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partyanimalshu · 7 months

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Dupla szerepben Nicki Minaj, különdíjat kap Shakira

Sztárparádét és látványos műsort ígér az MTV videós díjátadója A legjobb videoklipeket díjazó MTV VMA szeptember 12-én tér vissza, hogy honorálja a popzene aktuális ikonjait. Az idei gálán az egzotikus szépségű és stílusteremtő énekesnő, Shakira is visszatér, aki 2006 óta először lép a műsor színpadára. A jelöltlistát Taylor Swift vezeti, míg az est házigazdája és egyik legvárósabb fellépője, Nicki Minaj lesz. A műsort az MTV Hungary nézői szeptember 13-án 02:00-tól élőben is megtekinthetik. Egy kultúrákon átívelő legenda, Shakira veheti át szeptember 12-én a Video Vanguard díjat az MTV VMA átadóján. A megtiszteltetést a kolumbiai származású énekesnő egy bombasztikus előadással is megkoronázza, ugyanis 17 év után újból a gála színpadán léphet fel. A Global Icon életműdíjat idén az amerikai rapper Diddy kaphatja meg, akit utoljára 2005-ben láttak az MTV VMA nézői. Az est során továbbá Demi Lovato, Lil Wayne, Olivia Rodrigo, a Måneskin, a Fall Out Boy, Karol G és Doja Cat performanszára is számítani lehet. A díjátadó hat szobrát már hazavitte, a tavalyi gála után pedig újra házigazdaként szerepelhet Nicki Minaj. A show történetében egyedülállóként már négyszer megnyerte a Legjobb hip-hop kategóriát, erre pedig idén esély van Super Freaky Girl című slágerének köszönhetően. Ahogy mindig, úgy idén is a közönség szavazata dönt a győztesekről. Az esélyesek listáját ezúttal a nők dominálják: a 2023-as gálán nagy tarolásra számíthat Taylor Swift, aki nyolc alkalommal jelölt – őt egyedül a hat kategóriában induló SZA szorongathatja meg. Öt szobrot vihet haza idén Doja Cat, Olivia Rodrigo, Nicki Minaj, Miley Cyrus, illetve Sam Smith is. További információk a http://mtv.com/vma weboldalon elérhetők. MTV VMA felvezető műsor 00:30-tól az MTV Hungary-n és a Comedy Centralon. A gála élő közvetítése 02:00-tól az MTV Hungary, a Paramount Network és a Comedy Central műsorán! Ismétlések az MTV Hungary-n: szeptember 13-án 11:20-kor, 14:50-kor eredeti nyelven, 18:30-kor és 22:00-kor, valamint szeptember 15-én 23:30-kor és szeptember 17-én 10:00-tól magyar felirattal. A 2023-as MTV VMA TELJES JELÖLTLISTÁJA AZ ÉV VIDEOKLIPJE Doja Cat - "Attention" Miley Cyrus - "Flowers" Nicki Minaj - "Super Freaky Girl" Olivia Rodrigo - "Vampire" Sam Smith & Kim Petras - "Unholy" SZA - "Kill Bill" Taylor Swift - "Anti-Hero" AZ ÉV ELŐADÓJA Beyoncé Doja Cat Karol G Nicki Minaj Shakira Taylor Swift AZ ÉV DALA Miley Cyrus - "Flowers" Olivia Rodrigo - "Vampire" Rema & Selena Gomez - "Calm Down" Sam Smith & Kim Petras - "Unholy" Steve Lacy - "Bad Habit" SZA - "Kill Bill" Taylor Swift - "Anti-Hero" LEGJOBB ÚJ ELŐADÓ GloRilla Ice Spice Kaliii Peso Pluma PinkPantheress Reneé Rapp LEGJOBB EGYÜTTMŰKÖDÉS David Guetta & Bebe Rexha - "I'm Good (Blue)" Post Malone & Doja Cat - "I Like You (A Happier Song)" Diddy ft. Bryson Tiller, Ashanti, Yung Miami - "Gotta Move On" KAROL G & Shakira - "TQG" Metro Boomin ft. The Weeknd, 21 Savage, Diddy - "Creepin' (Remix)" Rema & Selena Gomez - "Calm Down" LEGJOBB POP Demi Lovato - "Swine" Dua Lipa - "Dance the Night" Ed Sheeran - "Eyes Closed" Miley Cyrus - "Flowers" Olivia Rodrigo - "Vampire" P!NK - "Trustfall" Taylor Swift - "Anti-Hero" LEGJOBB HIP-HOP Diddy ft. Bryson Tiller, Ashanti, Yung Miami - "Gotta Move On" DJ Khaled ft. Drake & Lil Baby - "STAYING ALIVE" GloRilla & Cardi B - "Tomorrow 2" Lil Uzi Vert - "Just Wanna Rock" Lil Wayne ft. Swizz Beatz & DMX - "Kant Nobody" Metro Boomin ft. Future - "Superhero (Heroes and Villains)" Nicki Minaj - "Super Freaky Girl" LEGJOBB ROCK Foo Fighters - "The Teacher" Linkin Park - "Lost (Original Version)" Red Hot Chili Peppers - "Tippa My Tongue" Måneskin - "The Loneliest" Metallica - "Lux Æterna" Muse - "You Make Me Feel Like It's Halloween" LEGJOBB ALTERNATÍV Blink-182 - "Edging" Boygenius - "The Film" Fall Out Boy - "Hold Me Like a Grudge" Lana Del Rey ft. Jon Batiste - "Candy Necklace" Paramore - "This Is Why" Thirty Seconds To Mars - "Stuck" LEGJOBB LATIN Anitta - "Funk Rave" Bad Bunny - "Where She Goes" Eslabon Armado & Peso Pluma - "Ella Baila Sola" Grupo Frontera & Bad Bunny - "un x100to" Karol G & Shakira - "TQG" Rosalía - "Despechá" Shakira - "Acróstico" LEGJOBB R&B Alicia Keys ft. Lucky Daye - "Stay" Chlöe ft. Chris Brown - "How Does It Feel" Metro Boomin ft. The Weeknd, 21 Savage, Diddy - "Creepin' (Remix)" SZA - "Shirt" Toosii - "Favorite Song" Yung Bleu & Nicki Minaj - "Love In The Way" LEGJOBB K-POP Aespa - "Girls" Blackpink - "Pink Venom" Fiffty Fifty Fifty - "Cupido" Seventeen - "Super" Stray Kids - "S-Class" Tomorrow X Together - "Sugar Rush Ride" LEGJOBB AFROBEATS Ayra Starr - "Rush" Burna Boy - "It's Plenty" Davido ft. Musa Keys - "Elérhetetlen" Fireboy DML & Asake - "Bandana" Libianca - "People" Rema & Selena Gomez - "Calm Down" Wizkid ft. Ayra Starr - "2 Sugar" VIDEO FOR GOOD Alicia Keys - "If I Ain't Got You (Orchestral)" Bad Bunny - "El Apagón - Aquí Vive Gente" Demi Lovato - "Swine" Dove Cameron - "Breakfast" Imagine Dragons - "Crushed" Maluma - "La Reina" LEGJOBB KÉP Adele - "I Drink Wine" Ed Sheeran - "Eyes Closed" Janelle Monae - "Lipstick Lover" Kendrick Lamar - "Count Me Out" Miley Cyrus - "Flowers" Olivia Rodrigo - "Vampire" Taylor Swift - "Anti-Hero" LEGJOBB RENDEZÉS Doja Cat - "Attention" Drake - "Falling Back" Kendrick Lamar - "Count Me Out" Megan Thee Stallion - "Her" Sam Smith & Kim Petras - "Unholy" SZA - "Kill Bill" Taylor Swift - "Anti-Hero" LEGJOBB MŰVÉSZETI KONCEPCIÓ Boygenius - "The Film" Blackpink - "Pink Venom" Doja Cat - "Attention" Lana Del Rey ft. Jon Batiste - "Candy Necklace" Megan Thee Stallion - "Her" SZA - "Shirt" LEGJOBB VIZUÁLIS EFFEKTEK Fall Out Boy - "Love From the Other Side" Harry Styles - "Music for a Sushi Restaurant" Melanie Martinez - "Void" Nicki Minaj - "Super Freaky Girl" Sam Smith & Kim Petras - "Unholy" Taylor Swift - "Anti-Hero" LEGJOBB KOREOGRÁFIA Blackpink - "Pink Venom" Dua Lipa - "Dance the Night" Jonas Brothers - "Waffle House" Megan Thee Stallion - "Her" Panic! at the Disco - "Middle of a Breakup" LEGJOBB VÁGÁS Blackpink - "Pink Venom" Kendrick Lamar - "Rich Spirit" Miley Cyrus - "River" Olivia Rodrigo - "Vampire" SZA - "Kill Bill" Taylor Swift - "Anti-Hero" Sam Smith & Kim Petras - "Unholy" Read the full article

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wiack4 · 10 months

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With its snarling engine, gleaming chrome, and iconic spins, the 1933 Ford Coupe customized by Billy Gibbons of ZZ Top is one of the most famous hot rods ever built. Known as the "Eliminator", this car graced many of ZZ Top's album covers and music videos in the 1980s, captivating fans worldwide. In this article, we'll explore the history of the Eliminator, its customization details, current whereabouts, and why this hot rod remains so legendary among car enthusiasts decades later. Whether you're a ZZ Top devotee or just love modified vintage cars, the story behind this machine is fascinating. The Origins of the Eliminator ZZ Top Car In the early 1980s, ZZ Top was reaching new heights of commercial success with their blend of rock, blues, and boogie. Their 1983 album titled Eliminator went on to sell over 10 million copies. Guitarist Billy Gibbons had a vision of featuring hot rods on their album covers and videos to match the bluesy, southern-fried style of their music. Gibbons had been a car aficionado since the late 1950s and turned to George Barris - legendary car customizer to the stars - to make his idea a reality. Barris started with a 1933 Ford 3-window coupe he discovered rusting away in a Texas field. After Billy picked it, Barris and his team got to work stripping it down and turning it into a badass hot rod now forever linked to ZZ Top. ZZ Top's Billy Gibbons with his customized 1933 Ford Coupe This Ford may have started out forgotten in a field, but it was about to become one of the most famous hot rods of all time. Customization Details of the Eliminator Car Turning the rusted old Ford into the growling Eliminator machine took extensive modifications. Here are some of the key features Barris and his shop added: 350 horsepower Chevy 350 ZZ4 V8 engine Custom metal flake candy apple red paint with flames Chopped steel top lowered substantially for sleek profile Curved and chrome-plated windshield Smaller 15" wire wheels with wide tires for attitude Eliminator logo painted on rear fenders Chrome engine upgrades like valve covers and air cleaner High-rise intake manifold with 4-barrel carburetor These machine shop upgrades along with interior tweaks like a Hurst shifter, velour seats, and custom steering wheel came together to create the bad-to-the-bone style Gibbons requested. Of course, the car wouldn't be complete without those famous spinning rims. Barris installed a custom hydraulic system that allowed the rear wheels to spin freely at the flip of a switch while the car was stationary. This eye-catching feature created the legendary Eliminator spins seen in so many ZZ Top videos and concerts driven by Gibbons himself. The Eliminator in ZZ Top's Music Videos and Albums After Barris completed work on the Eliminator Ford Coupe, it gained worldwide fame through its appearances in ZZ Top's media: Featured on the album cover of Eliminator in Gibbons' hands Starred in music videos like "Legs", "Sharp Dressed Man" and "Gimme All Your Lovin'" TV appearances on MTV, Solid Gold, and The Midnight Special performing eliminator spins synchronized to the music Live concerts spinning on stage to climactic solos as a highlight prop Worldwide tours from 1983-1984 showcasing the hot rod in its ZZ Top glory Millions of viewers saw those mesmerizing Eliminator spins synced to ZZ Top tracks. The car helped rocket the band to their greatest commercial success. The Eliminator famously appeared on the ZZ Top album cover Where is the Original Eliminator Now? So where is this legendary hot rod today after being the face of so many ZZ Top projects in the 1980s? After the Eliminator fame, Gibbons kept ownership of the vehicle in its original condition rather than modifying or selling it. It remains under his care in a private collection. The iconic Ford Coupe m

akes special appearances on occasion at car shows and concerts, but is mostly kept out of the public eye now as a cherished memento. Some individuals have created replica Eliminator clones, but the original is safely preserved. In 2014, the Eliminator was shipped to the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame Museum in Cleveland to be displayed as part of a featured ZZ Top exhibit. It drew many admiring car enthusiasts during this temporary public showing. Why the ZZ Top Eliminator Remains So Legendary There are several key reasons why this souped up 1933 Ford Coupe remains ingrained in pop culture history decades later: Quintessential 80s style: The flame-adorned paint and curvy proportions captured an era. Star vehicle: Its fame was launched through ZZ Top's wildly successful Eliminator album and videos. Custom spins: The hydraulics that enabled those mesmerizing tire spins were revolutionary. Bluesy personality: The entire vibe matched ZZ Top's musical style perfectly. Worldwide exposure: Millions saw it on TV, tours, and in magazines. Billy Gibbons' vision: It represented his passion for hot rods meshed with rock and roll. From backwoods discovery to worldwide stardom, the ZZ Top Eliminator just had the perfect combination of factors to become an automotive icon. Its legend will live on thanks to its impact on car culture and music history. Frequently Asked Questions About the Eliminator What was the total cost of building the Eliminator? Estimates put the total customization cost between $80,000 - $100,000 in 1983 dollars. That's approximately $250k - $300k today! Did ZZ Top commission more hot rods from George Barris? Yes, Barris built a '34 Ford and '36 Chrysler for ZZ Top later in the 1980s following the Eliminator's success. Are those real ZZ Top beards on the Eliminator album cover? No, those are fake beards attached to the front of the car! The band's iconic beards weren't actually that long yet in 1983. Where are the wheel spinning hydraulics located? The Eliminator uses hydraulic cylinders connected to the rear axle to enable the spinning. They are mounted underneath and operated via remote control. Has the Eliminator engine been modified over the years? It's believed the original Chevy ZZ4 350 V8 remains in the car. The Eliminator has undergone no major mechanical changes. Cranking Up Hot Rod History From forgotten origins to the spotlight of 1980s rockstardom, the story of Billy Gibbons' customized 1933 Ford Coupe known as the Eliminator proves why it remains a legend in the automotive world. Its chopped steel body, thundering ZZ4 engine, and one-of-a-kind eliminator wheel spins make it a quintessential example of how hot rods fused with pop culture. So for both car aficionados and ZZ Top fans, the Eliminator will always be an iconic piece of machinery. We can thank Billy Gibbons' vision along with George Barris' custom chops for creating this hot rod that so boldly captured an era now forever preserved in music history. #Wiack

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wiack3 · 10 months

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wiack2 · 10 months

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wiack1 · 10 months

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stormblessed95 · 3 years

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My Thoughts While Watching Memories Discs 6 - 7

Continuing my thoughts as I watch memories 2020 as requested. Again, most of these are just random thoughts, most of them started out as texts to @1imstillme3 that I'm copy/pasting over. I'm loving getting to watch all the behind content so far! This again, isn't even close to everything that happened in each of these videos, just some parts that stood out to me and made me smile. If you don't want any memories spoilers or to see what happens in the clips, stop reading now! Last post, you can find the first 3 parts covering discs 1 - 5 on my masterlist! It's under Jikook Posts and then all the way at the bottom under Memories 2020 posts. Thank you 💜

Disc 6:

34th Golden Disc Awards Making Film:

Everyone is so amused by and enjoying all the props from the BWL stage 🥺 JK trying to put his headband on Jimin 🥺 Hobi selling candy. Namjoon juggling. Maknae line playing catch. Everyone was just having so much fun. Jimin saying he choreographed to Jin's song Moon. Omg they are cute!!!

Jhope trying to convince RM and Suga to do a special pose on stage by taking off their jackets and doing push-ups?! 🤣🤣 I see you, Hobi. Lmfao

TaeJoon practicing the choreo together and RM being sooo proud that he knows the dance and is giving Tae advice 🥺

JKs hand sliding around Jimins waist when they are saying thank you for awards and goodbye to us in the camera. Ahem...

62nd Grammy Awards Making Film:

Their fits?! Spectacular. They all looked sooooo good. Both for the red carpet and for their performance. Immaculate! One of my favorite looks for them honestly.

The way they were fascinated by the rotating stage. JK hoping up to "row" the stage and Jimin immediately joining him. They are so cute, please.

Jimin telling Joon to be careful opening the door so he doesn't hit Jin, and Jin saying don't worry, I can stop it as he props his foot out so it hits just his foot and not him. But Joonie made sure he was careful anyway 🥺

"I'd like bold makeup today please." Jimin knows what he wants. I don't want to hear anyone saying they don't get at least some say in what they wear and/or their makeup. Jimin said he wanted sunglasses where his eyes were visible and bold makeup. And boy did it work for him. They know what they are doing.

Tae getting shy and not giving his English comments he prepared in the interviews. Jimin seeing him get shy and coming over to wrap him up in a hug and then Jin "interviewing him" on their own with Jhope as their cameraman so he can tell ARMY his message and not feel pressured 🥺 so much love between them

Jimin's iconic limp wrist pose that was circling around as a gif is from when he told Jin that he was going to pose like a model 🤣 nice, Jimin. Good pose choices lmao.

Jimin trying to tell us he misses us and loves us... Hobi taking his chance to enjoy Jimins low cut shirt and try to stick his hands down the front of his shirt. 🤣 Why?!

Jimin expressing his betrayal because he went to a part of the stage all alone after thinking Hobi and Tae were going there with him but they ended up staying in the back. Hobi's giggles are therapeutic.

TODAY & MTV Fresh Out Making Film:

Barely started the video and we already have HopeKook shouting "THIS IS SPARTA" as English practice. JK teasing Jin and them bickering. And Yoongi giggling sweetly over Tae practicing his English and his pronunciation of Kinetic Manifesto film. Why are they so cute??

Omg. After TaeGi practicing sooo hard. Neither of them got to answer their questions with the English they prepared. They were sooo sad. Lmao Jimin giving all the hugs and cuddles to them both. Hobi grabbing his phone to record their own interview again and JK interviewing Tae so he could give his answer. But he forgot the English halfway through and just sat down. Lmao Jimin giving him lots of comfort cuddles though. They are so precious. And Tae tried again and was so sweet. I love that they do this and make sure they get a chance to talk even if it's after the interview. And i love how it's always Hobi ready to make videos for them.

Tae got to say his sweet words to ARMY at the MTV Live interview though! And the way ARMY melted. Lol I get it. And it was so cool seeing them all over Times Square too

Dear Class of 2020 Making Film:

All of BTS supporting each other through their speeches is so sweet. So many giggles and you can do its! Jiminie having to do so many takes and the way he stops himself though is cracking Hobi up so much who is sitting next next them that the both of them are laughing so hard they are falling out of their chairs! Just for him to mess up just as much 😂 my favorite besties

JinJiKook chaos with the stools. I love when they play together. Lol so much fun. And Kookie tattling on JinMin and telling Namjoon exactly who did what and when with the stools. Please!

Namjoon singing along with Jimin to his high notes in Mikrokosmos as they are warming up and being so cute! And not the editors reminding us in the captions that Joon is a rapper and he tries to hit Jimin's notes 🤣 they don't let these guys breathe! Lol

Vmin switching their mics 🥺 The raplines cute little dances, Jins giant smiles, and they included the scene where Jikook bring their faces together during Spring Day 🥺

Variety Magazine Making Film:

During the break JK starts shooting a pretend ad for Samsung with his phone and oh my god the heart eyes Jimin immediately turned on him. 😭🥺 and then he just joined him in being silly. Stopppp I love them.

Their first "concept" according to them was business men going out the lunch. Tae said their second concept was bad kids hanging out on the street, like bad teens. Lmfao idk what about those outfits was supposed to be kid like because that was NOT what I got from that concept at all 😳🤣 JK also said wearing leopard print during BE encouraged him to try more new styles because he really liked it. Same JK. Same.

Jimin said the concept was the flowers are the focus point and that he is playful and happy. That makes much more sense to me 🙈😂

Namjoon making fun of Jin while he does his photoshoot lmao. And BTS all gathering around to comment on Hobis photos and his long legs spread wide for the photo 😂🤣 please.

Photographer: please try to be more lighthearted and playful here.

BTS: absolute chaos breaks out and they all start running their hands all over each other and shouting 🤣

2020 BBMAs Making Film:

Cuts to scene of Suga playing guitar. Editors "what suga does these days"

Members bickering over the camera, me watching Jhope practice his dance in the way background 🥰 Jimin teasing Tae for the way he talks in English interviews and Namjoon teasing Hobi about squinting his eyes when he talks in English. Love themmmm

Jimin teaching JK a new move to start off his Dynamite solo 🥺 and he nails it

Tae opening and drinking from his water, then promptly stealing Jungkook's water bottle and drinking from that one too. Before trying to hand them and JK going "no, you put your mouth on it" while getting a new one and Tae just chuckling at him. The editors though. "Bickering like elementary school kids as always" lmao

Namjoon literally cutting the sleeves off his shirt and Yoongi going wowww his arm is as big as my thigh! Lmfaooo

Tae officially ending fairy of not just performances but all these making films in all of memories and Bangtan Bombs. Soooo cute

Esquire Magazine Making Film:

Everyone getting ready for the photoshoot and Jimin just walking up to Namjoon and looking him up and down before going "my grandma used to wear something like this" 🤣🤣 Namjoon just going "Yes! It's like a dress" *fist bump the air*

Jimin teasing JK and saying Jhope looks so cool. And Tae just tapping him and saying "what about me??" 🥺 peak "praise me too please" vibes.

Jikook working out together. Jimin can't keep his hands off JKs chest. Lmao and then Jin coming up telling them it's a serious photoshoot. Don't joke around. As he crashes onto them and flops his whole body all over Jimin 🤣 JinJiKook as always

Jungkook talking about how he doesn't dress up often and it's nice to look so good for a fashion shoot and Jimin smirking and looking at him like he is going to eat him alive. Jikook PLEASE

Honestly. Not too much to say about this. They looked soooo good. It should be illegal. I mostly just sat and stared at the screen like 😳😳😳 no thoughts, head empty. Just esquire photoshoot.

2020 Awards Dance Practice Making Film:

Excuse me, Jimin is the sweetest man ever. The way he was working so hard on adjustments with the dancers for their part with him in the black swan dance. How polite he was and how softly he was speaking and the bows afterwards. They all worked so hard.

The vminkook play fighting and wrestling match. It started with Tae trying to box JK, JK then trying to box JM. JM chasing JK, only to get picked up and jumped around by Tae. Lmfao they are so cute. I really wanna know what they were doing on the floor after that though in the cute little huddle. The way jikook were so cuddled together to watch the black swan dance for review. Seriously maknae line so dang cuddly and playful.

And the amount of hard work and effort all 7 put in here. I'm in AWE for real!!

2020 MMA Making Film:

30 seconds in and I'm already 🥺🥺 Jimin and JK stumbled a bit their first try doing the lift in the water and the dancers immediately all turned to check and make sure Jimin was okay. Everyone cheering and clapping and making a big fuss of Jhope and V practicing their parts of black swan on the water is literally everything I never knew I needed. YES! Hype them up!! Namjoon did NOT like dancing on the water. He said "dryland is best" through the whole practice and performance and while getting ready 😂 "I'll always be grateful for normal stages now" poor Joon. Lmao

Me, just now noticing the totally informal way JK was speaking to Jimin during all that flirting with water they were doing. The "ayyy" from winter package making a reappearance lol

Jimin just trying to get ready to warm up for their LGO stage early in the morning, Hobi smacking his butt like 8 times in a row. Omggg

Noooo not Namjoon ripping his pants open while filming the Dynamite performance 😭🤣🤣😭 lmfao omg, they all died laughing except Kookie. Who looked very worried, saying he was wearing the same type of pants as Namjoon was. Lmfaooo

The way they all harassed the one member who was trying to shoot their ON intro moment to make them laugh and screw it up 🤣 and the way the editors keep reminding us that the average age of the BTS members is 26.9. Just say what you really want to say editors, lol

"It feels wrong because Suga hyung is missing" I DID NOT SIGN UP FOR TEARS. STOP 😭 They missed him soooo much.

I need Minimoni to keep their jackets ON thank you. My word. And Jimin's nevermind tattoo. The jacket was part of the outfit for a reason Jimin! Army's sanity. Thank you!

Jin asking JK for a massage because he was feeling super stiff before the award acceptance speeches. And then Tae telling us all the Jimin was so cool during ON 🥺 love them

2020 MAMA Making Film:

BTS all randomly doing squats together. BTS guided workout video when? Lol

It's freezing cold and they are still working so hard even though they are going numb its so cold. Please! I'm glad the staff is giving them hot packs and water to try and help. Jimin freestyle dancing to Jungkook drumming to stay warm and his smile while watching Jimin go. 😭😭😭 Jimin singing to Yoongis photo about how cold it was lmfao

One of my favorite things while watching all these videos is seeing 1, how hard they all work. And 2, how they always ask Tae what their ending slogan is and happily say whatever he tells them to, no matter how silly.

The hold MAMA Dynamite Tae and Hobi have over me with those fits and that confidence is INSANE. Madness, I tell you.

Everyone teasing Jin a bit but promising to stream Abyss as soon as it drops later that day. And then Jin talking about making Abyss and how he feels about it for a little bit. Everyone better go stream Abyss again right now 😭

Emotional whiplash I swear. Lol now Jin is being JKs stylist and saying "He feels like he is killing a roach" in reference to how much hairspray he used and JK has his hair sticking straight out. Lmao

Yoongi working so hard to film his scene for the 3D avatar for LGO performance that we all cried over. And then he says the members will all probably laugh at him a lot when they see the video, and cuts immediately to Jhope doubling over laughing his butt off watching the video. Lmfao Yoongi knows his members well.

Jimin looked so damn good in the fit for this LGO shoot. Like absolutely speculator!

JIN NEEDS TO CALM DOWN WITH HIS MAMA AWARDS LOOK. OMG. God. Hobi too. Freaking let me breathe please.

JinKook forever bickering and wrestling. Lmfao. "Jungkook, let's not get too childish in front of so many people" he says while they are pushing each other around. Too late, Jin. Too late. Lol but we love it.

Jimin calling Yoongi and having him give the acceptance speech. I've heard it before and here I am, still crying over it. They missed him SO MUCH. Omfg. And it was Jimins idea to call him and have him give the speech. 😭😭

NYE Live Poster D-Day Making Film:

Jimin and Jhope stage directors. Literally one of my favorite things to see in behind content. Goodness they are SO GOOD. Jhope taking care of everyone and helping with all the blocking. Dance leader! Dance King! Our Hope!

Jikook practicing their best of me bridge part together. Ughhhh I love it so much. They are the best stage chemistry, I swear.

Everyone: calm and sweet messages to ARMY after rehearsals and before the final performances tomorrow

Jungkook: trying to deliver a sweet and calm message to ARMY but Jimin is off camera shouting the endings to his sentences and making him laugh. "Ahh today was..." "GREAT!!!" Lmao always together those two

Yoongi filming narration for the concert and being in some of the calm performances with the guys, made me so happy I wanted to cry when I watched the concert the first time. And it still does now. Lol we missed him SO much and they were so happy to have him back. And Namjoon staying later than everyone else to film extra content as the leader of BTS. He works so hard. World's best leader.

Jin sprinting in place and still giving crystal clear vocals as he warms up. Holy crap.

Their giggles and giant smiles bring me such joy. It's instant serotonin. For anything ever. Pure happiness 🥰

Disc 7:

This Disc was just a bunch of stage cams of different performances through the year. I LOVED getting to watch them but don't have commentary over it too much. Other than just, our boys are so talented and so beautiful.

Performances Included:

Bang Bang Con: Spring Day Stage Cam

Bang Bang Con: Respect RM solo cam

Bang Bang Con: Jamais Vu Jin solo cam

Bang Bang Con: Respect Suga solo cam

Bang Bang Con: Jamais Vu Jhope solo cam

Bang Bang Con: Friends Jimin solo cam

Bang Bang Con: Friends V solo cam

Bang Bang Con: Jamais Vu JK solo cam

TODAY Citi Music Series: Anpanman Stage cam

Grammy Museum: Dynamite Stage cam

NPR Tiny Desk: Save Me Stage cam

NPR Tiny Desk: Spring Day Stage cam

New Years Eve Live: Boy with Luv Stage cam

New Years Eve Live: Life Goes On Stage cam

And I have officially finished memories 2020! What a journey. I loved it so much. It was amazing getting to see to see work and see the behind the scenes and how much they give everything they have to what they do. I loved getting to see all the dynamics between the guys and all the love they have for each other. I loved seeing how settled and happy and playful and just domestic jikook were with each other over the year as well. Thanks for letting me share all my thoughts and ramblings with you all as I watched! It was so much fun!

#my thoughts over memories 2020 #jikook in memories #bts 2020 memories

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andreafmn · 3 years

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I'm Not Afraid - Chapter 3

Word Count: 3,195

Characters: Female Reader Argent Character, Original Male Argent Character, Derek Hale, Allison Argent, Scott McCall, Stiles Stilinski, Isaac Lahey, Lydia Martin, Chris Argent, Jackson Whittemore

Story Description: (Y/N) Argent arrived at Beacon Hills to put to rest her father’s sister, Kate Argent. For the first time, her family has decided to settle down and sustain a life in this interesting small town. After 17 years, (Y/N) has the opportunity to establish interpersonal relationships but will she be ready to face the complications that come with relating to her cousin’s, Allison, friends; especially, the infamous Derek Hale. She will face the adventure of being associated with the Derek and McCall pack as well as being faced with the discovery of certain aspects of her life she never imagined.

*DISCLAIMER* I do not own in any way Teen Wolf, all credits of the pre-established characters, script, and storyline belong to Jeff Davis and MTV Network. The only thing I own is Argent Reader insert, her immediate family, and her storyline, as well as her effects in the others’ storyline.

Chapter: 3/?

Warnings: brief mention of attempted suicide

A/N: If you enjoy my writing I’ll also be posting them in AO3 and Wattpad along with other stories (I also hope to start taking requests if ya’ll want) Hope you enjoy and all constructive criticism is encouraged.

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Chapter 3

"Time!" Mr. Harris looked up from his watch. "If you catalyzed the reaction correctly, you should now be looking at a crystal."

I looked down at my beaker and saw a horrible concoction of half crystal and half goo. Thanks to Stiles, my last partner of this weird-ass rotation the chemistry teacher had us partake in. Yet even though I didn't get with Stiles that well I was relieved that he was my partner. Isaac had been completely insufferable these last few days and I couldn't handle that.

"Now this part of the experiment I'm sure you'll all enjoy. You can eat it." I was bummed that I couldn't eat mine and I guess Lydia noticed.

"Hey, (Y/N), we can share mine. Don't frown." I smiled at her and she returned it.

After Lydia gave me half her rock crystal, Scott just stood up and screamed our names to stop, and everyone else just stared at us. We both turned and gave the boy a weird stare before diverging our attention back to the candy. After clinking our candies against the other, we savored the sweet treat.

Allison's POV

"Derek is outside waiting for (Y/N) and Lydia," Scott said.

"Waiting to kill them?"

"If he thinks one of them is the Kanima, then yes. Especially after what happened at the pool."

"It's not Lydia."

"Stiles, she didn't pass the test, man. Nothing happened."

"No, it can't be her."

"Well, it's not (Y/N) either."

"Well, it could be her."

"What is that supposed to mean?!" What the hell was his problem?

"Well, we have no idea who she is, and she hasn't really proven to be a good person. And the attacks did start after she first arrived at Beacon Hills."

"You don't know her, I do. Believe me, it's not her. I've known her my whole life. I think I would have noticed her turning into a killing lizard and I don't think I would be here to tell you. So, we can cross her out." We both sighed. "But it doesn't matter because Derek thinks it's one of them. So, either we can convince him that he's wrong or we've got to figure out a way to protect them."

"Well, I don't think he's gonna do anything here. Not at school." Scott stepped in.

"What about after school?" I asked and he sighed. "What if we can prove that Derek's wrong?"

"By three o'clock?"

"There can be something in the bestiary."

"Oh, you mean the 900-page book written in Archaic Latin that none of us can read? Good luck with that." Seriously Stiles, not helping. At least I was trying.

"Actually, I think there might be someone who can translate," I said thinking about our guidance counselor.

"Uh, I can talk to Derek maybe convince him to give us a chance to prove it's not either of them or... But if anything happens you guys let me handle it, okay?"

"What does that mean?"

"You can't heal like I do." I stared at him. I wasn't a defenseless baby. "I just don't want you getting hurt."

"I can protect myself." I took the crossbow out of my bag. He said nothing. "What? Did something else happen?"

"I just don't want you getting hurt. Seriously, if anything goes wrong you call me, okay?! I don't care if your dad finds out. Call or text, scream or yell; whatever, I'll find you as fast as I can." He stared straight into my eyes.

"We have until three."

He turned to leave until my crossbow went off. "Ooh." Scott quickly turned around and caught the arrow.

"Aah. Sorry." Stiles handed me the crossbow. "Sorry. Sensed a trigger on that."

Scott's POV

Currently, Stiles was on Lydia's and (Y/N)'s trail, and I was on the field with Boyd trying to find Derek.

"I wanna talk to Derek."

"Talk to me."

"I don't wanna fight."

"Good. Cause I'm twice the size of you" I looked up to find it true.

"True. Really, really true." He smirked. "But you wanna know what I think? I'm twice as fast." I smirked back and tackled him to the ground. Once we stood up, Derek appeared by our side.

"She failed the test." His face held his iconic scowl, and his arms were crossed.

"Yeah, but that doesn't prove anything. Lydia's different."

"I know. At night she turns into a homicidal walking snake."

"I'm not gonna let you kill her."

"Who said I was gonna do it?" I looked back to the school and realized Erica and Isaac were still back in the building. I tried to run towards it, but Boyd threw me down. "I don't know why you think you have to protect everyone now, Scott. But even so, Lydia has killed people and she's gonna do it again. And next time it's gonna be one of us."

"What if you're wrong? For all we know it could also be (Y/N). She didn't pass either, and how is it a coincidence that the attacks started after she arrived?" For a second I could have sworn there was a sign of desperation and worry in his face. But as quick as I blinked the look was gone.

"Lydia was bitten by an alpha. It's her."

"You saw that thing up close. You know it's not like us."

"But it is! We're all shapeshifters. You don't know what you're dealing with. It happens rarely and it happens for a reason."

"What reason?"

"Sometimes the shape you take reflects the person that you are." He gave me his hand and helped me up. "Even Stiles calls her cold-blooded."

"Well, what if she's immune? What if she has something else inside of her that makes her immune to the bite which is why she didn't get paralyzed."

"No one's immune. We've never seen it or heard of it. It's n... It's never happened." He argued.

"What about Jackson?" He looked away. "That's why you tested him, isn't it? Because you gave him what he wanted, didn't you?"

"Scott..."

"You said the bite either kills you or turns you. You were probably hoping that he would die. But nothing happened, right? You have no idea why do you?"

"No." Derek's jaw clenched and I knew I struck a never, so I pressured on buying more time.

"I have a theory. That she's immune and that somehow, she passed it on to Jackson. You know I'm right."

"No!

"You can NOT do this!"

"Look, I can't let her live! You should've known that."

"I was hoping I could convince you but then, I wasn't counting on it." He looked at me frazzled as to what I meant, I just smirked.

(Y/N)'s POV

Being stuck with Stiles and Lydia in the library is torture, an experiment I did not want to know the result of. Actually, just Stiles. Ever since Chemistry he had been on our trail like a lost puppy. Lydia and I had a project to work with, and he was just in the way. He was acting so weird and fidgety, more than usual.

"Hey, Allison. What are you doing here?" Lydia said looking behind her.

"Oh nothing, just wondering if you wanted to get together for a study group."

"Sure, that would actually maybe let the tension leave this group," I said and as we were leaving, Jackson joined.

"Study group? I'm coming with."

"Great." We left through the back door of the library, lord knows why, and we were walking at top speed.

"If we're doing a study group why don't we just stay in the library?" Lydia said. I was asking myself the same thing but since everyone else had stood up, I just followed.

"Because we're meeting up with somebody else."

"Why don't they just meet us at the library?" I asked.

"Oh, that would have been a great idea! Too late."

"Okay, hold on..." Lydia started saying but Jackson stopped her by grabbing her arm.

"Lydia, shut up and walk." Jerk.

We all got inside of Stile's jeep since he thought it would be faster that way because we were already late. It was an awkward ride to what I learned was Scott's house. No one said much except for the casual groan or scoff coming from Lydia.

"If we're meeting at Scott's house, where's Scott?" Lydia asked.

"Meeting us here. I think. I hope." Stiles said as he led us up to the front steps and into Scott's house.

Once inside he closed every single lock there was on the door. My reaction was involuntary as I stared at the slim boy in front of me as if he was another worldly creature.

"Uh, there's been a few break-ins in the neighborhood." He then put a chair on the doorknob and now Lydia joined in the stare. "And a murder. Yeah, it was bad."

"Lydia, follow me. I need to talk to you for a minute." Jackson spoke up.

"Seriously, what is going on with everyone?" Lydia said exasperated.

"Actually, I've been thinking the same thing. What the hell is going on?" I asked once Jackon and Lydia were out of sight.

"Nothing. Like we said it's just a study group." Stiles answered and I crossed my arms against my chest. Groveling for an answer seemed completely futile in this situation.

Allison's POV

"You know what, (Y/N). Why don't you go into the kitchen and help yourself to anything or go upstairs and lay down? I think Scott will take a while."

"O-kay?" She headed upstairs with an audible sigh and I motioned to Stiles to give me his phone to dial Scott.

"Hey, it's me. You need to get here. Quick." I looked outside and saw Derek and his pack waiting. I looked at the phone after Scott hung up and started dialing my dad's number.

"What are you doing?"

"I think... I think I have to call my dad."

"But if he finds you here, you and Scott..."

"I know." I stared at him. "What are we supposed to do? They're not here to scare us, okay, they're here to kill Lydia... Or, or even (Y/N)." We stood in silence and I debated on whether if it would be a good idea to call my father. If I did my relationship with Scott would be completely and truly over and if I didn't there could be a chance I would be down a friend or even a cousin.

"I've got an idea." I looked at a nervous Stiles. "Shoot one of them."

"Are you serious?"

"We told Scott we could protect ourselves. So, let's do it, at least give it a shot, right?" I debated for a moment.

"Okay." I don't think I sounded too confident.

"Look, they don't think we're gonna fight, so one of them gets hit, I guarantee they'll take off. So just shoot one of them." His reasoning made sense. I looked outside.

"Which one?"

"Um, Derek, preferably in the head."

"Stiles, if Scott can catch an arrow, Derek definitely can."

"Okay, ah, just shoot one of the other three."

"You mean two?"

"I mean three." Quickly he moved the curtains aside and looked outside to check on the pack. "Where's Isaac?" Without being able to think I was attacked and thrown to the ground and so was Stiles. I don't know how but Isaac found a way in.

(Y/N)'s POV

I was laying down on the bed of what I hoped was a guest room, scrolling through my phone when I heard a crash downstairs. I guess Lydia heard it too because when I looked outside the hallway, there she was. We moved slowly and carefully. After, I started to hear snarling and crashing.

"What's happening?" Lydia cried and I half hugged her as reassurance.

"Get back. Someone's trying to break in, okay? Go." Allison appeared from around the corner.

"I can help," I said.

"Stay." We didn't move. "Guys, go!" We both ran back to the room she was with Jackson and closed the door. Yet, Jackson was nowhere in sight.

"Jackson?!" Lydia screamed and we made our way to the bathroom locking the door.

"Who are you calling?" I asked Lydia as she took out her phone.

"Hi, I-I need the police. Th-there's someone trying to break in." She turned off the light and I heard the door outside slam.

"Stiles! It's here!" Allison screamed. What the hell was IT? Then the door crashed down. Lydia started squirming so I engulfed her in a hug and tried my best to calm her nerves.

"We're gonna be alright." But honestly, I was just as scared. Once silence was the only thing surrounding us, I checked the room. "Okay, I think it's gone. We'll go out slowly."

She nodded and followed me out of the bathroom and later out of the room. We made our way calmly down the hallway and the stairs. That's when I heard the worst screech ever and it was not human. We both ran outside to see what had made such an awful sound and were met by Derek, Isaac, Erica, Boyd, Scott, Stiles, and Allison. What the hell were they all doing here, and why were Erica and Isaac limp on the floor?

"Would someone please tell me what the hell is going on?"

"It's Jackson," Scott said. What could that possibly mean?

After everyone had calmed down, Stiles took us back to the school to look for our abandoned cars. As I made my way to my bike, Allison stopped me. Claiming that she was too worried about my safety. Not having the energy to fight, I obliged and got into her car alongside Lydia, who was still a bit shaken from the events.

"I need you to promise that you both won't say anything about what just happened." Allison staged the statement as a request but it was clearly a command.

"I promise not to say anything about what just happened if you could tell me what the HELL just happened," Lydia said, exasperated.

"I'm with Lydia on that one."

"It's kinda complicated." Allison sighed.

"How about you start with why Derek was there?" I spoke. "And Isaac and all of those kids from school?"

"Or where Jackson went or what is wrong with Erica?" She looked down. "Need to come up with a possible lie?"

"Part of the reason I am asking is because Scott and I aren't supposed to be seeing each other, okay?" Seriously? That's your excuse "So it's better if you just keep what you know to yourselves."

"Fine. I'll keep what I know about you and your boyfriend, which is nothing, to myself." Lydia started to get out, but Allison held her back.

"Hey, he's not just my boyfriend, you get that right?"

"Let me go." The strawberry blonde spat.

"Just for one second, please try and remember. "

"Remember what?!" Lydia turned.

"Remember what it feels like. All those times in school when you see him standing in the hall and you cannot breathe until you're with him or those times in class when you can't stop looking at the clock because you know that he is standing right out there, waiting for you. Don't you remember what that's like?"

"No."

"What do you mean no? You've had boyfriends."

"Not like that." She closed the door and left. Allison stared at her until she had reached the door to her house before starting the car back up.

"I know you're lying. This has nothing to do with your relationship with Scott. Maybe like five percent but when you look at the whole picture it's not. So, why don't you actually tell me the truth or I swear I will get out of this car."

"We're moving."

"Doesn't mean I won't jump out."

"What do you want me to say?!"

"The truth. Just tell me why the hell everyone has been acting so weird?"

"You're one to talk." She scoffed.

"What is that supposed to mean?"

"You! Ever since you've arrived you have pushed everyone away, even though all they have been is nice to you. You're alienating yourself for no reason."

"No reason?! How about the fact that I don't want to grow attached to anyone because I know that once the year ends, I'm gone? It has been like that for almost ten fucking years. Allison, you have only had to move about three times in your life, maybe four. I have been moving every single year since I was eight years old. Don't you think that it doesn't hurt to leave behind people you have grown to love and won't see again, possibly forever?"

"I didn't think..." she sighed.

"Exactly, you didn't think because you don't understand. The last time I grew close to someone, I had to say goodbye and you know what happened?" She shook her head no. "She was bullied into attempting suicide. I did that."

"Are you talking about Josie?" I nodded, roughly wiping away the tears that had spilled. "That wasn't your fault. It was tragic but there was nothing you could have done. You didn't do it."

"I did. She was alone because I left, and I couldn't protect her. She won't even answer my messages. Now, I don't associate myself with people so I don't have to care about what happens to them. That way it doesn't hurt once I leave."

"I'm so sorry, (Y/N), I didn't know you felt that way. But don't push me away. I will always be a constant in your life. I'm your cousin, I will always be with you." She hugged me and wiped away any other tears left. "I love you but get out."

"Dude, you just ruined the moment."

"No, I mean we're at your house and I have to get home. I love you." She smiled and I got out of the car. Before I could say anything else, she sped off. She knew there was a conversation still lingering and she was trying to avoid it. I just hoped I didn't have to explain myself to anyone else.

I entered the empty house, making sure all the doors were locked, and made my way up the stairs. Opening my bedroom door, Brody jumped off my bed and onto me, slathering my face with kisses.

"Hey, buddy. I missed you too," I laughed. Being near him instantly calmed me and helped me feel more at ease after the night I had.

I changed into my pajamas, too tired to shower, and cuddled with Brody on my bed. Talking about my past always made me tense. I tried my best to stray away from the topic and reveal as little as possible as I could, but it always found a way to be uncovered. As hard as I tried it was the dark cloud that would always follow me around. All I could do was avoid the whole thing as much as I could and hope they didn't bring it up again.

With Brody's warmth next to me, I quickly nodded off to sleep and melted the stress of the day.

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sophiemsmsmsmgallery · 3 years

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I’ll tell you who SOPHIE was - she provided me with the soundtrack to my existence.

SOPHIE - a futuristic goddess, an ingenious music producer, ethereal visionary, a trans icon.... just an icon generally speaking - tragically passed away at the age of 34 in Athens, Greece after falling off a rooftop whilst attempting to capture a picture of the full moon. Her gut wrenching death brought me to tears. This is the first time a famous person’s death has affected me so deeply. Her bold, hyperkinetic approach to producing musical art was so impeccable and refreshing considering so much of modern day’s music tends to sound incredibly predictable. Whilst alive, visionary SOPHIE generated a following of intensely adoring, dedicated fans. Honestly, don’t EVER mess with a SOPHIE fan. Trust me!

She worked with the biggest popstars, rappers, K Pop groups, rappers and upcoming artists but still remained so humble despite her enormous talent. However, she hadn’t reached household name status during her life. Sadly, many people only had heard of SOPHIE after her tragic and unexpected death. This motivated me to write a piece dedicated to this beautiful and timeless mastermind. I do acknowledge that its been exceptionally challenging to summarise how SOPHIE impacted my life onto only a few pieces of paper. However, its the least I can do. Therefore, I present to all of you my written tribute which shall focus on how her extraordinary music has featured during key moments of my lifetime and expanded my initially narrow knowledge of beauty, gender and identity like never before.

Let’s commence this written tribute by travelling back in time to when I had just turned 15. During that time period, my disposition was extremely introverted. In all honesty, like almost all teenagers suffering the displeasing side effects of bloody puberty, I was barely approachable. I adopted the entire persona of a full time punk kid wearing a thick leather jacket whilst applying extremely heavy kohl eyeliner and dying my hair jet black - which looked devastating. I would also scribble quotes associated with the punk ideology and act like some pretentious snob towards anything that was unrelated to punk, industrial or rap music. That was the most rebellion I exuded at the time (trying not to feel complete despair as much as possible for my former teenage self)

That captious mentality caused by teenage angst was erased the minute I listened to a snippet of the musical force of nature named ‘BIPP’ by SOPHIE on a Swiss MTV sponsored advert. The high pitched vocals singing ‘However you’re feeling, I can make you feel better’ provided by Marcella and overall catchy, hyperkinetic production mesmerised me like there’s no tomorrow. Nothing had captivated my imagination like the timeless ‘BIPP’ did so I typed aggressively and rapidly into the Google search engine straight away. I had to know who the mastermind lurking behind this masterpiece was. I had to know of the mastermind who provided me with this pivotal musical epiphany. Then the capitalised name ‘SOPHIE’ popped up right in front of my eyes.

After listening to ‘BIPP’ in its entirety on repeat, I instantly began to read up on SOPHIE and stumbled upon her 2013 interview on BBC Radio 1 with SOPHIE where she concealed her identity by having her 5 year old niece respond to the host’s questions instead of herself. At the time, I assumed Sophie had implemented a voice changer to project the voice of an infant. SOPHIE’s dry humoured response, namely ,,I’ve got a cough!’’ to the host’s bewilderment over the child sounding voice stood out for me. Earlier in her career, SOPHIE’s anonymity prompted much speculation in the music industry and press. I always perceived this bizarre, hysterical act of Sophie’s as a ‘two middle fingers up’ to our environment fuelled by mainstream culture, especially how so many people obsess over notable figure’s personal business and public image instead of their artistic accomplishments far too often. This has to be the ultimate moment my own curiosity for Sophie’s ingenious musical productivity became insatiable. Later on, I would await the 2015 McDonalds commercial anxiously to have my ears blessed with her gratifying track ,Lemonade’ over and over. The synthesised sounds that fizz like pop rocks. Nabihah’s crisp vocals which repeat ‘Candy boys, c - c - candy boys’. The overall ear worm appeal of the track. Flawless!

In the meantime, I discovered that Sophie happened to be a very well known affiliate of the divisive,unique PC Music label based in London, England. During the time period, I was - to be quite frank - not an avid bubblegum bass or hyper-pop listener in the slightest. I worshipped bands such as The Clash, Dead Kennedys, Rammstein,Tool, The KLF and additionally adored rap music ranging from N.W.A to Eminem. They totally divert from the hyperkinetic, exaggerated take on the pop genre embraced by the PC Music label. However, my teenage idols and SOPHIE objectively share something fundamental in common - Through their trailblazing musical output, they push every single barrier possible and deconstruct what constitutes as ,normal’ in modern day society. Even just after releasing her first full length album ‘Product’, SOPHIE embodied a bold form of rebellion against society’s conventionality and unforgiving temperament by incorporating lyrics alluding to a mostly genderless nature and sexual fetishes eg BDSM. As an extremely naive, self conscious teenager, all of this completely perplexed but intrigued me. Any glimpse of art connected with an attitude of non conformity resonated with me in practically seconds and continues to even at 22.

This longing for anything unorthodox traces back to my own childhood. To explain some details about my background, I grew up in a rather small, very conservative village in Switzerland from the age of 9. Even uttering anything LGBT related would illicit responses ranging from loud gasps to shocked faces at my high school. As a non Swiss resident, the educational setting demonstrated to be more than challenging at times. One incident that stands out to me especially is when a classmate ranted about his disapproval of non Swiss inhabitants receiving Swiss pass and then continued with yelling ‘All my family voted for the SVP kick all of (you fucking foreign scum) out!’.Just to clarify, the SVP is the largest party in Switzerland and leans very far right politically. As you can presume, I was utterly distraught by this disconcerting interaction and confess to losing any fragment of self confidence remaining in that moment. Luckily the Swiss MTV channel existed, which was far more on trend with the times and embraced marginalised communities. I will forever cherish Swiss MTV introducing me to SOPHIE’s impeccable, lawless music and being a form of escapism in my bedroom from the racist, homophobic climate prevailing in my village.

At the age of 17, Graduation finally arrived at the door which was an absolute relief. A few hours later, the celebration party took place in a secluded barn and my boyfriend immersed himself into the role as DJ for the night. Towards the end, he sneakily included Product era classics including ‘Vyzee’ and ‘Hard’. I could barely contain my excitement. We all almost choked on the horrendous party smoke, spilt our cheap beer on each other’s outfits and chanted ‘Shake it up and make it fizz!’ and ‘I get so hard.’ Ironically, I believe my Swiss colleagues didn’t exactly recognise the discernible sexual connotations exhibited throughout the song which causes me to giggle ever so slightly looking back. However, it felt liberating hearing SOPHIE’s fiercely electronic, transparent music and seeing my classmates enjoying it - especially as all you would hear on most music outlets there was either dreary Indie or Luka Haenni - the Swiss equivalent to Justin Bieber. That’s the most I’m able to recollect from that peculiar night - aside from a trampoline burning to the ground due to someone placing a candle on it. After all that jazz, a thrillingly new chapter for myself - and even for SOPHIE - would unfold.

At 17, I returned to my place of birth, England, and enrolled at Sixth Form in the South to complete my A Levels. I initially felt extremely elated to move back to England and finally entering the era of adulthood in my life. However, the atmosphere at Sixth Form and in the South of England seemed ... so unfamiliar to me which was heartbreaking. My mind had totally adjusted to a Swiss and my mind endured unsettling feelings of anxiety during the entire first year at British college. However, SOPHIE’s music once again presented itself as a form of therapy for me. She released the ethereal, stunning ballad ‘It’s Okay To Cry’ during this time period. After watching its music video and deciphering the lyrics I realised... Oh my goodness, SOPHIE just came out as a transgender woman! I recall being touched by the exquisite, idiosyncratic song featuring 80s style synthesised arrangements. SOPHIE’S bravery mesmerised me. I knew in that moment, Sophie would revolutionise the music industry, especially the habitat of music production dominated by cisgender, heterosexual men. She proved my initial predictions right - and on many occasions.

The day after SOPHIE released ‘Its Okay To Cry’, I overheard an energetic conversation carried out by a few of fellow openly gay and trans classmates who I’m still acquainted with to this day. They couldn’t contain their excitement about SOPHIE.

Despite the crippling anxiety having affected me so severely at that point, I intervened and expressed my admiration for everything SOPHIE. I felt blessed attending a sixth form alongside gay, non binary, trans classmates who took pride in their identity and sexuality. It put my mind at ease being surrounded in a more progressive environment compared to the intolerant ambience pervading my village in Switzerland. SOPHIE’s music had connected me with such a progressive, solicitous and just simply amazing group of friends. They agreed with me that SOPHIE’s courageous move will impact the music world in such a striking manner and encourage more LGBT people to pursue their goals no matter how extravagant, especially an acclaimed music producer igniting the music industry like SOPHIE. Then all of a sudden they mentioned the track ‘Yeah Right’ and how it blew their mind away due to SOPHIE’s ‘badass as hell instrumentals.’ With all the shame in the world, I confessed I hadn’t heard it yet. Their facial expressions conveyed so much disappointment. One of my classmates quickly plugged their Bluetooth speaker into his laptop and then pressed the play button. From a personal perspective, ‘Yeah Right’ featuring Vince Staples and Kendrick Lamar perfectly stands out to me despite SOPHIE’s extensive and majestic discography to her name.

I contemplate the masterpiece as a pivotal moment in rap music history. Even during 2017, Sophie began exhibiting red lipstick, latex gloves, tight clothing corresponding to a more feminine image which totally distances from the aggressively macho image attached to the rap industry. From the moment Vince Staples commences with his lyrically cutting verses to Kendrick Lamar proceeding with his gripping and more than memorable cameo - I realised that a 3 minute long but significant moment music history in general simply named ‘Yeah Right’, had occurred. Her production on the track astonishes me due to its avant grade and timeless edge. To me, it is a masterpiece that echoes the the extremely distant future of music. I reckon we’ll be dancing to ‘Yeah Right’ at the club in 2137. For 4 consecutive years, ‘Yeah Right’ has been reigning champion of most listened to song on my Spotify account and can express with all certainty... it’s my all time favourite song. In all honesty, it cured me of my severe feelings of apprehension and anxiety at Sixth Form.

After regaining my confidence and FINALLY passing the dreaded driving test - after failing three times in a row - the first song I blasted on my speakers in my cheap, run down car was ‘Yeah Right’ and rather fittingly, Sophie’s live version of the officially unreleased ‘Burn Rubber’ whilst driving to university I was about to attend. I genuinely cried all the lyrics to the song whilst driving on the mundane roads of Southern England and FINALLY felt like a free, independent adult. Even during brief chapters of my life such as passing my driving test, SOPHIE made a crucial and ravishing appearance.

The last three years of my life have played out in a rather turbulent style. Towards the middle of 2018, the year unravelled in a fashion that I certainly hadn’t anticipated. I’ll summarise it to the best of my ability even thought it is extremely difficult to. My longtime best friend, the closest person to me, sadly died to long term chronic illness. I couldn’t articulate my utter grief into words and sadly still struggle to this day. It was a sudden blow to the heart which couldn’t be paralleled to anything else I’ve felt in my short lifetime. A month prior to her untimely passing, SOPHIE had released her acclaimed, gallant debut album ‘Oil Of Every Person’s Un Insides.’ Although OOEPUI is a extravagant, historic work of art, I shall describe how the tracks ‘Is it Cold In the Water’ and ‘Faceshopping’ impacted me.

I perceive ‘Is It Cold In The Water? as a hauntingly riveting piece of music, with vocals sung Cecile Believe that send shivers down my spine. The lyrics ‘Earth shaking, I feel alone’ encapsulated on a personal level how I couldn’t envision an existence without my best friend by my side mocking my naturally deep, monotone voice, her showing me a piece of clothing she had just designed herself as she was an aspiring designer and hurting with laughter whilst impersonating certain celebrities. My raging anger against the world intensified. I placed my formerly devoted belief in a higher existence under the microscope - a belief system that I unfortunately haven’t revisited ever since. ,Is It cold in the water’ epitomises the dilemma and hardship of entering unknown depths without any inkling of what overcoming the ‘cold water’ and how its aftermath would materialise, metaphorically speaking. I realised I had to place my feet in the cold water in order to heal and adjust to coping with my best friend’s death despite how petrifying the concept as such seemed at the time.

And then there’s the outstanding ‘Faceshopping.’ I’ll confess... when I originally listened to this track, I was rather, dare I say, baffled afterwards. The experimentally electronic provided by Sophie galvanised me as usual. However, as a cisgender woman who has dated men right up to the present moment, I was initially under the very ill informed assumption that I couldn’t identify with a lot of the album’s content produced by an trans woman. That display of shambolic ignorance was quickly put to rest when I analysed the lyrics of ‘Faceshopping’ with an open eye. It clicked that the song could symbolise more than one meaning. It examines the age of the internet and the lengths modern day go to in order to pass as beautiful, especially in the name of personal branding. Furthermore, the powerful track demonstrates SOPHIE’s mesmerisingly fervent opposition against what traditional values regard as beauty which is unquestionably ingenious. I feel the lyric ‘My shop is the face I front’ denotes a person’s individual freedom of complementing their psychical appearance - whether through simply makeup or plastic surgery - and evolving their true gender identity shouldn’t be shunned. As someone who has been extremely self conscious about my appearance since the tender age of 12 caused by several factors eg bullying at school, ‘Faceshopping’ uplifted my spirits and enlightened me that no influence other than my personal self shall control how I beautify my own body.

Skipping to 2020, the world has been transformed to a severe extent due to the Coronavirus infecting and heartbreakingly taking millions of people’s lives. With this almost dystopian nightmare occurring, I felt extremely poorly - physically speaking - which had been affecting me since October of the same year. Ultimately I was rushed into hospital in December. After countless physical evaluations and days passing by whilst lying in a lonesome hospital bed, my doctor informed me that due to the severity of my current condition, the likelihood of permanent infertility is extremely high. The news put me into a state of shock. After my doctor left the room, the tears couldn’t stop streaming down my face. I had always envisioned raising my own children. Forgive me for the hyperbolic language but in that moment I felt defeated.

With the prospect of my womanhood being affected forever, I put my headphones to shut out the continuous ambulance sirens blaring outside. I pressed Shuffle Play on my SoundCloud and the first song that appeared was SOPHIE’s ‘Heav3n Suspended Livestream’ version of ‘My Forever’. Cecile Believe reiterating ‘Everbody’s got to own their body’ so ethereally, and the song as a whole proved to be therapeutic in the moment. After pressing the repeat button 20 times - at the very least - I had ANOTHER epiphany: no establishment should dictate what constitutes as femininity or womanhood. Even in the modern day society, childless people continue to be stigmatised, often branded as ‘selfish’ or ‘undesirable’ in many communities. I applaud the progress we’ve made in terms of tackling stereotypes associated with infertility. However, more work still needs to be carried out on this matter. Although it’s only my individual interpretation of the song given the circumstances of my poorly health at the time, the lyrics reassured me that everybody’s - without a doubt - GOT to own their body. Gosh that sounds so rhetorical!

After this pivotal awakening, I was rushed into surgery which lasted about two hours. The next day - feeling extremely lethargic - I woke up to the fantastic news that the doctors saved my physical health from infertility. I will always be so grateful for their treatment of me and my painful condition. Two weeks into recuperation post surgery, I had no choice but to exercise to boost my mental state caused by inactivity and to get my blood circulation going. As a lifelong, passionate dancer I conceptualised and performed a dance routine to SOPHIE’s club inspired, sublime ‘Take Me To Dubai’. - in front of my cracked bedroom mirror, ironically. Still, dancing again and no physical illness bringing me down felt like a individual rebirth. I was anticipating how 2021 would spell out for me - despite Covid 19 still permeating globally. 2021 finally arrived and not even a full month into the ‘glorious new year’, SOPHIE died.

I recall waking up to numerous messages and notifications capitalising the words: SOPHIE HAS DIED!’. In all honesty ... I froze. It didn’t register for about an hour. Afterwards, I couldn’t disguise the heartbreak and shock that SOPHIE was no longer with us - especially given the cause of her death. It’s been two weeks and I’ll acknowledge that I haven’t overcome the sentiment of anger and upset yet because of her untimely passing .The soundtrack to my existence is gone.

Whether SOPHIE’s musical stylings resonate with you or not, you can’t underestimate her fearless disposition and overwhelming talent. She inspired so many fans to embrace their true identity even when their environment was striving to silence them. She challenged our establishment’s shallow interpretation of beauty, gender and identity. Despite coming out as an trans woman and transphobia still being prevalent globally, SOPHIE didn’t let this form of prejudice stand in her way of achieving her dreams. Her revolutionary mark she left on the industry shall never be underemphasised by so many of us.

SOPHIE,

Thank you for everything. I will never ever forget you,

ROBS.

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mamapriest · 4 years

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THE HISTORY OF RED LIPSTICK

A NEW BOOK RED LIPSTICK HONORS THE STYLE ICONS AND HISTORY OF THIS CRIMSON CLASSIC 👄💕👄💕

BY SABRINA COOPER 2019

PORTRAIT OF DEBBIE HARRY IN THE 1970S

Blondie's lead singer reimagined the truer red lipstick looks of decades past and instead catapulted angsty matte brick red into epic popularity.

Unpacking the deep, cultural history of the famed beauty product, Red Lipstick: an Ode to a Beauty Icon explores the lasting legacy of the legendary shade. Not just stories and anecdotes, but also vibrant, inspiring images from fine art, photography, beauty and fashion editorials and advertisements fill the tome—not to mention the style icons who wore it well.

Featured in Red Lipstick are a series of hall of famers. Among them, punk rock stars Debbie Harry and Siouxsie Sioux, as well as pop music idols including Madonna and Rihanna. Felder also salutes the greats of vintage Hollywood including Elizabeth Taylor, Audrey Hepburn, and Grace Kelly in addition to Marilyn Monroe and her trademark red lipstick Max Factor Ruby Red, which is no longer available in the United States. Also included, of course, is a brief history of cult figure Coco Chanel.

Red Lipstick also focuses on the suffragettes, World War II workforce, flappers, politicians, first ladies, and fashion world favorites who have boldly caught the public’s attention.

A PROMOTIONAL PHOTOGRAPH OF ELIZABETH TAYLOR IN THE 1950S.

Old Hollywood screen siren Elizabeth Taylor was no stranger to a trademark red lipstick look. Known for her milky skin tone, lavender-blue eyes, and jet-black hair, her hue of choice was usually on the rosier side of the spectrum.

One account involves wearing red as a political move: "Women during World War II wore it as an act of defiance because Hitler famously didn’t like red lipstick,” she says. Another highlight? The broad, societal spectrum: “Over the many centuries of red lipstick, prostitutes have worn it,” Felder shares.

"Actresses wore it in an era when to be an actress was not something that was seen as a respectable profession. Then by the time of the 1950s when Queen Elizabeth was going to her coronation, she had a red lipstick created for that coronation specifically to match the red of the robes of her coronation outfit. Three different brands have been credited with creating that lipstick for her.”

QUEEN ELIZABETH II AT HER CORONATION

Throughout time, one common thread between anyone wearing red is its global appeal and with that, a kind of fearless spirit. “So the thing about red is it’s extremely deliberate,” says Felder. “And putting on something that takes that kind of effort and puts the focus on you, inherently shows confidence.

It’s no wonder there’s a faithful following behind the popularity of red lipstick. Both women and men have recognized its enormous influence to this day, and though it might rise and fall in seasonal trends, it remains a beauty staple, similarly as important as the essential little black dress.

And as Hepburn once said, “On a bad day, there’s always lipstick.”

KERRY WASHINGTON: 2011

We'll never stop obsessing over Washington's candy-apple-red pout, her beaded Zuhair Murad gown, and how the two perfectly emulate one another for a truly standout red carpet moment.

MARILYN MONROE: 1953

If ever a person could be synonymous with one particular makeup look, it would be Marilyn Monroe and her signature red lip. More often than not, the icon wore her red with a slick coating of gloss.

CINDY CRAWFORD: 1990

Brick in tone and blotted to perfection, forever-iconic supermodel Cindy Crawford matched this infamous red lipstick look with her like-hued gown back in 1990.

NAOMI CAMPBELL: 2016

Sure, as one of the most successful supermodels in history, Naomi Campbell has worn her fair share of head-turning red lipstick looks. That said, it's this glittering maroon-hued number from the 2016 MTV Video Music Awards that's forever etched in our minds.

ANGELINA JOLIE: 2012

The actress tends to work one of two signature lip looks: an impeccably glossy wash of nude or an irresistibly juicy stain of red. Here, and during the 69th annual Golden Globes, she epitomized the latter.

PRIYANKA CHOPRA: 2017

Never one to shy away from color, the actress's medieval-esque shade of Bordeaux just might be one of the best we've ever seen. It's especially rich set against her glowing skin and dark chocolate–swirled strands.

SOPHIA LOREN: 1955

With her glowing, olive complexion and sphynx-inspired liner, '50s icon Sophia Loren made a punchy dose of orange-red lipstick one of her mainstays.

👄💕👄💕👄💕👄💕👄

Sources: crfashionbook.com

byrdie.com

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easyhairstylesbest · 3 years

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How the Costumes and Makeup of 'Promising Young Woman' Shape Perception

Mild spoilers for Promising Young Woman below.

If the pen is mightier than the sword, then in Promising Young Woman, the ink’s been replaced by lipstick. As Cassie (Carey Mulligan) channels her anger, grief, and guilt over the death of her best friend into a one-woman mission to punish men (and women) complicit in rape culture, the gulf between appearance and motivation is vast. In contrast to a spy who dresses to blend in, Cassie’s undercover attire is a flashing beacon that lures in her prey, and her ability to shapeshift through the local nightlife scene is made possible by the clothes, makeup, and hairstyles she adopts to appeal to her targets. Each undone button and crinkle is part of the overall ruse, and Cassie’s revolving closet is as purposeful as her imperfectly applied eyeliner.

Courtesy

Costume and makeup are essential to every production, but writer-director Emerald Fennell’s debut feature puts a premium on surface-level perceptions that a so-called “hot mess” projects. From the first pulpy poster image—which featured an illustrated Mulligan lying in an oversized mouth, lip color dripping like blood—the emphasis is placed on the trappings of femininity. Cassie is counting on superficial snap judgments as she walks a very dangerous path with little protection beyond a strapless bodycon dress and high heels.

ELLE.com spoke to costume designer Nancy Steiner (The Virgin Suicides, Twin Peaks: The Return) and makeup department head Angie Wells (Sylvie’s Love, Mudbound) about creating distinctive looks to support Fennell’s vision. “The makeup itself [and] these disguises were their own character,” Wells says. “[Cassie’s] using it in a way that’s very controlled.”

Business Casual

Brian Valenzuela/Courtesy

“She is dressed as a business chick,” Steiner explains of the movie’s opening scene, which sees Cassie slumped in a red booth, feigning intoxication to attract the attention of businessmen gathered for post-work drinks. Fennell specified each location for Cassie’s hunt in the script, which provided Steiner with a wealth of costume inspiration. It’s notable that we only see Cassie wear each “disguise” once: Steiner estimates Mulligan had approximately 35 changes in total.

On the makeup side, smudges and a clammy complexion all point to Cassie’s “inebriated” state. “I love doing imperfect things like that,” says Wells. Using techniques we try to avoid IRL, the makeup artist made Mulligan apply the mascara herself. “While it was wet, I said, ‘please close your eyes really tightly,’ which makes a mess.” Wells used a damp brush to smear the mascara around her eyes. To get the flushed, blotchy skin effect, she changed her brush technique: “I stippled the blush on in a spotty way, so it’s not this smooth-skin look.”

Daytime Cassie

Brian Valenzuela/Courtesy

When not hunting her prey, Cassie masks her pain in saccharine pastels. Steiner’s own resume is filled with girlish references that suggest a happy facade while concealing the film’s major themes; in an interview with Little White Lies, Fennell referenced Steiner’s “beguiling” work in The Virgin Suicides and the daytime aesthetic she envisioned for her own heroine: “Cassie’s clothes are very tactile: soft; pink; inviting.” For Steiner, “It was a lot about the color palette of that pastel. A little bit of contemporary shopping, costume house, a little thrift, and then put it together.” Even though the story is contemporary, Steiner mixed and matched influences from the 1960s onward for Cassie’s daytime wardrobe. Her collection of cheery gingham, floral, and delicate prints are a disguise. “It’s her, ‘I’m happy, don’t look at me’ [look],” Steiner says. “It’s a barrier as well.”

And her makeup is much more subtle. “I wanted there to be a real difference between Cassie in her regular, everyday life and who she became when she would go out and do these disguises,” Wells says. With a “very natural, very clean” face, the artist didn’t want viewers to notice the makeup. This blank canvas offered plenty of room for experimentation with the bold nighttime looks.

“Homemade Kardashian”

Brian Valenzuela/Courtesy

“I call it the ‘Douchey Eurotrash’ look, and that is the strapless dress and high heels where she transforms into somebody really different,” Steiner says of this particular nightclub attire. The “Homemade Kardashian” nickname came about as Wells read the script: she immediately thought of the famous family’s signature contouring. “I didn’t want it to look like a professional makeup artist had done it,” she says. “I wanted it to look like she had done it herself, so I didn’t blend the contour perfectly.”

The Smeared Lipstick

Cassie’s application of her cosmetic war paint follows a relatable endeavor: turning to the internet for techniques. Watching a “blowjob lips” tutorial—Fennell cameos as the beauty vlogger—Cassie nails the bold look before dramatically smearing the dark shade across her face. This was a “collaboration between props and makeup,” Wells explains, recalling that Mulligan’s purposeful makeup misapplication took two or three takes. The film was shot in just 23 days, and time constraints meant there was a limited window for resetting the scene.

In the following scene, Fennell depicts the encounter with “nice guy” Neil (Christopher Mintz-Plasse) at his apartment rather than the trendy bar where he met Cassie. This particular costume is not in focus—Steiner points out that “you don’t really see much of what she’s wearing there”—and the makeup choice is darker than the opening scene, a reflection of Cassie’s state of mind. “She’s starting to spiral down a little bit: she’s getting sadder, she’s getting heavier, it’s getting deeper,” Wells says. “The look was getting a little bit dark.” The deeper red isn’t the only cosmetic choice for this underlying despair. “I even turned her eyeliner down to kind of pull her eyes down,” Wells says.

The Candy-Colored Mani

Regardless of time of day or activity, Cassie is always wearing the same eye-catching manicure. This was a direct request from the director. “Emerald was very specific with the nail look she wanted,” recalls Wells. “And she wanted that to carry throughout.” Changing nail art can be a logistical nightmare, Wells says, so she was grateful the look remained the same throughout the film. “We were able to do them with gels, and they could stay on for a couple of weeks, and then Carey would go and get them redone.”

This striking nail polish choice is the unifying factor between the makeup and costume color palettes, complementing both Cassie’s daytime barista attire and all her disheveled drunk personas. Early in the process, Wells sent Fennell inspiration images, then connected with Steiner, looking at the color and shapes of each costume to coordinate the individual makeup looks. Wells also brought hair department head Daniel Curet onto the film. “It was a group effort to create [Cassie’s entire] look,” Wells says.

Drugstore Dance

Brian Valenzuela/Courtesy

Frequently switching sartorial personas means Cassie’s authentic style is hard to pin down, but Steiner explains one costume captures her essence more than any other: the “cute vintage pieces” which feature in the Paris Hilton “Stars Are Blind” sing-along. As Cassie dances down the aisles with Ryan (Bo Burnham), Promising Young Woman briefly turns into a rom-com. “That little number in the pharmacy is more her,” Steiner explains. “It’s not pastel, it’s a brighter color. I really love the little cardigan. It’s not saying anything necessarily, but it’s different from everything else.”

The thrifted knitwear also ties to Steiner’s earlier work designing for music videos during the glory days of MTV, including Nirvana’s “Come as You Are,” which features Kurt Cobain in an iconic green cardigan. But Steiner is quick to note she didn’t invent that look: “Everybody was wearing thrift store cardigans,” and Cobain “had a lot of cardigans.” While Cassie’s moment of levity in the drugstore does have a pop video sensibility, Steiner says, “I can’t say anything specifically informed me from video days” when conceiving this scene. “I think my aesthetic from my life has informed my choices.”

A Nurse’s Disguise

Brian Valenzuela/Courtesy

Cassie’s most extreme costume is, without a doubt, the stylized nursing attire that ties together her medical student past and present vengeance vocation. “We knew we wanted a hot, sexy nurse costume and I did a little research online,” says Steiner. Production needed multiple versions of the garment, so Steiner custom-built it to her exacting specifications, from the sleeve and skirt lengths to the zippered front

For Wells, rather than match the crimson hard-to-walk-in stilettos (Mulligan’s socked feet were protected with moleskin fabric for navigating the long driveway), she used the pastel wig and candy nails as inspiration. “Red is always the color if you think of femme fatale,” she says of Cassie’s edgy, sexy lipstick. “I wanted pink because red is so expected.” The makeup artist opted for an intense pink using MAC’s “Royally Flushed” pencil shade that has since been discontinued, but MAC told her a near-substitute is the lip pencil Beet. “[I] totally filled her lips in with the pencil, and then we put a little bit of lipstick [MAC’s All Fired Up] on top of it to solidify the look.”

“Once I looked at the outfit, and I realized what she was going to be doing in that scene, I thought of a blow-up doll,” Wells recalls. Dialing into the big eyes and full mouth concept, Wells exaggerated the size of Mulligan’s eyes using several techniques. “I purposely went below Carey’s natural eye-line to make her eyes look huge, then I filled in on the waterline with a flesh-colored pencil, which makes the whites of your eye appear larger,” she says. “We put lashes beneath the waterline so everything was designed with this big eye, strong lip look—because eyes and lips are the places where people look.” Cassie is nearly unrecognizable. Wells captured the transformation via makeup on a timelapse video: “As it starts out, she has such a sweet face. At the end of the video, it’s like, ‘Wow! It’s a whole different person.’”

Emma Fraser Emma Fraser is a freelance culture writer with a focus on TV, movies, and costume design.

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How the Costumes and Makeup of 'Promising Young Woman' Shape Perception

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partyanimalshu · 8 months

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Taylor Swift tarolt: az év előadójának választották

Kilenc szobrot vitt haza a popdíva az MTV VMA díjátadójáról Mindent lesöpört Taylor Swift az MTV VMA gáláján: összes kilenc szobrot szavaztak meg számára rajongói. A nagyszabású eseményről a házigazda szerepét betöltő Nicki Minaj, valamint Shakira, Lana Del Rey, a Måneskin és Olivia Rodrigo sem tér haza üres kézzel. Akik lemaradtak a hajnali rendezvényről, az MTV Hungary csatornáján már szeptember 13-án este bepótolhatják a bombasztikus showt. Nagy év volt ez a nők és a nonbináris előadók számára az MTV VMA díjátadóján, hiszen a főbb kategóriákban egyértelműen ők domináltak, Az év eladója címért pedig kizárólag hölgyek versengtek. Végül Taylor Swift – és rajongótábora – bizonyult a legerősebbnek mind közül, hiszen a popikon olyan nívós kategóriákban tudott győzedelmeskedni, mint Az év előadója, Az év albuma, Az év dala, a Legjobb rendezés, valamint a Legjobb pop eladó. Az amerikai énekes és dalszerző kilenc szoborral távozott a gáláról, Az év videoklipjének elismerését pedig az újra összeállt fiúbandától, az NSYNC-től vehette át. Shakira kaphatta meg idén a Video Vanguard különdíjat, amelyet a Legjobb együttműködés szobrával is tetézett KAROL G-vel közös dalukért. A Global Icon életműdíját az amerikai rapsztár, Diddy érdemelte ki, aki harmincéves pályafutását megkoronázva, családja társaságában vette át a szobrot. Az est házigazdájaként Nicki Minaj nem csak konferált, de fellépett is új számával, majd a Legjobb hip-hop előadó kitüntetését is átvehette: az új szobrával együtt a kategóriát már öt alkalommal dominálta. Az est során továbbá Demi Lovato, Lil Wayne, Olivia Rodrigo, a Måneskin, a Fall Out Boy, Karol G és Doja Cat performanszát is láthatták a nézők, akik közül többen díjára váltották jelölésüket. További információk a http://mtv.com/vma weboldalon elérhetők. MTV VMA ismétlések az MTV Hungary-n: szeptember 13-án 18:30-kor és 22:00-kor, valamint szeptember 15-én 23:30-kor és szeptember 17-én 10:00-tól magyar felirattal. A 2023-AS MTV VMA DÍJAZOTTJAINAK LISTÁJA AZ ÉV VIDEOKLIPJE Doja Cat - "Attention" Miley Cyrus - "Flowers" Nicki Minaj - "Super Freaky Girl" Olivia Rodrigo - "Vampire" Sam Smith & Kim Petras - "Unholy" SZA - "Kill Bill" Taylor Swift - "Anti-Hero" AZ ÉV ELŐADÓJA Beyoncé Doja Cat Karol G Nicki Minaj Shakira Taylor Swift AZ ÉV DALA Miley Cyrus - "Flowers" Olivia Rodrigo - "Vampire" Rema & Selena Gomez - "Calm Down" Sam Smith & Kim Petras - "Unholy" Steve Lacy - "Bad Habit" SZA - "Kill Bill" Taylor Swift - "Anti-Hero" LEGJOBB ÚJ ELŐADÓ GloRilla Ice Spice Kaliii Peso Pluma PinkPantheress Reneé Rapp LEGJOBB EGYÜTTMŰKÖDÉS David Guetta & Bebe Rexha - "I'm Good (Blue)" Post Malone & Doja Cat - "I Like You (A Happier Song)" Diddy ft. Bryson Tiller, Ashanti, Yung Miami - "Gotta Move On" KAROL G & Shakira - "TQG" Metro Boomin ft. The Weeknd, 21 Savage, Diddy - "Creepin' (Remix)" Rema & Selena Gomez - "Calm Down" LEGJOBB POP Demi Lovato - "Swine" Dua Lipa - "Dance the Night" Ed Sheeran - "Eyes Closed" Miley Cyrus - "Flowers" Olivia Rodrigo - "Vampire" P!NK - "Trustfall" Taylor Swift - "Anti-Hero" LEGJOBB HIP-HOP Diddy ft. Bryson Tiller, Ashanti, Yung Miami - "Gotta Move On" DJ Khaled ft. Drake & Lil Baby - "STAYING ALIVE" GloRilla & Cardi B - "Tomorrow 2" Lil Uzi Vert - "Just Wanna Rock" Lil Wayne ft. Swizz Beatz & DMX - "Kant Nobody" Metro Boomin ft. Future - "Superhero (Heroes and Villains)" Nicki Minaj - "Super Freaky Girl" LEGJOBB ROCK Foo Fighters - "The Teacher" Linkin Park - "Lost (Original Version)" Red Hot Chili Peppers - "Tippa My Tongue" Måneskin - "The Loneliest" Metallica - "Lux Æterna" Muse - "You Make Me Feel Like It's Halloween" LEGJOBB ALTERNATÍV Blink-182 - "Edging" Boygenius - "The Film" Fall Out Boy - "Hold Me Like a Grudge" Lana Del Rey ft. Jon Batiste - "Candy Necklace" Paramore - "This Is Why" Thirty Seconds To Mars - "Stuck" LEGJOBB LATIN Anitta - "Funk Rave" Bad Bunny - "Where She Goes" Eslabon Armado & Peso Pluma - "Ella Baila Sola" Grupo Frontera & Bad Bunny - "un x100to" Karol G & Shakira - "TQG" Rosalía - "Despechá" Shakira - "Acróstico" LEGJOBB R&B Alicia Keys ft. Lucky Daye - "Stay" Chlöe ft. Chris Brown - "How Does It Feel" Metro Boomin ft. The Weeknd, 21 Savage, Diddy - "Creepin' (Remix)" SZA - "Shirt" Toosii - "Favorite Song" Yung Bleu & Nicki Minaj - "Love In The Way" LEGJOBB K-POP Aespa - "Girls" Blackpink - "Pink Venom" Fiffty Fifty Fifty - "Cupido" Seventeen - "Super" Stray Kids - "S-Class" Tomorrow X Together - "Sugar Rush Ride" LEGJOBB AFROBEATS Ayra Starr - "Rush" Burna Boy - "It's Plenty" Davido ft. Musa Keys - "Elérhetetlen" Fireboy DML & Asake - "Bandana" Libianca - "People" Rema & Selena Gomez - "Calm Down" Wizkid ft. Ayra Starr - "2 Sugar" VIDEO FOR GOOD Alicia Keys - "If I Ain't Got You (Orchestral)" Bad Bunny - "El Apagón - Aquí Vive Gente" Demi Lovato - "Swine" Dove Cameron - "Breakfast" Imagine Dragons - "Crushed" Maluma - "La Reina" LEGJOBB KÉP Adele - "I Drink Wine" Ed Sheeran - "Eyes Closed" Janelle Monae - "Lipstick Lover" Kendrick Lamar - "Count Me Out" Miley Cyrus - "Flowers" Olivia Rodrigo - "Vampire" Taylor Swift - "Anti-Hero" LEGJOBB RENDEZÉS Doja Cat - "Attention" Drake - "Falling Back" Kendrick Lamar - "Count Me Out" Megan Thee Stallion - "Her" Sam Smith & Kim Petras - "Unholy" SZA - "Kill Bill" Taylor Swift - "Anti-Hero" LEGJOBB MŰVÉSZETI KONCEPCIÓ Boygenius - "The Film" Blackpink - "Pink Venom" Doja Cat - "Attention" Lana Del Rey ft. Jon Batiste - "Candy Necklace" Megan Thee Stallion - "Her" SZA - "Shirt" LEGJOBB VIZUÁLIS EFFEKTEK Fall Out Boy - "Love From the Other Side" Harry Styles - "Music for a Sushi Restaurant" Melanie Martinez - "Void" Nicki Minaj - "Super Freaky Girl" Sam Smith & Kim Petras - "Unholy" Taylor Swift - "Anti-Hero" LEGJOBB KOREOGRÁFIA Blackpink - "Pink Venom" Dua Lipa - "Dance the Night" Jonas Brothers - "Waffle House" Megan Thee Stallion - "Her" Panic! at the Disco - "Middle of a Breakup" LEGJOBB VÁGÁS Blackpink - "Pink Venom" Kendrick Lamar - "Rich Spirit" Miley Cyrus - "River" Olivia Rodrigo - "Vampire" SZA - "Kill Bill" Taylor Swift - "Anti-Hero" Sam Smith & Kim Petras - "Unholy" A NYÁR KONCERTJE Beyoncé BLACKPINK Drake Ed Sheeran KAROL G Taylor Swift A NYÁR DALA Beyoncé – “Cuff It” Billie Eilish – “What Was I Made For? (From Barbie The Album)” Doechii ft. Kodak Black – “What It Is (Block Boy)” Doja Cat – “Paint the Town Red” Dua Lipa – “Dance the Night (From Barbie The Album)” FIFTY FIFTY – “Cupid (Twin Ver.)” Gunna – “fukumean” Jung Kook ft. Latto – “Seven” Luke Combs – “Fast Car” Nicki Minaj & Ice Spice – “Barbie World (with Aqua) ” Olivia Rodrigo – “vampire” SZA – “Kill Bill” Taylor Swift ft. Ice Spice – “Karma” Tomorrow X Together and Jonas Brothers – “Do It Like That” Troye Sivan – “Rush” Yng Lvcas & Peso Pluma – “La Bebe (Remix)” AZ ÉV CSAPATA BLACKPINK FIFTY FIFTY FLO Jonas Brothers Måneskin NewJeans SEVENTEEN TOMORROW X TOGETHER AZ ÉV ALBUMA Beyoncé – Renaissance Drake & 21 Savage – Her Loss Metro Boomin – Heroes & Villains Miley Cyrus – Endless Summer Vacation SZA – SOS Taylor Swift – Midnights Read the full article

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fuckyeslilkim · 7 years

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Throwback Interview: The Mask Of Lil’ Kim

In a nondescript warehouse in Manhattan's Chelsea district, the rapper Lil' Kim is being primed for yet another fashion shoot. The theme of the day is baby-doll innocence, and the 4-foot-11 celebrity is appropriately undressed in a sheer blue and pink negligee and high-heeled sandals. With the final touches of turquoise eye shadow, pink lips and, of course, her trademark blond wig and blue contact lenses in place, the picture is complete. Sex symbol. Feminist icon. Freak mama.

Change the circumstances only slightly and you could imagine a porn shoot happening in this warehouse. The final products--the photographs that will sell Kim's raunchy lyrics and persona to the world--often come close to that. A full-page advertisement for her new album, "The Notorious K.I.M.," shows the star in the back seat of a limousine, naked except for black spike-heel boots and a safari-style hat. It's like the kind of pinup men find useful in prison cells and toilets.

But nobody seems bothered by the actual work of this shoot--least of all Kim, who patiently strips down. Quite the contrary: She considers herself a good role model--an empowered, independent woman in the highly misogynistic world of rap. Her fans include many young women who find in her an enviable example of personal strength.

To cash in on the marketing moment, corporate America has come running, showering her with endorsement offers--from Candie's shoes to Viva Glam lipstick. She earns cover treatments from mainstream and edgy magazines alike: The Source, XXXL, Vibe, Vogue, Harper's Bazaar, Jet, Interview (on which she appeared wearing nothing but head-to-toe Louis Vuitton body tattoos). And now, Atlantic Records has provided the 25-year-old with her own label, Queen Bee.

From the moment she was discovered by rapper Christopher Wallace (a k a Notorious B.I.G., a k a Biggie Smalls) as a round-the-way girl roaming the streets of Brooklyn's Bedford-Stuyvesant neighborhood, Kimberly Jones has set new standards for female rappers. Her 1996 solo debut, "Hardcore," made the highest-ever debut on the Billboard charts for a female rap artist. An unparalleled fusion of hip-hop and pornography, the album opens with a scene in which we hear a fan buy a ticket to a triple-X flick, and then loudly pleasure himself while watching Kim onscreen.

At last year's MTV Music Awards, her outfit spawned a media frenzy fueled by the shocked response of presenter Diana Ross, who reached out and jiggled Kim's exposed breast on national television. (Ross later offered a public apology, noting that she thought Kim "was beautiful and . . . didn't need to dress in that manner.") The incident solidified Kim's image of sexual fearlessness--and her career as a fashion trendsetter.

We've seen so much of her, and yet nothing at all. Who is Lil' Kim, really?

Talking to her, you're taken by any number of contradictions. She considers herself a devoted child of God, for example. "I'm not perfect," she explains. "I mess up. I'm not Miss Sanctified, but I believe in my Father. We have a really good relationship."

She has allowed powerful men to shape and exploit her sexpot image, but touts her own brand of feminism. "If you look at me, no man has really given me anything," she contends. "I got my own money."

She raps about the joys of fellatio, but likens herself to Queen Elizabeth, the so-called Virgin Queen of England. ("I watch that movie over and over again," she says.) Like Elizabeth, she has had an unhappy love life. "I had a lot of guys betray me," Kim says, "and she reminds me of myself because, toward the end, she really wanted a man. She was lonely. She didn't wanna be this strong woman that everybody portrayed her to be, but she had to be."

On one point the star is adamant: Lil' Kim is not Kimberly Jones.

Except: "Most of the things that I talk about [in my lyrics], yeah, they're true." In the song "Hold On," for example, "I talk about the pain of being pregnant and having an abortion."

"I talk about the things that women have gone through that they don't think I've gone through," she says. "Like fightin' with your man or losin' a man to death. Being alone. I talk about just bein' in the streets having no money and having to do illegal things to get the money."

All of which happened, too.

So, after one spends many hours with both Lil' Kim the rapper and Kimberly Jones the woman, the similarities between the two become as apparent as the differences. "We wear the mask that grins and lies," wrote Paul Laurence Dunbar, "with torn and bleeding hearts we smile."

It is not easy to remove the mask of Lil' Kim, which she wears as a brilliant defense against full disclosure. She doesn't want to show us all of the damage that lies underneath. Like many other black women, she has become so good at conjuring the mask--signifying at a moment's notice, for hire--that we no longer know where it ends. Or where Kimberly Jones begins.

In the June issue of Vibe magazine, there is a photograph of young Kim dressed in a neat school uniform: plaid dress, white blouse, knee socks. She is brown-skinned, with brown eyes and nappy hair, neatly pulled into a bun. She sits like a proper schoolgirl with her hands folded in her lap and legs crossed at the ankles, smiling and polite.

But inside, she feels ugly. She thinks of herself as too dark and too short. She has just moved to an all-white neighborhood in suburban New Rochelle, N.Y., where little blond girls tease her and confirm her monstrosity.

Her mother, Ruby Mae Jones, brought her to live there, at age 8, fleeing the ruins of a marriage. But Kim wants to go back to Brooklyn. She wants to go home, to her old neighborhood where little girls look like her. Even if it means going back to the home of her father, Linwood Jones, a former military man who enforced a brutal discipline on wife and children.

"There was a great deal of verbal abuse," she recalls. "And there was times . . . when my mother had black eyes. My father told people she had fallen."

Linwood Jones could not be reached for comment, and there is no record of his having spoken publicly about his daughter's career or her allegations of physical abuse. According to Kim, he did comment privately on her overtly sexual image, asking that she "tone it down."

After her parents' separation in 1983, Kim's life became increasingly unstable. At first she and older brother Christopher stayed with their mother, who relied on the kindness of friends for shelter--including the time spent in New Rochelle. But when options ran out, Ruby Mae Jones granted custody of her children to her husband.

"I was basically living out of the trunk of my car," Kim's mother explains over a posh dinner in a New York restaurant--a contrast made all the more striking by her fur coat and her gold-and-diamond-spangled hands. "And I didn't feel it was appropriate for [the children]. So I let Kim go to live with her father."

When he was away--sometimes for weeks, for reserve duty--the children were deposited with an aunt who was raising several sons of her own. "I grew up around . . . maybe eight guys in my family," says Kim. "I stayed with my cousins when my father went away. They lived in the projects."

"Kim had no sisters," adds Ruby Mae Jones. "She was surrounded by boys all the time. But she had such a strong personality, I never had to worry about her taking care of herself. I knew that she would be able to do that. From when she was like 2."

Despite the frequent absences, father and daughter remained on good terms during Kim's prepubescent years.

"We were very close," she recalls, "until I was about 13." Which is when Kim committed an egregious offense in her father's eyes: She liked a boy and agreed to be his girlfriend. Although the circumstances seemed innocent enough by Kim's account--the boy was 15, a schoolmate--Linwood Jones was outraged. Kim says he called her a bitch and a whore, "just like your mother."

The words had a devastating effect. "If he hadn't said what he said to me," speculates Kim, allowing the idea to play in her head for a moment, "I probably would have stayed a virgin until I was 21. But after that I rebelled."

Fights between father and daughter became more frequent--and violent, she says. On at least one occasion, Kim remembers, her morning wake-up call was a fist crashing into her face. At the age of 14, she packed a bag and hit the streets, wandering in and out of neighbors' homes. Lil' Kim has often described her life during those years as a procession of doing "whatever I had to do to survive."

She peddled drugs for boyfriends. Worked odd jobs in department stores. And had sex with the men who housed and fed her. By the time she met up-and-coming rapper Biggie Smalls at the age of 17, Kim was, by her own admission, desperately in need of protection.

Biggie, who at age 19 was a 6-foot-3, 300-pound drug dealer who had already done nine months in jail, signed on for the job--bringing Kim into the fold of what everyone called the "B.I.G. family." There was Sean "Puffy" Combs, who had been working day and night to launch Biggie on his emerging label, Bad Boy Entertainment; Mary J. Blige, whose success as an R&B artist had also been strongly influenced by Puffy's hand; Damion "D-Roc" Butler, Biggie's friend and security guard; and "the boys"--James "Lil' Caesar" Lloyd, Antoine "Banga" Spain, and Money-L, who would later become members of Junior M.A.F.I.A. (Masters at Finding Intelligent Attitudes), a rap group Biggie hoped to launch on the momentum of his own success.

"She came from the streets," says 22-year-old Spain, who lives today, along with several of the other "boys," in Kim's New Jersey mansion. "I could relate to her 'cause my mom sent me to the city when I was, like, 13."

It was at Wallace's behest that Kimberly Jones assumed the role of Lil' Kim--a vulgar-mouthed emblem of what had been dubbed "porno rap." Following Biggie's lead, the young protege exploded onto the hip-hop scene as the lone female member of Junior M.A.F.I.A. at the age of 20.

Almost immediately, Kim became the showcase of the act. They were like "peanut butter and jelly," says Voletta Wallace, Biggie's mother. "Kim and Christopher were the same voice."

And that voice was determined to push the limits of gangsta rap, a genre whose biggest selling points were unabashed violence and uncensored sex.

By the mid-1990s Biggie Smalls and his crew were at the top of their game. Biggie's second album, "Life After Death," would eventually sell eight times platinum, and with the release of her 1995 solo debut, "Hardcore," Kim arrived in her own right. But the good times were not to last. Kim loved Biggie and hoped to be his wife, but he married and then quickly separated from R&B artist Faith Evans (who would also become the mother of his son, Christopher). There were rumors that Evans had been having an affair with rapper and longtime Biggie rival Tupac Shakur. One Biggie music video co-starred Kim as the defiant and loyal mistress.

Amid the lovers' quarrels and sexual betrayals, tragedy struck in the early hours of March 9, 1997. Following a Soul Train Music Awards party in Los Angeles, a still-unknown killer approached the passenger side of Biggie's GMC Suburban and unloaded seven rounds into the rapper's head and body at close range. Both Lil' Caesar and Damion Butler were unharmed as they ducked down in the back seat. Puffy, who was driving his own Suburban in front of the target vehicle, rushed to Biggie's side reciting psalms. But Christopher Wallace was dead at age 24.

Since the loss of her mentor, Kim's allegiance has remained eerily well preserved. In the immediate aftermath, she and the Junior M.A.F.I.A. boys stayed in Big's New Jersey condominium--where, according to Kim, she shared her slain lover's bedroom with her would-be mother-in-law, Voletta Wallace, and T'yanna, Biggie's daughter from a previous relationship.

In an article for People magazine, a mourning Kim posed for the camera draped in Biggie's shirt, coat and hat. Even today, more than three years after his death, she often refers to her "big poppa" in conversation and lyrics, and even credits the rapper as a posthumous producer on her new album. The bond seems unhealthy, as even Kim's friend Blige noted in an interview: a "kind of co-dependency with someone who just isn't here anymore."

It took Kim four years to release her second album, which had been held up due to conflicts with her label, the theft of material by bootleggers and her own creative process. Meanwhile, Kim's marketing machine hummed along, patiently building her image despite a lack of new releases.

"She's brilliant," says Michael Elliot, president of Source Entertainment. "I mean, here's a woman who [hadn't] had an album out in years and she's a presenter at award shows, and a successful model. She's found a way to market herself and, at the end of the day, she's a businesswoman."

"I think she's a feminist in a funny sort of way," says John Dempsey, president of MAC cosmetics, one of many packagers that hold up the Kim image as a bold new form of sexual expression. "She speaks like a man would speak."

Her fans agree. "She doesn't care what anybody has to say," says 19-year-old Teena Marie Schexnayder, a Los Angeles psychology student and aspiring singer. "She's a bad girl . . . doing whatever she has to do to survive. She's deep. I love the stuff she talks about."

While '80s female rappers like Queen Latifah and MC Lyte embraced "womanist" images, combining ancestral and gender consciousness, Kim provides a very different social commentary for young black women and men. The message behind Lil' Kim is, in fact, heartbreakingly feeble.

Sex, she believes, is a commodity. It is a way for a woman to earn money--and, in her view, respect. She learned that lesson on the streets. As for the women selling their bodies, "I don't see anything wrong with that."

"Money is power," says Kim, and "a lot of women out there are just givin' it away." Kim aims to change that. As she raps in her new single "Diamonds" (sung to the tune of Diana Ross's "I Want Muscle"):

"She says she wants a man / To buy her a Lexus Land/ Well that's all right for her / Still it ain't enough for me / I don't care if he's young or old / Just make him very rich / I want diamonds / This p---- ain't for free."

Is this really feminism?

"I'm a feminist because I love women," she ventures, graciously asking her interviewer to correct her if she misunderstands the term. "And I feel like, in this rapping game, men have been bashing women for years. But some women overemphasize that feminism word. And some of them are very male-bashing. I'm not a male basher."

In her collection of images titled "Women," photographer Annie Leibovitz captures something of the inner sorrow of Kimberly Jones, a black girl who covets blue eyes and blond hair. Juxtaposed with the image of a gloriously dreadlocked Toni Morrison, who is seen looking into a wide expanse of clouds and possibility, Kim appears small and helpless against a wall of color that threatens to engulf her--her nipples visible beneath a trashy net T-shirt. In this image, we see more of Kimberly Jones than Lil' Kim: the real woman who has masked private suffering as public defiance.

"She's just like every little abused girl that I knew growing up," asserts Asha Bandele, a poet, author and critic who is attuned to hip-hop culture. "I do not believe that Kim is in control of her image because there's nothing powerful about it, nothing rounded, nothing human. It's a caricature. Just like when you see a male presenting himself as only a gangsta. . . . We're so much more complicated than that."

But if it is icon status we're shooting for, Kimberly Jones is the real deal. Closer in spirit to Monroe than Madonna, she is a genuine enigma, which is precisely why she intrigues us. The same little girl who remembers jumping into the middle of a fight between her father and older brother (taking a chair across her stomach in the process) became the grown-up Lil' Kim, who prefers "big poppa" lovers because daddies "don't let nothin' happen to their baby girl."

"Kim needs to ask herself what she's selling," says Voletta Wallace in her Jamaican-accented, no-nonsense way. "When my son was here, that's all you would hear: Kim and Christopher [saying], 'Sex sells, sex sells.'

"But . . . when you look at Kim, the strength is there. The beauty is there. The talent is there. And she needs to let [the world] know . . . they need to see a human being. She needs to find her inner self and see what she has to offer."

At the Gazelle Beauty Center and Day Spa in Manhattan, I have requested a private room in which to interview Kim. I am trying to get closer to the real woman, to get behind the mask. But it is a busy day and there are constant interruptions from other clients (who include guests on "The Montel Williams Show"). Nevertheless, Kim and I enjoy a lunch of Caesar salads, as well as joint manicures, pedicures, massages and facials.

We are two sisters drinking herbal tea now, and Kim is relaxed, makeup-less and wearing a cozy white robe and paper slippers.

Unanswered questions have been nagging at me. Kim is like so many other women, it seems to me, who have grown up with trauma. And yet there is no talk of the long-term effects. I decide to put the question of sexual abuse to her plainly. She tells me that yes, something did happen in the home of a relative when she was a girl, but she doesn't want to get into the details. She has never talked about this before. She doesn't want to dwell on the pain. I am saddened by her admission, and the fact that so many years later, she is still so clearly devastated.

And I am saddened that even here, in a place for relaxation and nurturing, she is unable to divest herself, even for a few hours, of the blue contact lenses and blond wig.

"Think about it," she confesses when I ask her to talk about her experience of skin color. "The girls that [men] dated when I was younger were light-skinned and tall. I'm short and brown-skinned. And I always wondered . . . how do I fit in?"

Did she ever overcome the feeling of being ugly?

"I really haven't," she admits. "Honestly, though, I think being Lil' Kim the rapper helped me deal with it better. Because I got to dress up in expensive clothes, and I got to look like a movie star or whatever. I think doing photo shoots and seeing all the people respond to me has helped. [But] I still don't see what they see."

can't help but think of Kim as standing on a precipice, making a great leap toward transformation. In recent years, she has expressed a desire to tone down the raunch and express more of "who I really am." There are rumors that she was wary about spreading her legs for the photo shoot for "Hardcore," and she herself has said she would have rather done four sexual songs instead of seven. "You get tired of certain images," she explains.

So what's stopping Lil' Kim from showing us more of Kimberly Jones? "It's hard," she says. "Because in our world, the rap world, you have this thing called selling out. You don't want people who liked you for doing a certain thing on your first album to not like you for not doing it on the second album. So I have to stay in that realm."

Yes, there are market forces pushing her to stay in the same place, but the market is also a fickle lover and people tire of what is too easy to predict. "Notorious K.I.M." started out at No. 4 on the Billboard album chart, but has slipped to No. 35.

"How much more of her body can she show?" asks Ramon Hervey, manager for R&B artist Kenny "Babyface" Edmonds. "From Madonna to Prince, everybody has to re-create themselves at some point."

"I see the strength in her," Mary J. Blige says of her friend. "All she's gotta do is let go of the fear."

Source: The Washington Post

#A must read #lil kim #lil' kim #rap #rapper #hiphop #hip hop #female rap #female rapper #washington post #queen bee #queen of rap #fashion #real life #interview

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bunchoffaceclaims · 7 years

Photo

John Garet Stoker

Gender: Male

DOB: 30 December 1991

Nationality: American

Ethnicity: Unspecified

Gif Hunt tag RP Icons tag

John Garet Stoker is an actor known for playing Connor on the MTV series Eye Candy.

#john garet stoker #faceclaim #male #20s #1991 #nat:american

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beersmadison · 7 years

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victoria justice gif icons --

there are [ 80 ] gif icons of victoria dawn justice, known for her role as tori vega in nickelodeon’s victorious and lindy simpson in mtv’s eye candy. all of them are sized 80x80 px and none of them are mine, i just edited them, so credit goes to the makers. please, like/reblog if you’ve found this useful.

#rph #rpc #victoria justice gif icons #gif icons #victoria justice gif hunt #mine

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marshmallow-the-vampire-slayer · 7 years

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MTVS Epic Rewatch #171

VOTE!

BTVS 6x18 Entropy

Stray thoughts

2) Don’t you just love it when your OTP do stuff together?

BUFFY: I am not telling my friends about us. SPIKE: Right, I'll just be dropping him down to you then. BUFFY: You wanna tell them so badly? Go ahead. You know why? I tried to kill my friends, my sister, last week... and guess how much they hate me. Zero. Zero much. So I'm thinking, sleeping with you? They'll deal.

And yet, she wouldn’t come clean... I don’t think she was afraid they’d hate her. I think she feared they’d shame her and judge her, much like Xander did by the end of the episode. And at the same time, I think in a way Buffy wanted Spike to be her thing, even if they weren’t really together and they weren’t having sex anymore.

4) I love this vamp’s WTF reaction so much!

SPIKE: In that case, why won't you sleep with me again?

5) I thought country was the music of pain, Xander.

Also, what’s up with that pinky? You’re drinking beer, dude, it’s not the 5 o’clock tea with Cheryl and the gals at the country club.

6) It’s really cute to watch Willow and Tara be all flirty and cute like in the beginning.

WILLOW: We should have some coffee some time. Uh, maybe some day... this week after class? TARA: I'm free tomorrow. WILLOW: Uh, you could, you could bring your friend. TARA: I wasn't gonna - I mean, if you have a friend- WILLOW: No! I'm, oh, I-I'm friendless. TARA: Yeah, yeah, no friends. I mean, I have friends- WILLOW: Right, many dear friends, yeah.

7) At least Buffy and Dawn are spending time together, right?

BUFFY: You stole a toothbrush. DAWN: A mother-of-pearl handle. Very fancy. BUFFY: Yeah, but you stole a toothbrush. As far as rebellious teenagers go, you're kinda square. DAWN: Dental hygiene is important. BUFFY: Guess this was kind of a lame sisters' day out, huh? I make up for trying to kill you by taking you to places you can't go in. DAWN: No, it's my bad. I'm the one that got caught taking stuff.

JONATHAN: If something goes wrong, it's gonna surge... and we'll be deader than an ex-girlfriend. WARREN: What did you say? JONATHAN: Just let me work! WARREN: All right. All right, you do what you need to do. You get us to the goods, and then watch out! It'll gonna be like... it'll be like the whole world just spread open and gave it up for you, man.

JONATHAN: And then we're done, right? We each take our share and we call it a day.

WARREN: You that ready to get rid of us? Huh? Don't worry. We pull this off, you can go buy any tropical island you want. Aw, cheer up, Short Round. You're about to get us everything we ever wanted.

Like, I appreciate that Jonathan hasn’t forgotten they murdered Katrina, but it’s still not good enough. Just feeling kind of bad about committing murder is still not good enough. Reluctantly continuing to help your ex-friends to commit more crimes is still not good enough. I mean, he is the only one in the trio with half a conscience, so there’s that. But like I said, it’s not good enough.

9) Oh, God, I’m just noticing this…

XANDER: I know there's nothing that I can say or do to make up for what I did. I can't. Sometimes when I wake up in the morning, I'm like, 'oh god, is this my life? Was that me?' ANYA: Me too.

Anya agrees but they are both talking about two whole different levels of “was that really me?” Even though they are both expressing regrets over their past actions, Xander is merely talking about how he’s still second-guessing his decision to cancel the wedding at the last minute and leave her at the altar, while it’s easy to tell Anya’s regrets are quite different. It feels as though she’s having trouble going back to being a vengeance demon. It was an impulse decision, and she made it only because in the heat of the moment she wanted to exact her revenge on Xander and on Xander alone. But she’s been back on the vengeance business for two weeks, which means that while she waited to get to Xander, she probably had to do her duty and kill and torture others. Anya probably thought she’d find joy in vengeance again, as she once did. But she’s not the same person/demon.

10) The saddest part is that had Xander asked her to pick up where they’d left off and get married, she would’ve done it in a heartbeat – her pain, heartbreak, and humiliation would have been forgotten in a second. She looks so hopeful when he starts to apologize.

11) And I get Xander, he shouldn’t do anything he doesn’t feel ready for. But the timing was so, so wrong. And the damage was done.

ANYA: Do you still want to get married? ...Oh.

XANDER: Ahn, it's a very complicated question. ANYA: No, actually, it's really not. It's kind of an either-or deal. Do you want to get married? XANDER: Someday, yes, very much. When we're ready. I don't want you to take this as a bad thing. It's good. I love you, I love you so much, I'm just trying to be honest with you. ANYA: Yes, honesty *now*. Congratulations, Xander, on being honest now. I wonder what the medal will say.

12) Again with the impulse decisions...

ANYA: And I wish you were never born!

XANDER: I know this is all coming out wrong.

ANYA: I wish you felt the pain of a thousand searing pokers boiling your heart in its own juices! XANDER: I know, honey. I totally deserve that. ANYA: I... I wish you had tentacles where your beady eyes should be! I wish your intestines were tied in knots and ripped apart inside your lousy gut! XANDER: They are. ANYA: Really?

But.. how would she have felt if her wish had actually come tue? I think she would’ve regretted instantly.

13)

ANYA: What's wrong with me? XANDER: No, honey, it's not you, it's me.

14) My baby is all grown!

DAWN: No, you're not, it's not that, it's just... what if, instead of you hanging out with me? Maybe I could hang out with you. Why don't I come patrolling with you tonight?

BUFFY: Oh. And then? Maybe we can invite over some strangers and ask them to feed you candy. DAWN: Well, you guys went out patrolling every night when you were my age. BUFFY: True... but technically, you're one-and-a-half. See, I thought a little levity might ... but okay, also no.

DAWN: I just... I just think I could help. BUFFY: I'm sure you could. But it's a little more dangerous than I had in mind. DAWN: But- BUFFY: Dawn, I work very hard to keep you away from that stuff. Okay, I don't want you around dangerous things that can kill you. DAWN: Which would be a perfectly reasonable argument, if my sister was chosen to protect the world from tax audits? But, see, my sister is you, and... dangerous things that want to kill me seem to find me. BUFFY: But you don't need to go looking for them.

But she does need to be prepared in case something happens. Buffy was so concerned with keeping Dawn safe that she was making her helpless. I agree, Dawn shouldn’t go looking for danger, but they were always in danger whether they go looking for it or not. And by sheltering Dawn so much, Buffy was making her so much more vulnerable to any dangers she might encounter. I get that Buffy was probably trying to give Dawn the kind of normal life she never got to have, but even though Dawn hadn’t been burdened with a sacred duty, she was still choosing not to have a normal life much like Willow did when she decided to stay in Sunnydale to fight evil. And Buffy didn’t try and stop Willow or Xander. I know, they weren’t her siblings, but all the more reason for her to try and prepare Dawn for any possible danger they might have to face.

15) The whole montage of Anya trying to get the girls to wish evil on Xander is both funny and sad because ultimately, I think what Anya was looking for even more so than them wishing vengeance on Xander was for their empathy and support. She realized that the people she had been spending time with for the last few years weren’t really their friends, and that’s a sobering reality.

16)

ANYA: Guys have been running roughshod over you for years. Torturing that perky little ticker. Aren't you sick of it? Don't you wish guys like that- BUFFY: Whoa. Guys? There have only been four - three! Three! Three guys. That's barely plural.

17) ICONIC!

WILLOW: Well, if there's anything we can do, just let us- ANYA: Actually... um... there is an eensy something I could use a little help with. You're lesbians so the hating of men will come in handy. Let's talk about Xander.

TARA: Well, it's, it's not really so much about hating the men. WILLOW: We're more centered around the... girl on girl action. ANYA: And men really like to watch that kind of stuff, don't they? Men like Xander.

WILLOW: Well, Xander is a guy, so... it's kinda not the surprise that he likes to watch... girls... Why are we talking about this? ANYA: We're comforting me! TARA: Well, I guess it's... natural for guys to be interested in- ANYA: God! What kind of lesbians are you?! If you love men so much, go love men!

18) Okay, I call this character development…

XANDER: Looks like someone's been keeping an eye on all your ins and outs. BUFFY: What the who? XANDER: Well, now, let's see. Who's obsessed with Buffy? Who likes to hang out in her yard and keep an eye on her? Who's in love with you and not getting any?

I mean, every time Buffy had the slightest suspicion regarding Spike she would break into his crypt, punch him in the nose and ask questions later. This time, though, she dropped by, said hello, handed him the evidence, and talked to him calmly.

19)

SPIKE: Something happened to me. The way I feel... about you... it's different. And no matter how hard you try to convince yourself it isn't, it's real. BUFFY: I think it is.For you.

20)

ANYA: I want Xander good and cursed. HALFREK: Then you know what you have to do. ANYA: Get a wish from someone who doesn't freaking love him. HALFREK: Exactly. ANYA: Yeah, but my social circle is a little limited here. What am I supposed to do, just stumble upon someone who doesn't give a fig's ass if Xander gets hurt?

21)

ANYA: Oh my God. Spike *hates* Xander. Maybe I could get him to wish... dammit, if only he were a woman. Got it! If I can somehow get someone to wish that Spike were a woman, then I could go to him - well, he'd be a her by then - then I could go to her -a her by then - then I could go to her - HALFREK: Anyanka. There's an easier way. Now, I know you have this whole female-power, Take Back the Night thing, I think that's cute. But I've been telling you for decades - men need a little vengeance now and then, too.

I liked Anya’s idea, better, though. I really dig the idea of Fem!Spike.

22)

ANYA: To tell you the truth... all I wanted was to use him and lose him. I hadn't had a good tumble in a thousand years.

That’s… a big, fat lie. Anya could’ve used and abused any man if what she needed was only a good old tumble. But she came back to Sunnydale specifically to have sex with Xander. And when he wasn’t all lovey-dovey immediately afterwards, she got pissed. She actively pursued him until they were in a committed relationship. Also, this is kind of retcon. Anya mentioned she’d had sex with other demons, right? I remember that demon she runs into a season 7 talking about it. And are we supposed to believe she hadn’t had sex EVER as a vengeance demon? Are vengeance demons asexual?

23)

SPIKE: I was always going above and beyond. I saved the Scoobies how many times? And I can't stand the lot of you. ANYA: Me either! I hate us! Everybody's so *nice.* Nobody says what's on their mind. SPIKE: You do. That's why you're the only one of them I wouldn't bite if I had the chance. ANYA: Really? SPIKE: Absolutely. I have nothing but respect for a woman who is forthright. Drusilla was always straightforward. Didn't have a single buggering clue about what was going on in front of her, but she was straight about it. That's a virtue. ANYA: Mm. Xander didn't think so. He thought I was rude. SPIKE: That's because he's one of them. Uptight. Repressed. ANYA: You think? SPIKE: Please. It's no wonder they couldn't deal with the likes of you and me, luv. We should have been dead hundreds of years ago ... and we're the only ones who are really alive.

I love pretty much everything about their conversation, but what stood out this time is the fact that he claims he wouldn’t bite Anya because he likes her personality, and it got me thinking... all those lonely nights in his crypt, with the chip in his head, reminiscing of the good ol’ times when he could bite as he pleased... Spike probably ranked the Scoobies according to how much he’d like to bite them... He’d already told Willow he’d bite her, and Xander he wouldn’t... I wonder who else made the “I would bite you” list...

24) I love this scene so much…

ANYA: This whole time, I've been coming on all... hell-bent and mad. Wanting his head, you know? When, really, I... can't sleep at night, thinking it ... has to be my fault, somehow...

Spike seems really moved by Anya’s confession, and I feel like he wanted to say something to comfort her but he really didn’t know what. And then, she says exactly what’s he’s been feeling…

ANYA: What if it was just pretending? What if he never wanted me... the way I wanted him?

And then he finally finds the words, but it’s not much consolation, though…

SPIKE: He would have to be more than just the git he is, Anya. He'd have to be deaf, dumb and blind not to want a woman like you. ANYA: Then why?

Guh and they’re sexy as fuck.

25) Hahahaha Willow’s reaction!

26) And Andrew’s!

ANDREW: What are they... oh. WARREN: Is that- JONATHAN: Spike. ANDREW: He is so cool. And, I mean, the girl is hot too.

27) I love that Willow realizes what’s been going on between Buffy and Spike just by gauging her expression at seeing him with someone else. So Buffy did care a little, as much as she’d insist on telling him otherwise.

28) And I also love how honest Buffy is about the whole thing once it’s finally out. She doesn’t shy away from Dawn’s questions, and she lets her know why she didn’t anything before.

DAWN: So. This is it? This is the stuff you've been protecting me from? You and Spike? BUFFY: And a lot of monsters. DAWN: Uh-huh. BUFFY: But it's over. Spike. DAWN: I wish you'd told me. BUFFY: I kinda didn't wanna admit it to myself. DAWN: I get that. I know it must hurt. To feel like you have to hide, to keep secrets from everybody?

And Dawn is so sweet and understanding, I love her.

29) Ugh and this is when things start getting really ugly…

30) Why are you explaining, Anya? You don’t need to explain ANYTHING to Anyone! Also, if anyone needs reminding why I hate Xander half of the time, this is one of the BIG reasons why. He managed to slut-shame his best friend AND his ex-girlfriend whom he had left at the altar all in one sweep.

ANYA: It was just, it... it was just a thing. I... I felt bad, and he was just... there. BUFFY: Didn't take long, did it? XANDER: Oh, oh, oh, okay! You had to do it. Because he was there. Like Mt. Everest. Like I used to be. ANYA: And then you weren't. You left *me,* Xander. At the altar. I don't owe you anything. XANDER: So you go out and bang the first body you can find? Dead or alive? ANYA: Where do you get off judging me?! XANDER: When this is your solution to our problems. I hurt you, and you hit me back? Very mature. ANYA: No, the mature solution is for you to spend your whole life telling stupid, pointless jokes, so that no one will notice that you are just a scared, insecure little boy! XANDER: I'm not joking now. You let that evil, soulless thing touch you. You wanted me to feel something? Congratulations, it worked. I look at you ... and I feel sick. 'Cause you had sex with that.

31) And of course, the petty vampire is all hurt and petty and he just has to make everything just a tad worse...

SPIKE: It's good enough for Buffy.

32) Anya finally understands that revenge isn’t going to fix anything, it won’t make her feel any better.

SPIKE: You know, I wish- ANYA: Don't.

33) HOLY FUCK! HOW AM I JUST NOTICING THAT THIS WAS WILLOW’S OMWF DRESS?!

34) But thank god for this fleeting ray of sunshine among all the heartbreak…

TARA: Things fall apart. They fall apart so hard.

WILLOW: Tara?

TARA: You can't ever... put them back the way they were.

WILLOW: Are you okay? TARA: I'm sorry, it's just ... You know, it takes time. You can't just... have coffee and expect- WILLOW: I know.

TARA: There's just so much to work through. Trust has to be built again, on both sides ... You have to learn if... if we're even the same people we were, if you can fit in each other's lives. It's a long... important process, and... can we just skip it? Can-can you just be kissing me now?

This is hands down one of the best kisses in the show. And the series finale, what a great way to end the show, don’t you think?

#Buffy the Vampire Slayer #BTVS #Buffy Summers #Anya Jenkins #Spike #MTVSepicrewatch #BTVSrewatch2015 #mine #Entropy #recap #btvsrecap

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