#so in addition to losing M as a friend from that scenario I also lost two other friends. I lost 3 friends just from trying to date someone | Explore Tumblr Posts and Blogs

its-deputy-caleb · 3 years

Note

If you're feeling up to writing a bit of Mikey, could I please request him being an asshat to everyone and being told off by his S/O after he asks Jack if he wants to earn a dollar?

(You know the part where he says to ask Arthur about the stick up his butt?)

He's such a dickhead and I find myself telling the screen off when he does it! 😂

His S/O giving him a slap and a bollocking after he kicks Cain, then they fuss over Cain and force Micah to make friends with him.

I dunno, it's up to you 😂 You could write any scenario you want, I'll still love it 😘😘

i am always up to writing for a bit of mikey (that nickname is so cute) but ngl i had no idea how to write this or put this together. I watched the clips again so i could get it accurate but i changed it bc i didn't know if u wanted a happy ending or not but i hope i delivered <33 also u asked for either and i gave u both :)

------------------------

Clemens Point was a strange place with even stranger people. After leaving valentine in a hurry it seems the entire gang was on edge and ready to blow like a stick of dynamite. It seems having to act like upstanding heartfelt citizens to the Grays and the Braithwaites has meant everyone is that aggravated and pent up.

On more than one occasion you’d seen Sadie lose it when Pearson got to pushy with chores and it seems Abigail and John couldn’t stand to have a normal conversation for five minutes before one of them broke. It wasn’t much better with Dutch and Hosea who were constantly disagreeing on the right moves for the gang, although they were much more civil about it.

You did your best to keep out of everyone’s way, to avoid the confrontation but knowing your luck you’d end up getting involved one way or another.

You were returning to camp one sweltering hot afternoon with Sadie after you finished collecting the gang’s weekly stock from the general store. You were only half listening to the hustle around the camp as you were too busy listening to Sadie tell you all about Pearson’s dear aunt Cathy. You stepped off the wagon and headed to the back to start unloading some of the supplies when the sound of Micah’s voice could be heard talking to Jack.

“How’d ya like to earn a dollar?”

His voice with thick with malice as he hunched over the wooden table. In Micah’s hands was a silver nickel that he fiddled with between his fingers, much like you’d seen of him do with his knife. Your eyes found Jack who was almost reluctant to get anywhere near the man who you knew scared him. However, being the innocent child that he was his eyes lit up at the sight of something shiny.

“A dollar? Sure.”

You carried the heavy bag of potatoes over to Pearson’s wagon as you went back for another round of supplies but you kept the boy in the corner of your eye.

“Well…go on up to old Arthur Morgan, ask him about the pole he’s got stuck up his ass and I’ll give ya a dollar.”

Micah’s face lit up in a smirk, his accent thick and his typical evil giggle falling from his mouth. He sat back on the chair, satisfied at the mischief he’s caused.

Before you could get anywhere Jack had run off to where Arthur was sitting in his tent, reading over a letter. You placed another round of ammunition into Strauss’ wagon, dropping it hastily and running as you saw Arthur walk right up to Micah with a murderous look in his eye.

“I’ll give you a dollar if you shut your—“

Arthur didn’t get to finish his insult before you stepped in front of him with a soft hand on his shoulder. You gave him a soft smile and a nod, quietly saying to your dear friend that you’d handle this.

With that you turned with your own look of anger directed to Micah. Everyone knew you loved him but they also knew you didn’t hesitate to call him out and get him to behave when you had to.

“Micah leave the damn boy alone!”

He scoffed like he wasn’t offended you didn’t defend him and instead chose to call him out. Micah’s hands came up in his signal of fake defeat as he slowly backed away from his place at the table, acting as if he was nothing more than the innocent bystander and not the one who nearly ended up on the ground with a broken nose for starting it.

You watched as Micah lingered around the edge of the camp, his eyes trained to yours as he lit a cigarette but you ignored him. Instead you walked over to Jack, smiling softly and taking his hand to lead him to the river’s edge.

“Common, why don’t we go see if we can find any beautiful rock on the sand, hmm? I’m sure your mother would love such a beautiful gift.”

Of course, it wasn’t more than a few days later when you ran into trouble again with Micah. You’d spent your time ignoring him mostly, instead choosing to go hunting with Charles and Arthur, practice your throwing knives with Javier and help teach Jack to read. You knew how badly it pissed Micah off to do things without him but he needed to understand that there was a way to treat people, especially with people you considered family.

You rolled up your sleeves, using your forearm to wipe the sweat from your forehead as you picked up the knife and started cutting carrots and potatoes for tonights stew.

“Are you a good boy? Yes you are! The best boy”

Your head came up to notice bill sitting against the log by the campfire, scratching under Cain’s chin and giving the energetic dog pats along the back. You couldn’t help but smile at the new addition to the gang and how happy it made you to see Bill less stressed. It seemed that having Cain made everyone feel more caring and loving.

All except Micah.

“You’re the fool that feed’s him Marion. He ain’t nothing more than a filthy mongrel and an extra mouth to feed.”

Micah had stood from his place on the opposite side of the campfire to antagonise Bill. A frustrated noise leaves you as you slam the knife down on the wooden bench, ready to storm over there and chew Micah’s ear off. You take a step forward only for Miss Grimshaw, who was working next to you, to grab your arm and stop you before you get any further.

“There is a time and a place dear, don’t make it worse.”

Of course you knew Susan was just trying to keep another argument from happening but you push past her when you see Micah inching towards Cain who had left his spot at Bill’s feet to hide by a wagon. In a split second decision you pick the knife you’re cooking with and use it like a throwing knife to get his attention. The knife swings through the air, not getting near anyone, it wasn’t like you actually wanted to stab Micah no matter how badly he could get on your nerves and watched as it got wedged into the tree behind him.

Micah’s head shot up, his foot moving away from Cain and stared dumbfounded and shocked, unused to seeing you so skilfully throw a knife but your practices paid off. You walked right into his personal space, taping your finger against his chest.

“Don’t. You. Dare”

Micah’s first response was to try and sweet-talk his way out of it like he always does but you were in no mood to deal with his slyness.

“Dare to do what sweetheart? Common now… weren’t gonna do nothin—“

Your hand came to give Micah a crisp slap across the cheek, apart of you was shocked that you’d even do such a thing but the other half of you was furious.

“Don’t underestimate for a minute that I won’t dump you right now and throw you out of camp Micah. I’m not some stranger you can sweet-talk when you get in trouble. I swear, if I see you go anywhere near Cain the knife isn’t going to hit the tree next time.”

Micah’s eyebrows shoot up in shock as you lecture him in front of almost the entire gang. Even Dutch put his book down when he heard your slap. He was lost for words, truely, having now other thought as he watched you walk away back to preparing tonights stew. He didn’t move from his place until he heard you whistle for Cain to sit by your feet, where he went and meandered off into the forest to give you space. All he knew was that he must have fucked up bad if you threatened to leave him.

A few hours later you’d managed to calm down, watching the sunset after Ms Grimshaw gave you the rest of the night off to relax at how pent up you were. Now sitting here you couldn’t help but feel like you may have over reacted but Micah had pushed your buttons one too many times and if Micah was going to listen to anyone it would be you. You let out a soft but hearty sigh as the tension and stress from your shoulders left with your breath. Your body relaxed against the tree and you watched the sun gently dip below the horizon.

It was well and truely dark before you heard the rustling of grass and the thud of someone sitting next to you. You thought it may have been Arthur coming to check on you but that thought died when arms wrapped around your waist and you felt Micah rest his chin on your shoulder, his stringy hair tickling your face at the gentle breeze.

“…M’ sorry…”

A very quiet and forced apology was pulled from Micah as he cuddled into you, mumbling it into your shoulder at the pain of actually having to apologise.

“Sorry won’t cut it Micah. You have to stop treating people that I care about— people that are family better.”

Micah sighs, the defeated, tired one that shows he’s willing to listen because no matter how badly he stirs up trouble, the thought of losing you is enough to have him turn his mind around.

“I know…gonna make it up to ya I promise.”

A soft and very cautious kiss is placed on your shoulder with Micah knowing he’s still not forgiven by you yet.

“You’re damn well gonna make it up to me. Firstly you’re apologising to Jack first thing tomorrow and secondly you need to pull your weight for this gang— and no I’m not talking about robbing another coach. To start you can sit on guard duty with me and you can wash my clothes.”

“I’ll just buy you new clothes”

You give Micah a death glare as you tilt your head to look at him. Instantly his teasing smirk leaves and his arms come to wrap tighter around your body, resting his hands on your stomach and intertwining your fingers.

“Alright, alright… guard duty ain’t so bad.”

You sit together for a while in a comfortable silence. All the energy from today had left you and you no longer had it in you to keep arguing. You’d hold Micah to his promise to do better but for now you leant back into his embrace and rested your head against his.

“Can I at least sleep in the tent tonight?”

You smiled softly as you hummed in contemplation just to tease him. Micah hadn’t come to sleep in your shared tent since the day he messed with Jack and both of you had missed each other despite the frustration and anger you had.

“Hmm, we’ll see.”

Micah thinks you’ve said no, panicking internally but is stopped when you turn your head and place a soft kiss to his cheek over the mark from where you’d slapped him not so long ago. It wasn’t the kiss that he wanted but he still needed to make it up to you before you gave him what he wanted.

You reached a soft hand up behind you, cradling his head and rubbing your thumb over his sore cheek.

“Is your cheek okay?”

Micah let out a gravelly noise, deep from his chest as he leaned into your hand.

“Ain’t gotta worry sweetheart, I’ve survived much worse”

You don’t get to reply when a tentative and cautious Cain makes his way over to the two of you. You pat your leg and he curls up beside you with his head resting on your leg and his tail thumbing, relaxed and happy.

Micah on the other hand was not relaxed or happy as he tensed up and moved away from the dog and you. If it wasn’t for your hand holding the back of his head he probably would’ve jumped away.

“Micah Cain isn’t going to hurt you, he just wants attention like you. See? No need to be afraid.”

To prove your point you reach a hand out and gently brush over his short, grey fur, watching as he perks up.

“I ain’t afraid!”

You would’ve believed him if you didn’t catch the waver in his voice but you knew. You knew after seeing him be spooked by the animal more than once around camp.

The hand that was still intertwined with his gently guided his hand pat Cain, letting him slowly get comfortable to him.

It took some time but finally Micah had gotten used to Cain enough to realise he was clearly not a threat. At some point Cain had moved over to Micah’s side, resting beside him as the night became later.

A yawn left you and you slowly sank into Micah’s embrace, your eyelids falling shut as you dozed, clearly exhausted.

Holding Micah to his promise was a job for tomorrow, but for now you let yourself fall asleep in his arms, the tent be damned.

#in the video micah is totally scared of cain #the man is terrified lmao #im also addicted to the nickname mikey now #adroable #and ignore the errors i have not edited this #micah bell x reader #micah bell imagine #micah bell #red dead redemption 2 #rdr2

88 notes · View notes

tuesdayintheservantshall · 3 years

Text

I actually quite enjoy A/B/O, but as I said once before most of the extant A/B/O Thomas stories don’t entirely feel like Thomas stories to me (though I adored the bit in Dementian’s fic with him crafting a story around Edward, that was absolutely genius).

SO here are some A/B/O Thomas-and-others plot bunnies I’ve thought of since first encountering the idea on AO3 and going “hm, this isn’t how I would do it... how would I do it?”

1a. Alpha Thomas/Beta Richard (with male and female still existing as relevant genders and male homosexuality still illegal). Thomas worries that Richard will expect/want him to act a certain way because he’s an alpha, Richard reassures him that that’s not what he’s after, Richard worries that Thomas won’t be happy with a beta because heat/rut/etc stuff and Thomas reassures him he doesn’t care, happy happy smooching. Communication, insecurity, past hurts, comfort.

1b. or MAYBE them as an Alpha/Beta or other nonstandard pairing in a world where m/m is a lesser taboo than in real life and canon but where there also exists a taboo against beta/alpha etc pairings such that Richard at least would definitely lose his job if either or both taboo elements of his orientation were revealed, with Thomas having a “well, safer than some people get at least” situation of partial acceptance at the Abbey similar to what he has in canon. But the same general emotional plot of “will my dynamic/the way my dynamic manifests work for you?”

2. A very young omega goes into their first heat unexpectedly (and early) in the Abbey. Thomas, as an alpha4alpha, would hypothetically be able to be present thus providing soothing alpha hormones, without risking a loss of self-control in response to the heat hormones. It’s a perfect solution - except that it requires officially acknowledging what he is and treating it, however temporarily, as something beyond a shameful secret ailment. Difficulties on many sides, possibly including that officially revealing this about Thomas will put him in danger. (Male and female may or may not exist as relevant genders here.)

3. In addition to his sight, Edward Courtenay has lost his sense of smell. He doesn’t know Thomas is the “wrong” gender to be interested in and he keeps doing things that might be flirting... should Thomas tell him? When should he tell him? How should he tell him?

4. OR smell-and-sight-blinded omega (or alpha) male Edward does not know that it is an alpha (or omega) he is touching the knee of/getting so close to/etc, and so Thomas knows it means nothing, and he probably would stop and be all appropriate if he knew and Thomas should tell him but! He’ll tell him any day now, he will. (In this scenario I see male and female as being relevant genders, the other reason besides class that they wouldn’t be a respectable match, but not an illegal taboo, or else Thomas would put a stop to things for both their safety. That does pull it a bit away from feeling like a Thomas story to me, but I think it could be made to work.)

5. Omega male Jimmy is scornful of the beta women at the Abbey (as if he’d ever settle for a beta!), and also the older omega man who is somehow still working as a valet instead of being mated by now. Yes, alpha women are somewhat rare, making it harder to meet someone suitable, but it’s as if Mr Barrow didn’t even try. He was clearly good looking enough to catch a mate (before spinsterhood caught up with him, anyway). Who would let themselves waste away like that? Canon proceeds accordingly, but with a different legal situation: the law Thomas broke would be one designed around protecting omegas’ virtue rather than about homosexuality, and whether the judge would see another omega as capable of breaking such a law would be a tossup. Thomas being, at 28 or so, a spinster, would work against him here. Male and female exist as at least somewhat relevant genders here simply because to me maleness is relevant to both their characters and if I were to switch that around I would just want to do a regular genderswap. However gender roles would still be different, and I think that might well affect exactly what goes down at the Thirsk fair - I have no solid ideas as to what that would look like though other than “probably somewhat different”. This story could end when they agree to be friends OR PERHAPS it could continue on and answer the question of whether Jimmy actually goes and finds an alpha female mate or whether as time goes on and he gets nearer and nearer to spinsterhood himself he finds himself more and more hesitant about the whole thing. I mean, he’s still got a little time right? He doesn’t have to find a mate this instant... not that he doesn’t want to be mated of course he does... of course he does, right? But maybe spinsterhood doesn’t sound so bad either if he spends it next to Mr. Barrow...

6. Omega male Jimmy is proud and scornful but also insecure, because there’s a mix of attitudes and narratives around omega males. When alpha male Thomas kisses him (wide awake dammit) it’s the ultimate betrayal - he thought he’d met an alpha male who respected him despite his omega status, but apparently he had it all wrong and Mr. Barrow is the worst of the lot who thinks “omega male” means (jumble of “basically a woman” “a woman but less respectable” “a man/woman hybrid slut who’s desperate to roll over for anyone” - all things he’s heard many a time but no one’s ever gone so far as to act on til now). Since Thomas approaches differently than in canon (which I do think I can justify because being an alpha he would recognize the badness of kissing an omega in his sleep because the social narrative would be there), I’m thinking I would also cut the Alfred interruption, meaning that no one knows why Jimmy suddenly hates Thomas when they were all buddy-buddy before. O’Brien does a lot of rumor spreading about the situation of course, but without her coming so close to completely destroying him Thomas does not think to use the strongest weapon he has against her, and they continue to do fight it out horribly. Eventually Thirsk or something else like Thirsk happens, prompting Jimmy to come talk to Thomas, and they actually talk it out. After “yes you should have run” Jimmy probably says something like “you still don’t get it! Being an omega doesn’t make me a woman!” And Thomas replies that he knows it doesn’t, he doesn’t like women. He didn’t save Jimmy because he thinks of him as a woman, or even because he’s an omega, he saved him because (embarrassed look downwards) “well I’m. I’m very fond of you.” trailing into near inaudibility at the end. (Then we get “never give you what you want” and friends and an open ending that could be gen or preslash.)

#a/b/o #omegaverse #plot bunnies #(my plot bunnies are always free to a good home btw in case anyone is inspired by my very niche ideas)#jimmy kent #thommy #Barris #courtbarrow #ALRIGHT I WILL BE BRAVE #and put this in the tags #Thomas Barrow #Edward Courtenay #Richard Ellis

18 notes · View notes

wistfulthiinking · 3 years

Text

working hard to get my fill, everybody wants a thrill. paying anything to roll the dice just one more time. some will win, some will lose. some were born to sing the blues. oh, the movie never ends. it goes on and on, and on, and on. don't stop believin' -- hold on to that feeling.

how long has your character been in WASHINGTON?

nearing on three years. like many others within the city, he made his way across the country upon graduation from high school. as he is under the spell of the magic that hangs over washington, finn’s memory is programmed to believe that he grew up in franklin, tennessee. raised by a single mother that worked two jobs to keep their tiny family afloat, finn always found his solace in football. luckily enough for him, he was a natural talent and all too soon became something of a star athlete in the state, his name is familiar even in nearby Nashville.

what is your character’s JOB?

finn is unemployed at the moment and is solely a student at george washington university. more importantly, however, he is the quarterback of the george washington colonials football team. it was never lost on him that he owed football a great deal -- it wasn’t as if he’d gotten a scholarship to college based on his grades or academic ability. it just begins to feel a bit difficult to hold onto that scholarship and quarterback role when he’s so very close to failing all of his classes. finn had made the choice to study business based solely on the idea that he could become a mega-rich ceo someday, giving his future family a life that contrasted so severely from his own. plus, he wanted to pay his mom back -- the woman was nothing short of a saint and she deserved the best that the world had to offer, in finn’s eyes. despite the best of intentions, it seemed life was laughing squarely in the face of his plans.

where has your character been PULLED from in their fandom?

the end of season four, the capital-e end for finn. it was all too tragic, the swift and untimely end of a man who was just beginning to find himself. pieces of his alternate self linger in his mind, that once drew him towards the siren’s song of music city. pieces that make him question his idea to study business and plant a desire towards music or teaching.

has any MAGIC affected your character?

yes, but the magic grows increasingly weaker as the clock continues to tick. he’s now older than he grew to be in his alternative life and it seems that with each passing day -- each extension of his life that he’s been miraculously gifted, doors to that life begin to unlock. the clues are subtle, faint tickling upon his brain when he’s met with something that would have been significant to the finn hudson of lima, ohio. the man has been singing in the shower for as long as he could talk, his soul lightening and growing wings as his notes swelled and his range expanded. the way he would sneak to concerts in nashville and sing his lungs out in the crowd. but all of this was his secret as tennessee’s finn hudson never had the embrace of the new directions to bring him out of his musically repressed shell. as the responsibility of adult life looms over him in the next few years, he feels himself less drawn to business and more drawn to becoming a teacher. certainly less financially secure, this intense desire shocks him every single time it crashes over his body like a wave. it’s an instinct, something visceral that tells him teaching is his calling -- that he would be good, maybe even great as an educator though he’d never given the career path a single thought before. then these puzzle pieces grow increasingly obscure when the mere sight of a gold colored star makes the hair on the back of his neck stand up and sends tingles down his spine. he has learned to mostly ignore that as it’s just too odd to have any real meaning -- right? then comes the things he can’t ignore, the things that scare him right down to the bone. these include the way his hands shake and sweat beads on his forehead when he gets behind the wheel of a car, the pause he gives when he’s about to throw back a gulp of alcohol or the cringe when the liquid hits his tongue, the two are almost always connected. in finn’s mind, it reads like a premonition -- that he’s doomed to die in a drunk driving related vehicle accident. it’s never occurred to him that it has already come true in some alternative reality. but it wouldn’t, would it? other dimensions and past lives aren’t real. not to finn hudson and he stuffs the fear back down into the deep recesses of his mind until he’s gripped by the horror when they inevitably resurface.

is there any ADDITIONAL INFORMATION about your character?

finn is my little baby love. yes, he’s a dumbass who has hurt people, but i think he’s always at least attempted to redeem himself. he deserves a good life, a long one and i want to give him that here to the best of my ability. all around, he has a huge and beautiful heart.

also i’m sorry for making finn freakin’ hudson so dark at moments in this intro. :) and i can’t wait for everything to come crashing down around him when the magic wears off. woo.

are there any wanted CONNECTIONS?

FRIEND GROUP ( open to m/f/nb ): finn thrives on friendship and, of course, he’s a college quarterback -- he’s gotta be at least somewhat popular. give me all the friendships !

FRIEND(S) WITH BENEFITS ( open to f/nb/m ): i love the drama of a fwb scenario just to see where it goes. this can also be related to the friend group wanted connection as well !

EXES ( open to f/nb/m ): give me ex-partner drama. i crave it.

HIS MOOSE [muse] ( open to f/nb ): ofc, bless my finchel lovin’ heart, my mans needs someone he absolutely adores to help him embrace his inner music lover and for him to learn to adore the things about himself that he despises. this boy needs guidance or he just can’t get it right.

#hw: intro #death tw #car accident tw #alcohol tw #injury tw #dead body tw #tw birdies deep despair over cory monteith #also dont stop believin is synonymous w finn hudson dont @ me

1 note · View note

gemraldkid · 4 years

Text

Analysis and speculation on Bête Noire

Spoilers for Undertale and Glitchtale. Undertale by Toby Fox and Glitchtale by @camilaart

You thought I was joking? Nope. Here it is: a mix of canon, headcanon, and speculation.

Of all the characters that people are obsessing over right now (Ronan, Jessica, Gaster, Rave, the prequel wizards), I choose to put all of my energy into making some sense of the one character that continuously reminds us that we should hate them. I could be thinking about the struggles of anyone else. I could be worried for Chara or Asriel or Asgore (he’s not dead until he starts turning to dust), but nooooo. This is what occupies my thoughts about this series.

This is basically most of my headcanon relating to Betty. I wanted to put these thoughts out there before the new episode since... well, anything could happen.

Betty’s probably gonna mostly die from hate and stuff.

Imagine if we were actually supposed to end up feeling bad for this character? Right...

You shouldn’t take everything I say here as facts.’m pretty sure I made it clear enough which parts are speculation with the amazing power of verb tenses.

I’m open to corrections about currently available facts that I got wrong.

Glitchtale is a series that I’ve greatly enjoyed watching. I believe that it is one of the finest things to come out of the Undertale fandom. It is a testament to how good a fanfiction can be.

One thing that I find particularly praiseworthy is the way OCs are handled. They manage expand on the world without hogging the spotlight for too long. There’s a good balance between introducing new elements without ever forgetting about the old ones.

Of course, among many of the new characters, one in particular stands out: the current antagonist of Season 2, Bête Noire or “Betty”.

Betty is the character I have been the most fascinated with so far. She’s been a mystery to many ever since the punch to the gut that was the ending of “Dust”.

What follows is a look into the way that I perceive Bête Noire. I am not necessarily dead-set on a single possibility. While my views are backed up by certain facts, I acknowledge that they are also based on and influenced by my personal wishes for this character. Therefore, my words should be taken with a healthy amount of salt.

Betty was first introduced to us as an innocent 13 year-old girl, barely a year older than Frisk, physically. She was a shy, happy-go-lucky kid who became friends with Frisk after the latter saved her life from a fast-moving car.

Unfortunately, things were not as they seemed. The girl never was in any real danger as the car was an illusion created by powers. The scenario was merely a set-up to get her closer to Frisk and their family of monsters.

Illusions are likely a power granted to her by her trait: fear. With it, she is able to see the memories of others simply by looking them in the eyes. This grants her knowledge of their personality and, most importantly, their emotional weaknesses. Using that knowledge, she can create illusions to throw off her enemies. These illusions can serve a variety purposes even if they don’t directly involve fear. Examples include the aforementioned car and the illusion that caused Undyne to kill Alphys.

Bête Noire originally woke up when the barrier was broken, a month before the events of “My Sunshine”. This means that she spent a month doing “something” before starting her plan. She likely spent days and nights observing the humans and monsters. Through her observations and memory-reading abilities, she judged whether the monsters were truly as dangerous for human kind as she believed. This wasn’t all she observed, however. Betty also learned the ways and customs of this new time period. After all, the only memories in her possession belonged to someone who lived over 800 years ago...

Agate Lightvale was best known as the wizard of bravery who helped seal the monsters underground. She lived in a medieval time. While she was born into a common family , she didn’t live a common life. Her twin brother, Copper, was lucky enough to be born with a soul of determination, a trait so rare that only one person can possess it at a time. It elevated the Lightvale family to a noble status.

Growing up, Agate acted like a big sister to Copper even though they were the same age. However, this changed as they grew older and trained to become wizards. Copper became more independent while his sister started to develop a few insecurities.

Agate spent most of her time training in combat. She was always looking to improve, to get stronger, to surpass her limits. Unfortunately for her, being the twin of the soul of determination meant she was often overshadowed.

Her brother was essentially a “chosen one” of sorts. As a result, he got most of the attention. Agate would execute a spell flawlessly while Copper stumbled at the same task. Yet, he would be the only one to receive praise.

In addition to being the rarest trait, determination is also the strongest. Agate was confronted with the reality that, no matter how hard she trained, she could never surpass her brother.

Still, it didn’t stop Agate from being a kind and respected individual. True to her trait, she was know for her bravery in the face of danger and resistance to physical pain. In addition, she and Copper both stayed strong for their younger sister, Amber, who’s birth resulted in the death of their mother. Agate and her siblings were extremely close.

After the war between humans and monsters ended, she, her brother, and five other wizards created the barrier, trapping the monsters underground.

After a certain amount of time, Copper proposed the idea of releasing the monsters from captivity. He believed that humans and monsters could still live together. Agate opted against this. She believed it would be better for both races if they lived separately. The discussion got extremely agitated to the point where Agate spontaneously challenged Copper to a duel that would decide the future.

If I may break the flow of information a little, this part seems a tad off to me. I find it notable, at the very least. In the official depiction of this moment, Agate looks smug, as if she knows she is going to win. Isn’t that odd considering what we know? I believe there was more riding on this duel than the fate of two races.

Recall that Agate had a bit of an inferiority complex with her brother. Isn’t it possible that she also challenged him to prove she was stronger, to finally break out of his shadow by defeating him in front of the entire kingdom? If this is the case, I believe that the “confidence” she showed might not have been entirely sincere. Surely, a part of her knew that she couldn’t win. Yet, she still instigated a fight.

I think it’s possible that challenging Copper was not an act of hubris on Agate’s part; it was an act of desperation made in the heat of the moment.

Ultimately, she lost. Her brother was victorious. Agate was overwhelmed by her loss. While she had an abundance of physical bravery, she lacked it emotionally. Due to these factors, she lost her trait then and there. Completely humiliated, she fled to parts unknown. Still under the intensity of the battle, Copper didn’t think to go after her.

During this period of her life, Agate made many poor life choices. She searched for a way to break her limits more than ever before. She came across at least two forbidden spells. She used one of them to reverse her souls trait from the orange of bravery to the dark orange of fear. The process completely eradicated the last shred of sanity she had. After being absent for an unknown amount of time, Agate rejoined her family, who welcomed her back in spite of the changes she had gone through.

Driven by her obsession for victory, Agate furiously demanded a rematch from Copper. He refused, knowing it wouldn’t bring about anything good. Seeing that he wouldn’t move on the issue, Agate threatened the life of Amber, her own sister. Copper attempted to protect her, but was ultimately forced to watch as Agate stabbed her through the chest. This horrible sight caused him to lose his trait, allowing Agate to easily finish him in the same manner. She relished the victory as all life left his eyes.

Unfortunately, she would soon be forced to join her siblings. Inverting one’s trait is immensely stressful on the soul. With her time running out, Agate performed another forbidden spell to ensure that her will lived on: the Bête Noire spell.

The Bête Noire spell consists of creating a powerful, nearly lifelike golem called a “bête noire”. While the golem itself is powerful, a bête noire’s true strength lies in its longevity and ability to form complex thoughts.

Most spells typically act in very basic ways. For example, a simple fire spell will simply follow a chosen path or pattern before disappearing regardless of whether it hit its target or not.

Bêtes noires, on the other hand, can not only accomplish much more complicated tasks, but also think about how they will go about doing so. They are even be able to improvise if things don’t go their way. In addition, they can exist for several weeks before fading. However, if they have a way to replenish their magic (such as harvesting it from souls), they become virtually immortal. A bête noire is essentially a living spell.

Of course, to craft such a being, the cost is extremely high. It requires the caster to use their own soul for the conjuring. Then, they must also have a vessel other than their own body that can be merged with the soul to create the golem.

Agate was willing to sacrifice the life she wouldn’t have for much longer and she had two perfectly good vessels. Still spiteful towards her brother, the wizard chose Amber’s body over Copper’s. Her soul turned pink as it absorbed Amber’s body. With the deed done, Agate lifeless body fell to the floor.

The soul remained sealed and hidden for over 800 years until the barrier was broken. At that moment, it awoke, transformed into the being that would be know as Bête Noire.

Bête Noire knew her purpose from the very start as she possessed some of Agate’s memories as she possessed some of Agate’s memories. Unfortunately, the goal her “mother” left her with was no longer as good-natured as it once was. In Agate’s twisted mental state, it had gone from “Keep humans and monsters separate for both their safeties.” to something akin to “Kill all monsters so that they will never live in peace with humans. Do so by any means necessary, even if it means killing humans who oppose you or using the power of hate.”

Gathering hate is stated to be the universal purpose of a bête noire. It’s fitting when considering the name. “Bête noire” is a french term that literally translates to “black beast”. Black is the color (or lack there of) of hate. In addition, the term “bête noire” is used to indicate a person or object that someone particularly dislikes.

I originally found it ironic that Bête struggled to keep her hate under control, but the solution is simple. She likely only struggled to keep it under control because she wasn’t in her complete form at the time.

Nonetheless, I can’t help thinking that maybe bêtes noires are supposed to succumb to the hate they collect. Perhaps they are meant to serve as vessels for the stuff. After all, Betty still requires a large surplus of magic to keep it at bay. One would think a creature made to collect hate would do more than just resist it a little better than others.

Yet, if bêtes noires are supposed to succumb to hate, why has this one been shown fear it? Perhaps because, as a creature made purely of magic, it would be akin to death, something that she fears because fear is built into her nature.

In order to accomplish her mission, Bête had to gather information on both her enemies and the era she was in. She separated herself into two beings in order to hide her monstrous appearance and blend in with the humans. She dubbed the part she separated from herself “Akumu”, the Japanese word for “Nightmare”. Under the nickname “Betty”, she spent a month observing and planning.

It should be noted that she must have done so 24/7. Bêtes noires don’t need to sleep. It could also be for this reason that she is so unfamiliar with the concept. Agate’s knowledge about sleep was mostly omitted because it had little relevance to the mission.

As previously stated, Betty used her power of fear to look into the memories of the monsters. From the information she gathered, she judged that monsters were in fact deserving of death. This may seem strange to many since, as seen in Undertale, most monsters are innocent and kind-hearted people. How could she possibly think so poorly of them even after seeing their past? Is she blind?

I believe so. Betty may, in fact, be blind to certain degree.

Any normal person would most likely have seen that monsters didn’t deserve what was coming to them. Why didn’t Betty? Because she isn’t a normal person. Highly advanced or not, Bête Noire remains a spell, and spells exist to carry out the will of their caster. They are tools.

If magic bullets could miss because they took pity on the opponent, few people would use them.

Keep in mind that Betty isn’t just a bullet that uses up 0.001% of the caster’s magic. She’s a bête noire. People had to die for her creation. If a person poured all of their life force into a spell that would carry on their will, they would be pretty upset to learn that they failed because the spell didn’t want to do the one thing it was created for.

All this to say that I believe that Betty is unable to go rogue either physically or mentally. She has no choice but to believe she is in the right. After all, if she realized that her only purpose for existing was objectively wrong, it could make her a less effective weapon.

When she looked into the souls of the monsters, it is likely that she was never going to come to any other conclusion than “They are dangerous.”

She did see some of the good in them, but most of what she retained were parts that would prove her right. These included Asgore killing the 6 humans (even though it was the only way to save his kingdom), the horrors Asriel committed as Flowey (even though he was soulless at the time), and Frisk’s many resets (even though they aren’t even a monster). These actions were obviously horrible, but there were nuances that made them more understandable. Context was important.

Betty, who I believe was unable to pick up on such nuances, may have simply taken the most basic message from this. “These monsters did bad things, therefore they are evil and the same must apply to all of monsterkind.” She is blind to anything that doesn’t fit into the way she is supposed to see the world.

(Of course, this doesn’t mean she is unaware of Papyrus or Undyne’s heroic and selfless acts. It just means that can’t see them as proof that monsters are good people.)

As such, Bête may not be wholly responsible for her actions. Some of her malicious acts can be blamed on her creator. After all, her contradictory objective of killing humans to protect humanity was given to her by Agate, who’s mind was far from clear at the time.

However, other aspects are harder to justify. The pleasure she seems to take in her victims’ emotional suffering could have come from Agate as the wizard displayed something similar shortly before casting the spell.

The fact that Bête wouldn’t care if the world ended as long as it was by her hand definitely makes her seem incredibly hypocritical (which she is) and entitled, not to mention evil. I suppose that by annihilating everything she would technically accomplish her goal of killing all monsters. With her one purpose in life fulfilled, she would have no more reason to live. The idea of ruling humanity afterward is likely more of a bonus. Assuming this is the case, it’s a testament to how much important the mission is to her.

Finally, I would like to bring up the debate of whether Betty and Agate are the same person or not because, if they are, most of what has been written here will be completely pointless. There are two ways to look at this.

This post tells us that Agate is technically Betty, but it may only refer to them in the physical sense. Betty’s body is physically Agate’s soul. The debate is about whether they are mentally the same.

This comic is likely the largest piece of evidence to support this. To my knowledge, it is still canon. In it, Bête finds the remains of Agate’s body. Her reaction is quite interesting because she acts and talks as if the body was once hers. She also has to reassure herself that she “can’t die now”, implying that she was once mortal. She also mentions ensuring “our race’s survival” in reference to humanity. For that sentence, she includes herself with the human race. This implies that she was at least human at one point.

This evidence certainly appears conclusive, and it very well might be. However, it directly contradicts this conversation which, to my knowledge, is also still canon. Here, she refers to Agate as “mom”, indicating that she thinks her as a separate being. Why is this? Is one of these sources outdated? Possibly, but I have another proposal.

Betty’s mind appears to be all over the place. One moment, she laments the fact that she is meant to be hated and, at another, she takes joy in torturing her victims. She doesn’t want to die, yet she wouldn’t mind if the world ended at her own hand. She is hypocrite. Sometimes, she believes she is Agate’s creation; at other times, she acts like she is Agate herself.

Bête Noire’s first memories came from Agate. Surely, It isn’t too far-fetched to say that her mind was likely derived from her creator’s. If that is indeed the case, the solution is clear; Betty might be insane just like Agate was before casting the spell. Agate’s insanity could have rubbed off on her creation. Thus, it’s possible that Bête’s thoughts are meant to be hypocritical and contradictory.

In the end, is Betty Agate? She may not even know herself. I believe she is more of an imperfect copy or a “simulacrum”. The things that make her “Agate” are the incomplete memories of the wizard’s life and the similar way of thinking. In my opinion, these don’t make an entirely different person, but they also aren’t enough for her to be considered Agate. She is merely a being in possession of her creator’s memories.

Also, these hints might still be relevant today.

“Steven Universe logic”? You mean the show where almost every problem is solved by talking and all the villains end up becoming good? Sure, that could just be referencing Sans and Asriel getting talked out their states, but you never know. Maybe Betty’ll regret her actions too before dying. Eh? EH?!

“Never assume things”? No kidding. Words to watch by.

#bête noire #glitchtale #agate lightvale #Speculation #undertale #glitchtale betty

2 notes · View notes

stopforamoment · 6 years

Text

Fright and Flight (2 of 12)

Book: The Royal Romance (After Book Three)

Pairing: Bastien Lykel x OFC Rinda Parks

Word Count: 1,888

Rating: M for Language

Author’s Note: Obligatory disclaimer that Pixelberry Studios owns the TRR characters and my pocketbook with those darn diamond scenes. OFC with all of her quirks is all mine. My apologies if Tumblr or I do something stupid when I try to post this.

Summary: Rinda is second (and third, and fourth) guessing her decision to have Henry fly to Cordonia, but Bastien wants to be there to help.

. . . . Pretend Tumblr put a “keep reading” link here! . . . . .

Rinda was in a panic second-guessing her decision to come to Cordonia by herself and then have Henry fly separately a couple weeks later. In her head it made sense. She’d have time to get unpacked and settled in. She’d also have more uninterrupted time to work, and Henry would have additional time at home with his friends and grandparents. The difficult part was having Henry fly by himself. Well, he wasn’t by himself. There were other members of the exchange program who were going to accompany him, and this saved Rinda the cost of flying back to the U.S. and then back to Cordonia. Her parents would have flown with Henry, but her mother hated to fly and Rinda simply couldn’t afford the time for them to visit. She needed that time with just her and Henry to settle in. It made more sense for them to visit in November to celebrate Thanksgiving with them. Or maybe they would all fly back in June for an extended family vacation.

In her head it made sense. But now that she was making the last-minute preparations, realizing the hours Henry would be on the plane by himself . . . No. Not by himself. He would be travelling with other members of the exchange program whom she’d already met. They were the people who interviewed her and helped with her and Sarah’s transitions.

Rinda and Laura were in their classroom, doing a final push of preparations before Henry came. The plan was for Rinda to pick up Henry and they’d spend a couple days getting settled in at home, and then Rinda would bring him to school to show him around . . . and possibly have him help with final touches in their classroom. Bastien dropped some hints that perhaps some of the passageways were now safe to use, so she and Henry could do a few evacuation test-runs with him.

It was going to be fine. Henry was going to be fine. Rinda used to always be the relaxed and easy-going parent. Her own parents were somewhat strict, and her mother was paranoid to the point of being, well, Rinda’s Smother. There were many things Rinda didn’t get to experience in life because she lacked confidence or was too afraid to defy her parents. She didn’t want to do the same thing to Henry. Plus, Jameson was the worry-wart parent. He had seen the worst-case scenarios. There were days he came home, body shaking as he tried to hold back the tears because something tragic happened to a young child who looked like Henry or was Henry’s age. It was so hard for Jameson to let go and let Henry be a child. Now that Jameson was gone, now that Rinda experienced the worst-case scenario for herself, she had to work even harder to ensure she wasn’t smothering Henry or helicopter parenting. But, really. A plane ride across the Atlantic was excessive. What the fuck was she thinking?

There were times when Jameson and Henry would go off on a father-son trip, leaving Rinda behind to relax. Even though she was the easy-going parent, her heart would always drop as the car drove out of sight. Please God. My entire world is in that car. Please let them come home to me safely . . . Now it was just her and Henry, and her entire world would be on that plane, flying over the Atlantic for over eleven hours . . . for what? To uproot to Cordonia for one semester? Oh, fuck. Fuck. What the fuck did she get herself info? What the fuck did she get Henry into?

. . . . .

Bastien was worried about Rinda. He heard her talking to Laura. He saw how she was pulling stands of hair out of her messy bun so she could twist her hair with her fingers, tying it in knots and untying it. She was fidgeting with her squish ball. Throwing herself into her work even more than usual. Two days until Henry was on that plane by himself.

Bastien didn’t want to interfere, but seeing Rinda so upset was bothering him. He knew he was more protective of her than he should be, that it was obvious favoritism because he didn’t feel this way about Laura or any of the other teachers. But they weren’t widows who lost their husband in the line of duty. They didn’t sob in his arms while their hearts were breaking. They didn’t make him laugh harder than he’d laughed in years or make him lose his train of thought when he gazed into their hazel eyes . . .

“Rinda?” “Hey, Bastien!” Simultaneously. She was lost in her work, but she looked up as she greeted him. Bastien usually startled people because he was used to walking quietly and blending into the background. But not Rinda. She could always sense when he was near.

Rinda laughed and invited him to sit down. “What’s on your mind, Bastien?”

Bastien sat down, suddenly unsure of himself. Normally when he needed to deflect he would lean back and stare silently. He perfected his steely, unflinching gaze and that uncomfortable silence though years of experience with the Royal Guard. Except it became an impenetrable armor that he unconsciously used when he felt shy or awkward in social situations. Which was often. The shy and awkward part. Not the social situations part. He tried to avoid those whenever possible, and his career definitely helped make that possible.

Rinda rolled her chair back and returned his silent stare with a smile. She was starting to figure out when he gave her that silent stare because he was truly upset with her, or something, but usually her—and when he gave that silent stare because something made him uncomfortable and he was deciding how to process it, or he was just forcing it to go away. Right now she was going to give him time to process, but she was ready to make a joke if he wanted space and needed to push her away.

“Rinda, you’re worried about Henry flying here, right?” Rinda turned pale and sucked in her breath.

Sucker punch right to the gut.

That was one of her many weaknesses. Henry. Figuring out how to navigate parenthood. How to get through the next 48 hours until he was safely landed in Cordonia, through customs, and in her arms getting the biggest hug ever. And she was still figuring out Bastien, but he already had her figured out. Or at least that’s what she thought.

“Yes. I . . .” Rinda shook her head. She couldn’t even deal with it right now and she unconsciously reached for a strand of hair and started pulling. “I’m sorry, Bastien. I know I haven’t been as focused as I should be.”

Bastien gently cut her off. “No, it’s okay. I understand. I heard you talking to Laura. And I know the details about Henry coming here because, well, that’s part of my job.” Bastien took a deep breath and jumped in. She was miserable and he could help her, and he was going to. Whether she liked it or not.

“Rinda.” His voice was firm. “There are Royal Guardsmen who need to fly back to Cordonia from the United States. I’ve already arranged for them to be on the same flight as Henry and the other members of the exchange program. They’ll be able to to fly out of Chicago.” He paused. “I’m sorry. I tried to make arrangements using the royal jet, but the King and Queen are on a diplomacy trip in France right now.” Rinda’s eyes widened.

The royal jet? Shit!

She knew he took care of personal security for the King and Queen, but she never really understood how much power Bastien had.

He continued. “We’ll be in constant communication with them during the flight, and the guards will escort Henry and the others so they can bypass customs. I’ll still make sure Henry gets a stamp in his passport, though.” Rinda was starting to tear up, but she bit her lip and laughed when he said that. Henry was actually really excited about getting a passport and getting his first stamp. Until a few months ago he only had a passport card that they used when they drove to Canada every summer. It made sense that Henry would still get his passport stamped, but funny how Bastien knew that would be so important to him.

“Rinda, I’d like to take you to the airport, if you don’t mind. I can get us through security so you can be right there when he enters the airport. We can go as early as you’d like. I’ll bring stuff to work on, so it’s okay if we’re there a long time. We can periodically check in with the guards, and you can even talk to Henry for a few minutes before they take off.” Bastien paused, then grinned. “I’m afraid we’ll still have to wait for his luggage to get cleared, though. And no promise the commercial airlines won’t lose it.” Bastien stood up. “So what do you think? Would that be okay?”

Rinda was quiet, taking deep breaths and trying to fight tears.

Gobsmacked. Crazy fucking word. I’m gobsmacked.

Bastien kneeled down by Rinda. “Hey,” he said quietly. “If you wanted to drive by yourself or do anything differently, please tell me. I can still make some changes.” Rinda leaned over and hugged him, whispering “Thank you, Bastien. Thank you.” He put his arms around her. “You’re very welcome,” he whispered back.

Rinda was the first to pull away and she wiped her eyes. “Sorry, but I’m not going to be responsible for ruining another one of your suits.” Bastien sat back down and smiled. He pulled a handkerchief from his pocket and handed it to Rinda. She laughed. “Of course you would have a handkerchief for a damsel in distress.” She gave a wicked grin. “Bastien, why didn’t you offer me one on the last day of training? Why did you find such a large towel for me to wipe my face?” Bastien shook his head, refusing to answer her.

Rinda looked down at the handkerchief and furrowed her brows. There were raised dots sewn in a corner of the fabric. No, in two corners of the fabric. But it wasn’t Braille. Bastien was starting to stand up again when he saw her expression. “What is it, Rinda?”

“Bastien, the embroidery . . . are these constellations? This looks like Polaris and the Little Dipper . . . then this must be Dubhe . . . ” Rinda looked up and found herself staring at his shocked expression. “Bastien, are these Ursa Major and Minor?”

“Yes, Rinda, they are . . .” Bastien trailed off, too shy to continue. Rinda knew it was time to deflect with humor.

“Well, I promise to take good care of them. No booger bubbles, and I’ll wash the handkerchief before I return it to you. Cold wash, gentle cycle. Dry and iron with low heat. Deal?”

Bastien locked eyes with her for a moment, giving her a tender smile. “Deal.” He turned around and slowly walked back to his office.

#bastien lykel #ofc rinda parks #a mother's love series

17 notes · View notes

cynthiajayusa · 5 years

Text

Dionne Warwick Talks Aretha Franklin Friendship, Gay Fans

The five-time Grammy winner grew up singing gospel music at New Hope Baptist Church in her native state of New Jersey, where she currently lives. She did background singing, performed in a gospel trio. But after composer Burt Bacharach took her under his wings in the early ’60s, Warwick landed a recording deal and her pop-soul music went on to dominate the charts. Her songs are timeless: “I Say a Little Prayer,” “Walk On By,” “Do You Know the Way to San Jose” and “That’s What Friends Are For,” recorded with Elton John, Gladys Knight and Stevie Wonder. The song was released in 1985 as a charity single for the American Foundation for AIDS Research and raised over $3 million for the cause. In 1967, she also released “(Theme from) Valley of the Dolls” from the cult film of the same name after Judy Garland, originally set to sing the track, was fired.

On May 10, the 78-year-old music legend will release her 36th studio release and first album in five years, She’s Back. Produced by her son Damon Elliott, the album’s 10 songs include duets with Kenny Lattimore (“What Color Is Love”), Musiq Soulchild (“Am I Dreaming?”) and Krayzie Bone of Bone Thugs-N-Harmony (“Déjà Vu”). Notably, the set is Warwick’s first R&B/soul album since Soulful, released 50 years ago, in 1969.

Is this where you expected to be 50 years after your last R&B album?

No, not necessarily.

What did you envision for yourself?

That I’d be doing exactly what I’ve always been doing: recording when the opportunity presents itself, doing my concerts around this entire world like I always do, and just enjoying my music and giving it to people to enjoy.

youtube

Why lead with a new recording of “What the World Needs Now Is Love” from the new album?

Because that’s what we need. And it’s not that simple – I mean, this whole world is in shambles and it’s because of our own country. Our own country is just – I don’t know what’s going on! I’m beginning to wonder what country I live in.

How does where we are now in the country compare to other eras you’ve lived through?

It’s almost as if we’re walking backward. Nobody seems to be looking ahead at what the possibilities are and the good that can be done. We’re literally back in the ’60s during the marches and the blatant discrimination. I mean, now it just runs rampant. It’s crazy.

Sometimes I feel like I’m living in a history book.

That’s what you’re living in. You’re living in the period of time when people who have died over the years for the freedoms that we’re supposed to be enjoying, it was almost all in vain. It doesn’t make sense. It just does not make sense. So I feel that this world does need love. It really does. A whole bunch of it. And I personally know that love is God, so that’s what we need.

You stood up for the LGBTQ community when we needed you most, in a time when many influential names did not take that step. You lost many people who were close to you to AIDS, including your valet. How do you reflect on that time, and how personally affected were you?

I was not the only one personally affected. I think everybody that ever heard that word “HIV/AIDS” was affected, not necessarily directly but indirectly. Losing people for any reason is not an easy thing to be a part of, but when you lose people to something (where something) can be done about it then it becomes another kind of situation. I’ve always believed what my grandfather told me at a very, very tender age: that we were all put here to be of service to each other. We all have got to get our heads out of the sand and take a good look around us and say, “Enough.”

Because of you, Ronald Reagan said “AIDS” for the first time, you’ve said. Why did you decide to challenge Ronald Reagan?

Basically he appointed me the United States Ambassador of Health and my mandate, self-imposed basically, was the AIDS issue because that was what was prevalent at that time. And he just did not want to say that word for some reason. I hadn’t a clue as to why. But when I did a press conference and he was there, I prodded him into saying the word. I think it was time for him to fess up and know that the community that was suffering from this disease should be addressed by someone who meant something to all people and being the President of the United States he had an obligation to do so.

You come from a family who seems divided on accepting the LGBTQ community: the Houston family has not been the most outspoken allies of the community and have, in fact, expressed some homophobia over the years.

Well, yeah. That’s their way of dealing with it. I can’t speak for that, everybody approaches any kind of a situation in different manners, so I can only speak for myself.

What was your relationship like with your gay church friend? You were close, I imagine.

Oh yeah. He was wonderful to be around, and could play a piano like nobody else. He was a human being, OK – that’s the way I look at people. I can’t judge you for your preference – that’s your choice, not mine. You gotta be who you are and I’ve gotta be who I am and that’s just the way it’s supposed to be.

What has the LGBTQ community’s loyalty all these years meant to you?

It’s absolutely wonderful to know that people generally still appreciate what I do, and your love and care for me means an awful lot to me and I certainly appreciate it.

Famously, in addition to being her cousin, you were Whitney’s mentor. Whitney was supportive of the community as well. Do you think her LGBTQ support was influenced by your own? Did you ever talk about that fanbase that you shared?

No, we never talked about anything like that. She made her choice as I make mine. I’m involved with an awful lot of things that do not seem to be popular, but it’s something that should be addressed, and if I feel I have something to offer, I have no problem doing it. I’m certain that she, eventually in her growing years, felt the same way: If she had something to offer, she felt like, “OK, I’m gonna do it.”

youtube

How do you think Whitney’s legacy has been handled in the years since her death?

Oh, I don’t know. That’s not for me to discuss or to make an opinion on. And I’m gonna stop you at this point in time because I do not discuss Whitney. She is gone and she will be well remembered as the beautiful person she was.

Absolutely. I can respect that. Let’s shift to the music business and talk about the way that things have changed over the last 50 years, because this is not the same music business you were brought into.

Not at all! (Laughs)

Today’s music industry is often criticized for not producing as many genuine vocal talents as in past eras. What is your take?

Mmhmm! (Laughs)…What is happening in the industry today is so alien to me. (Laughs) It really is! I’m not a computer geek, so I’m not here all day long sitting at a computer screen. My cell phone, I try to leave it anywhere I can.

But you have one.

Yes, I do. And it’s only because of my grandbabies! They want to talk to grammy and I’m available anytime they wanna talk. But we’ve lost all of our social skills, nobody talks to anybody anymore. Everybody’s so busy texting – is that what it’s called? Yeah, texting. And you know, I’ve witnessed kids sitting across from each other and instead of speaking cordially saying whatever they need to say they’re busy getting carpal tunnel on their phones. I think it’s a sad, sad scenario right now. I think we all have to really get back to – I remember writing notes to somebody to say “thank you.”

Now it’s difficult to break out as a successful artist unless you can manage your Twitter and your Facebook.

Guess what? I don’t manage anything. I don’t even know what Twitter or twatter is! And I really don’t want to. That’s why I have social media people who do all that stuff! And I told them from the very beginning: “I know nothing about it, I don’t want to know anything about it; that’s why you’re hired, that’s why I pay you very well. So you do what you gotta do and let people know what they have to know.”

What do you think of Auto-Tune?

Of what? (Boisterous, dramatic, iconic cackle) I just learned what that was!

When, how?

Honest to god, I really did. My son told me what that was and I couldn’t believe it. He said, “Yeah, you know, you can take a puppy in there and he can bark and I can make him sound good.” I said, “What?!” So, where is the real talent?

Is it missing? Do you think we have less talent being produced than we did in the ’60s and ’70s?

Absolutely, no doubt. I had a discussion with some wonderful people not too long ago, and they asked my opinion on the songs or whatever you wanna call them because I do not call them songs – the recordings of today. How many people will remember any of those words 20 years from now? Music is supposed to keep you reminded of wonderful times, of peaceful times, of happy times, of sad times, of joy. You know, what happened to that? What happened? Doesn’t anybody wanna be happy anymore?

Looking back at your status as one of the first true black crossover artists, do you feel like a pioneer or trailblazer?

No, because I’ve always considered – first of all, nobody can ever decide to put me in a box. I just feel music belongs to everyone and music is just that – music. It doesn’t have a title or a genre, it’s just music. It’s the same eight notes in a major scale, the same 13 notes in a chromatic scale. So music is music.

But you don’t recognize that you blazed a trail for other black female artists?

No, I think people’s eyes and ears opened. That’s basically all that happened. They call me the one that bridged the gap – what kind of gap was it? (Laughs)

Where are all the Dionne Warwick award-show tributes? When it comes to your career and those of your peers, like Gladys and Aretha and Patti LaBelle and Diana Ross, do you feel left out?

No, not at all. No. Every concert I did, and I’m truly blessed to say, all sold out. So those people who want to hear and see Dionne Warwick are the ones who show up and put their butts in the seats. I’m not concerned about the accolades they’re giving to others – apparently they deserve it, and I applaud them. It doesn’t matter to me. Most people like you feel I’ve been overlooked but I don’t feel that way. It’s like everything else: I feel that what is supposed to happen for and with Dionne does.

Given your relationship with Aretha, how did you process her death?

It was a hard loss. It was a very difficult loss. Aretha was a friend regardless of what most people might think. (Laughs) It’s so funny how people like to put some craziness into anybody’s life when, in fact, they don’t know anybody’s life for real.

Aretha and I grew up together; we were teenagers when we met. And she’s always been one of the most incredible talents I’ve ever heard, since the first day I heard her sing. So, you know, it’s difficult to lose anyone that you know and that you’re close to.

Your relationship with Aretha has been depicted as fairly tense in the media, and in 2017 Aretha sent a lengthy fax to the Associated Press addressing what she noted was a “libelous” statement made by you about her at Whitney’s funeral.

Aretha was a person who was reactive. She wasn’t one (laughs)… she just… well, she thought the way she did, period, that was the end of that. And the next day, she probably was like, “Why did I do that?” (Laughs)

youtube

You laugh because you seem to understand her.

Well, I knew her. That’s the difference. When you know someone and when you think you know someone, those are two different things. I knew Aretha.

You’re one of a few left in your peer group, next to Patti, Diana and Gladys, after Aretha passed last year. What do you want your legacy to be?

My music, of course. And that I’ve been true to who I am and who I was.

Where do you keep your five Grammys?

(Laughs) Well, they were in my mom’s house until she passed. Now a couple are in my cousin’s house. I have only one in my house and I’m gonna keep the one that I’m gonna get soon, and that’s the Lifetime Achievement. I’m gonna keep that one.

What does being honored with the Lifetime Achievement Award from the Recording Academy mean to you?

It means an awful lot – that the entire academy has decided, finally, that I’m deserving. So like I said, when it’s supposed to happen, that’s when it happens.

source https://hotspotsmagazine.com/2019/04/04/dionne-warwick-talks-aretha-franklin-friendship-gay-fans/ from Hot Spots Magazine https://hotspotsmagazin.blogspot.com/2019/04/dionne-warwick-talks-aretha-franklin.html

0 notes

demitgibbs · 5 years

Text

Dionne Warwick Talks Aretha Franklin Friendship, Gay Fans

Is this where you expected to be 50 years after your last R&B album?

No, not necessarily.

What did you envision for yourself?

youtube

Why lead with a new recording of “What the World Needs Now Is Love” from the new album?

How does where we are now in the country compare to other eras you’ve lived through?

Sometimes I feel like I’m living in a history book.

Because of you, Ronald Reagan said “AIDS” for the first time, you’ve said. Why did you decide to challenge Ronald Reagan?

Well, yeah. That’s their way of dealing with it. I can’t speak for that, everybody approaches any kind of a situation in different manners, so I can only speak for myself.

What was your relationship like with your gay church friend? You were close, I imagine.

What has the LGBTQ community’s loyalty all these years meant to you?

It’s absolutely wonderful to know that people generally still appreciate what I do, and your love and care for me means an awful lot to me and I certainly appreciate it.

youtube

How do you think Whitney’s legacy has been handled in the years since her death?

Not at all! (Laughs)

Today’s music industry is often criticized for not producing as many genuine vocal talents as in past eras. What is your take?

But you have one.

Now it’s difficult to break out as a successful artist unless you can manage your Twitter and your Facebook.

What do you think of Auto-Tune?

Of what? (Boisterous, dramatic, iconic cackle) I just learned what that was!

When, how?

Is it missing? Do you think we have less talent being produced than we did in the ’60s and ’70s?

Looking back at your status as one of the first true black crossover artists, do you feel like a pioneer or trailblazer?

But you don’t recognize that you blazed a trail for other black female artists?

No, I think people’s eyes and ears opened. That’s basically all that happened. They call me the one that bridged the gap – what kind of gap was it? (Laughs)

Where are all the Dionne Warwick award-show tributes? When it comes to your career and those of your peers, like Gladys and Aretha and Patti LaBelle and Diana Ross, do you feel left out?

Given your relationship with Aretha, how did you process her death?

youtube

You laugh because you seem to understand her.

Well, I knew her. That’s the difference. When you know someone and when you think you know someone, those are two different things. I knew Aretha.

You’re one of a few left in your peer group, next to Patti, Diana and Gladys, after Aretha passed last year. What do you want your legacy to be?

My music, of course. And that I’ve been true to who I am and who I was.

Where do you keep your five Grammys?

What does being honored with the Lifetime Achievement Award from the Recording Academy mean to you?

It means an awful lot – that the entire academy has decided, finally, that I’m deserving. So like I said, when it’s supposed to happen, that’s when it happens.

from Hotspots! Magazine https://hotspotsmagazine.com/2019/04/04/dionne-warwick-talks-aretha-franklin-friendship-gay-fans/ from Hot Spots Magazine https://hotspotsmagazine.tumblr.com/post/183938504550

0 notes

hotspotsmagazine · 5 years

Text

Dionne Warwick Talks Aretha Franklin Friendship, Gay Fans

Is this where you expected to be 50 years after your last R&B album?

No, not necessarily.

What did you envision for yourself?

youtube

Why lead with a new recording of “What the World Needs Now Is Love” from the new album?

How does where we are now in the country compare to other eras you’ve lived through?

Sometimes I feel like I’m living in a history book.

Because of you, Ronald Reagan said “AIDS” for the first time, you’ve said. Why did you decide to challenge Ronald Reagan?

Well, yeah. That’s their way of dealing with it. I can’t speak for that, everybody approaches any kind of a situation in different manners, so I can only speak for myself.

What was your relationship like with your gay church friend? You were close, I imagine.

What has the LGBTQ community’s loyalty all these years meant to you?

It’s absolutely wonderful to know that people generally still appreciate what I do, and your love and care for me means an awful lot to me and I certainly appreciate it.

youtube

How do you think Whitney’s legacy has been handled in the years since her death?

Not at all! (Laughs)

Today’s music industry is often criticized for not producing as many genuine vocal talents as in past eras. What is your take?

But you have one.

Now it’s difficult to break out as a successful artist unless you can manage your Twitter and your Facebook.

What do you think of Auto-Tune?

Of what? (Boisterous, dramatic, iconic cackle) I just learned what that was!

When, how?

Is it missing? Do you think we have less talent being produced than we did in the ’60s and ’70s?

Looking back at your status as one of the first true black crossover artists, do you feel like a pioneer or trailblazer?

But you don’t recognize that you blazed a trail for other black female artists?

No, I think people’s eyes and ears opened. That’s basically all that happened. They call me the one that bridged the gap – what kind of gap was it? (Laughs)

Where are all the Dionne Warwick award-show tributes? When it comes to your career and those of your peers, like Gladys and Aretha and Patti LaBelle and Diana Ross, do you feel left out?

Given your relationship with Aretha, how did you process her death?

youtube

You laugh because you seem to understand her.

Well, I knew her. That’s the difference. When you know someone and when you think you know someone, those are two different things. I knew Aretha.

You’re one of a few left in your peer group, next to Patti, Diana and Gladys, after Aretha passed last year. What do you want your legacy to be?

My music, of course. And that I’ve been true to who I am and who I was.

Where do you keep your five Grammys?

What does being honored with the Lifetime Achievement Award from the Recording Academy mean to you?

It means an awful lot – that the entire academy has decided, finally, that I’m deserving. So like I said, when it’s supposed to happen, that’s when it happens.

from Hotspots! Magazine https://hotspotsmagazine.com/2019/04/04/dionne-warwick-talks-aretha-franklin-friendship-gay-fans/

0 notes