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cursed-elo-images · 9 months

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Chapter 1. Boredom

~Prologue~

It was a beautiful day at ELO’s house. Jeff and Kelly were playing Mario Kart Wii in the living room, Bev was in the kitchen practicing his drumming skills, and Richard was in his room watching television.

Bev was feeling so confident regarding his specific session, which was over Mr. Blue Sky, that he accidentally started playing it too loud.

“Ey Bev, could you cut it out? I’m trying to blue shell Kelly!” Jeff griped as he was smashing the Wii controller buttons so much they left imprints in his thumbs.

“What, Jeffrey? I can’t hear you, over this awesome beat I just invented!” Bev replied, oblivious to the curly long haired man.

“I SAID: COULD YOU CUT IT OUT??? I’M OVER HERE TRYING TO MAKE KELLY’S KART BLOW UP AND YOU’RE IN THERE MAKING NOISE M8!” Jeff yelled, more irate.

Hearing this, Bev stopped.

Bev sighed and had a dejected look on his face.

“And… we’ve played this song millions of times! You didn’t invent it just now!” Jeff added.

“I didn’t mean-“

“Ah, whatever,” Jeff blurted, not letting the drummer have a chance to speak. He was already nervous playing the game, and the sound of the drums made him even more nervous.

Kelly was nervous too: for he didn’t know he was about to be blue-shelled by the frontman…

Shaking with the controller in his hand, Kelly’s heart rate increased as he tried to escape Jeff, who was playing as Mario.

“Oh no… please no… just no… JEEEEFFFFFF” Kelly screamed as he was hit by a blue shell.

“Haha! Got you now!” Jeff hollered.

“Nooo Luigi!” Kelly cried, disappointed over losing the round.

“Wanna play another round?” Jeff asked, energized from the last round. Kelly’s mouth began to curl into a smile, and he stopped sloping and sat up straight.

“Of course, mate… of course…”

~Chapter 1: Boredom~

“Oh no… ohhh no….” Jeff muttered as his breathing increased, trying to escape the red shell that Kelly threw at him. Hopping over the mushrooms in Mushroom Gorge, the shell hadn’t hit him yet.

“Rah, I hate this track!” Jeff growled, scared for his life.

Perfect, Kelly thought, happy to give Jeff a taste of his own medicine.

This whole time Bev moved from his drum set to lay on the couch in the living room, behind the other two men, who were sitting on the floor in front of the television. He just stared at them quietly, as he was dreadfully bored.

After going through the first lap successfully, Jeff attempted to bounce on the first set of mushrooms but unfortunately ran into a banana on a green mushroom. Kelly started chuckling.

“AAAARGH” Jeff snarled, indignantly.

And then… with his kart stopping, the red shell finally succeeded in hitting him.

“GRAH!!! KELLY!” Jeff yelped, even more startled. Kelly started laughing a bit harder.

Jeff’s kart began to topple over. Jeff, realizing this, smashed the buttons on the controller so hard his fingertips started stinging, but he didn’t care.

“No, NO!!! I’M FALLING!!! BEV HELP ME!!! BEV TAKE OVER MY SPOT NOW!!!” Jeff screamed, his voice getting higher pitched, a little disoriented from his fear of losing this round. Kelly broke out and laughed uncontrollably.

“No,” Bev muttered, still hurt from earlier. His eyes burnt into the television like daggers. He felt offended that he couldn’t play his drums as he was “too loud” while Jeff was over there screaming even louder at the top of his lungs. Kelly tried to control himself and ceased his laughter.

“Hey, that’s cheating mate! You can’t do that! We’ve agreed to play together! You can’t just swap yourself with Bev like that mate!” Kelly retorted, confused and shocked with Jeff’s sudden attitude change towards Bev.

Jeff didn’t say anything, for he didn’t know how to respond. Not to mention he was still fazed after his kart fell. Being picked up by Lakitu and in second place, Jeff continued the lap by trying to one up Kelly, trying to slow his breathing to calm himself back down.

“And besides, I don’t think he even wants to, considering how you’ve been treating him these past fifteen minutes. You reprimanded him inappropriately, Jeff,” Kelly added, feeling critical of the frontman. Jeff did feel a slight pang of guilt in his heart. Maybe he did treat Bev badly.

Jeff just sighed, scratching his curly auburn beard and went through the second lap and moved onto the third.

Bev sat in silence the whole time, until he quietly started singing the lyrics to Twilight in his deep baritone voice.

“With your head held high and your scarlet lies

You came down to me from the open skiiiies

It’s either real or it’s a dream there’s nothing that is in between

Twiiiii-liiiiiiii-hiiiiiiiight

I only meant toooo stay a while

Twiiiii-liiiiiiii-hiiiiiiiight

I gave you time, to steal my mind, awaaaaaay from meeee-heeeee” the lyrics came softly from the resounding, rich British-accented voice. Bev lowered his head, his wavy brunette bangs covering his eyes as he just chilled there.

Jeff and Kelly raced each other, silently, after Kelly called Jeff out for being rude. Jeff had calmed down since he was saddened by what he had done. Once they heard Bev singing quietly they just turned to look at each other. Jeff’s mouth was slightly open, and his eyebrows scrunched in a way that signaled that he was weirded out. Kelly just shrugged and gave him a look that nonverbally said “Well, it’s your fault”.

Finally, the round ended. Kelly passed through the finish line first.

“Haha! Yeah, I won!” He declared cheerfully.

“Well, I guess you deserve it after I blue-shelled you the last time, haha,” Jeff replied, mildly disappointed but also happy that his friend won. Honestly, Jeff didn’t even care if he lost. All that was in his mind was that he regretted yelling at the drummer.

Kelly stood up, stretched and sighed.

“That was really good, yeh?” he asked. Jeff got up as well and fluttered his hands as they were cramping from holding and moving the controller for a long time.

“Ah, yeah! Whew! It was good,” Jeff replied. He winced as the nerves in his fingertips started burning, and he was also sweating, as was Kelly.

“Ahhh… I’m not going to play for a week. I’m hurting so much,” he complained.

“Well, you shouldn’t have been smashing those buttons like that, Jeff,” Kelly responded, giggling.

“Yeah, yeah, I know,” Jeff replied, rolling his eyes. He went up and decided to make some tea. When he walked into the kitchen, he glanced at Bev who was still sitting there all idle and sad. He felt a pang of pity when he saw the guy.

“Hm, figures” he muttered under his breath and gathered some blue porcelain teacups.

Meanwhile, the string trio was in Hugh’s room, bored as well.

“Huuuuuugh, I don’t know what to doooooo! I’m so bored!” Melvyn qualmed dramatically. Hugh let out a huge sigh.

“Well, what even is there to do? Nothing much, it’s a lazy day with nothing happening,” Hugh retorted, slightly annoyed at his fellow cellist friend.

“Perhaps we could maybe hang out with Richard, no?” Melvyn suggested, pouting. Hugh rolled his eyes.

“Richard? What is there to do in his room? Doesn’t he lock it anyway?” Hugh asked.

“Ummm… I don’t know? We could talk to him or watch television with him? I mean, he’s nice and all,” the older cellist replied. Hugh glared at him.

“No. I’m not watching television, Mel! I need… Er, we, the three of us, need something exciting! We need stimulation—we need pep and go! And watching soap operas or football games just doesn’t do that! Well, for me at least,” Hugh replied, standing up and gesturing his arms melodramatically. Melvyn just sat there and complained incoherently while Hugh just shook his head. Mik remained silent.

“Maybe we could join Jeff and Kelly? They sounded like they had a lot of fun earlier… now, I’m not sure if they’re still playing Mario Kart… but… it’s worth a try,” Hugh wondered, his eyebrows scrunched as he stared down at the floor.

Melvyn inhaled.

“But Hugh! They were super loud earlier! I was literally nervous the entire time and hid under your bed!” Melvyn blurted, unsatisfied.

“As if it weren’t already obvious. Let me guess, you also don’t want to talk to Bev either?” Hugh asked, crossed.

“N-no… did you hear those drums? I thought my ears were going to explode! I wanted to throw up,” Melvyn replied, throwing his head back and laying down. Hugh’s eyes widened.

“O…kay… then, I’m sorry I even suggested such a thing!” he said, bewildered and surprised, feeling a little sorry for him.

“Perhaps we could go outside?” Mik asked in a still, small voice. The other two looked at him.

“You mean like, go for a walk?” Hugh asked, curious.

“Yeah, just the three of us. Who knows what we’ll find!” the modest violinist replied.

“Hey there, why— that’s an absolutely perfect idea!” Hugh declared, smiling, and he got up. The other two got up as well.

“Oh, really! Yay! I can’t wait!” Melvyn cried delightfully, bouncing on his feet.

#hugh mcdowell #melvyn gale #electric light orchestra #mik kaminski #crackfic #Pilot Hugh & Co.#Chapter 1. Boredom

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youryurigoddess · 6 months

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I was minding my own business and analyzing another part of the A. Z. Fell & Co. bookshop from the Radio Times footage when I noticed something interesting on Aziraphale’s desk. It looks like the angel was studying a handwritten copy of someone’s last will and testament and left in a hurry, with a bronze medal and a fountain pen on top of it. And… an attachment of a land registry plan, barely visible underneath.

Obviously that’s when my South Downs obsessed brain turned all of its alarms on and decided to read the whole thing. And look for the missing parts, since only a portion of the original document was visible on screen. Unfortunately the full text is much longer and less exciting than anticipated, and — spoiler alert — related to a different area of the country, but still relevant to the Good Omens universe. We’ll look into that in a moment.

Let’s start with the struck bronze medal — acting here as a paperweight, which makes the documents in question already stand out from the usual bumph and bric-a-brac accumulated by Aziraphale over an unknown period of time on his desk.

It’s a very interesting rendition of the mythological scene centered around Daedalus fastening the wings onto his son Icarus (little does he know that this attempt to escape imprisonment will lead to his son’s demise). Contrary to popular sentiment in the history of art, this particular version of Icarus isn’t depicted as a child or teenager, but as a warrior donning a helmet and preparing himself to battle. Which makes perfect sense after discovering that it was made for the Royal Air Force Athletic & Cross Country Association’s WAAF Athletic Championships in 1945. There’s some poetic irony in the fact that the medal was apparently given to the third place winner in a high jump category.

Apart from its obviously military style, this concept seems inspired by a 1885-86 medal by Auguste Patey commemorating the experimental flights at the first French wind tunnel at Chalais-Meudon, a town on the banks of the Seine near Paris. On 9 August 1884, engineers Charles Renard and Arthur Constantin Krebs made the first controllable free flight there when they piloted their airship, La France, over a course and returned to their starting point. From 9 August 1884 to 23 September 1885, La France made seven flights and was able to return to its starting point five times.

The last Will and Testament of Josiah Wedgwood

The last Will and Testament of me, Josiah Wedgwood, of Etruria, in the County of Stafford, made the second day of November, in the year of Our Lord one thousand seven hundred and ninety-three, in manner and form following (that is to say): I give and bequeath unto my dear and affectionate Wife, Sarah Wedgwood, all that messuage or dwelling-house situate at or near Etruria aforesaid, with the buildings, gardens, and appurtenances thereto belonging, late in the holding of Mr. Thomas Wedgwood; and also all that field or piece of land in which the same stands, containing eight acres or thereabouts; and also all that close, piece, or parcel of land lying contiguous to the said dwelling-house, called the Horse Pasture, containing by estimation twelve acres or thereabouts; and also all that piece or parcel of land situate at Etruria aforesaid, heretofore purchased by me from Mr. Hugh Booth; To have and to hold the said messuage or dwelling-house, pieces or parcels of land, hereditaments and premises, with their and every of their appurtenances, unto my said Wife, Sarah Wedgwood and her assigns, for and during the term of her natural life. And from and after her decease, I give and devise all and singular the said messuage or dwelling-house, pieces or parcels of land, hereditaments, and premises, with their and every of their appurtenances, unto my Son, Josiah Wedgwood, his heirs and assigns for ever. Also I give and bequeath the sum of three thousand pounds unto my said Wife, to be paid to her within twelve months next after my decease. Also I give and bequeath unto my said Wife so much and such part of my household goods and furniture as is mentioned and specified in the Schedule or Paper Writing hereunto annexed, marked with the Letter A. Also I give and bequeath the sum of ten thousand pounds unto my Executors hereinafter named, upon trust that they, my said Executors, do and shall place the said sum of ten thousand pounds out upon some good and sufficient public or private security or securitys, at interest, to be approved of nevertheless by my said Wife, and do and shall pay to, or permit and suffer my said Wife to receive and take the interest, dividends, and produce of the said sum of Ten thousand pounds, as the same shall from time to time become due to and for her own use and benefit for and during the term of her natural life.

And from and after the decease of my said Wife, I direct that the said sum of ten thousand pounds shall be applied for and towards payment and satisfaction of the several legacys or sums of money hereinafter given by me. And I do hereby direct that the provision hereinbefore made or intended for my said Wife shall be in lieu, bar, and satisfaction of dower and thirds at Common Law. Also I give and devise unto my said Executors, for the use of my said son, Josiah Wedgwood, his heirs and assigns for ever, that part of Etruria Estate which I now occupy, upon the north side of the Turnpike Road leading from Newcastle to Leek, with the house I now live in, the outbuildings belonging to the same, with the pleasure grounds and all appurtenances thereto belonging, being about sixty-five acres; and also another part of the Etruria Estate, now in the occupation of Richard Hall, being about sixty-eight acres; And also another part of the Etruria Estate, now in the occupation of Thomas Ford, being about forty-five acres; and also the Estate late a part of the White House Estate, on the south side the Turnpike Road leading from Newcastle to Leek; and likewise the land purchased from Thomas Heath, with a small meadow on the north side the said Road, and lying in the Parish of Woolstanton; and likewise a meadow lately purchased from John Mare, of Handley, — all in the holding of Richard Billington, being altogether about eighty-one acres; and also a piece of land on the south side of the same Road, now in the holding of Daniel Haywood, being about two acres; and also an Estate bought from George Taylor, and now in the holding of Jonathan Adams, being about nine acres; and also a small piece of land adjoining the land bought from Hugh Booth, together with a part of the Hough Meadow, and now in the holding of John Ryder, being about four acres; and also an estate called the Spittels, situate in Penkhull, in the Parish of Stoke upon Trent, and lately purchased from James Godwin, containing sixty-three acres or thereabouts; and also an Estate adjoining to the Spittels on one side, and to Stoke Lane on the other, situate in Penkhull aforesaid, in the Parish of Stoke upon Trent, late in the holding of Humphrey Ratcliff, containing fifteen acres or thereabouts; and also a piece of land called the Woodhills, situate in the Parish of Stoke upon Trent, lately purchased from Ralph Baddeley, and now in my own occupation, being about eleven acres; and also all buildings, tenements, houses, farmhouses, outhouses, pot works, warehouses, workshops, and other buildings, of what kind soever they may be, situate, standing, and being upon any of the land or premises above named, and not hereinbefore devised; and also all my share of the models and molds of the Manufactory in Etruria aforesaid. Also I give and bequeath the sum of thirty thousand pounds unto my son John Wedgwood. Also I give and bequeath the sum of twenty-nine thousand one hundred and ten pounds, and likewise twenty shares in the Monmouthshire Canal, unto my Son Thomas Wedgwood.

Also I give and bequeath the sum of twenty-five thousand pounds unto my daughter Susannah Wedgwood; and which said several legacys or sums of thirty thousand pounds, and twenty-nine thousand one hundred and ten pounds, and twenty shares in the Monmouthshire Canal, and twenty-five thousand pounds, so given to my said Son John Wedgwood, and to my said Son Thomas Wedgwood, and to my said Daughter Susannah Wedgwood, I do hereby direct shall be paid to them as soon as conveniently may be after my decease, together with interest for the same in the mean time, after the rate of four pounds and ten shillings per centum per annum. Also I give and bequeath the sum of twenty-five thousand pounds unto my Daughter Catharine Wedgwood, to be paid to her as soon after her age of twenty-one years, or day of marriage, which shall first happen, as conveniently may be, with interest for the same in the mean time after the rate of four pounds and ten shillings per centum per annum. Also I give and bequeath the sum of twenty-five thousand pounds unto my Daughter Sarah Wedgwood, to be paid to her as soon after her age of twenty-one years, or day of marriage, which shall first happen, as conveniently may be, with interest for the same in the mean time after the rate of four pounds and ten shillings per centum per annum. Provided always, and I do hereby direct, that in case my said Daughters Catherine Wedgwood and Sarah Wedgwood, or either of them, shall happen to die unmarried before the age of twenty-one years, then that the legacy or legacys of her or them so dying shall sink into and become part of the residue of my personal Estate, and be applied and disposed of accordingly, as shall hereinafter be mentioned. Also I do hereby declare it to be my will that all the rest, residue, and remainder of my said stock in trade, goods, wares, implements, materials, and utensils of trade, and other matters and things used by me, in or belonging to my said Manufactory, except the models or molds therein used or kept, shall, at the time of my decease, sink into and become part of the residue of my personal estate, and be applied and disposed of accordingly. Also I give and bequeath all and singular my household goods and furniture not hereinbefore given to my said Wife, together with all my books, prints, books of prints, pictures, and cabinets of Experiments, of Fossils, and of Natural History, unto my said Son Josiah Wedgwood. And I do hereby commit the Guardianship and Tuition of such of my said children as shall not at the time of my decease have attained the age of twenty-one years unto my said Wife and my said Son John Wedgwood, until such children shall attain the said age. And I do direct that the fortunes or portions of such of my said children shall in the mean time be managed by my said Wife and my said Son John Wedgwood, and a competent part of the interest and produce thereof be applied for their maintenance and education, and the residue of such interest and produce be suffered to accumulate for their benefit and advantage in such manner as my said Wife and Son John Wedgwood shall in their discretion think most meet and proper.

Also I givo and bequeath one annuity or yearly sum of twenty pounds unto my Brother in Law, Philip Clark, for and during the term of his natural life. Also I give and bequeath one annuity or yearly sum of Twenty pounds unto my Niece, Sarah Taylor, for and during the term of her natural life. Also I give and bequeath one annuity or yearly sum of twenty pounds unto Mr. Alexander Chisholm, for and during the term of his natural life; recommending it to my Son Josiah Wedgwood to give him any further assistance that he may stand in need of, to make the remainder of his life easy and comfortable. And I do hereby direct that the said several and respective annuitys of twenty pounds, twenty pounds, and twenty pounds shall be paid and payable quarterly, at the four most usual feasts or days of payment in the year, (that is to say) on every twenty-fifth day of March, twenty-fourth day of June, twenty-ninth day of September, and twenty-fifth day of December, by even and equal portions, free and clear of and from all taxes, charges, and deductions whatsoever; the first payment thereof to begin and be made on such of the said days as shall first and next happen after my decease. Also I give and bequeath the sum of ten guineas unto the said Alexander Chisholm, as a testimony of my regard for him. Also I give and bequeath the sum of two hundred pounds apiece unto all and every the children of my Nephew Thomas Byerley, who shall be living at the time of my decease, to be paid to them at their respective ages of twenty-one years: Provided always, and in case any one or more of the said children shall happen to die without issue before he, she, or they shall attain the said age, then I direct that the legacy or legacys to him, her, or them so dying shall go and be paid unto and amongst the survivors or survivor of them equally, share and share alike, in case there shall be more than one, at such time and in such manner as is hereinbefore directed and expressed of and concerning the said original legacys or sums of two hundred pounds: Provided also, and in case all the said children shall happen to die without issue before they shall attain the said age, then I direct that all the said legacies or sums of Two hundred pounds so given to them as aforesaid shall sink into and become part of the residue of my personal estate, and be applied and disposed of accordingly. And I do hereby expressly direct and declare that no interest shall be allowed or paid upon the said respective legacys or sums of two hundred pounds in the mean time from my decease to the time that the same shall become payable by virtue of this my Will; such legacys or sums of two hundred pounds being given by me in lieu of legacys or sums of one hundred pounds, which it was originally my intention to have directed to be placed out at interest, and to have accumulated for such children of the said Thomas Byerley as aforesaid until they should attain the age of twenty-one years. Also I give and bequeath unto each of my Nephews Thomas and John Wedgwood, Sons of my late Nephew Thomas Wedgwood, of the Upper House in Burslem, the sum of two hundred pounds each, to be paid to them at their respective ages of twenty-one years: Provided always, and in case they shall either or both of them die before they arrive at the age of twenty-one years, I direct that the legacy or legacys of the party or parties so dying, of two hundred pounds so given to them as aforesaid, shall sink into and become part of the residue of my personal estate, and be applied and disposed of accordingly.

Also I give to my Servant George Jones the sum of twenty guineas, as a token of my remembrance of his faithful services to me. Also I give and bequeath to the several persons whose names shall be mentioned and comprised in the Schedule or List hereto annexed, signed with my name, and marked with the letter "B," the mourning Rings or other small legacys or sums of money which shall be therein specified and expressed. Also I give and bequeath unto James Caldwell, Esq., of Newcastle under Lyme, in the County of Stafford, the sum of one hundred pounds, which I desire he will accept as a testimony of my friendship and esteem for him. And I do hereby direct and appoint that my said Nephew Thomas Byerley shall, under the direction of my Executors, settle my accounts and manage and conduct the collection of my debts and other matters relating to the settlement of my concerns in business; and that a Salary of one hundred pounds per annum be allowed and paid to him for such particular service, so long as he shall be employed therein, over and above all charges and expenses attending the same. And it is also my Will that an estate at Burslem, late in the occupation of Joseph Wedgwood, consisting of a newly erected dwelling house, a set of pot works, with other buildings, and a field called the Cross Hill, containing altogether about two acres; and likewise an estate in the Parish of Astbury, in the County of Chester, called Spengreen, and now in the holding of Thomas Johnson, containing about seventy-five acres or thereabouts; and also a piece of land on the east side of the Bridge in Congleton, in the said County of Chester, being about two rods; and also all the rest, residue, and remainder, messages, lands, tenements, hereditaments, and real estate, money, securities for money, debts due and owing, personal Estate and Effects of what nature or kind soever or wheresoever, not hereinbefore particularly devised or disposed of, together with such or so much of the several sums of money hereinbefore mentioned and bequeathed as shall, by means of the contingencies and directions hereinbefore expressed, shall all of them sink into and become parts of the said residue of my personal Estate. And I do hereby give, devise, and bequeath the same unto my said Executors, for the payment of the legacys and annuities hereinbefore mentioned; and provided there should be a residue after the above mentioned payments, then I direct that such residue shall go and be divided unto and amongst my said children, John Wedgwood, Thomas Wedgwood, Susannah Wedgwood, Catherine Wedgwood, and Sarah Wedgwood, their heirs, executors, administrators, and assigns, equally, share and share alike, as tenants in common, and not as joint tenants; and if there should be any deficiency of real or personal estates for paying the said legacys and annuitys, such deficiency shall in that case be born equally amongst and made up by those my said children above named, (that is to say) John Wedgwood, Thomas Wedgwood, Susannah Wedgwood, Catherine Wedgwood, and Sarah Wedgwood, share and share alike, in proportion to the amount of the legacys to them herein left and bequeathed. And I do hereby nominate, constitute, and appoint my said Wife, my said Son John Wedgwood, and the said James Caldwell, Esq., Executrix and Executors of this my Will. And lastly, I do hereby revoke all former or other Will or Wills by me at any time heretofore made, and do declare this only to be my last Will and Testament.

In witness whereof I have to this my last Will and Testament, contained in six sheets of paper, and have to each of the first five sheets thereof set my hand, and to the sixth and last sheet thereof my hand and seal the day and year first before written. — Jos. Wedgwood (L.S.)

Signed, sealed, published, and declared by the said Josiah Wedgwood, as and for his last Will and Testament, in the presence of us, who in his presence, and in the presence of each other, have hereunto subscribed our names as witnesses thereto; the several following words being first interlined: money—my—happen—said. — Alexr. Chisholm, Thomas Mitchell, Joseph Mitchell, Joseph Rutland

John Wedgwood, of Etruria, in the County of Stafford, Esquire, maketh oath, and saith that he has searched among the papers and writings of his late Father, Josiah Wedgwood, late of Etruria aforesaid, Esquire, deceased, in order to find certain Schedules or Paper Writings referred to in the last Will and Testament of the said Josiah Wedgwood, and therein mentioned to be annexed thereto, and respectively marked A and B. And this Deponent further saith that he has not been able to find such Schedules or Paper Writings, or either of them; and this Deponent further saith that he has never heard or been informed, nor does he believe that the said Josiah Wedgwood ever wrote or made out, or caused to be written or made out, such Schedules or Paper Writings, or either of them. — John Wedgwood

Sworn at Newcastle under Lyme, in the County of Stafford, the 29th day of June, 1795, Before me, John Lloyd, a Commissioner.

Proved at London, 2nd July, 1795, before the Judge, by the Oath of John Wedgwood, the Son, one of the Executors, to whom Administration was granted, having been first sworn by Commission duly to administer. Power reserved of making the like grant to Sarah Wedgwood, Widow, the Relict, and James Caldwell, the other Executors, when they shall apply for the same.

That was… certainly a lot of words. Let’s see if they mean anything! Turns out that this isn’t another John Gibson, rural postman and shoemaker from New Cumnock, Scotland, but a prominent historical figure with close familial connections to someone whose name you definitely know.

Josiah Wedgwood (12 July 1730 – 3 January 1795) was an English potter, entrepreneur and abolitionist. Founding the Wedgwood company in 1759, he developed improved pottery bodies by systematic experimentation, and was the leader in the industrialisation of the manufacture of European pottery. He is credited as a pioneer of modern marketing, specifically direct mail, money back guarantees, travelling salesmen, carrying pattern boxes for display, self-service, free delivery, buy one get one free, and illustrated catalogues.

As well as pretty, decorative vases and crockery with aesthetics and technology rooted in antiquity, Wedgwood put his designs to a more radical use. He was elected onto the Committee of the Abolition of the Slave Trade and designed an anti-slavery medallion which became the most famous image of a black person in all of 18th-century art. Covering the costs of distribution and production himself, Wedgwood ensured that it became a powerful symbol of public support.

Josiah was also a founder of the famous Darwin–Wedgwood family and the grandfather of Charles and Emma Darwin. It was the considerable inheritance Josiah left to his son, Josiah II, that enabled young Darwin’s survey voyage aboard HMS Beagle and, consequently, the development of his theory of evolution.

Okay, but what links the “Prince of Potters” to Aziraphale and his bookshop?

In 1774 Josiah Wedgwood and his longtime business partner, Thomas Bentley, opened a new warehouse, enamelling rooms and most handsome showrooms at 12-13 Greek Street, Soho. In 1795, after Josiah’s death, the Wedgwood studio moved to 8 St. James’s Square and the buildings were later occupied by coachmakers, writers and other artists.

Now, through Word of God we already know that Aziraphale spent the 1600s using his personal savings to gradually buy out portions of the neighboring land in order to build the original bookshop “on Greek Street just off Old Compton”, which finally opened in its current form in 1800.

This means that for the time Josiah’s company operated in Soho, they were at least neighbors.

#Yuri is doing her thing #good omens #good omens 2 #good omens meta #A. Z. Fell & Co.#aziraphale #aziraphale’s bookshop #aziraphale is a landlord #and has a penchant for legal documents #which sounds a bit too ominous for an angel

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dailyunsolvedmysteries · 11 months

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15 Inventors Who Were Killed By Their Own Inventions

Marie Curie - Marie Curie, popularly known as Madame Curie, invented the process to isolate radium after co-discovering the radioactive elements radium and polonium. She died of aplastic anemia as a result of prolonged exposure to ionizing radiation emanating from her research materials. The dangers of radiation were not well understood at the time.

William Nelson - a General Electric employee, invented a new way to motorize bicycles. He then fell off his prototype bike during a test run and died.

William Bullock - he invented the web rotary printing press. Several years after its invention, his foot was crushed during the installation of the new machine in Philadelphia. The crushed foot developed gangrene and Bullock died during the amputation.

Horace Lawson Hunley - he was a marine engineer and was the inventor of the first war submarine. During a routine test, Hunley, along with a 7-member crew, sunk to death in a previously damaged submarine H. L. Hunley (named after Hunley’s death) on October 15, 1963.

Francis Edgar Stanley - Francis crashed into a woodpile while driving a Stanley Steamer. It was a steam engine-based car developed by Stanley Motor Carriage Company, founded by Francis E. Stanley and his twin Freelan O. Stanley.

Thomas Andrews - he was an Irish businessman and shipbuilder. As the naval architect in charge of the plans for the ocean liner RMS Titanic, he was travelling on board that vessel during her maiden voyage when the ship hit an iceberg on 14 April 1912. He perished along with more than 1,500 others. His body was never recovered.

Thomas Midgley Jr. - he was an American engineer and chemist who contracted polio at age 51, leaving him severely disabled. He devised an elaborate system of ropes and pulleys to help others lift him from the bed. He was accidentally entangled in the ropes of the device and died of strangulation at the age of 55.

Alexander Bogdanov - he was a Russian physician and philosopher who was one of the first people to experiment with blood transfusion. He died when he used the blood of malaria and TB victim on himself.

Michael Dacre - died after testing his flying taxi device designed to permit fast, affordable travel between regional cities.

Max Valier - invented liquid-fuelled rocket engines as a member of the 1920s German rocket society. On May 17, 1930, an alcohol-fuelled engine exploded on his test bench in Berlin that killed him instantly.

Mike Hughes - was killed when the parachute failed to deploy during a crash landing while piloting his homemade steam-powered rocket.

Harry K. Daghlian Jr. and Louis Slotin - The two physicists were running experiments on plutonium for The Manhattan Project, and both died due to lethal doses of radiation a year apart (1945 and 1946, respectively).

Karel Soucek - The professional stuntman developed a shock-absorbent barrel in which he would go over the Niagara Falls. He did so successfully, but when performing a similar stunt in the Astrodome, the barrel was released too early and Soucek plummeted 180 feet, hitting the rim of the water tank designed to cushion the blow.

Hammad al-Jawhari - he was a prominent scholar in early 11th century Iraq and he was also sort of an inventor, who was particularly obsessed with flight. He strapped on a pair of wooden wings with feathers stuck on them and tried to impress the local Imam. He jumped off from the roof of a mosque and consequently died.

Jean-Francoise Pilatre de Rozier - Rozier was a French teacher who taught chemistry and physics. He was also a pioneer of aviation, having made the first manned free balloon flight in 1783. He died when his balloon crashed near Wimereux in the Pas-de-Calais during an attempt to fly across the English Channel. Pilâtre de Rozier was the first known fatalities in an air crash when his Roziere balloon crashed on June 15, 1785.

#inventions #inventors #history #facts

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homomenhommes · 4 months

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THIS DAY IN GAY HISTORY

based on: The White Crane Institute's 'Gay Wisdom', Gay Birthdays, Gay For Today, Famous GLBT, glbt-Gay Encylopedia, Today in Gay History, Wikipedia, and more … December 24

1305 – France: Grand Master Jacques de Molay and over 500 Knights Templar recant their confessions of homosexual activities to which they had admitted under torture. King Phillip IV burned 54 of them soon after the false confessions. Philip had de Molay burned upon a scaffold on an island in the River Seine in front of Notre Dame de Paris in March, 1314. The sudden end of both the centuries-old order of Templars and the dramatic execution of its last leader turned Molay into a legendary figure.

1573 – French diplomat and law professor Hubert Languet wrote to Sir Philip Sidney, "My affection for you has entered my heart far more deeply than I have ever felt for anyone else, and it has so wholly taken possession there that it tries to rule alone."

1905 – Howard Hughes Jr. (d.1976) was a USA business magnate, investor, record-setting pilot, engineer, film director, and philanthropist, known during his lifetime as one of the most influential and financially successful individuals in the world. He first became prominent as a film producer, and then as an important figure in the aviation industry.

Later in life, he became known for his eccentric behavior and reclusive lifestyle—oddities that were caused in part by his worsening obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD), chronic pain from a near-fatal plane crash, and increasing deafness.

Hughes dated many famous women, including Joan Crawford, Billie Dove, Faith Domergue, Bette Davis, Yvonne De Carlo, Ava Gardner, Olivia de Havilland, Katharine Hepburn, Hedy Lamarr, Ginger Rogers, Janet Leigh, Pat Sheehan, Mamie Van Doren and Gene Tierney. He also proposed to Joan Fontaine several times.However, a rumour persists that Hughes and another notorious womanizer Errol Flynn had a sexual relationship, with Flynn at the top man!

Robert Joffrey (rear) with Gerald Arpino

1930 – Robert Joffrey, born Abdullah Jaffa Bey Khan, (d.1988) was an American dancer, teacher, producer, choreographer, and co-founder of the Joffrey Ballet, known for his highly imaginative modern ballets. He was born Abdullah Jaffa Bey Khan in Seattle, Washington to an Afghan father and Italian mother.

As a teenager, Joffrey met 22-year-old Gerald Arpino, then serving in the Coast Guard. Arpino moved into the Joffrey home. From then on, the two were inseparable. They became best friends, artistic collaborators, and lovers.

Joffrey studied ballet and modern dance in New York City and made his debut in 1949 with the French choreographer Roland Petit and his Ballet de l'Opéra National de Paris. From 1950 to 1955, he taught at the New York High School for the Performing Arts, where he staged his earliest ballets. He founded the Joffrey Ballet School in New York City in 1954.

In 1954 he formed his own company, which premiered Le bal masqué (The Masked Ball, 1954; music by French composer Francis Poulenc) and Pierrot Lunaire (1955; music by Austrian composer Arnold Schoenberg). Joffrey's other works include Gamelan (1962) and Astarte (1967), which was set to rock music with special lighting and motion-picture effects.

The Robert Joffrey Ballet took up residence at New York City Center in 1966. In 1982 it moved its principal activities to Los Angeles, California and in 1995 to Chicago, Illinois. Noted for its experimental repertoire, the company was called the "Joffrey Ballet of Chicago" after its move but has since returned to being called simply the Joffrey Ballet. Besides Joffrey's works its repertoire includes many works by Gerald Arpino, Joffrey's long-time lover, co-director, and eventually artistic director emeritus until his 2008 death, and ballets commissioned by Joffrey from new choreographers as well as works by such established choreographers as George Balanchine, Alvin Ailey and Twyla Tharp.

Joffrey was sexually promiscuous but discreet. His pattern was to have Arpino at home for domestic stability, one principal romantic attachment, and numerous one-night stands.

In 1973, Joffrey fell in love with A. Aladar Marberger, a 26-year-old gay activist and manager of the Fischbach Gallery in New York. In the 1980s, both men contracted AIDS. While Marberger was outspoken about his illness, Joffrey remained silent. He was ashamed and wanted his obituary to say that he died of liver disease and asthma. Arpino agreed to his pleas, but the secret could not be maintained, as AIDS took a staggering toll on the dance world in general and on Joffrey's company in particular.

Robert Joffrey died of AIDS on March 25, 1988 in New York City. Aladar Marberger died eight months later.

1958 – Bob Smith (d.2018) was an American comedian and author. Smith, born in Buffalo, New York, was the first openly gay comedian to appear on The Tonight Show and the first openly gay comedian to have his own HBO half-hour comedy special. Smith, along with fellow comedians Jaffe Cohen and Danny McWilliams, formed the comedy troupe Funny Gay Males in 1988.

With Funny Gay Males, Smith is the co-author of Growing Up Gay: From Left Out to Coming Out (1995). Smith is also the author of two books of biographical essays. Openly Bob (1997) received a Lambda Literary Award for best humor book. Way to Go, Smith! (1999) was nominated for a 2000 Lambda Literary Award in the same category. Smith published his first novel, Selfish and Perverse, in 2007, and Remembrance of Things I Forgot in 2011. He published a new collection of essays, Treehab: Tales from My Natural Wild Life, in 2016. The essays cover a wide range of subjects including his career in stand-up, his love of nature, and his experience with ALS. He performed at the inaugural We're Funny That Way! comedy festival in 1997, and appeared in the festival's documentary film in 1998.

While taping a 2007 comedy special for Logo, Smith disclosed that he was suffering from a neurological disorder. He described his symptoms at that time as slurred speech, making him sound inebriated. In response to an August 2012 New York Times article on openly gay male stand-up comedians, Smith posted a comment stating he had ALS.

On February 2013, Smith gave a candid interview to Canada's Global News, where he elaborated about his condition. The article also revealed that Smith assisted with the conceiving of fellow LGBTQ comedian Elvira Kurt's children, who with Kurt reside in Canada, and that he was a direct descendant of Henry Smith, an early settler of Canada's Niagara Region for whom the Henry of Pelham Winery is named.

Bob Smith died on January 20, 2018 from Lou Gehrig’s Disease in his Manhattan, New York home at 59 years of age.

1971 – On this date the international singer and actor Ricky Martin was born. Born Enrique Martín Morales in San Juan, Puerto Rico, he is known to millions of fans by his stage name Ricky Martin, is a Puerto Rican pop singer and actor who achieved prominence, first as a member of the Latin boy band Menudo, then as a solo artist after 1991. During his career he has sold more than 60 million albums worldwide. He is the founder of Ricky Martín Foundation (in Spanish Fundación Ricky Martin) a non-profit charity organization.

Martin rose to fame as a member of the Latin American boy band Menudo, after which he became a solo artist in 1990. During forays into acting on Broadway ("Les Miserables") and soap operas (General Hospital) he released numerous albums of Spanish music, which sold millions of copies throughout Latin America and Europe. In 1995, Martin refocused on his music career through his third album, A Medio Vivir. With this album, Martin made a shift from formulaic hit ballads to a more risky fusion of music centered around traditional Latin sounds, with the hit "Maria", which epitomizes this new sound. "Maria" broke Martin into Europe through Spain. With the ballad "Te Extraño, Te Olvido, Te Amo", Martin began his expansion from Latin American and Spanish-speaking audiences to the European and Asian markets. He was chosen to sing the anthem of the 1998 FIFA World Cup, the famous hit "The Cup of Life"/"La Copa de la Vida", that reached number one on the charts in 60 countries.

He broke into the English-language market with his mega-selling hit single "Livin' la Vida Loca," which reached number one in many countries around the world, including the United States, the United Kingdom, Argentina, Australia, Brazil, France, Greece, India, Israel, Italy, Japan, Guatemala, Mexico, Russia, Turkey, and South Africa. He followed up with the hit "She's All I Ever Had" which peaked at #2 on The Billboard Hot 100. This album became one of the top-selling albums of 1999, and was certified 7 times platinum, selling over 22 million copies worldwide to date.

During the Livin' la Vida Loca era, Martin's personal life went under the microscope due to his large Gay following, and he was questioned about his sexual orientation. In December, 2000 during an interview in The Mirror, Martin was asked, '"So what about all these rumors?" "There's not a lot I can do about that," he said. "I guess these rumors were started by people who don't have a life, or perhaps it's because they want me to be like them and I'm not. I try not to pay attention to any of these allegations. I could have been married with kids for years or have 27 girlfriends, and if people still want to go around saying that I'm gay, they will."'

In August 2008, Martin became the father of twin boys, named Matteo and Valentino. The babies were delivered via gestational surrogacy.

On March of 2010, Martin publicly came out as Gay in a post on his official web site by stating, "Today is my day, this is my time, and this is my moment. These years in silence and reflection made me stronger and reminded me that acceptance has to come from within and that this kind of truth gives me the power to conquer emotions I didn't even know existed ... I am proud to say that I am a fortunate homosexual man. I am very blessed to be who I am."

"What will happen from now on? It doesn't matter. I can only focus on what's happening to me in this moment. The word 'happiness' takes on a new meaning for me as of today. It has been a very intense process. Every word that I write in this letter is born out of love, acceptance, detachment and real contentment. Writing this is a solid step towards my inner peace and vital part of my evolution."

In January 2018, Ricky Martin married his long-time partner artist Jwan Yosef.

Ricky and Jwan

2012 – The Serbian Parliament approves changes to the Penal Code to include sexual orientation and gender identity as protected classes when it comes to hate crimes.

2013 – Alan Turing considered the father of computer science, was a code-breaker who helped shorten WWII. Since he was gay, the British government offered him the choice of prison or chemical castration after he was convicted of gross indecency. He selected hormonal castration via estrogen. He died in 1954 of cyanide poisoning. In 2009, Prime Minister Gordon Brown made an official apology, and Queen Elizabeth II issued Turing a royal pardon on this day in 2013.

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dailyunsolvedmysteries-movedd · 8 months

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15 Inventors Who Were Killed By Their Own Inventions

William Nelson - a General Electric employee, invented a new way to motorize bicycles. He then fell off his prototype bike during a test run and died.

Michael Dacre - died after testing his flying taxi device designed to permit fast, affordable travel between regional cities.

Mike Hughes - was killed when the parachute failed to deploy during a crash landing while piloting his homemade steam-powered rocket.

#inventions #inventors #history #facts

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lo-diehards · 1 year

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NBC's Law & Order Franchise -- A Franchise in Disarray

NBC's Law & Order franchise (which started with the original series in 1990) has seen numerous changes over the years, but in this post-COVID-19 era of television, some of these new changes are not for the good.

The Law & Order 2022 reboot is lacking what made it's original run legacy television, Special Victims Unit lost a beloved show runner/executive producer (Warren Leight who decided the leave at the end of season 23) and cast member (Kelli Giddish, who was fired at the start of season 24, which later resulted in controversy as details of her firing came to light), and Organized Crime which has had a revolving door of show runners/executive producers since it's inception BEFORE it even made it to air.

I'm going to start in sequential order in which negative change [IN MY OPINION] came into play with this once beloved TV franchise that was once taglined by critics and press as "Must See TV/Most Watched Television"

Please Click the read more tab below to read my thoughts on the brand and what I feel can be done to correct the course of the brand, before it's too late... hang on to your seats!

Law & Order: Organized Crime (2021-present, season 3) - a Disorganized Mess.

The Christopher Meloni led series has had numerous complications behind the scenes since the show's inception pre-production. Chicago P.D.'s Matt Olmstead co-created the show with Dick Wolf (and later Ilene Chaiken) and Olmstead left the production after the pilot ("What Happens in Puglia") to be replaced by Chaiken (of The L Word fame). Law & Order: OC never started with much of a premise and a way to establish itself as it started with Stabler mostly bringing Kathy Stabler's killers (the Wheatley's: portrayed by Dylan McDermott and Tamara Taylor) to justice. And in between that, Stabler and the unit going in and out of undercover assignments. The Organized Crime Control Bureau has never really been fleshed out since the series start; season 3 brought some new detectives into the fold to assist with that but storylines in the serialized series have been all over the place.

While Organized Crime was meant to distance itself from the formula of the Law & Order brand, it doesn't feel like a Law & Order show - it feels more like the Stabler show to where we mostly see Stabler as IMO this almost vigilante cop seeking retribution, in this day and age (and Stabler's because he should definitely be matured from this kind of mindset), it doesn't work. This show lacks "the Law & Order feel" (title cards don't even exist in this show except for one episode, "Gimmie Shelter") and I believe it's why the series doesn't hold audience much as SVU or even the rebooted mothership.

It doesn't help that the show is now on it's 6th show runner, being SVU's David Graziano (who is surrounded by a controversy of his own that seems to be being pushed under the rug and ignored by higher ups at the network and at Wolf Entertainment). Olmstead, Chaiken, Barry O'Brien, Bryan Goluboff from SVU, Sean Jablonski and now Graziano. What ever is going on behind the scenes at OC needs to come to a full stop otherwise this show won't make it to syndication status (5 seasons, 100 episodes). This show has a super talented cast that deserve the best; Danielle Moné Truitt and Ainsley Sieger absolutely shine!

Law & Order (reboot 2022-present, season 2) - more like crash & burn.

Now this show is really pushing my buttons and it's only because of how the stories are being written for this reboot starting from the very first episode. Dick Wolf and the network decided to give the mothership it's very much deserved second chance (it never should have been canceled) and they've managed to put together a stellar cast out of Jeffery Donovan (Burn Notice), Hugh Dancy (Hannibal), Odelya Halevi, and Camryn Manheim. Sam Waterston returned as Jack McCoy and this season Mehcad Brooks (Supergirl, Necessary Roughness) replaced Anthony Anderson who only opted to do one season.

I'm not going to sugar coat this, making Rick Eid (who 'developed' a show that was already developed once back in 1988/1990 when he was still in grade school - it's a reboot where nothing has changed formula wise!) the show runner/EP over this series is a very poor business decision. Eid has had a poor history within the Law & Order franchise itself. He was part of a writing team that Dick Wolf and the network had to intervene and dismiss back in 2007 due to declining ratings on mother ship due to the decline in the quality of the writing at that time, Wolf made him show runner over Law & Order: SVU's 18th season and Eid "had to move on [to Chicago P.D.]", basically for the same reason. The. Same. Reason. It's a case of "Fool me once, fool me twice," we're on the 3rd now.

From the minute "The Right Thing" hit the airwaves, I knew it was 2007/2016 all over again! The reboot storylines are tone-deaf, have massive plot holes, pull directly from the headlines without much deviance, skew to certain political leanings (hard left and right) and is shoved into the faces of viewers, and problems with legal strategy that actually go against the actual law and procedures that wouldn't even wash in an actual courtroom (and yes I am aware it's work of fiction but that is why they have legal advisors on the payroll - or at least I hope).

And the characters? Caricatures. I can't really root for any of them - Samantha Maroun & Jalen Shaw (Halevi & Brooks who are great) are the closet ones who are actually being fleshed out as characters that can be relatable/likable. Cosgrove and Price need work bad! Cosgrove is basically a more hard-core Elliot Stabler with a thick Bronx accent in one episode and then another episode he's a young Lennie Briscoe/Michael Westen from Burn Notice mix; it's not consistent. Most seem to prefer him portraying Cosgrove in a Michael Westen-ish style as opposed to Stabler 2.0 (if that's the case swap Donovan and Meloni).

Nolan Price? I don't know where to start. Who is Nolan Price? I don't know honestly but I can tell you he is NOT a great prosecutor. He's no Mike Cutter, McCoy or even Ben or Peter Stone. Price is written just as inconsistent as Cosgrove is and the cases as they make it to court and trial make Price worse, because it seems ambition and wanting to win is the only thing this character has. "Bias" that just aired showcased Price as a colleague was murdered and he had a personal investment in the case. He should have be recused and maybe even suspended due to his misconduct. And Price's arrogance in this episode, telling Jack McCoy that he let him run with the case because "I'm the best." I love Hugh Dancy and he's a magnificent actor but this writing is hurting this role for him in my view.

And speaking of McCoy, where the hell is he? I understand Sam Waterston can't do what he was doing back in 2007 in the courtroom scenes and he is the district attorney but my goodness, his scenes "lack meat" now, it's all bone. Jack says something pithy about the case, yells a little, and walks out his office/elevator/outside. Eid said in an interview that he wanted McCoy to walk in the shoes of Adam Schiff (Steven Hill), if that's the case Schiff was way more involved in his prosecutors cases and had more say in the direction the cases go. Again, it goes back to the writing.

Unlike on OC, Law & Order could use a show runner change, and it could use it ASAP, because what's airing as quality in this reboot is tarnishing the legacy that the original mothership established.

Law & Order: Special Victims Unit (1999-present, season 24) - what is going on behind the scenes and on screen is especially heinous.

Warren Leight's departure last year was the catalyst, however Kelli Giddish's firing was the irresistible force slamming the immovable object - so to speak. Kelli Giddish was fired in place of Wolf/NBC wanting younger blood (Molly Burnett, Days of our Lives); not even a year prior Wolf/NBC faced a form of backlash after dropping two cast members of color - Demore Barnes and Jamie Gray Hyder - in exchange for one male (Octavio Pisano). Star Mariska Hargitay tried to step in to keep Kelli on the show but she was overruled by Wolf and the network.

Meanwhile something that hasn't been overruled but more overlooked; new show runner David Graziano's prior and current accusations of bullying, misogyny, and toxic behavior on sets and behind the scenes of show's he's worked on, including SVU. Graziano took to his Instagram to try and 'explain' his accusations but he did not deny them. How can you write and supervise any kind of story about women's empowerment, healing after trauma and sexual assault, inclusiveness, and justice as someone who has/is doing personal actions against that very stance? And how can Dick Wolf and NBC over look it? Money talks in short. He's also running OC for the last 3 episodes in this season.

That aside which is problematic of itself, like the mother ship, the storylines on SVU have taken a turn sideways. Season 24 started off pretty solid, it wasn't the best it's been in it's prime and younger years (S3-7, and again S13-17), but it was passable to view. Now? Post-Kelli Giddish it seems like the focus is on Muncy (Burnett), Velasco (Pisano) and the recurring guest cast (Kevin Kane and Jasmine Batchelor); ICE T and Peter Scanavino's screen time is noticeably decreased this season than season's past. And like mothership's storylines, inconsistency is on display in full view.

Under Graziano in his first 6 episodes (Gimmie Shelter is written by Rick Eid and Gwen Sigan as part of the season premiere crossover) were the solid ones, even before Kelli's last episode I felt a change in tone coming into play; and coming off of the season's Bronx trilogy its even more noticeable. It's like it's a mix of Eid's season 18 and some other show that's NOT SVU. The focus has gone off of the survivors, veteran characters, the pursuit of the worst criminal offenders, the pursuit of justice and the unit itself. SVU has gone off of the rails and if they want this show to continue to break records and preserve the legacy that it has both on and off screen, they better make some changes fast. SVU's ratings haven't exactly decreased but all this 'change' could soon have a negative impact on them; SVU's dominate the entire franchise right now as a show that's consistently been on air for 24 years now in a changing TV landscape.

In summary/my suggestion(s): the Law & Order franchise needs to undergo some major changes behind the scenes, starting with the gentlemen running these shows. I don't directly want to call for the dismissal of show runners/executive producers Rick Eid and David Graziano (certainly from SVU) but I do feel this is the start absent them being given a different set of marching orders that they should follow (not likely). The issues I brought up above only touch the surface, I don't want to sound nit-picky but things could and should be better.

This franchise is 33 years old and still going, and it could go longer and further but if there aren't any immediate changes that make an impact and turn things around, and the shows keep going about as they are: this franchise won't be around much longer. "The Story Is Everything" is what Dick Wolf has said about the L&O brand and NBC even used that as a tagline during the prime years on the network 2003-2007. That's where the investment needs to start.

#Law & Order #Law & Order: SVU #Law & Order: Organized Crime #Law & Order: OC #Organized Crime #L&O #SVU #Law & Order: Special Victims Unit #NBC #Mariska Hargitay #Christopher Meloni #Sam Waterstoon #Hugh Dancy #Mehcad Brooks #David Graziano #Rick Eid #Dick Wolf #Peacock

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pacificeagles · 2 years

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https://pacificeagles.net/boeing-307-stratoliner/

Boeing 307 Stratoliner

In 1935 with design work for the B-17 well underway, Boeing decided to create a civilian airliner from the same basic design. Borrowing the wings, engines, landing gear and tail from the B-17 and marrying them to a new cylindrical fuselage designed to be pressurised, the new Model 307 promised much better performance than existing airliners. It could cruise at an altitude of 20,000ft, unlike contemporary planes that had to remain below 15,000ft. With the plane having the ability to fly higher than most weather systems, Boeing gave it the name “Stratoliner”.

Despite the advances promised by the 307, orders were relatively few. The first plane was destroyed when it crashed during a demonstration flight for Dutch airline KLM. Pan Am ordered two Stratoliners and later an additional four, and Trans World Airlines five. The first delivery was to the eccentric tycoon and adventurer Howard Hughes, who bought it for a round-the-world record attempt that was abandoned when Germany invaded Poland in September 1939. Pan Am took delivery of just four 307s before the war put an end to civilian aircraft production but TWA received all five that they ordered. These were named after native American tribes – Apache, Comanche, Navajo, Cherokee and Zuni.

With the outbreak of war in 1941 Pan Am’s 307s remained nominally in civilian service but were under the direction of the Army Air Forces’ Air Transport Command. These were assigned to fly on South American routes for the AAF. The five TWA planes were bought by the AAF and received the military designation C-75 but were flown by their original TWA crews under contract. These were assigned to ATC and initially flew two transatlantic routes: the northern route from Gander to Prestwick, and the southern one from Natal to Accra in the south.

For the first year of the war the C-75s were the only planes capable of nonstop transatlantic flight, although they had the pressurization gear removed and additional fuel tanks installed to make these flights more comfortable. These aircraft regularly flew ‘top brass’ across the Atlantic, including members of the Chiefs of Staff and Harry Hopkins, Roosevelt’s personal aide. A C-75 was also dispatched to China to collect the Doolittle raiders after all of their B-25s were lost.

In 1944 with sufficient numbers of purpose-built military transports available, the C-75s were reconditioned and sold back to TWA. They continued to serve the civilian market for years after the war, although seven were lost to accidents. One 307 serving with the French airline Aigle Azur may have been accidentally shot down by anti-aircraft fire during the Vietnam War in 1965.

Boeing C-75 Stratoliner Specifications

C-75

Boeing C-75 StratolinerRoleTransportCrew5: Pilot, co-pilot, engineer, 2 cabin crewPowerplant4x Pratt & Whitney R-1820-G102A (1,100hp)Speed215mph (cruise) 241mph (max)Ceiling23,300ftRange1,750 miles (internal)ArmamentOrdnanceDimensions74ft 4in (length) 107ft 0in (wingspan) 20ft 10in (height)Wing Area1486 sq.ft.Weight30,000lb (empty) 45,000lb (gross) Number produced5

#b-17 #Boeing #c-75 #stratoliner #Aircraft #Allied Aircraft #USAAF

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lurantis1 · 6 months

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Been doing some Pokémon legends keldeo stuff lately so here are some of the characters :3

Context -

Lavender - 35 - Leader of the plasma foundation - Seeks a better world - Ancestor of N - had an arranged marriage to Rosemary

Rosemary - 32 - Co leader of plasma foundation - ancestors of N - paranoid af - had a Arranged marriage to Lavender - writer

Verbena - 34 - A modern woman who got killed in a war, but brought back to life by a trevenant - Maid/executioner for plasma foundation - ancestor of cheren - cousin of Cardamon

Cardamon - 34 - a engineer/pilot who got caught in the war, survived - builds tech for plasma foundation - horrible with socializing/making friends - ansestor of Hugh - Cousin of Verbena - very angry. For no reason.

They belong to the Tao district ^^

#Pokémon legends Keldeo #lura’s art

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typingtess · 2 years

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Tiptoeing through the “Of Value” guest cast

Bar Paly as Anastasia "Anna" Kolcheck Duncan Campbell as NCIS Special Agent Castor Both return from “Come Together” (season 13’s finale).

Gregory D. Gadson as Army Colonel Jackson Ladd Greg Gadson is a former colonel in the Army, a West Point Graduate. In May of 2007, he lost both of legs above the knee and had a severe arm injury due to a roadside bomb in Iraq. Gadson is a well-regarded motivational speaker. A speech given to the New York Football Giants early in the 2007 season was credited with helping the team during the Super Bowl run. He is often seen on the sidelines of Giants games in his wheelchair.

Gadson was in the feature film “Battleship”.

Sigrid Owen as Mila Curren Owen appeared in episodes of Geeks Outside, Married, Code Black, The Middle, Roadies, Hand of God and General Hospital. She was Elisabet in Silicon Valley.

Regina Ting Chen as Navy Commander Cheng Was in episodes of American Dynasty, Dynasty (2019), The Outsider, The Resident, Black Lightning, The Falcon and the Winter Soldier, Queen of the South, Queens, Woke and Stranger Things. Played Alice in Dreamsville.

Melanie Hawkins as Lindsey Sandhagen Had guest roles in Strong Medicine, Tell Me You Love Me, The Middleman, Eleventh Hour, CSI: Miami, Sam & Cat, Dirty John and 9-1-1.

Lawrence J. Hughes as Emmett Sandhagen Was Rhino in the streaming series Party Betchez. Guest roles include Stitchers, A La Carte and the limited series Mike about Mike Tyson.

Elester Latham as Jerry Starred in the series Blended Family and The Rich & The Ruthless. Guest starred in episodes of Bitch Please, Dabsity, Insecure, Off the Track, Nice Guy Finish Last, Quinta vs. Everything, I Am the Night, Frank James, Thrilling Stories, Grace and Frankie and Baby Gay.

Latham was a Marine in Vietnam, left the service to go to college. Joined the Air Force to become a pilot, retired and was a United Airlines pilot for decades.

Dominic Zamprogna as Paul Figueiredo Was Mark Deosdade in Edgemont, Jammer in Battlestar Galactica (2006), Greg/Jim in The L Word (2008) and Dante Falconeri on General Hospital.

Guest roles include Are You Afraid of the Dark, The Neverending Story, Ready or Note, Kung Fu: The Legend Continues, Wind at My Back, Tales of the Cryptkeeper, MythQuest, Leap Years, Odyssey 5, DaVinci’s Inquest, StarGate Atlantis, Cold Squad, Tru Calling, Supernatural, Blade: The Series, Painkiller Jane, Bionic Woman (2007), The Border, Smallville, Stargate Universe and Tin Star.

Kaya Jackson as Sophia Sandhagen Was in an episode of Call Me Kat and two episodes of Side Hustle.

Devin Looc as Ty Sandhagen Child actor.

Matthew Law as Josh McCall Was Kendrick in The Paynes, Agent Julian in Marvel’s Agents of SHIELD and Kareem Richardson in The Oval. Guest roles in Shooter and Home Economics.

Alain Mora as Chito Aldana More appeared in episodes of CSI: Miami and Lawless. Was Brian Escobar in the series Los Teens.

Torshawn Roland as Jay Appeared in an episode of Just Add Magic.

Glen Steele as Man Appeared in a number of short films.

Written by: Kyle Harimoto wrote "Omni", "Merry Evasion", "Chernoff, K", "Command and Control" as episode 150, "Granger, O.", "Ghost Gun", "Kulinda", "767", "Se Murio El Payaso", "Assets"/"Liabilities", "Venganza", "Superhuman", "One of Us", "Let Fate Decide" (season 11 premiere), "Decoy", "Answers" , "Watch Over Me", "Cash Flow", "Fukushu", "Bonafides" and “Come Together” (season 13 finale). He co-wrote "Three Hearts", "Leipei", "Humbug", both ends of the "Matryoshka" two-parter, "Smokescreen" part two, "Searching", "A Fait Acompli" and "A Tale of Two Igors" (season 12 finale).

Directed by: Diana C. Valentine who directed "Lokhay", "Fallout", Three Hearts", "The 3rd Choir", "Forest for the Trees", "Beacon", "Unspoken", "Seoul Man", "Crazy Train", "Under Pressure”, "Better Angels" and “The Circle”. This is Valentine’s first episode with the series since season 11.

#tiptoeing #NCIS: Los Angeles #NCIS: LA #NCIS Los Angeles #ncis la

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weclassybouquetfun · 1 year

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Film Awards Season Check-In

In early October the field was looking light as only three studios released their screening schedules early: Amazon, Netflix and Searchlight. Now that we are in early November more studios have entered the fray and/or readying their boards.

Sony is putting forth THE WOMAN KING, DEVOTION, the Whitney Houston biopic I WANNA DANCE WITH SOMEBODY, LYLE, LYLE CROCODILE, Tom Hanks' A MAN CALLED OTTO and WHERE THE CRAWDADS SING; and new to the mix Mark Wahlberg's FATHER STU.

So far THE WOMAN KING and DEVOTION have had a number of screenings with DEVOTION (based on the true story of the friendship between pilots played by Glen Powell (who is an executive producer on the film) and Jonathan Majors) getting special treatment with a screening hosted by Amanda Seyfried.

Sony's indie arm Sony Pictures Classic has put up the films they are pushing: documentaries: HALLELUJAH: LEONARD COHEN, A JOURNEY, A SONG; JAZZ FEST: A NEW ORLEANS STORY, Luca Guadagnino's SALVATORE: SHOEMAKER OF DREAMS, THE RETURN OF TANYA TUCKER, TURN EVERY PAGE- THE ADVENTURES OF ROBERT CARO AND ROBERT GOTTLIEB and narrative films, Florian Zeller's THE SON (which is connected to Zeller's THE FATHER, which earned Anthony Hopkins an Oscar) starring Hugh Jackman; two Cannes screened films: RETURN TO SEOUL and ONE FINE MORNING and the English-language remake of Akira Kurusawa's IKIRU - LIVING starring Bill Nighy

When TOP GUN: MAVERICK screened at CinemaCon a few critics in attendance said it was a Best Picture candidate and I guess Paramount feels the same as TG:M and Damian Chazelle's LALA LAND follow-up BABYLON are the only films they are putting forward. IIRC this is a one-picture improvement over 2019 as that year ROCKETMAN was the only film they put forward. TG:M has quite a few screenings lined up (with no Q&A component so far because Tom Cruise isn't going to beg for a nomination) with zero, as of yet, for BABYLON.

Focus Features has put up ARMAGEDDON TIME starring Anne Hathaway and Jeremy Strong, DOWNTON ABBEY: A NEW ERA, HONK FOR JESUS. SAVE YOUR SOUL (which had a brief theatrical release while streaming on Peacock), MRS. HARRIS GOES TO PARIS, THE NORTHMAN (with alleged new father or soon-to-be-father Alexander Skarsgaard), the fantastic THE OUTFIT, THE SILENT TWINS starring Letitia Wright and Tamara Lawrance, YOU WON'T BE ALONE and TAR with Cate Blanchett who is sure to be the front runner in the Lead Actress category.

Universal has released the titles they are putting forward: Steven Spielberg's film a'clef THE FABLEMANS, the true story of the women who crafted the article to expose Harvey Weinstein, the Carey Mulligan starrer SHE SAID, NOPE, BROS and animated films MINIONS: THE RISE OF GRU, PUSS IN BOOTS: THE LAST WISH and THE BAD GUYS.

Disney had their slate up for some time but have only just recently added James Cameron's AVATAR: THE WAY OF WATER and Rihanna's offering for WAKANDA FOREVER, "Lift Me Up"; a song written by Rihanna, the film's director Ryan Coogler and film's composer Ludwig Göransson. "Lift Me Up" joins Giveon's "Time" from AMSTERDAM as the possible Best Song candidates the studio has put forward.

WB's schedule has been static with six films put forward (THE BATMAN, DON'T WORRY DARLING, FANTASTIC BEASTS: THE SECRETS OF DUMBLEDORE, the documentary NAVALNY, DC LEAGUE OF SUPERPETS and ELVIS). The only movement is that they keep adding Q&As for Austin Butler. They're working him like Colonel Parker did Elvis.

What I Have Seen So Far:

NETFLIX The Good Nurse Wendell & Wild Bardo: False Chronicle of a Handful of Truths (Mexico's Oscar submission)

Guillermo Del Toro's Pinocchio

(Q&A last weekend with Guillermo del Toro, co-director Mark Gustafson, stars Gregory Mann, Christoph Waltz and Finn Wolfhard)

Lady Chatterley's Lover

(Q&A with Emma Corrin and director Laure de Clermont-Tonnere)

The Wonder

-A late addition to their slate is Scott Cooper's THE PALE BLUE EYES; the directors third film with Christian Bale. Disney has AMSTERDAM up as part of 20th Century and are putting Bale and his costars but it appears Bale is stumping for this instead, with a Q&A with Cooper and his costars Lucy Boynton and Henry Melling this week.

AMAZON My Policeman

SEARCHLIGHT The Banshees of Inisherin Empire of Light

FOCUS FEATURES

TÁR

Armageddon Time

SONY

The Women King

(Q&A with Composer Terence Blanchard, Editor Terilyn Shropshire, Cinematographer Polly Morgan, Viola Davis and her husband/producing partner Julius Tennon and director Gina Prince-Bythewood)

UNITED ARTISTS Till Women Talking Bones and All

(Q&A with producer Peter Spears, composers Atticus Ross & Trent Reznor, writer David Kajganich, Taylor Russell and director Luca Guadagnino)

SRAB FILMS Saint Omer (France's Oscar submission)

(Q&A with director Alice Diop)

#movies #movie talk #awards season #alice diop #guillermo del toro #guillermo del toro's pinocchio #finn wolfhard #luca guadagnino #taylor russell #bones and all #bones & all #trent reznor #emma corrin #lady chatterley's lover #viola davis #gina prince bythewood #gina prince-bythewood #the woman king #awards season check-in

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cursed-elo-images · 6 months

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Chapter 5: Nightrider

Suddenly, the plane transformed into a rocket!

"MELVYN WHAT DID YOU DO???" Hugh asked, exasperated.

"HUGH I DO NOT KNOW!!!" Melvyn screamed back.

"DID YOU ACCIDENTALLY HIT SOME BUTTON OR SOMETHING MATE???"

"UHHH I COULD HAVE SWORN I PUSHED ONE WITH THE SIDE OF MY RIGHT LEG WHEN I JUMPED INTO THE COCKPIT!!!"

"GREAT!!! JUST GREAT!!!" Hugh barked.

"IT WAS AN ACCIDENT. *huff* AN ACCIDEEEEEEENT!!!"

"WELL I DON'T CARE!!!" Hugh yelled back, incredibly furious.

"PLEASE!!! I DIDN'T DO ANYTHING WRONG!!!" Melvyn pleaded.

Hugh ignored Melvyn's cries and tried searching for the button that was pushed.

"Oh no!!! I see now! This button, near the bottom of the cockpit on the right, was pushed! Look! It's glowing purple! It used to be gray since there was no light, because when I got into the cockpit for the first time, I did notice it! It wasn't in a group of buttons like all the others—it was all by itself! And now I know why!!! Because it turns the plane into a rocket when pushed...?" Hugh said, his sentences running together because he was so scared and confused.

"WHAT??? I AM AFRAID THAT I CANNOT UNDERSTAND WHAT YOU'RE SAYING HUUUUGH!!!" Melvyn cried, not understanding his wavering dialogue well because it sounded almost incoherent.

"I SAID: THIS BUTTON BY ITSELF IS GLOWING PURPLE BECAUSE YOU PUSHED IT!!! IT WAS ORIGINALLY GRAY WHEN TURNED OFF AND IT WAS NOT GROUPED WITH ALL THE OTHER BUTTONS IN FRONT OF THE COCKPIT!!! AND THEREFORE IT TURNED THE PLANE INTO A ROCKET!!!" Hugh hollered.

"OHHH... SHOW ME IT!!!"

"GLADLY!!!"

Hugh took Melvyn and smushed his face against the button.

"Oh... it says: 'warning: this is a rocket converter. Do not press unless it is an extreme emergency should one absolutely need to go to space'," Melvyn said, repeating the words above the button.

"Oh no! We're doomed!" Hugh cried, putting his face in his hands.

Melvyn got up and put his hand on the younger cellists's shoulder.

"Hey Hugh—it's okay, I'm sure we'll figure out something..." Melvyn said. Hugh raised his head up.

"You've got to be kidding me... you can't reverse this... because it's for emergencies only..." Hugh replied, almost in tears.

"Oh..." Melvyn replied, suddenly realizing the implications of all of this.

"Oh no... OH NO!!! OHHHHH NOOOOO!!!" Melvyn cried in devastation.

Off screen, as if it was a movie, the Electric Light Orchestra song Nightrider began to play, but the characters didn't notice as it was outside of their consciousness's.

Meanwhile, Shrek, Mik, Farquaad, Monsieur Hood, and the merry men stopped wrestling and got up.

"Wait... what's going on... I thought we were in a plane... and now we're in a rocket?!?!!!?" Shrek asked, disoriented.

"I... I guess so..." Mik replied, shocked and scared.

"No matter! We can still fight you all!" Hood cried, still angry and wanting to fight them.

"Look over there! Those two got their instruments back! We have to stop them! So get out of our way!" cried Farquaad.

"NEVER!!!" Shrek yelled.

Not listening to them, Farquaad, Hood, and the merry men ran off to the cockpit.

"Hey cello lads... give them back to us!!!" Hood cried.

Hugh, hearing them, twisted his mustache like a stereotypical Vaudeville-esque Dastardly Whiplash villain, as he had an idea on how to stop him. He pushed a button to make the rocket go super fast up in the sky, as they weren't quite in space yet.

This caused them all to fall back and slide down except for Melvyn.

"WAAAAOOOOOOH— WHAT WAS THAT???" Hood cried, shocked from the sudden force of speed knocking him down.

"I don't know... I think it was those pesky orchestra men!" Farquaad replied, grimacing.

"Violin-guy! There they are! Let's get them!" Shrek cried.

Shrek attempted to grab one of the merry men but he failed since they slid down too fast. Shrek began to slide down too.

"OH NO!!! I'm falling too! REMEMBER ME VIOLIN GUY!!!" Shrek cried, scared for his own life.

"Shrek!" Mik cried. He grabbed the ogre's hand and stared deeply into his emerald green eyes with his own sapphire blue eyes. Their eyes locked for a while, their lives flashing before their eyes. Shrek was falling slowly, as was Mik.

"I may not have liked you at first... but I think we actually had a pretty good friendship... even though it was only made like five hours ago... you were actually very kind to me... and you stood up for me when times were tough..."

"Shrek... Thank you so much. I also appreciated our friendship dearly. I don't mind the fact that I befriended an ogre... because ogres are real... and ogres... are awesome..." Mik responded dreamily.

Then all of a sudden, the rocket began to disintegrate...

"AAAAAAAAAH!!!" Little Lad cried, falling past all the others.

"LITTLE LAD!!!" Shrek and Mik cried at once.

Little Lad slipped out of the rocket and randomly a jet pack appeared on his back and he jet packed away... to find somewhere on Earth to land.... As the rocket was in space by now.

"Goodbye everyone... I enjoyed meeting you all!" Little Lad said, waving as he left.

Shrek turned to face Mik as well as the antagonists of this fanfiction.

"Well... that was weird," Shrek said, very weirded out yet relieved Little Lad was alright.

"You know Shrek, I hate you and all... but I have to hand it to you, I agree: that was, in fact, weird. Really weird, even," Farquaad replied, shocked as well. Shrek nodded reluctantly and chuckled.

A male French accented voice yelled.

"AHHHHHH! JACQUE!!! HELP ME!!! I AM FALLING!!!" it cried. It came from one of the merry men, a blonde one to be exact. Just then, a brunette merry man came after him, sliding on his abdomen trying to reach him.

But Jacque the merry man was unsuccessful.

And so the two fell out of the rocket. All of the merry men gradually fell out as well.

Monsieur Hood looked shocked. He couldn't have them be outside without him, could he?

"All my merry men are gone from this ship... and wherever I go... they go... so au revoir... everyone..." he said. He fell out of the rocket and a olive green parachute appeared on him, and he saw that all of his merry men also had parachutes of the same color.

"I knew all twenty of you would be out here waiting for me!" Hood said, with a relieved smile on his face.

"Oh—of course, Monsieur, we would never leave you!" a red headed merry man said.

"Oh, Jean, of course you all wouldn't..." Hood replied back, chuckling.

Back in the disintegrating rocket, Farquaad decided to leave as well.

"Well bye you fools I'm joining the Monsieur because he is the one I need to help me with my plans of conquering the universe!" Farquaad deviously declared. So he slipped out of the rocket and flew away on a scarlet red parachute.

"NOT WITHOUT GETTING THROUGH ME FIRST!!!" Shrek cried angrily. Before he decided to join the others out in space, he noticed Luigi slipping out of the rocket as well.

"WOOOOOAAAH!" he cried. He leaped into space and a leafy green parachute appeared on him.

"What am I doing in this universe? I'm supposed to be helping Princess Daisy defeat Dimentio in another universe—for he's back... and he's not happy!!!" Luigi cried. He blipped out of his universe and moved to the one he was supposed to be in.

Shrek and Mik just stared out into space and then gazed at each other.

"What... was that?" Shrek asked, very confused.

"I have no idea... I think that was the guy my band's bassist mains in Mario Kart Wii..." Mik replied awkwardly as he was just as confused.

"Oh, he's real? Huh, that's a good choice, although I was always the Bowser type of guy myself honestly...anyways! We're getting a smidge off topic. You know I have a horde of antagonists to defeat, right? So you have fun with your band! I'm out, bestie!" Shrek said as he slipped out of the plane. A brown parachute appeared on him as he met the others.

Mik was slipping. The rocket was disintegrating even more... almost all that was left was the area that held the cockpit and the first couple rows and columns of passenger seats.

As Hugh was having an existential crisis and Melvyn was comforting him over the plane not only turning into a rocket but also breaking down and disintegrating, the two were too focused on calming down to see Mik slipping.

"GUYS!!! HELP MEEEE!!!" Mik exclaimed, gripping the remnants of the rocket as hard as he could, his body was flying at this point, and the bottom half of it was in space.

Melvyn and Hugh turned around to see the emerald green-clad man, and their eyes widened and their jaws dropped.

"MIK KAMINSKI!!!" Hugh cried, sweat pouring down his face.

Both he and Melvyn bolted and ran over to Mik. Melvyn grabbed his right hand and Hugh grabbed his left hand, and they pulled him up and got him and moved him to the cockpit.

"A-are you alright, Mik!? Why—we were worried about you, mate!" Hugh asked, his voice shaky.

"Eh... yeah... I'm fine, I guess... I was just scared..." Mik replied, breathless and exasperated.

Relieved, Hugh and Melvyn brought the violinist into a hug.

Unfortunately, the rocket still was disintegrating and it eventually fully disintegrated and disappeared.

And now? The string trio was all alone... floating in space.

"What... just happened..." Hugh said, with a blank facial expression as he was shocked.

"I think we're in the middle of the universe," said Mik.

"OH NO!! THE ROCKET IS GONE AND WE HAVE NOWHERE ELSE TO GO!!!" Melvyn cried, devastated.

Hugh knew that they couldn't do anything, but due to being shocked he looked all around and tried to think of something they could do. He looked all around the pitch black darkness, with dazzling stars of all colors, mainly white. He happened to see Sanic the hedgehog flying through the universe in the far distance like a shooting star singing "gotta go fast, gotta go fast!" and recoiled, as that scared him.

"What...? This place is so..." he started. The other two looked at him, desparate for him to finish his sentence.

"So... inconceivably confusing and desolate..." came the end of the sentence.

Melvyn started shaking, as he was incredibly nervous and terrified.

"Th-there is nothing to do... and no place to go... a-and we can't go back to Earth... and... we can't go home... and see the others ever again..." Melvyn said, a tear sliding down his face.

Noticing Melvyn being incredibly upset, Hugh got even more worried.

"N-no! Melvyn, it'll be fine! I think! I promise we'll think of something!" Hugh cried, facing Melvyn and grabbed his hands.

Melvyn sniffled.

"B-but... I don't think we even can!" he complained, and started sobbing softly and quietly.

Mik got closer to the two.

"Yeah, Hugh's right, Melvyn. I'm sure we'll think of something... also, I wonder if the others are thinking about us right now..." Mik said, softly, putting a hand on his back, trying to comfort the distraught older cellist.

Funny enough, the others were.

At the house, Bev was standing next to the couch in the living room, with Jeff sitting at the left end of the couch, with Richard on the right end of the couch, and Kelly in the middle of Jeff and Richard.

Jeff was scrolling through his smartphone while Kelly was tapping his right shoulder with a Minecraft creeper plush.

"Hey Jeff—can we play Minecraft tonight? I want to finish exploring this one jungle in this one world of ours in survival mode and I'd like to see if we can tame ocelots so I can have a friend to protect me from all the monsters! And plus it'll help calm you down from our Mario Kart round from this morning!" Kelly asked excitedly.

Jeff scrunched his eyebrows and didn't look at him.

"Ehhh sure, why not? But not now, I have to scroll through my Tumblr first..." Jeff muttered, heavily concentrated on his phone.

"Mmm okay," Kelly said, a little disappointed of the fact that Jeff was a little busy at the moment.

Bev stood there, his arms folded, looking nervous.

"Where's the string trio? Shouldn't they be back by now? They've been gone since this morning!" he exclaimed, slightly upset.

Jeff sighed.

"They're grown adults, just like us, Bev. They can go places at night if they want to. As long as they're not gone for more than a day then I don't see the pr-"

"I know. I know they're grown adults, Jeffrey. I don't care about the fact that they go places at night or if they're gone for a while. I just find it strange that they've been away for almost a day... not to mention without telling us! Now do you understand my plight?" Bev replied, a little bit irritated.

Jeff sighed again.

"You know... I suppose. I do see the problem, actually. You're right... it is weird that they were gone practically the entire day without telling us... you reckon we should call them?"

"I mean... it's not a bad idea... I guess..." Bev said in a low voice.

Funny enough, coincidentally, Jeff's phone started ringing, his ringtone of Mr. Blue Sky filling the living room with its intense sound.

The context to this was that, back in space, for sometime, Hugh decides to muster up the courage to call Jeff. Did he want to? Yes—it was the only way he and the other two could get help. But also no—he didn't want Jeff to know the three hijacked a plane and that was where they were at this entire time, let alone fly a rocket and be stuck in space. He honestly didn't want to be lectured, as he forgot how many times he's been lectured since he's been lectured so much.

"You know what... I'm going to call Jeff," Hugh said gravely.

"What if he yells at us? I'd hate for us to get into trouble," Mik asked, challenging him as he was nervous.

"I know that, but at this point, I don't care anymore. I literally don't care anymore. Because we deserve it. I should never have gone into that plane, I never knew what I was going to get into. And to be honest? I really want to reverse these actions somehow. But I cannot. And I accept the consequences of what I've done. I really do..." Hugh replied, disappointed with knowing what he did.

Mik didn't say anything, and Melvyn was still crying, his back facing the two.

"Besides, look at him," Hugh added, gesturing over to Melvyn, "it's our fault that he's like this right now, and I'd do anything to cheer him up."

Hearing this, Melvyn turned to the two.

"Then call them. That will cheer me up. I can't stand this right now," he seethed through his sobs, angry and sad all at once.

Feeling guilty, Hugh nervously and reluctantly got out his phone, and dialed Jeff's number.

Meanwhile, at the house, Jeff was surprised to hear his phone ring.

He jumped a bit in shock.

"I swear... sometimes this thing seems like it listens to me, yknow? Creepy..." he said, shuddering.

"Ooo! I wonder who it is—can we look, Jeff?" Kelly said, excitedly. Jeff lowered his phone so that the other three saw the screen.

"Hugh McDowell?!" Kelly exclaimed.

"Oh of course, I should have known it was him..." Jeff said.

"Well, maybe that's a sign that they're on their way home! Hopefully he could tell us what happened all this time..." Bev said, relieved.

"Yeah! I'm glad that he's got ahold of us! Answer it, Jeff!" Kelly exclaimed, very eager to hear what Hugh and the others have to say.

"Alright, alright, alright, alright..." Jeff said, exasperatedly, almost sounding like he was singing their song, Alright, "Just give me a chance and I'll answer him!"

Jeff tapped the green button on his phone and held it up to his ear. Richard, Bev, and Kelly got closer to him so they too could hear the conversation.

"Jeff? Jeff!!! It's us! So what I wanted to say is... that I... w-we... *sniff* *sob* um..." a breathy male London-accented voice came from the other line.

The four looked surprised and disturbed, they didn't expect the voice to sound distressed. They were worried if the recipient was alright.

"Hey, that guy sounded like he was crying!" Kelly exclaimed, surprised and concerned.

"Yes he was. Jeffrey, who even was that?" Bev asked, very confused and nervous.

Jeff put the phone down so the other line couldn't hear him.

"I don't know... the guy sounded like a Londoner..."

"Was that... Hugh?" Bev asked.

"Yeah! Hugh's a Londoner!" Kelly added.

"I... I don't even know. If I'm being honest... it doesn't really sound like him...? It could be-"

"Melvyn! Melvyn's a Londoner too! And now that I think about it: the voice does sound more like Melvyn's!" Kelly exclaimed, unintentionally interrupting Jeff.

The other three gasped.

"Ohhh you might be right, Kelly! But why would he be crying? Especially this time of night not to mention while away from the house and calling me?" Jeff asked.

"I-I don't know Jeffrey, just talk to the guy," Bev said, exasperated and upset.

This whole time the faint voice on the line was still sobbing.

Jeff put his phone back up to his ear.

"Who is this? Melvyn?" Jeff asked.

"Yes... it's me, Melvyn..." Melvyn said, trailing off.

"A-are you okay there Melvyn? Why are you crying?" Jeff replied, getting more concerned by the minute.

"I... I don't..." he started to say, and then while the line was still on, it went quiet, and they heard some incoherent, faint conversations from what sounded like Melvyn and Hugh, but they could not make out what they were saying.

"What the...?" Jeff muttered under his breath.

Meanwhile, on the other line, Hugh took the phone out of Melvyn's hand, as it was his own phone. Melvyn had grabbed it since he was so frantic and upset he couldn't help but talk to Jeff first.

"Why did you do that? I wanted to talk to them first!" Hugh asked, confused and scared.

"I just... *sniff* I'm sorry... I just *sob* I just really wanted to talk to them so that they can help us... I-I'm scared... Hugh... I'm really really scared..." Melvyn replied through his tears, feeling really guilty and awful. Hugh looked down, feeling bad.

"I... I'm sorry, Melvyn. Look, can you please let me talk to them...?" he asked, in a gentler tone.

Melvyn nodded slowly, and reluctantly, and handed the phone to Hugh to which the latter brought it up to his own ear. Melvyn started crying again and leaned on Hugh's shoulder. Hugh wrapped his right arm around him and kept it there, wanting him to calm down.

"Hey guys, it's me, Hugh," he said, nonchalantly.

Jeff sat back a little bit.

"Hey there, Hugh. Jeff here! Are you doing alright mate?" Jeff asked, relieved to have got a hold on him.

"Ehhh... yeah... about that..." Hugh responded, hesitantly.

Jeff was concerned. He blinked and scrunched his eyebrows in worry. The others next to him listened attentively.

"What happened Hugh?" Jeff asked, strained, becoming nervous again. This made Hugh tense up.

"Um... uhhhh... we kind of... have a problem..." he said, awkwardly.

"What do you mean, you guys have a problem?" Jeff asked, bewildered.

Hugh got even more nervous.

"Emmmmmm well... let's just say that Mik, Melvyn, and I... are in a situation that we cannot escape... and we need your help..." Hugh said, shakily, "which is precisely why I called you by the way."

The other four gasped in shock and horror.

"You're all trapped somewhere!? Hugh, what happened!? Don't beat around the bush... JUST TELL US!!!" Jeff screamed, frustrated and scared all at once.

Hugh sighed, and decided to tell them the full truth.

"Alright... fine. I'll tell you what happened," he said, reluctantly.

"Go on," Bev blurted out.

Hugh sighed and hesitated for a bit and then regained his composure.

"We're... stuck in space..."

Jeff and the others gasped.

"WHAT???" Screamed Kelly.

"Excuse me...!?" asked Bev, weirded out and confused greatly. Richard's face paled.

"You're all stuck in space!??? What have you three done to get yourself in such a position!?" Richard yelled, finally breaking the silence as he was usually silent the entire day.

"Yes, Hugh. Richard is wanting to know how you guys got up there. We all are..." Jeff said, very disturbed by this new information.

"Today I learned: that's actually possible apparently...?" Bev asked, still confused and scared.

"Apparently so..." Kelly replied, shocked so much that he just sat there in stillness.

"Well... I've done a very, very bad thing... everyone..." Hugh said, giggling nervously, the anxiety rising up in him.

"I think we all know that. What was that bad thing, Hugh?" Jeff retorted, angry, scared, and drained all at once.

"I... found a plane..."

"Mm-hm..." said Jeff.

"And... you know how I'm a qualified pilot right?"

"Yes?"

"Well... I decided to fly it and uh..."

"Go on,"

"Mik and Melvyn joined me on a little walk this morning and that's how we found it... so they just... rode in it the entire day as I flew it..."

"Oh no..."

"And then... let me just say, sometime in the late afternoon a lot of guys randomly appeared in the plane and some of them were really awful, awful men. So we were all fighting and wrestling them, and not wanting to fight any longer, I scrambled back to the cockpit as it had been on autopilot and Mel just came up and ran after me and for some reason hit a purple button that was for emergencies only by accident and... and then..."

Jeff couldn't believe his ears. Nor Richard... nor Bev...

Not even the wacky Kelly.

"And then what..." Kelly asked, his attention all on Hugh.

"And then... and then... the plane just turned into a rocket!"

"NUH-UH!!!" cried Bev, loudly, "that's not actually possible, you liar!"

"Bev I swear. I swear this happened..." Hugh pleaded, devastated and still anxious.

Jeff sighed.

"Bev... let the man talk. I can't believe my ears right now either. I don't think any of us can right now. But you must understand that he needs our help... and no matter if the situation is as mundane as possible or as absurd as possible... as human beings... we need to help the string trio... because they're our bandmates... and our friends..." Jeff said, lecturing the drummer.

"Fine..." Bev said, looking down with his arms crossed.

"Sorry about that, Hughie. He's just full of hot air sometimes... anyways... what happened after that?" Jeff asked, trying to comfort the cellist.

Hugh sighed.

"A-and the rocket started disintegrating! And so all the men fell out and were on parachutes and were trying to land back down to Earth! Mik also almost fell out but luckily Melvyn and I saved him. Eventually the entire rocket disintegrated into pieces of nothingness and this is how we're stuck in the middle of the universe, just in our concert clothes..." Hugh replied, satisfied with finishing his lengthy explanation.

"I see," Jeff said, even more shocked.

"How did you get into your concert clothes?" Bev asked.

"Well- I don't know. Our casual clothes just... morphed into our concert clothes before we fought all those weird guys and... we're still wearing them..." Hugh said, still bewildered over how he and the other two were still in their concert clothes.

"Are-" Bev started, about to ask Hugh if he was telling the truth.

"NO, Bev. I am not lying!" Hugh seethed, annoyed with Bev's skepticism. Bev went silent as he was embarrassed. Jeff sighed.

"Well Hugh. I don't know what to think about this. I could yell at you right about now, but I really don't have the heart to, to be honest—for not only am I shocked but I also feel sorry for you all..." Jeff said, analyzing all of this sudden information.

"Don't feel sorry for us. We're fine, we just can't go anywhere. Besides, it's quite peaceful here and I'm glad that those terrible guys aren't messing with us anymore—"

"But we need you guys, Hugh. We are not Electric Light Orchestra without the orchestra!" Bev yelled, interrupting the cellist.

"Yeah! Without you three, we would just be 'Electric Light!' Ha ha... not only that— you're all our friends, we can't just leave you all hanging there!" Kelly added.

"Yes, everyone. But—how do we get them back? We don't have any means to go to space, and it's pretty obvious that they cannot just... float back down here or whatever..." Jeff said, trying to be the voice of reason. Bev and Kelly looked at Jeff, crestfallen, and then at each other, and then back at Jeff.

"I mean... I guess he's right, Bev," Kelly said, realizing his error.

Jeff sighed.

"Well, Hugh. I think it's time that I have to go. It's been a pleasure speaking with you and I'm terribly sorry you three are in such a conundrum, mate. I am still awfully angry with you all, don't get me wrong, but I am also sad. Some day I hope we can get you three back, but until then.... Peace out..." Jeff said somberly.

"I'm sorry I did this, Jeff. I'm sorry... I won't do anything like this ever again. Goodbye, Jeff Lynne, Bev Bevan, Kelly Groucutt, and Richard Tandy... goodbye until we are reunited once again..." Hugh said gravely.

"Thank you, Hugh. And farewell to you and the rest.." Jeff said, feeling slightly less angry and more satisfied that Hugh apologized. He hung up and put his phone down on the coffee table.

~Epilogue~

Offscreen, a song played again. This time it was Make Your Own Kind of Music by Cass Elliot.

"Well. It's only the four of us, everyone..." Jeff said, devastated, yet numb with shock.

"Not true! We can get them back, I'm sure!" Kelly barked.

"Yeah! We need an orchestra for our band! And we specifically need those three!" Bev exclaimed, trying to challenge Jeff.

"But we also need them in general, because they're our friends too!" Kelly yelled back.

"Well I care about our image! We can't just get them back only because they're friendly with us but for practicality—they're classically trained musicians! We still need those in our band!" Bev screeched, now starting to argue with Kelly.

"Don't you realize that those three men are also my friends? Our friends?" Kelly asked rhetorically.

"GUYS!!! Can't you both realize that we can't get to them!!!? Do you think I'm able to get a spaceship miraculously out of nowhere or something!? Because I'm not!" Jeff yelled, finding Bev and Kelly's argument ridiculous and meaningless.

"Jeffrey. We need classically trained musicians!" Bev yelled.

"We need to save them as their friends more than anything! Is that not what friends do?" Kelly spat.

The three continued arguing until Richard got so sick with worry and annoyance that he spoke up.

"Can't you all be quiet for once? There's no use in screaming and tearing at each other over this issue! We need to work together on this! This is a problem, and we need to take it seriously—the more we bicker over this, the more time we will waste! It may be almost impossible, but we still need to reflect over this. If we can get them back—that's good. If we cannot—then we just have to accept that. It is true that we do need to save them because we both need them as musicians and friends. But, if we cannot, then so be it. We just need to think about it and see what can and cannot be done..." Richard said, criticizing all three of them. They turned and just stared at him.

"You know what..." Kelly said, "Maybe Richard's right... we do need to think over this..."

"I guess fighting does nothing. But not doing anything also does nothing," Bev said in a low voice.

"I didn't even say that we should do nothing! I clearly said that we should think about this!" Richard said, shakily, his face covered in sweat.

"I know, Richard, I know. I'm just saying that we need to do at least something..." Bev replied, exasperatingly.

"But what can we do? Does anyone have any ideas on what to do, no?" Jeff asked, not knowing what to think.

"I don't know, I just don't know," Richard said, breathily, his voice wavering, "That's precisely why I suggested this so a solution can come to us! The string trio is just... that important!"

Richard became tense, and began to find it difficult to think. Due to all the stress, he broke down crying.

Feeling bad, Bev got up and hugged him.

"I'm sorry, and you're right, maybe we should take time to think about it..." he said in a soft, friendlier voice.

"Oh, Richard! Don't worry, I'm sure we'll be able to get them soon!" Kelly yelled.

"Kelly, I don't think this is the time to say things like that," Jeff said, his voice low but wavering.

"I'm sorry," Kelly said, looking down.

This kept going on for a while, with the four of them being deeply disturbed and sad by this situation.

Meanwhile, in space, Hugh began to speak.

"Well... I guess this is how life's meant... to be..." he said, somberly. He stood there, knowing that it was too difficult to get out of this situation.

Tears came to his eyes.

"It's a sad affair..." Mik said, despondent.

"For so long, how could I go wrong?" Hugh asked, a tear trickling down his face.

"I don't know..." Mik replied, his voice shaky.

"But what can you do...? When your dream world is gone...? Hugh asked, sniffling through his tears.

"It's over... it's all over..." Melvyn qualmed, still crying unsurprisingly.

"The good intentions and the pain!" Hugh yelled.

Hugh collapsed on his knees, floating in space, he began sobbing now, and the other two hugged him.

"Now my old world is gone for dead!" Hugh cried, devastated.

Mik began crying himself due to the graveness of the situation.

"Couldn't we at least do something?" he asked.

"I... I-I... I just don't know!" Melvyn cried, not knowing what to do.

"Jeff and the others can't help us! Through no fault of their own, of course—but really, Mik does raise up a good point here... WHAT DO WE DO???" Hugh yelled existentially.

"Didn't you hear me? I DON'T KNOW!!! I just don't know..." Melvyn whined. Hugh proceeded to stand up. The other two did as well.

With Hugh's hands holding and locking on to Melvyn's left hand and Mik's right hand, Hugh sniffed and tried his hardest to regain his composure.

"Well... what I do know is that... fellas... we just have to do the best we can if we're gonna live here..." Hugh said, tears streaming down his face.

The last few verses of Make Your Own Kind of Music ended, and eventually the song ended altogether.

#electric light orchestra #hugh mcdowell #melvyn gale #mik kaminski #pilot hugh & co.

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historyhermann · 1 year

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An Alternative to the Studio System?: Indie Animation Forges Ahead [Part 3]

youtube

continued from part 2. Split because Tumblr claimed there was an error in the post.

Just as exciting are the shows by Black creators. I've mentioned a few in this post already, including Creative Theory, Brandon Wright, Wisdom Nunn, Lucha Vandross, Nya, and Pia. For one, there's a 2D animated series named Jumbie, produced by a small studio in Trinidad and Tobago, GemGfx Animation Studios. Originally scheduled for release in February of this year, the Jumbie pilot was delayed to February 2023, because the studio was working on a music video for "A Better Tomorrow", a song by Mark Loquan, featuring Terri Lyons, which came out in April. With that, Jumbie is going forward.

Reprinted from Pop Culture Maniacs, my History Hermann blog, and Wayback Machine. This was the eleventh article I wrote for Pop Culture Maniacs. This post was originally published on July 15, 2022.

In addition, there is an animated hiphop musical entitled Battu, which is scheduled to become an animated series on Cartoon Network. The latter has also picked up a show drawing from Nigerian culture entitled Iyanu: Child of Wonder to be overseen by a Black-owned animation studio, Lion Forge Animation. Before Disney Branded Television was headed by Ayo Davis, a Black woman, it agreed to pick up Iwájú. The latter is an Africanfuturist series set in Lagos, Nigeria. Disney is co-producing it with Kugali Media, a Pan-African entertainment company.

There are many other Black indie creators. There's Vampire Nwt's suspense mystery show entitled Blackwater Creek. It has queer Afro-Latine leads named after magic, monsters, and fruits! Even more exciting is Captain Zero. It is an action drama about a social media-obsessed superhero named Captain Zero who "must find the cause of his depression-fueled blackouts in order to save his city and himself." The series is created by a Black non-binary illustrator, filmmaker, and writer, Lamard Cher-Aimé. It is produced by a Black-owned animation company, Cutting Edge Animation.

This animated series tackles "mental health in the Black community, identity," according to Cher-Aimé. Currently, five seasons, 4 specials, and a feature film for Captain Zero are planned. The show's GoFundMe states that with enough money it can turn the show into a reality. The show, and another produced by Cutting Edge Animation, Space Friends, are often promoted by Cher-Aimé. They often ask their followers to name show characters, and showcase series art and related merchandise. Interviews, Q&As, and more further pull in potential viewers on the show's YouTube channel.

Recently, a short five-minute film entitled "Captain Zero: Into The Abyss", funded in part by Chromatic Black's Ida B. Wells fund, aired. It stars the Black trans actress Angelica Ross, who is the film's executive producer. The film focuses on a therapy session of Xerxes Hughes, aka Captain Zero, with Dr. Niobe (voiced by Ross). It was posted on the show's YouTube channel. It is within a video that is about 1 hour, 50 minute video, complete with mental health professionals, Ross, Cher-Aimé, and others talked about the film, Black representation in animation and comics, mental health, and many other topics.

These series prove what Ashley Nichols said: that "anyone can tell an amazing story." It also seems to prove that people with vision and passion can make "god tier animation". Amazing animation doesn't always need a "studio behind it with a million dollars." There is no clear answer for making indie animation viable. After all, people can still steal content of an indie animation and profit off it.

Even so, some have supported waiting longer for series to come to fruition, giving those producing it more time to rest, polish their ideas, and make the shows better. Furthermore, there is no doubt that corporate media fails to represent many aspects of society, with indie animation making cooler content despite the need for funds. There are the continual challenges of people not taking animation seriously.

Unsurprisingly, there have been calls for a website for indie animated series which works like Webtoon. The Animation for Adults site proposed an awards show just for indie animation. Creator Nation promoted a Discord server for indie creators, indie animated shows, and indie comics. Some noted news of Netflix's war with its animation department by letting go many of its animation employees. Many creators responded sharing their series or pilots in the process. It has led more toward indie animation.

Creators have seen indie animation as the way to go. Some said that creators should do promos for other indie animations or said that now is the most important time to support, and follow, indie projects. This is coupled with the realization (and recognition) that those in the animation industry don't have stable jobs.

Then, there's Project City, created by Rad Sechrist, well-known as the showrunner of Kipo and the Age of Wonderbeasts. In February, I argued that Project City has "the potential to expand the indie animation space beyond...often crowdfunded series on YouTube". I stated that it allows for "more independence for creators in the series, movies, music, or shows they create." While it is amazing that Sechrist is funding, and creating, his next film (The Brave War), co-created with Andra Gunter and Daniel Rojas, independently, progress on the platform is somewhat slow.

There was lukewarm reception to his idea that people who buy shares in a project "have the right to make and sell merch" but have to "drop profits back into our system that distributes to all IP owners". Some about the potential use of NFTs, which Sechrist realized was a good point. He is strongly against NFTs and for good reason. Others called it "iffy", said the execution could be tricky, or worried it could set a bad precedent. On the other hand, there were those more receptive to Sechrist's idea.

Project City now emphasizes its role as an animation school, including 15-minute lectures on various topics, and is now defined as a "project based platform for learning how to create animation." Back in March, Sechrist said they are continuing with F-IP (fractional IP), where people could buy shares of an IP, but are not using Blockchain or NFT, and stated they would be launching it within the next month. That did not happen. The idea continues to be developed. A tweet from the project's account used the #FIP hashtag on June 24. But, there haven't been many more updates beyond that, as Sechrist last mentioned it in a tweet on January 7.

On the other hand, on June 18, Sechrist said that they have been wanting to take steps toward making Project City "a streaming platform of creators learning and sharing their process/knowledge." He added that Project City takes "no ownership of IP people post". Anyone can post and delete any video they have posted. In addition, he said they were considering allowing people to post 1 minute clips on the site. Ultimately, Project City may be part of what Avara describes, giving people a platform who wouldn't have it "in the traditional studio setting". More fundamentally, it is part of allowing creators to share stories on their own terms.

#jumbie #black animation #Youtube #kipo #rad sechrist #indie animation #project city #daniel rojas #the will of monsters

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rwbyvein · 2 years

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Firen Lhain: Chapter 1110: Rent: Part II / III

They walked along the hangar in Atlantis to Taj practically drooling over the airship. "Welcome back!"

"Are you not going to ask how it went?" Ciel asked.

"You're all alive, and I'm assuming you killed the dragon."

"We did." Ciel simply stated.

"It was Yangin'." Yang stated.

"Yang got super powers!" Nora exclaimed.

"I mean?" Taj asked, and paused, "You're already kind of super-powery."

"I got the power of angry!" Yang excitedly stated.

"I... thought you already had that power?"

"Oh, even more angry." Yang proudly stated.

"You... got even angrier?.." Taj asked.

"I feel we are not making any progress." Weiss simply stated, "A being akin to the Black Hart has blessed her."

"With being angry?" Taj asked.

"Yangry." Yang proudly said.

"And... what does it do?" Taj asked, and Yang just shrugged.

"Probably kicks in when I'm Yangry."

"He described it as the 'Blessing of his Rage.'" Ciel stated.

"And then she was all yellow glowy." Ruby added, and Yang proudly nodded.

Jaune then placed her hand at the base of Weiss's back and gently pushed her forward. Weiss took a couple steps forward before standing up properly. "I, er, received my own blessing, of sorts."

"Wait, what?" Yang nervously asked, and Weiss turned towards her, taking a moment to look her in the eyes.

"I did not want to diminish your accomplishments." Weiss teppidly said to her.

"I, uh, guess?" Yang nervously asked, before finding herself being pushed forward by Penthesilea. She found herself wrapping her arms around Weiss, and the two simply got lost in the moment. Weiss then kissed her on the cheek. "Mmm." Yang voiced.

"You guys must be tired from for you long trip." Taj eagerly said, "And now we have actual racks." He then looked at Jaune and paused.

"Yeah... yeah..." Jaune tired sighed.

"I did get a nice matress, though." Taj added, and waved them towards the open rear ramp. "Come on, come on."

"He's like a kid with a new toy." Ilia added, and paused, only to find Jaune picking her up to carry her like a princess.

"Why does she get carried?" Ruby asked, only to find herself being picked up by Penthesilea.

"Honestly?" Jaune asked. "You're too happy."

"I can be less happy!" Ruby replied, only to have Penthesilea kiss her on the cheek and giggle.

"Wait!" they heard shouted, and turned around to see Taiyang. "Did you think you could get away without a group hug?!"

"You know what?" Yang asked, "Yeah." She then looked at Qrow and then Raven, "Wait, is she?" she asked, and trailed off, "Uh... nevermind. Let's do this."

* * *

The group hug broke up, and they turned back to the airship. Blake then turned to Hugh and the White Knights, "You can come inside, you know?"

"Pardon?" Hugh asked.

"We have plenty of room." Weiss stated.

* * *

Hugh and the White Knights stepped into the spacious cargo comparment as the gate closed behind them.

"Feel free to get comfortable." Penthesilea said, and Hugh just stood there without reply.

* * *

Ruby and Weiss shared a bunk. Nora and Ren another. Blake and Yang the third. Penthesilea and Ciel in the fourth. This left Jaune and Ilia cuddled together on the floor, Jaune's armour piled on the ground beside them with a blanket over top of them. Neo sat in the co-pilot seat in her Atlasian uniform. "You don't want to take a nap?"

Neo held up a sign, 'I've done far worse.'

"Company's always nice." Taj replied.

* * *

Yang stretched as she stumbled out of the bunk room and into the back of the cabin. "Still kind of cramped, but really swank."

"Up a little early?" Taj asked.

"Feeling a little restless. Hey, Neo?" she asked, and Neo looked at her curiously, "Want to help me with a prank?" Neo simply looked at her. "Change into a little me and go and cuddle up with Blake?"

Neo looked at her for a moment before standing up, her image turning to a miniaturized version of Yang. Yang nodded before turning to the back, walking through the kitchenette. She paused to stare at Jaune and Ilia for a moment. She then walked back into the much wider cargo compartment. "Yo." she said to Hugh.

"M'Lady?" Hugh formally asked.

"Aw, man, you can cut out with the Lord and Lady stuff." Yang said. "None of us are really comfortable with all it. Except maybe Weiss. She's used to having servants and whatnot."

"I am terribly sorry." Hugh replied, "I was not doing it out of formality, but out of... I'm not sure what to call the emotion."

"Yeah... I get that way a lot..." Yang said. "Let's keep it simple, good feeling or bad?"

"Good." Hugh stated. "Devotion, perhaps?"

"I guess that's cool." Yang hesitantly stated, "If you want to be devoted and all."

"I do."

"That's cool, but we're all kind of chill."

"You are uncountable greatness."

"Wait, what?" a confused Yang asked.

"You have accomplished more than most armies." Hugh continued with reverence. "You walk moral quagmires without being sullied, while still retaining tremendous humility. I scarely believe I am worthy of it."

"What?" Yang asked, "You've done everything we've asked, even, you know, dropping into areas completely surrounded by Grimm. Like, seriously, you, taking on the Griffins was like epic."

"I... thank you for the praise." he nervously stated, "Though, still doubt if I am worthy of it."

"Shit, man." Yang said, "I mean shoot, man... wait... that doesn't sound good. I mean, anyone willing to drop with us into an area filled with Grimm is worthy of it."

"Even if that is how I was made?" Hugh asked.

"I was made Yangry." Yang replied, "Jaune had his antlers. Weiss was born a Schnee. None of us had a choice of where we were, but end of the day, we fight to protect people. Is that what you do?"

Hugh looked turned away "I was made to have these values, to sacrifice my life for the people of Atlas."

"Nah." Yang said, and Hugh turned to look at her, "We aren't asking you to sacrifice." she said, and a pregnant pause followed, "We're asking you to risk it. We want the same thing from you that we want from ourselves."

"Which is?" Hugh asked.

"To try and come back alive." Yang said, and stretched before turning away, "And now my prank is probably complete."

"Your prank?" Hugh asked, and Yang turned to look at him.

"Oh, Blake can get a bit handsy when she's sleepy." Yang said with a wide grin.

* * *

Yang turned into the bunk section, hearing a chattering. Neo jumped from the bunk and glared at Yang. Yang just smiled at her. "Didn't say she was the one getting pranked." Neo glared at her for a few moments before developing a wicked smile. "Now, why don't you help me get Weiss up, so we can get some coffee?" Neo looked at her for a moment before nodding.

* * *

Ruby awoke just enough to feel Weiss being gently pulled away from her. "No!" she exclaimed, and wrapped her arms and legs tighter around her. "This is my emotional support snow angel!"

"I am trapped between a rose and a hard place." Weiss quipped.

"We need her to make coffee." Yang said, and Ruby let go. Weiss found herself rapidly pulled into Yang's bust. While she had lost the warmth of her bunk, she was pulled into a warm embrace.

"Is this truly what you think of me?" Weiss mumbled into Yang's bust.

"Alright, how about this, you get up to make coffee, and I carry you like a princess?"

Weiss thought for a few moments as she stared up into Yang's eyes as she looked over her bust, before nodding her head into Yang's cleavage.

* * *

Jaune's eyes opened up as she smelt the coffee. He then looked down to see Ilia looking up at him. He then looked over to see Ruby sitting on the couches. "On one hand I lost my emotional support snow angel, on the other, she's making coffee, and she makes REALLY GOOD coffee." Ruby then pulled her cloak about herself. Neo then turned into a mini Ruby, doing the same.

"You know it's not a real cape?" Ilia asked, and Neo just pulled the cape's hood over her head.

Weiss appeared around the corner being carried like a princess by Yang. "Oh, good, you are all awake." she said. Neo's outfit shattered like a mirror and she eagerly looked at her. "Almost." Weiss stated, "If you could wake the others?"

* * *

Taj sipped his coffee with joy, while the remainder were drinking theirs on the couches of the passenger compartment.

"I suppose this is a good time?" Jaune asked, "We have enough to reno the castle. The first step will add actual rooms to the turret. The garden will have a hot tub and summer kitchen and a place for sparring. The hot tub will require swim suits." he said, looking Nora in the eyes, whom simply smiled brightly at him. "We will get a giant common bath in the undercroft."

"Is that not Neopolitan's purview?" Weiss asked, and Neo eagerly nodded. "Pardon, but are you qualified?"

Neo played with her scroll for a few moments before showing Weiss an Atlasian and a Mistral bathhouse maintenance certificate.

"Pardon, but are those real?" Weiss asked. Neo then flipped through her scroll before showing Weiss a picture of Neo in class, taking notes.

"You went to class?" Ruby asked. Neo played with her scroll before showing Ruby a picture of an incredibly sexy teacher. Neo then changed her outfit to look like hers and developed a wicked smile.

Ciel then raised her hand, "And where do the tower's residents stay in the meantime?"

Jaune then gestured to the starboard bow, where the bunks were. "Next time Winter comes, we can give her a proper room."

"This is fucking awesome." Yang stated, "Fricken awesome? Fudging awesome?"

"I am curious?" Ciel asked.

"Yeah?" Yang asked.

"I have noticed you pausing midspeech to use alternative language."

"Oh?" Yang asked, "You know, kids aren't suppose to swear, and I was like so happy to be an adult and indulged, you know, but you know?" She asked, and Ciel just looked eagerly at her, "Swearing is childish."

"Indeed." Ciel stated, "I understand the paradox you face."

#rwby #firen lhain #faunus au #arc-en-ciel

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