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laughingesper · 3 months

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DP X DC Prompt

In the aftermath of Gotham War, Jason Todd is just... done with everything. He's tired of trying to change himself to meet the expectations of a man who won't even try to meet him half way. How the rest of the Batfamily, while not as bad, usually take Bruce's lead in regards to interacting with him. Even in his altered state, he manages to make his way to Amity Park (pretend this is a universe where the Justice League are mostly ignorant of the shit that goes on there).

Coincidentally, Desiree is out and about at the same time he arrives. He's terrified and pissed at the same time. He can't even be depressed in peace without being dragged into some kind of BS! So in the midst of his mental breakdown, he wishes for a better life where he'd never met Bruce Wayne, not that he's actually expecting anyone to be listening or do anything about it. An Amity Park native would know better.

Desiree: "As you have wished it, so it shall be!"

Jason: "Wait what?"

And because Jason isn't wearing Fenton anti-ghost tech when his wish is granted like Sam was, he doesn't remember making a wish in the first place. As far as he knows this is how it's always been. A world where Jason Todd is living a normal, peaceful, happy life. However, Desiree isn't capable of making grand sweeping changes to reality like this without a few hiccups (yet). Her power grows in proportion to how many wishes she's granted and lessens whenever she's not granting any. She actually got it 99% right, but there is still some physical evidence that things weren't always the way they currently are, like in the actual episode. No one remembers the truth except her, but certain smart people are able to notice the inconsistencies.

Such as Danny and friends, who can tell that a wish was granted but not who made it and what for. Usually it's way more obvious.

Meanwhile in Gotham City, how do things change without Jason Todd? Did someone else become the second Robin? If so, who is it and how did they differ from Jason? It's meant to be a sort of examination of how the Batfamily and DC themselves treat Jason as a character. How would someone else deal with that? Would they rise above it all in a way Jason never could or become a full on supervillain? Ideally, like in the episode itself, Jason would eventually remember the way things are supposed to be and wish things back to normal, but would he even want to do that?

This idea was inspired by this one panel from White Knight, and it just made me think 'well Comics Jason has even more of a reason to wish he never met Bruce lol'.

#dc x dp #jason todd #batman #danny phantom #dc comics #dpxdc #batfamily #dp x dc #dp x dc prompt #dc x dp prompt

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valiantsuitcaseskellington · 1 year

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Weeping Siren

Inspired by this post, but not the same thing.

Had this amazing idea I couldn't let go.

So basically, Danny's home world was destroyed, and none of his friends or family are alive or even dead with him. I'm not sure what caused thus but probably some sort of dumb GIW plot. This act also damages, but not destroy, the ghost zone/infinite realms.

Danny becomes the ghost king, sure he might have a bit of paper work, but in this story the main job of the ghost king is to keep the ghost zone working/safe, and even protect it should he have to. Because the ghost zone is damaged, he spends most of his time feelings himself through the ghost zone and fixing areas, maybe this is why the Lazarus pits exist?

Anyways, since Danny's always stressed and is grieving/will always grief his home, the ghosts always feel the sorrow of their great king, whom they all grow protective of, and who they greatly love and appreciate.

Danny takes to singing to relieve stress, help him pass the time, and even let him grief in a safe way. Despite this and the love of his people, being in the ghost zone and effectively working even when he can sleep, it all starts getting to him. So he starts performing his songs to the ghosts, telling his stories, his wishes, his love and grief, what he wishes could've happened, and what he hope WILL happen, all through his songs.

Yet he is still in the ghost zone, and so the ghost suggests he performs to the many dimensions and universes that the ghost zone is connected to, it is infinite after all.

And so he does.

From here the ghost king gains a reputation for being a great, yet sad king. A being that could destroy dimensions without trying being in perpetual grief. His stage name becomes the Weeping Siren.

It continues like this.

My idea come from a story where the JL see Constantine being excited/ecstatic for once. They ask what's up and John says the Weeping Siren is going to perform in their universe soon, and he's excited to attend.

One thing leads to another and John or Zatanna convince the other members to join, or the other way around, the JL convinces the two to take them. Either way they tell the JL time and space and everything stops for those who attend, so there are no consequences, and everyone can have a chance to join. And they want the JL beings from different dimensions and universe will most likely be attending as well.

If you want to go even crazier you can add different versions of the Justice league or those they know, like many different versions of Jason Todd attend and things like that.

I imagine it like a bar/dinner kinda vibe, with a stage that Danny steps on to. He's obviously going to be dressed androgynously, and it's hard to say if he seems more ghost or human, as his forms have long since practically merged with eachother. Sure he could shift more to one of his sides, but he accepts hes both, so he becomes both.

Danny sings songs, even the happier songs have a wisp of sorrow or longing in them.

A song I'd add is Nobody by Mitski. Idk why, but it resonates with me, and I think It'd resonate with this Danny.

This danny totally wears dresses, and i imagine he wears darker colors, more blacks with chains, as well as have glasses that look perscripting perched on his head like you would sunglasses. With a certain flower in his hair. Nods to Tucker and Sam. Yes he wears pants and combat boots popular my many world's men. He'd wear biker gloves and all in all he'd change up his outfits, wearing a multitude of different things popular of both genders. Yet the flower, the dark colors, those glasses, they always stay consistent.

#dp x dc prompt #dc x dp #dp crossover #dp prompt #dp x dc #dp #dc #dc x dp crossover #im not sure i came up with the best stage name #i might even change it myself if i ever write this #so feel free to mess with that all you want

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carterstarlight25 · 27 days

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Hi everyone! So I been thinking hard on a rather unique 3way crossover that I been considering about writing. Please feel free to give me your input.

The 3 way crossover consist of DC x DP x Halo Infinite. With the ships being Jason and Danny (Obviously). Master Chief and Bruce as the second ship to be included. And Tim Simping for Katrina. (Cortana 2.0 from Infinite)

I see these possible dynamics being cute as Chief will learn how to be human, and how to love. Him and Team Phantom Finding Family. Also I don't mean the bull Chief pulled in the god awful Halo TV Show!

Bruce will learn that killing isn't an act of God. It isn't you kill once, and become a mindless murderer. That there is a difference, between a Soldier doing his duty to protect humanity and his loved ones. And a mindless killer, enjoying the horror of its victims as the bleed out with please for mercy. Effectively stealing their innocent lives... Oh also learn to not be as emotionally constipated after Katrina effectively out smarts him into a therapy session with Jazz Nightingale. (Last name changed after she saved Danny from the their parents lab…)

Danny will learn what it means to be apart of a family. And how screwed the GIW are.~

Jason, finds out he’s ghost pregnant and a heavy underdeveloped Halfa. All while the Pit becomes a full ghost that he ends up birthing. Which is gonna be a Dinosaur that will be Jason’s “Nightmare.” To his Fright Knight. (I am really wanting to go for Altispinax, or Spinax Vivosaur from Fossil Fighters series. But idk, might just use the Giga from Jurassic World Dominion. Just to change it up from what I seen people have the Pits become.

How Chief comes into the story however, would be introduced via Clockwork leaving a very obviously placed Halo Infinite Xbox Game case with a unmarked disc inside it. In an Alley Danny was taking refuge in. With a sticky note of course. And a few chapters in, when he was alone in Wayne Manor decided to play the game. And by Play. I mean go ghost and jump into the game. But of course. With his Fabulous Phantom Luck (trademark pending.) A new power began to make itself known as the code latched on him on his way out. Bringing Master Chief and Katrina to life in the real world, with all his memories and Katrina with the entire UNSC Database.)

While that’s how I plan to bring in Chief and Co. the main gist of this will be an all out battle, to destroy the GIW. Outlaws, Sirens, Chief and the entire Batfam Team up.

Despite the JL repealing the Anti Ecto Acts. A few Private donors continue to find them to get their hands on Ectoplasm. The League of Assassin’s, Lex Luthor. And of Course Vlad Masters will be the main villains connected to the GIW.

I can see Jason and Chief getting along like wildfire. And when Bruce finds out Jason is one leading the squad his kids, trying to get them to go on a date with Master Chief. It leads to some funny moments I would think. And of course can’t forget Chief reluctantly surprise appearance in Civies at one of Bruce’s Gala’s. (I kinda wanna make him wear Olive Green suit and dress pants. Black Bow Tie with a white under suit. Black belt. And an Olive Green Military Cap to hide his Neural Implant. Maybe having all his Medals from the service pinned to his chest. At least the ones that match ones in this universe. So not all of them obviously.

And Jason would absolutely catch his father freeze up when he sees the handsome Spartan.

For looks regarding Chief’s face since we don’t know what he looks like. I was thinking Caucasian Male, short brown hair that could be the right height to spike it up at least. Not a complete buzz cut. Rather bright blue eyes. That do not glow like Danny’s. But at least around that color. Of course he will have some scars on his left Temple, his lip and across his right eye. Freckles too. His muscle mass would of course be a bit more built then Jason. Which says something. But, you know. Super Soldier and all. (Update: I did in-fact Draw it ^^. If you want to see. Let me know if you wanna see Master Chief in a suit at the Gala ^^)

The Ages I was gonna go for was as follows.

Alfred: Immortal (Thanks Clockwork!)

John (Master Chief): 46yrs (I know it’s not his cannon Age. But it’s what I want for the story.)

Bruce: 45yrs

Barbara: 29yrs

Dick: 26yrs

Jazz: 21yrs

Jason: 21yrs

Cass: 20yrs

Sam: 20yrs

Danny: 19yrs

Duke: 19yrs

Steph: 19yrs

Tucker: 19yrs

Val: 19yrs

Tim: 18yrs

Ellie: 14yrs

Damien: 12yrs

Katrina: 6 months old

And that’s the little Fanfic I been thinking about. Of course it’s just an idea. but I think it would be fun to write.

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thephantomlizard · 2 years

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So I had a prompt idea because of a art I did and because it took me a bit, this post is a bit on the longer side. Arts at the end sorry it's blurry made it to big when I was drawing when you click on it, it should become clearer.

Danny minding his own business about to get into bed gets summoned ( I know its very over done by this point but hear me out)

he is not summoned by anyone who knows what they are doing or actually would think it would work

instead he is summoned by a bunch of kids who appear to not have any magical abilities ( kids who aren't any of the various child superhero groups)

He would have been fine if not for the fact that Billy batson was in this group of kids

who was pressured into doing the summoning with the other homeless kids he was staying with

It was Halloween after-all the best time for summoning's and one of the kids has found a weird scroll in the house they where staying in

What could go wrong

the summoning only barley worked, because billy was unintentionally using Captain Marvels powers for it (captain marvel is shazams original name for those who don't know)

I say it "worked" because of two things

One billy wasn't captain marvel at the time

Two He is a very power magic user being the champion of magic but he is not in complete control of it

These two things lead too Danny's summoning going wrong

The summoning succeeded in bringing Danny to the same dimension as Billy seeing as they where from different ones

But it failed on a few other major things such as the fact that when Danny was summoned he was no where near the summoning circle

Nor was he in his normal ghost form but a inverted bluer version of his human form

I imagine when he was summoned Billy's confused magic fused the two forms together tighter so now his ghost from mirrors what he is wearing in his human form

I think this happened because Billy's magic didn't know what to do with human Danny but did know that this was the person it was looking for.

So as it summoned him it made him shift into his ghost form but since it was a unknown power making Danny change it caused Danny and his ghost half's appearance to change (idk if that makes sense)

Though he does flicker back to his normal hazmat suit self on occasion like when he is in danger or fighting with a lot of his powers

When Danny got to the DC universe he arrived no where near Fawcett city instead he was in the middle of a Gotham street

Him getting there was not the end of it though because the summoning was never technically completed since he never got to the summoning circle Danny will teleport to a different location on the DC earth or around it whenever captain marvel uses his powers

This of course makes it so a lot of funny moments can happen such as Danny popping into league meetings, the middle of super villain attacks, or various superhero hideouts then immediately disappearing

This happens regardless of whether he is Fenton or phantom

He will probably have to resort to stealing to get food because he will not have time to get a job

he does not know how long he has between jumps the only thing he knows that it mostly happens in the day but even that is not reliable

Billy is still homeless in this so doesn't go to school all he does most days is be captain marvel

I imagine he is younger then Danny by a while and when they meet Danny would adopt him as a younger brother

This is not important but I imagine that dc and marvel is a thing where Danny is from but he is also way behind because his universe is still in the 90s so like Jason was just killed and Tim is probably just beginning to be a thing and Danny is salty about it Jason was always his favorite Robin

This is all I got, this is my first time giving a prompt and hopefully I'll be able to think of more in the future. But below is the picture I was drawing when I came up with this, it's of Danny when he first got to the DC universe.

#danny phantom #danny fenton #dp x dc #billy batson #captain marvel #shazam #batman #batpham #fanart #this took me a really long time to finish #backgrounds are hard #but also if anyone actually picks up this prompt the chaos danny could cause #imagine it tho #just popping up randomly on opposites sides of the world in split seconds #they think he is a speedster at first but then he goes from the Mediterranean to the watch tower with no delay which is not possible #even for a speedster #i think danny only randomly shows up where billy has been before with no order behind it #eventually they will end up at the same places but only when its convenient and the moment billy uses his powers again danny's gone

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sil-and-seals-blog-something · 9 months

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I have DND in like, an hour and a half, so I gotta make this prompt/idea dump quick.

DPxDC ideas to dump on anyone who wants to hear!

This one is focus on a little piece of Jason and Danny’s revivals.

So, first, Jason. Jason has had multiple things attributed to his revival, so I gotta clarify his first. For this idea, I wanna focus on the one that is basically this; Superboy-Prime (alternate version of Superman from Earth-Prime, which is a world devoid of any superhumans. Superheroes are comic book characters there. He gets the powers of Superman and, over time, his morals twist into much darker and villain-like morals. There’s more to him, but I won’t get into that) basically punched reality hard enough (at some point) that a lot of things happened as a result, including Jason reviving, but the panel that shows this stuff makes it look like reality broke like glass. So, I imagine that that leaves some sort of mark of Jason. He’s alive because of reality literally getting broken. (Like, don’t get me wrong, I love the Lazarus Pits stuff and all, but I wanna see more about the reality shenanigans of Jason’s revival)

Danny is kinda in a similar boat of having a funky relationship with the fabric of reality. He died and revived WITHIN A HOLE IN REALITY OPENING UP INTO ANOTHER REALITY. That’s gotta have some funkier side effects than just being a powerful halfa. Vlad is a powerful halfa and he only had a blast of ectoplasm thrown at him. Danny had reality tear open on him.

(I only brought Danny up because this thought process technically counts for him as well. But, he actually has this used much more than Jason.)

I’d love to see these details used more. Like, are they walking tears or breaks in reality? Can anyone tell that they have funky reality stuff going on? Are they a danger to reality? Is the reality stuff a danger to them? Is it like an open wound? Can it be worsened? Can it be treated? Would they die (or worse, stop existing) from it being treated? Do they get anything from the funky reality stuff going on with them? Does it fade without causing problems? Or does it remain in the background in a way that they don’t even realize that something is off about them until something happens and now it’s this big thing they have to deal with? Would their reality funkiness be the same or different?

And for DPxDC? Jason could be a halfa or he could just be some undead (maybe not even a specific type of undead beyond having been revived) that feels funky, funky in a way similar to Danny that gets Danny’s rogue gallery thinking that Jason is like Danny and either decides to mess with him (like they would with Danny) or try to get him to meet Danny (whether that’s to make them friends or otherwise is up to the writer)

Why don’t we jump on other places in the DC universe as having high ectoplasmic levels? Like, (in some stories, like, I’m not sure if this applies to the common consensus honestly) Central City had that wave of energy from the particle accelerator that activated a bunch of peoples’ metagenes, and I’m pretty sure that it also killed some people. There’s also the Black Flash, who is basically a grim reaper for the speedforce, who’ll appear in Central Coty (due to the multitude of speedsters there). Central City can be reasonably stated to have, at least, rising ectoplasmic levels. The cities that face alien invasions would reasonably have a lot of deaths and therefore a lot of ectoplasm. We can use a lot of other cities as settings. Also, I’d love to imagine the different possible city spirits people could come up with? Like, I’ve seen Metropolis done a few time, but besides Metropolis and Gotham? No other location spirits. Like:

Themyscira: Probably an old/wise warrior. She’d be set in her ways (considering how Themyscira is), but like, who knows?

Central City: Probably a young one if existent (at least, younger than Lady Gotham)? I imagine this one changing to be like the Flash family or scientific because the two notable things about Central City, that I remember, is science stuff and the Flash family.

Metropolis AND Smallville: So, I’ve seen some people play with the idea of the spirit of Krypton going and becoming Metropolis’s, but like, what if they became Smallville’s instead? Since, that’s where the Last Son of Krypton was raised and all, and where Kryptonians go as a safe space, and the spirit of Krypton probably needs the retirement to a small town. Metropolis could probably get a city spirit that reflects both Superman and Lex Luthor (Superman and Lex are the big names for Metropolis and both shape Metropolis in different ways. Yeah, Lex isn’t the best person, but he does cause some good things to happen for Metropolis. I imagine that the two are equally defining characters for Metropolis) instead.

I just, enjoy the concept of city spirits and spirits that embody a place.

This idea here is less of a prompt and more of a thought. What if Boston Deadman had no idea about ectoplasmic ghosts? Like, imagine having to need someone to magically make you visible, and then finding out about a whole other sect of ghosts that can be both visible AND tangible that can also have the same powers as you, just as a common baseline. It’s just hilarious to me to imagine how vindicated Deadman would probably feel to find out that he could’ve become that type of ghost instead, but no, he just had to be a magically bound one instead!

Idea for those who don’t like Jason just casually being cured of Pit Madness. Genuine attempt to heal him leads to Jason going catatonic again. Play with that as you will.

Hope y’all have fun with these. Feel free to mix and match, or recommend pieces of work that already have these or something similar.

#dpxdc #prompt #If you can’t tell #I’m a bit of a Jason Todd fan #I honestly made this whole thing for the first idea #then I had more ideas #but that first way rotating in my head for a while

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phantomskeep · 1 year

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Happy WIP Wednesday!

This first bits are from chapter three of my slowburn Dead on Main DPxDC fic, "Putting the 'Fun' Back in 'Funeral'", and the second is from a little crackfic I'm writing because oh god I made C3 very depressing and it made me sad. The first part of PFBF is from Danny's POV and the second from Jason's.

Just an FYI none of this has been beta'ed yet, so please pardon any errors!

While the local ghost hero was waiting for a response, he was lazily heading south from Fentonworks. Easily drifting on his back above the cloud layer currently overhanging Amity, Danny couldn’t help but rest his heavy gaze upon the millions of twinkling stars before him. It was only twenty-four hours ago that he had fought his last ghost as a semi-normal person. His entire world had shifted, changing completely. Danny now had the ultimate power of the Ghost Zone. It was a startling realization that hit him quickly and he couldn’t help but grieve his childhood. While he hadn’t really had much of one in the first place, Danny still wished things could have been different. That he was in university with his friends, studying astrophysics, trying to be an astronaut.

But no. He had to step into a portal to a different dimension and have it open up on top of him. He had to die before he even started highschool - and he couldn’t even do that correctly.

A loud groan of annoyance left cold lips, gloved hands coming up to grasp at white hair. The ghost boy flipped around to float on his belly, facing the dark clouds rumbling below him. Grasping on the tingling feeling of intangibility, Danny summoned his power to the forefront of his being before letting gravity take hold of his form. He dropped quickly towards the ground, eyes closed. It was from years of practice that he knew when to allowed such a pesky notion of gravity peel away from him, his monochrome shape hovering just above the down-trodden apartment complex he called home.

A bright flash lit the sky behind Danny’s still form, the clap of thunder chasing behind not even a second later. Bright green eyes tracked his shadow as the late-spring lightning storm passed through Amity. He hovered there, for a moment. Allowing the wild winds whip around him and such a storm’s power picked up, shaking the leaves of blossomed trees. Distantly, Danny registered that rain began drizzling from the cloudbed he was just so far above. It was with a mournful shake that Danny finally moved to enter his barren apartment.

When his boots lightly tapped his threadbare carpet floors, Danny let the rings of his transformation wash over him. Gone was the royal outfit he had still yet to inspect, and in its place was the slightly dirty clothes the young man had pulled from his floor earlier that very day. Black hair flopped to cover his eyes, no longer snow-white and being kept out of view by his powers. It was with a quiet sigh that Danny moved to push the strands back, pulling his beat-up phone out from his pocket.

With practiced movements, Danny allowed himself to fall back onto the worn couch shoved in the middle of his living room. The halfa didn’t move to turn on the lights around him - there would be no point in it, after all. He could see better than an average human. Just another of the many side-effects of half-dying.

A quick entering of his password had Danny’s cracked phone unlocked, icy blue eyes skimming the two messages of confirmation from Sam and Tucker. Quickly tapping out “jazz?” and smacking the send button allowed Danny to let the device fall onto his lap. He threw his arms back dramatically, face tipping back to eye the water damage on his ceiling critically.

He really should put in a maintenance notice.

It was there that Jason could see the form of Dick, back turned towards Jason as the elder fiddled with something on his light-stained butcher block countertops. As much as Jason wanted to annoy his brother by sneaking up on the distracted Nightwing, exhaustion still pulled heavily on his limbs.

“Didn’t I say that any bannings in Alfred’s kitchen extended to my own?”

The question clearly startled Dick, but he didn’t show it besides turning around with a bright grin.

“That’s only for cooking, Little Wing!” The older winked at his brother, gesturing him closer with his hand. “I ordered some delivery, I got your favorite from that one Thai place.”

Jason couldn’t help the creeping excitement in his voice as he fully stepped into the kitchen space. “Moo Yai?”

“Of course.”

Clapping a hand on Dick’s shoulder, Jason easily reached up to start grabbing the dishware the two of them would need. He passed Dick whatever he grabbed with a practiced ease.

Having various Bats and Birds hide away from the rest of the family at Jason’s apartment had become something the young man had come to expect. Often, he was told it was due to the coziness of his loft or his cooking prowess. He knew it wasn’t only because of those two things. The theme of finding one of his siblings breaking into his home had only begun after a particularly bad incident at the manor which caused Dick and Tim to recruit the others into making sure Jason was okay. It was information that he was not supposed to be privy to, but after the first time Tim had passed out at Jason’s place, he managed to snoop through the younger’s phone and put two and two together.

It wasn’t something Jason was… against, per se. But it was annoying when he was having a particularly bad day with the Pit Rage and he was surrounded by people he didn’t want to hurt again.

However, despite everything, moving around another person (or persons) in his kitchen had become a routine. One he never expected, but he was grateful for it all the same.

This next bit is from a pure DP one-shot within the realms of "crack treated seriously". I'm hoping to get it posted in a few days!

The last couple of weeks had been a chaotic stream of pandemonium. It all started with one Vlad Masters pulling an absolute Fruit Loop move which resulted in an ancient evil being awoken from his sleep. A sleep that, according to any ghost willing to talk to Danny, Pariah Dark was forced into because he was the Biggest Crazy Ever™. Of course, Danny did what any fourteen year-old superhero would do! He fought the bad guy, locked him back up in his creepy sarcophagus in his creepy castle, and then passed the fuck out.

Worst of all, that wasn’t even the really chaotic part.

No, that had to come after Danny had woken up in his bed with Jazz fretting over him. A ghost Danny had never before met had begun haunting him whenever he went on patrols. The clock-themed ghost had started off with saying things like “You bested Pariah Dark in single combat, now it is your time to take the crown” and “Young Danny, you must come back into the Infinite Realms and take your place as the Crowned Head.”

And look, Danny wasn’t the smartest kid on the block. He didn’t have the best grades, was often oblivious, and tended to ignore things that he didn’t want to deal with.

So he just ignored the blue annoyance following him everywhere.

That is, until the dang ghost stopped time and made him listen. Clockwork, which was apparently the ghost’s name, all but dragged him into the Ghost Zone, set him in front of Pariah Dark’s spooky coffin, and made him eat part of the ghost?! Apparently a “core” is something that all ghosts have but it was still gross! Danny kept throwing up afterwards, but he couldn’t seem to upchuck the weird pearl thing he had been made to swallow like an angry cat that wouldn’t take their medicine.

And now he’s here. Sitting in Mr. Lancer’s English period, waiting for the clock to tick by and end his day.

Danny’s stomach started to feel a bit weird mid-way through the previous class (algebra one with one of the football coaches) and he was fully planning on heading to the Far Frozen once the day is done.

The Far Frozen was an area in the Ghost Zone that the ghostly blue annoyance had herded him to before forcing him to eat another person. The ghost yetis there were pretty cool and were basically ghostly doctors. One of the yetis, Frostbite, had made some awesome hot chocolate and Danny was absolutely craving it. He figured it was because his stomach was upset and he really didn’t want Jazz hovering over him.

So, therefore, a trip to the Zone for some hot chocolate with some ghost yetis.

Hope you guys enjoyed the WIPs :) Chapter three should be posted within a couple of weeks, and I'm hoping to get the silly little fic posted before the end of March uwu

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sadlynotthevoid · 1 year

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I just read this fic:

And can I say, I love the idea of Jason joining the Fenton family so much? Usually is otherwise, and I really like that, but they would be so good for each other.

He would fit so well with them, a family of bright, intelligent, people with feral overprotective tendencies and academic aspirations (no, Danny is not the exception, he wanted to be an astronaut). Jazz finally would have someone to nerd about non-ghost/technological things and he's a triumphant at the same level as her— a triumphant in a genius family.

Danny would have a Big brother who is happy to scare anyone he asks, help him with the superhero things one only can master (lol) through experience or a mentor's guide, and he can introduce him to the ghost culture. Besides, he would enjoy listening to Danny's space infodump.

Danielle and he would get along like a house on fire. He would carry her on his shoulders for fun but also so Ellie could look down on people she's being petty with. And they would exchange travel stories.

Last but not less important, Jack and Maddie could be excellent parents for Jason, especially post-resurrection. When he needs to feel safe and loved. And in a universe where Maddie and Jack turned pages and are doing better now— They're putting effort to be better parents because they love their kids— that's what he gets. Unconditional love.

He went for a lot of things and then when he was finally in a safe place, everything went down and he died. He woke up to a world that didn't change a single bit of those parts— those parts that hurt him and others that can't do anything but try to defend themselves and resist. And yet, it changed too much. The people he cares for and love were different, and he could accept that with time, but what was the point if they didn't would try to do the same for him?

Because from his point of view, they don't love him anymore or not in the same way he loves them. Not at the same amount either. And it hurts. Knowing that he's never going to be as loved as the others. That his dad prefers a fake memory of a son that he doesn't seem to remember well, an illusion, over him, a son that came back from death and cried for him even when he couldn't think. When he was a brainless zombie basically. It hurts him to know that, at his father's eyes, he worths nothing now. It hurts him every time he sees the scar in his throat.

It no surprises him when one day he wakes up feeling there's liquid fire destroying him from inside. He's having trouble to breathe and his head is screaming nothing and everything at once— Fortunately, he doesn't stay alone like that for too long.

At some moment his phone must have gone off because before he noticed it, he had it in his hand and a familiar voice was talking from the other side. For some miracle (or what Roy called his Jay-senses) Roy Harper decided to call him at whatever hour it was. They talked. What was happening? He didn't know. Is he injured? No. Is he in pain? "..." What did he need? Again, he didn't know.

For when Jason ended the call, they must have spent at least a hour on it. He vaguely remembers that the sky was still dark when he woke up and now the sun was— well, not out because it was Gotham, but it was somewhere up there.

Two hours later, Jason is driving out of Gotham, following Roy's advice. Who may not be a therapist but learned enough about mental health from Dinah to know what Jason needed. Space from the metaphorical knife in his heart. So he chose a random direction and started moving.

The next morning Jason finds himself in a town called Amity Park, Illinois, he thinks. He wasn't paying too much attention to anything that wasn't the road. Quite the opposite, actually. He was looking for a distraction.

At that exact moment, a green glowing blur collided five feet from him. Whoa, that was close. The green blur was followed by a flying... galaxy-themed child? Said child raised his hand and shouted a green beam to the crater where the green crashed.

Well, he was looking for a distraction, wasn't him? Maybe he should wait and see what's happening here. He doesn't know if the kid is a meta defending himself of a robot or just practicing his powers.

"Wao! Wao there kid! Watch the bike! I just painted it! Don't ruin my hard work like that". So, the green one was a person, not a thing. Good to know.

"Well, don't ruin MY hard work then, Johnny——", the glowing star child frowned, tilting his head. "Do you sense that? Is like—" he closed his eyes and turned around— And what kind of relationship do they have that he can do that with someone he was attacking just a seconds ago?— the green guy also did the same thing. It looked a bit funny. What were they even doing? Maybe they were searching something?

Well, he was never going to find out that spying on them like a stalker. That was more a thing of— yeah. No. Not that he was hidden, just in silence under the shadow of this big tree. So, yeah, nothing like him.

"Hey", he stepped out— and immediately got wrapped by a black whip thingy and pulled in front of the glowing people. The thing screeched. What was this?

"Shit. You're core is breaking bad man."

His what?

____

Then they carry him to Danny's home and Johnny goes for Frostbite while Danny explains him what a core is because dude looks so confused. Then he has to explain what a halfa is and boy, he didn't need another identity crisis.

Jazz arrives in the middle of this, sees his brother giving a Ghost Intensive Course resumed to a strange teenager on the sofa, and postpones her own crisis (because they ARE turning in her parents, damnit) to start damage control.

For when Frostbite comes with a core expert aside, the Fenton parents had already wrapped Jason like a burrito. Jack is seated on the next couch to him with a plate of cookies (from Tucker's dad btw), Maddie is placed beside Jason talking about his time at college, and the three Fenton children are coming down from preparing the guest room.

Turn out his core IS shattering because, for ghosts, that are partially made of it, emotions are highly important. So, experiences like abandonment or betrayal, for example, can cause damage to the core.

The feeling of burning was the energy of his core escaping through leaks. Frostbite tells them that if he hadn't got help now, he probably would have felt a sharp sudden pain in a few days and exploded. Jason almost choke on ecto-rade when he heard that, he was at the edge of his second death and would have been an explosion. Again.

He gets promptly distracted when the other yeti, a lady called Blizzard, inquires that the liquid sensation was probably a sign that he has a water affinity core, and proceeds to explain what core affinities are. He can't help but grin because that sounds just like he will be able to do water bending. What? He died at fifteen, he was allowed to act childish sometimes.

----

Anyways, that's all what I have so far. Feel free to add anything.

#dpxdc #The fentons adopting Jason #Who needs a furry when you have a giant sweet engineer and a kickass dictor lady to parent you #And yes #I headcanon Jason as water core #No I'm not explaining now #I have low battery

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365days365movies · 3 years

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January 6, 2021: Last Action Hero (Part 2)

SPOILERS! And check out Part 1 beforehand! Anyway, let’s go! Got a lot to cover, TRUST me.

So, this movie is incredibly cluttered. Anyway, Slater makes his way to the Fart Bomb, and Practice (makes perfect) is a dirty cop working for Vivaldi. Danny and Slater get chained to a pipe, and I’m still surprised we haven’t even slightly revisited the time Danny got taken hostage about, what, an hour ago? Whiskers the Cat Cop arrives and shoots Salieri, and I weep for the part of my sanity that just died typing that sentence.

I want you to know, I mad that GIF. I had to type “furball problem.” I’m losing it, you guys...and I think I’m enjoying it.

Together, Slater and Danny steal the body of Leo the Fart (HUP, there goes a little more sanity), everybody at the funeral has a gun (including one old woman with a straight-up grenade launcher), and so, SO much property is abused and damaged. In other words, it’s a pretty fun action sequence. Leo drops into a conveniently placed tar pit alongside Jack Slater, and Danny briefly becomes a domestic terrorist by shooting a gun in a public area, WOW, the ‘90s was a different time!

So, it’s at this point that I start getting annoyed by Danny always being meta. I realize that I've been praising it for this, but...yeah, no, it’s starting to get annoying now. Especially considering that we’ve got an hour left in the movie. But, on the bright side, it’s also at this point that Benedict becomes my favorite character. This gorgeous motherfucker kills Vivaldi (whose plan was completely nonsensical, by the way), and then turns to the screen. Charles Dance effortlessly channels the spirit of Shakespeare’s Richard III, Duke of Gloucester, as says this to the audience:

If that little turd, Daniel Madigan, can move through parallel worlds, I can move through parallel worlds. In and out! In, steal whatever I want, and out again! Impossible to catch!

I can add colors to the chameleon, change shapes with Proteus for advantages, AND SET THE MURDEROUS MACHIAVEL TO...Anyway...

Charles Dance is giving his absolute best energies to this role. And this might be a silly movie, but godDAMN is Benedict a great villain for it. It’s immediately followed by the surreal image of a monster truck crashing through the wall of this mansion, and the fight leads to Benedict, Professor Toru Tanaka, Danny, and Jack Slater falling through a portal created by the ticket, and ending up in the real world.

We put Jack’s action-movie world in contrast with the real world, first with little things, and then with a legitimately vicious-looking car accident. Like, wow, it’s a VERY realistic-looking accident. I’d show a GIF of it, but...wow, it’s extremely affecting. Toru dies, and there’s, uh...there’s blood. Man. It’s rough, honestly.

Speaking of affecting, Jack is beginning to understand the true nature of his reality. And Schwarenegger does an OK job pulling that pain off...but like everybody in this movie, his emotions are way calmer than mine would be if I were in his shoes. But there is one character I can identify with: Nick, the theater owner. When he finds out that the ticket works, he starts to talk about the movies he could now visit, the people he could meet. OK, most of them are beautiful female starlets, but still! I get it! Do you know how much I would love to meet Stan Lee? SERIOUSLY? It’d be amazing.

I can also identify with Danny’s mother, who is rightfully PISSED. Seriously, this kid just got assaulted by a robber, brought to the police, and went directly TO THE MOVIE THEATER. GROUND THIS CHILD. GROUND HIM SO GODDAMN HARD.

And then, Benedict experiences the darkest part of the real world, and Dance again shows his talent. He begins by showing surprise and mild horror at the depravity of an early 1990s New York City (a little more dramatically bad than it was in real life at this point, but still), then sees a man assaulted (and possibly killed) for his shoes. He remarks at this in horror...then realizes that the police don’t come as quickly as they do in his film universe. He experiments by killing a man in cold blood, in public, and no one stops him.

Upon realizing his potential freedom in this world...he makes a plan. He uses the ticket, and brings back...the Ripper. ANY OTHER MOVIE VILLAIN? Dracula? Freddy Kreuger? Jason? Like...nobody? That is...such a missed opportunity, goddamn. Anyway, their plan is to kill Arnold Schwarzenegger. As in the REAL Arnold Schwarzenegger, who actually appears upon his real-life wife at the time Maria goddamn Shriver! Which...yeah, that’s cool, but...the amount of celebrity cameos in this scene is, frankly, INSANE.

Here’s a list: Little Richard, Jim Belushi, Damon Wayans, Chevy Chase, JEAN-CLAUDE VAN DAMME, MC Hammer. And that’s not counting Tina Turner (the mayor earlier), Sharon Stone, Robert Patrick, Joan Plowright, and...well, I’ll save the best for last.

I haven’t even mentioned the development of Slater’s as a three-dimensional character in multiple different ways; the Ripper showing up at the movie premiere alongside the movie actor, Tom Noonan; the Ripper KILLING NOONAN’S REAL WORLD AGENT...

This movie is insane. So much to cover, and yet it’s SUCH A LONG GODDAMN MOVIE. This movie is 2 hours and 11 minutes long! SERIOUSLY! I am tired, I gots to go to BEEEEED. Let’s get this climax over with, shall we? Arnold Schwarzenegger meets Jack Slater in some REALLY seamless effect work (this movie has actually aged SO well, damn), the Ripper kidnaps Danny and brings him to the roof of the theater, in a bid to reenact their old battle. Some meta dialogue takes place from the Ripper, and he THROWS DANNY OFF THE ROOF. Noonan’s also actually pretty good at playing this unhinged, Joker-esque maniac, by the way.

Jack kills the Ripper (again), and Danny’s saved from falling by Jack, just in time for Benedict to show up and make my day once more. He expounds the true potential of the ticket and film villains (frustrating me even more), while also chewing the scenery splendidly. He points out that any movie villain would love the real world, noting that in this world, the bad guys win. He shoots Jack Slater, and as he’s about to win, Slater shoots him in the eye, resulting in this shot.

Nice.

But he drops the ticket, which lands near a theater showing the classic Ingmar Bergman film, The Seventh Seal, a movie which is on my list for Drama December. Or maybe Experimental June, I haven’t decided yet. Anyway, the ticket activates in front of that theater and...that’s Ian fucking McKellen.

THAT IS IAN. FUCKING. MCKELLEN. PLAYING INGMAR BERGMAN’S DEATH. WHAT. HOLY SHIT. And that happens just as Slater is literally about to die in the ambulance, and Danny summons his domestic terrorist impulses again, whipping out a gun and hijacking the ambulance to get Jack back to the theater. Meanwhile, Ian McKellen just KILLS a dude on the street, because this movie is secretly AMAZING. DeathKellen follows the ambulance to Nick’s movie theater as Jack is dying. Leading to one of the most surreal things I’ve ever seen.

McKellen fucking TAKES this movie as an omnipotent death, and is essentially Death ex Machina. My God. This movie is the silliest, craziest, wackiest, most nonsensical, crazy movie that I’ve seen...and goddamn does it have some amazingly great moments. To the extent that I only just realized that the fucking cartoon cat is voiced by DANNY FUCKING DEVITO. WHAT. THE FUCK.

And all of this is also running over the almost completely ignored fact that Danny is still greatly saddened about the death of his father. And this film completely passes that fact over. Like I said, there’s so much extra folderol in the film, and it really did have the chance to be this emotional, existential epic. But sadly...it’s kind of all over the place.

Anyway, Jack’s back in the movie, where his wounds heal, and he now has a new understanding of his own fictional existence. He officially becomes the meta. And also ruins the Jack Slater franchise forever. Yeah, uh...the franchise has literally become self aware. And that’s not gonna be a good thing for the movie.

And that’s Last Action Hero! Epilogue coming in a few hours, so stay tuned for that. And I gotta tell you...I have some words to say about this movie. Some great, and some...stay tuned.

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aion-rsa · 4 years

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Helstrom: The Comic History of Marvel’s Son of Satan

https://ift.tt/33Vbv3V

On Oct. 16, Hulu will be releasing the latest Marvel tie-in series Helstrom. It’s not so much like one of those upcoming Disney+ MCU shows that feature high-profile superheroes telling stories that will be important to the overall fictional universe. It’s more like Daredevil or Runaways where quality be damned, you’re never going to hear anyone in the movies make anything close to a reference to it, but it counts as part of the Marvel Cinematic Universe anyway.

The series is about siblings Daimon Helstrom and Ana Helstrom, who have seemingly normal lives, but oppose demons and evil people on the side. Their mother is institutionalized, which is fairly true to the comics, but their father is also referred to as “a powerful serial killer.”

In the comics, things are a bit grander. Their father isn’t just any serial killer, but a variation of Satan. Marvel has a bunch of guys whose identities are “basically Satan, but not really.” Instead of suits and turtlenecks, the two have comic adventures where they dress like they shopped off the sexy Halloween costume rack at Party City.

Daimon Helstrom (played by Tom Austen) gets both L’s in the comics as Daimon Hellstrom, but also has the rad nickname of Son of Satan. Shockingly, he’s a good guy! Mostly. Even when bare-chested with a glowing pentagram over his torso. Even with a magical pitchfork as his weapon of choice.

Son of Satan and his sister Satana are essentially the Marvel versions of Dante and Vergil from Devil May Cry. Both are half-human/half-devil and they lean on opposite sides of their genetics.

So let’s say you want to get into Hellstrom’s comic book exploits. Well, you’re in luck because we have a list of his main character runs since showing up in 1973.

The Early Spotlight (1973-1975)

Hellstrom made his first appearance in Ghost Rider #1. In the first two issues of that series, Hellstrom was hired as an exorcist to help deal with a missing woman who had been possessed. Interestingly enough, they never gave a clear look at Hellstrom in those two issues other than the demonic birthmark on his chest.

Initially, Hellstrom had a Jekyll and Hyde gimmick to the point that he told the woman’s loved ones to lock him up in a dark room and not let him out no matter what he said. Unlike the supporting characters in Young Frankenstein, the bozos didn’t take that to heart and let Hellstrom’s more maniacal personality Son of Satan loose.

Sidenote: His adventures were originally going to be called “the Mark of Satan” with more emphasis on Satan as the antagonist, but doing comics focused on Satan was deemed a little over-the-line, so they changed it.

Second sidenote: I did not hit her, it’s bullshit, I did not hit her, I DID NOT! Oh hi, Mark of Satan!

How Helstrom Became One of Marvel Television’s Last Shows Standing

By Alec Bojalad

Son of Satan’s adventures continued into Marvel Spotlight #12-24. It didn’t take long for Marvel to realize that giving him a double-identity was kind of a lame idea and instead had Satan Sr. magically handwave that away and make Son of Satan just one dude. Definitely for the better as he no longer felt so blatantly like Marvel’s answer to Jason Blood/Etrigan.

Hellstrom continued to fight against ghoulish enemies while opposing his father’s ways and dated some generic woman whose name I couldn’t tell you if you paid me a million dollars. It all culminated in a really strong finale issue where Hellstrom fought against and with his sister Satana, but maybe ignore the part where Hellstrom had a dream about the two of them making out.

Striking Out Solo (1975-1977)

Son of Satan had his own self-titled ongoing series that only lasted eight issues. From the beginning, Hellstrom went to Hell to basically tell off his dad as a way to say that this series wouldn’t be about their rivalry. Instead, it was Son of Satan dealing with a bunch of random villains that nobody would ever really remember.

There was one ridiculous enemy named the Possessor (not to be confused with the Elder of the Universe) who wore a mask to hide the fact that he had demon faces where his ears are supposed to be. Too bad he never showed up outside of this series.

It was a trippy outing, but ended before it could find its footing.

Demon Defender (1981-1983)

The Defenders are, of course, the bundle of heroes who don’t quite fit in with the Avengers, Fantastic Four, or X-Men but need people to hang out with. Guys like Hulk, Dr. Strange, Namor, Valkyrie, etc. Son of Satan became a regular ally in the team’s early days, appearing to help out every now and then. Most notably, he was part of a storyline where the Serpent Society kidnapped the Defenders and Clea put together a second team to rescue them, featuring the likes of Son of Satan, Daredevil, and Luke Cage.

Then again, the only thing anyone truly remembers about those issues is a very bizarre and legendary scene of a random guy getting killed by an Elf with a Gun.

As the series reached its 92nd issue, Hellstrom finally joined the team. On one hand, having Son of Satan on the team meant the Defenders had to take on the occult more than usual. On the other hand, Hellstrom soon fell in love with fellow Defender Hellcat, who was regularly dealing with constantly being possessed and turning into a scantily-clad demoness.

When Defenders hit its 100th issue, they did a really climactic storyline where a handful of the various Marvel Devil guys invaded Earth and Son of Satan had to take on Father of Son of Satan for the fate of Earth. The conclusion is rather surprising.

Prince of Lies (1993-1994)

Okay, so Daimon Hellstrom and Patsy Walker have been married for ten years (our time). It’s a fairytale romance where they’ve made a few guest appearances here and there, but have otherwise retired, happily ever after. What could POSSIBLY taint such true love?

90s comics. That’s your answer.

Welcome to Hellstorm: Prince of Lies, a 21-issue ongoing series where every issue looks like a Nine Inch Nails video and they try to see how much lanky nudity they can get away with showing in a Marvel comic. Like, holy crap, there has to be a world record for shadowed-out junk in this series. They even edit in some obvious, hastily-drawn underwear on characters at times as if the editor has realized they’ve gone too far.

It’s a gritty and grimy series that you’d expect from a 90s comic where much of it is written by Warren Ellis and the main character is Satan’s son. Lots of spikes, sharp teeth, long hair, suffering, insanity, and so on. It’s most definitely a product of its time.

Plus it’s called “Hellstorm” instead of “Hellstrom.” Scout’s honor, I didn’t notice the difference until my editor pointed it out.

Maximum Hellstorm (2006-2007)

Ah, Marvel MAX. The days when Marvel decided to give R-rated comics a shot and just threw everything at the wall. Hellstorm: Son of Satan was one of them, going for five issues. By this point, we’re in the mid-00s, so Hellstrom has a more down-to-earth look and is constantly talking to his father on a cellphone and tries so hard not to remind us what he looked like in the 70s and 80s.

But because it’s Marvel MAX, it means that his adventure is filled with lots of curse words, ultra-violence, gross demon boobs, and explicit Jesus imagery you normally wouldn’t see in a comic like this.

While the whole “Hellstrom messes with Egyptian underworld deities” storyline is a bit high concept, it still feels more like the new Hulu show than anything else.

Zombie Slayer (2009)

Speaking of gritty Marvel trends, there’s Marvel Zombies! While the initial Ultimate Fantastic Four storyline and the first two volumes of Marvel Zombies dealt with the happenings of a doomed universe, the next few volumes went slightly more uplifting. After all, sometimes you need to have people to root for who can back it up.

In Marvel Zombies 4, the Black Talon and the Hood (under the influence of Dormammu) try to use the decapitated head of Zombie Deadpool (otherwise known as Headpool) to bring forth the zombie apocalypse in the regular Marvel universe. Yes, we actually have canon stakes this time.

To prevent this, we have the Midnight Sons, made up of Son of Satan, Morbius, Jennifer Kale, Werewolf by Night, and Man-Thing. It’s an incredibly badass group working through an incredibly badass adventure. Too bad the team doesn’t last.

On a similar note, around this time there was a miniseries called the Last Defenders where Son of Satan was a major character. It’s just that by the time the team came together, they were an immediately-forgotten afterthought, so there’s no use in giving it its own entry.

Ghost Riders in the Sky (2009-2010)

Jason Aaron had a really, really, really great run on Ghost Rider. Most definitely read it. It’s pure grindhouse and I love it.

The whole run finished with Ghost Riders: Heaven’s on Fire. This culmination featured Johnny Blaze and Danny Ketch working together against a corrupt angel, the anti-Christ, and a group of villains from earlier in the run teaming up.

At least they have Daimon Hellstrom there to help out. Unfortunately, Hellstrom looks outright goofy with a bald head and Fu-Manchu mustache. The story brings back Jaine, his EXTREME love interest from the 90s series who he ended up with after his relationship with Patsy went very south.

Anyhow, Jason Aaron’s Ghost Rider run. Read it!

Strikeforce (2019-2020)

Much like how X-Men had X-Force as the team that would do the really dirty work, Avengers had a spinoff team called Strikeforce. Made up of Winter Soldier, Angela, Blade, Spider-Woman, Wiccan, and Spectrum, the team soon brought Hellstrom into the fold. Which is just as well, since he was working for Baron Zemo for a little while and really needed to get his head back on straight.

Unfortunately for Hellstrom, 1) he retained his bald look from Heaven’s on Fire and 2) the series didn’t last all that long. Only nine issues, sadly. Eh, it was fun while it lasted.

cnx.cmd.push(function() { cnx({ playerId: "106e33c0-3911-473c-b599-b1426db57530", }).render("0270c398a82f44f49c23c16122516796"); });

At least he’s joining the Savage Avengers next! And they’re giving him his hair back!

The post Helstrom: The Comic History of Marvel’s Son of Satan appeared first on Den of Geek.

from Den of Geek https://ift.tt/31dX5KF

#aion-rsa #Den of Geek

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heatherpayne · 5 years

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Heather Payne always knew that she approached romantic relationships differently than most of her peers, but she could easily rationalize it: her parent’s divorce gave her an example of how badly relationships could go, and she was always too focused on school work to have time for a relationship. It wasn’t until college that she truly started questioning her sexuality and why she had so few crushes. It was a long journey to realize that she was not only bisexual, but also fell on the asexual spectrum. However, Heather has had very few truly deep relationships.

Relationship: First boyfriend

Species: Human

Status: Alive

Heather never had a romantic or sexual relationship until college. Her crushes had been few and far between, and since they mostly were towards her friends, she was unsure how to interpret them and hesitant to act upon them. However, in college her grandmother’s and mother’s insistence on having children finally got to her, so she decided to “try out” a relationship.

One landed on her doorstep when her classmate Jason asked her out freshman year. She said yes to test the waters and see what a relationship was like. Jason was considered attractive by others and quite smart, so Heather was hopeful.

Their relationship wasn’t bad, but there wasn’t much substance to it. They would go out to eat, talk about something inconsequential, and then Jason would want to make out. Heather went along for awhile, hoping that a spark would come, but she found no fulfillment in the relationship and finally near the end of the year decided to break it off. Jason had noticed she was distant, so he didn’t take it too badly. Every time they saw each other on campus after that was just an awkward smile and wave.

Relationship: Ex-girlfriend, ex-best friend

Species: Kitsune

Status: Alive

Naomi was Heather’s freshman roommate. They were randomly assigned, but they hit it right off, quickly becoming close friends. Naomi was an English major and active in theater. They couldn’t be more different, yet they clicked so well. They would study together and just confide everything in each other--except Heather’s biggest secret, that she was a witch.

Heather’s crush on Naomi started sometime during freshman year. It built up slowly, and then hit her all at once that she was probably in love with her best friend. She didn’t act on it though until early junior year when Naomi came out to her as a lesbian. Heather figured that she was a lesbian too since this was working but she hadn’t felt attraction to Jason.

They had already spent basically all of their time together, but somehow they started spending even more. Heather was happier with Naomi than she had been in a long time, truly head-over-heels in love. She lost her virginity to Naomi and thought that maybe she would be the only one she ever slept with.

Then, a few weeks before graduation, Naomi told Heather her deepest secret, that she wasn’t supposed to tell anyone. She was a kitsune, a Japanese fox spirit and type of yokai. Heather knew what she should have said. “I’m a witch. I know about magic too!” Instead, she ran away. She ran away from Naomi like she had run away from her mother because she had been running from magic her whole life but this was supposed to be different. Her and Naomi were supposed to be normal.

Heather did her best to avoid Naomi those last few weeks, but they lived in the same suite. Naomi tried to act like things were normal and assure Heather that she was the same girl she had always known, this didn’t change who she was. Heather was very aware of that, yet she just couldn’t get the words out. After graduation, Naomi went off to a Master’s in Creative Writing at Brown University, while Heather headed to the west coast. All promises to keep in touch that had been made all year were broken by Heather.

Two years later when Heather was finally ready to reconcile with Naomi and admit her hypocrisy, she had already been blocked on Facebook and Naomi had changed her number.

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

During the summer following graduation, Heather tried hard to find a rebound relationship or one night stand in the city where she was doing her internship. This was what they did in movies, so surely it could bring her some relief. She went home with a couple of girls from bars, but only once ever went all the way. She never felt true attraction in these short-term relationships, and finally after lots of time on the internet found what described how she was feeling: demisexual.

At the beginning of her PhD in Chemistry at UCLA, Heather threw herself into her research, deciding that she just wasn’t cut out for relationships. She made a few friends, but didn’t let anyone get as close as she had been with Naomi. It was a very lonely time in her life. Slowly, she opened up more to some people, but Naomi was always in the back of her mind as the one who was her soulmate in all of the ways that mattered.

Relationship: Ex-fiance

Species: Human

Status: Alive

Heather and Danny saw each other at the same diner for a few months before they started talking. Danny was another doctorate student at UCLA, but his program was in Earth, Planetary, and Space Sciences, working on a remote sensing project to measure fault movement. Still, they would both studiously work on their laptops at a Southern diner a few blocks from campus in adjacent booths. Finally, they ended up sharing a booth and information about their research. The two eventually started meeting up elsewhere to talk about much more than science and just enjoy each other’s company.

About a year after they met, they officially moved their relationship from friendship to dating, though it had been naturally trending that way. Their relationship soon turned sexual, and Heather had to reassess her sexuality, realizing she was bisexual but the demisexuality and heteronormativity had made it very hard to pin down.

She looked into Danny’s family history and dropped hints about the supernatural, worried about being caught off guard again. She decided that she wouldn’t mess this one up if that was the case, though.

Two and a half years later, Danny proposed to Heather. It wasn’t any fancy or dramatic affair, but it was instead personal, which Heather appreciated.

Heather said yes. Their union just made sense. They were both approaching 30 and didn’t have time to date around. Heather was content with Danny, though there was not the same spark she had had with Naomi. The pair worked well together and enjoyed many of the same pastimes. They were both so career focused that they would support each other in their professional endeavors and be okay when the other went away for research and conferences.

When Heather received the fateful call about her mother, Danny was supportive about her leaving to spend time with her family. It was stressful on their relationship when a few weeks turned into six months away. After another attack claimed the lives of Heather’s aunt and coven, she looked ahead at a mission that Danny could have no part of. She told him that she would be just a bit longer, but after two months of no progress, she realized that she could be in for the long haul. This mission could even put him in the line of fire. Heather called Danny and told him that she was working on some personal stuff and didn’t know how long it would take but couldn’t ask him to wait any longer. He was so tired at this point that he didn’t protest much.

Heather has barely spoken to him since. She knows that he his alive and well, starting a faculty position at the University of Arizona. She doesn’t know if he has moved on and is scared to ask.

#edgewoodchallenge #~bio #heather payne

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ewh111 · 5 years

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2018 Annual List of Favorite Film Experiences

HAPPY NEW YEAR!!

I hope you’ve been having a great holiday season. It’s been another fun year in film, television, and streaming. It felt like a particularly good year for diverse voices, visions, casts, and storytelling. While I still feel like I’m catching up on year-end releases, here’s my annual list of the ones that have entertained, moved me, provoked thoughts, or just plain stuck with me the most with their story-telling and artistry (In no particular order).

All the best for a wonderful 2019!

Cheers, Ed

Indelible (But VERY Different) Cinematic Experiences

Roma—I wasn’t sure what the hype was about for the first hour which leisurely unfolds before you, but it’s just the build-up as Alfonso Cuaron’s beautiful and powerful film slowly draws you in, and then suddenly grabs you with unexpected emotional impact. An intimate, yet sweeping story of a maid who holds together a crumbling family as her own life combusts. Based on the director’s own life and the woman who raised him, Roma is a complex multi-layered domestic/social/political drama with some truly haunting and indelible sequences. Some may be challenged by the pacing and seeming lack of narrative. Be patient and stick with it; it’s worth it.

Sorry to Bother You—Audacious, original first film and new vision from rapper/hip hop musician Boots Riley starring a terrific Lakeith Stanfield as down on his luck young man who gets a job as a telemarketer and advised by veteran caller Danny Glover to use his “white voice” to become a power caller. The story then takes a twisted wackadoodle turn that truly defies description. This bold and outrageous absurdist social satire/surreal anti-capitalist black comedy also stars an excellent Armie Hammer in a bizzaro role.

A Full House of Documentaries: A Pair of Giants of Our Time and Three of a Kind

Won’t You Be My Neighbor—Celebrating a true hero, it’s a warm and loving look at this pioneer of children’s television who became a role model of kindness and compassion for generations. Little did I realize when watching him as a child the bold and courageous manner in which he addressed the social issues of the day. And it is worthwhile to see the full six-minute video of Fred Rogers Senate testimony that saved funding for public television: https://youtu.be/fKy7ljRr0AA.

RBG—An inspirational telling of the brilliant legal mind who shaped America’s legal landscape on gender equality and women’s rights and became a pop culture icon.

Three Identical Strangers—Fascinating documentary that starts as a “can’t believe it’s true” tale of separated-at-birth triplets who miraculously find each other as young adults, and then takes a very dark turn as the layers of the story are revealed, raising some real ethical questions about research and the debate about nature vs. nurture.

Additional Docu-series to watch: The Staircase (a gripping and powerful docu-series that is an intimate and detailed look at our criminal justice system as seen through the eyes of a man accused of murder who claims the death of his wife was an accident); The Fourth Estate (a fascinating behind the scenes look at the NY Times and their reporters as they cover the beginning of the Trump administration).

Historical Dramedies

The Death of Stalin—Dark and bitingly funny, this relevant political satire by Armando Iannucci of Veep portrays the intrigue surrounding the flock of sycophantic bureaucrats who vie to become the next Soviet leader after the sudden stroke and death of Stalin. A masterful historical farce with a great cast that includes Steve Buscemi, Jeffrey Tambor, Michael Palin, and Jason Isaacs. And it’s worth noting that the most absurd moments actually did take place (e.g., a rerun concert just to make a recording for Stalin; the alcoholic and meglomaniacal son of Stalin who lost the entire national hockey team by ordering their flight into a snowstorm and then replacing the dead players in hopes his dad wouldn’t notice).

The Favourite—While I decidedly did not care for filmmaker Yorgos Lanthimos’s much acclaimed The Lobster, this is a much more accessible outing. A highly original period/costume piece with an amazing trio of performances from Olivia Colman, Rachel Weisz, and Emma Stone, The Favourite is a dark and wickedly humorous look at the conniving palace intrigue, love triangles, and back-stabbing world of Queen Anne’s court, complete with fops, duck races, pigeon shooting, and rabbits that rule the roost.

Vice—Not your typical biopic. From the man who brought you The Big Short, Adam McKay delivers an entertaining dark dramedy. Christian Bale wholly transforms into the enigmatic Dick Cheney in this boldly told tale (including a faux Shakespearean pillow talk bit and a mid-film happily-ever-after credit sequence) of a ne'er do well who becomes the most powerful man in the world, all “in the service of the people.” With a very strong supporting cast of Amy Adams as Lynne Cheney, Sam Rockwell as George W. Bush, and Steve Carell as Donald Rumsfeld.

BlacKkKlansman—Director Spke Lee and the producers of Get Out deliver the unbelievably true buddy-cop tale from the 1970s of a black man who goes undercover to infiltrate the KKK by phone while his white Jewish partner stands in for him in face-to-face meetings. Told in a funny and entertaining manner, it’s one of Spike Lee’s best film in years, though it’s unfortunate how little the racial issues have changed over time.

Odes to Stan Lee and the Marvel Cinematic Universe

Black Panther—This is not just another Marvel superhero movie. This is what every origin story should be: a totally immersive world is created with a sophisticated and impressively well-told story, balancing big themes, character development, action, mythology, and strong messaging, including female empowerment. Black Panther is perhaps the best (and most political without being heavy-handed) entry in the MCU while leaving a very large cultural footprint on Hollywood.

Spider-Man: Into the Spider Verse—I really didn’t think we needed another entry into the Spidey world, but this one was truly fantastic, perhaps the best of the bunch. With visually stunning animation unlike anything I’ve seen before, it’s the most trippy, inclusive, and soulful Spider-Man ever, and the one most true to its comic book roots.

More Fantastic Animation, Stop Motion, and CGI

Isle of Dogs–I am an unabashed fan of Wes Anderson, and here he creates a masterful stop motion universe, much more sophisticated and intricate than his last one, the wonderful Fantastic Mr. Fox. Taking place in a fictional dystopian Japan, he creates yet another Andersonian obsessively detailed world, infused with Japanese culture and canines. On the surface, it’s a simple story of a boy seeking his pet dog in a world where dogs have been banished to a trash-filled island, but it works on so many other levels, existential and political. A great cast of voices infuse each character with individuality and nuanced personalities, including Brian Cranston, Edward Norton, and Bill Murray.

Ready Player One—An unexpectedly wild and entertaining journey, this Spielberg film that takes place in a dystopian future steeped in the nostalgia of the 1980s (video games, movies, music) where its citizens find salvation and escape in a virtual world called the OASIS. The central story of a teen in a whirlwind contest seeking control of the OASIS is a visually stunning and thrilling ride combining live action and CGI that is thoroughly satisfying (though I feel I need to go back to take in all the pop culture references that whirl by).

Incredibles 2–Well worth the wait after 14 years. Just what you would hope for in summer film. Well-developed characters, action, and story with amazing animation and a terrifically snazzy Michael Giacchino soundtrack.

Other Enjoyable Film Experiences Worth Mentioning

22 July, A Quiet Place, Beautiful Boy, Boy Erased, Crazy Rich Asians, Eighth Grade, Green Book, Love, Simon, Mary Poppins Returns, Mission Impossible: Fallout, Paddington 2, The Price of Everything, Ralph Breaks the Internet, Science Fair, Searching, The Hate U Give, Tully, Victoria & Abdul

In the Queue

A Star Is Born, Burning, Cold War, First Man, First Reformed, Free Solo, The Frontrunner, If Beale Street Could Talk, Shoplifters

Binge-Worthy Television

The Americans, Barry, Succession

For the Foodie Set

Fat Salt Acid Heat, Ugly Delicious

Favorite Theater Experience

Harry Potter and the Cursed Child--if you’re a HP fan, it’s like being reunited with old friends. Great story and incredible stagecraft.

Trailers

Black Panther: https://youtu.be/xjDjIWPwcPU

BlacKkKlansman: https://youtu.be/0vWHEuhEuno

Incredibles 2: https://youtu.be/i5qOzqD9Rms

Isle of Dogs: https://youtu.be/dt__kig8PVU

RBG: https://youtu.be/biIRlcQqmOc

Ready Player One: https://youtu.be/cSp1dM2Vj48

Roma: https://youtu.be/6BS27ngZtxg

Sorry to Bother You: https://youtu.be/PQKiRpiVRQM

Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse: https://youtu.be/g4Hbz2jLxvQ

The Death of Stalin: https://youtu.be/kPpXFnHoC-0

The Favourite: https://youtu.be/SYb-wkehT1g

Three Identical Strangers: https://youtu.be/c-OF0OaK3o0

Vice: https://youtu.be/jO3GsRQO0dM

Won’t You Be My Neighbor: https://youtu.be/FhwktRDG_aQ

#favoritefilms2018 #submission

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theliberaltony · 6 years

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via Politics – FiveThirtyEight

Welcome to Secret Identity, our regular column on identity and its role in politics and policy.

In the last edition of this column we looked at “electability” as a concept, and some of its more problematic undertones. This week, let’s explore the nuts and bolts of electability — what factors make someone more (or less) likely to win an election. I know everyone is thinking about this question in terms of who the Democrats should nominate to take on President Trump in 2020, but I want to explore both presidential races and down-ballot contests, since we have much more data on the latter.

First, two really important caveats. One, there have been only 58 presidential elections in U.S. history. That’s a fairly limited data set — and one of the main reasons why you should be skeptical when someone confidently suggests one potential presidential aspirant is more or less electable than another. Second, the way we think and talk about politics often overemphasizes candidates and campaign strategies and underplays what political scientists refer to as the fundamentals — factors like the state of the economy and which party controls the White House at the time of the election. One view of the 2008 election, for example, is that Barack Obama ran a brilliant campaign that overcame America’s racial divides. Another view is that once Obama won the Democratic nomination he was virtually a lock — the GOP was trying to win a third straight presidential term, which is generally hard to do, and there was a stock market crash a few weeks before the election.

With those caveats in mind, I’m going to start with a Gallup poll from 2015, because I think it’s telling in some important ways. Gallup asked people if they would vote for a presidential candidate from their own party if the person were “well-qualified” and were, say, Muslim, or Jewish or a socialist. (Gallup had 11 categories in all.) More than 90 percent of Americans said they would vote for a woman, a black candidate, a Jewish candidate or a Latino candidate, while fewer than 10 percent said they would not. By this measure, women and nonwhite candidates are pretty electable. (People could be lying to pollsters, but let’s take people at their word for now. And even so, 7 or 8 percent of the electorate isn’t nothing.)

Who would Americans NOT vote for?

Percentage of people in 2015 survey who would not vote for a “generally well-qualified” person nominated from their own party if they had each of the following characteristics

Democrat Republican Overall Socialist 38% 73% 50% Atheist 35 55 40 Muslim 27 54 38 Evangelical Christian 33 14 25 Gay or lesbian 14 38 24 Mormon 21 16 18 Hispanic 6 9 8 Woman 3 9 8 Black 4 9 7 Jewish 6 5 7 Catholic 5 7 6

Source: GALLUP

In contrast, 50 percent of Americans said they would not back a socialist candidate. More than a third were opposed to an atheist or Muslim candidate.1 Similarly, in a Pew Research Center 2016 survey, more than 40 percent of Americans said they would be less likely to vote for a candidate who is Muslim and more than half said they would be wary of someone who did not believe in God.2

So, if you want to have a conversation about whether an atheist or Muslim candidate for national office is “electable,” you at least have some data to support asking the question. (The better way to phrase that question, of course, is probably, “Are Americans too Islamophobic to elect _______.”) In addition, these are categories, not people. How does Americans’ resistance to a “socialist,” for example, relate to the once-and-maybe-future presidential candidate Bernie Sanders, who describes himself as a democratic socialist? We are not totally sure, but it’s worth remembering that many of his views are shared by other leading Democrats — and voters might consider him more of a Democrat than a socialist if he is the party’s 2020 nominee.

Electability concerns are still raised about plenty of candidates who don’t fall into those categories, particularly women, minority candidates and people with views more out of the ideological mainstream of U.S. politics. And just because Americans say they wouldn’t rule out voting for these candidates, that doesn’t mean those identities have no effect on how elections play out. So, let’s look at some of those other factors now, where the electability effects perhaps aren’t as explicit.

Women

This is a tricky question to answer. The best data we have on how gender affects elections is in down-ballot races. An extensive study of U.S. House races from 1982 to 2012 by the University of Georgia’s Jason Anastasopoulos found no “gender penalty” for women candidates. That was true in terms of raising money and in garnering general election votes.3

“Based on a systematic analysis of the 2010 and 2014 midterm House elections, we found not only that women win at equal rates, but also that the content of women’s and men’s campaigns looks the same, the volume and substance of the media coverage they receive is indistinguishable, and voters assess male and female candidates on a variety of issue competencies as equals,” said Jennifer Lawless, a professor at the University of Virginia, referring to research she did with Danny Hayes of George Washington University for the 2016 book “Women on the Run.”

“In short, it all comes down to party,” she added. “Whether there is a D or an R in front of a candidate’s name is far more important — to voters, donors, journalists, and their opponents — than the presence or absence of a Y chromosome in a candidate’s DNA.”

That’s Congress, though. Many observers have asked whether gender plays out differently in the context of a presidential election. Two scholars at the University of Texas at Dallas concluded that attitudes about gender were a much bigger factor in determining how Americans voted in 2016 compared to 2012 (when there were two male candidates), but on balance that helped Clinton because the number of voters with sexist views were outnumbered by those with less sexist views. Clinton did not do as well as Obama electorally, but that probably had more to do with the fundamentals of the race (the fact that she was running for the third term of her party was a disadvantage for example). Other scholarship also shows that attitudes about gender did correlate more closely with how people voted in 2016 than in previous elections — but so did racial attitudes. (So it’s likely that Trump brought gender and race to the forefront in 2016 as much as Clinton.)

But we should be cautious here. Clinton was the first woman to win a major party presidential nomination. If we don’t have a big sample of presidential elections in general, we have far less than even that for women running for president. So I don’t think we can dismiss the idea that Clinton’s gender played some role in the campaign. There were facets of the campaign that are difficult to explain without gender — such as the somewhat odd view of American voters throughout 2016 that Clinton and Trump were basically equally untrustworthy. From a scholarly perspective, however, Clinton followed the pattern — there is not a big penalty in terms of vote share for being a woman in U.S. elections.

“In terms of most of the academic and advocacy research we have, there is no voting or fundraising penalty in the raw data we have about who votes for women as nominees,” said Shauna Shames, a political scientist at Rutgers University and expert on the role of gender in politics.

“But that does not mean there is no gender penalty,” she added. “It just means, to my mind, that only the stronger female candidates run, and those can raise as much money and votes as the mediocre men. We should actually therefore see a penalty against men, in favor of the women who make it through the (tougher for women) gauntlet of becoming candidates, and we should see these women raising more money than men. But we do not. That the levels are equal, therefore, does not prove to my mind that there is no penalty for women — it suggests in fact that there is one, just one we don’t see.”

Race and ethnicity

African-Americans — Generally, there is evidence that black candidates increase turnout among black voters but do worse with white voters, perhaps because black candidates are perceived to be more liberal than white candidates with similar ideological stances.

Obama’s presidential campaigns seem to have conformed to this pattern. University of Massachusetts Amherst professor Brian Schaffner, for example, argued that Obama’s candidacy caused more voters to see the 2008 campaign through a racialized prism and that cost Obama support from people with more racist views. Schaffner estimated that Obama lost about 3 percentage points of the white vote, which comprised about 75 percent of the electorate in 2008. So that’s about 2 points overall. Economist and data scientist Seth Stephens-Davidowitz estimated that Obama lost about 4 percentage points in the national popular vote in 2008 and 2012 because of his race. Other experts, such as Nate Cohn, who’s now with The New York Times, have argued that that overestimates the racial backlash.

The flip side for Obama is that the black turnout rate was more than 65 percent in both of his runs, compared to about 60 percent in 2004 and 2016, when Democrats ran white presidential candidates, according to U.S. Census Bureau data. That matters. Clinton likely would have won Michigan and Wisconsin with 2012-level turnout among blacks.

Latinos — I found less research on Latino candidates. But there is some evidence they too face a penalty. A paper written last year by Neil Visalvanich of Durham University in the United Kingdom estimated that Latino Democratic candidates performed 6 percentage points worse with white voters than white Democratic candidates of similar ideology. The study, based on 2010 and 2012 congressional election results, found the penalty for Latino Democrats to be higher than that of black Democratic candidates (3 percentage points, according to Visalvanich).

There is evidence, based on mayoral and U.S. Senate elections, that Latinos are more likely to vote for Latino candidates. But direct appeals to Latinos, according to scholars, are likely to cause a backlash among some white voters. And Latino Democratic candidates, like black ones, are likely to be perceived as more liberal than white ones with similar ideologies.

Asians — We don’t have as much data here, But in his study, Visalvanich estimated that Asian Democratic candidates did better with white voters than even white candidates.

Ideology

Would it help the Democrats in 2020 if they had a “centrist” at the top of the ticket? All else being equal, it’s probably safe to conclude that candidates more removed from the mainstream of American political thought will do worse at the ballot box. There is some evidence, for example, that Republican presidential nominee Barry Goldwater (1964) and Democratic nominee George McGovern (1972) lost by larger margins than other factors would have predicted in their elections because of the ideological extremism of their voting records.

But ideology is somewhat complicated to measure, particularly for people who haven’t served in legislative bodies (like Montana Gov. Steve Bullock, a potential Democratic candidate in 2020) or in any political office at all (like Trump.) Trump’s Muslim plan was perhaps the most radical idea proposed by any recent presidential candidate, but voters had trouble pinning the candidate down on a left-right spectrum before the election. Trump, according to the Pew Research Center, won the plurality of 2016 voters who described their views as “mixed” and basically was even with Clinton among self-described independents.

Still, unlike race and gender, there is some solid grounding to claim that extreme candidates are less “electable.” Who gets labeled “extreme,” on the other hand, tends to be a less empirical exercise.

There are, of course, other characteristics that could make someone more or less electable. Would it help Democrats win the Midwest if they nominated someone from that region? What about the South? We didn’t get into age in this analysis, but in a 2014 Pew poll, 36 percent of people said they were less likely to vote for a candidate in his or her 70s. (Trump was 70 when he was elected in 2016.)

And that fact about Trump and age speaks to the point I started with: We don’t really know who is electable until the election. In terms of 2020, it’s hard to know how much it matters who Democrats nominate.

Maybe it will matter a lot –– because some of the fundamentals favor Trump (he is an incumbent and the economy is strong), so the Democrats may need a savvy candidate to win a race where Trump will be formidable. Or maybe the Democratic candidate won’t matter much at all — that the biggest fundamental of the election will be Trump’s very high disapproval rating, and Americans will vote for just about anyone to replace him.

If you have ideas for future Secret Identity columns, please reach out to me via email ([email protected]) or Twitter (@perrybaconjr.)

#IFTTT #Politics – FiveThirtyEight #politics #538 #Perry Bacon Jr.

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gokinjeespot · 6 years

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off the rack #1129

Monday, September 24, 2018

Hello all you off the rackers. How's it going eh? I've been away the last couple of weeks on a trip out west. We landed in Victoria, BC on September 6 and did a road trip visiting Duncan, Comox and Tofino. Had a wonderful reunion with my childhood friend from the Glebe in Comox who I haven't seen in nearly 25 years. Time in Tofino was spent walking the beaches and enjoying all sorts of culinary delights. If you've never been to Vancouver Island you should go just for the drive through the mountains. We could see a glacier from the air B&B in Tofino that we stayed in. Penny and I spent an extra couple of days in Vancouver before returning to Ottawa where we had a lovely dinner with some Comicshop alumni from the 1980s. Thanks to Brent, Colleen, Keith, Louise and Scooter for showing up and catching up.

A tornado touched down in our area on Friday, September 21. The power at the house went out at 7 PM and we didn't get it back until 11 AM on Saturday. No damage in our neighbourhood but others were heavily damaged. Our new fence held up excellently, thanks to Keith Astley. We were very lucky to only be inconvenienced a little. I feel for the folks who lost their houses and businesses. I had to drive around on the weekend and was glad to see most people being patient and courteous at the intersections where the traffic lights were not working. I did see a few anal pores who thought that the rules didn't apply to them and made other drivers hesitate and thus slow the whole process down even more.

This may very well be the last off the rack that I write. Comet Comics is closing down it's current location and moving its subscription service to a used book store up the street. I will be out of a job and will not be able to borrow comic books to read anymore. Thanks to Brent at The Comicshop in Vancouver, I found out that I started to write for the newsletter back in 1986 with an editorial and then writing the Newswatch section. My first off the rack was in 1994 and I have been doing it weekly since then with only a few breaks. I love sharing my thoughts about the comics that I read but it sometimes feels like I'm doing an unpaid job too. Thanks to Ron Van Leeuwen at The Silver Snail and Heather MacDonald at Comet Comics for allowing me to enjoy my comic book hobby gratis. I wish you all the best. Thanks to the folks that read my musings and the comments you've shared with me. You guys take care, okay?

Cover #1 - Brian Michael Bendis (writer) David Mack (art) Zu Orzu (colours) Carlos M. Mangual (letters). Things start off at a comic con where we meet Max Field, comic book artist. It looked to me that this was going to be about comic book covers like the reprints in the back of the book of the ones David Mack has done, but then we meet a super fan of Max's with very deep pockets. Her name is Julia. The story gets a lot more interesting when Julia shows up at a con in London, England and tells Max what her job is. David Mack's art is very distinctive but I didn't guess that this was drawn by him until I got to some painted panels later. This is an intriguing new book and I would put it on my "must read" list.

The Immortal Hulk #6/LGY #723 - Al Ewing (writer) Lee Garbett (art) Paul Mounts (colours) VC's Cory Petit (letters). I am very impressed with the writing. It's sophisticated and thought provoking. The new military organisation set up to handle the Hulk is creepy and eerie. This issue sets up a big fight between the Hulk and the Avengers so it looks like next issue will be a smashing good time.

The Dreaming #1 - Simon Spurrier (writer) Bilquis Evely (art) Mat Lopes (colours) Simon Bowland (letters). The Sandman is AWOL, the Dreaming is crumbling and its denizens don't know what to do. Lucien the librarian is in charge but he seems overwhelmed by the chaos around him. Meanwhile, new character Dora is hopping about between dreams and we get a glimpse of her true self. There is so much that is intriguing about this new Vertigo series based on Neil Gaiman's creations that I think Sandman fans will be pleased.

Return of Wolverine #1 - Charles Soule (writer) Steve McNiven (pencils) Jay Leisten (inks) Laura Martin (colours) VC's Joe Sabino (letters). I consider myself to be a pretty good artist spotter. I can flip open a comic book and tell you who drew it but this time I was fooled and thought that Barry Windsor-Smith did the art for this issue. I still enjoyed the visual feast featuring Logan's return to the racks. Some fans might not be satisfied with no real explanation of how Logan came back to life and starts fighting the bad guys but I just accepted that he's here and has a mission to save the world. His foes are formidable and he starts off wearing the old familiar yellow and blue costume but changes by the last page to a more contemporary one. As much as I liked this getting a running start I do hope they tell us how Wolverine gets resurrected down the line.

The Immortal Hulk #5/LGY #722 - Al Ewing (writer) Joe Bennett (pencils) Ruy Jose (inks) Paul Mounts (colours) VC's Cory Petit (letters). I had a feeling I was missing something when I was reading #6 yesterday. This book is hitting the racks every two weeks and I didn't get a chance to read this issue before leaving on my trip to Vancouver Island two weeks ago. I'm glad I did because it explains the mysterious reflection that Bruce sees in the mirror in #6. I thought it was Major Talbot or the Leader with a normal sized head but it's not. Here we have the Hulk fighting Sasquatch and saving Walter Langkowski from himself. This issue also emphasises the fact that this new Hulk isn't just a mindless monster. I really like that this Hulk can have a regular conversation.

Adventures of the Super Sons #2 - Peter J. Tomasi (writer) Carlo Barberi (pencils) Art Thibert (inks) Protobunker (colours) Rob Leigh (letters). How are a green Kryptonite weakened Superboy and a bound Robin going to defeat the Gang of young super villains? They get help, that's how. The last page made me smile because it uses a classic twist from the days of "The Death of Superman". This is a fun book.

Avengers #7/LGY #697 - Jason Aaron (writer) Sara Pichelli (pencils) Sara Pichelli & Elisabetta D'Amico (inks) Justin Ponsor (colours) VC's Cory Petit (letters). It's the origin story of the very first Ghost Rider plus a super villain that Wolverine fans will recognise. This issue is a nice segue to…

Avengers #8/LGY #698 - Jason Aaron (writer) David Marquez (art) Justin Ponsor (colours) VC's Cory Petit (letters). The current Ghost Rider, Roberto Reyes, arrives at the new Avengers headquarters and is officially made a member. The new HQ at the North Pole is very cool and pure comic book plausible. After a quick tour the team gets a global alert that Roxxon is up to no good and the battle cry is uttered. It's off to the southern seas and a confrontation with an old ally. Imperius Rex!

Batman #54 - Tom King (writer) Matt Wagner (art) Tomeu Morey (colours) Clayton Cowles (letters). Dick Grayson sticks around after Batman and Catwoman's break up to help Bruce get through it. It's a good excuse to remind us of their partnership. I loved how Dick's humour contrasted with Bruce's dour demeanour. Matt's art was a bonus for me.

Batman #55 - Tom King (writer) Tony S. Daniel (pencils) Tony S. Daniel & Danny Miki (inks) Tomeu Morey (colours) Clayton Cowles (letters). The Dynamic Duo continues to keep Gotham City safe while a one-armed stranger arrives to go about an unknown mission. That mission is revealed in the shocking last page. This incident may just top the Killing Joke.

Pearl #2 - Brian Michael Bendis (writer) Michael Gaydos (art & colours) Josh Reed (letters). When the first caption of the first page reads "years ago" you know it's origin story time. This story about a Yakuza tattoo artist/assassin is very different from Brian Michael Bendis's super hero stuff for DC. His work on Superman doesn't engage me like this book, Cover, and Scarlet do. I think it's because he's got to write the Man of Steel to appeal to younger readers too. Maybe I've outgrown Superman.

West Coast Avengers #2/LGY #104 - Kelly Thompson (writer) Stefano Caselli (art) Triona Farrell (colours) VC's Joe Caramagna (letters). This is a little more sophisticated than the Adventures of the Super Sons but it's still a lot of fun. I especially like Stefano Caselli's facial expressions. The B.R.O.D.O.K. AKA Bio-Robotic Organism Designed Overwhelmingly for Kissing is an upgrade from the super villain M.O.D.O.K. AKA Mental Organism Designed Only for Killing, but he's still not nice.

Thor #5/LGY #711 - Jason Aaron (writer) Christian Ward (art & colours) VC's Joe Sabino (letters). We take a break from the present and travel to the far flung future to see if Old Thor can save the universe from dying. He meets an old friend who turns out to be not so friendly. The amalgam of Wolverine and the Phoenix Force is cool but wait until you see the huge mash up on the last page as the villain is revealed. This guy makes Thanos look like Forbush Man.

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lamekidzine · 6 years

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NOWADAYS INTERVIEW!

Interview by Sal Fratto

Nowadays are an amazing band from New Jersey, Philadelphia, and D.C. All members reside in different places during the school year, but do not let the distance hurt their dedication, and incredible sound. Consisting of Rob, Hesley, Jason, and Danny, they put on a live show that you do NOT want to miss. Nowadays just released “Listening & Relaxation,” an LP on Nap Time Records. You can find them on all listening platforms! Their artwork was done by the wonderful Caroline Corbett. Check out the LP and make sure to order it!

1) Nowadays! You’re putting out a full length album on 9/15 via Nap Time Records! Could you talk a little bit about how working with the label has been a benefit to you moving forward?

Rob Cline: Nap Time was really great with helping us ACTUALLY release the album. They made all the tapes, CDs, and are handling all of the online distribution (Spotify, ITunes, etc.) It’s really hard to do it by myself, and they were completely invaluable. They are also really great people and we love them.

2) I see that you have recorded new songs, as well as re-recorded fan favorites! What was your method for choosing the songs/how do you think they have grown from the first recordings?

Danny Williams: “As far as the old songs, we chose the ones that got the most energy out of people when we performed them. They were also some of the ones that we thought were our better works. We didn’t want them to get lost in the old recordings.

Rob Cline: When we made this album, we wanted to take all of our best music at the current moment, whether it was an old song or not. Although some of our old songs were recorded with a DIY recording process, we thought that they deserved to be looked at again and revamped. They’re not much different; we didn’t actually change the songs that much. We’ve kind of worked a live sound into them that is different from the original recordings. We just went with that in the studio because we want our songs to sound like we play them at shows, especially with “Lighthouses Rule.”

3) This is your first release with Jason Gilman on guitar! How is working with him/what does he bring to the table?

Danny Williams: HE BRINGS NOTHING

Jason Gilman: For me, this whole release and recording process was interesting because I was kind of thrown into it just because of getting a late start at coming into the band. I don’t really know what to compare it to, considering that this was the only time that I’ve had this experience. All in all, it’s been great working with them; easy, and nothing better I could ask for.”

Rob Cline: “I agree, everything is working great with him. He listens to a lot of different music than me, which is great because it keeps our sound from becoming flat or repetitive. It brings flavors into it that I would not necessarily bring. I think that can be said for the whole band. We all listen to the same music, but we also have different tastes. Jason brings in new flavors that I think really help.”

4) Can you tell us about the recording process itself?

Rob Cline: “This recording process has been interesting, and I think it is different than how most artists would record. We don’t live in the same state, which I’m sure Elephant Jake can relate to, not being in the same place at the same time. At the start of this summer, we decided that we wanted to get serious about this, and record it. We picked a few dates where we were going to meet up in Philly and record. We picked a three day weekend, got rid of our other responsibilities, and just recorded for three days straight. We recorded with Ethan Farmer at Drexel University; it was mixed by Ian Farmer, and mixed again and mastered by Dan Siper. It was fast paced but a lot of fun! There was definitely stress, but that doesn’t matter now because here we are. 5) What is planned moving forward to hype up the release?

Rob Cline: Last night (9/14) was the release show in Philly. Tonight (9/15) is the release show in D.C. with Cokestar, which is Nick of the Obsessives, Peaer, and Bleary Eyes. It’s going to be a really fun show. We’re just going to get right back on the house show circuit, playing shows on the weekends when we can this fall, and try to cultivate our fanbase in places that we realy care about, like Philly, New York, D.C. We are looking at a longer tour sometime this winter. We’re going to tour around on this album as long as we can. Oh! Also some music videos.

6) How are you all so beautiful?

ALL: “My dad. Genetics, he says. Skin care, no that’s not true; I don’t care for my skin. Yeah, my dad’s cool. No no no, hair products and genetics, and Frosted Flakes.”

CHECK OUT NOWADAYS

“Listening & Relaxation:” https://nowadaysnj.bandcamp.com/

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/nowadaysnj/

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/nowadaysnj/

Twitter: https://twitter.com/nowadaysnj?lang=en

#music #bands #interview #lamekidzine #nowadays

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epickmovie · 3 years

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MOVIE REVIEW: “Justice League”

Watch free movies and TV shows online - Since 2008, the Marvel Cinematic Universe has shrewdly enacted and methodically executed what this website has long referred to as a purposeful blueprint of interconnection and common goals. Save for fair calls of repetitiveness, their route has been a smashing success of safe simplicity. Warner Brothers’ DC Extended Universe might be drawing its plans with an Etch A Sketch when compared to the MCU blueprint. Good and bad comes from that.

Creating a work of art on an Etch A Sketch is challenging and risky. Choosing to be different by turning their dark and brooding drawing knobs, DC operates with a commendable boldness not to play it safe. In the words of a certain ocean demigod to be mentioned later, “I dig it.” However, the screenwriters, filmmakers, and execs involved do not have Buddy the Elf’s skill on the Etch-a-Sketch. Like the rest of us on that tricky toy, screw-ups and errors happen often and stick around until the artist gives up and shakes it clear.

Sticking with that analogy, Justice League comes across like attempted course correction done on that Etch A Sketch. The artist, or artists in this case, are trying to retrace old paths and smooth over past missteps with redrawn swirls, lighter hues, and a fluffy cover-up we call comedy. That effort on the cinematic Etch A Sketch indeed changes the initial picture, but only after unnecessarily tedious effort and some remaining messy results.

A world without Superman following the events of Batman v. Superman: Dawn of Justice has devolved into a hotbed of escalated global terrorism and cold fog of international mourning. The Batman (Ben Affleck) has encountered a winged Parademon scout of the returning warmonger Steppenwolf (performance capture by Ciaran Hinds) while continuing the good fight on the streets and rooftops of Gotham City. The ax-wielding agent of Apokolips feeds on fear is in search of unifying the planet-purging power of three Mother Boxes found on Earth that eluded his grasp ages ago after being cast out by a unified army of men, gods, demigods, Lanterns, Amazons, and Atlanteans.

Carrying their own regret from the loss of the Man of Steel, Bruce Wayne and the returning Wonder Woman (Gal Gadot) take the arriving forces as an call to activate their plans of putting an alliance together to combat the threat. A globe-trotting first act performs expositional shorthand to introduce and bring together Barry Allen’s spectrum-pinging speedster The Flash (Ezra Miller) who can apparently only be addressed with speed puns, Arthur Curry’s rough and belligerent Aquaman and heir to the Atlantean throne (Jason Momoa), and Victor Stones’ conflicted and connected Cyborg (Ray Fisher). Supported from the sidelines by the likes of Alfred Pennyworth (Jeremy Irons), Lois Lane (Amy Adams), and Commissioner Gordon (J.K. Simmons), this crew of champions is outmatched and searching for leadership.

LESSON #1: TAKING ON LEADERSHIP — Batman is not a leader. He’s a loner working in the shadows as a vigilante for twenty years. Wonder Woman could be a leader. She is a heartsick and untapped symbol that has hid from public view for a century. In the absence of Superman’s exemplar figure and shouldered strength, both are thrust into a leadership role and the associated burdens that come with that role weigh on them. Both have to step up and the two lean on each other in an effectively aware relationship conveyed by Affleck and Gadot.

On many levels, it is plain to see that public backlash from Suicide Squad and Batman v. Superman: Dawn of Justice filled studio ears, leading the WB to throw a home improvement warehouse’s worth of kitchen sinks to attempt to lighten up the bleak and brash trajectory of the existing DCEU. The Flash, Aquaman, and Cyborg constitute reinforcements for that cause, yet deserve greater establishment than they receive here to endear themselves as equals to DC’s Big Three. Each brings a unique, but thin, character dynamic of quirk. Only Momoa’s Aquaman carries a slight amount of stature worth exploring in a future solo film (coming from horror director James Wan in 2018). The real Hulk-level showstopper, scene-stealer, and main event gamechanger for Justice League is Henry Cavill’s reinvigorated and worst-kept character resurrection secret.

Young cinematographer Fabian Wagner (Victor Frankenstein) turns up the dimmer on the camera’s colors and veteran composer Danny Elfman (Batman, Spider-Man) returns to the world of superheroes with a boost of musical sprite from the previous heavy operatics done by Hans Zimmer. Though appreciated in their attempts, when combined with egregiously substandard special effects for a film of this importance and budget, the aesthetic elements of Justice League feel like a step down from previous polish. They add to the Etch A Sketch’s messy lines.

The course correction slant continues into film’s narrative swings from the serious to the silly. For reasoning, look no further than the well-documented behind-the-scenes challenges of emergency substitution and reshoots. The concoction of styles between credited director Zack Snyder and his fill-in and credited co-writer of Joss Whedon might as well be steak sauce poured on ice cream. The flavors of Snyder’s meaty machismo for explosive bangs do not mesh well with Whedon’s penchant for playfulness. Their respective stamps on scenes are incredibly obvious and even obnoxious. Heroic frivolity was needed but too much of Justice League is discombobulated.

The substantial saving grace for Justice League is the fun factor. No matter how scattered the Etch A Sketch gets, the film moves well and spreads out its action pacing choices. The film hits on some truly shining moments of giddiness for the action junkies and fan service crowd. Snyder’s overused slo-mo was traded out for few more spinning displays of Whedon’s kinetic teamwork. Without the clunky dialogue in the way, that’s the one aspect where the directorial blend works to complement the talents.

LESSON #2: HOORAY FOR TEAMWORK — In terms of conflict and resolution, nothing too abstract or complex looms over Justice League. This is a rallying call for good old-fashioned teamwork for a greater cause. These heroes are stronger together and better for the shared experiences than standing alone, nothing more and nothing less. Simplicity aside, there is a dearth here for something more dauntless and audacious that resonated the cores of Man of Steel, Wonder Woman, and Batman v. Superman: Dawn of Justice.

One has to wonder what a straight Snyder film of all steak or a straight Whedon version of all ice cream would look like for Justice League. The results would be very different with Snyder’s take furthering the established boldness and Whedon’s representing shaking clear the Etch A Sketch. Each would work in their way and be films well worth seeing. Chopped and combined though, it’s a bit of an entertaining mess that will divide astute and casual audiences to a sizable degree. The almighty dollar will decide the final question of whether the DCEU will stay the course or look at their outdated Etch-a-Sketch, give up on the doodles, shake it clear all the way, or even cast it aside to upgrade to a new toy altogether.

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