#But Rita and episode 5 finally got my interest

[delightfullybritishgoldar]

[being-of-rain]

ooooh juno is back with his family?! tell me moreeeeee 👀👀👀

Spoilers for Juno Steel season 4!

But yes!! The Aurinko Crime Family are back together and away scot free, with one notable exception. I think you listened to the first episode of Juno's jail break? Well, it worked! He'd already found Rita, and he got Buddy and Vespa and Jet out of jail, so that's 5 out of 6.

The latest Juno story was Juno Steel and the Blank Slate, I'll give you a quick synopsis of it. Part one was about the gang hiding out, looking after Jet while he detoxes the drug that the prison got him hooked on again, and trying to figure out what the hell they're going to do now that they're all fugitives from the most powerful agency in the galaxy. Everyone's pretty depressed about it, but Season Four Juno My Beloved stays optimistic and figures out what to do. Oh also the Ruby 7 finally tells everyone else that they're an alien or something. In part two, the gang organise a confrontation with Director W by breaking into the Dark Matters storage place where the Carte Blanche is being kept. It's a great episode, in which Sasha still thinks Juno is the same depressed lady from season 1, but Juno's grown a lot since then, and Sasha's the one who's stagnated. In the end Juno successfully bargains/bluffs Dark Matters into clearing the criminal record of everyone in the family, and they all get away with no deaths- except for the Carte Blanche, which gets blown up. Sad, but the family is moving on to another segment of their lives.

There's only one more story in the season to go, the first part should come out some day soon, and it's set up to be Juno finally looking for Nureyev, so I'm interested to see how that goes! It'll be interesting to see what attitude Juno and the rest of the family has towards him after he vanished so suddenly at the end of the last season, everyone's probably somewhere on the spectrum between mad and understanding. But Juno at least is still in love, and he knows it, and he isn't going to give up on Nureyev.

[salfur]

Wayward Guide Podcast Episode 8 Analysis/Theory

I’m gonna be honest, I think this might be the last essay I end up writing for this show. Sad, I know. But there just isn’t a lot left that really needs to be theorized about and even if there was it’ll likely be answered in the next episode.

If this is the last essay, then let me just say I had so much fun theorizing and analyzing this show. TCB really did an amazing job crafting such a deep mystery that even by episode 7 of 10 I was still trying to figure out who the killer was. But even then there were still so many clues that were hidden both within the narrative and within the visuals of the show itself to help figure everything out. And, while the essays may be over, I will cherish every minute that I’ve spent analyzing, writing these essays, and watching the show. Wayward Guide will forever hold a place in my heart and I look forward to future TCB projects that I may one day write essays on again.

So, with that being said, I leave y’all with my (possible) final Wayward Guide essay. It was a pleasure theorizing with you all and I hope to do so again soon <3

CONTAINS SPOILERS FOR: Wayward Guide Release Trailer, Wayward Guide Ep 5, 6, 7, & 8, WG Podcast Ep 4, 7, & 8

Truman is the werewolf and the killer. I had already assumed this given how she revealed herself to be a McMahon in episode 8. However, the werewolf amnesia is interesting, because I was under the impression that wolves could control themselves when they transformed, but they just couldn’t control the transformation time. But given the conversation that was recorded between her and Silas it’s clear that she didn’t have control until she got to Connor Creek. We know that the Connor wolves are special because of the trace amounts of silver in the water, but Truman never had that growing up. This would explain why she was constantly moving from town-to-town, city-to-city.

The death of Barney is still a bit confusing but I’m thinking that she’s still learning to control her werewolf abilities and she lost control while Barney was around. This then resulted in a sloppy kill and allowed him to run to town hall. Additionally, Truman is said to be invested in Connor Creek’s future, which makes sense since this is the only place she could possible control her werewolf abilities. I think had Silas not been a factor, she wouldn’t have even been pro-mining. Or, perhaps she’s only pro-mining so she can kill all the Connor wolves and then undo the act right after to claim the town for McMahon.

Silas, I think, was under the impression that he was controlling Truman into letting him drill the mines, and perhaps in the beginning he did have some control over her with all the silver at his disposal. However, I think because Truman was in the town for two years she’d grown accustom to the silver and has more control than Silas thought. Plus, he was starting to get in the way of her plans, hence why he had to go.

Paul bringing up that werewolves can only be killed by silver or by another werewolf is very important information (this also explains how Odie, a known wolf, died). The fact that he mentioned this makes me think that the bullet Madison has may kill Truman, but not before she kills another wolf. My current guess is that Truman will kill the wolf Connor (or at least severely injuring them) since we know that Artemis and Madison get chased in what is likely the next episode by a werewolf. The Connor wolf is probably going to show up because they figured out that Truman is a McMahon and went to stop her, so they end up intervening and saving Madison and Artemis, but perhaps gets killed in the process (or at least injured). Also, I feel like the reason Truman ends up chasing/hunting Artemis isn't just because she want to kill her. I think she's going to lose control which is what causes the chase to happen the first place. Either that or she loses control during her fight with Connor, allowing Madison a shot with the bullet to kill her.

As for the identity of Connor, I find it very unlikely it’s any of the current known wolves, meaning we still have at least one unknown wolf. I think it’s possible that Connor is Desmond, given all the cryptic things that he’s said. Plus, the fact that he’s a pacifist could be because he knows that taking sides could give away clues that he’s a wolf. Or it could just all be an act. Plus, he was very aggressive towards Artemis in the last podcast episode, which may have just been because the whole town was, but Desmond wasn’t even at the town hall meeting so why did he have a reason to hate her? Or, maybe he didn’t and was telling them to leave for their own good, knowing that a fight was going to be happening between the Connor wolves and Truman. The only thing that makes me unsure about Desmond being Connor is episode 5, because we know that Riley arrived at the bar after Artemis left and was drinking (heavily). That would mean that unless Quinn took over for Desmond, he couldn’t have been at the meeting where the wolves were gathered. Still, he’s def the most likely to be a wolf out of the remaining townsfolk.

TL;DR: Truman is a wolf, but because she didn’t grow up in Connor Creek she can’t control herself like the Connor wolves can. This caused her to constantly move as she would kill someone when she transformed. Since moving to Connor Creek, however, she’s started being able to control herself but not completely. Also, she and Silas were in cahoots and Silas thought he was controlling her, but it was really Truman controlling him. As a McMahon, Truman is trying to retake the town for her own family so that they can control themselves and live in peace. The Connor wolf is probably going to show up next episode and likely be revealed as well. Of the townsfolk, Desmond has the highest possibility of being Connor.

Confirmed Connor Wolves (and therefore not a killer): Helen, Odie (RIP), Rita, Sybilus, Olivia

Confirmed Killer: Silas (RIP), Truman (also a wolf)

Werewolf Suspects:

High-Tier: Desmond

Mid-Tier: Crispin, GPS, Vern, Wallis

Low-Tier: Jeremiah, the Walkers

Currently ruled out: Agnes, Aubrey, Donny, Henry, the Irons, Madison, Quinn, Riley

[jeremy-ken-anderson]

Entertainment Goals

There’s a lot of stuff about achievement goals, when you’re talking about organizing your life.

Let’s take a moment and optimize the fun. Because it’s easy to make the mistaken assumption that everything classified as entertainment will, to quote a dross-removal pro, spark joy. The reality is it’s perfectly possible to lose interest in something without that meaning anything is wrong with either you or it.

Also a lot of things intended to entertain are very badly made. And if you’ve spent money on them, that money’s gone, but your time can still be spared if you don’t force yourself to devote more hours to a bad game.

I originally had a list of a bunch of the games I have but don’t care to complete, but this is supposed to be a to-do list, not a “not to do” list or a bunch of postmortems for relationships I once had with various games.

Video Games

Bastion: Want to play at least an hour more, see what’s up with it.

Breath of the Wild: I really enjoyed the time I spent playing this, and I didn’t get close to finishing before I put it down! There’s a ton left to mess with, there.

Cultist Simulator: Want to do another run to attempt romance, as a concept within their systems. But not soon. Maybe a year from now.

Final Fantasy X: I’d like to actually beat this.

Final Fantasy X-2: Eventually - perhaps very eventually - I want to 100% this.

Final Fantasy XIV: There’s a bunch left there. I’ve listed off a bunch of the possibilities, but mostly I’m willing to focus on it as a social activity with my buddy Matt.

For the King: This looks really good and I haven’t touched it yet. I should set aside time for it!

Graveyard Keeper: I’m torn on this one! I’m worried that I won’t be willing to pick it back up without restarting from the beginning, but also that I’ll find a restart really damn boring. Maybe I’ll take a bit and see whether the journal system in the game is good enough to get me caught up with where I was.

Hades: I’d like to get to the closing credits on this. But for the sake of tuning my reflexes I kind of need to have it be the only reflex game I’m playing when I’m playing it.

Hollow Knight: Maybe. I was surprised by how un-grabbed I was. Maybe it got over-hyped, or maybe it just hit me when Metrovania wasn’t what I was in the mood for. But it definitely deserves another shot. If I feel the urge to revisit a -vania I’ve already played, I should shunt that urge into playing this instead.

KH3: I’m maybe 2/3 through normal content. I have no interest in high-skill play of this game; Its secret megabosses and challenge dungeons. But I would like to finish out the regular story sometime.

Marvel Ultimate Alliance 3: I want to do the storyline. In spite of my normal predilections, I may have to force myself to pick a team and play straight through, not try and level every member of the enormous roster up to max.

Monster Hunter Rise: This will be my Wednesday nights 8-10 with friends, for the next few years.

Pokemon Shield: Basically the same problem as MUA3. I want to finish, but if I try to catch ‘em all and level them all I end up spending exponentially more time between actual game events and the math of it catches up to what I’m willing to put in somewhere between gyms 5 and 6. But I bet if I just pick a team and play, I can finish.

Books

Raising Steam - Terry Pratchett

Shadow - Robin McKinley

Venus Envy - Rita Mae Brown

Green Kitty - Alexandra Faer Bryan

Anime

Rather than picking out specific series, I think the plan there is just to get back into the habit of watching maybe 1-2 episodes a day. But specifically no more than that. I do think I’ll watch ~12 series at once, interspersing shorter and longer offerings and starting things at different times so something’s always on the way in as something else is concluding. The 4 longer series to run while I’m doing regular 13-ep shows between will be Slayers, Ranma 1/2, Sailor Moon, and Hayate the Combat Butler.

Walking

I got into the habit of taking a walk with mom. Mom doesn’t have a ton of energy. So the walk I take with her isn’t as much walking as I need for the day, either for exercise or for reverie.

Meditation

I get the idea of splitting out meditation from entertainment...but I’m not gonna.

D&D

I’m running 2 weekly games and playing in 3 biweekly games. I do wish I could assemble The Dream Team - a bunch of fave players from over the years, who’ve never played together and who I haven’t gotten to play with in a while - but that last bit is generally because most of them are really damn busy. And also if I’m realistic I hardly have the time to run the 2 games I’m running.

Cooking

At least once every 2 weeks it’d be cool to run a cross-analysis between the Joy of Cooking and the contents of my house and see if I can’t make something tasty I’ve never made before.

D&D Podcasts

Limits are 1 series at a time, and 1 hour a day. There are too many hours of game being produced at a time to hear it all. We’ll see how I feel about doing another series after I get caught up to the present on The C Team.

[martykirkby]

Any holby or casualty episodes you’d recommend rewatching? Idm how old, thanks :)

(i’m gonna put this under a read more bc it got way longer than i intended it too and you didn’t even ask for descriptions i’m just incapable of being concise ever sorry! i bolded the titles so you don’t have to read it all)

okay so it depends what characters you care about, bc my answers would be different based on who your faves are, so these are my faves to rewatch (but will probs be super biased towards my fave characters)! obvs i’m not saying watch all of them (unless you want to) but i’ve included reasons why i like them so you can decide based on what you enjoy.

holby (i’ve only watched from s16 with a little of s15 and s6 so it’s gonna start there):

intuition (16x11)- dom’s first episode back after his guest stint, and adele’s first ep! this is the first episode i watched when i started watching holby properly bc i was impatient and wanted to get to the dom scenes so i haven’t watched most of the s16 episodes before it but i would probably say watch 16x10 as well bc that’s when jac gives birth and this ep has a lot of scenes about her and emma.

prince among men (16x16)- raf’s first ep in which he’s v v iconic and also i love dom, zosia and arthur and frustrated mentor sacha and there’s that woman who’s like in love with a mummy until she finds out it was a female mummy. also jac and emma!!

one small step (16x42)- again i LOVE the keller trio, this is the first ep where they really bond even if it’s over a super traumatic experience w zosia. and connie crosses over for the first time since she joined casualty, which i rlly liked.

star of wonder (17x10)- a really important episode for zosia’s character and her bipolar sl! also i like christmas episodes

the ides of march (17x32)- another big ep for zosia and the one where she decides to move to darwin

beautiful (17x45)- dom taking a level students on a tour of the hospital and bonding w one of them and quoting that christina aguilera song... i love him

at first i was afraid (17x50)- dom and arthur roadtrip! the karaoke scene! frieda as a patient! elliot’s exit ft some really nice scenes w him and jac!

left behind (18x05)- i just really like all three storylines, i’ve rewatched the mo and wiliam sl a few times just bc i like mo and this ep is the last one of that sl and it’s my fave of them, and you can watch it as a standalone if you already know what’s happened in the eps beforehand.

blue christmas (18x11)- the only one i’ve seen where jac’s past is rlly talked about bc it’s the one where fran reveals they know each other. apart from that it is just a nice christmas ep and i really like all the other storylines going on.

young hearts, run free (18x13)- the ep where dom arthur and morven have to do some scavenger hunt thing in the woods!! and dom has a chicken called henriketta!! that’s reason enough to watch it 500 times tbh

one under (18x21)- for some reason arthur’s patient sl haunts me, but i think it is a rlly good (but sad) ep for arthur as he comes to terms with his cancer test

it tolls for thee (18x31)- arthur and morven’s wedding and i love them

i’ll walk you home (18x35)- arthur’s last ep (as not a figment of someone’s imagination) and it’s devastating but the episode is so so well done and i watch it whenever i need to cry

another day in paradise, parts one and two (18x38 and 18x39)- i just really like all the different storylines in these eps, the patient sl is like. wild and there’s focus on jac being a mother and dom’s grief and sacha and essie i just rlly like them

protect and serve (18x47)- this is the one after the helicopter crash in casualty so i always watch it after watching that one. it’s a good episode that focuses more on the characters than the storylines and i love the crossovers too.

i do, i do, i do (19x13)- an episode in which a main character’s daughter dies has absolutely no right being as funny as this, but the derwood/inga wedding is so so funny and also rlly sweet at the end and the contrast with the elinor storyline is wild (and also something i wish holby would do more often bc recently they’ve done like three depressing storylines in one ep)

the hard way home (19x35)- tbh the main reason i’ve rewatched this ep so much is for dofty which obvs i don’t care about anymore, but it’s also a really good ep just for dom w his steroid addiction and the anniversary of arthur’s death. and it’s damon’s first ep and i miss him

group animal, parts one and two (19x61 and 19x62)- the shooting eps which i also watch when i wanna feel sad, but also they are just really good episodes in general

also the last two eps of s19 after the shooting bc i’m incapable of not watching the aftermath

i haven’t rewatched any s20 or s21 eps except when giffing so i can’t rlly recommend any there

casualty (for some of these just pretend that lofty never existed on holby and his character was never destroyed):

next of kin, parts one and two (26x15 and 26x16)- the second ep is more exciting but you need the first one for context, it’s just classic high stakes drama, the entire ed was on fire bc they stopped filming in bristol so they were like yeah let’s completely destroy the set! and it’s ruth and jay’s last episodes.

duty of care (26x17)- also high stakes drama, tom’s first episode and the first ep filmed in cardiff. there’s a poisonous gas leak AND an explosion.

love is (26x23)- danny dyer did more acting in this one (1) episode than he has his entire career on eastenders i swear. i didn’t expect to get so emo about it.

the ‘ricochet’ eps (26x25, 26x26, 26x27)- casualty didn’t hold back with these eps. they’re v good eps (s26 has some of casualty’s best episodes imo) but a LOT about gang violence and a trigger warning for rape in the second one.

zero sum game (26x39)- fletch’s first episode! i mainly like it bc of that but it’s also fun to see how much lloyd hates him at first.

the #holbyriot eps (26x41 and 26x42)- definitely some of the most tense episodes casualty’s ever done, back when they cared about social issues like police brutality.

rabbits in headlights (27x17)-  the first episode for robyn, jamie and aoife (and ally but she leaves the next ep). i love seeing how far robyn in particular has come, and i loved jamie and aoife as well and seeing them as tiny dumbass students is fun.

unsilenced (27x31)- the fgm storyline, again when casualty used to care about social issues. it’s really well-written, i think.

once there was a way home, parts one and two (28x01 and 28x02)- this is ramin’s first appearance and i love him and jamie and the way jamie basically risked his entire job to help him. the first one is also rita’s first ep!

carrot not stick (28x35)- this one has a patient from 28x33 in, but you don’t need to have rewatched that one to get the gist. lofty and dixie take said patient to visit his dying mother and they go to the beach. they sing dolly parton. lofty steals a puppy. it’s just a really nice episode imo

born lucky (29x05)- this is a sad one, but i really like the relationships between the staff in this one, and i think it was a good final episode for jeff.

entrenched (29x09)- casualty said football fans don’t deserve rights and also lofty makes some points about the futility of war. michael spence is in this episode!

deadfall (29x10), the road not taken (29x26), holby sin city (29x39)- i’m grouping these together bc they’re all the ‘holby noir’ standalone episodes and if you wanna watch one ep and not have to worry about the long running storylines, they work. they’re also completely insane and v fun imo. the road not taken is my fave.

a child’s heart, parts one and two (30x01 and 30x02)- i’m not a fan of it focusing so much on charlie’s life story, but i love episodes just after a crisis and especially when one of the team is in danger bc you really see how much the staff all care about each other. these eps also have the start of louise’s storyline where she switches from a receptionist to a nurse.

high tide (30x27)- lofty’s last episode, jez’s first, and it’s also a really good episode for cal and ethan. and although i don’t really care about any of them except jez anymore, i still think this is a good episode to rewatch just to see like. them as characters.

too old for this shift (31x01)- this is the feature length episode so like. it might not be ideal to rewatch but again it’s the helicopter crash episode, so you really see the staff pull together which i love, and there are appearances from jac and fletch, and video calls from people who have left the show. like i said, it goes with protect and serve on holby so i usually rewatch those together.

mobile (31x27)- i literally just rewatched this episode last night which is why i’m thinking about it, but it’s a really good ep and it’s the one where robyn gives birth and her scenes with david are so well acted. they also link all three stories in some way to mobile phones which i thought was cool.

5 days (31x28)- i love robyn so i really love this episode. there’s a lot of character development imo, from being in denial and optimistic to realising how bad charlotte’s situation is and struggling to cope, to accepting how it is and being there for her as a mother.

one (31x44)- the plot is okay, it’s not something i’d be particularly interested to rewatch apart from the fact it’s filmed in one shot which makes it fun to rewatch.

32x19- max’s last episode and we find out a lot about him! and ofc there’s the zoe and max reunion and i just really like max in this episode.

32x21- bea’s first ep and i love her, also really shows how much a real ed has to cope with and has alicia start the anonymous blog which is v iconic of her.

i haven’t really rewatched any eps that aired after this specifically for one ep (i’ve rewatched every episode jade and marty and archie have been in but i don’t always care about the eps themselves)

[skull-crimson-heart]

I have to say it: Doom Patrol was better than Titans!

I feel that Titans took itself WAY too seriously and Doom Patrol knew exactly the kind of comic they were based off of!

I was surprise to! I am a huge Teen Titans fan, both the original cartoon and comics, and I was so excited about about Titans and all I knew about the Doom Patrol was... nothing really. The only exposure I had to them was through the Teen Titans, and I was sceptical about the tv show, but I gave it a chance and HOLY FUCK, WAS IT AMAZING!

I'm not saying I didn't like Titans, I'm just saying I like Doom Patrol more. A lot more.

Doom Patrol had its flaws, like the cgi and... and... hold on, I'm thinking... maybe for a few people it was kind of too weird... but with the tag line "what doesn't kill you makes you stranger" what were you expecting... other than, you know:

Titans had flaws to, like also the cgi, but also the the fact that there was little to no practical effects other than the Doom Patrol episode. Also the villain... the old white guy/ the Nuclear Family (and kind of Trigon but really, what did he do) were kind of dull and not entertaining to watch. Mr. Nobody on the other hand was amazing to watch, I loved him until episode 12, then I just wanted him to go and DIE IN AN INTERDIMENSIONAL FIRE! but that was because he did something truly evil, so I kind of guess that was the intended purpose.

And even though most of the season of Doom Patrol was:

It was still interesting and enjoyable, and you actually got to see the characters grow. Ex. A lot of people thought Rita was a bitch in the beginning and now there are people who will die for her! And Niles, at the beginning, people hated him, and now, they hate him even more and the character in the show hate him to!

And Doom Patrol didn't have an episode dedicated to the backstory of 2 characters, that had only been in 2 episodes (one of which they were there for 5 minutes and one of them was in a coma) and contributed absolutely ZERO to the season! Yes I am still VERY pissed about that. They could have spent that episode setting up the season finale. AND DON'T GET ME STARTED ON THE TITANS SEASON FINALE!

I'm getting off track. What was I saying! Oh, right! Doom Patrol better than Titans.

Doom Patrol also has Brendan Fraser as a robot chasing a donkey: (how is there no gifs of that?)

A Drag Queen, in full drag, beating the ever loving shit out of a bigot on a sassy sentient genderqueer street named Danny:

This wonderful, brilliant person and all of her different personalities:

This perfect person who deserves to be happy:

Mark Sheppard doing magic and cussing:

And of course CYBORG!!

Doom Patrol was all around a fun time that needs a season 2! Titans is getting a season 2 but Doom Patrol needs a season 2!

Holy shit, this was a long post about my personal opinion that people are allowed to disagree or agree with.

[kimberlyannharts]

Top Ten Comic Tomberly moments is waaaay too easy. Let's try... 1) Top Ten TV Show Tomberly Moments and 2) Top Ten Tomberly Moments across ALL media (books, comics, TV show, movies, and games) *insert evil laughing ursula gif*

you are.......EVIL but we’re doing this (in two parts because otherwise this post would be so long it would probably break tumblr’s code even more than it already is)

so part one: top ten tv show tomberly moments

10. everything with white stranger/kim in Wild West Rangers - i put this at number ten bc it’s technically not. tomberly it’s kim/tommy’s ancestor but i needed to put it on this list bc i find it a little hilarious that ajj played up kim being so horny for white stranger.  i mean jdf did look pretty hot in cowboy gear so i can’t really blame her.  also white stranger at the end implying that kim was the best part about the whole power ranger situation is [chef kiss] peak lost time travel romance

9. island of illusion - ok this episode was mostly wack but them freaking out over the other possibly vanishing forever is tragic romance angst that we really don’t see in power rangers too often so i gotta take it when i can get it.  key moments include tommy literally shoving zack and jason out of the way to get to kim and after tommy comes back from almost vanishing, kim runs to him first and rubs his chest.

8. fighting date in two for one - THEY LIKE……DID A DANCE……DURING A FIGHT……..BECAUSE THE FIGHT HAPPENED WHILE THEY WERE ON A DATE THEY’RE SO DUMB 

7. the beginning of calamity kim - yeah it’s kind of a “damsel in distress” ep which like……isn’t great but they were BOTH kind of in distress the whole ep so it makes it a little better.  the best part though is the beginning where kim is like. doing terribly and is an angry wet rat and tommy’s only response is :) aw

6. song of guitardo - OKAY SCREW EVERYONE WHO SAYS TOMMY TURNED KIM INTO A DAMSEL SHE SAVED HIS DUMB ASS IN THIS EPISODE IT WAS GREAT.  actually they saved each other and that’s even better.  but we got the dragon dagger/power bow combo which is a never before seen iconic moments in power rangers and also would lead to the dragon shield pink/shooting drakkon in the chest 25 years later which changed the face of comics as we know it   

5. when is a ranger not a ranger? - so okay “love interest’s mind is wiped but they still like their love interest” is a cliche that power rangers doesn’t do very often despite all the crazy mind stuff, but tomberly did it first and they did it awesomely.  mostly because tommy was so stupid about it.  “do you know who i am?”  “i don’t have a clue but you sure are cute” did you really think that was clever tommy.  he picks her up and tosses her like a football to save her from the laser beam later.  i hate him actually.  but actually it’s okay because it made it canon that tommy thought kim was cute immediately after seeing her which adds more context to certain beats in their first meeting SPEAKING OF WHICH 

4. their first meeting in green with evil - for real i don’t think tommy and kim would be so popular so long after MMPR if ajj and jdf didn’t play them up so well and their first meeting set the tone for that SO well.  kim was barely holding herself back from jumping him in the middle of that hallway.  tommy very clearly being like oh shit the girl i just saved is actually really cute oh shit oh fuck (again, made canon by wiarnar).  them continuing to hold hands after they shake.  tommy very clearly looking her up and down.  jdf and ajj hit the ground running with this scene and we stan 

3. first kiss in the green candle - SO YEAH I HAD TO HAVE THIS ON HERE not just because of the kiss but like. the lead up to it is so good.  the context of kim wanting to assure tommy that he’s still wanted by the team (her) and stumbling through a somewhat awkward but sweet conversation??  “we miss you/i miss you” - poetic cinema.  tommy taking her hand and rubbing his thumb across his palm - need me a freak like that 

2. hospital scene in a different shade of pink - this scene was really kinda lowkey in turns of actual romance but it’s so good in terms of how mature and serious it was taken.  tommy revealing he was actually scared at her getting hurt- TOMMY THE SUPER COOL WHITE RANGER MAN?  SCARED? - and saying it was worse than literally ANYTHING zedd and rita did….which, it’s tommy.  he’s been through a lot of shit.  but kim getting hurt was the worst.  tommy brushing his fingers through her hair while they just smile at each other and not saying anything.  bro.

1. THE END OF CHANGING OF THE ZORDS PART THREE okay listen all of changing of the zords was god-tier tomberly but the final scene of the three-parter, where tommy and kim are walking along the beach and tommy assures kim that she’ll be okay  is literally perfect in narrative and execution.  acknowledging the bond between tommy and kim that’s strengthened by bringing the parallel between tommy losing his green powers and now kim losing her pink powers???  her being vulnerable and honestly upset after putting on a brave face for the entire story and tommy being gently but firmly comforting???  IT’S ON A BEACH AT SUNSET AND THERE’S KISSING IT’S EVERYTHING A ROMANCE SCENE SHOULD BE 

[drfitzmonster]

i was tagged by @spaceman-earthgirl

i am tagging @welp-idontknow @randomramblingsbymyself @aapzai @driftingavatar @gwenthelumberjane @ekingston @samarallewis86

my shows (in no particular order) :

Schitt’s Creek

The Office

Bob’s Burgers

One Day at a Time

Black Lightning

questions:

1. Who is your favorite character in 2?

— that is an unfair question it’s too hard to choose. it might actually be dwight, just because of his character development and how ridiculous he is

2. Who is your least favorite character in 1?

— the skeevy guy who wanted to date david and stevie at the same time. i did not like him at all. 

3. What is your favorite episode of 4?

— the finale of season one. i always cry my eyes out when they all dance together at the end. 

4. What is your favorite season of 5?

— well. i guess i’d have to say the first season bc i haven’t seen all of the second season. also it was really fucking good.

5. Who is your favorite couple in 3?

— bob and linda, ofc

6. Who is your favorite couple in 2?

— JIM AND PAM! I LOVE THEIR LOVE

7. What is your favorite episode in 1?

— the episode where patrick serenades david with an acoustic version of ‘simply the best.’ gets me right in the heart every. single. time. it is the single most romantic scene i have seen on television. AND it has this beautiful unscripted moment where moira touches david’s arm, like she'a acknowledging how rare and precious what she’s witnessing is. it’s just so fucking gorgeous and breathtaking and i love it so fucking much 😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭

8. What is your favorite episode of 5?

— when anissa gets her badass suit, can’t remember which episode that is

9. what is your favorite season of 2?

— i can’t choose. like seriously, they’re all so good

10. How long have you watched 1?

— as long as it’s been on, like 5 or 6 years i think

11. How did you become interested in 3?

— watched it by happenstance, i think, and got hooked

12. Who is your favorite actor in 4?

— rita moreno

13. Which do you prefer, 1, 2, or 5?

— the office bc i can watch it over and over and over, it’s like my comfort show

14. Which show have you seen more episodes of, 1 or 3?

— probably bob’s burgers bc there’s been more seasons and also i think more episodes per season

15. If you could be anyone from 4, who would you be?

— probably syd

16. Would a crossover between 3 and 4 work?

— um. i don’t know. that would be hard to pull off

17. Pair two characters in 1 that would make an unlikely but strangely okay couple:

— ronnie and jocelyn

18. Overall, which story has the better storyline, 3 or 5?

— black lightning, probably?

19. Which has the better theme music, 2 or 4?

— i mean, how am i supposed to choose?

[beanarie]

for the TV Show Ask Game: 3, 50, 51

also including questions from @sickrey3, @kshaar, and @katherinebarlow thank you!

2. if you could have saved one TV show from cancellation, which one would it be? my so-called life, like, a million times. it was the only prime-time drama that spoke to my existence at the time and losing it so soon affected my choice of media for years afterward. i’m still so bitter.

3. have you ever quit a show before it finished? why? i quit things like it's my job. fuck them if they're not entertaining me anymore. shits not worth it. the big one, which took me years, was elementary. i watched fewer eps per season until i realized i didn't wanna come back anymore. they just don't care about joan and marcus as much as i wish they did. (edit: i wrote this answer weeks ago just before leaving on vacation and now i have to admit i did watch the final three eps. they were okay. it was a good place to leave them.)

11. which TV show has the best musical soundtrack, in your opinion? this is limited to shows that i paid enough attention to that i got to know the soundtrack--very small sample size ftr--but skins had some great music. also steven universe is wooonderful.

16. do you feel like there are any underrated TV show formats? not really underrated at all but i am a sucker for shows set in quirky small towns or insular communities where there's a constant undercurrent of shenanigans, like letterkenny, northern exposure, picket fences, schitt's creek, and community

24. how do you feel about bottle episodes? amazing, fantastic, groundbreaking. giving the plot a break often leads to the most interesting character development

26. favourite TV show theme song? tie: black sails and orange is the new black

28. who would be your dream cameo on your favourite show? ooh, basically every lgbtq actor on doom patrol. a short, non inclusive list: laverne cox, candis cayne, briana hildebrand, eddie izzard, angelica ross, fiona shaw, russell tovey, victor garber, wentworth miller, billy porter, sean maher, patricia velasquez, holland taylor, sarah paulson, shannon purser, jamie clayton, jen richards, saffron burrows, maria bello, and definitely neil patrick harris, nathan lane, billy eichner, etc.

35. who are your top 5 TV characters right now? rita farr (doom patrol), dean fogg (the magicians), clive babineaux (izombie), john silver (black sails), david rose (schitt's creek)

50. what’s one TV cliche you love? groundhog day episodes!!!! i die when the trapped character finally gives in to despair, like, just totally breaks, and suddenly dawn breaks and they get this tiny reason to hope that things will be okay

51. what’s one TV cliche you despise? pointless het drama. leverage is the only show i can think of that kept their couples apart for reasons explicitly tied to the woman's character development rather than "oh it's the second tuesday of the month so we're having a massive blowout then breaking up until right before the winter finale! in three breakups, we'll make up by getting engaged and we'll only split a couple more times after that! true love!"

[mykedrop]

Finished Watching Dexter

Alright, so we finished watching Dexter tonight and I feel like talking about it a little. I’m not really sure what I want to talk about, but just in case I’ll put a spoiler warning in the tags. And also this sentence here stating clearly that I might definitely will talk about spoiler things regarding the Showtime American television series Dexter.

So after season 4, I lost interest in the show, pretty much exclusively because of Rita doing her impression of a bag of ketchup with a hole in it being thrown into a swimming pool. I knew it was coming. The surprise part of it was practically nonexistent. When it happened i sorta just went, “Aww.” It definitely made me feel as empty as a bag of ketchup with a hole in it though. But not in the intended way maybe. Especially after losing Lila too, the future of Dexter was not looking pretty. I mean so quite literally, because if they kept killing off the prettiest characters then, by definition, the show would look much less pretty by comparison.

The ladies of Dexter: 10/10. Jamie, Niki, Rita, Christine, Lila, Lumen, Hannah, Deb, Maria. Chef’s kiss. Rockstar Special Agent Lundy and Isaak Sirko too. Double chef’s kiss. I really liked the characters overall. It felt a little weird having a new “main” threat + sidekick every season, but I got used to it. Not all of them were particularly interesting, but it was still entertaining. I don’t have that much to complain about when it comes to the characters. Other than Lila and Rita kicking the bucket. I felt personally slighted by losing both of those characters.

I feel like what interested me the most was how the relationships changed as each episode came to a close. Someone finding out something they weren’t supposed to, someone on the edge of finding out some huge news, Dexter having to turn on the jets when the police were on the trail of his next kill, Dexter being on the back foot in some situations. A lot of my favorite moments came from the right before or the aftermath of an event. How characters behave and react around each other after new information comes to light. When Deb found out about Dexter was probably my favorite shift in dynamic. All of that really popped off to me. Loved the whole shabang (not the chips, but those are good too).

Lundy was a huge favorite of mine and having him around was awesome. Isaak Sirko super caught me off guard. I didn’t expect him to be a character I’d be interested in, but by the end of his stay I really liked his whole story. A lot of the others were fine, but Lundy and Isaak were especially good. One thing I gotta say something about, I never liked Quinn. I don’t know, just the way he sort of appeared in season 2 (3?), really threw me off. And since then I had an odd feeling about em. Don’t get me wrong, the man’s the prettiest son of a bitch on the force, but I could never really bring myself to actually like him. On the opposite side of the spectrum, I love Hannah. Straight up. Kind of like a Lila-lite, without the trying to kill the kids and frame a cop part. Second I saw her I said, “Yup, she’s the one. If she dies I’m boycotting the show.” The conversation that followed was totally nonsensical and irrelevant for the purposes of this write up. For the record, Ari’s favorite character, or characters were Dexter and Debra. I can’t actually choose a favorite. Can’t even narrow it down to two. Anyway, loved Hannah a lot. I guess I’m glad she made it to the end. Even if it wasn’t a picture perfect ending.

I have to say that after season 4, it took probably every episode after that to get me back in. And it still wasn’t all the way in either. Nothing really hit me. It was all sort of expected, and bracing for something 10 episodes before it happened kind of dampens the impact. But that’s on me. I still had a good time watching it, but without my SO here wanting to watch it, I probably would’ve taken a while to get back to it. I’m glad I watched it through though. The last episode though.

I don’t know what to think about the last episode. I really feel like they missed the mark with Debra. It didn’t hit me hard at all, and it didn’t really register with Ari either. It’s the sort of shock value that doesn’t have any really substance behind it, I think. The way it all panned out was poetic and beautiful and blah blah blah but it wasn’t very satisfying or sad or anything. Dexter doing the opposite of riding off into the sunset as well definitely felt weird. From being on a one track mind the whole season about Hannah and Harrison, believing he’s the only person who can protect Harrison and raise him the entire time after Rita was gone, to changing his mind in a span of about a few minutes, thinking that they’re better off without him. I’m not saying he’s wrong, I’m saying the realization felt too sudden, especially for Dexter. And sure maybe I missed some things along the way, I certainly didn’t put this show under a microscope. Nor do I want to. But from what I saw, it didn’t feel right. I don’t know if Dexter living a happily ever after life with a family in Argentina would have made me feel any more satisfied. Probably not, honestly. But it definitely didn’t have the feel of something like, Six Feet Under. I’m not underwhelmed, and I’m certainly not overwhelmed.

I’ve been on and off writing this post for like 3 hours. I kind of wanted to talk about Dexter’s character and how he changed over the course of the show, but I’ll leave that to someone who’s not only dissected the show top to bottom, but probably already made a YouTube video essay about it 3-4 years ago.

Final thoughts: I liked Dexter, I’d definitely recommend it to anyone who’s into the whole crime drama stuff, but if you’re into that stuff you’ve probably already seen it anyway. It won’t make my list of top 5 shows, which didn’t exist until just now, but I’ll still remember it well, even if only for the incredibly beautiful women and exceptionally cool men of the show.

[sweetbroloveit]

I watched the Handmaid’s Tale S2 finale

Thoughts on the episode and wild speculation for next season below.

I love the Marthas so fucking much. Like honestly, I wept into my glass of wine and uttered this phrase over and over.

This episode was full of women supporting other women: The Marthas helping June and her daughter escape; June comforting Serena after she tried to stand up to the Commanders and lost a finger in the process; the wives trying to stand together to improve the futures of their daughters (even though some of them lost courage towards the end, them rebelling in the first place is a huge step forward); and even June and Rita trying to defend/honour Eden.

I love how Eden’s sacrifice had such a ripple effect on Rita, Serena and June. Despite the differences in their “stations” they are all somehow bound together whether they like it or not.

As excited as I was by the elaborate escape plan and all the people who risked their lives to make it happen, by the time June pulled out the photo of Hannah I knew she would never leave. And I’m honestly not mad. I get it. From the writers’ point of view they can’t have June out of the action in Canada. And I don’t think June would be able to achieve much from outside Gilead to be honest. Look how little Luke has been able to do to get June and Hannah out. And it’s not his fault, it’s just that Gilead is locked up so tight, he is sort of waiting around for the Canadian government or the refugee centre to do something and they must have thousands of cases. So I get it, once June leaves Gilead she won’t be able to get back in and rescue Hannah, so she has to stay. I have a feeling she’ll go underground, I seriously doubt she’ll return to the Waterford house. I agree with those who say her taking up Fred’s offer and staying on as his handmaid would be redundant from a storytelling perspective. We’ve endured 2 seasons of watching June being abused by the Waterfords, we don’t need to see more. Maybe I’m wrong, but I hope she goes into hiding, or moves into the Lawrence house and starts taking an active role in the resistance. Hopefully by uniting Mayday, the Handmaids and the Marthas (and hell, maybe even some of the wives?) in their efforts to bring down Gilead.

The only thing I don’t get is why June told Emily to call the baby Nichole. That made no sense to me. Because she still referred to her as Holly when she was telling the baby about Hannah. Maybe the reason will be revealed next season. But I will be pissed if it was some concession to Serena for letting them leave Gilead.

I also think Nick was definitely in on the escape plan. He was guiding traffic away, looked up at the house and approached before seeing June and Holly on the stairs. He didn’t look even remotely surprised, he just gave June the nod to say goodbye and go. Plus when he did come back into the house he and Rita didn’t even need to talk, she just gave him a look and he immediately followed Fred upstairs and kept him there. I am 100% convinced that Rita filled him in on the Marthas’ plan beforehand.

Speaking of Nick, he was unusually quiet this episode. Granted, he’s not the biggest talker, but even scenes where it would have made sense for him to have lines he just used a look or an exhale to communicate. Props to Max Minghella, ‘cause he made it work. But I do wonder if that was a purposeful choice or if there was something else? Because he seemed to whisper a few words in the scene with Holly (“hi sweetie” etc.) that weren’t in the script, but they were merely murmurs. Maybe Max was sick or lost his voice? Anyway, just something I noticed. Also: that scene with Nick, June and Holly was EVERYTHING! He got to hold his daughter! I had to pause so I could bawl for a good minute. And June told him she loved him finally! I love them so much. Obviously Holly will be in Canada but I also feel like they’re going to separate Nick and June next season. That scene in nursery was like their family’s goodbye for the time being. They both know how they feel about each other, they are on the same page, their daughter is safe, everyone in the Waterford household knows about them, Eden is gone, so there’s no more tension to tease in their relationship. Except for the Luke triangle thing. And I have a feeling that will only come into play further down the road. So the only way to create angst is to separate them. Which sucks, as someone who loves that relationship and the hope it brings to the overall story. But if they do intend on having June be more engaged in the rebellion next season, there should be other storylines to act as the light at the end of the tunnel.

I’m so glad Emily is getting out, I really hope she finds her wife and son next season. It will be interesting to see how she reconnects to the person she used to be. Stabbing Aunt Lydia was impulsive and reckless, not that it’s the first time she’s done something like that, but still. She has so much (understandable) anger now, I think it will be hard for her to adjust to normal life after this. I also really hope she finds Moria and Luke too and that their stories are closely intertwined. They need to expand the Canadian story, maybe start to build the rebellion that side? I kind of want Emily to give Holly to Moria and Luke as well. It will be fascinating to see how Luke reacts to June’s child with another man, particularly since he believes Fred, her rapist, is the father.

I’m also worried about Janine. I know that ever since the Red centre she’s had a very fragile mental state, but she really does seem to have accepted Gilead’s bullshit. Despite her “may the force be with you” joke earlier in the season, I don’t think she would be down for a revolution anytime soon.

Rita, I love you. No explanation necessary. Please be okay next season. She is smart though, I think she covered her tracks enough.

Oh Serena. I hate you but also feel desperately sorry for you. It was so sad to see how brave and strong she looked as she read aloud from the bible and then 5 minutes later to see how broken she was. Fred betrayed her, Gilead betrayed her, God abandoned her. Ugh. I really think she is the only person in the entire show who is a true believer – in the spiritual sense. While Fred has used their religion to suit his own agenda, twisted the parts that help him and ignored the parts that don’t, Serena seems to really believe it’s God’s will. I was really pleased she let June and Holly go. But who knows if next season, once she’s less fragile, she’ll change her mind and try track them down again. You never know with Serena. People often talk about whether or not Serena can be redeemed. I personally don’t think she can ever be forgiven for the things she’s done – there is only one ending for her – however she does have a choice about her actions going forward. The damage is done, but she can still choose to not cause any further damage.

And then there’s Fred. I hate him so much. No redemption, no pity, can’t wait for him to be set on fire and pushed off a cliff. He is just the grossest man. Trying to bribe June with seeing her stolen children, suggesting it would be fun to “try for a boy” even though they both know he is fucking sterile, and expecting her to acquiesce to his continued rape of her for no reason other than his pleasure and power trip. What an awful creep. I cheered for my girl June as she smacked the shit out of him and told him off, cheered for my boy Nick as held him back and flashed his gun. To quote June, go fuck yourself Fred. The end.

[tink-bell]

Name: 

Jaby/Mom

Characters: 

Tink Bell (closed rip), Rita Saluki-Sykes, Duchess LaBlanc, DeSoto Sykes, Adam Best, Soleil (closed rip)

Pick one of your characters and talk about their growth (we recommend choosing an older character, but it’s up to you!) What about their story has surprised you? What are you proud of? How have they changed from their original inception to now? 

Tink Bell: These three years have been one hell of a roller coaster for Tink. It seems like just yesterday I was writing my town alcoholic hell-bent on having a good time even though inside she was a mess. When we first saw Tink, she was your typical punk-rock rebel without a cause. Her idea of a good time was a good lay, a bottle of tequila, and whatever drugs she could find. She was an absolute mess. And as the years progressed we saw Tink sort of lose herself. She got lost in the bottle and the drugs and the dark spiral that was her mind. She lost some good friends (Simba) in the process and made some unexpected ones (Copper, I’m talkin’ about you). But like a phoenix she rose from the ashes and repaired herself and those friendships she lost. She got an amazing girlfriend who literally went through hell and back with her (pun intended). And now as the year closes, so does this chapter of Tink’s life. Her life of adventure with Sophie is starting and it’s the ending I always wanted for Tink. Cue girl walking into the sunset with a bag slung over her shoulder ready to take on the world.

Adam Best: My babe I’ve had the second longest, not counting the time I dropped him for personal reasons. He’s also a character that has been through a lot. We’ve seen Adam be the surly young man who only wants to punish himself for all the death and destruction he’d caused. He was grappling with the loss of his parents and the loss of his first serious girlfriend. That’s a lot for a dude. He made mistakes, hurt people he grew to care about. Then he got himself a best friend and then a boyfriend and things were looking up for our dear Adam. Then Jaby had an existential life crisis and all that went to shit. Adam found a journal that said you could get rid of the curse by killing the wolf that killed you and guess what? Adam went to Greece and got his ass kicked. But it was a brand new starting point for me and my boy. It allowed me to delve into Adam’s need for a normal human life and try to figure out a way to reconcile it with the fact he will never have that. I expected Adam to remain very surly when I picked him back up and to an extent he has. But he’s also moved away from that. He’s no longer filled with the same angst. Instead it’s changed and evolved into something so much more. He’s no longer mourning his parents and Jennifer but instead mourning the life he’ll never get to have. It’s something I never expected from him and I’m honestly very excited to see where it takes us.

Pick another character and talk a little about where you WANT them to go. What are your plans for them going into the new year? 

DeSoto Sykes: Ugh man, I have so much planned for DeSoto. Lauren and I have actually talked out a lot with these brothers and where we want them to end up. I know he’s going to stay a big presence in Swynlake. I’d love for him to become one of the big kingpins in town. It would be hilarious because that’s what his father was back in New York and it’s what he’s been running from for nearly three years. I want him to grow and realize that having people you care about isn’t necessarily a weakness. Des has a long long way to go and his story is far from over.

Rita Saluki-Sykes: It’s no secret that Rita has become my loudest muse, slowly taking the place of Tink if I’m honest. I’ve only had her for a year or so but she’s already been put through the ringer. Her marriage went from one of necessity to one that was almost over to finally something that resembles what she’s always wanted. Even more so now that she’s got her own little kiddo on the way. I’d like to see Rita settle into that mother role. From what we’ve seen she enjoys the night life, partying and eating up all the attention she can get. But with her little one all that is going to change and she’s going to have to become that mother figure. And she’s going to have to balance care and attention for Ollie with the new baby. It’ll be interesting to see how she juggles being a businesswoman, wife, and mother.

Pick a thread or a plot that you’re proud of and talk about why you loved it.  

UHM HELLO INTO THE FOREST. Two years ago I did one of these and said how I wanted Soleil to tap into her powers and channel her rage and this is the result of that. This plot was hands down my favorite plot I’ve ever done. It gave me a chance to break Soleil down to her darkest depths, fueled by the loss of Zero and then the fact KNIGHTS or whatever were hurting things in her forest. It was a slow burn plot and one that took a lot of work from everyone involved and it culminated into the best thing I’ve ever witnessed.

In terms of your own writing, identify 1-3 strengths and talk about why you think it’s one of your strengths.

Voice. I still think voice is something that I have a good grasp on when it comes to my characters. From Rita’s and DeSoto’s New York accents to Duchess’ French lilt and prim and proper upbringing, I think it’s something that shows distinctly in my writing.

Villains. I love my villains, I love devling into their minds and figuring out what makes them tick. And I’m tooting my own horn when I say that I’m pretty damn good at it. From Taka to Oogie (however brief he may have been), I’ve brought some pretty interesting villains to BDRP and I hope to continue to do so. I’ve got a few character ideas at the ready that I am more than eager to bring to life.

In terms of your own writing, identify 1-3 areas of improvement.

Plotting! I am the absolute worst when it comes to coming up and approaching people with plots. And I think a big part of that is because I really love for things to develop organically. I’m not one to nudge my characters into something I’m not sure of. I need to break out of that so that I can actually accomplish some of the things I want to for my characters.

Direction. It’s easy for me to lose direction when writing. A reply will start off as one thing and then before I know it it’s shifted to something else entirely. It makes writing an arduous process and often irritating. 

Pick one of your plots, or even just a character, and come up with a list of 3-5 “mentor texts” where you can look for inspiration or research, then write a short (2-4 sentences) why you picked those texts. (For example, if I picked Apollo, reading “Akata Witch,” “Children of Blood and Bone,” “Trials of Apollo” series, and Homer’s Iliad might provide inspiration for different reasons– the former two for Nigerian culture and magic and the latter two for a deeper look at Greek Mythology. No, you don’t have to have read these books– maybe you just want to read them!)

Okay so picking Soleil’s forest takedown these are the things I’d look into:

Batman comics featuring Poison Ivy - Mainly because Poison Ivy is one of the few female baddies that have the same sort of magic that Soleil has. And she’s gone down Soleil’s path of wanting to take over the world with plants. It’d be a way to get inside of angry Soleil’s mind.

BtVS s6ep22 “Grave” - This is actually the episode of Buffy that sparked this desire to have Soleil go down that path of evil. It was a possible ending for Soleil in which she didn’t turn into a tree and feed her magic to Enchantra as a way to make amends. This episode showed the power of true love (even if that love is platonic) and how it can stop evil. And it was something that I had wanted to experiment with in Soleil.

The Master Book of Herbalism - Okay this book would give insight to what Soleil did. How, even before she was the spring sprite, she had a vast knowledge of plants and how to use them. 

And now, a wishlist! Jot down a few themes or stories or genres etc that you want to maybe pursue in the upcoming year! (i.e. a good ol’ fashion forbidden romance, maybe you want to dig deep into racial identity etc) This doesn’t have to necessarily be attached to any characters or stories you have now– it’s just meant to help you see for yourself what kind of stories call to your heart.

F O R B I D D E N RO M A N C E- like please guys, you don’t know how badly I want one of these. What’s more drama filled than two people who should not be together at all? C’moooooooooooon Drugs- I have always always been involved in the drug scene in Swynlake. Taka, Lock, Tink, and now Des. I love fucking people up with drugs and exploring those motivations. Coffee shop au type romance/bromance Slow burn, something that starts as nothing and then sooooo slowly turns to something more Friendships Frenemies

OPTIONAL: Why do you RP?

I RP because it’s still my escape. I enjoy it more than I enjoy most things. It gives me an outlet to channel whatever it is I’m feeling and don’t we all need that. Not to mention Mk and Lauryl own my soul at this point and there is no hopes of me ever actually leaving this place.

[madness-of-madi]

Finding a Constant: Part Five

Word Count: 3,283

Main Characters: Peter Parker, Ned Leeds, Michelle Jones, and Amrita Delport (student at Midtown High)

Warnings: slight depression, mostly cuteness

Setting: After Spider-Man: Homecoming, after Peter tells Tony Stark that he wants to postpone being an Avenger, but before Infinity War...obviously.  *muffled sobbing*

Summary: Amrita Delport has been moving around her whole life, but when her parents relocate to New York for some mysterious project, she is unexpectedly sucked into the life of Peter Parker, otherwise known as the neighborhood-friendly Spider-Man.

A/N: I really enjoyed writing the Monopoly scenes...*dreamy voice* memories...

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

Amrita’s POV

My apartment was much too quiet. Not the peaceful quiet that I loved to daydream in, but the kind of quiet that threatens to suffocate me with its tangible weight. It was almost as if the room was packed with wool and I was just floating somewhere in the fluffy pile, unable to move or open my mouth to make a sound.

I’d take the annoying buzz of the school hallways over this any day, but I didn’t have much of a choice. I thought about leaving to take a walk like I normally did, but the second the thought entered my mind, I shut it down. I was not going out there alone again. Never again.

I pressed my face deeper into the red cushions, trying to escape the thoughts inside my head. My parents wouldn’t be home until around six, so I had two hours to sit and suffer in this stifling silence.

I suppose this was exactly why I’d accepted Peter’s invitation to the ‘party’. The second he’d mentioned monopoly, I’d known he’d made the whole thing up on the spot. And I had been about to turn him down as I always did, but there was something unusually vulnerable inside me that made me pause. Before I had time to process the unfamiliar feeling, I’d told him I could go. And now I was left wondering how I was going to distance myself after this.

When six o’clock finally arrived, my parents came home to me still on the couch. I had fallen asleep just minutes before, but I woke to my father shaking my shoulder gently.

“Wake up, Rita.” I blinked open my eyes and rolled onto my side to face him. “Why are you so tired? You didn’t stay up too late, did you?” “No, Dad,” I groaned. In all honesty, I’d spent most of last night staring up at the ceiling and touching my Spider-Man shirt when thoughts of the incident invaded my mind.

“Did you already take your walk? You know you’re supposed to text us if you leave.” There was a stern look on his face that made me groan again.

“I didn’t leave the house.”

“Oh.” He gave me a quizzical look. “Are you okay?”

I stiffened, but managed to paste a smile on my face before answering, “Perfect.”

He nodded and walked away, making me sigh in relief. My mother waved to me before they both disappeared into their room, presumably to talk about their big project in privacy.

I was nearly asleep again when my phone buzzed and interrupted my dozing. It was Peter.

MJ and Ned are coming around 5. Does that work for you?

It’s Peter by the way.

Parker.

I huffed when he added his last name, as if I couldn’t possibly figure it out on my own. I thought about making excuses and ducking out, but I ended up sending a very different response.

Sounds good. Where exactly am I going?

His address came through and I tapped out another reply.

I’ll be there. ;)

The winky face might have been a bit too much, but I couldn’t help myself. After all, I found myself taking a liking to Peter and his adorable awkwardness. There was also something else about him that drew me in, something I couldn’t place.

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

It was another half-hour before my parents came out of their room and began preparing dinner. We ate and my parents ran through their normal questions, paying extra attention to my answers. I knew they noticed that something was off with me, but I could only hope that they’d let it go in time.

After dinner, I quickly dismissed myself to go take a shower. I let the water soothe my harebrained mind before getting out and toweling myself dry. I retrieved the Spider-Man shirt from where I’d left it on top of my bed and shrugged it on. It gave me some measure of calm to put it on. Even though I knew it was odd, I couldn’t keep myself from feeling attached to the thing that my hero had given me. I wondered if I’d ever see him again.

I laid down in bed and immediately knew that tonight would be no different from the last. So I rested a hand over the Spider-Man graphic on my chest and closed my eyes with no expectations of finding sleep.

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

The next school day passed in a tired blur. It was all I could do to stay awake in my classes and feign interest in the teachers’ lessons. The only time I actually felt awake was during lunch.

I’d just taken my seat across from MJ and was already getting out my book when Peter sat down next me with his tray. A second later, Ned took the seat next to MJ, causing her to raise an eyebrow at him.

“Hey, guys!” Ned greeted with a radiant smile. “Excited for the party tonight?”

“Ecstatic,” MJ replied in her usual deadpan. I was surprised at the snicker that automatically left my mouth.

“We don’t have to play monopoly if you guys don’t want to,” Peter said, rubbing a hand against the back of his neck.

“No! It’ll be fun!” Ned exclaimed. I saw the look that transpired between the two boys and I nearly laughed again. Apparently, Ned’s opinion wasn’t the one Peter wanted to hear.

“I think it’ll be fun too,” I answered. Peter quickly looked to me and smiled a bit. But his expression quickly turned into one of concern when he saw that there wasn’t any food in front of me.

“Do you want half of my sandwich?”

I strained to procure a smile on my face. “No, I’m fine, Peter. But thanks.”

He nodded, but didn’t seem reassured. He might have questioned me further had MJ not intervened.

“So we’re meeting at your place around five, right?”

Peter nodded, “Yep.”

“Don’t you live with your aunt?” MJ asked.

“Yeah, I⸺how did you know that?” He gave her a confused look.

“I pay attention,” she said with a disinterested shrug and I found myself grinning at her a bit.

“I shouldn’t really be surprised at this point, should I?” She shrugged once again. “But yeah, I live with my aunt, May. But I told her not to bother us⸺she’s just gonna order a couple pizzas.”

“You don’t have to worry,” Ned chimed in, “May’s really cool. You guys will like her.” I nodded and MJ went back to her book.

Before the silence could stretch on too long, Peter asked, “So, uh...What’s your favorite Star Wars movie, Rita? MJ?” This time my smile wasn’t forced. In fact, despite his obvious awkwardness, Peter had a way of putting me at ease. I’d only known him for a few days, but he had this quality about him that managed to assuage my tense nerves.

“I like episode 4,” I said.

“Episode 5 is the best,” MJ piped up, not bothering to take her eyes off her book again. And just like that, an argument ensued. 

Once we’d come to the conclusion that episode five is in fact the best (MJ really did know how to prove a point), we continued to chat about random things that Peter or Ned came up with. I even laughed a few times at Ned’s constant enthusiasm and MJ’s perpetual lack of it. The two made an interesting pair.

When it was time to start heading to fifth period, MJ was the first to leave, offering a small wave before departing.  Ned was the next to go, rattling something about meeting Peter after school as he walked away. Peter called his assent and then it was just the two of us.

I stood up and said, “I’ll see you tonight.”

He nodded, but grabbed my wrist before I could leave. I instinctively flinched at the touch, making him immediately drop my arm. I wanted to apologize for reacting in that way, but he didn’t seem too offended. Actually, he had that concerned look on his face again.

“Please take this,” he said, handing me the other half of his sandwich. I started to shake my head, but he interrupted, “Please.”

I swallowed and finally took it from him, unable to meet his eyes for a moment. He saw too much.

“Rita.” I reluctantly looked up. His brown eyes were searching mine, seemingly looking for something in them.

“Thank you, Peter.” I’d hesitated for a moment, but then I’d gotten up the nerve to give his shoulder a quick squeeze before leaving.

Now, I flitted about my room with only forty-five minutes left before the party. My mother sat on the edge of my bed, only watching as I got ready. Before the...incident, I might’ve worn a cute but simple dress to the gathering, but the thought of walking outside of my apartment with that much skin showing was enough to make me want to puke. So I pulled on a pair of jeans and a baggy sweater, adding my black booties to the mix.

I was peering at myself in the mirror when I met my mother’s eyes in the reflection.

“You look gorgeous, as always,” she told me with a loving smile.

I rolled my eyes, but I couldn’t stop the smile that took over my lips. “You’re such a flatterer.”

“Of course I am, I’m a journalist⸺charisma is one of the requirements.” I rolled my eyes at her again and she chuckled at me, coming up behind me to brush a brown curl from my face.

“So, who’s this Peter?”

“Boy from school,” I replied simply.

“And who else will be going?”

“MJ, the girl I told you about the other day, and Peter’s best friend, Ned.”

“Hmmm,” she hummed. I made my way over to my bathroom and fetched my lip gloss and mascara, applying a light coat of each in front of the mirror.

“Alright, I’m ready.” I paused before adding the next part: “Would you mind walking me there?”

Her brows drew together in dubiety. “Any particular reason why? You always wander the city alone.”

“Yeah, I know...I was just wondering…” I stammered, trying to come up with a valid excuse that wouldn’t make her suspicious.

“No, it’s fine, I’m more than happy to walk with you. Besides, I only ever get off this early once in a blue moon,” she said with a smile.

“Yeah, speaking of work, how’s the project going?”

“I hope you’re not trying to pry for information again⸺you know we can’t say anything.” She gave me a sideways look and I saw the amused glint in her green eyes.

“Yes, I know,” I told her with an exasperated sigh. “But can’t you tell me what Tony Stark was like?” My mother looked taken aback at the question, so I went on. “Well, you said Dad was interviewing the CEO of Stark Industries the other day, right? I figured if he met Pepper Potts, then he might have met Tony Stark too.”

“Oh, Rita.” She sighed as we walked out the door of the apartment, taking the elevator down to the lobby. She seemed to deliberate for a moment before answering. “I managed to secure a phone call with Mr. Stark about a week ago and he’s very articulate. Rather funny, too.”

“You talked to Tony Stark a week ago and didn’t tell me?!” I gaped at her.

“Technically, I’m not supposed to be telling you at all,” she admitted.

“Still, though…” I muttered as we stepped out onto the street.

The walk to Peter’s apartment was mostly silent, considering I spent most of it examining everyone we walked past. I shied away from anyone that looked at me for more than a split second and kept an eye out for wandering hands.

“Honey, what’s wrong?” My mom asked. We finally stood outside of Peter’s building and I had been just about to say goodbye.

“Nothing, mom. I’ll see you in a few hours,” I said offhandedly.

“Alright, just text me when you’re ready to come home. I’ll meet you here.”

I nodded and hugged her before entering the building.

When I made it up to Peter’s apartment and knocked, a middle-aged woman was the one to answer the door. She was tall and slim with long brown hair and warm brown eyes, like Peter’s.

When she saw me, she smiled brightly and greeted, “Hi! I’m May! You must be Rita, it’s so nice to meet you.” With that, she pulled me into a hug.

For a moment, I was stunned by her spontaneous gesture of kindness, but I soon recovered and returned the embrace. I glimpsed Peter coming out of his room over May’s shoulder.

May let go and I gave her a genuine smile. “Nice to meet you too, May.”

“Hey, Rita, how’s it going?” Peter asked, coming up beside his aunt.

“Good.”

“You can come this way, Ned and MJ are in the other room,” he said, leading me across the kitchen. “Aunt May is gonna order some pizzas.” He shot her a look from where she was leaning against a counter, watching us.

“Oh, yes sir,” she mocked before walking over to the phone on the wall. I waved at her one last time before turning away. Ned was right⸺I liked her.

In the living room, MJ was sitting on the floor⸺right next to the couch. Ned sat across from her, but on the sofa.

“Sorry to be the late arriver,” I apologized.

“No, you’re not late,” Peter said. “Ned just came right after school and MJ...”

“I like to be early,” she finished for him. I took a seat next to her on the floor and Peter took the cushion adjacent to Ned. But as soon as he took a seat, he got back up to move the coffee table that sat between us. He shoved it out of the way and retrieved the monopoly box that sat on top.

He set it down on the carpet and joined MJ and me on the floor, Ned following suit and taking the lid off. The two boys went on to set up the board and arrange the pieces as MJ and I exchanged a look. One that said, How did we get here? Soon enough, she just shrugged and I let out a breathy laugh.

“What?” Peter asked, looking up at the sound.

“Nothing,” I replied, a small grin still playing about my lips.

“Like I said, we don’t have to play monopoly.”

“Just shut up and pick a piece, Peter,” MJ piped up, making me laugh again at her bluntness.

Peter raised his hands in mock surrender, but picked a piece as he had been directed⸺the racecar.

“Predictable,” MJ muttered and picked the shoe for herself. I took the dog, setting it on ‘go’, and Ned took the horse and jockey, looking rather pleased with his selection. I noticed how his cheeks nearly engulfed his eyes when he smiled.

“Who goes first?” I asked.

“We each have to roll and whoever gets the highest number goes first,” Ned explained. Peter took the dice first and rolled a two, scoffing at his ill luck. I couldn’t suppress my snicker and my smile only widened at the dirty look he gave me.

MJ rolled a six and I rolled an eight, but Ned trumped us all with a twelve. He cheered at his fortune and MJ rolled her eyes at him.

Ned took his turn and I found myself relaxing around all of them, the dynamic settling in as if it had existed all the while. Ned cheering and laughing, MJ muttering sarcastic comments, Peter making stupid jokes, and me⸺I’m not quite sure what I was doing.

We were about halfway into the game when things started to get competitive between Peter and me. Ned was just happy to be playing and didn’t really seem to care if he won or lost, while MJ didn’t purchase a single property throughout the entire game. I asked her if she knew how to play and she’d only told me: ‘I won’t give in to capitalistic temptations’⸺I laughed at that.

However, Peter and I were both quite eager to win. His shyness and awkwardness seemed to evaporate as the night wore on, replaced by focus and cutthroat ambition. Earlier on, he’d landed on Marvin Gardens, saw that I had the other two yellow properties and was just waiting to get that one so that I could put houses on, and proceeded to buy it.

He’d said, “Sorry,” with absolutely no remorse and handed the money to Ned, who had chosen to be the banker. I gaped at Peter in disbelief, but he just shot me an evil grin. That was the moment when I’d decided to destroy him.

But that was a hard thing to do in Monopoly, considering most all of it relied on the player’s luck. But the balance seemed to be tipping my way when I finally landed on Boardwalk and completed my blue collection, enabling me to slap a couple houses on (at the severe expense of my bank).

And then, luck must have really been on my side, because Peter landed on it.

“Would ya look at that?” I drawled sweetly, giving him a coy smile.

“Can’t believe my luck…” he muttered.

“There will be no talk of luck!” I exclaimed. “That is karma!”

He feigned a scowl and looked down at his pile of money with unspeakable sorrow. I figured he needed a reminder. “Fork it over, hotshot.”

Even he couldn’t keep the smile off his face as I eagerly took half of his fake money⸺I was much too excited about this.

“We better call it quits before Rita gets overexcited,” MJ said, a tiny laugh on her lips.

“Good idea,” Ned agreed. “Let’s see who won!” He started counting his money and I felt no small amount of satisfaction as I thumbed through my many bills, counting them just loud enough for Peter to hear.

I really needed to remind myself that this was just a game.

In the end, I beat Peter by $200, but he didn’t even come in second place. That title was reserved for MJ, who hadn’t spent one dollar for the entire game except when she had too. Peter came in third and Ned came in dead last, but Peter was much more affected by his failure⸺Ned just sighed and moved on, but Peter looked ready to mope for an hour. It made me smile.

“It’s alright, Peter, I’m sure you’re good at something,” I said with a fake pout.

“Oh shut up,” he laughed. I playfully shoved his shoulder and was surprised when he didn’t rock at all. He was a lot more solid than he looked...and I couldn’t help but wonder what was hiding under that t-shirt of his. I could see the lines of his shoulders, the curve of his biceps, but the rest was a mystery to me. I stared for a few more seconds before I realized that Peter was looking at me. I cleared my throat and met his gaze, trying and failing not to blush at the fact that I’d just been caught ogling him.

His cheeks were also flushed a bit, but he didn’t say anything. In fact, we both seemed to be frozen in place, just staring at each other.

“Pizza’s here! Come on!” MJ walked right between Peter and me, breaking whatever spell we’d been under. I cleared my throat again before following her, doing my best not to look at Peter again.

What had just happened?

[secretradiobrooklyn]

Plant Shadow Edition | 2.27.21

Secret Radio | 2.27.21 | Hear it here.

Liner notes by Evan, art by Paige

1. Stéfan - “J’suis pas méchant”

In our continuing dive into French music for French culture we have been finding our way towards the origins of French punk — which apparently all springs from the overnight, international, transformative success of Plastic Bertrand’s “Ça Plane Pour Moi.” That created a sudden realization in the French music industry that punk had big potential, and they started trying all kinds of variations on punk… or “paink,” as it’s spelled locally. Basically, it was treated like a novelty fad. I don’t know anything about Stéfan beyond what he wants me to know, which is that he is not mean (“méchant”). I think that’s adorable, getting all wound up just to tell us not to be scared. I hope the whole band is like 10 years old.

2. African Brothers Band - “Ngyegye No So” - “Afro-Beat Airways”

Credit as always to Analog Africa for providing the very best in the history of African rock. This is from the first volume of “Afro-Beat Airways,” this one focused on “West African Shock Waves: Ghana & Togo 1972-1978.” The first pressing sold out a while ago, but they just put together a repress. Their packaging is always stellar, full of useful information about bands and musicians that it is difficult to research alone. The compilation was the result of a happy accident: AA founder/research adventurer Samy Ben Redjeb had a flight from Frankfurt to Angola get canceled, so he picked a flight to Ghana instead, where he hooked up with the once-legendary (in Africa) producer Essiebons, who had just digitized about 800 previously recorded songs. From that came “Afro-Beat Airways,” which is just overflowing with a huge variety of rock and funk and psych shamanism and catchy hooks.

There’s a great passage in the middle of the song that bears noting: “Yes! Clap for him,” says the singer of the keyboard player, then announces, “I’m now going to introduce myself,” lists his accomplishments in the band — composer, singer, arranger, master guitarist — and then says, “Now: I will give you some phrases on the guitar. You watch me,” and proceeds to wind some gorgeously rhythmic lead patterns through the tapestry the band has set up. It’s such a real, recognizable moment, that really helps translate the song from a hypnotic slab of funk to a performance by a band unfolding right in front of you.

3. They Might Be Giants - “Don’t Let’s Start”

Thanks to our recent rediscovery that “Birdhouse in Your Soul” is a thoroughly excellent song, we’ve started into a TMBG period. My favorite thing in re-encountering them is that they’re such pure geeks of theater and band and video and books — which is exactly how I saw them at the time, and it’s so great to see it stand the test of time. It still feels extremely unique and tuned to a frequency that is transmitting cool new ideas. And: they’re so concise! So much happens in the songs they make — it’s like they write a full-on pop song arrangement, and then just trim out every measure that doesn’t feature vocals. You can get so much done that way in two and a half minutes!

4. Ata Kak - “Obaa Sima”

I love this tape so, so much, and we’re aware of it thanks to Awesome Tapes from Africa. The lead adventurer of that label bought a copy of this tape at a street table in Ghana (I think), fell hard for it, then went on a hunt to find the artist Ata Kak, finally did, they found that the original master tapes were hopelessly destroyed, and together they realized that as far as they could tell, he had bought the ONLY locatable copy of the tape. That’s the one that you are hearing here — this is the opening track. ATFA sold it as a combo cassette tape and tea towel, which I personally think is a really odd pairing. Like, is the tea towel for handling the cassette? Still, it’s turned out to be a very welcome tea towel in the kitchen.

Apparently the copy we hear runs faster (and higher) than the original. They decided to present it as the artifact was originally discovered, holding that even more important than releasing as Ata Kak originally intened. I think it sounds so freakin amazing, I’m glad they presented as is. 

5. Evariste - “Wo I Nee”

Such a strange character! This song was released in 1967, but it sounds (and looks) completely outside any norm of any decade. For starters, the singer is wearing his hair as if a monkey were up there — a big tail drops down and curls across his nose.  The song structure is traditional, but the sounds that he makes are just something else entirely. 

Really, the video does all the work that the song hasn’t already done:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MOfdJ8ZcLJc

- The Velvet Underground - “Booker T. - live in NYC 1967”

6. Abdel Halim Hafez - “Ahwak”

We were surprised to see we had a new soundcloud follower in Egypt, and we looked at their playlist and they were all songs as cool as this. We still have no idea how they ended up on Sleepy Kitty though. Great tracks though!

7. Boreal Hills - “Belcher” - “Dope Hugs EP”

Man, this EP was one of the prizes of being the Eleven editor. This thing was the soundtrack of a fantastic summertime. St. Louis freakos’ first release and forever my favorite. Tom O’Connor is the drummer on this EP and the two guys together just make this killer ruckus that I can’t get enough of. Also, it hits the reptile part of my brain where Swell Maps’ “Full Moon in the Headlights” reigns. Tom does tons of cool recording now, including Julian’s band Nerve Estates.

Every track of “Dope Hugs” could be a hit in my opinion. I feel like the pop world could have bent itself around this set of recordings. It reminds me of Jeff The Brotherhood in some ways, though I have to admit I prefer Boreal Hills in this moment.

8. Strychnine - “Ex BX”

‘70s French paink music. There’s a really entertaining summation of some of the forces French painks were rebelling against — “to bring together the wicked use of guitars with an unfathomable disgust for everything and a skin-deep boredom which undermined as much as they nourished the adolescent daily life.” It sounds very sincere and hard-felt. I can’t wait to dig deeper into this “Paink French Punk Albums 1977-1982”; already had to restrain myself from including an Electrochoc track as well.

9. David Bowie - “Queen Bitch” 

It’s really impressive how Bowie can paint feelings I believe he was feeling, that I’ve never felt but that I can get through him. He’s a pure uncut crystal of glam. His heavy rhythm rock period is pretty much the most exciting rock n roll in the world.

10. Le Tigre - “Hot Topic”

Paige: I don’t think any of my teachers were ACTUALLY using this song as a syllabus, but there’s a very high overlap. 

I personally feel like underlining Marlon Riggs — “Tongues Untied” was one of the most amazing things I’d ever seen when I saw it in History of Video Art. Also just noticed: Did they say Justin Bond? As in Justin Vivian Bond?

This is the first of two songs this episode that has lists of idols/icons in the lyrics.

11. Erkin Koray - “Arap Saçi”

We’ve been meaning to look further into Erkin Korya’s Turkish psych music, and this one has high overlap with “Cemalim,” the first song of his we heard. This one lands a little harder — and I love the way it pulls the melody in unexpected direction, like it’s floating on different breezes. The singer sounds like he was transformed into a singing hookah.

12. The Little Rabbits - “In the Bathroom”

This album is one of the all-time most overlooked gems from the turn of the millennium: “Yeah!,” by the Little Rabbits. My impression is that they got bigger later, maybe? This one seems to have disappeared pretty much without a trace, even though I swear it contains some of the DNA of Beck’s smash genre-bender “Odelay.” I don’t understand why this album wasn’t gigantic — it’s as turned on as Sonic Youth but coming from a completely different perspective. I hope they were all friends at least. 

- The Velvet Underground - “Booker T. - live in NYC 1967”

13. Les Rita Mitsuoko - “Marcia Baïla”

They have a song called “Les Histoires d’Amour Finnisent Mals en General” that Paige’s French teacher referred to in passing. We looked up the song and it was awesome. The more we checked em out, the more interesting they got. Everybody seems to have a background in clown in France, we have found.

A pretty worthwhile video experience: 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1zWlnzFXcKY

14. The Brims - “Anti Gandja”

This song arrived to us via a collection called “Those Shocking Shaking Days,” which Eleven received from Now Again Records. I dug it but couldn’t find a place for it in my brain. Now it fits right in. The collection is gorgeously made, with a fat book of photos and text and 20 heavy Indonesian psych tracks that pretty much all trip way past San Francisco albums from the same time. They’re so committed to the psychedelic overdose… even when singing a song about NOT smoking weed.

15. Cave - “This Is the Best”

There were so many nights at the Art Castle on Cherokee where we had to make peace with the music coming through the walls from 2720. It was so bass-heavy, so anarchic and often key-free, that we really couldn’t counter-program it if we tried.

One night, though, we heard something undeniably cool through the wall. That happened from time to time — that’s how we discovered Aleuchatistas and Prince Rama, among various others. We dropped what we were doing and slipped in the door that shared a secret hallway with our spot, behind where the band was set up. Turned out to be Cave, a band we knew of via Chicago and a very loose acquaintance with Rotten Milk from the Lumpen scene. The whole show was an ecstatic experience, getting lost in a rowdy, ever-circling, ever-growing drone. But the song that brought it all together was this one — I completely lost my shit, crashing around the dance floor zone. When we learned the name of the song from them afterwards, “This Is the Best,” I was like, YES: so they know it as well as we do. We’re all in this drone together.

16. Marpessa Dawn - “La petit cuica”

Paige has been interested in who Marpessa Dawn in for awhile — she’s a black American from Pittsburgh. She apparently went to Franc4 and became a start in music and films. She was in a ton of films. She’s not very well known in the States, but it seems like kind of a next-generation Josephine Baker story — or at least that’s what it is in my fantasy. 

17. Ebo Taylor & The Sweet Beans - “Odofo Nyi Akyiri Biara”

The first several things I found by Ebo Taylor really didn’t hook me, and I think I felt like he was working a different angle than I was into. But then lately I’ve been hearing these amazing tracks from him, so I stand corrected. Which is a win all around!

18. Hedwig and the Angry Inch - “Midnight Radio”

Paige: It’s the only time that something that is a rock musical truly works as a work of rock itself. One of two if you count “Rocky Horror.” I can listen to this soundtrack as a rock album — in a way that Rent, love it as I may, I cannot.

Evan: I’m recognizing some serious influences on Sleepy Kitty — especially when it gets to the guitar solos. We haven’t gone for the anthemic singalong yet, but the structure that builds to an instrumental crescendo of overwhelming guitars is pretttty familiar. 

- Frank Zappa - “Watermelon in Easter Hay"

We saw the documentary “Zappa” last month and this tune really stands out from the rest. It appears to be the second most popular Zappa track, which I will admit surprises me quite a bit. Great movie to watch, we highly recommend it fan or no. 

19. Jeffrey Lewis - “I Wanna Be Vaccinated”

An anthem for our times.

20. Joan Jett - “Dirty Deeds Done Dirt Cheap”

I think if I’m honest, I probably heard this version of “Dirty Deeds” before the original. I really like how it has the infinite rock feel of the AC/DC take but with a completely different underemployed hit man in the lead role. A rare case of pure ‘80s glam-rock aesthetic working to advantage.

21. Katerine - “Moment parfait”

Philippe Katerine is a character who would be impossible in American culture — he’s not handsome in any way that American popular art recognizes, and he utilizes the deep-seated instinct for clowning that runs through French culture and pop culture. Meanwhile, though, his melodies are giant, his production is varied but always innovative, he’s a screen actor as well, and his album art features him as a character with large ears, wispy blond hair and an uncircumsized nose — in some contexts we’ve even seen his nose blurred.

Paige: I can’t tell if it’s maybe like if Beck and Jack Black were the same guy in the culture.

22. Teshua - “Wild Dog”

This song is written by one of the most important people in St. Louis for us: Tim Gebauer. We’ve been listening to the ways they’ve been working together for the last few years, when we come over for a late-night hang at Electropolis Studio. This is a song I think we first heard Tim sing and play himself in the kitchen. This version makes gorgeous use of the theatrical aspects of Teshua’s voice cradled inside Tim’s dreamy reverberatingly quiet production.

This song was written suspiciously soon after getting a new cat — a wild cat that didn’t want to come in yet. Aben is beautiful and tough and prowls the streets of south city but comes home to the comforts of his family. 

23. T.P. Orchestre Poly-Rythmo - “Karateka”

I think this song is on “The Skeletal Essences of Afro-Funk,” a T.P. Orchestre collection, but I first consciously ran across it while scouring Discogs for more information about the most Tout Poissant band ever. This one is composed by Papillon, with Joseph Vicky on lead vocals. Papillon is their secret weapon guitarist who can also bust out some trippy Farfisa as needed. 

24. Silver Jews - “The Country Diary of a Subway Conductor”

When we did our welding at the City Museum — before we ever suspected that we would live in St. Louis for a day, much less ten years — we used a quote from this song on the back page of the invitations that we handprinted: “This is the way pioneers took to other settlements.” “Starlite Walker” is one of our all-time favorite albums together; I’ve always dreamed of covering this entire album. The soundscape of this track captures some of my very favorite aspects of Stephen Malkmus’ voice and guitar frenzy… as well as the completely unskilled but perfectly rendered drumming. And over it all wander the characters sketched in by David Berman. He was sometimes the most mysterious voice in rock music, and he wrote my very favorite book of poetry. I will always be partial to this album above all others, though “American Water” and “The Natural Bridge” are right there as well. 

- Dan the Automator - “Bombay 405 Miles” - “Bombay the Hard Way”

25. Amanaz - “Sunday Morning”

This is the most Velvet-Underground-without-being-the-Velvet-Underground bands ever, which is amazing because this song was written in 1968 on the other side of the world from New York, in Zambia, at a time when music had to physically travel miles to reach distant shores. It’s astounding to think of Lou Reed’s instant influence on people he would never meet and likely had never even imagined. It’s very strange as well, though, to think that what this song sounds most like is “Loaded” — which hadn’t yet come out when this song was recorded. I suppose there’s no reason to think that the influence — actual, implied, or somewhere on the astral plane — didn’t run the other way.

[gavillain]

So with the year about to close, I'm once again doing my annual Top Ten Villains of This Year list. My personal rule for doing this: these characters are judged solely on the merits of their 2017 appearances, and I'm not going to include any villain who has appeared on last year's list (which you can read here), even if they would still make the cut. So, basically, what I'm saying is no Cersei this year even though she was awesome XD Also bear in mind that this is only from media that I actually did this year, so forgive me if your favorite isn't here because I might not have seen them.

List under the cut

10. Mr. Yama (Big Hero 6)

The Big Hero 6 TV show pilot has promised probably the best Disney animated series in a long time, particularly given the return of Kim Possible and Buzz Lightyear of Star Command showrunners McCorkle and Schooley. Mr. Yama was a bit part in the original film who I never thought much of, so imagine my surprise when he came back as the starter villain of the show and was not only enjoyable but was memorable. I like how they took a bit part that was already established and used him as a way to introduce their unseen show original bigger bad. I've always been a sucker for crimebosses, so seeing Yama take on that role as the local gang leader who you don't want to fuck with was pretty cool. Also I thought he served a really nice balance between funny and intimidating. I really look forward to seeing what else this show has to offer!9. Jim Moriarty (Sherlock)

While the ultimate reveal that Moriarty was not, in fact, back from the dead was certainly a disappointment to me, damn if the new Moriarty content we got wasn't worth it. The main villain of this series was actually Eurus Holmes, Mycroft and Sherlock's mentally unstable sister, who set up an elaborate plan with Moriarty before his death. Eurus is cool too, but not really one who appeals to me that much. The big draw to the episode, in my opinion, was Moriarty's posthumous vengeance. Seeing him still flawlessly portrayed by Andrew Scott having the time of his life through flashbacks and video messages, Moriarty is still easily the most fun villain to watch on the show, and he hasn't lost a single beat. The way he's come to be sort of the devil on Sherlock's shoulder and a symbol of all evil in Sherlock's world has given him a sort of twisted immortality. Also, it must be said, him dramatically stepping out of the helicopter dancing to "I Want to Break Free" is nothing sort of AWESOME XD8. Euron Greyjoy (Game of Thrones)

Euron Greyjoy's transition from being a disappointing and uninteresting character to being a fabulous scene stealer btween seasons was one of the biggest hallmarks of the improvement in quality between season six and seven. He was definitely underused in the season, given his lower position on this list, but the way he confidently strutted up to Queen Cersei and started making innuendos and proposing mutual murdering is exactly the type of horrible person that I can get behind. The way he revels in bloodshed and totally decimated Yara and the Sand Snakes' forces and then paraded them through King's Landing as the triumphant "hero" was just wonderful. His actor has also definitely improved, becoming a lot more charismatic and unhinged in his portrayal, which not only made him more entertaining, but, in a way, more threatening. I love his alliance with Cersei, and I really look forward to seeing what those two cook up next season.7. Madame Hydra (Agents of SHIELD)

This was a great year for Marvel villains any way you slice it, with a couple more still yet to appear on this list. However, none have quite been as topical as the MCU's adaptation of Madame Hydra over in Agents of SHIELD. Madame Hydra is the alter ego of Aida in the virtual reality alternate universe of the Framework, which depicts a world totally conquered by Hydra. Marvel's gotten themselves into trouble lately with its use of Hydra, but this was a really good place for it. Depicting a totally dismal totalitarian state that the heroes have to fight to dismantle, showing the way Hydra pushes "alternative facts" through their "fake news" to push their agenda of "make the world great again." Yeah, as you can tell, this season goes hard in slamming the Trump administration and equating them with Hydra which the show goes out of its way to say "Hydra is a bunch of Nazis, every last one of them." It's pretty much exactly the type of heavy handed metaphor we needed right now, and Madame Hydra is at the head of it all with her cold ruthlessness and picture perfect page to screen transition. 6. Arthur Watts (RWBY)

RWBY has villain problems. There's no real way around it. And while Watts does have some of the issues that are endemic to the series, he's also been pretty consistently the element that I most look forward to seeing in a given episode of RWBY. With his posh and snarky personality constantly making him an entertaining addition to any given scene, he really reminds of that type of classic Disney villain mold we haven't seen in a while. This is a guy who would not at all be out of his element standing next to the likes of Jafar or Dr. Facilier, and that's high praise coming from me. The way he's manipulating and holding the leash on Professor Lionheart is really cool, and his sort of scientific inquisitiveness makes him stand out from the other villains quite nicely. He's the type of villain who gives me faith that investing in a series like RWBY isn't a waste of time, and I really look forward to see what they continue to do with him. Also, it must be said, his mustache game is too top tier to ignore.5. Hela (Thor: Ragnarok)

Well this was a pleasant surprise, wasn't it? An MCU movie villain who was actually one of the best parts of her given film. Ragnarok actually had several villains it, featuring a surprisingly fun version of Surtur, the hilarious Grandmaster, the conflicted Skurge, and the ever unpredictable Loki. Yet, Hela definitely stands tall as the best among all of them, in my opinion. Cate Blanchett does a great job with her, giving her a very Maleficent-esque persona that I had a lot of fun with. I really liked the undercurrents of colonial imperialism with her, and how Hela was bent on being unapologetically proud of Asgard's bloody history and continuing to subjugate "lesser" worlds. That's a neat and fresh angle to take the archetype of the power hungry villain. Also, damn was she impressive. With her power to make blades appear out of nowhere and how she was basically indestructible on Asgard, she was easily the most powerful feeling MCU villain yet. She just lends herself incredibly to almost every facet she was here to provide, and that easily warrants a place among the best villains of 2017 and the best of the entire Marvel Cinematic Universe.4. Uma and Harry (Descendants 2)

Descendants 2 was a let down overall, but the one element that exceeded all of my expectations were the new Villain Kids, especially Uma and Harry. Uma's great as a young and ambitious up and comer who wants all of the luxuries she was denied by basically being charged with the sins of her mother all while also wanting the recognition and adoration that she craves. Harry's great as a total psychopath who creates sexual tension with everyone he comes into contact with but doesn't really have any ambitions or the brains to make it on his own. Together, they make a fun duo with an interesting dynamic that seems to harken back to that sort of Lost Boys mother longing. I like their repartee a lot, their actors are absolutely phenomenal, and their villain song is really REALLY catchy. They have similarities to their parents, but they're not carbon copies by any means. Though I did really enjoy how Uma used Ursula's seashell hypnosis scheme on Prince Ben for the climax and then later on went full out giant octopus for the final battle. That was really cool. It must also be said, the whole pirate motif really tickles my fancy too.3. The Riddler (Gotham)

Gotham actually had a lot of great villains in 2017, as they always do. The heart of the show has always consistently been Penguin and Nygma, and while Penguin was great this year, Nygma was the MVP. He’s been on a dark path ever since his first murder back in season one, but this year fully saw him embrace his destiny as The Riddler - fancy green suit, ridiculous name, gimmicks and all. It was great to see him finally embrace the title in "How the Riddler Got His Name," and, while it was heartbreaking to watch, his betrayal of Penguin really allowed him to step out of Penguin's shadow and into his own spotlight. I particularly love his penchant for doing things as melodramatically as possible, with him actually murdering a man on stage in a play where he sent out his message to the elites of Gotham. He's so extra and flamboyant in everything that he does that it's just a treat to watch. And while I'm not caught up on Season Four right now, what I have seen of him manipulating Solomon Grundy has been really enjoyable too, showing off how even when he's lost his evil genius, he's still smart in the way that he can manipulate and play others to get what he wants. 2. Rita Repulsa (Power Rangers)

It's been a good year for green villains, apparently. I was as skeptical as anyone with the live action Power Rangers movie, but it ended up being one of the best films I watched this year. Elizabeth Banks plays Rita Repulsa and is having the time of her life up there. She's not quite as hammy as OG Rita, but she gets about as close as a semi-serious movie will allow. I like the added backstory to her feeling like an outsider of the original Power Rangers team and her having been their green ranger. He design as a sort of jagged perversion of the Rangers' uniform is a neat design aesthetic, and it looks really friggin' cool. I like how she does feel like an ancient and powerful witch who has come to really make us all feel the hurt. The scene in Trini's bedroom is pretty chilling, and the fact that she does manage to kill one of the Rangers (albeit temporarily) really makes her dangerousness feel genuine. She's also got some great comedic moments given that the macguffin she's after is buried underneath a Krispy Kreme and just hearing this powerful ancient witch trying to find Krispy Kreme of all places is exactly the type if ridiculousness I'm here for. 1. Daken (Iceman)

A lot of long term Daken fans were not happy about his portrayal in Iceman. I am not one of them. At all. I loved seeing him back in fully swagalicious glory on the pages of one of the best comic runs that I've read in a long time. His chemistry with Bobby is perfect, and I loved how much Daken was flirting with him while Bobby was having absolutely none of it. I love how the first encounter with him is in a super swanky club with him rocking designer formal wear even amidst the battle against Bobby. And despite how controversial it is, I like his whole dynamic with Zach. I like how it shows exactly the type of manipulative hypocrite he is, and how he can also be extremely petty and trivial in his desire for what he wants with sending Zach to steal an ordinary ring that catches his eye. And I'm really looking forward to the next few upcoming issues where we'll see the payoff to Daken's scheme that he's been setting up, which promises to be really interesting. As someone for whom the antihero Daken stuff that's been going on in All-New Wolverine just hasn't done it for me, it's nice to see him have his proverbial villain claws back in this run. Also, while it doesn't really count for this list's purposes, despite the fact that I've been a long time Daken fan and reader of his self-titled series, this year was finally the year where I got to fill in my gaps in his history and see the full picture for really the first time, which allowed him to climb all the way into my top favorite villains of all time. So it's been a big year for me and Daken, and I think he easily warrants my position as the best villain of 2017.

[lockdownuk]

Lockdown Diary Part 5

A personal account during the lockdown in the UK due to the Covid-19 outbreak.

23/03/2020 8:30pm Boris Johnson, UK Prime Minister, gives a live address to the nation to, effectively, put the country on lockdown to stem the spread of the deadly coronavirus strain, Covid-19.

Many of us have been self-isolating for days but this latest development within the UK in reaction to the pandemic feels very serious and very scary. I decided to keep a simple diary and where better but online.

Day 121: I received a call today about an interesting job with a firm called Liquibox - they need someone to source all the apps used by a company they’ve just bought and then decide how to incorporate them into their IT standards - not disimiliar to app testing at RS for Y2K. Another 17k+ steps today although when I ventured out on my second walk, I quickly had to wolf down some jelly beans! Didn’t stop me doing 8km. I WhatsApp’d Karen today to see what Dan’s doing for his 30th. He’s off to France. Just that brief comminique serves to remind me that it’s been about 3 weeks since anyone (apart from Dad & Rita) has asked after me without it being an after thought (even then the question’s been posed less than half a dozen times). It feels awfully lonely! I guess, somehow, I’ve made my own bed.....

Day 122: I have an interview for the Liquibox job. It’s a MS Teams one with the recruiter, in two day’s time (Friday) at 9am. I had haggis for tea, with loads of veg. A really nice change!

Day 123: Badge contacted me via Messenger to ask how I was. First person to do so, as a forethought in at least three weeks. Good ol’ Badge. Been mostly preparing for tomorrow’s interview today so not quite as far, walking wise, just 14k steps! Spoke with dad today, he’s OK as usual. Also spoke with Karen via WhatsApp (asking about whether I have to wash brand new bedding - any excuse to contact, really) and then saw her gardening - the front garden at 10, Ashton Road does look really good!

Day 124: Typing on day 125. Online interview with Bigred recruitment for the role at Liquibox. It went well but, as always, who knows? I didn’t gear back from DSM about my (other) interviews as they promised. Just reaffirms my rule, after every conversation re: job hunting, forget about it. In fact, I saw the job advertised again (but, this time, MCSE is a requirement), I sent Karen a message to see if, maybe, she fancied a few beers. Her reply was a little sad, she’s feeling very down and is worried about Dan and how he is coping with life after splitting with Grace. Coincidentally I saw Dan today. It was great bumping into him and I am going to make more of an effort to keep in touch. Usual Friday night for me. Lots of beers, pizza, films (Lucy and The Big Short) and a fucking late night! Day 125: As I type, I am knackered. 15 km today. Dad called while I was on my first walk, to see if I’d heard from DSM. I told him no but, also, that I wasn’t that bothered.

Day 126: More epic walking and am going to have a beer tonight - I have a hankering despite it being Sunday. I watched Moneyball last night. Flipping good. 2011 it was made. Fucking 9 years ago! Rick and Vic got engaged today!

Day 127: I am typing this on day 128. I got up late for a weekday - beers last night did the trick. If I drink, I am never in bed before 4am! I still managed an 8 mile walk! Received a call while walking from the Bigred recruitment chap about the Liquibox job - it was a no.

Day 128: Normal day - lots of walking. I have started watching ‘Good Girls’ on Netflix. Pretty good.

Day 129: Typing on day 130. I had to be up for the plumber coming round so I was up and showered by 8:30am. What this means is I managed three walks today (over 13 miles). I am also developing a rather odd pain in my right lower abdomen (not disimilar to the appendictis feeling earlier in ld) and a movement-restricting pain in my upper right arm - I and sincerely hoping it’s not the shoulder. I really do not want another frozen one. So, I didn’t manage a last set of push-ups after the last walk.

Day130: Typing this on day 131 (there’s a pattern emerging here). Went shopping at Asda - £106! I only went for a few things FFS! Had a few beers round Karen’s and continued when I got home at 10:30pm-ish.

Day 131: I am typing this at 3pm. I have been up for two hours and done fuck all. Just watch the last episode of Friends - so that’s the end of that 5-6 month binge session. I realise that I had seen pretty much every episode before but not that last one so Ross and Rach finally getting together was a nice surpise. David Schwimmer is the fucking star of that show - how many times did I pause and rewind comedy clips of him. He is fucking hilarious in Friends. After toast and coffee and energy drink, I finally feel up to a walk even though Alexa has just informed me its 32 degrees C!

Day 132: Very late one last night (4:15am) but up about midday. Long, long walk (11km) including a long chat with dad. As I type this the FA Cup is just finishing. So weird the final in August at Wembley with no crowd.

Day 133: I have done jack shit today. I’ve tweaked my ankle. I did watch the British Grand Prix and viewed TikTok way too much.

Day 134: My ankle still feels like there’s an issue but I went ahead and did a 9km walk and usual stair climb. It’s felt study enough but I need to be careful. After sitting for a while, I can feel it tweak when first walk on it. I saw El today and he was mentioning the pub visits he’s had since ld relaxed, and who with. It reminded me that, since I won’t go out until I can be sure it’s safe, I should get used to a long, lonely time. It has put me in a very somber mood. I am feeling very isolated.

Day 135: Town Hall at RCI to which furloughed staff were invited. It was all about the rebranding including the new business ‘Panorama’ and the new RCI brand. It was all very positive. I still wonder, though, what is going tp happen about furloghed staff now RCI haev to contribute to the Government retention scheme (since 1st August. Today is the 4th) but today was never going to be about that. The positivity plus the ‘no news is good news’ has put me in a little better frame of mind than yesterdya, but not much. Two long walks today even though the right ankle still twinges every now and then. Also, this pain I am having in my right arm is not getting any better. It doesn’t stop me doing anything but is painful if I have to reach up over shoulder height. I’m meant to be on the radio tomorrow (see Day 120)...it’s a strange feeling of anticipation!

Day 136: Well, I was on the radio, Shaun Keavney’s ‘Small Claims Court’ feature on his BBC Radio 6 Music day time show. It was fun! It is interesting, the process I went through before appearing (see main blog). It’s such a big thing for me (or, I guess, anyone who is asked to appear) but, in a flash, it’s over and the moment is resigned to obscurity. It means so little to absolutely everyone apart from me!

Day 137: Video chatted with Dan (30th birthday) - he went to Brighton and was on it when I spoke with him (before midday!), sat in a ‘noncey restaurant’ as he put it. He’s gone with Jonah and his girlfriend. I do hope he makes the best of the day. I rang dad today as well (Thursday is Rita’s family stuff day so it’s a good time to call dad). He was his usual self, unfazed and healthy. It’s really rather reassuring talking to him. It’s really hot and humid today so both walks have resulted in a lot of sweat! I have just arranged to go and have a drink up Foggy’s tomorrow evening before he wanders over the pub. I can’t wait, I’m so bloody lonely!

Day 138: Typing this on day 139. I had a great evening at Foggy’s. Great food (bbq) and great company. Home by half past midnight, in bed before 2am so an early night for me on a Friday but a bloody good night.

Day 139: Up at midday-ish. Lazy day. My arm is a major concern now. I think it is a frozen shoulder but, I think I should lay off the press-ups for a day or two, just to see if they are the cause.

Day 140: Similar day to yesterday...lazy and no press-ups.

Day 141: I went to bed at @3:30am last night, wtf! Up at 10:00am so not bad. Watched a film called The Assistant. It’s a strange one - fuck all happens yet i really liked it! Karen WhatsApp’d - she wants me, her and Dan to have a meal for his 30th. That’s great, but she suggested going out - I just wonder if people really do have a grasp that the pandemic is still happening! However, and in mitigation, she also suggested a meal round hers which I (obvs) plumped for. It is a very nice gesture and invitiation - means a lot.

Day 142: My arm seems to be getting better by not doing press-ups. I am on track to complete 1,000,000 steps by around the end of the month, so 2 instead of 3! Because it’s so blooming hot right now, I have taken a walk in the evening (8-9pm ish) which has allowed me to take some pics of stunning skyscapes, as I’ve decided to call them. Started to watch the American version of the office. It’s OK.

Day 143: I have been having pain again in my abdomen (see day 28) so I contacted the surgery and ended up in a video conference with Dr. Powell. Turns out it is most likely constipation! Movical it is then! Seriously fucking hot today (this week).

Day 144: Typing on day 145. Went round Karen’s and had a meal with her and Dan one week after his 30th. It was good. Dan left by 8pm and I left at 9pm but carried on drinking at home while watching Netflix comedy specials of John Mulaney live (fucking funny). So, a late, drunken midweek night hence not penning this diary on the day!

Day 145: Up at midday, shopping at Tesco’s and Asda, very late walk 9:15pm by the time I got home - it was too dark to see the cowpats by the river! Today, the two semifinals in the world snooker were both classics; Kyren Wilson beat Anthony McGill 17-16, Ronnie O’Sullivan beat Mark Selby by the same score. The snooker is weird with no audience - those two scorelines deserved some people there to witness them, amazing snooker!

Day 146: Day 147 as I type - completely forgot to make the entry. I went to bed at nearly 6am but was up at noon. Walked over 11 km! Watched Zodiac, drank late (again!)

Day 147: day 147 and also the day of the world snooker final which was rather a damp squib; Ronnie whooped Kyren Wilson 18-8. I received notice yesterday that I’m being charged with the speeding offence on 23rd April. Bollocks.

Day 148: No amazing interludes to report today. Day 149: Same as yesterday...walking mainly. 17,000 today, 244k for the month.

Day 150: Foggy’s birthday. I am just about to go to his for a quick beer before he goes to the pub. At the moment I have a chilli on the go and have cracked open a can. It’s all happening!