Rewatching Uprising from the start yet yet YET again... because now I've opened the floodgates, my Tron-hunger CANNOT be sated lol

& ok for my mates who are less familiar with the franchise, lemme just say two things:

Beck is a BEAUTIFUL wonderful idiot baby boy & I do not talk enough about how much I love this absolute inspiration of a disaster hero♡

& also Tron in Rinzler suit really has always made me go fucking bonkers as gOD DAMN hell I SWEAR I will go RABID HOLY FUCK ALMIGHTYYYYYYYYY

There is absolutely no way at all I can be normal about either of them, you MUST understand that♡

Clueless Idiot Jr & Jerk Idiot Sr I love you both so muchhhhhhhh uwu♡♡♡

hello :]

i think someone's asked you your favourite daft punk album before, but if you had to rank all of them how would you do it?

have a nice day!

*in columbo voice* Jeez, I dunno.....

Here is my list (from least favourite to favourite) of the Baft Dunks

Tron Legacy (2010): This is the one Daft Punk album I really don't have much to say about it. I haven't seen the movie itself, and I haven't really listened to this soundtrack either. Derezzed and Son of Flynn are pretty good though.

Alive 1997 (1997): Contrary to what many believe, Alive '97 isn't that boring. It's a pretty good sampling of what Daft Punk concerts were like pre-robot and as a result it's very raw and primitive. In a good way, of course (it was recorded at the Que Club in Birmingham, one of the great bastions of the UK rave scene so of course it'll sound raw). 10 Minutes of Funk and the Daftendirekt remix are a highlight for me.

Homework (1997): Move the gun away from your screen, let me talk for a bit. I really like Homework, and I think a lot of the songs on it are perfect French Touch tracks (Around The World, Fresh, Indo Silver Club, the list goes on). But when I look at that album length I think I die a little. Other than that, an absolutely smashing record.

Human After All (2005): This is the first album on this list that I really love. Maybe it's because I really like repetitiveness, but this album almost acts as a brain massage. Maybe it's because of the robot humming in the title track, or the Madness Mantra style lyrics in Technologic or the calm instrumentations of Make Love, but it calms my nerves down, in a weird way. Give this album a second chance.

Random Access Memories (2013): This was the first Daft Punk I ever properly listened to, and I've got a very distinct memory of it, being in the back of the car on the way to an Elton John concert. The concert itself was alright, but nothing could compare to when I heard Giorgio by Moroder and Touch for the first time. Although we didn't know it then, I think this album serves as a perfect finale. It's an homage to the robot's heroes (prominent features from Nile Rodgers and Paul Williams), and to the ones they inspired (my boys Julian Casablancas and Pharrell are on two of the biggest songs off this album). Makes me tear up a bit every time.

Alive 2007 (2007): Ooh yeah baybee. Da reeeal shit. Literally every single song off this album fits like a fucking jigsaw puzzle. It was so good it made critics reconsider HAA. Television / Crescendolls. Prime Time / Brainwasher / Rollin' / Alive. Human After All / Superheroes / Rock'n'Roll. The list goes ON. There isn't a single moment off this record that I don't remember, especially the crowd, who sing Da Funk somehow. Best live show and best live album.

Discovery (2001): Not a single dull moment off this record. The instrumentation. The virtuoso-level sampling. The visuals. My absolute favourite album from Daft Punk, and my favourite album period.

Conclusion: I really like the funky robot boys.

If you had to make 1 album out of separate Jonas Brothers songs, what would it look like? What would the theme be? What order would you put them in, what kind of a story would you tell?

SO! I wrote almost 4k words, but Tumblr won't let me post as such so I can't explain why I put the songs I listed. Just wasted 2hrs of my life. Maybe I'll post my explanation on my non-Tumblr blog next week.

I just am very passionate about these fucking dorks and any excuse to write about them and their music I jump at. I am TRULY obsessed with them.

As far as order, I don’t know. It's in chronological order mostly.

Also limited myself to only the songs they have on Spotify. Otherwise, I’d have included every song from Jonas s1.

Here is the link to the Spotify playlist if you are interested!

Here's the final list of 41 songs of their 100+ songs:

“Jersey” by Jonas Brothers from Music from Chasing Happiness, 2019

“Please Be Mine” by Jonas Brothers from It’s About Time, 2006

“Mandy” by Jonas Brothers from It’s About Time, 2006

“Underdog” by Jonas Brothers from It’s About Time, 2006

“Kids of the Future” by Jonas Brothers from Meet the Robinsons (Original Motion Picture Soundtrack), 2007

“Hold On” by Jonas Brothers from Jonas Brothers, 2007

“That’s Just the Way We Roll” by Jonas Brothers from Jonas Brothers, 2007

“Inseparable” by Jonas Brothers from Jonas Brothers, 2007

“Take a Breath” by Jonas Brothers from Jonas Brothers, 2007

“When You Look Me in the Eyes” by Jonas Brothers from Jonas Brothers, 2007

“We Got the Party Duet with Jonas Brothers” by Hannah Montana, Jonas Brothers from Hannah Montana/Miley Cyrus Best of Both Worlds Concert, 2008

“Lovebug” by Jonas Brothers from A Little Bit Longer, 2008

“A Little Bit Longer” by Jonas Brothers from A Little But Longer, 2008

“Sorry” by Jonas Brothers from A Little Bit Longer, 2008

“Burnin’ Up” by Jonas Brothers from A Little Bit Longer, 2008

“Pushin’ Me Away” by Jonas Brothers from A Little Bit Longer, 2008

“Love Is On Its Way” by Jonas Brothers from Music from the 3D Concert Experience, 2008

“I’m Gonna Getcha Good” by Jonas Brothers from Music from the 3D Concert Experience, 2008

“Live to Party” by Jonas Brothers, 2009

“Play My Music” by Connect 3 from Camp Rock, 2008

“World War III” by Jonas Brothers from Lines, Vines and Trying Times, 2009

“Before the Storm - featuring Miley Cyrus” by Jonas Brothers from Lines, Vines and Trying Times, 2009

“Paranoid” by Jonas Brothers from Lines, Vines and Trying Times, 2009

“L.A. Baby (Where Dreams Are Made Of)” by Jonas Brothers from Jonas L.A. (Music from the TV Series), 2010

“Summer Rain” by Jonas Brothers from Jonas L.A. (Music from the TV Series), 2010

“Make It Right” by Jonas Brothers from Jonas L.A. (Music from the TV Series), 2010

“Heart and Soul” by Connect 3 from Camp Rock 2: Final Jam, 2010

“First Time” by Jonas Brothers, 2013

“Only Human” by Jonas Brothers from Happiness Begins, 2019

“Happy When I’m Sad” by Jonas Brothers from Happiness Begins, 2019

“Hesitate” by Jonas Brothers from Happiness Begins, 2019

“Greenlight” by Jonas Brothers, 2019

“What a Man Gotta Do” by Jonas Brothers, 2020

“Mercy” by Jonas Brothers from Space Jam: A New Legacy (Original Motion Picture Soundtrack), 2021

“Selfish” by Nick Jonas, Jonas Brothers from Spaceman (Deluxe), 2021

“Do It Like That (Pop R&B Remix)” by TOMORROW X TOGETHER, Jonas Brothers, 2023

“Walls (with Jon Bellion) by Jonas Brothers from The Album, 2023

“Summer Baby” by Jonas Brothers from The Album, 2023

“Vacation Eyes” by Jonas Brothers from The Album, 2023

“Miracle” by Jonas Brothers from The Album, 2023

“Strong Enough (feat. Bailey Zimmerman)” by Jonas Brothers, 2023

To me, 2010’s mainstream (and tbh, white) feminism was a mistake because it hinged on citing empowerment through the illusion of choice regarding self betterment and improvement and success. Paving the way for millionaire and billionaire girlbosses that actively exploit workers while being praised as self-made; the creation and maintenance of “subversive” capitalist ways of self care that distort Audre Lorde’s legacy and philosophy; the intentional disruption to community building and a hyper focus on centering the individual and putting self-fulfillment first—all this defanged feminism. Besides small shifts in cultural acceptance and attitudes, it’s truly been a two steps forward one step back scenario. This watered down version of feminism was championed because otherwise you’d have have way more Marxist feminists running around fucking shit up, like it should be very obvious why white trad wife fantasies on TikTok are gaining steam even outside of the intended audience of white women. They think nothing good has happened because possibilities for actual change were stomped out before they could even begin. An absolute farce!

so what would the Amazon show have to do to be a good adaptation, in your eyes? since you don’t think condensing the timeline would work, and you both like adaptations that change things AND adaptations that don’t.

that's the question, isn't it?

here's the thing: I think a good adaptation of the Second Age is possible, but I'm very annoyed by the fact that Amazon is choosing to go about it in the way they are. the thing about Tolkien's details is that, frankly? they're necessary. there are a few tiny things that can be changed here and there, but even the relatively mild changes made by the Jackson films created serious problems that don't exist in the books.

every event here is interconnected, and in order to successfully dramatize them and preserve the emotional impact of the story and the scope of its events, you have to relay these events accurately and in the order they occurred in canon. there are not vibes that can be preserved, there are not changes to the plot that must be made to facilitate an easy transition into TV. TV in fact is eminently suited for Tolkien, as it's got time to delve into the politics and the characters and the way their legacies and families interplay. inventing extra things is unnecessary, there's plenty there on the page. removing things, or speeding up the pace, does not work, and it doesn't work because taking out one domino takes out all the others.

I speak from experience here - I had to spend years getting to know the events of the First Age like the back of my hand to write Blessed Hands, I put blood sweat and tears into memorizing dates and timelines and family trees. I have had to do this so that I know exactly what can be cut or altered or combined or moved around, and where the breathing room is. Sure, the Amazon writers haven't had as long as I've had, but they have had since the mid-2010s to develop their work, and unlike me they were getting paid to do it.

but, putting one's money where one's mouth is, etc, here's my off-the-top-of-my-head bullet point list for a five-season Second Age series. there are in fact some changes here, but my goal is to preserve as much of the story as possible.

first season is establishing the world and the characters. the plot is about the Gwaith-i-Mírdain and how they're panicking about entropy and decay and they want to stop it. Númenor exists in the background, on the periphery, but the real drama is politics with Galadriel and Gil-galad (Fëanárian vs Nolofinwëan vs Arafinwëan inter-House rivalry REPRESENT) and the friendship between Celebrimbor and the Dwarves. Elrond, Ereinion, Celeborn, Galadriel, etc. all make their first appearances here. last shot of the season: Annatar makes his entrance in Eregion.

second season is the Ringmaking. no TV show is ever going to do Silvergifting justice so just keep it heavily coded and implied but not explicit. more political drama, more relationship drama. midseason break is Sauron's reveal, second half of the second season includes the fall of Ost-in-Edhil and Celebrimbor dying

third season is the War of the Elves and Sauron, including an appeal to Númenor for help. we get a whole arc of Galadriel-Celeborn-Ereinion-Elrond fighting Sauron, ending with Númenor coming in clutch to kick Sauron's fucking ass. season ends with Sauron being taken back to Númenor as a prisoner.

fourth season is the beginning of the fall of Númenor. really delving into the Faithful-King's Men split, fleshing out the colonialist nature of the empire, showcasing Sauron's growing influence on the court. Focus on Tar-Míriel and Elendil as protagonists who are ultimately helpless. season finale: Sauron convinces Pharazôn to build a temple to Melkor

fifth season starts after a time skip. the temple is done and the human sacrifices are rolling in. this is a political thriller about the survival of the Faithful and the downfall of the island that ends with the attack on Valinor and the drowning of Númenor and the escape of Elendil's ships. the last shot of the series is Elendil's "Out of the Great Sea to Middle-Earth am I come..."

it's not perfect, and I don't actually want it. but if I were to be in charge of development, that's what I'd do, that's what I have, and I'm some idiot with a computer and too much time on her hands.

Stephen Sondheim (b. March 22, 1930) died today, November 26, 2021.

Sondheim was one of the biggest lights in American musical theatre history. Others will speak to his enormous talent and legacy, but I can talk a little about his huge influence on me; he's a major reason why I went into theatre in the first place. When I was a child, my friends and I used to put on the record of West Side Story and dance; as a teenager, I devoured every album and production I could, performing his songs at every opportunity. I wanted to be a lyricist as sharp and witty as he. I imagine I have seen almost every show he wrote at least once, from tiny campus stages to movie theatres to the Shaw Festival to Broadway, adapted every which way. Some of my favourite memories involve belting Sondheim with my best friends, laughing, yearning, crying; singing "Our Time" as we graduated high school. I remember seeing Road Show in previews at The Public in 2008. I was a couple of rows behind the creator of my favourite TV show of all time, and we shared a goofy smile because we were both so excited to be there and to be seeing something in development from our shared hero. It was a great equalizer - we were both in awe. I was very lucky to get to meet Sondheim briefly when he came to Columbia as part of my grad school musical theatre course. He was acerbic and hilarious and wise and deeply, deeply human. It meant everything to me and I barely remember any of it, because, again, I was so excited to be there. In 2009-2010, I worked for actress Phyllis Newman, wife of musical theatre legend Adolph Green and a legend in her own right, as her estate archivist. It was then that Sondheim became truly real for me as a person. He was a dear friend of her family, and I got to see a lot of correspondence between them. I helped her find material on a post she wrote for Playbill about their history together. Now they're both gone. My favourite things he sent were tiny notes and letters, thank-yous and critiques. He sent one, noting that his name had been misspelled in a previous correspondence, to "Fillis and Adolf." He sent a birthday card with Snoopy on his doghouse. The original message: "Happy Birthday!", was crossed out. In his neat block lettering underneath, he had substituted "FUCK OFF!" "Happy Fucking New Year," he wrote in another. It was a word he appeared to like a great deal. I have a whole file of my favourite quips in my apartment; I noted them down rabidly, hungry for anything from my idol. When James Lapine was doing Sondheim on Sondheim, he needed images, so I corresponded with him a couple of times, selecting and sending him pictures from Phyllis' treasure trove. I was a glorified assistant at best, really, but for a brief moment I was "working" with James Lapine, book writer for Into the Woods and Sunday in the Park with George, on a musical about Sondheim. It took my breath away. Earlier this week online, someone made a post about Sondheim accidentally referred to him in the past tense; it nearly gave me a heart attack, so I swiftly jumped in to protest, "not yet!" I followed that up by watching the recording of the OBC of Into the Woods with a friend, realizing that I still knew all the words from my high school days. Now the past tense is real. This is a tough one. Ninety-one is a good run, but I was hoping it'd be a while longer. Farewell to a genius; or, perhaps, I should say, to a fucking genius. He made a hat where there never was a hat.

i see people hating on hank pym nd then i see your blog. what's his deal?

hello anon!

his "deal" is uh! with any comic character his age (turning 60 next year!), really fucking complicated! if you're looking for an explanation on the "trail of yellowjacket" storyline which shows the infamous panel (you know the one i'm talking about), here is another long discussion i did on that specific moment and arc and the stuff leading up to it and the aftermath.

but for his general deal, outside of that moment & era and more generally? like i said, complex, but definitely worthy of discussion i think. anyway here's a cut because whenever i talk about henry pym i go a little overboard.

hank like most characters of his time is very much so influenced by the style and biases of his era. some of these have mostly been retconned or ignored; for example hank was initially supposed to be around his early to mid 30s as a hero, and janet was supposed to be in her early 20s; there's multiple times in the old tales to astonish comics where hank comments on janet's youth. however, due to the sliding timescale and other complications hank is now in his early 20s when he begins superheroing, and was probably 25 at most when he met jan. like most comic characters, the misogyny and ableism that was very prominent in his character have either been erased, "addressed" and then readdressed and ignored and then readdressed again, or retconned, etc.

sometimes these retcons and readdressings are good; age of ultron #10 remains my favourite standalone hank pym comic ever, and avengers a.i was the comic that retconned hank's previous neurodiversity & mental instability (in the 1970s when he first had his mental breakdown which is a very complicated subject that i won't spend too much time on unless asked he was said to be schizophrenic) from a very vague nonspecific mental illness into him being diagnosed with bipolar disorder, which while not perfect was definitely handled much more respectfully than anything in hank’s history up til then. sometimes they aren’t so good; in the late 2000s/early 2010s following the death of janet van dyne hank takes on the mantle of wasp, becomes the scientist supreme (don’t worry about that too much) and opens a domestic abuse center for women. i personally didn’t hate everything about this line but it left a bad taste in many people’s mouths and i can’t say i blame them for that.

he’s very easy to handle poorly, probably because historically he's been handled very poorly. it's not impossible to write him well, as mark waid, kurt busiek, sam humphries and many other writers have proved, but it requires a certain amount of sympathy and a lot of writers (sort of understandably) don't have that. so there's a lot of back and forth with hank. it doesn't help that we also have alternate universe imprints (namely the infamous ultimates universe) that potray him as just a complete and utter irredeemable monster of a person. but 616 hank pym, with his vast legacy of different writers, is not so simply one way or another. can he be read as an abusive piece of shit? sure. but he can also easily be read as a struggling scientist who really just wants to help other people in unusual ways but keeps fucking it up for himself. there's always going to be people who hate hank and want to write him as an iredeemable monster, but there's also always going to be people (like me) who sympathise and see him simply as a complicated hero.

anyway. i’ll say one more thing, because i’ve already gone on a lot and i’m aware this is rather incoherent, but comic characters being…. like That isn’t anything new. i mean, wolverine is one of marvel’s most famous characters, and has literally murdered his own children on more than one occasion. everyone loves deadpool, the man who locked a blind woman in a wardrobe full of knives to punish her, where she tearfully said this was where he’d put her when she misbehaved, as if it was something that happened on multiple occasions. peter parker once hit a pregnant mj across a room, daredevil hit black widow across the face, etc. abusive behaviour in comic characters is nothing new, but most of the time it is understood that this is a problem with the writer, the era, etc, nothing to do with a 60 year old character. but hank pym remains a character most plagued by bad writing, despite it being unfortunately incredibly widespread in marvel comics, and comics in general. I mean, how many panels are out there of batman hitting a robin? batman is still probably the most popular hero ever despite that. this isn’t unique to ant-man, but he’s the only one that continues by and large to be defined by it by both writers & fans.

Hi! I'm not doing the Decades Challenge anymore. If you follow my story, you may want to read this update ☺️

It's a little long, so under the cut you go.

So! After a few months struggling with the way I was telling this story, I've finally decided to drop the Decades Challenge and Legacy aspects of the Normans and embrace the story format that I've been flirting with for so long. 

As much as I love doing the Decades Challenge, at the end of the day it is a gameplay focused challenge. The Normans started out like that, but now their story has overgrown it and trying to balance gameplay, generations and story progression has become overwhelming.

I feel guilty with every update because of its pacing. My story is stuck in the year of 1898 ever since April! Thinking about that was driving me insane. During 7 months irl, I've only covered 6 months of the story… You do the math for when I'll get to the 2010s jfglkdfjglkd.

In conclusion, I want to feel free. Free to tell the story I think my characters deserve. To make story posts without any progression, just contemplation, and not feel guilty. To have more diversity without being grounded to the challenge's restrictions. And to feel free to be poetic and immersive.

And, for that, a Legacy challenge just won't be sustainable.

Not much for the readers, really. I'm still going to post a few updates every month.

But it won't be called The Norman Legacy anymore. I've already chosen a name for it and I'll announce it soon 😊 I'm also most likely going to separate them into arcs or "volumes" that will stretch out for a few months each.

Nothing changes! 

I'm going to leave the older posts tagged as #gen1 and #norman legacy for easy access.

I might add a tag with the new title, though, so I can make a chronological page.

I've never had a simblr before, much less publicly converted a legacy to a story format, so I still have to figure out some of the technical details. Any tips or suggestions are very welcome ✌️😗

We are reaching a certain moment of the story that has been expected for a while. I'm sure you all know what's about to happen. Once it does, you will get payoff regarding another sub-plot and we will wrap everything up. 

I think the moment I've chosen is a pretty good one to stop at because it gives you answers, it leaves you in doubt and really paves the way for the upcoming narratives! Well, at least I hope it does 😅

Once I upload the final Norman Legacy update (hopefully in December, but might go over early January), I will make a little overview with where all the characters are at and hopefully that will help everyone out and ease the transition. I plan on starting releasing some previews after that.

I will be going on a break from storytelling before we start things off. I want to enjoy Summer in my country. Especially because I've been working on this story nonstop since January 2020. I'll still be on simblr, but just not working on posts and not feeling guilty about it lol.

I guess that's it :D

I'm sorry if this may be disappointing to you but I hope you all understand my decision and stick around. I'm actually very excited and feeling creative for the first time in ages, so yeah! And you can still call it the Normans/Norman Legacy if you feel like the new name is too much of a stark change lol.

And for those of you who have shown interest in this change and/or given me some support over this I just want to say thank you and I hope that you'll enjoy what is to come 🥰

I'm announcing it all as if it were some fucking big deal omg hhadiahuhdi I'm just a chatty person and I like to organize my thoughts, bare with me.

But yes. I'm almost reaching my Simblr birthday, which means that the Norman Legacy will also be turning 1 year old 🥳  And there is nothing better than starting off a new year than with some revamping, am I rite?

Thank you for following this story and for all the help & support 🥺❤️

The way canon handled DoveTiger and the Lay All Your Love On Me animation makes me want to revisit my (gods, i think it was 2010? i know it was before the second half of OotS because Fandom didn't know what would happen with the Dark Forest but we knew that were planning stuff.)

The DoveTiger was part of a bigger work called Shadows of StarClan where a bunch of ancient nearly forgotten StarClan cats reincarnate with all their knowledge to help their kin fight the Dark Forest.

Dove was running away because she was pregnant and she told Tigerheart beforehand and he wasn't deputy or anything so he went after her. They traveled for a while, tried out being housecats to get their kits some stability, met a couple with their own set of kits, and settled down in a large field surrounded by a Forest. They decided to become a Clan, even a small one, but that they would cast off the parts of the code they thought didn't make sense to them.

MeadowClan grew as more cats joined them and eventually they elected Tigerheart as their leader, since he and Dovewing knew the most about Clan life and she made it clear that she definitely did not want to lead.

At some point, the cat with the most knowledge of herbs was appointed healer but not tasked with talking to StarClan because aside from Dove and Tiger, no one knows who they are past a bunch of stories. Until an apprentice takes a name in the branches of a speckled tree and wakes up confirming that the starry cats are real and they want to talk to Tigerheart.

So Tigerheart goes to talk to StarClan, where he is confirmed leader of MeadowClan and given the suffix that goes along with it.

Guys

Yell

He freaks the fuck out and begs for another name. Any other name. He is willing to stay Tigerheart for the rest of his life and lead his Clan but he cannot take that name.

StarClan refuses

He is known as Tigerstar.

He never tells anyone about the naming ceremony, claiming that StarClan spoke with him and confirmed him leader of the Clan. Dovewing is the only one who knows how the naming system works for leaders, but since she also knows the history behind his new name, she does not call him anything but Tigerheart at his request.

Fast forward to a few days after their kits (Ratkit, grey, and Mousekit, brown) are apprenticed, Mousekit, affectionately called Shadow by her Clanmates because she's selectively mute and very good at being quiet, goes missing.

Tiger and Dove freak the whole entire hell out and this argument ensues:

So Tigerheart sends a group to find his daughter and that group, consisting of Dovewing, is led back to the Clans. Where Dovewing has to explain that yes, she ran away, she lives with a new group now, she'll stay out of their fur but has any seen a brown cat with green eyes who responds to Mousepaw or Shadow?

Eventually cats ask about Tigerheart and she reveals that he's been made leader of their group and StarClan talked to him through a speckled tree.

"He hates his name. If he ever comes neck, even if it's to look for Mousepaw and the rest of us, if you ever run into him, don't talk about his name."

"Tell him... tell Tigerstar that Blackstar of ShadowClan wishes him luck with his Clan, and that his mother and father are glad to hear he's doing well."

Originally I was going to have both Dove and Tiger go so Tiger and Black could have that talk in person and everyone could see how scared he was of the name and the legacy it carried, but I realized that would put too much strain on the new Clan.

Other stuff happens

Mousepaw is found after making some friends and it turns out she's one of the reincarnated StarClan cats.

The group sent to find Mousepaw stays to help fight the Dark Forest and eventually some cats are sent to find the rest of the Clan and bring them over.

SkyClan finds them after Echosong receives a sign so the entire Clan uprooting deals themselves to the lake. Firestar and Sandstorm are overjoyed to see Leafstar and the rest and everyone is glad to have help

Yes it is a tight fit but there is other territory around the lake so MeadowClan and SkyClan spread out.

They're allowed passage through ThunderClan territory (SkyClan) and ShadowClan territory (MeadowClan) when it's time for a Gathering or the Clans need to pass messages to one another.

Everyone goes along knowing the tight fit is temporary, just until they figure out what the Dark Forest is up to and how to stop them.

Ivypool is still a spy and several other cats who trained there volunteer to spy.

When it's all over, MeadowClan and SkyClan prepare to leave but Leafstar confesses to Firestar that SkyClan was having trouble with the rats again and they probably wouldn't be able to go home. Tigerstar offers to share the forest where MeadowClan lives. So both Clans return to MeadowClan and talk about how territory would work. It helps that they're not of the original Clans, even if they had those teachings. They can afford to be more flexible and welcoming.

As long as the cats they encounter mean no harm. If they do, all bets are off!

“Who are you?” The scene that defines Chadwick Boseman’s legacy

Yesterday, the world lost a bright and promising, burgeoning talent in Chadwick Boseman.

I had wondered privately for a while if something was wrong with him, as others had as well online, as he appeared increasingly sicker with each interview he gave over the last two years. I thought maybe I had been looking too much into it, not wanting to jump to conclusions about who he was but now gravely we all know why.

The much too young star of films such as “42,” “Marshall,” and of course, “Black Panther” had been fighting a largely private battle with colon cancer for four years.

It was devastating hearing this news yesterday, the man who undeniably left behind a legacy of playing prominent black heroes, both historical and fictional, passed away just as he was starting to truly hit it big. When you begin to realize the man was dealing with cancer as he performed physically demanding roles in the MCU you begin to see the character and determination of a man unwilling to quit in the face of true adversity.

But he clearly wasn’t just doing it for himself when he continued making and promoting NINE more movies despite his diagnosis, afterall no one would’ve blamed the guy for taking it easy these past four years. He’s had many scenes that define his legacy over his all too short career but I feel it can really be summed up in one particular moment from by far his most famous film; “Black Panther.”

Those who know me or have read my work know that I have a fairly cynical relationship with the Marvel Cinematic Universe. While I would not say most of them are “bad” per se, I would say a ton of them are largely interchangeable action comedies with pretty straightforward messages about good vs evil for general audiences. They are largely popcorn escapism and though there is nothing technically wrong with that, I was starved for an MCU film that was sincere about its story finally and had something real to say.

Enter “Black Panther” in early 2018.

“Black Panther” was everything I had long been waiting for in the MCU; a film with a real sense of vision and theme, a killer soundtrack, great supporting characters, a complicated and nuanced villain, and a story that didn’t feel the need to add a joke after every single scene like more typical MCU movies. The tip of that spear of course was Chadwick, who had already proved to be a great Black Panther in one of the few other sincere Marvel flicks “Civil War.” His natural charisma, physicality, and dramatic presence in this role made him a huge standout in frankly the best ensemble cast of any superhero movie ever.

The scene that truly sums up not just the mark “Black Panther” left on Hollywood but Chadwick’s own legacy comes at the very end though (the first of three, of course. It’s an MCU movie, afterall).

T’Challa has defeated his usurper cousin Erik Killmonger, his rule restored in Wakanda but clearly a changed man from the story’s beginning as he reckons with the complicated legacy of his father. He travels to Oakland, the birthplace of Killmonger, with his sister Shuri who he explains the crime committed by their father in this place and how it set off the events of the story. He turns to Shuri, tells her that he has decided to help this afflicted community by creating a Wakandan outreach center for the youth to give them a new hope in life. As he says this he decloaks their ship nearby, surprising the youth already in the area who are immediately in awe of it. One of the kids turns to T’Challa, smiling, a sense of inspiration and intrigue brewing inside, and asks “Who are you?” to which the young King simply smiles, then the credits roll.

It’s a simple scene but it truly speaks to the impact left behind by Chadwick and the importance of representation. 

“Black Panther” is hardly the first starring vehicle for a black man, it’s not even the first black super hero movie but what it made it different is it was the first blockbuster to truly lean unapologetically into its African identity to focus on the inspiration of a story centered around that culture. It showed Hollywood that an action blockbuster not just centered on a black star but centered on African culture had vast widespread appeal.

White kids will never have a shortage of white superheroes to grow up with on the big screen; a diverse palette of Supermans, Spider-mans, Captain Americas, and shit we’re even getting our sixth new Batman actor since 1989 soon. But Chadwick gave black kids their first real Superman of their own. 

In the years since this came out, I have seen the influence, at times, firsthand among the youth. I work part-time as a kids martial arts instructor and each Halloween party we’ve held I’ve seen a few more T’Challas among the costumes represented. When I ask kids, black, white, or Asian, what their favorite superhero is, it always warms my heart to see a kid light up when they say “BLACK PANTHER!”

(Seriously, cute AF)

This goes beyond just my anecdotal observations of course; the film grossed a billion dollars, and there are countless videos online of kids yelling “Wakanda forever!” at the top of their lungs while rocking a Black Panther suit or reciting one of the movie’s memorable lines. It’s beautiful because it speaks to that last scene’s key message; inspiration.

Growing up myself, as a half Asian American, there weren’t a ton of role models who looked like me to take inspiration from. I didn’t really understand how much this could affect me until I finally did start seeing people like myself occupy positions of influence. I didn’t start caring for baseball until I saw a slugger named Hideki Matsui smash a couple dingers in a Yankees’ uniform in the early 2000s. I didn’t care much for martial arts, outside my very early youth, until I witnessed a half Japanese Brazilian named Lyoto Machida KO Thiago Silva at UFC 94 in 2009. I didn’t care much for soccer until a striker named Keisuke Honda played out of his mind in the early rounds of the 2010 FIFA World Cup.

Sometimes you gotta see something happen in order to believe and be inspired by it and it’s easier to visualize it when you see someone who looks like you do it. That’s what representation means and why it’s important.

It’s easy for white America to dismiss the need for representation in media when theirs is so saturated in the culture everyday. Cries of “wHaT aBoUt wHiTe HiStORy mOnTH?!” delivered unironically while their history is proudly given front seat consideration in all forms of media, film, and influence every day. This is why it drives me so crazy when a white person tells me “representation isn’t important” because apparently, they “don’t need it.”

Well motherfucker, of course you don’t need it. You fucking got yours already!

(What every non-white person wants to say when confronted with this tired, out of touch argument...)

“Black Panther” delivered a superhero that not only black children could be proud of and love but someone they could draw inspiration from. Kids are going to want to become film directors cause of this movie, actors, stuntmen, martial artists, scientists, engineers, and so many other different things that the world of Wakanda proudly showcases and it’s all thanks to Chadwick’s leading man performance that made it possible.

Some jokes I’ve heard frequently on the internet is that Chadwick was on somewhat of a quest to play every major black role in story-telling history, what with performances as Jackie Robinson, Thurgood Marshall, James Brown, and of course Black Panther. But I think his 2018 speech at his Alma Mater of Howard really explains why he kept looking to play these major positive black roles.

(I encourage you to listen to the whole thing but the part that’s important here begins at 21:55)

Hollywood likes to pigeon hole certain demographics of people (aka non-white) to play stereotypical roles forever until they are proven to be lucrative in different ways (Qualified Immunity of film-making if you will…). Black people largely could mostly play thugs and drug dealers, Latinx can only be gang bosses and poor servants and gardeners, Asians are either kung fu masters or some other offensive perpetual foreigner. And in worst cases no role at all, instead whitewashed for general audiences (aka white folk). 

Chadwick took a stand that the color of his skin did not define who Hollywood narrowly believed he could perform as and set out to play characters and people who could inspire a new generation of African Americans and show the rest of the country that they were more than a stereotype.

When that young kid in that final scene asks, “Who are you?” and T’Challa smiles its because he knows he’s already changing hearts and minds for the future, just as Chadwick did playing this truly inspirational role.

“Black Panther” is not a perfect movie. I could discuss the ways it could’ve been better and even, less problematic in parts on a different day, but the legacy it leaves behind is one that’s undeniably positive and Chadwick was able to make that a reality. Perhaps he understood that if the world knew his diagnosis it would blunt the impact of “Black Panther’s” release, that if little kids and African Americans alike knew their superhero was already dying it would mar the film’s positivity and influence. I can’t speak for the dead obviously, and in no way am I saying one should just push through a cancer diagnosis and keep it secret, but I can see Chadwick understanding what it would mean for the audience if they just believed for as long as possible that they would have their king of Wakanda forever.

As Robert Downey Jr. said on social media last night “He leveled the playing field while fighting for his life.”

Though I will never know him personally, by most measures Chadwick seemed to be exactly the kind of hero he showed up to be on the big screen and his legacy will ultimately be that of one who looked to inspire others, particularly the next generation until his final breath. If that doesn’t make him a hero, I don’t know what does.

Rest in power, King. Wakanda Forever…

(Via BossLogic)

I’m a bit of an outsider but it seems like the 90’s were a very paradoxical time for dc because from everything I’ve read Wally and Kyle’s runs are right bangers but like...I’ve also heard...other things about how other characters were written thats...less than flattering.

It’s okay the thing is lol that it depends on the character itself. The 90s was actually going to be a swap over and retiring period that well it didn’t happen. So here is my character break downs of the take over characters.

--

The Flash

Wally was a silver age character. He was Barry’s legacy and Flash was already a legacy from golden age Jay Garrick. Wally took over in the late 80s. Barry was gone and Wally took up his mantle. The Flash Team knew this was coming.

He got an entire series about himself settling into his own without really anyone to help him. Rudy and Mary were terrible. Barry and Iris were dead. It was Wally and some friends he made.

Wally remained the solo Flash until 2010 ish when they brought back Barry. But Wally is currently the Flash again and hopefully DC will stop harming my baby boy. 

--

Batman & Robin

Dick Grayson was growing up. And post crisis Bruce went from a overprotective father who Dick wanted space from to an abusive manipulative father who Dick was essentially running from.

Nightwing was Dick coming into his own. Connection to Clark’s mythos. At this point Dick was both a legacy to Bruce and Clark.

But Robin oh Robin. That was a symbol that didn’t fit with their new dark(er) Knight. So Golden Age Robin had to die. But Dick is busy.

Well who was just Robin right before Crisis? The Dick Grayson copy- Jason Todd.

So they bring back Jason and give him a quick revamp. They make him all chirpy and happy so Golden Age. But dark enough that he’s similar enough to NTT age Dick. Then they kill him. Like okay people say it was the vote but DC always wanted Jason or more accurately Golden Age Robin dead.

Which paved way for Tim Drake’s Robin. Someone who was made for this new darker Bruce. But would have also been paired with Dick’s more efficent Batman. However this failed when Azrael fucked hard with Tim’s character and bolstered Tim’s importance beyond the normal Robin levels. 

He was there to validate every bullshit thing Bruce was doing. He was there to validate child soldiers and reset the narrative from partner to general and soldier.

The issue for many fans comes from Tim’s character being a dork who siphoned off Dick’s chip on his shoulder colder more analytical mind.

Tim was just super eager and happy to help. (His backstory was pretty much just Bette Kane redone as a friend pointed out to me)

So Dick started to morph into happy big brother here. But the Batfam was changed in Crisis so the Batfam angle didn’t fit.

Dick wasn’t as hostile to Jason as some people would think but they weren’t close.

Dick was very close to Tim. I think original Tim paired with non altered Dick was a very good pair who worked well together.

It’s just when Tim became more and more popular he was given the traits that made Dick so popular and work so well.

Dick gave back the mantle to Bruce and Tim well Tim get siphoning more and more of Dick as time went on. 

Barely recognizable to their 90s and before counterparts

--

Green Lantern

Kyle is actually more controversial than I might lead people on this blog to believe lol. Due to my undying and biased love for him.

He came in as a character who was going to put a new spin on Green Lantern. He was younger and fresher faced. But Hal’s Parallax arc as many might not know was quick as fuck. He just turned evil after Coast City and went for Genocide. 

Kyle was yeeted the ring and he went in to try and help save the world. Kyle was the one who talked down Hal. Hal handed him the ring and said you’re the green lantern. The passing of the torch really. 

But Kyle wasn’t beloved by everyone. Many people found his entry too quick. They thought he was too good with the ring too quick. They didn’t like his character. Thought he was too emotional to be a GL not enough Will. Lot’s of different takes. 

Also Guy and John were there and many people would have preferred to see them if it wasn’t gonna be Hal. 

Kyle and Donna was another thing that was alienating. Many people would have preferred to see her with Roy (plus I hate her with Kyle but that’s me) 

Kyle remained the sole GA until 2005 ish so about 10 years. And he continues to be a major player to this day.

--

Green Arrow

Chuck Dixon hated Ollie and wanted him dead. So in came Connor Hawke. Ollie’s bastard son and a really talented martial artist that Ollie met at the Ashram. 

Ollie acted ooc as fuck during this run but he died in a plane crash. 

And Conn took over his place as the Green Arrow. Roy was doing Checkmate and Titans stuff anyways but no one asked him. 

Connor is my baby boy my favorite DC character. But he also wasn’t that popular. 

Obviously racism. They couldn’t even agree on a skin color. Many people were turned away by the perceived ‘preachiness’ of you know bringing up real world issues. 

A lot of people also didn’t like Conn being presented as a better martial artist than a lot of the Batfam (the fanon bias has always been strong) 

He was main GA until 2001 when Ollie came back. 

--

Superboy

Okay we got Kon way back when Clark ate it and then he was sort of here. Younger than the above kids but obviously the intended take over for Clark. 

But then Clark came back. And it was just the take over didn’t happen here. 

Smile - Katy Perry: Full Album Review

Track by Track:

1. Never Really Over - 9.5/10

2. Cry About It Later - 9/10

3. Teary Eyes - 9.5/10

4. Daisies - 8/10

5. Resilient - 7.5/10

6. Not the End of the World - 8.5/10

7. Smile - 6.5/10

8. Champagne Problems - 9/10

9. Tucked - 9.5/10

10. Harleys in Hawaii - 10/10

11. Only Love - 7/10

12. What Makes A Woman - 7/10

Katy Perry, the quintessential pop star of the 2010s, is no longer #1. After a disastrous Witness era marred by weak singles, poor promotion, and a lack of good PR, Katy’s gold star was left less shiny, very well-dented, and collecting some dust. The chapter of Katy’s career as the number one pop star in the world has closed. This is the scene for Smile: what to do once you’ve closed a chapter in your life. In a sonically mixed 12 tracks, Katy explores this topic head on, and though very much imperfect, she succeeds in embracing her flaws and creates a template for her years to come.

On the triumphant opening track “Never Really Over”, Katy starts a breathy vocal just a second after the initial synth note - a quick rebound from the past few years. Throughout the song, she bounces between airy syncopation, belted choruses, and rapid staccato over a glittery beat. Though not a career-defining track, the song never tries to be. Instead, Katy sounds beautifully vulnerable, carefree, and self-assured. We’re off to a good start.

After, Katy sinks into a cool, modern sound with “Cry About It Later”. This track is perhaps her most radio-ready in years, embracing the darker minimalist EDM of Ariana Grande and The Weeknd. With that said, it doesn’t sound like Katy is clawing for a hit. A guitar solo after the bridge breaks up an otherwise completely tailored-for-radio instrumental. Katy’s lyrical voice is clear with vivid idiosyncrasies about champagne, tattoos, devils, and angels. A team of songwriters hired to ensure a hit would have sanded off all of the character of the track. Luckily, Katy keeps her voice even under lots of filters on this radio-ready track with an ear worm chorus.

Katy then does a 180 back to 2012 with “Teary Eyes”, a gay club-ready EDM house banger. The trope of dancing through adversity and heartbreak is a gay tale as old as Judy Garland’s ruby reds, and Katy gives us the goods on this campy, melodramatic, and infectious gem. The chanting choir mimicking the chorus’s melody in a grooving “oh oh oh” is the cherry on top of a saccharine, yet satisfying tune. The song takes the infectiousness of Britney Spears’s “Till the World Ends” and euphoria of Kylie Minogue’s “Get Outta My Way” and fuses it with the anthemic drama of Perry’s “Rise”. Will it succeed on 2020 radio? Absolutely not. Is it a worthy addition to her discography? Absolutely.

The album shifts gears into adult contemporary with the slightly banal “Daisies”, which marches confidently towards mom pop empowerment in the spirit of Kelly Clarkson’s “Stronger” and Pink’s “Try”. Slightly more acoustic than your typical Democratic National Convention styled anthem, “Daises” comes from a place of earnestness. While it fails as a serious smash comeback single or a real classic like “Roar”, the track does just fine on the album, and doesn’t seem to be trying to prove anything in particular. Like the comfy Volvo station wagon in which this song may be played on adult contemporary radio, the song lacks sex appeal, but gets the job done.

“Daisies” almost perfectly segues into “Resilient” which sounds exactly as you’d expect. Safe, expected, and trite. On the plus side, the song does showcase some nice belts and is reminiscent of Katy’s very early pre One of the Boys lyricism. In an album context, the song succeeds quietly in letting Katheryn Hudson just be herself without pretense. There is a charm in the simplicity, and for that I won’t write the song off completely.

In a fairly jarring transition, Katy goes back to the trap-lite sound of “Dark Horse” with the over-baked “Not the End of the World”. This song isn’t bad, and in many respects, it is actually a banger. However, between the oddly-placed “Na Na Hey Hey Kiss Him Goodbye” sample and an aggressive use of auto tune, the song never seems to neatly achieve the impact for which it aims. Perhaps it is because the instrumental lacks the punch of “Dark Horse”, or perhaps it is because the triumphant theme is slightly discordant with a darker trap-pop sound, but the song never seems to really land quite as strongly as intended. It lacks focus. With that said, Katy’s Kim Petras-esque sing-talk verses are sung with a real swagger she so often lacks, and the song is anything but a bore. This track is certain to be polarizing, and on some level I applaud its chaotic approach.

After dancing through adversity and halfway creating a sense of empowerment through the first half of the album, Katy finally reclaims her “Smile” in the titular track. I recently heard the instrumental of this funk-lite track playing in the background of a Target advertisement, and frankly that is about all you need to know about the song. While I’m thrilled Katy has found joy, I’m less thrilled to hear corny lyrics like “I got a smile like Lionel Richie” on the title track of an otherwise good album. Katy truly doesn’t seem like she gives a fuck what I think on this track though, and for that I have to give some praise. It is nice when an artist isn’t seeking the public’s approval, and sometimes embracing joy can be cheesy. Maybe on a level, I want what she’s having.

The album starts anew in the second half with the very Harry Styles sounding track “Champagne Problems”. Like “Legendary Lovers” and “Roulette” before it, this song is sure to be an instant fan favorite. Every second is sonically interesting, mature, and satisfying. Like a crisp glass of bubbly, Katy seems mature, yet flirty and fun. I’m here for it. It’s great to be at a point where all you have is champagne problems, and this song sells that idea effectively. While not her best song, it is a good song, which is sometimes all you need need. Cheers!

If “Champagne Problems” was for those who love PRISM, then “Tucked” is for those who love Teenage Dream. From the strumming pop guitar to the big singalong chorus, “Tucked” leans into Katy’s strengths and embraces flirty fun in a way that she’s been trying to run away from for years. In the scope of the album and her career, the song is a blast from the past. It is a simpler Katy, and one which many have claimed to miss. At the same time, the return to form isn’t a desperate attempt at a hit. Simple pop songs like “Birthday” and “Last Friday Night” don’t make chart toppers in 2020. In that sense, this song is actually a bold choice, and a very confident one. To me, it says “I can still do that Teenage Dream stuff you always want me to do”, and it embraces it fully as one aspect of Katy Perry. Your past is still part of you, and you can go back to fun even when you’ve grown - and this song proves that. I quite love this little pop banger, and the album is much better for it.

I’ve written much in the past about my eternal love for Katy’s best song since “Dark Horse”, but let it just be said that I adore “Harleys in Hawaii”. Every second of this song is engaging, sexy, and sonically fabulous. For those who love the unique vocal and lyrical stylings of Katy Perry, this is a real treat. For those who don’t, this is probably just another so-so song. If you know what you’re listening for though, wow, what a track. It takes you to a fantasy, and immerses you in island vibes. This gem earned its place on this track list no matter what anyone says, and Katy knows it.

Then comes “Only Love” which drags on with trite, yet cute melodies and lyrics. For those who like the back half of PRISM, this song may really resonate, but for those of us who like a more sultry Perry, this track is a chore to listen to.

Closing the album is the personal “What Makes A Woman”. While not even Perry’s best album closer, the song is a cute cut, and may have done best replacing “Smile” in the middle of the album as an acoustic break between two pop halves.

All in all, this album does a good job of getting rid of the bitter taste of Witness and showcasing a broad spectrum of Katy’s distinctive artistic identity. Is it perfect? Absolutely not. Is it worthwhile? Absolutely. That seems to be the message here, both through the lyrics and through the meta messaging of the album’s direction in the context of Katy’s career. Cliche but true: you don’t have a thing to prove to anyone - just be you. Similarly, nobody can ever take away the gold star Katy earned during the first half of the 2010s. Her legacy is secure, the tragedies are behind her, and now she (and we) can enjoy the joy of the full spectrum of life without judgement or fear of failure.

Overall Grade: B+

George A. Romero Day

I was nine or ten when I first saw Tom Savini’s NIGHT OF THE LIVING DEAD (1990) remake. It wasn’t my first horror film. FRANKENSTEIN (1931) was an early memory, and a giant life-sized poster of his monster1 protected my room from nightmares. I’d often dream of Freddy Krueger despite never having seen any of his films at that point. Horror was everywhere in the 1980s.

I was in awe of LIVING DEAD ‘90. The idea of being trapped in a house with evils lurking outside. The paranoia that brewed among the humans… how the humans became monsters long before they were even bit. It was heavy stuff at the time. I don’t know if I drew parallels to all of this or simply thought, “Wow, those intense zombie fights that would make a cool NES game!”2

Savini’s redo was probably my first actual zombie experience. Again, I had seen zombies in other media, most like Scooby Doo or whatever other Saturday morning cartoon cribbed and remixed the undead concept to sell toys or comicbooks.

It was a few years later that I finally got to see George A. Romero’s original NIGHT OF THE LIVING DEAD (1968). I can’t recall if I first saw it on TV or an actual repertory screening of it. Memory is weird that way. I do remember being thoroughly blown away by it, despite more or less having memories of the plot from that remake.

I never had a problem with Black & White movies, having already been a full on film-junkie at that point, but somehow that black & white depiction of old school zombies felt hyper real. Unsettling. Fucking cool as hell. Unerving. Or maybe I was just a dumb kid. Oh, I definitely was a dumb kid, and still am, but that moment cemented George Romero in the pantheon of cinematic greats. Didn’t matter what else he did, he made NOTLD. He made a weighty zombie film full of social commentary and subtext.3 He popularized zombies. He didn’t need to do anything else.

Oh, but he did. He so did. 

It was around the time I was starting to consume more horror4 that a classmate had cut some scenes into a film project we were working on. My jaw was on the floor when I first saw the gory display of gritty carnage.

“This is from the 70s?” 

I knew so little. I definitely didn’t know those effects were also by Tom Savini, but everything was coming full circle, and that was one of the key moments that I fell in love with Savini without even knowing.

“You never seen this? Here, man, I’ll loan you it.”

And that was when I first saw Romero’s DAWN OF THE DEAD (1978). Take some people of various walks of life and have them take refuge in an empty mall-- only to find the Zombies have returned to the place they frequented most.

“WHEN THERE’S NO ROOM IN HELL, THE DEAD WILL WALK THE EARTH!”

DOTD ‘78, The brutal and hilarious takedown of consumption and mall culture. Social Commentary, Zombie Gags, and Sick Kills. A film that’s loved by both critics and horror junkies. A film that said something and also entertained. George Romero in a nutshell.

A film that also became my gateway drug to Good Horror. And to Bad Horor. Again, I already loved horror. I loved the aesthetic, the vibe. Always drew monsters. Always collected weird monster toys. If a film was playing on a movie channel, I’d watch it. 

But Romero’s DAWN OF THE DEAD was THE film that made me WANT to actually seek them out. The film that made me want to rewatch my older brother’s old worn Betamax tapes of classic 80s horror flicks. A film that introduced me to Dario Argento.5 A movie that got me into the music of Italian Horror Prog Rock legends, GOBLIN. The life changing event that made me a nut for Savini and every 80s fx guru around. A story that made we want to watch every zombie film I possibly could. Good or Bad, and there’s a lot of bad out there. But there’s also a lot of good. So much good.

Romero’s DAY OF THE DEAD (1985) is one of those good zombie films. I saw a midnight screening with my dad at that same repertory cinema.6 This was Romero’s third DEAD film and took place on a military base. It introduced the concept of the military studying, training, and weaponizing the living dead. It also has one of the freakiest scenes involving hands and walls that still rattles me to this day. It has a stomach churning scene involving a ripped stomach. It’s wonderful, largely in part to once again utilizing Savini’s talents, as well as Greg Nicotero and Howard Berger-- who years later brought THE WALKING DEAD to your homes. Romero’s legacy still felt to this day.

That being said, Romero’s legacy was far more than just Zombie films, of course. He made a film, that’s rather timely now7, about a plague that made people crazy called... THE CRAZIES (1973).  There was another about a vampire wannabe named MARTIN (1978). A spectacular 80s horror anthology film series called CREEPSHOW8 (1982 & 1987). And a wonderfully bizarre film about a homicidal monkey named, appropriately enough, MONKEY SHINES (1988). I saw that last one before I even knew who he was but I never really forgot it. And those are just a few. 

He revisited his LIVING DEAD films with additional sequels in the 2000s and 2010s and was working on another up until his death. I was very lucky to briefly thank him during a convention, a year or so before he passed. Thanked him for the films. For everything.

He didn’t just impact me, of course. He impacted the people he worked with, who’ve gone on to impact other people in turn. He’s impacted the fans who got into horror because of him. He’s impacted the horror fans who weren’t even fans of his, because they most definitely liked something that was made by someone who was inspired by George Romero. 

You’ll see it with a DOTD’s actor cameo in a Rob Zombie film, or a gruesome creature effect in a micro-budget classic. You’ll see it in a modern classic like TRAIN TO BUSAN (2016) or while laughing your guts out at SHAWN OF THE DEAD (2004).

We aren’t just talking about movies, we’re talking books, music, and video games. 90s SIMPSON’s references. We’re talking art, tattoos, and comics. RPGs, Board games, Toys, and Funko Pops. Those Halloween decorations you keep in your home all year long . The clothes you wear. Your creepy and kooky badass goth aesthetic. A lot of what we love about horror today is thanks to George A. Romero.

He didn’t create zombies… but he certainly gave them life. He did more than that. He made horror important again.

I can’t do justice to George A. Romero with words. His work speaks for itself. So today, on what would have been his 81st Birthday, watch some Romero. If you’re out there quarantining, staying at home, under a curfew, and fearing the unfathomable, infectious dangers lurking outside your door… definitely watch Romero. 

This decade is off to a weird start, luckily we have Romero’s influence to get us through it.

Happy Birthday, George! And thank you for infecting me with horror.

-Theo Radomski, MOVIES ROT BRAINS

photo via Global News

---------

ENDNOTES FROM THE GRAVE

1. And you know what? I still call him Frankenstein. Because he’s essentially his son. That’s his creation. And Victor would have had the hubris to name his creation after himself if he had not abandoned that poor schlub. But I digress… 

2.  Actually, that’s exactly what I thought. And about 30 years later, Zombies are still a staple of modern video gaming, from Resident Evil and Doom still going strong after three decades, to Call of Duty and Red Dead Redemption still having Zombie mods. To every friggin’ game out there that has any undead horror creeping about. The nine-year-old me is having a blast right now.

3. I had definitely caught on the subtext and themes by that point that I may have missed while watching the remake as a kid. Still a dumb kid, though.

4.  Thanks in part to HBO’s TALES FROM THE CRYPT reruns on FOX. Expect another nonsensical rambling piece on that show and the 50s comics that inspired it sometime in the future.

5.  And that opened the doorway into Giallo, Fulci, and a whole slew of Italian Exploitation and American Slasher films and that’s a whole other long screed for another time.

6.  My dad was another reason I love this genre. He loved horror movies. I still hear his voice in my head saying, “Ooooh, It’s a Scary Movie!” in his German accent.

7.  Actually, aren’t they all?

8.  Which has also had a revival in the form of Shudder’s excellent new CREEPSHOW anthology series made by Romero’s DAY OF THE DEAD Alumni Greg Nicotero! See how it’s all connected?

can you make a list of every mavel comic you've ever read (good and bad) i just finished iron man (1998) and i thoroughly loved it with all its best and weird bits

GOOD™

iron man stuff:

tales of suspense (1963) – a classic. 100/10. would read several times

iron man vol 1 (1968) – i’m on, like, issue 20 out of 300 something but it’s also very very good! the drama..the action……..wig

iron man vol 3 (1998) – obv i know youve read this one anon but for anyone out there starting comics this one’s SUPER good, and also Love Is Stored In The Tonyru

iron man vol 4 (2005) – listen this comic. so great, so iconic. maya hansen! epic fights! director stark! good art except for, like, the 6 issues of execute program but execute program is such a good story arc that you wont even notice! 

iron man noir (2010) – INDIANA JONES AU TONY STARK, LITERALLY THE BEST CONCEPT MARVEL’S COME UP WITH. PEAK COMICS IRONFAM

iron man legacy (2010) – i enjoyed this one a lot! i’m kind of confused as to, like, what’s going on but it’s fun

iron man season one (2013) – ok so this is, like, a modern remake of tony’s origin story and it’s..kind of average imo but thats ok! bc you can just look at the very very pretty pictures

iron man fatal frontier (2013) – tony becomes governor of the moon and fights doom! also he takes down an ai with weaponized fanfiction somewhere in there. read this one with a .cbr reader

invincible iron man vol 2 (2015) – gonna maybe fuck around and rec bendis’ entire iron man run bc . the art is gorgeous and the story isn’t the strongest but tony’s characterization is v good 

international iron man (2016) – ok i dont remember what happens in this one but alex maleev’s art is literally god 

invincible iron man vol 3 (2016) – RIRI WILLIAMS!!!! AND ALSO AI TONY STARK (MY SON MY BOY WHOM I LOVE)!!!!

other stuff:

new avengers vol 1 (2005) – as i have said before. new avengers GOT the sauce. stevetony and caroljess on one team was too powerful so marvel had to break em up with civil war . also stop reading this comic when you get to civil war

civil war: casualties of war (2007) and civil war: the confession (2007) – these are both oneshot comics and also the Only Civil War Content You Need To Subject Yourself To

spider-man noir (2010) – a break from the avengers stuff to tell you that this comic is very brutal and also very good

secret invasion (2010) – ok avengers emh did it better™ but this is still very neat! also it’s pretty trippy so its got that going for it too

siege (2010) – i dont understand what’s going on but the art is very good. also the avengers get to beat up norman osborn’s bitch ass

avengers prime (2011) – apparently this is the “stevetony bible” and …honestly there isn’t anything i can say in objection to that

avengers vol 4 (2010) – this comic is SUPER fun. after the fear itself tie ins the art and story get pretty eugh though so be careful

fear itself (2012) – BEST BEST BEST!!! my favorite crossover event in comics, with cool art and a badass storyline

captain marvel vol 4 (2012) – can we get a yeehaw for CAROL DANVERS . hell yeah. this is her first run with the name captain marvel and it’s Very Good

avengers: the enemy within (2014) – captain marvel vol 4 ends on a cliffhanger and the storyline’s capped off here

avengers vol 5 (2013) – ok so *clown noises* i haven’t exactly finished it but…this is the One Was Life The Other Was Death comic and it’s super good from what ive read so far

hawkeye (2013) – matt fraction’s run! everyone and their dog wants you to read it and you absolutely should if you have not. not too sure abt the volume numbering but heres a link to download in TPBs, it’s volumes 1-4

captain marvel vol 5 (2014) – this is the volume featuring chewie (!!) and carol in outer space with the guardians of the galaxy (!!!). super fun in general, would read again

ms marvel (2014) – again i am VERY confused as to what the official issue/volume numbering is, but here’s a list of TPBs that collect pretty much every kamala khan comic pre 2019 (im gonna rec all of them bc kamala is a treasure)

doctor strange vol 3 (2015) – literally everything i want from a comic tbh, also chris bachalo’s art is amazing

marvel 1872 (2015) – no one actually calls this Stevetony Bible 2 but lbr it’s basically Stevetony Bible 2

all-new all-different avengers (2015) – BEST AVENGERS TEAM EVER. EVER. PLEASE BENDIS WHY DID YOU BREAK THIS TEAM UP IM SAD

the unbelievable gwenpool (2016) – oh god oh fuck it’s miss GWEN POOLE . this comic is super funny and also surprisingly heartfelt, plus the art is . mmm.

champions (2016) – the gen z superhero team, i love all of them so much. i can almost forgive marvel for ending anad avengers

hunt for wolverine: adamantium agenda (2018) – so this is, after 11 goddamn years, closure for the first civil war regarding tony and the new avengers that sided with steve. amazing.

the life of captain marvel (2018) – the carol origin retcon is…eh. but it’s still very good! think of it as carol’s international iron man

avengers: back to basics (2018) – kamala goes back in time and accidentally reveals tony’s secret identity and it’s the funniest fucking thing

captain marvel (2019) – the first issue is everyone bullying tony which sucks but DONT LET THAT GET YOU DOWN bc it’s, like, actually good and also tony appears more in later issues without getting bullied

war of realms (2019) – i guess it’s a marvel rule that all crossover comics having to do with asgard are Top Notch? anyway

loki (2019) – AMAZING loki shenanigans and also the REAL reason you needed to read war of realms tbh

ironheart (2019) – gosh i love riri williams so much she’s so GREAT and you should DEFINITELY READ THIS

QUESTIONABLE™:

invincible iron man vol 1 (2008) – matt fraction’s iron man run…it’s ..ok story wise? however the characterization is a lil off at times and the art is HORRIBLE

iron man vol 5 (2013) – ok so this comic is super weird ? because it’s nice that tony spends time out in space but also it confirms that he’s a furry apparently. pretty much the only truly average iron man comic

avengers vol 8 (2018) – okay so i really like the art and the story’s okay but there’s a bit where tony flirts w carol and it’s the most ooc thing ive ever seen and that’s enough to land it in the questionable category

tony stark: iron man (2018) – i debated over whether to put this here or in the Bad™ category BUT valerio schiti’s art is too beautiful and the rhodeytony content fuels me. also issues 12 and 13 (war of realms) written by gail simone are pretty good. unfortunately dan slott wrote the rest and it AINT IT CHIEF

gwenpool strikes back (2019) – it starts off strong in the first issue but goes downhill from there and tbh it’s not really respectful of the previous gwenpool run

magnificent ms marvel (2019) – ok listen i love kamala a lot but if theres gonna be a romance plot between her and bruno it’s the electric chair

BAD. AVOID AT ALL COSTS™

iron man vol 2 (1996) – just. don’t touch this. it’s a hot mess

civil war (2006) – i hate this. so much. it’s unreal. all you need to know is that steve was real close to killing tony in the end but surrendered when he saw that he no longer had the moral high ground. and also steve got assassinated right before he was going to be put on trial

mighty avengers (2007) – this comic had the potential to be SO good. unfortunately the artists for the actual avengers issues don’t respect women at all

superior iron man (2015) – they made tony evil and i could not be more angry with it. who even fucking wants to read this theres not even any emotional payoff for any of this

civil war ii (2016) – i would hit this stupid comic in the knees if i could. there is not a single c*vil w*r with rights. all you need to know is that carol put tony into a coma and it’s super ooc

iron man 2020 (2020) – listen i know this comic hasn’t come out yet but it has all the ingredients to be EVEN WORSE than superior iron man which is saying a lot.

this took way too much effort

Jake Reviews Stuff: Steven Universe: The Answer

Happy pride everyone and naturally, it just wouldn’t feel like a celebration of pride in animation without one of the frontrunners of LBGTQ represintation in Children’s television, as well as quality in storytelling in general: Steven Universe.  Since your seeing this you probably know the gist but as my idol peter parker would say let’s do this one last time:  The story of Steven, a 14 year old, though he dosen’t look it, boy with a boundless amount of love, compassion and empathy,  lives in beach city with his borderline homeless dad , surrogate moms and surrogate until we find out they actually are kinda related sister: Garnet, a fusion of two gems in love and thus the sum total of both them and their feelings, Peal, an emotional but loving gem who grew from a servant to Rose’s right hand, sometimes lover, and confidant, and Amythest, a gem born long after the war that brought everyone else here who acts like a 20 something or teenager half the time. Steven soon finds himself fighting alongside themt o protect earth both from the monsters caused by the final battle of the war his mother fought to save earth from distruction and let her army live life how they choose, and the gem homeworld as it starts to take an intrest in earth again. And as the fight goes on Steven also starts to see just how flawed his family is and how much they haven’t moved on from his moms death and finds himself forced to help them past it while grappling with his mom’s terrible and complicated legacy, everyone expecitng him to basically be her, and what it means to be a  being that’s truly one of a kind.  I absolutley love the show: it’s not without flaws; Characters tend to be ingnored for seasons or episodes at a time,some arcs are really weirdly paced and the slice of life episodes can be jammed in the weirdest places. But the show’s strength: a devotion to having emotional resolution be even more important, and sometimes just as powerful animated and framed, than fighting, though the show’s fight scene’s are incredible, incredibly deep characters with fully fleshed out arcs and growth, and a love for tackling deep, heavy subjects through metaphor or even directly, taking on things such as gender identity, societal conformity, ptsd, grief, gender identity and many many more with grace and weight and helping kids with them in the process.  The show is also the frontrunner for LBGTQ+ representation in cartoons in the 2010′s. While other shows had bits nad pieces, series creator Rebecca Sugar was the one responsible for making Marcline and Princess Bubblegum ex-lovers and making it obvious as possible without saying it because standards were bullshit, Steven Unvierse decided to say fuck subtley and thus had PLENTY OF gay content: Garnet is a fusion of two women and the embodiment of their love and relationship, and when the two show up their very affectionate with one another to the point of bullcrap censorship in less tolerant countries such as india and russia, while Pearl out and out had a CENTURIES LONG romantic relationship with Steven’s mother who was explictly pansexual, and that’s just the main cast!  But I genuinely believe that it’s thanks to Steven Universe that children’s animation is as LBGTQ+ positive as it is now. SU wasn’t the first to have gay leads but it was one of the few kids shows with the balls and, at least in the us, network support to explictily have gay characters as some of the main cast, and I feel the show’s success softend execs at CN and other companies to let more representation too. Since SU”s airing, most CN shows have had gay content great and small, Nick has had gay parents and a bisexual lead, not to mention the korra ending kicking it all off, and Netflix has said hold my beer, having not only multiple gay main characters, but having the finale of she ra be built on a decleration of love between two women saving the universe and being the climax of the entire series.  Not that those crews likely still didn’t have to FIGHT for most of that, i’m not bilind and NOelle Stevenson has outright admitted she had to be sneaky about catradora for season 1 as to not get it shut down, but I feel SU”s sucess and Rebecca and crew’s own likely fights put the various studio goon’s reflector shields down and got more representation into children’s media. And that’s a wonderful thing.  So naturally the show was a lock for this month and for coverage here.. i’ts just given the show’s heavily seralized nature and the fact it dosen’t really have any long romantic story arcs. Sure ther’es plenty of romance, but it’s mostly either in the past or between an already married couple that’s also a person. The show’s arcs were more focused on worldbuilding and character building, which I do prefer and will be doing one in July.  But it did make it tricky to find an episode to spotlight the character I wanted to spotlight: Garnet Garnet is easily my faviorite character, with pearl a very close second: she has a great dynamic, is a decent if flawed mother and leader, and is also damn funny with her deadpanned reactions to things being utterly divine. As well as whatever the hell this is. 

The problem is I also wanted to spotlight the parts making up her: Ruby and Sapphire, their relationship etc as they themselves are fantastic and i’m 100% convinced were the inspriation for one mr mc skat kat and one paula abdul’s magnum opus in steven’s unvierse

The problem is most rupphire episodes are tangled in bigger arcs. They debuted at the end of the invasion arc, they had the baseball episdoe together shortly after another arc, and their wedding is tied up in the reveal rose was pink diamond and the reception is crashed by the climactic battle with Yellow and Blue that sets up the final arc of the whole series. But thankfully season two gave us The Answer to my problem.. ironically named the Answer, basically Garnet Year One as Garnet tells steven how she came to be, a story so beauitful they made a storybook out of it.. and it’s my honor to present it here after the cut. 

We open at the Barn... as a refresher at this point the Gems and Steven have been staying at Greg’s old family farm in order to have the  space and suplies to build a drill to stop the cluster from hatching and destroying earth, with Peridot reluctantly working with them. So as such Steven’s sleeping there when Garnet wakes her.. and in a notable departure for her it’s san’s shade, which shows her adorable excitment as she wakes Steven. Turns out it’s his birthday! And.. I don’t really begrudge the show for takin ga break for two episodes to celebrate it: besides being the only time steven went up a year, on screen, it was a nice break from the peridot/cluster storyline for a second, and this and the following episode are pretty great and both add a lot to the world as a whole. It’s why i don’t MIND when SU takes a break from the plot, as long as they do it for good reason. 

IN a great callback steven asks if garent’s going to tell him she’s a fusion, as Jailbreak revealed the reason she hadn’t yet is she was saving it for his birthday, which is a good joke and a great callback. Garnet cheerfully tells him know but has clearly found a backup: While steven knows she’s a fusion now.. she never told him how she came to be and how ruby and sapphire met after all.  So we journey back about 5000 years to, as we’d learn much later with the pink diamond reveal, the start of the gem war. Earth was to be the next great colony, as we’d learn next season for pink diamond, but something was in the way: The rebel rose quartz and her brutal right hand pearl were causing tons of distruption, so the rest of the diamonds had come to snuff out the rebellion personally.  So that’s where Ruby and Sapphire came in. Sapphire is a higher class gem, and befiting her caste is a precog, with Sapphires brought in to tell the diamonds the future so they can either make sure it happens or change it’s course. Garnet neaturally has this ablility too but vastly improved to see multiple timelines. She’s proper and distant.  Ruby meanwhile is a shy, if more intellgent then her peers grunt soldier. Rubies as we learned here are basically made in groups to fuse. To homeworld, Fusion is simply a tactic to create a slightly stronger gem out of three other gems, and basically creates one giant person. In Contrast up to this point the series has shown fusion as something important to the crystal gems and requriing more work: It requires all parties to be in sync to even happen much less stay together, and requires an emotional connection; Freindship, romance, kinship... whatever it is it’s needed to hold the fusion together. It’s part of what MAKES garnet so impressive: Garnet is a permafusion, only unfusing either when her two halves are needed. or when thier personal conflict is so great they CAN’T stay fused. It also means due to said emotional resonance and combining the best traits of two gems rather than creating just one big gem, that the crystal fusions we’ve seen are vastly more powerful and versitale.. evne if they dont’ speak much because Rebecca made the mistake of getting big artist to do the role and apparently refused to just you know.. recast? It’s something that always baffled me. There’s no shortage of talented poc performers who can sing out there.  Anyways, that’s part of what makes this intresting: up till now, we’d only seen one form of fusion.. we hadn’t seen what homeworld thought of it and used it for, and to the show’s credit it was hinted back during the return arc when Jasper called fusion a “tactic for making weak gems stronger”, since as far as homeworld used it, that’s what it was and it’s a stark contrast to the crystal gems harder to maintain but much more intresting and unique fusions. 

We’ll get more into this later. The two front rubies argue about whose going to punch people whie our ruby just points out the obvious: Their just going to fuse into a really big ruby and punch together. This gets her shoved into sapphire, which despite not being her fault gets gasps and monocle pops from the gems around them. And it’s about time I dug into the episodes unique animation style: instead of the usual, only a handful of characters, the rubies, sapphire, and later rose and pearl, are animated normally and even then, at least for the first half, are brightly lit in their primary colors, while the rest of the gems present are just barely animated sytlistic shadows. It’s a really intresting choice and a clever way to save on budget, while still looking gorgeous. 

Sapphire, while refusing Ruby’s help getting up, is understanding if monotone, but as w’eve seen in the present, tha’ts mostly just a side effect from seeing where everything’s going, and likely the reason garnet’s own emotional process is much like that; Stoic but willing to emote when necessary. Sapphire however has a reason for brushing her ruby off: the reason she was called here.. Blue Diamond.  This is intresting as it’s not only the first time we HEARD of blue, as before this we only heard of Yellow, who’d make her proper debut at the end of this season, but the first time we saw a diamond in any way shape of form. Sure we had murals and such, but given the lack of info about the diamonds this early on it was impossible to tell whow as who and the only giveway there was more than was diamond was the symbols: the era 1 symbols in temples and at the arena showing all 4, hinting at pink, and the modern one shown in jailbreak that was a triforce. We do only see Blue in a hood, covered by her palquin and her voice done by Garnet, but it’s still the first tiem we’d see any of the diamonds in any onscreen form. The Garnet voice is also notcable as every other voice in the flashabck, including characters who aren’t either part of garnet or the same gem type as part of her, is normal.. it’s only blue Garnet does a voice for.. and a clever way of covering for the fact they likely hadn’t cast her voice actress yet. It’s also notable for the introduction of Blue Pearl, who silently stands by her Diamond teh whole time.. it’s weird thinking back to the fact that this was the first time we’d really SEEN other versions of our main cast: other rubies and another pearl. Sure we knew they were all part of one type or another with the obvious exception of garnet.. but this episode is notable, and weird to think about giiven how many variants we see as the series goes on, for being the FIRST time we see this on screen. 

Sapphire reveals that while she, and two of her rubies, will poof the rebllion will end here, and Blue is releaved to here this, thanks sapphire and dismisses her. As Garnet explains, Sapphire had no issue with this as she simply saw her life as one straight line: No choice no, option: Fate would just come as it may. Sapphire also muses to Our Ruby on the fact that she finds this planet a wonderful place for a colony.. and that she wishes she could’ve seen more of it. While Our Ruby says theirs more time, Sapphire, while appricating the sentiment gently shoots it down.  This little moment is interuptted however as Rose shouts out, signaling her and Pearl’s arrival. The battle has begun. And I do like the clever use of storytelling here.. not in presetnation but in what we’d learn muchhhh later with the big reveal: To a first time watcher, we just thought that it was only rose and pearl for story purposes or it was a small attack. After all the rest of the characters we’d seen were just shadows, so I, and I presume many others just assumed the rest were off screen or failing that this was just a small strike. As we’d learn once we got the full story of Pink Diamond becoming rose.. it was indeed JUST them, and only them at the time. it’s probably why in the future sapphire saw the rebellion ended her: Pink while powerful had to reign it in as not to be found out and pearl, while as we see her is already utterly badass and an ace with a sword as she mows down Quartz soldiers, is still one gem going up against a literal army.  Another noticable thing, that hints at when this takes place is the fact that when Rose takes down the fused rubies, poofing two of them and leaving ours to flump to the ground.. she uses her fists. At this point her iconic sword is well established and it’s assumed it was just left out for artistic purpose.. but since we meet who made it next season with Bismuth, it’s another clever hint this is before there was a proper army. Bismuth wasn’t a gem yet so Rose/Pink just had her natural strength and shield to protect her, which wasn’t nothing, but the sword probably made it far easier to hold back. 

And thus we come to the moment of truth: Pearl has come back and is about to mow down sapphire.. when Ruby realizes just waht Sapphire meant and waht she’s about to do and thus.. the future changed. Ruby tackles her out of the way. And Garnet is born. 

I absolutley love Garnet’s cotton candy design, both as a sensible evolution, as this is a garnet formed in a moment of passion and accidently versus the one we see in the present or even in flashbacks: a person formed by choice and love and thus having a more stable form. Naturally, Rose and Pearl are baffled by this.. and it’s even more understandable.. as the above mentioned pink diamond origin episode explained.. they had never SEEN this kind of fusion before. While i’m sure this isn’t the first time this happend in gem history, any others were likely killed as soon as it were over or went into hiding as we saw with the off colors. And Pink being sheltered and Pearl being created for her, probalby simply never thought of something like this existing. But they also realize this never before seen to them miracle is their cue to skidoo and book it out of there.  Naturally Blue is pissed and the court are disgusted as the two defuse and both have about the same reacation. 

Before Blue can murder Ruby for you know, doing her fucking job, Sapphire ttakes her by the hand and books it off the sky arena and the two plummet to earth  while ruby screams no a lot. The foundation of any good relationship. 

They float down to earth.. because she’s Mary Poppins Ya’ll. Ruby reveals why she’s upset: Because as she sees it, there’s dozens of her. She’s not WORTH this. Sapphire has no reaction because for the first time, she has no idea what the future brings, what it means and the future she saw was just shattered. She’s frozen. 

Jokes aside I really love that pun. Ruby worries and quickly scoops her up bridal carry style and quickly finds the two a cave. In the cave the two light that flame get that and Ruby continues to freak out over what happened,  upset with her self that she’s supposed to save sapphire.. with Sapphire gently reassuring her “you already did.”  It’s also intresting as it shows even garnet, or at least half of her, had to go through what peridot did.. it went down a bit easier since exile happened right away, but Ruby still had to shake off the homeworld conceived notion that she was WRONG for saving sapphire simply because it lost them the fight and got them fused and all that. It’s also a nice metaphor for someone whose been told, for a nightmarish rainbow assortment of bullshit resaons, that being gay is wrong only to discover they are and having to realize there’s nothing wrong with who they are. 

After a breif flash the two finally talk about their fusion, with Sapphire being suprised considering she figured fusion wasn’t anything like they experinced.. only for Ruby to chime in that sh’es RIGHT: Their fusion wasn’t anything like Ruby’s normal “me but bigger’ fusion.. they lost htemselves.. and both clearly enjoyed it, expressing it through having a third eye for ruby and more than one for sapphi 

We then get the utterly adorable musical number: “Something Entirely New”Which takes the so far mildly subtle “This is like two people who had sex with the oppsite gender for the first time “ metaphor.. and just makes it texual as the song basically screams of two people talking over an unfamiliar sexual experince, but in a cute, well done, and intentionally awkward way that’s still approraite for the kids. it’s a real beautiful song and also shows the burgoning couple bond on earth. This is important as a previous episode had garent and out and out say that love takes time and work, accurate and that love at first sight simply dosen’t exist.. and we also see she practices waht she preaches as the montage does show some time past and even before that the two genuiely bonded. Sure they FUSED on the spur of the moment.. but actually loving each other took time and bonding. 

As the song ends, the two dance romantically,deciding to be Garnet for good as we get some nice callbacks to jailbreak: the two hum the tune to stronger than you, now revealed to be their song and spin similarilty to the way they have when they’ve fused, a nice callback that also add’s weight to those previous moments.. and thus two become one and Garnet is reborn. 

Garnet narrates as her past self gets used to her strange new form.. and just as she does she falls down a ditch. Eh could’ve been worse. 

Garnet finds herself face to sword with Pearl. Pearl backs off a bit once she realizes who their dealing with, and Garnet panickedly offers to unfuse.. only for Rose to enter. Garnet narrates them as Rose Quartz and her terrifying renegade pearl. 

Truly a force to be reckoned with. Rose dosen’t care about her own feelings though “What you feel is bound to be more intresting” It’s a good moment both because Garnet , up to this point hasn’t had to think about what they are or how they feel.. but more notably... no one but the two gems makingthem up ever cared, not before they were garnet and after all the homeworld gems wanted was to kill her. We also get a great line from garnet: “Why am I sure that i’d rather be this than anything else and that i’d rather do this than anything else i’m supposed to do? “  Rose’s response.. to give a giant grin while saying welcome to earth. As Garnet continues to question things, Rose tells her to never question this, never question what you are... which is a damn good message for a kids show to give out. The metaphor is crystal clear: no matter where you are on that beautiful lbgtq+ rainbow: NEVER be ashamed of who you are, never question it.. just enjoy it. Be who your meant to be and love that person. It’s a damn good message and one badly needed in a medium that for way too fucking long was SCARED to tell messages like this: Of sponsors, of foreign markets, and of idiots like one million moms. it took people like rebecca and her crew to say “fuck that”, to say that queer kids NEED these kinds of stories to know they aren’t alone, they are beautiful how they are. They shoudln’t have to wait to find out what they are.. is okay. And that’s beautiful. 

As Rose Tells Garnet that she is the answer, and as we cut back to the present, Steven asks what the answer is. Garnet simply answers: Love. And we close on one great exchange Steven: I knew it Garnet; (wistfully) So did I. 

Final Thoughts: While I remembered the episode being good, hence part of the reason I choose it I forgot just HOW great this episode was, especially post reveal. The art direction is goregous, shot like a fairy tail and rightfully so since this episode is told as one, the story is heartwarming and erica and charlene really act their hearts out as ruby and sapphire while Estelle kills it as both present garnet narrating and past garnet, a garnet ENTIRELY diffrent from what we’ve seen but acted beautifully. It’s espcially noticable since unlike the other two lead gems, we obviously wouldn’t see more garnets like we would amythests and pearls, so unlike her contepraries estelle really didn’t get to flex her vocal range as much playing alternate versions as the seasons went on, with this being the closest she got.  The episode is beautiful, has a wonderful message, and is just utterly charming and is agian why I DON’T mind that every su episode dosen’t advance the plot: Sometimes it dosen’t need to. And even so this one ended up being WAY more important than I remembered, introducing blue diamond and turning out to be MASSIVELY important once the reveal kicked it: For it was Garnet, and the love dthat forged her that changed Pink’s direction. Before the rebellion was simply a way to stop the occupation of earth and would’ve been snuffed out if not for ruby’s actions.. but seeing garnet, seeing how earth and being free from homeworld’s restraints could positvely impact someone.. it changed rose. Besides bringing her and Pearl together, it also made her realize just what her rebellion could bring to people and what a gem could be and even more how precious her future home was. By forming in an act of Love, garnet changed the entire future of gemkind. By staying that way she did so once more. And that’s beautifully. overall an underated, even by me, little masterwork with once again a damn fine message.  We’ll get back to SU soon enough, as I plan to cover the series first full arc as we meet peridot, and see into the souls of our heroines. But first Pride isn’t over yet, and I have one last card on the table as we todd it up a bit with my first look at bojack horseman. Like this if you enjoyed it, comments subscirbe etc etc and don’t be afraid to comission a review for 3 bucks, and until we meet agian, later days. 

annekane asked: false god by taylor swift

so here’s a long ass thing i did that deiniftely doesn’t answer the question and nobody asked for but did that stop me? no.

Harvard University: Government Major

     -- Dated for five months in freshman year. Jason was in her Economy class and they didn’t talk until after the term was over. They met met at a bar near campus and it took her exactly those five months to realize that they wanted opposite things. He was looking for a long term girlfriend, and Amanda was already not about that life. She took the end of the year as an excuse and ended things before moving back home for the summer.

     -- Hookup in freshman year. Some guy on the debate team that beat her on the last round. It didn’t last long (in more than one way), but there was something about competition that was so exciting already. 

     -- Dated? in sophomore year: it’s been over twenty years and Amanda’s still utterly confused about this guy. She was certain they were only sleeping together, he apparently was sure that they were an item. It didn’t end well. Someone saw her flirting with some other guy and Bruno god stupid angry and it kind of looked like a scene out of a comedy series. They were having totally different conversations, but bottom line was she broke his heart.

     -- Hookup during the summer between sophomore and junior years: Amanda was as  vanilla as it got because she never ever had sex ed in school (shocking) and she hadn’t had enough partners and enough confidence to try things out. Xavier was her first experience with an older guy (she was 20, he was 28) and he taught her things about herself. They didn’t talk too much, he picked her up and dropped her off just around the corner of her house so her parents wouldn’t ask whose car it was. He was an incredible kisser and the fact that he paid her any attention at all made her feel all the more mature. He even paid for the morning after pill that one time. So sweet.

     -- Hookup in junior year: at that one party, her roommate and her were dared to kiss and Amanda was That Girl and was also way past tipsy and it kinda seemed like a good idea. Callie and her were in the same classes, too, and they both pretended it had never happened. To be fair, Amanda couldn’t even recall if the kiss had been good the next morning.

     -- Dated for four months: Phil. Kinda lame, but had an okay sense of humour and he sat through extremely lengthy conversations with her and Oliver about the undoubtable and unavoidable demise of humanity. Evidently, he did it because he thought she owed her after, and she wasn’t informed enough to know she didn’t, so she lay down for two and a half minutes, cleaned up after and said she was tired and she’d see him the next day because he was really weird to share a bed with. After using all the clichés she knew to say she didn’t want to see him anymore, he decided to ignore her not very subtle hints and kept calling and showing up with take out. Phil really is a boring name for a boring man who needed a smack on the head and a book on women’s rights. Also: https://royisms.tumblr.com/post/621230604961333248/i-wish-i-missed-my-ex-mahalia

      -- Fell for Marcus in junior year: this time, it was the other way around. She was completely enamoured by him (looking back, it was the fact that he had a full academic scholarship he didn’t need and him being a guy her age who wasn’t a complete waste of space). There were rumours but she decided to ignore them and they came back to bite her in the ass. If she remembers correctly, that was the first time Oliver held back an “I told you”, but maybe she just didn’t hear him because she was sobbing into her pillow and screaming about how men were all the same and how could she have been so stupid. Not only a borken heart, but Marcus also gave her an STD! Thanks babe!

Georgetown University: Masters in Public Policy 

     -- Hooked up with her first Grad professor: because she’s a dumb bitch who doesn’t learn. He was only five years older but being in a position where he was way more powerful gave her such a rush. They wouldn’t talk in class, but she’d look at him from across the room and give him a look because it earned her some rough loving when they were finally behind closed doors. He eventually stopped calling her when she passed his class and he found another student to sleep with. Anyway... That’s systemic misogyny for you.

     -- Dated for eight months in 2003 - 2004: Joshua. Maybe the first relationship she’d consider serious. She had her own room for the first time in years and so did he, and they spent most nights together. With working on top of studying and her lack of time-management skills, she didn’t spend too much time with friends and, instead, they became each other’s support system. In the end, they liked each other because they didn’t have others who’d stand by them while they got consumed in their textbooks and not because they had too much in common. He’s now probably a Republican mayor in some town and he’s balding so she calls this one a win for sure.

Started to work for her father’s consultancy to dip her toe into electoral strategy.

     -- Hooked up with: Frank. A lawyer who’d just joined the consultancy business. She met him at an event she was assisting in. He was also struggling to pay rent but he was much better at hiding it and his neat hair and grey tux (and her lack of human touch in months) earned him a willing young blonde eager to get out of her heels and into his bed. They were done by 12:13am and he kicked her out, didn’t even call her a cab. Definitely not what she’d pictured for her first month as an official adult.

Didn’t date anyone, finally decided to officially put her career first and not focus on men. Also, started going to a therapist for the first time! This was great. We love mental health. Started to think about leaving her dad’s business and work on something else. Consultancy was okay but she really wanted to make an impact on the world, have a legacy... Yada yada.  

     -- Hooked up with: Luke. Her friend stood her up at the bar because she met some dude and Amanda was forcefully introduced to the beauty of drinking alone. This guy used the classic ‘pretending to be your boyfriend when a stranger is hitting on you to get them off but then I ask for your number so you’re uncomfortable again but I win so who cares’ move. She was tipsy enough that she didn’t care he didn’t have a condom. Unfortunately, her bank account disagreed when she withdrew the cash necessary for Planned Parenthood. You know what, fuck you Luke.

She took on more responsibilities at the office and eventually gathered enough to have her own clients. Granted, she still worked for an office, but her dad was close to retiring and she was proud of her own accomplishments. People actually called in and requested her by this point! Amazing progress. She was never working on campaigns alone because Youth and also men were still in charge lmao let’s not forget!! But hey. It’s something.

     -- Hooked up with: Samuel. He wasn’t a client anymore and he was a little younger than her, actually. He was also a Republican. Something about him winning the election with her help and her getting praise over the work she’d done by her peers made her reach out in 2010. One glass of wine became two and three. She kicked him out in the morning, and as far as she’s concerned his wife never found out.

     --  Dated (on and off) for one year and a half 2011 - 2012: Doh. He was a rising journalist, he’d written a big piece on something sketchy that had happened in Congress and he’d scored an important job, and he still wasn’t as busy as Amanda made herself. It was one year full of half-fights because, as if on cue, her phone would always start ringing and she’d pick it up without hesitation. In the end, he was too tired to explain, and she didn’t really want to hear it. By this point, she’d already started shooting people an annoyed look when they asked when she’d finally have children.

Her dad retired and his partner bought his half of the business. Amanda decided to leave the company; with the connections she’d secured during her many years as an assistant, she was finally able to consult on her own. 

     -- Hooked up with: Paarush. What was supposed to be a night of unwinding and letting herself go ended in too tight of a grip and some deep bruises on her neck. She had to wear a scarf for days to avoid any inappropriate questions.

     -- Dated for two years: Peter. Professionally, she was getting places she’d never even dreamed of and, as it had happened before, she was putting her career before anything else. She started seeing Peter after a friend of a friend introduced them and he was sweet. He was an economist and he wasn’t as busy as her, but he seemed to understand. The first few months, he’d call her at night and listen to her rant about her day, he’d check in on the weekends and wouldn’t get mad when she forgot to return his call. A few months in, he asked for the spare key to her place and it made sense, because he’d get there so much earlier than her. She’d arrive and he would have made dinner because he knew she’d forget to eat otherwise. It started small: something about the clients she was working for, how she should just stay home, comments about how good of a mother she’d be even though she’d made it very clear she had no intention in having children. By the end, it was about her beliefs and her impossibility to be empathetic with him. Most of all, he repeated over and over how she was so innocent to believe she could make a change in the world. It was hard to part ways because it was so comfortable -- they’d fallen into a routine that had taken a lot of weight off her shoulders for a while, but when she changed the lock of her apartment and refused to talk to him, she really believed she was better off without him.

     -- Hooked up with: Hans. As far as she’s concerned, he definitely wasn’t the worst man she’d slept with. Need I say more?

Started working for Oliver as his Chief of Staff. A new job, new staff, new line of work altogether, it was… Big. Not too much time for dating but she deprived herself of sleep. 

     -- Hooked up with: Javier. Not a Republican, but a conservative Democrat. He was on his way to become Mayor of Louisville (thanks to her, mostly). Again, winning is exciting, and she’s a simple woman with needs.

     -- Dated for nine months: Charlie. They matched on Tinder and Amanda messaged them with a line she thought was funny and cheeky, it probably wasn’t but for whatever reason, Charlie messaged her back. They met at a bar and hit it off almost immediately, and - wow, sleeping with someone she didn’t hate was a welcomed change. They were the first (and, so far, only) person she dated who wasn’t a man. It was a little scary at first, to be honest -- she’s a feminist, she’s liberal, she’s progressive, and she’s nice, but it was a new experience and she didn’t want to say the wrong thing. In the end, they were both too busy to keep up with a relationship. Fun fact: they both decided to break up on the same night so they were dumper and dumpee all the same. Amanda was not amused at the time, she hadn’t been dumped in so long, but hey… They didn’t talk for a while, but then ran into each other at some event or the other, one thing led to another… They definitely hooked up a few times after breaking up, but both made sure there weren’t any romantic feelings left there. That would’ve been Awkward.

Election season started and, with that, her new position as Campaign Manager for Zafar 2020. Later, she’d become Deputy Campaign Manager for Berkeley-Zafar 2020. She’s working way more hours and definitely doesn’t have time for men. Or does she! You know what I’m talking about.

     -- Did not date for nine months: Silas. There are many things she could say about him, but she won’t because it never happened. Outside of her bedroom, and his (and… His office, and the restroom at that one bar), this never happened. She never sent him flowers, he never put on his cat to meow through the phone to her, they never shared a lazy Sunday morning with coffee in bed and books unrelated to work. And he’s definitely not the man who “I can't talk to you when you're like this, staring out the window like I'm not your favorite town” was written about.