#also wanted to try to create a general look for little kid casey

[soldrawss]

Been thinking a lot about CJ Jr. anatomy and apocalypse wardrobe.

[percyaugod]

May I write a fanfic inspired by your Future Krang Donatello au idea?

Of course! ^ ^ Just please credit me for the original idea. I also give more because I'm happy someone even asked.

Two possible paths for getting a D in the past.

1.

D is one of the original invading Krang. So when Casey Jr goes back in time he not only has to deal with family that looks similar but different and don't remember him, but also what was like his weird uncle who looks almost the same and is the enemy. He knew that since D was a Krang there was a time he was on their side, but actually seeing it?

This could be a good thing though! They got D to join before they could do it again. With how early on it is in the apocalypse D could fix most of, if not all, the damage caused by the Krang! That's what D did, he fixed things! …Everything but himself.

Except it was sensei that got him to join and Casey isn't sure how. Also trying to convince the others that one of the aliens that stole Raph could be an ally isn't going well, especially not with Leo.

Casey unknowingly already starts to make D wander off from the other Krang. How did a human have tech he didn't remember building? It even had his marking! It was going to get to the bottom of this.

2.

D going back in time with Casey. Future Leo doesn't want the kid to go alone and, minus the apocalypse, D has honestly made their lives so much better with his tech. Clean water, fresher air, whatever those weird plants D grew for food. Stuff the turtles didn't have growing up despite April trying her best to make things easier. If Casey Jr was going to be staying there he deserved to not live in conditions worse than the apocalypse.

People in the past, of course, freaked out about the alien that randomly appeared out of nowhere and "abducted" a child. April investigating it meant they didn't have to look for her and saved some time. Also, Casey didn't get hit because D grabbed April's arm to stop her, saving time with the whole unconscious thing. No disbelief on the Krang since D is right there. Did have to stop so Splinter could freak out a bit though.

They were able to get the key before it was even used. D has the footage of the foot clan's faces when they saw him helping stop them saved in a special folder. D almost immediately after starts fixing up the lair. D gets what Leo meant now, there's no way the hatchling should have to live like this. He just soaks up the past turtles' awe.

D keeps poking fun at how tiny past Leo is. When Leo asks how tall he is D shows a life-sized hologram. Raph starts crying. Little brothers aren't supposed to be that big! D shows older Raph and Raph cries tears of relief that he's still big enough to carry his little brother. D thinks it best not to tell him how long ago the photo was taken. Mikey asks about him and cries because he's still so small.

D being blunt with others. Raph and Leo fight and D is tired of it. Raph's just afraid of you getting hurt and Leo's afraid of not being good enough for you so he's purposely failing! Just co-lead or something!

They… really like that idea and decide to try it out. It works pretty well since Raph knows he can rely on Leo's ideas and Leo can rely on Raph's experience and general big brother instincts. If they fail then they can't blame themselves because then they'd be blaming the other too. Wait, does this me Leo has to thank D? Dang it.

Bonus things for both:

D building a technodrome just so I can have Technodrome Shelldon. He grabs the core AI before they leave, either while fighting the other Krang in the past in 1 or escaping with Leo in the future. It took centuries of research and construction to create this one, and it's a shame to just leave it, but it's not what makes his creation truly amazing.

Leo and D getting into a slap fight. D doesn't have hands and it sounds like wet spaghetti hitting a wall. No one can look away.

D making Casey hover skates. They float a couple of inches off the ground and glide smoothly. It takes some practice though and D both holds his hands to keep him steady and will use his body as a crash pad if Casey Jr starts to go out of control. Better slamming into D than a wall. Casey learns pretty fast and can now easily keep up running with the turtles.

[ashwii]

your casey and april have invaded and are now living in my mind rent free, can u tell more about them, like their personalities, how they met, etc? i love them sm!

-capril anon

EEE !!! YES YES I CAN AHH, literally I'll take any excuse to talk abt them and my personal tmnt 💕💕💕

A lot of what I'll say is definitely up to change, I haven't figured EVERYTHING out yet 🤔 but I'll list off the general ideas I have so far.

My personal capril art in case anyone reading wants a reference for what they look like

— In terms of personalities, Casey likes adventure, he's confident, a bit of an introvert, and has this general "cool guy" attitude to him until you look a little deeper and realize he's sort of a dork. As much as he likes adventure and traveling to new places with the turts, he's actually a pacifist. He'll be the one trying to find a way around fighting, almost as a voice of reason. But "voice of reason" doesn't mean dumb — when necessary, he can kick ass and take care of himself.

— April is super bubbly and extroverted. She loves meeting and talking to new people, but her small circle of turtle friends are everything she needs. She's also a HUGE nerd and EXTREMELY competitive. She and Leo play video games and arcade games a lot, and she's a professional in trash-talk and taking high scores. When the team has an important mission, her part is typically stealth. She doesn't know much about fighting, but she's human and she can act — she can disguise herself as a normal civilian and create diversions without causing a scene [though, she often takes lessons from Splinter and is getting better and better at fighting every day].

— The draft for how Casey met April [and the turts] is that the turts discover Case getting beat up by some mutants one night [why?? Idk im working on it djsjw]. Poor guy's busted up and on the ground. After a lot of arguing, the turts decide to take him back to their sewer and clean him up. After Case gains consciousness and the whole "OH MY GOD TALKING TURTLES ;;; BIG RAT ;;; WHAT ;;;" April climbs down the sewer with dinner for everyone, only to find that the turts brought a human down. She isn't happy to say the least — "ARE YOU GUYS KIDDING? ARE YALL ASKING GET GET TAKEN AWAY BY THE FBI OR SOMETHING???"

[musclesandhammering]

Loki (2021) Positivity from an Anti

Ok so all of my mutuals know I’m extremely anti-Loki (2021), anti-sylki, and anti-sylvie. But at a certain point, even we antis get tired of all the negativity. So! Here’s some Loki series commentary in the opposite direction! This is a list of all the things about the show that I loved :)

Also adding a disclaimer that all of this is just my opinion and some of my fellow antis (or even people who liked the show) might disagree, and that’s fine! I’ve been planning this post for awhile. I always say in my other posts that I don’t entirely hate the show and I wanted to be a little more specific about what I think are its good aspects. Feel free to leave your thoughts!

• Mobius is a gem (Owen Wilson owns my whole heart) and his relationship with Loki is so so great. He’s not one-dimensional at all, he has conflicted loyalty and is morally complex, and he has the tragic backstory- which makes him a perfect choice for eventually becoming Loki’s first genuine friend.

• The casting was really really great. Lots of women and people of color. Most of the female actresses (as well as the males) are over 30, which isn’t very common and is fantastic!

• Superb acting all around. I can’t think of a single scene where the actors under or oversold it.

• Beautiful set design, incredible cgi, and gorgeous cinematography overall. It looked more like a movie than a tv show, which is really good.

• Kang being the big bad was a huge plus for me. Johnathan Majors was perfect in the role, his vibes were immaculate, and I was honestly pretty worried that the man behind the curtain would end up being another Loki variant, which imo would’ve been boring and predictable and counter-productive, so it was a big relief when that didn’t happen.

• I like that it sets up a bunch of future marvel movies, rather than being contained to its own little world. It gives it more importance and (hopefully) will encourage writers to not just toss Loki’s character aside in future projects.

• All the Loki variants were delightful. All of them except Sylvie. Kid Loki has my heart. Boastful Loki is a fashion icon. Alligator Loki is a savage. President Loki is the superior variant. Classic Loki became my fav character in less than half an episode.

• It showed some more variety in Loki’s magic. A lot of his powers we’ve seen before, but it feels like they were portrayed a bit more blatantly in the show. The energy blasts, the telekinesis, the teleportation… Outstanding.

• It also implied that Loki has the potential to be waaaay more powerful than he knows he is right now, which? Yes.

• Some of the quotes- and the themes behind them- are just profound as hell. Such as:

“I think we’re stronger than we realise.”

“It’s never too late to change.”

“You can be whoever you wanna be, even someone good.”

“We’re Lokis. We survive. It’s what we do.”

“Loki, God of Outcasts.”

“The universe wants to break free, that’s why it manifests chaos.”

• Technically Loki was Marvel’s first canon lgbt (bi) character, which is a win. His genderfluidity is also technically canon, even if it wasn’t really acknowledged on-screen.

• There were a lot of throwback references to Thor 1, Avengers, and Thor The Dark World. Which I loved.

• Sylvie’s so pretty. Her hair and makeup and costume were all perfect.

• Big fan of Loki finally getting Laevateinn.

• Sufficiently slutty imagery, courtesy of a female director (Loki in a collar, kneeling to Sif, President Loki looking down into the bunker, the hair flips)

• The music was Excellent Wonderful and Superb.

• I love that Loki being a good singer is now canon.

• I love that Asgardians having their own language is now canon (even if it’s basically just Icelandic).

• I also love that they disproved all of those “Loki was a shy nerdy wallflower pre-canon” theories in Episode 3. The drinking/eating/singing scene was fun, if a bit wacky.

• There’s a million different reasons why Loki does what he does, especially in regards to the New York attack (I’m literally writing a huge meta on them), but somehow I never considered that Loki being desperate for control was one of them. It makes a lot of sense, and I always love getting new insights into his motivations.

• I love that Loki finally outright acknowledged that he doesn’t enjoy hurting people. We Been Knew™️ but it’s still nice to hear it out loud from his own mouth.

• The TVA outfit wasn’t as hideous as some people make it out to be. It could’ve been A Look, even. You know, if he’d just accessorised a little better. And kept the jacket on. And not gotten sweaty. And not gotten dirty. And maybe had at least one other costume change… But it had potential, though!!

• Even though I despise the Obvious One, I did actually like some of the other romance crumbs they tossed us (sifki, Loki x the flight attendant).

• The whole DB Cooper thing was iconic idc idc.

• Loki’s hyper sort of overly excited puppy attitude in episode 2 was actually pretty refreshing and funny (for awhile). And now I can headcanon him as adhd, yeehaw.

• “We’re all villains here.” That quote was iconic, my favourite one in the show. And the entire theme that it summarised was really great as well. When you think about it, every single main character in this series has been the villain at one point or another. I mean, I know all marvel characters do bad things etc, but none of the Heroes are ever narratively categorised as Bad. This show did just that with all of them, though. . Loki was framed as the psychopath that attacked New York. Sylvie was framed as the murderous fugitive. The TVA/Ravonna/Mobius were framed as the murderous fascists. Kang was framed as the crazy totalitarian. It’s made clear that all the Loki variants were the villains of their stories.

However, every single main character in the series is also framed as the Hero at a certain point. Loki is framed as the main protagonist who throws a wrench in the TVA’s dastardly plans. Sylvie is framed as the persevering freedom fighter who wants to take down the fascists. The TVA/Mobius/Ravonna are framed as the ones who maintain order for the greater good. Kang is framed as the weird but ultimately benevolent wise man who’s just trying to prevent something worse from happening. The Loki variants are framed as generous allies who befriend the main character and help him on his journey.

Everyone in this equation is openly acknowledged by the narrative to be morally corrupt, but not entirely morally bankrupt. There are no Straightforward Hero Figures (like the Avengers) in this entire scenario at all, and that makes for a super interesting dynamic that marvel has never done before. So yes: “We’re all villains here.” But also: “No one bad is ever truly bad, and no one good is ever truly good.” I loved that.

• Even if it wasn’t really enough imo, I still treasure the crumbs we got of Loki being competent and capable (him putting the collar on B-15, him figuring out Sylvie’s hiding place, him teaching himself to enchant on the fly while fighting a giant cloud beast of eldritch proportions).

• I love that B-15 was the one who stepped in and saved the day in Episode 4, when we all thought it was gonna be Mobius. What a queen.

• Marvel usually has a bit of a problem with creating compelling and memorable side characters. But aside from Sylvie, I genuinely got attached to every single character in this show. Like Casey, C-20? I was seriously emotionally invested in them and they were only in like 2 episodes. Wtf.

• Introducing the TVA storyline in the Loki series specifically was a really good move. I’m not saying they executed it well, just that it had a ton of potential. A lot of people have wondered why marvel even thought to put those two (the TVA and Loki) together, when they had literally nothing to do with each other, nothing in common, and essentially no connection at all. But when you think about it, it’s a really interesting twist on both of those stories. Forcing the embodiment of destructive chaos and the pillar of rigid order to interact could make for some seriously entertaining and compelling television. And as far as meshing these two completely unrelated entities together goes, I thought they did it pretty well- at least just the bare bones of the story (loki being arrested by the TVA and being one of their most common variants).

So that’s it! If you guys (fellow antis) wanna add stuff you liked, feel free. If anyone wants to discuss (or debate) my list, feel free to do that too!

[max-vandenburg-is-life]

Long Loki rant incoming

Ok first things first I've always liked Loki a lot as a character but I don't consider myself a really really big fan mainly because I haven't read the comics. So all this rant is gonna be only about mcu loki and loki in the mcu has been written differently depending on the movie so yeah. And on that note let's go!!!!

So today I'm gonna talk about what I liked and what I didn't like about the Loki show. This is obviously just my opinion, you can disagree with me! I'd love to hear your opinions!

First I wanna talk about is the writing of Loki's character. So previously it has been established in the mcu that Loki doesn't do bad things just because he's a bad guy or because he wants power above everything else, but because after all the manipulation and lying he went through as a child, the abuse, always been seen as less than those around him and being taught to hate himself for who he was (a Jotun). He wants validation and being treated the same as the others, he doesn't really care about ruling or being king. His actions are a result of his trauma. So the show painting him as "He's a bad guy!! He's evil he can't help it it's in his nature!! He just wants to be king!!!" felt off to me since it completely goes against all the previous canon. Apart from that, I feel the show also erased other aspects of him that had always been essential to his character, such as him being very smart and always having a plan, and his powers (he BARELY used his powers throughout the season and he's supposed to be the best sorcerer in the nine realms. Please). So yeah there's that. I didn't absolutely despise his character in the show or anything like that, he generally seemed more happy and chill and that was good, I just felt some aspects of the character seemed inconsistent.

Apart from Loki, something I loved about the show were all the new characters that we were introduced to. Sylvie was absolutely fantastic, she had a well written tragic backstory, she had a goal and she had layers. She was a really well written character. Also she was just really cool overall, she had a cool personality and seeing her use her powers was very fun. (Sylvie your hand in marriage) (I guess I can talk about the "betrayal" now. So yeah not gonna lie I don't think it was that bad. She had a goal she had been pursuing her whole life and she obviously prioritized that before a guy who she met a few days ago. She did hurt him of course but still it's easy to understand her decision.) Mobius was also really cool, in the first episode I didn't like him much but I started liking him a lot later on. He's just a good guy, he wants to help people. (HE ONLY WANTED A JETSKI MARVEL). And I liked his story a lot, he was forced into working for the tva because his memories were erased and he was told what he was doing the right thing when killing all those people, but once he finds out all of it was false he immediately starts going against it and trying to help as many people as he can. Ravonna was also a good character (I keep saying all of them are good characters lol they're well written ok). Like okay she was a little bit evil but I liked her. I really liked her ambition and her confidence. I would have loved to know more about her life at the tva, because it seemed like because of her position she knew some things that most didn't. Hunter B15 was also really good, loved her character development. Casey only appeared in the first two eps but for some reason I liked him a lot idk why. Casey my beloved. Kang was mind-blowing good, he absolutely carried the episode. He was so fun to watch and a very interesting character. This is how you do villains Marvel. And then all the Loki variants were amazing. Classic Loki was great, he was more mature and wiser than the Loki we're used to watching and I felt really sad about his whole situation (aka trying and failing to find his brother because he missed him, getting pruned and then dying). Kid loki was a BLAST, I really liked the little funky dude and I would love to know more about his life. Boastful Loki didn't appear for long but I liked him a lot, he looked like a really funny guy I wish he had had more screen time. And then there was the Lokigator which was also great. President Loki was also cool (meaning he had the coolest outfit), but we didn't see much of him. I think that's a big problem with the show, because they made it seem like it was gonna be more about the other Loki variants and their timelines (that's what it seemed to me from the trailers) but then we barely got that. Sad shit.

Now let's talk about the writing of the show in general. The writers definitely went off with the philosophical conversations, I enjoyed them greatly (Loki's and Mobius' talk in the second ep and Loki's and Sylvie's talk in the third ep were amazing). Something I didn't like at all about the show (this is probably my biggest complaint) is that the writing of the show throughout the episodes didn't seem consistent, like each episode seemed to be a different genre, and that made the whole story feel weird. What I'm trying to say is: the first episode was about Loki learning more about his life and reflecting on why he does the things he does. There was more to the episode but it was mainly that. It was a very emotional episode. The second episode looked like a cop show, they investigated a crime scene in the beginning, they did some detectiving, they had a great breakthrough and found out were the villain was hiding in the end. The third episode was an action episode. It gave me the vibes of mid season episode that isn't too relevant to the plot in which the characters go on some short mission. The fourth episode I can't exactly categorize it I think it was kinda like episode 1 but with some more action. The fifth episode was also a mix, they had a lot of reflecting on Loki's character like in the first episode and then also some action. And the last episode was mostly just exposition and a tiny bit of action at the end, very philosophical and stuff. It also felt like in the first two episodes they were indicating that the show was gonna be about free will and good and evil but that kind of disappeared for a big part of the show. I'm trying so hard to explain myself well, I hope what I say makes sense. Now my opinion on the episodes, my favourites were definitely ep 1, 3 and 5 (haha odd numbers go brrrr). The pilot was absolutely amazing, and I loved the direction the show seemed to be taking (YES MARVEL explore his trauma mmmm that's some good shit right there). It was really emotional but like in a good way. The third episode was great. I think it balanced really well the action and the dialogue, seeing Loki and Sylvie going on their shenanigans, using their powers and fighting was really fun, and then the train talk scene was absolutely amazing (bi loki yay! Gonna talk about this later). The fifth episode was great mostly because seeing all the other Loki variants and how they contrasted between each other was fantastic and I loved it. I really hope we see more of the variants in the next season. The other eps, the second and fourth were okay, the one I think was the worst one was the last one. Damn that episode. It was a very slow episode. Thank god the guy who plays Kang was really good because otherwise the episode would have been impossible to watch. There was so much exposure but it felt like we already knew most of it? They talked about how multiple timelines existing was bad because chaos and stuff, and they talked about the war in which the different timelines battled each other. Ok we already knew this. I feel like the only important thing to take from that whole talk was that Kang's variants are very powerful and dangerous and they were introducing the villain to the mcu. The whole episode felt like instead of giving closure to the characters or ending some storylines, the main thing it was doing was introducing the concept of the multiverse for the next marvel movies.

Something that surprised me a lot about the show is how important it is for the mcu storyline. Like in the first episode they talked about how the tva (and of course Kang) was much more powerful than the Infinity Stones, when basically all previous marvel movies were about them and about their power. And then Kang was revealed to have created a sacred timeline, he controls absolutely everything that happens. All of this is so important and for some reason I didn't think the show was gonna be like this. Not that I'm complaining, this is great. And I feel like a lot of people are not realising how big it is? Like I don't see much talking about how this is literally the greatest power in the universe.

Damn this is getting long sorry.

I suppose I'll have to talk about it because it has been this big thing. I'm talking about the loki x sylvie pairing. I didn't like it too much, it felt a lot like the writers went "he's a guy she's a girl so they have to fall in love", like I felt they had a very different dynamic and when they said that I was mostly surprised and confused. Because they were variants of each other their romance felt weird to me, and the fact that they made a character genderfluid and then made a woman and a man version fall in love also rubbed me the wrong way (I'll talk about the genderfluidity later). I did like the mobius x loki pairing more, but still I don't think they should have got any romance this season, I feel like there has to be a lot more progress in that relationship before any romance. I generally feel like Loki should first start getting some friends and then later on we can start with romance. But yeah this is just my opinion. And all the drama and discourse there has been over this???? Some of you guys look ridiculous not gonna lie.

Ok now let's talk about representation. I'm not poc myself so I don't feel like I'm in the position to say if something was good or bad, so I'm not gonna talk about poc rep. The show did a good job with female characters, many of the main characters were women and they were very well-written, not sexualized and cast appropriately for their age (I can't believe I'm praising this, this should be the bare minimum. Why is media in general so bad. Like please just.) About the bi rep now. I'm sure that the writers or directors of the show had to fight really hard with marvel so that they could make loki canon bi, so yeah cheers to that guys good job. Obviously it's not enough, and I really hope his bisexuality is explored more later. But yeah we finally have a queer character in the mcu this is big. Now about the genderfluid rep. OOF. I have a lot to say about this. It was bad. Really bad. I don't know if they just don't know what genderfluid means but that's what it looks like after watching the show. Not only were all of the variants cis, but they also went on to say that Loki as a woman was a weird and uncommon thing. Oh my god. And what angers me the most is the fact that Marvel used the so called genderfluid confirmation to their benefit. They exploited so much that little piece of paper that said his sex (not even gender) was fluid. I saw SO MANY articles praising marvel for making him canon genderfluid, and then it was absolutely shit. Absolutely shit. Out of everything in the show this is definitely what I hate the most.

Gotta calm down now. The soundtrack of the show was amazing, the actual songs they used were perfect and then the music they composed for the show was just *chef's kiss* (i have no idea how they're called but the song that plays during the title sequence WHAT A BANGER and the one that plays when loki and mobius are looking at the whole tva from the balcony in the first ep WHAT A BANGER). The aesthetic of the show was also great, the colours were really pretty (Lamentis bi colours my beloved) and I think it had some really cool shots. The acting was great, I'm gonna highlight Kang because I thought he was amazing. The costumes and that stuff were also really cool, I really liked seeing all the different versions of outfits they gave to the Loki variants (if anyone is interested I made another post reviewing all the variants' outfits) and Kang's funky costume was great too. The design of the places and that stuff (I have no idea how to call these lol I'm trying so hard but I don't know any of the technical words) was great: Lamentis was really beautiful, the void was also very cool and the tva was really well designed.

Ok y'all I think this is it. I'm so sorry this is much longer than I expected and if anyone actually reads all of it i love you and PLEASE tell me your thoughts (if anyone wanna chat about the show with me privately send me a message!!! I love talking with y'all). A little final note, English is not my first language, nor my second, so yeah sorry if I can't explain myself well. Bye!!!!

[jazy3]

Thoughts on Grey’s Anatomy: 17X5

SPOILERS AHEAD!

I’m going to go right ahead and say it. This episode felt like a PSA to me, but it was well done. It was emotional and impactful and the storyline about Bailey’s Mom made me tear up, but at the same time the episode felt very stagnant and I feel like the lives of the other characters didn’t really move forward or go anywhere. It felt like they were all standing still. I liked the conversations between Jackson and Richard and Bailey and Maggie about how COVID has impacted black and brown people more than other races and how unfair that is and how politicians and decision makers need to pay more attention to that.

I loved the conversation between Bailey and Maggie. I liked that they addressed what happened with Maggie’s Mom because that storyline bothered the heck out of me. Maggie treated Meredith and everyone else horribly when all they did was try and help and then she forced her mother to undergo treatments she didn’t want because Maggie couldn’t handle the fact that she was dying and then they just dropped it. I’m glad to see that make a comeback and that Maggie has recognized that what she did and the way she behaved was wrong and is now using that experience to help others.

I loved their comments about guidance counsellors and others assume black people aren’t as bright or as capable as white folks and how insidious that is. It’s not something I’ve experienced myself as a white person, but I’m glad they’re highlighting it. This episode was written by Zoanne Clack who is a black woman and a former E.R. Physician. The previous episode was written by Julie Wong who is an Asian woman and I think it’s great they are utilizing the talent that they have so that people of colour can share their stories and their experiences on a global scale. 

By telling these stories through the lives of characters we know and love and can empathize with it allows people who will never have these experiences understand a little bit more. Representation is important and this show has always done a really good job in my opinion of highlighting important topics and social issues in a sensitive and thoughtful manner. These characters are fictional, but their stories are taken from the lives of real people and I think an important step in the process of creating a better fairer world is creating media that reflects people’s realities in order to cultivate empathy so that people who might not otherwise understand or get it have a window into that experience.

Maybe it changes their mind. Maybe it doesn’t. But the point is that it opens people’s minds to the possibility of seeing a side that they didn’t before and that is half the battle when trying to get people to understand someone else’s experience or point of view. I’m going to be seeing my family this holiday season virtually and in small groups from a safe distance. As is the case for many visiting with relatives over the holidays means having to listen to a lot of ignorant opinions, frustrating statements, and in some cases racial slurs and inappropriate remarks. 

So I’ve been thinking a lot about how I’m going to handle that this year because my tolerance for that crap has gone out the window. All this to say it’s nice to see good people fighting the good fight to get these stories out there to a global audience so that maybe some people will get it and maybe some good will come of it. And even if it doesn’t seeing characters and stories that represent you on screen is powerful and moving and wonderful and we all deserve that. I teared up watching Bailey suffer with the deterioration and death of her Mom.

The end scene where Bailey describes the patients she’s lost to COVID in the voice over while her and Richard sing ‘My Girl’ to give her Mom that moment of peace and a death with dignity got me. It really put a face on the disease. Watching her and her Dad struggle with it was so hard. I loved Bailey’s voice over where she shared info about the COVID patients she’d lost so far and who they were not just their disease. That was well done. Made me tear up.

I loved the talk between Meredith and Bailey at the hospital and on the beach. This episode wasn’t as shocking as the previous ones, but it was still good. I’m glad Meredith is getting better. I will miss the beach, but I’m excited to see her wake up, get better, and hopefully spend some time with Hayes. Which brings me to my chief complaint with this episode which is where the heck was Hayes?!?! This is the second episode he’s been absent from for no discernable reason and no explanation has been given as to where he is.

I did not sign up for this. A big part of the joy I felt when they announced that he was being upped to a main character was the implication that he was going to be given his own storylines and character development outside of Meredith and his relationships with Abigail, Liam, and Austin. But Hayes being absent when Meredith’s not awake robs of him that. Don’t get me wrong. I love Meredith and Hayes together and all I want is for them to be together and live happily ever after.

But, Hayes has such a rich and interesting backstory and there’s so much to explore there. Richard Flood who plays him brings such a wonderful depth to the character and he deserves to have his own story apart from Meredith and I really want to see him interact with the other characters more. We’ve seen him interact significantly with Jo and Bailey, but I’d love to see him interact with Maggie, Amelia, Jackson, and Owen more. His absence this episode reminds me of the episode after the Conference Episode last season where he was suddenly missing for no reason and they didn’t explain where he was.

I’m confused because he was upped to a main character just before this season started so he should be in every episode or almost every episode like the other characters are. I’m starting to get concerned that the actor who plays him has fallen ill or tested positive for COVID-19 or that he’s dealing with some kind of family emergency and so they had to cut him out of the episode last minute. I hope I’m wrong, but I honestly can’t think of another reason the actor would be missing for upwards of 2 to 4 weeks when these episodes were filmed.

I can’t see his absence being a story choice because it doesn’t make any sense and they haven’t addressed it on screen as they usually do when an actor has departed or needs time off and they have time to write that in. He also doesn't appear to be in the promo for next week’s episode which is strange considering it shows another meeting being held by Richard where some of the other department heads can be seen and we get shots of most of the other characters. After the Premiere aired he appeared in the promo for Episode 3 standing outside Meredith’s window and in that episode we saw them have a heart to heart that I thought was really beautiful and lovely.

At this point it’s unclear if Meredith even knows that Hayes is the one that found her and got her help and is distraught over her condition. He’s the head of Peds which is a pretty important department. Where the heck is he? They can gladly write off other characters in the second half of the season to give him more screen time in my opinion. I really hope the actor and his family are okay.  I’d also hate for his sudden absence to wreck Meredith’s storyline.

I love their friendship and flirtations and I’d hate to see her wind up alone or with someone that clearly isn’t right for her and that she doesn’t really love because something unexpected happened with the actor. I really really hope he’s in the mid-season finale next week! Jo suddenly declaring that she wants to quit general surgery to become an OBGYN came out of nowhere and makes no sense to me.

She spent years being with and then married to the Head of Pediatric Surgery and was decidedly lukewarm on the idea of having kids or even being near them. So her and Alex split and in the wake of that she randomly decides she wants to be an OBGYN and deliver babies? What the heck? I’m also confused because I feel like Hayes should have been there because it was a Peds case and he wasn’t and if Jo wants to re-specialize it would make sense for her to talk to Carina or Hayes.

Carina’s a main character on Station 19 and is still reoccurring on Grey’s so she can talk to her for an episode or two, but anymore than that and I think that would fall under Hayes perview because he’s a main character. But he’s currently MIA and we don’t know why. I did love Jo’s scenes with Levi though. They’re always hilarious and I think they bounce off of each other really well. I’m glad that Tom improved and apparently isn’t dying.

I like him with Teddy and I hope they get back together at some point. I’m glad they are choosing to be friends again. More than anything I want Teddy to pick a lane here. Owen or Tom. Pick one and go with it. Stop flip flopping all over the place like a fish out of water. Teddy’s a hot mess these days. I liked Amelia’s speech to Teddy. She has feelings about what Teddy did and didn’t do, but as she says she herself has done horrible things, some of them involving Owen, so she’s not in any place to judge, but she also doesn’t want to be friends with Teddy or really talk to her. And that’s fair. I have to say I love Amelia post-tumour. She’s great.

Also what happened to Casey Parker the resident from last season who was transgender and former military? I really liked him! Where did he go? I’d much rather see him that DeLuca or Nico on screen. Based on what I caught of next week’s promo it looks the COVID situation at Grey Sloan is about to get worse. We see Richard addressing staff in the cafeteria saying that they need to prepare for a surge of patients and that their patient load could double. We’re in May in the current Grey’s timeline so that fits.

It’s apparently also a cross over. I don’t want another cross over. I want to know where the hell Hayes is! And it looks like Amelia is back in the OR and the doctors are treating two teenagers who were kidnapped and held captive. Yikes! And we see Meredith smiling at someone on the beach before suddenly waking up. My guess is that it’s Derek and we are finally going to get to see them embrace and then Meredith is going to return to the land of the living. And hopefully interact with Hayes.

Until next time!

[corsolanite]

Pokémon Sword & Shield Reviews are in! ⚔️ 🛡

Areajugones - Ramón Baylos

Score: 8.8 / 10

The new Game Freak game will please both newcomers and more experienced players because, although some sections of this new installment have received less polish, it still has attractive enough content for every trainer to find his place in the new region of Galar.

Gamespot - Kallie Plagge

Score: 90 / 100

In collecting, battling, and exploring, Sword and Shield cut out the bloat and focus on what makes these pillars of the Pokemon games so captivating in the first place. You're not held back by overly complicated back-end systems or hoops to jump through; from the outset, you can start wandering the Galar region, seeing its new Pokemon, and trying out its new battle strategies with very little in your way. This leaves you free to enjoy what Pokemon is all about, and that makes for an incredibly strong showing for the series' proper debut on Switch.

Gamesradar - Sam Loveridge

Score: 90 / 100

Gameplay tweaks and attention to detail make Pokemon Sword and Shield the most compelling Pokemon world to date!

EGM - Ray Carsillo

Score: 80 / 100

The first new-generation Pokémon game to release on a proper home console does not disappoint. New features like Dynamaxing and the Wild Area are fun additions that make the experience of becoming a Pokémon champion still feel fresh. It’s just a shame that Game Freak didn’t lean into the new features more than they did.

Nintendo Life - Alex Olney

Score: 8 / 10

Pokémon Sword and Shield succeded in bringing some new ideas to the table, but they also somewhat guilty of not pushing things far enough. What’s done right is done right, but what is done wrong feels like it’s come from a decade old design document. There are moments contained within that are best the series has ever been, but the joy is at times spoiled by contrasting moments that left us disappointed and did not match up to the rest of what these games can offer. What we’ve got here is an experience filled with highs and lows, from the unadulterated wonder and joy of seeing brand new Pokémon in a stadium full of cheering crowds, to the monotonous and dragging out dialogue we want to skip.

Ars Technica - Andrew Cunningham

Unscored

The short version of this review is that Sword and Shield are fun, good-looking Pokémon games with a solid story mode and some welcome changes to the game’s mechanics.

Daily Star - Dom Peppiatt

Score: 3 / 5 stars

Pokémon Sword and Shield are not bad games. But fun character arcs and inventive, creative designs of new ‘mon are often offset by poor pacing and restrictive world design.The world of Galar is charming, and is a Pokémon interpretation of Britain I’ve dreamed of since I was a kid, but between gating what Pokémon you can catch behind Gym Badges, some half-baked route/City designs and a modest amount of post-game content, Sword and Shield can only be called ‘good’ Pokémon games… not ‘great’ ones.

Eurogamer - Chris Tapsell

Unscored

Pokémon Sword and Shield add some brilliant new creatures, but like their gargantuan Dynamax forms, the games feel like a hollow projection.

Game Informer - Brian Shea

Score: 8.8 / 10

The compelling formula of simultaneously building your collections of monsters and gym badges has proven timeless, but the new additions and enhancements show Pokémon isn't done evolving.

GameSpot - Kallie Plagge

Score: 9 / 10

Pokemon Sword and Shield scale down the bloated elements of the series while improving what really matters, making for the best new generation in years.

GameXplain

Score: liked

Video Review - Quote not available

Gameblog - Julien Inverno

Score: 7 / 10

With these new games Pokémon, Game Freak proceeds as usual in the evolution of the series, small touches, all the more welcome this time they seem absolutely necessary today, like the boxes PC accessible everywhere. Without major disruption but with significant improvements, in terms of game comfort mainly, and while some will probably deplore the reduced number of Pokémon referenced base in the Pokédex Galar, new region that enjoys a care of atmosphere and staging undeniable, Pokémon remains faithful to its formula still winning for over twenty years, at the risk of missing the evolutionary step offered and hoped for by its convergence with the so popular Nintendo Switch. That said, the proposal is still effective for those for whom risk taking is secondary and of course the newcomers, especially children, the first public concerned and whose generations succeed and always succumb to the charm of those offered over the years by Pokémon.

GamesRadar+ - Sam Loveridge

Score: 4.5 / 5 stars

Gameplay tweaks and attention to detail make Pokemon Sword and Shield the most compelling Pokemon world to date.

IGN - Casey DeFreitas

Score: 9.3 / 10

Pokémon Sword and Shield are the best games in the series, streamlining its most tedious traditions without losing any of the charm.

Kotaku - Gita Jackson

Unscored

The magic of Pokémon is that it lets you tap into a sense of wonder that becomes more and more difficult to access as an adult. Sword and Shield do that more successfully than any Pokémon release has in years. It won’t be everything to everyone, and it will not make everyone happy. I’m not sure it needs to. It’s a portal to a new world.

Metro GameCentral

Score: 7 / 10

The furore over Dexit may be overblown but even without it this is an underwhelming and unambitious attempt to modernise Pokémon and expand its horizons.

Polygon - Nicole Carpenter

Unscored

The surprise in Sword and Shield is that I’m still finding things that surprise me, even after putting in so many hours. It’s in how Game Freak has made a linear game feel so much less linear.

VG247 - Alex Donaldson

Score: 3 / 5 stars

Pokémon Sword & Shield is all too often a bit disappointing, and in some places actually feels a little unfinished, but it also fully provides that warm, fuzzy feeling that one expects from the series. Crucially, even through frustration, never once did I think about putting it down, which is to its credit. It comes recommended almost for the Galar setting and new Pokemon alone, but with a long list of caveats indeed.

JeuxVideo - L'avis de Kaaraj (French)

Score: 80 / 100

Pokémon Sword / Shield is offered some new very appreciable. Its artistically beautiful world, its more pronounced work on the realization, but also its new generation of Pokémon as well as several additions like the presence of a last part slightly reworked compared to the precedents make it a convincing opus. Its still very classic structure, its overall lack of difficulty and its technical shortcomings - aliasing in docked mode, clipping - however prevent it from claiming the status of unavoidable. The model of the wild lands and faults present there, however, brings a real good idea to the certain potential for the rest of the series, which we hope to see return in the next games.

Everyeye.i - Francesco "Cydonia" Cilurzo (French)

Score: 85 / 100

Pokémon Sword and Shield are complex and convincing games: a solid plot, a more varied gameplay and a very thoughtfully-created level design are the hallmarks of this new pokémon generation.

[its-sj-i-swear]

Okay so I just really need to say this. I was rereading Red, White and Royal Blue by Casey McQuiston and I just really wanted to talk about it.

It’s honestly amazing. It should be at the top of your TBR, or at least in the middle. And I know people might not buy into it- which is why I’m going to explain why it’s so great, other than it’s a really cute BL (what else could you possibly want? Well whatever it is, I can assure you this book has it) There are spoilers ahead so... er... yeah. I’ll tell you when they’re about to come up though.

Firstly, the representation. Let’s ignore the obvious sexuality bit for a second, and look at everything else. We have a female Democratic president who won the election right after Barack Obama. Her son, the main character, is bi-racial. Everyone talks about those two things but how about the more subtle matters? Their family isn’t the stereotypical nuclear family- Mom, Dad, and kids. We have a Dad and a stepdad in the picture. And although tensions are pretty high with the Mom and the Dad, that’s realistic. The dad and the stepdad get along pretty well and both Alex (the MC and their son) and June (another MC and their daughter and an absolute QUEEN) love them both which is honestly so amazing. And, about the dad for a second, like he’s on the scene even though the “love of his life” (his words) is with another guy and somehow manages to be relatively okay. And he’s honestly such a good dad- he invites the kids- even Nora who isn’t really his kid but- to his house just to have a good time even though it might hurt that their mom isn’t coming with them. Also, June is the one more into making her own way with her fashion writing stuff and is honestly (this might raise conflict but) as ambitious as Alex, if not more so. In my opinion, it’s harder to make your own way as the First Daughter on something so unrelated to politics versus following in your Mom’s footsteps- or close to anyway- as a guy.

Okay, now to the sexuality and stuff. First, let me just say that there is trans representation which is honestly not done enough and it’s not even a whole thing. Like what I mean is with so many of these things- like someone being trans or there being a random threesome between Nora, Pez, and June, they’re not a big deal. Like, it’s just accepted. Like, June and Pez’s sexualities aren’t explicitly said and it doesn’t matter to anyone because that’s just how accepting they are. Alex is bi and Henry is gay which I appreciate because I’ve read books where both the lovers are gay and though that may be likely, it’s more believable if one is gay and one is bi or pan or something. And the fact that Alex’s Mom and Dad and Stepdad are all so accepting is just refreshing- and yet there is that realism with Henry’s grandma not being as accepting. Oh, and let’s get onto Henry’s family.

⚠️SPOILER ALERT!⚠️

His sister is a drug addict gone clean, and I love how they included that element because it further shows that everyone is honestly trying to get by, and the fact that she’s clean because Henry was lost and didn’t know what to do and cried to her is just... like, woah. Both the sibling bonds in this are just amazing. And Henry’s mom... she’s just amazing. And again, his family isn’t really nuclear either- his dad is dead, which is another huge plot point because it shows the vulnerability of Henry and actually addresses how hard it is on everyone when a family member dies and how they cope with it (Bea-cocaine. Phillip- being a general annoyance to everyone except his grandma. Henry- curling on in himself. His mom- becoming withdrawn).

⚠️SPOILER ALERT OVER⚠️

So yeah. The representation is just *chef kiss*

Okay. Now for the second bit; the characters. Like, can we take a moment? Every single character is so well-developed, even the secondary characters. And there aren’t really any unnecessary characters which I appreciated because some other books just have characters that don’t even do anything and it’s just annoying. But this book wasn’t like that. Every character, no matter how small, had a purpose. There’s no waste of a character, and I like how no character is explicitly evil. Like, Richards is kind of bad, but we can see why he did the things he did. This is closer to real life because there isn’t any clear cut good or evil.

Okay. *rubs hands in glee* now for the character development. We start of with a boy who is ambitious and yet hates himself sometimes for it, and hates the Prince of goddamn Wales. We have his sister who is obviously in the White House and not at uni or whatever because she has to keep an eye on him- which is a little narcissistic if you ask me, but in the least egotistical way possible. You have his Mom who he wants to be like, Rafael Luna (who I’ll talk more about later) who he wants to be exactly like. You have his dad and stepdad, both of whom he appreciates very much. You have Zahra (who I’ll talk about later again and who is an absolute QUEEN) who he’s a little scared of but loves anyway.

⚠️SPOILER ALERT!⚠️

Now, cut to the end of the book. He hates himself and the Prince of Wales a little less and everything else more or less stays the same. So why do we feel like everyone evolved? Probably because we get to know everyone so much more. I mean, we get to know Rafael Luna is an absolute genius, as his Oscar, Alex’s dad. We know Zahra will kick down a door, make half-dressed Henry fall out of the goddamn closet (‘“Quite,” Henry observes.’ Yes I’ve memorized it move on) and finish pulling Alex’s boxers up because he hasn’t yet. And then she doesn’t tell the president because Alex hasn’t come out yet with only the promise that he’ll tell her soon. Like... come on.

⚠️SPOILER ALERT OVER⚠️

So... yeah. It’s the fact that the development is so subtle that it’s literally just us getting to know the characters. It doesn’t feel like development, really, because it seems too natural for that. Like, it’s almost not the characters developing. It’s their situations changing and so they do as well. And the fact that I’m saying that really makes me feel like Casey McQuiston put a lot of time and effort into the seamlessness of this book and it shows.

Taking the seamlessness point a little further, I’m going to be talking about the last thing on my mind. All the goddamn tropes. The way I say that sounds like it’s a bad thing but it really, really isn’t. It’s honestly every cute trope rolled into one.

⚠️SPOILER ALERT! (Although I dunno how you’ve heard about this book and not heard of what’s going to happen ultimately)⚠️

We have the:

* Hated each other for ages but actually it was love all along (Drarry or Snowbaz anyone?)

* Had to pretend they were friends and actually became more

* Cheesy emails that are actually so cute that I might die

* Absolute denial of all and any feelings until the shy one kisses the other one and the other one doesn’t kiss back because THEY’RE STUPID AND OBLIVIOUS *cries* and then the shy one thinks they read it all wrong so stops all and any contact with the other one and then the other one is like WAIT... *insert that ‘I hope this doesn’t awaken anything in me.’ thing* and then corners the shy one and kisses them

* Someone finds them out and the shy one doesn’t talk to the other one because ajdijdowhfoejrjiwjc and then the other one confesses their love and the shy one’s resolve dies because they love them too

* Whatever medium they used (emails, texting, whatever) got leaked and they were kind of screwed but it didn’t matter because they had each other (this trope is only for famous people and generally used in fanfic- I would know)

⚠️SPOILER ALERT OVER⚠️

So there are all those tropes and one would think it would be cheesy and like a poorly written fanfic, but it isn’t and that what makes it so amazing. Every single plot point has a reason and maybe it adheres to these tropes but it’s is by no means unoriginal, which is a miraculous feat.

The entire book is honestly so good, and it is an easy book to get through- it’s a feel good book so there isn’t a lot of angst and sadness, even though there is some. Just... honestly I love the book so much and I thank Casey McQuiston for creating such a thing. I think everyone should read it, so please add it to your TBR.

[sonatanotwo]

Hey, I’m simply inquiring as to whether ‘Tracy Industries’ is canon? I’ve viewed mentions of it in countless fics; the entity itself isn’t indicated in TAG, and I’ve not watched TOS. I’m very puzzled haha 😂

Hehee this is usually kinda question I get on the Bigbookofrescues. X3 BUT let’s see. SO. OKAY. Here’s the thing.

Tracy Industries was never even named in TOS. The fact, them being exceedingly rich is really only ever implied and never stated as fact in the show itself. (That I can recall anyways.) It’s the extra materials that actually say these things. The most canon one being a fact sheet from the Century 21 studio itself. There they say he’s a multi-millionaire. He’s meant to be one of the most richest men on Earth, so I think that’s why in time it’s been bumped to multi-billionaire to fit more with the times. And then yeah, other extra material (which was often approved by Gerry/the studio… but never really checked for consistency) like the annuals and such end up being kinda more like… official sanctioned fanon than completely canon. Like the name Lucille/Lucy for the boys mom? That name was created for a comic series and Gerry said that’s not a name he’d have chosen for her. And like there’s some annuals that say it takes place in 2026 and others that say 2065, but that’s something Gerry DID go on record as saying NONO, it’s meant to be 2065.)

ANYHOO. But, yeah, basically the gist of the backstory for Jeff is he was the son of a Kansas wheat farmer, joined the airforce, became a Colonel and transferred into the space program… (Given Jeff is Colonel Jeff Tracy in TAG, it seems that bit is DEF been adopted into TAG canon.) When he left the space program, he started a civil construction and engineering business and became a very rich man. Somewhere in there he lost his wife and became inspired to start IR.

But. Yeah. NONE of this is really obviously said in TOS. But there are HINTS. Jeff’s friends with Casey (who is male in TOS XD) who’s an old friend from ‘the early days of space travel,’ He has connections in Washington. He’s semi-friends with a big business guy who loves gazelles. Goes to an airshow to see some of the new tech and goes on a ride on a new technology called a monotrain, interested in investing in it. There’s probably some things I’m forgetting, but yeah. XD The hints are there.

SO. “Tracy Industries” though I THINK is more fanon than even what’s offered in annuals and such. In those you find names like “Tracy Construction and Aerospace corporations“ and  “Tracy Aerospace” SO yeah. XD

TAG has given little indication of what kinda outside business their Dad might have had/has that is a source of income for them, but does seem likely there had to be something there.

David Scott, a largely S1 director who had fair bit of input on the start of the series did in an interview speak of how Jeff is kinda a bit like an older Tony Stark… that he’s had a career in engineering then a disaster happened early in the kids childhood that inspired him to create a civil rescue organization.

So if that is him thinking of TAG’s bible (animated series (er well shows in general even XD) always have what’s called a ‘bible’… it provides an outline of the characters, world, backstory etc. …and is something I sure would love to put my eyeballs on. 😂)

ANYHOO, I hope this helps! ALSO if you guys EVER want to read about TOS canon I cannot recommend enough Ticipedia… https://www.ticipedia.info/  They don’t try to make one set of info as THE canon, but instead provides sourced info from all the various publications (including ones that vastly conflict with even show canon, here’s looking at you Alan Fennell and your Thunderbirds Comic. >.>;;;) that have certainly all in various ways influenced what’s considered the overall canon of the series at large.

[jupiterjunebug]

WHERE'S THE WEREWOLF ESSAY, OP??

@malaloba @bisexualducknewton You also dared me to say this so you get a tag

Okay so fun facts about Tyler Keegan Casey (I literally just wanted to make a joke about Tyler Casey abbreviating to Tyler K.C):

His parents, Edgar Casey and Rebecca Wilson, got married at 18. Their reasoning was "hey, we've been together all of high school, we still like each other, and I think our kids would be really hot." A bit of the shine wore off for Rebecca, though, when it turned out Edgar inherited a controlling streak from his parents. He got it in his head that his growth as a person required moving as far away from tiny little Casper, WV as he could. Which was fine, and would've been true if he’d put any actual EFFORT into growing up, except he made that decision without consulting his wife. Family was the most important thing in the world for her, which meant she didn't want to leave. Unfortunately, family was the most important thing in the world to her, and Edgar was technically her family.As far away as possible turned out to be Fortville, Indiana. At around 3000 people, it was certainly bigger than Casper, but much smaller than Edgar's ambitions. Unfortunately, they'd run out of gas, and got stuck in town long enough for Rebecca to work up her courage and deliver an ultimatum: they were eight hours from Casper, close enough to drive over, and she'd live no further away than that.Tyler was born a few years later and grew up the only "daughter" of the household, pretty in a generic way and polite to a fault. His homesick mama taught him that he'd know when he found his people on account of the decision to give up everything for them would only hurt a little. His pyramid-scheme chasing daddy taught him that the key to success is for people to think you're one of their people, and who gives a shit if it's true or not?Up until he was twenty he was a full-on social chameleon: he wore the closest thing he could get to the "right" clothes, he did his hair in the "right" way, he laughed at the right jokes and had a crush on all the right boys. Third runner up for prom queen, dated at least three members in the football team (the breakups were never his fault, of course. He'd take a relationship as far as the other person wanted, he only dated them because they wanted to date him after all), popular but not so popular for people to consider him a threat.Every holiday, Tyler and his mama went off to Casper to visit her family. That meant he ended up at the kids table with his two younger cousins Franc ( @keplersheetz) and Vicki. Franc and Vicki were practically sisters, Franc lived with Vicki's parents whenever her ma was off dealing with her host of mental issues, which meant that Tyler was kind of the third wheel.

Tyler ended up the responsible one, and town gossip went on about how they hoped he'd be a good influence, because wasn't he just a perfect little child? Gossip about Franc went on about how she was wild, about how she didn't follow rules, if she wasn't careful she'd end up just like her mother and didn't Vicki's parents worry about if she was a bad influence? No one gossiped about Vicki at all.

It created a weird circle of jealousy, where Tyler envied Franc for having the guts to be herself, Franc worried that Vicki would end up liking Tyler better than her, and Vicki wished somebody might talk about her instead of other people’s “influence” on her. In general, Tyler and Franc didn't get along on account of they were very different and had no interests in common, but when you spend months each year as an obligatory playmate you end up developing at least a little fondness.Tyler went to Indiana University Bloomington, close enough to home for both his parents and also in possession of a Bachelors program for early childhood education. He quickly acquired a job at the library, a reputation as "a pleasure to have in class," an overcommitment to several clubs, and a thoroughly mediocre boyfriend. He also ended up in two classes with and as a coworker to Monet, ( @pleasekalemenow). In sophomore year, the two were roommates and in three classes together, which was haha a funny coincidence. Then in Spring term Tyler had a stress breakdown and Monet was so thrown by composed, fake-ass Tyler losing his shit over something completely minor that she ended up sitting with him for four hours and now they're best friends.In the summer before Junior year he was like "hey wait a fucking second, if I'm completely changing my personality around other people so that they'll like me...do they actually like me?" and decided that fuck it, I'm going to just have my own personality and work my hardest to make it so people find that person likable. The most obvious shift - aside from him breaking up with his mediocre boyfriend and quitting half of his clubs - was coming out as, you know, a dude.

His parents didn't really...get it? His mom continues to this day to treat it as something she supports but just can't understand, and his dad kind of took it as a personal attack because his dad is a self-obsessed jackass. The rest of the family didn't really express an opinion on any of this, on account of Vicki had a baby and Franc ran away from home just a little while later. Compared to having a daughter under 18 and just straight up disappearing, being trans wasn't all that embarrassing to them.Things went pretty decent for half of Junior year. Then one day while he was watching a kindergarten class, the last kid to be picked up at the end of the day turned into an eldritch horror and ate the other student teacher. The FBI’s Paranormal Research and Investigation division showed up and was like "hey I'm pretty sure you can guess that we're going to tell you to keep this hush hush, so keep this fucking hush hush." Tyler went "wow you know I don't like being kept in the dark about all this," so he changed his major to criminal justice and worked his ass off to graduate at the same time as everyone else. Then he joined the FBI, and when they were interviewing him he dropped some line about "oh, I saw something once and the, uh, I think it was PRI? Said that it was top secret dangerous business. I'd like to solve murders like that :)" and the PRI kind of went "well...I guess? we can hire? Him? He did a god job on all of his exams...we have no reason not to."At around this time he played the love interest in Monet's breakout limited access TV show, Once Upon a Cryptid. This show eventually gained Dr. Horrible levels of cult-classic fame, and Tyler is eternally thankful that T has at this point changed his look enough that no one really recognizes him beyond people he talks to on case being like "haha isn't it funny that you look kind of like actor Tyler Casey and you're an FBI agent just like his character?" And he just says "haha yeah I get that a lot :)"The PRI was also like "hey can you keep an eye on this person who is causing trouble with conspiracy theory shit?" Tyler says "uh yeah, sure? Anything I should know?" And the PRI is like "well it's your cousin, but other than that, nah, glhf :)"Tyler found this situation Vaguely Uncomfortable, so instead of being actually good at his job he took this opportunity to leave reminders to eat and warnings to keep her head down when she overreached. They were all signed with "The FBI Agent That's Watching You Right Now" and wow isn't it fucked up that they're closer as anonymous FBI stalker and conspiracy theorist than they were as proper childhood playmates? It fucks me up sometimes.Five years before the game starts, he goes on an investigation into what may or may not be a supernatural murderer. While in the area he runs into August Caraway ( @transagentstern), who is. Super his type. He immediately starts finding excuses to spend time w/ the hot, sensitive, painter, asking August to be his guide around the area. And also if he could see that painting that August is working on because it sounds really :) great :). Eventually he comes to the conclusion that the long periods of time between attacks and the COD indicate either a werewolf attack or a very patient predator. He goes "well, it's the new moon tonight...so if I take August out on a da-I MEAN INVESTIGATION into that clearing in the woods it'll be safe."Spoilers! It isn't!They get attacked by a werewolf. Tyler says "well, I'm an FBI agent so I should be the one to sacrifice myself" and tries to shoot the werewolf. It quickly takes him to the ground, but hey! At least August has time to run! Except instead of running, August goes up to try and save Tyler. Which ends in them both getting bitten before the silver bracelets August always wears fend the thing off. August manages to drag Tyler to civilization before losing consciousness, and the two wake up in separate hospitals. August is told Tyler got sent to a special FBI hospital, but is fine. Tyler is told August got tired of waiting around for him to wake up and left. (More fun facts: this happened the day before Pigeon's birthday! Wow! Terrible)Tyler is kept under observation for the rest of the month, just to make sure he's fine. He is, of course, not fine. The PRI is super stoked to have access to someone who is fully willing to spend the rest of his month j chillin' and then come in on the full moons, on account of most of the werewolves they have access to are ones they caught and have to keep hold of all the time. Which, like, unlawfully contained civilians are a shitty baseline.So, despite having research in their name, the PRI kinda fucking sucks at research. Their methodology is to just try shit until they figure out 1. How to kill the monster and 2. How to spot the affliction/how it progresses. They are perfectly aware of how to kill werewolves, so really all they do is stage observations under different stress conditions to play “how to spot a werewolf”.

Every experiment is just put them in a cage with moonlight access, see whether the transformation is faster/slower when the person has a certain diet/fitness level/etc. Most of the subjects can’t leave bc they’d run away and are also liable to transform sometimes which is inconvenient.

The PRI isn't especially concerned about Tyler, because they know one of the conditions for a transformation is high stress and if there's one thing he's good at it's completely repressing an anxiety attack, so he's able to pretty much do his job aside from the whole "locked up under the full moon" thing. Of course, he's ostracized by his coworkers on account of he's like. Literally a monster. But that's fine! He has Monet! Who he never tells anything about all this because he doesn't want to worry her, and also because her brother (coincidentally August, though Tyler doesn't know that) died around the time of his attack and he doesn't want her to blame herself for never trying to come see him.Good things that happen in these 5 years: he has an amicable relationship with Franc. He gets good at his job. He and Monet discover that the uncanny coincidences which led to them always having classes together carry over into their adult life, and they constantly run into each other while performing their respective jobs. She sometimes invites him to parties to stop men from hitting on her, and because he looks vaguely like Jake Gyllenhaal (that's Tyler's face claim) they get to laugh about all the tabloid rumors that Monet is dating Jake.The bad news is Tyler never had access to the other werewolves prior to the attack (it wasn't his division, and he wasn't usually in a position to take anything alive) which means he's never been around to see a new one, to watch the arc of their deterioration. Usually it goes like this: they wake up, alone and naked in a room with only a bed, a desk, and an uncomfortable wooden chair. They are given clothing by an FBI agent, sometimes that agent is sympathetic, sometimes sneering, but usually expressionless. Each full moon they transform, and remember nothing of it save pain, hunger, and the feeling of their claws digging into the metal walls. Fear is a trigger for transformation, as is anger. They are always afraid, always angry. Eventually, it becomes rare to see them in their human forms.The PRI is fucking stupid. A reasonable person might say "duh, werewolves turn when they're scared, maybe if we put them someplace less scary they'll stop turning so much." Instead, they write in their notes, the notes Tyler receives, "we're fairly certain that, at some point, the humanity of a werewolf is completely lost." He only sees werewolves that have not been human in months, or even years. Or, he sees the ones who are even worse off.The worse news is that Tyler is told there's a cure. Sometimes, the PRI manages to poke and prod at a werewolf and for reasons we just don't understand they never transform again. So he doesn't argue with the tests, and even if he writes a will he doesn't tell Monet anything because he might be fine, and he doesn't want to worry her. He throws himself into his work and into making Monet happy, because he wants to make sure that if he is lost he leaves a legacy. There's something to prove that Tyler Casey's existence was justified.Then he finds out what the cure entails. It's not recovery, not at all; it's pushing someone so hard, making them so afraid, that their body can't take being afraid anymore. A person who’s too tired to feel doesn't shift, not even under the full moon, because the werewolf's state of mind is defined by the person's emotions before it happens (so if someone was actually CALM, really truly calm, then they'd manage to control it, but hunger and anger and fear can all throw that out of wack). If the person is numb, there is nothing for the curse to react to.Tyler Casey would rather die after trying his hardest than live longer but not be able to do anything. So, when he manages to find a job opening at The Askar Foundation, a secret society with more funding and more knowledge than the FBI could ever hope for, he has no qualms spilling the PRI's secrets in exchange for a position as a field agent.As you can probably guess, August, Monet, and Franc are all there as well. The circumstances of their recruitment were significantly less...consensual than his (Monet and Franc recently saw too much and got pressganged in, and after nearly killing Franc while transformed August got dragged in for Askar's own brand of tests). This leads to a veritable five layer dip of fucking drama:1. Franc and Tyler have a private conversation which leads to the revelation of several character secrets on both their parts. This ends when Tyler and Franc both insist that they saw different things during one of the scenes. Franc has always had the ability to tell when people lie to her, but she is also convinced she's right about their topic of conversation (which uh, she IS right, so). That means that, despite the fact that she can't feel him lying, he MUST be. She's convinced that he's had the supernatural ability to get around her own uncanny powers this whole time, and thus they engaged in a Comedy of Errors where instead of mistaken identities it’s Tyler saying things that further convince Franc he's trying to manipulate the entire team2. The Askar foundation would very much like to keep their shiny new field agent, and also Tyler still has connections to the FBI and him snitching to them would be.........inconvenient. So they're willing to put effort, within reason, into making sure he doesn't find out anything that might cause problems, like the fact that August is a kind of monster Tyler has a massive vendetta against. Or uh...anything else that might make him question them. This leads to3. Askar shutting down a conversation between him and Monet, leading to her concluding that talking about their past experiences with the supernatural OR the workings of Askar will never go well. (Exacerbated by the fact that Askar had already been trying to keep her from finding out shit about her brother) 4. Consequently, Monet will no longer talk to him about deep personal topics if they lead back to these things at ALL5. Franc ended up in a romantic entanglement w/ the monster of the week, who is a shapeshifter unwillingly being used to bring about...the apocalypse. He thinks the reason she doesn’t trust him is because she figured out he was a werewolf, and doesn’t trust him/is keeping an eye on him so she can put him down when he becomes dangerous. So he thinks she hates him bc he’s a shapeshifter that has no control over himself, but then she’s fine with...the OTHER shapeshifter that has no control over himself.6. August thinks Tyler hates werewolves because of the attack, and is afraid to enter a relationship with him because he wouldn't be able to keep his condition a secret7. Tyler refuses to let himself entertain notions of actually DATING August, because Tyler thinks he's going to die and doesn't want to hurt even MORE people when he goes8. Tyler and Monet platonically love each other so much and are also living together in Seinfeld's mansion that she stole the keys to, and Tyler is an idiot which means August thinks Tyler wants to date Monet (August's SISTER)So tl;dr, Tyler thinks that after Franc gained access to more Askar files she suddenly doesn't trust him (he assumes she knows he's a werewolf), he knows that Monet suddenly doesn't want to TALK to him and knows that if he discovers anything suspicious he thus cannot tell her, and he knows he......really, really, REALLY is starting to enjoy August's companyThis means that conversations oscillate between Tyler being professionally friendly with all his coworkers, Franc interpreting something random as a personal attack, Monet deeply wishing she could tell Tyler something, and then a completely stupid conversation where Tyler and August are flirting about something stupid and getting cockblocked by Tyler's hangups and August remembering that as far as he's concerned Tyler and Monet should get together.Oh and also Askar definitely is fucking with his head at least once a session.

[seawolvesanddragons]

NCIS - Season 16, and Why I Still Watch

Guys, this season has been a goddamn blessing. As someone who has watched NCIS for nearly ten years, I’ve seen almost every major cast change, excepting Kate and Jenny. The show stayed stable enough to keep me on after Ziva left, after Tony left, but I was having my doubts about NCIS without Abby, especially after season 14/15. Not that those seasons were bad, but they lacked the spark NCIS usually has. It was at the point where my buddy and I were preferring NCIS LA episodes over the original ones. But this season? My god, this season has been wonderful, in terms of dynamic, episodes, development...I just love it.  Full disclosure - this is about to get weirdly personal and also all over the place, and LONG, because I have thoughts that are demanding they get out. If you want full in depth and clinical analysis of NCIS, look elsewhere. 

These last few episodes, “Her” “Once Upon a Tim” and “Crossing the Line” hit particularly hard. I don’t cry easily, and I didn’t here either, but my heart absolutely did the whole “constrict with emotions” thing several times during those three episodes, particularly with “Her.” And let me say, those who stopped watching the show because Cote or Michael or Pauley left, because these new guys can’t be as good as the nostalgia colored dream team, because the writers/producers “aren’t as good, are riding the coattails of past success” etc...I think you’re making a mistake. Quite plainly, I think you’re wrong, or as Vance would say, I disagree with your opinion. Like I said, I’ve been a fan NCIS for years. I remember the very first episode I saw - it was where Vance had his face off with Kai, the assassin. My dad was  a fan, and it was just a custom in my household that on Tuesday nights, he would watch it while my mom and sister watched Glee in a different room. I wandered in one night, and thought that, as a high school freshman, I could try out some of these “grown up” shows. I remember the line that made me fall in love with the show - “kai-jacked.” I remember thinking “I get that joke. It was funny. I understand this show’s dialogue and jokes.” And that was it. I was hooked. It became a thing, between my dad and I - sure, mom watched it more often than not with us, and my sister was aware of the characters, but it was our thing. Tuesday nights, NCIS. More then once was I quizzed on whatever test I had for Wednesday during commercial breaks, because we didn’t want to wait until Friday to see the episode. It was our little in joke that my dad, former Navy, was listed as “Gibbs” in my contacts back when having nicknames for everyone’s contact was a thing in high school. My dad wasn’t nearly half the taciturn, tunnel visioned, “the second b is for bastard” person Gibbs could be - practically the only thing they shared was a past in the Marines/Navy and a soft spot for family - but somehow it fit. Dad was the Gibbs of my teenaged years. More then once he referred to me not as Ziva, the badass Ninja I admired so, but as Tony, the one I had silently noted was probably the most like me - and that my Dad had noticed as well. I never got an actual head slap, but Dad got the Gibbs stare down pat. Scarily well. I’ve met a few other friends over the years that have watched the show, but most dropped out in the last few years. I don’t blame them - for most it was a time commitment, though some weren’t willing to give the new characters a chance. Others just let watching it slide somewhere around season 14, when the show had a rough patch. I noticed some of the lower moments myself, and its been years since I’ve watched it faithfully every week. But I could never quit it entirely. Even now, when in a different country, I end up sitting down and bingeing on it. Cause a decade down the line, that was dad and mine show. Our connection. Overall, season 16 has been a turn around from the last few years. The development of the characters is consistent, but not rushed. Seeing Jimmy continue to be established as a self confident, intelligent and well trusted confidante makes my heart swell in happiness. He has come such a long way, and the scene this season where he and McGee discuss Vietnam, paralleling Ducky and Gibbs, was wonderfully done. McGee is also doing an amazing job, his role as Lead Agent/Mentor as well as father now reaching a more static position. Remembering his early days back in season 1/2 is incredible. Casey is a great addition, and I love that while Nick is still learning a little to play with a team, his obvious feelings for Ellie are part of his development, not hers. But it was these last three episodes that really cinched the season for me. “Her” was just terrific overall - like I said, I admired Ziva and saw a lot of myself in Tony. Any mention of them gets a thumbs up for me. But it was more of the acknowledgment of how far this show has come in recent years - Tony and Ziva being replaced by Torres and Bishop, Abby by Casey, Ducky slowly by Jimmy. Its largely a new team, just with the same leader. This change eerily paralleled my life - Cote left just as I was starting college. Tony left when I graduated. Abby mere months before I moved continents. My own team, my sphere on influencers back when I started watching the show, is somewhat different now than it was 6 years ago. New people entered my life, and others took on a backround role, or disappeared entirely. As Gibbs’ team changed, so did my stages of life. It’s a somehow comforting parallel, and one that “Her” really drove home for me. “Once Upon a Tim” was just great for some classic Tim character development and storyline - Tim often got overshadowed by his teammates backstories and arcs, so its have a very Tim centric episode, especially one that includes Delilah and the twins as central to his life but isn’t focused on them.

But “Crossing the Line?” That was the episode that hit me where I wasn’t expecting it. All through the episode, you get the feeling that Max is clearly more than he appears. The twist that he’s the son of an agent killed in the bombing? That was the unseen bullet. See, I remember that season finale probably better than any other NCIS season finale I have seen or will ever see. The bombing. Chaos. Ducky’s collapse on the beach with the phone call. The uncertainty I had of if everyone was going to survive this. It’s burned into my memory, because not three weeks after I watched Ducky collapse from a heart attack, my Dad died unexpectedly from one. Its become a part of life I’ve had to accept, but needless to say NCIS always brings up memories of my father, and certain episodes are harder to watch because of it. I’ve never seen that season finale after it aired - I can’t bring myself to. But Tony leaving the show a few years later felt like reopening the wound, as if Tony and Gibbs no longer being on screen together was another nail in the coffin of my own “Gibbs and Tony” chapter. This episode had a similar impact. Watching Max, six years later, try and deal with his own pain, mirroring my own similar journey...it affected me in a way tv shows rarely do. Particularly about deaths - hollywood is terrible at writing teenagers with dead parents, and death in general, and NCIS is not always an exception. Listening to Torres open up to Max, hearing someone talk about how this pain of six years sucks, but also isn’t going away, meant something to me. This wasn’t writers phoning it in or riding coattails. This was actual, genuine writing, acting, and emotion. Even if the dead parent always having a “saying” is an age old cliche - of course the dead relative always said some wise adage that fits the situation. Because people talk like that, right? The line “I’m not my father” was another emotional hit, particularly following Tim’s episode. I had actually been hoping that the writers would take a different route with it though - following the dead parent’s footprints is another cliche, and NCIS loves it. That instead of Max agreeing with Torres that he could consider an agent, that not being his father was meant that he was lesser or couldn’t live up to him, it was Max saying he could remember and honor his father in different ways. Because I know those words, “I am not my father.” I’ve been running with those words as far away from his shadow for five years. After his death, everyone wanted to see my father in me, at the expense of my mother’s traits, and my own personality. From my looks, my voice, my sense of humor, my morals, random little things I did or that happened to me - all of it could be traced, somehow, back to one half of my genetic code. I tried to follow his footsteps - did the whole navy path for a year or so, struggled with the difference between what I wanted, what I thought I wanted, and what was expected - just as 16 year old Tim did in “Once Upon a Tim.” But I wanted different things out of life. I learned that I could love and remember my father’s memory without going down some pre-trodden path of mirrors. And I wish that NCIS had taken that risk with this episode, and acknowledged that kids don’t have to become their parents, especially their dead parents. So yeah, this post is long and rambling and has no set structure and is strangely detailed on my emotional state and family troubles circa 2012. But the moral is, NCIS is not past it’s prime. It’s not recycling characters or plots. It’s not going downhill because people left. It’s growing and changing, staying dynamic with time. And it is still capable of creating amazing episodes, characters, and seasons; Season 16 is certain proof of that.

[aboutcaseyaffleck]

Q&A: Casey Affleck on new film, his Oscars absence and MeToo

LOS ANGELES (AP) — With a new movie coming out this fall, “The Old Man & The Gun”, Casey Affleck is speaking publicly about bowing out of presenting the best actress Oscar and past harassment allegations against him amid the #MeToo and Time’s Up movements.

In an exclusive interview with The Associated Press, Affleck reflects on the Oscars, the film, which will premiere at the Toronto International Film Festival in September, and past harassment allegations against him in light of #MeToo, apologizing for allowing an unprofessional atmosphere on set which led to two civil lawsuits from women he worked with that were later settled.

Excerpts from the conversation, Affleck’s first interview in a year, have been edited for clarity and brevity. A video of the interview can be seen here: http://apne.ws/nJjWUgU .

AP: What do you like about this film?

AFFLECK: I love David (Lowery), I love working for David and it’s my third movie with him and he always assembles a really nice group of people around him. It’s such a nice experience to watch one of his movies. They all have a very gentle quality to them... And Robert Redford, what is there to say? He’s a legend, an incredibly sweet guy and just sharp as a tack. It was lovely working with him.

AP: The last time we spoke you were promoting another David Lowery film, “A Ghost Story.” What have you been up to in the last year?

AFFLECK: I made “The Old Man & the Gun,” I made another movie called “Light of My Life,” and I’ve just been spending the rest of the time with my kids and my girlfriend and just trying to squeeze in a little bit of life. And if I’m not promoting a movie, I’m not going to do any press, so that’s why you haven’t heard from me.

AP: You also earlier this year made the decision to step away from presenting the best actress award at the Oscars. Why did you do that?

AFFLECK: I think it was the right thing to do just given everything that was going on in our culture at the moment. And having two incredible women go present the best actress award felt like the right thing.

AP: During your best actor Oscar campaign for “Manchester By the Sea,” allegations resurfaced regarding two civil lawsuits from the making of your film “I’m Still Here,” that were settled in 2010. But we haven’t heard from you since #MeToo and Time’s Up became a big talking point in the culture. Has that made you reflect on or reevaluate anything about the experience or the atmosphere on that set?

AFFLECK: First of all, that I was ever involved in a conflict that resulted in a lawsuit is something that I really regret. I wish I had found a way to resolve things in a different way. I hate that. I had never had any complaints like that made about me before in my life and it was really embarrassing and I didn’t know how to handle it and I didn’t agree with everything, the way I was being described, and the things that were said about me, but I wanted to try to make it right, so we made it right in the way that was asked at the time. And we all agreed to just try to put it behind us and move on with our lives, which I think we deserve to do, and I want to respect them as they’ve respected me and my privacy. And that’s that.

Over the past couple of years, I’ve been listening a lot to this conversation, this public conversation, and learned a lot. I kind of moved from a place of being defensive to one of a more mature point of view, trying to find my own culpability. And once I did that I discovered there was a lot to learn. I was a boss. I was one of the producers on the set. This movie was (shot in 2008, 2009) and I was one of the producers. And it was a crazy mockumentary, (a) very unconventional movie. The cast was the crew and the crew was kind of the cast and it was an unprofessional environment and, you know, the buck had to stop with me being one of the producers and I have to accept responsibility for that and that was a mistake. And I contributed to that unprofessional environment and I tolerated that kind of behavior from other people and I wish that I hadn’t. And I regret a lot of that. I really did not know what I was responsible for as the boss. I don’t even know if I thought of myself as the boss. But I behaved in a way and allowed others to behave in a way that was really unprofessional. And I’m sorry.

AP: I know you talked last year about taking your kids to women’s marches and trying to educate them. Is there anything that has come up since #MeToo and Time’s Up emerged in the culture?

AFFLECK: Well I’ve taken these lessons with me that I’ve learned not just to work but to home and as dad and it informs how you parent. I have two boys so I want to be in a world where grown men model compassion and decency and also contrition when it’s called for, and I certainly tell them to own their mistakes when they make them.

AP: You’re also a boss, you have a production company, Sea Change Media, and you’ve directed your first film since “I’m Still Here” too. Can you talk about how you have evolved and changed to create a safe working environment for people who work for you?

AFFLECK: I think that, there’s been a lot of talk about new things in regards to the workplace and I have this production company and this very, very smart woman runs it with me and she’s been way ahead of the curve on all of these issues.

But I think bigger picture, in this business women have been underrepresented and underpaid and objectified and diminished and humiliated and belittled in a bazillion ways and just generally had a mountain of grief thrown at them forever. And no one was really making too much of a fuss about it, myself included, until a few women with the kind of courage and wisdom to stand up and say, “You know what? Enough is enough.” Those are the people who are kind of leading this conversation and should be leading the conversation. And I know just enough to know that in general I need to keep my mouth shut and listen and try to figure out what’s going on and be a supporter and a follower in the little, teeny tiny ways that I can. And we do that at our production company and I try to do it at home, and if I’m ever called upon by anyone to help in any way and contribute, I’d be more than happy to.

AP: Your “Manchester by the Sea” director Kenneth Lonergan had implied that you had been treated unfairly. Do you have any response to that?

AFFLECK: Whether I have or haven’t, I think that there are people in the world who deal with much greater hardship than that. And they do so without complaint. So I don’t think I need to say anything else about it.

AP: And at your production company, what sort of projects are you looking for and what sort of filmmakers are you looking to shepherd?

AFFLECK: Whitaker (Lader), who runs the company, does all the good work and then I kind of make some noise on the sidelines too. We’re trying to find people who can tell stories that we don’t usually see in mainstream pop culture, movies, media, Hollywood, with storytellers who need a hand.

[periodicreviews]

RWBY/RTX Austin 2018

Last weekend, I went to RTX Austin which is Rooster Teeth’s annual convention. Last time I went in 2016, it was about primarily to try it out, but I was also interested in seeing the RWBY panel for the plan the staff had for the forthcoming Volume 4, the first without Monty. I was pleasantly surprised when I heard Jeff Williams would be performing a concert and this turned out to be the highlight. 

I skipped 2017 because there was no Jeff Williams concert and partially due to being disappointed with Volume 4.

I bet this year on the fact that Jeff would be coming back and that turned out to be a good choice because the show did not disappoint. I don’t think the 2016/first time experience can ever be topped, but this 2018 show was equally worth the money.

After the disappointment that was Volume 4 and the mediocre Volume 5, I wasn’t as hyped about RWBY, but I figured I should still go to RTX and see it since I’d be there anyway. But admittedly I was going more for the concert than anything else.

The following is a summary of the RWBY panel #1 on Friday, the JWFO concert and Q&A, and a few other things.

RWBY pre-panel

There were several things that stood out to me at this panel.

Before the panel began, two women came out on stage to warm up the crowd. (This was after Craig from GameAttack came out to ask for donations for the Extra Life charity stream that they do). I hate to reduce them to stereotypes because I don’t really know anything about them and don’t have anything against them, but it’s the easiest way to convey the scene. Girl #1 was cosplaying as Yang. She seemed to be a very energetic and outgoing type of person and I got the impression that she is trying to get hired by Rooster Teeth in a marketing/PR role. Girl #2 was wearing a RWBY dress and was the quieter kind of nerdy girl who had a little trouble speaking either due to nervousness or she just stutters when she talks. Girl #2 also had a bat wrapped with barbed wire, like from The Walking Dead which apparently someone just gave to her as a gift.

I bring up their appearances/personalities because they mentioned they had introduced several panels together, meaning that some organizer had put them together for some reason. There just didn’t seem to be any chemistry between the two. Girl #1 would start to go off on a PR line about how beautiful all the Yangs/cosplayers looked and Girl #2 would say “I like turtles”. She didn’t actually say “I like turtles” but I’m just trying to illustrate the kind of disconnect between them.

 “So amazing!”

Girl #1 repeated this phrase at least 20 times while she was on-stage. I get she was there to hype up RWBY and RT, but maybe she went a little too far. She made it sound like everything at RTX was the best thing ever, which I get for fans, it’s a very enjoyable experience and from a PR perspective that’s what you want to convey. This is no different from something like Electric Daisy Carnival where they really push the “You are loved”/“We are all friends” message as you bake for 12 hours in the sun.

“Proud of me yet dad?”

Girl #2 said this near the end of their time and it felt like it was one of the few genuine moments during that opening.

“RWBY is the most forward facing property that Rooster Teeth has.”

Girl #1 said this and it’s one of many things she said that made me think she was trying to get hired.

“Are you guys ready for the Yang-bang with Barb?”

I cringed at this. I was completely unaware that the group selfie with Barbra Dunkleman (the voice of Yang) and other Yang cosplayers was referred to as a Yang-bang (I looked it up and that is what she tagged it as in 2016). I get that RWBY is now dark and gritty and no longer a “kid-friendly” show per se. But phrasing the selfie like this seemed to be a little too casual pun on “gangbang”.

Besides this, they went through the usual crowd questions like “Who’s here to see RWBY?”, “How many people have been to RTX before?”, “Did you guys get your merch? Oh that merch is so great.”, etc.

RWBY main panel

Once the panel officially started, I was confused as to why, just like in 2016, everyone seems so unorganized/unprepared. Maybe they think it’s funny, but I’d much rather prefer just a concise 45 minutes of presenting/banter, with 15 min for question. Kerry is always like “Oh guys, where did I put that? Is this next? Is that later? Should we just do it now?”

They announced “RWBY After the Fall” a new set of YA novels from Scholastic. It makes sense that they’re exploring the RWBY universe but it does make me wonder whether the V4 timeskip was seen as more of a business opportunity or done more in service to what would make the story better.

The most shocking thing about the panel was the discussion about how the writing process is different for Volume 6. Kerry and Miles initially started to say “In the past” but then quickly altered course and said “Let’s not talk about how we used to do it, just how we’re doing it now.” They basically described how they are writing more than one draft/getting the opinions of other people in the company who have been on the RWBY team for a long time.

It was shocking that they are doing it just now in Volume 6. I can understand Volume 1 and 2 just being a product of Monty/Miles/Kerry and 3 can kind of get a pass. But before/during Volume 4 and 5, wasn’t there anyone that said “Hey, maybe we need to do something different”? Maybe they did and it didn’t work out like they hoped. I am glad to hear that they are trying to improve the process.

The other big thing they did was to show a new character short. This one focused on the villains, mainly the White Fang/Adam. The short featured at least one new Jeff Williams vocal track and some of the animation looked amazing. In general, the animation for V4 and beyond has been decent to good, but there aren’t many instances where it really blows me away.

The short shows Sienna Khan using a chain rope weapon against multiple enemies at the same time. The chain (with a blade at the tip) moves so fluidly and the combat has a real sense of rhythm to it. Sure, you can have the greatest animation in the world, but it doesn’t mean anything if the story isn’t there to match it. I’m willing to stick around some more to see if the script improves. They did also announce a new RWBY Co director and if this short was a product of his involvement, then I like what I’m seeing so far.

Jeff and Casey Williams Q&A

When tickets first went on sale, the only option to be on the floor was to pay 60 dollars for a poster, ticket, and Q&A with Jeff and Casey. I think afterwards, you could just buy the standalone ticket, but I didn’t want to risk not being on the floor.

I get that the concert is hosted by ACL and not by RTX, but you would think there would be a little more coordination between the two organizations given that the concert appears on the RTX schedule and the graphic says “RTX presents”. On Saturday afternoon, I tried to figure out when and where the Q&A would be held. The regular guardians didn’t know and referred me to their manager. I was told to contact the venue to find out and that RTX wasn’t in charge of the event. It was just weird that RTX staff didn’t seem interested in finding out for themselves. I would bet I was not the only person to ask someone at RTX for information about the concert. Additionally the guy in charge of coordination was apparently not at RTX that day so I guess maybe he would’ve known. I ended up getting an email at 4pm telling me to go to the venue at 6pm. But for anyone who didn’t see that email, they were pretty upset that they missed it.

When I got to the venue, one of the staff members saw my Babymetal shirt and asked if I had seen them at ACL. I said no, but that I had seen them elsewhere. From that guy’s reaction and some of the looks from the other staff members, it felt like they instantly had a level of respect towards me. Like they had seen how the fans of Babymetal were at the show and thought “hey, this guy knows his good music.” Maybe I read them completely wrong. It was a very bizarre feeling because few people know what Babymetal is and fewer can read my almost illegible shirt.

Jeff seemed like he didn’t enjoy the stress of having to put on a big show and seemed kind of bored or just tired? Maybe RWBY fatigue is setting in and he feels kind of trapped by the constraints of the show. He talked about wanting to retire and start his Rush Limbo side project, which is music by the band Rush set in all 4-4 time in a reggae style. Obviously someone had to be that guy to ask Casey if she was single. I realize the guy thinks he is being funny or has a chance, but I think you’d be far less likely to go out with someone after subjecting them to a question like that where they are obligated to give you a response.

They floated the idea of playing shows in other locations but that seemed to be constrained by the forces at Rooster Teeth. Or maybe they’re just concerned they aren’t big enough to make any money off a tour. Jeff recommended everyone read a book called “The War of Art” which is about overcoming yourself to create the thing you’ve always wanted but never finished.

JWFO concert

The concert itself was great, but got off to a late start.

I almost forgot about all the weird things that happened while waiting for the concert to start. Someone started a sing along to Bohemian Rhapsody and several other songs. I’ve experienced the Bohemian Rhapsody sing along before, but never at another concert. When they played Numb by Linkin Park as background music, everyone sang along to that too, which is something that I have seen at other concerts at Hard Rock/House of Blues. At one point some people in the crowd erupted in shouts of “Jason?!” which I can only assume was a Heavy Rain reference. Then the crowd started to cheer whenever any technician or photographer came on stage. Again, this is not something I experience at many/if any shows.

This super hype atmosphere is fine, until it turns into everyone trying to be a comedian while there’s either a break between songs, or when the musicians are conversing on stage. Someone said like “Rest in pieces Pyhrra” or something like that at one point and sure I can handle one or two jokes or the occasional shout out. But at the end of the day, I’m here to see the band, not the crowd. I don’t blame those people in the audience trying to get Jeff or Casey to notice them and to have that deeper connection, but it gets old after a while.

There seemed to be communication issues or just not enough time to practice the ordering of the songs. Richie Branson was incredible as an opening act. I’ve seen him three times before and he is great every time. I think a lot of the audience didn’t know who he was or that there would be an opening act, but he seemed to win everyone over by the end of the first song. Adrienne Cowan, Lamar Hall, and Lydia were great again on vocals during the main act.

There were sadly no solos sections like there were in 2016. I remember vividly the extended piano solo the keyboardist performed to lead into “When It Falls”. Jeff also didn’t crowd surf this year either. But I think they were just pressed for time. Casey still seems to struggle more on some songs than others, but she was frank during the Q&A that she has a long way to go and it’s a struggle to keep up at Berklee.

Highlights for me were “Ignite” and “Smile” off the Volume 5 soundtrack.

 Other things

I spent the majority of my time in the Vendor Room playing Rock Band 4. Harmonix was there because “This Will Be The Day” is now available as DLC. But with everyone playing the same song, I think they were grateful for anyone who wouldn’t play that. There were some talented players there and it just felt good to play Rock Band after not having done it with a group in a while. I think the people in the Rock Band line were some of the friendliest I met all weekend.

I felt like I struggled socially during the whole weekend. Maybe it’s just that most con-people aren’t very good at socializing. Or it’s just me or a byproduct of going alone. Everyone else staying at the hostel I was at was interested in talking though.

I went to see an improv comedy show at the Fallout Theater. The show was called “Penalty Box” and there were a set of rules that the audience knew but the performers didn’t. So every time they violated a rule, they would get sent to the penalty box and through trial and error they would figure out most of the rules. It’s entertaining as an audience member, but as someone who is taking improv classes, I recognize how painful it is for the performers. Some of the rules prevent you from doing things that you are taught to do, resulting in at least one scene where the performers just stood still on stage and didn’t talk.

The Mega64 panel was also very enjoyable. Arcade UFO is a pretty nice arcade with a lot of games you don’t normally see in the US. I also got to see a friend I haven’t seen in a while. I have mixed feelings about Troy Baker’s “TED” talk style panel, but I respect that it was not just “another Q&A” type panel.

 Maybe I’ll go back next year.

[mst3kproject]

The Beach Girls and the Monster

This movie stars Sue Casey from Catalina Caper and Elaine DuPont from I was a Teenage Werewolf, but I really don’t think I have to justify reviewing a movie called The Beach Girls and the Monster on an MST3K blog.  The only people who are going to want a movie called The Beach Girls and the Monster are people who are fascinated by godawful movies. Let us proceed.

A beach party is interrupted when one of its choreographically-challenged bikini babes is strangled by a seaweed-draped fish monster that even the Horror of Party Beach would laugh at.  The cops find mysterious footprints, which local scientist Dr. Lindsay declares belong to the South American Fantigua fish, a known man-eater!  Dr. Lindsay also takes the opportunity to rant about how the killer was doubtless one of those good-for-nothing surfer kids his son Rich hangs around with. Then we take a right turn from The Horror of Party Beach into General Hospital as we get a taste of life in the Lindsay household.  Not only are Rich and his father at odds over whether surfing is a worthwhile hobby, Rich’s stepmother Vicki is playing the two against each other while cheating on her husband at every turn, including with Rich’s friend Mark, a struggling artist who rents their spare room.

I’m going to stop there, because your brain is probably lagging behind as it tries to process the ‘fish footprints’ plot point. Yeah, no kidding, that’s in the movie – the footprints of a fish!  Is Fantigua supposed to be the scientific name of the Creature from the Black Lagoon?  I mean, yeah, there are fish that can crawl across land for short distances, but they still don’t have feet.

That’s not even the weirdest thing in the movie, either. The first victim, a girl called Bunny, had at one point posed for a sculpture Mark was working on.  After she dies, he gives the piece to her parents as a gift… which is nice enough, except that the sculpture is of Bunny as a sexy mermaid! What the fuck, dude?

At one of the beach party scenes, we have to listen to Rich sing an uninspired and unmemorable ballad called More than Wanting You.  The nicest thing I can say about this song is that it’s still better than the music in Wild Guitar.  Immediately afterwards, however, we’re treated to a much more entertaining nonsense song called There’s a Monster in the Surf, which is sung by Rich’s girlfriend and a lion hand puppet wielded by a guy in a fake beard.  I have no explanation for that.  None.

There’s the bit where Mark’s walking on the beach and comes across a group of girls wiggling their butts at the camera in time to music.  There’s nobody else around, they never notice him watching them, and they’re totally separate from the party he arrives at later in the evening.  They’re just there, in a way that suggests they’re like the rocks and the waves – they’ve been on this beach since the beginning of time and will be until the mountains crumble.  I wonder if they’re a PokeStop.

There’s the jazz interlude when Vicki comes home drunk and staggers around the house for a while before being attacked by the monster, which was lying in wait for her at the top of the stairs (again – yes, this happens). The music suggests we’re supposed to be watching a strip show or something but all we’re doing is sitting there looking at Vicki’s ass as she pours herself a drink and reads a love letter. I can tell it’s supposed to be sexy but the only reaction it actually gets out of me is huh?

Huh? is my major reaction to Vicki as a character, actually.  The first time we meet her, she’s trying to cozy up to Rich, who tells her to get lost.  Then she accuses Dr. Lindsay of loving Rich more than he loves her, and tries to turn him against Rich’s friend Mark.  Then she goes to pose for Mark, who really just seems to want to get on with the sculpture he’s making of her, but she comes on to him, kisses him, and then rejects him and calls him names.  She cheats on her husband and tells him its too late to save their relationship – and throughout all of this, there’s never any sense that she has a goal.  The only thing I can imagine all this behaviour leading up to is becoming a rich divorcee, but the idea of a divorce is never even brought up.  As far as I can tell, she just likes messing with people’s emotions.

With all this interpersonal drama going on throughout the movie, it’s actually easy to forget about the monster.  After its first murder it vanishes into the woodwork and never makes another appearance until almost the end of the movie – and the end of this movie is a letdown on almost more levels than I can actually count.  In order to discuss this I’m obviously going to have to spoil it, but I have a hard time believing anybody cares about spoiling themselves for The Beach Girls and the Monster.

All right, so the monster kills a guy on the beach and Mark helpfully frames himself by being present, stealing a police car, and driving home, because he suspects that Dr. Lindsay has something to do with the monster – after all, we’ve heard Rich talk about his father’s papers on mutations in sea life!  The monster kills Vicki, then goes after Mark, who stabs it with a kitchen knife and rips its head off, revealing… Dr. Lindsay in a stupid monster costume!  Dr. Lindsay then steals Rich’s girlfriends car and drives off in pain, and the police chase him until he goes over a cliff and explodes.  Roll credits.

There is almost more disappointment here than I think I can encompass in my remaining review space.  First of all, we were told about the man-eating fish and then about science experiments that can mutate animals to several times their normal size. I don’t know about anybody else, but I was expecting that Dr. Lindsay had either created a fish monster or else had temporarily turned himself into one.  Nope, he’s just a dude in a monster suit.  I guess this was an attempt at a misdirection?  Okay, sure, but if you’re going to misdirect your audience, it should go without saying that the real answer needs to be cooler than the fake one!  Shriek of the Mutilated also had its monster turn out to be a guy in a costume, but that was a cover for a cult of cannibals!

Then there’s the explanation of why Dr. Lindsay did this.  It’s never spelled out for us explicitly, but it seems like his motive was to scare Rich away from hanging out with the beach crowd so that the two of them could spend more time doing science together!

And there’s the car crash ending.  Car crashes are like house fires in Frankenstein movies… they’re a way of ending the story without anybody actually having to do anything.  The entire ending is calculated to avoid anybody suffering any consequences or Rich, who is technically our protagonist, actually having to behave like a hero.  Mark stabs his attacker, but dies immediately afterwards so that he can’t be held responsible for a murder, even one committed in self-defense.  His death also means that Rich no longer needs to look after his struggling friend.  Dr. Lindsay runs away so that Rich cannot confront him or ask why he has done these things.  The car crash finishes him off so that there’ll be no need to bother with an arrest or a trial or anything, and Vicki’s death means that Rich will inherit everything.  Everybody who was making Rich’s life complicated is dead and now he gets all his daddy’s money and can do whatever he likes.

This is not what the audience wants at the end of this story.  The middle of this story wasn’t what we wanted from this movie anyway – we wanted a story about a seaweed-covered fish monster killing people in swimsuits.  If the reason we’ve spent so much time with the Lindsay family instead is because the monster is actually Rich’s dad in a costume, we need to deal with that.  Having him drive over a cliff is a way of not dealing with it.  The cop telling Rich ‘he thought he was doing it for you’ isn’t anything like the same as having Dr. Lindsay himself say, ‘I was doing it for you!’.  Closing on a shot of Rich staring at the burning car doesn’t tell us what effect all this is going to have on him.  It’s all a giant cop-out!

There are a million other little weird things here.  There’s the movie’s insistence on calling Dr. Lindsay an oceanographer when everything we’re told about his research clearly makes him a marine biologist.  The photograph of Rich that sits on his father’s desk is clearly one of actor Arnold Lessing’s headshots.  There’s the wallpaper that from a distance looks like it’s covered in emojis.  There’s surfing footage that serves the exact same non-purpose as the wrestling in Samson vs the Vampire Women.  It all sucks.

Is there anything nice I can say about The Beach Girls and the Monster?  Well… there is one thing.  This is the only movie I can think of where the monster has a perfectly gender-neutral body count.  Dr. Lindsay kills exactly four people: Mark, Vicki, and surfer kids Bunny and Tom. Two men, two women, and like Bunny, Tom was killed in his swimsuit with the only visible injuries being some scratches to his face.  Is this an intentional statement on how women are treated in monster movies?  I fucking doubt it.  Not in a film with this many jiggling ass shots.

[thefeministherald]

Created by Joe Casey and Nick Dragotta, Ms. America Chavez is a queer Latina superhero who won the hearts of fans after being prominently featured in Kieron Gillean and Jamie McKelvie’s “Young Avengers” series. Now, America Chavez will have her first ongoing solo series published in 2017. Titled “America”, the series will have a creative team that includes lesbian Latina writer Gabby Rivera and artist Joe Quesada.

America Chavez made her first appearance in the 2011 limited series “Vengeance” as a member of the Teen Brigade. In addition to being a Young Avenger, America Chavez has gone on to become a member of “A-Force” and part of the recent line-up of “The Ultimates.” For those unfamiliar with her past exploits, here are 15 things you should know about America Chavez.

15. SHE’S GOT THE POWER

Some superheroes have standard powers while others have more unique ones. Ms. America Chavez has a little bit of both, giving her a power set that is formidable and impressive. She has super strength, can fly and is also invulnerable. However, her most important power is the ability to open and close doors between dimensions. In the past, she has literally kicked open doors between realities by creating a star-shaped portal and then kicking her foot through it.

She has also beaten many villains by using her strength and no-nonsense backbone. Although she’s a teenager, many heroes and villains have marveled (pun intended) over America Chavez’s super abilities. Loki even called her “a superwoman who could throw tanks to the moon,” while Monica Rambeau (Spectrum, formerly Captain Marvel) was stunned that Chavez could keep up with her at light speed. While the full extent of America Chavez’s powers has yet to be explored, she has proven to be one of the most powerful superheroes around today.

14. SHE IS AMONG MARVEL’S HEAVIEST HITTERS

There is a reason that many fans of America Chavez associate her with the phrase, “She’s beauty, she’s grace, she’ll punch you in the face.” America Chavez prefers punching her way through enemies and has done so many times throughout her tenure as a hero. One notable instance is when America punched Loki through a window after he suggested that she kill Wiccan. In addition to punching people, she has also kicked and thrown people and things that get on her bad side.

One of her most memorable feats came during the “Secret Wars” event, when she threw a giant shark across the shield of Battleworld in order to protect her teammates. She has also kicked her ex-boyfriend, Ultimate Nullifier, in the crotch after he temporarily took her powers during battle. During the recent events of “Civil War II,” America Chavez threw a chair at Captain Marvel after refusing to take her side. Through these displays of strength and fierceness, America Chavez has shown that she is not a superhero to be trifled with (but one who is always entertaining to watch).

13. SHE’S A TEAM PLAYER

To date, Ms. America Chavez has been on four superhero teams in the Marvel Universe. Originally starting out in the Teen Brigade, she was co-leader of the group alongside team member/ significant other, Ultimate Nullifier. She would later leave the group due to “musical differences” and be approached by Loki, who tried to persuade her to kill Wiccan for the sake of the Multi-verse. As we noted earlier, she refused and decided to secretly protect Wiccan.

Following a series of incidents, she became a Young Avenger in order to keep protecting Wiccan and help defeat the inter-dimensional parasite called Mother. When the multiverse collapsed, she ended up living on Battleworld, like most of the other heroes. There, she would join the group of heroines known as A-Force, until she threw that giant shark and was arrested. Once the multiverse was restored, thanks to the machinations of Mister Fantastic and the Molecule Man, the hero Blue Marvel invited her to become a member of The Ultimates. After the events of “Civil War II,” America Chavez became the leader of The Ultimates and took up a new mantle, which we’ll discuss later.

12. SHE’S FROM ANOTHER REALITY

America Chavez is originally a princess from a dimension called the Utopian Parallel, which existed in the presence of the cosmic entity known as the Demiurge. It is assumed that America’s powers are the result of being around the Demiurge. The Utopian Parallel was essentially the perfect paradise until America was six years old. By that time, the dimension was in danger of being destroyed when black holes appeared and threatened to pull Utopia into Marvel’s multiverse.

In order to save Utopia, America’s parents sacrificed themselves and their particles were smeared across all reality. Inspired by their courage, America decided to leave her home and become a hero like them. After traveling across different dimensions, she eventually decided to call herself Ms. America. Although her time between leaving the Utopian Parallel and joining the Teen Brigade is currently unaccounted for, America’s determination would give her experience that put her ahead of many heroes and serve her well in future adventures.

11. SHE HAS TWO MOMS

Besides their heroism, a notable aspect about America’s parents is that they are both mothers. This is rare not only in the Marvel Universe, but also in the comic book universe in general. America is never bothered by this and loved them very much as a child. When she is informed that her parents saved Utopia, she is proud of them and is distraught to learn of their deaths.

Despite being with America for a short amount of time, they managed to impact her in a way that would stay with her long after their passing. Their brief appearance in the Young Avengers comics show them to be the strong, imposing superheroes that their daughter would come to look up to. Due to their noble sacrifice, America would strive to become a hero across multiple realities and protect the one destined to become the Demiurge. If America’s parents could see what their daughter became, they would undoubtedly be proud of her.

10. SHE IS GAY

By the end of the Young Avengers series, America Chavez has come out as one of the few LGBT superheroes of color in the Marvel Universe. Prior to doing so, she informed her ex-boyfriend and former teammate, Ultimate Nullifer, that their relationship had just been an experiment and that she wasn’t on any definition of his team. Meanwhile, America Chavez flirted with fellow Young Avenger member Kate Bishop by occasionally calling her “Princess.”

By the time she became a member of The Ultimates, she had started dating an EMT named Lisa, who would mostly keep in touch with America by phone, but find her way into America’s thoughts during times of crisis. During one adventure with The Ultimates, she pushed herself too hard and experienced a hallucination that involved meeting with Lisa. Acting as a sort of conscious, Lisa would tell America that it is okay to ask for help from her teammates and that she doesn’t have to pretend that she is fine or try to handle things by herself. Ultimately, this makes America an even better hero.

9. SHE HAS A STRONG MORAL COMPASS

Due to her advanced experience as a hero, America Chavez developed morals that involved trying to do the right thing and not letting innocent people suffer. When Loki asked her to kill Wiccan for the good of the multiverse, she flat-out refused because she knew Wiccan didn’t know what he was capable of. A similar circumstance would occur when Wiccan would attempt suicide in order to break the spell that inadvertently released the inter-dimensional parasite, Mother. Although she knew that Wiccan dying would break the spell, she let Loki lie to him and tell him it wouldn’t work in order to spare his life.

Her resolve was recently tested during the “Civil War II” event involving Iron Man and Captain Marvel. While Captain Marvel wanted to use Ulysses Cain to predict crimes before they occured, Iron Man did not. As the heroes were forced to choose sides, America Chavez decided to go against Captain Marvel because she had seen realities where crime prediction didn’t work out, and actually made things much, much worse.

8. SHE HAS A SOFTER SIDE

Although America Chavez has a direct manner that is intimidating to some, she also has a soft, sentimental side. As a Young Avenger, she was moved to tears seeing Wiccan and Hulking kiss and unlock the power they desperately needed to save the world. Loki was disgusted, stating “Ugh, is love really going to save us all?” America replied, “Of course it is. Anyone who says otherwise gets stomped into paste.” America would later have a similar moment just before joining The Ultimates.

Channeling her inter-dimensional powers through the movement of her feet, she danced with her girlfriend Lisa to close a hole in the universe. Even though they are in a really long-distance relationship in different parts of the universe, the two managed to keep in touch via cellphone and have a moment together to save the day. In addition to feeling deeply about love, she also grieves with great depth when losing a teammate. When War Machine was killed during Civil War II, America felt so guilty and desolate that she had to text Lisa to feel better.

7. SHE IS THE FIRST QUEER POC TO LEAD A MARVEL ONGOING

Before America Chavez, the only openly gay characters at Marvel that had their own series were the X-Men character Northstar and cowboy outlaw, Rawhide Kid . In 1992, Northstar was the first high-profile comic book character to come out, with Rawhide Kid following suit in 2003 via a mini-series that was aimed at a mature audience. Lasting five issues and published collectively as “Rawhide Kid Vol. 3,” it contained enough innuendo to make the comic controversial enough to receive a Parental Advisory warning.

In contrast, Northstar’s sexuality wasn’t mentioned in his miniseries at all. However, Northstar would make history again in 2012 after marrying his long-time partner Kyle Jinadu in the first same-sex wedding in mainstream comics. Iceman, another openly gay X-men character, will also helm his own ongoing series later this Spring. Since America is currently Marvel’s only openly gay female character with a solo series, maybe her series will make other queer female characters of color open for the same treatment.

6. HER BEST FRIEND/LOVE INTEREST IS HAWKEYE

Since America Chavez met Kate Bishop during their shared stint as Young Avengers, the two have become great friends. Yet, throughout their time together, there has been a sense of something more between them. After America was sentenced to work at The Shield of Battleworld, she met another version of Kate Bishop named Lady Katherine of Bishop and battled foes that included Ultron, the Fury and of course, Zombies. After introducing themselves, Lady Katherine even called America a “cross-starred lover,” seeing the white stars America had on her clothes.

Sometime after America joined The Ultimates, she caught up with Kate Bishop over dinner and dancing and encouraged her to take some time away from her mentor Clint Barton. In turn, Kate Bishop would comfort America after War Machine’s death during Civil War II. America showed her many realities where War Machine didn’t die while stating that she hated that she couldn’t save this version of him. When Kate questioned America further, America stated that she admired that this version of War Machine died fighting as a hero.

5. SHE CAN’T BE TRICKED

America might have brawn, but she has brains too. Her experience as a superhero and an inter-dimensional traveler has made her resourceful enough to see through people that seem suspect. The most notable case of this involves the trickster god Loki attempting to manipulate her for his own schemes. America didn’t buy it and kept a close eye on Loki from that moment on, threatening to end him if he got out of line.

As a result, America Chavez struck fear into the heart of Loki and he tried his best not to get on her bad side again. America’s resourcefulness has also gotten her out of sticky situations through the use of her powers. When she refused to take Carol Danvers’ side during “Civil War II,” Carol ordered Monica Rambeau to take America down. Monica Rambeau transformed into her light form and attempted to incapacitate America by flying into her eyes, but America created a tiny portal in her eyes that sent Monica into a different dimension. Smart play.

4. HER BANTER IS WITTY

Every superhero has mastered the art of heroic banter and America is no exception. Foul-mouthed, clever and gusty, America has delivered many lines that show off her demanding attitude and hard-earned wisdom. When Kate Bishop asked who she was, she stated, “Your ticket to the multiverse Princess.” While fighting enemies in a dimension, fellow Young Avengers team-mate Prodigy tried to warn her not to cross their continuity streams. She deftly took them out and replied, “The laws of physics can kiss my ass.”

In addition to creating great quips, America Chavez has moments where she knows the right words to say to keep herself and others from breaking down. One such instance occurred with Lady Katherine of Bishop as the Shield of Battleworld was about to collapse. When Lady Katherine tried to pretend she wasn’t scared, America said, “Take it down a gear. No shame in being afraid. Being brave isn’t the same thing as being scared.” True words from a true hero.

3. SHE ISN’T THE FIRST MISS AMERICA

America Chavez shares the title of Miss America with many other female comic book superheroes. The very first Miss America, Joan Dale, was created by the company Quality Comics in the early 1940s. Then Timely Comics, the company that would become Marvel, published an issue of “Marvel Mystery Comics” in 1943, which featured Madeline Joyce, a character who would become Miss America. In the ’50s, Quality Comics gave their Miss America to DC Comics after they were bought.

Besides the Golden Age comic versions of Miss America and America Chavez, there are also other modern day versions of Miss America. One of them includes Wonder Woman, who took the moniker of Miss America for a short time in the comic “Wonder Woman Vol. 2” (specifically issues #184-185). Shortly before America Chavez’s solo comic was announced, her creators revealed that a similar character named America Vasquez would be having her own solo series published by Image Comics in 2017.

2. SHE IS DESTINED TO BE CAPTAIN AMERICA

In “Hawkeye Volume 2,” we get a glimpse into America’s future 30 years from now. Not only do we see that she has become the new Captain America, but she is also an agent of S.H.I.E.L.D. As a result of certain events, she comes to the aid of the older versions of Clint Barton and Kate Bishop: the Hawkeyes. Given America’s desire to be a hero, it is possible that she might decide to take up the shield one day.

If she does end up doing so, then she will be one of two women who have become Captain America in the future. The other is another Latina named Roberta Mendez, who not only took up the shield, but also became the leader of a future version of the Avengers. Whether America Chavez will lead her own team as Captain America is yet to be seen, but her previous leadership and field experience makes her more than suited for the job.

1. SHE IS A HERALD OF GALACTUS

As a current member of The Ultimates, America Chavez has punched evil alien dictators, opened portals for the team’s inter-dimensional travels and gone against her teammates in a civil war. Now, Galactus — former world-eater turned Lifebringer — has chosen America and her teammates as his heralds, in order to discover who has imprisoned the cosmic entity Eternity. On top of that, America Chavez is now the leader of The Ultimates and will be taking the team into the field in order to accomplish Galactus’s mission.

Given how the team broke up and reluctantly got back together, America certainly has her work cut out for her. The aftermath of “Civil War II” has put a strain on the team, especially those who sided against their fellow teammate, Captain Marvel. Since America Chavez is among that number, it will take all the brawn, brain and experience she has in order for her and the team to work through their differences and come together for the sake of the multiverse.

VOLUME 1 ( COLLECTING: AMERICA 1-6 ) OF AMERICA NOW AVAILABLE ON AMAZON America  written by Latin-American LGBTQ novelist Gabby Rivera

[weneedtherooks]

In The Beginning

Okay! Have fun with this one!

Also, in the next story (hopefully, unless one of my other WIPs gets done first), we’ll learn something very...interesting about Clara’s caseworker, Mr. Ian Casey ;D

[Early Winter, 1979]

The idea of time travel had always been just that: an idea. Limited to the fantasy realm of a person’s imagination, and in some cases, brought to life on a television screen. For one small group of historians, it was an amusing topic of discussion for passing the time. That was...until today. He appeared out of nowhere, his appearance somehow both futuristic and old. Dark brown hair hung just below his jaw, and his beard was trimmed neatly, accenting the shape of his face. His half-rimmed glasses and the eyes they framed looked as if they had been made with mercury. On his fingers were three simple rings, each either silver or black. Inside his ears, however, was an odd looking device. Were they actually inside of his ear? “You seem confused,” he finally said. One historian, a man in his forties with salt and pepper hair, stood to face the stranger. “Who are you? Or what are you?” “Hmm…” He touched his lip with a crooked finger. “I am...a librarian of sorts,” he replied, content with his answer. “‘Of sorts’,” another historian scoffed, squinting his pale blue eyes as his demeanor grew more suspicious. “You have name, oh mighty ‘librarian of sorts’?” “Why don’t you just call me that? Librarian. My name isn’t important; I came here to give the people a tool, and your group seemed the most competent.” “‘Competent’? Compared to who?” a young woman asked, tucking her bright red hair behind her ear. “Other historians? Other librarians? Perhaps some other occupation altogether?” He smiled at her, clearly amused with her. “All very good questions, but all are irrelevant.” He waved his hand, motioning for a nearby crate. As if with a mind of its own, it moved towards Librarian. “Now, I want you all to come here and see this!” “What’s ‘this’...?” asked the woman as her and her colleagues hesitantly approached. “They say the best way to learn is through experience, yes?” “Yes, but-” “Consider this ‘experience’.” With a flick of his finger, the lid of the crate slid open. “The ability to travel through time itself in the palm of your hand.” The historians peeked inside the crate. Five camera-like objects were inside, along with three pairs of the odd ear pieces similar to what Librarian was wearing, and eight discs that resembled small magnets. Before they had time to register the items before them, they floated out of the box on a shelf, revealing more items below; toolkits and three tablets roughly the size of clipboards. The young lady gasped in awe, picking up the various tools and inspecting them. “Incredible,” she whispered, testing out the ear pieces. “They also act as adaptive hearing aids,” Librarian commented, smiling as she jumped in surprise. “Those will also allow you to keep in touch with the drones, as well as a variety of other things. The tablets have detailed instructions and descriptions of each item shown.” “And what if any of this is too complicated…?” the oldest of the group asked, experimentally turning one of the tools in his hands. “You just ask. They’ll be set up to respond to you, and you alone, whether by touch or by voice. More will come along in due time, but for now, these are enough.” “Are these cameras the drones?” the woman asked excitedly. “Yes, they are. In a moment, they will disperse and look for candidates.” “Candidates? For what?” “Your first time travelers,” he replied with a grin. “It isn’t wise for you yourselves to go through just yet. Not for any extended period. For now, let’s set up each device. If you please?” In mere moments, each person was equipped. “Now, all you’ll have to do is hold up your hand and say your name.” Librarian stepped out of the way. One by one, they held up their hands. “Richard O’Neil.” “Raymond Halford.” “Christine Knotts.” Each device made a little chirp, but when they turned to ask Librarian what to do next…he was gone. Vanished just as quickly as he’d arrived. Without another word, the group watched as the drones also began to float away. For a moment, they wondered how long it would take before they would ever see the little machines again…

[Early Spring, 1984]

Three years went by before they’d seen any of their drones return. The boys, in almost typical male fashion, had taken it upon themselves to handle two drones apiece. Richard had taken charge of the first two: “Spot” and “Runt”. Spot had picked up a little boy from a wealthy family, and Runt had found a little girl born to a teenager. Raymond, the second batch: “Penny” and “Shuffle”. Penny had located a young boy in a foster family, and Shuffle brought another boy from a recently divorced family. Which left Chris with “Dottie”, the drone that had taken the longest to arrive. And it had found a girl from a young family. Christine sighed as she made her way to the small apartment. “This the place, Dottie?” The invisible drone hovering nearby chirped. “Robin and Scott Hughes, huh...daughter’s name is April.” She sighed. “I really hope this one is as good as you’re making it sound.” Dottie beeped in an annoyed tone. “Look, all I’m saying is it took you five years to pick someone out. I’m just hoping she’s worth all the trouble. This project isn’t cheap, you know. If we don’t make decent results, we’ll lose everything.” And considering it was a government project, the stakes were much higher. Voyager is what the big wigs chose to call it, and they were nearly at the project’s climax. The plan was to have the five families spend five to ten years in an earlier period, dating as far back as the early 1800s. It would give them valuable data about their ancestors lives and lifestyle, as well as open up commercial opportunities later on, so long as this test proved successful. And as much as Chris didn’t want to admit it, she was grateful Dottie had taken so long with choosing someone; it had given her group valuable time to learn more about the tools they were using, and how to use them effectively. Granted, the actual act of travelling was still a problem. The magnet-like objects were the actual catalyst for time travel. “Gates”, Raymond called them. At first, they’d really only been good transporting one person at a time by...well, stepping. You picked a place, and stepped forward. Which resulted in a lot of falling off old sidewalks, nearly getting run over by carriages, a couple instances of dizziness and disorientation, and one near death experience on top of a building. Thankfully, Ray had some friends who understood coordinates, and she’d figured out that using multiple gates could create a working “doorway”. They’d also discovered that, if given specific instructions along with the coordinates, a person or group could be set down inside a certain level of a building. The dizziness was still a problem, since removing the physical step resulted in simply being “dropped” on the location, but it was a trivial issue. It was those breakthroughs that had gotten them funding to begin with, but it still wasn’t stable, and five years wasn’t nearly enough time to work out all the kinks. Power surges were the biggest issue, and those had proven to be…somewhat dangerous. Chris took a deep breath as she approached the Hughes’s front door. “Okay, let’s do this,” she said, firmly knocking on the door.

~6 months later~

Richard finished laying the last toddler down on the padded surface. Little April had been the last to fall asleep after having her information band put on...the child was a fighter. The last six months had been spent changing the children's sleep schedules, having them sleep during the day rather than at night. Their sponsors wanted to do the drop during the day, against the wishes of himself and the group. Frankly, he was ready for the whole thing to be underway. One less bit of anxiety to think about. Christine had been the fussiest of them all. Thanks to the fact that she only had one drone to handle, the sponsors decided it was her job to cover pretty much everything; from wardrobe, to housing, to quick tests on timed drops. She’d barely had time to come up with the drop order. “Relax, Chris. Everything will be fine,” Raymond said, trying to comfort her as he entered the delivery room. “We planned this out thoroughly. Kids first, parents second. It’ll be nighttime for them, so they won’t even know they’ve been moved.” “But we’ve barely tried applying actual changes in time, not just date. This just feels too risky.” “We’ve taken into account every possible outcome, Christine,” Richard said, agreeing with Raymond. “We even got extra generators ready to prevent a possible power surge. We’ll be fine.” With a heavy sigh, she double checked all of the ID bracelets on each child. “I still think we should have been given more time,” she quipped, pointedly looking in the direction of the sponsors conference room. Richard shook his head, tapping on the earpiece in his left ear. “Okay, we’ll begin transferring them soon. It’ll be instant; they won’t notice a thing.” The plan was to send the children all at once, followed by the parents, one couple at a time. With Ray’s go ahead, Richard, after giving his colleagues one final look, touched the button on his tablet.. In the blink of an eye, the children were gone. In that same blink...the building temporarily blacked out. “What the hell?” Ray muttered. Touching his ear piece, he blinked. “We...have a problem. A big problem.” “How big…?” Christine asked, fear in her voice. Richard felt the blood leave his face as he watched the rapid data dump flash in front of him. “We don’t know where they are…” Richard muttered. “What do you mean we don’t know where they are?” “As in they just fucking vanished, Knotts. You're getting the same data pour as we are!” “That's enough, Halford. We don't need to create any further tension. Legally, we have to announce this. Let's try and make this as painless as possible.” Ray huffed, but calmly made his way to the sponsor room. Christine, on the other hand, made her way to a nearby desk and began reading through her tablet. In short, the power had surged because they tried to send them all at once. In the span of a second, the order went through, they'd blacked out, and during reboot, the Voyager system scrambled to piece together the fragmented information. The only information available was a year and a side note about a ground landing. “We should have sent them in intervals…” “Looks like it...dammit.” It felt like mere seconds had passed before the pounding on the delivery room door started. Christine looked at Richard, tears threatening to spill over in her eyes. “What do we do now…?” “We find them. But first...let’s handle this.” He took a deep breath as he made his way to the door, trying desperately to scramble together some decent explanation for the parents now shouting on the other side.