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eschergirls · 9 months

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Thank you to our July 2023 Patreon subscribers and important update about Patreon

Hi everybody!

Sorry for the delay in posting, but as some of you might already know, Patreon's having issues which has led to payments not being processed or being flagged as "fraudulent", and people reporting that creators they followed suddenly vanished for them. The source of these issues seems to be unclear since the speculation is that the cause is because Patreon switched their payment processing location to Dublin, Ireland, but Patreon seems to be saying that that's because of an upgrade with a processing partner and it's just the descriptor that changed. Either way it's a confusing mess. I've noticed discrepencies in the Escher Girls Patreon list too, several subscribers seem to have just vanished. They're not listed as cancelled or declined, just gone, like they never subscribed in the first place. It's weird.

Because of all this, I've decided not to make any changes to this month's list of Patrons that I want to thank. I assume if you vanished suddenly, it's probably because of Patreon's problems. Also, you might want to check your Patreon account to see if these errors have affected you and anybody (not just Escher Girls) that you're supporting! It's especially annoying because there seems to be no warning or notification that anything happened if you're not checking yourself, so I just wanted to let people know.

I'm still working on unflagging posts on Tumblr, at least for the most part it seems to just be adding an "mature content" flag and not removing too many posts, but there's some that seem to have just vanished.

This is again why I'm self-hosting and really appreciate any support I get because it helps me to keep the site independent and keep the archive as something I can control without worrying about Tumblr policy changes or their auto-flagging system that seems to be entirely automated, including the appeals which are rejected or accepted seemingly by random within seconds of me clicking the button. So while it takes more work and cost to self-host, I think it's important.

Also, as a reminder, you can follow Escher Girls using RSS. (For newbies, RSS stands for Really Simple Syndication and is basically a feed you can read using an RSS reader. Simply copy and paste https://eschergirls.com/rss.xml into an RSS reader and it will keep you up to date on Escher Girls!)

If you have any suggestions for upgrades to the site that would make it more readable and usable to you, please let me know! Especially if there's a particular commenting service or style you'd like us to use since i know the interaction is part of the fun, and I don't know how many people use Disqus anymore.

Given the increasing issues with Patreon, if there are other ways you'd like me to look into to make it easier to support Escher Girls, please let me know that too! And now, I want to give a huge thank you to our July Patreon supporters:

So thank you so much to:

Anne Adler Cat Mara CheerfulOptimistic Chris McKenzie Em Bardon First Time Trek Greg Sepelak Joseph Millman Ken Trosaurus Kevin Carson Kim Wincen Kristoffer Illern Holmén Leak Manuel Dalton Mary Kuhner Max Schwarz Michael Mazur Michael Norton Miriam Pody Morgan McEvoy randomisedmongoose Ringoko Ryan Gerber Sam Mikes Sean Sea SnigePippi SpecialRandomCast Thomas Thomas Key

And a special thank you to "NM" for supporting us on Ko-Fi last month!

And in general, I want to thank everybody for reading, interacting, commenting, and submitting things to the site because you're why Escher Girls continues to exist.

Thank you all, you make it all worth it,

Ami

(If you wish to support Escher Girls, you can subscribe to our Patreon at: https://www.patreon.com/ami_angelwings or donate through Ko-Fi at: https://ko-fi.com/amiangelwings.)

You can check out Escher Girls outside of Tumblr at EscherGirls.com

#update #patreon #note

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justtrashperson · 1 year

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So a while back you drew art of the sonic!lads feat. the metal virus, and if you have any further ideas on that matter I would love to hear them!

Totally fine if not and you just wanted to draw some cool art, but the whole metal virus arc was one of my favourites in the idw comics ^-^'

KAJSKA that’s fair, I'm currently also brain rotting over sonic prime and the sonic!Lads again so luckily I do have lore for you. Also same metal virus arc was one of my favorites too

Though it was a while ago, I might forgot some details about the arc so yeah sorry if there’s anything missing or wrong lmao

Anyway this got so long bc I like to ramble so read more it is

So, I guess the Sonic!Lads universe exist somewhat within the idw sonic canon, like the actual sonic characters do exist but are vaguely there, so restoration hq or whatever it was still exist, G.U.N. Exist somewhat, there’s the Babylonians, etc.

Anyway, This was probably a while after all the lads are friends, which is probably a very bad timing, considering the whole lore with Brian, but we'll get to it someday.

Basically at first the whole thing was like the idw, where everyone didn't notice at first, but when they did, it was far too late.

Kevin and RT are roommates, and since RT does have an extreme gear, they managed to bail out, taking some necessary equipment specifically to survive/camp, and jumps out of a fucking window kasjaskj (okay maybe a bit dramatic but the whole place outside are already swarming with zombots so what are they supposed to do)

Brian was at Daithi's place, doing some check ups to make sure his robot parts didn't act up again, before the garage doors started banging, and as they went to the window, they see that the outside was also swarming with Zombots. Daithi started to tell Brian to get anything he can get while he himself tries to take some tech he made that might be useful, before the doors broke and the zombots started coming. They managed to get away safely because of Daithi's bounce shoes (though he was almost caught) and Brian's rocket shoes.

Sean was working in his shift on the coffee shop, before he saw people running away, and before the windows at the shop broke because of the zombots. He wasn't home, and there was only a few things that can held them back, so He just ran away, trying to find somewhere safe, bringing anything he can.

ANYWAY, RT and Kevin managed to find a shelter that was created by the restoration HQ and stayed there for a while. Dan works with others to try and save other people by using his extreme gear, while Kevin helps inside the shelter as much as he can.

Brian and Daithi was camping from place to place before getting a notice that there was a restoration HQ ship near them. They tried to make a run for it while getting chased by the Zombots, before they got surrounded just close to the ship. They fought as hard as they can before Brian just, picks Daithi up and throws him into the ship, leaving him behind. There's a whole 'I'm not leaving you again!' scene or something, (like that one scene with Vector and Espio) where Daithi tries to get out and help, but was stopped by the other civillians inside, while he watched Brian getting consumed by the horde.

Sean manages to run into the shelter Dan and Kevin is in, and helps too, while getting a few supplies. He works both Inside and outside, sometimes becoming Intel for whatever is happening outside and helping Dan get out of tight situations.

Anyway, Daithi later also arrives, informing the Lads about Brian's situation. Sean decides to help, Dan too whenever he can, while Kevin still mostly stays inside, but going outside once or twice if the other lads aren't there to help Daithi.

Though things got worse. After one particular nasty situation, Dan eventually catches the virus when he was out with Sean, rescuing any alive civilians. Sean went to help him, but Dan just, told him to go, to go back to the HQ while with the consciousness he still had, Dan will try and stop any Zombots while Sean and the others escape.

We get back to Brian and he did got infected, his robot parts are trying to fight through the virus since it mostly affected his alive parts, so some of his consciousness is there. He tried his best to help others escape, but it is becoming hard as his own robot side starts to get corrupted.

Sean later also got infected while going through an abandoned city, trying to find any survivor, before eventually encountering a horde with some other people and tried to run for it, but he got pulled by the zombots as he was climbing a ladder to the roof, and eventually turned into a zombot.

I'll try to make this quick, but at the end the only lads who weren't infected are Kevin and Daithi. They did go through some tight stuff, almost getting infected here and there. At the end before every virus was taken away, the shelter was ambushed and they were trying to hold them back as best as they can, though after months and maybe year? I forgot how long the fucking arc was of fighting and surviving, they are getting very exhausted. But good timing since the whole end of the arc happened, and the virus vanished.

Later on both of them tried to find where the other lads were, though Dan did find his extreme gear again and managed to go to the shelter again, reuniting with Kevin and Daithi, Sean was later found in an abandoned building while Brian was inside another shelter with other people.

#justtrashask #ask #covens-of-ravens #sonic irish lads #holy fucking shit this got long akjskjaskasj but yeah #I have a lot of thoughts bout this and the saga in general so yeah #might draw a few more art about this because the original art was a bit scuffed askasjkas #irish lads #irish lads au #rtgame #callmekevin #jacksepticeye #daithi de nogla #terroriser #daithi #cmk #rtgamecrowd #jse

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wyattjohnston · 1 year

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Player/Team Preferences

if you are in a player tag and see this please scroll past, i’m sorry

Please click on the images to make them bigger/clearer

The following players received two (2) entries

Anders Lee, Brendan Brisson, Cole Caufield, Dougie Hamilton, Jacob Markstrom, Jeremy Swayman, Josh Norris, K'Andre Miller, Leon Draisatl, Michael Bunting, Miro Heiskanen, Sean Kuraly, Thomas Bordeleau, Thomas Chabot, Tom Wilson, Tyson Barrie

The following players received one (1) entry

Alex Turcotte, Alexander Georgiev, Alexander Wennberg, Andrei Kuzmenko, Artemi Panarin, Brad Marchand, Braden Schneider, Brady Skjei, Brandon Hagel, Brandon Tanev, Charlie Coyle, Dawson Mercer, Elvis Merzlikens, Erik Portillo, Henrik Lundqvist, Ilya Sorokin, Jack Drury, Jake DeBrusk, Jason Robertson, Joel Edmundson, John Marino, Johnny Beecher, Jordan Harris, Kaapo Kakko, Kent Johnson, Kevin Hayes, Kirby Dach, Kirill Karprizov, Lucas Raymond, Mason McTavish, Matt Boldy, Matt Martin, Mika Zibanejad, Morgan Frost, Moritz Seider, Nils Höglander, Roman Josi, Ryan Lindgren, Ryan Reaves, Timothy Liljegren, TJ Oshie, Travis Konecny, Vince Dunn

The following UMich players had entries, they haven't signed NHL contracts so it feels weird for me to include them but I'm not going to pretend they don't exist.

Ethan Edwards (3), Mark Estapa (2), Nolan Moyle (2)

The following reponses have not been included. They are too vague and/or ignored my guidelines. I wasn't going to go through and name every player that could fit into these categories.

Tampa Bay Lightning Players (literally)

and basically any finnish player

UMich hockey

Tkachuk (which one???)

but honestly anyone over like 21

And a few people who just said that they aren't fussy.

#survey survey

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heelbucks · 3 years

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heartbreak girl - h.h.h

this is a request from a lovely anon who asked for s on the alphabet list! hope you enjoy!

includes: 90s!triple h x reader, being hbk’s younger sister, hunter being a massive softie, soulmate au.

word count: 825

“Shawn, why do you keep scaring guys off? Now I’ll never find my soulmate!!” You groaned, pulling your sleeve over your wrist. Once you turned sixteen, two emblems that represented you and your life partner appeared. You had half of a broken heart and a skull with a crown and cross behind it. Now at almost 22, you’ve yet to come close to finding the one.

“Not my fault I don’t think anyone is good enough for my baby sister.” your brother shrugged, plopping on the couch in your apartment. “I’m not a child anymore Shawn!! Stop babying me!” your voice was laced with venom. “All of my friends already know their soulmates and I haven’t even come close!”

Shawn sighed. “Fine, you want me to stop babying you? Come wrestle with me. A lot of the boys have eyes on you and I need a valet for my upcoming feud.” “So, get Sunny to do it.” You rolled your eyes. “It’ll be good for you, you’ll love it. Plus, Vince is looking for more female talent.”

Reluctantly, you agreed. “Awesome! Because I already told him you said yes and that you’d start training with The Kliq immediately.” “I hate you.” “Love you too baby sis. Here’s your ring gear. You start tomorrow morning.” He threw a spandex sports bra and tights at you, in his signature zebra print. “Heartbreak Girl, really?” “We’re siblings, it works. It’ll tie you in easier.”

_____________________________________________________

You woke up and made your way with Shawn to the stadium they were playing that night. Of his colleagues, you only knew Sunny because she was always around. You had your hair up in a ponytail, and had on a white tee and leggings. Shawn said workout clothes for training and that’s the best you had.

“Guys, meet my sister, Y/N.” You smiled at the men who towered over you. “It must be nice to finally meet the better Michaels.” You chuckled. “Oh I like her, she’ll fit in just fine.” The only other girl said. “My name’s Chyna. There’s Kevin, Scott and Sean.”

“Hey, sorry I’m late! I had to talk to Shane abo-” The most stunning man you’d ever seen came running down towards the ring. “Oh can it Hunter. You’re always late.” Scott quipped.

“Who’s this lovely woman in front of me?” He rolled into the ring and stood in front of you. “Y/N, I’m guessing you’re Hunter?” “You’d be correct. It’s lovely to meet you Y/N.” Hunter grabbed your hand and placed a chaste kiss to it. Your face flushed, as you heard your brother from behind you. “Watch it Helmsley, that’s my baby sister.” You could've sworn you saw a smirk crawl up the 6’4 man’s face.

“I’ll be careful. Let’s get started shall we?” You began with basics, learning how to properly take a bump, how to do your brother’s finisher, and how to cut a promo. All the while, Hunter taking every chance to be close to you or compliment you.

“Alright, I think she has enough to last her for tonight. Vince won’t use her until we think she’s ready.” Shawn said, stretching his arms. “Speaking of, I gotta go speak to him about something.” Hunter jumped up and winked at you before adding “See you guys later. Bye gorgeous.”

_______________________________________________

hunter’s pov

“Come on boss, she’s new to this and at least she already knows me. D-X is on it’s way out.” I pleaded with Vince to let me have a match with Shawn tonight, pretending it was for Y/N’s sake. The minute I realized she was Shawn’s sister I knew she was my soulmate. I thought it meant my soulmate was meant to hurt me or just didn’t exist.

“Fine. It’ll be such good shit!” “Thank you, I appreciate it.”

On my way out of Vince’s office, I bumped into someone and heard a thud. “Ow. You’re built like a brick wall.” I heard the feminine voice say from the floor. “Oh fuck. I’m so sorry Y/N! Are you alright?” I reached my hand down to pull her up. I spotted a symbol that looked like mine.

“Y/N, can I see your arm?” I tried to hide my excitement. My soulmate was so close to me and yet my so-called best friend was hiding her from me. Then, I saw it. The same tattoo I’d been desperate to find on someone else.

“It’s you…” She smiled up at me and I spun her around in my arms.

“Princess, now that I’ve found you I’m never letting you go.” I kissed her forehead before placing her back on her own two feet. “I’d be disappointed if you did.” She smirked. I leaned down to kiss her, finally being able to kiss my life partner.

“Now this! We can work with!!” I heard Mr. McMahon’s voice from behind us. “It’ll piss off Shawn.” “I’m in.” “That’s my girl.”

#triple h #triple h x reader #triple h imagine #90s wwe imagine #hhh imagine #triple h fluff #wwe fic

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shelsgovroomvroom · 3 years

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Hi, can I get something with gab and Sean about the YouTuber side of the relationship like how they go about recording and addressing the relationship and maybe how they interact with each other in YouTube videos, maybe gab and Sean drag reader into the room to say hi to stream "LOOK ITS MY S/O, BABE COME SAY HI", (I definitely imagine Sean dragging in reader to say hi to his friends and stream chat when he's playing Among Us), super fluffy, everybody is big simping for each other -🦀

Sorry it's so long, I read a post where you said that it was hard for you to come up with content sometimes if the ask is too vague so I tried to be detailed but leave room for you to add on.

Dude don’t apologize for it being too long!! You cannot make a request too long!! Send me a whole fucking imagine if you want!! Too much detail is not a thing that exists!!!!!!

I really hope you guys enjoy this and thanks for the request 🖤🖤 I decided to do this in the form of headcannons cause I think it’s the easiest way to do it? I can turn a headcannon into a full blurb if you guys want. Hope that’s okay🖤🖤

————————————

- oh there’s so much simping all around.

- so for some reason I can just imagine Sean playing with the Irish lads and Kevin says something about his girlfriend and then Sean is like “HAH! I HAVE TWO!”

- if Sean finds out that you’re on Gab’s stream for literally any reason, he will whine and yell until you come over to his stream because he wants attention.

- you openly call Sean an attention whore on stream and it becomes an inside joke amongst the fans.

- you’ll literally be sitting on Sean’s lap, playing with his hair and very lovingly calling him an attention whore.

- sometimes Evelien will join you guys on Sean’s stream. You and Evelien will then just be chilling on the floor together.

- if it’s just you and Evelien, then it’s always very chilled? Like you guys will just be cuddling and answering questions and it’s just very nice and chilled.

- Sean always makes dramatic entrances whenever you’re on gab’s stream. He’ll walk in and be like “HI YES I EXIST TOO!! GIRLFRIENDS! DID YOU KNOW I EXIST?”

- if you’re a streamer, then say goodbye to chilled single streams because one of them will arrive. Unless all three of you are streaming, one of them will be on someone’s else’s stream for at least a little while.

- as for how you handle it in terms of announcements and stuff, you’re all just really chilled about it? You basically just say “hey, I’m dating both of these people. We’re all dating each other” and that’s all the information they get.

- you guys definitely aren’t afraid of showing off your relationship though. You don’t answer questions about your dynamic or anything. But you do choose to be open about it because you want people to know that relationships like yours are completely normal.

- as a whole, you and Evelien are very chilled cuddle partners until Sean busts the door down and demands attention.

#jacksepticeye imagine #jacksepticeye imagines #imagine #imagines #x reader #fluff #female!reader

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tessatechaitea · 4 years

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Justice League #2 (1987)

I didn't know Orgazmo was in this comic book.

Once again, I'm surprised by how quickly an old comic book I read years ago gets to some of the stories I think of as major story arcs. These pseudo-Marvel heroes on the cover are the precursor to The Extremists whom I remember as major antagonists to this team. I don't know if The Extremists appear any time soon though. First, the Justice League have to deal with these peaceniks. Only after they've become allies with Blue Jay and Bald Thor and Brown Scarlet Witch do the Extremists finally come to destroy Earth. The issue begins with Kevin Maguire going, "Look at these lips. You like these lips and this mouth. Well, you're gonna get lots of them! Even Maxwell Lord gets some lovely pouty face slugs!"

I'm sorry for referring to lips as "face slugs."

Batman's main goal is to get to the bottom of how Doctor Light became a member of his League. He'd already hired Black Canary so why would he need another woman in the group? Isn't a ratio of eight men to one woman good enough?! I'm counting Oberon in the number of men just to make it seem even more lopsided. Although Doctor Fate has already ditched (and will become a woman soon anyway, right?!) so, not including Oberon, that makes the ratio six to one! Getting better! Plus add Doctor Light since she was on the cover and has somehow forced her way in, a ratio of six to two! That's three to one if you reduce it! Which is practically one to one if you squint and put your fingers in your ears and go, "Nyah nyah nyah! Everything is already equal! Why are women fighting for more than they already have?!" Anyway, my point was: Fucking Batman. What a monster!

I wouldn't think a sleeveless vest with a wacky collar layered on top of a turtle neck with elbow length white gloves would look so cool!

I prefer to concentrate on Guy's outfit rather than his misogyny and lack of intelligence and terrible haircut. In this issue is an advert for the all new Dr. Fate four issue mini-series by Giffen and DeMatteis. So that solves the mystery of why he was sort of included in the first issue. He was basically a commercial. Jack Ryder's gossip television show has been trying to portray the new Justice League in a negative light because that's the kind of reporting that gets eyeballs and raises revenue. Maybe if people's lives weren't so boring, they wouldn't eat up all that hot take drama shit from people like Jack Ryder and Sean Hannity and Tucker Carlson and Laura Ingraham. I suppose I shouldn't wonder how rational people watch that shit because most people, rational or not, are just looking for somebody to repeat their inner views back to them. And Fox News has honed that ability to a razor edge. Sometimes I imagine Sean Hannity doesn't believe the stupid shit he comes up with but then I remember my high school and college friend Soy Rakelson and I think, "Oh yeah. He actually believes that shit."

I recently found this letter by Soy from our college paper. It's been in my head since 1994 when I could not fucking believe he wrote it. Poor, poor discriminated Soy, self-declared "Defender of Western Civilization."

One small note about Soy: maybe a month or two after Trump became president, he quietly disappeared from Facebook for good. I won't speculate on why but I suppose if I spent some time trying, I'd probably come up with his actual reasoning. After Guy throws another tantrum that has to be quelled by Batman, Doctor Fate gets a scene of his own! I guess he didn't completely disappear from the comic book. At least not yet. Although, if Doctor Fate sticks around for a dozen or more issues, I'm going to feel even more shitty than I already feel about my memory. Doctor Fate visits some purple haired guy who sees everything as gray and warns him to take back up his destiny. I don't know who it is. The only purple haired character I remember is Pariah. But what is his destiny other than to watch worlds burn? Also, he has other selves across the world reaching into people's souls. Is he Jim Corrigan? I have no idea! Meanwhile, Blue Jay, Wandjina, and Silver Sorceress (whose costume is brown), from Earth-Marvel-Parodies (or some other new world, I suppose. In 1987, there was just one Earth left, right?), are busy dismantling Bialya's nuclear arsenal. Bialya is one of DC's evil countries. Sometimes you don't want to write a story that exists in a gray world; you just want pure black and white, good and evil. When that's the case, you have the heroes battle Bialyans! Blue Jay and friends are here to rid the Earth of all their nuclear weapons so as to save it from the fate that befell their homeworld. The leader of Bialya sees an opportunity for mischief and power and the destruction of America, so he greets them with open arms. Rumaan Harjavti, the leader of Bialya, teams up with Blue Jay and Friends to help guide them to other nations who have nuclear weapons that need to be disposed of. The first country he sends them to is Israel. Probably because it's close by and not because he has ulterior racist motives. Guy Gardner hears the news and is thrilled because he gets a boner imagining a world where only Ronald Reagan has control over a nuclear arsenal.

When he first mentioned Ronnie, I thought it was a mistake. I forgot how old this comic book is!

Batman is all, "We're going to stop these peaceniks from making the world a safer place!" Because if there's one story that can't be told enough it's the one where we all learn a lesson about how the ends do not justify the means, no matter how amazing the ends will be and how messy the means are. I suppose the ends justify the means if the means are compassionately thought out and done with respect for all parties' opinions! So maybe sometimes the ends justify the means? Or does the statement not work that way because the point is that you can't just make that blanket statement. Like, do you murder five million people to save one little girl's life? Probably not! Or do I have it completely wrong and everybody thinks the ends do justify the means? Anyway, Batman doesn't think world peace should be achieved through the destruction of other people's dangerous property. It's basically the same story that season one of Stargirl just told. The Injustice Society of America wants to make the world a leftist dreamscape but at the cost of 25 million lives or something. And the Justice Society is all, "Well, we really like your manifesto. We agree with all of these points. But maybe the cost is too high?" So in the end, I was left supporting the Injustice Society of America because I guess I believe the ends do justify the means?! Also, I'm fairly certain I don't like a quarter of the population so good riddance? But also maybe the entire season of Stargirl was some sort of anti-leftist parable about how you have to let people come to their own decisions about saving the world because forcing them to get on board is rude and it's better if climate change destroys the world than to force one person to believe that manmade climate change is an actual thing? I had philosophical whiplash by the end of Stargirl season one. One character is all, "Murder is wrong!" and then goes and murders somebody and another character is all "I need revenge because this monster killed my parents!" and then he gets all merciful and lets Solomon Grundy go so he can kill other parents and the Injustice Society is all, "We'll kill indiscriminately to make the world a better place for our rich white kids!" and then their all, "A lot of rich white people's kids are going to die from our plan but that's okay because they're not ours." Also, the worst part of the show, the part of the show that I cannot forgive, is how they introduced us to Doctor Mid-Nite's sad owl back at the abandoned JSA headquarters and Luke Wilson is all, "Yeah, he's just waiting for Doctor Mid-Nite to return. It's sad, right? He just hangs out here alone super sad." And then Beth becomes the new Doctor Mid-Nite and you keep expecting the owl to befriend her but the owl never appears, ever again. Every episode, when the sad owl didn't appear onscreen, I was reminded of the sad owl. So every minute of every episode, I kept thinking, "Is the owl going to befriend Beth now?" And nothing. The season ends with the sad owl still super sad and all alone and fuck the writers and showrunners for that. I suppose they couldn't afford a CGI owl after ejaculating all of their CGI money on the five minute Solomon Grundy fight. I just digressed so much I need to take a shower.

Guy and I are in 99.5% agreement about the dismantling of nuclear weapons. That last bit is where he thinks the U.S.A. should get to keep theirs.

Everybody treats Guy Gardner like his argument isn't even worth listening to but they're all wrong! They're just treating him like a dumb jerk! Sure, I agree that the Justice League just can't take it upon themselves to rid the world of all nuclear weapons. I mean, do I?! Hmm. I'm not so sure I do agree with that! If Superman really cared about Earth, shouldn't he martyr himself by becoming the biggest criminal in the history of the entire world by destroying all nuclear weapons against the will of every nation that has them?! There are plenty of other planets in the DCU that he could go live on after becoming a giant Earth menace! Can't he even make that small sacrifice for the safety of his homeworld?! And if his actions cause some kind of horrible repercussions that cause the world to spiral into chaos, he can probably just blame Batman. Silver But Really Brown Sorceress questions if what they're doing is right. Bald Thor says, "In the end they'll thank us. And even if they don't, at least they'll be alive to hate us." See?! That's what I just said about Superman! He should totally take that bullet! That was not a tasteless George Reeves joke and even if somebody read it that way, it's been like a hundred years since his death! Blue Jay and Friends tell each other their origin story as they remember how their world was destroyed by nuclear weapons and how they decided to interfere with everybody else's lives because of it. I think their origin was supposed to make me see their side of things and feel empathy for them but it totally made me rethink their position and now I totally think they need to be stopped. Because I was fine when I thought the argument was "Destroy all nuclear weapons to save Earth." But I dislike the argument, "Something bad happened to me and now I have to make sure it never happens to anybody else no matter how annoying I make myself!" It's like when somebody's dumb kid gets hit by a bus while riding their bike and then they have to get a law passed making it illegal for busses to run over kids and to name the law after their kid and to get politicians who support the law because it doesn't really change anything (being that busses running over kids was probably already frowned upon if not illegal) but it's good press and makes it look like they're doing something. Then after the dumb law is passed, the parents of the dumb kid can say things like, "My baby didn't die in vain!" Even if that's totally untrue and their baby did die in vain and the law never actually makes the world a better place at all. Guy rushes in to stop Blue Jay and Friends all alone but fails because writers can't reward brash arrogant heroes who are mostly just big jerks. It would be unseemly.

So far, I've liked the bits with Captain Marvel but I'm still weirded out that he's a little boy in a grown man's muscular body.

Blue Jay and Friends fly into Bialyan airspace and the Justice League have to back off. But they'll get another chance to stop Blue Jay and Friends next issue when Blue Jay and Friends try to disarm Russia! Justice League #2 Rating: B+. It gets too complicated when super heroes bump up against the wall of political conflicts. When Batman points out that the Justice League can't chase Blue Jay and Friends into Bialyan airspace without creating an international incident, some readers might start questioning how super heroes can act even within the borders of one specific country! Surely every time they commit their vigilantism, they're creating a domestic incident! Don't make me start asking questions about the fundamental nature of masked people doing whatever the fuck they think is justice without the consent of any kind of laws or political powers, comic book! This is too heady for my tastes! I guess the whole point is to eventually have the Justice League backed by the United Nations so that the reader can think, "Okay, right. So they have the authority to do whatever they want now if I'm willing to believe the United Nations has any real authority at all!" And then the reader goes on to prove the moon landing never happened and that Project Cloverleaf rains human excrement down on our heads on a daily basis for some kind of Nazi experimentation.

#Justice League #DC Comics #DC #Keith Giffen #J.M. DeMatteis #Kevin Maguire

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taffysannotatedsonichu · 5 years

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The Most Pointless Character in Sonichu

Taffy here. This was a post I made for the Kiwi Farms forum on the most pointless character in Sonichu in late October 2017, and I took up the challenge to prove every single character has no point. This was kind of my beta version of what would become Taffy’s Annotated Sonichu, so I thought it would be worth reprinting here (also I’m sorry it’s taking me so long to get more CWCDefense or GitM up, I’ve been really sick for the past two weeks and I’m just now trying to get back in the swing of things).

Chris's comic persona and fursona are pointless because he could have just lived vicariously through Sonichu and not have an in-comic presence.

Sonichu himself became pointless after Chris took over as main character but was already pretty pointless since really Chris could have just written a straight Sonic fanfic with Sonic as the lead in the first place. Besides the occasional electric attack and the complete lack of an original personality he's basically Sonic.

That said, all the characters ripped wholesale from Sonic or Pokémon (Sonic himself, Perfect Chaos, Robotnik, Giovanni) are pretty pointless as they were dropped not long in as Sonichu grew to have its own canon with its own crazy cast of characters.

In addition, any character ripped wholesale from any other franchise (Beavis & Butthead, Bugs Bunny, Meg Griffin) exist solely for "fan service", or rather fan disservice.

Rosechu is extremely pointless, all she does is A) be a token girl, B) prove Sonichu is STRAIGHT, and C) occasionally face rape someone. That said The Incredible Lioness is probably the closest we get to a real character with a point, rivaled only by the Voltorb that kills Simonla. They have simple purposes (to brutally maim and murder) and they do them to a T.

Kel is pointless since Rosechu could have just been Chris's Pokémon to begin with and she didn't need to exist as a middleman.

For that matter, any character best known for being a Moon Pal (Bill the Scientist, Metal Sonichu, Yawning Squirtle) or just as a meme in general (Inos), while being great for laughs, are all pretty irrelevant background characters.

Reldnahc Notsew Niatsirhc exists solely for Chris to physically obliterate his sexual insecurity.

Any Jerkop or Manajerk exists solely for Chris to vent his frustrations with real people who were just doing their jobs. Same goes for Hanna.

Blake is too inconsistent to have a point to existing. He was a pointless villain-of-the-week at first and then he was a pointless supporting character.

Sarah Hammer and Wes Iseli are particularly pointless because Chris' relationship with Sarah was already waning when he wrote Sonichu 2. Since the reincarnation plot point was dropped not long after, you can honestly skip Sonichu 2 entirely and not miss anything.

Mary Lee Walsh, while being awesome, is like the jerkops and manajerks just there essentially as a comic book voodoo doll. Maybe the point of her was to show that Chris can in fact write an interesting and badass female character? We'll never know.

Count Graduon is pretty redundant with Mary, power wise. Other than to vent frustrations with his graduation he's really pointless.

All of the Chaotic Combo are basically team filler filling out some elements that the rest of the team lacks. Specifically:

Wild Sonichu doesn't really have a personality. He's pretty redundant with Sonichu himself, other than, of course, we need a green Sonichu. The one thing that possibly could have made him interesting, the struggles of being a single father, are really rushed over so Chris can get back to the murder spree. His only notable father-daughter bonding experience was drilling a man to death.

Bubbles Rosechu, aside from being the token blue Sonichu/water type, finds one Sonichu ball and then returns to being a moron.

Angelica Rosechu, although I imagine her original purpose was to be a pacifist voice of reason and a token religious character, well, that got thrown out the window pretty quickly. The things that differentiate her from Bubbles besides their powers are few and far between.

Punchy Sonichu is just the token red character and the token Asian. Seriously I don't even know what "fighting type" means. In fact, why not make him fire type? It's the one element missing from the Chaotic Combo (Bubbles is water, Wild is earth, Angelica is air, Magi-Chan is ether/heart/mind, no one's fire!) (Note 26/11/18: I now know Fighting-Type is a type of Pokémon, but nevertheless “Fighting-Type is one of the weirder types. The Pokémon types are elements, supernatural creatures... and martial arts. And yes, the Fighting-Type icons in the series are red while Fire-Type is orange, but from a team balance perspective fire would have made sense).

Magi-Chan, especially after being paired off with Silvana taking away his sole unique trait of not being driven around by his penis, is just Chris's round the clock surveillance system.

Boulder Dropping Whale would have been useful if he actually killed Bubbles's mother but since he failed he's just a great meme.

Why does Flame the Sunbird even exist? He's literally just Kazooie from Banjo-Kazooie and his role could have easily been filled by Wild or Bubbles or anyone because that stupid Sunstone doesn't even matter, except it does make everything grow like Norma, whoever she is. Norma is the most relevant character in that whole issue. (Note 26/11/18: Yes, I named Nadine’s mom after this typo.)

Again, Darkbind and Zelina are crimes against nature. (Note from an earlier repost): I am referring to a previous post complaining that Darkbind and Zelina were the combinations of not two but four franchises (Sonic, Pokémon, Zelda & Darkwing Duck) and came off as clunky because of it.)

Crystal the sister is especially irrelevant now that Chris is a girl (why not make her a trans man to mirror Chris' own transition? Oh wait JERKS.), but she was always redundant with Rosechu and Chris himself.

Sailor Megtune - why didn't he just draw Megan herself? We know he's okay drawing her.

Megagi - Already kinda redundant with Megtune and she really had no reason to exist after Chris & Megan had that falling out.

Jamsta and Lolisa speak for themselves at their uselessness. I mean, they are just bit characters anyway. But as someone else mentioned before their radio station is particularly shitty.

Patti-Chan, while her story is cute, just exists as a way for Chris to hold on to his beloved pet and not fully cope with her loss.

Allison Amber, although being one of the better characters, wouldn't need to exist if Chris would just do some work for once. That said if the point of her character was to be an audience surrogate (I mean, until she shoots a man in cold blood) then for once Chris succeeded.

Bionic the Hedgehog as previously mentioned is just there for the sake of having an orange Sonichu, even though he isn't one.

All of the specific characters of Chris's "real life" "sweethearts" (Pandahalo, Blanca, Ivy) as well as their OCs (Jiggliami, Blazebob & Chloe, Layla Flaafy) are pointless because they all just disappear almost immediately after they're introduced after Chris finds out they were a troll or they "died".

Likewise any rendition of one of Chris' real life trolls (Jason Kendrick Howell, Clyde, Jack Thaddeus, Alec, Evan, Sean & Mao) are again just there as pen-and-paper voodoo dolls for Chris to take out his frustrations on. The trolls in particular almost work against Chris' point in including them because no matter how much Chris paints himself as the hero his violent murder sprees always end with him looking like the villain. (Justice for the Asperpedia Four!)

Beel is just Satan and a secretary for the 4-cent-garbage building. Pretty pointless.

Zapina is just there as a token "cute" character.

Simonla is just Wild's token sweetheart and then later the lynchpin Chris needed to justify executing his enemies.

Silvana, while another fairly interesting character, is just a villain-of-the-week with an added dose of Chris's sexual insecurity.

Sarah & Rita Jackarass - These two are both stupid minor characters, but why on Earth did there need to be two of them?

GodJesus exists solely to heap praise onto our beloved autist.

Those stupid Samurai Pizza Transformers are stupid. I hate them so much. I hope they burn in the Earth's lava core.

Sonichu & Rosechu's children are initially just there to be cloyingly cute and then once they're grown to be Chris's LGBT mouthpieces, forgetting that we won't listen to anything they say because we already hate them. Of special pointlessness is Cerah, because while Robbie is the most punchable he's at least the focus character of a lot of the newer stuff (even though we hated him as a Sonee, we hated him as a Sonichu, and we'll hate him as a Rosechu), and Christine is vapid she gives credence to the idea that Magi-Chan is giving it to Rosechu behind Sonichu's back which is way more interesting than canon. Cerah does jack squat besides be a lesbian.

The Asperchu cameos are just there for Chris to try to force Alec to give him what he wants and the Basement Rosechus are just there to slander Alec's name.

Sandy is particularly irrelevant since Simonla's back, she was never anything more than a replacement goldfish for her.

Kevin the Jew - I knew it! I knew it all along! Peppermint Patty is a boy!

Bananasaurus - Don't listen to your Patreon backers Chris.

Lastly, Russel & Cynthia are just there to fill the Sonee/Rosee void left when Cera Christine & Robbie evolved, a void no one in particular wanted filled.

Edited (27/10/17) to include all the MLP characters and Chris's ponysona - We hate them and we want Sonichu back.

#cwc extras

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classic-rock-roller · 5 years

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1. Your band and QR are scheduled to be guests on a film soundtrack, so you go to the studio. When you get to the recording booth, you see a body facedown in the corner. Your initial reaction is concern, but Bonham and Sean go and ‘poke it with a stick’, so to speak. Nothing happens, so Bonham kicks it. Still nothing. Sean then proceeds to flip it over, and you all see that it’s a CPR dummy used for stunts. How do you all react to knowing it’s fake? Is anyone creeped out?

Sean, Linus, and Erik breath a sigh of relief. Kevin is annoyed that it was there. Rudy and I are creeped out. and Carlos goes, “Aww, I wish it was a real person.”

2. It’s summer and it’s Chrissy’s 4th birthday. You, your band, Tom and his band, Bonham, Kevin, and QR are all outside with the kids and their friends, and since it’s summer you’re all wearing tank tops of sorts. At one point Chrissy goes up to Bonham and says, “Skyler wants to know why you always wear the same tattoos, aunt Bons.” Her little friend blushes next to her. You, Tom, Kevin, and Rudy are the ones within earshot of that question. How does Bonham answer the question and how do you all respond?

Bons gets down to their level and goes, “Because they are always in my skin. I can’t change them.”

Me: It’s like how mommy’s never changes remember.

Kevin and Rudy are giggling a bit over how cute the scene is and Tom is drinking a beer and talking to one of his bandmates.

3. You and Bonham are sitting at a table in your school library one day working on homework with your new friends Randy and Kevin. At one point, Bonham is mumbling a tune to herself when Kevin stops working and sits up. “What is it?” you ask. He says, “I hear angels, what is that?” Randy looks to Bonham who’s still engrossed in her work and says, “Are you singing to yourself?” She looks up and says, “Yeah, was I bothering you? Sorry I’ll stop.” She blushes and goes back to work. How do the three of you respond to that little exchange?

Me: That was so good. We need to start a band.

Randy: Yeah you should totally start a band. They’re a lot of fun.

Kevin: Yeah you should.

4. Bonham and Kevin are over at yours and Tom’s one day when your kids (aged 12-17) come home from school. Immediately as they enter the door, Sam looks at Bonham and says, “You have depression face.” “What’s that supposed to mean?” she asks. “Your face is like, saggier than normal. and you have dead eyes. Depression face.” How does Bonham react to this, and how do you, Tom, Kevin, Chrissy and Cassie respond?

Bons: I do not.

While she looks away

Me: Yes, you do. I’ve known you long enough to know when you do.

Tom: What’s bothering you?

Kevin: Yeah

Cassie comes over and gives Bons a hug before whispering, “Love you, Auntie Bons.” In her ear and Chrissy looks at her with a concerned face.

Chrissy: Are you going to be ok, Auntie Bons?

5. Bonham’s trying to get you and Tom into Family Guy so you guys will watch it with her and Kevin. At one point, Tom says, “This show is literally just animated and voiced-over references to other stuff.” “Family Guy exists to remind you that there are good things out there, it can’t stand on its own.” Kevin replies, a little too quickly. How do you, Bonham, and Tom respond?

Me: Yup. I agree with Kevin.

Tom: I don’t get this show it’s really stupid and grates on my nerves.

Bons: Do you all just hate it? How?! It’s good.

6. You and your new school friends Kevin and Randy are visiting to the college band’s concert to see Bonham play her instruments (she’s in the concert band, symphony orchestra, and jazz group). During the show, she looks a little off, and when the jazz combo finally goes on and they each take a standing solo, she sways a bit. You don’t think much of it, so when it’s over you and Kevin wait in the atruim for her while Randy goes back to help her carry all her instruments out. Soon the atrium clears and you two are the only ones left. You eventually find the backstage area, and when you get there, Randy, who never yells at anybody, is talking angrily to her stand partner, asking him, “Why did you let her go onstage? She’s so sick she can barely stand!” The stand partner just says, “She’s principal. She has to show up or there would be no clarinet solo.” How does Randy react to this, and what do you and Kevin say?

Randy: Ok but you should have a backup just in case.

Me: Bons let’s get you back to our room so you can rest up you don’t look so good

Kevin: seriously dude, you should have just let her go home. Invest ina backup.

7. You and Bonham are going to one of QR’s parties, and when you get there, Bonham immediately asks where the drinks are. Someone says, “In the bathroom. Upstairs and to the right.” That’s an odd place. You go there anyway, and sure enough, the bathtub is full of alcohol, and a mischievous Kevin and Randy are mixing it. What do they say when you get there? Do you have some of the mystery punch?

Randy: Hi, welcome to the bar.

Kevin: Care for a drink.

Me: I am not having the jungle juice no way you guys mix stuff too fucking strong.

Bons: Why is it in the bathroom? People piss and shit in here. It’s very unsanitary.

8. You and Tom and Kevin and Bonham are out to lunch one day when a fan comes up to you. She gushes to everybody except Bonham. Not common, but not unusual. At one point, Kevin asks why she’s not talking to Bonham. The fan says, “Well no offense to you, Mr. DuBrow, but she’s slept with most of Quiet Riot over the years. I don’t trust her. That’s not what you do.” How do you all respond?

Me: Hah, have you seen Kevin’s body count including me? He slept with all the women in our band including Jess.

Kevin: Hey!

Tom: Jesus, lady, with the way you’re dressed you should be more concerned with yourself. You look like you need the metal gods...or Jesus.

9. You get a call from Kevin one afternoon when you’re out with Tom. “Bonham is in the hospital. It’s nothing serious but I thought you should know.” “What? Why?” you say. “Apparently she hasn’t eaten anything since Friday. She passed out. What’s your excuse? … She says she forgot. That’s crap. Anyway, I just thought you should know.” He hangs up. How do you and Tom respond?

I book it to the hospital and start to lecture her about taking care of herself while Tom and Kevin sit back since they wouldn’t be able to get a word in edgewise.

10. Bonham comes back to your dorm room after a bass clarinet lesson. Randy and Kevin are there. You ask how it went and she says, “It’s hard to move all the air I need to. The teacher said to picture a donut at the back of your throat, it’ll keep it open.” Before you can respond Kevin says, “Or this dick.” You choke on your water a bit and Randy laughs. How do you respond, and what do Bonham and Randy say?

Me: Kevin! Seriously? Don’t be a fucking creep.

Randy: That’s just Kevin

Bons: Excuse me while I go throw up in a toilet.

11. Bonham and Jay got called back to their high school to speak on a panel to seniors about life after high school. You and Tom and Kevin and Kenna (Jay’s girlfriend) all go to watch, and Chuck, her brother, is in the audience. The talk goes well, Jay tells of his military escapades and Bonham makes light of the times being in a band. Afterwards, the principal corners them when they meet up with you guys and says to Jay, “Phenomenal job, sir. I’m proud to have you defending my country. But as for you,” he looks to Bonham, “You were a disgrace. You didn’t take anything seriously. You only tried to make them laugh. What do you have to say for yourself?” She just snorts a little and says, “You told us to be honest, I’m not gonna lie. It doesn’t matter what you do as long as you love it and can make money.” How does the principal respond, and what do you all (you, Tom, Kevin, Kenna, Jay, Chuck) respond?

Principle: I mean...but...

Tom: Jesus dude, your thinking is ass backwards.

Me: Seriously dude we have fun and make money a job doesn’t have to be dreary

Kevin shakes his head at the dude.

Kenna and Jay are annoyed and Chuck goes, “Jesus dude. Way to crush someones spirit.”

12. You and Bonham always have music going, but she only plays Hoyt Axton when she’s homesick or sad. One day, you bring Kevin and Randy over to your dorm and when you get in Bonham’s looking at a piece of mail, this song by Hoyt Axton is playing, tears are leaking from her eyes, and she’s just mumbling one line from the song, which is, “They can’t take that away.” How do you three respond to that little scene, what does the mail say, and what does Bonham say to you guys?

I pull her into a hug. It’s a letter from her friend Jay he’s away in the military and she hadn’t heard from him in a while.

Bons: I really miss him.

I hug her, “I know I know. Bons.”

Randy and Kevin pull her into a hug and we have a huge group hug.

____________________

1) You, your singer, Kevin, and your singer’s friend Ash went to the movies to see the film Bohemian Rhapsody. Halfway through the film, you look over to see Ash completely headbanging to the music and your singer tapping her foot to the beat slightly and bopping her head. How do you and Kevin react?

2) You, your singer, Kevin, and Rudy are piled into the car because your singer is taking you somewhere fun. But she won’t tell you where. You pull up on an old garage looking building in a residential neighborhood in the middle of nowhere and she goes, “Here we are.” You look up at the sign to see it’s a pinball parlor. What do you, Kevin, and Rudy say and how does it go?

3) You, your singer, Kevin, and Randy are at a school function. While there, you find that they have karaoke. Kevin goes up and selects a Quiet Riot song to sing along to. Which makes you, your singer, and Randy roll your eyes. Afterward, the worker takes back the microphone and says, “Well...that sucked.” How do you, Kevin, your singer, and Randy respond?

4) You and your band are performing at a concert when all of a sudden, someone jumps up on the stage. He’s clearly drunk and stumbles over to your singer where he tries to take her microphone. Your singer wrestles with him before punching him in the face which knocks him out cold. How do you, Sean, Linus, and Erik respond?

5) Your singer is dating a college friend of hers right after she broke up with Kevin. The paparazzi have been trying to get pictures of them together for a while and one day you get a call. The person on the other end says that your singer has gotten into a minor accident while trying to evade the paparazzi. You rush down to the hospital to find your singer sitting on the bed and her college friend pacing. “Is it always like this? Do they never leave you alone? Are they never going to leave us alone?” What do you and your singer say and how does Mick respond?

6) You come over to your singer and Tom’s house to help them hang a painting. The entire time you’re there you and Kevin get this really creepy vibe from it. Your singer claims it’s haunted and she hates it but Tom loves it. Once you get it hung on the wall, about a half hour later you hear a crash and find that the painting has fallen off the wall and the glass broke. How do you, your singer, Tom, and Kevin respond?

7) It’s game night at your singer and Tom’s house and your singer brings out Clue. You, Kevin, your singer, Tom, Rudy, and Carlos are playing. How does the game go? Who plays each of the characters? Who wins?

8) You, your singer, and Kevin are at a Cinderella concert to support Tom and the boys. You’re in the front row and you can hear the guys conversation behind you. It’s about Quiet Riot. At one point one of the guys says, “Isn’t Kevin DuBrow dead? I thought he died.” Kevin whips around and goes, “I’m right here in your face, dude.” How do the two guys respond and what do you and your singer say?

9) Your band has been around for a very long time and one day, your manager comes up to you and your band and goes, “This film company would like to make a film starting at the beginning with you, BabyCarrot, Jess, Rhett, and Daryl all the way up to the current lineup of you, BabyCarrot, Sean, Erik, and Linus. What do you say?” How do you, your singer, Linus, Sean, and Erik respond? Do you say yes?

10) During the first day of filming the movie, you and your singer are waiting for shooting to start when your singer looks to the right. “Oh my god,” she hits you on the arm. You look with her and you find yourself looking back at two younger versions of yourselves talking with a young Randy and Kevin. Your singer tears up a bit. How do the two of you respond and what do the actors say when they come over to you guys?

11) You and your singer are drinking with Crüe and your singer has gotten very very drunk. All of a sudden, she leans on Mick and goes, “You know...you look like my boyfriend. Are you sure you’re not my boyfriend?” How does Mick respond and what do you, Nikki, Tommy, and Vince say?

@osbournebemydaddy your move, Bons :)

#tag game #tag war

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popcorn-for-dinner · 6 years

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Predictions for the 90th Academy Awards

Nothing takes the sting out of these tough economic times like watching a bunch of millionaires giving golden statues to each other"- Billy Crystal, 2012 host

The Oscars are an enigmatic ceremony. In its simplest form, it’s a group of celebrities all patting themselves on the back for their various film achievements during the year. The majority of these celebrated films are often movies that mainstream audiences have neither watched (certainly not watched at the time of the Oscars) nor have any intention of watching. This, coupled with the derision usually aimed at the perceived self importance of the awards, makes it quite surprising how much attention is still paid to the ceremony. People still care who wins, people still want to know what happened during the almost 3-hour ceremony. The term “Academy Award winner” still commands a level of widespread respect, even to the person who has “Transformers: The Last Knight” as his best film of 2017.

So in anticipation of this year’s 90th Academy awards, I assembled a panel of other like-minded weirdos, Afolabi Adekaiyaoja, Chika Akachukwu and Obiora Ifeacho (all my female friends have lives so won’t waste their time watching the Oscars at 3a.m),and we discussed our reactions to this year’s nominees, who we want to win and who we believe will eventually take home the awards come March 4th.

POPCORN FOR DINNER: OKAY, LET’S START OFF WITH THE BIG ONE. THE “DRUMROLL AWARD”. WHO WINS BEST PICTURE?

Bankole Imoukhuede: This is the only category I will comment on. I think it’s such a shame Get Out isn’t the frontrunner at the moment. I do think it was the best movie this year and it’s a shame it doesn’t look like winning.

SHOULD WIN: Get Out

WILL WIN: The Shape of Water

Afolabi Adekaiyaoja: It is in years like this that I wish the Academy had stuck to their 5 nominees for this category. In that scenario, we don’t get so many filler movies. I think it is down to The Shape Of Water or Three Billboards outside Ebbing, Missouri. I prefer Three Billboards for its storytelling and simple character tales.

SHOULD WIN: Get Out

WILL WIN: Three Billboards outside Ebbing, Missouri

Obiora Ifeacho: I’m hoping that the Academy bucks its trend of being unfavourable to horror and comedy films, and gives Get Out the win. Don’t think it will though.

SHOULD WIN: Get Out

WILL WIN: The Shape of Water

Chika Akachukwu: I was actually (pleasantly) surprised Get Out got nominated. It might have just been a peace offering from the Academy though, to show they aren’t prejudiced. *insert relevant Sunken Place joke*

SHOULD WIN: The Shape of Water (despite its weak attempt to pass off bestiality as cool and romantic)

WILL WIN: Three Billboards outside Ebbing, Missouri

POPCORN FOR DINNER: THE ACTING CATEGORIES ALL SEEM PRETTY STRAIGHT FORWARD. RAPID FIRE. LEAD ACTOR

O.I: Gary Oldman (The Darkest Hour)

C.A: Yep, same

A.A: Yep, Oldman. Although I think Daniel Kaluuya (Get Out) should win it.

POPCORN FOR DINNER: LEAD ACTRESS

O.I: Frances McDormand (Three Billboards outside Ebbing, Missouri)

C.A: I really want Sally Hawkins (The Shape of Water) to win it but I think Frances McDormand wins it

A.A: Same. I think Sally Hawkins deserves to win it but its most likely going to Frances.

POPCORN FOR DINNER: SUPPORTING ACTOR

O.I: As Bill Simmons puts it, a “that guy” actor is an actor who you see everywhere but you don’t actually know his name and he never really has leading roles in successful films but you know him and appreciate his efforts knowing his time will soon come. Sam Rockwell (Three Billboards outside Ebbing, Missouri) was probably the greatest “that guy” actor of his generation. The award is firmly his. Sorry, that wasn’t quick fire lol.

C.A: Ditto. Loved Sam since Seven Psychopaths (Also written and directed by Martin McDonagh)

A.A: Willem Dafoe (The Florida Project) started off as the favourite, Christopher Plummer (All The Money in the World) is a big middle finger at Kevin Spacey, Richard Jenkins (The Shape of Water) is conveniently riding the wave of The Shape of Water (apologies for the pun), even though Michael Shannon (The Shape of Water) turns in a far better performance and Woody Harrelson (Three Billboards outside Ebbing, Missouri) is on for a little while but is naturally amazing. The only one left (Sam Rockwell) is the actor who really does make magic happen on screen and is just a delight to see.

POPCORN FOR DINNER: SUPPORTING ACTRESS

O.I: While I think Laurie Metcalf (Lady Bird) should win this, it seems to be another foregone conclusion. Allison Janney (I, Tonya)

C.A: She’s won every other award. Imagine if she didn’t win this one?

A.A: Allison Janney, although I would have preferred a debut win for Mary J. Blige (Mudbound)

POPCORN FOR DINNER: BEST ORIGINAL SCREENPLAY.

O.I: This really comes down to Get Out, Lady Bird and The Shape of Water, in my opinion. I think The Shape of Water wins it but I’ll be rooting for Get Out or Lady Bird.

A.A: I think Get Out should and will win it.

POPCORN FOR DINNER: FINAL CATEGORY. DIRECTOR.

Bankole Imoukhuede: Okay, I know I said that Best Picture was the only category I would give an input in but I am so annoyed Christopher Nolan (Dunkirk) isn’t winning this. Dunkirk in the cinema, in IMAX, was such an experience. I have absolutely nothing against Guillermo Del Toro (The Shape of Water) but I really wish Nolan was winning this.

A.A: Same. I think Nolan should win this. None of the other nominees, in my opinion, pushed the limits of the cinema experience while combining all the other aspects of moviemaking into a truly riveting and remarkable production, like he did with Dunkirk. It’s probably going to Del Toro though.

O.I: Christopher Nolan has found a way for production companies to fund his movies without relying on previous original material which is great. Very difficult to be commercially and critically successful in this day and age. Proper visual storytelling masterpiece. Del Toro wins it though.

C.A: Christopher Nolan could make a movie about anything and I’ll be game for it. The man gave us The Dark Knight. Not to mention, Bane impressions.

POPCORN FOR DINNER: OKAY, A COUPLE MORE QUESTIONS TO ROUND THIS OUT. WHAT WERE YOUR SNUBS AND OSCAR BAIT FLOPS THIS YEAR?

B.I: Snubs. Probably Franco (The Disaster Artist) (although with good reason). Oscar bait flop of the year would have to be Surburbicon. A period piece written by the Coen Brothers and George Clooney, including a true story subplot that reflects our current societal issues, directed by Clooney and starring Matt Damon, Julianne Moore and Oscar Isaacs doesn’t get a single nomination? Has to be the flop of the year.

C.A: There’s nothing I love more than simplicity and nothing I hate more than overcrowded stuffed casts. Hence, my vote has to be The Post. Sure, it got an obligatory Oscar nomination for Meryl Streep and a consolation best picture nomination but it was definitely shooting for bigger targets. I don’t want to see that many stars in one movie. It just screamed “Oscars” to me.

A.A: That’s funny because Tom Hanks (The Post) is one of my snubs, the other being Martin McDonagh (Three Billboards outside Ebbing, Missouri). My Oscar bait flop has to be The Greatest Showman. It was a musical written by Oscar-winning songwriters (check), had a big name star (check) and a romantic subplot (check). I’m pretty sure someone expected this to be the next Chicago. It sucks because I really love Hugh Jackman and think the basis- PT Barnum is a riveting tale. Still, it got nearly shut out.

O.I: My big snub is Armie Hammer (Call Me by Your Name). Others were Robert Pattinson (Good Time), Michael Stuhlbarg (Call Me by Your Name and The Shape of Water) and Tifanny Haddish (Girls Trip). I have to go for The Post for my flop too. Was never a fan from the moment it was announced last year

POPCORN FOR DINNER: WHAT’S YOUR FAVOURITE OSCARS’ MOMENT

O.I: Roberto Benigni winning Best Foreign Language film. How can you not be happy for Roberto Benigni when the Italian actor-director stood on top of his chair, waving at anybody and everybody, as he was walking across the seats to accept his award for Life is Beautiful? I mean, even Steven Spielberg was helping him on his way!

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A.A: Knowing that everyone on my TL and circle expected Boyhood to win, hearing Sean Penn remark about a guy’s green card and realising it was Birdman in the split second before he confirmed it…amazing. It was a great reward for an amazing movie, great concept and wonderful execution.

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B.I: Mine has to be Lupita’s acceptance speech for Best Actress in a Supporting role for 12 years a Slave. “No matter where you are from, your dreams are valid”. If that ain’t a clarion call to get creative, I don’t know what is.

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C.A: “Hold on imma let you finish but Moonlight had the best picture award this year, La La Land”. (This is how it played out in my head last year)

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POPCORN FOR DINNER: Parting words?

A.A.: And the nominees for now overdue Oscar win are: Amy Adams, Bradley Cooper, Michael Shannon, Joaquin Phoenix and Jessica Chastain…and the next one off is…

B.I: In a world where Logan got a (deserved) adapted screenplay nomination, I’m speaking it into existence that I believe, with the right campaign, Black Panther can nab at least one of a Supporting Actor, Director, Adapted Screenplay and Best Picture nomination.

O.I: GIVE ROGER DEAKINS HIS FUCKING OSCAR ALREADY

Bankole Imoukhuede

@banky_I

#oscars #academy awards #get out #call me by your name #the shape of water #three billboards #dunkirk #christopher nolan #jordan peele #daniel kaluuya #lupita nyong'o #gary oldman #allison janney #laurie metcalf #lady bird #film

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auburnfamilynews · 4 years

Link

Jeff Blake-USA TODAY Sports

So uh... Now what? After a last-second win against Arkansas last week, Auburn had hoped to settle in and pick up another win against an inferior opponent this week. Being 3-1 with a loss to Georgia is respectable when the rest of the college football world is on fire would have been just fine, right?

Not so fast my friend! After jumping out to an early lead, Auburn got into a midgame rut, and never recovered. Now we’re 2-2, and morale is at an all-time low in the Gus Malzahn era. Let’s see what the staff has to say about that:

- Josh Black

Thank goodness we don’t play Vanderbilt in 2020. that would be embarrassing.

- Josh Dub

I felt like going short on the recap, so I left this out. Developing a major college football program relies on doing three things, acquiring talent (i.e. recruiting), developing talent, and deploying talent (i.e. playcalling, play design, and your depth chart). The good coaches are really good at one of them. The great ones are good at two of them. For example, Nick Saban is elite at acquiring and developing talent, so he doesn’t have to be great at deploying talent.

When Gus Malzahn was hired, he put together a staff that was pretty good acquiring talent. He was not seen as a major developer of talent, but hopefully his position coaches could help in that area. He was seen as an elite deployer of talent though. He’d won a national championship with all of three draft picks. He nearly won another in his first season as Auburn’s head coach with a former Georgia cornerback playing quarterback. But the game has passed him by. Where are we now in those three phases?

- Talent Acquisition - This team has elite talent in certain areas, but other areas are not up to SEC standards. There have been major misses in either talent evaluation or recruiting that have led to a below average offensive line and an incredibly thin defensive line. Play along the line of scrimmage is the lifeblood of an SEC program, and Auburn is currently failing in that area.

- Talent Development - What little development of players has occured under Malzahn has stopped. Despite recruiting consistent blue chip talent at wide receiver, Auburn has just produced just one NFL-caliber receiver to this point (and to be honest, Darius Slayton’s NFL career has surprised most of us, considering his play in 2018 up until the bowl game). Bo Nix has not progressed since his first snap against Oregon. Sean White and Jeremy Johnson were both blue chip talents that went nowhere. Jarrett Stidham regressed in his second season. The defensive side has consistently developed quality talent for the NFL, but that’s not really Malzahn’s purview. I suppose he deserves some credit for getting out of the way of Kevin Steele, Travis Williams, and Wesley McGriff.

- Talent Deployment - The game has passed Gus Malzahn by. What was innovative in 2010 and 2013 is no longer novel. He supposedly gave up play-calling in 2016, only to still keep control of it as the season nosedived due to injuries. He gave it up again after hiring Chip Lindsey, but there were obviously still his fingerprints all over the 2018 offense. He took it back while hiring Kenny Dillingham in a move I supported, because [scroll up] he was elite at deploying talent when he was hired! This is your program! You got this job because of your skills as a play-caller and ability to manipulate defenses with motions and misdirection! Go down with the ship!

Instead, he hired Chad Morris, fresh off a complete failure at Arkansas, and handed him the keys to an offense filled with underclassmen behind an offensive line that was not capable of winning the SEC. What has resulted is an offense that is only consistent in being inconsistent, a defense that has lost two generational talents and wasn’t quite ready to just reload, and a fanbase that has completely lost faith in him.Auburn may win another game in 2020. They might even win 2 or 3 more. It doesn’t matter in the end, because we are on the downside of Gus Malzahn’s tenure. Recruiting will continue to fall off, and whether a change is made this year or next, a change will have to be made.Thank you Gus, but it’s time we parted ways.

- AU Jonesy

Bettiol returns to the Ronde van Vlaandren (tour of Flanders) as the reigning champion, but I really don’t think he stands much chance. As much as EF Pro Cycling would love to see him repeat, I think most people would call Mathieu Van Der Poel or Wout Van Aert the heavy favorites. The cobblestoned climbs, the beers, the frites, and the horrible weather—it’s one of, if not my favorite races of the calendar and I’m extremely excited to use it tomorrow morning to wash the stench of this American football game off my body.

- Son of Crow

Last week I said: Mom always told me if I didn’t have anything nice to say then don’t say anything at all. So for the following: I’m sorry Mom.The end of the Gus Malzahn era is coming, it’s just a matter of when at this point. The when honestly might be happening sooner than we all had hoped for, especially from a financial perspective but can we really sit here and do this another 13 months? The defense has taken a step back which was to be expected but I will not sit here and go off on a defense that basically carried us the last 4 seasons while the offense was stuck in purgatory from a play-calling and strategy perspective.When your QB is quick to blame others when things go wrong when they can’t throw a screen, they constantly throw behind receivers and can’t hit the fastest guy in college on a deep ball, it’s time to look in the mirror and be accountable for your actions and stop living off being a legacy kid and that Oregon game which was 16 games ago!!! Yes, the receivers had drops today but the blame game should go both ways. The thing this year is who are you going to throw out there instead? The drop off between QB1 and QB2 is bigger than its ever been in the Malzahn era.And QB development has been non-existent in the Gus era from guys who have stepped on campus from the beginning.

And your best on offense is a true freshmen running back who needs more than 16 carries, and for the love of humanity, needs touches in the Red Zone!!! Tank Bigsby deserves better.Kicking Field Goals when you get in the Red Zone, especially inside the 10 very rarely end well for you and we kicked 3 today when we got inside the 20. This is a constant theme in Auburn losses the last several years.One of the most poignant lines in one of my favorite movies, Remember the Titans is this:“Attitude Reflects Leadership”I saw a lot of undisciplined plays, some jawing on the sidelines and deciding to wait until after the whistle to begin fighting.Ultimately, all of this falls back onto the coaching staff. The offensive line wasn’t bad today, but there was way too much Happy Feet going on. It’s time for some major changes and it probably needs to happen sooner rather than later.

- Will McLaughlin

- AU Chief

from College and Magnolia - All Posts https://www.collegeandmagnolia.com/2020/10/17/21521281/snap-judgments-15-auburn-22-south-carolina-30

#IFTTT #Blogger #auburn #auburn fast #wareagle #AuburnFamilyNews #war eagle #sec #football news #aubu

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maya-matlin · 7 years

Note

Degrassi TNG, Degrassi, Degrassi Next Class

Thank you.

Degrassi TNG:

What OTPs in your fandom(s) do you just not get?* This is hard. I understand where most fans are coming from when they like some of the more popular ships and can appreciate parts of the couple’s relationship even if I can’t stand them together. But I’ll admit Cranny and Crellie are lost on me. I think Craig treated both of them like dirt and Craig benefited much more than either girl did by being with him.

Are there any popular fandom OTPs you only BroTP?* Palex. I try to get into them whenever I rewatch the episodes. It seems like it would be a great relationship, but they are so incompatible. The chemistry is there and I love their interactions mostly in season 4, but once they become romantically involved, all the mini fights they had where Paige was accidentally condescending and judgmental towards Alex increased. I want to like them, but both deserve someone who truly gets them.

Have you ever unfollowed someone over a fandom opinion? Not for anything TNG.

Do you have a NoTP in your fandom? Are they a popular OTP?* Plenty. Some of them are, but most are ones everyone else also dislikes.

Has fandom ever ruined a pairing for you?* Not really. I may like Semma a little less now, but that’s about it.

Has fandom ever made you enjoy a pairing you previously hated?* I’ve read arguments that made me reconsider my stance on couples and that caused me to give them another chance.

Is there anything you used to like but can’t stand now?* Ugh, yes. My opinions changed many times because I was younger when I watched the early seasons. Cranny, Crellie, Parcy, Declan..

Have you received anon hate? What about?* Almost never for TNG. I remember one anon jumping on me for not still being upset about Spinner and Jay’s role in the shooting like 11 or 12 years later.

Most disliked character(s)? Why? Declan. He’s a creepy rapist who thinks he’s entitled to whatever he wants.

Most disliked arc? Why? It’s hard to say, so I’m just going to list the ones that come to mind. The end of season 4 was pretty bad. The Kevin Smith arc was misguided and I’m still bothered by how Joey and Caitlin were broken up. But other than that, it felt like I was watching a different show and everything felt too over the top. Even for Degrassi. :p I also hated Sean’s return to the show, including his reunion with Emma and the triangle with Peter. It felt like a waste of time and a total waste of Sean’s potential. I have no idea who season 6 Sean was, but it wasn’t seasons 1-4 Sean. By the end of season 6, I wasn’t that sorry to see him go. He only existed to be Emma’s boyfriend and I’m glad he was able to do his own thing for once. Thirdly, seasons 5/6 Crellie and how Ellie’s character was altered so it would make more sense. Lastly, the Spemma marriage. It’s not even about being upset about Semma or Spane. It’s just it made no sense for those two characters to get endgame under those circumstances and the writing did not support it.

Is there an unpopular character you like that the fandom doesn’t? Why? Ashley Kerwin. I honestly have no idea. I just do. She seems pretty inoffensive to me and I consider her to be a relatable character.

Is there an unpopular arc that you like that the fandom doesn’t? Why? I’ve seen a lot of backlash through the years for the adult story lines, i.e. Joey/Caitlin and Snake/Spike. Jaitlin is one of my favorite couples and I watched the original series, so their presence on the show never bothered me. I liked the handful of story lines they received. But it’s best they stopped featuring them after a while because no one wanted to see Snake cheat on Spike or Caitlin fool around with Jesse.

Unpopular opinion about XXX character? I feel like the only one that was never attached to Terri. She was a sweet character, but kind of dull. Probably one of the more forgettable characters from the early years.

Unpopular opinion about your fandom? Maybe that TNG had flaws and it’s unfair to criticize seasons 10-14 and NC for supposedly being inferior. I won’t argue the earlier seasons were the most real, but this show has had many ups and downs. No one is going to tell me seasons 8 and 9 are better than Next Class. Or even 6 over season 12. It’s all a matter of opinion, but like I said, the show has had a lot of ups and downs. But there’s never been a point where it’s incapable of being great.

Unpopular opinion about the manga/show? ^^

If you could change anything in the show, what would you change? Keeping many of the characters past their time. I don’t think any of the character returns (ex: Sean & Ashley) were successful and everyone knows the college story lines were awful.

Instead of XYZ happening, I would have made ABC happen… I mentioned this to you before, but instead of Paige’s story line in Degrassi Goes Hollywood, I would have had her plot focus on discovering she’s HIV positive and how she’s going to deal with that. It would be sad to see it happen, but they left that plot thread dangling and Paige’s actual story line caused her character to regress for no real reason.

Does not shipping something ‘popular’ mean you’re in denial and/or biased? Of course not. Different people are going to interpret things differently. Even if you don’t hate something, sometimes you just don’t feel it.

What is the one thing you hate most about your fandom? I feel like I’ve answered this question twice already. But something different is wishing there was more variety in opinions.

What is the purest ship in the fandom? Sellie

What are your thoughts on crack ships? They’re fun?

Popular character you hate? Declan

Unpopular character you love? Ashley

Would you recommend XXX to a friend? Why or why not? Yes. Some of the later seasons are hit or miss, but overall it’s a fairly realistic show that focuses on topics almost all the other teen dramas avoid. And if they do focus on them, the story lines are sensationalized.

How would you end XXX/Would you change the ending of XXX? Honestly, I’m okay with Degrassi continuing for the next few years. The show is very good at reinventing itself. Whenever it does end, I don’t even know that I’d want it to have a huge finale. Yes, they could blow up the school like Stefan or whoever suggested, but I feel like Degrassi is forever. There’s always going to be a group of students at that school getting into drama and having the shittiest luck in the world, even if we’re not seeing that. So maybe I’d have one class be the final graduating class we see attending Degrassi and then end it.

Most shippable character? Spinner? Paige, Darcy, Holly J, Terri

Least shippable character? Other than characters I hate, oddly enough, Manny. Just because I love her so much that I feel like no one is good enough. :p

Degrassi:

What OTPs in your fandom(s) do you just not get?* Matlingsworth. Yeah, I’m biased, but I feel like Maya and Miles were very miserable together. They could never get on the same page about anything and I think it’s notable the Maya who was with Miles felt the least like Maya. It felt as if she was trying to be something she wasn’t and they make even less sense together when you remember the people they became in NC. Like if they were meeting for the first time during those years, I can’t imagine there being much chance they’d get involved.

Are there any popular fandom OTPs you only BroTP?* Bhandallas. I don’t have much reason other than I thought they were more fun to watch before it was established Dallas liked her.

Have you ever unfollowed someone over a fandom opinion? Yes. I’m petty like that.

Do you have a NoTP in your fandom? Are they a popular OTP?* Matlingsworth. Thankfully, no.

Has fandom ever ruined a pairing for you?* Yes. Camaya.

Has fandom ever made you enjoy a pairing you previously hated?* No.

Is there anything you used to like but can’t stand now?* Declan, Katie, Cam, Camaya & Zoe/boys

Have you received anon hate? What about?* LMAO. Plenty of things.

Most disliked character(s)? Why? Luke is my most hated character from any season, but that’s a given. Eli is my second most hated. He’s just the worst. I don’t feel like I have to go into detail. Just read a summary of all the terrible things he said and did to other people and that will explain why I hated and still hate him. Other than that, the fandom hyped him up so high it makes the blind love of any super popular NC character seem tolerable. I’m very glad he’s gone.

Most disliked arc? Why? PARIS. 13A. Because it was terrible. Most of it felt vapid. I still can’t believe we went from Zombie to the Miles/Zoe/Maya/Tristan love square and endless Alli/Leo plots. Not to mention Adam’s death.

Is there an unpopular character you like that the fandom doesn’t? Why? I’ve noticed him getting more love now that his character is off the show, but Drew. I see in him what I see in Zig. Like Zig, I think he’s someone that makes a lot of mistakes and is often ignorant, but he means well and never wants to intentionally hurt anyone. I always root for him to succeed.

Is there an unpopular arc that you like that the fandom doesn’t? Why? Cake’s relationship? They were sweet. They made each other happy. I hated how it was retconned that they were never in love. It’s fine for Eli to have loved Julia, but god forbid Clare love anyone except Eli. Even if you didn’t buy they were in love or disliked them, it still bothered me and Clare’s reasoning never made sense to me. If Clare didn’t know what love was during her relationship with Jake, she didn’t know what love was during her first relationship with Eli.

Unpopular opinion about XXX character? Cam wasn’t that great. Dylan did great with the role of Cam and his suicide story line was memorable, but Cam the character doesn’t compare to most of the other Degrassi characters. He definitely left an impact, but I also think Maya’s depression/suicide story line was better than his and she had better development.

Unpopular opinion about your fandom? I don’t think so. I think it’s generally agreed that our fandom can be terrible.

Unpopular opinion about the manga/show? Season 12, not season 10 was the best out of seasons 10-14. Also, 14B > 14A.

If you could change anything in the show, what would you change? I wouldn’t know where to begin. They made a lot of bad choices in season 13, so I’d rewrite most of that. I think actual focus on more than four characters would have helped and no one would have gone to Paris. That was silly. Adam would have become a foreign exchange student or volunteered in Kenya instead of being killed off. No love squares. We would have actually SEEN Zig getting involved with the gang and he wouldn’t have been absent for half the season. Etc.

Instead of XYZ happening, I would have made ABC happen… ^^

Does not shipping something ‘popular’ mean you’re in denial and/or biased? See answer for TNG

What is the one thing you hate most about your fandom? I think the fandom can be really hateful and unfortunately, it’s easy to get caught up in that and be rude back. It’s virtually impossible for all of us to get along and instead of one fandom, you end up with various cliques.

What is the purest ship in the fandom? Jonnor

What are your thoughts on crack ships? Like I said for TNG, they’re fun.

Popular character you hate? Eli & Katie

Unpopular character you love? Dave

Would you recommend XXX to a friend? Why or why not? I would for some of the same reasons I’d recommend TNG. In some ways, I think the last few years before the cancellation were better about representation.

How would you end XXX/Would you change the ending of XXX? See answer for TNG

Most shippable character? Dallas

Least shippable character? Luke, Eli & Katie

DNC:

What OTPs in your fandom(s) do you just not get?* Hollingsong & Yunter

Are there any popular fandom OTPs you only BroTP?* I don’t care if they’re friends, but Mola. I think once things got physical, it became complicated and Miles did not handle ending their fling well.

Have you ever unfollowed someone over a fandom opinion? Rarely because the show is only on for two months out of the year, but sometimes over the top hate can be a turn off.

Do you have a NoTP in your fandom? Are they a popular OTP?* Yunter & Hollingsong. I wouldn’t call either popular. Almost no one ships the former and while the latter has fans, I wouldn’t call them popular. Most people ship Miles with Tristan or Lola.

Has fandom ever ruined a pairing for you?* Nothing I already shipped

Has fandom ever made you enjoy a pairing you previously hated?* It made me reconsider Frankie/Esme. I never hated them, but I disliked it because Esme pretty much manipulated Zig and Frankie and their poly relationship was a joke because of the context and due to how long it lasted or didn’t last. Anyways, now I can see that Frankie/Esme has potential and even though I’m almost positive they won’t make Frankie anything but straight, I like the idea of them together. Esme did seem to care about Frankie as much as she could and I personally wouldn’t be that surprised if it came out Frankie had feelings for Esme just based on the way she sometimes acted around her. I don’t think she was remotely into the relationship due to any feelings for Zig.

Is there anything you used to like but can’t stand now?* HUNTER. He’s pretty much been dead to me ever since 106.

Have you received anon hate? What about?* Yes. Different things. I’ll admit a small amount of it I brought on myself, but usually it’s just illogical stuff like going off on me because I dared to complain about the way Zig was being written.

Most disliked character(s)? Why? Hunter. I don’t like Vijay much either, but Hunter is one of my most hated Degrassi characters, period.

Most disliked arc? Why? Maya/Zig/Zoe/Grace. All of it. I’ve accepted it now, but I still think having Zig cheat on Maya was a cheap way to break them up and not much else. I especially resent the aftermath, but I’ve whined about that too many times. Then there’s Gracevas. The writers knowingly queerbaited and kept the audience in the dark up until after Zoe and Grace had sex and only then did we find out Grace was straight. I think it was a huge betrayal to Zoe and don’t think Grace was ever properly held accountable all because of how Zoe responded. Then there was the Grace/Zig mess. Practically no one bought that Grace had been into Zig whether they always thought Grace was gay or not. The story line almost tainted the rubber room kids’ friendship permanently, IMO, and I can’t believe I had to sit through Grace yelling at Maya all because Zig turned her down. Instead of, you know, fucking Grace and “trying” for her. Anyways, it’s no wonder the show never even hinted Grace had liked Zig after 209. Lastly, the mess with Maya/Zig/Zoe specifically. Maya and Zoe had been rivals in the past and while they didn’t always see eye to eye, I feel like they’d gotten to a place of understanding and it sucked to have all that development taken away for plot convenience. I can’t be totally happy they’re now on good terms again. Even if I do trust that Zoe isn’t going to screw Maya over again, I still wouldn’t rule it out TBH. And Zig/Zoe. I don’t know what happened in the woods. I don’t think the writers know, either, but whatever awful thing they did, Zig did not deserve to be filmed without his consent and that was brushed off so easily. It was sick. I blame the writers much more than I blame Zoe, but still. Anyways.. the actors tried, but this arc was trash and it’s a miracle most of these four characters ended the show on good terms.

Is there an unpopular character you like that the fandom doesn’t? Why? Goldi. I’m not passionate about her character and don’t feel like she ever fully lived up to her potential, but I think she was an enjoyable character. I don’t have specific reasons.

Is there an unpopular arc that you like that the fandom doesn’t? Why? Not any arcs, but there are some plots I like more than other people do. I really enjoyed Zig’s plot in 208 because it focused on his low self esteem and it was a necessary plot because we needed to see Zig finally attempting to move on from Maya.

Unpopular opinion about XXX character? I love Zoe, but she did not deserve to be valedictorian.

Unpopular opinion about your fandom? See answer for Degrassi

Unpopular opinion about the manga/show? I haven’t heard anyone saying this in a while, but (1) I don’t hate the theme song (2) this show should never, ever, ever go back to having 40 episode seasons. Seasons 13 and 14 should explain why that’s a bad idea.

If you could change anything in the show, what would you change? Other than the godawful Maya/Zig/Zoe/Grace arc, I’d probably extend the seasons by two episodes. I think they mostly do a good job with covering all that needs to be covered in 10 episodes, but I think having a little more breathing room might make things feel a little less rushed.

Instead of XYZ happening, I would have made ABC happen… Instead of the writers “going there” and making Grace straight and into her best friend’s boyfriend, she should have been asexual and Gracevas should have become canon at the end of season 2. As much as I loved Zasha, they just didn’t have the connection Zoe had with Grace and it would have been amazing to see them getting endgame.

Does not shipping something ‘popular’ mean you’re in denial and/or biased? See answer for DTNG

What is the one thing you hate most about your fandom? See answer for Degrassi

What is the purest ship in the fandom? Zasha & Laad

What are your thoughts on crack ships? See answer for DTNG

Popular character you hate? I don’t think I hate any popular characters.

Unpopular character you love? Tristan, Goldi & Zig (depending on the season)

Would you recommend XXX to a friend? Why or why not? YES. Next Class still has its flaws, but the show has improved a lot since its move to Netflix and the show has taken advantage of being able to tell their stories in a more mature way.

How would you end XXX/Would you change the ending of XXX? See answer for DTNG

Most shippable character? Zoe

Least shippable character? Hunter & Vijay

#crashingwavesinmyworld #This took so long to answer

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lindyhunt · 6 years

Text

I Downloaded My Facebook Data and It Got Weird Fast

When I found out I could download my entire Facebook data file, the first thing I felt was fear.

How far does it go back? What does it contain? Who has access to it? Will it make me feel old?

The idea popped into my head among mounting headlines around the alleged misuse of personal Facebook user data by analytics firm Cambridge Analytica. I wanted to know what, exactly, those potentially in possession of my data might know about me -- so despite the trepidation, I downloaded it anyway.

The results were not exactly encouraging.

This file had everything -- I mean, everything -- from personal contact records that I don't even have stored on my iPhone anymore, to every single image I had sent someone over Messenger. As the title suggests: Things got weird, fast.

And if you're understandably hesitant about downloading your own data, or just considering it, here's what you can expect -- and what the results mean.

I Downloaded My Facebook Data and Things Got Weird

A Snapshot

When you first download a copy of your data archive and unzip it the compressed file (here's a quick how-to), it'll look something like this:

Open the general "index.htm," and you'll see a quick snapshot of all the data available on you, ranging from your general profile to advertisers who have your contact information. Here's what the "profile" section of mine looks like, with a few sections removed for the sake of -- this old thing -- privacy.

Granted, what was available on this page was largely information I voluntarily supplied to Facebook by way of putting it on my profile, like where I went to school or my birthday.

But it was in the other sections and file folders where things started to get weird -- and where I started wondering what potential advertisers or others might be doing with it.

The 'Ads' Section

The "Ads" section of my data index file largely consists of an exhaustive list of ad topics that would be of interest to me. Some of them made sense, as they were brands whose Pages I already Liked.

But some of the topics were downright irrelevant and, therefore, befuddling -- like "fishing bait" and "organic compound."

But there was also a section for advertisers with my contact information, many of whom were brands and musical artists whose Pages I hadn't Liked.

I had to wonder, why do the Smashing Pumpkins and Beck have my contact information? I hadn't listened to either, really, since my first year of college when -- at risk of dating myself -- Facebook didn't exist yet.

It raises questions about just how accessible this information is, and how widespread the availability of our data might be. While likely a bad actor, I'm inclined to believe that Cambridge Analytica isn't alone in the way it allegedly synthesized Facebook user data to get to the root of what sort of promoted content and messaging would resonate most with people.

It's also unclear how to selectively remove that data, if at all -- which could be a valuable next step for Facebook, says HubSpot Product Lead Daria Marmer.

"Facebook now needs to take the next step and make data deletion from its platform as easy as data access," she explains. "After all, shouldn't it be at least as easy to remove your history/personal information as it is for advertisers to access it?"

Messenger Records

That became particularly salient when I discovered that my Facebook data includes a transcript of every Messenger interaction I've had, replete with any photo or video files I may have shared in those conversations.

Again, this might not be new. In an April 2014 earnings call, Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg noted that as part of the social network's ongoing efforts to personalize any content seen by a given user, it would take "a couple of different approaches towards more private content as well."

In the context of the full remarks, it would appear that Zuckerberg was referring to content promotion in these private conversations -- namely, those taking place on Messenger and WhatsApp (also owned by Facebook).

Those plans are increasingly coming to fruition as of late, by way of in-app ads on Messenger (see below image) and the proposed Messenger Broadcast feature.

At the time, Facebook COO Sheryl Sandberg positioned these efforts as going strictly toward displaying Facebook content that users would be "genuinely happy to see."

But to this day, and among recent events, it remains unclear as to which data is, was, or would be used to help target the "private content" Zuckerberg alluded to. However, some believe that any user data authorization, including the kind that eventually led to the alleged misuse by Cambridge Analytica, would include Messenger data and files, too.

This personal revelation comes among recent allegations that, on Android devices, Facebook may have been scraping data on calls made and text messages sent from users' mobile devices -- through the device itself, not the Messenger platform.

Here's what that logged activity looked like for one Android user who discovered this record in his own data file:

Source: Ars Technica

Facebook's response to this allegation is that users must explicitly opt into allowing Messenger to access contacts and, it seems, log call and text activity. According to a statement published Sunday:

"When you sign up for Messenger or Facebook Lite on Android, or log into Messenger on an Android device, you are given the option to continuously upload your contacts as well as your call and text history. For Messenger, you can either turn it on, choose ‘learn more’ or ‘not now’."

But according to Ars Technica writer and editor Sean Gallagher, that's not the experience shared by all Android Users.

Even though he never installed Messenger on the Android devices he's used, Gallagher says that after installing Facebook on his Nexus tablet and Blackphone 2 in 2015, his own archive includes call data from between 2015 and 2016. That's after, he says, never receiving "an explicit message requesting access to phone call and SMS data."

Where We Go From Here

If nothing else, it seems that no one is quite sure how, exactly, personal Facebook user data is being leveraged, in whose possession it might be, and how much information those who have it might be privy to.

"Tech companies have access to an insane amount of our data -- you can even see for yourself on Facebook and Google exactly what they collect," says Henry Franco, HubSpot's social campaign strategy associate. "My guess is there are a ton of Cambridge Analyticas out there, and people would be horrified to realize how many companies are using their data to gently nudge their decision-making processes."

This is why Facebook's own investigations might not be enough.

After several days of silence on the initial Cambridge Analytica data misuse allegations, Zuckerberg finally issued a statement on the matter last Thursday, and has been on an active interview and apology circuit since then.

Case in point: Full-page mea culpa ads in the Sunday editions of the New York Times, Washington Post, and Observer (which is published by Guardian, an outlet Facebook threatened to sue before it first reported on the Cambridge Analytica scandal).

Facebook took out full page ads in the NYT, WSJ, WashPost, and 6 UK papers today https://t.co/kMA822kTpU pic.twitter.com/CUEYwyWuTT

— Brian Stelter (@brianstelter) March 25, 2018

But there have been a few key, repetitive themes underlying Zuckerberg's remarks. The first is an emphasis on the words "I'm sorry," which were notably absent from his official written statement released last week.

The second is Zuckerberg's suggested willingness to appear before lawmakers and other authorities to testify on user data and privacy -- if, as he told Recode, he's "the person who has the most knowledge on it."

And because the Federal Trade Commission confirmed today that it is non-publicly investigating Facebook among its "substantial concerns about the privacy practices," Zuckerberg should be prepared to testify -- especially since he's been called upon to do so by members of the Senate Judiciary Committee (along with the CEOs of Google and Twitter).

Statement by the Acting Director of @FTC’s Bureau of Consumer Protection regarding reported concerns about @Facebook's #privacy practices: https://t.co/n0eMCspNzO pic.twitter.com/WTjXz0YTGR

— FTC (@FTC) March 26, 2018

It all leads to an increasingly likely outcome: that Facebook and its big tech counterparts will have to bow to the external regulation that it's been visibly dodging for some time.

For example, after allegations first came to light that Facebook was weaponized by foreign agents to influence the 2016 U.S. presidential election, many wondered if the network instituted its own onslaught of new rules to avoid facing those from lawmakers.

Zuckerberg says he's not entirely opposed to that outcome, saying in an interview with CNN last week that "I’m not sure we shouldn’t be regulated." But if that is the end result, Facebook likely won't be alone in facing that new level of oversight, as implied by the aforementioned invitation to appear before lawmakers alongside executives from Google and Twitter.

And where such regulation is going to have the greatest ripple effect, according to HubSpot Director of Strategic Partnerships Kevin Raheja, is advertising.

"Facebook, Twitter, and Google will be subjected to, and also adjust to the regulations, likely at the expense of some revenue," he says. "They will likely have to be selective with advertisers, particularly politically-charged messaging ... not just to protect users, but also their own integrity and their own perceptions."

The timing also closely aligns with the GDPR coming into force in May. "With Zuckerberg being asked to testify in front of Congress," says Franco, "one could wonder if we'll see similar data regulation in the U.S."

This is a developing story that I'll monitoring as it unfolds. Questions? Feel free to weigh in on Twitter.

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junker-town · 7 years

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5 best and 5 worst landing spots for Kirk Cousins in 2018

Here’s where we’d like to see Cousins sign next season — and where we wouldn’t.

Kirk Cousins is probably going to be a free agent next offseason. After not reaching a long-term deal with Washington before the July 17 deadline, Cousins is on a one-year deal with the team that pays $23.94 million.

Washington will have a last chance to keep Cousins after the 2017 season, but franchise-tagging Cousins again would mean owing him more than $34 million in 2018, and giving him the transition tag would cost more than $28 million.

The most realistic way Washington keeps him is if the team manages to negotiate a long-term deal before Cousins reaches free agency. Based on the negotiations of the last two offseasons, that seems like a long shot.

So which team is going to swoop in and steal away Cousins?

His 29th birthday is a month away, so any interested team may feel like they can sign a franchise quarterback. After all, he earned a spot in the Pro Bowl in 2016 with 4,917 passing yards, 25 touchdowns and 12 interceptions.

Cousins may not rank among the top five quarterbacks in the league, but a legitimate starter at the position absolutely never hits the free agency market, and it could mean a huge sweepstakes is on the way.

Here are the teams we think should make a run at Cousins and the ones that should definitely steer clear:

Best: Jacksonville Jaguars

It’d be a whole lot easier to pick the Jaguars to win the AFC South if Blake Bortles weren’t their quarterback. The team has a legitimately exciting young defense and some dangerous receivers, and just added Leonard Fournette at running back. But Bortles makes it hard to believe in Jacksonville.

If the Jaguars fail to take a step forward again in 2017, Cousins could make sense as an option.

Worst: Buffalo Bills

It’s not that crazy to imagine a scenario where the Bills struggle to do much of anything and decide to move on from Tyrod Taylor to avoid giving him a $6 million roster bonus next spring. It’s also not that hard to imagine the Bills ponying up the money necessary to go after Cousins.

But Cousins has been blessed with a pretty strong supporting cast in Washington. If he signed with the Bills, he’d go to a team that could very quickly have little else to work with on offense.

Sammy Watkins has never managed to stay healthy and is scheduled to become a free agent after the team declined his fifth-year option. LeSean McCoy is the most dangerous man on offense, but he’d be 30 when Cousins joined the team in 2018. The other interesting option is Zay Jones, but it’s way too early to know if the East Carolina product is a worthwhile option.

Getting more help would be much easier if Buffalo doesn’t commit $28 million or so per year to a quarterback.

— Adam Stites

Best: Pittsburgh Steelers

So let’s say that Ben Roethlisberger, the guy who turns a two-month injury into a one-game absence, surprises everyone and actually retires instead of just teasing it. That would leave the Steelers with a Super Bowl-winning coach, one of the league’s top wide receivers, maaaaybe the best offensive weapon (depending on what happens with Le’Veon Bell’s contract next offseason), and a defense on the rise. And no real option under center (sorry, Landry Jones).

Kirk Cousins, made of nothing but gritty aw-shucks Midwestern marrow, would be a perfect fit in Pittsburgh. There’s debate about whether Pennsylvania itself is part of the Midwest, but Pittsburgh — once booming, then declining, and now charmingly underrated — is definitely Midwestern, if not geographically, then in spirit. And that’s the kind of place Cousins belongs, both professionally and personally.

He could easily lead the league in passing any given Sunday, go get fries and coleslaw on a sandwich at Primanti Bros., and then go home and be asleep by 9 p.m. It’s the life he was meant to have.

Worst: Washington

Forget about Bruce Allen not even knowing Cousins’ first name (and the team blaming it on Allen’s accent). If they liked it, then they should have put a ring on it.

— Sarah Hardy

Best: New York Jets

The New York Jets are in full rebuild mode right now. They’ve released tons of veterans this offseason and have cleared up $56 million in cap space. A debate as to whether they are tanking has even opened up.

They may very well be the worst team in the NFL next season, but if they execute their rebuild right, it could be a nice landing spot for Cousins. There’s a good chance they’ll make a better offer for him than anyone else will. If the defense can perform at 2009-10 Mark Sanchez-era levels while giving him adequate weapons on offense, maybe the Jets could be saved after all.

Worst: Atlanta Falcons

Cousins would be on the short list of quarterbacks who could blow a 28-3 lead. So in a strange world where somehow the Falcons lost Matt Ryan and could add Cousins, he’d probably only add to the heartbreak Falcons fans have suffered since 1966. I can’t say the fan base needs more of that.

— Harry Lyles Jr.

Best: San Francisco 49ers

It’s such a logical move. Cousins and new Niners head coach Kyle Shanahan have an existing relationship. Shanahan was Cousins’ offensive coordinator in Washington in 2012 and 2013, and the 49ers need a quarterback.

More importantly, San Francisco should have plenty of cap space to work with in 2018, which would make it easier for the Niners to win the bidding war that’s likely to ensue once Cousins hits free agency.

Worst: Los Angeles Rams

Yes, Cousins also has a relationship with new Rams coach Sean McVay, but this will really come down to whether 2016 first overall pick Jared Goff can play competently in year two. And if he doesn’t, Cousins would be walking into a situation with a ton of pressure to succeed right away on an offense that finished last season dead last in the league for scoring and yards per game.

— Jeanna Thomas

Best: Arizona Cardinals

The Cardinals, just one season removed from an NFC Championship Game appearance, are primed to turn the page on the Carson Palmer era as the veteran quarterback enters his age-38 season. If he retires, Cousins could slide into his spot in the lineup — and play for a coach who just wrote a book called The Quarterback Whisperer. Arizona has a worse offensive line than Washington, and the team’s receiving corps needs an infusion of talent — Larry Fitzgerald can’t play forever — but having David Johnson around is like having a cheat code in the backfield.

Worst: Chicago Bears

The Bears’ quest to find a franchise quarterback led them to pay steep costs to acquire both Mike Glennon and Mitchell Trubisky this spring. Adding Cousins doesn’t make a ton of sense — but neither did trading four draft picks to move up from the No. 3 overall pick to No. 2 in this year’s draft, so you can’t rule it out.

Chicago offers a solid offensive line — its quarterbacks were sacked on less than 5 percent of all dropbacks last season — but few legitimate receiving targets. Cameron Meredith and a potentially healthy Kevin White are the top options on a depth chart that includes retreads like Markus Wheaton, Kendall Wright, and Rueben Randle.

— Christian D’Andrea

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