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kaplancik5 · 8 months

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My Thoughts On The Little Mermaid Live Action

I personally loved the movie.

The visual affects were stunning. It made it seem like it was actually taking place underwater, which was the point and they achieved that pretty well.

I personally don’t mind Flounder and Sebastian looking realistic because every other fish is also realistic in the movie, so they fit in and don’t look out of place.

I especially loved the music. I’m a huge fan of Lin-Manuel Miranda’s work in general, and he did not disappoint and amazed me with his work once again. In my opinion the songs were the most entertaining and enjoyable part of the movie and kept it from being boring.

The songs feel like musical theater songs, I’m not surprised by that because Lin-Manuel Miranda worked on them and he has worked for Broadway musicals before. They sounded fantastic.

The Scuttlebutt didn’t feel so out of place. Out of context it feels weird but with the context not so much. Because Scuttles mostly blabbers in the movie.

The rap wasn’t bad in my opinion.

Also, I found Daveed Diggs’ (he voices Sebastian in the live action) rap at the end of the song to hype up Ariel to get ready to be kinda similar to Daveed Diggs role in Hamilton as Lafayette when he was telling Washington to get his right hand man back for the war. If this was intentional, it felt like a nice reference.

I love how different Halle Bailey is to the original Ariel.

The original Ariel’s Part of Your World song seemed a bit melancholic and Ariel seemed resigned to her fate. Halle Bailey’s Ariel’s Part of Your World song was a combination of frustration and determination. This made the two reprises of the song later on in the film even more powerful. With one being hopeful and the other being sorrowful. I commend Halle Bailey on conveying all those different emotions, she’s an excellent singer and actress.

Unlike the animated film, Ariel doesn't actually go up to the surface until after her fight with her father which is a small but smart change that I liked. Instead of being rebellious because she's a teenager this version of Ariel is frustrated at the fact that she's constantly ignored and controlled and I like that Triton's unreasonable behavior effectively becomes the catalyst for her to go to the surface, I like that irony.

The storm in the beginning of the movie felt almost identical to the animated movie. The effects felt realistic and climactic.

I love how Ariel got a song when she first became a human. It made us see her perspective and understand her better.

Compared to to the animated Ariel, this version of Ariel was less Love Struck. Instead she seems to be more intrigued by Eric in the human world which does feel more realistic. It shows her curiosity for the human world a lot more. Which is a change I liked.

I’m glad they didn’t go for the love at first sight thing for the remake and gave Ariel and Eric time to bond. I loved the chemistry between them.

I personally prefer their bonding time in the live action over the dinner they had in the original, and we still got a “dinglehopper” scene.

Also, I found the way Eric learned Ariel’s name to be adorable.

In the animated film it's kind of a love at first sight moment with Ariel falling for Eric after he talks about looking for his dream girl but in the live action it's more like their kindred spirits both feeling pressured to live up to their family's expectations of them and sharing a desire to explore the world. They understood each other and related to one another without the use of words, which I find adorable.

I loved the market Eric and Ariel went to. The production team made a fantastic job, it really seemed like it could be a marketplace in the kingdom. I also love the choreography, the music and the dance for the place, it seemed very fitting and not out of place.

I also love how we got to see Prince Eric’s side of the story, he even had his own song.

In my opinion him being adopted gives him more character depth, him loosing his parents in a shipwreck gives him more reason to be so drawn to the sea.

When Eric recovered he sends people to look for the girl who saved him and I like that he takes a more active role in finding her in the live action, unlike in the animated movie where he’s just wandering around on a beach. Because of the incident his mother forbids him from sailing again which leads to our first new song of the film wild Uncharted Waters. The lyrics are filled with Maritime references which are a bit obvious which is good in my opinion because it makes the viewer understand them easier. It works for the new direction they've taken with Eric's character. It feels like a heartfelt song, I think Jonah Hauer-King made a great delivery of it.

I also liked how Ariel instantly forgot she had to kiss Eric. It made it seem like their love was even more “impossible” because if she couldn’t kiss Eric she’d turn back into a mermaid and be under Ursula’s control. It also made Ursula even more evil.

Ursula and Triton were actually siblings during the early development of the 1989 film but this dynamic was scrapped, I’m glad we got to see it in the live action.

I think Trident and Ursula being related helps with Ariel’s deal with Ursula.

Because Ariel had never met Ursula, she had just heard what her father said about her. She doesn’t fully believe her father because he also told her people are evil and she saw that to be false with her own eyes when she saw Eric. She was already doubting about what her father thought of “evil”.

She had also just gotten into a big fight with him and her trust for him had decreased.

She was also scared of her and thought about leaving but Ursula successfully manipulated her.

I also think the live action Ursula is pretty good. She’s manipulative and evil, she also has a great voice.

Overall, I think the changes were good changes and fit into the story.

#live action #live action the little mermaid #the little mermaid #the little mermaid live action #lin manuel miranda #halle bailey #Ariel #jonah hauer king #my thoughts #thoughts

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dykemom · 4 months

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Capricorn, IC

capricorn ⇢ what's your ideal job?

Idk if it's more of a pipe dream or not but I wanted to be a fashion designer (or a singer on Broadway) when I grew up and tbh I think that's something that would still be really cool to work in. Or maybe actually being able to use my degree and work in animation, story boarding, character design, comics, etc. But I'm also enjoying my current job at a family owned business

IC ⇢ do you think you had a good childhood?

Oof. There were parts that were nice. I was fortunate in many ways and look back on some aspects fondly. Buuuuuut growing up in a religious cult with extremely conservative parents that should've gotten divorced 20 years ago (including a suicidal, alcoholic dad who was constantly in and out of prison) probably wasn't great.

As I get older I continue to learn a bit more about my younger self. I feel for her.

That all came out a lot heavier than I anticipated, but thank you for asking! 💜

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dissociative-archives · 7 months

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'44 Personalities, but the Artist Shines' ( Another link: [X] )

By ROBBIE WOLIVER EAST HAMPTON

JUDY CASTELLI does the work of 44 people. That is because the artist, sculptor, singer, songwriter, author, musician, mental-health advocate, inventor, entrepreneur and teacher with a multiple-personality disorder diagnosis says she is 44 people.

There's Little Judy Girl, who childishly laughs, giggles and scrunches her face; Gravelly Voice, a raspy-voiced man; Squeaky, who can barely articulate her thoughts; the One Who Walks in Darkness, who blindly trips over furniture, and Big Judy, who's competent, funny and self-empowered. She's the one who gives interviews.

It's now Big Judy who is around most of the time and it's been the arts - music, painting, sculpture, stained glass and writing - that have provided an outlet for her suffering.

in the past, the mentally ill lived in secret, but Ms. Castelli wears the diagnosis as a badge of honor. After decades of misdiagnoses, she has worked hard for the right to be what she calls. "crazy." Ms. Castelli, 50, often jokes about It. That's because the terror of living fragmented is behind her.

"If your life starts out with garbage and pain and abuse and it turns into a lifetime of madness, know that it can turn into a lifetime that is fulfilling and joyous," Ms. Castelli said. "I can be anything I dream can be. And It couldn't have happened without the diagnosis."

While she was a child growing up In East Meadow, Ms. Castelli was what her 95-year-old aunt called "the saddest girl I've ever seen in my life." Although she was morose and unresponsive, she never saw a psychiatrist until she attended the State University at Geneseo, in 1967, when sadness turned to suicidal thoughts. Within a month, she was sent home by the university's psychiatrist.

A move to Denmark, at 18, to visit a friend, left Ms. Castelli hospitalized three times (for a total of three months) in a 13-month period. She began cutting and burning herself, starting what would become a long period of serious self-abuse.

For years, a tormented and medicated Ms. Castelli went through a string of suicide attempts and hospitalizations. Her therapist became frustrated. She stopped returning her patient's calls, saying Ms. Castelli was "sucking her dry."

Virginia Flanagan, a new therapist, was found through the Pedersen-Krag Clinic in Huntington. She didn't know it then, but she would be Ms. Castelli's lifeline for 19 years.

Ms. Castelli said her life was torture. The diagnosis was chronic undifferentiated schizophrenia; the voices she heard forced her to batter herself so brutally, she almost destroyed her face, nearly damaging her vision and use of an arm. Voices were telling her to drown, cut and set herself on fire. "I was so not O.K.," she said, "I couldn't stand It."

With all this, she managed to express herself creatively. In the 1980's, The Judy That Can Sing began a career, in the same Greenwich Village circle as Suzanne Vega, Shawn Colvin and Lucinda Williams. Her rich three-octave contralto was about to get her signed to Columbia Records, when the A&R executive in charge lost his job.

She performed Off Broadway and headlined the prestigious Bottom Line. Her booming, chilling voice enveloping songs about madness left audiences mesmerized.

Ms. Castelli also began painting and sculpting, working with stone. Her artwork drew attention and she also began teaching her craft to other mentally ill people.

In 1994, Ms. Castelli was finally told that dissociative identity disorder, more commonly known as multiple personality disorder, was the diagnosis. In an emergency lunchtime meeting with Ms. Flanagan, Gravelly Voice provided the key.

"What's wrong?" Ms. Flanagan asked at the pivotal session.

"I don't know," Ms. Castelli answered.

"Maybe someone else can tell me," Ms. Flanagan said.

"Torture," answered Gravelly Voice.

A history of psychological, physical and sexual abuse by a trusted loved one began to unravel.

"After that, it was just a flood of voices, using my lips, my throat," Ms. Castelli said. "There were seven other personalities that opened up that day. It opened a floodgate."

Ms. Flanagan consulted with an expert in dissociative disorders, and Ms. Castelli was on her way to a new therapist and promising diagnosis. She was beginning her cure.

She turned her attention from music, concentrating on art - drawings, oils, watercolors, pastels, sculpture, wood carving and stained glass.

Her artwork is pictorial, people with no faces. "I add much expression into the figures," said the artist. Her lines are formed to portray attitude. Her work depicts large groupings of figures. A multitude, all connecting and touching each other. Mothers sheltering children. Her earlier work also depicted multiplicity - faces that split and scream.

Her most striking pieces are large stained glass, usually taking over 200 hours to complete, and selling for up to $2,000. Last spring, she was featured in the emerging artists show at the Elaine Benson Gallery in Bridgehampton. When she's not working on her glass, Ms. Castelli is at her computer from 7:30 a.m. to 2 a.m.

After her diagnosis, she concentrated more on her journal, which she has kept since she was a teenager. "Who needs to talk?" she would ask. That journal, along with her sketches, which serve as blueprints for her artwork, is being readied for publication.

Ms. Castelli runs two Web sites. One, www.multiplepersonality.com, features her artwork and writing. "It's inspirational," she said. "It shows there's hope and beauty in life." The second, www.mental-health-matters.com, is an online newsletter that serves as a directory of Internet resources for mental health professionals, patients and families.

Ms. Castelli, who has become a lay expert on mental-health issues, sits on the Board of the New York Society for the Study of Multiple Personality and Dissociation. Her artwork "Slip Sliding Away," was featured on the February 2000 cover of the American Psychological Association Journal, as well as on Learning and Discovery channel specials.

A film crew from Japan's NHK network is currently following Ms. Castelli around, for a special on trauma and dissociation.

Ms. Castelli has also become entrepreneurial. Through her business, Castelli Studios of East Hampton, she created Good Works Productions, which taught chronically ill mental patients how to make Tiffany-styled stained-glass lamp shades, which they sold to Bloomlngdale's. She spends one week day teaching computer and research skills to mentally Ill people at the L.I.F.E. Drop-In program in Yaphank.

And she has invented a traction device designed to alleviate carpal tunnel syndrome.

Ms. Castelli, who is more lighthearted than her history would indicate, works out of a studio in her East Hampton home, a contemporary three-bedroom house In the woods. As she frolics with her year-old Jack Russell Terrier, Dolly, and shares quiet time with her companion of over 15 years, Phyllis Meryl, it seems like Big Judy has everything, and everyone, under control.

#dissociative-archives #DID/OSDD #ActuallyDID #ActuallyOSDD #Dissociative Identity Disorder #DID System #OSDD System

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jdgo51 · 9 months

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My Love and My Loss

by Kathie Lee Gifford, TV Personality

Today's inspiration comes from:

I Choose Peace

by Doug Bender

"'Wouldn’t it be a wonderful feeling,” asks Kathie Lee Gifford, former cohost of NBC’s fourth hour of the Today show, “to wake up in the morning and understand that no matter what goes on today, God can make something good out of it?”

Kathie Lee says she was born to entertain. If you were to meet her, you would be tempted at first to think you were encountering someone doing a slapstick version of herself. But it’s just Kathie Lee being Kathie Lee. She didn’t get in front of a camera and discover her television personality; instead, the performer came first and the camera followed.

Kathie Lee’s father told her many times while she was growing up to “find something you love to do and then figure out a way to get paid for it.” Kathie Lee did exactly that. She always knew God made her to perform, and she knew the entertainment industry was where she would fulfill her destiny. In fact, she earned her first paycheck as an entertainer when she was just ten years old.

“It was thrilling getting my first paying job singing,” she says. “I knew exactly what I wanted to do from the time I was a baby. But to be a young woman in that business is brutal because of the rejection. It’s nonstop.”

After a dozen years working as a singer and actress, Kathie Lee rose to national fame cohosting a live morning television show with Regis Philbin in 1985. Beginning locally in New York, Live with Regis and Kathie Lee sprang to national syndication three years after she joined the program and became an American mainstay. Until the summer of 2000, she cohosted the show, which aired on millions of television sets every weekday morning.

She was in her element, doing what she had been born to do, what her parents had always encouraged her to do. But Kathie Lee’s mom and dad had never pushed her to perform.

“I’ve never understood the kind of parent that says to their children, ‘You’ve got to be this or that,’” Kathie Lee says. “I was privileged to have parents like I had. They were extraordinary, loving people. They loved me for who I was and encouraged my dreams.”

Growing up, she always had a song to sing and a show to perform. She found fulfillment in bringing joy and a smile to others. Her always-on-stage approach to life followed her throughout the years.

“I learned the reason that performing was so joyful to me is because God is our creator,” she says. “I am created by God, and I’m made in His image. That means I am also a creator. I feel most divine when I am creating something beautiful. It’s every human being’s purpose.” Kathie Lee’s joy is not a result of a lucky career or perfect family, as is clear when she speaks of the darker points in her journey. She may have earned eleven Daytime Emmy nominations, written books, released albums, and even contributed to several Broadway productions. But the brighter the limelight shines, the more caustic public reactions to a stumble can turn.

In 1996, reports surfaced that Kathie Lee’s clothing line was produced out of a Honduran sweatshop with abysmally poor working conditions. The reports held her personally responsible. She insisted she had nothing to do with the day-to-day operating of the clothing factories and was only a celebrity sponsor of the apparel. She even worked to bring about legislation to prevent similarly inhumane working conditions elsewhere. But still the public reaction came fierce and hard.

“It was a very dark, dark period for me,” she says. “But God put me to work. There is slavery in the world, more than ever. There are labor conditions that are horrible.”

“It’s unjust what you’ve been accused of,” she heard God say through all this, “but why don’t you get your eyes off of you for a minute and look at the unjust conditions that people are working under. You didn’t cause it, but you need to care about it.”

She became a leading proponent of fair labor laws and used her on-air power to push for legislative changes.

Shalom doesn’t mean just peace. It means all of the aspects of God. It means justice, righteousness, faithfulness, unfailing love, and, yes, peace. It’s a peace that passes all understanding.

In the following year, Kathie Lee’s personal life also hit a new low. Kathie Lee had married Frank Gifford in 1986, and after more than a decade of marriage and two children, Frank was caught in a humiliating and public affair. Tabloids seized upon the story and printed pictures that brought agony to Kathie Lee.

“It was devastating to me,” she says. “But I was able to stay in my marriage and have God heal it. I’ve heard from hundreds of thousands of people since then who got courage from [my experience], courage to stay in their broken marriages and forgive their husbands and wives. They got courage to keep their families together. Not everybody does. I didn’t do it on my own. God gives us everything we need every day.”

Kathie Lee’s journey with God began as a child when Jesus called her name in a dream.

“It’s vivid to me to this day,” she recalls. “In the dream I’m outside in the front yard helping my daddy rake the leaves. We used to play in them. I looked up. There was Jesus sitting on a cloud. He smiled at me and He said my name.”

A few years later, as a twelve-year-old, she walked into a movie theater featuring The Restless Ones, a production of the Billy Graham Evangelistic Association. The movie has been widely panned for its stiff dialogue and overt religiosity, but for many the truth at its core outshone any artistic inadequacies. It told of a young girl on the cusp of womanhood making the choice between going down the road that led to death or one that led to life.

“I could hear the voice of the Lord in the movie,” Kathie Lee says.

“Kathie,” she heard Him say, “will you trust Me to make something beautiful out of your life and go down my road? It’s harder. It’s going to be lonely at times. It’s going to be tougher than the big wide road over there. Ultimately it’s going to be a much more beautiful life, but you’ve got to trust Me.”

After the movie, as with all Billy Graham events, someone rose in the front and asked if anyone wanted to come forward and follow Jesus. The movie, cheesy as it was, served a function for the more than 120,000 people who’d said yes to that question during the time it ran. Kathie Lee was in that number.

“I’ve made a lot of mistakes in my life since then,” she says. “I will make a lot of them before this day is done. But that is one decision I made that I have always been deeply, deeply grateful for. I listened to the voice of Jesus. I heard Him tell me He had a purpose for my life, that He loved me. He wanted to make something beautiful with my life.”

Kathie Lee has Jewish ancestry, and as a Christian she has discovered great significance in a Hebrew word that is found in Jewish greetings, teachings, and scriptures: shalom. The word touches upon the idea of perfection and wholeness.

“Shalom doesn’t mean just peace,” she says, “like it’s come to mean in our world. It means all of the aspects of God. It means justice, righteousness, faithfulness, unfailing love, and, yes, peace. It’s a peace that passes all understanding. That’s what we’re here for. Look around. Do you see the chaos? You’re supposed to be part of the shalom, the peace. That’s what every human heart longs for — to partner in that and know you matter.”

The Bible calls Jesus the Prince of Peace. He’s the one who brings peace and wholeness to the world. But He didn’t sit on that peace and hoard it for Himself. He stepped out of Heaven and got dirty with His people. He lived with them, ate with them, hugged them, and talked with them. He taught His followers to join Him in this work of getting out and bringing peace to the world.

Kathie Lee finds inspiration in Jesus’ example. Jesus got out into the world and confronted the cultural norms of His day. He insisted on spending time with the poor, the sick, the sinner, and the outcast.

For fifteen years on Live with Regis and Kathie Lee, Kathie Lee lived her life publicly, discussing family, marriage, and raising children on a morning talk show for the world to see. People saw her cry, laugh, and ask the deeper questions. After leaving Live, she took some time away from television, then rejoined America’s morning routine in 2008 as cohost with Hoda Kotb of NBC’s fourth hour of Today. For the next decade Kathie Lee continued to follow Jesus’ example of getting out into the world.

“We are supposed to get out and be the sweet fragrance of Jesus to this world,” she says. “Love your neighbor as you love yourself is what Jesus taught. Don’t live in a selfie world. Live in a selfless world. Don’t walk over homeless people on your way to get someplace. We’re supposed to get down and dirty like Jesus did. We’re supposed to wash AIDS patients’ feet. We’re supposed to adopt children who have no home.

“God is perfecting us. Not a physical perfection or personal perfection, but God’s perfect love. He is perfecting love in us. That love leads to perfection in a world yet to come. It’s something to look forward to.”'

Excerpted with permission from I Choose Peace by Doug Bender, copyright e3 Partners Ministry.

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spikeymarshmallows · 3 years

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Y’all. Muscle memory is a fuckin’ trip.

If you asked me to sing IDK. Mary had a little lamb? I’d be out of key. It’d be terrible.

But ask me to sing a song that I’ve sung so many times that I can’t get it wrong?

Apparently. I can bust it out perfectly.

Anyway. Here’s Taylor the Latte Boy, which is my favourite song to prove to myself I haven’t lost the ability to sing, I’ve just lost practice.

#overshare hour with spikey #my dream job used to be... be a broadway singer #but my crippling stage fright was a major major fatal flaw in that plan....#i don't even sing *karaoke* pals!!!#that's how shy I am #'oh but I'll become a broadway singer' I thought #HA #anyway

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thirstybtsthoughts · 3 years

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Casting (couch) director Namoon version, for that anon with the Purple suit Joon picture au. I have lotta fun with this one. Hope you enjoy!

So, here's the thing. Being young is wonderful. But, hear me out, but, nearing mid 20s and wanting to be cast into the entertainment industry while being the owner of a pussy. Hmm. Not the smoothest ride. Pun very much intended. Thanks.

I, for the longest time, have been the bathroom singer and the mirror actor. I have all the confidence in the world and somehow it never translates into the auditions I go for. Broadway, Movies, OT platform series, I have auditioned fucking everywhere. Nothing. Fucking nada.

So, today, I am gonna put my absolute best outfit, and go for something more...bold(?), daring, yeah. Something more daring. Acting is acting, ya know.

Alright, Jesus fuck. This is NOT what I expected. All the motherfucking porn I have consumed in my 24 years of life, no one ever prepped me for this hunk sitting on the casting couch. You kidding me? This dude would ask for payment to appear in my dreams. Yeah, girl, that HOT. Ain't lying. Dragon-like eyes, fucking FULL, plump lips, a cute (so cute, oh God) button nose and the stare, oh boy. I am definitely wet. He should be on a runway for Louis Vuitton, not here. But, whatevs. At least my interest in my own decision has fucking peaked.

Oh God. Oh God. He is really, I mean REALLY looking at me. Oh Lord. He got dimples? And these thighs??? They would crack my skull open. What a way to go. Man, I gotta give him a show if that is the last thing I ever do.

'So, before we begin. Hi. I am Namjoon Kim.' Fuck. He is HOT. Okay, brain. Shut up.

'Hi, Y/N. Nice to meet you.'

'Oh.' A hand swiss? Gorgeous fingers. Lord. Imma pass out. 'Pleasure is all mine. So, what makes you interested in this line of work?'

'Umm, I like to act. I have auditioned for all sorts of roles. Thought why not explore this as well.'

'That is a great way to go about it. So, you're comfortable being naked for hours with multiple people for many days a week? Tell me your preferences. If there is a field of interest you are specifically good at?'

He really is asking if I fuck well. Damn. So polite. Damn. I wanna marry him. Y/N, calm your fucking tits.

'Um, I don't have a gag reflex. And my ex was pretty decent in his size department. And, umm.' My face is on fire, innit? 'I did have anal sex a couple of times. So, I guess I am okay with most stuff?'

Namjoon's cocked eyebrow should be in a museum. Jesus, Y/N, you really are a slut for him, aren't you?

'Why don't you give me an audition, Y/N? That would be a great start.' He is man spreading. Oh lord. He wants me to suck him off. I am DEFINITELY wet now.

Namjoon slides a few centimetres down the couch. The purple suit endows his thighs and buff shoulders and chest so good. His fingers contrast his buff bod with such casual finesse of an artist, I genuinely can't help but admire.

Namjoon is looking at me like he expects something. Oh fuck. Yeah. He expects a blow job while I went Shakespeare on the dude's body. Nvm.

I do my best to be seductive. Walking down on my knees, giving him a peep show of my busts. Just before I can nestle my face in the V of his legs, I get up.

Using the skills of the 6-month pole dance course I took back in college, I slowly twirl around in my skirt once. A soft chuckle escapes him. I think I am in love. When I look back, yeah, I am definitely in love. These eyes? On my body? Everyday? Yeah. Hotel? Trivago. Fuck my meme brain.

I undo the bra-corset hook of the top and let it fall to the floor. There's no change in Namjoon except a liquid, molten intensity in his look. I slowly skim outta my skirt and hook my thumbs sexily on my lacy panties before his hands hold my wrists to stop me.

My whole arms break out in goosebumps at the touch. 'Keep the rest on, including the heels.'

I simply nod, no longer trusting myself that I would not moan out loud if I open my mouth.

I kneel again and this time I immediately thrust my face in the junction of his legs. He is warm and has a beautiful woody-citrusy smell that is intoxicating.

I look at his eyes that are already boring into mine as I unzip his dress pant. This is too intense for an 'audition'. May be I will get casted this time.

I rub my fingers feather-light on his boxer-clad erection. He is BIG. Yeah, my jaws gonna hurt. But, fuck that. I pull him out and promptly swallow the cock head in my mouth. Yeah, BIG. Fuck. He is leaking. Good. I don't want to be the only one so affected.

I take him slowly. My hands (Jesus plural) cover the length I can't swallow and simply focus on sucking the head and the ridge beneath the cock as sharply as possible. I hollow my mouth and suck hard. Namjoon's breath stutter and his hand grab a fistful of my hair. Yes, Y/N 1. Namjoon 0.

I look up. Well, fuck. Namjoon 1. This stare is definitely gonna make me come. His eyes are hooded and so so intense. His hand slip to the back of my head and hold my head steady. I open my mouth as wide as I can. He lifts his hip a tiny bit and thrust in. Testing the water. When he finds no resistance on my end, his hips speed up. Fuck. Fuck. He is so thick. My eyes are watering. Thank fuck for waterproof make up.

Way too soon, he is pulling out though. Subconsciously I chase after his cock. A string of saliva pulling me in like some string of fate. Namjoon chuckles again. His expression is almost fond.

'Come. Ride me. Show me all your skills, but keep the panties on.' Sir, yes, sir.

He does a quick work of his condom on his length and then pulls my panty aside and I am sitting on probably the thickest cock I have ever sat on. Sorry, all the future cocks. I am ruined for now.

Namjoon builds a brutal speed almost immediately. I take a chance to grab his tiddies once. They are majestic. He takes a brief hiss of air through his mouth at that and then bites on my right nipple. Pulling it taut. This time, my moan comes out on its own volition. His hands on my waist keeps me locked as his cock impales me at a speed that is going to make my cunt throb for hours. I am dripping all over his expensive lilac suit. God, I want more. I am so gone by now that when one of his hands slip between us to rub my clit, my orgasm slams at me like a rogue truck off the highway. All momentum, and absolutely no control. My whole body shakes before going all jelly. He thrusts 3 more times before he grunts low once, gripping my waist to the point of bruising and then going boneless.

We catch our breath for a few seconds before I get up. Namjoon shows me the washroom at the end of the room.

When I come back out, once again clothed and clean as much as I can be (I still smell him on me), Namjoon hands me a card with a golden print on it.

'Welcome to the team. See you next Monday.'

'Oh, wow. Really? Thank you!' His wink is illegal. Okay? Shut it already. I pick my bag and walk go the door.

'Oh, Y/N?' Namjoon calls just before I walk out. You're an amazing actress.' His smile has dimples. I want to melt into a puddle.

Little did he know, I was not acting at all. But, that is between me and God.

-Jk's girl.

Omg girllllll!!!! You did that 😳. This was an absolute pleasure to read ajkskndfsja 😍🥴.

Inspired by this ask 😊

#asks #anon #bts #namjoon thirst #written by others #JK's girl

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thnxforknowingme · 2 years

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It's Who I'm With (10/24)

Summary: In an attempt to make industry connections (and pay rent), Kurt gets a job as a nanny for the daughter of a Broadway producer. When bringing her to a piano lesson one day in December, he meets Blaine Anderson, personal assistant to a famed pianist. (For Klaine Advent 2021)

Rating: T

Read previous parts here.

Ten: Transparent

When Blaine arrived for Francie’s lesson on Monday, he was holding two red-and-green coffee cups.

“Thirsty?” Kurt teased as he let Blaine in.

“This is for you, actually,” Blaine said, holding out the larger of the cups. “If you want it. Cinnamon vanilla latte.”

Kurt took the cup, warmth seeping into his fingers. “Um, thank you, that’s - really nice.”

Blaine smiled and shrugged. “Just returning the favor after last week.” He held up the other cup. “This is a hot chocolate for Francie, if that’s okay?”

“Sure,” Kurt replied. “Seriously, though, you didn’t have to do this.”

“I wanted to,” Blaine said, his eyes bright.

Francie was excited to receive a surprise hot chocolate, and they spent a few minutes enjoying their drinks in the kitchen before Blaine and Francie headed for the piano.

Kurt kept himself busy through most of the lesson, but once again, about ten minutes before Blaine was supposed to leave, he called Kurt over.

“Up for another performance?” Blaine asked with a grin.

Kurt laughed. “If you insist.”

Blaine nudged Francie with his elbow, and she nodded enthusiastically. “We insist.”

“Okay,” Kurt agreed, gesturing at Blaine to play.

Chords and notes rang out from the piano, filling the room, and Blaine sang out the first line: “I’m dreaming of a white Christmas, just like the ones I used to know…”

Kurt rolled his eyes as soon as he recognized the song, picking up on Blaine’s reference to their conversation last week. Nonetheless, once Blaine finished the first verse Kurt took over for the second. Blaine was again the perfect accompanist - they picked up on each other’s moments of improvisation, shaping the song to their whims, playfully passing the melody back and forth and then coming together to harmonize. They sang the final line together, Blaine adding a flourish on the piano as the song ended, and then they were just smiling at each other, the warmth and camaraderie of the song lingering between them.

Blaine turned towards Francie and began talking about what she should practice over the next few days, and Kurt took a step away from the piano.

A few minutes later, as Kurt walked Blaine to the door, Blaine said, “you’re an excellent singer.”

Kurt smiled. “Thanks. Hoping to make a career out of it some day, but that’s slow progress.”

“You want to go into the music industry?” Blaine asked.

“Musical theater,” Kurt replied. He glanced over his shoulder, making sure that Francie had retreated back to her room. “That’s why I applied for this job in the first place, actually. You know, hoping to get noticed by Vincent Lowe.”

Blaine raised an eyebrow as he reached the coat rack. “How’s that going?”

“Well, he’s noticed that I’m great at picking his daughter up from school,” Kurt joked. “Anyway. Why’d you pick White Christmas?”

The corner of Blaine’s mouth tweaked upward. “Seemed seasonally appropriate, didn’t it?”

Kurt leaned against the doorway and crossed his arms, watching as Blaine got bundled up. “I suppose so.”

Blaine caught his eye, and then shrugged, his expression turning bashful. “To be completely transparent, last week you seemed a little…unenthused about the holidays. So I figured I’d bring some Christmas cheer.”

Kurt laughed. “Oh my god, is this a Hallmark movie? Am I supposed to be the high-powered executive who doesn’t believe in Christmas magic, and you’re the small-town lumberjack who’s going to show me the true meaning of Christmas?”

Blaine scoffed. “I don’t know if I should be flattered to be called a lumberjack or not.”

“I’m not a Scrooge,” Kurt insisted.

“I never accused you of that,” Blaine replied. “But did you enjoy singing the song?”

Kurt sighed. “Yes.”

“And did you enjoy the coffee?”

Kurt narrowed his eyes. “So that was a ploy, too?”

“Not a ploy,” Blaine said. “A kind gesture.”

Kurt rolled his eyes. “A gesture with an ulterior motive.”

Blaine just smiled as he opened the door. “I’ll see you on Thursday, Kurt.”

#klaine advent 2021 #klaine advent: transparent #my fic #fic: it's who i'm with

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klaineccfanficlibrary · 3 years

Note

Hi! I hope y'all are doing well. It's been a few months since I've been on Tumblr. I'm back for some new fics. I'm interested in suggestions for WIP that y'all are really enjoying and I should catch up on. I just started @gleefulpoppet Better Knot Bow Tie Company and it's so lovely but I'm looking for more to read. Thanks for all you do in keeping this library.

Unless noted, all the fics listed below are active WIPS. - HKVoyage

LYNNE I am completely and totally in love with this story. I hope I don’t catch up before it’s complete but I can’t stop reading it!

A Summer Story by Kb.Ellen (This updates Wed/Sat every week) When an injury forces Kurt to take the summer off from his dream job as a principal dancer with the NYC Ballet, he's anxious to recover and get back to life as he knows it. But can a tiny town in southern Arkansas, a joyful aunt, a town full of good-hearted people and an intriguing local handyman make Kurt reassess what his dreams actually are? Welcome to Cassville.

On my TO-READ list:

Turn Into A Pose by @little-escapist [WIP] Singer-songwriter Blaine Anderson wants to come out of the closet. When his publicist sets him up with movie-star Kurt Hummel, he’s ready for anything, but the last thing that Kurt wants is a relationship with anyone, let alone Blaine. He hates his publicist for setting him up, hates the idea of lying to the world, and hates letting the world invade his personal life. But maybe Blaine Anderson is exactly what Kurt Hummel needs.

~~~~~ The Prince and the Pea by dreamcatcher (darcangell23) [Complete] When a young man shows up at the palace doors drenched from the rain inside, Prince Blaine begins to suspect he may be the missing prince of another kingdom. But when his father refuses to believe the young man to be anything but a peasant, Blaine formulates a plan to prove he is royalty.

~~~~~

Stargazing Memories by @jayhawk-writes [WIP] Kurt reminisces on some of his experiences here in Cassville while waiting for Blaine to show up. This is one of those memories.

*A second thank you to kb.ellen on FF.net for giving me permission to write a fanfic of her fanfic, A Summer Story. Go check it out…it’s fantastic!!

~~~~~

Crimson Yarn by @teddyshoney [Complete] Back from New York, Kurt has just purchased a lake house in need of fixing up to keep him busy while he tries to heal from his past relationship. Back from LA, Blaine reluctantly takes a job from his father while he mourns the loss of his dream. Will red yarn, coffee, and some heavy conversation be enough for both boys to realize that there many be an answer to their healing right in front of them?

HKVOYAGE I’m on a summer hiatus of reading WIPs while I read the Klaine Fanfic Award finalists that are new to me. However, these are the WIPs that I will definitely read when I’m ready. Too many fics and not enough time!

Turn Into A Pose by @little-escapist Singer-songwriter Blaine Anderson wants to come out of the closet. When his publicist sets him up with movie-star Kurt Hummel, he’s ready for anything, but the last thing that Kurt wants is a relationship with anyone, let alone Blaine. He hates his publicist for setting him up, hates the idea of lying to the world, and hates letting the world invade his personal life. But maybe Blaine Anderson is exactly what Kurt Hummel needs.

~~~~~

Better Knot Bow Tie Company by @gleefulpoppet Blaine Anderson has been a Better Knot Bow Tie Company monthly subscriber for years. He's taken a hiatus from Broadway to facilitate the Journey Performing Arts School's summer program in New York. What happens when a zany bow tie sets off a chain reaction of events that may change their futures forever?

~~~~~

Show Me Love, Show Me Life by CoffeeAddict80 | @caramelcoffeeaddict When Blaine Anderson became a vampire over 800 years ago, he gave up on the idea of having close relationships – platonic or romantic – with anyone. As long as he could still have sex, feelings were unnecessary. But there was something different about the new transfer student, Kurt Hummel, that kept drawing him in. Kurt was unlike anyone Blaine had ever met. And Blaine was starting to think that he wasn’t the only one at Dalton with a supernatural secret.

To most people, Kurt Hummel seems like your average high schooler; but there's nothing average about him. Kurt is a warlock – a warlock that can’t use magic. When he was born, his magic went dormant, and no one knows why. But sometimes, he's capable of things that no one – not even Kurt himself – can explain.

~~~~~

Undiagnosed by @esperantoauthor “As he glanced at the calendar, Burt Hummel contemplated—not for the first time—how little he had in common with his only child.”

Burt Hummel doesn’t know how to connect with his son but when he discovers that Kurt has a serious problem, Burt will do anything to help him. Told from multiple perspectives, this is a story about what happens when a problem goes undiagnosed, and what happens when it finally is.

#klaine fic #klaine fanfic #klaine fanfiction #fic finder #imdone29 #WIP

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astrognossienne · 3 years

Text

tragic beauty: lupe vélez - an analysis

“I had to play with boys, girls found me too rough.” - Lupe Vélez

This is an analysis I’ve wanted to cover for a while for quite a few reasons. Primarily because, in a few ways, I see myself in her and, as such, feel the need to defend her and assert her true legacy: as a pioneer. Which brings me to the main reason I wanted to do this: to correct the scurrilous rumours about her premature death cooked up by a hating ass imbecilic Aquarius whose infamous book doesn’t deserve to be named. So if you want to hear the truth about this lady, read on.

Known as the “Mexican Spitfire”, Latin bombshell Lupe Vélez was (an to an extent, still is) a much-maligned and terribly misunderstood woman. A true Cancer, she was a force of nature and unconsciously antagonized others and made them uncomfortable because of her authenticity to herself and her emotional nature. Born during a storm, she had a naturally stormy personality. She could be hilarious and charismatic one moment, and depressive and vicious the next. Instead of anyone trying to understand her, they just stuck her with the “spicy fiery Latina” stereotype, not knowing or caring what was behind it. The harshness of her life before stardom may explain some of her fearsome, yet fun, personality; she grew up with violent trauma – watching her father kill and almost be killed during the Mexican Revolution. She also is believed to have had undiagnosed bipolar disorder, which would explain her extreme moodiness and outbursts.

One of the first Latina actresses to make an impact in Hollywood, she was subjected to the racist, sexist Hollywood tropes that forever typecasted her—she was called “senorita cyclone,” and the “hot tamale”. The Hollywood press willfully misunderstood Vélez’s sex positivity and consistently portrayed her as a woman who took great pleasure in her body, and indeed, the tempestuous Vélez had numerous affairs, including a particularly torrid one with a young Gary Cooper, and a tumultuous marriage to “Tarzan” star Johnny Weissmuller. But in 1944, at age 36, she found herself pregnant with the child of a little known-actor name Harald Ramond, who would not marry her and this reality made her come undone, and like my other baby Carole Landis, she succumbed to an drug overdose. Her promiscuity, right or wrong, became part of the way her stardom was packaged and promoted. Also, the press naturally compared her to (and pitted her against) Hollywood’s only other female Mexican star—the “high-class” and elegant Dolores Del Rio. The press couldn’t even find sympathy for her even in death and a false story was printed that she drowned in the toilet after vomiting up a spicy Mexican dinner. Her death is parodied and mocked to this day. Again, she’s a true Cancer in the sense that the same imperfections that everyone else has, she is seen as less than human for having them. I hope to help right that wrong by honoring Vélez for being the trailblazer that she is. At any rate, Vélez would seem to be a prototype for contemporary female stars, from Madonna to Rihanna, who have proclaimed their pleasure in their body and their sexual liberation — a pro-sex activist before her time, doomed to suffer the rejection of a more puritanical age.

Lupe Vélez, according to astrotheme, was a Cancer sun and Leo moon. She was born María Guadalupe Villalobos Vélez in San Luis Potosí, Mexico, to young upper-middle class parents. Her father, Jacobo Villalobos Reyes, was a colonel in the military, and her mother, Josefina Vélez, was an opera singer. They also had another son, John and daughter, Annette. The Villalobos family were considered prominent in San Luis Potosí and most of the male family members were college educated. The family was also financially comfortable and lived in a large home with servants. As a young girl Lupe showed an interest in performing, but her father was outraged at his daughter’s “low-class” dreams, and forbade his daughter from being in show business. All that changed during the war. Her family was in a state of upheaval—the Mexican Revolution was happening, her father had been presumed dead in the war and all their money was gone. While most of her family members were too proud to get jobs, a teenage Vélez did just that, supporting the family by working as a saleswoman in a department store. She then finagled an audition with a local theater. However, her father was indded alive and well and soon returned home from the war. Because at that time becoming an artist and coming from a well-to-do family was seen as embarrassing, her father refused to let her use his last name in theater, so she used her mother’s surname.

She proceeded to seek out venues where she could dance the then-popular “shimmy.” In 1925 she was cast in the big stage revues Mexican Rataplan and !No lo tapes! and became a big audience favourite. Her name got around to American stage star Richard Bennett (father of American film stars Constance and Joan Bennett), who was looking for a Mexican cantina singer for his new play. Lupe traveled to Hollywood but was rejected for the part for being too young. While in Hollywood, Lupe met film and stage comedienne Fanny Brice, who took a liking to Lupe because of her sparkling personality. She put in a good word for Lupe to impresario Florenz Ziegfeld (creator of the Ziegfeld’s Follies), who could use Lupe in one of his Broadway musicals. However, MGM producer Harry Rapf heard of Lupe as well, and offered her a screen test. When producer Hal Roach saw the test, he immediately signed her to a contract. Vélez soon made her major film debut in Douglas Fairbanks’ action-romance The Gaucho in 1927. The film was a huge hit and Vélez was an overnight sensation.

Along with her professional life gaining steam, so did her love life. Vélez sought out some of Hollywood’s hottest men, which wasn’t hard for a hot and sexy number like Lupe; men flocked to her like bees to honey. She was romantically linked with Gary Cooper, Charlie Chaplin, Clark Gable, cowboy Tom Mix, “Tarzan” actor Johnny Weissmuller, Errol Flynn, John Gilbert, Henry Wilcoxon, singer Russ Columbo, Randolph Scott, author Erich Maria Remarque (who wrote All Quiet On The Western Front and later married Paulette Goddard), Clayton “Lone Ranger” Moore, director Victor Fleming (director of Gone With The Wind), and boxers Jack Johnson and Jack Dempsey.

One of her first conquests was cowboy star Tom Mix. She also had an with newcomer Clark Gable, who cut off their romance because he was afraid Lupe would run all over town discussing their sexual secrets, which she did. Soon she had a torrid affair with comic genius Charlie Chaplin in 1928. Lupe revitalized Chaplin’s libido after he had gone through a torturous divorce from his wife. Whatever time she had for the many men in her life, that same appreciation didn’t extend to other women and she would frequently battle with the other females with whom she had to work with and would often threaten them; when she was starring in director D.W. Griffith’s Lady of the Pavements, she had to co-star with an actress named Jedda Goudall, whom she hated, and the two had a ferocious cat-fight on the set. When she made her final appearance on Broadway in the Cole Porter musical “You Never Know”, Vélez and fellow cast member Libby Holman feuded viciously. The feud came to a head during a performance where Vélez punched Holman in between curtain calls and gave her a black eye, which pretty much ended the run of the show. Vélez was territorial about the men in her life, she was vicious toward any woman who might be competition for her man or an acting role. She mocked Marlene Dietrich, Greta Garbo, Katharine Hepburn and Shirley Temple, and her arch nemesis Dolores Del Dio by doing imitations of them.

When she was cast in the film The Wolf Song in 1929, she met Gary Cooper and immediately started what would be her first widely publicized romance. Theirs was a one-sidedly volatile relationship; he would often appear in public with scratches and bruises. One time, she attacked him with a knife during a fight. He needed stitches. By the end of their time as a couple, Copper had lost 45 pounds and was physically exhausted. He was ordered by the studio to take a vacation. As he boarded a train, Vélez shot at Cooper but missed. Lupe soon moved on to other men; she had a thing for fighters. In addition to having a brief fling with boxer Jack Dempsey, she conducted a flagrant, but secret, affair with the black boxer Jack Johnson. In those days, blacks and whites almost never conducted sexual affairs out in the open. She met Olympic swimming champion Johnny Weissmuller at the hotel where she was staying that was owned by film star Marion Davies. One problem: Weissmuller was already married. But no matter, he dumped his wife for Lupe and married her October 8, 1933 in Las Vegas. Theirs was not a happy, serene marriage, and they constantly battled, with Lupe filing for divorce several times in 1934 and changing her mind each time. Weissmuller’s patience was so strained he dumped a plate of salad on her head at Ciro’s nightclub. Finally, in 1938 she filed a petition that was finalized in 1939.

After having many hit pictures with MGM, they unceremoniously dropped her. The excuse was that the studios were no longer going to make Spanish versions of their films and there was no longer a need for Latin actresses. Vélez returned to Mexico in 1938 to star in her first Spanish-language film. Arriving in Mexico City, she was greeted by 10,000 fans. The film La Zandunga, was a critical and financial success and Vélez was slated to appear in four more Mexican films, but instead, she returned to Los Angeles. She soon went to RKO Studios and starred in the B-movie The Girl From Mexico. Despite its lowly status, the picture became a tremendous hit with audiences. RKO rushed her into another film, this time called Mexican Spitfire, playing an emotionally volatile singer named Carmelita. The 1940 film became another smash for Lupe. The Spitfire series of eight slapstick comedy films rejuvenated Lupe’s sagging career. In late 1941, she had an affair with writer Erich Maria Remarque whose wife, actress Luise Rainer later wrote that Remarque told her “with the greatest of glee” that he found Vélez’s volatility hot.

At this same time Lupe took on another lover in the form of a French 27-year-old bit actor named Harald Ramond. He was a strong and controlling man who knew how to tame Lupe. After she discovered that she was three months pregnant, she announced her engagement to Ramond without his knowledge or consent. When he learned of her pregnancy, he refused to marry her. Deeply hurt and stunned, she felt backed into a corner; she knew her career would be ruined in Hollywood if word got out she was pregnant and unmarried. It just wasn’t done in those days. And despite her wildness, Lupe was a devout Catholic, so abortion was out of the question. She could see only one way out: suicide. On December 18, 1944, at the age of 36, Vélez swallowed 70 Seconal pills, she lay down on her pink satin pillow on her over-sized Hollywood bed and arranged herself like a movie star, with her hands folded across her chest and went into an eternal sleep. Dramatic to the end, Lupe went out of this world in glamorous style. She left a suicide note addressed to Harald, which read:

“To Harald, May God forgive you and forgive me too, but I prefer to take my life away and our baby’s before I bring him with shame or killing him. How could you, Harald, fake such a great love for me and our baby when all the time you didn’t want us? I see no other way out for me so goodbye and good luck to you, Love Lupe.”

THAT is the truth. But the bottom line is: how she lived her life as well as the circumstances around her death are all irrelevant at the end of the day. What matters is the loss of a great multi-talented, pioneering Mexican star and a legacy unrealized and stunted by a world that wasn’t ready for her.

Next, I’ll talk about the most famous of her paramours, the yin to her yang, a perfect example of the special chemistry that Taureans and Cancers share, the strong, silent hero of the silver screen: Taurus Gary Cooper.

Stats

birthdate: July 18, 1908

major planets:

Sun: Cancer

Moon: Leo

Rising: Gemini

Mercury: Cancer

Venus: Leo

Mars: Pisces

Midheaven: Pisces

Jupiter: Virgo

Saturn: Aries

Uranus: Capricorn

Neptune: Cancer

Pluto: Gemini

Overall personality snapshot: She may have seemed at times to be a shy, vulnerable, romantic individual who only wanted to please, but underneath she had a voracious appetite for adoration and respect, and would not stop until she got it. Without a doubt, she had a very warm feeling for others, and domestic security with plenty of happy togetherness is high on her list of priorities. When it came to cooperation with others, however, she had her limits because she was profoundly individualistic and, albeit in a charming manner, she insisted on doing things her way. Ultimately the most important thing for her was believing in herself and being true to her standards and aspirations. Most of all, she needed to fulfill her creative potential, which was like an intimate companion with whom she shared her life. You nurture it, protect it, and then you show it off, and whatever walk of life you are in, you tend to be a fine performer.

This gave her a lot of self-respect and a touch of vanity as well, and her emotional sensitivity combined with her underlying imperiousness tended to impress others and made them take her seriously. She was a devoted member of her flock, and she zealously and jealously protected and promoted whomever she was devoted to. When it came to developing her own talents, however, she seemed to know that she had to pull away in order to grow into her greatest self. Others may have thought she was a bit of a show-off but that was not the case: she simply had a deep sense of the importance of her own creative talents, and she felt only half alive if she did not honour them. Although she was pretty sensitive to criticism or rebuffs, she was just as committed to honesty and personal integrity; and despite her vanity, she eventually learned to laugh at herself.

She had a very good memory and found it easy to learn subjects that interested her. She was very kind and thoughtful towards others. Her imagination was very keen, but if it got carried away, she may have experienced irrational fears. Even though she may have tried to maintain a scientific and objective outlook, her mind was actually dominated by her emotions. When it came to careers, she may have felt initially vague or confused about what she really wanted to do. She was eventually forced to give up her career of choice by events out of her control (as was evidenced by the tides turning from the “Mexican spitfire” female ideal due to the changing of the times). There was probably some element of self-sacrifice involved somewhere in her choice of career (the element of sacrifice being that she had to sacrifice her child, and ultimately her life, in relation to her reputation as an unwed mother as well as her unborn child’s reputation as an illegitimate child). She had good technical and scientific ability due to her, at times almost fanatical, attention to detail. She was also fastidious when it came to matters of health, diet and appearance. She was not afraid of work and was very resourceful and capable. She also worked well in a team. She became very annoyed if somebody else questioned the way that she operated. Her energy levels were somewhat inhibited, her self-confidence reduced, and her ambitions restricted through fear of failure. Times of strength and weakness alternated within her. Even though her decision-making ability could be ineffectual through over-caution, she often seemed to be placed in situations where a quick decision was needed. When she succeeded, it was mainly through her own efforts. She also showed a tendency towards wanting to start at the top, wanting to avoid the hard work that gets you there.

She belonged to a generation with a rational and logical attitude to life. There was a conflict between tradition and convention, and the experimental and unconventional. As an individual, she had to learn to strike a balance between the erratic and the conventional. As a member of this generation, she had the ability to come up with original ideas which could be of practical value. She was part of a very artistically talented and creative generation that wanted to escape from the demands of the world around them into a world of excitement and glamour. She was part of an emotionally sensitive generation that was extremely conscious of the domestic environment and the atmosphere surrounding her home place and home country. In fact, she could be quite nostalgic about her homeland, religion and traditions, often seeing them in a romantic light. She felt a degree of escapism from everyday reality, and was very sensitive to the moods of those around her. Bow embodied all of these Cancer Neptunian ideals. As a Gemini Plutonian, she was mentally restless and willing to examine and change old doctrines, ideas and ways of thinking. As a member of this generation, she showed an enormous amount of mental vitality, originality and perception. Traditional customs and taboos were examined and rejected for newer and more original ways of doing things. As opportunities with education expanded, she questioned more and learned more. As a member of this generation, having more than one occupation at a time would not have been unusual to her.

Love/sex life: It wasn’t easy to be passionate and emotionally explosive and also hold on to her dignity, but this was what she wanted to accomplish. She tried to conceal the pulsating softness of her sexual nature behind a façade of control and bluster. She thought that her display of strength and jolly self-confidence would hide her vulnerability and her susceptibility to virtually any sexual diversion. Of course, no one was really buying this cover up. They saw the luscious edges of her erotic hunger peeking through her disguise. That’s why they were all so anxious to be around her. The biggest problem in her sex life was how to deal with change. She loved it and she hated it. She loved following the lead of her feelings and surrendering herself to the moment. Too much consistency, even loving consistency, was apt to leave her bored and dissatisfied. But she also saw change as a threat to her sense of control and to the emotional security that she valued so highly. Because of this duality in her thinking, her reaction to changes in her sex life was abrupt, contradictory, and (horror of horrors) a little undignified.

minor asteroids and points:

North Node: Gemini

Lilith: Libra

Vertex: Scorpio

Fortune: Gemini

East Point: Gemini

Her North Node in Gemini dictated that she needed to prevent her idealism from influencing her thoughts to such a high degree. She needed to consciously develop a more clear-minded and analytical approach involving her thought processes. Her Lilith in Libra was definitely working overtime here. Relationships somehow caused her to err, and her partner choices caused much suffering. She expressed herself through others. As a lover, she was aggressive, yet co-dependent. As a mistress, she was not above trying to cause a divorce, which she did with Johnny Weissmuller and she ultimately became fatally despondent when she found herself pregnant with a bit actor's baby. She used her good looks as a weapon to help her get ahead in the movie industry. Also, Lilith in Libra strangely enough, manifested itself as a sort of lighter female Capricorn archetype, and she pulled herself up by the bootstraps in a rather glamorous way, going to work after her father left the family unit. As such, she exhibited graceful gumption right until the very end. Her Vertex in Scorpio, 5th house dictated that she had a desire or continual need for feeling irresistible and irreplaceable on all levels of intimacy, whether spiritual, intellectual, emotional, or physical. From the fires of hell to the heights of heaven, the further and deeper the range of interaction she could experience with another the more fulfilling. She had a childlike orientation, in all of its manifestations, toward relationships on an internal level. That implicit trust, or perhaps naivete, that was instilled in our childhood persisted far into maturity. The concomitant explosions and occasional tantrums when these constructs are violated also accompany this position. She had a need for fun, creativity, and excitement in a committed relationship, no matter how many years it has endured. She often had deep fears, typical of children, of abandonment, as well as a need for universal acceptance, no matter how she acted, which she needed her partner to respect and nurture, rather than rebuke, especially in adulthood. Her Part of Fortune in Gemini and Part of Spirit in Sagittarius dictated that her destiny lay in travel, education and communication. She was able to overcome enemies by her words and by her writing. Happiness and fulfillment came from being able to express herself fully. Her soul’s purpose lay in seeking truth, justice and fairness. She felt spiritual connections and saw the spark of the divine when she studied, broadened her mind through new philosophies, or looked for inspiration outside the home. East Point in Gemini dictated that she was often insatiably curious and loved to collect little bits of (what seemed to be useless) information and trivia. Her interests were quite varied, and she may have been somewhat scattered. Sometimes her curiosity could appear cold and callous as her level of objectivity was potentially high. There was usually an openness to learning in any situation.

elemental dominance:

water

fire

She had high sensitivity and elevation through feelings. Her heart and her emotions were her driving forces, and she couldn’t do anything on earth if she didn’t feel a strong effective charge. She needed to love in order to understand, and to feel in order to take action, which caused a certain vulnerability which she should (and often did) fight against. She was dynamic and passionate, with strong leadership ability. She generated enormous warmth and vibrancy. She was exciting to be around, because she was genuinely enthusiastic and usually friendly. However, she could either be harnessed into helpful energy or flame up and cause destruction. Ultimately, she chose the latter. Confident and opinionated, she was fond of declarative statements such as “I will do this” or “It’s this way.” When out of control—usually because she was bored, or hadn’t been acknowledged—she was bossy, demanding, and even tyrannical. But at her best, her confidence and vision inspired others to conquer new territory in the world, in society, and in themselves.

modality dominance:

mutable

She wasn’t particularly interested in spearheading new ventures or dealing with the day-to-day challenges of organization and management. She excelled at performing tasks and producing outcomes. She was flexible and liked to finish things. Was also likely undependable, lacking in initiative, and disorganized. Had an itchy restlessness and an unwillingness to buckle down to the task at hand. Probably had a chronic inability to commit—to a job, a relationship, or even to a set of values.

house dominants:

2nd

3rd

1st

The material side of life including money and finances, income and expenditure, and worldly goods was emphasized in her life. Also the areas of innate resources, such as her self-worth, feelings and emotions were paramount in her life. What she considered her personal security and what she desired was also paramount. Short journeys, traveling within her own country were themes throughout her life; her immediate environment, and relationships with her siblings, neighbours and friends were of importance. The way her mental processes operated, as well as the manner and style in which she communicated was emphasized in her life. As such, much was revealed about her schooling and childhood and adolescence. Her personality, disposition and temperament is highlighted in her life. The manner in which she expressed herself and the way she approached other people is also highlighted. The way she approached new situations and circumstances contributed to show how she set about her life’s goals. The general state of her health is also shown, as well as her early childhood experiences defining the rest of her life.

planet dominants:

Neptune

Mercury

Sun

She was of a contemplative nature, particularly receptive to ambiances, places, and people. She gladly cultivated the art of letting go, and allowed the natural unfolding of events to construct her world. She followed her inspirations, for better or for worse. She was intellectual, mentally quick, and had excellent verbal acuity. She dealt in terms of logic and reasoning. It was likely that she was left-brained. She was restless, craved movement, newness, and the bright hope of undiscovered terrains. She had vitality and creativity, as well as a strong ego and was authoritarian and powerful. She likely had strong leadership qualities, she definitely knew who she was, and she had tremendous will. She met challenges and believed in expanding her life.

sign dominants:

Cancer

Gemini

Leo

At first meeting, she seemed enigmatic, elusive. She needed roots, a place or even a state of mind that she could call her own. She needed a safe harbor, a refuge in which to retreat for solitude. She was generally gentle and kind, unless she was hurt. Then she could become vindictive and sharp-spoken. She was affectionate, passionate, and even possessive at times. She was intuitive and was perhaps even psychic. Experience flowed through her emotionally. She was often moody and always changeable; her interests and social circles shifted constantly. She was emotion distilled into its purest form. She ventured out to see what else was there and seized upon new ideas that expanded her community. Her innate curiosity kept her on the move. She used her rational, intellectual mind to explore and understand her personal world. She needed to answer the single burning question in her mind: why? This applied to most facets of her life, from the personal to the impersonal. This need to know sent her off to foreign countries, where her need to explore other cultures and traditions ranked high. She was changeable and often moody. This meant that she was often at odds with herself—the mind demanding one thing, the heart demanding the opposite. To someone else, this internal conflict often manifested as two very different people. She loved being the center of attention and often surrounded herself with admirers. She had an innate dramatic sense, and life was definitely her stage. Her flamboyance and personal magnetism extended to every facet of her life. She wanted to succeed and make an impact in every situation. She was, at her best, optimistic, honorable, loyal, and ambitious.

Read more about her under the cut.

Lupe Velez was born on July 18, 1908, in San Luis Potosi, Mexico, as Maria Guadalupe Villalobos Velez. She was sent to Texas at the age of 13 to live in a convent. She later admitted that she wasn't much of a student because she was so rambunctious. She had planned to become a champion roller skater, but that would change. Life was hard for her family, and Lupe returned to Mexico to help them out financially. She worked as a salesgirl for a department store for the princely sum of $4 a week. Every week she would turn most of her salary over to her mother, but she kept a little for herself so she could take dancing lessons. With her mature shape and grand personality, she thought she could make a try at show business, which she figured was a lot more glamorous than dancing or working as a salesclerk. In 1924 Lupe started her show business career on the Mexican stage and wowed audiences with her natural beauty and talent. By 1927 she had emigrated to Hollywood, where she was discovered by Hal Roach, who cast her in a comedy with Stan Laurel and Oliver Hardy. Douglas Fairbanks then cast her in his feature film The Gaucho (1927) with himself and wife Mary Pickford. Lupe played dramatic roles for five years before she switched to comedy. In 1933 she played the lead role of Pepper in Hot Pepper (1933). This film showcased her comedic talents and helped her to show the world her vital personality. She was delightful. In 1934 Lupe appeared in three fine comedies: Strictly Dynamite (1934), Palooka (1934) and Laughing Boy (1934). By now her popularity was such that a series of "Mexican Spitfire" films were written around her. She portrayed Carmelita Lindsay in Mexican Spitfire (1940), Mexican Spitfire Out West (1940), The Mexican Spitfire's Baby (1941) and Mexican Spitfire's Blessed Event (1943), among others. Audiences loved her in these madcap adventures, but it seemed at times that she was better known for her stormy love affairs. She married one of her lovers, Johnny Weissmuller, but the marriage only lasted five years and was filled with battles. Lupe certainly did live up to her nickname. She had a failed romance with Gary Cooper, who never wanted to wed her. By 1943 her career was waning. She went to Mexico in the hopes of jump-starting her career. She gained her best reviews yet in the Mexican version of Naná (1944). Bolstered by the success of that movie, Lupe returned to the US, where she starred in her final film as Pepita Zorita, Ladies' Day (1943). There were to be no others. On December 13, 1944, tired of yet another failed romance, with a part-time actor named Harald Maresch, and pregnant with his child, Lupe committed suicide with an overdose of Seconal. She was only 36 years old. (x)

#lupe velez #cancer #star analyses #astrology #long ass post #tragic beauty #mine

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isufajardo · 3 years

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Hello everyone! I’m Lis and this is Isu Tonatiuh. Feel free to refer him as professor, Isu, Tony, Mr. F or pretty much however your heart desires. He is a sunshine most of the time and quite the parental mentor at the college. He is the kind of person who always remembers details about his students like their favorite color or if they take meds. a Dad all through and through pushing students to do their best even though he’s got some major insecurities of his own, but more info under the cut.

Name : Isu Tonatiuh Fajardo López

Age : 40

Faceclaim : Jaime Camil

Gender / Pronouns : Cis Male. He/him

Label / Trope : The Underground Sun

Job : Part-time actor

Living arrangements : A studio apartment in downtown, but it isn’t odd for him to fall asleep somewhere inside the campus after working for too many hours.

Class : Theatre

Extracurriculars : Coach of the drama club

Yearbook Quote : “Fulfilling your dreams is absolutely terrifying”. --My art major director back at the uni. He is still a very good friend of mine up to these days.

BIO

Isu, Tony, Mr. Fajardo or however you wanna call him has always been the dramatic child quite literally. When he got rejected by a girl in kindergarten, he cried purposefully under the rain just for the aesthetic ( and that wasn’t even a thing back then).

Born and raised in Mexico City as an only child, Isu always knew what he wanted to do with his life: he wanted to be an actor. Consuming movies from all around the world was one of his favorite activities to do with his mother who always called him “Mi Pedrito” in reference to famous actor and singer Pedro Infante.

Still, there was something Isu never learned how to handle properly: rejection. Whether by how his mother spoiled him or by how used he was to being #1 in the things he loved, he would always get anxious and break down whenever something didn’t turn the way he expected. This also lead him to never be able to stay in a relationship for too long; leaving them before they left him.

Time goes by and he becomes a recognized actor in telenovelas and so, when Broadway and Hollywood call his way he is beyond excited. He tells everyone about it, he flaunts the plane ticket in front of everyone, but when the night before arrives; he gets mad drunk just to get sure he is not awake by the time he has to take his flight. HE IS TERRIFIED. Terrified of failing, terrified of being rejected, so instead, he stays,

Urged by his mother for years and years, Isu eventually grabs “the wrong plane” and heads towards Ohio. It is one step closer, right? ...RIGHT? He pretends to not know what was happening and explains to his mom that he is just going to “save some money” so he can go to Los Angeles or maybe NYC. BULLSHIT. He gets hired at the local college and convinces himself he is just waiting for his BIG MOMENT to arrive so he can hop on a plane towards stardom.

The Underground Sun has quite the potential, but only shines for some in a little cave where his real light cannot be exploited properly. He is warm, protective and very friendly with students considering them “the children he never had”. Also very active in all the college events, Isu is the kind of teacher you can come for advice, but cannot promise you it will be good advice, but he tries his best. He always tries his best.

Way less terrifying to teach people how to act than being judged by the Anna Wintour of theatre and film. He has actually grown very fond of the place and its people and even if he ever leaves, he would love to keep coming back.

HEAD CANNON

No siblings but a mad ton of cousins all around Mexico.

Has a crush on Angelina Jolie.

Would love to be James Bond.

Dresses as a charro for some formal events.

Isu means "deer" in Mixtec while Tonatiuh was the Sun god for the Mexicas. So I made yet another wordplay "Deer Sun" (Dear Sun).

#comfortcrowd:intro #feel free to come @ me for plots!

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ag-celestina-gorillaz · 3 years

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Hi there. This is my new AG Celestina Azula Damon. She's a doll I customized, and she's also my Gorillaz OC, 2-D's daughter. I was inspired by @agrosehamada's blog, and wanted to do something similar. I answered a "get to know the doll" list, also from ag rose (though I added a few things), and I hope to make friends in the AG community. Please feel free to ask questions (I turned anon off to prevent from mean messages, so if you want to be anonymous, just ask the question, say you wanna be anonymous, and I'll copypaste and answer the question).

Get to Know the Doll :)

-Birthday: June 23rd 2005

-Family: Sharon Damon (mom), Mia Lucci (stepmother, married to Sharon), Stuart Pot/2-D: (dad), Murdoc Niccals (family friend thru 2-D, like an uncle, a drunk uncle), Russell Hobbs (family friend thru 2-D, also like an uncle, but more responsible), Noodle (family friend thru 2-D, like a cool older sister)

-Favorite Foods: Teriyaki chicken lo mein, fresh peaches, Mia's homemade pizza with pepperoni and mushrooms

-Favorite Drink: Peach soda pop

-Favorite Dessert: Cherry trifle, cotton candy ice cream

-Favorite Animal: Bunnies and pandas

-Pet: A gray fluffy bunny named Scratchy

-Hobby(ies): Sewing plushies, singing, practicing keyboard and/or drums

-Favorite Show: Sailor Moon, JoJo's Bizarre Adventure, Steven Universe, and Powerpuff Girls

-Favorite Movie: Mama Mia, Zombieland, Rocket Man, she also loves Disney and Studio Ghibli movies

-Favorite Color: Blue (any shades), pink, lavender, mint, black

-Best Friend(s): Lucy Phillips (close friend and singing partner, hopefully, something more in the future?), Kailey Green (friend since childhood, and fellow theater nerd)

-Hogwarts House: Hufflepuff

-Dream Job: A famous singer like her dad, or an actress (more likely in a Broadway musical or a musical movie), maybe fashion designer.

-Favorite School Subject: Music, Art, English

-Favorite Book: Mostly manga and American Girl books, she has a soft spot for Samantha and Julie

-Favorite Candy: Pocky and KitKats

-Favorite Flower: Roses, sakura blossoms, bluebells

-Favorite Music Genre: She loves listening to songs from Gorillaz (her favorite songs are Starshine, On Melancholy Hill, Clint Eastwood, and Humility), she's also a fan of Queen, David Bowie, Melanie Martinez, and she likes soundtracks from her favorite musicals and Disney movies.

-Dream Vacation: Any of the Disney Parks, and Japan, but she hopes someday soon she can visit her dad and the rest of the band in Britain to see the new Kong Studios.

-Favorite Holiday: Halloween and Valentine's Day.

-If She Could Have Any Superpower: Understand any spoken language, including being able to speak to animals, and zombies!

-Hero: She looks up to book her moms because they raised her and gave her a good childhood, and she looks up to her dad because he's this cool singer in a band, and even though he has his problems, and it's difficult being a long distance parent (as he's in Britain and Celestina lives in the US), he does his best to be in her life as much as possible and he loves her.

#american girl #american girl oc #american girl fan character #gorillaz #gorillaz oc #celestina damon #american girl doll

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rachelbethhines · 4 years

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TTS Songs Ranked Worst to Best

Someone asked me to rank my fav and least fav TTS songs a while back, but I’ve since then relistened to the soundtrack and there’s a whole bunch of songs that just forgot about, so here’s a more accurate ranking now that the songs are more fresh in my mind

32 . Life After Happily Ever After (Reprise)

This song is infuriating, because the finale is infuriating. Listening to this song just makes me angry all over again because it reminds me just how unsatisfying the ending to TTS was. I wanted to turn it off at several points. I barely can get through it despite it being so short. It doesn’t help that the soundtrack leaves all the dialogue in there and fails to actually end the song. It just cuts off before the final note.

31. Hook Foot’s Ballad

Does this even count as a song? Why is it here on the soundtrack but not the Hurt Incantation? Did Menken really waste his talent writing a joke and did the showrunners really waste money and limited resources on this?

30. Friendship Song

Bland, boring, and pointless. It was clearly written as a marketing stunt for the radio disney charts and not as anything to do with the plot of the series. They just throw it up on screen to fill out the running time and don't even let the whole song play through. It’s pitiful.

29. Waiting in the Wings (Reprise)

I didn’t think much of the original song one way or the other, but the reprise is soooo dumb. The plot twist it introduces winds up ruining the whole show and sabotaging both Cassandra’s and Rapunzel’s characters. It’s not even a nice sounding song on it’s own. The kid’s voice is irritating (who I’m sure is doing her best, but really little kids shouldn’t be made to sing professionally as a general rule) and the melody just as bland as the first time it was played. The only reason to like this song is if you’r a mega fan of Cassandra’s or her VA, which I am not. (Note: this is not a criticism of Eden Espinosa, I just don’t happen to follow any of the VAs in this show)

28. Through It All

I like the instrumentals in this song, and that’s about it. Everything about this song is wrong. It doesn’t fit the story, it’s a misuse of the cast and songwriters, it’s a waste of valuable screen time, the melody is dull, and the dang soundtrack had to throw in that lame dialogue about ‘greatest threat ever’ at the beginning. If you want a pump up song in your story then you got to earn it. You can’t just tell us things are bad, you got to show it. A joyful horseback ride and everyone sitting in a bar safe and sound isn’t threatening or depressing enough to warrant a cheering up session. Plus the song itself doesn’t add anything to the overall story.

27. The Girl Who Has Everything

Sometimes I think the writers were willing trying to sabotage themselves. It’s as if they were determined to make the only two main female characters in the show unlikeable bitches in season three. Don’t believe me? The creator Chris has said this song only exists to highlight how much easier Rapunzel has things than Cass and went onto say that Rapunzel was in the wrong during their conflict because ‘she held Cassandra back’. (Oh yeah she totally ‘held back’ the grown woman who left on her own accord, returned on her own accord, and then assaulted and tried to murder a bunch of people for no reason of her own accord.) But this song does succeed in furthering season’s three narrative that Rapunzel is a spoiled selfish brat. Shame the story fails to address this setup and never has Rapunzel learn to be a better person. Rather the narrative bends over backward to tell us how special Rapunzel is without any sense of self awareness and this song falls into that same trap; making it both irritating and pointless.

26. Listen Up

Yeah, I talked about this on my salt marathon, but I just don't like this song very much. The melody is fine but the lyrics are a real miss in my mind. It doesn’t help matters that the song is indeed pointless in the grand scheme of things.

25. Livin’ the Dream

This is much on the same level as Listen Up as it features the same problems. It doesn’t add to the narrative and the lyrics kind of let it down. I placed it higher just because I like the melody a little more.

24. More of Me

This song is a lot like the Friendship Song in that it was created to be an end credit song for the pop charts and you’d be forgiven in forgetting it even exists. However, it at least got to actually play all the way through. I think this song was a real missed opportunity. I honestly believe that it should have been the opening theme song of the show instead of Wind in My Hair. It’s more built to serve such a purpose and it’s a waste of resources not to actually use it. Alternatively, I would have accepted it being reworked into the actual series as a character song. Especially since we’re missing a song in season three due to budget cuts.

23. Wind In My Hair

Speaking of theme songs, I think I would like Wind In My Hair a lot better if i didn’t have to listen to it every episode. On its own it actually has a lot of things going for it; a nice melody, interesting instrumentals, good singing, ect. Unfortunately it’s just over exposed, and none of those elements lend themselves naturally to an intro song for a tv show. In fact the theme song feels really out of place and is edited oddly to fit the shorter intro.

22. Wind In My Hair (Reprise)

Honestly the theme song is mostly comprised of this reprise, but it has the opening instrumentals from the OG song frankensteined onto it. This means that the version that plays before every episode is on fullblast all the time to keep the energy up, but that’s not how the song is suppose to go. The actual reprise that plays in the pilot builds to a crescendo, starting soft and melancolony and getting louder and more hopeful and determined. It sounds a lot better in full because of that. It’s still too overexposed though. Both these songs would probably be higher on the list of not for the theme song version.

21. With You by My Side

This song is fine. It’s nothing special, but it’s not bad either. What knocks it down the list is the fact that Lance isn’t in it, despite Lance being right there. Like don't bother hiring a famous Broadway singer if you’re not going to have him sing! But that speaks more to the poor writing of season two than anything else. This song also doesn’t really add anything to the narrative as, contrary to what the writers intended, it doesn’t actually enhance the emotional impact of Cassandra’s betrayal later in the episode. The song itself is just tacked on and doesn’t take the opportunity to lay down any foreshadowing for that plot point.

20. Next Stop Anywhere

Another perfectly serviable song. It’s not bad but nothing outstanding. It gets the job done. It’s also really ho-hum and the soundtrack keeps all the unneeded dialogue, which is a pet peeve of mine.

19. Waiting In the Wings

Despite it’s hype, I never thought much of Waiting in the Wings. It’s got nice instrumentals and Eden Espinosa gives it her all in the singing department. The problem is it’s too generic. It’s a bare bones basic ass ‘I want song’. Cassandra's movations are weak and unsupported by the narrative, the melody is boring, and it honestly doesn’t add anything to her story. I mean it should, it’s her character solo, but because she’s written so poorly the song just winds up undermining the character in the end. All I’m saying is that, this is not the song from season two that I would have nominated for the Emmys. But it’s still Alan Menken, it’s still nicely performed, and given the rest of the competition for that year, it did deserve to win.

18. If I Could Take That Moment Back

This song is also pretty generic, but it’s less boring than I See the Light, (yeah, I said it, I See the Light is boring) so that’s a win in my book. Ergo this holds the title of the only New Dream duet that I enjoy. But there’s better stuff on this list.

17. Next Stop Anywhere (Reprise)

Well no, I take that back. The reprise of Next Stop Anywhere is also technically a New Dream duet. It’s still not anything amazing, but it works for what it is. Plus, Adria’s opening dialogue in the soundtrack version doesn’t bother me quite as much as some of the other dialogues choices that were kept in.

16. Stronger Than Ever Before

I really enjoyed this song in the moment. It’s catchy and fun, and it finally has Lance doing something rather than ignoring his existence. However it is borderline unnecessary in terms of story placement, and I’m slightly mad at it now that I know that we could have gotten a Rapunzel and Varian duet but it was scrapped for this instead.

15. Crossing the Line

Keeping with the theme of ‘songs I have conflicting emotions about’, we have Crossing the Line. This song is confused. It starts and stops, the melody isn’t clear, the orchestration is playing tug of war with the singers for dominance, and it’s basically Alan Menken and the show’s creators ripping off Frozen. (I guess he’s kicking himself for leaving that particular project?) But it’s interesting. I never heard anything quite like it. It’s memorable even if it doesn’t fully work. It’s got these interesting bits and pieces to it that just never quite comes together as a whole. Some of the lyrics are some of the best Glenn Slater has ever wrote and is far better than the story actually surrounding the song. Yet there’s other lines that are total cringe. Sometimes the song is bold and catchy and gets you all hyped up, and then other times its limp and staggering and feels so awkward to listen to. Yet it’s not boring or generic and so I have to place it higher than the rest of the songs that’s come before. (Also, there’s some amazing orchestral covers out there that really pulls together the various parts really well, just fyi)

14. Nothing Left to Lose

I really don't like this song. I’ve been one of its biggest critics ever since it was leaked by the marketing team earlier this year. And yet... I can’t in good conscience place any lower on this list. All of the problems I have with it are the exact same problems I have with Crossing the Line. It’s confused, the various pieces don't line up, the instrumentals are competing with the vocals, the song’s progression is weird with it’s constant key changes, some of the lyrics are good while others are absolute shit, ect and so forth. It also actively works against the story it's trying to tell. The song wants you to sympathize with Cassandra, but her lines are as shallow as a puddle and makes her look like a sociopath. Especially when she’s physically attacking Varian through out for no reason. Also neither character learns anything from the exchange and it fails to impact the story. By all accounts this is a bad song. But I’m Varian trash. There I said it. You happy? Varian’s parts in the songs are fine, good even, and the song is anything but bland. I would rather listen to a mess then be bored to tears by a competent yet standard four chord pop song.

13. I’d Give Anything

This song is nice to listen to. Story wise it absolutely sucks and shouldn’t have been in the finale at all. But it sounds pleasant. This is one of those songs that could pop up randomly on the radio and I would just think it it a nice sad break up song. I can’t say that about some of the other misplaced songs in the show. This one however, you can very much, absolutely divorce this song from the narrative and it would be fine. Now that’s not good writing, and it’s very much a waste of limited resources, but I’m rating the music here first and story second.

12. Buddy Song

The Buddy Song also absolutely did not need to exist but it also sounds nice. Plus, it makes use of Lance so I’m a little more lenient towards it. I can’t however place it higher since it really is just Alan Menken ripping off Alan Menken. Like, I would not be at all surprised to find out that this was originally a deleted song for Aladdin or something.

11. Bigger Than That

What can I say, Lance just gets good songs. When the show bothers to give them to him. Unfortunately, it’s not the best placed. It kind of interrupts the more important drama of Be Very Afraid, and probably should have been saved for a later episode. Especially since it hinges on a plot point that is contradictory to Lance’s character. We should have gotten a Varian and Rapunzel duet here and given Lance his own episode in the second half of season three. This song could have easily been refitted into being a bonding moment for him and the girls. That would also have filled out the season’s original songs to the usual eight instead of only seven.

10. Life After Happily Ever After

Now we’re getting to the good stuff. The top ten. The best of the best. This song makes the cut for three reasons. 1. It lyrically and musically interesting 2. It does the job of furthering the story and the characters and 3. Eugene’s part is so damn good. Like this song could have easily fell down into the ranks of ‘fine but generic’ if it wasn’t for the bridge with Eugene. That puts it over the top and to my mind makes it better than anything from the OG film. (well almost anything, Mother Knows Best is still great) This is the barometer by which I measure all of the music in the series. Is it better or worse than Life After Happily Ever After? Because this is the level that I equate good musicals with. What keeps on the tenth spot and not higher is the dialogue that still left on the soundtrack and the lack of a Cassandra introduction. That and also the rest of the songs are just flat better.

9. Hurt Incantation

Hurt, Decay, Reverse, whatever you want to call it, this was such a cool fucking concept. One that was utterly wasted by the show. I place this so high because it just sounds awesome! It looks good too, and it offered up so many possibilities from a story perspective. What lets it down is the lack of follow up for it and it’s too short. There’s needed to be another verse. It also should have been on the actual soundtrack instead of Hook Foot’s Ballad. (The Heal Incantation also was sung in What the Hair, but I’m not counting it since it was written for the film)

8. The Girl Who Has Everything (Reprise)

I hate the initial song and the set up that it took to get here, but I love this reprise. It’s perfect. This is what the story needed more of. Rapunzel taking her life into her hands, and her proposing to Eugene would have been the perfect capstone for her arc. In fact I’m angry we didn’t actually get that. There’s absolutely no reason why Rapunzel couldn’t have done so and we could have had her and Eugene engaged during the second half of season three. How much better would have it been if Cassandra threatened their wedding plans and that’s why they couldn’t go through with it until after the series ended? So much more tension that way.

7. I Got This

This is a really good song that actually futhers the characters and the narrative. Moreover it’s refreshing to see the heroine not be perfect and to fail sometimes due to her own inadequacies. It’s just a shame that the series didn’t follow through with this set up, but I appreciate the attempt all the same.

6. Set Yourself Free

This is the only song in the series that’s an actual satisfying pay off for anything. Music wise it’s nothing too special, but in terms of context it just works. We were sorely deprived of such resolutions and songs with actual meaning in the show.

5. View From Up Here

This song is too good for the episode it actually appears in. We needed something like this back in season one to introduce Cassandra with. It also sadly doesn’t fit with the wider narrative after season three. However I shall still appreciate it as a ‘what might have been’ type song.

4. Let Me Make You Proud

The only reason why this song isn’t higher is just overexposure and I’ve no one to blame but myself for that. I’ve listened to this song way too many times. As such it tends to alternate between this, View from Up Here, and the next song on the list. But make no mistake it is glorious. Fantastic instrumentals, set up, and of course amazing vocals.

3. Everything I Ever Thought I Knew

Yes, I know this plot point didn’t lead anywhere, but it works for this song at least. Also Eugene’s VA is a really underrated singer. He sounds nice and he emotes really well. Though I’ll be honest, this jumped up to third place because it was fresh in my mind after listening to the soundtrack before making this list. I’ve always liked the song and I do rate it highly, but it can change places with Let Me Make You Proud and View from Up Here at anytime depending on my mood.

2. Let Me Make You Proud (Reprise)

This song is heartbreaking! Story wise it probably shouldn’t exist because it gives away the twist too soon, but who cares, it’s awesome! Varian’s arc is the most compelling in the show and the only thing that saves TTS from falling into mediocre obscurity; and it’s songs like this that help make the arc stand out even more than it already does.

1. Ready As I’ll Ever Be

I said it before and I’ll say it again; Ready As I’ll Ever Be is the greatest thing Alan Menken has ever written in his entire career! If you know anything about the multiple award winning songwriter then you know that is no faint praise and I do not dole it out lightly. This song is the reason why this show even has a fanbase. People are still getting into the series because of this song. And no matter how many times you listen to it just rocks! It’s complex, layered, moody, and with a fantastic beat and energy. The performances are wonderful and the instrumentation glorious. It belongs in the hollows of Disney’s greatest hits and not regulated to a spin-off tv show that failed to make its money back. I weep for the lost potential that this song and this show had. It hurts to know that so many people will never see this flash of brilliance that has come out of the House of Mouse, will never know the wonderfulness that is Varian. Ah, ‘c'est la vie’, I suppose. Tangled the Series got what it deserved, but it's crew did not. While I can not in all honesty recommend the series in full; I do sincerely urge any Disney fan to check out the songs at the very least. Especially this one. And that’s it. There’s my official ranking of all the songs, and I hope those of you read my Tangled reviews appreciate the hours it took into making this.

#tangled #tangled the series #rapunzel's tangled adventure #varian #rapunzel #eugene #cassandra #lance #alan menken #Disney #disney music #disney songs

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paths-of-my-childhood-candid · 4 years

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OH, TAYLOR! Taylor Swift On Side-Stepping Into Acting, Owning What You Make & Loving The “Weirdness” Of Cats

On a grey London afternoon in late September, Taylor Swift slips quietly through the doors of a north London recording studio. It is an auspicious moment: the queen of confessional pop has come to meet Andrew Lloyd Webber, the king of musical theatre. Together, Swift, who turns 30 this month, and Lloyd Webber, 71, have written “Beautiful Ghosts”, a new song for the soon-to-be-released film adaptation of Cats – Webber’s 1981 extravaganza, which ran in the West End and on Broadway for a combined total of almost 40 years. In it, Swift plays Bombalurina, and like her co-stars – Idris Elba, Judi Dench, Francesca Hayward, Ian McKellen, Jennifer Hudson, Rebel Wilson – appears in full, furry CGI glory. Track finished, these two titans of the music industry sit down to talk…

Andrew Lloyd Webber: Well, the first thing we have to clear up is that we both love cats. Taylor Swift: [Laughs] We do! One of the first things you said to me when we met was that you’re president of the Turkish Van Cat Club. ALW: Professionally, there is nowhere I can go to top this, as you can completely understand. TS: I have three cats. How many do you have now? ALW: I have three, too – they are all Turkish Vans. And you’ve got a Scottish Fold I believe. TS: I have two Scottish Folds, we think the third is a Ragdoll mix. ALW: You’re probably never going to talk to me again, but you know I’ve got a puppy? He’s called Mojito. TS: I heard about this! How does he get along in the hierarchy? ALW: Well, he believes he’s a little bear actually. He’s a Havanese dog, which I got because Glenn Close has one. TS: I’ve met that dog, he’s really good. ALW: You come from Pennsylvania. TS: I do. People seem to think I was raised in the south, but I’m from the north – grew up on a Christmas tree farm, then moved to Nashville when I was 14. ALW: And you wanted to move to Nashville for the songwriting or the singing? Or both? TS: Both – I was just obsessed with Shania Twain, Faith Hill, Dixie Chicks, and the thing they had in common was that they had gotten discovered in Nashville. So I had it in my head that this is a magical place where discoveries are made and people are able to do music as a living. ALW: Was it the storytelling side of country songs that you liked? Absolutely. It reminded me of the ’90s, when you had these amazing female singer-songwriters like Alanis Morissette and Sarah McLachlan; incredible female writers like Melissa Etheridge, Shawn Colvin; and these types of Lilith Fair women. Then you started to hit the 2000s and the only place I could find real confessional storytelling was country music. ALW: Did you know anybody when you got to Nashville? TS: No, we didn’t really. I’d been going there on vacation with my family, and my mom, my little brother and I would stay in a hotel and try to meet people. Eventually, after several trips, I got a development deal – it’s a non-committal record deal, like, “We’ll watch you develop for a year and then we’ll decide if we sign you.” That was grounds enough to move the family. ALW: Presumably you were in school in Nashville as well? TS: Yes, I was going to high school during the day and doing my songwriting sessions at night. It was a double life. I’d be writing notes in class, and my teachers never knew if they were notes for my class or if I’d gotten an idea for a song. ALW: How many songs would you write in a day? TS: Usually, never more than one. I had these sessions every day, and if I didn’t come in with a good idea, I’d get stared at. You’re not inspired every day, as you know, but you have to show up and treat it like a job. That’s where I learned the craft of songwriting. ALW: I’ve never worked like that, because I’m so story driven. What interests me, though, is how Nashville works. How did you get your foot on the performing ladder? TS: It was really writing first. At the same time, I was singing the national anthem every time I could – at festivals and fairs and bars, anywhere I could get up on stage. I was trying to hone both sides of what I was doing, but I’m very well aware that I would not have a career if I hadn’t been a writer. I wouldn’t have just been a singer, it wouldn’t have worked. ALW: I guess that, today, very few people have a major career unless they write. TS: Yeah, I agree. I think it’s really important – also from the side of ownership over what you do and make. Even if you aren’t a natural writer, you should try to involve yourself in the messages you’re sending. ALW: How does a young country artist get their first break? TS: I worked as hard as I could, reached out to as many people as I could to make sure I got meetings with publishing companies and labels. They didn’t come about very easily, but once I got in the room I’d just get out my guitar and play for them. ALW: Do you have to sing in a certain club to get to the next stage? TS: Everyone does it a different way, but the Bluebird Cafe is a place where everyone was discovered – from Garth Brooks to Faith Hill to, arguably, me. I remember being at your house after we’d written a song, and you telling me you’d bought it when you were 24 or something, that’s when I realised just how young you were when you had a vision to be doing this at such a high level. ALW: I was writing for the theatre when I was eight-years-old. I had a little toy theatre and did dreadful musicals on terrible subjects. Then, when I was about 13, I met a boy who wanted to write lyrics, and we did a couple of musicals at school. TS: So from the beginning you would pair up with a lyricist? ALW: One of the things I worked out very early was Lloyd Webber and lyrics are not a good idea. TS: Wow. It is a good alliteration, though. ALW: You were 19, weren’t you, when you had your first big hit? TS: I was about 18 when “Love Story”, a song I’d written alone, was a worldwide hit. I was lucky enough to work my way up in country music, for new artists nowadays, it feels like the trajectory of their career is like being shot out of a canon into a stratosphere they could in no way be prepared for. I got to sort of acclimate to every step of the path I was on, and by the time I had a massive hit I’d been working since I was 14. Moving from country music to pop was a crazy adjustment for me. ALW: And now we’ve written “Beautiful Ghosts” together for Cats. TS: I remember the moment. I went over to your apartment to rehearse “Macavity” and you sat down at the piano and started to play this haunting, beautiful melody, and I think I just started singing to it right away. ALW: You wrote the lyrics more or less then and there – it was fantastic. TS: It’s a different perspective on the song “Memory”, too, and the character of Grizabella [played by Jennifer Hudson], who used to have majestic, glamorous times and doesn’t anymore. On the other side of it, you have this little white cat [Victoria, played by Francesca Hayward] who’s been abandoned – she’s afraid she’ll never have a chance to have beautiful memories. So that’s where she’s singing “Beautiful Ghosts” from, to counter Grizabella’s idea of tragedy. ALW: I’d like to come back to something I thought when I heard your album, Lover – which is really absolutely brilliant. Am I right in thinking you approached its recording just as though you were giving live performances? TS: I did. I was really singing a lot at that point – I’d just come from a stadium tour, and then did Cats, which was all based on live performances – so a lot of that album is nearly whole takes. When you perform live, you’re narrating and you’re getting into the story and you’re making faces that are ugly and you’re putting a different meaning on a song every time you perform it. ALW: That’s the point isn’t it. TS: Yeah. ALW: Does that ever make you feel you want to be an actress? TS: I have no idea. When I was younger, I used to get questions like, “Where do you see yourself in 10 years?” I’d try to answer. As I get older, I’m learning that wisdom is learning how dumb you are compared to how much you are going to know. I really had an amazing time with Cats. I think I loved the weirdness of it. I loved how I felt I’d never get another opportunity to be like this in my life. ALW: It’s weird, what I’ve seen of the movie. TS: It’s decidedly weird [they laugh]. ALW: I think Tom [Hooper, the film’s director] has really tried to make something original. And I agree, I think as you get older you do become less sure of yourself and start to question what you can do. Would you consider doing a musical? TS: A musical? Absolutely, absolutely. ALW: Or writing your own? TS: That is way up there on my list of dreams. ALW: You should. TS: Was it really wonderful for you when you got the news that Judi Dench had accepted the role of Old Deuteronomy? ALW: Judi was in the original version in 1981 but she snapped her Achilles tendon and had to withdraw. Then I had this idea, which I ran past Tom, that we could make Old Deuteronomy a woman. Seeing her perform this time was quite an emotional thing for me, because it was a very, very sad day when she had to leave the original show. TS: She’s lovely. I remember being on set, and there is one scene that Idris [Elba, who plays Macavity] and I do with Judi, and someone walked up to me with this kind of gummy candy and I was like, “Oh, I’ve never had this before, this must be British candy, this is amazing.” I was raving about this candy so much, and Judi must have overheard me, because the next day I got to my dressing room and there was a signed photo from Judi and, like, six bags of it [they laugh]. Andrew, we both started young. What do we have in common from our experiences? What do you think was hard about it? And what was great? ALW: I suppose what was hard for me was that I was a fish out of the mainstream water. In the 1960s, to love musicals was as uncool as you could possibly be, and kids in my class at school would laugh at me. TS: I was the same. I loved country music and, where I was in school, the kids were just completely perplexed by that. It’s gotten more mainstream, but when I was a 13-year-old in Pennsylvania, I got similar reactions. Do you feel like you’re glad you were really young when you started? ALW: Yeah, are you? TS: I’m really glad, even though there are challenges to it – like you’re not allowed to make the same mistakes as everyone else because your mistakes are a commodity. ALW: And your mistakes are made in public. But we share something in common, in which we are extremely lucky. We both knew at an early age what we wanted to do, and most people in life don’t have a clue. TS: That’s very true. I think, also, a lot of the time when people see a career that they want it can be results-based. Rather than wanting to write musicals, they want to be a person who has written musicals. But when I see you work, I see you consistently creating and being curious about the next idea. You relish in the process even more than the rewards, which is the advice I would give anyone who wanted to do anything remotely close to this job. It cannot be about the results. ALW: It’s the process isn’t it? TS: It has to be. It’s supposed to be fun!

MEET & GREET: Introducing the faces behind this month’s issue

When it came to interviewing Taylor Swift about her musical-movie debut in Cats, there was only one man for the job: Andrew Lloyd Webber, composer of the original West End and Broadway mega hit. The two colossi of songwriting had plenty to discuss at a recording studio in north London – art, ambition and authenticity, plus what we can expect from the soon-to-be-released film.

Vogue: What was it like to work with Taylor? Andrew Lloyd Webber: She’s supremely professional and very charming with it. In my view, she could go far. Vogue: What was your first impression of her? ALW: She’s a lot taller than me, and a lot more attractive. Vogue: What’s your favourite Swift hit? ALW: “Blank Space” from the album 1989. It’s a great pop song with great lyrics.

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