#also i know miles is an incredible artist but i do not think that he would do miguel the honor of drawing him properly. thanks 4 reading

[unipacas]

doodles of the boy 😭 i've been thinking about him every day!!!!!

[notebookmusical]

“In light of everything that’s happened in the past three months alone, here’s some incredibly valid reasons to be pissed off at Taylor Swift, or simply not like her — as someone who loved her, and loved her music. First and foremost, Taylor Swift is personally burning a hole through the ozone with the amount of CO2 she uses. That’s not even the main point of this video; but this is a graph from 2022 of how much CO2 she produced of her 170 private jet flights, versus the average person. She has spent 70 grand on jet fuel alone. Taylor Swift, alone has used 170 tons of CO2 in the past 3 months. The average person only burns like, 16 tons. That’s not even the main part of this video. The main point of the video is the fact that she has not spoken up about Palestine. And the reason that is so fundamentally frustrating is that Taylor Swift has influence. Quote Brittany Broski, when she also didn’t speak up about Palestine — “if you have a platform, and you have people listening, you have to use it.” It’s criminal to not use it, and Taylor Swift uses it. This is from September 2023. Record-breaking registration numbers from one Instagram post. Literally stating, saying “I’ve been so lucky to see so many of you guys at my US shows recently. I’ve heard you raise your voices, and I know how powerful they are. Make sure you’re ready to use them in our elections this year!” They had a 72(%) increase in 18-year-old registrations. When it comes to Palestine, she’s completely silent. And now that it’s somewhat more socially acceptable to attend Pro-Palestine events, she’s been quietly going with Selena Gomez, but I for one, think that your Instagram is perhaps the best asset you have. If not, money. And I’m sure in a couple months, we’ll learn about how Taylor Swift was quietly setting up foundations for pro-Palestine, and that she was always for the cause and she’s always supported them, but all it takes is one fucking Instagram post. Especially when Israel Palestine is fundamentally a war of narratives. It’s whose story do you believe, despite the mounting evidence that proves that Israel has continuously been doing ethnic cleansing and genocide. They are still maintaining this narrative that they are not doing that. And all Taylor Swift has to do is say “hey, 22 thousand deaths in 3 months? The most in any modern war? This doesn’t seem right.” I don’t even want her to be that leftist or radical, but literally just to ask the question to her largely American audience, when US has bypassed Congress twice to sell millions in arms aid to Israel.  Just for her to be like “Should that many kids be dying, perhaps?” The bar is on the floor, but she still refuses to do it. And the reason why Taylor Swift in particular, not because of the influence that she has and not because of the platform that she has, but why her in particular, is because the IDF continues to use her songs. I know it was a public trend, but the fact that so many occupation forces felt comfortable and confident  to make like, dance edits to Taylor Swift’s music. I think it’s so important how an artist’s music is used because when the republicans wanted to use Eminem’s 8 mile track, he was like “absolutely fucking not, I do not give you consent to do that, and I do not associate with your politics. Don’t do that.” I feel like she should know that her music is being used as the anthem of the occupation forces as they go and bomb civilians. Her, and other artists like her, like Beyonce, who showed her film in Israel, and they’re all like dancing and singing, and saying “you’re not going to break my soul”, whilst they continue to bomb the shit out of civilians have said nothing. And I hope, as I’ve demonstrated in the video, for the people who are going to be like “What’s Taylor swift going to do? She’s not a politician.” Be serious. Be serious. She has a fucking chokehold on at least a billion people. She could’ve said and done way more than what she’s done, and also the CO2 levels." (from: this tiktok*)

* i tried to transcribe the tiktok since tiktok wasn't showing the captions for me but if i misheard anything please let me know!

[valworth]

I do think that Wrightworth's popularity makes the AA fandom slightly uninhabitable. I'm by no means the first person to say this, but it sure is on my mind. This isn't to say I don't understand the appeal. I do. They have some incredibly strong moments and are an interesting, compelling couple. They are also both massive bitches, which is tremendously fun. My issue lies more so in how inescapable it is.

I think both Phoenix and Edgeworth deserve the grace to be interpreted apart from each other. They are individuals, with massive lives outside of the other. I think it's really insulting when some can't bear to think of the two apart, god forbid in other relationships, for more than five seconds before they have to make a joke about how they're the most important couple. We get it. Can people talk about something else, though?

Not only that, but I yearn for more varied and nuanced depictions of their relationship, if we're using them at all. My request will always be to make it fail. They're so compelling as a failed couple. I mean, god. You, on an obsessive whim, shape your life around chasing this guy. This guy you knew for a year in elementary school. You have other reasons, but always in your mind, there he is. This thing that's just out of reach, a goal to pursue. Then it happens. You get him, and you win, and it's everything you dreamed. And then it isn't. It just doesn't work. Plain and simple, cruel and real. You're not a good couple, and it crumbles, and every time you see him from that point forward, you have this pang of anger. This feeling of betrayal. You were not what I wanted you to be.

Then there's the inverse of that. The feelings that come from being a trophy, a conquest, an item. They both lack the emotional intelligence to talk about and navigate their own feelings, with Phoenix running head-on into everything with reckless abandon, refusing to question his own motives, and Miles having a tendency to detach himself from his issues as hard as he possibly can. It's such an interesting, flawed basis for a relationship. That's just my take, though. It's how I like them, and no one else will ever be beholden to my interpretations!

I get AA is escapism for a lot of people, and if that's how it works for you, total respect. But I crave variety, god I do. It's not about being right, it's not about being wrong, I just think there are so many ways to play with these characters and the fandom is stuck in a rut of samey-same content, both happy and sad. I'm not here to shame you for liking what you like, either. I'm pretty esoteric. I mean, Jesus. There's nothing less welcome in the AA fandom than a self shipper getting between Wrightworth. I don't mind doing my own thing, and I'm happier with fewer eyes on me anyway. If my stuff upsets you, that's okay.

That being said, I think I'd have a much easier time being around the fandom if people treated it less like there was a way to interpret the games correctly. The general fandom consensus is suffocating at times. Escapism can be dangerous if you don't know how to handle threats to your perception of a made-up world. I don't mean that to be condescending, I've just been there.

It was a breath of fresh air to leave the AA fandom for a while and focus on something built upon 18 years of fan-interpretations, with no right answers. Where every artist's version of them feels drastically different. It made me realize how silly this all is. It also made me remember how sad it was that when I joined the fandom and started trying to share my opinions on certain Phoen-ish ships, a popular AA blogger publicly ridiculed me and let their followers harass me. I just don't understand why the AA fandom compels people to feel like they have to be correct about everything. I've had to be very careful not to let feelings like that sour the whole franchise for me.

I myself have veered into that territory, and it's why I don't like writing this post. I don't want to be that person. I think everyone should be able to give each other space to do what makes them happy. If common fandom interpretations are what you like, then go with those. If you're like me, though, and you've ever been nervous to share headcanons and analyses that are unpopular, this is me telling you I think you're great. Say what you want, make what you want. It doesn't have to make sense. It doesn't have to be right. People might be mean about it, but you still deserve the right to self-actualization, even if no one else likes the things you do.

It's more important for you to post what you want than for others not to see it. If you're not hurting anyone, you can always rest assured that you've no reason to entertain their ire. From the bottom of my heart, just get silly with it.

[staplersalad]

I cannot be the only Beatles fan drawing parallels with One Direction right now.

16th October, Liam Payne dies, falling from his balcony. 8 years after the band split up, a band that was together for 6 years (2010-2016)

I thought about the Beatles, how they’d been together for 8 years (1962-1970) granted john, paul and george knew each other since 1957/58.

Both bands took off when they were roughly the same age. Both bands had not very long careers. And yes I’m incredibly biased and so I don’t think that they had the same cultural significance, but were both bands subjected to an incredibly insane level of fandom? hell yeah, and while I’d argue with the internet existing in 1D’s time, they probably dealt with it worse- the concept of boy band fandoms and celebrity worship were so new during The Beatles era that while it may seem mild compared to fandoms in the age of the internet, since it was new it probably felt just as scary and intense.

And then I thought about Liam’s death, about how John died 10 years after the band split up. And well when Liam died, as someone who was alive during the 1D era (never became a fan but hell yeah I was singing and dancing to all their chart toppers) the first thought that came to my head was wow, the 1D era feels like such a long time ago, his death felt so very separated from “a member of the former band One Direction dies”

And with sadness I very quickly thought about John and how he died 10 years after the band split, even longer, and well, did The Beatles connection feel forced then? We look back with nostalgia and love, but on that very day he died and news spread, did The Beatles feel like something of so long ago?

And I haven’t kept up with 1D at all but I do know some of the members were on good terms and good friends but I bet it was more on the lines of “oh you and I were together at a very pivotal points of our lives” a very nostalgia based friendship if you will, and so when Liam died, I do not doubt for a second they were in shock and their hearts broke at the news, but did it feel like when you’ve heard your old best friend from school passed away or did it feel like your brother passed away? And with sadness I ask the same question for when John died, hoping it’s the second answer.

And I’d hate to think the first answer was true for when John died, and truly I don’t think it is. I think the music community was so much more tight knit back then, there really wasn’t that sheer volume of top artists like we have today. Also their solo careers were all very successful from the get go, their names still always floating around in tabloids- which is also true for the 1D members in some regard but the truth is in the age of the internet and a massive volume of artists in the music industry, they’ve definitely floated away which didn’t really happen to The Beatles if you get what I mean. And so I think they were in some ways closer after the band split than the members of One Direction was?

And Liam from whatever little tidbits I find on the internet seems to have not been a very great person and so his death initially (well maybe still is) was tainted by a lot of that and I thought about how John also wasn’t a perfect person either and when he died where there people that thought the same? I’d hope not. But also John’s solo career was a million miles ahead of even the peak of Liam’s solo career and so his death must have had more gravity in that sense.

I don’t know I guess I just found it bizarre how when we talk about The Beatles, John’s death 10 years after the band broke up felt so much more consecutive whereas having lived these 8 years after 1D broke up and Liam dying, I realise how much time must have really passed.

[sootcrow]

I’m gonna ask a bunch of narumistu shippers this but how do you think Iris would react seeing that happen? Also how would your dream Narumitsu wedding play out, and would pearl be invited? I just have so many questions! I also love your art!❤️❤️❤️

congrats on being my first anon haha! I’m honored to be up here with the other narumitsu artists considering I like just got here lmao

I don’t usually talk about these kinds of things of my own accord but I DO think about this literally all the time and I love thinking about character dynamics n stuff so I will take this as permission to talk about some of my thoughts lmao

Iris

If you’re talking about how Iris would react to narumitsu in general, I’ve got a lot of thoughts on the matter

All things considered and as sad as this sounds, I think iris is pretty familiar with this kind of feeling and would handle it well outwardly. Considering the time they spent together in college, I think she would be pretty familiar with Phoenix's feelings about miles and his plans about going into law on top of art, so it's probably not exactly completely unexpected to her

Iris may have had a lot of time to get over him, but also with all that time with zero contact with him until bridge to turnabout, she's never had to address her feelings until she's metaphorically and literally staring the issue right in the face.

Phoenix, on the other hand, is forced to confront this event and any lingering emotions and issues he had afterwards right away. That event was a MAJOR turning point for his whole life. He got accused of murder, he ate glass (cough), his girlfriend apparently hates him ???, he met Mia, and overall everything has been turned upside down for him. He can't just ignore it or forget about it or pretend nothing happened like Iris could, and by now, his feelings have dulled. They definitely both still have lingering feelings about each other, but both of them end up dealing with them in completely different ways

Iris is definitely going to be feeling a LOT of pain over both seeing him again and seeing him with someone else, regardless of how prepared for it she tells herself she is. It's human to hurt when you see someone you cared about move on from you to someone else. There's a lot of guilt and blame that she carries from the incident, ESPECIALLY when she has to confront her emotions and him face to face.

But Iris is not a petty person or a grudge holder, unlike Dahlia, and she cares a lot about Phoenix. She's also not an idiot. As much it makes her heart ache, she knows her chance has passed and that Phoenix has moved on, even if Iris is still working on that herself. She will heal with time. Despite everything, I think she is an incredibly strong person.

Though it's going to hurt (a lot), I think that regardless, she'd be really happy for them.

Wedding

In terms of a wedding I don't actually think about that all too much yet dfjkfhfs I haven't gotten anywhere past the pw trilogy so I don't actually know all too much about anything post-trials and tribulations yet. (despite that I do have a whole narumitsu progression timeline. aside from the pining that they both think is one sided, there is a whole lot of nothing until AFTER the 7 year gap. they don't actually get together until after that. god they are so infuriatingly slowburn i hate them)

Anyways as hilarious as I think "pearl is homophobic" is, she's still a kid. We can't completely fault a kid who doesn't know better and never really had the chance to learn. I think it'd take a lot of work on Maya's part to be able to give her a proper explanation (if nick tried to explain anything he'd just end up getting pearl-slapped and things would go nowhere probably, its all up to maya here), but I figure pearl eventually comes around with some help and is like SUPER involved in everything. Her passion for romance n stuff just gets switched to nick and edgeworth instead of maya and nick

Once I'm more familiar with all of the other characters and the events of post-pw trilogy I'll definitely have a lot more ideas

[gale-gentlepenguin]

Gale Reviews: Spider-man : Across the Spiderverse

thanks @knightsweeties for drawing my icon's spidersona

So I am WAY behind on movies I should have been watching and Finally cleared my schedule enough to watch this movie

So I think I will break it down into the following. As a fan of into the spider-verse, my expectations for this film are a lot higher than most movies. Here's how I am breaking it down.

Animation

Plot

The Characters

The Lesson

Does it live up to the hype

Final Thoughts

____________________________________________________________

Animation

Across the Spiderverse is an animation marvel.

I wouldnt call it beautiful, because that is such a mundane term. It is artistically masterful. It even goes beyond what it had done in the previous film.

The way the film has each universe has its own art, color and style that transfers to each character. The level of detail is beautiful. The way colors are used in Gwen's universe. How Hobie is never looking consistent in any shot he is in because in his own words "He hates consistency" Its incredible.

The animation is the best part of the movie. If the animation is a cut above the rest and it is the best I have every seen in a CGI film.

10/10 (And that is a hard 10)

Plot

The film takes place a year and 4 months after the events of Into the spiderverse. There is a group of inter dimensional spider people that go around to fight anomalies and ensure the "Canon" is maintained.

Miles aka Spiderman is just trying to get a hang of his life as Spider man, his parents are worried about his future and now he has a new villain, the Spot. The Spot is obsessed with becoming Miles/Spiderman's nemesis and is hopping universes to increase his power.

Miles ends up in trouble with the interdimensional spider people and their leader, Miguel o'hara. And it culminates in the Spot becoming a massive threat to the multiverse, Miles being chased down by the spider people because he is an anomoly and him ending up in a dimension from where the Spider that bit him came from. A world where there is no spider man.

Now there is SO much to cover and this movie is a 2 hour and 20 minutes and it is only PART 1!

Now there are also a bunch of other story lines like with Gwen and her dad, Peter B parker becoming a father and The Spot figuring out his powers. But that is only the beginning.

Now the way the movie takes its time to set things up is fine... but it also feels like there are some things that could have been cut. It feels so long. The movie does do a good job to ensure it never feels boring, but at the same time it feels cluttered and empty in random intervals.

The first part does leave me excited for part 2, but I also feel like I have a lot of movie to process already and I am not in a rush to see part 2.

I think the previous film did a better job maintaining the hype and pacing, while also giving so much development.

Overall 8/10

_____________________________________________________________

The Characters

Miles Morales: Miles is as great as he was in the first film. You sympathize with his situation, he never comes off as annoying or jerkish because the movie does a good job in making sure you understand his perspective. Even when he is arguing with his parents, you know he wants to tell them but all the advice he has been given is NOT to. The problem with Miles though is that his problem is basically the same as the first one, people keep telling him what he is or needs to be and he has to find his own way and rise up. It feels a bit repetitive. But that being said it is a twist on it because with the situation we as the audience have to figure out if Miles is in the right or not.

Spider-Gwen: Gwen gets more development here, including the focus on her dynamic with her father. The strain that occured when he found out that his daughter was the vigilante that he believed killed his daughter's best friend. Its a whole can of worms as Gwen is basically dimension hoping to avoid dealing with that. We also see how she and miles grow closer ONLY to seperate as he learned the truth on why she never visited and why he is an anomoly. Gwen does manage to make up with her dad and she has a new mission, saving Miles. She is in her own way just as much of a main character in this as Miles, which is great for her as it allows us to explore her character more. Her character is one of the best.

The Spot: When it comes to pathetic villains that grow into massive threats, you can say I have a soft SPOT for them. I like the backstory and how absurdly dumb it is but how it makes sense. The spot is growing into his own and a twisted version of miles, like he had to deal with in the first movie. Coming into his own but lacking control only to grow exponentially as he grew in confidence. The spot now has a mission, be the true nemesis of Miles whether he wants it or not, and he is willing to rip apart the multiverse to do it.

Miguel O'Hara: The hard ass future spiderman that is obsessed with making sure no other universe collapse. He is fervent in his belief that Canon can not be broken and any and all threats to the spiderverse need to be dealt with. He is also a foil to Miles because he is a bigger, serious and seemingly more competent version of him. Miles' own friends take this guy's side over his, and it is a great point of tension. Personally, I think he is wrong with his takes and while the movie tries to show him as right, it fails to take into account how inaccurate it is by ignoring the times things DIDNT break. If Canon was so definitive, than Miles universe would have collapsed when his world's spiderman died. Regardless I do like the character.

The Spiders: The other spider people were great. Seeing Peter b parker, and Spider byte were some of my personal favorites. Spider woman was great... but it bothered me that a PREGNANT WOMAN was doing all this crazy dangerous stuff. I dont care if she is a spider person that is dangerous and could cause a TON of complications. WHY DID NO ONE POINT OUT THE DANGER TO HER? Rant done, I did enjoy all the jokes that were made and most of the spiders were endearing and fun to see. (Lego spider man is the best one confirmed by Miguel)

Overall solid 9/10. While Gwen got an upgrade and Miguel was a welcome antagonist I think there were a LOT more characters here and it cost some of them development. But despite that it is still good.

______________________________________________________________

The Lesson

Its basically a coming of age story that life is unpredictable and that people can advise you but you are the only person that can decide how you write your story. That is similar to Miles story in the first one and it could be argued that this is just an expansion on that. Or it can be said that the first lesson was to rise to the occasion and never fear failure while this is to push forward and decide whats right for you.

Overall its done well if a bit of a rehash.

9/10

__________________________________________________________

Does it live up to the Hype?

Yes. 100% if you liked the first one you will love the second one. But I can also see the argument that the first movie was great as a stand alone, and with this being part one it now becomes dependent on how the second part delivers, that is the problem with movies in Parts. I do think it will deliver, so I am not worried on that end. So yes, it lives up to the hype.

_____________________________________________________________

Final thoughts

Across the Spiderverse brings a new redefinition of animation as we know it, it is a solid plot and it has a lot of hype and build up going into the next part. I am glad I waited before watching as it allows me not to get sucked into people's opinions and I can say I enjoy it without just agreeing with the crowd.

solid 10/10 for me. It is one of the best Animated movies I have ever seen and I cant wait for part 2.

Also what is with spider people and child endangerment? Spider woman and peter B parker. I got my EYE on you

TLDR: Its an INCREDIBLE movie, its long and it lives up to the hype.

[baobhanlore-art]

*Across The Spiderverse Spoilers*

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I'm just gonna rant a bit about whitewashing Miguel O'hara and how people don't know the difference between race and ethnicity.

Disclaimer: I am not poc. I'm white passing (Jewish whiteness is complicated) and if you are poc then I'd love to hear your perspective. I'm just repeating the views and teachings of poc figures and their analyses of media and representation.

So there's been a lot of crackering towards Miggy. It's happened to most of the poc characters, don't get me wrong, but I feel like Miguel's has fallen under the radar for the most part. But Miguel is often drawn with very light skin even though the movie has portrayed him as having light brown tan-ish skin.

This is a screenshot from the train scene. As you can see he is still very much a light skinned person, not pale but a light skinned poc. And yet somehow people still make his skin way lighter than this. Practically the same colour as me and I'm Scottish and have ridiculously sensitive skin that makes me avoid harsh sunlight. Like it's not even that dark. And the train scene is bright as hell anyways, harsh sunlight and the white train exterior reflecting onto the characters, everyone's skin was lighter so I'd say his skin tone may even be a bit darker than this.

And often the excuse is that he's half Irish. But like, do you realise how terrible of a justification that is? Zendaya is half white. Barrack Obama is half white. Halle Bailey is half white. Are they perceived as white? No. Lukas Arnold is half black. Halsey is half black. Are they perceived as white? Yes. I'm not arguing Miguel doesn't have white heritage, but Miguel, at least in ATSV, is Latino passing. Just like I'm half Jewish and half British White but look more like my white mother, with the exception of my warm undertones and dark hair, meanwhile my Dad, Aunt, Grandad and Uncles are very explicitly Jewish/Middle Eastern passing. Nobody is arguing I don't have non white genes in me and according to eugenics I'll never technically be white, but I'm white passing. Similarly, Miguel has white genes in him and his Irish heritage could very well be part of his identity (I haven't read the comics so idk) but he's Mexican passing. He has Mexican phenotypes and you are erasing them by lightening his skin.

In short, if you want to know if a character or person is white or not, ask yourself how cops or airport security would profile them. That will give you your answer.

This is something Harriyanna Hook touches on in some of her videos, she's a queen, but I think the main reason why whitewashing Miguel isn't as openly critiqued as whitewashing other ethnicities, including light skinned ones, is that light skinned and white passing Latine people are overrepresented in Hollywood and the media to the point where people who aren't even Latine can be cast as Latine characters. Case in point: Ronni Hawk. It's incredibly rare to see anyone in mainstream Hollywood who doesn't pass the paper bag test unless they're a black man, which has its own history of fetishism and abuse (Watch F.D. Signifier, he talks about this in his colourism video.) Race and ethnicity are not the same thing but they influence how you're perceived.

(This is not me saying that they don't deserve to be represented, every culture deserves attention and representation, but dark skinned Hispanic and Afro-Latine people often get erased. Miles Morales is the exception, not the rule.)

So people don't tend to pick up on the erasure of Latine features and skin colours because it's so normalised.

I don't want to call out any artists in particular, that's not cool, but if you do see an artist who lightened the skin, I think it's important you let them know that it's an issue. They're more likely ignorant than intentionally harmful, but I feel like education around this issue is still very important.

Also idk if this is an ethnic thing but please stop giving him a K-popish soft boy face. This isn't an ethnic issue, it's an artist's having same face syndrome issue, but Miggy is hot enough without you erasing his sharp facial features. Istg if it weren't for his suit half of his fanart would be unrecognisable.

[manchestereyes]

y'all... can i be sappy about dnp for a minute?

i needed to see those 2009 posts tonight. it's finally hitting me that i'll almost definitely be seeing my crush in 10 days. (it's not confirmed since we've never talked but the concert i'm going to that day is near where he lives and headlined by 2 of our favorite bands soooo...) and on my drive home from work today, i was panicking about that and considering backing out entirely. like, in all honesty, this trip is INSANE. i'm traveling 1000 miles for something that may not even work out (sound familiar?). but i will be seeing 3 of my favorite bands so it'll be worth it regardless.

but then i saw the december 2009 phannie posts ALL over my dash. and i went back and looked at everything dnp were saying about each other in those posts. and it absolutely restored my hope.

it's no secret that my (ok parasocial right now but) relationship with my crush is extremely similar to dnp's. my crush makes youtube videos talking about music, mostly deep dives on specific artists/bands that are beautifully thought out. i wouldn't call him A YouTuber though since he also has a day job and never does spons. (some of you may be able to guess who it is now lmao) we may not have ever talked, but i do feel like from everything he's said in his videos, we would connect really well. (i know i know but stay with me here!) plus he's an aquarius and i'm a gemini. so like... we kind of are dan and phil. with me obviously being dan. and to see 2009 dan's dreams coming true with the guy he'd been crushing on for ages gives me so much hope. "the greatest thing you'll ever learn is just to love and be loved in return." that's literally all i've wanted for so many years now. if i can actually make things work with this guy, i will be SO deliriously happy. and just like with dnp, i think it'll be incredibly healing. ❤️

[raphwshere]

jefferson morales, father of two. (its actually one but he doesnt know thats atm) (this is a character analysis) (its long)

so in the beginning of the movie, its clear that jefferson isnt entirely sure how to interact with miles given the way they interact, specifically in the i love you scene at visions. the drive isnt much better either but the i love you scene. he doesnt approve of miles' incredibly mild vandalism, which like, he is a cop. were gonna ignore that though cause uh, its my post. point is, in the beginning of the film, jefferson doesnt know what to do with miles at all, they love eachother but theres a rift. (this rift is likely caused in part by miles' attachment to aaron but that is for another day)

anyways, i dont have all the screenshots and even if i did, a large amount of the development im about to reference is offscreen. also theres a picture limit.

sometime after he issued the apb for spidey he probably spoke to rio, who probably wouldve helped him process enough to get to the point hes at when he shows up at the miles' dorm for his talk, which because miles was tied up ended up being more of a speech. something about aarons death made him realize that keeping his thoughts about miles and his hope for him locked up could only end badly. he spends to whole movie reaching out to miles, here is where he actually manages a genuine connection. hes just lost his brother, and for all they didnt get along near then end theyre family. jefferson doesnt want to lose miles, thats what this is about. not entirely, but enough.

more time passes, i imagine another talk with rio and some wicked introspection, then hes at the collider. he sees wilson fisk beating up the new spiderman, wilson fisk the philanthropist. throughout the movie its hammered into the audience that between all the spideys, one of the few things they all have in common is that they get back up, the characters know this to. what else is he supposed to do here but say "get up spiderman"?

when they get out of fisk tower, the first thing miles does is call jefferson, heres where i really reccomend you just rewatch the scene buti i will talk about it after this. once spidey shows up, we see that jefferson is mildly uncomfortable and unsure how to react in his presence, its not hard to understand, hes gone from thinking spiderman killed his brother to knowing that he didnt. that and the fact that he saw him save the city and probably the world first hand has the obvious potential to make one uncomfortable.

miles however, is entirely comfortable with talking to him, even going so far as to hug him, mitigating most, if not all, of jeffersons discomfort. now heres the thing, he doesnt know this spiderman, wedont even know if he new peters spiderman. miles has been spidey for a very short time and for most of it hes been wanted. but not only does jefferson allow himself to be hugged, he hugs back. of course from his end its sorta awkward, but still. heres another hug from them just cause i can.

jefferson has always wanted to support miles, we know that from his speech in the dorm, but the way he specifically finds a way to connect with miles though graffiti is different. its fairly safe to assume that part of the reason he specifically went to graffiti is because before aaron died miles did art with him. while there isnt really any evidence jefferson knew specifically what aaron and miles got up to its not a stretch really, he and aaron did graffiti when they were younger and miles is very artistically inclined. id also like to take the time to point out how palpable the relief on their faces is during the call. just cause.

idk where this came from tbh. father-son relationships are very specifically important to me. also this was not written in order but i did rewite the non analyzing parts. this wasnt even supposed to be an analysis but here we are :D im open to criticism btw :)

[erin-gilberts]

Getting to know you asks 🤗....

1. What's your go-to treat/snack (coffee/tea, cake/ muffins/cookies, etc)?

2. Would you rather hang out with friends indoors (shopping, arcade, hanging out at home, etc) or outdoors (goof off at the park, take a hike and chat, go to flea markets, etc)?

3. What are 5 of your favorite movies?

4. What are some artists you can listen to on repeat?

5. What's a fun/interesting fact about you?

Sincerely that drive-in mutual 😌👻🚫🎟

Hello @wanderingnelipot! I'm so sorry it's taken me so long to answer your lovely ask. It's been a particularly rough couple of months, but I would still love to chat and get to know you better if you're interested!

1. My go-to treat is an iced latte! I used to have a pretty regular routine that on Fridays, I would always go to a local cafe after spin class and have an iced latte and an avocado toast. Cookies are always a good cozy snack for me, and I'm also partial to niche baked goods...whatever a cafe or restaurant considers their specialty and is really proud to be known for. I'm back in my hometown now and my favorite lil place currently has some phenomenal seven-layer bars.

2. I'm down for all kinds but I definitely love adventures. This week, I had a friend over and we made friendship bracelets while marathoning the Ghostbusters movies, which was lovely but a little more stationary than I usually am on my own. Wandering the woods and chatting, exploring a flea market, or goofing off at the park all provide a great opportunity to leave the house and have new experiences in new settings.

It's why I was delighted to see Frozen Empire for the first time in a place far from home - it felt like an adventure!

3. Ghostbusters Answer the Call

Jurassic Park

Bridesmaids

Titanic

Both of the live-action Scooby Doo movies - I think they're such a spiritual ancestor of Answer the Call 😂 I love them unironically; they are so goofy and were so panned but so much fun.

4. I'd most accurately describe my style of music as "crooning lesbians" lol. MUNA has been a staple in my playlist for years. I also associate a fair lot of Taylor Swift's songs with Erin Gilbert / ATC so she gets replayed often, too!

Best introduction to MUNA: "What I Want," "Home by Now," "Everything"

Most Erin songs by Taylor Swift: "Antihero," "All Too Well," "Cassandra"

5. I'm a pretty bold person who has a storied history of doing super wild things to really meaningful ends.

As a young hate crime survivor, I decided to unlearn my fear of the woods and the violence that happens to women within it by making an emotional trek 15 miles into the mountains to the site where another lesbian hate crime victim was killed.

The next year, I drove 12 hours to Toronto to see a 15 minute short film at its premiere. The short film was about the above woman's ^ story, following her partner who survived the attack, and I gambled that the director would be present. He was - his crew actually found the cairn of stones I left at the site. He was moved as hell that I came so far to see the film, and called me out on stage.

In 2022, Paul Feig was launching his cocktail book in the barely post-pandemic landscape, and on about three weeks notice, I impulsively booked a trip to NYC to attend his talk. Again, it was a gamble I'd get to meet him - they weren't announcing he'd be signing books; I just assumed and took the chance. He was! And I got to emphasize to him exactly how much GB: ATC meant to women and queer people, and he was so absolutely moved and chuffed that I brought a copy of Erin and Abby's book for him to sign.

He's since followed my friends and I as we went on a big trip tracing the footsteps of where all they filmed ATC and now recognizes our wee group by name.

So I'm 100% impulsive as hell, but I think it's always to some pretty incredible ends. 🥰

I'm going to leave you some questions in return xx

[eiightysixbaby]

I would very much like to read that thesis on johnathan. I also agree we cannot condemn him fully for that incident. It was wrong of course but like with context and everything he’d been through I don’t think he was in his right mind at all and it’s not like he was there specifically to try and take naked photos of Nancy. Of course, still very very wrong but shouldn’t be all condemning

okay well since you asked…. *cracks knuckles*

let me preface this by saying that I absolutely do not think it was okay of him to take the photos. I do not condone it, okay? everyone remember that very important part.

I always see people reduce jonathan to being a pervert because of the photos, when I truly think he’s the furthest thing from a perv. firstly, I wanna bring up his artistic perspective for taking the photos. we see him talk to nancy about how photos can tell stories, right? I truly believe that above anything else, he saw an opportunity to tell a story through photographs. we know that jonathan is a little… socially awkward. especially in season one. photography, for him, is I think extremely therapeutic. it’s his way of being able to tell stories. when he starts taking the pictures, no one’s naked or anything. they’re just in the pool. it still doesn’t make it okay to be spying on them like that, but he didn’t know nancy was gonna go up to steve’s room and then undress….

I think he got carried away, and couldn’t stop himself once things got a little more… private. he later tells nancy that he feels like she’s trying to be someone else with steve, and so I think he saw this insanely interesting situation playing out in front of him and his curiosity got the best of him.

I’m not saying that there were zero creepy intentions behind the photos, he clearly thinks nancy is pretty because… well, they end up together, lol. but I truly believe, based on what we know about jonathan, that he mostly saw this as an artistic venture. he’s a stupid kid, who sees an interesting scenario going down, and he captures it on his camera without thinking about repercussions. as someone with an artistic background myself… I get the artistic vision. I understand where he’s coming from when he talks about photos saying things that people themselves don’t say. I understand that desire to get an interesting shot.

secondly, jonathan apologizes and expresses remorse over the photos. a legitimate pervert wouldn’t fucking care, wouldn’t apologize and wouldn’t stop. he clearly feels bad and he knows it was wrong. idk about y’all, but even watching the scene where he’s actively taking the photos, I always got the vibe from the look on his face that he knows it’s probably a sketchy thing to do. once again, he’s a dumb kid who’s very much awkward and lonely, and he’s not thinking about what comes after he takes them.

jonathan, may I remind everyone, literally does nothing else creepy throughout the entire rest of the show.

this is the guy who stays the night with nancy to help her feel safe after she sees the demogorgon for the first time, and won’t even get under the covers when she asks him to sleep in her bed because he doesn’t want to violate her space. like, we all watched the same scene right? he lays like a mile away from her LMAO.

this is the guy who takes nancy home from the halloween party, because he sees that steve leaves her alone and that she’s incredibly intoxicated and vulnerable. he gets her home safe, tucks her into bed and takes off her shoes and doesn’t so much as lay a hand on her in any way other than to assist her in the house/into bed. if he was a pervert, let me just say, this would’ve been the ideal time to take advantage of her. she’s wasted. but he doesn’t. he just wants her to get home safe. he has no idea what went down with her and steve and he just wants her to be safe.

I just feel like they do so much to make you see more to jonathan than just “the creepy photo guy”, and it’s just wasted on a lot of people. he’s a great brother, a caring friend, the good guy who tries to do the right thing for the people he cares about… and he’s just reduced down to being this awful person unfairly. over one thing. nancy literally forgives him. once again, not saying any of this makes the photos okay! it was a shit decision, and he deserved to get called out for it. but I think ultimately he’s incredibly misunderstood, and he’s more complex than just this one mistake he made.

(also, this might be a hot take… but I bet anything if steve was the character that took the photos, he wouldn’t get this much backlash).

[philosophiums]

Sam - your tags are so good. You're like an Olympic gold medalist at tagging. You go for miles with interesting new perspectives and you really get my gears turning!

Also, your freak is so versatile and I'm super into it. My initial observation from which I drew this conclusion IS - you always seem down to clown with themes like dark romance, corrupted morals, degradation of character. Your input seems well thought out so I KNOW you think about it a lot HOWEVER - the vibes for lmhs seem like a balance between atla and jjk?

You got me wondering - when you love so many variations of a character how the heck do you stay consistent with your characterizations for such a big project like lmhs? Like what is a writers version of musical scales to keep you in tune?

I know I opened this sounding super serious but I AM super serious ok listen to me I need you to know - you're tearing this shit up. Every time you go off in the tags im in the stands like Saeko Tanaka like yeah examine that motherfucker he can't hide SHIT from you.

crow!!!! i woke up to this and have been thinking about it all DAY <3 <3 <3

SHDJKBVJKSDVFB MY FREAK IS VERSATILE what an incredible compliment im crying /pos KSJDBVJKDFVB

i am SO down for darker themes i LOVE corruption of morals i love a fucked up romance i love when a character convinces themself they are doing something Good and Correct even when they know it's bad and destructive. and i'm here for lighter themes! coffee shop-esque (flower shop, tattoo artist, etc) and everyone lives and exploring the softer sides of healing it's GOOD

AH well i do not claim to be an Expert nor do i claim to be necessarily Good/Skilled at maintaining a set characterization for any character ever (i strive to, i want to, but that's for readers to decide i think)

HOWEVER i do have like. things that i try to do? i look at characters from a sort of... analytical point of view i guess, breaking down A) their goals (what they want), B) their motivation (why they want), C) their trauma (if they have none, i give them some :D), and D) any changes in world view they have throughout their arc (positive OR negative growth). i'm not necessarily looking for how they tick on an emotional level but instead how they fit in a story and what role they serve. once i've got that, THEN i look for traits that are closer to their chest (personality, reactions to changes in their environment, etc)

truly i perform autopsies on characters i like KJSDBVJKSBDFV i want to understand them at their roots. who are they, really, and why does that make them a "good" character

it's easy enough at that point for me to just pick them up by the scruff and move them into a different story and let them run around KJSBDVJKSDBVJK

[spidey-bie]

so we already know that he listens to black punk musicians like the Nova Twins and The Muslims...

but I also think he would listen to black artists of damn near every genre, more specifically stuff like rock, r&b, soul, and honestly even country bc 1. all of them were pioneered by black ppl and 2. he won't be constrained/defined by a single genre

he takes his interest in music vv seriously, consequentially he considers recommending stuff an act of care and affection and will analyze everything he knows abt you bc he wants to make sure you like what he suggests (kind of like how some ppl take gift giving very seriously)

all of this to say: he considers making a playlist for someone a very intimate thing and definitely makes one for you after yall get close enough

First of all may I just say sir that I must eat your brain at some point. Like UGHHHHHHH.

Of course he listens to all genres he doesn't believe in consistency. I wonder what he listens to depending on his mood tho. Does he listen to punk more when he's happy or does he use it to hype himself up when he's feeling down? (I feel like during his downtime his just sits while vibing to some Nina Simone or Aretha Franklin.)

TO HAVE A PLAYLIST BY HOBIE. Highest honor. Like all the time it takes for him to come to know you and the kind of music you listen to. Imagine him giving all the spider teens mix taps with music from his dimension. *Sobs*

Seeing how his dimension is set in the 70s he's literally in the middle of the Disco boom which is incredibly funny to me. Do you think he'd listen to disco? I doubt it NGL. It'd be funny to think about though.

BUT WAIT. I just thought about the Arachkids showing him their favorite music from their dimension. Miles shared his favorite R&B and Hip Hop artists while Gwen shared her favorite Pop artists. (Idk what type of music Margo and Pavitr listen to NGL.) And after learning about more modern artists he incorporates their music into his playlists and makes them each a whole new mix tape.

But yeah Funk, R&B, Hip Hop, and Jazz you like Jazz. I can definitely see him listening to all of these genres

[yanteetle]

Here's my oc Artemisia (sorry her picture isn't great, but I am no artist) and yes her mask is inspired by Venus and its purple because that’s the best colour.

She is the boi’s sister who got separated from the family on mutation day (original I know). Mesi was then found and raised by a lovely Yokia couple until Draxum found out about her existence and surprised adopted her. She was around six or seven at this point and had already lost her one of mother’s to an illness and the other one disappeared around the time Draxum showed up (papa goat had nothing to do with this disappearance or so he claims).

Mia then spent the next ninish years be raised by Draxum who was surprisingly a decent dad (those parental instinct hit him like a freight train) until her brothers came and blew up the lab. The story that I am writing for her really starts there.

Because she spent most if her life secluded in Draxum lab (house?) with only the goat, the gargoyle’s and one other for company Artemisia isn’t the best in social situations, she is shy and incredibly awkward. Artemisia also had the bad habbit of info dumping when people start talking about her interest, she will swing happily side to side as she speaks 100 miles a minute.

She is largely touch adverse but once she had developed a strong bond/caring relationship with someone, she loves to give hugs .

She highly curious and inquisitive, questioning everything, an aspect that she has had since early childhood, something that Draxum natured by not only supplying her with an abundance of books but having her help with his work, Mesi 100% is goat dads little lab parnter.

I could talk about her for a while but I don’t want to infor dump on you, though I am trying to think about how she would be as a yandere but I am not entirely sure yet

GASP. Okay Look when I first saw this my jaw DROPPED. She's so pretty omg?? And I honestly didn't think lavender would look so nice with green, but you my friend have proved me wrong! And the addition of suddenly-decent-dad Draxum?? UGH IM IN LOVE!! Please don't worry too much about info dumping on me! I've always enjoyed hearing about other's ocs, and listening to you guys rave about their lore is amazing and I'm happy to listen, especially since you guys are so passionate about them! I'm in love with Draxum and Mia's concept for their dynamic, and them being cute little lab partners sounds so chaotic yet wholesome!! <33

[demonicintegrity]

Okay I’m going to see Barbie today so I should probably have my misc thoughts on Across the Spiderverse down. (Spoilers incoming) Speaking of:

#1) tiktok spoilers my beloathed. They also don’t do the movie justice (I’ll get back to that)

#2) artistic styles my beloved.

The love and care to the craft of the story is so evident from the start. Gwen’s retelling of Mike’s story is in her universe’s watercolor style. And oh my god it’s so beautiful. I’m such a sucker for pretty watercolors and Gwen’s universe SPEAKS to my soul. Beautiful. Mwuah.

Speaking of Gwen, the analogy of her being trans and coming out is definitely there. While her being trans may not be a problem for her father, her struggle with a secret superhero identity absolutely is a parallel to being a trans kid. Her best friend knowing included. Her running away from home especially.

And it’s beautifully portrayed. And her father’s arc developing at the end, where he says he’s no longer a policeman if it’s gonna be that at odd with her being a hero because he loves her more than that, is the kinda sentiment I and every other trans kid with unsupportive parents wish they had. It’s about growth, it’s about the person being the priority not a stubborn hold to flawed ideology.

#3 Miles my boy, his story is definitely that of loneliness. Which arguably is queer-coded in of itself. He finally finds his people and now they’re separated and he misses that. Especially since the separation is inherently tied to the safety of everyone, sometimes it’s really hard to connect with other queer folk because of that. But i don’t think that’s the intended focus, it’s more of a coming of age thing.

Also holy shit he is YOUNG. He is fifteen!! I was a freshman in highschool when I turned fifteen! No wonder he’s so pissed when everyone is telling him what to do and how to do, that is like the quintessential age of being treated like both an adult and child and it’s infuriating. But it’s the perfect age for this kinda story. Because the very valid attempts of trying to find a happy middle are there, two cakes and all. But it also means it’s still the first few attempts, hence the fate of the two cakes. The technique is still being refined and he’s still figuring out his priorities.

Do what he’s good at (science) and push for something he really wants (his friends back) or something else entirely?

People have pointed out he’s incredibly artistic. And it’s good! Now that doesn’t always means it translates into a career well. From firsthand experience I can tell you art as an outlet isn’t the same as art as a career. It’s kinda kicking my butt with the difference. But that doesn’t mean it’s a very real option! And something he can pursue with science as well.

Adjacent to three: the age discourse. Now I heard plenty on it but I was withholding my judgement until I saw the movie itself. That being said, when I first saw spoilers Hobie read like an adult and after watching the movie he is definitely is in my mind.

The three other spiders (Gwen, Miles, Pravitar) all have a focus of actively being in school in their intros. A highlight that they are still teens dealing with teen issues and mentalities. Hobie doesn’t. Hobie’s intro doesn’t mention school. Hobie’s intro talks a lot about politics and ideologies and he carries himself like an experienced adult. (Obvs teens are into politics and all that, i did that as a teen too, but school often comes before that, just as their own intros mentioned.) He speaks with wisdom and experience and takes the others under his wing. He’s also not deferring to Miguel. And he pushes back in a much different way then Gwen and Miles do. For them, even if they don’t agree Miguel is still an adult and that age authority needs to be respected. For Hobie, it doesn’t seem to be a concern. (Yes yes he’s a punk, but respecting your elders is still prevalent in punk and queer cultures as well.)

“But Integrity the love triangle!” There is no love triangle. Gwen is not interested in Hobie, she’s expressly interested in Miles. Looks up to Hobie sure, but she’s clearly more attached to Miles. Hobie also explicitly states he just wants to look out for her. (Re: queer adults taking in queer runaways)

“But Integrity the toothbrush and jumper! And Pravitar going oooohh!!” First of all, Gwen is functionally homeless. She ran away and has been a runaway for literal months. Her stuff is obviously gonna be a mismanaged. And again, going with the fact that her story is a trans allegory, she’s going to stay with adults that take her in. First Miguel and Jessica, and then Hobie. Reading Hobie as a queer adult taking in a queer runaway child and looking after her makes the most sense to me. She also had an expressed interest in Miles that is very long running.

As for Pravitar? I think he’s just pot stirring. He’s (I think) the youngest and definitely acts like it. He’s openly treating them as a soap opera, not with an malicious intent of course, but it’s entertaining gossip for him. A fun tense twist is the fact that Miles doesn’t know. (Probably because he didn’t recognize miles as the anomaly. Genuinely was introduced that Miles is Gwen’s friend and so it’s wild he doesn’t know her closest friends.)

Also: there’s a chance this is suppose to parallel Gwen meeting Mile’s parents.

Your crush should know about and have met your family. For Mile’s that means meeting his parents. For Gwen that means her family of spiders. (She’s trans, found family is a huge priority here esp since her father is not currently in the picture.)

Anyways: Hobie reads as an adult. Gwen is not in a love triangle. I’m scared of touching ao3 for this fandom, even with filters it’s Bad.

#4 with circling back to how the tiktok spoilers/general fanon don’t do this justice, Miguel. He’s is not that fucking mean to Miles. He is genuinely sympathetic and does try to explain to Miles multiple times what “needs” to be done. His fatal flaw is that he carries so much guilt for what happened in the universe he infiltrated that he now feels the need to carry the weight of everything to make up for it. He says as much! If he could see it possible to have a good story, he’d love that but its just not possible for him.

Now granted, holy shit he does go fucking bonkers on Miles. We see the shock in Peter B’s expression. I do not think that is the norm for Miguel’s behavior. At least, not witnessed behavior and thus not behavior he wants to be seen/is proud of. Dude seems like he’s holding on by a thread and it was snapping a little bit there. And like, idek if I can fault that entirely cuz a literal child just sent him on the chase of a the century. Dude’s stressed and not coping well. Amazingly sympathetic antagonist for this reason. It’s an idealogical divide, a quite radical one at that.

#5) the music is sooooo fucking good. Again, the love put into this movie is so palpable.

#6) The Spot. I adore his character!!! I adore this arc and his art direction and his everything!! And I don’t currently have the words for it but I do feel his story is a good analogy for how society picks and chooses it’s outliers. Spider-Man is a hero and loved for his mutations provided he’s a hero and even then it’s very conditional and on a whim. The Spot isn’t. He can’t get a job looking like that, and super heroism is filled in New York by Spider-Man and it’s hard to exist let alone move around looking like that.

There is no support for him. And that speaks for any outlier of society. Queer, race, neurodivergent, “ugly”, and what have you. It’s only natural he gets upset. He lashes out at the easiest person to blame, the present Spider-Man. Even though it is not Mile’s fault he was in that room or employed there, or any of that. But he was a catalyst, and it’s easier to have the blame one person than a web of circumstances.

And there’s a kinship in a way. He brought the 42 spider here. He was bitten by it. Whether they like or hate each other that’s a helluva link. Call it dominos or butterfly effect or fate or what have you, there’s a link to both of their circumstances.

Speaking of, #6) 42 Miles!!!! I adore him. It seems in this universe the lack of a Spider-Man has caused crime cartels to run more rampant. Possibly supervillain run, but I can see overtime the general crime running rampant under them.

I wanna know this timeline, how this has happened. What was this descent? I’m so excited for Beyond. And obvs 42 Miles is gonna play a huge part. I think he will aid our Miles, even if at first begrudgingly. He’s a scared kid and he and Aaron see that. I hope and think they will take pity on him.

I’m wondering if 42’s arc will parallel our Mile’s. Trying to sort priorities and manage grief and loneliness while writing your own path. I bet it will.

Speaking of Beyond: I hope it takes years to make. Give those artists a break and pay them and give them a reasonably timetable damn it. I also hope for more Hobie he’s a catalyst here and I want to see lots of him and he needs dedicated time to animate to achieve that.

Okay misc thoughts done I gotta get ready fkdndkdndn

[racingtoaredlight]

Playing “Naked”

I feel there’s this misconception by laymen that jazz musicians are just playing complete nonsense that has no point, structure or coherence.  And in a lot of cases that’s true.

Think of jazz as finance.

Both are hugely reaching terms that cover a lot of ground, and are kind of hard to define in a singular “this is it” term.  They also share a lot of high-level intellectual stuff that can be off-putting, and purveyors of these industries (lol at calling jazz an industry) have little problem tossing around concepts that seem very complex and difficult to grasp.  Which makes them playgrounds for bullshit artists and conmen.

Conmen like John Scofield, for example.

When you take away all the surrounding noise, all the help from bandmates or clever arrangements.  When you take away tools and leave a musician with just their hands and mind...that’s playing naked.  Watch the video at the top.

Then watch this...

It doesn’t blow my mind to see shcucksters playing solo gigs with two amps (mic’d and including a gigantic wedge monitor for some reason...) and two pedal boards, one reserved for looping yourself.  It doesn’t blow my mind because these guys are everywhere...go to some rib burn off or some county fair and I guarantee you see some dude with an acoustic, a mic, and a quarter mile of pedals at his feet.

There ain’t shit “naked” about this.  Well, there kinda is...because his aimless melodies are more exposed than they typically are.

And I’ll admit, there’s some decent stuff going on here at first...almost like he’s restrained...oh wait, nope.  Go to the 3:00 mark and watch him vomit all over himself.  Listen for at least 30 seconds.

When you play “naked,” it can be intimidating because all those things that help fill up space...bass, drums, piano and horns...are gone.  Some guys fill this up with parlor tricks like slapping your guitar and making all this percussive bullshit...which is lame as fuck.

But, again to the video at the top...there are no parlor tricks here.  No loopers or giant pedal boards.  Sure, there’s a drummer, but his job here is to follow and mimic exactly what Metheny does.  There’s no support here for Metheny...he’s just got his hands and mind.

And what he does with it is incredible.  Compare what he’s doing melodically to what Scofield is attempting to do with great difficulty...those melodies are clear and defined, they’re coherent and each one blends into the other cohesively.  You can tell where he is in the harmony...even though there isn’t harmony there.  You can tell because his melody is so clearly defining it, which is what a musician is supposed to do, instead of just puke all over the floor and charge people to watch.

Seriously, that Scofield video pisses me off.  Why not just call it “I’m too cheap to hire a band, but I have a bloated lifestyle to maintain?”

The master of playing “naked” is my idol, Joe Pass.  You listen to him...yea, he’s fucking with the harmony and stretching sections out...but you know exactly where he is in the song, you can hear the melody in your head, and...if you catch yourself tapping your foot...you’ll likely match up with him during one of the many cuts where they cut from his Tommy Bahama shirt to show him tapping his old man walking shoes.  The man had groove.

The whole point is this...

If you’re going to be naked in public, you might as well invite the audience along with you.  Otherwise you’re just some weirdo making dumb sounds until the cops show up.

I’ve found a nice niche playing solo guitar in this vein and have probably done 15-20 gigs like this now since last October.  It was nerve-wracking at first, let me tell you.  Just standing there like some jamoke...and that’s before you play a note.

But once you get used to it, it’s a fucking blast.  People seem to like this shit more, and get more into it, than when I was playing rock gigs blasting ear drums out for drunk people.  Again tho...that’s only if you’re inviting them along to join in enjoying the music.

Because good god, I’d never get hired again if I showed up and did shit like Scofield in that video above.  The only thing keeping the crowd there is the fact that they paid, and if they walked out, they know they’d be wasting their money.  Because everything he’s playing is metaphorically no different than him standing on a stage with his dick hanging out while giving two blazing middle fingers to the audience.

It’s not hard...ok let me amend this...it’s incredibly hard to learn how to play melody that clearly outlines the harmony while still sounding interesting, and it’s even harder to add in chords and basslines at the same time.  THAT SAID...if you wanna play “naked,” and play “naked” well, this is what you gotta do.

Otherwise the audience will be even more lost than they were with bass, drums and piano.  And also, if you don’t, people will start to think all jazz musicians are conmen like Scofield.