#WINGS era will forever be legendary

[etymology-of-the-emblem]

Aurora Shield / アウロラの盾, Lampos Shield / ランポスの盾, Kadmos Shield / カドモスの盾

The Aurora Shield (JP: アウロラの盾; rōmaji: aurora no tate) is a shield that nullifies effective damage against fliers. In Roman mythology, Aurora is the goddess of dawn and mother of the winds. Like the Greek Eos, whom Aurora was adapted from, she traveled across the sky to bring the light of dawn. Also like her cultural progenitor, she was known for her romances with mortal men. Most famous is the bond she shared with Tithonus, a prince of Troy. They loved each other so that Aurora asked Jupiter to bless Tithonus with immortality. He did so, but he didn't give the assumed eternal youth. So Tithonus would live forever, but became a living husk. Eventually, Aurora decided it would be for the best to turn him into a cicada. Between Aurora's affiliation with the sky, the wind, and her pact for immortality, her name was given to a shield from flying effectiveness. Also some depictions of her and Eos feature wings on her back. That also helps.

The Lampos Shield (ランポスの盾; rōmaji: ranposu no tate) is a shield that nullifies effective damage against cavalry. In Ancient Greek, Λάμπος or Lampos meant "shine." It turns out that it was quite the popular name for horses, likely because one of the horses to pull Eos's chariot across the sky was called Lampos. Another horse named Lampos (or in some versions, Lampon), is one of the mares of Diomedes, man-eating horses owned by the king of Thrace. One of the Twelve Labors of Heracles was to steal this band of steeds. The legendary hero did a bit extra: he fed Diomedes to his own horses! Legend is that descended from the mares of Diomedes is Bucephalus, the stallion of the historical figure Alexander the Great.

The Kadmos Shield (JP: カドモスの盾; rōmaji: kadomosu no tate) is a shield that nullifies effective damage against heavy armor. According to legends, the hero Cadmus (also written Kadmos) was the founding king of the Greek city of Thebes—one of the oldest cities in the world to still be inhabited. But before wearing a crown, Cadmus was a slayer of beasts and dragons before the time of Heracles. His time as a vagrant ended with a visit to the Oracle of Delphi, who instructed him to follow a cow; where she laid from exhaustion would be where he was to erect his city. It was then that his last major battle occurred, as a dragon resided in the area. The beast's fangs, as commanded by Athena, Cadmus planted into the ground. From them came heavily armed men that fought until five remained. With those five men, Cadmus built the citadel of Thebes, Cadmea. With the Advanced heavy armor class in Three Houses being named after a defensive structure, the story of Cadmus seems an appropriate fit for the anti-armor-slaying shield. Plus, according to Hyginus, it was Cadmus who was the first to discover bronze. Just don't question how this proposed timeline does not have Cadmus living during Greece's Bronze Era.

This was a segment from a larger document reviewing the name of most every weapon and item in Three Houses and Three Hopes. Click Here to read it in full.

[rabbitechoes]

wanted to post more over here and had the idea to do lil reviews for albums from years past. i'm gonna try to post a review for this series, as the name suggests, every thursday!! this week we're taking a look at a defining album in a legendary pop star's career and perhaps the best disco album of all time: Off the Wall by Michael Jackson!!! also feel free to follow me on rate your music and twitter <3

Off the Wall - Michael Jackson

◇ release year: 1979 ◇ genres: disco, funk, pop soul

Although his career would start a decade prior, Off the Wall feels like the true beginning of Michael Jackson. Gone were the days of singing about ABCs or pet rats, Jackson was an adult now and he was ready to take the world by storm. At least that’s how Off the Wall sounds. His last solo album for Motown, 1975’s Forever, Michael, was a commercial letdown and The Jackson 5’s creative frustrations with the label led to most of the family leaving for Epic that same year. In the years leading up to Off the Wall, Michael would continue to work with his family, now going by The Jacksons, but everything changed when Michael met Quincy Jones.

This would prove to be a collaboration for the ages. Over the next decade, Jones would go on to produce Jackson’s best albums and some of the most defining of the era. First among them is Off the Wall. It was one of the best disco albums of all time and the album that launched Michael Jackson into superstardom.

Michael Jackson and Quincy Jones, 1979

“Don’t Stop ‘Til You Get Enough” is one of the greatest album openers of all time and, like many of the songs here, is a radio staple to this day. Jackson’s soft, spoken-word intro leading into the “WOO!” is one of the most iconic moments in music history. From there, you’re treated to one of the most infectious disco tracks of all time. Jackson and the other musicians here keep the pace perfectly. Never a dull moment. I can’t imagine what hearing this for the first time in 1979 must’ve been like. Jackson also has sole-writing credits for this song and it would be his first solo single to have that distinction. Lyrically the song is incredibly simple, but it showed his masterful ear for incredibly memorable hooks and choruses. He flexes that ability throughout the first half of the album.

Somehow, though, Jackson tops himself with the next song and the next big hit, “Rock With You.” This honestly might be my favorite song of his. It’s just pure pop perfection, one of the smoothest songs ever recorded. It’s everything I want from a pop song. A danceable instrumental, a chorus that gets stuck in your head for days on end, and that desire to sing along to it at the top of your lungs that never goes away despite hearing it countless times. That fade-out at the end almost teases you to press play just one more time or bring the needle back to the start. Jackson did not write this one, but he would on the next track “Workin’ Day and Night.” This song brings back that funky groove from the opener and it’s also great. It has one of Jackson’s most fiery vocal performances. “Get On the Floor” has one of the most killer basslines I’ve ever heard courtesy of Louis Johnson. I love the way Michael sings “Then why don’t you just dance across the floor?” in the pre-chorus. I have no idea why this was a B-side and not a standalone single.

The title track opens the second side of the record and this is one of the cleanest cuts here. It was written by Rod Temperton who also wrote “Rock With You” and that makes total sense with just how suave it is. The only weak moments on the album come with the next two tracks. Michael’s version of the Paul McCartney & Wings track “Girlfriend” is just alright, nothing stellar. For what it’s worth, I prefer Michael’s version over Paul’s original. The arrangements on the version here breathe some much-needed life into it. I just think it’s kind of a boring moment in McCartney’s songbook. The next track “She’s Out of My Life” just doesn’t really fit into the album, but it isn’t bad either. It was originally written by Tom Bahler for Frank Sinatra and you can hear it. It does show off Michael’s vocal range, but he would go on to make better ballads on future albums.

My favorite song on the second side is “I Can’t Help It” which Stevie Wonder has credits for as both a songwriter and rhythm section arranger. You can tell right away with the arrangement that Wonder’s fingerprints are on this one. It’s another low-key song on the album, basically smooth soul. I can’t help but love it though, that chorus just hits. “It’s the Falling in Love” is a really sweet R&B song with a fun arrangement. The second half of the album kind of layered the disco groove underneath other sounds which makes it a lot less energetic than the first half, but there are still some very solid songs here. It’s only interesting that Michael has no songwriting credits across this whole side which could be the reason for that shift.

Luckily, the closing track here is one of the most wild, danceable songs on the whole record. The aptly named “Burn This Disco Out” opens with a wave of horns washing over you before shifting into some classic disco instrumentation. The backing vocals going “groove all night!” gets me every time. It goes without saying at this point, but Michael’s vocals here are fantastic and fit the vibe perfectly. Really great way to close out the record.

Michael Jackson on tour with The Jacksons, 1979

Michael Jackson would obviously go on to make bigger albums in the coming decade, but Off the Wall resonates with me more than any of his other albums. There’s such a palpable energy to it. Beyond the disco grooves, it’s the sound of a young artist ready to reach that next level. Quincy Jones does one of the best production jobs of all time here as well, the album still sounds great to this day. Off the Wall is just the first entry in a run of era-defining records. ━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━ thanks for reading <3

[lokisasylum]

BTS (방탄소년단) - Intro: Boy Meets Evil + Lie (MAMA ver.)

Finally an actual CLEAN version that includes RM’s narrating.

[verobatto]

Destiel Chronicles

Vol. CXXI

It was a love story from the very beginning.

Pain and Sadness

(15x01/15x02)

Hi! We reached the las season from Supernatural!

This is a summary of my metas from season 15, with some new additions after the end of the show.

You can find my metas from these two episode here: X, X , X, X, X , X, and X.

They Keep Fighting

We started season 15 with Destiel driving us to their big fight.

The bickering the sarcasm, is all over between Dean and Castiel.

Talking about frames and visual narrative, also symbolism in the dialogues, we have Sam and Dean in the same page about taking decisions, and Castiel in disagreement. This was deliberately written to show us how Dean and Castiel are walking away from each other.

This scene...

Gifset credit @agusvedder

It shows the mood. It also drives our attention to Castiel's intentions to separate humans from angels, he did it too when he explained Jack that Dean and Sam will die someday. And it will be linked to the very end of the show, in Wich Castiel and Jack are in another high level by rebuilding the Universe and Dean and Sam remain in Heaven.

Another scene was this one:

Gif set credit @wnterfalcon

Even when Dean is so mad At Castiel (in fact, he's mad with himself and he just put all that shit over the man he loves... Things that people used to do) even when he is mad at him, he can't stop checking on him. Because he knows Jack's death hit him strongly, and also, seeing his son being possessed by a filthy demon, it's breaking his heart. But Dean cuts his attempt of talking himself. And of course, Belphegor will mock Castiel about it.

About Belphegor, the Demon of the Divorce

At first I thought he was behaving sarcastically, as a very weird matchmaker between Castiel and Dean, but this was because he represents divorce.

He was enjoying Dean and Castiel fighting like a couple in a crisis for sure. He even will mock about Dean being handsome (indirectly Castiel being handsome). Two beautiful men in love.

Belphegor: Okay. Cool. So, people are, like, crazy good-looking now, eh?

Dean: What?

This observation is linked to season 13: "They're equally beautiful". Belpjegor is trying to mock Castiel and Dean's beauty.

Belphegor: I mean, the last time I was on Earth, I mean, I was human. Ah, it was a while ago. I mean, but, you know, we were all worshipping this giant rock that looked like a huge penis, and... Anyway, folks back then, you know? Had a lot of humps. I mean, a lot. Look at 'em now. I mean, look at you. I mean, you're, uh, you know, gorgeous.

Dean: What? Okay. When are you gonna get out of that body?

The mention of a phallic statue, and people worshipping it, is symbolically talking about Dean and Castiel being in love, passionately in love, with each other. The desire of being together. And then again, he turns to Dean's beauty. All of these comments made Dean very uncomfortable.

Another things about Belphegor enjoying the Destiel Quarrel...

First of all, let's pay attention to the spell and it's ingredients:

This spell is related to season 8 spell to close Heaven! And it's not the only reference to season 8.

And the explanation of why that heart belonged to Dean:

This has to do with the break up in episode 15x07 but also with Castiel dying in episode 15x18.

Closing this episode I want to mention two more things:

Nobody understood Castiel's silent pain, not even Dean. Castiel had to suffer seeing a demon possessing his son but also, he will have to see his body burn.

Another important reference to season 8 besides the spell was the Mausoleum with Carver's name on it.

It was a clear call back to Carver's era, to the crypt scene THE I LOVE THAT NEVER WAS because we will have ANOTHER NOT SAID ILY in this season from Dean.

And these so many call backs to season 8 not just in this season but the reminder of PURITY in season 14 with Michael are linked to the incoming Purgatory 2.0 and more Destiel.

We Are Real

Episode two, we had one couple as a Destiel mirror at the beginning, but it ended up in tragedy, just like our Destiel love story will en in 15x18.

We also had Ketch and Rowena, and Ketch dressed in pink (happiness) showing us that love can be real in wartime.

Another important scene after watching how Dean and Castiel kept working in separated teams ,was the one Castiel tried to give Dean his faith back.

CASTIEL: Ball, right. I didn't tell you about Jack, and then after what happened with your mother...

DEAN: Don't.

CASTIEL: You're angry.

DEAN: Yes, I am angry. At everything. All of it.

CASTIEL: All of it?

DEAN: This mess... all the messes. It turns out that we're just hamsters running in a wheel our whole lives. What do we have to show for it, huh? Tell me you don't feel conned. God's been lying to you, Cas, forever. You bought into the biggest scam in history.

Dean is angry for everything, but mostly, because he feels all his life has been a lie. Something written for Chuck. So he's afraid things he thought were real, are not. Like his love for Castiel. So he needs to know if Castiel is angry too. Aren't you angry that what we feel for each other is not real?

CASTIEL: You don't think I'm angry? After what Chuck did? After what he took from me? He killed Jack. But that doesn't mean it was all a lie.

DEAN: Really?

Dean needs to believe again. If not all was a lie, it could mean...?

CASTIEL: Chuck is all-knowing. He knew the truth, he... he just kept it to himself.

DEAN: Well, now that his cover's blown, everything that we've done is for what? Nothing?

Dean pushes again all his fears. He needs an answer that satisfy him.

CASTIEL: Even if we didn't know that all of the challenges that we face were born of Chuck's machinations, how would we describe it all? We'd call it "life". Because that's precisely what life is. It's an obstacle course, and maybe Chuck designed the obstacles, but we ran our own race. We made our own moves. And mostly, we did well with that.

DEAN: Did we? I'll tell you what we do know. Nothing about our lives is real. Everything that we've lost, everything that we are is because of Chuck. So maybe you can stick your head back in the sand, maybe you can pretend that we actually had a choice. I can't.

And because Dean keeps pushing, Castiel gives him the answer he needs, the answer about them, TFW, bus mostly, about Dean and Castiel:

CASTIEL: Dean. You asked, "What about all of this is real?" We are.

If this is not romantic, then what else can be?

To Conclude:

The beginning of season 15 started by deepening the incoming Destiel big fight.

All is unhoped, pain and Sadness. Despair.

But those three words said by Castiel "We are Real" gives the hopes we need.

Hope you liked this summary, see you in the next one!

Tagging @magnificent-winged-beast @emblue-sparks @weird-dorky-little-d @michyribeiro @whyjm @legendary-destiel @a-bit-of-influence @thatwitchydestielfan @misha-moose-dean-burger-lover @lykanyouko @evvvissticante @savannadarkbaby @dea-stiel @poorreputation @bre95611 @thewolfathedoor @charlottemanchmal @neii3n @deathswaywardson @followyourenergy @dean-is-bi-till-i-die @hekatelilith-blog @avidbkwrm @anarchiana @dickpuncher365 @vampyrosa @authorsararayne @mybonsai1976 @love-neve-dies @dustythewind @wayward-winchester67 @angelwithashotgunandtrenchcoat @trashblackrainbow @deeutdutdutdoh @destiel-shipper-11 @larrem88 @charmedbycastiel @ran-savant @little-crazy-misha-minion @samoosetheshipper

@shadows-and-padlocked-hearts @mishtho @dancingtuesdaymorning @nerditoutwithbooks @mikennacac73 @justmeand-myinsight @idontwantpeopletoknowmyname @teddybeardoctor @pepevons @helevetica @dizzypinwheel @horsez2002 @qanelyytha

@destielle @spnsmile @shippsblog @robot-feels @superlock-in-the-tardis @superduckbatrebel @belacoded @madronasky @anon-non2 @cea1996 @lisafu02 @asphodelesauvage @deancasgirl777

If you want to be added or removed from this list just let me know.

Buenos Aires, July 11 2021 12:58 PM

[farore-or-less]

Forgotten Instincts - Prologue: Reawakening

Author: farore-or-less | tumblr | ao3 | fanfiction.net Rating: M Pairing: Zelink Notes/Summary: Having been torn from her sealing power, Zelda travels with Link as a companion to conquer the Beasts, but she must hide her identity because his memory is gone & mentality hanging by a thread. She has to live under an alias until his memory of her returns, even if that means he's falling in love with the woman she's pretending to be. (Angst / Smut / Romance / Comical / Slow Burn) Small Content Warning: Features violence, swearing, mental health & suffering, masturbation, and eventually explicit sexual content.

His breathing is soft and steady, like the soothing rhythm of waves.

In a dark unknown room, he is alone, lost and forgotten to this world, existing merely as remnants of a fable, now. He has no thoughts or worries, no fears or dreams, only the peaceful darkness that surrounds him. He feels nothing, he thinks of nothing —is completely motionless except for his slow breath and sated heartbeat. It's not terrifying or lonely to exist out of place and out of time because it's all he's ever known.

In this melodic submersion that is his sanctuary, a distant voice creeps through the silence and calls out to him.

...Link. 

......Link.

He hears it in the faintest corners of his mind. The voice is muffled and choppy, like swimming under water, and the noises from above are distorted and eerily different. He never stirs from his slumber but the smallest part of his attention is now alert, just incase the voice calls back to him again —and it does. It whispers; closer and more distinct this time.

…Wake up Link.

Everything before had existed in a vacuum —absent of time. Now, he feels like the world around him is in motion, racing towards the present, trying to catch up with that pleading, feminine sound. He feels it nudging him from his enchanted slumber and his next inhale becomes heavier and more pronounced with the subtleness of new life entering his body.

The weight of consciousness becomes its heavy burden once again, something that hadn't plagued him for over a lifetime.

Then a new voice, his own voice, speaks out to him —a welcoming reality that had been dormant for so long. What’s going on? The question enters his thoughts briefly, and the voice seems to answer in return.

…Open your eyes.

In this reawakening, the softest golden light appears. Ever so distant, yet so inviting. Should he head towards it or should he return to his deep, empty subconscious? He felt at ease there —his body and soul laid to rest where the burdens of life couldn't haunt him— but did he really want that? Should he dare let his curiosity take over just to see what lies beyond this shadowed void?

Without making his own decision on the matter, the light begins to grow until it becomes a blinding white nothingness all around him, and then the voice repeats the command.

Open your eyes…

The voice is gentler this time, the anxious undertone gone from its tone. It's no longer a plea but merely coaxing him out of his dream state. 

As his mind journeys towards the blinding white light, his eyes begin to open. Were they shut this whole time? With his physical senses tingling, he becomes aware of the environment around him and it's…moving. The strange substance that surrounds his body begins to drain away, making it feel like he’s suspended in a small, personal ocean and the waves have pushed his body onto shore. 

Wake up Link.

His eyes flutter open.

Slowly, a blur of hazy blue hues begin to align with their proper shapes. When his eyes finally focus, he realizes he’s gazing at a centerpiece above him. It's artistically designed and displays glowing blue dots connected with lines in a pattern that could possibly be constellations, and he finds it unidentifiable, unrecognizable, but enchanting either way.

As the last of the liquid substance drains away, his eyes begin to move slowly around the room. It's the first movements he’s made in a century, but he doesn't know that yet. He notices the wash basin he’s in, lined with textured swirls and a glowing blue essence that he doesn’t quite understand. Is this some sort of technology?

Before he gives in to the curiosity within him, Link takes one more moment in the calm silence to inhale as long as he possibly can. His breath feels strange and new, like he’s either been holding it for ages or maybe it’s the first he’s ever taken, he’s not really sure, but then suddenly he remembers the voice he heard —now the first memory his mind has tucked away. Did he imagine it? No… that’s not possible. He couldn’t have imagined it because he had never heard that voice before.

So where was it coming from? 

He rises and begins walking towards the only other structure in the room and takes the Sheikah slate from the pedestal as a door opens on the wall before him, beckoning him into the wild. 

    » . «

This is one of his favorite perches in all of Hyrule. 

To the west the traveling bard can see the rust colored mesa mountains of Gerudo Desert, where mysteries seem to begin and never end. He gazes towards his homeland of the north and spots the snow covered peak of Hebra, protruding high above the mountain range. It's odd, unique crescent wound displayed like a proud scar for all of Hyrule to witness, although its origin story is now lost to memory —just like most things in this world. He can see the dark malevolent clouds forever lingering above Death Mountain as the lava flows dangerously down to where the contrasting humble Goron folks reside. This perch where the flighty musician stands displays one of the best views of the slumbering Hyrule Castle, forever a charred scab at the center of this world. A blackened heart barely breathing.

No, Hyrule is not without its scars and wounds, cuts and burns, it seems.

And of course, over his right shoulder, he can view the crumbled ruins of the Temple. It must have been a site to behold during its glory days, though now it is just another memory almost forgotten. Almost. 

Although the clerestory and western tower still remain, it displays a great wound along its side, enervated but not destroyed completely. He stares at the structure, grateful for his Rito wings which allow him to see such a legendary building hidden atop this vacant high ground. How long has this Temple held together? How many eras of time has it seen come and pass, and how many more will it bear witness to? 

The Temple is like a song, he thinks. It changes and resurrects, is forgotten until it's discovered again. Its story is passed down as legend, speaking perhaps more tales than truths, adapting throughout time just to survive. Just like the way a song carries throughout a generation, it morphs and rearranges, becomes relevant to the present after an era of being lost. It will be revived, retold, will share its wisdom when it's found once again. 

He carries these songs within him and perhaps he's the only one to do so now. When he had taken his apprenticeship, he knew one day the songs must be retold —either by him or his successor, whomever that will be. Perhaps one of his daughters will appreciate these songs like he does. He's always cherished the stories told from old, passed down through the line of poets and singers, dancers and performers.

Artists, he thinks. Artists pass down history more so than books in Hyrule. Books can be burned, destroyed, but songs of legend, they never seem to die. Not completely.

The bard comes here when he knows he won't be interrupted. Not by the rowdiness of stables or the crashing ocean waves, vagabonds or wanderers intrigued by his unique musical instrument and Rito voice. His race is known for being talented warriors, skilled in the combat of hunting and archery, albeit his path has always been different, but just as significant.

Nay, he seeks the Great Plateau because he knows no one will disturb him; not even the hooded stranger who is the only occupant atop this Plateau. He observes him sometimes, chopping wood by his cabin, wandering the Forest of Spirits or resting in his little alcove like he is now —always seeming to be in several places at once.

Perhaps he is a memory, just like one of my songs, he thinks.

Before he begins reciting his teacher's lessons, he likes to stand for a moment in silence; to mourn for the land and all its wounds, its misfortunes and destruction. It has seen its share of hardships come and go as it is will again and again —an endless cycle of destruction, peace, restoration, and war. He stands in silence to give admiration to where it need given, for this world, no matter how many scars it bares, is still beautiful, still strong, still breathing.

When he's ready, the bard takes a cycle of breath, ruffles his feathers, and rolls his broad shoulders. He flexes his feathered fingers against his instrument —the weight of it feeling light and airy much like the melodic notes it performs. He closes his eyes and hears the melodic music of nature around him, feels the wind through his feathers the way a song can breeze through a soul.

"What song shall I perform for you today, Hyrule?" He asks and it doesn’t answer. "How ‘bout an ancient song today, eh?"

The finches and squirrels scatter behind him.

He thinks it could have been a coincidence, but then again, Kass knows there is no such thing. He feels the vibration beneath his talons, hears the rumble of the cave behind him, creaking and moaning, whirling and swirling. The sounds of lost technology no longer dormant, and nature giving in to change. 

Looking over his feathered shoulder, Kass opens his eyes and smiles towards the shrine. Ahh, a new ballad has begun.

He rises from the cliff and soars away in a flurry of colors before the Sleeping Knight ever knew he was there. 

    » . «

Hylia, you know we do not meddle in the affairs of man. This is asking too much.

The four stand between time and space, shrouded in the purple embers of twilight. Here, they each stand atop a pillar of cobblestone suspended in another realm where no soul but deities have ever stepped. This meeting has been taking place out of time because the four that stand here use it as a tool —chiseling and forging paths of story and legend, creating lines and webs that are infinite and benevolent.

But now, if Hylia did not seek aid of her creators, her own path may result in an ending at all timelines. 

You created me. You created this world. It is your responsibility to see it endure, Hylia says.

No. We created you for that very purpose, o ne of the Three Sisters speak.

I cannot be in two places at once, trapped inside a mortal body. This is my only option. Hyrule’s only option.

Why do you not go in her stead? Surely he will be better guided in your care. Forever curious, the Goddess haloed in blue ponders. 

She cannot hold the sealing power alone. Ganon would be released to my world before the Hero’s first breath.

You are one of divinity, Hylia. You cannot hold the Seal if you are not encased in mortality, states the Goddess haloed in red.

Discussion and asking questions are a good sign, Hylia notes. They are finally coming around.

You will recall, I have used that very same power at the beginning of this world against Demise himself. I was not mortal then. If you grant me your blessing, I promise all of Hyrule will be saved.

Silence falls. They're considering her request.

Hylia, are you willing to sacrifice yourself for this land that we have made? The green haloed Goddess asks.

Haven’t I already proven that?

Yes, you have —but this. You have never asked of this before, the Goddess of power speaks.

You would break the cycle, you would make it linear. You would make it end, the Goddess of courage adds.

Even I do not know if you can be sewn back together, the Goddess of wisdom concludes.

Then let us try because I have weighed the options and I have no other.

Silence blankets over the four Goddesses until finally, she can feel her creators giving in.

The Princess will not be the same without you. Her soul will be incomplete. If you are sure this is what must be done, then my Sisters and I will fill her void of where you once were whole, Nayru states.

What about the Hero?

His spirit is unbreakable indeed, but he is not worthy of our aid, Farore speaks.

We can do nothing for him now. He is too weak to adorn even a breath of our might, Din adds.

It is understood, Hylia replies.

Then you have our blessing, but remember, this will change Hyrule’s future. They speak in unison, in warning and in prayer.

Time is always rewritten for my world. Hylia bows to her creators and in an instant, they are gone. 

[incorrectbatfam]

For the vampier au: how do they each get turned?

The year is 1000 BCE. Ra’s and Talia Al Ghul rule the Persian empires as two of the first vampires in existence, existing largely in secret. They make it their goal to turn as many people over to their side as possible, whether by battle or biting. Biologically, Damian was born a vampire and they utilize some arcane magic to make him appear as a child forever, because even back then people knew that children were far better at getting their way than adults. Honed as a weapon for literally millenia, Damian Al Ghul practically becomes a cryptid in his own right. Villagers shared stories of people who saw the child and never being the same—or worse, never returning. The Al Ghuls were responsible for the most well-known vampires in history, including the famous Count Dracula.

The year is 800 BCE. At 200 years old, Damian was still considered very young for a vampire. He is sent on a mission to turn to their side a young lady who was practically viewed as a goddess by other women, and who aspired to become one of the greatest poets of all time. Talia dropped Damian off on the island of Lesbos. Faster than lightning, the child warrior swooped down and bit the legendary Sappho. Now an immortal, Sappho dedicated her eternity of free time to her passion for writing, where she composed her famous Ode To Aphrodite. Eventually she got bored of Greece, so she changed her appearance and set off exploring the greater Asian continent.

The year is 1206. Genghis Khan had conquered much of the world. Under the Mongol empire, it was as common for women to serve in army as men. One of Khan’s most distinguished fighters came from the Manchuria region. She was a mercenary for the army, a lone wolf. And though she found thrill in battle, she was lonely. And, as fate may have it, so was Sappho. They met in a village where the army was stationed and forged a tight-knit partnership. They laughed together, they fought together. And the thought of being separated was unimaginable. So when Sappho revealed herself to be a vampire, the Mongol warrior jumped at the chance to become one too. And so she was transformed with consent, and together they roamed the world in search for adventure.

The year is 1775. The two girls had heard of this supposed New World and the colonies Britain established. They wanted to see it for themselves. Changing their names and appearances to something more Anglican, Stephanie Brown and Cassandra Cain boarded a ship set for what would become modern-day New Jersey. Immediately they found a stark lack of immortals there and they didn’t want to be the only ones, so they set off on a biting spree, turning men, women, children, and even a few farm animals (two dogs, a cat, a cow, and a turkey) without care. One of these victims was an elderly English nobleman named Alfred Pennyworth. Cassandra took the animals under her wing, while Stephanie felt bad for Alfred because he seemed to have nobody around. So the girls “adopted” Alfred as their grandfather so he wouldn’t be lonely either. 

The year is 1871. Haly’s Circus was the most popular traveling show during Europe’s Industrial Age. Disguised as mother and child laborers working behind the scenes, Damian and Talia were on the lookout for new potential soldiers. And who would make a more perfect killer than the swift, agile Flying Graysons? Talia tried persuading John and Mary nicely, using Damian’s adorable boyish face, and they did give in. At least, at first. But within a few months of John, Mary, and Richard being turned, the parents changed their mind. They wanted nothing to do with Ra’s Al Ghul’s agenda and threatened to expose the vampires to the world. Talia had no choice but to get rid of them. She paid a lower-level mortal criminal to rig the ropes and douse the trapezes in holy water, which would lead to the downfall of John and Mary. The press reported it as a tragic accident. Alfred, who was at the circus during his holiday when it happened, couldn’t help but notice the burn marks on their hands. He chalked it up to coincidence or a prior unrelated injury in the end

The year is 1920. All that the grieving Richard Grayson wanted was to get away from the ghost of his past. He traveled to America, settling in the subpar city of Gotham, New Jersey. As much as he wanted to drink his troubles away, it was just his luck that he arrived at the beginning of Prohibition. His apartment was near a speakeasy, though, so he frequented that. The underground bar itself was owned by mob boss Jason Todd, who was notorious for brandishing guns and picking drunken fights—and winning all of them. But his streak would end when he had one too many glasses of moonshine and challenged an unwilling Richard Grayson to a fistfight. “What, you gonna back out, ya little dick?” Jason taunted. The former Flying Grayson himself wasn’t in the most sober state ever, so after some convincing and people placing betting money on the table, they took up the challenge. It was the roughest fight that bar had ever seen, and in a final act of self-defense, Richard bit Jason. (Granted, it wasn’t in the neck, but a bite was a bite). Jason becoming vampire wasn’t the worst consequence. No, it the older one being stuck with a terrible nickname: Dick.

The year was 1965. One of Ra’s fortune tellers predicted an influx of young soldiers arriving in Vietnam before war was even declared, and Ra’s sent his grandson to a rural village in the country undercover to find more recruits as the League of Assassins’ influence was diminishing. The environment of thick, bushy jungles worked in Damian’s favor as he was able to hide and strike on French and U.S. soldiers. He even managed to turn all but two members of a New Jersey infantry. Later on, the government reported one of the drafted soldiers, Duke Thomas, as missing, but in reality the young man went into hiding with two other vampire soldiers on his squad. And it was a reasonable move—mass media was on the rise and the last thing anyone needed was vampires being exposed as real to the public. Not only that, but Duke displayed abilities that the other two didn’t have, likely attributed to the combined effects of vampire magic and chemical agents like Napalm used at the time, and neither General Grayson nor Lieutenant Todd knew what to make of it.

The year was 1999. A teenage Tim Drake was out on a late-night grocery run to get more supplies, because 2000 was in just a few months and everyone was preparing for the supposed end of the world. He made the grave mistake of taking a shortcut through Crime Alley in an effort to get home on time, and was bitten in the leg by a “homeless” kid who seemed to appear out of nowhere before scurrying off. He didn’t experience anything strange for the next few years. He got plenty of sunburns, but he burned easily even before the incident. He kept his bedroom dark and stayed awake all night, but so did a lot of teenagers during that grunge/post-punk era. Silver felt weird, which he brushed off as an allergy. He avoided churches but that was because religion was never his thing. He craved red meat and avoided garlic, but hey, people had their likes and dislikes. It wasn’t until about five years later, when Tim realized he hadn’t aged a day, that he considered doing some research. 

The year was 2019. Bruce Wayne was at one of his famous Wayne Enterprises gala on New Year’s when he met a stunningly beautiful woman named Talia. She slipped a little something into his drink when he wasn’t looking. Bruce couldn’t remember what happened after that, only waking up with a killer hangover and strange hickey on his neck. He had been Batman for a while now, and when he started experiencing unexplainable things he sought the help of the magician Zatanna, who found out that somebody turned him into a vampire. If he wasn’t brooding before, he definitely was now, and it didn’t help that the butler was a smartass. Alfred revealed to Bruce that he had been a vampire the whole time, looking over the Wayne family since Thomas’s father’s father, because the wealthy Waynes made easy targets for the supernatural. In an attempt to make Bruce feel less alone, Alfred invited Stephanie and Cassandra over for dinner (“Alfred, great to see you again! It’s been, like, a hundred years!”). It was over dinner that Bruce asked questions and the older vampires told their stories, and Alfred offhandedly mentioned something about Haly’s Circus that caught Bruce’s attention. Fresh burn marks from touching a trapeze? Something didn’t seem right. Though the case was over a century old, Bruce did some searching on the Batcomputer and found too many discrepancies in the Flying Grayson case for it to be just a regular accident. With Stephanie and Cassandra’s help, Bruce traced the parents’ deaths back to the League of Assassins. But one new questioned surfaced after all this: what happened to Richard? That question would be answered a few weeks later when Bruce dug up another cold case: a file about an MIA Vietnam War soldier from Gotham, Duke Thomas. He tracked down Duke’s whereabouts, and it turned out he was hiding from the League of Assassins with two other missing people from history: the circus performer Richard Grayson and mobster Jason Todd. Bruce offered him the best damn thing in their eyes: sanctuary. He took all three of them under his bat wing and they joined his immortal crusade against Gotham crime. Some time later, Talia introduced Damian to Bruce under the guise that Damian was Bruce’s son, citing the night she met Bruce at the party. Damian only agreed to Talia’s infiltration plan because he was sick of how Ra’s treated him, like an object rather than a being. So although the paternity test came out negative, Bruce still insisted that Damian was his son and kept him. As for Tim Drake? His story is pretty much the same: deducing Batman and Nightwing’s identities and demanding to join them—classic Timmers move

[omegaplus]

# 3,724

Yoko Shimomura + Isao Abe + Syun Nishigaki: Street Fighter II: The Definitive Soundtrack (2015)

I first read about Street Fighter II in an early issue of Electronic Gaming Monthly. As all of us know, the original didn’t make much of an impact. It was there, but no one cared. At the time, Capcom’s fanfare was in the home market with franchises such as Mega Man, Strider, Legendary Wings, Bionic Commando, the 194X series, and the soul-destroying Ghosts N’ Goblins. What did they have in the arcade market at the time? Magic Sword, Forgotten Worlds, Air Wing Carrier, and Final Fight. I didn’t realize how crazy people went for Street Fighter II until I saw it for the first time at the local mall’s arcade, one which my pop used to take me every Sunday to. I get there (on a Saturday) and I see six kids standing around the cabinet. They were all getting into it. Finally, it was my very first shot at Street Fighter. My opponent was Ricardo, a gay guy who was close friends with my family’s babysitter’s daughter. I chose Chun-Li. He chose Blanka. “Brazil!” the machine exclaimed. It’s time for a showdown.

Well, that was over quickly. Ricardo won two rounds to zero. He got miffed because I stole his character on him. If it was, would’ve he had his ass handed to him by someone else? No matter. Time to play another machine and choose one of the many Neo Geo MVS mutli-cart systems loaded with many of its fighter knock-offs. World Heroes, Sengoku, and Burning Fight? Here’s Super Eightman instead.

Summer came and Capcom’s business was booming. Every stationary, ice cream parlor, laundromat and the pizzeria had machines. Of course, the pizzeria. Which ones didn’t? You’d have at least three to eight of the worst kids from every block in one of the worst neighborhoods on Long Island waiting their turn. Second Av. down the road from the middle school was three years of my life, dodging these odd but itchy numbers asking for quarters on every turn, avoiding the middle-school big-shot who was friends with 98% of the school while you were one of the unlucky few who became his daily bullseye for harassment. That bigshot backed it up by being real good at this game, beating almost everyone in his path and at once scoring 1,034,000 points to take the high score.

But life goes on and people fuck off and scatter as the years go by. I haven’t seen him since forever. Last I heard of him, he was in the papers crying hard over a close friend who died. But that was ten years ago. No social media but he lives east from what was an era long gone. Mortal Kombat, Killer Instinct, and Capcom’s other franchise Darkstalkers tried to punch out Street Fighters profits, yet here we are and we have the n’thteenth version of Street Fighter V, just like when II had Hyper Fighting, Rainbow Edition, and various bootlegs. What also hasn’t changed? After so many years, the pizzeria is still there and so is the original marquee; faded beyond recognition. It’s the only business in that strip mall that still exists. And the former neighborhood is still a horrible place to live. It’s never outgrown its violence or the page-five news.

The original soundtrack was released ahead of its 25th anniversary. Triple-disc, digital, and vinyl pressings were released. Some of those vinyl pressings come in double translucent blue and double translucent orange vinyl equaling four platters total.

[yana125]

10 fandoms, 10 characters, 10 tags

Thanks @azorell for tagging me! :D

1. Supernatural – Dean. I’m not writing an essay again X’D

2. Bleach – Rukia. The first fictional character I ever related to (not the most, but as I said, I’m not writing an essay again). She was my… big sister figure as a teen. I love her and she’s beautiful and Kubo did dirty to you in the last few chapters, honey, you deserved better.

3. Star Wars – Ahsoka. She’s just the best. I remember watching the Clone Wars movie and thinking how annoying she was, but then the writing and the character development was so good, she quickly became my favourite character. What did we do to deserve you, Dave Filoni? You single handedly saved the prequel era and the whole franchise. (Also Rex, but one fandom-one character so…)

4. Stargate – Sam. My parents are big sci-fi fans, so Stargate was one of the first sci-fi series I watched as a kid (alongside Sliders), and I loved it the most. Sam was one of the first role models I ever had, because maybe she was the only female member of the SG1, but she was never less than them. She really was just one of the main characters who happened to be a female. In an interview Amanda Tapping said that the writers tried to make Sam more feminine, but Amanda told them to write her as they wrote any other character, she would add the femininity. She’s a soldier and a scientist and a badass who blew up a sun, she has no time for misogynistic bullshit X’D

5. Marvel -> Avengers Academy – Janet Van Dyne. I could’ve chosen MCU – Tony, but AvAc is (was TT_TT) THE healthiest Marvel franchise. The characters were well written, they actually TALKED with each other, and they were actively building bonds. I could also say Tony, Steve and even Loki with AvAc, but Janet. Jan. She’s THE character. Maybe I liked her so much because she reminded me of Stella from Winx. I even cosplayed her once. (No, there are no photos X’D)

Speaking of Stella…

6. Winx – Stella. Sunshine girl. Bit of an airhead. She may be a princess, but she’s princess-y in a very kind way. She doesn’t really care about status and she’s protective of her friends. (What the hell, Fate…) Maybe I liked her so much because she reminded me of Sailor Venus.

Speaking of Sailor Venus…

7. Sailor Moon – Minako. I think I have a Magical Girl type. (Should I also say that Cornelia was kinda my favourite from W.I.T.C.H., but I’ve only read a few chapters of the comics and only seen a few episodes of the cartoon series, so I can’t really tell?) I can’t decide which Minako I like the most. Manga Minako, 90’s anime Minako and PGSM Minako are all unique, can’t choose between them.

8. Mysterious Cities of Gold – Zia. Looking back, I think I liked her because she was a really strong character on her own unique way. Maybe she got captured a lot and fainted even more times, but she’s a proud Inka girl who would never betray her people and would do everything to keep her friends safe. I… have my issues with Zia in the new seasons, but that may be because I fixated so much on this series as a kid (I rewatched it like a hundred times until the VHS tapes lost their will to live) that I have a really hard time accepting the new seasons and their more modern way of writing. (I was honestly offended when Zia let that rabbit go in season 2 when they were hungry because ‘Oh! Poor rabbit!’, while old episodes Zia helped the boys hunt down a giant lizard that they then ate around a campfire.)

9. Voltron – Lance. Yes, Voltron. Legendary Defender. Only the first few seasons are valid, when the writing was still consistent. I still remember that sketch of Shiro and Lance holding up the LGBT sign, show runners! Damn you, show runners! They formed the wings of Voltron, you asses!

10. One Piece – Vivi. VIVIIIIII!!!!!!! TT_TT This scene will forever make me tear up. (One Piece tends to do that to me.) I am honestly afraid of what would happen to her in future chapters.

[alwaysmarilynmonroe]

When most people hear the name, “Veronica Lake” usually one of three things comes to mind – that incredible peek-a-boo hair, the Film Noir’s with Alan Ladd or possibly Kim Basigner playing a Miss Lake lookalike in L.A. Confidential (1997) – fun fact, she won the Best Supporting Actress Oscar for that role. Although, with Veronica’s heyday being well over half a century old, that’s sadly usually as far as it goes.

However, with the Classic Hollywood Era being hugely timeless and forever coming back into fashion, the genre is becoming less of a niché subject and more Stars are on the public radar. If you’re a long time Vintage Lover like myself, you’ll be aware that unfortunately, a lot of our favourites don’t have many books written about them, or if they do, they’ve been out of print for a number of years and can be hard to find, or very expensive. Therefore, when I came across the news that Dean Street Press were publishing a reprint of Veronica’s Autobiography, which was first released in 1969, I was absolutely ecstatic! As most who know me are probably aware of my love for Blonde Bombshells, it may not be as well known that Veronica is my other favourite, after Marilyn.

There have only been two books published on Veronica, which I must add, astounds me – and one of them is this one which was co-written by ghost writer Donald Bain, who sadly passed away in October of 2017. The other is by Jeff Lenburg and I am fortunate enough to have both. However, Lenburg’s book is fairly controversial as he takes a lot of his information from Veronica’s mother, who claims a lot of detrimental things about her daughter – yet was estranged from her for many, many years. I think it’s actually being reprinted this summer and I will read it again, but would definitely advise new fans to stick to Veronica’s own words.

The republished version of Veronica’s Autobiography features a new cover with a stunning publicity photo of her in Ramrod (1947) which was directed by her then Husband, André de Toth. The book is a shiny paperback, with a non crease format, so even when you’ve finished reading, it will be in great condition and can take pride of place on your bookshelf! At 215 pages and 27 chapters, it’s not a huge length, but definitely a substantial read and full of personal anecdotes from the Golden Age of Hollywood.

Broadcaster and writer, Eddie Muller adds a new Introduction and his following words really stuck with me, their relevancy still to this day does not go unnoticed,

“I’ll point out instead that while the public has granted Sterling Hayden, a legendary boozer and hash-head, a legacy as a heroic, larger-than-life iconoclast, it has branded Lake’s life after Hollywood a steady downward spiral of abasement, worthy of only pity. Blame a cultural double standard that applauds reckless rebellion in men but shames it in women.”

As the chapters do not have titles, I’ve decided to write down a snippet of information which sums up the pivotal points and various timelines in each section.

______________________________________________________________________________

Chapter 1:

– Starts in 1938 and traces Veronica’s move to Hollywood with her mother, step-father and cousin on the 4th of July. Veronica enrolls in the Bliss Hayden School of Acting and has her first role in a movie as an extra in RKO’s Sorority House (1939).

Chapter 2:

– Veronica’s signature peek-a-boo hairstyle is unintentionally created on the set of Forty Little Mothers (1940) by Director, Busby Berkeley who stated, “I still say let it fall. It distinguishes her from the rest”.

Chapter 3:

– Director, Freddie Wilcox sets up Veronica’s first Screen Test, whilst at home her step-father suffers a collapsed lung.

Chapter 4:

– Veronica joins the iconic William Morris Agency and recounts her knowledge of the infamous Hollywood Casting Couch and how she turned away from the many advances.

Chapter 5:

– Veronica meets her first husband, John Detlie and has her named changed by Producer, Arthur Hornblow Jr., who, after a second Screen Test, decides to cast her as Sally Vaughn in her breakout movie, I Wanted Wings (1941).

Chapter 6:

– Focuses on the location filming of I Wanted Wings (1941) from August 26th 1940 in San Antonio, Texas.

Chapter 7:

– Continues filming in Hollywood for I Wanted Wings (1941) and elopes to marry her first husband, John Detlie.

Chapter 8:

– Veronica discusses the first 8 years of her childhood and her move to Florida in her teen years and the two schools she attended in Montreal and Miami.

Chapter 9:

– Recounts various appearances in Miami Beauty Pageants as a teenager.

Chapter 10:

– Returns to 1941 with the release of I Wanted Wings (1941) and focuses on the worldwide phenomenon of the famous hair. Also finishes with Director Preston Sturges hiring Veronica for the role of The Girl in Sullivan’s Travels (1941).

Chapter 11:

Veronica shares the news of her first pregnancy with her mother and how her third trimester would coincide with the physical demands of filming Sullivan’s Travels (1941).

Chapter 12:

– Covers the filming of Sullivan’s Travels (1941) from May 12th 1941 and the revelation of Veronica’s pregnancy. It’s simply incredible when watching the film all these years later to come to the realization that she was between six to eight months pregnant!

Chapter 13: – The filming of This Gun For Hire (1942) and The Glass Key (1942).

Chapter 14:

– The filming of I Married A Witch (1942), So Proudly We Hail! (1943) and The Hour Before The Dawn (1944). Veronica also discusses the deterioration of her marriage and the tragic loss of her second baby, Anthony, who died a week after being born two months prematurely.

Chapter 15:

– Veronica divorces John and retells various anecdotes of the Hollywood Lifestyle in it’s heyday in the 1940s.

Chapter 16:

– Veronica discusses the filming of Star Spangled Rhythm (1942) and also her dating history during this period. She shares some fascinating stories of various celebrity anecdotes which include such Stars as, Errol Flynn, Katharine Hepburn, Howard Hughes and Gary Cooper.

Chapter 17:

– The filming of Bring On The Girls (1945), Duffy’s Tavern (1946) and Hold That Blonde! (1945). Veronica recalls marrying her second husband, Andre de Toth and shares a moving story from her visit to The White House in January 1945.

Chapter 18:

– The filming of Miss Susie Slagles (1946), Out Of This World (1945), Ramrod (1946), The Blue Dahlia (1946), Saigon (1947) and The Sainted Sisters (1948). Veronica and Andre expand their family as she has her third baby, a boy named Michael. She also talks about her and Andre obtaining their Pilot Licenses and how the death of her step-dad deeply affected her.

Chapter 19:

– Features a highly entertaining story of Veronica flying her plane, whilst carrying her forth child, in her fifth month of pregnancy. With her on board is her secretary Marge, who up until then had never flown before.

Chapter 20:

– Veronica gives birth to her forth baby, a girl named Diana and talks about the turmoil of her relationship with her mother, who decided to sue her for, “lack of filial love and responsibility” and over $17,000.

Chapter 21:

– The filming of Slattery’s Hurricane (1949) and Stronghold (1951). Veronica discusses her frustration with Andre’s prolific spending, which results in them filing for bankruptcy and ultimately, the deterioration of their marriage.

Chapter 22:

– Veronica moves to New York in 1951 and continues her acting career through various television appearances and the stage. She enters her third marriage to husband, Joe McCarthy, which she admits was volatile from the start and they divorce after just four years, in September 1959.

Chapter 23:

– Covers the years 1959 through to 1961. Veronica discusses her time taking a job as a cocktail waitress – which contrary to popular belief, she actually quite enjoyed. She also talks about the traumatic accident which resulted in a severely broken ankle, which caused her inability to act for two years.

Chapter 24:

– Delves into her relationship with Andy Elickson, a Merchant Seaman, who she met during her time working in the Martha Washington Hotel and focuses on the period between 1961 and 1966. She also writes about a high note in her stage career; appearing in Best Foot Forward in 1963.

Chapter 25:

– Veronica discusses her move to Miami from New York in 1966.

Chapter 26:

– The filming of Footsteps In The Snow (1966) and Flesh Feast (1970) which was then known as Time Is Terror and was originally shot in 1967.

Chapter 27:

– Ends in October 1967 with Veronica discussing her reading performance of The World of Carl Sandburg, which she describes as one of the, “finest moments” of her life.

______________________________________________________________________________

Veronica’s words are full of honesty, she does not sugar-coat her flaws and her anecdotes convey a great sense of humbleness towards her career and lots of self criticism to her talent, the latter which saddens me. I’ve noticed many of the great Stars rarely seem to have any belief in themselves. If only they could see how loved and appreciated they truly are. However, her loyalty and generosity towards her close friends and even acquaintances does not go unnoticed. It’s refreshing to see her be able to share her own story, without various opinions and conspiracies that have grown over the years being included.

Overall, there’s only two downsides that springs to mind. Firstly, as the book was originally published in 1969 and finishes at the end of 1967, we’re missing the six final years of her fascinating life and tragically nothing can be done to change this. Of course no one is at fault, it’s just a shame that those last years will remain mostly a mystery to us. It would have been wonderful to read about her time in England. Lastly, in the original edition, a number of pages featured very rare photos of Veronica throughout her years, including her own comments. Sadly, only a small version of the cover photo reappears at the end of the newly republished book. I’m assuming this is down to cost and or copyright, but it would be nice to see these rare treasures reappear in the latest edition for fans that are not fortunate enough to also own an original copy.

Ultimately, Veronica always maintains her true self and comes across as not a Screen Icon, but just like one of us – albeit with some extraordinary Hollywood stories. She’s simply, and I mean this in the most complimentary way – a human being. It’s been almost a decade since I discovered Veronica, eight years in fact and I for one have not only became even more endeared to Miss Lake, but, I have also developed a warm space in my heart for my fellow 5’2″ little lady, Miss Connie/Ronni Keane.

Lastly, a huge thank you to Dean Street Press for believing in the popularity of Veronica and so wonderfully reprinting hers and Donald Bain’s special words for us all to enjoy.

For anyone who wants to see more of Veronica, I’ve amassed a fairly large archive of photos over the years which can be viewed on my blog devoted entirely to her; missveronicalakes.

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For inquiries or collaborations contact me at;

meganmonroes@icloud.com

Veronica: The Autobiography of Veronica Lake; Book Review. When most people hear the name, "Veronica Lake" usually one of three things comes to mind - …

[buffynha]

Naya Rivera: A Film Critic’s Appreciation of a TV Star

https://medium.com/@tomcendejas/naya-rivera-a-film-critics-appreciation-of-a-tv-star-8857ddf4e69

Naya Rivera: A Film Critic’s Appreciation of a TV Star.

I was much older than the target demographic for ‘Glee’, but I watched it semi-faithfully for these reasons: A) the intentionally diverse casting and primetime representation of many marginalized groups B) the clever reinvention and integration of pop songs and C) Naya Rivera.

Truth be told, since the show could be so wildly uneven, Rivera was often the ‘A’ reason I tuned in, always hoping she’d get a scene or a number.

Naya Rivera portrayed Santana, the tart-tongued (to put it mildly) captain of Glee’s cheerleading squad. By casting an Afro-Latina actress in the part, the show’s producers were already trouncing on stereotypes; by the year of the show’s debut, curtly dismissive cheerleaders were a staple of teen-centered entertainment, but they were usually white and hetero. As the show progressed, Santana fell for her teammate Brittany, came out to her family and friends, graduated from high school, tried to make her way in the big city, and eventually married Brittany. As a queer Latinx young woman with entrenched defense mechanisms, the character of Santana had to bear a lot of ‘representation’ duty, like an extended cheerleading ‘shoulder sit.’ But here’s the thing: Naya Rivera made it all seem as if it were as easy as a pony-tail toss.

Re-watching the early episodes, with Santana barely getting a cutaway, it’s easy to believe Ryan Murphy that the producers didn’t realize the size of talent they had on their hands when they first cast her. Rivera didn’t so much fight for more screen time as her talent compelled it, willed it. She’s mostly background in the first few episodes, until Santana and Brittany (Heather Morris) get drafted by Jane Lynch’s villainous cheer coach Sue Sylvester (the show does not lack for antagonists) to infiltrate the new Glee club and destroy it from within. From her earliest numbers and ultra-snippy encounters with the other kids, Rivera’s Santana starts to steal scenes.

This wasn’t just a function of the writing and directing. In fact, as clever, campy, sincere and delectably witty as ‘Glee’ could be (rewatching it this week, I chuckled at lots of throwaway lines) it could also be clumsy and over-reliant on whimsy and parody, sometimes in the same scene. In order to make the repeated point that Santana was caustically tough on the outside because she was hiding deep anxiety on the inside, the writers gave her so many withering and cruel things to say that emotional reality was often sacrificed on the altar of ‘Bitchy Quirkiness’ and frankly, because you imagined the writers were cracking themselves up at the saltiness of their latest insult. (Some were classics; too many of them hung on the lower rungs of humor, including easy body function jokes.)

But here’s the next thing: no matter how ridiculously florid the abuse Santana hurled at a classmate or teacher, Naya Rivera delivered the lines with alacrity and impeccable timing. And that’s what really made me sit up on my sofa and take notice.

Here was an actress who seemed to have the range of the marquee women from Hollywood’s ‘Golden Age’ of the 30s and 40s. The tumble of words the ‘Glee’ writers gave her didn’t faze her; she could deliver them with the rapid screwball comedy chops of Rosalind Russell or Jean Arthur. In an era of more tentative, introspective actors, Rivera had the steely drive of Bette Davis or Joan Crawford. Her larcenous way with a wry line was reminiscent of the great character actress Thelma Ritter; her ‘brassiness’ recalled Joan Blondell; the blaze in her eyes felt like the one emanating from Ida Lupino. (The comparisons had a visual equivalent — Rivera’s red-carpet personal style often favored form-fitting pencil skirts, modern iterations of a forties ‘dame.’)

Probably no greater compliment I can give is to say Rivera reminded me of the legendary Barbara Stanwyck. Able to navigate romantic comedy, drama and detective noir with husky-voiced fervor, Stanwyck could be devastating when she was furious yet hard to resist when she worked her charms. She was slight of figure but imposing of presence. Rivera had those cinematic assets as well. Because she started as a child actor, on ‘The Royal Family’ and especially on the great ‘The Bernie Mac Show’, by the time she got to ‘Glee’ she knew how to work a camera, as self-possessed and confident in her talents as Stanwyck was. Why this is important is that when an actor is too self-critical or tentative, we get uncomfortable or pulled out of the story. Reading testimonials from her cast mates (Chris Colfer says he sometimes was so in awe of her performance he’d forget he was in the scene with her) we see they also marveled at her self-assurance, and Rivera cannily used it to make Santana both poised and poignant.

Where Naya Rivera carved out her own space, different from most of our past silver-screen sirens, is that she could sing, and she was Afro-Latina, multi-racial, far from the whites-only casting of the Warner Brothers and MGM eras. That meant something to me; as a Chicano man of a certain age, I can remember times when I was a kid when my family would count all the ‘Latin’ movie stars we could think of and we often stopped literally with the fingers of one hand.

As someone who studies and loves writing about film, my head was nearly scratched raw from trying to figure out why Naya Rivera wasn’t swooped up from ‘Glee’ by the 2010s studio gatekeepers and given the chance to be a film superstar in vehicles that were worthy of her, bypassing the B-movie stage. She didn’t even get the big-screen ‘best friend’ parts in Hudson or Witherspoon rom-coms, which is what actresses of color with comic chops were often relegated to in the 2000s. Why this oversight happened, and I’m sure there’s a lot of background showbiz politics and personal reasons as to why, the result is we were denied someone who could have been a major screen star and given us the pleasure of an above-the-title, singing-dancing-acting triple-threat. If Rivera had been white, the big-screen star-making machinery would have overcome all obstacles to not just take a risk on her, but bet on her.

It really felt like Naya Rivera could do it all. Stanwyck and Davis had formidable talents, but singing wasn’t considered one of them, so that made Rivera a modern-day extension of their bravura, as though they’d been reincarnated in a child actress who was bristling at the confines of Disney channel and tv screens.

And Rivera had that voice! Some of us have our own version of a sort of ‘opposite ASMR’; we derive pleasure from singers who have a husky rasp in their voice, and rather than whisper, know how to belt. In this regard, Naya Rivera was a godsend. It gave her the ability to tackle songs associated with Tina Turner and Amy Winehouse and Stevie Nicks, no small feat. Yet Rivera could also narrow the grit in her wide voice to just a few flecks of hurt and hope, as in the poignant moment when she confesses her love to Brittany in a plaintive version of Christine McVie and Fleetwood Mac’s ‘Songbird.’ (This will sound like sacrilege to other Fleetwood Mac fans — I’ve seen the band in concert many times — but I just never really responded to McVie’s performance of her song except in cool, admiring ways. But I found Rivera’s vulnerable cooing of the song transfixing.)

Rivera’s musical performances on ‘Glee’ traversed many genres, but nothing seemed to catch her off-guard. I enjoyed many of the singers on ‘Glee’ —the show had over 700 musical numbers! — but if Rivera was given the lead, you knew you were about to get a showstopper, complete with signature focus, considerable ebullience and precision as a dancer. These gifts were captured best when ‘Glee’s’ hyper-active camera and editing stood still and just let her perform.

Rivera tackled Turner’s ‘Nutbush City Limits’ with ferocity. It’s too bad that the way she was filmed — with the aforementioned slice-and-dice, even leering editing — forever leaves us with a case of ‘what might have been.’ We get precious snippets of seeing Rivera singing, while the musical filming style of ten years ago, influenced by ‘Moulin Rouge’ and ‘Chicago’, attempts to whip us into an erotic frenzy with close-ups of halter-top abs and pom-pom zooms. This was a shameful miscalculation, because it has the opposite effect. If the camera had just stood planted and simply recorded the performance, Naya Rivera would have delivered the sexual fire and then some.

The best musical numbers with Rivera showcase all her talents — the ability to act out a lyric, the Fosse-flavored choreography, and a singing voice alternately tender and roof-raising. Her performance of Winehouse’s ‘Valerie’, in which she gets to ditch the ‘Cheerios’ uniform and stomp the stage in a party frock stands out as one of ‘Glee’s’ best and most effortless songs overall — it really looks like a romp that captures teenage brio and which would be electric to see live. (Later in the show, when Rivera sings ‘Back to Black’, you even got a glimpse that, as criminal as it might seem to suggest to purists, there’s a helluva Amy Winehouse jukebox Broadway musical waiting in the wings somewhere, and Rivera could have easily been its star.)

As commanding as Naya Rivera could be as a solo singer, her duets were full of a delicious tension. The job in a duet is to share the scene as democratically as possible while still bringing out the best in your partner and elevating the song. These were skills many in the cast had, though they occasionally had to juggle the meta-element that when the show became a phenomenon, the behind-the-scenes who-likes-who, who-hates-who gossip that fascinated early social media audiences could be at odds to the show’s scripted plot (though it seems the show’s creative team also deliberately worked the real-life stuff into the fictional stuff. A notable example of this was when Rivera and Lea Michele, who were rumored and since confirmed to be clashing backstage personalities — and as recent reports show, Rivera wasn’t the only one to find Michele difficult — sing a sweet song called ‘Be Okay’, almost as though they were ordered to by the network. Both are thoroughly professional, and by the end you don’t just think that maybe Santana and Rachel are really friends, but that Rivera and Michele had buried all their hatchets in a Fox studio wall as well.)

The duet partner for Santana I liked best was provided by one of ‘Glee’s’ other volcanic vocalists, Amber Riley. As Riley has since shown in her London West End role as Effie in ‘Dreamgirls’, and in TV productions of ‘The Wiz’ and ‘The Little Mermaid’, she is a formidable talent. Yet watch one of their songs together, ‘The Boy is Mine’, and see if your eyes don’t want to stay just watching Rivera’s performance in its entirety?

To see a more dynamic and perfectly matched dual performance, ‘Glee’ gave us the galvanic gift that is Amber Riley and Naya Rivera alternating and harmonizing into their own ‘wall of sound’ on the Tina Turner classic, ‘River Deep Mountain High.’ Turners vocals on the original are so singular, nothing can touch them. Just the way she crests the first line with a jagged crag in the middle of a note lets you know this is going to be sung from a place of both ache and power.

The ‘Glee’ version leans into the power angle. Santana and Mercedes brim with the ‘girlpower’ term used at the time, the youthful brio of being able to dream of scaling mountains. The choreography then counter-points and really gets it right by giving the singers the dance moves reminiscent of 60s girl-groups, and while it starts out sort of cute and ironic, by the end the choreography becomes mature and electrifying. When Riley sings the first verse, she has gospel runs and exquisite phrasing. She could easily overwhelm anyone. Rivera’s choice is to find her own place to put the appealing but melancholy cracks in her voice, harmonize beautifully, and then release her own blasts of power. The performance says more about ‘empowerment’ than pages of script could. ‘River Deep Mountain High’ is also notable for giving Rivera a chance to be charming in ways she usually didn’t get to be with all her ‘mean girls’ posing; when they get to the part about the ‘rag doll’, both singers mug, but Rivera’s brief clownishness when acting out that rag doll is unexpectedly loose and charming.

Of course, the journey for Santana on the show, and you’ll find many ‘Glee’ fans and pop culture critics who will argue that the show ultimately was about Santana, crucially centers on the classic ‘finding your voice’ view of young adulthood, and central to that, the relationship between Santana and Brittany. Nearly any news or lifestyle site of the past week that had a space for pop culture featured the heartbroken, deeply affected voices of many lesbians and queer people writing about the deep connection they felt towards the relationship and the visibility and identification it gave them.

Of more than passing interest, depending on how transgressive you thought of it, was the pairing between an Afro-Latina character and a white blonde cheerleader who could have stepped out of the background of a Taylor Swift video. Think of where we were in 2009 and that still would have been pushing boundaries. (The show was one of the first to normalize same-gender kisses.)

In Rivera’s scenes with her non-accepting Abuela (the great Ivonne Coll), she is as real as it gets — not only deeply hurt, but uncomprehending in the way so many gay kids can be when they are rejected simply because of their orientation. “But I’m the same person I was a minute ago.” One can imagine these scenes (and the contrapuntal ones between Kurt and his more accepting father) provided a lifeline to young queer people themselves caught up in the process of making decisions about how to come out, and in particular, to Latinx queer people, who found representation and resources hard to come by and certainly not in the media.

And in real life, Rivera, who did not identify as gay, proved to be a significant ally. She responded to queer fans, particularly young women, and she represented by hosting the GLAAD media awards, advocating for The Trevor Project and by speaking responsibly and articulately about what her fans had confessed to her.

The way the show frequently featured LGBTQ imagery was playful and willful. They weren’t representing all queer women; they were representing these two using a particular transgressive iconography. Teen lesbian cheerleaders weren’t invented with ‘Glee’; the queer film ‘But I’m a Cheerleader’ was released in 1999. But by keeping Santana (as well as the other ‘Cheerios’) in their squad outfits 24/7, Rivera started to look like it wasn’t just her cheer attire, it was her superhero uniform. You have your masked and fully-covered marvels; here was a fearless teen titan in sleeveless emblematic mini-skirt cutting through the hallways. Her superpowers? A withering glare that could refreeze the Arctic, an ability to shoot insults like a laser beam, and a pinkie-finger-linking with Britney that could heal your heart. Most of all, a voice that could fill a canyon and fleet feet that could leap over all calamity.

Until she couldn’t. When superheroes die, mere mortals look to the sky and feel, perhaps unreasonably but still undeniably, abandoned. Shocked, stunned, grievous. We look backward, because looking forward has just been removed as an option, and the realization of what will never be is too excruciating.

I couldn’t figure out what happened to Naya Rivera after ‘Glee’, given my hopes and expectations. She released quite a catchy single, ‘Sorry’, and later a memoir, ‘Sorry (Not Sorry.’) I didn’t realize she had joined a new show, the Youtube continuation of the ‘Step Up’ series, but now I do and she’s terrific in it. But to those of us who dropped our eyes from her a bit, I just remember it was because it seemed like there was tabloid stuff, personal tumult, a few seemingly misguided appearances or comments here or there. I was a hopeful, hopeful fan of her talent, not slavish to any TMZ notorieties — but those great female stars of the 30s and 40s? They were no strangers to splashy headlines either.

When I did watch ‘Turner Classics’ or my library of DVDS with some of those ‘Golden Age’ actresses, more than a few times I’d think of Rivera, search IMDB to see if she was getting that Oscar-worthy role yet. Or when there were increasing public discussions that called for better representation of people of color in media, I’d think: Naya Rivera! What’s she doing now? Why isn’t she in a big movie, headed for her superstardom? How did Hollywood’s famously white-screen blindness eclipse even gifts this generous?

So I’d check in the way we do now, with her IG feed or in passing hear about the occasional tweet. There would be a picture of her beauty, sometimes posed in the ‘sexy’ currency that builds and keeps ‘followers’ entranced and ‘promotes content.’

But occasionally Naya would post a picture with her son Josey, who she eventually was raising as a single mom. As many of her followers saw, in those fateful days of early July, I ‘liked’ a beautifully tender picture with Mom and Josey, eyelash close, captioned ‘Just the two of us.’ It seemed so peaceful. This must be what she wants to be doing, I thought. Happy for her. One of the miracles of ‘Glee’ was how they put on hour-long musicals once a week for six years, with 18-hour days. Who could begrudge anyone some rest after that?

But selfishly I also still wanted that album, that movie, that new film directed by her, something more from the force of nature that is, was, Naya Rivera and I gave more than a passing thought that with today’s reckonings, with greater sensitivity to the racism that undergirded so many institutions, the world would finally open up to her in the way it did for so many white actresses before her. It was her time.

Until it wasn’t.

That’s hard to reconcile. We’re supposed to say, as fans from afar, our grief is nothing compared to that of her family, friends, cast mates and of course that’s true. But it’s also true that the grief of a fan is not nothing. Those of us who didn’t know her personally, but were in awe of her talent, shouldn’t shut feelings of loss down. I think it honors Naya Rivera to mourn publicly the way so many fans have, ‘Gleeks’ or not. She was someone who had such hard-won achievement yet still such potential. And for some reason, the power brokers that be didn’t see it or find a place for it in time. We can grieve that mistake, and that which can’t be brought back or won’t be left as a long-career legacy.

That someone with so much soulful presence could suddenly disappear from this earth, at a time when we are all so careful not to lose each other, was wrenching. In consolation, I turned to a lot of Rivera’s performances from the show, though now of course they all carry a melancholy, stinging twinge. (For more on this, just look at the many comments on the pages where the videos are originally posted.)

You hear Naya Rivera sing Winehouse, and it’s hard not to think of how they both died young. You see her love for Brittany acted so convincingly, you think about Heather Morris, the actress who played her and wonder how she will weather this — thoughts that are none of your business, but you still have them. I found myself thinking of Kevin McHale who played ‘Artie’ on the show, and who seems so clear-headed; what would he say? You read Chris Colfer’s tribute to her and shed more than a few tears. You hear her sing ‘If I Die Young’ in tribute to Corey Monteith, and you recall that Rivera’s body was finally found on the day that Monteith died. It’s a lot.

There’s a memorable moment in the early run when Monteith’s Finn stops Santana in the familiar Glee alley of lockers and linoleum. She’s annoyed that he has outed her, and indeed he’s done her wrong. But the character is also written as sincere. Finn’s logic may be that of a teenager’s but he tells Santana that he didn’t ‘out’ her to hurt her, but to help her realize that she would still be accepted. He’d heard of someone who recorded an ‘It Gets Better’ video but later killed himself. He doesn’t want that to happen to her; ‘you mean something to me.’ He tells her that if something ever happened to her and he didn’t do everything in his power to stop it, he could never live with himself. Santana is left speechless at the tenderness, even as she’s furious — Rivera could convey both in a single look.

The context we have now in 2020 makes the brief scene heavy with portent and sadness. In actuality, Rivera was saddened that she couldn’t do more to stop Monteith’s untimely death from a drug overdose. That would be subtext enough. But now, with the timing of her death and the anniversary of his? It’s shattering. But I kept watching, and there was something that reminded me of my own experience teaching high school. A few minutes later, or a few episodes later, the kids are singing and dancing and throwing ‘Big Quenches’ at each other, and seldom has the show’s mission to show the fullness of life seemed so clear. I’ve found that to be true when I’ve gone through difficult times, or my school has, and still had to walk through the classroom door. No matter how sad I’ve been, there’s always a student offering, well, cheer.

Maybe we did get the movie Naya Rivera was on this earth to make after all. Because that scene between Santana and Finn was early in the show’s run. By ‘Glee’s’ end several years later, Santana didn’t hurt herself. She survived high school, she stumbled a little but recovered, she found her way, she was able to get onstage at a Broadway audition and sing ‘Don’t Rain on My Parade’ and give us a big, big moment of triumph; maybe she’ll get the part, she’s definitely going to get the girl. Just like an old musical.

And that’s why I wrote this: we talk about ‘Glee’ as a TV show, but maybe it was one long film. If you go back and watch ‘Glee’ with a particular focus on Rivera, you’ll see an extraordinary rise-and-fall-and-rise-again achievement; she’s one of the major leads of an epic. Sure it’s a movie full of silliness, toss-aways, occasional meanderings or repetitive plotlines, but it’s also full of heart and compassion. This seasons-long coming-of-age starred this African/Latina/Queer Ally/Queen who reigned with a crackling laugh, a stunning beauty and vivacious spirit.

If that’s all we were fated to get of Naya Rivera, she hit her mark — the line where enough and not enough meet. Maybe the silvery phantoms of Bette Davis, Rosalind Russell, Joan Crawford and Barbara Stanwyck, who all knew their own injustices within the Hollywood system, maybe they were all waiting in the wings as she sang the curtain down. “Come on kid,” they might say, in old movie parlance. “You went out there a youngster but you came back: a Star!”

✍️The Couch Tamale✍️

Film, Music, Peak TV, Diversity— Tom Cendejas is sitting on a sofa and unwrapping Pop Culture with a Latino eye, one husk at a time.

[ty-talks-comics]

Best of DC: Week of March 18th, 2020

Best of this Week: Robin 80th Anniversary

All of the Robins are awesome.

Every Bat-fan has their favorite as they usually define the era when they began their love of Batman and comics in general. Older fans love Dick Grayson for being the first and greatest Robin that helped make Batman brighter. Edgy 80s kids and teens both love and hate Jason Todd for being the bad boy that died. Younger fans love Tim Drake for being the one to carry the name in the later seasons of the animated series and being one of the best and smartest Robins. Girls get representation from the spunky Carrie Kelly and the awesome Stephanie Brown. No one like Damian. (I’m kidding, he’s super fun.)

There’s a Robin for everyone and this 100 Page Spectacular celebrates the long history of Batman’s greatest sidekicks (though misses a chance to give Carrie Kelly her own short story) and does an amazing job in displaying each characters personalities by some of the best people to have written them over the years. Because there are so many, I’m only going to talk about the ones I really enjoyed!

The first FOUR stories follow Dick Grayson and some of his best eras.

“A Little Nudge” is written by Marv Wolfman with pencils by Tom Grummett, two parts of the legendary team behind the best years of the New Titans (1989). This story follows Dick Grayson as Batman begins to nudge him in the direction of becoming his own man by being increasingly irritable to his protege. At this point in time, Dick was dealing with the stresses of outgrowing his childhood identity and Batman’s continuing overbearing nature. Where Bruce was all about being cold and methodical, Dick thought with his gut.

Grummett, Scott Hanna on inks and Adriano Lucas on colors illustrate Dick’s frustration through his increasingly sour facial expressions and sudden heroic actions. The costumes are as colorful as those old days with Dick wearing the bright yellow cape, bright red tunic and the elf shoes. In the middle of the dynamic duo’s fight with Natural History Museum thieves, Dick stops fighting when a child gets shot, against Bruce’s orders, and stays with him until the bad guys either get away or get taken down by Batman. 

Later on, Dick tells Batman that he’s outgrown the Boy Wonder name and sets off to become his own man as Nightwing. Wolfman gives readers an excellent inner monologue from Bruce where he owns up to the fact that he was nudging Dick in that direction because he had just turned eighteen and Bruce believed in him. Batman always supports his kids, especially his first and it turns the story of separation into something heartwarming.

“Aftershocks” is a fun story by Chuck Dixon and Scott McDaniel who worked on my favorite Nightwing series in the 1996 - 2005 era of the character. This wasn’t anything major, just Nightwing doing everything he could to save people after an earthquake causes massive damage to a suspended bridge in Bludhaven. This era of Nightwing was characterized by him mostly striking out on his own and becoming a Bludhaven police officer, being inspired by Jim Gordon. 

Dick really came into his own and developed a rogues gallery to himself during this time, not to mention the sweet costume with the blue “wings” running down his arms into his fingers and those big, bulky gauntlets and boots. This era was the epitome of the 90s with big set piece moments, big muscles and Nightwing just being a nice and generally charming guy. After diving off of the bridge to attach a winch to a falling car, the woman inside asks to name her baby after him and he smiles and says, “Robin works, right?”

“The Lesson Plan” is a story from my favorite modern age creators in Tim Seeley, Tom King and Mikel Janin. The Grayson series took place shortly after Dick’s identity was exposed to the world during “Forever Evil” (2013) by the Crime Syndicate. At this time he was acting as a spy for an agency called Spyral while spying on them for Batman. I never think of Tom King as a comedy guy, but this story was almost gut bustingly hilarious. It was just a world trotting adventure where he teaches one of the students of St. Hadrian’s how to be a spy.

Truly this series was Dick at his most handsome, witty and skilled. He jumps out of a helicopter and grabs onto the cords of a cable car before rescuing a woman held hostage by terrorists on walruses. Dick, the student and the hostage ten fight off more terrorists in Tanzania, riding a bus headed for Los Angeles of all places before Dick finds himself in something Dejah Thoris would wear and having a night with the hostage who reveals herself to be a gorilla from Gorilla City. It’s absolutely absurd, but it is immensely fun and welcome since that whole series is well regarded by fans.  

“More Time” by Judd Winick, Dustin Nguyen and John Kalisz is a far more somber tale about Jason Todd potentially a short time after the events of Under the Red Hood. Jason Todd was the second Robin and met his unfortunate end in the 1988 story, A Death in the Family by Jim Starlin and Jim Aparo. Jason eventually returned in the Batman: Under the Hood story where Winick and Doug Mahnke re-envisioned the former Robin as a violent vigilante Jason does have something of a strained relationship with Batman, but it wasn’t always that way as this story illustrates. 

One thing that Dustin Nguyen has always been great at, it’s making kids super adorable and he does so in this story as it flips back and forth between the past and the present as Jason gives Bruce a birthday present in the form of his father’s watch, which Jason sought to fix. Nguyen and Kalisz characterize the past with Jason appearing as a happy, young kid under the dim lights of the Batcave and a twinkle in his eyes. He’s happy to have a home and a father to care for him so he wanted to do something nice for him.

Present Day Jason is characterized by dark backgrounds with bright oranges, smoke and heavy blacks for the shadows. Jason is far more tired, grizzled and angry, but he still finds the time to place the same gift box from all those years ago on the Batmobile for Bruce to find. At this point in time, they may have been at each other throats, but the love between them was still there, buried deep - culminating in two side by side panels of past and present Jason saying, “Happy Birthday, Bruce.”

“Boy Wonders” is a story about Tim Drake by James Tynion IV, Javier Fernandez and David Baron and sees Tim taking advice from all of his brothers. Next to Chuck Dixon and Geoff Johns, James Tynion IV has had one of the longest lasting impacts on the Tim Drake character throughout his run on Detective Comics by emphasizing the power of his mind in comparison to the other Robins and why he could ultimately be the successor to Batman above each of them or eke out a new life for himself.

While taking down the cast of The Warriors on a speeding train with Nightwing, Tim contemplates what his future will be. He looks to Dick as the one who did everything that he’s doing now and Dick tells him that as the smartest Robin, the best thing he could do is use that mind to bring up the next generation of heroes. Jason, the reason he’s even wearing the costume of Robin in the first place, tells him to take everything he’s learned from Batman  to become BETTER than him. Arguably, it’s Damian that gives him the best advice by telling him that he’s the most capable of all of the Robins and that he should choose a path himself instead of relying on the advice of others.

Of course, this story takes place before the events of Detective Comics Rebirth where Tim does chart his own path in making Gotham safer with his Gotham Knights Protocol, but things don’t exactly turn out well for him. For all of the talk about how Tim is the smartest, he unfortunately could never get out of his own way long enough for things to go right...especially now that he’s going by “Drake” in that awful brown costume.

“Fitting In” is a Stephanie Brown story by Amy Wolfram, Damion Scott and Brad Anderson which sees Stephanie trying to live up to the standards of each of the boys that came before her. Stephanie was absolutely the shortest term Robin that Batman took on, as he only allowed her to take up the mantle in an attempt to get Tim back after his real father told him to hang up the cape after discovering his sons identity.

Even still, Stephanie did everything she could to earn Bruce’s respect and Wolfram plays on this and that past story by making it more about Tim than Steph. She has to train in the same costume that Tim did, but she proves more...voluptuous than Tim. Her costume bursts at the seams and Alfred designs the costume that she’s known for. She and Batman then get a call about fire at an amusement park and ride off to take down Firefly.

Unfortunately for her, she gets captured, but being the innovative girl that she is, she manages to free herself and take down Firefly at the same time. Damion Scott’s art is very well suited to the cartoonish action and paints her as a capable sidekick despite initially being a damsel in distress. I honestly wish her run as Robin would have been longer because she honestly fits well in the role as the bubbly Robin in contrast to the hell that Tim was going through at the time.

A point can be made that this story also had some needless sexualization, but given Bruce's lack of respect for Stephanie and him just wanting a replacement Tim at the time, this was well written from that perspective. He never cared for Stephanie and her time as Robin was mostly her trying to live up to Tim's standard which eventually left her to try too hard and "die" because of it. I’ll always take more Stephanie Brown as I can cause even now there’s not enough of her and I’m damn sure not reading Young Justice by Brian Michael Bendis.

“My Best Friend” is the one that makes me the most sad as it revolves around Jon Kent writing an essay on Damian as well...his best friend. I feel like the Super Sons series was also done a dity hand by BMB as he took Jon and aged him up for his Superman story when we could have gotten more fun stories between Damian and Jon. As far as homages to one of the better Rebirth series this one was just fun.

There’s not much to say other than Jon reminisces over a few of their adventures and tells readers about the side of Damian that we don’t often see because the Bat-boy is always a little bit too intense. Jon reminds us that they’ve fought for most of the time they’ve known each other, but when it comes to being heroes, Damian always had his back. It’s heartwarming. Of course there’s the continuity issue of them going to the same school in this story cause Jon was only ten at the time and Damian was thirteen, but honestly I only care about the friendship.

“Bat and Mouse” is a story by Robbie Thompson and Ramon Villalobos which sees Bruce and Damian having separate brooding inner monologues about how neither understands the other anymore and about how they want to open up to each other, but the distance between them has grown too wide. Admittedly, this is a much darker story in the respect that Batman and Robin haven’t really been the same since Damian started his new Titans team and started down a darker path that his father has yet to find out about.

Thompson captures this feeling that Damian is arrogant but scared. He feels like he’s outgrown what Batman has become because he’s willing to get rid of threats almost permanently through erasing their memories and villainous tendencies (see Teen Titans, 2018). At the same time, he’s afraid that maybe what he’s doing isn’t the right path and he so desperately wants to reach out to his father, but feels like he can’t.

Batman is the same way in that he loves his son more than anything and wants to regain the relationship that they had in the past, but doesn’t know how to say the words either. He knows that Damian is hiding something big, but he doesn’t want to accuse the boy and deepen the already cavernous rift. Even as they take down the robotic villain Quietus, they show signs of breaking through their equally cold exteriors, but fail to do so and I get the feeling this will all come to a head soon.

The Robins will always be some of my favorite characters in all of comics. Each of them have distinct personalities and quirks that set them apart from a lot of comic characters, especially when it comes to the trauma that they’ve faced alongside Batman. This special won’t be for everyone, just like each era of Robin isn’t for everyone, but overall, I really enjoyed it and the creators selected to honor these fantastic characters.

[jungcock]

yes. In my onion as well. GOD I CANT EVEN i finally found some1 with da same taste as me!! Wtf young forever, hyyh and wings were the fucking bomb. I felt like everyth changed at the start of DNA era. I really miss the hyyh storyline and the music along with it. Legendary, if u ask me. No other albums can top those.

HAHA yeah idk i feel like a lot of ppl think the same but r just too afraid to say it??

[chcrrypcps]

(m) korean names; mix n match

90+ KOREAN SYLLABLES to mix n match together to form names!

– common hanja meanings attached !  

**not all name meanings are listed & not all names have to mean something– some people just like the sound of them!\

(female version here!)

아 (ah)

兒 son, child, oneself; final part

亞 second

我 our, us, my, we

牙 tooth, teeth; serrated

芽  bud, sprout

雅 elegant, graceful, refined

안 (ahn)

安 peaceful, tranquil, quiet

案 table, bench

眼 eye; hole

岸 bank, shore, beach coast

顔 face, facial appearance

배   (bae)

北 north, northern

配 match, pair; equal

杯 cup, glass

輩 generation, lifetime

korean for pear

백 (baek)

白 pure, white, unblemished

百 one hundred

범   (beom/bum)

犯 criminal; to commit a crime

凡 ordinary, common

비  (bi/bee)

秘 secret, mysterious

悲 sorrow, grief; sorry, sad

飛  fly, go quickly

卑  humble, low, inferior

肥 fat, plump; fertile

丕 grand, glorious, distinguished

빈  (bin)

彬 cultivated; well-bred

분 (boon/bun)

芬 perfume. fragrance. aroma

憤 resentment, hatred

보  (bo)

保 protect, defend, care for

寶 treasure, jewel, precious, rare

普 universal, widespread

補 mend, fix, repair, restore

甫 begin, man, father, great

輔 protect, assist

복 (bok)

福 happiness, good fortune, blessings

卜 fortune, prophecy

馥 fragrance, scent, aroma

변 (byun/byeon)

變 rebel; change, transform, alter

卞 excitable; impatient

차 (cha)

茶 tea

差 different, wrong

초 (cho)

草 grass straw herbs  

哨 whistle, chirp

焦 burned scorched; anxious vexes

천 (cheon/chun)

千 thousand

天 sky, heaven; celestial, god

川 stream, river

泉 spring, fountain; wealth money

淺 shallow, superficial

賤 cheap, worthless

철 (cheol/chul)

鐵 iron; strong, solid, firm

哲 wise, sagacious; wise-man, sage

대 (dae)

代 replacement

臺 tower, lookout

貸 to lend, borrow, pardon

다 (dah/da)

多 much, many

茶 tea

도 (do)

道 path, road

島 island

都 elegant refined

徒 disciple, follower

桃 peach; marriage

悼 grieve, lament, mourn

동 (dong)

棟 support beams of a house

東 east

冬 winter; 11th lunar month

洞 cave; grotto

童 virgin; child, boy

銅 brass, copper, bronze

凍 to freeze, congeal

언 (eon)

言 words, speech, speak

彦 elegant

은 (eun)

銀 silver, cash, money, wealth

恩 kindness, mercy, charity

隱 hidden, secret

殷 abundant, flourishing; many, great

誾 respectful

고 (goh/go)

古 old, classic, ancient

苦 bitter; hardship, suffering

固 strength; solid, strong

孤 orphan; solitary

故 ancient, old

枯 withered, decayed

국 (guk/gook/kuk/kook)

國 nation, country

菊 chrysanthemum

규 (gyu/kyu)

叫 cry, shout; hail, greet, call

하 (ha)

夏 summer

河 river, stream

荷 lotus, water lily

해 (hae)

海 sea, ocean

害 harm, destroy, kill

희 (hee/hui)

喜 joy, love

希 rare; hope, expectations

稀 rare, unusual

姬 beauty

熹 warm bright; glimmer

禧 happiness

화 (hwa)

火 fire flame; burn; anger, rage

花 flower, blossoms

和 harmony, peace; peaceful, calm

嬅 beautiful

禍 misfortune, calamity, disaster

혜 (hye)

慧 bright, intelligent

현 (hyun/hyeon)

賢 virtuous, worthy, good

炫 shine glitter; show off, flaunt

玄 deep, profound

호 (ho)

呼 sigh, breath, exhale

好 fine, excellent

戶 family, household

護 to protect, guard, defend, shelter

胡 reckless, foolish; wild

虎 tiger; brave, fierce

豪 brave, heroic, chivalrous

昊 sky, heaven; summertime

皓 bright, luminous; clear

祜 blessing, happiness, prosperity

환 (hwan)

煥 shining, brilliant, lustrous

患 suffer, worry

歡 joy, happiness, pleasure

換 substitute; change, exchange

幻 fantasy, illusion, mirage

일 (il/eel)

一 one; alone, singular

日 sun, day, daytime

인 (in)

麟 female chinese unicorn

人 people, mankind, man, population

仁 humane; benevolence, kindness

認 to recognize, know, understand

寅 respect, reverence

忍 endure, bear, suffer

재 (jae)

才 talent, ability

災 calamity, disaster, catastrophe

財 wealth, riches

宰 to slaughter; to rule

栽 to cultivate; to care for plants

장 (jang)

長 leader; to excel in

奬 prize, reward

腸 emotions; sausage, intestines

障 shield, barricade; separate

丈 gentleman, husband

墻 wall

樟 camphor tree

자 (jah/ja)

子 child, offspring; fruit, seed

資 property; wealth

慈 kind, charitable, benevolent

紫 purple, violet; amethyst

磁 porcelain

지 (ji/jee)

地 earth, ground, soil

紙 paper

志 determination, will

智 wisdom, knowledge, intelligence

池 pool, pond

진 (jin)

珍 precious, valuable; rare

眞 genuine, real, true

주 (ju/joo)

晝 daytime, daylight

朱 cinnabar, vermilion

酒 wine, spirits, liquor

宙 time as a concept

洲 island

珠 precious stone, gem, jewel, pearl

준 (joon)

駿 noble steed;

俊 handsome; talented, capable

遵 honor; obedience

峻 stern; high, steep, towering

濬 deep, profound

정 (jung/jeong)

正 right, proper, correct

情 emotion, feeling, sentiment

程 journey, trip

精 essence, spirit

征 invade, attack, conquer

靜 gentle, quiet, still

淨 pure, clean, unspoiled

貞 loyal; virtuous pure

晶 crystal; clear, bright, radiant

汀 beach, bank, shore

禎 good omen, lucky

종 (jong)

終 ending, finale

宗 lineage, ancestry; ancestor

鍾 glass, goblet, cup

鐘 clock; bell

縱 to indulge in

강 (kang)

疆 boundary, border, frontier

强 strong, powerful, energetic

康 peaceful, quiet; happy, healthy

剛 hard, tough, rigid, strong

鋼 steel; hard, strong, tough

姜 ginger

기 (ki/gi)

麒 legendary auspicious animal

汽 steam, vapor, gas

器 receptacle, vessel; instrument

奇 strange, unusual, uncanny

機 machine; moment, chance

起 to rise, stand up; to begin

棄 to reject, abandon, or discard

忌 jealousy, envy; fear

欺 to cheat, deceive, or double-cross

祈 to pray; entreat, beseech

飢 hunger, starvation, famine

冀 to hope for; wish

岐 majestic

璣 a pearl that's not quite perfect

琪 a type of jade

琦 gem, precious stone, jade

氣 spirit; air, steam, vapor

記to remember, record

基 strong foundation, or base

技 skill, ability, talent

경 (kyung/kyeong/gyung/gyeong)

敬 respect, honor

輕 light, gentle

警 guard, watch

鏡 mirror, glass

卿 noble

炅 brilliance

瓊 jade; rare, precious; elegant

민 (min)

閔 mourn, grieve

憫 pity, sympathy

敏 clever, smart

旻 heaven

玟 gem

문 (moon/mun)

門/ gate, entrance

文 literature, writing; culture

명 (myung/myeong)

命 life; destiny, fate, luck

明 light, bright, brilliant

冥 dark, gloomy; night

나 (nah/na)

奈 bear, endure

남 (nam)

南 south

오 (oh)

五 five

午 noon

惡 evil, wicked, bad, foul

傲 proud, haughty; overbearing

嗚 sound of crying, sobbing; sound of sadness

娛 pleasure, enjoyment, amusement

汚 filthy, dirty, impure

烏 crow, raven; black, dark

리 (ri/li/lee/ree)

李 plum

梨 pear

림 (rim)

林 forest, grove

사 (sa)

四 four

使 messenger

死 die; death; dead

士 scholar

思 think, consider, ponder

師 teacher, master

私 secret, private, personal

絲 silk, fine thread

:沙 sand, pebbles

蛇 snake

詐 trick, cheat, swindle, feign

邪 wrong, evil, vicious

唆 mischievous

상 (sang)

上 top, superior, highest

賞 reward, prize

傷 wound, injury

常 common, normal, frequent

象 ivory; elephant

喪 mourn

祥 happiness; good luck, good omen

裳 beautiful

霜 frost; crystallized

서 (seo)

西 west

庶 numerous various

徐 composed, dignified; quiet, calm

恕 forgiveness; mercy

誓 swear, pledge, promise, oath

석 (seok)

夕 evening, night, dusk

石 stone, rock, mineral

惜 pity, regret, rue

昔 ancient

奭 red; anger

碩 great, eminent; large

선 (seon/sun)

瑄 ornamental jade

仙 transcendent, immortal

善 good, virtuous, charitable, kind

鮮 fresh, new; rare

璿 fine jade

璇 star; beautiful jade

성 (seong)

晟 clear bright; splendor

城 castle; city, town

誠 sincere, honest; true, real

聲 sound, voice, music

聖 holy, sacred

盛 abundant, flourishing

星 a star, planet

승 (seung)

勝 victory

承 succeed

乘 rise, ascend

昇 peace; rise, ascent

신 (shin)

辰 early morning

信 trust, believe

新 new, fresh, modern

神 spirit; god, supernatural being

晨 early morning, daybreak

辛 bitter

시 (si/shi)

矢 vow, swear, promise

時 time season; age, period, era

施 grant, bestow, give

詩 poetry

屍 corpse

소 (so)

消 vanish, die out, melt away

笑 smile, laugh

素 white silk

昭 bright, luminous

蘇 revive, resurrect

슥 (sook/suk)

宿 constellation

淑 good, pure, virtuous, charming

수 (su/soo)

樹 plant, tree

守 defend, protect, guard

收 gather collect; harvest

秀 refined, elegant, graceful

壽 old age, long life

殊 different, special, unusual

태 (tae)

颱 typhoon

太 very, too much; big; extreme

態 manner, attitude

殆 dangerous, perilous

怠 idle, negligent

泰 great, exalted, superior

兌 cash, money; to exchange, barter

胎 fetus, embryo, unborn child

특 (teuk)

特 special, unique, distinguished

와 (wah/wa)

瓦 pottery

왕 (wang)

王 king, ruler, royalty

旺 prosperous; prosperity

위 (wee/wi)

位 throne, rank, status

偉 great, robust, extraordinary

危 dangerous

威 power; powerful; dominate

慰 calm, comfort, console

衛 guard, protect, defend

違 disobey, defy, rebel; be different than

尉 officer, military rank

원 (won)

源 spring

園 garden, park, orchard

原 beginning, source, origin

願 to wish, ambition, desire, want

怨 hatred, enemy, resentment

苑 park, garden

瑗 a ring of fine jade

媛 beauty; a beautiful woman

우 (woo/wu)

友 friend, companion

牛 cow, ox, bull

雨 rain; rainy

優 superior; excellent

宇 house, building, structure

愚 stupid, foolish

憂 sad, grievance; grief, melancholy

羽 feather, plume; wings

佑 to help, bless, protect

祐 protection; divine intervention

욱 (wook/ook)

頊 grief, anxiety

旭 brilliance, radiant

昱 dazzling, bright light, sunlight

煜 bright, shining, brilliant

郁 sweet smelling; rich in aroma

운 (woon/wun)

運 luck, fortune

雲 clouds

云 clouds

芸 art, talent ability; rue (herb)

야 (yah/ya)

夜 night, dark

野 open country, wilderness, field

惹 irritate, offend

열 (yeol/yul)

烈 fiery, violent, ardent

劣 bad, inferior

연 (yeon)

然 promise, pledge

燃 burn; ignite

緣 karma, fate

戀 love, long for, yearn for

燕 swallow (bird) ; comfort, enjoy

蓮 lotus, water lily; paradise

漣 flowing water; ripples

영 (yeong/young)

永 perpetual, eternal, forever

英 petal, flower, leaf; brave, hero; england, english

令 commandant, magistrate

領 neck, collar; leader, guide

映 to reflect light

榮 glory, honor; to flourish or prosper

寧 serenity, peace; peaceful

嶺 mountain ridge, mountain peak

影 shadow, reflection; photograph

泳 to dive, swim

詠 sing, hum, chant

零 zero; fragment, fraction, sliver

靈 spirit, soul

瑛 crystal, gem

盈 full, overflowing

이 (yi/ie)

二 two; twice

利 gains, profit

李 plum

易 change

異 different, unusual, strange

梨 pear; opera

泥 earth, mud, clay

怡 harmony, joy, pleasure; to be glad

용 (yong)

龍 dragon; symbolic of emperors

勇 brave courageous fierce

容 looks appearance; figure, form

庸 common, ordinary, mediocre

傭 servant; to hire, employ, charter

溶 overflowing with; to melt, dissolve

熔 to melt, fuse, mold

瑢 gem ornaments, usually used for belts

유 (yoo/yu)

柳 willow tree; pleasure

遊 wander, roam, travel

柔 soft, gentle

維 maintain, preserve

裕 rich, abundant, plentiful

劉 to kill, destroy

육 (yook/yuk)

六 six

율 (yool/yul)

栗 chestnuts, chestnut tree

윤 (yoon/yun)

潤 soft, moist; sleek, fresh

尹 govern, oversee, direct

胤 heir, successor

[verobatto]

Destiel Chronicles

Vol. LXXIV

It was a love story from the very beginning

You Are (Part III)

(11x23)

Hi! We reached the last meta from season 11! Yay!

As I disclaimed in my last meta, this is a Destiel centered series of analysis, so the rest of the topics could be taken superficially.

Hope you enjoy! Let's start!

[[MORE]]

You are back

Çhuck, God himself, was agonizing on the floor, the event most important on the entire Universe, but even so, Dean ordered Sam to go to check on him, because Dean wanted to check on his angel, his own personal universe.

Gif credit @mad-as-a-box-of-frogs

So the relived and slight one side ways smile he showed when he realized his Cas was back, it was priceless.

So, okay, the world was about to end, but Dean has Cas back, so... 🤣🤣

And later, when Cas made a innocent appreciation about Dog's breakfast, Dean just feels so proud of him. Throwing to his brother "Cas is back."

But I know we are not here for this little scenes ... But the nefarious car talk... Okay, let's suffer now.

I for We. And you are a brother to Us

We all know there was plenty alcohol in that bunker when Dean decided not to die sober.

The camera showed us deliberately, when the hunter opens the fridge, we had beers there.

So the 'let's go to a ride to buy some beers before the world ends' was just an excuse.

He invited Sam to covered his intentions, knowing Sam would reject him for sure.

So, when Sam said no, as he was expecting, he calls for his angel.

Once in the road, the conversation wet from one point, to another. But the way it ended it wasn't pleasent.

DEAN: How you doing? You good? I mean, you know, the whole Lucifer thing.

So, this is what happens with Dean: he can openly talk about his feelings or other people's feelings with Sam or Jody, but he lost track of his own words when Cas is in front of him. So here, by this, he wanted to know about why Cas said yes, or... What was happening with him. Because he didn't see that coming. But he simplifies this whole ideas that haunting him for so many days and night without sleeping, saying 'the whole Lucifer thing'. The whole Lucifer thing means all of this, including his own deception of Cas rejecting to be saved by him. To come back to him. So there this wall between Dean's true feelings and Dean's words towards Cas. He is protecting himself from that pain, the rejection. So he is deeply concerned, but he needs to act cool.

CAS: I was just... so stupid.

Cas is still sad and feeling not usefulness.

DEAN: No, no, no. It wasn't stupid. You were right. You were right to let Lucifer ride shotgun.

Me and Sam wouldn't have done that.

By saying this, Dean is trying to convince Cas he was useful, and brave. Because he did something not Sam not him would do. Dean is trying to support him and comfort him, as a real friend would do. He could be yelling at him, and saying he did a stupid thing, as he uses to do when Cas takes this kind of decision, but this time is different, because he recognizes Cas said yes to Lucifer because he was feeling sad, and bad. And Dean didn't see that.

CAS: Well, it didn't work.

DEAN: No, but it was our best shot, and you stepped up.

CAS: I was just trying to help.

DEAN: Well, and you do help, Cas.

Dean repeats to Cas that what he did was useful, was very helpful, he is important in the fight. Now that he settled that point, is time to let the angel know he's not just important for the fight, but for him. Because he was terribly worried about him, not sleeping, imagine he could lost him forever... But his fears to rejection played Dean again.

DEAN: You know, l— You know, sometimes me and Sam have got so much going on that...we forget about everyone else.

He backtracked, but he tried, he tried to apologise because he didn't see what was happening with Cas. So he look for a shield. Sam. If he uses Sam, he won't be alone in his feelings... Because Sam loves Cas a a brother, a real friend. But not Dean. Dean is in love with Cas, so, Sam is the shield. Those feelings: BROTHERHOOD, FRIENDSHIP. Yes. Dean can handle that. But his true feelings? The first person talk? The L word?, He just can't right now... that's why he transforms I into WE/US/SAM AND ME. We didn't see you sad. We weren't aware of your depression.

CAS: Well, you do live exciting lives.

DEAN: [Chuckles] Yeah, that's one word for it.

But you're always there, you know?

With this Dean is trying to say another thing it was haunting his mind this whole time for sure. Cas always come when they call. Cas is always there for them. Cas takes care of him, all the time. He failed to Cas.

[Dean looks over at Cas]

DEAN: You're the best friend we've ever had.

Dean is feeling the cowardice all over him, using the shield, the safe WE and covering his own true emotions and feelings, to deliver a message to Cas: YOU ARE IMPORTANT, best friend, is wonderful privilege, a great place. But Cas is more than just that, even for Sam, so he adds...

You're our brother, Cas. I want you to know that.

Dean places Cas in Sam's spot: BROTHERHOOD that's the maximum place for a friend. So for sure, Sam considers Cas his brother. But is not the place Dean gave Cas in his heart. But is a safe word: BROTHER, there's not danger on that. Not feelings exposure. Not rejection.

Gif credit @mad-as-a-box-of-frogs👇

Cas' sad and disappointed expression when he hears Dean saying this is so painful to see. That's not the place he wants with Dean. So is more pain for his angelic heart. Dean, heartbroken as he was for being rejected when he tried to save him, is heartbreaking Castiel now. Misscomunication, that will take a huge place in Dabb's era.

Jealous Cas

Just a few words about this, because I'm addition to the new rejection our angel had felt in Dean's hands, when they were planing the soul bomb, they needed someone to get close to Amara. And Cas, who had witnessed the way Dean and Amara interacted, that... Bond, he gave his own opinion about the plan...

CAS: We need somebody to get close to her, someone with a... personal connection.

Cas made a face here, not a good one hehe. He knew about this, about their connection.

Goodbye

Dean said goodbye to his mom the grave ( as a foreshadow of her resurrection), to his brother, and then, it was time for Cas...

Gif credit @spnsmile 👇

The hug is tender, and Dean looks sad at the end. But then Cas throws to him his quote ...

CAS: I could go with you.

DEAN: No, no, no. No, I got to do this alone.

Castiel is always willing to die for Dean, so let him go alone to a certain death is not something he is able to handle, but because Dean is requesting him this, and then he even gave Cas a mission: to take care of Sam. That's why Cas stays. He has a new mission, to protect Sam and comfort him.

Finally, when the world was saved, the camera shows us Cas asking for Dean. Because his thoughts were with him the whole time. Just like Dean's thoughts when he wanted to get his angel back, or when they were planning to defeat Amara, and Dean asked what Cas thought about the plan, and Lucy mocked him, of course.

Gif credit @mad-as-a-box-of-frogs 👇

Need vs Want

The writers presented to us the topic we will explore in season 12/13 and even 14. What do you want, Dean?

Want is not need. The quote I NEED YOU. It was used by Dean Winchester in the crypt scene, as a shield too, to avoid the fact that he needs Cas because he loves him.

But here we have Amara

AMARA: Dean, you gave me what I needed most. I want to do the same for you.

And she wasn't wrong, she needed her brother to be in peace, and after a visit to the bunker, finding that pic with Mary and Dean on it, she perceived Dean needed his mom the most. So Dean will need his mother to finally find what he really wants. It will be the start of his self knowledge, self acceptance and self love that will lead him to finally express his true feelings for Castiel, that we all are waiting to happen in season 15.

I hope you enjoyed this!! See you in the next meta! Season 12!

To Conclude:

Last episode from this season showed us an attempt of Dean Winchester to put into words all the things that he was struggling with. But using Sam and changing the I for We/Us is a symptom of Dean's fears of being rejected. He is not ready to express his feelings which is translated into a new deception and rejection for Cas. Misscomunication.

Ending with the Need vs Want, preparing the self knowledge path Dean will have in season 14.

Tagging @magnificent-winged-beast @emblue-sparks @weird-dorky-little-deana @michyribeiro @whyjm @legendary-destiel @a-bit-of-influence @thatwitchydestielfan @misha-moose-dean-burger-lover @lykanyouko @evvvissticante @savannadarkbaby @dea-stiel @poorreputation @bre95611 @thewolfathedoor @charlottemanchmal @neii3n @deathswaywardson @followyourenergy @dean-is-bi-till-i-die @hekatelilith-blog @avidbkwrm @anarchiana @dickpuncher365 @vampyrosa @authorsararayne @anonymoustitans @mybonsai1976 @love-neve-dies @dustythewind @wayward-winchester67 @angelwithashotgunandtrenchcoat @trashblackrainbow @deeutdutdutdoh @destiel-shipper-11 @larrem88 @charmedbycastiel @ran-savant @little-crazy-misha-minion @samoosetheshipper

@shadows-and-padlocked-hearts @mishtho @dancingtuesdaymorning @nerditoutwithbooks @mikennacac73 @justmeand-myinsight @idontwantpeopletoknowmyname @teddybeardoctor @pepevons @helevetica @isthisdestiel @dizzypinwheel @jawnlockwinchester @horsez2 @qanelyytha

@imjustkipping @destielle @agusvedder @spnsmile @shippsblog @robot-feels @superlock-in-the-tardis @superduckbatrebel

If you want to be added or removed from this list, just let me know.

If you want to read the previous metas from season 11, here you have the links.

Vol. LXII, LXIII, LXIV, LXV, LXVI, LXVII, LXVIII, LXIX, LXX, LXXI, LXXII, LXXIII.

Buenos Aires, August 11th 2020 5:30 PM

[lacrimis]

The Black Angel of Council Bluffs Fairview Cemetery - Council Bluffs, IA 51503, Iowa - USA.

The True Story of Black Angel:

Before she died, Mrs. Dodge had a dream.She was standing on a rocky shoreline, shrouded in mist. An ancient boat emerged from the fog. In the prow of the boat, a beautiful woman, whom Mrs. 

Dodge guessed was an angel, stood holding a small bowl overflowing with water.“Drink,” the angel said. “I bring you both a promise and a blessing.” 

Mrs. Dodge chose not to.

“I was not yet ready for this supreme blessing. I felt unworthy, and it seemed to me it would be presumption on my part to partake of anything so wonderfully pure, so heavenly, so spiritual,” she later told her daughter, Anne.

The angel appeared to Mrs. Dodge a second time. Again, she chose not to drink.

When the angel came to her a third time, she accepted the offer. After drinking from the bowl, Mrs. Dodge felt that she had been “transformed into a new and glorious spiritual being.”

“I drank of that wonderful water of life and it gave me immortality,” she told her daughter, Anne, who later wrote of the story.

Mrs. Dodge died shortly after.

The following year, Ella and Anne commissioned celebrated sculptor Daniel Chester French to immortalize their mother’s vision in bronze. The angel statue was dedicated in 1920. French, who would go on to sculpt a seated Abraham Lincoln in marble for the Lincoln Memorial in Washington, D.C.

...........................

COUNCIL BLUFFS — The winged figure looms over a quiet grove. On a clear afternoon, she’s draped in sunlight, and a breeze gently shakes the leaves from surrounding trees. Brown and black squirrels scurry around the scene.

The angel extends her right hand, as if inviting a viewer to join her on the prow of the ancient vessel she stands on. In her left, she holds a dish, eternally overflowing into the basin beneath her. Her gaze is fixed westward. Her expression, serene.

She doesn’t look like she’s trying to kill you.

And yet, the Black Angel of Council Bluffs, standing near the edge of Fairview Cemetery, has inspired dozens, perhaps hundreds, of malevolent myths in the decades since her dedication.

Some say she springs to life after sundown and, borne by her powerful wings, zips around the nearby graves. Others say she shoots jets of fire from her eyes when the clock strikes midnight. Some whisper of children running behind her base only to disappear forever. Others recount the curse of her stare — look into her eyes at midnight, they say, and prepare for an early demise.

The superstitions fascinate scholars of folklore, who consider the local legends powerful social connectors. And they baffle historians who know the story behind the angel — the story of Ruth Anne Dodge, wife of the legendary Gen. Grenville Dodge, and the dreams she had just before her death.

Kori Nelson, executive director of the Historic General Dodge House and a Council Bluffs native, grew up with the legends. She’s heard the vague warnings against meeting the angel’s gaze or touching her outstretched hand.

She and her colleagues regard the stories with weary acceptance.

“It’s just a statue with a fountain. I mean, that’s really all it is,” she said. “I think it’s our job to put out the story of what actually is true.”

That story begins with Ruth Anne Browne and her marriage to Grenville Mellen Dodge, brother of businessman Nathan Phillips “N.P.” Dodge, in 1854. The couple moved west from Illinois to the Nebraska Territory before finally settling on the Iowa side of the river.

Grenville would go on to distinguish himself during the Civil War — initially commanding the Fourth Iowa Infantry, he rose through the ranks from captain to colonel to general. When the war ended in 1865, he returned to Council Bluffs and eventually took a job as surveyor and chief engineer of the Union Pacific Railroad. A few years later, he completed his family home on Third Street.

The home is now a museum. Gen. Dodge’s military accomplishments and contributions to the nation’s railways are celebrated in his adopted home. His wife’s memory, Nelson said, has been mostly overshadowed.

She was spunky, said Danette Hein-Snider, membership and special projects coordinator with the Dodge house. She could shoot and ride. And in an era when women usually deferred to their husbands on matters of opinion, she spoke her mind.

Once, when she learned of a man severely beating one of his female slaves, she wrote a letter of complaint.

“I think it is horrible and outrageous,” she wrote. “How I would like to see him shot.”

Mrs. Dodge worked to establish the first free public library in Council Bluffs, helping to organize fundraisers for its creation.

“She wasn’t just a sit-at-home, meek and mild woman. She was feisty. And I don’t think the general would have married someone who wasn’t,” Nelson said.

The Dodges raised three daughters — Lettie, Eleanor and Anne. In January 1916, Gen. Dodge died. In September of that year, Mrs. Dodge followed. But first, she told one of her daughters a story that would come to define her legacy.

Council Bluffs Fairview Cemetery

[aion-rsa]

The Avengers Who Were Also X-Men

http://bit.ly/2GS8zIN

Scarlet Witch is back in Avengers: Endgame, but there's a long history of X-Men joining the Avengers.

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Feature Marc Buxton

Marvel

May 2, 2019

The Avengers

X-Men

Quicksilver and the Scarlet Witch’s inclusion in the Marvel Cinematic Universe was just the latest chapter in the long history of X-Men characters joining the Avengers. Wanda is back for Avengers: Endgame, of course, and we assume you know what happened to Pietro in Avengers: Age of Ultron.

But those aren't the only two X-Men that have answered the call to assemble with the Avengers. Plenty of mutants have become major parts of Avengers history.

So here is a historic look at those X characters who have also served as Avengers!

Quicksilver

Joined the team in Avengers #16 (1965)

In Avengers #16, Stan Lee and Jack Kirby did, at the time, the unheard of. The legendary fathers of the Marvel Age replaced the current roster of Avengers with an entirely new team, mostly comprised of former villains. Joining Captain America on the team were Scarlet Witch, Hawkeye, and mutant speedster, Quicksilver.

Before he joined the Avengers, Quicksilver was a member of Magneto’s Brotherhood of Evil Mutants. He was a reluctant villain whose main motivation was protecting his sister from Magneto’s machinations. When he and his sister joined Cap on the Avengers, a cohesive history between the X-Men and the Avengers began.

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Quicksilver almost instantly began to play the arrogant rogue, an Avenger with a huge chip on his shoulder out to prove that he was worthy of the name Avengers despite his violent past. Quicksilver served as a foil for many of his comrades and stood between his sister and many romantic relationships, first with Hawkeye and finally with the being that Scarlet Witch would marry, the Vision.

Scarlet Witch

Joined the team in Avengers #16 (1965)

Like her brother Quicksilver, Wanda Maximoff joined Earth’s Mightiest in Avengers #16 and became part of Cap’s Kooky Quartet. Scarlet Witch is the most powerful mutant ever to join the Avengers but oddly, she was never actually a member of any X team. Yes, she started out as a member of Magneto’s Brotherhood of Evil Mutants, but that was the only mutant team she was ever a part of.

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Wanda spent her entire heroic career as a core member of the Avengers and from the Kree-Skrull War, to the Korvac Saga, to the Celestial Madonna saga, she was front and center for most of the major early Avengers stories. Scarlet Witch was the unwitting power behind the House of M crossover and profoundly impacted the X Verse when she declared, “No More Mutants,” decimating the mutant population. She was also the catalyst of the events leading to Avengers vs. X-Men, as the two teams came into conflict over the Witch’s future...which led to the death of Charles Xavier.

So while the Avengers experienced many happy moments with the Scarlet Witch such as her marriage to the android Vision, the X-Men experienced great tragedy because of Wanda Maximoff. 

Beast

Joined the team in Avengers #151 (1976)

A founding member of the X-Men, the Beast might have been just about the last mutant you would ever imagine joining the Avengers, particularly in 1976. Beast joined the X-Men right after Marvel tried to integrate Hank McCoy into its family of horror titles. This was right after Beast went all blue (actually grey at first) and hairy.

From mutant to would be horror star, Marvel couldn’t seem to find a place for Beast until he joined the Avengers. Hank McCoy was a major member of the Avengers for much of the '70s and into the '80s forming a lasting friendship with Wonder Man that became one of the central relationships of the title. Where Beast found nothing but fear and hatred as a member of the X-Men, he found acceptance and celebrity as a member of the Avengers.

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The Beast served as a liaison between humans and mutants, living out Charles Xavier’s dream of acceptance as an Avenger. The Beast will forever be known as the first heroic X-Man to answer the call of the Avengers and finding new levels of popularity with readers while doing so.  

Namor, the Sub-Mariner

Joined the team in Avengers #262 (1985)

This one is a bit controversial, but Marvel has established that due to his little ankle wings, Namor is in fact, a mutant. Namor joined the Avengers in the mid-80s and became a major member of that era’s team. The highlight of Namor’s time with the Avengers was his constant chest pounding feud of one-upmanship with fellow Avenger Hercules. More recently, he had some squabbles with T'Challa in the pages of New Avengers.

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He wouldn’t have made our list if Namor didn’t join the X-Men during the Avengers vs. X-Men saga where he was one of five mutants to gain the powers of the Phoenix. He might have served briefly with each team and his status as a mutant may be questionable, but Namor was one of the few X Avengers during some very exciting times in both teams’ history.

Firestar

Joined the team in Avengers vol. 3 #4 (1998)

Ah, everyone’s favorite amazing friend. Angelica Jones just recently joined the X-Men but was a long standing member of the Avengers starting with Kurt Busiek and George Perez’s classic run in the late '90s. This microwave wielding mutant powerhouse took part in many classic tales including Busiek and Perez’s Ultron story which pretty much everyone needs to read.

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At first a member of the mutant Hellions and then the heroic New Warriors, Firestar joined the Avengers with her boyfriend Justice and basically earned her hero chops as a member of Earth’s Mightiest. She later took all her Avengers experience to the X-Men.

And no, Ms. Lion was not on any of these teams with the mighty Firestar.

Wolverine

Joined the team in New Avengers #6 (2005)

While he was the most popular member of the X-Men, Wolverine also joined the Avengers causing a firestorm of controversy as old time fans railed against the already hyper exposed feral mutant becoming part of Earth’s mightiest.

That didn’t stop Wolverine from taking part in some of the 21st century’s greatest Avengers stories, such as Civil War, Secret Invasion, Siege, and Age of Ultron all had Wolverine as a central Avenger. Plus, when the X-Men and the Avengers went to war in A vs. X Wolverine was caught smack in the middle of the conflict.

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Wolverine originally joined the team because Tony Stark basically paid him a fortune (hey, Wolverine needed beer money), but he eventually became just as important to the team in the early part of the 2000s as Iron Man and Captain America. Fans may dream of seeing Hugh Jackman’s Wolverine joining the Avengers on the big screen, but for a long time in the comics, Wolverine answered the call to assemble.

Storm

Joined the team in Avengers vol. 4 #19 (2011)

When the Avengers needed to swell its ranks against the forces of Norman Osborn and HAMMER, the call went out to some great heroes. None were greater than the X-Men’s most regal member, the then Queen of Wakanda, the weather witch, Storm. Along with Wolverine, Storm has always been the heart of the X-Men and her time with the Avengers was a testament to her status as one of the world’s mightiest champions.

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Storm came to the Avengers by the recommendation of her then husband the Black Panther and quickly became one of the team’s most powerful members. She was torn from the Avengers’ ranks during the events of Avengers vs. X-Men but during her time with the team, Storm served admirably.

Havok

Joined the team in Uncanny Avengers #1 (2012)

The X-Men’s first field commander, Cyclops, may have never joined the Avengers, but his baby bro Havok did in the pages of Uncanny Avengers. Havok was hand picked by Captain America to lead the team of human/mutant heroes and quickly became a great Avengers leader, guiding his team through memorable conflicts with Apocalypse and Kang.

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Like most X-Men and Avenger characters, Havok’s character continuity quickly became convoluted and timey wimey. You see, in an alternate universe, Havok married and had a daughter with the Wasp and then had to undo the timeline to save reality, sacrificing his daughter along the way and becoming hideously scarred and – you know what, skip it. Havok is awesome and made an awesome Avenger.

Cannonball

Joined the team in Avengers vol. 5 #1 (2012)

Fans have watched this long time member of the New Mutants, X-Force, and the X-Men grow up over the decades. The culmination of Cannonball’s heroic journey occurred when he and his best pal, Sunspot, were chosen to join the Avengers.

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Cannonball has an awesome wide eyed innocent quality that really drives home just how cool it would be to serve as an Avenger. He was always the corn-fed kid as part of the X-Men and the New Mutants, but as an Avenger, Sam Guthrie came into his own as a hero and as a man.

Sunspot

Joined the team in Avengers vol. 5 #1 (2012)

Sunspot joined the Avengers at the same time as his pal Cannonball. While Cannonball has that innocent vibe to him, Sunspot has a swagger like he belongs on a team labeled Earth’s Mightiest Heroes. He is arrogant, self important, and as heroic as they come. Like Cannonball, Sunspot served as a New Mutant, a member of X-Force, and a member of the X-Men before joining the world’s elite heroes.

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Sunspot’s Avengers run was memorable. During his time as an Avenger, Sunspot took down one of the Avengers’ greatest groups of antagonists, the cadre of mad scientists known as AIM. How did Sunspot defeat AIM? Did he bust into AIM HQ using his solar energy powers to destroy the group? Nope, Sunspot purchased AIM, bee keeper helmets and all, and proved that Tony Stark wasn’t the only Avenger with the swag to throw around billons.

Rogue

Joined the team in Uncanny Avengers #4 (2013)

Rogue’s history with the Avengers goes way back, not as a hero, as she was first an adversary. It was Rogue who put Carol Danvers out of action for a long time when she drained the powers and the psyche of the former Ms. Marvel. Back then, it would be hard to imagine that the woman who so devastated one of the Avengers’ finest heroes would ever join the team’s ranks, but she became a core member of Uncanny Avengers.

Sunfire

Joined the team in Uncanny Avengers #5 (2013)

Sunfire was not an X-Man for long. He joined the all new, all different X-Men as the same time as Wolverine, Storm, and Nightcrawler only to leave the newly formed international team like seven seconds later. He also didn’t spend very long as part of Havok’s Uncanny Avengers but we freakin’ love Sunfire’s costume so we had to stick him on the list.

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His time as an Avenger may have been short, but during his tenure, Sunfire took on Kang and a Celestial and even died for a bit (he got better).

X-23

Joined the team in Avengers Academy #39 (2012)

Wolverine joining the Avengers almost broke fandom but when his clone X-23 joined the Avengers Academy, well nothing really dramatic happened except some really good stories. X-23 was a neophyte hero when she entered the Avengers’ school and had to repress her savage nature in order to excel. She was a member in good standing of the school’s upper class and gave an edge to the Avengers Academy title for a number of years.

X-23 took the lessons she learned from the Avengers and is now a member of the core X-Men team, dating a time lost version of the teenage Angel. Who just gained cosmic powers. And lives in the same timeline as his older self. Who has amnesia and thinks he might be a real angel. Oh, comics.

Anyway, X-23 was once a student of the Avengers, so yeah, there you go.

Sabretooth

Joined the team in Uncanny Avengers Vol. 2 #1 (2015)

It’s hard to believe that one of the most vicious, feral villains in the Marvel Universe was on any superhero team, and this psychopathic killer has been on two. Victor Creed once attempted to reform and even convinced the X-Men he had seen the error of ways back in the early '90s, even going on a few missions with the team until he reverted to his true colors and gutted a few X people. After the inversion of Axis, Sabretooth was converted into a hero who tried to make up for his bloody past. Again. It didn't last. 

Deadpool

Joined the team in Avengers #0 (2015)

Deadpool is a super star of comics, film, cosplay, and Hot Topics across America, but the Merc With a Mouth was also an Avenger. Now, if Wade Wilson shows up anywhere near Avengers 5, fandom might shatter out of pure glee. But if you want to see Deadpool cut wise and cut bad guys as a card carrying Earth’s Mightiest Hero, check out issues of Uncanny Avengers post-2015.

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Deadpool was originally recruited by Captain America, but when Cap broke bad and went HYDRA in Secret Empire, it really threw the suddenly hopeful and heroic Deadpool for a loop and ignited some really great character moments. Deadpool was actually a really solid Avenger because he was constantly out to prove himself a worthy member of the Earth’s Mightiest. He even (mostly) refrained from putting peeps in the ground when he hung with the A team.

Cable

Joined the team in Uncanny Avengers #4 (2016)

Deadpool’s time traveling badass film co-star Cable also joined the Uncanny Avengers and served as the team’s strategist and moral compass, guiding the team through some tough times. Like Deadpool, Cable also turned the volume down on the killing when he joined the Avengers, but there was just something odd about seeing the grizzled old psychic mutant and his giant hunking gun race into battle as an Avenger.

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So what brought Cable to the Avengers doorstep? Oh, the fact that the Red Skull had stolen and was using the brain of the deceased Professor Charles Xavier. Um, ewww. You can see why the Uncanny Avengers needed a psychic as powerful as ‘ol Cable.  

Dazzler

Joined the team in A-Force #2 (2016)

Sadly, this was not the disco version of Dazzler, but a more adult, punk rock version of the mutant rock star. Whatever the case, we always have and always will love Dazzler, and at this time of her career Dazzler needed a friend due to the fact she was recently kidnapped by Mystique. The shape shifting mutant fatale replaced Dazzler and kept the songstress in a coma so Dazzler could be experimented on. That’s messed up, comic book Mystique! Reasons like this are why we like Katniss Mystique better!

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Anyway, Dazzler needed time to heal after her ordeal and joined the all-woman Avengers team known as A-Force. With A-Force, Dazzler bravely served and forged new bonds that helped her become a hero once again. 

from Books http://bit.ly/2Ve5RqT