#national folk Theater

[emilybeemartin]

Hey! Hey, would you like to be a park ranger?

USA Jobs just posted a bunch of national park ranger positions for summer 2024--everything from small historic sites to the big flagship parks like Yellowstone and Yosemite. These are seasonal positions specifically for interpretive rangers, which means you begin around May-ish and end around September-October-ish. Interpretation is the branch of the NPS that does educational programming and frontline visitor services, like working in the visitor centers, leading guided walks and talks, and just generally interacting with the public in a friendly, helpful way.

If you have a four-year college degree in just about any subject (honestly, I've worked with people with degrees ranging from theater to business to geoscience), or 12 months' relevant work experience (customer service, retail, education, camp counseling, etc), or a combination of the two, you're eligible to apply. All you need is a resume and transcripts if you're using education to qualify.

Just go to USAJobs.gov and search for "park ranger interpretation" in the search bar. The key things you're looking for in the results are listings from the National Park Service, the code GS 5 (which is the entry level for this position), and the phrase Not to Exceed 1039 hours (which indicates it's a seasonal position).

Some tips!

>Each application requires you to answer a questionnaire about your experience with things like customer service, preparing educational programs, researching scientific topics, etc. Be generous with yourself on these, because other folks will be. Even if you don't think you're an "expert" in something, consider your past work creatively. Have you presented research projects in class? Have you worked retail? Can you keep up a professional demeanor when somebody's upset? You have the qualifications. Rate yourself as such.

>Be thorough and specific in your resume. The NPS isn't a one-pager resume organization. They need to see evidence that you have the qualifications you say you do. The best way to ensure this is to copy, word for word, the phrases in the above questionnaire and insert them in the relevant places in your resume. So if the questionnaire says "Can you research, prepare, and present scientific information to a lay public," go to the appropriate place in your resume and write "I researched, prepared, and presented scientific information to my peers" or something similar. I kid you not, my current resume is ten pages long.

>Cover letters are optional but helpful! There are lots of templates online to help you write one; be sure to be professional. Mine is around 250 words and has three short paragraphs:

1- Position I'm applying for

2- Quick summary of most relevant work/education experience

3- Additional skills/rizz that makes me stand out (for me it's writing/illustrating, which helps me create visitor programs)

>Two things the NPS loves that will boost you are foreign language skills and being a US military veteran. Highlight these elements if you have them.

>Are you a schoolteacher? Check out the Teacher-Ranger-Teacher program.

>The big flashy parks are posted as standalone listings, but most of the others are bundled into "Multiple Locations" that are based on region. Consider applying for many of these smaller monuments and historic sites---they get far fewer applicants and are easier to secure. And many are absolutely beautiful. Want to work at Arches? Also apply to Natural Bridges. Want to work in Yellowstone? Also try Lassen Volcanic. Prefer history over science? You have dozens of amazing options from every facet of American history.

>Apply today! Apply now! Many of these parks cap their applicants because they get so many, and the rest will close after a week or so. A glance at the ones that were posted today and yesterday show them either closing on October 15 or 22. Some regions haven't posted yet, so keep checking the website in the next few weeks.

I love my work as a park ranger---it's such a rewarding way to spend a summer (or two, or ten), and it can open doors to other things. You won't get rich, but you will make great friends and great memories, add a killer section to your resume, and spend four months immersed with smart, passionate people in some of the coolest places in the US.

Plus you get a SICK HAT

#jobs #national park service #park ranger #job search #job seekers

[mugentakeda]

some random lighthearted hcs ^_^ 👍👍 cus all ive been posting is angst shit tralalalaaa

-iroh and lu tens biggest beef (satirical exaggeration) was always over tea preferences. they both love it- but in just wildly different ways. lu ten liked tea with milk and ginger and cardamom and sugar and black pepper and all kinds of other spices and shit (aka saffron chai). meanwhile his father is, as we all know, one of those snobs that dies on the hill of appreciating tea with its delicate and natural flavors alone. even if it just tasted like grass. one time, though, iroh was overjoyed to hear lu ten found a tea he liked just on its own (aka hibiscus tea), without add ons. but then was dismayed to immediately discover that lu ten liked it served cold (aka karkadeh). later, just to fuck with his dad, lu ten announced that he discovered its even better with the additions of citrus juice, honey, and mint. iroh just cant ever win with his boys

-azula is the youngest so its like instinct to be annoying. like shed get genuine urges to go and annoy zuko somehow someway. not all the times shes annoyed him are malicious- sometimes shed go in his room and if he was at his desk shed pluck the brush out of his hand and throw it across the room and take all the candles out and leave without closing the door behind her. or if he was laying down shed pull his socks halfway off throw his blanket on the floor and leave. she did it all wordlessly for comedic effect until he was like “why.” and then shed start cackling like a maniac

-lu ten enjoyed engaging in little kid activities with azula and zuko. hed sit on his stomach and kick his feet while finger painting. hed play whatever the fire nation version of hopscotch is with them, along with mai and ty lee. when azula covered his mouth before he said something to embarrass her in front of ty lee hed lick her hand and shed start screeching. hed make jokes about zuko being short even though lu ten could legally drink and zuko was like 10 so it didnt even make sense

-lu tens azula nicknames: lala (naturally), pumpkin, crab cake, sweetheart, baby (the last two only come out when its just the two of them or if shes upset. she has a reputation.)

lu tens zuko nicknames: zuzu (naturally), turtleduck (also naturally), princeling, squirt, shrimpmunk (note how most of these are a cute joke about him being Tiny and Small)

the kids called him lulu when he called them zuzu and lala. when he was teaching azula how to talk she called him baba for like a week to his dismay and panic, even if she didnt know what that meant, until he got it through her head that he wasnt the one to be called that. and ozai wasnt either because unfortunately he isnt the casual type

(he also called ursa auntie in front of anyone. to his great joy, ursa told him that ozai complained about it to her. thus, he continued to do it)

-lu ten made time for the kids not by ignoring his duties in their favor but by overachieving and overworking to stay as far ahead of his duties as possible. the faster he got shit done the more time leftover he had. his favorite thing to do with them aside from ember island was sneak them out of the palace and into the town during the evening, when they had all the best street food and outdoor theater set out

-roughhousing and chasing each other around was always a thing iroh and lu ten did before things got awkward and sour. their pai sho games- when they werent using it as a vessel for serious conversations- were loud, dramatic, and funny to witness. like iroh would be swearing and lu ten would be laughing hysterically. the servants would come and go with refreshments while giggling

-iroh and lu ten also engaged in Old Man Activities together. like you know how old folks just sit on porches for hours for no reason??? iroh and lu ten would do that together in the palace garden. they also did morning meditation and prayer at the ass crack of dawn

-before zuko was born and it was for the most part just ursa and lu ten, she got homesick a lot, and taught lu ten some of the stuff she did before marrying into the family. so lu ten knew how to make shit like jewelry, clay masks, and embroidered fans

-on ember island trips the three did a lot of cooking together. azula liked making sweet treats and fruit platters, zuko liked making kimchi and fried snacks. cleaning the mess is just as much a bonding activity as making the mess

-lu ten managed to keep whatever the hell he had going on with zhao a complete secret from iroh and ursa, zuko was just oblivious, but azula… is perceptive. and nosy. and protective. so one day when zhao leaves the palace azula approaches lu ten from out of nowhere and is basically like “(Katt Williams voice) You have an unnatural allegiance to losers and its not like you 😐”. he has no clue what to say to that

(it was not to azulas knowledge that zhao was harassing zuko constantly during his banishment. had she known, she wouldve done something about it. Not something that would inconvenience her father or the navy, obviously, but she wouldve definitely done something. #Trust.)

#atla #fire family #iroh #azula #zuko #lu ten #ursa #alicias writing stuff

[a-forger-and-a-point-man]

Oppenheimer / immediate thoughts

ok nolan fans let's talk, i just got back.

i am very well acquainted with 20th century american history but i did not do any additional research on oppenheimer the man or the trinity test because i wanted to be surprised by the movie's narrative and imagery, so keep that in mind as you read. i'm not fact-checking for the time being... i want to go do my own reading at my leisure when it's not past midnight.

DON'T GO SEE IT IN IMAX. SAVE YOUR MONEY AND A HEADACHE. it's not inception or dunkirk or the batman films or interstellar. just go to your local theater or wait until it's available to stream. trust me on this. i'll explain why in the spoilers section below.

YOU'RE BEING WARNED. SPOILERS AHEAD.

-this was the least nolan-y film that nolan has ever made. i see more of following in it (his very first film) than i do any other project. it was definitely a bit of a different direction for him.

-this is basically a biopic of sorts about oppenheimer. it's not about the war nor is it really about the bomb. it's about an awkward, conflicted, and possibly mentally ill physics genius who seems to not know how to do much in life beyond quantum physics theory. like yes, he's got a brilliant mind, but he's far from a well-rounded, impressive human being. the guy was a hot mess long before anyone mentioned the word bomb.

-taking that into consideration, i can see how the suffering of humans (whether the navajo nation in new mexico, or the japanese people) doesn't play a role in the film. japanese victims are mentioned, but briefly in one scene. that doesn't make any of this right. in fact a more entertaining, eye-opening, and timely film should have included more of both - but i see now that nolan wanted to focus on ONE man and cillian is indeed in practically every. single. scene.

-cillian should be nominated for an oscar and win it.

-humans are very complex and you CAN both build the bomb AND feel bad about it, yes it's entirely possible and normal, but the film is still 3 hours of white guilt. i'm openly saying it. the reason you shouldn't see it in imax is because it's 3 hours of middle aged white men sitting around making terrible decisions. it's SO MUCH TALKING, jesus.

-IMAX cameras are stupidly loud, which is why most filmmakers don't use them. you can't hear dialogue. they're for action scenes. so that very much explains why i was just ITCHING for subtitles on this. so many different accents and everyone mumbling and the score was louder than their voices and ARGHHH nolan why.

-female characters are unremarkable and underused. i know nolan and i know how he uses female characters. at this point i'm convinced he just doesn't know how to write them, and he can only work with male-driven stories and you know what... fine. it is what it is. unless he brings female writers on board, nothing will change, because he can't do it himself.

-why are there sudden bare tiddies in a nolan film. fanboys, did u love it? did u get what u wanted? was that it? finally, a sex scene in a nolan film? it added nothing and i could argue it took some things away. sorry folks. entirely unnecessary.

-ok THE BEST PART was the surprise cameos. cillian was in every scene and yet he was the least famous person among big oscar winners sometimes! it was wild! i was internally screaming at gary oldman as harry truman. excellent choice to play him like the clown he was. AND EINSTEIN??? did y'all catch that or no??? i knew it right away from the voice and the kind eyes. it's the GUY FROM THE PIT IN THE DARK KNIGHT RISES. he helps bruce recover, and narrates the ascent of "the child". terrific casting! and i haven't checked IMDB yet, but is borden (not named after the character from the prestige!) played by the arkham patient from the dark knight? the one who gets shot in the leg and interrogated by harvey dent?? tell me i am recognizing the right guy! and then we had matthew modine... casey affleck... rami malek who appeared for like 3 mins maybe?! AND Y'ALL, JOSH HARTNETT????????????????? OMG my biggest crush when i was 15. that was craaaazy. but i do like seeing nolan bring back his friends... it's very much a nolan circle as we all know. and once you're in it, you're in it!

-the use of sound was VERY GOOD. the explosion actually being silent, because light reaches us before sound? but also the way the buildup was so intense and so hyped up and then just.... complete silence to reflect on the monstrosity being produced, and how nothing will be the same.

-there was a lot of train sounds to emphasize the railroad, but also... anyone notice that the stomping noise in oppenheimer's head almost felt like a train was coming through? TELL ME YOU DIDN'T THINK ABOUT COBB'S GUILTY CONSCIENCE IN INCEPTION, and how a train would ram through the dream. nolan doing an homage to himself is absolutely hysterical and i am here for it i guess.

-i'm not sure how audiences abroad will feel about all the scenes in washington with congressional testimony. does that stuff carry over well? do you get the references? it's such inside baseball, i know, and it adds so much time to the film, and yet MORE scenes with middle aged white men talking. i could have done with less of the black and white "present day" scenes and more about the impact of the bomb, or maybe more about kitty's life and how she overcame her (presumed?) alcoholism and depression.

-the casual discussion about the 11 cities shortlisted to drop the atomic bomb "but not kyoto because of its cultural importance" made people laugh in the theater as intended, but honestly like... nothing in the movie is funny. it's really heavy stuff and i still stand by the fact that the bomb should never have been produced, despite what oppenheimer and others tried to say. because even its production is incredibly dangerous. it's not just about where you fucking drop it.

-did i mention there is too much matt damon. like, too much.

-rami malek is the only person of color with a speaking role in this film. that's right.

-ok what else guys??? i wanna hear thoughts. there's a lot more but i'm so tired at this hour

#oppenheimer #christopher nolan #cillian murphy #mythoughts #christophernolan #cillianmurphy

[koshigurajumy]

林英哲 & 木下伸市 - 飛沫 国立劇場・1997年度民俗芸能公演より

Eitetsu Hayashi (Japanese drums) & Shinichi Kinoshita (Shamisen) - SHI-BU-KI From the National Theater, Chiyoda, Tokyo · Folk Performing Performance in 1997

#音楽 #動画 #Eitetsu Hayashi #Shinichi Kinoshita

[sleepynegress]

I Just Watched Hulu’s PREY (the latest Predator sequel)... YALL #THIS IS A REC

*whew!!!*

So, a little tidbit about me. Around 20 years ago, I worked on a rez.  They had a community center with a TV and a DVD player with popular movies the people liked.  Like any other people in America they had a collection of all the genres, including action blockbusters. But... there were only two or three actual Indigenous culture-based movies.  The rest were mostly Latine (I think owing to the fact of Latine cultures having a lot of Indigenous blood/culture within them). I remember at the time, it struck me, that even as a black woman, I was privileged in this.  NO PEOPLES have less representation in pop culture than the 1st Nations peoples... You hear me? And you can forget just a regular-egular Hollywood blockbuster movie. #PREY should have been that big Hollywood blockbuster sleeper 2022 summer movie theater hit, yall. It is now, my FAVORITE movie that has come out this summer. It gave EVERYTHING. Indigenous folks finally have a big great quality action sci-fi movie. 

And a Native WOMAN gets to be that badass (I tell u, I reverted to a kid cheering them big 80′s muscley yt men action stars from back in the day) It’s not gimmicky, quippy, or overly-faux-reverant of the culture in that cringey way yt media does with that ~wise magical NDN~ garbage...No they are just people living their lives.

It just does what it’s supposed to.  It patiently builds enough character so you care what happens to them. It gives that meaningful character journey, heart-pounding, edge-of-your-seat and badass-bloody action, and a satisfying ending.

Which is all you want in a action film. And even tho I’m not Native, the fact that it’s also in genre (sci-fi) something I know some yt folks don’t think marginalized peoples have a leading place in (i.e. woke/forced b.s.), just gave me chills and made me happy in that way BP did, -that another marginalized group is getting space at the table too (long overdue tho it is). Naru is THEE SHIT. SEE THIS FUCKING MOVIE YALL, espec. if you are an action movie stan, like myself and/or a Predator fan who has been waiting for the good quality sequel to the OG movie, and like believeable action woman leads. Just for the record, I like Predator 2 and Predators and don’t acknowledge the existence of any other sequels, except for that part where Sanaa and the Predator got along (I’m sorry yall, Predators are the Negroes of aliens in space, I don’t make the rules....They only gave trophies and ritual to the two black leads) But PREY????

...MUTHAFCCIN PREY??? It rivals the OG Predator, I KID YOU NOT. If you are planning to have an action movie night this weekend??? 

Cue this sucker up and get your popcorn. SEE IT!!

#thisisarec #prey #prey hulu #review #I loved this movie so much #a bitch loves a good action movie #and a bitch loves seeing underrepped people in good-ass genre #in this case sci-fi/action #amber midthunder #goddammit I love this movie!!! #prey movie #a brutha yall #trivia: also the hubby of sesame street actress: #loretta long aka susan #add them locs?? the black ppl of aliens in movies lol #hulu prey #prey 2022 #kevin peter hall was the OG predator's name #that's what happens when you go from memory

[fantasy-mixtapes]

Kristen Applebees Season 1 Character Playlist BREAKDOWN

OKAY, SO this one is gonna be an ordeal.

I set a 6-song limit for every other playlist I made, but this is the playlist that started it all. So, I didn't have a limit. So it's 12 songs long.

Which is honestly like a normal playlist length BUT it's gonna be a long breakdown which I will lovingly do because I LOVE Kristen with my whole heart. Either way, this is deffos gonna be a long post so read if you want (i would very much appreciate it obvi but I get this is pushing it).

Genres Included: Folk, Singer-songwriter, Alternative, 80's

1. Save the People, The Mountain Goats

When wilt thou save the people? Oh, God of mercy, when? Not kings and lords, but nations Not thrones and crowns, but men God save the people For thine they are Thy children as thy angels fair Save the people from despair

Starting off strong with my main man John Darnielle. John, as prolific as he might be, did not write this song it is originally from the musical Godspell by Steven Schwartz. I was raised as a theater kid and I remember one summer my mom took out our cable and the only things we could watch on the tv were dvds and vhs tapes of musicals, and the 1973 Godspell movie was definitely one of my favorites. Its like "what if Jesus was around in the 70s and was a hippie clown and also was crucified on a chain-linked fence and beaten by cops" ...ah, good times.

ANYWAYS, I don't feel like I need to get into why this is a perfect Kristen song - I feel like it really gets to the divide between the way that Christianity is taught to kids vs the way it is enacted by the adults that do the teaching.

2. Father Texas, Birdtalker

Father Texas on his toes Tells me where and when to go He's a savior, liturgy man He's a stickler and a soap monger Shove it down your throat Holy answer man He says obey and I'll love ya Now I'm doing just to prove And I'm walking out of fear But the devils done

Ok so I was raised Catholic, which I feel like is a whole different flavor of religious trauma compared to Evangelical or Baptist vibes - which I feel like the Helioic religion gives. Either way, this song slaps and really gets to that Evangelical vibe.

3. Big Houses, Squalloscope

I build bridges with these arms I will not build a fortress In the circle around the kitchen table I say my "amen" because I feel blessed Secretly hoping, while joining hands, that you can't feel my trembling fingertips

Here's young Kristen Applebees - Chosen One of Helio- who just wanted to help people. She meets her first non-religious friends, plans to convert and save them, and then straight up dies on the first day of school. She comes face to face with her literal god, is disappointed and grossed out by him, and then is magically (and violently) revived.

Can you imagine her returning home, trying to answer her parent's questions about the first day, making it through dinner, crawling into bed, and just lying there? AHHHHHHHHHHH

4. Under The Table, Fiona Apple

I'd like to buy you a pair of pillow-soled hiking boots To help you with your climb Or rather, to help the bodies that you step over along your route So they won't hurt like mine Kick me under the table all you want I won't shut up, I won't shut up Kick me under the table all you want I won't shut up, I won't shut up

Speaking of those family dinners, as the days go by and Kristen gets closer to her party, how do you think she's gonna react to whatever comments her parents make about them hmmmmmm? The result of coming out of your social shell and realizing how bad the people around you really are.

5. Cleric Girl, Sisyfuss

I need my cleric girl tonight So she can bless me in this plight Dress me in crucifixes so they die on sight I need my cleric girl tonight

This is just a fun song I see as Kristen finds her groove within the party, kinda around the DJ brains fight. Also it makes me think of the prayer chain thing that she had the whole party on at some point.

6. Cornflake Girl, Tori Amos

She knows what's going on Seems we got a cheaper feel now All the sweeteaze are gone Gone to the other side With my encyclopedia They musta paid her a nice price She's putting on her string bean love This is not really, this, this This is not really happening

There's something about a Tori Amos song that never fucking misses. This song, for me, kinda gets at the part of growing up when you really start to uncover the truth of things for yourself, instead of listening to the things you were always told. Kristen buys the book of world religions and reads about the atrocities people did in her god's name. She is also told that the "cool camps" she was going to were run by an actual fanatical cult. Yikes.

7. Eldest Daughter, Isabel Pless

Bring me your battered, your bruised, and your scarred Florence Nightingale, to your broken hearts Bring me your bleeding I'll stitch it up with a bow Tugging at the sword in the stone The dormant hero in me is yet to be known Dying to prove myself again, but I don't know how Wanna lay my weapons down Lay my weapons down Want everyone to adore me even though People's emotions are out of my control Smothering fires Letting flames claim my hands I would do anything to be needed Over and over again.

Okay, the thing about this song is that we get the root of it here in season one, and it shows up really lightly, but God almighty, do we get one hell of a payoff in the next two seasons. Damn. The first time I listened to this song I cried. It's on several of my dnd character playlists - because, for some reason, I can't stop making dnd characters with self-saccrificing tendencies. HM! I WONDER WHY?

But anyways, yeah... something something, Christian households raising their eldest daughters to be surrogate mothers and laborers, something something Kristen is a cleric while her brothers are paladins, something something Women being healers

8. Angel Eyes and Basketball, Foot Ox

There are flowers growing all around A massive animal inside of me And it's so ugly, and I'm so broken And I'm so ugly, and it's so broken I am calling all of my friends To pull me out of this hole But they're so caught up in their own shit And I'm so caught up in my own shit

Ok, this is full Christian guilt. I also really like the way this song is one of those upbeat but devastating ones because it makes me think about her inspiring speeches to her party members just being her ranting about how horrible everything is, and then they get +1 to attacks and extra hitpoints. Living La Vida Loca.

9. We Fell in Love in October, girl in red

Smoking cigarettes on the roof You look so pretty, and I love this view Don't bother looking down, we're not going that way At least I know I am here to stay We fell in love in October That's why I love fall Looking at the stars Admiring from afar

Ok, I know this is cheesy. BUT TO MY CREDIT: both the song and the season came out in 2018. Also, you know Kristen would stream the fuck out of this song.

10. Running Up That Hill ( A Deal With God), Kate Bush

And if I only could, I'd make a deal with God And I'd get him to swap our places I'd be running up that road, be running up that hill With no problems

AGAIN TO MY CREDIT: I made this playlist in 2020 - two years before Stranger Things brought the song back to the general psyche. No shade, of course, to the stranger things; it's a perfect song to choose, and the scene effectively made me cry.

But anyway its here because at her bones, Kristen would die for her friends and has and will (unfortunately) continue to. Speaking of

11. Arms Tonite, Mother Mother

I cry in the afterlife I cry hard because I have died And you're alive I try to escape afterlife I try hard to get back inside Your arms alive

Kristen's dying count is more than double most of her friends at this point - and golly gee just wait till season 2!

Can I roll a nat 20 and then be alive?

12. Glory (Bunker Sessions), Bastille

And all their words for glory Well, they always sounded empty When we're looking up for heaven Looking up for heaven Way down here upon the ground When we're lying in the dirt There's no looking up for heaven Looking up for heaven

I really love this bunker session version of this song; the strings and the piano just give it a lovely honesty. Gorgeous song. Perfect way to end this season

#dimension 20 #fantasy high #d20 #spotify #fantasy mixtapes #kristen applebees #d20 kristen applebees #ally beardsley #Spotify

[ingravinoveritas]

Hi again :) I hope this is okay - I just love reading your thoughts and commentary on different aspects of David and Michael's life. You are quite the writer and seem to bring aspects to light that I hadn't noticed or considered. Thank you for that <3 I was hoping you might write a little something about them in celebration of Bisexuality Awareness Day on September 23rd?

Hi there! Aw, thank you so much for the kind words about my writing--I truly do appreciate it. (And to all of the lovely people who have sent me some amazing questions that are currently sitting in my inbox, I promise I will answer your Asks soon! This one was time sensitive so I wanted to be sure I answered it before it was too late.)

So, yes...yesterday was Bisexuality Awareness (Visibility) Day. And I think what stands out to me in particular when I think of this day and Michael and David is the word "visible." What it means to be visible.

On the one hand, it can mean that you are not hiding. It's about being who you are and simply existing as your authentic self, even if you are not announcing or being loud about it. But "visible" can also mean being seen. The acknowledgment of your authentic self by the people in your personal life--friends, family--and by the world at large. It would seem that these two things naturally go together, but as all too many bisexual folks know, not hiding is not the same thing as being seen.

When I think about the time and place where Michael and David came of age--1980s Britain, under the tenure of Margaret Thatcher and the oppressive rule of Section 28--it seems like the last thing any LGBTQIA person would've wanted to be is visible. To be seen as anything other than straight or cis meant ridicule, persecution, isolation, and in the worst cases, institutionalization or incarceration.

And so you have Michael who, fresh out of drama school, starts taking on queer roles. To this day, Michael has repeatedly quoted Oscar Wilde ("Man is least himself when he talks in his own person. Give him a mask, and he will tell you the truth"), and in considering this, you start to see how all of those roles became a way for Michael to explore a part of himself that he couldn't openly explore in real life.

It means that even working in the arts and theater wasn't a guarantee of protection, and that for Michael and for David, being who they are was ultimately at odds with the desire to advance their careers. David became the Doctor in 2005, and while the social and cultural landscape had slowly begun to shift, the demands of portraying the lead in a beloved, family-oriented British institution meant living up to a certain image. He'd moved to London years earlier, which undoubtedly gave him the freedom to explore and discover himself...but as the Doctor, a national icon, the world opened up and somehow narrowed at the same time.

So many years have passed since then. The pulsing thrum of unending work and the pressure to establish themselves has ebbed. Michael and David have found a steady place in their professional lives, and that feeling of needing to hide has lessened. They know exactly who they are and finally, perhaps for the first time ever in their lives, do not have to be afraid to show it. To suggest. To say what is in their hearts and let the words hang in the air without hastily added qualifiers or retractions.

That takes us back to the word "visible." Even as so many things have changed over time, a strange incongruousness arises. That despite knowing who they are, Michael and David are middle-aged, and the mindset still prevails that "coming out" is only for younger people. Or for people not in straight-passing relationships, or who don't have families. That being middle-aged somehow means having everything figured out and never feeling lost or confused or struggling to accept who you are. Life tells us different. And as I mentioned above, it becomes even clearer that not hiding is not the same thing as being seen.

When I think of this day and Michael and David, I think of the courage it takes to be yourself--without apology, without compromise. I think of what it was like to form an identity in a place that leaves no room for you, that tells you in one way or another that you don't belong. I think of what it must've been like to feel alone for so long, to not know if you'd find the person who understands you so completely, and then years later to fall in love with them at exactly the wrong (or right) time. I think of knowing deep inside that something isn't a phase or a fleeting desire, and the soul-draining exhaustion of having to convince others that you are here. You exist. You belong.

The permanence of being seen. Of being visible.

Happy Bisexuality Visibility Day 2023, everyone.

#martinsharmony #reply post #michael sheen #welsh seduction machine #david tennant #soft scottish hipster gigolo #david is lowkey bi and michael is highkey bi #apologies for not finishing this yesterday but i really wanted to think about what i was writing #bisexuality visibility day #bisexuality awareness day #thoughts #discourse

[monkey-network]

Good Stuff: Best Movies of 2023

This was NOT a great year for blockbusters, huh? This was probably Disney's worst in years, multiple flops including what was meant to be their centennial anniversary film. It looked remarkably by the numbers, but think of the conglomerate's losses... Anyway, this to me was a pretty great year for films. Like 2022, I'm amazed at the variety we got that says more about the shifting tides of people's interest in movies. It was the most times I've been to the theater. We got a big worker's strike over the summer, especially large push back against degenerates trying to push AI to do more than just shitposting. And it was enough for me to know Adam Sandler, Godzilla, and Hayao Miyazaki could get the better of Disney. With this said, let this be a first for Good Stuff and count down my favorites of this year.

12. Renfield

My suspicions were on the money and I'm glad I gave this a shot in the theaters. Cage was the best Dracula I could've asked for in what you might say was an Adult Swim-esque dark comedy. It definitely has that style of gruesomeness and humor given Robert Kirkman and the Writer/Director behind Moral Orel made this. Unfortunately, Ben Schwartz stuck out like a sore thumb even if he fulfills his purpose in this, reminding me of Christopher Mintz-Plasse in KickAss; I feel he or Jason Schwartzman would've been better suited. Plus it can feel all over the place, an identity crisis that you can't even grasp after it finishes. Then again, I just had fun watching and would gladly rewatch for Cage and Hoult who are the highlights of this.

11. Migration

Call it blasphemous, but I enjoyed this more than the Mario movie. It's essentially Rio mixed with National Lampoon's Vacation, with a lovable cast, solid animation, and an eazy breezy road trip story. I've always looked to Illumination for simple enjoyable romps and I got what I expected here. Gave me Amphibia vibes in a way, replace frogs with birds. Everything surrounding the villain is my only real issue, he was an obvious and very nothing bad guy, but it's overall better paced than Super Mario Bros where it felt like you watched an eternity in 3 minutes. Still don't get the air of folk looking down on this for just being serviceable when it's honestly become my favorite Illumination movie next to the first Despicable Me.

10. Killers of the Flower Moon

Sad to say this is the weakest Scorsese movie for me, mainly because it felt like we're following the wrong main character. Lily Gladstone is incredible in this, among the other great performers, but she felt sidelined in favor of DeCaprio and De Niro's perspectives. It's like if in 1995's Casino, we just follow Ginger throughout the moment Sam introduces her. I liked the turmoil Leo's character goes through, but it paled in comparison to Mollie who was more affected by his and Hale's actions. That does not mean it's all bad. This can be a beautiful, dynamic, and ruthless movie that just made me feel bad for watching it; running with the words "harsh reality" throughout the 3 and a half hour runtime.

9. Good Burger 2

I watched Good Burger 1 & 2 this Thanksgiving weekend, and just had a blast. These are the kind of movies that are charmingly stupid but not insultingly so. Kel Mitchell's Ed is emblematic of how much dumb fun this duology is where he's actively comical but not smoothbrained to ruin your time. This I say is like Home Alone 2 where it is just beat for beat the 1st movie with minor developments but that doesn't really matter when it's just as well put together. It never feels like Kenan nor Kel missed a beat and the drama not overstaying its welcome. It is just "Good Burger Again" without it feeling like diminishing returns compared to other rehashing sequels.

8. Leo

Can you believe this got better publicity than Disney's Wish? Even YMS could appreciate this movie, that's how you know Sandler has his recognizable game when you least expect it. But Leo is a surprisingly good comedy that has actually sincere moments. Being Happy Madison's 2nd ever animation, it's like Adam waited to refine the production as opposed to putting a cash grab together like one would expect. It's not all good, especially trying to be a musical, but seeing it once you'd be impressed how much good it does with the risks it takes.

7. Nimona

Like Migration, everything surrounding the villain is the one big issue I have with this, especially when it comes to affecting the film's message. At the same time, she pales in comparison to the dynamic pairing of Ballister Blackheart and the titular shapeshifter. Nimona is my favorite character of 2023, her energy and confidence matched by the struggle she bears existing alone and the facade made to band-aid it. Her and Ballister's journey alone made me glad this got out of development hell, being Blue Sky's final production posthumous. To me it wasn't about being a take that to Disney, it was about the fact a movie like Nimona got to exist as great as it did. Hoping Stevenson is satisfied with their adaptation, because it definitely earned its flowers.

6. Emesis Blue

Offhand, it openly sucks that Letterboxd refuses to let this stay on the site to log, but it can't be overstated how much of a marvel this was. Repurposing not just the characters, but the lore and mechanics of Team Fortress 2 into a feature length horror thriller. The animation's top notch where it can have godly framing that was on par with the known legends of horror film making. SFM animations can be beautiful on their own, shitpost or otherwise, but Emesis Blue goes a step beyond by having a compelling story fitting for the universe on top of, again, every frame being a painting.

5. Shin Kamen Rider

I've never really saw any Tokusatsu shows. Not that I hate the genre, just could never get into it while recognizing the glorious looking chaos found in clips. Knowing Hideaki Anno directed was what got me into seeing this film and it opened my mind quite a bit. This was the legacy film that definitely had Anno's touch in both the action and drama. While the climax can notably drag, you never feel left out of what was essentially the original Kamen Rider's origin story. It doesn't have the complex VFX of stuff like Marvel, but the costumes and fight scenes makes me wish we got more of this in America beyond Power Rangers.

4. TMNT Mutant Mayhem

Advertising before release really didn't make this appear like a promising film. If there's anything I learned from this year though, appearances can be deceiving. Like Nimona was for her movie, the creative choices for this made it the TMNT movie I never knew I wanted. To me this felt akin to the Lego Batman movie where it's not only a good love letter of the franchise for more than its fanservice, but this spin on the characters is able to have a new sincere view of them without overhauling everything about the TMNT. That and it has the greatest needle drops I've had in a long while like how do insert He-Man Fabulous Secret Powers and expect me to hate this?

3. Godzilla Minus One

I call this a great year for films because it marks the first time I got to see a Toho produced Godzilla, with subtitles, in an real movie theater. Needless to say, it felt like I got to enjoy the 1954 film again anew. Not a remake mind you, but the parallels were uncanny and this spins here work just as well, if not more here than with the original in a couple places. Both are still strong movies nonetheless. Minus One is a refurbish that dishes out what people always wanted and uniquely giving a little more while never sacrificing why the OG is that timeless. With it getting more than a limited release, I'm glad this got to be more than a niche celebration of the kaijuu king.

2. Oppenheimer

This film's been meme'd to heaven, hell you could say it got meme'd to success thanks to its dual release with Barbie, but it didn't undermine getting hooked to watching this anyways. This really has become my favorite Nolan film, a compelling biopic that doesn't exactly herald its titular lead in the best light thanks to the paradoxical storytelling. Oppenheimer gives us the largest ensemble I know, and delivers in the most breathtaking moments I never knew I could get. Cillian killed it among the many who made the three hours of people sitting and talking in rooms actually tense and intriguing to thread. Plus it gave us the beauty of Josh Peck being the guy to detonate the test bomb like cherry on top of this cinematic cake.

1. The Holdovers

I remember watching Alexander Payne's Sideways with Paul Giamatti as a high schooler but couldn't appreciate it until rewatching this year. It's one of the best mid-life crisis comedies you could see, still fresh in its easy going presentation and music. The same can be said for this film, made to feel like it came from the late 70s or 80s with the old opening logos that I didn't think you could do in these times. Out the gate, this was the holiday story I was shocked would be as relatable as it was, with the trio of Giamatti, Randolph, and Sessa each having their story that resonated with me strongly. With the right amount of time, Payne offers an remarkably cozy, down to earth movie where from reserved to outgoing, it did a lot for me emotionally. Like Netflix's Klaus, I kinda want this to be a traditional rewatch for the holiday seasons. One that everyone should try at least once, especially if they feel the disillusionment of the season where this might lift their spirits one way or another.

If there's anything to learn from this year, it's that the meta has definitely shifted. Even when the many on my list didn't make billions like the Avatar films, the variety and risks made spoke more than the big dogs like Disney and WB putting out unprofitable blockbusters that ranged from very by the numbers to you don't need to see The Flash to know how god awful it just was. More people are & should branch out beyond the major mainstream names. Not that the big dogs aren't ever gonna make great films in the coming years, but we should appreciate more than the big budget features you can tell are playing it safe. Time can be patient for great cinema, sleeper hits or not, so take advantage while you're young.

#2023 films #movies #2023 movies #films #reviews #renfield #renfield 2023 #renfield movie #Migration movie #Illumination Migration #killers of the flower moon #kotfm #Good Burger 2 #Leo Movie #Leo 2023 #leo netflix #nimona movie #nimona 2023 #Emesis Blue #shin kamen rider #tmnt mutant mayhem #Mutant Mayhem #Godzilla Minus One #Oppenheimer #The Holdovers #long post #top 10 #Good Stuff

[eretzyisrael]

by Lionel Shriver

Another day, another opportunity for huffy, hypocritical “progressive” posturing. PEN America has now been forced to cancel its World Voices literary festival in New York and L.A., on the heels of also canceling its 2024 awards ceremony. Too many authors had withdrawn from both events to make going ahead with staging either practicable. The reason for so many writers flouncing from these programs? PEN’s failure to publicly denounce Israel’s “genocide” in Gaza. But you had probably guessed the point of indignation already, because as of October 2023, the Anglosphere’s far left has neatly pivoted from the infantilization of black people to the Palestinian cause with the coordinated grace of a synchronized swimmer.

To clarify: the purpose of PEN is to defend freedom of speech and to protect writers from political oppression and persecution. It makes perfect sense, therefore, that a significant cadre of its membership would seek to stifle freedom of speech and engage in political oppression and persecution. Or: we’re all for free speech so long as you say what we tell you. These folks are athletes. It requires considerable intellectual acrobatics for Writers Against the War on Gaza to regard the shutting down of events to advance free expression as “a win for free expression.” Presumably, the fact that a number of withdrawals from both occasions were motivated by fear of being attacked by a mob of pro-Palestinian zealots is also “a win for free expression.” PEN itself stated its concern “about any circumstance in which writers tell us they feel shut down, or that speaking their minds bears too much risk.”

PEN is, by its nature, a big tent. It represents not only Muslim writers but Jewish ones too, some of whom might just support the existence of Israel, might just regard Israel’s war against Hamas in Gaza as justified, and might just find alliance with genuinely genocidal terrorists whose unembarrassed aim is to wipe Israel and the Jewish people off the map as a teeny tiny bit obnoxious. While one PEN member decries the nonprofit’s “both-sidesing,” the truth is that PEN has no business taking a position on this issue whatsoever.

Unfortunately, the left has successfully installed the expectation that, regardless of their established purpose, all institutions—companies, museums, theaters, universities, charities, you name it—must proclaim their fealty to the “right” (which is to say left) position on a host of inflammatory issues of the day. This hyper-politicization of entities that ought sensibly to remain politically neutral has been systematically debauching everything from the UK’s National Trust to its NHS, from Anheuser-Busch to the Chicago Art Museum. First, all such outfits were required to fly Black Lives Matter flags, then garishly incoherent Pride flags, and now these banners have all to be swapped out for Palestinian flags, never mind what constituency or customer base might be alienated by this gratuitously partisan branding. Thus, an organization established for the defense of free speech of every sort—including the overtly Zionist kind—is necessarily obliged to openly advocate for Hamas, a murderous, cheerfully antisemitic cult whose interest in free speech on its home turf would fit in a thimble.

Of course, PEN’s membership has form when it comes to hypocrisy. In 2015, under armed security, PEN awarded its Freedom of Expression Courage Award to the satirical French magazine Charlie Hebdo. Six writers withdrew from participating in the proceedings to protest the magazine’s ostensibly offensive printing of cartoons that depicted Muhammad. Yet funnily enough, what your average normal person found offensive was the vicious massacre of 12 of the publication’s employees, most of them journalists, for neglecting to adhere to one religion’s hysterical blasphemy laws in a secular country that famously celebrates liberté. Yet over 200 writers—including, to my astonishment, the likes of Joyce Carol Oates—signed an open letter to PEN criticizing the Charlie Hebdo award. For these authors, defense of free speech, promotion of tolerance, and opposition to violent political oppression—the very purpose of PEN—counted for nothing when weighed against any injury to the delicate feelings of fundamentalist Muslims.

Much has been written about the unholy, and in some ways, hilarious alliance developing between the progressive left and Islam (Lesbians for Palestine, etc.). But for Western writers to embrace a restrictive, prescriptive, and stifling culture isn’t merely ironic or comical; it’s self-defeating. One needn’t consult a professor of Middle Eastern studies to conclude that these fair-weather friends in Gaza may welcome useful idiocy, but the permissive ethos of the Anglo left is diametrically at odds with despotic Islamic theology. Moreover, for American writers to express increasingly shrill and little-disguised hostility to Jews is to disavow a substantial chunk of the country’s distinguished literary canon: Philip Roth, Saul Bellow, Isaac Bashevis Singer, Bernard Malamud, and Elie Wiesel just for starters.

But then, the past 15 years have demonstrated with depressing clarity that writers, along with artists of every stripe, aren’t special. Although our occupation is more at risk from censorship than most, we’re all too capable of perversely embracing suppressive viewpoints that violate our own interest. We’re paid not only to write but to think, yet we don’t think; we listen keenly for whatever tune is playing in our fellow travelers’ AirPods and whistle along. Apparently, we’re no more creative than the average bear, and as soon as the memo goes out, we’ll chant along with the kiddies camped at Columbia University, “from the river to the sea!” whatever that means. We’ll obediently switch out one cause for another whenever we’re told, as nimbly as using “find and replace” in Microsoft Word.

We’re cowards, conformists, and copycats. Real freedom of expression is too scary; we’d rather hide in a crowd whose keffiyeh-masked members all shout the same thing. PEN has a laudable history of advocating for writers who’ve been persecuted for their opinions in repressive polities—polities much like the contemporary United States. But too many of its members would have the nonprofit corrupt its global mission to protect free speech across the board so long as they can bully its leadership into pointless partisan posturing for progressives’ acrid flavor of the month.

#lionel shriver #pen #freedom of expression #hamas #gaza #israel #conformity #charlie hebdo

[cinemaocd]

this is probably going to be long

OK, I lived through the AIDS crisis. I was a young person questioning my sexuality at arguably the worst possible time in American history. I discovered the word "bisexual" (hooray I have a label) only to read a few days later in mainstream news about how "bisexuals were responsible for spreading AIDS to the hetero community" which was a take that was tolerated on national news shows at the time. The only sex education I had in my entire public education was a film we were forced to watch about how you could get AIDS from french kissing (you can't) and heavy petting (which we didn't know what it was because it was outdated old people code for oral lol)...

The entire LGBTQIA plus community was not attacked as a monolith, the focus of hate came on gay men, because they were the most obviously effected and also the most visible and prominent in the community. The rest of the community did their best to embrace and protect them. (For example lesbian groups that were on the front lines of caring for people who were sick when no one else would...).

And there were people like myself who identified as allies but were in a place where they didn't feel safe to come out themselves. I did not come out at that time because even though I was in accepting local community at University and working at a feminist journal I knew I would lose friends and family and possibly future work opportunities. Being Bi it was easier to blend in for me and I took advantage of that. Part of the reason I hesitated so long about coming out was I felt a lot of guilt that I didn't come out in the 90s during the AIDS crisis. I felt like a coward who wasn't worthy to stand with such brave people.

It took me a long time to let go of that self-hate to the point where I could come out. A big part of it was acknowledging how fucked up the climate for LGBTQIA folks in the 80s and 90s. We had two family friends (which is how I knew I would probably be rejected by a lot of my family) who died of AIDS. Yes, these were brilliant, creative men who worked in theater. One of them was the props coordinator for Late Night with David Letterman (responsible for building Dave's velcro suit etc.). I also have a peer who died of AIDS in the early 2000s, long after the disease had supposedly been "not a death sentence" who also happened to be an actor.

Despite their lack of political involvement, they were be seen as radical just because they lived openly as gay men in a society that hated them and wanted them dead, and only tolerated them if they were the "fun gays" who weren't actually threatening the status quo...

Being in theater or the arts was a survival tactic for a lot of people ya know because it was a more accepting environment and because it wasn't considered important like politics, medicine, science etc. (Miss me with the gays can't do math jokes. A gay man invented the fucking computer).

The gay men I knew in long-term monogamous relationships survived the worst of the crisis and they automatically became "respectability queers" for having not died and wanting jobs with health insurance etc. Because one dude follows his dream of working in theater and the other quits theater and goes to work at the phone company and buys a house with his partner, one is fun and the other boring? One is a creative genius creating culture and the other is a consumer of cultural pap? Wow. Great take.

FUCK. I'm just getting so angry thinking about this. You want to know why it took me till I was FIFTY fucking years old to come out: AIDS. That's it. ONE Fucking word.

Sorry I have no idea WHY I fucking started this other than I saw a shitty post that said, our culture became boring because all the fun gays died and left only the boring gays who only care about marriage or whatever.

#Also: what the fuck is wrong with CATS and ghostbusters??? #both are great #both have their value #if you want to bitch about marvel or shitty broadway musicals then do it #please don't throw all the old gays under the bus for being boring while you do it #also there was that post yesterday about Anthony Perkins and I did not realize he died of AIDS #I don't know how I missed it...oh it happened in 1992 when I wasn't living at home and didn't have a tv... #sometimes the sex positive bubble of tumblr will prefer the LOLZ lifetime achievment of fucking take #over the he was conflicted because all of society hated him for being gay and many many shitty people rejoiced I'm sure when he died take #as they did when other prominent gay men died of AIDS #PS: those are the same people trying to pass legislation attacking trans people #the same fucking people

[warmaidensrevenge]

Always seen you.

Pairing: Eddie x insecure Fem!plus size reader

If you want to read my other work you can find it HERE

A/N: This just came to me. Just a mini series. I just smashed through all the Rocky movies and I was inspired. So just a warning I used a couple scenes. I was thinking about how badly I wish Eddie Munson was real. So here goes nothing. Thanks for reading. As always feedback is greatly appreciated. Kay love ya bye.

Warnings: language, body insecurities, secret pining, angst, slow burn, eventually smut in later parts. Not proof read and no word count.

Summary: The boy of your dreams is always just out of reach. If only you could get over yourself to see that he sees you too.

Part 1

💚🖤

There were so many words to describe Eddie Munson. Strange, creepy, zany, peculiar, dramatic, outspoken, eccentric, unusual...freak. But to you, the word that described him best was fascinating. He is captivating in every sense of the word. Beautiful with a capital B.

The liking you had for Eddie was something just short of love. But you never spoke to him or even tried for that matter. Worshiping him from afar was all you really did.

Sure you had some classes together when you were younger. But that was as close to Eddie Munson you've ever gotten.

Eddie was 19 going on 20 repeating his senior year for the third time. You just turned 18 and skipped a couple of grades throughout the years. That's how you caught up to him.

Eddie and you ran in complete opposite circles. Him, being the king of the freaks. You, a shy nerdy girl apart of the school's top academic crew. You were in the National Honor Society. So naturally you were in the debate club, physics club, and math club (So a big nerd)

In high school the shared classes were not a thing anymore. All the classes you attended were AP. So all hope to see Eddie in one of your classes was gone.

This year was your senior year. Wanting one class to just be something other than hard work, you signed up for theater. You loved the idea of it on your college applications. That was the only reason your parents approved of it.

Your parents were overbearing, controlling, and incredibly strict. You hated it. They controlled everything in your life. Everything from what classes you took down to what you wore and what you ate.

See you were a very plump girl. You kind of always were. Years of meal prepping and calorie counting didn't change a thing. Your parents even suggested you get surgery for it. But your older brother always fought for you. Saying you were perfect the way you were. So after a while your parents stopped suggesting it. But still made sly comments now and again. Saying how hard it was finding clothes that fit you. Or saying no one would ever want to marry a large girl like you.

You would be lying if you said you didn't think about all those things too. Every day you said hurtful things to yourself.

People at school didn't help with it either. The only difference between them and your folks was that you thought your parents were just looking out for you. Even with the hurtful things they said. They still loved you. Right?

You were bullied constantly about it. Though you tried to ignore it, it still hurt you.

So why on earth would Eddie Munson, the most handsome guy in all of Hawkins even look your way? You had never seen him with anyone. But you never missed the way he looked at the cheerleaders. Parading around in those short skirts and tight sweaters.

You had honestly cried a lot wishing so badly for him to look at you like that. But he never did. Not once had he noticed you or said a word. That was until the very first day of school.

You went to your classes as usual. Getting arms full of work already. You looked forward to the class after lunch. Theater. Needing the class to just relax.

You were running late because you forgot to put your books up. Imagine your surprise when you walked in as soon as the bell rang and saw only one empty seat in the back. All the blood drained out of your face and it felt like you couldn't breath.

Eddie.

You stood there in utter shock. The only seat available was the one right next to Eddie Munson. Of course it was open. No one wanted to sit next to the leader of a cult. Which you knew that was just stupid.

You didn't know he took theater. Of course he would. He was always so theatrical. Obviously he would put it to good use.

Mrs. Adler cleared her throat and looked at you over her readers. You swallowed and started for the seat.

You were almost there when someone pushed their book bag in front of you. Cause you to trip. You landed hard and completely wrong. You were sure your ankle was twisted and you sprained your wrist. You really didn't have time to process what actually happened. All you really heard was laughing. But all of a sudden someone was helping you up.

"Shit! Are you okay?"

That voice that always sounded like music whenever you heard it. Was now filled with concern.

You couldn't look at him. You knew if you did, you might just pass out from the sheer closeness.

A small yes that was barely audible came from you. Now fully aware of where exactly his hands were you started to sweat.

A strong hand on your thick bicep and the other holding your hand. You quickly pulled yourself away and sat down. You couldn't focus at all. You could hear Mrs Adler trying to calm the class. But everything else was a blur.

Once the adrenaline wore off, you started to feel the pain. Which now was accompanied by anxiety. You could feel Eddie staring at you. You wanted to tell him to stop. But then again he never looked at you before. Let alone touch you.

The whole class was so awkward. You kept feeling Eddie looking at you. And you couldn't write anything down. Your wrist hurt like hell.

You kept massaging it and tried to stretch. But nothing helped. In the middle of class Eddie slid a note on your desk.

Your eyes bugged out. You glanced at him and he looked so worried. You looked back down at the note. Your heart was racing and you felt so hot.

You held your breath and opened the note. It was almost illegible.

' I think you should go to the infirmary.'

You didn't look back at him. Afraid to catch those big brown hues that made you melt. Instead you raised your hand and asked to go.

When you tried to stand up and go you almost fell again. Yup you landed really bad.

In the blink of an eye Eddie had you in his arms.

" Uhh Mrs. Adler. I don't think she can walk there on her own."

You were gonna protest. But Mrs. Adler smiled and waved for you guys to go. Eddie tossed your backpack over his shoulder. Never letting you go.

The walk to the nurse's office was quiet besides your little whimpers that escaped with every step. The only thing going through your mind was how Eddie held you. Like...he cared. It was weird. You felt like if he could, he would have carried you.

He was holding you so close that he practically was. His grip on you was solid. He was solid. His long arm wrapped around your waist. Thick long fingers dug into your side rolls. You wished that the fat would magically disappear. But there was no such thing as magic was there.

Once in the nursing office Eddie helped you sit on the table and sat in a chair across from you. Putting your backpack on the ground. You still couldn't bring yourself to look at him.

" Umm thank you." You said just above a whisper.

"Anytime."

That's when you made the mistake by looking at him. He had this sweet smile that made all his laugh lines show. You pressed your lips and looked away. You felt the blush creep up to your cheeks and your heart decided to go insane. You could feel the beating in your throat.

You hated this. The effect he had on you. You could cry at all the emotions you were feeling. You actually felt the prickle of tears coming.

Eddie cleared his throat and was about to say something but the nurse walked in.

" Mr Munson. Umm you can go back to class. I'll take it from here. "

" Uhh yeah...okay." He stood up and went to the door. " Take care of her doc....Later y/n."

Your heart stopped and you just died.

Eddie Munson knows my name.

...

"See if you weren't so damn heavy it wouldn't have been so bad!" Your dad scolded you.

" I don't care how much it hurts. You are still going to school tomorrow." Your mother barked

You had just left the doctor's office when your parents started to berate you.

Happy that nothing was broken. You really weren't paying attention to the continuous put downs they were spouting. You just looked out of the car's window. Thinking about all that transpired with Eddie. His warm touch, his muscles flexing while he held you, his deep seductive voice saying your name.

Man you had it bad for the poor guy.

Too bad I'm not someone he would want.

You felt tears again. Quickly wiping them away as a few fell so your parents wouldn't see it. Not giving them another thing to scold you about.

That night you started on your homework. Your hand was hurting pretty bad. You took Tylenol and quickly got to work. Again your thoughts were bombarded with Eddie. Honestly it was silly. You didn't want to think about that beautiful boy. Or his stupid smile, or his stupid big dumb brown eyes, or his stupid but very kissable neck.

The phone ringing brought you back down to earth. You quickly answered it. Happy that your parents allowed you to have your own line.

" Hello?" You said looking at the time.

It was almost nine. Who would be calling so late?

" H-Hey....umm is this y/n l/n residence?"

"Yes it is. This is her. May I ask who's calling?"

" Uhh. It's Eddie...Eddie Munson."

And just like that. All the air in your lungs was gone. Your heart dropped to your butt and stomach started doing somersaults.

" Y/n?"

Finding air again you spoke " Y-yes...umm sorry. How-"

" Yeah sorry. I asked around for your number."

WHAT?!

" O-oh."

" I uhh hope that's okay?"

" Y-yeah...is there umm something you need?"

" Well not really. I kinda just wanted to check and see how you're doing."

Why?

" I'm fine thank you. I erm really appreciate your help today."

Eddie chuckled. " No problem. I was happy to help."

You smiled but then it was silent for a while. It went on too long. You didn't know what to say. Eddie freaking Munson was on the phone. Talking to you! This was the most you've ever said to each other in like ever.

" Y/n?"

" Hmm"

" Sorry. I thought you hung up."

On you? Never.

" Oh no. I'm here....was there something else?"

" Uhh yeah sorry. Umm Mrs Adler paired us to do a scene together on Friday. She's calling it our audition for characters in the yearly play."

"Oh-okay...Did you want to switch partners or something?"

"No. Why would you say that?"

" I... I just thought...oh.. never mind."

"Hey. If you want to switch partners I can understand that. I know I'm the towns freak-"

"No!" You practically shouted. " I'm sorry. I mean no. I don't want to switch. And I...I don't think you're a freak."

You threw your head back shaking it.

Why did you say that?

" Oh so you think about me huh?"

You could almost hear his smirk.

" I-I. Well umm we do go to school together. So...yes I think about you....I mean not like a lot or anything...and-and not like at all...I mean... I-I think about you the appropriate amount of time."

SON OF A-

Eddie laughed. " Thanks sweetheart. It's nice hearing that coming from you."

" From me?"

" Yeah you know. The girl who is most likely to succeed. Hawkins pride and joy." He teased.

" Well I don't know about that."

"Oh really? Aren't you like the next Nikola Tesla?"

" You mean dying in a hotel broke and alone?"

" Uhh no....I mean like the next big inventor. Remember that clock you powered with a potato?"

You giggled. " Munson that was hardly an original invention. And that was in 5th grade"

He chuckled. " Well whatever. It was super cool."

You blushed. You couldn't believe he remembered that.

This time the silence was less awkward. Almost comforting.

" So uhh. I know we can go over this in class. But what do you think about doing a scene from a movie?" He asked.

You sat down on your bed and started twirling the cord around your finger.

" Sure. What do you have in mind?"

You heard Eddie humming. "Hmmm. How about something from The Shining or The Evil dead?"

" I haven't seen those."

"WHAT?!"

" umm Yeah."

" What about Fright Night or Gremlins, oh how about Friday the 13th?"

"No...sorry."

" Oh man. You need to be educated...a movie-cation if you will." Eddie said

" I umm okay." You said nervously.

" We'll plan for that later. So what movies do you watch?"

Though it was an innocent question you couldn't help but think about 'We'll plan for that later'

"Well you know. The usual chick flicks. Family movies. Melodramas and some action."

" Hmm okay. That doesn't help."

"S-Sorry."

" Oh no. Don't be sorry. It's just I don't watch those kinds of movies."

"So..."

" okay I have an idea. What was the last movie you watched?"

" Rocky."

" You like Rocky?"

" Yeah. It's a good underdog story."

" Yeah it is... So how about we pick a scene from that one."

" Y-yeah okay."

"Cool. Cool."

You smiled again. If Eddie kept this up you were sure to die from happiness. It was quiet again. But this time it was definitely comfortable. At least for you it was. So much so that you laid down and got under the blankets.

You guys talked about which scene would be best. You didn't want to talk a lot, so you guys decided to do the skating part. Somehow the conversation went from school work to music and movies. Eddie went on and on about all things Eddie. Half of which you kind of already knew. Being the stocker you were.

You could have stayed up all night listening to him. He was so easy to talk to. You knew he was always funny. But now he was like a comedian. You swore you never laughed so much. He started talking about his hobbies and how he was in a band. Which you knew that too. He was really something.

It was around one in the morning and you started to yawn.

" Sorry sweetheart. I've been talking your ear off."

"No that's ok Eddie. You get excited. I get it."

You heard him laugh through his nose. "Well I'll let you get some sleep. I'll see you in a little bit."

" Okay." You yawned again.

" Goodnight y/n."

" Good night Eddie.

You hung up the phone with a big ass smile. You just had the best phone call with Eddie Munson.

God I love you.

...

@salenorona23 @b-irock

#fanfic #eddie munson #eddie munson x female original character #eddie munson x you #eddie munson x plus size reader #eddie x reader #stranger things #eddie my beloved #eddie x fem!reader #eddie x y/n #eddie x plus size reader #eddie stranger things #eddie x you #eddie munson x y/n #eddie munson x original character #plus size reader

[dustedmagazine]

Listed: The Spatulas — Part 1

The Spatulas churn out uneasy jangle pop straight from the garage — or, more literally, the storage unit where the band met to play and beat back their pandemic frustrations. Their sound is built on blunt yet psychedelic melodies, chopping guitar, and rhythms that lurch then steady themselves. Assembled in various forms over the last several years, the Oregon-based quartet released March Chant, their first EP,in December of 2023. Alex Johnson found it “raw and charming…a full band record [that pairs] the relief at venting your anger and the goofy waywardness of distracting yourself with a joyful noise.”

Miranda's List: A bunch of songs that seem to make me me...

Mope Grooves — Look At The Time, 2018

Catchiest song ever. My friend Stevie made a bunch of wonderful music in her lifetime and was a beautiful person. Everything she put out on her label, See My Friends Records is great, and she included many of my fellow Oregonians on Mope Grooves albums. Our previous Spats drummer, Kyle closes out this song "Look At The Time" with that wave of nostalgic synth sound.

Pip Proud — De Dum De Dum, 1967

The original recording of this Pip Proud album is golden all the way through. I listened to this alone on a sheep farm in Oregon in the middle of rainy winter in 2021 and it influenced my writing a lot.

Nico — One More Chance, 1983

Nico at her most gothic rock. I love this echoey version — makes me wanna dance! The beat is great. Ambient synth sounds abound; her vocals incredible as ever... The origins of The Drama of Exile, her fifth album — so full of drug-addled dysfunction!

Pearls Before Swine — Playmate, 1967

One Nation Underground is one of my most listened-to records; the grooves are worn. I used to cover the opener song, “Another Time” pre-Spats, with my Partners, Buddies and Pals. “Playmate” is the upbeat, second song on the album, a cover of an old children’s song, which I think is perfect for me. “(Oh Dear) Miss Morse,” is another hit on side A, on side B it's “Uncle John” and “Surrealistic Waltz.”

Grace Slick & The Great Society — Often As I May, 1966

This song propels you along. It sounds so beautiful, like a traditional folk song, yet a Slick original. Great fun to sing along with this gal.

Lou Reed — Waves of Fear, 1981

Robert Quine’s guitar hits the spot, and with Lou’s voice and guitar, those lyrics — so hard!

Yoko Ono & Plastic Ono Band — Why, 1970

The most adventurous and exciting song ever. Yoko’s primal screaming, with John’s guitar wailing, and Klaus, and Ringo clipping along... WHYYYYYY????? A brilliant reminder to LET IT OUT.

The Bats — Made Up in Blue, 1986

Beloved. Great bass. The song that I think put this Flying Nun band on the map, leading up to another special full album, Daddy’s Highway from 1987, the year I was born. The accompanying music video is a treasure!

Broadcast — I Found The F, 2005

We’re so lucky to have the album Tender Buttons, and the band Broadcast. The album was made while singer Trish Keenan’s father was dying of cancer, six years before she herself died of pneumonia from swine flu. Knowing this makes it all the more eerily personal and sweet-sounding for me. Both my parents were dead by the time I was 32, so I’m familiar with making art as a response to grief.

Don Cherry and Organic Music Theater — Om Shanti Om, 1976

This is the full live performance at RAI Studios in Rome, Italy, for television broadcast. Listen to the ~47-minute album Om Shanti Om as much needed meditation. Imagine also all Moki Cherry’s tapestries in full color, as featured in the Blank Forms book I was so engrossed in last summer.

#dusted magazine #listed #the spatulas #mope grooves #pip proud #nico #pearls before swine #grace slick & the great society #lou reed #yoko ono & plastic ono band #the bats #broadcast #don cherry and organic music theater

[reasoningdaily]

Online Exhibits

National Museum of African American History and Culture: Afrofuturism: A History of Black FuturesAfrofuturism: A History of Black Futures explores the past, present, and future of this dynamic concept in an exhibition that features the various people, unique themes and radical artistry that have given voice to it. Featuring hundreds of objects and images with several multimedia displays, this exhibition explores the history of Afrofuturist expression and culture through literature, music, art, film, fashion, activism and more.

U.S. National Archives: Black Arts Movement (1965-1975) The Black Arts Movement was a Black nationalism movement that focused on music, literature, drama, and the visual arts made up of Black artists and intellectuals. This was the cultural section of the Black Power movement, in that its participants shared many of the ideologies of Black self-determination, political beliefs, and African American culture. The Black Arts Movement started in 1965 when poet Amiri Baraka [LeRoi Jones] established the Black Arts Repertory Theater in Harlem, New York, as a place for artistic expression. Artists associated with this movement include Audre Lorde, Ntozake Shange, James Baldwin, Gil Scott-Heron, and Thelonious Monk. Records at the National Archives related to the Black Arts Movement primarily focus on individual artists and their interaction with various Federal agencies.

Google Arts & Culture: African American Art: Harlem Renaissance, Civil Rights Era, and Beyond African American Art: Harlem Renaissance, Civil Rights Era and Beyond presents works dating from the early 1920s through the 2000s by Black artists who participated in the multivalent dialogues about art, identity, and the rights of the individual that engaged American society throughout the twentieth century.

National Gallery of Art: Black Art & Artists in Our Collection Explore works from Black artists across centuries, mediums, and geographies, ranging from 19th century still life painter Robert Seldon Duncanson to modern and contemporary pieces by Jacob Lawrence, Romare Bearden, Alma Thomas, Sam Gilliam, Kara Walker, Hank Willis Thomas, and more.

Smithsonian American Art Museum: African American Art SAAM is home to one of the most significant collections of works by African American artists in the world. These artworks span three centuries of creative expression in various media, including painting, sculpture, textiles, and photography, and represent numerous artistic styles, from realism to neoclassicism, abstract expressionism, modernism, and folk art. From a rare group of photographs by early African American studios to an important group of works by self-taught artist Bill Traylor to William H. Johnson’s vibrant portrayals of faith and family, to Mickalene Thomas’s contemporary exploration of Black female identity, the museum’s holdings reflect its long-standing commitment to Black artists and the acquisition, preservation, and display of their work.

NYPL: Schomburg Center for Research in Black Culture, Art and Artifacts Division The Art and Artifacts Division collects, documents, preserves, and interprets art and artifacts by and about peoples of African heritage throughout the world. Fine and applied art and material culture objects from the seventeenth century to the present are collected, with emphasis on the visual arts of the twentieth century in the United States and Africa.

Google Arts & Culture: Beat by Beat This interactive online exhibit was created as a celebration of 50 years of hip hop in collaboration with The Kennedy Center, The Bronx County Historical Society, The Museum at FIT, The National Museum of African American History and Culture, The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, The Baltimore Museum of Art, The Hip Hop Education Center, and HipHop2020 Archive.

Streaming Videos from the MCPHS Libraries

The Amazing Nina Simone She was left out of Civil Rights history, erased by jazz critics, and forgotten by most Americans because no one knew how to categorize her greatness. But throughout the 1960s, Nina Simone was both loved and feared for her outspoken vision of Black Freedom. Her musical proclamations like "Mississippi Goddam", and her iconic style created an alternative voice that continues to empower with its unrelenting appeal for justice. Now, a new documentary reveals the real Nina Simone through over 50 intimate interviews with those who best knew the artistry and intentions of one America's true musical geniuses. With new insights into her journey from Classical Music and the segregated American South, Nina's legacy is chartered all the way to the South of France where she finally found freedom.

JazzJazz has been called the purest expression of American democracy; a music built on individualism and compromise, independence and cooperation. Ken Burns follows the growth and development of jazz music from the gritty streets of New Orleans to Chicago's south side, the speakeasies of Kansas city and to Times Square.

Jean-Michel Basquiat: The Radiant Child Director Tamra Davis pays homage to her friend in this definitive documentary but also delves into Basquiat as an iconoclast. His dense, bebop-influenced neoexpressionist work emerged while minimalist, conceptual art was the fad; as a successful Black artist, he was constantly confronted by racism and misconceptions. Much can be gleaned from insider interviews and archival footage, but it is Basquiat's own words and work that powerfully convey the mystique and allure of both the artist and the man.

Videos to Check Out from Your Local Library

Summer of Soul (...or When the Revolution Could Not Be Televised) In his acclaimed debut as a filmmaker, Ahmir "Questlove" Thompson presents a powerful and transporting documentary, part music film, part historical record, created around an epic event that celebrated Black history, culture, and fashion. Over the course of six weeks in the summer of 1969, just one hundred miles south of Woodstock, The Harlem Cultural Festival was filmed in Mount Morris Park (now Marcus Garvey Park). The footage was largely forgotten, until now. This documentary shines a light on the importance of history to our spiritual well-being and stands as a testament to the healing power of music during times of unrest, both past, and present. The feature includes concert performances by Stevie Wonder, Nina Simone, Sly & the Family Stone, Gladys Knight and the Pips, Mahalia Jackson, B.B. King, The 5th Dimension, and more.

Through a Lens Darkly: Black Photographers and the Emergence of a People The first documentary to explore the role of photography in shaping the identity, aspirations and social emergence of African Americans from slavery to the present, Through a Lens Darkly probes the recesses of American history by discovering images that have been suppressed, forgotten and lost. Bringing to light the hidden and unknown photos shot by both professional and vernacular African American photographers, the film opens a window into lives, experiences and perspectives of Black families that is absent from the traditional historical canon. These images show a much more complex and nuanced view of American culture and society and its founding ideals. Inspired by Deborah Willis's book Reflections in Black and featuring the works of Carrie Mae Weems, Lorna Simpson, Anthony Barboza, Hank Willis Thomas, Coco Fusco, Clarissa Sligh and many others, Through a Lens Darkly introduces the viewer to a diverse yet focused community of storytellers who transform singular experiences into a communal journey of discovery – and a call to action.

Black Art: In the Absence of Light At the heart of this feature documentary is the groundbreaking "Two Centuries of Black American Art" exhibition curated by the late African American artist and scholar David Driskell in 1976. Held at the Los Angeles County Museum of Art, this pioneering exhibit featured more than 200 works of art by 63 artists and cemented the essential contributions of Black artists in America in the 19th and 20th centuries. The exhibit would eventually travel to the Dallas Museum of Fine Arts, the High Museum of Art in Atlanta, and the Brooklyn Museum. The film shines a light on the exhibition's extraordinary impact on generations of African American artists who have staked a claim on their rightful place within the 21st-century art world.

#Black History Month 2024 #Black History Month activities #Black History Month movies online #Black History Month Free Books #Black History Month #Black Lives Matter #Black History Matters

[podado-t-memes]

Deaf Representation in Media (Image Description Included)

Full Disclosure, I am a Hearing woman so all information in these slides are from online Deaf resources (I linked below), but if anything is inaccurate or needs tweaking please let me know! I’ve also never written out the Image Descriptions so please let me know if I need to fix anything!

[ID 1: Four hands using ASL to spell out “Deaf.” The background has various still images of people signing “I love you,” Fingerspelling “Hawkeye,” and a title card from a show reading “The Boy from 6B.”

Then reads “Representation in Media” / end ID1]

[ID 2: Stock Photo of mother and child with Hearing Aids.

There is a statistical chart in the bottom left corner that reads “New Study of Hearing Loss among US adults aged 20 to 69. Who has hearing loss? 14% of adults aged 20-69 in 2011-2012. Prevalence of hearing loss has declined slightly from about 16% in 1999-2004.”

The caption around the picture reads “What is Representation? Representation is the portrayal of another culture or people/person in media that is done respectfully and not stereotyped.

Why is Deaf representation so important? Approximately 48 million Americans have some degree of hearing loss (Hearing Loss Association of America). Good Deaf and Hard of Hearing Representation can be very validating to those in the community because they can see themselves in these characters. Accurate representation can be educational for people outside the Deaf community to learn more about it in a non-stereotyped way.” / end ID 2]

[ID 3: Photo of the National Association of the Deaf logo.

The caption over the logo reads “ According to the National Association for the Deaf (NDA) proper media portrait of deafness should include:

The production should be accessible. Clear cooperation between Deaf individuals and all media personnel, interpreters, etc.

All terminology, when referring to Deaf or Hard of Hearing people, should be up-to date and not offensive.

All descriptions of Deaf individuals should be based on the people’s personalities and not be patronizing by including terms like they are “overcoming,” “inspiring,” “special,” etc.

Media should listen to the knowledge and ideas from those in the Deaf or Hard of Hearing communities, and not from those outside the community (even if meant well).

Media should make conscious steps to work with the other groups a Deaf individual might be part of such as other cultures, religions, ethnicities, sexualities, etc.

All media should be made accessible and available for all Deaf and Hard of Hearing folks.

/End ID 3]

[ID 4: In the Background is the poster for the movie “Coda.” Four people are looking into the camera and holding up the sign for “I love you.”

The caption over the poster reads “Recently, there has been an increase in the general public’s interest in Deaf stories with the success of the Movie “CODA” (2021)... But we still have a long way to go with Deaf Rep…” /end ID 4]

[ID 5: The image shows two sheets taken from the Deaf West theater. One shows What TV genres see the most and least Deaf representation? While the other is on what types of Deaf characters have hearing audiences seen represented in media.

At the top the caption reads “According to NRG and the Deaf West Theater…”

The caption below the charts reads “Depending on the type or genre of media an individual consumes may determine how much exposure they get to seeing Deaf people represented.

Even within the already small portion of Deaf people represented, there are even smaller subsections of minorities shown less in the Media.” /end ID 5]

[ID 6: The screen shot is of the NRG webpage article “NRG and Deaf West Theatre release roundtable film on Deaf representation”

The caption above the image reads “Linked below is a video from NRG and The Deaf West Theater where they are interviewing Deaf people in the creative industry (Writers, directors, actors, ect.) talking about their experiences with and the state of Deaf representation in today’s media. https://www.nrgmr.com/our-thinking/entertainment/nrg-and-deaf-west-theatre-release-roundtable-film-on-deaf-representation/” /end ID 6]

[ID 7: Caption at the top reads “Good examples of Deaf representation!”

Below we have pictures of 4 different Deaf characters. On the top left is Theo from Only Murders in the Building. Top right is Jackie from Craig of the creek. Bottom left is Marvel comics Hawkeye. And on the bottom left is Daphne from Switched at birth. /end ID 7]

[ID 8: Caption at the top reads “My personal favorite… Linda Bove (Sesame street from 1971-2002)”

Below the caption are 16 pictures of Linda throughout her time while on sesame street. Mostly she is with her co-star Bob. /end ID 8]

Resources:

#deaf representation #deafawareness #deafness #deafculture #image description in alt #image description added #deaf representation in media #deaf #deaf community #image described #ID #Linda bove #Linda Sesame Street #Jackie Craig of the creek #Theo only murders in the building #craig of the creek #sesame street #only murders in the building #hawkeye #switched at birth #Daphne switched at birth

[astarab1aze]

List of Currently Active Belegerande's Staff

Alchemy: Mordred Clarke; House La Fey; A dreadful romantic who has a preference for ornamental flora and Ms. Boone; 46 years old

Defense: Jaime Doola; House Laveau; Secretly a gifted multishifter, but his registered shape is the Gray Fox; Always seems to know more than he's letting on, but is seen as trustworthy by students; 52 years old

Offense: Antebella Boone; House Bell; Heavy-handed but precise in her teaching, also a gifted summoner; 41 years old

Elemental: Titania Greenwood; House La Fey; comes from a long line of Fey-blooded folk and is thusly blessed with immortal life and youth; Cannot lie; Age unknown

Flight & P.E.: Leeper Sinclair; House La Fey; Was once, actually, a former member of the professional broom racing team, Deadbolts, who won the official Broom Racing National Championship in 2014; 37 years old

Divination: Theresa Davenport; House Scrivener; Youngest of Belegerande's faculty but most talented diviner, hoping to be a permanent addition; 30 years old

Illusions: Angela Houdini; House Scrivener; Strict old woman and often heavy-handed in her teaching methods, but loves to 'wow' the students with fanciful illusions; Her relation to The Houdini is coincidental; 81 years old

Summoning: Altair Valentinus; House Scrivener; Another dreadful romantic longing for the Old Days, when spells were uttered as poetry; Comes from a long, long line of powerful vampires once closely related to Pope Valentinus himself; Age unknown

Necromancy: Alexander Night; House Bell; Wealthy prick directly related to Enfurious, and surprisingly strict with his regard to necromancy and respectful practices, one might also call him a skeezy hardass; 43 years old

Blood Magic: Magnus Santafyatè; House Laveau; All around enigma of few words except when teaching, she is equally as strict but more flexible in teaching methods and isn't at all afraid to display the realities of blood magic 39 years old

Transformation & Multishifting: Talula Beauregard; House Scrivener; A Cherokee-French sorceress of notable power, fancying an 'eye' motif to symbolize her divination abilities and loyalty to her House; A vampire; 42 years old

Herbalism: Salem Merauda Anise Morteatum; House La Fey; The resident eccentric of the school's faculty, completely detached from human life including his own; 34 years old

Enchantments: Jewella Gilde; House Bell; She is beautiful and icy, but it is her jewelry that keeps her so; Gilde Family traditions dictate that deceased loved ones' ashes be compressed into diamonds and used in their craft, so much of her enchanted accessories are set with jewels made from her family members; 79 years old; the Gilde family runs Gildebanque's

Hexes & Curses: Vexine Whitlock; House Scrivener; Deceptively older woman, rumored to be over 100, and is famed for her book on The Prevention, Deflection, Mitigation, and Practice of Hexing & Cursing - and ability to back that knowledge up with force

Psychology: Aletta Grimm; House Scrivener; A vampire who looks like a warm hug, she is well versed in human and sorcerer psychology, and her divination abilities strengthen this knowledge and understanding; 167 years old

Arts Classes: Saphira Omay; House La Fey; A calm if mildly anxious were-cat with experience in theater, galleria, a series of fantasy-romance novels, and various dance awards; Rumored to have performed with the Mock-Frogs and songstress Fhara; 49 years old

Beast Taming: Obsidia Barnum; House Laveau; An energetic beast-tamer and shapeshifter whose registered form is the Husky; Her voice is a bit deeper than average and also a bit raspy; 36 years old; great grand-niece to Merauda Barnum

Groundskeeper: Damien Weatherwax; House Laveau; Vivienne's husband and resident quiet bookworm with a great love for sweet tea, tending to the western half of the Belegerande's campus; 55 years old

Groundskeeper: Vivienne Weatherwax; House Bell; Prefers to use a wand when casting and tends to the eastern half of the Belegerande's campus; 43 years old

Councilors: Dr. Vilencia Delirio; House Scrivener; Uses foresight to help figure out the best treatments, having fine-tuned her ability over many years of practice; Vampire; 285 years old

Nurse: Dr. Maryann Heartwell; House Bell; Perpetually exhausted school nurse, doctor, and surgeon who can't get enough coffee in her system; The youngest of all medical staff at Belegerande's; 40 years old

Nurse: Dr. Loomis Shadowmend; House La Fey; His familiar is the snake and he is a very strange, somewhat creepy man; Uses frankenleeches in his practice; Vampire; 89 years old

Dean/Headmaster: Spira Belegerande; House Scrivener; An altogether sinister figure who carefully governs the school; Morally gray and incredibly intimidating; Turned vampire at a young age; Direct descendent of Alistair Belegerande; Exact age unknown, thought to be in the mid 150s

#☿ || Headcanons. #/ just the briefest of summaries for all these people my god #/ also might be adding another prof since.... unu #/ excuse the er screenshot sjhdgfs but there's spira

[ballet-symphonie]

this might be a silly question but as someone just starting to get into ballet i noticed that a lot of “classical” traditional works have sequences where pointe shoes aren’t used which i thought was very un-classical? ex: spanish/russian/hungarian dances in swan lake and nutcracker, some mercedes variations in don quixote. is this normal or is this blasphemous in classical terms?

Great question! You're corerct that those dances you mentioned aren't classical ballet. They're what we ballet dancers call "character dance", it's ballet's blend of different folk dances , court dances and national dances (some more accurate than others haha) specially adapted for the theater. You can see character dance in nearly every major classical ballet, it's certainly not blasphemous. It's a separate class, taught in most major ballet schools, although less often in America. Vaganova Ballet Academy is famous for its character dance training, I'll link a couple videos below.

#character dance #ballet #character #ballerina #vaganova ballet academy #vaganova #russian ballet