#Eisa Davis

[andreahreads]

The way they subtly changed Mercy and Swan’s relationship and made it infinitely better and sweeter has altered my brain chemistry

“I think I see the light of somethin’…”

Lin, you son of a bitch, you got me again. I haven’t stopped listening to Warriors since 10/18. It’s a masterpiece. Listen here.

For your consideration, Swan and Mercy ❤️

[iamnaanda]

[literallymercy]

Happy Birthday Mercy!

The sun shone through the crack in the curtain, the beams hitting the soft white bedsheets as Mercy woke from her slumber. She groggily rolled over, rubbing her eyes clear of any sleep as she blinked  and checked the time.

11:17 AM

Well, now she's awake. Her eyes widened as she threw off the duvet and slid out of bed, her feet barely making contact with the floor before she headed to the wardrobe in search of clothing. She rummaged blindly before producing a pair of flared leggings and a band shirt, which definitely was not hers, but she was too busy to care. She grabbed her vest before sprinting down the stairs, her footsteps echoing throughout the house.

"Jesus Christ-, sorry Cleon, I overslept I'll make it up to you somehow, I promise." She rambled out before processing the fact that Cleon wasn't even downstairs.

In fact, nobody was. Her brows furrowed in confusion as she looked around the dark, empty room. She squinted to try and see where the light switch was, but her hand was beaten by another. The lights flashed on, and a chorus of shouts came from all around.

"Happy Birthday, Mercy!!" The group yelled, party horns and kazoo accompanying while confetti was flying all around. Before she could react, she was drawn into a big group hug, a tangle of arms round her before one by one, the laughing women pulled away. Swan remained, her hands lingering around Mercy as she rested her chin on her shoulder.

"Happy Birthday, Love," Swan whispered, her voice low and grounding in the chaos of it all. Mercy turned her head, flashing Swan a big grin before grabbing her hand and dragging her to the dining table, where the rest of the group were getting themselves situated, putting their gifts in the centre.

Swan pulled out Mercy's chair and jokingly bowed.

"Your highness," She laughed, winking in her direction and waiting for Mercy to sit down before she took her seat next to her.

"Right," Cleon announced, "Let's get started with the birthday festivities!" She laughed. "First order of business : Presents."

Everyone's gaze was redirected to the pile in the middle of the table as Mercy glanced at Swan for reassurance before beginning to open them.

Each gift was unique and thought out : an engraved switchblade from Ajax, a new notepad from Cleon, some vodka and shotglasses from Cowgirl (which didn't last very long..), a freshly painted vest from Rembrandt, a black hoodie with the WonderWheel on the back and two pairs of leggings from Cochise, some of her favourite sweets from Fox, and a charm necklace from Swan, consisting of an 'S', and 'M', and a little swan between the two initials.

After all the excitement of gifts was over, they decided to play some classic party games. Sure, it was cringe and clique, but they found it fun regardless! Instead of pin the tail on the donkey, they had pin the bat on the Baseball Fury, which ended up with Ajax physically using her bat on said Baseball Fury. The bat isn’t even hers. She nicked it from the sports group after the night in the Bronx. She managed to sand off the sharpie, which identified it as Thurman's.

However, it wasn't long before the sun was setting and people's eyelids were become heavy. The Nathan's boxes lay empty on the table, wrapping paper was everywhere, and the faint hum of the tv in the background was still going. Cleon stood in the kitchen, having a fight with a box of matches before giving up and going upstairs to grab Cochise's lighter. After successfully lighting the candles, she carried the cake through, and the group gathered around Mercy, whose head lay in her hands, and she smiled in embarrassment. They all sung Happy Birthday with grins on their faces, and the candles were blown out at the end. Soon after, people began to retire to their rooms, wishing Mercy a final happy birthday and the rest a goodnight.

Mercy leaned back on the sofa, her head resting against Swan's chest as her eyes  drooped lower, her mind and body relaxing. She felt a strong pair of arms lift her up, carrying her to bed and tucking her in safely. Turning over to the side, she made eye contact with Swan.

"Do you want to know what I wished for?" She asked, her voice a low whisper, her heart filled with warmth, eyes glistening in the moonlight that seeped in through the curtains.

"If you tell me it's not going to come true." Swan teased in response, her lips curling slightly into a smile.

"Oh, trust me, it's coming true." Mercy assured, her eyebrows slightly raised as she nodded her head.

"Go on then, what did you wish for?"

"I wished for us to be together forever. Not just us two. The whole group. All of us. This little family that we have created."

----------

BACK IN BUSINESS BABY ‼️‼️

boy do I have some idea lined up ready 😈😈

still taking requests tho!!

[shiningnorthernlights]

going off wikipedia, in the warriors movie the gang reaches the park and ajax aggressively approaches a lone woman who turns out to be police. on the concept album, during the park at night, the girls are harassed by a policeman in disguise who keeps spitting textbook sexist rethoric at them (you'd look prettier if you'd smile) and ajax decides to take matters in her own hands and beats him up. said policeman is actually played by movie ajax and by attacking him, musical ajax, who's a woman, sets the record straight on a meta-narrative level: she calls out her male counterpart for his violence against a fellow woman, punishes him, avenges her- by doing this, she seeks absolution for her own self.

[threetrenchcoatsinatrenchcoat]

this is your daily reminder that Eisa Davis also wrote Warriors

even in the professional interviews i'm finding, everyone just wants to talk to LMM and talk about LMM, and he's pretty cool but we're not gonna forget a Black woman wrote half of this, yeah? we good? good

[thewhizzyhead]

how genderbending the warriors (2024) is done not for the sole sake of "bad-assery"

okay here we go feminist ramble time for our newest chick on the block: warriors. now i'll be honest, prior to listening to the album, when i first heard that the warriors main girls were originally dudes in the movie and the novel, i thought that the decision for the genderbending, in lmm's perspective, were from the following: 1.) girl power move in like a very basic meaning of the word "bad-ass" 2.) simply a twist on a cult movie about big gang bros loved by the film bros, and 3.) a way to have the schuyler sisters back together gjfkdfldf

but when i read more about warriors and its development and how lmm took inspiration from the gamergate controversies of 2014-2015 aka among the peak of gamerbro misogyny campaigns, that's when i realized that Oh Shit Is Serious - because adapting a story about a group being framed and targeted and harassed for something they are accused of doing without any substantial proof other than a man screaming "THE WARRIORS SHOT CYYYYRUUS" with 21st century misogyny campaigns in mind makes the theme of fighting back a lot more complicated and a lot more resonant, going beyond just marketing a cast you can call "badass"

take the hurricanes' quiet girls, for example. the hurricanes (concept album version) is the only gang that lets the warriors off the hook and with a stern warning: quiet girls don't make it home. here, the hurricanes berate the warriors for not saying shit or attempting to defend themselves from accusations they know well aren't true. THIS MESSAGE IN PARTICULAR is what stays and influences ajax, fox, and swan til the very end of their stories.

literally one song after this does ajax show how easily she resonated with the hurricanes' lesson by finally sticking with her gut and actually choosing to fight back against both the baseball furies AND against the sleazy undercover cop. the latter encounter is one of the instances that really solidifies the recontextualization of the story because in the OG movie, ajax (a dude) WAS the sleazy fuck up harassing a woman in a park - and now with the literal character switch, ajax goes from being just a rebellious gangbro dude bro into someone whose want to fight is warranted. such a want to fight is seen in fox seeing as fox is the first to comment on the quiet girls scene and that, in the concept album, she is the one that instigates the rumble against the police in union square - saying that she is sick of being afraid of them and their 'fuckin powder blue' colors (also notice how she is the only warrior that really does say fuck the cops i think that's cool BUT I'LL TALK ABOUT FOX MORE NEXT TIME)

to a less obvious extent, swan also gets the receiving end of this recurring theme - by the album's finale, the usually violence-averse caution-first interim leader becomes a lot fiercer in protecting her crew. but perhaps among what i consider to be the biggest recontextualized change in the feminist sense is MERCY and her motivations to join the warriors in the first place. according to the wiki, her attraction to swan and the warriors and um seeing the orphans as wimps is what led her to switch sides BUT IN THE CONCEPT ALBUM, mercy's motivation to become a warrior is deepened, rooted in admiration rather than attraction - wanting to be like those women who hold their head up high. and again, we see this in Sick of Runnin' when she takes part in the rumble, finding her bravery within their ranks as they fight back. here, mercy becomes less of a swan tagalong and more of someone that wants what the warriors have: pride.

of course now that i type this out i realize that warriors is not based solely on the feminist rhetoric as with their theme of hope amidst adversity, the story is more intersectional and rooted in community struggle and wanting for more than that. but nonetheless, i genuinely believe that the twt filmbros arguments on why the genders should not have been changed in the first place just for "woke" points is kinda like,,,very shortsighted because not only does the narrative of women narrowly escaping unwarranted accusations actually fucking fit, but the act of learning to fight back amidst all odds - be it that of disbelieving, predatory men or the power of oppressive pigs - stays resonant for women yesterday, today, and the days to come.

ultimately, warriors (2024) is not solely a tale of female badassery - rather, it is a tale of the need for such "female badassery" in the face of past and present realities, which is why it somehow fucking worked.

[q33rwitch]

Okay so I've seen people say that animatics should be in black and red to match the Warriors aesthetic (like the lyric videos), but I raise you this:

Each of the gangs have their own distinct colour palette and/or art style (kinda like the Spider Verse movies) to match their distinct music genre

[kyleetryme]

a light or somthin'

[thatgenderfluidmonstrosity]

REUNION SQUARE

[skulls-and-snakes]

Lauryn Hill as Cyrus is such a good choice because like having a hip-hop legend and pioneer as the leader that everyone else looks up to and tries to model themselves after, it's just so thematically sound

[rickyisntwatching]

When you woke up today you didn't think you could die, but you don't decide.

[desmon1995]

Hey Boppers, it looks like it's about that time

[a-is-for-arson]

Listening to Warriors reminds me how strongly I support women's wrongs

[musicallypan]

I think I have a favorite character. Don't know who tho

[sopaprimordialy]

HOLY SHIT.

[yasqueenoftheharpies]