chaste kiss. Broken by the cut to bubbly navy blue background of the credits an animated seal and fish monster swimming through the seas and surfacing as they pleased to share that cottage and possibly raise a family was the makeshift epilogue to the couple’s future with glimmers of a second larger seal seen to mingle on the edges.

Silence was what was killing you through the finale of the song before to the confirmed twenty second mark of the next scored song free of lyrics when cheers and applause exploded out with the breaths you and Richard had been holding.

Somehow you made it onto your feet and in the walls of white light mingled with snow beginning to fall again you crossed the path holding both Richard’s hand and your father’s arm as he had a better view of the planet above the flashes. Subtly warning you both to each step and barrier to avoid and into some sort of bench seat you were settled still blind and blinking through the dark blobs. Straight out of a 70’s night club the location for the after dinner seemed perfectly set up for Sinatra to come strolling out to take the stage across from the rounded cushioned booths behind the tables up front with the big executives filling that area for easier access to the stage. Hushedly chatting with Richard and your relatives you sat eating the meal served to you all listening to the speeches and shared stories from the filming of the movie.

Press meanwhile mingled through the crowd and translating for Richard the evening went with ease. And to the break for music you giggled accepting Richard’s offer to twirl you around the small dance floor among the other cast members for a few dances trading off with your father granting even more pictures to be splattered across newspapers and tabloids all week. Sleep however didn’t come right away as waiting for you at the house was a Russian magazine here to do your spread for them.

Reluctantly Richard left you to change for bed while you changed into the clothes brought for you to be photographed in a series of pre-decided rooms and sat for their interview. Among that was stolen picture to be added to the spread in the section you discuss your family was of you cuddled against your father’s side sipping on the cocoa he brought you while the next room was being set up for lighting.

The full spread being one of your favorites so far with the ample shots of fire lit rooms with a backdrop of gentle snow and scattered glimmers of stars through the walls of windows in those rooms. Cheerful and polite to the highest degree you could manage through the tips from your grandparents on the best way to handle the Russian Press to your advantage against how exhausted you were until they left and were able to slink upstairs. A grumbled love you came from Richard to your peck in his cheek in crawling over him to get to your bed so you could plop down next to your already snoring father who drowsily snuggled around your chilly self warming you almost instantly easing the drop to sleep.

‘Centered in a world where Beauty is a Beast of its own we find ourselves traversing these mist walled streets of tension and unspoken lingering dread on the heels of a murderer masked and beyond the chances of being caught. In a cast of talent beyond measure this tale is centered upon a wrongly accused young maiden with a plight of her own tailed by the one charged with hunting the murderer.

From the youngest extra all the way to the talented G acting as the Inspector tailing them ultimate praise must be paid to the lead actress, young Jaqi Pear. Who from the first instant of gracing the screen eyes cannot help but be drawn to her no matter how minuscule the moment of passing through several of the scenes between those delving interactions displaying the depths of despair to pure elation willing us along unknowingly, just as she should alluring suspicion and intrigue. Not a damsel by any means this young woman bearing the brunt of focus and bile from the talented G’s character bears it with class and resolve infinite enduring all surrounding her. Always a hint to the young lead the film continues to spiral into chaos as this bloody tale unfolds with her growing ever closer to the crosshairs of the one wrongly hunting her.

And even when not on screen also mastering the scoring and song composition for the entire film this tear stained critic cannot fathom praise to be a strong enough word for her contribution to what otherwise might have been another obscure project cast into oblivion and obscurity. Alongside her father Joe Pear and Mate Richard Armitage has masterminded a film and niche all their own in this masterpiece. Right next to the film again this young phenom reminiscent of screen Queens of old is well worth her weight in gold.’

“That’s a bit of a back handed compliment on the film. Obscure into oblivion.” You muttered and Richard smirked around his mouthful of food as your father swallowed to answer your clear deflecting answer away from the resounding compliment you didn’t expect.

“It wouldn’t be in oblivion, but I can’t think of another actor who could play your role, even half as good. Dancer to that skill while also knowing how to play or at least fake the violin, and singing on top of the acting.”

Your grandfather set down his paper proudly saying, “This one says you aren’t a triple threat but a threat ten times over, my Little Bubble.”

That had you bashfully smile looking to your plate as your grandparents got back to reading the larger portions of the articles sharing a suggestion to those on the fence about seeing this film to go and see it. One including an interview with the Director on his having left the original take of your opening dance with your violin where one of the strings broke and his adoration of the perfect tick of your brow at the pesky string that hindered a flawless performance through the alluring gaze drawing the crowd in to the rest of the show. That among other unique traits and ticks he added allowing you to flesh out the role even more so to a three dimensional being outside of the basic script you had first been given to audition with.

Another magazine was planned to meet you in Paris at their apartment building there and you didn’t have long but at least you felt a bit more relaxed at this morning’s wake up alert over the one from the day prior where you could adjust to being conscious and get yourself gathered up to get ready after this meal to head for the private plane they had hired for this trip. Though at least the private flight would get you there early for your three day stop granting you plenty of time to explore the beautiful city of Paris with your family, Richard and your friends eager to show you the best stops they had found in their break there.

Sleep came easily and one long day of flying later and you landed in the dark chilly night with crisp air biting at your cheeks as your hands folded into the baggy sleeves of your sweater under your coat used to hold the rail on the steps off the plane. The car below opened when you reached it and sat warm and ready for you with Driver there ready to help load up your things. Though you didn’t end up staying long at the white stone building where you were settled in the room on the end of the second floor with your father in the next between yours and Richard’s. Another ploy to keep you celibate through this trip highly unnecessary as you were far too tired to care to sneak around with all the travel. Though this trip was when you would part, after this they would be back to Russia as your trio would be off to England again for the next premier.

Left with just another dress in the same style to wear for later. Here however instead of the long sleeved gown you had worn to the prior premier you had a pale blue silk gown with golden panels on your hips feeding from decorative seams to accent your figure on the chunky strapped design again you would borrow that same fur shawl for. The difference here however was that the carpet would be handled inside this venue to keep you warmer than in Russia and England where those were planned for outdoor strips for the press. Main reason being the snow as it kept growing underfoot on your stroll through the streets to the designated restaurant where you spotted your friends. Viggo along with Bernard Hill, Karl and Miranda stood among Hugo Weaving, Martin Csokas and Craig Parker all smiling when you came into view and melted to hug you and Richard with greetings for your grandparents and father in between. Inside you went and at the reserved table settled for a nice meal sharing all that had occurred between the New Zealand Two Towers premier and now.

Craig, “I want to hear how it went. With the press and all I know it’s been in the papers but I can’t speak Russian. Saw one with five stars on it so that’s good, right?”

“Oh ya, it’s done good.”

Richard chortled at their eyes hovering over your bashful self claiming your drink for a long sip making him say, “They praised her performance and role in composing the score and songs. ‘Worth her weight in gold’ was from one of them I recall. Also something about without her the film would have been cast into obscure oblivion merely adjusting to such deserved unexpected praise.” The last bit he added with a pointed gaze your way making you blush peeking over at him in setting your glass down. Then he looked to the chuckling others, “Film was spectacular luckily they didn’t touch the scoring or edit beyond a few microscopic things so the work on composition wasn’t damaged.”

Hugo Weaving, “You do grow accommodated to the praise.”

Bernard Hill smirked saying, “I don’t recall you ever being bashful about performing before.”

“I was in a body suit behind pounds of prosthetics. My face was on a billboard. For half the film I’m flitting across the background.”

Richard, “The film is centered around you even off screen.”

Joe nodded as your grandmother said, “You will see when your friends enjoy the film it was a perfect fit. No one else could have taken the role.”

Your grandfather smiled saying, “Can’t find many ballet dancing violinists around.”

Karl, “At the same time? You play and dance?” Smirking as he looked to your now grinning self.

“It was an idea the writer wanted and back in school when you have three hours to warm up your violin and your body to dance you have to utilize time. So I said if it wasn’t too extravagant I could work that into the routine. Then he added a whole bunch of ideas warping standard ballet moves into more modern styles hearing I was a gymnast and am good off center through dances.”

Richard, “Thankfully he wasn’t too adventurous with my steps.”

Miranda, “You dance in it?”

Richard, “Mainly anchoring for Jaqi, but a bit, used to dance so it took a little while for my body to warm back up to it.”

With a smirk you said bumping his arm with yours, “Wouldn’t know it but he can get his feet up over his head, almost put my standing splits to shame.”

Miranda whispered, “Wow,” then said louder to his blushing self, “And you don’t do dance films often?”

“No,” he answered and cleared his throat, “I try to avoid it when I can. Maybe a slow dance at the most but I spent a good chunk of my early twenties in musical theater. Prefer to focus on dramas now, but for a role with Jaqi I couldn’t refuse his one. You really will love it.”

Martin Csokas, “Oh I know I will. Bit of a fanatic on murder mysteries and horror fantasies rarely get a good blend these days. Mainly all end up being Dracula rip offs.”

Viggo looked your way and you said in a sigh, “It’s just, I’m so damn proud of this odd little script and it just turns to where I’m composing on top of acting, singing, playing and dancing in it and Ian and Christopher and Peter and even Howard will be there. And they go and actually posted in one of the papers ‘the student has become the master’ on my composing.” That had the others chuckling as you squeaked out, “What if he reads that?!”

Martin Csokas, “He will love the film. We all will and you know it. You are impossibly talented we all sat in on some of those choir sessions.”

Bernard Hill nodded, “Just remember if they bring it up if you still feel bad to credit him as the one to give you your training.”

Karl, “You aren’t the first person the press has fluffed up for a film minimizing others they learned from to seem a prodigy. Howard’s been in the business a long time he won’t take it personally especially since you didn’t say it they did.”

Hugo Weaving, “This is what? A 25 million budget film?” You shook your head and he asked, “More?”

“I think it was 15, if that. It’s an Independent film.”

Hugo Weaving, “Even better, a firm role to sink your teeth into and get a splash for people to see you out of an extra role. It will go marvelously. Most people can’t resist a good thriller.”

Karl, “I do, loved mine and yours, when is the other one coming out again? Pretty soon right?”

“Not far off end of January. 25th I think. No, should be fun it looked pretty cool for the bits I did see out of the hospital scenes I was in. Till then gotta find some couches and stuff.”

Richard, “For our rental in Canada, didn’t have time to furnish it yet.”

“Bound to be some sales somewhere on top of that second hand shop I went to with Lee for his loungers and folding tables.”

You dad smirked saying, “You better pick more than that to live off of.”

“Obviously we need dishes,” you teased back and giggled at his playful glance your way before the waiter arrived with your drinks and took your order for supper.

Your eyes traveled to your grandmother who stepped away from the table to answer a phone call then back to the waiter to give your order wondering what could have called her away, literally, as she rarely left her phone on at meals wishing to not be disturbed.

“Twelve million,” she said in her return leaving you frozen a moment in confusion.

Your father however asked, “12 million what?” Making Richard glance at you curious of what he was missing.

Her smile widened switching to English for your friends and Mate, “In tickets so far, Eastern Europe and Asia, surely only to be matched in Europe and the States when it is released there.”

Miranda, “Oh Jaqi that’s wonderful! It’s on the news already?”

Your grandmother nodded, “Yes, one of our fellow board members back home is monitoring it for us, Director is busy no doubt for his own interviews, opens in France day after tomorrow, and England after the premiere there, States after.”

Bernard, “Well done. Faring well in reviews?”

“Should have those in a couple days, Director should share that but sales are good, not matching Two Towers but a good haul all the same.”

Hugo smirked, “Especially after the 15 mil budget.”

After dinner in their split to head to their various hotels you and Viggo at least had the same destination, a late night show that you had to head back to change and primp to be ready for. Unlike in Russia you and Richard both were to appear and with your hair down you adjusted the leather jacket you had to go over your pink pencil dress to go with your comfy black wedges while he stuck to his trusty charcoal suit you helped to fix the collar on the shirt he chose not to add a tie to. Viggo had his own suit and was glad to have the communal couch you all would end up on after he plugged both the Two Towers and his next film he was to start shooting soon, Hildalgo teaming him up with her another fabulous horse he no doubt would adopt as well to add to his family.

He would hold the majority of the interview while you and Richard answered questions for a few minutes. Tired of talking however you let Richard take the lead in this interview, a fact the host gladly jumped on to get some information on your still proclaimed ‘boy toy’ out in England. What relationship you had off screen seemed to matter little with focus on what he was willing to share on his role in the film and how that process went about hoping for some secrets to spill before it was out. And when Viggo came out and you both scooted down it was him to bring your giggly self out for some attention sharing on how eager he was to see the film the following night knowing how hard you worked on the trilogy enabling him to guess how spectacular it could be.

Pt 32

Hobbit – Soulmate - @evyiione, @deepestfirefun, @rhaenaatargaryen, @anastasialovers

X all Rich. A - @abiwim, @deepestfirefun, @thestorybookmistress

X Lee P - @tigereyesf

All –

@himoverflowers, @theincaprincess, @aspiringtranslator, @thegreyberet, @patanghill17, @jesgisborne, @curvestrology, @alishlieb, @jogregor, @armitageadoration, @fizzyxcustard, @lilith15000, @marvels-ghost, @catthefearless, @imjusthereforthereads, @c-s-stars, @otakumultimuse-hiddlewhore, @mariannetora, @shes-a-killer-kween, @ggbbhehe4455

#Premiers #Friends #Family #Russia #France #Interviews #Nerves Exploding #Richard Armitage x Reader OC

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a-home-for-stray-stories · 4 years

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Take It - AJ Styles

AJ Styles x Reader

Warnings: a few cuss words

Summary: AJ gives the Reader the kick in the ass she needs to take control of her own career.

The women’s division was exploding and here you were being handed a new child to babysit. Your mic skills were damn near godlike which had turned a blessing into a curse when your career shifted from wrestler to manager. At first you were excited for the change of pace, but you never forgot the promise that you would still wrestle. You sat in the back and watched the women’s evolution forget you as it raged forward. The pop never lessened when your music hit, but every single time you walked out there you felt more and more invisible. You went toe to toe with the likes of Paul Heyman…The Miz…Samoa Joe…Stephanie McMahon. Every single superstar that was in your charge soared to success, but when history looked back on these people, when it looked back on the women’s evolution…would you be there with the recognition you deserved? Most certainly not. These thoughts were consuming your life. They were all you could see when you got your next assignment. The Superstar Draft had given Raw a brand new locker room and you knew it was a matter of time. You were approached with Humberto Carrillo. Familiar with his work on 205Live, you felt it would be easy to get him over with the crowd – even if you half-assed it. Humberto had a great couple of matches and you put him over like the ingrained habit it was. Everything went as expected, until it didn’t. Tonight you watched ringside as Humberto pinned Sin Cara. Muscle memory took over as you celebrated with him. The two of you ducked backstage. “You did a great job out there tonight. A few more matches like that and we’ll be looking at a title.” His face lit up at your words, but you pointed a finger at him, “Now’s not the time to get comfortable. You gotta keep pushing, ok?” He took you by surprise and wrapped you in a big bear hug. You hadn’t been hugged with that kind of sincerity in a long time. He looked you in the eyes and said, “Thank you. I will not let you down.” A little guilt settled at the bottom of your soul knowing you weren’t putting as much heart into this as he was. He disappeared down the hallway. “Maybe I shouldn’t be doing this at all”, you thought, “Maybe it’s time to bow out.” You stood there a few seconds before you felt a presence beside you. “Your boy did good tonight.” That southern drawl wasn’t hard to place. You turned to face AJ, a little surprised to see he was alone. “Good enough for a title shot?” You tapped the top of the title around his waist and gave him a smirk knowing the answer. He let out a laugh, “We’ll let him get a few more matches under his belt before he steps to the Phenomenal One.” You rolled your eyes, but had to agree with him, “Don’t worry, he’ll get there.” AJ had been your favorite person to work against when you were both on Smackdown. All that time you’d been numb, he’d been able to spark a few smiles and warm feelings in your chest. The fans had loved the chemistry between the two of you and clamored for more. They weren’t the only ones who felt the chemistry between you, but management decided they wanted you on Raw, so there you went. Seeing him in that moment made you realize how much you had missed those times. “I’m not concerned about Humberto right now.” You weren’t so surprised at his arrogance, “Who are you worried about?” You decided to play along, but his answer threw you off. “I want you in the OC.” You gave him a confused look, “Not to feed your ego, but the OC doesn’t need a manager and I have Humberto who is…” “I never said I wanted manager…” He interrupted moving closer, “I said I wanted you.” He had just offered you everything you wanted and you didn’t know how respond. It was so enticing, not just wrestling again, but working side by side with him. You quickly reminded yourself it was a hope that would be squashed as soon as management caught wind of it. So, you shook it off and backed away, “Management will never let me.” He wasn’t letting you off that easy. He snaked an arm around your waist and brought you back to him. “Fuck management.” He growled straight into your ear. He loosened his grip slightly so he could look at you, “ If management knew what they were doing, they would have put us together on Smackdown, but instead they put you on Raw? That made no sense. They don’t let you wrestle?” Of course, the last question struck a nerve and you had to look away. “It’s bullshit, y/n.” He let the words sink in a minute before he pulled you close again, “Look at me..I know you’re angry. Show them how angry you are. You don’t need anyone’s permission...” He smirked, “and if you’re with the OC, we’ll make sure no one gets in the way.” You let out a shaky breath and dropped your head. You hands toyed with the top of his U.S. championship, “You’ve changed.” You told him. He took you chin and lifted it up, “I decided to take what I want. And if you keep playing with my title I’ll want to take you against this wall.” Your entire body lit up at the thought. “Maybe I should start taking what I want too.” You whispered to him and tugged on the title as you moved toward the wall. AJ closed the distance, but just as his lips touched yours someone called from down the hall. All Humberto had seen was AJ push you against a wall and he came ready for a fight. You were able to keep things from escalating to that with AJ’s surprising cooperation. “We’ve actually known each other a long time, kid. We’re just catching up. You can calm down.” AJ told him, “If I want to pick a fight with you, I’ll come to you.” He didn’t believe him until he got a nod from you. You and AJ shared a glance before parting ways. The following week you were torn, but as Raw got closer you knew what you were going to do. The thought was in your head, but even as you walked into the building you didn’t know if you’d follow through. The show had started and you were watching on a monitor. Humberto came jogging down the hall to let you know that he had been put in a 6 man tag match with Randy and Ricochet against the OC. It was your sign. You had warned Humberto that you’d be taking the kendo stick out with you. He never batted an eye when you told him it was to make a point with Randy and Ricochet, that you had no intention to use it. His naïve faith in you almost made you second guess yourself until you felt the electricity walking into the arena. It was the same pop you’d heard thousands of times, but this time you felt it. Humberto made his grand entrance into the ring and you made your usual subtle one. AJ’s eyes caught yours as you lingered on the apron and you wondered if he knew what you were planning. Humberto’s music was still blaring as you ducked under the ropes and went to grab a mic. Of course, The OC was in the way. Luke and Karl didn’t like the idea of you approaching them with the kendo stick in hand, so they backed up. AJ stayed put. You stopped just shy of being on top of him and, based on the roar from the audience, it was a confrontation they’d been waiting for. “I hope you not planning on using that.” Luke warned from the apron. “She is.” AJ answered, never taking his eyes off of you. You leaned over and grabbed the mic from the production assistant. “You gonna take what you want?” AJ asked. You kept the mic down at your side, “You know, I tried to last week, but some asshole got in the way, so I’ve got to take care of that. I am a little worried about his friends though.” “Trust me, they won’t be an issue.” He gave you a quick wink before you flipped around and brought the mic to your lips. Humberto was still in the middle of the ring while Randy and Ricochet had gone to the apron. “All right you two...” You pulled the kendo stick up onto your shoulder, “I know you’re not the best of friends, you’ve been at each other’s throats for weeks now, but take my advise... you need to put all that crap aside because, well, you’re outnumbered.” It was a complete shock when you unloaded on Humberto. Just as he promised, the moment Randy and Ricochet came into the ring, Luke and Karl pushed them back out. It felt like you were debuting again. A whole new confidence bloomed inside you. You knelt beside a wincing Humberto. “Oh sweetheart, you really were just in the wrong place at the absolute wrong time. You see, I’ve been on the edge of doing this for so long and now that we’re here I just can’t believe it took me this long. It’s about time I remind people just who the hell I am.” You let the mic fall onto his face and stood up to a chorus of boos. It was incredible. AJ was helping Luke finish off Randy when he saw you were done with Humberto. He slid into the ring and in two strides had one hand in your hair, one shamelessly on your ass, and his lips locked onto yours. You wrapped your hands around his waist pulling him closer. He pulled away just as Karl and Luke got back into the ring, “Welcome to The OC, baby.” Karl and Luke threw up the Too Sweet with AJ and the final image as Raw went off air was you joining them.

#WWE #wwe imagine #AJ Styles #aj styles imagine #the oc #karl anderson #luke gallows #humberto carrillo

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ty-talks-comics · 4 years

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Best of Marvel: Week of January 15th, 2019

Best of this Week: Iron Man 2020 #1 - Dan Slott, Christos Gage, Pete Woods and Joe Caramagna

This shouldn't work, but oddly enough it does.

Machine life forms in the Marvel Universe have a complicated history in terms of their status as sentient beings and whether or not they feel as humans do. Ultron has always displayed a rage and hatred towards humanity and the Avengers in particular not dissimilar to any number of human or alien enemies of these heroes. On the flip side of that, Machine Man, since his original comic series and until his newfound prejudice against meatbags, has always sought to show just how human that he is in the face of anti-robot discrimination. (see Machine Man, 1978)

This conflict was on full display in Tom King’s amazing Vision (2015) series which saw Vision feared for building a robotic family and trying to live a human life. While robots and AI based beings aren’t nearly as hated and reviled as mutants, Dan Slott’s Iron Man series has been building to this - a human/robot war spurred on by Tony Stark’s brother Arno. Though he’s not quite the Arno Stark from 1984’s Iron Man 2020, he still sees a future in peril from an as of yet unknown technological threat.

Pete Woods opens this book with Arno having a nightmare in the form of a planet sized being that looks like they’re composed of circuits and death. Woods colors the lights of the creature with an eerie purple tone that accentuates its darker purple-ish exoskeleton. Arno appears almost as an insect by comparison as he floats towards this. All of this is made even creepier by Joe Caramagna’s use of stilted, robotic lettering to give the creature a cold and calculated voice of doom. When we do get a close up of Arno’s face, he is stricken with fear.

Arno’s been up to a lot in the background of Tony’s adventures in the Tony Stark: Iron Man series from the last year. He’s resurrected his dead parents sing the same method and technology that Tony did after Carol Danvers killed him (and she DID kill him), he’s taken up the mantle of Iron Man after Tony revealed himself to have been an advanced AI in the form of Tony Stark and he’s found himself a partnership with the money hungry Sunset Bain, who’s now in control of Stark Unlimited after Tony’s revelation. Arno’s been a busy man.

On top of all of this, spilling out of The Ultron Agenda, there’s a crisis among the people over the uprising of machines which Arno eggs on by calling even the most advanced ones lifelike simulations.Janet van Dyne tries to quell the fears and James Rhodes can’t be bothered to talk to the press as he also has robot matters to deal with. One of the first conflicts that Slott and Gage present us with is a hostage situation in which Life Model Decoys of the original Nick Fury try to liberate construction bots. Woods frames it as a dangerous situation with one of the LMDs holding the site manager as a human shield. The numbers of the LMDs look intimidating until Iron Man appears.

Pete Woods does an amazing job in revamping the original 2020 armor for the modern day. Arno looks like a terror with his almost Ultron like faceplate and even more ridiculously oversized gears as shoulder pieces. He retains the standard Iron Man colors and even homages the original golden legs by placing armor over the front of his legs. I would have preferred that all of the leg be gold, but Woods still does well with the redesign and the pose that he gives Arno when he appears - blowing the head off an LMD with lethal force.

Arno quashes this rebellion easily enough, but somehow all of the robots manage to escape. Tensions continue to rise and the same thing happens when anti-robot forces invade a secret robot bar and they manage to escape again. We then find out that one of the heads of the Robot Rebellion is Machine Man (Aaron Stack). Both Machine Man and Arno Stark were the feature characters in the original Iron Man 2020 story so it’s great that Slott and Gage recognized that and revitalized their history in this new story. The potential for their eventual conflict to end in much the same way is pretty tantalizing in my eyes as Machine Man defeats Arno at one point in that original story.

Though, I have to admit that both sides in this story have some NEFARIOUS ways of taking the fight to one another. In an effort to draw out the Robot Resistance, Sunset Bain and Arno blow up a robotics factory after buying it out. Woods draws Aaron with genuine shock and anguish as he watches the explosion on the screen and it really sells how much pain this is causing. After the broadcast, Sunset and Arno look at the rubble as a necessary evil to stop Stack and his followers.

In retaliation, however, Machine Man WIRES A BOMB TO A MATERNITY WARD. I’m usually on board with Robot Rights, even advocating for better AIs in sex dolls, but this is the thing that people are afraid of and Aaron is only stoking the flames of fear here. It’s a reckless move that won’t garner support for the Robot Rights Movement, if anything Arno is just going to fight back against Machine Man and the Resistance even harder out of fear of his nightmare.

Woods draws an amazing stare down between Machine Man and Arno, neither of them really having eyes to blink with. Machine Man gives Arno an ultimatum; either let him and the poor bomb disposal robot escape or the bomb goes off. In five panels, we see the character of both. We get ne close up shot of Arno’s plated eyes with rain pouring down on him and similar shot of Machine Man, then we get a third person perspective with the bomb on one side and Machine Man on the other. Arno takes the bomb and Aaron taunts him as he flies away. It’s tense and the lack of dialogue makes it far more serious than expected from the mostly comedy character that Machine Man has become.

Arno also tried to warn Aaron of what was coming, but I understand why he didn’t want to listen. For whatever reason Slott gave Arno a sudden-ish character change either in a recent Iron Man annual or a little while before a rogue AI invaded Tony’s eScape (2019?). Arno was initially helpful and supportive of his brother and robots like Jocasta, but then all of a sudden he became withdrawn and kind of a dick. This version of Arno had been locked away, unable to move without machines until Tony found him and tried to reintroduce him into the world (Iron Man, 2013), so maybe Slott and Gage are building on his use of the Extremis virus for movement to explain the change?

Alternatively, this is all just a way to retell the original Iron Man 2020 story as Arno inadvertently created the threat he went back in time to stop in that story because he refused to take a moment to see how damaging his actions were and that same recklessness is on full display here with Arno 2.0.

All in all, this story was pretty weird and fantastic. I doubt it will reach the heights of the philosophical masterpiece that is Nier: Automata in regards to it’s “can machines feel human too” themes, but Slott and Gage are doing their best and that gives us a fan story with lots of callbacks to the past. Pete Woods pencils, coloring and inking are phenomenal here and make this book visually appealing. His style and heavy hitting action give the proper weight that an Iron Man story needs and his updated 2020 Armor isn’t bad at all. This one is absolutely a high recommend.

#iron man #iron man 2020 #arno stark #tony stark #machine man #marvel comics #robot rights #dan slott #christos gage #pete woods #joe caramagna #comics #comic review

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introvertguide · 4 years

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Midnight Cowboy (1969); AFI #43

Just by chance, our 43rd film to watch was #43 on the AFI list, Midnight Cowboy (1969). This story of the country mouse in the city won the Oscar for Best Picture, Best Director, and Best Adapted Screenplay. Both lead actors (Jon Voight and Dustin Hoffman) were also nominated for Best Actor. To most people, it is a story of two men in dire straights with simple (if not a little odd) dreams that remain unfulfilled. Roger Ebert called it the story of “two characters who have nothing to offer the audience but their lost souls.” It is truly fantastic and one of my very favorite movies on the AFI top 100. I have done a lot of side articles on this film over the last week, so there isn’t much left to go over besides the plot and the final review:

COMPLETE SPOILERS! PLEASE WATCH THIS FILM BEFORE READING ANY FURTHER BECAUSE THE MOVIE IS SO GOOD! YOU DESERVE TO NOT HAVE THIS FILM SPOILED AND THERE IS ONE HUGE SPOILER IN THIS REVIEW! GO WATCH IT! LAST WARNING!

Joe Buck (a very young Jon Voight) is a young Texan who is quitting his job as a dishwasher to move to New York to be a male prostitute. There is reason for this which is explained through dreams and flashbacks, but it seems a little abrupt to start a movie. It does make the viewer really identify with Joe because we have all considered quitting a mundane job for some crazy scheme. He is excited about his prospects and manages to become the most annoying bus rider I think I have ever seen. I still like him though.

On arrival, he is Initially unsuccessful in finding a sugar momma, but finally he manages to bed a middle-aged woman, Cass, in her posh Park Avenue apartment. The encounter ends badly when he asks for money because she thought he was just hitting on her and hadn’t discussed payment before anything happened. It goes especially wrong as he gives her money after she is insulted and throws a tantrum when he requests payment.

Joe did not have a lot of money and realizes he needs to find work soon. At a bar, Joe is saved from accidently trying to bed a gay man with strong feminine features. His savior turns out to be Enrico Salvatore "Ratso" Rizzo (Dustin Hoffman), a con man with a limp who takes $20 from Joe in exchange for an introduction to a pimp. Joe soon discovers that the man is actually an unhinged homosexual religious fanatic, and Joe flees in pursuit of Ratso but cannot find him. Joe spends his days wandering the city and sitting in his hotel room. Soon broke, he is locked out of his hotel room, his belongings are impounded, and he is forced to live on the streets.

Absolutely desperate, Joe tries to make money by receiving oral sex from a young man in a movie theater, but learns after the act that the young man has no money. Joe threatens him and asks for his watch, but eventually lets him go unharmed. The next day, Joe spots Ratso and angrily shakes him down. Ratso offers to share an apartment in a condemned building where he is squatting. Joe reluctantly accepts his offer, and they begin a "business relationship" as hustlers. As they develop a bond, it becomes apparent that Ratso's health is very poor and needs to live. Ratso speaks of moving to Florida where the two could live the good life working over older rich women.

In a flashback, Joe's grandmother raises him after his mother abandons him. He also has a tragic relationship with Annie, a mentally unstable girl. The film has successive flashbacks to an experience in which he and Annie were jumped while naked in a parked car and both raped by a gang of cowboys. It becomes apparent that the women in Joe’s life were both fragile and gullible while the men took what the wanted and walked away from the carnage. His mom was impregnated and left by a man, his grandmother was grifted by a young man, and a bunch of men attacked and ruined his relationship. Joe has decided to take control and be the aggressive one, but he is not very good at it.

Ratso tells Joe his father was an illiterate Italian immigrant shoe shiner whose job led to a bad back and lung damage from long-term exposure to shoe polish. Ratso learned shoe shining from his father but considers it degrading and generally refuses to do it, although he does shine Joe's cowboy boots to help him attract clients. Ratso continues to harbor hopes of moving to Miami, know shown in daydreams in which he and Joe frolic carefree on a beach and are surrounded by dozens of adoring middle-aged women.

Things get even more desperate because it is getting cold and Ratso’s apartment has no heat and his health is failing dramatically. An eccentric man and woman approach Joe in a diner and give them a flyer inviting them to an Andy Warhol-esque party. Joe and Ratso attend, but Ratso's poor health and hygiene attract unwanted attention from several guests. Joe mistakes a joint for a cigarette and starts to hallucinate after taking several long puffs, which adds to some "uppers" he is offered. He leaves the party with Shirley, a socialite who agrees to pay him $20 for spending the night, but Joe cannot perform sexually. They play Scribbage together and the resulting wordplay leads Shirley to suggest that Joe may be gay, and suddenly he is able to perform. The next morning, she sets up her friend as Joe's next client and it appears that his career is finally taking off.

When Joe returns home, however, Ratso is bedridden and feverish. He refuses medical help and begs Joe to put him on a bus to Florida. Desperate, Joe picks up a man in an amusement arcade and robs him during a violent encounter in the man's hotel room where Joe brutally beats the man (it is implied that Joe may have killed the man). Joe buys bus tickets with the money so he and Ratso can board a bus to Florida. During the trip, Ratso's health deteriorates further as he becomes incontinent and sweat-drenched.

At a rest stop, Joe buys new clothing for Ratso and himself and discards his cowboy outfit. On the bus, Joe muses that there must be easier ways to earn a living than hustling, and tells Ratso he plans to get a regular job in Florida. When Ratso fails to respond, Joe realizes that he has died. The driver tells Joe there is nothing to do but continue to Miami and asks Joe to close Ratso's eyelids. Joe, with tears welling in his eyes, sits with his arm around his dead friend, alone.

It is a dramatically relatable film that was surprisingly directed by an Englishman known also for TV movies and opera. I guess I shouldn’t be too surprised because a lot of my favorite directors are English and I like simple character stories that would also do well on a stage. I have to say that I never have cheered for a character that wants to be a prostitute so much...probably because Joe Buck genuinely thinks of it as a dream job. The viewer just wants him to succeed because he is not trying to trick anybody and it is honest pay for honest work the way that he thinks of it.

So does this movie belong on the AFI top 100? Undoubtedly. Oscar winning writing and directing, phenomenal acting, Grammy winning main song, memorable ad libs, and an iconic time capsulation of the seedy underbelly of New York in the 60s. It is great to see that an English director can make something so relatedly American. Would I recommend this? Absolutely...to adults or at least mature teens. There is some nudity and adult situations, but that is not the issue for me. In this film, a man chooses to perform homosexual acts out of desperation and, throughout the film, the lowliest people still look down on gay men (includes a fair number of homophobic slurs). It takes a mature brain to understand that it is the desperation of going against one’s own sexuality that is so bad and that the director is not merely saying that the worst thing could be that a man is gay. It seems straight forward to me, but I am not sure that younger kids would get it. But to any even slightly mature person, I would absolutely recommend. It is a great movie with a great story and I was glad to rewatch it (and I probably will again).

#midnight cowboy #introvert #introverted #jon voight #dustin hoffman #AFI movies #film #60s #new york city #best picture #oscars #movies #movie review #Film Criticism

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hazyheel · 5 years

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Fastlane 2019 Review

As far as WWE pay per views go, this was a pretty good show. The undercard was weak, but the wrestling only got better as the night went on. It was an enjoyable, but ultimately uneventful, with about two exceptions.

I actually watch the pre-shows for WWE, given they have matches and such, so I’ll throw in some highlights from the actual talk show portion. The IIconics showed up and were bulling the desk guys, that was funny. Mandy Rose and Sonya Deville talked to EC3, who finally spoke his first words. All he did was hit on the both of them, and they rejected him. It was even written into the script that they make fun of all the false build up to an anticlimax. Christian popped by and talked to AJ Styles about how manipulative Randy Orton is, which I like because of the awesome feud the two had in 2011. Fun times, but it’s never worth watching.

The match of the pre-show was Big E and Xavier Woods vs. Rusev and Shinsuke Nakamura. Rusev hit an impressive wheelbarrow suplex on Woods for a near fall. Rusev hit a Matchka kick to Big E, but Woods broke it up. The was a very interesting submission sequence with Woods in the Acolade, but Nakamura pulled the bottom rope away from him to prevent the rope break. Big E then threw him into the barricade to take Nakamura out of the match. The New Day then hit the Midnight Hour for the win.

Grade: D-. I just didn’t care, and there were a bunch of botches. Generally boring, it didn’t need to happen. At least the right people won, but now Rusev and Nakamura lost the little momentum that they had. Luckily no one really watches the pre-show.

Opening the main card was The Miz and Shane McMahon vs. The Usos for the Smackdown Tag Team Championships. Miz and McMahon started to incorporate actual tag team moves, although they were not particularly impressive. During the match, Shane was hurt on the ground as Miz hit the skull crushing finale, but the ref was too distracted to make the pin. At one point, as Shane went up for the Coast to Coast, but one of the Usos intercepted him. Miz’s dad then encouraged him up to the top rope, for a big splash, but it was countered into a role up for the win from the Usos. After the match, Shane was the one to turn heel. He beat up the Miz, and even got up in his Dad’s face.

Grade: C+. The match was surprisingly fun. I have enjoyed this storyline so far, and the match was have decent with some cool spots. The heel turn was done well, and I was actually surprised with Shane turning on Miz rather than the other way around. I’m looking forward to the promo on Tuesday about why he turned heel.

Elias appeared several times throughout the show. He didn’t really do anything of consequence.

Then we had Asuka vs. Mandy Rose for the Smackdown Women’s Championship. The match was quite bland, but it came to an end when Sonya Deville attempted to introduce a Kendo stick into the match, but Asuka was able to hit the spin kick for the win.

Grade: D. Definitely boring. There were a bunch of botches, and it was generally pointless. It kinda furthered the breaking point between Deville and Rose, but that story has been on and off since Survivor Series, so I have lost faith in it.

Backstage, Big E and Xavier Woods found Kofi Kingston waiting to talk to Vince McMahon about the WWE Championship match. Vince promised that it would be a triple threat, starting now. Kofi went out, only to found out that Vince lied to him, and it was a handicap match against the Bar. They beat Kingston down, and when Big E and Woods came out to help, Nakamura and Rusev attacked them.

Grade: B-. Even though it was squash match, it did its job. Lots of sympathy for Kingston, and it’s looking more and more like he will win the big one at Wrestlemania. As long as that is where this is going, I am into it.

Into the Raw Tag Team Championship matches, pitting the Revival against Bobby Roode and Chad Gable, as well as Ricochet and Aleister Black. Ricochet was playing the underdog throughout the match, while Black got the hot tags. At one point, Gable hit the O’Connor Role onto Black, only for Wilder to hit a frog splash, and then Ricochet hit a frog splash of his own for a near fall. Ricochet also hit a huge suicide dive over the corner of the ring, into Roode. The Revival then hit the shatter machine for the win. After the match, Roode with the Glorious DDT, Black hit the Black Mass, and then Ricochet hit a Michinoku Driver and then the 630 Senton.

Grade: B-. A bit disappointing, but I think that they could be saving it for Wrestlemania. Still a decent match, fun spots. Ricochet was definitely the MVP of the match, flipping and selling all over the place.

Now for the recently booked US Championship match, we had Samoa Joe, Rey Mysterio, Andrade and R-Truth. There was one point where Andrade caught Mysterio in a chokehold, and Truth clotheslined him, driving Mysterio’s head into the floor. Mysterio then reversed a powerslam from Joe into a tornado DDT. He even it a doomsday hurricanrana onto Andrade off the shoulders of R-Truth. Zelina Vega and Carmella attacked each other on the outside, and Joe used the distraction to get off a powerslam for a near fall. Rey hit the 619 on Joe, but he missed the splash, and Joe locked him in the Coquina Clutch for the win.

Grade: B+. The match was quick paced, with huge moves throughout and always something happening. Mysterio and Andrade did awesome work throughout the match, both selling and striking. R-Truth looked awesome too, and Joe got a strong win.

In the first defense of the Women’s Tag Team Championships, the Boss n’ Hug Connection took on Tamina and Nia Jax. They quickly established that Jax and Tamina were stronger. The match was quite boring, but there were a few cool double team moves from Bayley and Banks. Bayley picked up the win with a hurricanrana into a pin. The heels continued the match at the of the match, until Beth Phoenix stepped in and fought back. She too got beat up, eating a leg drop in the middle of the ring. Natalya came out to protect Phoenix, but ate a superkick for that.

Grade: C. I really wasn’t into the match itself, but the return of Beth Phoenix is so cool, that I am into it. Probably a Wrestlemania match springing from this. So the post match beatdown was super fun, but the match itself sucked.

Then we had the WWE Championship match, Daniel Bryan vs. Kevin Owens vs. a returning Mustafa Ali. Both faces teamed up on Bryan, but the alliance quickly devolved. At one point, Bryan hit a huge running dropkick to Ali, knocking him off the top rope and into the barricade. As the match progressed, Owens got more and more frustrated, acting more aggressive as the match went on. Ali then hit Owens with a reverse rana, and then hit Bryan with a Spanish Fly, but Bryan rolled out. Ali then went for the 054 on Owens, but Owens dodged and hit a stunner (apperently a new finisher), but Bryan broke it up. Even a pop up powerbomb to Bryan couldn’t seal the deal. Ali hit Bryan with an 054 on the apron, but when he went for the pin, Rowan pulled him out and joined the battle. Rowan was hit by two superkicks from both Owens and Ali, as well as a hurricanrana from Ali and a scary suicide dive from Owens. Ali then hit a huge tornado DDT from the top rope to the outside to Bryan. Owens hit Ali with a pop up powerbomb into the ring post, but Rowan threw Owens into the barricades, allowing Bryan a near fall, only for a two count. Ali and Bryan exchanged strikes in the middle of the ring, but when Ali went for a splash out of the corner, Bryan intercepted with the running knee for the win. After the match, Rowan hit his weird head slam thing on Ali.

Grade: A. An awesome triple threat that really saved a mostly mediocre card. Everyone played their roles in the match (even Rowan), and anyone of them could’ve won. Lots of awesome near falls, lots of huge spots. Scary stuff, and great work from all of them. I can’t even pick an MVP, because they were all essential to this match. Great stuff to everyone.

Now, a match that everyone wanted to see, we had Becky Lynch vs. Charlotte Flair. If Becky wins, then she gets inserted into the Raw Women’s Championship match at Wrestlemania. In the early part of the match, Flair was just toying with Lynch, and mocking her for her knee injury. Flair targeted the knee throughout the match, both in legal and illegal ways. Flair was in control, until Lynch pushed Flair off the top rope into the outside, barely making it back into the ring. When she made it into the ring, Lynch locked in the Disamher, but Charlotte reversed it into the the figure four. At that moment, Ronda Rousey stormed to the ring and attacked Lynch. Lynch then won by disqualification.

Grade: B+. Entertaining match. Lynch’s desperation really showed through, and so did Flair’s viciousness. I think that Rousey’s interfering makes sense for her character, as she said that she wanted Lynch at mania. Plus, she is that cocky that she thinks she can beat two people at Wrestlemania. Charlotte seemed pissed, because she is a smarmy heel. While Becky was thrilled, because she took relatively little punishment for a DQ win.

So, during another one of Elias’s concerts, Lacey Evans did a catwalk, and then Randy Orton hit an RKO out of nowhere, and then AJ Styles hit Orton with a Phenomenal Forearm. It was all as confusing as it sounds in writing.

Then, in a surprising main event, we had the reformed Shield up against Heel inc. (Corbin, McIntyre, and Lashley) Before the match started, the Shield cleared the heels out of the ring, but quickly organized into an actual match. The Shield hit all of their double and triple team moves. Dean had a cool spot where he hit an elbow drop off of the corner post to McIntyre on the outside. Rollins and Ambrose hit their stereo suicide dives. Roman went for his as well, but was intercepted with a deep six for a near fall. it got to the point where Rollins and Ambrose brawled with McIntyre and Lashley, while Roman and Corbin fought in the ring. Seth took out McIntyre and Lashley with a crossbody off of a balcony in the crowd. Corbin hit the End of Days on Roman, but Rollins and Ambrose broke it up at the very last second. The heels were gonna go for the triple powerbomb on through a table, but again Rollins and Ambrose saved them. The Shield then hit triple powerbombs to McIntyre through a table. In the ring, the Shield surrounded the ring, with Ambrose hitting the Dirty Deeds and then the Shield hit the triple powerbomb for the win. The show closed with the fist bump, for what commentary claimed was the last time.

Grade: B+. Exciting match for sure. Really picked up at the end there too. The final minutes were absolutely awesome. A fitting 6-man tag to end the Shield’s tenure in WWE. Part of me still thinks that Brock may get a triple powerbomb at Wrestlemania, but we will see.

Overall Grade: B-

Pros: Shane O’mac heel turn, US Fatal 4-way, Beth Phoenix returns, WWE Championship, Lynch vs. Flair, 6-man tag

Cons: Pre-show match, Smackdown Women’s Championship, Women’s tag team championship, disappointing Raw Tag Team Championship

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kroabot · 3 years

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pt 93 medical journaling

You should stop participating in extortion and kidnapping, Ricardo Coca. If you don't want your family's extortion and kidnapping victims to threaten to kill your family members. You should stop them from crime Ricardo. Not help them.

Sleepover at suicide slumber party is over, Star. Time to return to your one remaining sane law abiding parent.

I don't even think that is Star Monique Gonnerman, who posts and removes pictures from her instagram account. It's probably her mother Elizabeth Monica Coca posting and removing old photos, so you don't know that Star is locked away safely like a piece of capital. Star's instagram account doesn't interest me at all. Because everything Elizabeth Monica Coca do online is a distraction. So you don't suspect what is really happening. Those are old photos, of rare social events from the previous year.

Vulture over the custody auction human trafficking situation. See if anyone dies of covid19 family emergency. Ratero family of delincuentes lost a loved ratero to covid19. Can i have my daughter Star Monique Gonnerman back now? I'm her father Kurt Gonnerman.

Nick the prick Boyd, the dead Boyd lawyer he's been awfully quiet. Full of lead Boyd.

Kind of exposed that Joseph Taylor learned professional cyber stalking skills on his bribe jobs of bribing warlords in Afghanistan. Being cyberstalked by Moroccan isis al qaeda human traffickers. Or being stalked by Joseph Taylor for custody papers. Or being stalked by military Lieutenants trained by the KGB by Maduro in Caracas, and feeling like whatsapp is Red October. I start to have counterintuitive skills. And i know a lot about American cyber stalkers. But you don't know about KGB trained pirate gangs of Caracas, who include lieutenants. Their narcotraffickers, not like the DEA. They are deported prison gangs like the DEA, but the DEA is not trained by the KGB nor does it have screaming military lieutenants taking over hotels, and filling Hostal Bolegnesi up witb pregnant young women.

What happened in June 2018, is that Elizabeth Monica Coca finally accepted her deportation which was announced to her at immigrations when she returned from dropping me (Kurt Gonnerman) off in Perú, she got her deportation notice in June 2013. Joseph Taylor thought that he could use Mormon bullying to get custody papers from me. As if Lima, Perú, population 10 million is the same as Salt Lake City, Utah. And the large Mormon family can routinely visit your home in a large group, and demand custody papers. But you couldn't do that in Lima, Perú, could you Joseph Taylor?

--------------------++++++

It has been narrated on the authority of Abdullah b. 'Umar that the Messenger of Allah said:

I have been commanded to fight against people till they testify that (la ilaha illallah) there is no god but Allah, that Muhammad is the messenger of Allah, and they establish prayer, and pay Zakat and if they do it, their blood and property are guaranteed protection on my behalf except when justified by law, and their affairs rest with Allah.

Sahih Muslim 22 Book 1, Hadith 36

------_-----+++++

...which is funny. Because like Charro (Rosaria Rodriguez), or Gladis and Michael Tahan. Or Raquel and Dave Jensen or whatever your name is. Carlos and Pocha Coca Cabra, Julia Coca Cabra. You have your American homes. No one cares about your mortgage debt or property taxes. Sell it all and go back to Perú then. Your children file out of the big show-off home and begin a life of their own. You ever hear of that? A life of their own? Your big expensive house is empty and always in need of repair.

They need Islam. They need the Word of salvation, La ilaha illallah, that there is no God but Allah swt. Look how lost and meaningless the lives of Mormons. Doing the ancestry of ancestors so you can baptise their dead?! Focus on your own repentance and salvation, filthy fools! Turn to your One Creator, Word of salvation, la ilaha illallah, 5 salat prayers at specific time frames of the day. Save yourself from the Hellfire, stop this materialistic Mormon or Christian madness! You are criminal psychopaths you will murder out of jealousy and competition over other people's children! Sick filthy fool! May Allah guide you away from the shirk and the sihr, the polytheism and black magic and turn your heart to Allah Alone, seeking His Face in actions words and intentions, in Islam, leave Morgen Mormon basura behind no more Christianity now is Islam, Ameen.

Why don't you go take your V2K DEW gun to a mountain and drink mountain dew?

At the last week of March 2021, Jose Felix of the department of child welfare services in San Diego, told me Kurt Gonnerman, that Star Monique Gonnerman had attempted suicide with a belt in the home of Tamara Bangerter Coca and Enrique Coca. And he only told me this for his own sick control and manipulation game. And to record incriminating evidence against me, while i was furious of the neglect being reported about my daughter Star, and seeing this spic who should build his professional reputation in San Juan, Puerto Rico, not San Diego. Was only going to send Star back to Tamara and the extended family member kidnapping ring. And the house of belts with the BYI Idaho lynch squad. Which he did, and there was no rescuing Star from extended family member kidnappers. Because Jose Felix is a baby peddler. He confiscates babies for international Mormon CPS adoption crime networks. Not sixteen year old problem child who is showing signs of neglect and delinquency. That's not worth money to San Diego child welfare services crime ring adoption agency baby peddlers.

Ratero familia de delincuentes lose a loved one to the delta covid19 variant yet? Bismillahir rahmanir rahim. I'm nesting for Star and Alina at the Havasu City Perú / México transaction kiosk. We've got some phenomenal coin operated cyber machinery set up, for crypto wallet online phishing for transaction fee games.

Coca Cabra Taylor Tahan Link, "morally incapable."

...when Kurt Gonnerman got dropped off in Lima, Perú in June 2013.

The Coca Cabra family has American citizenship. But they still need to divorce their spouses and enslave many children to pretend to prosper as Americans. Like they are still in Peru where child slavery and exploitation is normal.

You arranged for Joe to abuse Star so that Star would be depressed.to.give your mom her SSI check becaise your mom can't afford to live in USA even with the rent money of illegal Mexiicans who live in her basement. And collecting rent from her home in Lima. She still needs to drive a grandchild to depression for SSI checks.

Everything you own is a burden which will need to be sold when you die. Do you think anyone wants to inherit your property taxes and home mortgage debt fees? You didn't even try to leave something positive for your future generations. You're like Joe Gonnerman, you worked all your life and can't even give your son a penny now.

Star has to be a child slave of your Coca Cabra Tahan Taylor family instead of having a normal life with consistent friends. Because your stupid brothers and sisters can't afford the USA. Everything you own is a burden which will need to be sold when you die. Do you think anyone wants to inherit your property taxes and home mortgage debt fees? You Mormon Epsteins didn't even try to leave something positive for your future generations.

No child should be a slave to the Coca Cabra Taylor Tahan crime ring of her aunts and uncles and deported mother Elizabeth Monica Coca. Star Monique Gonnerman should not have to serve this crime ring as leverage for Star's uncles and aunts to be able to afford living in the United States. They should all.go back to San Juan de Miraflores and Churacan where they came from. Not enslave and kidnap family members, hide and harbour them around so Star Monique Gonnerman can visit you in Tijuana and serve her grandmother her SSI disability check for home improvements Julia Coca Cabra even though Julia collects rent from illegal alien Mexicans in her basement and really you are a family Coca Cabra Taylor Tahan low life scum bag crime ring.

Okay well, all your worthless family go back to Perú. Star Monique Gonnermam and Kurt Gonnerman don't need you.

...okay well your brothers and sisters should all go back to Peru and live in the house in San Juan de Miraflores. Instead of hiding the child Star Monique Gonnerman of their deported family member Elizabeth Monica Coca who the aunts and uncles are hiding Star in the USA when they have no legal rights to do this. So Star has to move from house to house, and becomes depressed and suicidal. Because Coca Cabra Tahan Taylor family crime ring is hiding Star, and abusing her and neglecting so Jose Felix calls me from San Diego department of child welfare services to say Star did a suicide attempt with a belt in Tamara Coca's house in Chula Vista. BYU Lynch squad Tamara didn't try to hang Star or anything.

Okay well Ricardo, Enrique, Tamara Carlos Pocha Gladis Michael, Dave and Raquel, Milagros and Charro Rosaria Rodriguez can all go to prison. Because they are hiding someone else's child they have no legal rights to. And Elizabeth Monica Coca has been deported, but her and her husband Joseph Taylor can still go to prison too. Amin.

0 notes

jezfletcher · 3 years

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1000 Albums, 2020: Albums #10-1

Here they are, my Top 10 albums of the year. As always, these are the top 1% of all the albums I heard this year which means, at least statistically speaking, they must be pretty good. The other thing that means they’re good is the fact that, well, they’re all just very good.

#10. Joe Wong - Nite Creatures (baroque pop)

This is one of the albums I heard as part of the period this year where I was up a lot in the middle of the night with a hungry, cranky baby. And it’s a hauntingly good soundtrack for the wee hours of the morning. It has a psychedelic wash to a lot of it, and orchestral-sounding arrangements that blur the line between strings and guitar, plus harp from Mary Lattimore. It has a rich slate of moving harmonic progressions, in the way that I like in the best dreampop. Wong’s voice is a pleasingly melted-chocolate baritone, which works well with the atmospheric swirl. Wong has a history as a composer for TV and film, and you can definitely see the influences of that in this work.

My top track (I have several) is Day After Day, elevated as it is by the presence of an oboe—an underutilised instrument. But other tracks are excellent as well, for example, the title track Nite Creatures, which almost sounds like what The Go! Team would write if they took a lot of LSD in the 70s. Other standouts are Dreams Wash Away, Nuclear Rainbow and Sleeping.

Recommended Track: Day After Day

#9. Luis Pestana - Rosa Pano (experimental electronica)

A fantastic sonic journey, Rosa Pano sounds atmospheric and theatrical from the very first moments, starting with a low drone, before bringing in tuned gongs, atonal synth scrawls and heavily processed vocals. This is never an album that feels weird-for-the-sake-of-weird though—it uses the more challenging elements as dramatic devices. For every moment of atonal noise, there’s a plunge into the cool clear waters of restrained melody. And yet at every moment, I feel like I’m leaning forward in anticipation of that next unexpected element. Pestana does an amazing job at drawing things out just longer than you expect, or giving you exquisite moments of crashing relief. I’ve not felt this level of control over experimental electronica since Roly Porter’s 2016 album Third Law, which also ended up near the top of my end-of-year list.

In some senses this almost feels like the 2020 equivalent of a classic album like Mike Oldfield’s Tubular Bells. It’s experimental, but has the feeling of narrative to it—elusive though the story might be, something is developing across the scope of the album. As such, it’s difficult, honestly to pick out individual elements—even though Sangra, for instance, contains some of the best bits in the album, it’s even better when it seamlessly moves into Arde Asa. Ao Romper da Bela Aurora brings in choral elements that shock you back into a remembrance of humanity, and Asa Machina provides an engine-like consistency moving you towards the finale. At 31 minutes, it absolutely packs a punch for its short running time, and is absolutely the kind of thing that you can (and perhaps should) consume at once, whole. It’s also the kind of thing I would love to see performed live one day. Hearing this boom over you in a dark room, sharing the experience with other audience members, would be a pretty incredible thing.

Recommended Track: Sangra

#8. Sufjan Stevens - The Ascension (art pop)

It has been a long time since we’ve had a proper solo release from Sufjan Stevens. In fact, his last album, Carrie & Lowell was actually the year before we started listening to 1000 albums a year. So The Ascension felt like a moment that was long coming for the music project. Better yet was the fact that unlike the subdued folk of his 2015 effort, this one feels more like the spiritual successor to his second-to-last album The Age of Adz. That was an album I adored (and saw him perform twice in concert), so I jumped into The Ascension with a great deal of joy. It has Stevens’ trademark ethereal but strident vocals, and layers upon layers of drifting synths. But there’s still a sense that there’s pure folk at its heart. The presentation might change, but so many of these songs you feel would survive either this level of heavy production, or Sufjan singing them with a guitar and no backup.

There are many tracks I love in here, including Make Me An Offer I Cannot Refuse, Tell Me You Love Me, and the harmonically challenging Ursa Major, which feels like the vocals and backing track are in constant tension with each other. I’m going to single out Lamentations though, which adds a surprising rhythmic element to what would otherwise be an extremely subdued, downtempo track.

Recommended Track: Lamentations

#7. MisterWives - Superbloom (indie pop)

In some ways, MisterWives is a victim of its own success with me. For a start, after so loving their 2017 album Connect the Dots, this was labouring under extremely high expectations. Moreover, while I generally try to hold out on listening to singles if I know that an album is imminent, I couldn’t stop myself from picking up the first trickles that came from this album, and then the half-album EP release that preceded it. Which meant that by the time it actually came around to listening to Superbloom, I’d heard approximately 50% of it already. I had missed that moment when all the goodness crashed on me at once. Of course, it’s still an extremely good album—but if the world were a fair and equal place, you feel like this should be a pure lock for my Album of the Year.

There’s still plenty of great, thoughtful but mostly upbeat pop in this album. Danceable tracks like It’s My Turn and Love Me True are tempered by more atmospheric numbers like Valentine’s Day and Decide to Be Happy, the latter of which feels like it’s channeling a lot of 90s RnB, in the best possible way. Another thing, which made me realise this wasn’t the standout album of 2020, is that it’s an extremely long album (it’s 19 tracks, and over an hour in length), and the quality isn’t entirely consistent. This almost certainly means that tightening up the album would improve the overall quality. As a whole album, it suffers, even though as a collection of great tracks it packs more of a punch, perhaps, than some albums above it in this list.

Recommended Track: It’s My Turn

#6. Lola Marsh - Someday Tomorrow Maybe (Israeli noir pop)

For a long time this year, this was considered the front-runner for me. Coming out as it did in February, and being a clearly great album, everything released later was always compared to it: “is this as good as Lola Marsh’s album?” was a tacit question whenever a new great album came up. This survived most of the challenges, and winds up still in my top ten after what’s been a great year of music. This has excellent moments of songwriting, delivered with a sense of ennui, very appropriate for 2020, even though it was released before the pandemic truly took hold.

There are moments of exceptionally subdued folk songwriting, and elements which expand into rich dramatic presentations. Tracks like Like in the Movies start out with a beautifully simple melody and then build in a series of vast smash cuts to an ecstatic conclusion. The best track, however, is the opening track Echoes, which is melodically beautiful and develops in a number of unexpected but harmonious ways. They seem to know it’s the best track too, because they rework it into the more melodic, less rock-driven closing track Where Are You Tonight?. In some senses it feels like cheating to use the same song twice, but a) it’s such a great song that you don’t mind hearing it again, and b) the reworking is so skillfully done that it feels like both are worthy inclusions on their own merits. But it’s a great album, and one that still feels, 10 months later, like one of the very best of the year.

Recommended Track: Echoes

#5. Dyble Longdon - Between a Breath and a Breath (chamber folk)

This is a bittersweet album, a collaboration between vocalist Judy Dyble of Fairport Convention, and David Longdon, a multi-instrumentalist from the group Big Big Train. Shortly before its release, Dyble died, meaning that this was and is always going to be the only release we get from this duo. And that’s a damn tragedy, because this is a phenomenal album. It is even better as a collaboration, because there’s an inspired synergy between Dyble’s sweet trad-folk vocals and the sumptuous and rich arrangements from Longdon. There’s always a connection between the two, so it never feels like the simple folk qualities are being overwhelmed by post-rock ostentatiousness—often there will be interplay between the vocals and Longdon on flute, for instance, which connects the two elements beautifully.

Best though is the fact that they can use these elements to balance each other, or provide contrasts that generate immensely moving moments of drama. There’s the epic 11-minute France for instance, which feels symphonic in scope, or there’s my personal favourite, Obedience, which ties a beautifully sweet and simple folk tune with an immense prog-rock crescendo. But the album overall is a journey in itself. It’s incredibly sad that this is only perfect moment of collaboration we get from these two.

Recommended Track: Obedience

#4. Hugo Kant - Far From Home (downtempo nu-jazz)

I’m genuinely surprised with how well this held up, but I also remember how much I immediately fell in love with this album when I first heard it (in brief snippets when screening the week’s new releases, and then again when I listened through in full). This is a fabulous set of music, building rich soundscapes around punching downtempo breakbeats. You will notice jazz flute a lot in some of my top picks this year, and here’s another one which uses it extensively. But there’s a rich instrumentation overall here—woodwinds are part, but there’s more of the orchestra utilised at various points where it’s required to provide drama, or an upsurge in emotion from swelling strings.

Even better is when non-Western influences are incorporated to broaden the scope of the sound, or when there’s a deep groove to the bassline that drives a track forward despite anything else going on, such is the excellent Everything Is Transformed. My personal pick is personally High Gravity, which is probably more motif-based, and driven more by its percussion. It’s a high point for me, but others will probably consider tracks like Melancholia, or The Second Sun as more representative of the album overall. But whatever you pick from this album, you’re likely to find something good. It’s an eclectic but extremely enjoyable outing.

Recommended Track: High Gravity

#3. The Lemon Twigs - Songs For The General Public (alt rock)

This is a genuinely fabulous collection of tracks. It’s less of a thematically linked album than some of the others on this list, but the hit rate is quite phenomenal, especially given it’s quite a long album. There’s a genuinely beautiful throwback quality to a lot of these tracks—they feel often enough like they’re unstuck from time. Is this a long lost track from the late 60s psychedelia? Perhaps it’s pop rock from the 80s? Maybe, just maybe, it’s an ultra-hip interpretation of the last 70 years of music from the year of our lord 2020? Whatever it is, it’s exceptional songwriting for the most part, delivered with almost a kind of glam swagger that evokes the early albums of music project darling Kyle Craft.

Singling out tracks is both easy and hard to do, because I love so much of this album. The lead single The One is a particular favourite, but I grew to especially love the meter-shifting Only a Fool the more I heard it. Plus you can’t deny that it starts strongly with the one-two punch of rock driven sing-along Hell On Wheels followed by sunny pop Live in Favour of Tomorrow. But you have to also consider the cabaret charm of organ-or-maybe-calliope heavy Why Do Lovers Own Each Other?. You can see the bind I’m in. It was, to some extent a bit of a surprise to find this as high as it is on this list, but when I look back on the smorgasbord of goodness available from it, it absolutely feels like a correct choice for a Top 3 Album of the Year.

Recommended Track (aw jeez… let’s go with): Only a Fool

#2. King Gizzard & the Lizard Wizard - K.G. (microtonal psychedelic rock)

The first time I really got into King Gizzard & the Lizard Wizard was in 2017, which was happily the year where they set out to record 5 albums in 12 months. What struck me then was that this was a technically brilliant band that managed to maintain a stunning level of quality when you’d expect them to be prioritising quantity. The standout from 2017 for me was Flying Microtonal Banana, their first experiment with non-Western microtonal tunings for their instruments.

Their successor to this, K.G., also done with microtonal tunings, is even better, and it’s perhaps the moment when my generalised love for King Giz turned into something genuinely special. This is a remarkably fine collection of music, played as a zero-gap set and running the gamut from heavy prog rock to swirling psychedelia, 90s electropop and metal. Everything is tinged with the alien from the unexpected xenharmonics, but everything is also bolstered by the technicality of the performers. It’s very easy for this kind of thing to become a mess—to lack structure or to get caught up itself too much. This does none of that, and stays crisp and polished right through to the slamming finale, The Hungry Wolf of Fate.

Recommended track: Intrasport

#1. Ada Rook - 2,020 Knives (electropop concrète)

In my mind, there’s no better album to summarise the year we’ve just had than this sprawling, angry and claustrophobically intimate album from Ada Rook. Rook has been prolific this year, releasing an album as part of the duo rook&nomie towards the very end of 2019, producing and mastering albums for an array of artists whom I’ve also enjoyed, and even turning her hand to industrial grindcore under the name crisis sigil. But nothing is better than 2,020 Knives. There’s a wrenching sense of trauma at the core of these songs—lyrically they can be by turns devastating, heart-breaking or strangely life-affirming. But they’re placed in a strong, aggressive punch of industrial electropop, laced with guttural screams of existence that seem to perfectly match the state of the world in 2020.

It’s not a satirical album though, and it’s not obviously trying to make some sweeping statements on the state of the world. Instead, it’s clearly a deeply personal album—but there’s such quality in the songwriting, the beautifully polished production, the complexity of the rhythms, that something connects and then we start to see our own reflection in Rook’s. And if it connects and hits as often as it does for me—well, it ends up your #1 album of the year. It’s a perfectly fitting album for the year that was 2020.

Recommended track: Reverie (JH Ligation Experiment 1)

And there we have my top albums for 2020. Stay tuned for my top 50 (!) tracks of the year, which I’ll post over the next couple of days. After the Christmas break, I’ll also post my longer list of albums #31-100, and my list of tracks #51-100.

I’m also in the process of collating a playlist of my top tracks of the year, which I’ll post after all is revealed.

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realcleargoodtimes · 4 years

Link

you've watched President Trump's daily press briefings about the coronavirus outbreak, you've learned how little you've learned. Every time he talks about the pandemic, he tells us more about his narcissism than he does about the pandemic.

Trump began holding press briefings when he could no longer hold rallies, and for the same reason: He needs praise like he needs oxygen, and these briefings, like his campaign rallies, are his oxygen tank. Public health is not the point. They are about what Trump wants to hear, not what we need to know.

When he talks about the pandemic, he's vague, misleading, and self-congratulatory, often at the same time. "We have a lot of things happening, a lot of very positive things," Trump said while discussing things.

He prefers to discuss things that have nothing to do with the pandemic, such as his "very popular" wife and "Sleepy Joe Biden." While he has not called for the coronavirus to be locked up, he said, "We're building a wall." His logorrhea occasionally takes him into the unchartered territories of pseudo-empathy and complete sentences, as when he said, "Life is fragile" and "The whole concept of death is terrible."

Also terrible is the credit Trump isn't getting. More than anything, he wants to be commended. On Sunday, he complained that "nobody said thank you" after he donated part of his presidential salary to fighting the coronavirus. He donated $100,000, which is $30,000 less than what he spent on silencing a porn star.

Trump boasts of the job he's supposed to be doing ("a phenomenal job") and cites people without proper names as confirmation. "Many doctors — and I've read many, many doctors — they can't believe the great job that we've done," he claimed. He said governors are "loving what we're doing," "were thanking us for the job we did," and "were very complimentary." Asked if he sold any stocks before the epidemic, Trump compared himself to George Washington, "a rich man" who "ran the presidency and

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junker-town · 5 years

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6 rookie quarterbacks graded on Week 1 of the NFL preseason

Mark J. Rebilas-USA TODAY Sports

Kyler Murray and Daniel Jones both finished without a single incompletion in their debuts.

The NFL preseason isn’t the best place for watching high-quality football highlights. While it usually lacks star power, it does provide a first chance to see rookies in actual game action.

Specifically, it gives an early indication of how ready rookie quarterbacks are for the big stage.

Last year, Baker Mayfield started his Browns career with 212 passing yards, two touchdowns, and no interceptions in his first preseason game. It was a precursor of things to come for Mayfield, who went on to set the record for passing touchdowns by a rookie in the regular season.

That doesn’t mean a rough start dooms a player for failure, or that a strong first showing means a Pro Bowl season is on the way. But it’s a great way to get optimistic about a player’s future, or lower your expectations.

Here’s how six rookie quarterbacks — all of whom were drafted in the first four rounds — performed in the first full slate of preseason Week 1 games:

Kyler Murray, Cardinals

Grade: A-

Murray was the main event Thursday night, but his performance was pretty forgettable. The No. 1 pick played just one series and never threw a pass more than 10 yards past the line of scrimmage. His only drive ended with a third-down sack followed by a punt.

That said, Murray looked as good as the Cardinals could’ve hoped in those circumstances. He was quick, decisive, and fired the ball in with zip. He finished with only seven pass attempts, completing six of them for 44 yards.

6-for-7 44 yards 92.9 QBR@K1 was strong in his first NFL action. pic.twitter.com/Uv1eawVS65

— Arizona Cardinals (@AZCardinals) August 9, 2019

The most notable part of the night was the first glimpse at Kliff Kingsbury’s offense. The Cardinals were in shotgun almost every offensive play and asked Murray to go under center just once in 11 snaps.

Murray will have a heavier workload in upcoming preseason games, but the appetizer against the Chargers was enough to leave Arizona fans hungry for more.

Daniel Jones, Giants

Grade: A+

Giants general manager Dave Gettleman has been roasted for months for taking Jones with the No. 6 overall pick in April. The rookie’s preseason debut is going to cut down on that criticism — at least, for now.

Jones completed all five of his pass attempts against the Jets. Unlike Murray, Jones did it with some difficult passes downfield and got the Giants on the board with a 12-yard touchdown to Bennie Fowler.

.@Daniel_Jones10 put up a PERFECT passer rating in his first NFL action: 5-for-5, 67 yards, 1 TD. Every throw from the @Giants QB's performance pic.twitter.com/0r5JRQOOfJ

— NFL (@NFL) August 9, 2019

The eight-play, 79-yard touchdown drive was the only series of the night for Jones. It came right after Eli Manning started the game by leading the Giants on a three-and-out.

It’s still too early to say the Giants have a quarterback controversy, but Jones certainly doesn’t look in over his head in the NFL.

Dwayne Haskins, Washington

Grade: C

Haskins wasn’t as bad as his stat line of two interceptions and no touchdowns would have you believe. Buuuut, he still threw two interceptions and no touchdowns.

His first interception was an ill-advised and underthrown pass to a running back in the flat that was returned for a touchdown.

The rookie out of @AlabamaFTBL...@5mackwilson1 40-yard PICK-6! #WASvsCLE pic.twitter.com/PqBBEgjAxB

— NFL (@NFL) August 9, 2019

His second was a bad overthrow into traffic.

Aside from those two misses, Haskins completed eight of his other 12 passes for 117 yards. That included some impressive plays like this throw to start off his night:

Rookie showing off early. Dwayne Haskins' first throw in the NFL @dh_simba7 #WASvsCLE pic.twitter.com/vS9U7EevX7

— NFL (@NFL) August 9, 2019

An up-and-down performance is about as generous as Haskins’ night can be described. Case Keenum didn’t have a stellar game, either, but he did enough to reinforce the idea that Washington will probably bring Haskins along slowly.

Drew Lock, Broncos

Grade: B-

Lock’s the only one on the list who wasn’t making his preseason debut. He did that a week earlier and finished with a mediocre 34 passing yards against the Falcons. His second showing was better.

He finished with 17 completions on 28 attempts with 180 passing yards, a touchdown, and an interception. His best throw of the night was a laser that was in Troy Fumagalli’s hands before the tight end even realized the ball was headed his way.

Nice feet, great placement by the #Broncos Drew Lock on third and long. pic.twitter.com/35Zu1BTcG6

— Joe Rowles (@JoRo_NFL) August 9, 2019

Lock would’ve finished with a better grade if his strong start wasn’t spoiled by a rocky finish. In the fourth quarter, the offensive line was struggling to hold off the Seattle pass rush and Lock’s mechanics started breaking down. He looked tentative, his footwork was off, and his accuracy suffered.

He did orchestrate a seven-play, 68-yard touchdown drive late in the game, though.

The Broncos’ second preseason game showed both the talent that made Lock a second-round pick and the issues that will take time to fix.

Will Grier, Panthers

Grade: C-

With Cam Newton sitting out, the Panthers got to look at the battle between second-year quarterback Kyle Allen and rookie third-round pick Will Grier for a backup job. After Thursday, Grier has a little catching up to do.

Allen didn’t have a spectacular night, by any means, but he completed 63.6 percent of his passes against a better defensive unit than Grier faced. The rookie took over before halftime, and ended his first drive with an awful interception in the middle of the field.

Terrible throw by Grier and an easy INT... pic.twitter.com/PObNn5i2nF

— Billy Marshall (@BillyM_91) August 9, 2019

Grier bounced back in the second half and threw the Panthers’ only passing touchdown of the game, although running back Elijah Holyfield probably deserves the most credit on the play. Grier finished 9-of-16 passing for 77 yards, and looked like a player with a lot of growing to do on the field.

Jarrett Stidham, Patriots

Grade: A-

Brian Hoyer set the bar high, going 12-of-14 for 147 yards and two touchdowns. The fact that Stidham managed to avoid looking like a disaster by comparison is impressive.

Stidham completed 14 of his 24 passes for 179 yards with one touchdown and no interceptions. Those are great numbers for a fourth-round rookie’s debut, but they could’ve been even better if his receivers made some plays. Two of Stidham’s best throws of the night were beautiful deep balls that could’ve been touchdowns if they were hauled in.

Another phenomenal throw by Stidham. Absolute dime down the sideline but Harris drops it. Probably should've been PI pic.twitter.com/vSC2N05uxd

— Dave Latham (@DLPatsThoughts) August 9, 2019

How the hell was Stidham available in the fourth round???? pic.twitter.com/xweBkM5EZ1

— Dave Latham (@DLPatsThoughts) August 9, 2019

Those are the kind of throws that’ll get you $100 million after the Patriots trade you. Tom Brady’s never leaving.

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happenable-blog · 5 years

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WWE SmackDown Results and Review: April 2nd, 2019

The Kevin Owens show with Randy Orton and AJ Styles Kevin Owens is already in the ring as SmackDown begins. He introduces his two guests as they come out. When asked by Owens, Orton said he is proud of saving the WWE universe from a washed out Olympic gold medalist beating down a guy who still think he is the best. Styles said that Orton has learned only one move in WWE after all these years, a great move but just one. Orton then cut a fiery promo saying when AJ was fighting in front of dozens in bingo hall, he was headlining WrestleMania every year in front of tens of thousands of people. Styles acknowledged that Yes Orton was in WWE. Failing Drug tests! Oh, snap! Orton said that Styles has taken the role of John Cena in WWE. He has become a corporate b*tch. Kevin Owens just stands up and leaves, which was really funny. Styles and Orton get into a brawl which ended with Orton standing tall after hitting an RKO to a Phenomenal Forearm attempt by AJ.

Randy Orton was very passionate delivering his promo. Some real shots were fired there. I didn’t think that this feud could have gotten this hot. This was a homerun segment. They Couldn’t have had a better go-home angle for this feud. Rating: 5/5 8 Man Tag Team Match: The Usos, Aleister Black & Ricochet vs The Bar, Shinsuke Nakamura & Rusev The babyfaces work over Sheamus for some time. Then Sheamus makes a comeback turning the tables in favour of the heels. Rusev threw Jey into the steps and then into the barricade in the outside. They keep working on Jey for a while before he could hot tag to his brother. Jimmy hits a Superkick to Rusev. All the competitors get in the ring to hit each other with Kicks and big moves. The Usos hit double superkick to Rusev for the win. Winner: The Usos, Aleister Black & Ricochet Alexa Bliss comes out next. She gets some heat from the crowd and said that the last week Usos forfeited the match which calls for repercussions. So Usos will defend the SmackDown tag team titles against everyone they shared the ring with, in a four-way match. This leads to an all-out brawl between all of the teams. Richochet and Black stands tall after Ricochet takes everyone out with a senton on the outside. The match and the brawl afterwards was fine. Not something too amazing. But that is just the state of WWE’s tag team division. Rating: 3/5 The IIconics Promo The IIconics cone out to hype their four-way match at WrestleMania. They randomly pointed out that the state of the SmackDown Men's tag team is great, which is not true. I loved how they kept saying WrestleMania. They say it with the same tone they say ICONIC. They say them winning the WWE Women’s title will make the WrestleMania ICONIC! The IIconics were great. They usually are but it was too short to get me interested in it. Rating: 2.5/5 Miz comes out next for his handicap match set up by Shane McMahon. But before the match, he cuts a promo. He said that WrestleMania means different things to different people. For him WrestleMania means retribution. He said he will bring the best Miz and he will beat down Shane anywhere and everywhere in the falls count anywhere match. Miz said that he will fight for his dad's honour this Sunday and then fire shots, “Hey Shane, you got a father. Well that just makes you a son of a bitch.” I was like Woooah! After he said that. Not a shock here. Miz is good on the mic Rating: 3.5/5 1-on-3 Handicap Match: The The Miz vs Sanity Before the match could start Shane comes out. He tells Greg Hamilton to officially introduce him and said he just wants to look this match up close but then went backstage... I didn't understand that. Back from a commercial and the Miz is making a comeback. Shane comes out and says that this match, same as this Sunday is now a falls count anywhere match. He also puts up a photo of him squeezing Mr potato face Miz's Dad. The match goes to the backstage area with Young. Killian Dane also joined them but Miz is still fighting back. The fight goes in the parking lot. Miz drives a trolly onto Young’s arm for the win. Winner: The Miz We see Shane leaving the arena in his car giving Miz a smile while Miz just looks on with a frown. This build to the match was OK we don’t see any crazy stuff happening in the backstage bits. It was fine. Rating: 3/5 We are still in the parking lot, a police car arrives in the arena. It was Becky Lynch who got out of the back of the car. So many questions arise there. Why the police gave Becky a ride at her work? Was that the DC police driving her all the way to Baltimore? If yes, why were they there? Well I guess you have to stop finding logic now. It was just there to give a cool entrance to Becky Lynch. Becky Lynch Promo

Becky gets on top of the commentary table. She says a year has changed a lot of things. Last year this time Ronda was making her WWE Debut and Charlotte and she was best friends. When it was written in the stars that Charlotte and Rousey will the main event this year's WrestleMania, she stepped up. She has earned that main event spot over the last year. She claims that the next time they will see her on SmackDown. she will be the champ she always knew she was. Double Champ. It was a promo just to have something for the video package this Sunday. Becky is still over with the fans as the fans kept chanting her name through her promo. That is still good to see after all the booking she has been through. Rating: 3/5 18 Person Mixed Tag Team Match You don’t expect me to write all of the names, do you? They kept saying this was history making but I just felt sad for the people in the ring. This was all your undercard and NXT call-ups right there. Lacey Evans comes out again midway in the match. I have no clue what they are doing with her or any of the talent in the ring. Ottis’ worm didn’t even get that big of a pop. I thought this would just lead to an all-out brawl as soon as it starts but it happened later than I expected. Result: No Contest The brawl kept going. And hey Asuka was there too. I almost forgot about her. What a shame. Asuka needs to win this. It is the least they could do, not that it would do anything for her but still. The brawl ended with Jeff and Asuka standing tall but Asuka just eliminated him as well. I would have been so mad if Asuka and Jeff randomly become friends for this random segment on SmackDown. Whatever man, as I said in the Raw review I couldn’t care less about these battle royals Rating: 2/5 United States Champion Samoa Joe vs Ali They forgot to remove Mustafa from the side LED screen on the ring. And also a man just went past the camera when Ali was making his entrance. That entrance was full of botches. I thought Ali will job to Joe building Joe up for the match this Sunday but he was giving him a great fight. He dominated most of the match. Hits a suicide dive on the outside. But Joe made his comeback when he moved out of a 450 splash to lock in the Coquina Clutch. Ali passes out to hand over the win to the champion. Winner: Samoa Joe It should have been a multi-man ladder match for the US title and guys like Ali and Andrade should have been in it. It should be a fun match between Joe and Rey but they haven’t had a SINGLE segment together since the match was announced. How am I supposed to be hyped for the match? Rating: 2/5 WWE Championship Match Contract Signing Raw’s Michael Cole was conducting this contract signing for a SmackDown match. WWE just doesn’t care about brand split now. He didn't even do anything in this segment.

Bryan signs the contract and tells Kofi that he is not here to stop him from signing the contract. He is here to educate the masses. The crowd is super hot for Kofi. They chanted, “Kofi rocks” and “KofiMania”. Daniel Bryan goes on to give us life lessons. He said do not be complacent like Kofi Kingston. Don’t be a bystander in your own life and don’t wait for other people to push you to the top as Kofi did. Kofi had Big E and Woods and all the ignorant people like us to push him to the top. His final life lesson was to Kofi. He said don’t misunderstand fad for reality. He had the same Yes chants as Kofi has now. Once the fans are done fulfilling their fantasy they will feed on you. Kofi stands up and said that it is his time to educate Daniel Bryan. Bryan doesn’t understand what he went through. Daniel become the WWE champion within 2 years being here. Kofi was not a bystander. He watched it all and Bryan knows that Kofi is ready. He is scared because he know what it feels like to be in his shoes. And he is scared of what happens next. He signs the contract and both the competitors stare at each other to close out the show. Kofi has been listening to all things said to him calmly for the past few weeks. But he finally cut a promo and hell, it was great. The crowd is so much behind Kofi. Kofi telling Bryan that he knows what happens next was just great! Rating: 4/5 SmackDown once again proved that it is better than Raw. Almost all the SmackDown feuds had a great go-home angle. I like most of the show, the only thing lacking was great wrestling which is fine because you are building to the biggest wrestling event there is. Now I can't wait for WrestleMania. SmackDown Rating: 4.5/5 That was our review of SmackDown Live. Don't forget to read our fantasy booking of Kurt Angle Retirement and give us suggestions for future Fantasy Happening. Follow us on social media by clicking on the icons at the bottom of the page. Make it happen! Read the full article

#darpantikiya #goclassico #happenable #happenabler #harshpandey #koreandiverse #NitinSain #otakutakara #Sdlive #SmackDown #tanishadetwani #vaibhavtanwar #wwe

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hairstyle1453-blog · 7 years

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25 of the Best & Beautiful Hairstyles from the 2017 Oscars

New Post has been published on http://girlsbesthairstyle.com/25-best-beautiful-hairstyles-2017-oscars/

25 of the Best & Beautiful Hairstyles from the 2017 Oscars

The beautiful people of Hollywood were out in full force Sunday night at the Academy Awards. Most people will focus on the fashion aspect of the awards, the fancy dresses, flashy jewelry, and unforgettable accessories. But there were more than a few stars who used the occasion to do something bold with their hairstyle. In fact, you can argue that the right hairdo can draw just as many “oohs” and “aahs” from the peanut gallery as a flashy dress. Of all the work that went into hair and makeup before the ceremony, here are 25 of the best hairstyles from the 2017 Oscars.

Glam and Bun – Sofia Carson

This Disney Channel star may not have been a known figure by the entire Oscars audience, but she turned some heads on the red carpet. Her straight black hair looked shiny and gorgeous in the front, with an adorable bun in the back. But what really made her stand out was the diamond, leaf-shaped hair clip in back, which was one of the night’s better hair accessories we saw Sunday night.

Big Brown Curls – Halle Berry

We’ve seen Halle Berry walk the Oscars red carpet on several occasions, and she almost always looks amazing. But this year’s Oscars could be one of her most memorable appearances, and all because of her hair. Halle just let it all hang out with curls flying every which way, and she totally pulled it off. We’re so accustomed to seeing her looking amazing with short hair that she almost hard to recognizable at first (at least I did a double take to make sure it was her). But it was indeed the former Oscar winner looking incredible with an unexpected but memorable hairstyle.

Pulled Back Headband – Ruth Negga

For her first ever Oscar nomination, Ruth Negga wanted to make a good impression with the Academy, and well, mission accomplished! She didn’t try to do anything too extravagant; she just kept it simple and it worked perfectly. The ruby crown she wore in front stood out, as it matched her dress and earrings perfectly, helping pull her entire ensemble together. Even though she didn’t win, Ruth looked great during the Oscars, and we can’t help but look forward to seeing her on the red carpet in the future.

Elegant English Rose – Felicity Jones

One-time Oscar nominee Felicity Jones didn’t appear to be doing anything special with her hair at first glance, but when you saw it flowing off her shoulders in the back you thought differently. If you look at previous award shows, she doesn’t always let her hair down, and the fact that she did at the Oscars didn’t go unnoticed. Take a good look at her auburn hair cascading down amidst her white dress, and for a second you’ll swear she looks like Cinderella on the way to the ball.

Ginger Glam – Emma Roberts

Wow! That may be the word that best sums up Emma Roberts at the Oscars. We’re used to seeing her with blonde hair, and there’s even been a few times she’s had dark hair, but this may be the first time we’ve ever seen the former Nancy Drew with red hair. It was a little shocking to see at first, but she definitely has the skin tone to pull it off, so she definitely made it work. With bright red lipstick and soft eye makeup, Emma went full ginger for the Oscars, and like it or hate it, it was definitely memorable.

Grunge and Glam – Kirsten Dunst

Ms. Dunst certainly took a bold risk with her hairstyle at the Oscars this year. It’s not even clear what she was going for with this look, as her hair is wild on one side but a little more conservative and restrained on the other. What saves her is that being bold and adventurous fits her personality, and for much of the night, she wore a fierce look on her face that made this unique hairstyle make sense.

Soft Curls – Taraji P. Henson

Taraji P. Henson has been crushing it on the red carpet all throughout awards season, and why shouldn’t she be with all the attention her film Hidden Figures is receiving? For the Oscars, her dark hair with a tint of red looked fantastic, and she wore it well. Just check out the look on her face in this picture; it’s a look of supreme confidence because she knows her hair looks amazing.

Crown on a Queen – Janelle Monáe

Rather quietly, Janelle Monáe had one of the best years in film, having important roles in both Hidden Figures and the big winner of the night, Moonlight. With that in mind, there was pressure on her to bring it on the red carpet, and Janelle certainly did that. She almost went with a traditional Halle Berry look with her hair short, and to have the gold headband on top of that was spectacular. To be fair, it was hard to look away from Janelle’s dress, which had to have been one of the more memorable from the night, but the gold headband definitely helped draw attention to what was one of the best hairstyles from the Oscars.

Platinum Pixie – Michelle Williams

We should all be used to seeing Michelle Williams with short hair, but this may be her most sophisticated hairstyle yet. It was a no-nonsense hairstyle without being uptight, and the platinum blonde color certainly stood out. Sadly, Michelle didn’t win the Oscar she has long deserved, but she was sporting the most beautiful pixie haircut the Oscars red carpet has seen in a long time.

Waves of Glory – Emma Stone

Long before she won for Best Actress, Emma Stone was already a winner for having one of the best hairstyles from the Oscars. The waves in her naturally red hair were a sight to behold. Seriously, was there anyone else in attendance that exemplified class and grace better than Ms. Stone? From the time she arrived to the time she stood at the podium accepting her award, Emma’s hair was picture perfect and secretly the envy of almost every actress in attendance.

Messy Bun – Alicia Vikander

A year ago, so few people knew who Alicia Vikander was, but one after taking home an Oscar, there were a lot of eyeballs on her while she walked the red carpet. Serving only as a presenter on the evening, Alicia decided to keep things simple, merely putting her hair in a bun. Nevertheless, the Swedish beauty pulled it off, as she looked absolutely stunning.

Sassy Faux Hawk – Scarlett Johansson

ScarJo is a veteran of the red carpet, so she’s not afraid to be bold with her hairstyle, and once again she pulled it off joie de vivre. The hairstyle she chose was truly unique, with her bleached blonde hair spiked up in front, almost like she was trying to emulate Saved by the Bell’s Zack Morris. Meanwhile, the sides and the back were cut tight, almost akin to a buzzcut. If she weren’t wearing such an extravagant dress and jewelry, you’d almost expect her to jump on a surfboard or a skateboard. Instead, she was at the Oscars, where her hairdo was one of the most memorable.

Crowned Princess – Salma Hayek

Simple and stylish was the look Salma Hayek was going for at the Oscars, and to no one’s surprise she pulled it off with flying colors. Salma was one of several women who chose to wear some bling in her hair in the form of a silver headband. In her case, the headband helped give her a stoic look, one that exuded great class and confidence.

Crop Top – Viola Davis

One of the night’s biggest winners also had one of the more memorable hairdos. We’ve seen Viola rock quite a few different hairstyles over the years, and this one may be one of her best. The layering in the front is nothing short of magnificent, and the tinge of red in her hair was perfect for complementing her red dress. In a way, her helped give her the perfect look for when she made her emotional acceptance speech.

Double Bun – Hailee Steinfeld

Young Ms. Steinfeld took the hair bun to the next level when she showed up with two hair buns in the back of her head. This was a much different look than what we’re used to seeing from the young star, but there’s no denying her hair dresser did an amazing job of taking a massive amount of hair and confining it to a small area. For Hailee, her hairstyle at the Oscars was bold and different, but she made it work for her, showing both creativity and some maturity.

Dreadlock Goddess – Ava Duvernay

Writers and directors don’t always get a lot of attention on the red carpet, but you couldn’t help but take notice of Ava Duvernay, who was nominated for her documentary 13TH. Her long dreadlocks hanging down were spectacular, especially with a hint of red in them. To be fair, that’s her usual look, but even on a red carpet filled with established actresses, Ava managed to stand out.

Sleek and Shiny – Priyanka Chopra

If you’re not familiar with this Indian actress, you will be soon when she stars in the remake of Baywatch. You also may have noticed how stunning she looked at the Oscars. Her long locks flowed perfectly down her shoulders as she rocked a backless dress. It was a rather simple hairstyle with a deep abbreviated side parting, but it made her look absolutely stunning on the red carpet. A star in the making, people!

Short and Sweet – Brianna Perez

You definitely never heard of Brianna Perez before the Oscars, but you had to have taken note of her on the red carpet. If you caught her in the documentary Joe’s Violin, she looks quite young and not at all sure of what to do with the whole mess of hair on her head. But flash forward to Oscar night and she looked all grown up, in large part because of her hairstyle. She kept everything short and layered everything in front, and the results were phenomenal.

Spiraled Curls – Brie Larson

As an Oscar winner last year, there was some pressure on Brie to bring it this year now that she’s in the spotlight, and she did not disappoint. Her usually straight hair was ditched in favor of amazing blonde curls. Sadly, she swept her hair back a bit to make it difficult to see, but if you caught a glimpse of it from behind or from the side, you would have seen some of the best curls of the night.

Modified Mullet – Charlize Theron

We’ve seen Oscar winner Charlize Theron with short hair before, but never quite like this. She went extremely short in the front, but still managed to have her blonde hair look wavy, which is an interesting combination. Also, if you look closely, there’s a bit of a pony tail in back. In a way, Charlize was almost sporting a modified mullet. Of course, when you’ve already won an Oscar, you’re more likely to get away with things like that.

Hollywood Waves – Karlie Kloss

As you can imagine, supermodel Karlie Kloss was one of the more stunning women at the Oscars. Her hair is usually a hodgepodge of styles, but the way she wore it for the Academy Awards may be the best we’ve seen. The way her blonde curls cascaded down to her shoulders was absolutely breathtaking, helping her steal a lot of attention on the red carpet.

Loose and Luscious – Nicole Kidman

It doesn’t get much classier than Nicole Kidman, and her hairstyle at this year’s Oscars was no exception. Nicole may have had one of the more versatile haircuts at the Oscars. Part of her hair was tucked neatly away, part was allowed to hang down, and part was wrapped up into a neat bun in the back. As an actress, she can do it all, and the same can be said for her hair at the Oscars.

Free and Effortless – Chrissy Teigen

When you show up on the arm of John Legend, you kind of have to bring it appearance wise, and that was no problem for Chrissy Teigen at the Oscars. Her hair was definitely one of her better features at the awards, especially when a little bit of hung down just in front of her eyes. That’s a great look for her, and as a model, she had no problem pulling it off.

All That Shimmers – Olivia Culpo

The former Miss USA and Miss Universe took a little risk with her look at the Oscars. But with her hair in a more sophisticated style, she definitely pulled off a more mature look than the teen beauty queen she used to be. The side-swept bangs ended up being a great choice for her, especially since it seemed to complement her purple eye makeup.

Crown of Braids – Mimi Valdes

Producers don’t usually get a lot of time in the spotlight to show off their fashion creativity, but Hidden Figures producer Mimi Valdes took advantage of her opportunity. She took her gray/silver hair and turned it into a work of art. Her hair was essentially braided into a crown, creating one of the most distinguished hairstyles of the night. Sadly, Hidden Figures didn’t win, but Mimi definitely made her presence known on the red carpet with her incredible hairstyle.

Find and save ideas about Hair ideas on girlsbesthairstyle.com | See more ideas about Hair dos, Easy prom hairstyles and Easy winter hairstyles.

Celebrity Hairstyles, Curly Hairstyles, Hair Trends, Hairstyles for Black Women, Short Hairstyles,Hairstyles for Black Women, Hairstyles, Haircuts and Hair Colors

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#2017 #beautiful #best #Celebrity Hairstyles #Curly Hairstyles #from #Hair Trends #Haircuts and Hair Colors #Hairstyles #Hairstyles for Black Women #halle berry hairstyle #Oscars #Short Hairstyles

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hairstyle1453-blog · 7 years

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25 of the Best & Beautiful Hairstyles from the 2017 Oscars

New Post has been published on http://girlsbesthairstyle.com/25-best-beautiful-hairstyles-2017-oscars/

25 of the Best & Beautiful Hairstyles from the 2017 Oscars

Glam and Bun – Sofia Carson

Big Brown Curls – Halle Berry

Pulled Back Headband – Ruth Negga

Elegant English Rose – Felicity Jones

Ginger Glam – Emma Roberts

Grunge and Glam – Kirsten Dunst

Soft Curls – Taraji P. Henson

Crown on a Queen – Janelle Monáe

Platinum Pixie – Michelle Williams

Waves of Glory – Emma Stone

Messy Bun – Alicia Vikander

Sassy Faux Hawk – Scarlett Johansson

Crowned Princess – Salma Hayek

Crop Top – Viola Davis

Double Bun – Hailee Steinfeld

Dreadlock Goddess – Ava Duvernay

Sleek and Shiny – Priyanka Chopra

Short and Sweet – Brianna Perez

Spiraled Curls – Brie Larson

Modified Mullet – Charlize Theron

Hollywood Waves – Karlie Kloss

Loose and Luscious – Nicole Kidman

Free and Effortless – Chrissy Teigen

All That Shimmers – Olivia Culpo

Crown of Braids – Mimi Valdes

Find and save ideas about Hair ideas on girlsbesthairstyle.com | See more ideas about Hair dos, Easy prom hairstyles and Easy winter hairstyles.

Celebrity Hairstyles, Curly Hairstyles, Hair Trends, Hairstyles for Black Women, Short Hairstyles,Hairstyles for Black Women, Hairstyles, Haircuts and Hair Colors

http://girlsbesthairstyle.com

#2017 #beautiful #best #Celebrity Hairstyles #Curly Hairstyles #from #Hair Trends #Haircuts and Hair Colors #Hairstyles #Hairstyles for Black Women #halle berry hairstyle #Oscars #Short Hairstyles

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