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papriakter240 · 3 months

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This e-commerce company that didn't spend tens of billions of dollars in subsidies hasn't been caught yet?

While other home appliance business platforms are in full swing with tens of billions of subsidies, Vipshop remains silent and uses its unique way to stand firm in the e-commerce circle. Why exactly? This article discusses this, let’s take a look.

Previously, a bad reviewer said that China’s Internet is like the Roman Empire.

There is only my territory HE Tuber and an opponent I cannot beat.

Everyone hopes to be a super APP to annex other people’s business. This is the established survival mode of the Chinese Internet.

If you believe in "small but beautiful" and only serve the few users in your own pool, you will end up in decline.

However, one company happened to be an exception.

If I name it, you might even be stunned for a moment.

In the recently popular TV series "Flowers", I wonder if you have noticed the three words Vipshop appearing in the advertisement.

Yes, Vipshop is not dead, and is still alive and well.

Just search on Xiaohongshu and you will find various posts praising the company’s benefits.

300 yuan a month for staff dormitories

Taobao, JD.com, and Pinduoduo all fought fiercely. After overturning the tables, they discovered that there was a silent Vipshop hidden under the card table.

Of course, Topshop's market share is not even enough to carry shoes for Big Brother.

But as long as I tell you what happened to those vertical e-commerce companies that were born around the same time as it, you will know how awesome Vipshop is.

Jumei Youpin has been delisted, and Chen Ou has gone to film short plays. BabyTree, a mother and baby company, has been suspended from trading, and the CEO is busy fighting with shareholders.

What else is there: Dangdang delisting, Mecoxan delisting, Secoo facing delisting, Miya being removed from the shelves, Lefeng shutting down...

In short, I fell down and got hurt.

Only Vipshop stands like an outlier.

Although the glory is no longer there, the market value has shrunk by about 45% compared to its peak. But except for 2022, revenue has been rising steadily. In 2021, it reached 117.06 billion. Even net profit hit a new high in 2022, climbing from 4.681 billion to 6.299 billion.

You may be curious: If it is so resistant, does it have some business that we don’t know about?

In fact, the bad reviewer scoured Vipshop all over and found that this guy seems to be just lucky and doesn't have any special tricks.

Speaking of Vipshop, it was quite prosperous back then.

"Vipshop, a website specializing in special sales." "One hundred brand authorized sales every day." I believe these advertising words have been deeply ingrained in everyone's brain, and muscle memory can pick up the next sentence.

When Shen Ya created Vipshop, it happened to be the golden age of vertical e-commerce . Jumei Youpin, Mi Ya, Ju Shang, the number of brands that have been born is too numerous to count.

In 2010, Huang Ruo, who was the "founding general manager" of Tmall, said bluntly: "In the past ten years, e-commerce has mainly been the success of the platform, but the next ten years will belong to market segments."

Riding the wind of the times, Vipshop has also skyrocketed. It went public in three years and became profitable in five years, and it continues to this day.

When it made its first profit, the stock price soared 60 times, reaching $229 per share. Everyone calls it "demon stock" .

In fact, the reason why Vipshop has become a monster stock is related to its simple but extremely effective survival model: brand + special price + flash sale .

Specifically looking for second- and third-tier fashion boutiques like Adidas and Nike to clear out their inventory and out-of-season merchandise. And through limited-time flash sales promotions, we can tap into everyone’s consumer desires.

It not only meets the demand for authentic products from big brands, but also relies on discounts on last-stock products to achieve low prices. It's because Vipshop did it for everyone without spending a penny.

After achieving great success, Vipshop also tried to take the traditional route.

Like other Internet companies, they followed the principle of retreat if they don't advance, and began to conquer cities and expand outward .

In 2014, it spent US$112.5 million to invest in Lefeng.com, which specializes in beauty and personal care. In addition to the beauty track, it also opened a car special sale.

Even like Dongzi, in order to ensure the quality of logistics, they chose to build their own logistics. The Pinjun Logistics they established spent 2.4 billion just building warehouses.

However, looking at Vipshop’s current performance, we know that these attempts have failed. .

Expansion has not helped Vipshop maintain growth. Net profit in 2016 was still 2.87 billion, but it shrank by 900 million a year later.

At the same time, China’s e-commerce landscape is also changing rapidly.

In the past, various models such as vertical e-commerce and B2B e-commerce were able to make a living in the huge market. However, with the crazy growth of integrated e-commerce, everyone can only pick the leaves between the teeth of the giants.

In 2016 alone, Pinduoduo, which was just one year old, achieved 1 billion GMV. Taobao Live is launched, ushering in the first year of live e-commerce. In addition, Tmall Juhuasuan, JD flash sales, etc. also try to eat the cake of special sales.

With one foot stepped on, countless vertical e-commerce companies fell straight down. From beauty to cosmetics, across clothing, drinks, etc., almost all categories could not escape the disaster.

Of course, the same goes for Vipshop, even if the growth rate slows down, and even the number of active users in the first quarter of 2018 simply dropped to zero .

Amid internal and external troubles, Vipshop immediately stopped daring to show off and quickly retreated to Liangshan. Re-streamline the business and return to clothing sales.

Fortunately, Vipshop is strong in that it has defended its one-third of an acre of land. Everyone gradually realized that it had indeed taken every step correctly.

For example, its track, clothing brand discounts and special sales , these eight words are all written correctly.

Clothing is the most suitable track for vertical e-commerce, and it is a “branded perishable non-standard product”. This thing changes every quarter, and new ones are always needed. The market size is huge.

In 2022, China's clothing, footwear and hats market will be worth 1.3 trillion yuan, but Jumei Youpin's beauty products will only be worth 500 billion yuan.

Because they are updated so quickly, clothes can easily go out of season and become unsold. Therefore, there is a saying in the industry that inventory is the Achilles heel of the clothing industry. Burberry was once exposed and burned up to 36.5 million US dollars of unused goods.

Vipshop, which carries the label of selling off-quality goods, was once almost invincible. Especially during shopping festivals when it’s easy to overstock, brands also charge commissions, so they ask Vipshop to help them clear their inventory.

In addition, the special sale model provides Vipshop with a natural advantage.

Nowadays, when subsidies are introduced, each company is fighting to the death, and it is nothing more than competing for the lowest price. But for a store like Vipshop that offers special sales, you can just sit down and let the merchants deliver a variety of low-priced big-name products .

Moreover, suppliers are more willing to cooperate with Vipshop. Vipshop will not only help them clear their inventory, but also do packaging and marketing for them .

The limited-time flash sale model is also used to ensure that everyone’s offline business will not be affected. That’s why it quickly established itself.

Coupled with early entry and seizing the opportunity, Vipshop has cooperated with more than 41,000 brands, forming a certain moat .

Currently, only Vipshop and Jumei Youpin have such professional special sales capabilities .

In addition, another important reason why Vipshop, which is still standing still, can still have enough to eat and drink is that it has the top quality customers on the Internet.

Contrary to our perception, the main groups that special sales like Vipshop are really targeting are new middle-class consumers with certain spending power.

Moreover, Vipshop has a very high membership ratio. In 2022, the number of active SVIP users has risen to 6.7 million, accounting for 41% of the total consumption.

It can almost be said that these 6.7 million "die-hard fans" support Vipshop. According to calculations by Zhongtai Securities, the annual per capita GMV contribution of this group of members exceeds 10,000 yuan, and their spending power is very strong.

SVIP’s exclusive discounts, member prices, unlimited free shipping, door-to-door delivery and other benefits.

Not only that, even ordinary users are very sticky. The repurchase rate of orders can reach 97.7%, and the proportion of repurchasing users is as high as 81.3% . Those who are engaged in e-commerce should know how scary this data is.

In addition to stabilizing its own advantages, Vipshop is also trying its best to use its budget wisely .

The province tightened its belts and completely eliminated the self-built logistics that burned money; it even adopted a zero-warehousing model in order to reduce warehouse pressure. After the user places an order, the brand supplier delivers the goods directly to the customer.

However, where money should be spent, there is no mercy.

The recent hit "Flowers", I voted for it as soon as I said I wanted to, and it created a strong sense of presence. In the early years, "Sister Riding the Wind and Waves" and "Ode to Joy" were all their advertisements. It is aimed at the 30+ sisters who watch these TV series and variety shows. When these people consume, the speed and amount of money they spend are much faster than those born after 2000.

With many suppliers and loyal users, coupled with careful budgeting and the superposition of multiple factors, Vipshop can stand up on the ruins of vertical e-commerce.

However, even after such efforts, Vipshop, caught between the giants, has only just stood up.

There are still many problems before it. Although inventory is still a headache for the clothing industry, with more and more consumer festivals happening, everyone is trying to find ways to avoid a serious inventory crisis.

Moreover, other ways of selling inventory are now emerging to grab food. For example, the emergence of Aiku in the past two years has forced Vipshop into a "choose one" scandal.

There is even a model called C2M, where users place an order first and then hand it over to the factory for production. Let Aikoku and Vipshop have nothing to eat.

What's more important is that Big Brother can beat this moat even with a little money .

However, in the current fierce Internet battlefield, everyone has temporarily forgotten about Vipshop in the corner, and no one wants to swallow this small piece of cake.

#HETuber #Music #Gaming #Entertainment #Sports #Science And Technology

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stateofsport211 · 2 years

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Las Vegas Ch SF: Stefan Kozlov [4] def. Steve Johnson [2] 6-3, 1-6, 7-5 Match Stats

📸 ATP Challenger Livestream (via website)

A true fighter. This match was truly a rollercoaster in itself, but it would never come to me that it took a combination of grit and an element of hot shot to stay in the match and prevail. With all that happened in the match, S. Kozlov pulled it off, and it showed. The stats might have resonated with this impression, to some extent.

Service game-wise, S. Johnson’s first serves efficacy (at 76% points won there) were mostly contributed from the second set, where he was in total control. S. Kozlov’s first serves level dipped in that set (although it peaked in the first), but his second serves within that and the third tried to make it count from the way he won 52% of his points from there. Although S. Kozlov had one more double fault than S. Johnson (7 to 6) and less ace (7 to 8), the key at the end of the match was somehow the return game and that finishing point, sometimes.

And those comprised the whole reason of how someone initiate and convert those chances. S. Johnson had more chances to break (10 to 8) and could only materialize 40% of them (three came from the second set and only one in the third), while S. Kozlov converted 50% of his break chances, including the one prior to the match point. Sustaining the level is a tough task here, considering how topsy-turvy the match was, but as one said, “when there is a will, there is a way.” To fight until the last ball, even though you have to sacrifice for it (re: the impromptu medical timeout, but glad S. Kozlov turned out fine), was what that matters. To dig deep and find a way out. It will always pay off.

S. Kozlov will face Tennys Sandgren, who earlier defeated Juncheng Shang in straight sets, 6-3, 7-6. Both of them eyeing their own resurgence (and redemption, to some extent) in the finals. Knowing both players and the flow, we will see what is going to happen. S. Kozlov dug really deep in the third set, but we never know until we feel the intensity and see how hard he fights to pull the next one through.

#atp world tour #atp tour #atp challenger #atp challenger tour #tennis updates #match stats #las vegas challenger #stefan kozlov #steve johnson #WatchChallengersFolks #ChallengerMatters

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rainbow-dot · 3 years

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i watched shang-chi and i absolutely loved it, so i wanted to point out some things that i see nobody talking about:

the fact that the women were the actual heroes of the movie, but they are not getting the recognition apparently. Shang-chi would have never been able to do all of what he did if Xu Xialing didn’t came for him in the building scene and also in the final battle. Also, Katy was the one who saved him and Xu Xialing. I’m actually surprised that i’m not seeing a whole review or even an essay on how badass these two were. also, Ying Nan deserves the recognition two, they survived mostly bc of her and the indications give .

The fact that Shang-chi and Katy didn’t end up as lovers, but as even more closer as besties. Tbh, i’m so tired of seeing romance in every god damn action/superheroe movie, like for once i wanna see a good representation of best friends/friends, romance it’s not always necessary in these types of movies. We don’t have a lot of friendship representation between women and men in the mcu, most of them are fatherly-daughter or lovers that’s it. (For me the nat and steve friendship doesn’t count tbh) The way they portrayed Katy and Shang-chi friendship is amazing to me, they are there for each other all the time, like Katy didn’t even think twice about going with him to see his sister :(( really it makes me cry how much they care about each other and i not that romantic way. Amazing to see it, i really hope they don’t try to put them together, imo it’s not necessary for a love story between them, i see more necessary the friendship story.

I think those were the only things that i wanted to point out since no one was talking about it. and now somethings that you might have already see, but still i’m just gonna point it out cause it deserves lmao

THE CINEMATOGRAPHY. i expected a lot from the movie and they gave me much more. love to fricking see it.

if you ask me, Tony Leung is an amazing actor that literally got me feeling both sad and mad at Wenwu. also yes, like the entire fandom, i fell in love w Tony Leung and i’m on my way to see everything he is in lmao

simu liu ofc, he had my heart long ago, now he can have everything i own lmao

the LADIES of the movie, self-explanatory

but still i’m just gonna say how much i love Xu Xialing and the fact that she could run me over with a bus and i would thank her

the design of the animals had me crying, it’s so beautiful i can’t express it

WONG, ofc WONG. i wished he had more than 5 minutes of the movie, i actually expected him to have more, but it’s okay, it actually makes sense, at first he was there to fight, he didn’t even know shangqi yet

oh and the fact that wong and abomination are like friends it’s both hilarious and heartwarming for me

Awkwafina has no bad role and that’s a fact.

in theory i loved every thing of it and i can’t wait for the next shang-chi apparition and the second movie.

now i’m probably gonna go watch it for the second time (even a third time if they let me lmao) before they take it from the cinema.

#shang chi #shang chi spoilers #marvel #mcu #go and see it #it deserves your money #and the love #what a beautiful movie gosh #simu liu #katy #awkwafina #tony leung #xu xialing #wenwu #benedict wong

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puttingfingerstokeys · 3 years

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A Birthday Party for Liu Kang

Oh my god the spacing is all fucked and I’m so lazy. Uhghghghg nope it’s staying. The warring exes plan for Liu Kang’s second birthday. This is just before the third Mortal Kombat tournament.

Warring exes (obv) ft New Kang

Restored timeline

“The timing,” Shang Tsung purred as his swooping handwriting graced yet another piece of vellum, cordially inviting some (un)fortunate kombatant to the third tournament, “is fortuitous, pet. She is growing so quickly.”

A long-suffering sigh resounded from a chair near an ornate bassinet in the sorcerer’s book-lined study. Under the light of an enchanted lamp, a book lay upon the lap of Raiden, the former thunder god and protector of Earthrealm—he had been this in another life, another time, and only he remembered it—but his eyes were not on the tome. Rather they rested upon Shang Tsung, who continued writing, even as he spoke.

The child cooed and rubbed her eyes with small, balled fists. She was a bit over eighteen months old, by Shang Tsung’s calculation. They had decided her first birthday was within a day or so of her arrival upon their island and, with that agreed, went about their business with the addition of an infant.

“You would celebrate Liu Kang’s birthday—”

“With the opening ceremony of the Mortal Kombat tournament, yes,” Shang Tsung responded smoothly, rolling the scroll and reaching for the wax spoon which lay near a small brazier. It was old, and long-stained red, as if seeking to pay homage to the blood which would be spilled at the tournament its presence represented. “Kombatants will present tribute and earn our favor.”

Closing his strange eyes and shaking his head, a look of amusement (and familiarity) upon his face, Raiden closed his book and set it aside. “They do not require my favor,” he said.

“Then it will be mine they shall earn,” answered the sorcerer simply, waving one hand about as if it was of no real consequence whose favor was earned, just that one of the two primary occupants of this strange island was pleased.

Liu Kang cooed again, this time reaching upward, her bright eyes catching the light of the braziers around the room and sparkling with vitality. Leaning down toward the bassinet, Raiden grasped the blanket on either side of her and, ensuring she was wrapped completely, lifted the child and held her close. She reached for his face and he deftly dodged, holding her a little ways away from him.

She snatched at his medallion, at his hat, at whatever her small hands might lay upon. Cackling as only babies can, she flailed about and kicked her feet within the beautifully damascened blanket. The magic radiated off it in waves and it made Raiden feel more than a little giddy, but Shang Tsung had enchanted it so that he could hold his daughter, so giddiness was a small price to pay.

Striding across the fine rugs of the study, toward Shang Tsung, his desk, and its growing pile of Mortal Kombat invitations, Raiden tilted the child so she could watch the sorcerer lay the wax seal and press the sacred symbol into it. The symbol, he thought wryly, of the Elder Gods—no… of the One Being. Do we invite disaster by once more using it? He dismissed the thought, however, focusing instead on the things he could influence, the here and now. He watched Shang Tsung lift the seal, observed the perfection of the lines, the way the light seemed to catch with particular fervor in the eye of the dragon. Does it watch us? Does it mock?

Setting the scroll aside, Shang Tsung reached for Liu Kang and Raiden handed her gently over, taking care to avoid the fresh wax, the brazier, and the spoon. The sorcerer settled her upon his lap and began bouncing his knee, gesturing to a seat which was closer to his desk. Raiden sank into it with a lightness and grace uncharacteristic of a man his size. There were, in Shang Tsung’s memory, no men his size, however—or not many, anyway. At seven feet tall and some, he certainly stood out in a crowd, but that had not been the sole contributing factor to the sorcerer’s near-fatal attraction.

Had he been asked, he might have expressed his interest in the workings of the divinities. As Lord Liu Kang was otherwise occupied and had done him the immense favor of providing his emissary—it was a clever deception and one Raiden no longer maintained and had not for quite some time—as a teacher, trainer, and mentor, it was only natural that Shang Tsung would want to know more about him. This was not untrue, of course, but the desire was much deeper, much more fundamental. It was, in fact, so deep, that now he had acquired his “prize”, rather than growing weary of him, the desire had intensified. It was truly fathomless, just the way Shang Tsung preferred it. What, after all, was life without mystery?

“The Wu-Shi take a vow of poverty, Tsung,” Raiden reminded the sorcerer. Shang Tsung knew when he was being sweet-talked, of course. Raiden was an open book and when he used the man’s given name, it was a sure sign. But he was feeling indulgent. Liu Kang shrieked and grabbed for one of the baubles in Shang Tsung’s hair. A flick of his head removed the target from her reach and she grunted, eyes wide with surprise. Object permanence had, evidently, not yet set in.

“The gifts needn’t be rich,” said the sorcerer, “only meaningful. It is the… thought that counts, is it not, o’ fulminator?”

Raiden nodded. Shang Tsung would have his way, he knew, and there was little use arguing. Maybe it would not be so strange. There was nothing terribly conventional about the tournament anyway. This time, it was fair—Shang Tsung had not developed the habit of sending multiple opponents at one he simply wanted to see ended—and every realm had a chance to earn their place among the ranks of champions. Kung Lao would be returning, of course, and Raiden looked forward to seeing the sincere monk once more. With Kung Lao, however, would be his divine teacher, Liu Kang—the original—and with him would come questions.

Lord Liu Kang had not visited Shang Tsung’s island since his trip there to compete in his tournament. He had not even set foot upon this timeline’s island. Raiden had handled all of that, having met Shang Tsung in the teaming streets of a bustling, busy city. He had no idea that Raiden was raising a child with their formerly bitterest enemy. It would be… incongruous, to say the least.

He had no doubt he could explain all of it to Liu Kang; the man was nothing if not reasonable. All the same, he knew he should have mentioned it before now! How many times had he gone to be with Liu Kang, at his side at the Dawn of Time, to advise him on some question or shifting of sands? How many opportunities had there been? Would Liu Kang see this as yet another breach of his trust? Not nearly so bad as murdering him, Raiden justified, and then flinched back from himself and that memory, but a betrayal nevertheless.

“Would you hide her away?” Shang Tsung’s tone was not accusatory—it never was—but curious, genuinely sincere in its question. “From whom, I wonder?” This was not sincere in the least. Shang Tsung did not wonder; he knew. He was many things, but a fool was not one of them. Raiden sighed heavily once more, shaking his head.

“He does not know of her,” Raiden confirmed, “and it is my doing. I… sought to…” He looked down at his hands, arcs of electricity dancing over them. “I… am unsure what I sought to do. The opportunity—”

“Never presented itself,” the sorcerer filled in, good-naturedly. He did not presume to judge the motives of gods, lest they judge him. That, he had long since reasoned, could be disastrous. Best stay out of the business of celestial beings and feign righteousness, or whatever passed for it in his case. “You go to Lord Liu Kang to consult in matters of cosmic importance, not to tell him of the child who is named after him.”

“I…” Raiden knew when he was being toyed with. He also knew when Shang Tsung was right. Shaking his head once more, he straightened and met the man’s eyes. “It was not the time, and not my place. It was—is—our place to present Liu Kang as ours… whenever we choose.” Whenever you choose, was the unspoken thought, though oddly enough, not without affection. Liu Kang responded to her name by slapping her fat little hands together and gabbling nonsense. It was not what one would call applause, but it delighted the sorcerer and he ran his fingers over her hair, praising her vocalizations.

“You are right, of course,” said Shang Tsung, as if conceding a point. Raiden’s whole form seemed to sag a little, but there was really nothing for it. The longer he waited, the worse it would appear, as if he really was trying to hide the child. Besides, he had other things on his mind regarding the situation, things with which only Lord Liu Kang could assist him. He would require her presence to make his point anyway and, after all, he was not ashamed of her. Quite the opposite was the case, in fact. She made him happier than he could ever recall being and, in a life as long as his, this was remarkable. Her debut would be, in a word, opulent.

Liu Kang squealed with delight and held her hands out toward Raiden, who received her once more. Shang Tsung took great care to ensure the enchanted blanket stayed in place as the child curled up in the thunder god’s huge arms and immediately stuck her finger into her mouth. She was tempestuous, this one, and though she shared more in common, looks-wise, with Shang Tsung, the explosive force of her demands were nothing less than thunderous. He said so, and then suggested the three of them take supper in their chambers, sending for a servant with a wave of his hand.

The journey upward was filled with bowing and genuflecting servants, a cooing baby, and gently murmured speech between the two, of this or that or nothing in particular. Shang Tsung was concerned with the overall presentation of his island, wondering if they ought to string lanterns at the docks, or float them upon the water. Raiden reminded him that the beasts beneath the waves might not appreciate such an intrusion and so on it went until they were seated at the small table within their chambers and served.

As the utensils were sterling silver, Raiden could only watch while Shang Tsung spoon fed the child he had long thought of as his daughter—he had never said this, unsure what Shang Tsung’s reaction might be; he knew he was being foolish, once more, but the nagging doubt still crept its way into his mind—and wish there was some enchantment that would allow him to do this. She was grasping at more solid food, like bread now, and would not need to be coddled like this much longer. In point of fact, the only reason the sorcerer did it was to spare her the indignity of covering her embroidered bib with fresh peaches. His eyes found Raiden’s presently, however, and dark, finely-plucked brows knitted.

“What troubles you, pet?” He left off feeding Liu Kang and set the small spoon aside, shifting in his seat so he could lean over and place a practiced, wicked hand upon Raiden’s thigh. He felt the muscle tremble under his fingers, a pleasing sensation that was not all voluntary. Some of it was most assuredly that deadly current of which the man was made, that most dangerous of traits which attracted Shang Tsung without end. He was eager, but not impatient; the same could not be said of their daughter.

Liu Kang pounded the finished wood of the lacquered high chair in which she sat. It, like her bassinet, was carved with dragons and gilded. Unlike the bassinet, however, there were no gems or mother-of-pearl. Food splatter made such a thing unwise, as did searching little hands—all the gems upon the bassinet were in unreachable places, for now. Shang Tsung had been thinking lately that she was due for an upgrade, perhaps a proper bed, albeit a small one, with rails. There was a prototype of an idea in his workshop far below the bedchambers already, in fact, but for now it was just an idea.

“The tournament, I suppose,” Raiden admitted. This was half true and, for now, good enough for the sorcerer, who nodded.

“Fifty years it has been since your Fire God’s student, Kung Lao—ah, but he is known as the Great Kung Lao now, isn’t he? Fifty years since he triumphed and secured Earthrealm’s safety. He was a fool to spare me, you know. Your Lord Liu Kang should have taught the brave monk to be more ruthless.” The smile on the sorcerer’s face was absolutely feral. Raiden sighed.

“It is not in him to take a life when the victory has already been won, Shang Tsung,” Raiden chided. “He is a monk—more than that, he is an Earthrealmer.” And I would not lose you.

“Earthrealmers are soft,” spat the sorcerer. Liu Kang squealed at the tone and pounded the seat once more. She did not speak yet, but these syllables sounded like “MORE”. Reaching over toward her, Shang Tsung placed a finely-manicured finger upon her lips and clucked at her, shaking his head. Her eyes widened with a strange understanding and she was quiet, grasping at his finger, which he allowed her to hold. The movement had caused his hand to leave Raiden’s leg and, in the meantime, the thunder god shifted in his seat, crossing his arms and offering the strange ghost of a half-smile for Shang Tsung’s perusal.

“You are an Earthrealmer,” he observed.

“Cheeky,” purred the sorcerer, unperturbed. He reached out and unfolded Raiden’s arms, which of course the man allowed, and took one of those hands, grasping it with deliberate firmness. Lifting the knuckles to his lips, he first grazed with them, then pressed them firmly. Even unadorned, they were fine, beautiful, worthy of admiration, and sparking with electricity. One does not bed a deity without a healthy tolerance for pain—perhaps even a craving, he reminded himself as the arcs of power touched his lips and threatened.

He rose to the threat, the challenge, and pressed his lips down again, a little higher up, closer to the wrist. Raiden was, as ever, adorned in blue and white, but the robes were more flowing now, less tailored for kombat (though that would not stop him) and more for indolent lounging—reading and meditating were two of the thunder god’s favorite activities.

The ever-present hat disguised very little from the sorcerer who, nevertheless, snatched it off Raiden’s head in one fluid motion and tossed it aside almost carelessly. Almost. He knew how much the silly thing meant to Raiden and would never have done anything to damage it, even in jest. As Raiden leaned to reach for it, Shang Tsung also leaned, serpentine and powerful, capturing those oh-so-formerly-chaste lips in a forceful kiss.

Liu Kang squealed at this, too, though as ever, she had no idea at what, precisely, she was squealing. She was also clapping in her stilted way and this brought laughter bubbling from between the two men, caught halfway between the ground and a fiery kiss. Had it been two less dignified people, they might have tumbled from their seats with it.

They did not. Righting themselves, clasping hands, they did continue to laugh.. Their laughter fueled that of the child and Liu Kang gabbled and slapped her pudgy hands together with the delight of whatever they were enjoying.

“You are, as ever, far too critical of yourself, dear Raiden,” said the sorcerer, once more lifting the hand he still held. Rather than kissing it, however, he squeezed it meaningfully, desirous to one day see at least some little bit of opulence thereupon—something simple, perhaps. Raiden did look exquisite in gold. Gold, Shang Tsung considered, and perhaps nothing else. The thought was lascivious, so he kept it to himself, but it must have shown in his eyes for Raiden’s expression had turned to one of chiding. Or perhaps this was in response to what the sorcerer had said. “I speak only truth.”

“As you have ever done,” Raiden admitted. Shang Tsung had, in their decades together, never once lied to him, not actively, or by omission. He had always told the god of thunder everything which was on his mind—everything. It was this openness and trust which had saved him. It was what had saved them both. Raiden felt as if it was now his turn to be the serpentine deceiver and he misliked it. What horrified him most was his own skill at the art of subterfuge and deception, but not with Shang Tsung. They had seen too much, done too much together for such things. But Liu Kang did not know, nor did his brother, whom he had not seen since departing for the new timeline.

So much had happened to them in a comparatively short amount of time, but that was no excuse. Life had simply happened at its normal speed, for a mortal, and Raiden was, admittedly, still adjusting thereto. He had become a teacher once more, a mentor, and a lover. He could still picture the moment in time where everything had changed, where he, hopefully, had altered the course of time for the better.

A much younger Shang Tsung—he could not have been a day over thirty-five at the time—had looked to Raiden in those awful moments at the end of the first tournament, standing over the desiccated husk of what had once been his mighty, final opponent, the man’s glowing soul clutched in his hand. Rather than turning away, the thunder god’s expression had been one of passive approval. The minute nod he gave was all the permission the sorcerer required and he took the soul into himself, lifting both fists and declaring himself victor.

That moment had changed everything. Raiden's approving acknowledgement of his student's hard-won victory shifted the very sands of time, such that Fire God Liu Kang, the new keeper thereof, had offered commentary when they met later that evening. With that simple gesture, Raiden had set Shang Tsung upon a higher path, one he was elated to walk as well, hand-in-hand.

#cc #cw #mortal kombat #warring exes #raiden #shang tsung #new kang #restored timeline

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aion-rsa · 3 years

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Marvel Phase 4: Where Does the MCU Go After Black Widow?

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This article contains Black Widow spoilers.

The wait is finally over, as Black Widow has arrived in theaters and on Disney+ to end a two-year drought in which no new movies in the Marvel Cinematic Universe were released. Of course, the powerhouse company kept the flag flying with the premiere of three well-received series on its streaming platform — WandaVision, The Falcon and the Winter Soldier, and the outstanding Loki — but the MCU was born on the big screen and there’s something reassuring about seeing it return there.

But now that Black Widow is out more than a year after it was first slated for release, what happens next? Ironically the film that is kicking off the MCU’s long-awaited Phase Four is a look back at the past, the filling in of a chapter in the back story of one of the founding Avengers. But aside from the introduction of the woman who is clearly going to take over as the Black Widow going forward (Florence Pugh’s Yelena Belova) and a key post-credits scene (more on that later), Black Widow doesn’t offer up a ton of insights or clues into the future of the MCU.

For that we have to look ahead.

Now that the pandemic is (hopefully) fading into the rearview mirror, Marvel is getting aggressive with four new movies in the second half of 2021, four in 2022 and anywhere from two to four in 2023. But following Black Widow, the studio’s next two releases are perhaps its riskiest bets since Guardians of the Galaxy defied the odds and became a pop culture phenomenon back in 2014.

Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings

Ironically, Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings (September 3) harkens back to the earliest days of the MCU, with the Ten Rings organization first mentioned in 2008’s Iron Man. Of course, fans have been waiting for the real Mandarin as well since 2013’s Iron Man 3 fakeout, and they’ll finally get him in the form of brilliant Hong Kong actor Tony Leung. But the focus here is introducing Simu Liu as the title’s master of martial arts and the first Asian character to headline a superhero film — a groundbreaking move that Marvel no doubt would like to have the same response as Black Panther back in 2018.

Shang-Chi has two more unexpected MCU connection points that were revealed in its latest trailer: a brief scene at the end gave us a glimpse of a cage match pitting Doctor Strange right-hand man Wong (Benedict Wong) against the Abomination, a character last seen way back in 2008 in the nearly forgotten The Incredible Hulk. Scattered rumors suggest that the film may take place during the five years of the Blip or Snap or whatever you want to call it, which is how Wong ends up here; either way, he’s one link to the MCU, while the Abomination — also slated to return in Marvel’s upcoming She-Hulk series on Disney+ — is another.

Eternals

It’s hard to tell which Marvel title is more obscure to the general public — Shang-Chi or Eternals, the latter of which arrives on November 5. Based on Jack Kirby’s cosmic tale of immortal humanoid beings called the Eternals waging a secret, ongoing war to protect Earth from the evil Deviants — with both sides the creation of ancient entities known as the Celestials — Eternals is directed by Nomadland Oscar winner Chloe Zhao. Its first trailer gave us a look at a film that doesn’t quite track with anything Marvel has done before, and it remains to be seen how this experiment feeds into the greater path of the MCU.

Spider-Man: No Way Home

There’s nothing obscure about Spider-Man: No Way Home, and the film — the third and possibly last co-production between Marvel and Sony — is expected to be a pivotal one for the MCU with the long-rumored introduction of the multiverse to mainline Marvel canon (although technically Loki has already broached the subject). Tom Holland returns as Spidey, Benedict Cumberbatch appears as Doctor Strange ahead of his own crucial movie in 2022, and while we don’t know yet who the main villain is, it’s the worst kept secret in the biz that Alfred Molina and Jamie Foxx are encoring as Doc Ock and Electro from previous Spider-Man iterations (thanks Al!).

No Way Home is due out in just over five months — on December 17 — and Sony (which controls the marketing for Spidey standalones) has yet to release a second of footage from the film. Has director Jon Watts (also back for his third go-round with the wallcrawler) packed his movie with too many surprises to show us anything at this point?

Each MCU film is important in its own way, but No Way Home may alter the very fabric of the mythology in a fundamental way, as will the movie coming hard on its heels. But before we get to that epic, however, let’s take a brief break and see where things stand with Marvel on the Disney+ platform.

What If…?

With Loki about to close out its run, the next Marvel series will be What If…?, the first official animated series from the MCU. Just like the comics of the same name, the show will feature reimagined events from the history of the MCU, featuring characters like T’Challa, Peggy Carter, Thor, and more. While the show is speculative in nature and will likely have little or no direct connection to the larger MCU, What If…? (premiering August 11) certainly will promote the idea of alternate realities even more and help to pave the way for the emergence of the live-action multiverse later in the year.

Ms. Marvel

Ms. Marvel will introduce the popular teen Kamala Khan (Iman Vellani) from the comics and will also serve as a springboard for the Pakistani-American superhero and Captain Marvel fan to join her idol in The Marvels, which is due out in 2022. Full details about the plot and additional characters have yet to be disclosed, but the six-episode show will continue Marvel’s major push to diversify the MCU.

Hawkeye

We know, thanks to the post-credits scene in Black Widow, that the next Marvel series in the chute, Hawkeye, will directly play off events occurring on the big screen. In that scene, which takes place in the present, Yelena is standing over Natasha’s gravesite (which is presumably empty since she died on Vormir in Avengers: Endgame) when she is approached by Valentina Allegra de Fontaine (Julia Louis-Dreyfus) about seeking revenge for Natasha’s death against Clint Barton (Jeremy Renner).

Pugh is all but confirmed to appear in the Hawkeye series, which will likely focus on Barton’s recruitment and training of Kate Bishop (Hailee Steinfeld) as the new master of archery for the Avengers. Louis-Dreyfus is not listed in the cast yet, but seems likely to appear as well.

As usual, Marvel is playing its cards close to the vest and will adapt the comic book characters and narratives as it sees fit, but the introduction of heroes and anti-heroes like Bishop, de Fontaine, John Walker/U.S. Agent (from TFATWS), Belova and others point to everything from the Young Avengers to the Thunderbolts and Dark Avengers.

Both Ms. Marvel and Hawkeye are expected in late 2021, with premiere dates TBA.

Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness

With 2021’s theatrical MCU slate focused on introducing both new characters (Shang-Chi and the Eternals) and new concepts (the multiverse), the four titles scheduled to arrive in 2022 will bring out some of the universe’s biggest guns.

First out on March 25 is Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness, directed by the great Sam Raimi (Spider-Man), and you can bet that this will be one of the most important titles of Phase Four. It says it right there in the name: the multiverse is coming, and there’s no question that the film will play off events in both Spider-Man: No Way Home and WandaVision, since the Scarlet Witch (Elizabeth Olsen) will be showing up in this movie too (Olsen described the movie to Glamour as having a “horror show vibe”).

Loki head writer Michael Waldron has written the latest draft of Doctor Strange 2, which is very encouraging news, with Rachel McAdams (Christine), Benedict Wong (Wong) and Chiwetel Ejiofor (Mordo) all returning and Xochitl Gomez as America Chavez in the latter’s long-awaited MCU debut. Plot details are non-existent, but we can fully expect this film to have an enormous impact on the MCU as it barrels into the future — or many different futures.

Thor: Love and Thunder

Thor: Love and Thunder will blast its way into theaters after that, on May 6, and promises to be one of the biggest and most fully stacked spectacles of Phase Four. Thor: Ragnarok director Taika Waititi returns, as does Chris Hemsworth (of course), while Natalie Portman will reprise the role of Jane Foster (and also debut as The Mighty Thor) for the first time since 2013’s Thor: The Dark World (not counting her repurposed Endgame footage).

As we said, this looks like a packed film, with the Guardians of the Galaxy showing up as well (for how much of the picture remains to be seen), Tessa Thompson’s Valkyrie, Jaimie Alexander’s Sif, and Jeff Goldblum’s Grandmaster all returning, and Christian Bale making his MCU debut as Gorr the God Butcher. How it might or might not connect to the events happening back on Earth and the introduction of the multiverse is also unknown at this point, but we expect this film to be perhaps even bigger in scope and more outright bonkers than Ragnarok.

Black Panther: Wakanda Forever

Also shrouded in perhaps more mystery than usual is Black Panther: Wakanda Forever. But considering the circumstances — losing the lead actor, Chadwick Boseman, who defined the character of T’Challa for tens of millions with just a handful of appearances, it’s something of a miracle that cameras are now actually rolling in Atlanta on this motion picture.

What’s it about? No one knows, but if movies like Doctor Strange 2, Eternals and No Way Home will delve into the cosmic and/or mystical side of the MCU, than we suspect writer/director Ryan Coogler may keep Wakanda Forever firmly rooted in the geopolitical end of the universe, especially since some of Wakanda’s Dora Milaje turned up in The Falcon and the Winter Soldier. Of course, Marvel geopolitics may involve nations like Latveria or even Atlantis, but that’s another story.

With nearly everyone returning from the first Black Panther — aside, of course, from its newly minted and now fallen king — we suspect that Wakanda Forever (out July 8, 2022) will address the loss of Boseman in a way that is full of grace, heart and majesty. Just don’t ask us how the hell to pull it off.

Captain Marvel 2: The Marvels

As you can see, the further down we get in the schedule, the vaguer the details are. Which brings us to The Marvels, formerly known as Captain Marvel 2. The title makes sense, since Ms. Marvel will cross over to the big screen with this November 11, 2022 release, but we also know that the adult Monica Rambeau (Teyonah Parris) — now imbued with powers of her own — will be coming over directly from WandaVision. From what we recall, Monica wasn’t too pleased every time the name of Carol Danvers was invoked on that show either, so there’s potentially a lot to explore in that relationship.

Nia DaCosta (Candyman) is directing The Marvels, which will also feature Zawe Ashton as a yet-to-be-disclosed villain. With Monica Rambeau and Kamala Khan both in the mix, it seems as if this adventure will be a bit more Earthbound…but don’t forget, the Skrulls are still out there too, which leads to our next section.

Moon Knight

The Marvel Studios series slate on Disney+ gets a little fuzzier once we get into 2022, but we know that Moon Knight, She-Hulk and Secret Invasion are all going to premiere, along with possibly Ironheart, Armor Wars and an untitled Wakanda-based show.

Of those, Moon Knight may have the least direct connection to the overall shape of the MCU in Phase 4. Oscar Isaac will star in the title role, with The Exorcist TV series creator Jeremy Slater as the head writer/creator on this one, but we suspect that Marc Spector and his multiple personalities will pursue his own journey onscreen, at least in the short term.

She-Hulk

She-Hulk may pursue a similar tack, least of all because it’s said to be in a more comedic vein, although it’s confirmed that Tatiana Maslany’s Jennifer Walters will be joined in the show by Marc Ruffalo as Professor Hulk and Tim Roth as Emil Blonsky/Abomination. Does the latter’s now-confirmed appearance in Shang-Chi (or at least a CG version of him) take on greater significance as a result? Or does simply plant a seed for his return in She-Hulk next year? Stay tuned.

Secret Invasion

With Samuel L. Jackson and Ben Mendelsohn returning as Nick Fury and Talos respectively after their stints in Captain Marvel, it’s obvious that Secret Invasion will feed directly off the Skrulls storyline that was started in that film.

While the Skrulls we’ve met in the MCU so far are ostensibly “good guys,” there certainly seems to be room for Fury and Talos to have to defend the Earth from a rogue Skrull faction looking to infiltrate the highest levels of human society and government. “Secret Invasion” was a major Marvel Comics storyline, so it will be interesting to see whether Marvel Studios keeps it contained to this Disney+ series or expands upon it in the movies as well.

Armor Wars

As for the others, Armor Wars is the one we have the most info on, since Don Cheadle has been tapped to lead the show as War Machine. With the show reportedly revolving around the black market for Stark Tech — and Sharon Carter now apparently very much involved in that black market — some elements of The Falcon and the Winter Soldier may find their way into this narrative (same with Ironheart, since that show’s main character, Riri Williams, develops her own version of the Iron Man suit).

Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania

Arriving on February 17, 2023 is a film that could — believe it or not — be the most important of Phase 4. We say “believe it or not” because until now, the first two Ant-Man movies stood largely on their own, with little direct relevance to the bigger MCU storylines.

But with the Avengers traveling through time via the Quantum Realm in Endgame, with the multiverse becoming a major factor in Phase Four, and with the name of the damn movie actually being Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania, we suspect that the true nature and potential of the Quantum Realm will finally be tapped.

But just as importantly, Quantumania will introduce a villain who is very likely to be the big, Thanos-sized baddie of Phases 4 and 5: Kang the Conqueror. With Jonathan Majors confirmed for the role, Kang’s MCU debut has widespread implications for the overall arc of the franchise. Putting in simple terms, he’s intent on conquering the universe and travels freely through time to achieve his goals. In the comics, he’s a descendant of Fantastic Four leader Reed Richards and also has a relationship with Ravonna Renslayer, who we just met on Loki.

While some of this may turn out to be nothing more than Easter eggs deliberately planted by Marvel to make fans nuts (which it does), the truth is that we may even be seeing the seeds of Kang’s agenda right now on Loki, and there’s a very good chance that he will be one of the main antagonists faced by a new iteration of the Avengers either late in Phase 4 or in Phase 5.

Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3

The galactic end of the MCU will again take center stage in Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3, set for release on May 5, 2023. Writer/director James Gunn has hinted that this is the last film to feature the squad he first assembled in 2014, but other than that — and the long-awaited and heavily hinted debut of Adam Warlock — little is known about the plot except that it will follow the events of Thor: Love and Thunder, in which the Guardians also appear.

Fantastic Four, Blade, Captain America 4, and more!

That is all we have for the known, confirmed MCU Phase 4 movies. Fantastic Four, with Spider-Man director Jon Watts at the helm, is definitely in development, as is a reboot of Blade with Mahershala Ali as the title character. There are also three unfilled Marvel release dates in 2023 — July 28, October 6 and November 10 — so two of those could be filled by those two films, with a third to be determined (possibly Captain America 4? Or Deadpool 3?).

The Big Picture

The MCU is clearly moving along several narrative tracks: the Earthbound, geopolitical drama most clearly defined by movies and shows like Black Panther: Wakanda Forever, Hawkeye and The Falcon and the Winter Soldier; the bizarre multiverse madness of Doctor Strange, Loki and Spider-Man: No Way Home; and the galactic intrigue of Thor: Love and Thunder and Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3.

Lurking in the background of all this is the arrival of Kang; the impending MCU debut of the Fantastic Four — which may lead in turn to the appearance of such major Marvel figures as Doctor Doom, the Silver Surfer and Galactus — and eventually the presence of mutants and the X-Men, who themselves may arrive through the collision of multiple universes.

Whether Marvel Studios chief creative officer Kevin Feige and his team have all this mapped out, and all these narrative strands eventually coalesce, remains hidden from us at the moment. But make no mistake: Phase 4 of the Marvel Cinematic Universe is now underway, and barring unexpected changes, catastrophes or the worst kind of apocalypse of all — the box office kind — it’s going to get a lot bigger.

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Black Widow is out in theaters and available via premium access on Disney+ now.

The post Marvel Phase 4: Where Does the MCU Go After Black Widow? appeared first on Den of Geek.

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purplesurveys · 5 years

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535

What is your favorite thing to do on your phone? Tweeting, looking at my photos, or more recently, playing Mario Kart Tour hehe. Do you know what you are going to be for Halloween this year? If so, what? I dunno if we have plans for Halloween this year. I don’t really want to spend my money on a costume either. Do you still go trick-or-treating, and if so, how old are you? I do it for some years. I think the last time my friends and I did it though was 2015. Gabie’s sisters trick-or-treated last 2017, but we just accompanied them.

Which Disney princess resembles you the most? Physically? Moana would probably be the closest. Which fairytale seems closest to your life story? I don’t really like fairytales so I don’t know enough of them to identify which one I could possibly relate to.

What color was your first phone? It came in a red Winnie the Pooh skin when my parents got it for me. Was your first phone a flip phone? Nah it was the old Nokia 3310. My third phone was a Sony Ericsson flip phone. Have you ever butt dialed someone? Nope, but I’ve called people in my sleep haha. What is your favorite pizza parlor? Pizza parlors aren’t a thing here; we just have Italian restaurants in general. My favorite place that serves Italian food is Mama Lou’s. What is an old website that closed down that you miss? TWITPIC. I posted so many photos there from 5th grade which was my favorite year of elementary school. I have no idea how to retrieve them since the site shut down around five years ago. I’d be happy even to find out my pictures just floating somewhere around the internet; I just don’t want them gone forever. If you're a girl, have you ever had an embarrassing period story? Yeah, I was in PE class two months ago and was doing sit-ups when my partner looked at me nervously and she said I had a huge stain on my shorts. I had to do the rest of the workout in denim, ripped jeans. ...If so, what happened? ^ That. What was your worst experience in high school? Not having friends and struggling to know who I was and what I wanted. What was your high school's mascot? Meh my school doesn’t have one. How much did your senior prom dress cost you? A few thousand bucks. I didn’t take my prom seriously so I didn’t want my parents to shell out too much for my dress. Do you listen to Grace VanderWaal? I know a couple of songs of hers and I admire her, but I’m not a rabid fan. ...if yes, what's your favorite song of hers? The song she sang at her AGT audition has always struck me. I think I’ve cried every time I came across it. Do you watch America's Got Talent? Nah I only watch the really viral ones and the golden buzzer bits. Which country has the best accent? I can’t distinguish or identify English accents but I reeeeally like the way Tanya Burr sounds when she speaks. That’s an accent I really like. Oh and the one Claire Foy uses in The Crown; I’m not sure if that’s her natural accent but anyhow that one sounds pleasant too. Which country's flag do you like the best? The ones that go outside the box, like Nepal and Switzerland. Libya’s old flag (all-green, no design) was a bit interesting too. Did you cry at your high school graduation? No. I cried the days before. By the time of my grad I think I was just elated to finally finish high school and excited to finally be out with Gab. Did you cry at your college graduation (if applicable)? I haven’t reached that point yet but I have a strong feeling I’ll be trying not to cry the whole time, because my dad plans to be there and he’s never been to any of my graduations yet. Do your parents try to stop you from chasing your dreams? No. I know they support me so long as they know I can handle whatever it is I want to attain. What dreams have stuck with you since childhood? Going to the moon, fighting a fire, having a job that involves caring for animals. Oh and stepping in a wrestling ring. Who is a former friend that you wish would come back into your life? Sofie. She’s still a friend, but I’ve seen her like twice in the last three years. Sad, considering how ridiculously close we were in high school. Have you ever been in a serious romantic relationship? Yes. Who was your favorite Spice Girl? Uh I was too young to ever be a big fan. Did you ever want to be in a band or music group? I wanted to learn how to play the drums, but I didn’t actively aspire to take up a career in music or be in a band. What instrument did you play in the marching band? If you could take any one type of dance class right now, what kind you take? I’d love to go back to ballet. Who got kicked off of your favorite talent show that you were mad about? Pia Toscano and Siobhan Magnus from American Idol, without a doubt. Do you own the entire series on DVD of any TV show? If so, what? My dad got me Seasons 1 and 2 and a bootleg pack of Seasons 3-8 of Perfect Strangers. What show did you always want to be on when you were a kid? Hi-5!!! I always wanted to be a part of that crowd of dancing kids. I had no idea they shot everything in Australia, and that just because they air the show in the Philippines doesn’t mean the studio is also located here. Can you tell the difference between Mary-Kate and Ashley? No, I never paid that much attention to them. I know they dress nicely though. Who is your favorite set of twins? Les Twins! They’re Laurent and Larry, dancers who’ve performed with Beyoncé for the last several years. What is the stupidest baby name you have heard recently? Stupid is kinda harsh...but a weird name I’ve heard of would be Luckysia. I can’t even begin to think where that came from. What is the grossest thing you have ever vomited up? OMG I dunno...straight-up vodka, I guess? I don’t look at the things I throw up lmao. Have you ever thrown up in public, in front of someone else? Yep. ...If yes, was it embarrassing? Very. I haven’t gotten that drunk since. Did you ever take your dog to school? No as pets aren’t allowed in my school. Name one person you know who had a baby in high school. I don’t have a batchmate who gave birth while in high school, but there are several who have since had kids while in college. If you had had a baby in high school, what would you have named him or her? I’d probably have named a girl Audrey and a boy Gino, because those were my favorites back then. I still like the name Audrey but now I’m not so sure if I’d still want it as a first name for my kid. If you had a baby now, what would you name him or her? Olivia. Dunno what name I’d pick for a boy. Do you make lists of names that you like? Yes, but it’s a list for girl names only hah. Do you keep a list of your favorite quotes? Nope, I don’t like living by quotes. Describe your dream wedding in three words. Lots of: flowers, people, food. What is your favorite Chinese restaurant? The Shang Palace in Makati Shangri-La. Does Chinese food make you feel sick? Nope. It’s part of our culture so it would be unusual to get sick from Chinese food. I know it spoils quick, though. Have you ever seen someone throw up on a plane? Nah I’ve only seen that in Mr. Bean haha. I’ve seen more people get dizzy and throw up in boats/ships. Do you get motion sickness? Yes, mostly in cars, and especially if it isn’t my parents driving. Has God ever healed you of anything? If so, what? Do you believe in God? Do you pray, and if so, to whom? What is the most boring church you have ever attended? All of them. What is the most lively church you have ever attended? Do you find church fun or boring? Boring as fuck, but that’s because I’m a nonbeliever and am only forced to go because my mom is a crazily devout Catholic who makes sure her whole family catches church every Sunday. When was the last time you went to a church service? Last Sunday. When did you learn to ride a bike? I never learned :( A couple of years ago my dad tried to teach me and I was able to retain my balance for like three seconds, but I was never able to repeat it. What do you hate the most about summer? When it gets too boring it’s usually easier to fall into depression or negative thoughts in general. What is your favorite thing to do in a swimming pool? Just float in the water and relax. Which part of your body is the most muscular? I don’t know. Do you like sugar skulls? I’ve never encountered those before, so no. Have you ever painted a sugar skull on your face? Nope. Are you an artist? I am not. Did you ever take Latin in school? No, but we were briefly taught French in Grade 1 because my school's origins is in France. They didn’t keep up the lessons, though. What was the last race you ran called? Idk, does Mario Kart on my phone count? Hahaha Do you prefer to run in the street or on the sidewalk? I prefer to...not run at all. Which major holiday is closest to your birthday? Easter Sunday, typically. Does your zodiac sign fit your personality at all? I don’t care. What is your zodiac sign? Taurus.

#surveys #survey

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natasha--jane · 5 years

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The Verdant Queen

the verdant queen chapter one

(active movement) oli p.o.v. While looking over shado’s wounds i sigh, if Anatole's boat doesn't get here soon shado wont survive irregardless of what I've done for her wounds i realize dejectedly. I jump as a small hand taps my shoulder i look up to see Ishida’s fogged green eyes "raò me, wô de ài rén(what's wrong my love[Chinese]) I murmur tiredly. She goes to answer but is cut off by the sound of a boat engine coming close. "Russian. good job my love" I turn to the children "Bleib hier! (stay here![German]) I order as I run toward the sound, going up the cliff face as fast as I can. The climb cutting my feet along the way. At the top I pull my bow line up one of my tar arrows light it take a breath and aim I release it along side my breath. I smile as the stacked debris goes up in flame with a foooom.

As I see the boat turn to the island, I rush to the beach waving my arms. I fall to my knees in relief as the captain and his children disembark. We'll be all right the thought crosses my mind before I can smother it. against my better judgement hope flutters in my chest. An older man comes over to me and holds out his hand pulling me up i’m surprised when he pulls me close, but I adapt and leaning into the comfort he is offering, closing my eyes for a moment allowing myself just a moment of assurance that he's real, then I pull back and say as clearly as i can manage "jiù jiù wô, ta shòu shang le (please please help me she won't wake[Chinese])" as I pull him along with me, his son and daughter follow us to the campsite. I gesture for the children to let them through giving a tired smile as I watch Alyssa and Tysa lead ishida away acting as her eyes. I wave to get Alyssa's attention to sign to her 'head to the beach' I turn to the young man who looks 16 "do you speak English" the boy nods "can you take them to the boat" he nods gesturing for the children to follow him and heads off, after they have gone i turn to the older man who is looking at me curious "why send them away" he asks gesturing to the direction of the children.

I point to shado "shes unconscious but will still voice her pain when i move her i try to spare the children what i can. my names Oliver queen she is shado my wife the little ones are Alyssa Tysa and Ishida. whats yours" i ask politely he answers "tt my son cc and my daughter ss she can help you move ms. shado she studies medical books and shes good with wounds." he offers gesturing to ss who nods and steps forwards. I shake my head "it'd be more helpful if you could go to the boat and collect some supplies and clear some space on the deck, so i can see to her wounds away form the children" ss nods and dashes off.

"Could you take the bag so i dint have to make two trips i’m quite eager to get off this island" i ask the older man he laughs a swings the bag over his shoulder. "as you should be" he murmurs i smile at his good humor and scoop up shado trying to avoid the burns that litter her chest back legs and arms, but touching them is unavoidable, resulting to me trying to ignore the pained moan. i try not to gag as i think of the fact that her wounds were still in that raw oozing stage of healing beneath the poultice beneath the bandages. As we walk down to the beach she moans again drawing my attention to her face and the poultice that adorns the left side of her face from her scalp down to her mid-cheek hiding beneath the non-assuming poultice is a brand that to this day i cant bare to look at it for more then it takes to change the bandage and poultice.

As we approach the boat i cant suppress the genuine smile of happiness as i see the children who are bundled up in blankets rice and tea on the table in front of them as cc flutters around with a box of baby wipes washing them up and fixing their hair. i laugh as they glare at him but allow it. i board with shado and see the tarp laid out on the deck i look to ss as she begins to speak "I've disinfected the tarp with alcohol not preferred but what i had on hand you have three bowls all disinfected one empty, one with a honey aloe and//, and one with clean bottled water." i settle shado down on the tarp and look on as ss takes over removing the bandages being forced to soak them in places to remove them.

i look to the older man as he pilots us away from li un yu. Then i look to ss she seems have shado’s care under control i head into the cabin to speak to tt. "What can i do to repay you and your children for your help" I ask quietly as i watch cc put tysa to bed Alyssa already asleep on the cot. "You don’t have to do that son. We aren't wealthy but we get by as we are" he murmurs shaking his head. I look away from cc feeding ishida by guiding his hand rather then treating him like an infant the action making me smile. "I must insist my family is quite wealthy back home and I would feel horrible not rewarding you and your children for what you've done for me and mine." I look to ss as she bandages shados face with a look of outrage on her face for shado and then to cc as he tucks Ishida between Tysa and Alyssa and covers them all, before heading to help ss with shado, he scoops her up and brings her into the cabin laying her on the second cot ss covering her with a blanket for modesty.

tt waves for cc to take over piloting the boat and leads me outside "I would feel uncomfortable taking money from you" he says looking out over the water. "What about a sponsor ship deal ill pay for them to go to school and pay you for their absence so you can hire help it wont just help your family but also the families of those you hire and after they complete school they can pay me back by working for me for a year at the end of the year they can decide whether or not they wish to continue or strike out on their own, would that work?" He looks shocked but nods, he turns to head into the cabin and i follow. "We'll be in range for our phone to work in a few hours, you can sleep until then if you need to." i nod and curl up on the third top cot.{kids on middle shado on bottom} -----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------chapter one page two {flashback on the gambit oli p.o.v.} I’m sitting on the bed in my cabin room on the gambit packing my books into their waterproof bag along side my thumbnail cameras and their monitors when i hear the door open and Sarah enters i look up ready to ask if shes ready to go to bed only to stop short as i see her, shes shaking like a leaf. "Are you ok" i ask as i stand. She lunges at me collapsing into my arms. I quickly lower us to the bed pulling her close worried "I’m pregnant" she gasps out. I take a breath realizing why shes so shaken "and you don’t know-" she nods hiding her face in my chest "it could be yours or Tommy’s or .....or" she cuts herself off not wanting to put voice to the possibility of her greatest fear. /or Laurels/ i think the memories of that night rushing forward before i force them back with a shake of my head. i lean back so i can look her in the eye as i say "ill stand by you no matter what path you take. you know that don’t you?" i end it with a serious question she nods, wipes her face and takes a breath "i have no idea what to do about it so I’m putting it on the back burner for now put i had to tell you it was eating me up inside but until we’re done with this whole mess I’m ignoring it" she says gesturing to the bags as she stands. i nod as she heads to the bathroom to clean up and change. I stay back to finish tying my bags together rechecking the zip locks and water seals, as i do i see the flash from lighting go across the wall from outside and start counting automatically until i hear the thunder roll.

Trying to focus on the storm rather the the memories of the night Sarah’s child was conceived, I shake my head and look up as Sarah comes back in and sits beside me. We go over the plan again and settle in for the night both of us giddy for the plan to come to fruition tomorrow "so are you ready for this little bird i murmur into her hair as we lay there in the dark the storm raging out side. she thumps me in the nose for using that hated childhood nickname but nods in response twitching as another roll of thunder reverberates through our teeth. I reach for my left arm stroking my thumb over the dog tags i can feel sewn into the under side of the the worn leather as i do so i can `feel` my mark burn. then as i trace the pattern inlaid on the surface of the leather Sarah places her hand on mine "are you ready to see him?" she asks gently while tapping the cobra and viper embossed resting beneath a hawk on the leather. i sigh uncertainly "I think so, but we wouldn’t be having to track them down in china if everything is alright so i have no idea if hes even ok much less if hell be happy to see me." She nods but responds in a steady voice "If he needs it you'll kick his ass and drag him home to his kids" i laugh bitterly "i wish i had your confidence in me" i feel her shake her head "its not confidence its surety of faith and certainty in knowing how you defend whats yours" thunder rolls and lightning flashes giving her words an unearthly heavy weight. we fall silent and drift off into a light doze.------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------chapter on page two {active motion oli p.o.v.} I’m jarred awake by the boat coming to a stop. i get up and wake the children cc takes over and ushers the children off the boat and bundles them into the van while tt helps me off the boat as I’m carrying shado. ss starts the van as tt bundles me and shado into the back i zone out as ss drives and tt looks shado and i over, trusting tt ss and cc to care for us for a little while. ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- chapter two page one {flashback oli p.o.v.} 3 days after last flashback i wake from yet another nightmare of Sarah’s death, a scream trapped in my throat. I turn to Sarah and shake her awake, something that has become easy to do since 'that night'. "Whats happening oli?" she asks blearily wiping sleep from her eyes. "DREAM" i answer simply, coldly as i get up and begin gathering my bags. she jumps from the bed quickly having learned to trust my dreams without question and grabbing the life jackets i point her to. She dons one as i finish tying my bags to the strap around my waist and straps the second one onto me as i tie her bag to her waist. we both look up as a hurried knock sounds at the door "come in" i call as i double check the ties and Sarah checks the buckles on the vests. The door opens and my father looks in "were turning the boat around the storms gotten to bad out here ok?" i nod and wave him off. Sarah lays a hand on my shoulder as i check everything a third time "somethings wrong isn’t it?" she asks worried. i nod and pull her into a tight hug knowing that she knows i cant put words to my dreams but knowing she knows that ill do my best to protect her. "you k-" I’m cut off by the boat jerking to the left hard a thunderous crash sounds through the boat reverberating through my bones cutting through the sound of the storm outside the boat jerks again throwing me to the bed and Sarah to the wall. i get up to get to Sarah but loose my grip on her hand as the boat is ripped apart and we are both plunged into the icy water. i begin treading water calling out for Sarah only to be pulled from the water and into a life raft. i look up to see my father pulling my bags from the water by the cord. I get up determined to get back in the water to find Sarah but my father pulls me back "shes gone oli shes gone" he murmurs into my hair. i try to lurch forward only for him to hit me in the head making the world go black.----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------chapter two page two

{active movement oli p.o.v.} I come back to awareness with a jump as a hand touches my back I look up to see tt looking down at me "duì bù qî, wô yôudiàn tiào (sorry I'm a little jumpy[Chinese]) he nods and holds out his hand and helps me up out of the van, he looks at me with concern as the movement causes me to moan in pain as the wounds i have gathered over the last few days make themselves known. i brush off his concern with a shrug as i turn to the van and pull ishida out lifting him up on to my hip and watch ss copy this action with Alyssa and tysa grab her free hand smiling at Tysa’s refusal to be as she calls it babied knowing that those rules don’t apply to my cuddles at the end of the day. I look up at shados groan to see cc carefully pulling her out of the car tt runs ahead and comes back with nurses and a gurney we are shuffled into the hospital shado being taken into the back another nurse leads tt cc and ss to a waiting room and a doctor leads me and the children into an exam room.

#FIRST DRAFT

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queen-asante · 6 years

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ejucated immigrant

((AUTHOR’S NOTE: @eene-fangirl For the Fanfiction Weekend Challenge! I should probably wait to post this for Rolf Appreciation Month, but there’s a lot of Jonny backstory/headcanons in here, so I thought it would count. Basically, it’s a poem from Rolf’s POV but it’s technically about Jonny, or rather, Jonny was my muse for this.

I haven’t written a poem in Rolf’s ‘’voice’’ since 2014 but believe it or not, that one little line that Edd says in ‘’A Case of Ed’’ inspired the poem (you know, the one), and as I was reading Ntozake Shange’s for colored girls who have considered suicide/ when the rainbow is enuf, it produced said result. A turnip for your thoughts? I don’t normally write Rolf like this, it’s actually more like Rolf emulating Ntozake Shange for those familiar with her style. As an Indian Immigrant girl who’s considered suicide, that book changed my life, she’s my idol. Hence, the poem is written in ebonics and all lower case to pay homage to Shange (and I consciously dropped third person redundancies, it wasn’t a mistake). Three non-EEnE characters are briefly mentioned: the first one is Vanessa, my friend who’s half African-American and half Haitian. The second one is Ice, who belongs to my friend, Dani. Ice, in her world, is a black and white cat who becomes Double D’s pet. Rolf fears him because he’s not only black and white, but he shares the name of Immigration and Customs Enforcement by pure coincidence. Dani didn’t plan this, as she created Ice before she met me but she liked the idea of giving Rolf a reason to fear the cat, and so we came up with that story together. The third one is Dr. Feelgood who was my therapist, it’s not her real name, it was an affectionate nickname I coined for her in my years battling Bipolar Disorder Type 3.

As a closing thought, much apologies for the length, also tumblr’s going to mess up the format.))

‘’ejucated immigrant’’

dear gods,

i be 14 wit skin as rough as treebark & hands dat look old

i waz the dark skined immigrant wanting to bathe in bleach

Brown Black / Blue Black / Amber Beige / Bister Brick Bronze / Chestnut Chocolate Cinnamin

Copper / Drab / Dust / Ginger / Fawn / Ochre / Coffe Colourd Caramel

Tawny / Terra-Cotta / Henna / Sepia / Umbre

lookin in the thesurus eddward wit two ds give me when i come to dis country

everything spell Brown but nothing spell White

White sound nice like pearl like snow like milk like golden skined white skined light skined

honey dipped / lemon kissed / but begging for ivory / fair frosted silvery ashen boy jimmy

your white hands on my brown skin

i waz the dark skined immigrant botherin to drag you round

you stand there like a closed mouth statue & you insult my way of life

think you know everythin / rolf just some ignorant third world peasant or somethin

but we be livin dis way longer than the foundin of your land

your country young my country old

numbers & poppy / it just to give you illegitimately born breeds of donkeys

somethin to hee-haw over / science say there no gods either but who know dat

you cannot contain lightning bugs in a jar

i waz the dark skined immigrant dreamin of shakin the mr presidents hand

the former mr president wit eyes like a tired old man & Brown his Brown like a mud bath

it really too bad you know / rolf like your former president

dat black man who dont check dixtionaries for validation of his blackness

he not so bad / he waz sympathetic to the plight of the immigrant but his hands tied

not blame him / he not god he not have all the power in the world to fix dis weather

dis cloud dat hang over your land & who the hell is perfect?

it really such a shame / i dream to see the Hill / see the pearly house painted white the place where he live meet him shake his large brown hand / one brown hand to another

cept i not black / rolf not have to be / not pass / rolf european he is white not bloodless

he not pass he not be white enough for your country

cept i be white on the inside look coloured on the out but i aint no coloured

under my skin i am more than a colour

whoever herd of white passing for person of colour

but suddenly i get to dis country & i be treated no different than jonny

so alls i got is coloured dreams

poor grate nano lived & died on silly dreams / well they not exist

there be only reality & reality not kind to the dark skined indigenous immigrant

no one know what i supposed to be / take a wild guess

indian pakistani mexican romani rolf herd it all & none suppose right

they only looking at my face / the outside the outside not matter

cuz i waz the dark skined immigrant not italian not irish but the other kinds

& no one will see unless rolf cut open his veins & bleed

a Wood Nymph have my colour & if i check off the box dat say caucasian i get a funny look

from the lady sittin behind the counter wit the yellow nail polish & beaded eyeglass

spose if jonny do the same they wont believe him neither

jonny be good

yous see him dancin / wearin his stomach out / dark skined bare feet / swayin his hips

& grate thin arms but he not care dat he gots splinters in his fingertips

his nails turnin all black & blue & those chapped lips look like eyes starin out atchu

the gods make dis child the way he is

wit skinted knees & all & elbows pointed outwards readin you like a map

always wit the label on the left side

but he bootiful & he know it / beauty sometime come in the empty coffee can

not in the paper lillies or plastic pearls

you cant make a silk purse from a sows ear / even if dat ear be made of wood

of wood widda crayon drawn smile

jonnys mother the madwoman in the attic

rolf be certain jonny the wood boy some kind of elf from the passage of Valhöll

the mother of the Tree Sprite she not like rolf / well she not like any child it seems

weepy jimmy-boy & rolf invited to jonny-boys abode for a meeting of the Urban Rangers

& tho his mother never says so we feel she not like us very well

she never ast us to stay for lunch

even tho rolf personally would not eat a morsel of what these people eat

& we always been so polite to her but still she build walls

rolf believe she jealous of us becuz jonny likes us

she come out to the parlour / barefoot / flowers in her wild tangled mess of black raven hair

like yoko ono & wearing a long paisley skirt / she bootiful in an earthy sort of way

but she has a wild look in her eyes like a tigress

a violently insane expression like a german vampire dat make rolf think of bertha mason

she looms over her son like a dark older sister becuz they look so alike

altho her skin much darker / a deep chocolate brown / her complexion remind rolf of vanessa maybe she is haitian / she like the demon in nanas stories the one we all have widdin us

who comes out when we try too hard to be good children

she look at white as snow jimmy & myself like she disprove

either she not like us the uniforms or both

rolf forget tho these hippies wit their anti-establishment

they think every uniform represents what jonny calls ‘’the Man’’ & dats what it is rolf think

she not want jonny in the organisation

becuz she think it goes against their opposition to social norms

rolf could tell she wanted to ast us to leave / she not like jonny spending so much time wit us

becuz then he not at home meditating wit her or whatever it is they do

jonnys family is strange / they not eat meat & walk around shoeless

rolf has been called a gypsy by the children at school but flower child jonny seem to rolf more of a gypsy if there ever waz such a thing

he is almost ethereal / his family must be from a clan of faeries the kind nana warns rolf about but brown-skinned jonny seem harmless enough

i watch his mama put a daisy in the pocket of his jeans

i not know if his daddy be white or black but what difference does dat make

rolf understand it is important for a child to love their family no matter their faults

i know The Giving Tree still love his mother

even if she would prefer him to leave the Urban Rangers

of us three jimmy be the whitest of white jonny the blackest of black & i somewhere in between

but any one of us can walk into a puerto rican bar & start speakin spanish

& no one would know what we are

race too complicated & people too narrow minded / want everything boxed in

one day we waz layin on dat grassy knoll / jonny & i

where the trees whisper to us & we whisper back

cuz you know the boy talk to trees & i listen to his voice / & i be lookin at our hands you see

cuz we waz layin inches apart a flower between us & i tuck it behind his ear

then i look & see my skin only one shade lighter than his

tho the sun make me browner than i really be

out in the sun for hours & hours plowing & plowing the fields

by sundown i roasted coffee bean brown / as black as the inside of a chimney

& if i stumble into town any passing stranger would think i waz Black i mean African

id have to stay out of the sun for days to get my old colour black lest i wander round wit only the whites of my eyes visible on my sun burnt dyed rust brown brown skin

& hair so course youd suppose it come off a horses ass

lookin more like an American Indian than a White

i holdin the back of my hand up to jonnys now

how bout dat two brown hands one dark & one light but whos to say i not be a dark white & he not a light skined brown

dont you dare tell me what i am & am not

bitch dis aint no south africa where yous all can reassign us based on what you think

i aint no sandra laing but sometime i wouldnt mind bein black if it meant for you to leave me be

in fact ill gladly be whatever you want me to be but i am what i am

not black enough for black not white enough for white so what am i?

dont box me into Black & White / cuz in dis world brother dat not exist

im sorry as hell but i gettin real tired of bein called

an illegal / an alien / a wop / a gypsy / a guinea / a brownie whatever you want to call us

all your bigoted slurs clumping us together like we one & the same

dat fine but papers or no papers not define who i am

so uncle sam can take it & shove it

welcome to america!

i be having a long love affair wit your country & people

i also be having a war wit em

mama told me there are limits for dark skined immigrants stuck in dis light skined first world

we come over the border wit all the rest of them

wit all them people from central & south america

wit all them refugees from africa & asia

guess what we blend right in we look no different

look just like any other brown faced ‘’illegal alien’’

border patrol take one look at us & think we just like the rest

cuz yesterdays europeans are todays mexicans & middle easterners

coloured Sons of Shepherds gots few chances

what it like to be bilingual / to speak in two tounge

ah but to be fluent in one & not the other tryin to find any definishun in the dixtionary

in which i drop third person redunduncies cuz i only one person not three

& i only speak two language

you speak spanish?

no habla inglés

you speak english?

i dont speak spanish

one day the hat & head as one edd boy say oh rolf! youre so unejucated!

i think my ears deseeve me but i know what i herd

i wish to strike his milk honey cheeks full of nonsense

& say to him i am the ejucated immigrant you be warned about

dont talk to me bout ejucashun

i sale cross the oshun

i wash up on your shore

i lern another language

it wasnt easy

what you know bout ejucashun

all you know come from books & theories

at least i know where i stand

you are a child & i am old old old my hands notted thick wit veins like the roots of a tree

you say i sound angry / yea i angry but not as angry as you

cuz there nothing they fear more than a minority who knows what up

i used to be fraid but not no more

i used to fear the plainclothes agents in Black & White uniform

of immigration & customes enforecement / of ICE police

of eddwards Black & White cat name Ice on ICE

he must be making fool out of me to call a domesticated beast after homeland security

a cat in uniform because the gods make him so not by choice

like there be some purpose to it / i waz the dark skined immigrant you made fun of

i see what they do to the undocumented immigrant on the telly

but now i not be fraid / becuz you cant touch me

so the grapefruit widda red ugly mouth & bleached hair sit in office now

damming all them people from ‘’shithole countries’’ / just as well but we here to stay

it not what i ast for but no use fighting it

& i will gladly pull the bookmarks from my english dixtionary

the one double d edd boy give me

no longer will i bathe in bleach / only use to washing dishes & floors

i not some bloody floor

‘’immigrant’’

at least i can spell dat / i look it up in the dixtionary

websters dixtionary / who the hell is webster?

but now it marked up used copy wit yellow post it notes

i use it a lot to lern your tounge

i not smart but i sho as hell not unejucated / papa can tell me dat

i be in your country in first place to reseeve ‘’best ejucashun’’ like grate nano wanted

grate nano waz an adventurer / a dreamer wit big goals

he travell far & wide seeking fame & fortune

when he a very young boy immigrants from every cesspool in western & eastern europe set sale for The North / it waz always grate nanos dream to travel North

everyone say he more insane than a bovine wit mad cows disease

there no room in dis life for dreams they tell him / he prove our village wrong

when rolf eight years of age grate nano briefly left the Old Country to set sale for america

everyone say he be too old / he never too old for dreams

he wanted to find dat American Dream he hear so often about

spoken wit fondness by the tinkers who visit our land

he returned from his valiant voyage wit stories about what he seen

in the North he said everyone has cars & money & television & running water

no one listen / The North the North they say dat is all you ever talk about

he waz a man who dreamed of a new life for his family & so he decided to send for us

& make a better life for ourselves after the plagues of the land had haunted our family for years grate nano promised us america he said youll soon be eating apple pie from off a china plate white picket fence / coca cola / santa clause / marilyn monroe / empire state building

it sound like a fairytale he spun a legend dat the streets waz paved wit gold

& we believed him for shining in grate nanos eye waz a dream & so here we are

rest his soul he wanted so much to buy us light & sun & clean wind of the oshun

‘’immigrant’’ waz a new word for rolf when he first come here

did not know after hearing the stories from grate nano dat he would soon be one himself

rolf not know what dat mean & still really dont

the dixtionary definishun say \ ˈi-mə-grənt \ noun. a person who comes to a country to take up permanent residence

\ ˈi-mə-ˌgrāt \ verb. [to go or remove into; in, into, and migrate, to remove.]

to come into a new country, region, or environment in order to settle there: opposed to emigrate.

oh sorry dat definishun not say we unclean people / flea invested vermin

sickly serpents who not speak english / greaser / sheenie

contagions of american society / incredibly dirty tramps fresh off the boat

so pervasive / such nonwhite filth / staring back at pitch black faces

not blonde haired & blue eyed / nonwhite skin only fit for dirt & waste work

mama papa kiss me goodbye i going to haiti

but it is what rolf is now it part of his identity just as much as the colour of his skin

just as much as bein a pagan / just as much as bein a male

just as much as bein the Son of a Shepherd

now rolf a new man living in the New World

i am an immigrant

sometime i wish i waz shug avery / bootiful fictional dark skin harlem singer

half man half woman / wit my large glittering masculine thighs i make an animal of men

maybe i have the courtesan complex

so i ast dr feelgood what my diag-nonsense

& she say poor soul you suffer from Stressed Shepherd Syndrome

okay so we all crazy in one way or another / it alright for some

of a mannequin in tears / of personal prejudices

im an unejucated farm boy from No Mans Land

im a poet who write in english

neisatnaf i isatnaf ne / ttim tetrejh dem gnyalp re lesgnel og gem tolrof nuh

rettenremmos i sirb ne mos rav ed / gem etlatrof nuh dro retsem nadrovh

etted tal eddejks rofrovh? / enneh lit gem trekided gej og enneh teksnø etrejh ttim

senneh enenyoø ås gej etted tla eddejks rofrovh

& this is for Sons of Shepherds who have considered suicide

fin

#my writing #poetry #poem #eene #ed edd n eddy #jonny #jonny 2x4 #rolf #jonny appreciation month

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fuyonggu · 6 years

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Biography of Sima Yong (Book of Jin 59)

One of the Eight Princes, Sima Yong was more hapless than most.

河間王顒，字文載，安平獻王孚孫，太原烈王瑰之子也。初襲父爵，咸寧二年就國。三年，改封河間。少有清名，輕財愛士。與諸王俱來朝，武帝歎顒可以為諸國儀錶。元康初，為北中郎將，監鄴城。九年，代梁王肜為平西將軍，鎮關中。石函之制，非親親不得都督關中，顒于諸王為疏，特以賢舉。

The Prince of Hejian, Sima Yong, was styled Wenzai. He was the grandson of Prince Xian ("the Presented") of Anping, Sima Fu, and the son of Prince Lie ("the Fierce") of Taiyuan, Sima Gui. Originally, Sima Yong inherited his father's title as Prince of Taiyuan, and in the second year of the Xianning reign era (276), he was sent to that fief. But in the third year (277), his fief was changed to Hejian.

Even as a young man, Sima Yong had a pure reputation; he thought little of wealth and esteemed gentlemen. When he came to court along with the other princes, Emperor Wu (Sima Yan) praised him as an example for the others to follow.

At the beginning of the Yuankang reign era (291), Sima Yong was appointed as General of the Household Gentlemen of the North, and he oversaw affairs in Ye. In the ninth year (299), he replaced the Prince of Lian, Sima Rong, as General Who Guards The West and was stationed in Guanzhong. There was a rule written in stone that only members of the immediate imperial family would be allowed to wield authority in Guanzhong, and Sima Yong was a distant enough relation that he ought to have been excluded from consideration. But he was exempted because of his worthiness.

及趙王倫篡位，齊王冏謀討之。前安西參軍夏侯奭自稱侍御史，在始平合眾，得數千人，以應冏，遣信要顒。顒遣主簿房陽、河間國人張方討擒奭，及其黨十數人，于長安市腰斬之。及冏檄至，顒執冏使，送之於倫。倫徵兵於顒，顒遣方率關右健將赴之。方至華陰，顒聞二王兵盛，乃加長史李含龍驤將軍，領督護席薳等追方軍回，以應二王。義兵至潼關，而倫、秀已誅，天子反正，含、方各率眾還。及冏論功，雖怒顒初不同，而終能濟義，進位侍中、太尉，加三賜之禮。

When the Prince of Zhao, Sima Lun, usurped the throne from Emperor Hui (in 301), the Prince of Qi, Sima Jiong, plotted to campaign against him.

A former Army Advisor to the General Who Maintains The West, Xiahou Shi, declared himself an Attendant Imperial Secretary and gathered troops together at Shiping, gaining several thousand men. He planned to support Sima Jiong in his efforts. Xiahou Shi sent a letter to Sima Yong to inform him as well. But Sima Yong sent his Registrar, Fang Yang, and a native of his fief at Hejian, Zhang Fang, to attack and capture Xiahou Shi, and he and more than ten of his partisans were cut in half at the waist in the Chang'an marketplace.

Then Sima Jiong's envoys arrived bearing his proclamation, but Sima Yong arrested them and sent them on to Sima Lun. Then Sima Lun demanded soldiers from Sima Yong, so Sima Yong sent Zhang Fang to lead his forces east to the Luoyang region to support Sima Lun. But by the time Zhang Fang's army had reached Huayin, Sima Yong had heard just how massive the forces were that were supporting Sima Jiong and his ally, the Prince of Chengdu, Sima Ying. So Sima Yong promoted his Chief Clerk, Li Han, to be Dragon-Soaring General, and he sent his Protector, Xi Wei, and others to chase after Zhang Fang's army and have them turn back to coordinate with Sima Jiong and Sima Ying instead. The army pressed on to Tong Gate, but by then, Sima Lun and his advisor Sun Xiu had already been executed and Emperor Hui had been restored to the throne. So Li Han and Zhang Fang brought their forces back again.

When Sima Jiong was discussing who had achieved merits in the crusade against Sima Lun, although he resented Sima Yong for not having supported his side from the beginning, he recognized that Sima Yong had rallied to the side of righteousness in the end. So he promoted him as Palace Attendant and Grand Commandant and granted him the honors of the Three Bestowments.

後含為翊軍校尉，與冏參軍皇甫商、司馬趙驤等有憾，遂奔顒，詭稱受密詔伐冏，因說利害。顒納之，便發兵，遣使邀成都王穎。以含為都督，率諸軍屯陰盤，前鋒次於新安，去洛百二十里。檄長沙王乂討冏。及冏敗，顒以含為河南尹，使與馮蓀、卞粹等潛圖害乂。商知含前矯妄及與顒陰謀，具以告乂。乂乃誅含等。顒聞含死，即起兵以討商為名，使張方為都督，領精卒七萬向洛。方攻商，商距戰而潰，方遂進攻西明門。乂率中軍左右衛擊之，方眾大敗，死者五千餘人。方初于駃水橋西為營，於是築壘數重，外引廩穀，以足軍資。乂復從天子出攻方，戰輒不利。及乂死，方還長安。詔以顒為太宰、大都督、雍州牧。顒廢皇太子覃，立成都王穎為太弟，改年，大赦。

Li Han was later appointed as Colonel Who Assists The Army. But Li Han had some issues with Sima Jiong's Army Advisor, Huangfu Shang, his Marshal, Zhao Xiang, and others. So he fled to Sima Yong, where he claimed to have received a secret imperial edict ordering Sima Yong to replace Sima Jiong in the capital. Li Han used this claim to advance his own arguments for why Sima Yong should do so. Sima Yong accepted his judgment, and he raised his soldiers, while also sending word of his intentions to Sima Ying. He appointed Li Han as Commander, and Li Han led the various armies to camp at Yinpan. Their vanguard was at Xin'an, a hundred and twenty li from Luoyang. Sima Yong also published a proclamation ordering the Prince of Changsha, Sima Ai, to attack Sima Jiong in the capital.

When, against expectations, Sima Ai actually did defeat Sima Jiong, Sima Yong appointed Li Han as Intendant of Henan and sent him and Feng Sun, Bian Cui, and others to Luoyang to secretly plot to get rid of Sima Ai as well. But Huangfu Shang knew of Li Han's former deception and mischief, and he was aware that he was secretly plotting on Sima Yong's behalf, so he informed Sima Ai of the plot. Sima Ai then executed Li Han and the others.

When Sima Yong heard that Li Han was dead, he raised his troops to launch a campaign against the capital, claiming that Huangfu Shang was his target. He sent Zhang Fang as Commander of the army, and Zhang Fang led seventy thousand elite troops towards Luoyang. Zhang Fang attacked Huangfu Shang, who attempted to oppose him in battle, but his army melted away.

Zhang Fang then advanced and attacked the Ximing Gate of Luoyang. Sima Ai, leading the Guard Commanders of the Left and Right of the palace guards, attacked Zhang Fang, whose army was greatly defeated; more than five thousand soldiers were killed. Zhang Fang had originally set his camp west of the bridge over the Jue River. But after this defeat, he built several lines of ramparts, and brought in grain from far away, enough to sustain his army's operations. Sima Ai, bringing Emperor Hui with him, went out to attack Zhang Fang again, but he could not gain any advantage.

After Sima Ai's death, Zhang Fang returned to Chang'an. An imperial edict was issued appointed Sima Yong as Grand Governor, Grand Commander, and Governor of Yongzhou. He deposed the current Crown Prince, Sima Tan, and replaced him with Sima Ying as the Crown Younger Brother. He also changed the reign era title, and declared a general amnesty.

左衛將軍陳奉天子伐穎，顒又遣方率兵二萬救鄴。天子已幸鄴。方屯兵洛陽。及王浚等伐穎，穎挾天子歸洛陽。方將兵入殿中，逼帝幸其壘，掠府庫，將焚宮廟以絕眾心。盧志諫，乃止。方又逼天子幸長安。顒及選置百官，改秦州為定州。及東海王越起兵徐州，西迎大駕，關中大懼，方謂顒曰：「方所領猶有十餘萬眾，奉送大駕還洛宮，使成都王反鄴，公自留鎮關中，方北討博陵。如此，天下可小安，無復舉手者。」顒慮事大難濟，不許。乃假劉喬節，進位鎮東大將軍，遣成都王穎總統樓褒、王闡等諸軍，據河橋以距越。王浚遣督護劉根，將三百騎至河上。闡出戰，為根所殺。穎頓軍張方故壘，范陽王虓遣鮮卑騎與平昌、博陵眾襲河橋，樓褒西走，追騎至新安，道路死者不可勝數。

The Guard General of the Left, Chen X (likely Chen Zhen), brought Emperor Hui with him on a campaign against Sima Ying at Ye. Sima Yong once again sent Zhang Fang to lead twenty thousand soldiers to save Ye. However, Emperor Hui's army had already been defeated at Ye, so Zhang Fang camped his soldiers at Luoyang.

When Wang Jun and others then attacked Sima Ying, Sima Ying fled Ye and took Emperor Hui with him back to Luoyang. Zhang Fang led his soldiers into the palace and forced Emperor Hui to move to the ramparts which he had built earlier. In the meantime, he plundered the government ministries and arsenals. He was even about to set fire to the palaces and ancestral temples to sever the people's attachment to Luoyang, but Lu Zhi remonstrated with him, so he decided against it. Zhang Fang then forced Emperor Hui to move to Chang'an. Sima Yong now assumed authority to create the imperial offices and select appointees for them, and he renamed Qinzhou to Dingzhou.

When the Prince of Donghai, Sima Yue, rose up with his troops in Xuzhou and marched west to recover Emperor Hui and bring him back, all of Guanzhong was greatly afraid. Zhang Fang said to Sima Yong, "I still have more than a hundred thousand troops under my command. Allow me to bring the Son of Heaven back to the palace at Luoyang, while you send the Prince of Chengdu back to Ye. You may remain here to guard Guanzhong, while I march north and campaign against the forces of Boling and the others. If we do that, the realm can easily be settled, and no one will raise a hand against you again." But Sima Yong was worried that such a plan would be too difficult to succeed, and he would not agree.

Later, Sima Yong granted a staff of authority to the commander Liu Qiao and promoted him to Grand General Who Conquers The East, and he sent Sima Ying to lead the forces of Lou Bao, Wang Chan, and others to occupy Heqiao and oppose Sima Yue. Wang Jun sent his Protector, Liu Gen, who led three hundred riders to Heshang. Wang Chen went out to offer battle, but he was killed by Liu Gen. Sima Ying camped his army at Zhang Fang's former ramparts. The Prince of Fanyang, Sima Xiao, sent the Xianbei cavalry and the armies of Pingchang and Boling commandaries to attack Heqiao. Lou Bao fled to the west, but he was overtaken by pursuit riders at Xin'an. The roads and ways were filled with dead beyond counting.

初，越以張方劫遷車駕，天下怨憤，唱義與山東諸侯克期奉迎，先遣說顒，令送帝還都，與顒分陝而居。顒欲從之，而方不同。及東軍大捷，成都等敗，顒乃令方親信將郅輔夜斬方，送首以示東軍。尋變計，更遣刁默守潼關，乃咎輔殺方，又斬輔。顒先遣將呂朗等據滎陽，范陽王虓司馬劉琨以方首示朗，於是朗降。時東軍既盛，破刁默以入關，顒懼，又遣馬瞻、郭傳于霸水禦之，瞻等戰敗散走。顒乘單馬，逃於太白山。東軍入長安，大駕旋，乙太弟太保梁柳為鎮西將軍，守關中。馬瞻等出詣柳，因共殺柳於城內。瞻等與始平太守梁邁合從，迎顒于南山。顒初不肯入府，長安令蘇眾、記室督硃永勸顒表稱柳病卒，輒知方事。弘農太守裴暠、秦國內史賈龕、安定太守賈疋等起義討顒，斬馬瞻、梁邁等。東海王越遣督護麋晃率國兵伐顒。至鄭，顒將牽秀距晃，晃斬秀，並其二子。義軍據有關中，顒保城而已。

Now Sima Yue had originally been able to whip the various nobles east of the mountains (east of Luoyang) into a righteous fury because of their indignation against Zhang Fang for having forced Emperor Hui to move to Chang'an. When Sima Yue had set a date with them for a great undertaking to recover Emperor Hui, he had first sent word to explain his intentions to Sima Yong, ordering him to send Emperor Hui back to the capital. He proposed that they might split the realm at Shan, with each of them having their own sphere of influence.

Sima Yong wanted to go along with the proposal, but he feared that Zhang Fang would never agree to it. Then, after the eastern armies won victory after victory, and Sima Ying and the others were defeated, Sima Yong ordered Zhang Fang's trusted confidant, Zhi Fu, to behead him during the night, and Sima Yong sent Zhang Fang's head to the eastern armies as a display of his intentions. However, he soon changed his mind again and sent Diao Mo to hold Tong Gate against the eastern armies. He also blamed Zhi Fu for having killed Zhang Fang, and so he beheaded Zhi Fu.

Sima Yong had earlier sent some of his generals, Lü Lang and others, to occupy Xingyang. But when Sima Xiao's Marshal, Liu Kun, showed them Zhang Fang's head, Lü Lang and the others surrendered.

By then, the eastern armies were numerous, and they routed Diao Mo and entered Guanzhong. Sima Yong, afraid, now sent Ma Zhan and Guo Chuan to hold the line of the Ba River against them. But Ma Zhan and the others were defeated in battle, and they scattered and fled. Sima Yong fled Chang'an on a lone horse, hiding at Mount Taibai. The eastern armies then entered Chang'an and brought Emperor Hui back to the east again. They appointed the Grand Guardian to the Crown Younger Brother, Liang Liu, as General Who Guards The West and left him to guard Chang'an.

Ma Zhan and the other scattered commanders emerged and went to visit Liang Liu, and they killed him together inside the city. Ma Zhan and the rest then joined the Administrator of Shiping, Liang Mai, and welcomed Sima Yong's return from the southern hills. Sima Yong was originally unwilling to enter the government, so the Prefect of Chang'an, Su Zhong, and the 記室督, Zhu Yong, urged him to submit a petition that Liang Liu had merely passed away from illness. But everyone knew the truth.

The Administrator of Hongnong, Pei Gao, the Administrator of Anding, Jia Ya, and others rose up to fight against Sima Yong, and they beheaded Ma Zhan, Liang Mai, and the others. Sima Yue sent his Protector, Mi Huang, to lead soldiers from his fief to campaign against Sima Yong as well. When they arrived at Zheng, Sima Yong's general Qian Xiu fought against Mi Huang, but Mi Huang beheaded him as well as his two sons. The forces that had risen up against Sima Yong occupied all of Guanzhong, and Sima Yong controlled no more than Chang'an itself.

永嘉初，詔書以顒為司徒，乃就征。南陽王模遣將梁臣于新安雍谷車上扼殺之，並其三子。詔以彭城元王植子融為顒嗣，改封樂成縣王。薨，無子。建興中，元帝又以彭城康王釋子欽為融嗣。

At the beginning of the Yongjia reign era (307), an imperial edict was issued appointing Sima Yong as Minister Over The Masses. Sima Yong set out to take up this role in the capital. But the Prince of Nanyang, Sima Mo, sent his general Liang Chen to intercept Sima Yong at Yong Valley in Xin'an. Liang Chen climbed into Sima Yong's carriage and strangled him to death, along with his three sons.

An edict was later issued appointing Sima Rong, the son of Prince Yuan ("the Foremost") of Pengcheng, Sima Zhi, as Sima Yong's heir, and his fief was changed to Prince of Lecheng County. When Sima Rong passed away, he did not have any sons either. After the restoration of the Jin dynasty in the south (after 318), Emperor Yuan (Sima Rui) appointed Sima Qin, the son of Prince Kang ("the Peaceful") of Pengcheng, Sima Shi, as Sima Rong's heir.

#War of the Eight Princes #Sima Yong #Western Jin #Jin Dynasty #Book of Jin #Jinshu #Chinese History #China

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The Weekend Warrior 9/10/21 - MALIGNANT, THE CARD COUNTER, TIFF 2021, LANGUAGE LESSONS, THE ALPINIST, EVERYBODY’S TALKING ABOUT JAMIE, FAUCI, and More!

Before we get to this week’s releases-- and there are a lot of them, though not necessarily wide releases -- I probably should mention that the Toronto International Film Festival (TIFF) is beginning this week up North across the board. I was unable to go in person, more due to the money than any worries about COVID. (Honestly, I have no idea what’s going on at the border right now between America and Canada, but I figured I better wait it out before attending TIFF in person… until I can actually afford it.)

This year’s TIFF offers a lot of premieres, most of them taking place in physical theaters in Toronto, such as Edgar Wright’s, Last Night in Soho, (which just premiered in Venice) and Universal’s musical, Dear Evan Hansen, as well as David Gordon Green’s horror sequel, Halloween Kills (which also just played in Venice oddly). Other movies playing TIFF include Jane Campion’s The Power of the Dog, and The Electrical Life of Louis Wain, both which star Benedict Cumberbatch. Mihael Peace's Encounter, starring Riz Ahmed and Octavia Spencer, and docs like Julia (as in "Child") and Attica. There’s even a doc about the Canadian rock band, Triumph! (I’m looking forward to that one.) Antoine Fuqua’s remake of the German film, The Guilty, starring TIFF regular Jake Gyllenhaal, will have its premiere, and many, many more. Too many to watch, let alone write about, but I’ll try to review a few of these over at Below the Line and maybe some here. (There are also lots of movies that premiered at Cannes in July that will play at TIFF, and some of those will also play at New York Film Festival later this month, which is where I’ll see them.)

A movie that I’ve been looking forward to for quite some time and is finally seeing the light of day is James Wan’s return to horror, MALIGNANT (Warner Bros.). Unfortunately, I don’t think I’ll have a chance to see this before Friday, which is a bit of a bummer, but I’ll look forward to seeing it with the common people in a theater. Because I’m looking forward to this movie so much, I haven’t even watched the latest trailer, so I really don’t know too much about it, which may be for the better.

Of course, you know Wan’s name from some of the most successful horror franchises of the past two decades, starting with Saw in 2004. After a few movies that didn’t do quite so well, Wan reteamed with his Saw collaborator Leigh Whannell for Insidious in 2010, which also did very well and created a similarly successful franchise. (Whannell would go on to direct the third movie in the series, the respectable sci-fi thriller Upgrade, and then he directed 2020’s The Invisible Man for Universal, which was also a substantial hit.) Meanwhile Wan went on to direct The Conjuring in 2013 and its 2016 sequel, The Conjuring 2, based on the true case files of supernatural investigators Ed and Lorraine Warren, played by regular Wan collaborator Patrick Wilson and Vera Farmiga. Both of those “Conjuring” movies opened with $40 million+, and you guessed it, they also led to hugely successful franchises for Warner Bros with spin-offs galore.

Although Wan has been making big studio mega-blockbusters like Furious 7 and Aquaman in recent years -- and he’s hard at work on a sequel to the latter -- Malignant is his return to horror after a whole five years, which certainly is exciting for horror fans and those who love Wan’s style of horror particularly.

One thing that’s become fairly obvious from writing about box office over the past couple decades is that horror movies are rarely sold on the names of their stars, although Wan has a fine lead in the form of Annabelle Wallis, who just so happened to have starred in the 2014 The Conjuring prequel called Annabelle, which did quite well. (No, she did not play the title doll Annabelle, if you haven't seen it.) And that’s about it. The fact that Wan can do whatever he wants these days, and he decides to return to the horror genre without stacking the deck with all sorts of name actor, is pretty impressive. Even Saw had bigger names actors like Carey Elwes and Danny Glover!

Although I don’t know much about Malignant, it’s definitely giving me vibes of Sam Raimi’s Drag Me To Hell, the horror master’s return to horror after making three “Spider-Man” movies. Although it’s well-loved by horror fans, it ended up opening with just $15.8 million in the summer of 2009. That’s a little daunting when you figure that Malignant is opening in September and in the second weekend of a huge blockbuster like Marvel’s Shang-Chi.

But there’s something else that’s been bugging me, as excited as I am to see the movie. I’ve been doing this a long time, and Warner Bros. has become almost legendary for screening all their movies in advance… every single one. I can maybe think of two examples of movies that didn’t get advance critics screenings. Malignant is screening for critics but only on Thursday night with an embargo Thursday at 10pm. That is not the move of a studio confident in a movie they’re releasing. Maybe it’s to avoid spoilers or maybe it’s ‘cause Malignant returns Wan to the craziness of the Insidious movies rather than the more commercial and mainstream horror of The Conjuring movies. I don’t know, cause I haven’t seen it, but I'm still gonna go see it on Friday night, ‘cause I like James and want to fully support his movie.

But that adds another layer of foreboding to the horror movie that will also be on HBO Max Friday, and it’ll be so easy for the curious to just hit “play” on their remote to watch it that way, which is what I think most people will do. Because of this, I’m struggling to find a way that Malignant makes more than $13 million, taking quite a distant second place to Shang-Chi in its second weekend.

Opening in roughly 500 theaters Friday is Paul Schrader’s THE CARD COUNTER (Focus Features), which stars Oscar Isaac as former prison inmate and professional gambler, “William Tell,” who drives around the casino circuit making money by playing blackjack and poker. He meets two people on his journey that changes the course of his path, the first being Tye Sheridan’s Cirk (Yes, with a “C”), a young man whose father ended up killing himself after serving time in military prison for crimes at Abu Ghraib. Tiffany Haddish plays La Lina, a woman who sees Will’s talent playing cards and wants to put him in her stable of players. The relationship between these three characters is what keeps the movie interesting even when there are only a few minor dramatic fireworks.

If there’s any doubt that Schrader, a significant Hollywood player in the ‘70s and ‘80s, is firing on all cylinders then The Card Counter confirms that 2017’s First Reformed was no fluke, as Schrader remains valid and important well into his 70s. Like First Reformed, this film features an undeniably solid performance from Isaac, who plays such a subdued character, an enigma who every so often truly explodes.

Sheridan's sheepish Cirk seems like an odd choice in road companion, although Haddish proves to be quite a counter (pun intended) to Isaac, as she seems far more comfortable in Will's world. Trying to understand Will and what he sees in Cirk and why he joins the World Poker Tour circuit despite wanting to remain anonymous is what keeps The Card Counter so invigorating. (One odd thing is that despite the title and the opening which literally teaches the viewer how to count cards while playing Blackjack, in most of the movie he’s actually playing poker.)

Folks who enjoy poker movies and the intricacies of Vegas and the gambling community in general should really enjoy The Card Counter for that aspect alone, but then there's the past of the main character, which ties into Abu Ghraib and the horrors of the tortures committed there. Some might feel that two decades after 9/11 isn't the best time to bring those crimes back to the forefront, but Schrader ably explores what it must have been like for the military torturers after they were convicted.

Few screenwriters and filmmakers could pull off what Schrader does in terms of combining these elements, as the story weaves itself through these very different worlds. Frequent Schrader collaborator, Willem Dafoe, takes on a smaller but still significant role as “Gordo,” Will’s commanding officer who trained him to torture. Even so, one of my favorite moments is a scene in a diner where Will performs a card trick for Cirk that would make the late Ricky Jay proud just adds to one's enjoyment.

I will say that I wasn’t as thrilled by the movie’s last ten minutes, as it feels like Schrader ran out of steam in terms of how to resolve all the pieces of a puzzle, leaving a couple pieces out before completion. Regardless, The Card Counter is a constantly compelling film that keeps you invested in the different characters’ behavior as things happen to and around them.

As far as box office, The Card Counter isn't getting a very wide release but with so many movies in the top 10 quickly dropping away leaving movies like Shang-Chi at the top, it should leave room for Schrader's film to inch its way into the top 10 and maybe even the top 5!

A movie I’m unlikely to see and know very little… okay… nothing… about is the faith-based SHOW ME THE FATHER (Sony/AFFIRM Films), which will open in about 1,000 theaters on Friday. Okay, fine, you twisted my arm, and I looked it up. This is a new documentary about fatherhood from the Kendrick Brothers, the duo behind faith-based hits like War Room, Courageous, and Fireproof. I've seen none of those movies, though I know all of them exceeded expectations, but this is also a doc, and those rarely do as well at the box office. I wish I could give you a definitive number for this, but something makes me think it won’t make more than $2 million, even if the religious right seem less worried about COVID and vaccines and wearing masks in movie theaters than everyone else. Expect it to end up in the bottom of the Top 10 with lots of confused movie writers not knowing what it is.

Kristen Bell and Kirby Howell-Baptiste (who have appeared both on The Good Place and in Veronica Mars together) co-star in the comedy QUEENPINS (STXfilms), which is being released straight to Cinemark Theaters on Friday and then it will be on Paramount+ on Sept. 30.

In the movie, based on a true story, Bell plays Connie Kominski, a suburban Phoenix housewife who thrills to saving money with coupons, hatches a scheme with her best friend JoJo (Howell-Baptiste) to sell coupons via mail, not realizing that what they’re doing is illegal as they rack up millions of dollars. Unfortunately, they have Paul Walter Hauser’s Loss Prevention Manager Ken Miller on their tail, and he teams with postal inspector Simon Kilmurry (Vince Vaughn) to try to catch them women trying to scam the supermarkets.

This movie, written and directed by Aron Gaudet and Gita Pullapilly, actually is based on a true story, but it took me a little while to get into it, and it definitely had its ups and downs. The first thing one has to get past is the fact that this is essentially a heist film that involves illicit coupons, and at first, Connie writing letters of complaint to companies comes across a bit like a Greenberg for middle-aged women. (Note: that film's star, Ben Stiller is one of the movie's exec. producers.) On the other hand, Kristen Bell tends to be great in this kind of role and you can tell she's worked with Ms. Howell-Baptiste from their organic chemistry as best friends. Joel McHale has a tougher time fitting in as Connie's husband Rick, but that actually works in this case. (A little trivia fact: McHale, Howell-Baptiste and Natalie Morales, whose directorial debut is reviewed below, all appeared in BenDavid Grabinski's Happily, as did Stephen Root, who has a small role in Queenpins.)

Queenpins eventually falls into a steadier pace with the introduction of Hauser's character and then bringing Vaughn into the mix, although the two of them have very little interaction with the two female leads, as the film instead cuts between the two duos. Hauser essentially seems to be playing a jokier version of Richard Jewell here, constantly trying to get more involved in the case and wanting to be deputized by Vaughn. The two of them work well together, and there's only one unfortunate scene involving… it's too disgusting to mention, but it's where the film needlessly delves into gross-out humor, and that's also where it falters.

As much as the law in this movie act like buffoons, the two ladies don't seem very much smarter, doing idiotic things like buying Lamborghinis and guns in order to "clean” the illicit money from the coupon-selling scam. Because of that, Queenpins gets sillier and sillier and feels less like any sort of possible true story as it goes along. The movie basically comes across like a less skilled version of Butter, but in that case, it was a movie that shouldn't have worked but did. In this case, it's the exact opposite.

Cinemark Theaters only has about 331 theaters across America, including a lot in Texas, California, and Ohio, but honestly, I don't think awareness is high enough for Queenpins for it to make much of a mark, but even if it makes less than a million, it could theoretically break into the top 10 this weekend, but I think it will fall just short.

The movies above are the only ones that may be going even remotely wide, so because of that, this weekend’s box office will look something like this with Shang-Chi remaining #1 with relative ease, Malignant taking a distant second, and Candyman and Free Guy fighting it out for #3.

1. Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings (Marvel/Disney) - $33.5 million -56%

2. Malignant (Warner Bros.) - $13.6 million N/A

3. Candyman (Universal) - $4.8 million -53%

4. Free Guy (20th Century/Disney) - $4.5 million -42%

5. The Card Counter (Focus) - $2.2 million N/A

6. Jungle Cruise (Walt Disney Pictures) - $2.1 million -48%

7. Paw Patrol: The Movie (Paramount) - $2 million -50%

8. Show Me the Father (Sony/AFFIRM) - $2 million N/A

9. Don’t Breathe 2 (Sony/Screen Gems) - $2 million -30%

10. Respect (MGM) - $600,000 -57%

--- Queenpins (STXfilms) - $445,000 N/A

It was tough to pick a “Chosen One” this week, because there are a few decent films, but I had to go with Natalie Morales’ directorial debut, LANGUAGE LESSONS (Shout! Studios!), which she co-wrote and co-stars in with Mark Duplass. I saw it at SXSW back in March, and I loved it just as much a second time around, due to the simplicity of the premise and just how much Morales and her co-star do using similar Zoom technology we’ve all been using for the past 18 months. Duplass plays wealthy Californian Adam, whose husband buys him a series of Spanish lessons, given over Zoom by Morales’ character Cariño, who lives in Costa Rica.

You might think after over a year of mostly communicating with family and friends via Zoom, we’d be so sick of it that a movie that uses that as a conceit would be absolutely horrible, but maybe that’s why it’s easier to connect with what Morales and Duplass were attempting with this terrific piece of work. How these two people from different backgrounds interact begins slowly as might be the case while getting online language lessons from a new teacher. As they become more comfortable with each other, there’s more playfulness, as they begin to open up to each other. (Adam's Spanish teacher definitely has a dark side that comes out as things go along.)

I’m not sure if there was a lot of improvisation involved with the script as with some of the films Duplass did with the wonderful Lynn Shelton, but however they put this film together, it works in a similar way where it’s charming and funny, even during some of the more emotional moments. Because Duplass’ character is declared as gay fairly on, there's none of the attempts at making this some sort of meet-cute romance, as may have been the case with a studio movie. There's also never anything lascivious or creepy about their relationship, which makes some of the moments a little confounding, but ultimately, it all pays off.

Even though there’s a certain aspect of the movie that makes you want it to be kept organic and authentic-feeling, there is some gentle scoring by Gaby Moren that’s kept far behind the dialogue that does add something subliminal to the film.

Language Lessons is absolutely delightful -- definitely one of my favorite films of the year -- maybe because it thrives on its own simplicity by just having two actors doing what they do best.

Another great movie coming out in select theaters Friday is EVERYBODY’S TALKING ABOUT JAMIE (Amazon), starring Max Harwood as Jamie New, a fairly normal gay 16-year-old from Sheffield, England… other than the fact that he wants to be a drag queen. His mother Margaret (Sarah Lancashire) supports him, as does his best friend Pritti (Lauren Patel) but Jamie risks the ridicule and mocking and bullying of his entire Year 11 class as he proclaims his desire to attend prom in drag. This is the feature debut by Jonathan Butterell, a choreographer who directed the original stageplay.

I honestly wasn't really sure what to expect when I went to a theater to see this with a real audience. For one thing, I had no idea it was a musical. I had seen Max on some morning show talking about the movie and how it was based on the true story of Jamie Campbell, a British teen who wanted to be a drag queen, but I don’t remember him saying anything about singing or dancing. And the music and performances are all terrific, including all the young actors playing Jamie’s schoolmates, who have more than a few spectacular numbers to show off their own skills. (They’re kind of like the Greek chorus for the film.)

Harwood is exceedingly likeable, which is why he can carry this film, but it’s then an even bigger joy when Richard E. Grant shows up in a mentor role, as former drag queen “Loco Channel.” Grant has proven countless times he can do anything, and though his singing voice takes some adjusting to, it also leads to two absolutely amazing moments. Same with Lauren Patel and Sarah Lancashire, who each have numbers that would bring down the house on a Broadway stage but just gets the tears flowing as you’re watching on the screen. Sharon Horgan, who was just in the recent drama Together, plays more of the antagonist role as Jamie’s disapproving teacher, and her one number does not show that singing is one of her talents. (She does okay, and gets through it, at least.)

That aside, Everybody’s Talking About Jamie is a truly wonderful musical (and movie), one that took me quite by surprise, since I wasn't expecting something a bit more "Free to Be You and Me” (look it up). In fact, Harwood shines, and the cast around him does as well; the fact this musical was able to bring out so many emotions from me offers proof positive that it's a true winner.

Jamie is opening in select theaters this Friday, and then it will stream on Amazon Prime Video starting Sept. 17. I recommend going out and seeing it in a theater if it’s playing near you; it’s a real crowdpleaser, for sure.

Also launching on Amazon this Friday is the series, THE VOYEURS (Amazon), starring the terrific Sidney Sweeney (who many will know from Mike White’s The White Lotus on HBO Max) and Justice Smith as a young couple who move into a loft apartment in Downtown Montreal after which they become interested in the sex life of their neighbors across the street (played by Ben Hardy and Natash Liu Bordizzo).

I’ve really been looking forward to the action-thriller KATE (Netflix), starring Mary Elizabeth Winstead, who I love, so sue me. It also stars Woody Harrelson, who I’m also a fan of. Directed by Cedric Nicholas-Troyan (The Huntsman: Winter’s War), it has Winstead playing Kate, a kick-ass assassin who has 24 hours to get revenge on the man who tries to kill her, eventually teaming with the daughter of one of her targets. Harrelson plays her handler.

The fact that this movie, starring one of my favorite actresses playing an assassin and doing a bit more action than we've seen from Winstead in a while (Birds of Prey being an exception), comes so soon after The Protégé with Maggie Q may only be a coincidence, but whoever is making these movies clearly knows what I'm all about. This one also has a very tiny sci-fi angle as well, and much of it is set in Tokyo, so it has both those things going for it, too.

Is this Winstead's best role or movie? No, probably not, but it does show her versatility, the fact that she can do something like Scott Pilgrim and other types of genre, but also do serious drama, and this is much stronger a venture into a Japanese yakuza thriller by a Westerner than last week's Yakuza Princess. Much of that comes down to Winstead and Harrelson, who do a much better job selling even the weaker dialogue, because you can tell they're both taking it very seriously. Like Yakuza Princess (and Kill Bill, a model for both of them) Nicholas-Troyan leans heavily on his soundtrack and on some of the more stylish visuals, but at least this one offers other things beyond the constantly-circling camera in certain scenes.

Let's face it that watching Winstead taking part in some pretty impressive and violent fight and stunt sequences would probably be more than enough for me to enjoy this even, if there are moments that rip-off Kill Bill so obviously but again, better than other similar rip-offs. Eventually, Kate gets sidled with a young teen girl, Ani (Miku Martineau), the daughter of one of her victims, and that does take away from the "sole assassin” aspect but does give it more of the feel of The Professional. Maybe that would work better if Martineau didn’t seem much older than the teenager she was meant to be playing, which might be due to the fact that she swears more than Samuel L. Jackson. In some ways, Ani offers something more akin to Black Widow with a third act twist that few will see coming.

Ultimately, the movie works well as an action movie, if not slightly marred by its overuse of clichés. It probably will come as no surprise that I prefer seeing action movies like this on the biggest screen possible in a theater, and in fact, this did get a nominal theatrical run last week before streaming on Netflix Friday. Winstead's badassery does wonders at making sure that fans of her and the genre won't be disappointed by its few flaws.

Also hitting Netflix this week (today, in fact) is the doc BLOOD BROTHERS: MALCOLM X & MUHAMMAD ALI (Netflix), which has a fairly self-explanatory title. I haven't seen it yet.

A movie that people who liked the Oscar-winning Free Solo will also want to check out is Peter Mortimer and Nick Rosen’s THE ALPINIST (Red Bull Media/Roadside Attractions/Universal), a documentary about the 23-year-old solo mountain climber Marc-André Leclerc, whose amazing climbs were counterbalanced by his elusive behavior that kept him mostly under the radar for so many years.

This is a very different movie from Free Solo, though. That was about Alex Honnold's determination to make one singular climb, while Leclerc was already making just as many impressive climbs at a younger age. It's pretty obvious that Leclerc was destined to climb even bigger rock faces as Mortimer (whose previous film, The Dawn Wall, was sadly overlooked with all the push behind Free Solo) and Rosen finally catch up with him.

I don't really want to say too much more about the film or Leclerc, since it's best to learn about him through the movie and the amazing interviews compiled by the filmmaking duo. There's a good reason why mountain climbing continues to be of interest to the casual non-climbers like myself. Great films like The Alpinist find ways to glorify these amazing climbers without glossing over how dangerous mountain climbing can be as a sport or hobby.

The Alpinist had a Fathom Event on Tuesday night, but it will also be getting a moderately wide release in theaters through Roadside this Friday as well. You can read my interviews with the filmmakers over at Below the Line, too. Also, I mentioned another Universal doc, Under the Volcano, a few weeks back, and I have an interview with those filmmakers over at Below the Line, as well.

Another doc of note out this week is FAUCI (NatGeo Documentary/Magnolia) from directors John Hoffman and Janet Tobias, which looks at the life and career of NIH Director Dr. Anthony Fauci, but it doesn't deal with the last year and a half where Fauci's main focus was fighting COVID. No, this goes back to earlier in his career, to when he started at NIH, meeting, working with and eventually marrying his wife, Dr. Christine Grady. (Nope, I had no idea he was married either.)

More importantly, the movie follows Fauci's role in the discovery of HIV and AIDs and the conflicts between the government and protest groups like ACT UP who didn't think Fauci and the government did enough to help the gay community fight against AIDS and certainly not fast enough to make a difference.

Hoffman and Tobias’ doc has a fantastic interview with Fauci at its core that sometimes gets a little cutesy, but also allows him to talk candidly about his efforts in fighting disease, including the efforts to help fight Ebola in Africa where it was so debilitating for those who couldn't afford medicine that the USA had to step in.

But AIDS is really the crux of the film's exploration of Fauci's past achievements (and partial failures), and watching a younger Fauci talking to the AIDS activists in a rousing speech is one of the highlights, as is watching the present-day Fauci tearing up while talking about an AIDS patient who died.

I’ve always had a bit of a skewed perspective on epidemiologists and infectious disease doctors due to a few incidents when I was fighting cancer, and Fauci has annoyed me for the good part of the year by being so wishy-washy and negative towards movie theaters (which led to a full-year of closings in NYC with no major super-spreader cases since they reopened). But this documentary definitely helped change my mind about Fauci, maybe because the general public really never had a chance to meet or know him or his work before COVID hit.

Fauci is quite a fantastic doc in terms of shining the spotlight on a needlessly controversial figure who has been politicized despite having held his position through six administrations. I would definitely point someone to this doc if they still feel negatively towards the country’s top epidemiologist. It helps to humanize Fauci much like the RBG doc did for the late Supreme Court Justice.

Seriously, there are so many movies this week that there’s no way I’m gonna review everything, but you can read about a few of them below.

A music doc hitting New York on Friday and then opening in L.A. on Sept. 17 is Tom Surgals's FIRE MUSIC: The Story of Free Jazz (Submarine Deluxe), exec. produced by Nels Cline and Thurston Moore (who happens to be playing his first NYC show in a couple years this Sunday). It covers the free jazz movement of the '60s and '70s that produced the likes of Ornette Coleman, Cecil Taylor, Sun Ra, Albert Ayler, and John Coltrane. The movie features archival footage from the '60s jazz scene and interviews with key players, including critic Gary Giddins. I'm not going to review this, but it's pretty good, because I definitely had a phase when I was really into this type of jazz, basically all-improvisational with less structure than the jazz that uses charts and such. I know that a lot of people hate or misunderstand the musical style but it's quite stirring, as is Surgal's film. I do feel you'll already have to be a fan of the musical genre to enjoy the movie, though.

Hitting Apple TV+ on Friday is the filmed version of the Broadway musical, COME FROM AWAY (Apple TV+) -- similar to last year’s Hamilton and David Byrne’s American Utopia -- which is being released on the streamer to coincide with the 20th anniversary of 9/11, since the musical is loosely based on the events. It was filmed earlier this year, 14 months into the pandemic that shut down Broadway with a fully-masked audience watching Broadway’s first live performance since the shut-down. This is one of the MANY musicals on Broadway that I’ve never gotten around to seeing but it involves a town in Newfoundland, Canada where a plane lands on 9/11 as they’ve been diverted following the terrorist attack on the World Trade Center.

Claire Lewins’ doc THE WONDERFUL: STORIES FROM THE SPACE STATION (Dog Star Films/Universal Home Entertainment) features footage from the International Space Station and interviews with the astronauts who have been involved with the extraordinary space project. I hope to watch this over the weekend, but it sounds like my kind of movie.

Already on Apple TV+ (it debuted Tuesday!) is Bailie Walsh’s BEING JAMES BOND, a documentary about Daniel Craig’s run as 007 over the past decade plus, which you can rent for FREE on Apple, so go do that!

On Monday, FX and FX on Hulu will debut the first few episodes of Y THE LAST MAN, the new series based on the Vertigo comic series by Brian K. Vaughn and Pia Guerra that I absolutely loved. Set in a world where every single male human and animal has died, it stars Ben Schnetzer (Pride, Warcraft) as Yorick, who is -- you guessed it-- the last man on earth. He’s also an escape artist/magician, trying to survive with his pet capuchin monkey, Ampersand, as he goes across country trying to find his girlfriend Beth who left for Australia before the event. It also stars Diane Lane (as Yorick’s mother, who becomes the President), Olivia Thirlby (as his sister Hero), Ashley Romans (as Agent 355), Missi Pyle, and lots of other actresses (because all the men are dead). I’m slowly making my way through the series, and I like what I've seen so far, but the first three episodes will premiere on Monday.

A few other movies, a couple that I’ve seen, which I just don’t have time to review…

Nicholas Cage stars in Sion Sono's PRISONERS OF THE GHOSTLAND (RLJEfilms), which opens at the IFC Center this Friday. He plays a bank robber who is sprung from jail by Bill Moseley's "Governor" whose adopted granddaughter (Sofia Boutella) has gone missing. Cage's character is allowed to go free to find her, but he's put in a suit that will self-destruct in three days if he doesn't return. So it's kind of like The Suicide Squad, and though it has an interesting cast (including Nick Cassavetes, who also appears in Queenpins this week), I don't remember liking this much at Sundance earlier this year. (I actually don't thnk I got through the movie.)

John Pollono adapts his own stageplay SMALL ENGINE REPAIR (Vertical) to the screen with John Bernthal and Shea Whigham playing life-long friends Terrance and Packie with Pollono’s Frank, who are overly protective of Terrance’s teen daughter, Crystal (Ciaro Bravo). A chance encounter turns into a night that spins out of control as the friends have to make a tough decision about how to resolve the situation. I was pretty mixed on this movie even though Bernthal and Whigham continue to be great in everything they do. (I just think Whigham's recent movie, The Gateway, was better.)

Hitting the horror-streaming network Shudder (I have a subscription, because I’m a fan) on Thursday is Ruth Platt’s MARTYR’S LANE, a ghost story about a 10-year-old girl named Leah (Kiera Thompson) who lives in an old house with her family but whose mother has grown distant. At night, she’s visited by a guest who challenges Leah in exchange for more information about the house and her family.

Saul Williams stars and writes the score for Charles Officer’s AKILLA’S ESCAPE (Vertical), a crime noir about an urban child soldier set in Toronto and New York with Williams playing Akilla, a 40-year-old with a covert cannabis operation that goes legit. As he’s ready to cash out, he’s robbed by a group of masked youths. Akilla captures one of them, a mute 15-year-old named Sheppard that is associated with the Jamaican crime syndicate founded by his grandfather.

Jonah Feingold’s DATING & NEW YORK (IFC Films), which premiered at the Tribeca Festival a few months back, stars Francesca Reale (Stranger Things) and Jaboukie Young-White (The Daily Show) as Wendy and Milo, two Millennials who are thrown together at the worst time in their lives for romance, as they meet on an app called Meet Cute, have a first date, and then ghost each other before being thrown back together into an unconventional romance. I’m usually a fan of the rom-com genre, and I often can even withstand one that takes place in New York City and uses my town in a completely unrealistic way to show how romance can flourish here. (*koff*BULLSHIT*koff*) But then you throw in the M-word (Millennials), and this grouchy old man could barely get through this movie, though I’m not even remotely surprised it premiered at Tribeca. It seems very much like a Tribeca movie, and yes, that was meant in a pejorative way as the former “Film” festival has lost its way over the years. I’m half-kidding, the movie is entertaining enough, and I’m sure younger people will enjoy it more than I did.

A few other films I didn't get to this week…

DOGS (Dekanalog) AZOR (MUBI) BAD CANDY (Dread)

That’s it for this week. Do we have any new movies next week? I think Clint Eastwood has Cry Macho

#Movies #reviews #The Weekend Warrior #box office #Malignant #Queenpins #Everyone's Talking about Jamie #Kate #Fauci #The Alpinist

0 notes

brokengem · 7 years

Note

Hey!! I just wanted to ask if you could write a Harry x evie fic, maybe one where they're trying to hide their relationship from their friends? Thanks!!

Oh Anony, this was so much fun to write. Thank you for the prompt. Here you are, hope you enjoy it.

Title: Subtle you are not AKA The Five Times Evie and Harry tried to keep their relationship a secret Plus the one time they failed.Word Count: 3216Rated: G.Note: On AO3

I. Ben

Ben knew he was late. The appointment he’d set up with Evie had been for noon, but of course the meeting with the council had went over the allotted time. Grumpy having taken an instant dislike to something Genie had suggested and things only escalated from there. Ben had to defuse the situation before things got out of hand.

Fifteen minutes later and he finally arrived at Evie’s dormroom. He only hoped she wasn’t too angry with him for making her wait. Ben knocked lightly to announce his presence, giving the doorknob a quick twist, surprised when the door didn’t budge. He waited a moment and listened only to hear a soft giggle followed by someone shushing another.

“Evie, I’m sorry that I’m late. The meeting got a little hairy towards the end but I was able to settle things. I hope you aren’t mad. Evie?” Ben’s smile wilted, staring at the closed door, “if you’re busy I can come back another time.” Another giggle was his only response. The young king just making out some rustling before Evie gave him an answer.

“No, it’s fine Ben. I was just working on another commission. Give me a second and I’ll let you in.”

Ben nodded, despite knowing she couldn’t see him. Rocking back and forth on the balls of his feet, the king waited, greeting any student who happened to pass by.

“Sorry for making you wait, Ben,” an innocent smile graced Evie’s lips as she pulled open the door. Ben’s brow rose as he took in her appearance. Her normally perfect hair was in disarray, though it looked like she had tried to calm it down before answering the door. The top she wore was slightly skewed, delicate hands quickly working to smooth out a few wrinkles.

He waved her off her apology with a smile, thinking nothing more of it, “no I’m sorry. We made this appointment and I was the one late.”

“Yer majesty,” Harry cooly addressed from where he lounged on Evie’s bed, giving the king pause. If he noticed the lack of boots and socks on the pirates feet, he didn’t say a thing.

“Don’t mind him,” Evie reached for his hand, pulling him towards the little platform for him to stand. Ben didn’t miss how her eyes lit up when she looked at the pirate. “He was helping me with one of my latest orders.”

She waved to the beautiful blue cape draped across Mal’s bed.

“For Chad?”

Evie nodded, ignoring the snort that came from her bed, “how can you tell?”

Ben laughed, “peacock feathers gave it away.”

Evie clapped her hands together, “right! Well let’s get started on that new suit!”

II. Gil

Gil growled in frustration. He just wasn’t getting this problem. Now that he was in Auradon he was getting much but with his studies. There were still a lot he couldn’t grasp yet, like this damn chemistry problem. He’d been trying to do it on his own for five minutes now, but he wasn’t having any luck. Thank god, Evie had come over to help him and Harry with their work.

“Evie, I still don’t get this,” Gil mumbled, looking up from the worksheet.

The blue haired princess didn’t reply. Instead all her attention was focused on Harry, the pair sitting impossibly close. Evie’s hand rested casually on the pirates knee and Harry’s arm was draped loosely around her shoulder. She giggled to something he couldn’t hear, the brightest smile on her lips as she looked into Harry’s eyes.

“You know,” Gil coughed, head tilting to one side as he observed them. They jumped apart, Evie making as much space between them as she could as Harry scowled at him. “You two would make a pretty cute couple.”

Evie giggled nervously, tucking a strand of her behind her ear, “we wouldn’t. We are far to different.”

He only shrugged, “I think you fit pretty well. Harry behaves best when you’re around. Your friendship is good for him.”

“Hey!” Harry growled, fingering drumming angrily against the top of his knee, “ye need to shut up.”

Gil watched silently as Evie’s fingers brushed against Harry’s arm, his friend’s anger instantly melting away. Harry huffed, looking back at the girl from the corner of his eye. “See,” he exclaimed, hands thrusted out towards them, “if I didn’t know any better I’d think you two were already dating.”

Evie caught one of his hands in her,giving it a gently pat, “don’t be silly, Gil.”

He frowned, “I may not be the brightest but I’m pretty damn observant.”

And he was. He noticed things and there had to something more here. They acted so different around each other. How couldn’t someone assume anything else.

“Didn’t ye have a question ye needed answered?” Harry drawled.

Gil blinked, looking down at his forgotten worksheet. How could he forget? All thoughts about Evie and Harry’s questionable relationship leaving his mind, “Right! Evie, I can’t wrap my brain around this problem.”

He moved closer to the girl, missing the relieved looks passed between the pair.

III. Jay

Jay was going to kill him. Harry was late to R.O.A.R practice yet again, the third time that week. If he wasn’t such a great asset to the team, he was sure Lonnie would have kicked him off the team and if he keeps it up she just might. She wouldn’t blame her if she decided too.

He doesn’t get why he’s the one being sent out to try and find the skeevy pirate when Gil or even Uma could go and hunt for him. He was their best friend after all, but no apparently it was his job to babysit the other boy.

He was beginning to imagine all the ways he could mess with the pirate during practice when he heard the giggling. The tourney field was empty with most the players in the gym for R.O.A.R practice, but that was definitely a giggle coming from the bleachers. He’d hate to scare whoever it was but he really needed to find Harry before Lonnie killed him.

“Harry, you’re going to be late” a familiar voice giggled.

“Few more minutes,” Harry’s thick drawl answered, “they won’t miss me.”

Busted. Jay grinned, making a beeline for the bleachers. “Think you’re so smooth. Let’s go Casanova.” Jay frowned when the pair came into sight. Evie’s back was pressed against the frame of the bleachers with Harry’s arm overhead as he leaned in. The pair stared back at him wide-eyed.

Jay’s brow rose in question, arms crossing over his chest, “this is new.”

Evie smiled innocently at him as Harry slowly took a step away from her, “Jay, how are you?”

“Oh I was great. All ready for R.O.A.R practice but you know we’re missing a member so I had to go out and hunt him down,” Jay glared pointedly at the grinning pirate.

Harry shrugged, “What can I say mate? Princess needed help with some lines. What kind of pirate would I be if I didn’t help.”

Jay scowled at him, glancing between the two. Evie’s cheeks had a much darker tint to them than normal and Jay hadn’t missed the anger that had lurked in Harry’s eyes when he interrupted. He was being lied to.

“Pirates aren’t helpful,” he snapped back, “ but whatever. Lonnie wants you to stop being late to practice. So if I can steal you away for a few hours, you can come back and finish whatever THIS is.”

Evie straightened herself, leaning up to whisper something quickly to the pirate. Jay’s eyes narrowed as Harry nodded, a soft expression creeping into his eyes as the girl walked away from her.

“We were just finishing up. Good luck with practice!” She gave his arm a friendly pat, humming happily to herself as she left.

Jay turned a questioning brow to Harry, the pirate simply tossing an irritating grin his way with a shrug.

“Can’t keep sweet Lonnie waitin’ can we?”

IV. Carlos

Carlos was going to kill him. He could have sworn Jay had made Chad return all the spare keys he had made of the room. But he he was only a few steps away from his opened door. Jay was off running R.O.A.R strategies with Lonnie and Li’l Shang. Mal and Evie normally let them know ahead of time if they were going to invade the room, so there was clearly only one possible person. Chad apparently held out on them.

“Chad I swear to all that’s high that I’m just going to let Jay pummel you,” Carlos ranted, ready to give his own pummeling to the invasive Prince, “you aren’t Chad.” He frowned, staring at the familiar red covered back. The pirate groaned, hastily closing something in front of him before glaring at Carlos from over his shoulder.

“Last I checked, mate, I wasn’t that pompous prince.”

“I can see that, mate,” Carlos mocked, taking the briefest steps back when Harry turned to face him. The shorter boy squared his shoulders, head held high like Jay taught him. This was his room and Harry was the trespasser, he couldn’t show fear. “But seriously man, what are you doing in my room? How’d you even get in here?” Carlos quickly looked at the doorknob to see if it’d be tempered with.

Harry rolled his eyes and turned away, palms flat on the table housing the 3D printer, “got a key.”

Unbelievable. He really need to talk to Ben about possibly installing some sort of alarm system for their room. He was getting tired of the unwanted visitors.

“What are you making anyway?” Carlos approached, disappointed when Harry reached into the machine and quickly snatched the item inside. It was small, fitting perfectly into the pirate’s palm.

“It’s nothing for ye to worry about pup,” Harry carefully tucked the item away, “if ye don’t mind I have some place to be.” The pirate left with a tip of his hat.

Carlos shook his head, hurrying to his machine to find a folded piece of paper lying beside the controller. Curious Carlos unfolded it surprised to see the design for a ring; one with a braided ring band and a heart shaped sapphire in the middle with four tiny leaf shaped rubies on both sides. It was beautiful and Carlos could only imagine the cost if Harry had actually bought a real one. Above the ring he could just make out the pirate’s sloppy handwriting, Evie.

“That belongs to me,” Harry growled, snatching the paper from Carlos’ hand, he clenched it tightly, “what did ye see?”

Carlos rose his hands in surrender, “she’s going to love it.”

Harry gave a slight shrug, “ah agree. CJ will love it.”

“No, I meant…you made it for Evie, right?” Carlos asked, watching as Harry’s frown deepened, “it might not be the real thing, but she’ll love it. Giving it to her for her birthday?”

Harry scoffed, crumpling the paper in his hand before stuffing into his back pocket, “it’s for me sister, not the little blue berry princess.”

“Right,” Carlos sounded unconvinced. He knows what he saw, but if Harry wants to play he’d let him. The pirate snarled in response, leaving in a flourish of angry red.

V. Mal and Uma

Mal growled, punching her pillow angrily. Sitting up evil glared at the other girl through the darkness. Evie froze on her way to the door.

“You need to work on your sneaking skills, E,” Mal deadpanned, watching her best friend sag in defeat, “Evie, where are you going at this hour?”

“Dizzy just has a bit of an emergency,” Evie answered, as she continued towards the door, “I’ll only be a few minutes. Promise!”

The girl was out the door before Mal could disagree. Mal frowns, concerned over her friends’ strange behaviour. For the last few days, Evie had been sneaking out at ungodly hours. She thought she was sneaky but everytime Mal had woken up and just let her go. Not tonight. She didn’t believe for a second that Dizzy needed her at two am. Mal was up and out of bed in minutes, she needed to hurry before Evie got too far ahead. It would defeat the purpose if she lost her target before finding out what she needed to know.

As quiet as a mouse Mal followed her blue loving best friend, Evie glancing this way and that as she made her way through the corridors. Where are you going that you’re so worried about being followed? Mal wondered as Evie continued to look over her shoulder. The girl stopped just outside the double doors leading to the kitchen, she gave one final look around before a hand shot out pulling her in.

Mal frowned, rushing forward to help her friend. Throwing open the door, Mal glanced around in confession. The kitchen was empty. Everything left untouched. Where was Evie?

“Gotcha now, Harry!” Uma whispered, the young sea-witch scowling at the sight of Mal, “what are you doing here?”

“Looking for Evie,” Mal answered, crossing her arms, “not that it’s any of your business. Lose your first mate?”

Uma mimicked her pose, head held high and arms crossed, “he’s been sneaking out. I wanted to see what he’s been off doing.”

Mal hummed, glancing around the kitchen once more hoping for some evidence of Evie to pop up, “Evie’s been disappearing to. I followed her into the kitchen, but clearly,” she waved her arms out around her, “no Evie.”

“And no Harry,” Uma grumbled.

“You don’t think they went off together?” Mal’s nose scrunched up in distaste, holding up a hand to stop Uma from answering, “Ew, actually don’t answer that. I don’t want to know what they’re doing. Not at two in morning. I’m going back to bed and giving her the benefit of the doubt. I’ll bother her about it later. For now I need to keep my sanity.”

Uma could only laugh as Mal brushed pass her in a hurry.

+ VI. Busted

“Careful Princess,” Harry laughed, catching her before she fell.

Evie silently cursed the raised branch that caused her to trip. She supposed it was bound to happen at least once as they made their way to the Enchanted Lake, her excitement getting the better of her. But Harry steadied her, his hand securely in hers as they continued down the path. She sighed happily, taking in the beauty of the forest at the went.

After hearing all about Ben’s first date with Mal, Evie had wanted nothing more than to see the Lake for herself, especially with someone she cared for. And here she was, hand in hand with her boyfriend going to that very spot. She hadn’t expected much for her birthday. Actually she expected nothing at all, but Harry surprised her with the most beautiful ring. One she already had on her finger to admire. She knew it wasn’t real. But it was a promise, a promise of so much more. Evie thought the ring was all but Harry had just laughed, taking her hand and leading her out of Auradon Prep. A picnic he had said, teasing her over her sappy desire. She was beside herself.

“There it is, love,” Harry pressed a kiss to the top of her head.

Evie gasped. It was just as gorgeous as Mal had described it. The water was so clear she could see all the colorful rocks beneath. The remains of a stone gazebo stood decorated with a Happy Birthday banner, blue and red streamers lacing down each of the three stone pillars with matching balloons securely tethered down to rocks. In the center, three large picnic baskets sat over a glittering blue blanket.

“Harry, it’s beautiful. You did all this for me?” She gave his hand a squeeze, turning to face him confusion dancing over his feature.

“Well I did do th-” she reached up, standing on her tiptoes to promptly cut him off with a kiss. It was sweet and tender, making her wish they could stay like this forever.

“Surprise!”

They drew apart, staring wide-eyed at the various teens coming out of hiding. Popping up from behind bushes and stepping out from behind trees, their friends stared back with various expressions.

“Bloody hell! We can’t get a moment’s peace from ye lot” Harry cursed, glaring. Evie blushed, burying her face into the lapels of Harry’s leather jacket.

“Called it” Uma gleefully announced, wiggling her fingers at Mal, “pay up.” Mal grumbled, passing over a few bills.

“What are you guys doing here?” Evie asked, her question muffled.

Carlos rubbed the back of his neck, “we wanted to throw you a surprise party for your birthday, but we couldn’t figure out where we wanted to have it. Gil kept hearing Harry mutter about surprising you at the Enchanted Lake so we figured why not. We got the decorations up and we’ve been waiting.”

Evie smiled, finally facing her friends, “how sweet of you guys. Thank you.” Harry’s arm wound around her waist, “so this wasn’t you?”

Harry stared at something of to the side, “ah made a picnic for us. The rest all ‘em apparently.”

She couldn’t help the laughter the bubbled from within at his pout. Forgetting about the current audience, Evie took his face between her hands and gently pulled him down. The pirate rested his forehead against hers, he took one of her hands in his and kissed her palm.

“It’s great to finally have this all confirmed,” Carlos exclaimed, “and you gave her the ring! I told you she’d love it.”

The spell temporarily broken, Evie pulled away to turn back to her friends. “You knew about us?”

Jay scoffed, “you two aren’t exactly subtle about it.”

Evie sighed in disappointment, “I thought we were doing a pretty good job at hiding it.”

Harry shrugged, “I wasn’t really tryin’ to hide.”

Mal walked up to the pair, taking Evie’s hand in hers as she gently pulled her out of Harry’s arms. “E, why did you think you need to hide your relationship with Harry?”

“We…I thought it was for the best,” Evie smiled, sadly, “there’s still a bit of a riff between all of us. I didn’t want to cause anything to trigger anything war.”

Ben smiled reassuringly, the young kid coming to Mal’s side and taking Evie’s other hand in his. “Evie, we want nothing more than for you to be happy.”

“And if that’s with Harry,” Uma having made her own way over to Harry’s side, gave her first mate a playful jab in the ribs with a teasing grin, “and heaven only knows why, than be happy.”

“You guys,” Evie gave Ben and Mal’s hand a squeeze, tears blurring her vision.

“E don’t cry. It’s your birthday.”

Mal swept the girl into a tight hug. Evie’s face pressed into the girl’s shoulder, those pesky tears of joy not wanting to stop. She sighed happily as a familiar warm presence stood behind her, his arms wrapping securely around her waist as he rested his head on hers. One of by her friends surrounded them, just becoming a big entanglement of limbs as they all wished congratulations and support.

Best Birthday Ever.

#descendants #descendants 2 #evie grimhilde #harry hook #hevie #harry x evie #evie x harry #otp: hooked apples #ben descendants #gil legume #jay descendants #carlos de vil #mal bertha #uma descendants #prompt request #gaelle writes

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theanglergroup-blog · 7 years

Text

Manifesto - the angler

Imagine it

When human become electric rats who are swimming in the ocean of information Narrow night sky are divided by Time square-style neon billboards The explosion of population The infiltration of the third world Western face Eastern face All of them are poker face

A wiseman come from east Hang a straight fishhook without bait three feet above the water Waiting for the fish

Millions information going through your ears your eyes you’ll forget it next second Long time ago not everybody have freedom of speech Until now Everybody can speak but they can’t hear them at all

The wiseman who come from east still hang the barbells fishhook waiting patiently for the fish

When people are racing to buy Andy Warhol’s Cambell’s Soup Cans When people are mad about Jazz age under Fitzgerald’s pen When Floyd told Bernays cigarettes are women’s penis When Huxley established a new brave world for us When Postman finished Amusing ourselves to death thirty years ago

Lookers-on were curious and asked the wiseman He replied with smile: there are always fish willing to be caught

You might think the world we described are dramatic and weird. However, it represents our understanding about the modern society. It is advanced, flashy, technologic, but also chaotic, fickle and foamy. We are going to seek advice from ancient philosophy from eastern culture in order to get salvation for ourselves, we are going to listen the warning of Postman from 30 years ago.

The wiseman is Jiang Tai Gong, who is maybe rated as the most famous angler in Chinese history. The story happened in the late years of the Shang dynasty. Jiang Tai Gong once served the king of Shang dynasty, and had come to resent him for tyranny from the bottom of heart.

Jiang Tai Gong was an genius in military tactics and government management. He lived near the Weihe River about 3, 000 years ago. The area was the feudal estate of Count Ji Chang. Jiang Tai Gong knew Ji Chang was very ambitious so he hoped to get Ji's attention. At that time, he was over 70 years old already!

He often went fishing at the Weishui River, but he would fish in an unusual way. He hung a straight fishhook，without bait, three feet above the water. He often said to himself, "Fish, if you don't want to live any more, come and swallow the hook yourself." Lookers-on were curious about it, and Jiang Tai Gong explained, “I would like to take honestly rather than to plead for with the knees down.I fish not for the fish but for the nobility”. In the end, Jiang Tai Gong helped Count Ji and his offspring build a great power, topple down Shang dynasty and establish Zhou dynasty---a great dynasty.

“There are always fish willing to be caught by angler Jiang Taigong.” Today, it has become a old idiom. Many people have lots of different understand of it. We believe Jang Taigong’s behaviour shows eastern ancient philosophy which means slow down your steps, you need patient to found real beauty in the world, to find who you really are in chaos. However, we are not going to restore the whole story in our project. We symbolise the angler, we custom it to set strong contrast between slow and fast, peace and noise, classic and modern under the world we built.

In Atheistic aspect, we also want to have a experiment combining eastern traditional culture with our science fiction world we built. Let’s see if there are any sparks between these elements.

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gaymusicchart · 7 years

Video

youtube

GAY MUSIC CHART – 2017 week 06

Welcome to the Gay Music Chart, the LGBTQA related music videos TOP 40 actuality and most request. Vote for your favourite LGBTQA related music videos by leaving a comment for this post on : YOUTUBE (in the comment section of the video of the week) : https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCz7yfp-xq-b08tD6mAWwclA

BLOGGER :

http://gaymusicchart.blogspot.fr

FACEBOOK :

https://www.facebook.com/GayMusicChart/

TWITTER :

https://twitter.com/GayMusicChart

with

#GayMusicChart

TUMBLR :

http://gaymusicchart.tumblr.com

Here is the recap for this week :

OUT : Brendan Maclean - Never Enough (LW: 08 / WO: 13 / PEAK: 01 (x1)) OUT : 尚雯婕 Laure Shang -《Single Boy 单身男》(LW: 10 / WO: 8 / PEAK: 05) OUT : Lolita Zero - Get Frighten (live @ Eurovizijos atranka 2017) (LW: 22 / WO: 1 / PEAK: 22) OUT : Michał Sobierajski / Suwal - Szukam (LW: 23 / WO: 1 / PEAK: 23) OUT : Anohni - Paradise (LW: 24 / WO: 1 / PEAK: 24) OUT : Ryan Cassata - Sinking, Falling (LW: 25 / WO: 1 / PEAK: 25) OUT : Brian Justin Crum feat. Toy Armada and DJ GRIND - Show Me Love (LW: 26 / WO: 2 / PEAK: 18) OUT : Bright Light Bright Light feat. Elton John - Running Back to You (LW: 27 / WO: 2 / PEAK: 23) OUT : Günther & D'Sanz - Love Yourself (LW: 28 / WO: 1 / PEAK: 28) OUT : Mario Jose - Tell Me Now (LW: 29 / WO: 5 / PEAK: 13) OUT : Eliad Malki - Bsvp azrh / אליעד מלכי- בסוף אזרח (LW: 30 / WO: 1 / PEAK: 30) OUT : Electric Guest - Dear To Me (LW: 32 / WO: 3 / PEAK: 32) OUT : Les Funambules - Il aura suffi d'un sourire (LW: 33 / WO: 1 / PEAK: 33) OUT : Christine and the Queens - Tilted (LW: 35 / WO: 4 / PEAK: 13) OUT : Club La Persé - My Little World (LW: 36 / WO: 3 / PEAK: 23) OUT : Samuel Forstved - Into You (LW: 37 / WO: 1 / PEAK: 37) OUT : Max-Arthur feat. Samuel Forstved - Wildfire (LW: 38 / WO: 4 / PEAK: 14) OUT : B.Slade™ - Conversation (Formation Remix) (LW: 40 / WO: 1 / PEAK: 40)

01 (=) : Troye Sivan feat. Betty Who - Heaven (LW: 01 / WO: 4 / PEAK: 01 (x2)) 02 (=) : GAREK - Stray (LW: 02 / WO: 20 / PEAK: 01 (x2)) 03 (+ 6) : Brandon Stansell - Never Know (LW: 09 / WO: 5 / PEAK: 03) After "Dear John" and "Slow Down", this is the third single of the American singer from Los Angeles. 04 (+ 2) : Pixie Geldof - Woman Go Wild (LW: 06 / WO: 13 / PEAK: 02) 05 (+ 12) : LP - Tightrope (LW: 17 / WO: 2 / PEAK: 05) 06 (- 1) : Patricio Arellano - Nuevo Sol (LW: 05 / WO: 12 / PEAK: 05) 07 (- 4) : Alvin Point - Il a dit (LW: 03 / WO: 21 / PEAK: 01 (x4)) 08 (- 4) : Tyler Glenn - Midnight (LW: 04 / WO: 14 / PEAK: 01 (x2)) 09 (+ 6) : Lostchild - Town (LW: 15 / WO: 13 / PEAK: 09) 10 (+ 21) : Autoheart - Oxford Blood (LW: 31 / WO: 9 / PEAK: 03) 11 (+ 10) : SISTAR (씨스타), Giorgio Moroder - One More Day (LW: 21 / WO: 10 / PEAK: 11) 12 (=) : Benny - Boys Will Be Boys (LW: 12 / WO: 8 / PEAK: 02) 13 (NEW) : Brendan Maclean - House of Air (LW: - / WO: 1 / PEAK: 13) 14 (NEW) : Jan Böhmermann - Be Deutsch! [Achtung! Germans on the rise!] (LW: - / WO: 1 / PEAK: 14) 15 (+ 4) : LP - Lost On You (LW: 19 / WO: 33 / PEAK: 01 (x4)) 16 (+ 4) : Nicola Testa - Violet (LW: 20 / WO: 2 / PEAK: 16) 17 (NEW) : Nell Bryden - Thought I Was Meant For You (LW: - / WO: 1 / PEAK: 17) 18 (=) : Chester Lockhart - Kiss (LW: 18 / WO: 16 / PEAK: 02) 19 (- 8) : LP - Other People (LW: 11 / WO: 2 / PEAK: 11) 20 (NEW) : MUNA - I Know A Place (LW: - / WO: 1 / PEAK: 20) 21 (- 14) : Years & Years - Meteorite (LW: 07 / WO: 19 / PEAK: 01 (x3)) 22 (RE-ENTRY) : Lizzo - Good As Hell (LW: - / WO: 9 / PEAK: 03) 23 (NEW) : Kevin Chomat - Un homme à terre (LW: - / WO: 1 / PEAK: 23) 24 (NEW) : Logan Lynn - Oh, Lucifer (LW: - / WO: 1 / PEAK: 24) 25 (NEW) : Matilda - Apologize ft. OMVR (LW: - / WO: 1 / PEAK: 25) 26 (NEW) : Lily Allen - Going To A Town (cover) (LW: - / WO: 1 / PEAK: 26) 27 (NEW) : Eli Lieb - #WERISE (Maya Angelou - Still I Rise) (LW: - / WO: 1 / PEAK: 27) 28 (+ 11) : Namuel - Maldita Ingenuidad (LW: 39 / WO: 9 / PEAK: 05) 29 (NEW) : Placebo - B3 (LW: - / WO: 1 / PEAK: 29) 30 (NW) : Falso Coral - Desterro (LW: - / WO: 1 / PEAK: 30) 31 (- 17) : Kiddy Smile - Let A B!tch Know (LW: 14 / WO: 2 / PEAK: 14) 32 (RE-ENTRY) : Friends of Linger - Miss You (LW: - / WO: 2 / PEAK: 32) 33 (RE-ENTRY) : Brian Justin Crum - Name On You (LW: - / WO: 12 / PEAK: 03) 34 (=) : Sia - The Greatest (LW: 34 / WO: 22 / PEAK: 01 (x4)) 35 (NEW) : Mateo Bocca - Jugar (LW: - / WO: 1 / PEAK: 35) 36 (NEW) : Russell Elliot - On You (LW: - / WO: 1 / PEAK: 36) 37 (- 21) : HEIÐRIK - Boy (LW: 16 / WO: 3 / PEAK: 16) 38 (RE-ENTRY) : Pentatonix - Coldest Winter (LW: - / WO: 4 / PEAK: 14) 39 (- 26) : Danielle LoPresti - Holy (LW: 13 / WO: 8 / PEAK: 09) 40 (NEW) : Loreen - Euphoria (LW: - / WO: 1 / PEAK: 40)

ALSO NEW THIS WEEK Paulo Ho - Sempre fui a mulher de alguém Monica Moss - Lo Que Me Dé la Gana Christian Chavez - Tóxico Kristian Conde - Jungle Life Antonio Navarro - Miedo Fuera The Human - Eterno Amor Syd - All About Me Sistah Brutha - Sex On My Mind Dick van Dick - Pony Rider The Culture Whore - Even Cowgirls Get The Blues Conchita feat. Edo - Human Brooke Candy feat. Sia - Living Out Loud (Audio) Watashi ga Motete Dōsunda - Prince×Prince (opening song)

See you next week and don’t forget to vote for your best LGBTQA music videos ! Here are the rules : 1 ) You can vote for many videos as you want under the videos on YouTube in the comment section. It could be recent or past music videos, which must provide at least one among the following conditions: - the music video has LGBTQA related content, in the lyrics or the music video - the artist is LGBTQA, an LGBTQA icon or eventually ally - LGBTQA medias talked about it. 2 ) You can’t vote more than 3 songs of a same artist per week. 3 ) In case of an artist who receive votes mostly by a fan base, we will count only one song, in a limited time of 10 weeks of presence in the top. 4 ) You can vote with only one account. 5 ) If you make 10 votes or less, your first vote will represent 10 points, your second vote 9 points, etc… until your tenth vote and following 1 point. If you make 11 to 20 votes, your first vote will represent 20 points, your second vote 19 points, etc… If you make more than 20 votes, your first vote will represent 40 points, your second vote 39 points, etc… 6 ) People who make 1 to 10 votes form the amateur ranking, those who make 11 to 20 votes form the fan ranking, those who make more than 20 votes form the expert ranking. We form the jury ranking. The Gay Music Chart is the addition of the four charts. In case of equality, the number of votes and the dates of votes will count. 7 ) The votes will close on Friday, 8 PM, European time.

#GayMusicChart #gay #music #chart #top #singles #ideos #lgbt #queer #lesbian #transgender #drag queen #bisexual #2017 week 06

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aion-rsa · 3 years

Text

How the Jaws Scene in Back to the Future Part 2 Predicted Modern Blockbusters

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Back to the Future Part II is a strange movie. As a sequel that director Robert Zemeckis and screenwriter Bob Gale never intended to make, the ambitious follow-up to one of the greatest sci-fi comedies of all time was put into production simultaneously with Part III, which may have ultimately hurt the middle chapter since Zemeckis was still shooting scenes filmed in the Old West while editing Part II’s trippy vision of the then distant future…of 2015.

Even so, there are elements in the second Back to the Future that still play like gangbusters today, particularly in the sequences set during 2015. To be sure, part of the charm now is what those wild guesses about the future got wrong—such as the idea we’d all be driving around in flying cars, or even simply own cheap cars that didn’t run on fossil fuels. There were no real hover boards in 2015 (or 2021 for that matter), nor even automated Texaco pumps. Yet what Back to the Future Part II got very right is the numbing horror of something like Jaws 19.

Indeed, one of the best bits in the whole film is a slight dig at BTTF’s own studio, as well as the legacy of the film’s producer. The original Jaws is of course the first modern Hollywood blockbuster and it put Steven Spielberg on the map. With its innovative storytelling of leaving the monster to the imagination before finally providing the spectacle in the third act, Jaws is a masterpiece in narrative restraint that could still play for all audiences.

…Which is something no one would say about the three cash-in Jaws sequels that Universal Pictures green lit in the span of 12 years after 1975. In fact, when Back to the Future Part II was released in ’89, it’d only been two years since Jaws: The Revenge, the one where the ghost of Jaws went Bahamas and chased the Chief Brody character’s widow to the Caribbean while on a vendetta for what happened in ’75. It’s kind of hilarious.

As is the scene in Back to the Future Part II. In that sequence, Michael J. Fox’s Marty McFly stands slack jawed in the middle of Hill Valley’s town square, the same space that was so memorably used in the first BTTF film where Marty was forced to finally accept he’d traveled to the year 1985. In the sequel, he comes to realize what it means to be in 2015 when he turns around to face the local multiplex, which has only one film on its marquee: Jaws 19. And then to demonstrate to Marty the state of 21st century special effects, the “HOLOMAX” release teases its thrills as a holographic Great White Shark emerges from the building and descends on Marty’s head.

Perhaps like many an audience member who choked on their popcorn kernels in ’75 with fear, Marty screams bloody murder—and then realizes it’s just a movie and scoffs, “The shark still looks fake.” Yes, it always did, but at least in the first movie that didn’t matter so much.

At the time, the scene was a nice dig at Universal’s expense as well as the Jaws franchise as a whole. What was once the most revolutionary Hollywood movie of 1975 had become a punchline by 1989: a once glorious title that’d been run into the ground with endless cash grab sequels. And the joke is even funnier because of the “19” in the title. Nineteen movies of the same franchise. Could you even imagine?!

Oh, how sweet the irony is, then, that one of the most absurd notions in Back to the Future Part II turned out to be the most true! No, there haven’t been 19 Jaws movies (yet), but that might be by virtue of the studio churning the franchise’s mystique into putty before Gen-Xers and Millennials could grow up with it beneath unsullied nostalgia glasses. Nevertheless, the future where Jaws 19 could exist came true.

Consider that we scoff at the idea of 19 Jaws movies being made in 40 years, but Marvel Studios has released 25 pictures in only 13, with two more due out before Christmas 2021. And that doesn’t even include the television shows that are now coming to dominate Disney+.

I know what some will say: Marvel movies are a series of interconnected franchises, as opposed to one amorphous content farm. But that’s not entirely accurate. There are exceptions, of course, which stand out as singularly distinct from other MCU efforts. There’s Black Panther, for instance. That 2018 Oscar nominee is totally removed from the events of The Avengers, you might say. Then there’s Guardians of the Galaxy and its wacky space opera shenanigans occurring literal light years away from the events of Iron Man 3.

And yet, the appeal for most moviegoers, and the brilliance of Marvel’s marketing strategy, is that they all seem like the same thing to the undiscerning eye. And even to the discerning one, there is a pat familiarity to the formula, story beats, and sitcom-esque ability to wink at the audience at its own silliness. Tonally, they all feel of one piece. Hence why the first Shang-Chi movie was gladly welcomed by the industry last month as Marvel’s latest blockbuster hit—a feat borne in large off it being the next Marvel movie, as opposed to a new original property without a built-in audience.

It’s an aspect to the whole series which caused Dune director Denis Villeneuve to suggest that some Marvel movies are “cut and paste.” It’s also a formula which aids the studio to force its millions of fans to see it “as all connected” and be encouraged to go see the Ant-Man sequel they might otherwise skip in order to discover how its post-credits scene will set up the deus ex machina for Avengers: Endgame.

And that aforementioned Black Panther originally had its protagonist introduced in Captain America: Civil War, an Avengers movie by another name. It’s also the only “Cap” flick to cross $1 billion because they stuck Iron Man in it. Similarly, James Gunn’s Guardians films are genuinely auteur-driven, yet they still worked as a years-long tease of Avengers: Infinity War and Endgame’s big bad: Thanos. Hell, Infinity War’s biggest selling point in the trailer was seeing the Avengers and Guardians meet face-to-face for the first time.

The methods and talent being used to produce these endless sequels are far more sophisticated and entertaining than the hack work which produced Jaws: The Revenge, but then that’s why Jaws only lasted four movies and Marvel’s already mapping out its 30th “event” in the next few years.

This is not meant to only criticize Marvel, however. They are simply the most successful studio at exploiting their intellectual property in the 21st century. Universal’s own Fast and Furious movies aren’t half bad at that game, though. This summer just saw the 10th “Fast Saga” movie when you count Hobbs and Shaw. And while Vin Diesel claims the 11th main line Fast and Furious movie will be the last, you just know with its own Avengers-sized cast that Hobbs and Shaw will be merely the first spinoff franchise from “the family.”

Even Spielberg, who was reportedly never happy with the Jaws sequels and what they did to his first masterwork, has been much more ready to “open up” later successes like Jurassic Park. Considered a “smart” blockbuster entertainment in 1993 that inspired genuine awe from millions of moviegoers, that film’s fourth sequel (which was produced by Spielberg, like all the follow-ups) reveled in watching dinosaurs stalk around a haunted house, as if they were Frankenstein and Dracula. Next year’s Jurassic World: Dominion is supposedly intended to be the “final” film of the three most recent, Chris Pratt-led sequels, as well as another sendoff to the original 1993 movie’s cast. Yet it seems dubious that it’ll be the last film set in that “universe.”

After all, the “Skywalker Saga” ended with a whimper in 2019’s Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker, but Disney is preparing to churn out more Star Wars movies and TV shows than ever before in the next decade.

This is not to say you should feel ashamed for enjoying any of these movies or franchises. Folks like what they like. But what Back to the Future Part II perhaps unintentionally predicted was that audiences would have an appetite for a proverbial Jaws 19.

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When BTTF became a trilogy, sequels were still seen as a creatively risky proposition. Filmmakers often maintained artistic credibility by attempting to turn sequels into a larger thematic whole—often as a trilogy. Lucas set that standard with Star Wars, and only after his buddy Francis Ford Coppola claimed he’d never make another Godfather movie after Part II. Spielberg originally walked away from Indiana Jones after three movies, and many likely wish he’d stayed firm about that in retrospect. Meanwhile, Zemeckis and Gale have done the near impossible thing: refuse to allow Universal to make a fourth Back to the Future movie or reboot the series entirely.

But equivocations in the industry about a proverbial Jaws 19 are long gone. What was once a cheeky riff on the dystopian Coca-Cola billboard ads in Blade Runner have become a modern day reality in 2021. And hey, there’s now a real holographic Times Square billboard ad for that, too.

The post How the Jaws Scene in Back to the Future Part 2 Predicted Modern Blockbusters appeared first on Den of Geek.

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