#badlands holds such a place of nostalgia for me

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HAPPY BIRTHDAY BADLANDS

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[findingjoynweirdstuff]

completely brainless 1am ramble

On the topic of stagnation, and the geopolitical plot vs. character-driven plot discussion people are having rn:

Maybe this is just a nostalgia-blinded bias of mine, having started with the Disc War, but...I’ve never minded the more character-based plots? Anyone who’s followed my blog for a bit knows that I love the Pet War, but I also loved the Disc War and the Final Pet War too. In those conflicts, the factions served as a backdrop rather than being the main focus, and the plot was driven by the characters and their grievances with one another.

One of my favorite smaller plots from Season Two was Fundy and Ghostbur. That had absolutely zilch to do with factions, or L’manburg, or geopolitics, but it was honestly one of the most well-acted and heart-breaking plots I’ve seen from the SMP in its entirety. 

I think that character-driven plots are places where the SMP’s really shined, at least to me personally.

Maybe that’s not everyone’s thing, but I don’t think it’s bad for the stories to be more character-driven! I think a lot more of the SMP than people realize has been like that this entire time. I think people sometimes overestimate how much the factions have actually mattered, in a sense?

Remember how the Disc War started? 

Tommy and Sapnap were a pair. Punz and Tubbo were a pair. Ponk and Alyssa were a pair. Dream logged on to stop the fighting and Tommy and Sapnap killed him, leading to Dream allying himself with Ponk and Alyssa. These weren’t faction lines dividing everyone, but personal grudges. That’s how the SMP’s entire plot started. “You and me, versus Dream,” right?

While the L’manburg War was amazing and a game-changer for the SMP storyline as a whole, I feel like the motivations, the driving forces for that war were actually a lot weaker than the recent conflicts. It was a cool bit of political roleplay, yes, but it was kind of just a war for the sake of a war, to be honest.

L’manburg was founded because some Americans got in the way of Wilbur and Tommy stealing everyone’s blaze rods. It went from a hotdog-selling business to a literal independent country because...revolution, I guess? And Dream declared war because...sometimes you just gotta kill some people sometimes, y’know...? 

It was the character-based conflicts from before that war that ended it. The discs ended the war even though they had nothing to do with the reason L’manburg seceded, because Tommy and Dream’s grudge against each other held more weight than the actual country. Who cared if L’manburg gained its independence as long as Dream gained the discs? That was a bigger win for him.

The conflicts that happened afterwards continued that trend of being character-driven rather than faction-driven. L’manburg kind of disappeared for a month as the Disc Saga continued with Tommy and Dream, Tommy and Quackity founded the Cartel and then the Pet War started up because of Sapnap.

None of these conflicts had anything to do with factions, really, and having all these little smaller stories gave a chance for people like Quackity, Fundy and Skeppy to get in on the drama more and throw their hats into the ring. 

That’s what I think is happening right now, except since there are a lot more people on the server now, they’re starting up their individual plots around the same time so that they start to overlap. 

And remember how Fundy and Tubbo started up the Dreamon Hunters plot, picked out new skins, built a new setting and everything just for that plot to never take off due to needing to prepare for the Manberg Festival? Such a cool plot idea, and it just never happened, really.

Well, now, the Badlands have been having fun creating their own Blood Vines plot, and since they aren’t very involved in what Tommy and Dream are doing, they have space to flesh out that idea and not have it be overshadowed by other things. Whether or not you, as a viewer, want to follow along with the side plot is your choice! But Bad seems to be having a lot of fun telling his own story. 

Quackity creating Mexican L’manburg and having that turn into a five-day plot that ended in war? That’s basically just the L’manburg War 2.0, and if you don’t feel like following along with the plot -- again, no need to! But Karl finally getting his chance to shine, Sapnap and George having character development with Dream, and Eret, Puffy and H getting in on some drama was honestly pretty exciting!

The thing about the SMP is that it’s not really built to be just one storyline. It’s never just been about L’manburg. 

While the Camarvan was built, Fundy and Eret were having their Prank War.

The same day Dream and Tommy fought to bargain with Skeppy, Fundy was getting into a court battle with Punz, Eret and Tubbo.

While the Election was happening, so was the Pet War.

In the middle of Pogtopia building its resistance, the Battle of the Lake happened with Tommy, Sapnap and the Badlands.

The SMP has always had storylines going on at the same time. It’s just that since most of the viewers have always focused on Tommy and Wilbur for the most part, a lot of the time those extra storylines slipped through the cracks of memory.

Now let’s get back to the geopolitics vs. character-driven thing:

This feeling of “stagnation” isn’t new! The SMP’s had periods like this, where it feels a bit slower and everyone’s a little confused about where it’s going before.

Remember that period from like, October 18th to November 6th or so where pretty much nothing happened to progress the plot? And since none of the other streamers on the SMP were doing their own plots, it was just kind of this period of...”who knows what’s happening right now?”

The thing about a politics-based plot vs. a more character-driven, million side-stories type deal is that as long as none of the country leaders were online, nothing could really happen to progress the main plot, and since the character-driven stuff wasn’t the main focus, that couldn’t drive much either.

So...yeah, you got the Tubbo Bathwater stream three days after the Festival happened. That’s just kinda how it went.

Schlatt only got on very rarely, Wilbur a bit less rarely, and Dream logging onto his own server was always more of a surprise more than a routine. Tommy and Techno were getting into hijinks, but there weren’t really any political stakes. Even though he was supposed to be exiled, Tommy just moved back into his house anyway, because who was going to stop him? The one person who cared about him staying out wasn’t there to do anything.

Yes, the Big Plot Days like the Festival and the Meeting were jaw-dropping and amazing! I loved them! Incredibly-written, incredibly-acted. 

But what about what happened between them? 

One thing I’ve enjoyed about the recent period is that it feels like a lot more streamers are keeping track of their characters and holding onto longer plot threads. It feels like more people are interacting with each other instead of doing builds by themselves. And even the main plot is progressing at this more subtle, bit-by-bit pace where there’s a bit of new development with each stream. The big event days still happen, like the New Festival and the Execution, but the pacing’s a lot more consistently spread out. And with all these other streamers keeping their own mini stories as well, it’s more of this melting pot of different people interacting, each with their own arc and tale to tell.

Ponk and Jack, for example, are keeping their ongoing rivalry. Sam, Bad and Ant are getting into their own storyline whereas before, the Badlands weren’t really doing much of anything. And Karl’s been doing the same fun side-things that he’s always done for months, but he’s recently started to try and find a niche for himself by trying these light-hearted events or his new Tales series, which could end up being really cool the more he refines it! 

I feel like a lot of the “chaos” feeling isn’t really from how the SMP’s main storyline has been written; most of the main plot has still kept to L’manburg and Techno.

It’s just that more people are taking notice of all the side hijinks that are going on in the background all the time, and some of the people who weren’t involved in the main plot before have started creating their own storylines for fun. 

I will say it again and again: you don’t have to follow along with every storyline! If it overwhelms you to try and keep up with the Blood Vines? That’s okay! You as a viewer have the freedom to create the viewing experience that makes you the most comfortable, that brings you the most joy! 

But I also think people could try and branch out a bit too. Give some new creators a try. No pressure or anything, and it’s fine if you just want to stick to Tommy or Techno! But there are a lot of talented people on the SMP, and I feel like some of these smaller stories are worth paying attention to if you’re interested!

Aaaaanyway, this is just a long, long post with some nonsense thoughts that I felt like getting out. Feel free to disagree! The SMP’s an interesting piece of media that everyone’s going to experience slightly differently. What may be my cup of tea might not be yours, and vice versa! :]

[cafebloos]

okay so here are some albums and you can do all or none, whatever you choose! melodrama by lorde, future nostalgia by dua lipa, red by taylor swift, badlands by halsey ((i hope you’re having a lovely day! 💕✨))

i’m just gonna post this as is bc i keep forgetting to finish it but i reeeally appreciate this!! sorry about the bad formatting

melodrama by lorde:

1. perfect places

2. supercut

3. hard feelings/loveless

4. liability

5. the louvre

6. writer in the dark

7. liability reprise

8. sober 2

9. sober

10. green light

11. homemade dynamite

future nostalgia by dua lipa

1. levitating

2. cool

3. pretty please

4. good in bed

5. love again

- the rest of the songs are tied tbh

badlands by halsey (i listened to this while i did this and i forgot how good this whole album was!!!)

1. coming down / drive (i almost cried when this song came on!!!)

2. roman holiday

3. hold me down

4. hurricane

gasoline / control / haunting

new americana

i walk the line

young god

[hallelujuh]

shay’s favorite albums of 2017

didn’t commit to finishing this until the literal very end of 2018 but whatever fdjhfkjdsnfds

I’m not sure if it was my newfound willingness to explore new genres and artists, but I thought 2017 was a fantastic year for music. Plenty old favorites of mine released new albums this year, and I was lucky enough to discover a lot of music, both from new musicians and old. Here’s my top twenty albums of this year.

20. Divide by Ed Sheeran

19. Fin by Syd

18. Blossom by Milky Chance

17. I See You by the xx

16. Trip by Jhene Aiko

15. Good for You by Amine

14. Future Friends by Superfruit

13. Sacred Hearts Club by Foster the People

12. American Teen by Khalid

11. All We Know of Heaven, All We Need of Hell by Pvris

10. From the Outside by Hey Violet - While I originally only cared about this band because it’s composed of mostly girls, which is rare, I’ve grown to really love them as musicians. They’re very creative, producing catchy pop tracks that aren’t like most pop songs, and their debut album is fun as hell. Each song makes the listener feel badass and sexy and young, and you just kinda wanna dance and enjoy life. Favorite track: Tie between Like Lovers Do and Unholy. The former is distinctive and unique, and reminds me of Emilie Autumn, and the latter is incredibly well-produced and pretty visceral for a pop track by such a young band. 

9. After Laughter by Paramore - Continuing their previous album’s sound so that every song sounds like Ain’t It Fun, After Laughter has a gorgeous aesthetic, a memorable sound, and, notably, follows the trend of most emo artists of today - disguising sad lyrics beneath happy music, as made famous by Twenty One Pilots. Each song is catchy, allow the lyrics all leave you feeling a bit empty, but you’ll be dancing to misery. Favorite track: 26. I’m always a sucker for the one mellow song on an album full of bops, and that rang true once more. 26 is about reflecting back on how you’ve spent your youth, and it’s paired with a bittersweet simplistic guitar. Hayley’s vocals hold pain, but also gratitude.

8. Hopeless Fountain Kingdom by Halsey - I’ve been a huge Halsey fan since before Badlands even came out, when all we had was Room 93 and live versions of then-unreleased tracks. Though her evolving sound was criticized by some, I appreciated that HFK follows the formula so many other sophomore records follow, with the lyrics addressing new-found fame and how the artist is dealing with it, and also how they want their sound to be since they’ve already made it big. This record was clearly more hip-hop driven, with production that sounded heavily influenced by Kanye, but it felt fitting. Furthermore, HFK is the redemption arc to Badland’s heartbreak-themes. It’s really a triumphant album overall. Favorite track: Sorry. While 100 Letters is my most-played track and therefore a close second, because the simplistic beat allows Ashley’s lyrics to shine, and she’s a lyricist and a poet before she’s a singer - I believe Sorry is the quintessential song from this record. Her pain is so tangible in this stripped-down ballad, and it’s such a nice switch from her usual lust-driven upbeat songs. I always have respect for musicians who can bear their sleeve in such an open, honest way, and while Ashley’s always been vocal about her struggles, it’s still nice to hear such a heartfelt track come about even after all her success.

7. Dua Lipa by Dua Lipa - This young pop singer's self-titled debut is a catchy, passionate, and solid record that's earned her a well-deserved place on the charts and in people's playlists. The songs are rather cliched, recycled themes that I've heard from dozens of other young female artists, but there's some emotionally-charged pop ballads that show potential. Dua's vocals remind me of a raspier Ariana Grande mixed with a less-powerful Christina Aguilera. Seeing as those two aforementioned singers can over-do their performances a bit, I enjoyed this mellower newcomer. Don't get me wrong, Dua's unique in her own way, and she's hardly a copycat; but I'm worried her talent will overlooked because there's already others like her. Still, it was a solid album that I enjoy thoroughly, and I had multiple tracks from it on repeat.

6. Beautiful Trauma by P!nk - I've been a P!nk fan since I was very young, and this album was wonderfully nostalgic to me. P!nk's one of the few artists who's never been swayed by a need to stay relevant; she just makes the music she wants to make, and her fans love her for it. This record was, at times, a little generic beat-wise, but still distinctly P!nk. As always, she wore her heart on her sleeve and you can feel how personal every song is; how genuine every word is. It really pays off. Favorite track: Barbies - This is a song I think every girl over thirteen can relate to. I'm twenty years younger than P!nk, but this track really resonated with me. It was the only song on this record I listened to repeatedly. I think every girl wants to grow up as quickly as possible, but once you reach adulthood, you just want to be a kid again. You long for simpler times. The beautiful message of the song (enjoy your youth) is paired beautifully with gorgeous instruments (violin! cello! wow!), which adds a timelessness to the track.

5. One More Light by Linkin Park - Although most, myself included, were unhappy with the pop-driven sound of LP’s seventh effort, the death of Chester added a lot to how meaningful this album is. Listening to it now fills me with a hopeful nostalgia, in contrast with how I listened to it in the days following his passing. What once sounded like a cry for help that no one listened to, now sounds like a triumphant farewell. As usual, these guys put their hearts into the making of this record, and it’s a real bummer that it took Chester killing himself to make people appreciate that. LP is a master at their craft, regardless of what genre they’re feeling at the moment. It’s a solid album, full of truly heartfelt lyrics and Chester’s beautiful voice, and I’ve often found myself listening to it when I’m feeling down. It really helps. And that’s what LP’s music has always been about, I think. Being there for you when you feel like no one else is. This album still felt like that, even though it was through a different genre. They let go of the anger that fueled their signature sound in the beginning, in exchange for a more rounded, reflective take on things. I think that’s comforting, and beautiful, in a way no one seemed to understand. What’s better than someone making peace with the world? Alternatively, what’s worse than someone taking their own life because people didn’t want to see them get better? Favorite track: Talking to Myself. I watched this video the day it was released - hours before Chester’s passing was announced. I enjoyed the bass and the video made me smile. After I found out, and after a few hours of crying, I rewatched this video, and it meant so much more the second time. The song itself is a favorite because it’s such a fun track. The bass line is catchy as hell, and my favorite part of the song is the chorus following the bridge, where Chester does a powerful run and then briefly lapses into Meteora-style vocals (”you keep running like the sky is falling”). That bit is so profoundly incredible to listen to for me, and I’m glad he left us with it.

4. Revival by Eminem - I’m one of the biggest Eminem stans of all time, so I’d probably buy a record that consisted entirely of Marshall shitting - but in all actuality, though he could never disappoint me, I was prepared for the worst, and I was pleasantly surprised. This album felt more solid than MMLP2′s experimental sounds, with Em showing us he really hasn’t fallen off. His usage of words like “lit” and “shook” are admittedly a little cringey, and his take at a more modern sound on Believe (with a trap beat and a Migos-like flow) is questionable, but the lyrics show he’s just as on top of his game than ever. It’s not an instant-classic like MMLP - those days are probably over - but it’s a decent record with several damn good songs. (Edit, 12/2018: Bro I wrote this last year, what the fuck was I on dgfkjdgh.) Favorite track: In Your Head. While the most memorable tracks on this record are definitely the collaborations - my favorites being River with Ed Sheeran and Need Me with P!nk - this rather short track really stood out. I listened to the album for the first time on my CD player, without having looked at the track listing since it was released a few weeks back, so every song was a surprise, and when I heard O'Riordan’s vocals, I got very excited, since Zombie is one of my favorite songs of all time. Though the original song is about war, Em raps over the sample track’s bass line and signature guitar riff and speaks about the skeletons in his closet with a passion reminiscent of The Eminem Show and a flow taken from his Recovery days. The smooth transition to Castle is another nice touch. While his speed in the last thirty seconds of Offended is impressive (with Flight of the Bumblebee in the background! Ha!), this was the song that sold me on this album. It’s everything I love about Eminem. (Note: This was written before O’Riordan’s passing. RIP.)

3. Scum Fuck / Flower Boy by Tyler, the Creator - From the goofy poster boy of a generation of carefree and colorfully dressed punks, to an extremely talented and capable producer and musician, watching Tyler’s growth as an artist and a human has been extremely rewarding, especially as a longtime Tyler/OF fan. While Cherry Bomb failed to impress me in the midst of my emo-craze, I appreciated that it was a turning point in Tyler’s career. SFFB, however, successfully took me right out of my indie-craze. Flower Boy builds upon what Tyler tried to do on CB, and it works out much better. Watching his brilliant NPR Tiny Desk Concert only solidified this belief. Tyler’s a musical genius, and I hope more people come to realize it. Favorite track: 911/Mr. Lonely. The whole record is full of earworms - Glitter, Boredom, See You Again - and it’s truly a feat Tyler was able to pull that off. But I have to go with this single - both songs are catchy, the production is masterful, Frank Ocean and Steve Lacy’s voices are beautiful. Who Dat Boy didn’t particularly excite me upon first listen, but these two tracks did, because they reminded me how talented and incredible Tyler is.

2. DAMN. by Kendrick Lamar - My favorite thing about musicians is getting to watch them mature, both musically and personally. I’ve frequently compared DAMN to J. Cole’s 4 Your Eyez Only, as both records feature Jermaine and Kendrick discussing much more mature concepts within their albums. Kendrick’s always been grounded because of his upbringing, whereas Cole was a little more blinded by fame for the first few albums. However, since their respective last albums, Kendrick has gotten engaged, and Cole got married and had a little girl (EDIT: Apparently he had a boy!), and you can hear how these lifestyle changes have influenced their lyrical content, which is really nice to behold. Kendrick’s always seemed like a very intelligent person, with an understanding of the world many in his field lack, and this album highlights that beautifully.  Favorite track: Humble. While Love’s a personal favorite, Humble’s success reminded me of Control. I still remember the day that dropped - and Humble felt similar, as it was Kendrick reminding us that he’s simply on another level. The simplistic and almost grating beat excellently parodies every single rap song that’s on the radio these days, except Kendrick proves his superiority by showing us that the beat’s not the important part; the lyrics are. It’s genius, and I’ll never get over how iconic it is, honestly.

1. Saturation I, II, & III by Brockhampton - Because this remarkably talented new group released three new records this year, and I can’t pick a favorite, nor can or do I want to rate them separately, they easily earn this spot. With flawless and innovative production, refreshingly creative and intricate lyrics, remarkable versatility, and, best of all, a youthful individuality reminiscent of Odd Future circa 2011, Brockhampton is one of the best things 2017 has offered. I’ve grown attached to these kids, and I’m glad I’ll be able to see where they go and how big they get. Favorite track: Star. While Junky is the most impressive track, and Follow is my personal favorite, Star earns this spot because it’s the song that single-handedly got me into Brockhampton. The name-dropping bop is a good introduction to the band, as it features their signature memorably synth-infused beats, Ameer’s clever wordplay, Ian’s favorite thing to talk about (his sexuality) as well as his penchant for hooks and bridges, Merlyn’s loud and brash vocals, etc. I won’t be compiling a list of my favorite songs of this year, but if I did, this would easily make the top ten. It reminded me exactly why I love rap music, in a time when I was beginning to doubt hip hop.

honorable mentions

CTRL by SZA - Though I’d never heard of SZA aside from her feature on Consideration, this album was hyped immensely by Twitter, so I felt I had to check it out. Unfortunately I was disappointed. Although the album’s masterfully done, and I love the production and her voice, the lyrical content ruined it for me. Of course, this is personal preference, and she’s allowed to write songs about whatever the hell she wants to, but the nature of the lyrics were what kept me from being a fan. To each their own, I guess.

Everybody by Logic - I wasn’t a big Logic fan prior to 1-800. Funny story, actually - I thought he was entirely white, and I’m vehemently against white rappers. He's more like a biracial Kendrick, especially in flow on Hallelujah. The record continues the trend started by Bey’s Lemonade of celebrating black power and beauty, with Logic demonstrating a fresh, biracial perspective on it. Loved that there were actual instrumentals, that was refreshing, considering modern rap beats are often created entirely using synthesizers. Also love that Logic’s cementing himself as the Inclusive Rapper, and accepting that title proudly. Good for him.

I Decided by Big Sean - I’ve been a casual Big Sean fan since Finally Famous (2011), but he’s very rarely impressed me with his lyricism. This album showed that Sean’s matured and grown as a person and a rapper, but the songs didn’t leave enough of an impression on me to be featured on my list.

Lust for Life by Lana Del Rey - Although I’m sure die-hards were more than happy with this record, I didn’t enjoy it as much as I wish I could’ve. Lana’s sound hasn’t changed much, so I don’t think the quality of her music is decreasing, I just think my tastes are changing. This newer stuff hasn’t appealed to me nearly as much as her Born to Die/Paradise stuff did. I think 2012!me would’ve loved this record, but 2017!me was unsatisfied.

Melodrama by Lorde - I can always appreciate growth in an artist, but in Lorde’s case, I couldn’t bring myself to like the change. While there’s traces of the sound that put her on the map, and the music still sounds like teenage rebellion, it just doesn’t invoke the same feelings. It’s less grounded - and not in a good way.

Lovely Little Lonely by The Maine - The pop punk 1D continues to make catchy, solid tunes, but nothing about this record particularly stands out to me. Still, it’s a decent album from an underrated band.

extended plays

they’re too short to be included in my top albums, but i wanted to mention them anyway.

Caught Up by Sarah Close - I found this adorable Brit through her fantastic covers of popular songs, and thankfully I was subscribed when she started posting original music. Caught Up isn’t particularly unique, but the songs are fun, her voice is wonderful, and it’s a solid little EP.

Y.O.U by Dodie - I’ve watched Dodie’s covers for a while, so it’s nice to see she’s making original stuff. Love the style of it. Very excited to see what she puts out next.

dont smile at me by Billy Eilish - The fifteen-year-old, who sounds very similar to the recently-disgraced Melanie Martinez, may talk like an annoying skater boy, but her angelic singing voice keeps pulling me back in. I’m not used to talented celebrities being younger than me. It’s depressing. (EDIT: I spelled Billie wrong jdgdhf she’s in my top 10 artists of this year now too hahh)

Hard by The Neighbourhood - This band has been a favorite for four years now; I even saw them live for my birthday in 2015. They could never disappoint me, but their recent music hasn’t changed much to what long-time fans like myself fell in love with in the days of I Love You, which is nice to see, when so many other artists I used to like are experimenting with their sound in unflattering ways.

[antiquatedfuture]

Summer Solstice Newsletter

NEW ZINES

Canvas & Cassette, Issue Two- Part art journal, part music magazine, part old-school variety zine, Canvas & Cassette has a little something for everyone. ($10)

Covers: Stories About Musicians- Technically a restock, but this highly enjoyable series of comics adapted from music biographies was so popular, we could only keep it in stock for two weeks. Just reprinted and (once again) going fast. ($2)

Empathy Exercise- Places the classroom exercise of putting a blindfold on to imagine being blind against the daily reality of being blind. ($4)

A Few Good Boys: Admiration of Straight White Men and Its Accompanying Dread- In this short illustrated essay, M. Sabine Rear writes about growing up surrounded by art from straight white men and the hoops she had to go through to relate to it. ($4)

Fixer Eraser, Vol. 2- The long-awaited second issue of Fixer Eraser, the latest odds-and-ends zine from Jonas (Cheer the Eff Up, The Greatest Most Traveling Circus), one of the best writers in zines today. ($3)

Fixer Eraser, Vol. 3- A collection of stories and unique bits that sidestep categorization, full of life and surprises. Former superheroes, tortured legends, messages left on small sheets of paper on buses, and so much more. ($3)

Fixer Eraser, Vol. 4- Imagined parenting advice, imagined short stories, and some real stories, some real advice. Where the line between them lies is part of the fun. ($3)

It Only Gets Worse From Here: Fifteen Unspirational Messages to Ruin Your Day- It Only Gets Worse from Here takes the "handwritten inspirational quote art" genre and makes it bleak, lonely, and hilarious. This tiny zine holds 15 unspirational messages to guide you toward your darkest moments. ($2)

Keep Content Off Facebook- A thoughtful zine that asks artists to reexamine how they use Facebook and how Facebook uses them. Not a call to boycott the platform entirely, but to simply think deeply about it and seek solutions beyond it. ($2)

Keep Loving, Keep Fighting #9- In the first issue of Keep Loving, Keep Fighting in ten years Hope combines short, poetic lines about loss, grief, and spirituality with full-color spreads of transcendent mixed-media art. ($5)

Minimum Rock + Roll #9- An interview with Closer, the new project from Real Life Buildings folks. Lots of album reviews. Every Minimum Rock + Roll issue is a tiny good time. ($1)

Minimum Rock + Roll #10- Another little burst of underground music from Olympia's Joshua Hoey and Reflective Tapes. Within: an interview with Don't Love Like Me Records and plenty of reviews. ($1)

Minor Leagues #5- In this, the GIANT fifth issue of Minor Leagues, Simon Moreton's dreamy, time-traveling diary comics blend with long pieces of prose. Within: Finding meaning in place, being in nature, moving through loss, living with ghosts. ($7) My Complicated Relationship With Food, Vol. Four- The return of the most popular zine series we carry. Surprising and bizarre reviews of unremarkable foods. ($1)

Resilient Bastard: Ways to Combat a Brain That is Actively Trying to Kill You- A much-needed zine of writers being very open and honest about depression, suicidal thoughts, and tools for coping. From a great crew of Olympia folks. ($5) Tin Can Telephone #4- A short history of pirate TV intrusions, an interview with Sarah MacDonald of Thrifty Times zine, tape-music history, and much more. ($4) Women in Sound #5- A new issue of Women in Sound zine is always cause for celebration. But this one is perhaps the best yet. Interviews with three of our favorites: Mirah Zeitlyn (as in, indie-pop goddess Mirah), Laetitia Tamko (of Vagabon), and legendary Prince recording engineer Susan Rogers. Plus a whole lot more. ($5)

NEW MUSIC

ABSV- Champion of the Sun- A tribute to Sun Ra by Portland electronic artist and percussionist J Morales, also known as ABSV. Eight pulsing tracks of experimental Afro-house, interweaving live and electronic percussion, synths, bass, and piano into an instant basement dance party. (Cassette + Digital Download) ($8) Badlands- Slow Growth- Her best yet, Slow Growth is a style-hopping album of assured personal pop songs, political anthems, and a Donna Summer self-love mantra cover. (Cassette + Digital Download) ($5) Dump Him- Venus in Retrograde- Live garage-rocky pop-punk from Western Massachusetts' Dump Him. Released on Olympia's Reflective Tapes. (Cassette) ($5)

Family Video- Long Time Listener, First Time Caller- The latest from Newfoundland's Family Video is a masterpiece. Emotionally complex twee-pop that confront loneliness and reimagines the great volcanic winter of 1816. (Cassette + Digital Download) ($5) Hedia- Wool- Sparse and slight, but also sprawling and generous, Hedia's ambient chamber pieces are gifts, through and through. The side project of Bryce Hample of Reighnbeau. (Cassette) ($8)

Orange Daydream: A Tribute To Orange Cake Mix- A split between long-running lo-fi heavyweight Orange Cake Mix and some of the artists that love him. (CD) ($10) Phoxii- Life Eating Death Feeding- The latest album of forward-thinking electronics from Phoxii. Life Eating Death Feeding's broken and reconstructed tracks further asserts Phoxii as living in a musical universe that's entirely her own. (Cassette + Digital Download) ($8)

Reighnbeau- Blood- Blood is Reighbeau at its most lush, most epic. Skittering claps and snaps, pops and clicks, against a cut-up synth symphony. With guest vocals from Colleen Johnson (Flying Circles), Madeline Johnston (Sister Grotto, Midwife), and many others. (Cassette) ($7) Reighnbeau- Fingertips- The latest from Reighbeau, Fingertips is an underwater affair—futuristic nostalgia, cheap earplugs at the rave, worn-out cassettes playing recordings of church organs over a pulsing kick drum. (Cassette) ($7)

Reighnbeau- Hide- Hide is, like its title implies, obscured, secretive, maybe a little shy. Its melodies below the surface, beats pulsing alongside pitch-shifted layers, dozens of distant voices calling out. Guest vocals throughout by Madeline Johnston of Sister Grotto. ($7) Reighnbeau & BK Beats- Sleep- Sleep is the soundtrack to a dream party—feel-good but off-kilter, shiny and hazy, containing only slight resemblances to reality. (Cassette) ($6)

Richard Album- Another Album- Sitting nicely between his garage-pop and synth-pop sides, Another Album finds Richard moving ever forward and swimming in an ocean of tears. (Cassette + Digital Download) ($5)

Various Artists- This Reminds Me: Songs By Linda Smith Reimagined- A tribute album to lo-fi bedroom folk pioneer Linda Smith. A much-deserved 19-track compilation with covers and interpretations from Rose Melberg, and many others (Cassette + Digital Download) ($5)

NEW STICKERS

Drummer Cat Sticker- Leading the band down the street. ($1)

Mushroom Shelter Sticker- Taking shelter under a giant mushroom. As one does.($1)

Spirit Guide Sticker- Meet your spirit guide. ($1)

NEWS *One of our favorite zines around, Syndicate Product, has an open submission call for their long-awaited new issue. Have a book you loathe? This is your chance to tell the world about it.

*Long-time zinester Billy McCall is doing a survey about zine culture and wants everyone involved with zines to participate. 

*Our very own Sara Renberg is touring parts of the east coast and midwest this coming week in support of her Night Sands album. Check out her tour schedule and catch a show!

[homeofthevan-a]

BEST PICTURE NOMINEES (2017) AESTHETICS . repost, don’t reblog. bold whatever applies. tag whoever you want and feel free to add to the categories.

“tagged” by: calavcro

tagging:  take it from me and say I tagged you!!! 

ARRIVAL. blurry memories.   helicopters flying overhead.  fog pouring over mountains.   ominous feelings.   stuttering voices.   dark, cavernous chambers.   protective suits.   hazy skies. smooth and mysterious rock.   in a relationship with death.   defied gravity.   a chirping bird in a cage.   white, bleak emptiness.   the soft hands of a child.  a barrier between them and you.   moaning voices of unknown creatures.   odd languages.  tentacles.   flat landscapes.   ink.   the circle of time. silhouettes.   a window overlooking a body of water.strange perceptions of time.  moving from shadows to light.   possible threats.   the laugh of a child.  déjà vu.  government secrets. conversations without speaking.   military uniforms.   sickness. confessions.   a lover once there and now gone. strange dreams.   paranoia.   disturbing the peace.

FENCES.   strained relations.   exercising power.   laundry hanging on the line.   providing. tears streaming down hurt cheeks.  masculinity.   family.   claustrophobic houses.   youth and inexperience.  the hollow sound when a baseball bat hits a ball.  football jerseys.   framed photos of relatives.   throwing punches.   second chances. muted colors.   prison.   unacknowledged sacrifices.  post-war.   streets framed by rusted metal.   sitting on steps.   sticking your fingers through the holes of a fence.  cross necklaces.   unflinchingly hard circumstances.   railroad tracks.   pride being suffocated by self-pity.   being rooted in the same place for years.  building a dream.   maternal abandonment.   pecking someone goodbye. bad timing.   losing a dream.  long-standing marriage.   knitting.   covering your ears with a pillow.  infidelity.   brick walls.

HACKSAW RIDGE.   bullets whizzing past your ears.   dust.   bodies littering the dirt.   helmets.  scraped up faces.   hospitals.   obligations. pacifism.  taking someone in your arms.   a photo tucked away in a bible.  warfare.   a cemetery full of plain white tombstones.   smoke.   saving lives.   rough terrain.   a rifle set aside.  enemies.   allies.  underground tunnels.   perseverance.   water and blood streaming down one’s face. being the odd one out.   staying true to what you believe.   the smell of gunpowder.   people crying out for mercy.   spiritual transcendence.   someone waiting.  a cliff leading to nowhere.   fire and brimstone.   no man’s land.   barbed wire.   trust.   white rock.   faceless danger.   carrying somebody on your back.   heroes.

HELL OR HIGH WATER.   sleepy towns.   a windmill turning.   pick-up trucks.   the cocking of a gun.   cowboy hats.   summer heat.  doing things for family. robberies. stand-offs.   locking eyes with somebody in a bar.   dirt roads leading to nothingness.   masked faces.  badlands.   justice.   crosses painted on the sides of buildings.   the west.   dust bowls.   the badge pinned to a cop’s shirt.   hot tempers.  burying past mistakes.guns on belts. slow drawls.   shattered glass.   piles of money.   browns and beiges.   gambling. hot and sprawling landscapes. a lack of moral salvation.   tattoos hidden by sleeves.   blinding sun. getting away.  getting caught.   generations of poverty.   thunderstorms on the horizon.  loose-fitting shirts. farms.   not knowing if you’re going to heaven or hell or somewhere else.

HIDDEN FIGURES.   junky cars. close friendships.   vintage lamps.   pursuing the impossible. rocket ships.   satellites.  running in heels.  computers.   chalk drawn on a whiteboard.  mathematics.   pulling up after being pushed down. kodachrome.  files being slammed on desks. standing out among the rest.   dark computing rooms.   pencils moving on paper at high speeds. warm homes.   being depended on. getting ahead and having the finish line moved.   space age.   meetings full of suits and ties.   crowbars.   grainy footage.   crowds of women.   black and white televisions.  counting numbers.  no windows. astronauts.  a little girl walking through the trees. sepia.   breaking boundaries.   long hallways.   watching through glass.  making history.

LA LA LAND.  auditions gone wrong.   neon streets.   highways jammed with cars.   vivid colors.  piano keys.   spotlights.   dreaming of goals.   christmas jingles.   romances that sweep you off your feet.   dancing.  telescopes. old hollywood movies. lighthouses.   parties.   movie sets.   jazz music.   galaxies upon galaxies.  fights over dinner.   purple skies.   blue skies. car radios blaring from vehicles.   murals on the walls.   arms spread wide.   candy-colored fantasies.   nostalgia.   standing on a stage all alone.   brightly colored clothes. lingering eye contact.   theater seats.  the seasons flying by.  singing your heart out.   elegance.   losing love.  jumping into a swimming pool.   lamps lighting up dark streets.   film burning out on the screen.   coffee shops. kisses where the world stops.   fireworks.

LION.   gut feelings you can’t shake.   yellow butterflies.   walking alongside the tracks of a train.   a child running around freely. dangerous alleyways.   elegant pinks.   a family who you haven’t seen in a long time.  falling apart.   being lost.   bright green grass by an ocean.   foreign landscapes.   looking for answers.locked in a room.   searching the internet.  maps.   crowds of unrecognizable people.  noisy traffic.   holding hands.   catching a stray leaf floating in the wind.  being chased down dark streets.   no one understanding.  rainbows appearing in the rain. dust-colored browns.   trash dumps.   fluorescent fixtures in a home. letting go.   banks of a river.   thumbtacks.   home.   rare but bright colors. standing in water. the train departing.   the roughness of eroding brick.   fruits.   finding a way back.

MANCHESTER BY THE SEA.   boats on clear water.  regret.  shoveling snow. driving without a clear destination.   fluorescent lights of a hospital.   orphans. tears clinging to your eyes but never falling. aimlessness.   hockey.   small towns.   running into someone from long ago.   sidewalks.   a house burning to the ground.   funerals. dressing for the cold.   jarring human memories.   pointless conversations with some meaning.   teenagers.   empty pizza boxes. life going on. having people over.   haunting beauty.   bands playing bad music.   trauma.   bar fights.  fishing nets.   seagulls.   depression.   dreams you don’t know aren’t real.   confronting the past.   grief.  tough love.  unopened boxes.   annoying relatives.   depending on someone else to get by.   punching glass and shattering it.

MOONLIGHT.   violins.  dusk. visiting an old friend.  repressed emotions.  searching for an identity.   bullying.   well-lit diners.   running away.   rich skin tones.  alienation.   the moon over glistening seas. burgeoning sexuality.   darkness making your skin look blue.   keeping your head above water.   glints of light.   dream-like senses of reality.   flashy cars.   pink hallways.   screaming but there’s only silence.   crystalline blues. avoiding home.  bath tubs.   palm trees.   being scolded.   dreams.  moist skin.  hotboxing.   sun-drenched neighborhoods.   struggling with addiction.   first kisses.   songs coming on the jukebox. reflections in the mirror.  high contrast. flickering lights. hands digging in the sand.   forgiveness.  bright mid-daylight.   blowing smoke.  true love.

[jwood719]

Points West and Devils Tower: The Badlands National Park - South Dakota Highway 240 Loop.

Some time in June of 2017 I thought “I haven’t seen Close Encounters of the Third Kind in, like, years.”  Watching again was mixture of nostalgia trip, child-like fascination, and inspiration.  Much of the first half of the film is set in and around Muncie, Indiana, only a couple of hours from Lafayette and easy enough to visit; Devils Tower is rather farther away (to put it mildly), but I decided it was worth a journey.  In July, I made those trips.

Park entry gate south of Wall, SD.

The Badlands may hold up to everything that has ever been said about them.  They are stark, unforgiving, hot in the summer, subject to sudden blizzards in winter, and any waters occurring in their area probably are unpotable.  For that starkness, they are also amazing to look upon, and for the intrepid, offer a bit of remaining mostly untrammeled wilderness to hike through (remember to take a at least a gallon of water for each day).

The edge of the grassy plains.

While I was looking at routes to Devils Tower, I saw that the Badlands had been “parked” and that a state road (SD 240) ran along the rim of the highlands. Every so often I had come across some reference to the Badlands in some text or movie or something, and had long been at least mildly interested in them.  How bad could they be?  Or, maybe, why all the fuss?  Bad lands?!

Where the plains end.  Sage Creek Rim Road, like SD 240, passes most of its length near or at the edge of the plain’s drop.

Well, yeah, they would be pretty bad for some pioneer looking for some place to set up house and home.  That didn’t stop some, they still set up shop in the area, but not quite in the Badlands proper.  More like in the vicinity.  Above or below, there are grasslands “where the buffalo roam(ed)” and if there’s wildlife to decimate, it’s O.K. for humans, right?

Bighorn sheep.  I watched one of these along with a lamb come trotting down the Sage Creek Road and I didn’t take a photo because I wasn’t sure that it wouldn’t just head-butt the car!  It didn’t, just passed by about three feet off the driver’s side - close enough to get a good look at the vertical pupil in the sheep’s eye.  Whoa!

A little bit of “research” showed that SD 240 has a series of turn-outs for scenic viewing, so I thought I may as well make a “pass” through here on the way back east.

And, in fact, it is amazing to look upon.  The number of visitors at the wide turn-outs proved that there are a large number of people who like to look, too.  I didn’t stop at all the turn-outs (though it was tempting) partly because I couldn’t spend all afternoon in the park, and I didn’t care much for those large numbers of people.

The Pinnacles Overlook: car park: full!

Fortunately, there were “wide spots,” too, where a car or three could pull off the road and stop.  I utilized more of these than the turn-outs.  Not only because I didn’t care for the crowded car parks, but also to get the view that other people were driving past.

The Pinnacles Overlook: tourists!

I kept telling myself that I had to make some mileage this day or I would never get back to Indiana!

Looking beyond the Pinnacles Overlook, with the Black Hills on the horizon.

If I had remained on I-90, I would have covered this distance in about 15 minutes - it’s only about 20 miles.  Instead, it was a little over 2 hours.  Le sigh.

“Looking back” at the Ancient Hunters Overlook.

The problem I have is I will simply stop and take photos everywhere if I don’t remind myself to keep moving.

So, yes, I could have taken many many more photographs, but I kept telling myself “Keep going.”  It could, perhaps should, be more than one day’s, or a couple hour’s worth of visitation. 

Gettin’ down in it, at least a little bit.  At one “wide spot” at the bottom of a valley, it was all too easy to simply walk out on the blasted earth.  Naturally, I did.

Where the plains drop.  I’m pretty sure I passed the truck with the Airstream trailer later on I-90. 

Looking north from the drop: On the other side of the road, the short grasses of the High Plains stretch away.

Much of the area about the Badlands are part of the Buffalo Gap National Grasslands, where buffalo have been re-introduced, so depending on where you roam, you may see some.  Publications caution hikers about where they camp and how they act as buffalo will charge if they feel threatened, and buffalo gores can be lethal, just as bull gores.

Looking across the Conata Basin.  No, none of those “walls” down there are remains of old buildings - the land has just been sculpted that way.

Portions of the grasslands are also Indian reservations, and not for the first time I thought that if I had a TARDIS, I’d like to back in time and kneecap the men who thought forcing Native Americans into inhospitable places was a good idea.  Oh, well, I guess it was good - for the Europeans.  The Bureau of Indian Affairs didn’t help much, either.

Looking out to the Buffalo Gap National Grasslands.  The Grasslands are not part of the National Park Service, they are overseen by the Forestry Service, in the Department of Agriculture; the sole Visitor’s Center for all several millions of acres is located in Wall, SD.

Looking down: a view just off the road.

At the Homestead Overlook.  How hot is it?  It’s so hot, even the birds are looking for shade.  In this case, the shade of a sign post.  This might be a Western Meadowlark.

Some may scoff or wonder whether I’m “right in the head” at my preferred method of travel, which is windows down.  If it’s hot, it’s hot.  Yep, it was hot this day, but to me, stepping from an air conditioned car cabin out into a heat index of 105 degrees is worse than simply accepting the fact that it’s hot.

The high mass center is the Castle, an edifice that catches the eye from most anywhere in the area.

I know, I know, not everyone feels this way, but hearing other tourists at overlooks saying “Oh, it’s so hot” kinda’ gets to me.  I want to remark “It’s July - in the Badlands - on the High Plains!  Of course it’s hot!  What’d’ja’ expect?  Maybe you should try again in October.”  Humph.  Anyway -

From the Panorama Point Overlook: that’s I-90 in the distance!

Semi-trucks on the Interstate.

The hole in the wall: off in the middle distance, and well down off the horizon, I espied this sculpted opening.  I did smirk to myself a little thinking “Ha!  I saw it!  Did you?” 

The layers of sedimentary earth were plain to the eye in many places, adding more interest to the interesting.  There was a turn-out that afforded the visitor access to fossil beds, and I nearly stopped, but - oh no! - keep going, I told myself.  “If you stop to look you’ll be here for another 2 hours!”

Gettin’ down in it, a least a little bit.  This short boxy canyon was separated from the main plain below by the road. I wasn’t the first person to walk down in; a beaten track descended from the curb.

The view of the other end of the boxy canyon.  A popular angle to view?  No idea.  This was not at a proper overlook turn-out, just a wide spot.  I like to think that some of my images are, maybe not properly unique, but perhaps less common.  Wishful thinking?  Wishful drinking more like - (sorry Carrie Fisher, but your title stuck with me).

Well?  The Badlands were like I expected, I suppose, but also more-so.  Photographs, as almost always, can only deliver “so much.”  You can’t hear it, smell it, feel it, but part of the reason I do try to find less common angles is to show something you can’t see from the overlooks, to allow anyone else to at least see some of what I’ve seen.  Yeah, it’s all terribly subjective, but them’s the breaks.

A stop at the Visitors Center was nearly at the end of the 240 Loop, and I sighed to not stop at yet more places in the few miles on to the edge of the park.  But, I needed to get miles beneath the tyres, so it was back on the Interstate for points east.

National Park Service: Badlands National Park Official Site.

Forest Service: Buffalo Gap National Grassland Official Site.

Map: Google satellite image, with overlay by the author.

Photos: R. Jake Wood, 2017.

[stitchcasual]

Experimentation

A kiss fic prompted by my lovely @beetle-ships-it-all because they love me ^_^ Prompt 16 (when one person’s face is scrunched up and the other one kisses their lips/nose/forehead)

My first time writing for ME:A + Scott/Reyes and I had a marvelous time!

“Of all the gin joints…”

Reyes groans. “Please do not. Again.”

Scott grins as the neon, or whatever space equivalent, sign for Kralla’s Song beams down on them in the early twilight. He jogs forward a fast step to draw even to his lover and slip an arm around his waist, looking askance at Reyes’ profile, grin morphing into a smirk as his eyes trace the line of his nose to the curve of his wicked lips which had so recently been stretched around his—

He trips on the first step down into the bar and has a fleeting moment of panic when it seems Reyes might not catch him… But he does, rolling his eyes and muttering something under his breath.

“Mm, what was that?” Scott asks, checking his footing on the stairs before proceeding.

“Just...continuously in awe of your many facets.”

Scott snorts but doesn’t say anything in return until they make it to their corner table, the one next to both walls with windows. He nods to Drack and raises a hand in greeting to Jaal who, despite his complaints about the place, still hasn’t managed to find somewhere else he’d rather hang out.

“Start light,” he calls as Reyes peels away to get them drinks from Umi. The last time they’d come here, fresh from some fight or another out in the Badlands, Reyes had ordered the human version of whatever Umi was making for Drack. Even Scott’s biotic metabolism hadn’t saved him from that one, and he’d come to in his quarters onboard the Tempest, dropped in an ungainly heap atop Reyes. He’d heard Drack’s chuckle through the closed doors. Never again...at least not if he could help it.

He sniffs suspiciously at the glass Reyes sets in front of him.

“It is a boring ale,” Reyes informs him with a somewhat disappointed air and places a hand over his heart when Scott raises a dubious eyebrow. “My word as a gentleman.”

Scott laughs at that and takes a drink. It is indeed an ale and yeah, boring is a pretty good descriptor for the flavor and body, or lack thereof. He grimaces and Reyes shakes a finger at him.

“You said light. You get what you ask for.” Reyes winks. A true enough statement, Scott supposes, that covers more than just ordering at the bar. Reyes is...well, let it never be said that Reyes has ever not given Scott Ryder exactly what he asked for.

“Tell me what you meant earlier,” Scott says when he’s nearly choked down the ale and is considering his next drink options. Reyes gives him a curious eyebrow, and Scott sighs and rolls the hand not wrapped around his glass. “You know, something about facets.”

Reyes laughs, bright and short, and throws back the rest of his ale. “I was remarking upon your situational lack of spacial awareness.” Scott rolls his hand again. “You are a force on the battlefield, Ryder; you see everything that goes on, each obstacle and each opportunity. It is truly impressive. But put you next to a beautiful man and a set of stairs?” He shakes his head.

Scott buries his face in what little remains of his drink and scowls. “You’re distracting.”

“And a hoard of kett are not?”

“No? It’s completely different.”

Reyes laughs again and stretches out in his chair as Scott gets up to grab the next round. It’s what passes for a Friday night on Kadara, even though it’s still Tuesday if he’s going by the Nexus standard calendar. It’s what they use onboard the Tempest, but observing the local calendar is something Scott tries to do, one way to make himself a little less of an outsider wherever he lands. He can’t say that it’s working, but at least it allows him two Fridays in a week, on the pleasant occasions it works out like that. And sometimes his Fridays even include that man. Frequently infuriating but never dull, and Scott knows the same could be and has been said about him. Usually by Sara.

He turns back to their table when he reaches the bar, setting their empty glasses down on it. Reyes wiggles his fingers at him then returns to whatever business he’s conducting on his omni-tool. Always doing something. Umi rolls her eyes at the smile on his face when he looks at her and sends him back to his seat with something else they haven’t had before that’s a few steps stronger than the ale. Turns out Umi’s OK with crafting new concoctions just as long as you help a little and don’t ever use the phrase “surprise me.” Or any variation of the word “surprise.” Scott and Reyes have been taking advantage of this whenever possible, though Scott doesn’t make it to Kadara near as often as he would like, what with everyone’s hopes and dreams riding on the only Pathfinder.

He exhales heavily as he sets the drinks down, the liquor in one glass sloshing over the rim, and he curses, lifting his hand to wipe it off on his pants when Reyes captures it, his tongue darting out to lick the falling droplets from Scott’s fingers.

“Something the matter?” Reyes asks when he’s cleaned the fingers he still holds in his hands.

“Not anymore,” Scott breathes, his ice blue eyes not leaving Reyes’ warm brown.

“Somehow I do not think I am that distracting.” Reyes picks up his glass with his other hand, taps the bottom of his to the top of Scott’s still sitting on the table, and drinks, maintaining that eye contact. Scott groans and resists the urge to slam his head against the table, opting instead to drain half his glass in a single long pull.

“Don’t get serious on me, damn it, Vidal.”

The drink is strong, though probably only in relation to the swill they just had, and he feels it sifting through his head like fine sand. It could also have something to do with how much he just drank at once. He cushions his forehead in his hand and stares at the point where the table disappears and Reyes’ torso begins. He should be paying attention to the bar, to the patrons around them. Any one of them could have a reason for wanting him dead: he hasn’t exactly made a lot of friends on Kadara with his “all of you are fucking stupid” policy and refusal to take any side at all, other than the side his Tempest crew is standing on. But, he figures, Reyes is in much better shape than he is right now, so he can keep a lookout. That and both Drack and Jaal are nearby. For any would-be assassin to make it all the way to him, they’d have to be something truly special. He’d probably try to hire them, if he made it out alive.

“One of us has to be, occasionally. I promise not to make a habit of it.” Reyes smirks, leaning his cheek on the back of his hand even as he still holds his glass.

Scott feels some of his frustration bleed out of him at that face, and he huffs lightly, picking up his own glass and swirling the drink around. He’s careful to not spill though. Much as he really didn’t mind Reyes’ method of cleaning up, and much as he doesn’t mind the fact that their hands are still linked there on the table, the thought of wasting good, scratch that, decent booze is just abhorrent to him. Kralla’s Song might be classier than that dive Reyes usually hangs out in, but the booze is still a little shitty. It’s like...nothing tastes quite right in Andromeda, even if it came from the Milky Way with them.

He misses it, home, during those times when he stands still enough that his regrets catch up with him. He tries not to let them, and usually succeeds, though sometimes a wave of nostalgia will overtake him out of nowhere. That typically only happens with Sara, any time the two of them take more than fifteen minutes together in their hectic schedules to re-establish familial ties. Luckily for him that doesn’t happen very often. Luckily? Maybe. He does miss her when he’s out flying from one end of Andromeda to the other and sometimes feels jealous that she has a stable position on the Nexus doing...well, whatever it is she does, he honestly hasn’t tried to understand it. He knows it’s important, though, and that she isn’t quite as subject to the whims of every single citizen of this new galaxy like he is. He tries not to be bitter about it.

“Well, if it brings you down that much, I can stop being serious immediately.”

Scott drags his eyes from the table and up to Reyes’ face, who’s looking at him with, is that concern? Ah, he’s been thinking for too long again.

“Sorry.”

Reyes squeezes his hand. “The couple at the next table over,” he jerks his head their direction, “have been having the most delicious attempted break-up conversation.” And he tugs on Scott’s hand to pull him closer over the table and lays out the scene so far. It isn’t like Scott particularly cares that the people over there are in the middle of a Personal Situation but Reyes knows how to distract him quite well, and leaning close and watching his lips move as he tells a story is one of the best ways to get Scott’s mind off other things. He stares, losing himself in the mesmerizing way those lips form words, and Reyes smiles fondly at him, pressing his fingertips lightly against Scott’s temple before he gets up to trade in their glasses for something new to drink.

Scott sits quietly until Reyes returns, his mind, for now, happily blank. But the drink is...smoking?

“Uh… Is that safe?” He turns his head, side-eyeing the glass Reyes sets in front of him.

“My dear Pathfinder, since when are you worried about safety?”

Scott glares at Reyes. “Since it goes in my damn stomach.” Just because the first thing he does after sizing up a battlefield is to charge straight at the strongest enemy doesn’t mean he deserves this kind of shade from his boyfriend. It’s strategic, anyway. He pouts, just a little, to get Reyes’ eyes to soften and his hand to reach out to ruffle Scott’s hair. It is almost frightening how easy it is to move Reyes into a gesture of affection, and if he didn’t know better, he’d think he was truly manipulating Reyes. But he does know better, know that Reyes is startlingly dedicated to him, surprisingly sweet and vulnerable when he lets himself show it.

No, the only thing that actually frightens Scott is the feeling that he’s fallen hard for an exile smuggler. One that does some work for the Resistance, true, but also one that he doesn’t completely trust. Can’t completely trust because you can’t completely trust anyone on Kadara, certainly not handsome, smooth-talking liars. He’d like to, though, damn but he would like to. At least the sex is good.

All of that does not negate the fact that there is a smoking beverage in front of him that Reyes has not actually assured him is safe to drink. He sighs and picks it up, sniffing cautiously.

“You know Drack will murder you if this kills me, right?”

Reyes laughs and crashes his glass against Scott’s. “Just drink.”

“Murder,” Scott says, before closing his eyes and doing as he’s told.

The drink is horrible, and that’s putting it lightly. He’s not sure this isn’t at least one part rocket fuel, like actual fuel for rockets, and something in this tastes like what Drack has described to him as ryncol. Not a safe drink, Reyes. His whole face wrinkles up and he feels fairly certain that he’s going to vomit. Oh god, not in the middle of the bar. He reaches out for Reyes, and his hand connects with the reassuring solidity of Reyes’ shoulder sooner than he thought it would.

“The mighty Pathfinder,” Reyes murmurs, suddenly close enough that Scott can feel his presence even though his eyes are still screwed shut tight. A kiss lands on his forehead.

“Laid low.” Another kiss to the tip of his nose.

“By a drink.” A final kiss to his lips, and he can feel Reyes’ breathy chuckle against his face. He grips Reyes’ shoulder tightly as he groans and sways in his chair, and finds himself pulled out of it and gently manhandled through the bar. Drack’s amused laugh follows him up the stairs.

“Wasn’t a drink,” he protests, unable to get his feet under him quite right as they pass through the door. “Was a bomb.”

“A bomb?” Another chuckle from Reyes.

“Yes,” Scott asserts. He pitches forward into a wall, only Reyes’ intervention preventing him from smashing his head. He leans against it, trying to take deep breaths through his mouth. “Pretty sure you could blow something up with that.” The air outside the bar is doing wonders for his head, and though he won’t ever forget how that drink felt going down, the taste is fading from his mouth and that’s something at least.

When he blinks his eyes open, Reyes is leaning against the wall next to him, still holding on to him. Those brown eyes are so close, and Scott looks up into them, lips parting slightly. Reyes grins and moves closer until his lips brush against the tip of Scott’s nose again.

“How about we take you to your quarters, Pathfinder? I would feel a lot better if we put some distance between you and that bomb.”

“Ha ha.” But he allows Reyes to again take the bulk of his weight, though he’s sure he could walk mostly unassisted at this point, and steer them toward the Tempest. After all, it isn’t every day he gets fussed over by a gorgeous man, a gorgeous man who, if he’s not mistaken, has designs on his person once they make it back to the ship. Scott’s absolutely OK with this and leans his head against Reyes’ shoulder, closing his eyes again. He can, at least, trust Reyes to get him to the bedroom.

[gamingworld87]

The Elder Scrolls® Online

Join over 10 million players in the award-winning online multiplayer RPG and experience limitless adventure in a persistent Elder Scrolls world. Battle, craft, steal, or explore, and combine different types of equipment and abilities to create your own style of play. No game subscription required.

MMOs can’t thrive in mediocrity. In order for a game in this genre to please a consistent or growing player base of the size necessary to keep an MMO world ticking over, there needs to be something about it that’s both different and brilliant. Upon first launch three years ago, The Elder Scrolls Online did not have this essential ingredient. It felt too much like an MMO by-the-numbers and its splash of Tamriel flavouring was not quite enough to set it apart.

Since then it’s been added to, revamped and revitalised, with One Tamriel, which opened up the world via a level scaling system, and Zenimax Online’s forays into more flavoursome RPG storytelling with its Orsinium DLC (among others). Morrowind, ESO’s first additional ‘Chapter’ (the developer is weirdly reluctant to use the word ‘expansion’), is a fresh mark in the sand for the game, a point from which fans will be able to say it really found its place in the wider pantheon of MMOs. And that place is as a teller of great stories.

I’m fairly late into a particularly long session of playing when the effectiveness of ESO’s new storytelling potential hits me. I have spent the better part of two hours in Sadrith Mora, entangled in the plight of Sun-in-Shadow, an Argonian slave with untapped magical abilities and an enthusiasm for the local mage community’s propensity for political intrigue. As I jog about the town, chatting to other wizards and councilors on her behalf, smoothing her possible path to a higher rank, little nuggets of exposition are expertly planted all adding extra spice to proceedings. There’s Eoki, a love-spurned fellow slave waiting for his one-time partner to free him. There’s a deep seeded racism in the council chamber, with one character in particular seeming to hold a meaty grudge against Sun-in-Shadow’s lizard-folk.

And then there’s Sunny herself. Each time I return to her to hand in a quest I find myself combing her dialogue to find hints of her true motives, buffeted as I am in this beautifully overgrown collection of fungal towers between viciously ambitious mages all out to get their own way. Each time I’m handed a quest which requires a brisk stomp across the open map I find myself setting out again, despite the late hour, not because I want to get the promised loot at the end of the trail, and not to tick off an objective in my journal. Instead I keep going into the early hours because I just really need to see how this all plays out.

The setting plays a huge part in that. Stepping off the boat at the start of the chapter in Seyda Neen in full high texture quality, contemporary-o-vision is a powerful thing for those that were there 15 years ago. And the whole map is full of moments like this, from the half-built cantons of Vivec City (ESO’s Vvardenfell is chronologically set 700 years prior to Morrowind), to the ever-present lurking of the volcanic Red Mountain at the island’s centre. There are constant nods sprinkled throughout the game for veterans to enjoy, and, importantly, these don't feel like obligated fan service. The team re-building this world clearly harbours a love for the original.

And it’s easy to see why. For those that weren’t there all those moons ago, Vvardenfell is an exceptional backdrop for a fantasy game. It’s an almost alien landscape, where looming mushrooms tower overhead and biomes shift from dense foliage to ash-choked badlands. This is mirrored in the soundscape as well. There are refrains that will instantly trigger your memory, such as the rousing main theme, but there are incidental sounds which layer atop your otherwise sedate exploration, further fleshing out the world. The low groan of a silt strider. The chirping of a chitinous bug. This is not a typical fantasy land and, despite the inherent nostalgia, it feels as fresh now as it did back then.

What doesn’t feel that fresh at all is the game’s combat. This is an area that has had only minor improvements over the last three years. It's still clunky, preoccupied with left and right mouse clicks in time with over-egged animations and stun markers. The new player class, the Warden, is perhaps a telling indicator of how uninspiring the existing classes are to pick from and why they are so hard to even remember beyond the character creation screen.

The Warden is capable of performing in DPS, healing and tank roles, and boasts an ultimate ability which sees a persistent bear guardian follow you around to aid in combat. It can do everything well, basically, and picking anything other than Warden when starting the game afresh now feels like the wrong thing to do. That’s great if you’re just starting out, but for those already wondering why they bothered picking Nightblade three years ago, the itch to just start over and get yourself a friggin’ bear will likely be high.

I can't help but wonder (and I do this whenever I ponder the class system of an MMO I happen to be dipping into) why more games in this genre don't look towards FFXIV’s excellent class system, which simply lets your one main character be whatever you want it to be, whenever you want it to be. In ESO, and its new Morrowind excursion especially, I ache for the freedom of character development proffered up by the game’s mainline inspirations.

One thing that is great about the Warden—again, to the detriment of the other classes—is that it is a very readable class. With all characters capable of wearing any armour sets, it can be hard in a pinch to clock what role any given player character is supposed to fill. Is that fully plated cat-person over there a tank or a healer? With the Warden, well, she’s got a bloody bear next to her for a start. Each ability performed is also given a telltale series of persistent animations. A load of mushrooms sprouting at that Warden’s feet? Then she’s a healer. Covered in ice? Then she’s a tank. It’s a shame that the old classes remain comparatively unmemorable or unreadable.

[chorusfm]

Bruce Springsteen – Darkness on the Edge of Town

Born to Run was the album that sparked my appreciation for Bruce Springsteen’s music, but Darkness on the Edge of Town was the album that made me a fan. In 2015, when Born to Run turned 40, I wrote about the day I fell in love with it. A chance discussion about Springsteen at a family reunion sent me reaching for the Bruce albums on my iPod the next day, as my family traversed an epic snowstorm to drive back home. I had five Bruce records on my mp3 player, but I’d never really given full attention to any of them. They were all records from my parents’ CD collection, and at the time, I still stupidly believed (perhaps self-consciously) that older music couldn’t be my music in the same way as something released in my lifetime. On that snowy drive home, I cycled through the Bruce albums on my iPod: the bombastic, optimistic dream of Born to Run; the scrappy underdog symphony of Greetings from Asbury Park; the deeply ‘80s-sounding Born in the U.S.A.; the resilient recovery rock of The Rising; and the sparse storytelling of Devils and Dust. I loved Born to Run immediately. I liked The Rising a lot, too. I had trouble getting over how dated Greetings and Born in the U.S.A. sounded to my ears at the time, but I liked the songs. And Devils was fine, but mostly didn’t move me. Still, I was intrigued enough by what I heard to do the requisite full catalog download when I finally got home that night. Even though I didn’t love everything I’d listened to in the car that day, I could sense that there was a songwriter here who had something to say about the world I was living in, about my life. The assumption that my parents’ music couldn’t be my music too was fracturing before my eyes. The next day was the first official day of Christmas Break, but I had to head into town to run a few errands and meet up with friends. For the drive, I chose Darkness on the Edge of Town. It was an album that had been name-dropped in a review for my favorite album of the year, Butch Walker’s Sycamore Meadows. Both were albums made in the wake of some sort of strife or tragedy, and both supposedly found the artist at their liveliest and most resilient. If Darkness was anything like Sycamore Meadows, I was sure I’d be a fan. By the time “Badlands” hit its first chorus, I knew Bruce was going to play a big role in my life. Bruce sounded so hungry. I didn’t know much about him or his story or legacy at that point, but I knew what passion sounded like, and this guy had it. The other songs on the record were no less impressive: the spectral cries at the end of “Something in the Night”; the dejected hopelessness of “Racing in the Street”; the harmonica-blasted stomp of “The Promised Land.” As I drove through my snow-covered hometown, letting those songs explode through my car at a volume that was probably unsafe for both my ears and my speakers, I fell in love. In the weeks, months, and years that followed, I’d journey deep down the Springsteen rabbit hole. By the end of Christmas Break, I was well-versed in his discography. By the end of my senior year of high school, less than six months later, he was in the running for my favorite artist ever. Almost 10 years later, his music has served as a soundtrack and guide at so many significant moments in my life. I’ve even come to appreciate those records that I didn’t love in the car on that snowy day in December 2008. In Born in the U.S.A., I found a complex story about friendship, nostalgia, and faded glory. In Greetings, I found the drive and ambition of an artist who wasn’t a superstar yet, but was going to get there out of sheer force of will. Even Devils & Dust eventually clicked, its lush production lending potency to both its lightweight, infectious pop songs and its heavy narrative-driven ballads. Without Darkness, though, I’m not so sure any of that would have happened. I didn’t relate to it as much as Born to Run, which is the perfect album for someone hurtling toward the end of high school and all the possibility that lingers beyond. But I sensed that these songs would speak to me more as I got older and started learning some of the bitterer truths of the world. It says something that, even then, I was thinking about what Bruce Springsteen’s records would mean to me five, 10, or 20 years down the road. I know lots of Springsteen fans who started out like me, as ardent devotees of Born to Run, but eventually shifted their allegiances to Darkness on the Edge of Town. The leap makes sense. Where Born to Run is an album about dreaming with every fiber of your being, Darkness is a record about what you do when the lights go out, and you’re all alone, and none of those dreams ended up coming true. For Springsteen, the shift in mindset came from a bitter legal battle with former manager Mike Appel—a war that barred him from the studio for three years. For the rest of us, the shift tends to come from life itself, and from the little failures and stumbles that turn into mountains we cannot climb. Personally, I never stopped believing in the optimism of Born to Run. Thoughts of rolling down the windows and letting the wind blow back my hair, or of dying on the street tonight in an everlasting kiss, still sound as romantic to me at 27 as they did at 18. Of Bruce’s “reality” records, I’ve come to appreciate The River more than Darkness, for how it distills both darkness and light into a record that, to paraphrase Bruce, sounds as big as life. Still, I was right when I predicted that Darkness would come to mean more to me as I got older. While The River offers a more complete portrait of adult life and family, Darkness has the distinction of being Bruce’s most resilient record. Darkness on the Edge of Town is the Springsteen album that sounds best when you feel like your life is going nowhere…or at least nowhere good. There are sadder records: Tunnel of Love is a better friend for those nights when you drink your loneliness away, and Nebraska is hypnotic on dejected late-night drives through the middle of nowhere. But Darkness can hold you in its grasp when you’re not sad enough for Tunnel or hopeless enough for Nebraska, but also not in the mood for the anthemic Bruce that everybody loves. In the wake of my college graduation, as I stumbled around trying to figure out what “life in the real world” looked like for me, Darkness was the Bruce album I reached for. I remember one afternoon, sitting in the apartment I shared with my girlfriend (now wife), when she was off at work. That day alone, I’d sent off probably two-dozen resumes and cover letters that I fully expected never to hear back about. I was feeling low: defeated, directionless, and maybe a little worthless. I don’t remember putting Darkness on, but I do remember reveling in it. The songs never sounded as clear to me as they did on that afternoon: their grit, their blood, their rage. I especially gravitated to the closing song and title track, the last verse in particular: Some folks are born into a good life Other folks get it anyway, anyhow I lost my money and I lost my wife Them things don’t seem to matter much to me now Tonight I’ll be on that hill cause I can’t stop I’ll be on that hill with everything I got Lives on the line where dreams are found and lost I’ll be there on time and I’ll pay the cost For wanting things that can only be found In the darkness on the edge of town Reading and listening to people talk about Springsteen over the years, I’ve come to understand that people view this verse as powerfully sad and almost unrelentingly bleak. It’s not hard to see why: the character here has lost everything and knows it ain’t coming back. Springsteen himself cast the song as a work of tragedy, by saying that Darkness mirrored the “four corners” structure of Born to Run. Each side begins with hope but concludes with defeat. But where “Jungleland” seems to end Born to Run by killing youth at the end of a grim, bloodstained night, I always heard hope in “Darkness on the Edge of Time.” “Tonight, I’ll be on that hill, cause I can’t stop/I’ll be on that hill with everything I got. As bad as things look for the protagonist of this song, nowhere does it sound like he’s giving up. That’s what I took from Darkness that day in my post-college apartment, and what I continue to take from it half a decade later: don’t give up. Sometimes, things come easy. Other times, you have to work at them; be on that hill with everything you got; walk the darkness of Candy’s hall; prove it all night. I eventually figured that out, and the revelation got me to a better place. Today, Darkness on the Edge of Town isn’t necessarily my favorite Bruce album to revisit. It takes me back to a time when I felt angry and aimless and betrayed, even though I was probably just scared: scared of what the future might look like if I failed, if Born to Run turned out to be a lie. During the summers after that, I rediscovered the innocence of Bruce’s early music and fell back in love with Born to Run and Born in the U.S.A. and The Wild, The Innocent, The E Street Shuffle. Darkness never gripped me in quite the same way again, because I didn’t need it to. But for all the souls still feeling lost, still chasing something in the night, still racing fast Chevys down streets of fire, searching for something they cannot name, I’d imagine Darkness on the Edge of Town remains Springsteen’s foremost masterpiece. Born to Run made immortality feel achievable, but Darkness tells you what to do when you realize it’s not. And some days, the latter is just way more comforting. --- Please consider supporting us so we can keep bringing you stories like this one. ◎ https://chorus.fm/review/bruce-springsteen-darkness-on-the-edge-of-town/

[eichy815]

Fall Fusion 2018 (The CW)

One month from now, an annual tradition occurs.  ABC, CBS, NBC, Fox, and The CW announce their fall schedules – as well as their backup rosters for midseason.  With a likely merger between ABC and Fox pending – and The CW adding a Sunday night roster to its lineup – that places a little bit of uncertainty into what is otherwise a straightforward picture.

Assuming that Fox and ABC merge as planned, their new entity could still preserve both Fox Broadcast and ABC/Disney Broadcast as separate venues for primetime programming (much the same way Columbia and Warner Brothers simultaneously maintain CBS and The CW).  We just won’t know that specific outcome until another year or two from now.  So, for now, ABC and Fox will probably both proceed as normal...just to hedge their bets.

NBC and Fox announce their fall schedules on May 14, followed by ABC on May 15 and CBS on May 16.  Bringing up the rear will be The CW on May 17.

As far as “bubble shows” straddling the line between cancellation or last-minute renewal:  Taken, Rise, The Brave, Timeless, A.P. Bio, Champions, and Great News on NBC; Kevin (Probably) Saves the World, Deception, Marvel’s Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D., For the People, The Crossing, Designated Survivor, Inhumans, Alex Inc., Speechless, and Fresh Off the Boat on ABC; Ransom, Instinct, Elementary, Living Biblically, 9JKL, and Superior Donuts on CBS; Valor, Life Sentence, The 100, and iZombie on The CW; and The Resident, Gotham, The Exorcist, Ghosted, The Mick, Brooklyn Nine-Nine, The Last Man on Earth, and L.A. to Vegas on Fox.

In anticipation of another chaotic season (as broadcast television adjusts to escalating competition from cable and streaming channels), here’s my proposed Fall 2018 lineup for the Big Five networks.  I also include potential backup plans for the spring months, depending on which TV series fail or succeed.

When a show is picked up for the fall, it usually gets a 13-episode order – which can then be extended (usually via a “Back-Nine” order), if the show performs well enough.  Some freshmen series fall short of receiving a full 22 episodes (usually with an 16- or 18-episode order).  If the show stays far enough above the network’s average in terms of ratings and demos (the estimated number of viewers between the ages of 18-49, who are coveted by advertisers), it will most likely return for the following season.

As for the series that are held over to be midseason replacements: they usually get 13-episode orders, as well.  Sometimes, a program that looks like more of a gamble might only get picked up for 6, 8, or 10 episodes instead.  If those shows attain a significant audience when they step in to fill gaps anytime between November and May, they may also find themselves on the next fall schedule.  

There are yet other TV series that are intended to be “limited series” or an “event series” – airing for a finite period of time during one predetermined juncture of the year – similar to many original cable television shows intentionally designed with shorter runs.  Fox and The CW have gradually transitioned to more of a year-round format for their programming, and ABC, CBS, and NBC should follow suit over the next two or three years. For this reason, we may see more of the broadcast networks “time-sharing” different programs within the same time slots as they transition from winter to spring to summer and back to autumn.

After all, there are a limited number of available time slots on the primetime schedule.  With the frequency of limited-run “event programming,” we should expect to see less of the traditional model where one solitary series occupies one specific time slot for nine months of original programming (followed by three months of reruns).

(All times are Eastern/Pacific; subtract one hour for the Central/Mountain time zones)

(New shows highlighted in bold)

Featured network for today’s column…

FOX

Sunday

7:00 – Whose Line is it Anyway?

7:30 – Penn & Teller: Fool Us

8:00 – Arrow

9:00 – Legends of Tomorrow (fall/winter) / Black Lightning (winter/spring)

Since The CW has decided to expand back onto Sunday nights, the netlet’s best bet is to fill the evening with reliable players.  For the 7pm time slot, cheaper programming in the vein of Whose Line is it Anyway? and Penn & Teller: Fool Us should hold up pretty well.  The night can be anchored by Arrow (which has a loyal audience and at least a few good seasons left in it), with Legends of Tomorrow bringing up the rear.  Midseason, Black Lightning can shift over to Sundays once Legends have completed its season. Whether Legends of Tomorrow and Black Lightning each receive orders of 16, 18, or 22 episodes will probably depend on budgetary realities.

Monday

8:00 – Supergirl (fall/winter) / Charmed (spring)

9:00 – Roswell (with possible Back-Nine) / Playing Dead (spring)

I would recommend that The CW run Supergirl’s 22 episodes basically uninterrupted from September through March.  Then, in the early-spring, the remake of Charmed (with a Latina trio of new enchanted sisters) can lead off the night since its nostalgia factor should render it a self-starter if it’s going to have any longevity.

The 9pm hour can be scheduled with a two-pronged strategy.  Debut the remake of Roswell right after Supergirl in the fall; if Roswell receives a nine-episode backorder, it runs alongside Supergirl into the early-spring.  If Roswell  flops, the family dramedy Playing Dead (starring Clara Lago and Tyler Ritter) would nicely complement Charmed.

Tuesday

8:00 – The Flash

9:00 – In the Dark (with possible Back-Nine) / iZombie (Apr.-June)

With The Flash still anchoring Tuesdays, it can serve as a lead in to another new drama.  Since The CW usually premieres at least two hour-long dramas in the fall, investigative mystery In the Dark can be one of them.  Depending on whether iZombie gets picked up for 13 or 16 episodes, it should premiere sometime in April and run into the summer.

Wednesday

8:00 – Riverdale

9:00 – Black Lightning (fall/winter) / Spencer (spring)

Riverdale surprised me by translating successfully to Wednesdays, so there’s no reason to believe it won’t stay there.  In the fall, Black Lightning would make a much better partner to Riverdale than Dynasty did.  But once Black Lightning moves to Sundays in the spring, Riverdale can serve as a lead-in to the high school football drama Spencer – which boasts British actor Daniel Ezra as its lead, poised to potentially become The CW’s breakout star of next season!

Thursday

8:00 – Supernatural

9:00 – Wayward Sisters (with possible Back-Nine) / The 100 (summer)

Supernatural should be around for awhile longer, so it would only be fitting that it be used to nurture its own buzzworthy spinoff, Wayward Sisters.  Premiering three new series in the fall (rather than its standard two) could pay off for The CW in light of expanding to six nights.  In the unlikely scenario that Wayward Sisters fails badly and doesn’t warrant a back-nine order, the post-Supernatural slot could be used to anchor either another new show or to shore up the ratings for a middle-aged CW offering.

If renewed for a sixth season, The 100 will – in all likelihood – be looking toward a planned end game.  For this reason, it could be slated to air its Season 6 during the Summer of 2019.  A backup plan would be to move up The 100’s premiere date to the spring if Wayward Sisters actually falls apart early in the season.

Friday

8:00 – Jane the Virgin (fall/winter) / Legends of Tomorrow (spring)

9:00 – Crazy Ex-Girlfriend (Sep.-Jan.) / Dynasty (Feb.-June)

Both Jane the Virgin and Crazy Ex-Girlfriend are slated to be airing their respect final seasons this fall, so it’s almost a guarantee they will remain on Fridays.  If Jane runs uninterrupted, its time slot could be turned over to Legends of Tomorrow in the spring (especially if Black Lightning tag-teams into the fall Legends slot on Sunday).  Dynasty can return to its Friday berth midseason, potentially running well into the summer.

MIDSEASON:  iZombie (13-16 episodes), The 100 (13-16 episodes), Dynasty (22 episodes), Charmed (13 episodes), Playing Dead (13 episodes), Spencer (13 episodes)

LATER THIS MONTH (APRIL 2018)

Code Black (CBS)

Quantico (ABC)

Elementary (CBS)

Dancing with the Stars (ABC)

The 100 (The CW)

Into the Badlands (AMC)

Westworld (HBO)

Genius (National Geographic)

Archer (FX)

Brockmire (IFC)

The Handmaid’s Tale (Hulu)

Good Witch (Hallmark)

MAY 2018

Running Wild with Bear Grylls (NBC)

MasterChef (Fox)

American Ninja Warrior (NBC)

The Bachelorette (ABC)

My Last Days (The CW)

Elementary (CBS)

Beat Shazam (Fox)

America’s Got Talent (NBC)

Love Connection (Fox)

World of Dance (NBC)

Colony (USA)

Animal Kingdom (TNT)

Iron Chef America (Food Network)

Being Serena (HBO)

Naked & Afraid (Discovery)

I’m Dying Up Here (Showtime)

Bill Nye Saves the World (Neflix)

Black Love (OWN)

Chrisley Knows Best (USA)

Six (History Channel)

The Cromarties (USA)

Below Deck (Bravo)

American Chopper (Discovery)

Best Baker in America (Food Network)

Total Bellas (E!)

Queen Sugar (OWN)

American Chopper (Discovery)

Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt (Netflix)

JUNE 2018

Penn & Teller: Fool Us (The CW)

Marlon (NBC)

Big Brother (CBS)

Shades of Blue (NBC)

Masters of Illusion (The CW)

So You Think You Can Dance? (Fox)

Whose Line is it Anyway? (The CW)

Queen of the South (USA)

The Fosters (Freeform)

Preacher (AMC)

The Affair (Showtime)

Younger (TV Land)

Young & Hungry (Freeform)

Shooter (USA)

Nashville (CMT)

The Bold Type (Freeform)

The After (Showtime)

Drunk History (Comedy Central)

Orphan Black (BBC America)

Food Network Star (Food Network)

Teachers (TV Land)

Humans (SyFy Channel)

Orange is the New Black (Netflix)

Hollywood Game Night (NBC)

GLOW (Netflix)

JULY 2018

Trial & Error (NBC)

Salvation (CBS)

Midnight, Texas (NBC)

Power (Starz)

Outcast (Cinemax)

Casual (Hulu)

Suits (USA)

Ballers (HBO)

Insecure (HBO)

AUGUST 2018

Bachelor in Paradise (ABC)

12 Monkeys (SyFy)

The Last Ship (TNT)

Killjoys (SyFy Channel)

Better Late Than Never (NBC)

The Sinner (USA)

Leah Remini: Scientology and the Aftermath (A&E)

SEPTEMBER 2018

American Horror Story (FX)

Ray Donovan (Showtime)

Wrecked (TBS)

Broad City (Comedy Central)

BoJack Horseman (Netflix)

Narcos (Netflix)

Z Nation (SyFy Channel)

People of Earth (TBS)

Outlander (Starz)

Project Runway (Lifetime)

Transparent (Amazon)

Van Helsing (SyFy)

Fuller House (Netflix)

Detroiters (Comedy Central)

American Vandal (Netflix)

I Love You, America with Sarah Silverman (Hulu)

The Deuce (HBO)

Better Things (FX)

OCTOBER 2018

The Walking Dead (AMC)

Mr. Robot (USA)

Andi Mack (Disney Channel)

Berlin Station (Epix)

Mindhunter (Netflix)

Curb Your Enthusiasm (HBO)

Lore (Amazon)

NOVEMBER 2018

House of Cards (Netflix)

Marvel’s Jessica Jones (Netflix)

Daredevil (Netflix)

Travelers (Netflix)

The Punisher (Netflix)

Marvel’s Runaways (Hulu)

Future Man (Hulu)

Shameless (Showtime)

SMILF (Showtime)

DECEMBER 2018

The Man in the High Castle (Amazon)

The O.A. (Netflix)

13 Reasons Why (Netflix)

Dark (Netflix)

Happy! (SyFy Channel)

Counterpart (Starz)

JANUARY 2019

Homeland (Showtime)

Star Trek: Discovery (CBS All Access)

Baskets (FX)

Grownish (Freeform)

A Series of Unfortunate Events (Netflix)

Feud (FX)

Grace and Frankie (Netflix)

Crashing (HBO)

High Maintenance (HBO)

The Chi (Showtime)

Schitt’s Creek (CBC)

FEBRUARY 2019

UnReal (Lifetime)

Channel Zero (SyFy Channel)

Stranger Things (Netflix)

Crashing (HBO)

Big Little Lies (HBO)

The Tick (Amazon)

Impractical Jokers (TruTV)

MARCH 2019

Santa Clarita Diet (Netflix)

Silicon Valley (HBO)

Scream (MTV)

On My Block (Netflix)

Alexa & Katie (Netflix)

Barry (HBO)

Billions (Showtime)

APRIL 2019

Brockmire (IFC)

Veep (HBO)

Game of Thrones (HBO)

Bosch (Amazon)

Killing Eve (BBC America)

[rustytheshackleford]

1-154

I’m adding a “keep reading” because this is a ton of questions!

1:Full name.

Rusty Shackleford aka Michael Chipz aka Wes Mantooth aka Ryan Pitts

2:Zodiac sign.

Libra

3:3 fears.

Dying alone, drowning, suffocating (any kind of death involving being unable to breathe, really), being killed by something I can’t see/being murdered in my sleep. I have a lot of death fears lol. I’m sure I have more fears than that, but I guess I’m also scared of the future and stuff that makes me anxious.

4:3 things I love.

Wrestling, Mega64, most of my family, my friends, video games, music, calmness and serenity, food, soda, soccer, football, sports in general, booty, curly hair, art, photography, art photography, cute girls, podcasting and just being a goof and making people laugh.

5:4 turn on’s.

I probably should have saved some of the things I love for this question lol. But yes, I love my a nice t h i c c booty or even a cute small one. I just love the booty, y’all. Praise be. I also like pale skin (I like everything though, don’t get it twisted. I think growing up with the goth/emo/scene subcultures has made me love girls that just don’t go out in the sun lol), curly hair, darker hair colors, when girls bite their lip, a sense of humor, athleticism, artsy girls, cute girls, girls that sing and/or play an instrument, Mary Elizabeth Winstead as Ramona Flowers, dirty talk, intimacy, and that’s about the extent I’ll disclose before potentially grossing out my irl friends and family with nsfw stuff lol.

6:4 turn off’s.

My turn-offs are pretty normal, tbh. Just smell good and express interest in me and you’re good.

7:My best friend?

I hate choosing just ONE best friend, but one of my oldest friends who I love very much is my buddy Hassan. We’ve been friends since the third grade.

8:Sexual orientation?

Straight yo, and I’ve had time to make sure that I am in my head haha. 

9:My best first date?

I honestly haven’t really gone on too many first dates. I went on a pretty good date with the last girl I dated, so I guess that one. We met on Tinder, and after a few months of texting each other because she had to go back to her college class out-of-state shortly after we matched, we finally met in-person at this mall. It was really nice.

10:How tall am I?

5′9″

11:What do I miss?

I miss a lot of things. I miss not having to stress about things. I miss how the relationship with my family used to be before I went to college. I miss intimacy and kissing and boyfriend/girlfriend stuff. I miss the beach (luckily, I’ll be going to Florida in a few days!!!). I miss a lot of dead wrestlers, Eddie Guerrero especially. I miss my friend David who committed suicide in high school. I miss having more time to play video games and to goof off. I dunno. I just miss stuff.

12:What time was I born?

No clue. My mom doesn’t remember.

13:Favorite color?

Blue. Royal blue, specifically

14:Do I have a crush?

I have a million crushes. Mostly the girls that I follow on this site! I also have crushes on Becky Lynch, Alexa Bliss, Lorde, Mary Elizabeth Winstead, Aubrey Plaza, that curly-haired chick from Broad City. What’s her name…? Ilana… (takes time to look up last name) Glazer! Yeah, she’s fine as hell. 

15:Favorite quote?

“Heroes get remembered, but legends never die.”

“Ideas are bulletproof.”

I’m sure there’s a quote from wrestling that I’ll think of later

16:Favorite place?

Myrtle Beach, South Carolina

17:Favorite food?

General Tso’s chicken with cashews

18:Do I use sarcasm?

Yup

19:What am I listening to right now?

In this very moment? The sound of my fan.

In terms of music I’ve been listening to? My friend let me borrow his copy of Kendrick Lamar’s To Pimp A Butterfly, so I’ve been mainly listening to that. I also alternate between Humanz by Gorillaz and Kendrick Lamar’s DAMN.

20:First thing I notice in new person?

Their voice or face, I guess?

21:Shoe size?

10.5-11 U.S.

22:Eye color?

Brown

23:Hair color? 

It fluctuates between a darkish brown to almost black

24: Favorite style of clothing?

I hate picking just one lol. If I had to pick one, I really dig how skaters dress. I’ve always been a fan since Tony Hawk’s Pro Skater.

25:Ever done a prank call?

I think so?

26:What color of underwear I’m wearing now?

Navy blue

27:Meaning behind my URL?

I really like the running gag from King of the Hill where Dale Gribble goes by the fake name Rusty Shackleford. Unfortunately, that username is taken, so I decided to stylize it like the Japanese metal band Maximum The Hormone, although I guess Shackleford The Rusty would fit that theme more? Oh well. I’m a brand now. I gotta maintain it.

28:Favorite movie?

Currently, it’s Pulp Fiction. It was V for Vendetta for the longest time. Yeah, I know. Shut up.

29:Favorite song?

I have so many. Forty Six and 2 by Tool is definitely one of my all-time favorites.

30:Favorite band?

Gorillaz and Tool are fighting for my top spot on a pretty consistent basis.

31:How I feel right now?

Mostly excited for my Florida trip!

32:Someone I love.

My siblings.

33:My current relationship status.

Single af

34:My relationship with my parents.

Fine, I guess? 

35:Favorite holiday.

Christmas and Halloween

36:Tattoos and piercing I have.

None.

37:Tattoos and piercing I want.

I have no idea lol. I can’t think of anything that I wouldn’t hate in a month. Maybe something with a number 3 because I’m a triplet? No clue. I’m sure I’ll figure something out. I did want a lip piercing for a bit, and I sometimes get back into wanting one haha.

38:The reason I joined Tumblr.

Obscurus Lupa and other people on That Guy With The Glasses had Tumblrs. Being a fan of the site at the time, I would frequent their blogs to see what kinds of questions fans would ask. Eventually, I just made one and the rest is history.

39:Do I and my last ex hate each other?

Ex-girlfriend? No. We’re actually still friends.

Last girl I dated? Also no. We haven’t spoken since July though.

40:Do I ever get “good morning” or “good night” texts?

Nah. I only really like those from girls I date anyway.

41:Have I ever kissed the last person I texted?

I have not!

42:When did I last hold hands?

It already feels like way too long ago. Realistically, a year or two.

43:How long does it take me to get ready in the morning?

30 minutes to an hour depending if I need to shave my beard.

44:Have I shaved my legs in the past three days? 

Nope. I don’t shave my legs.

45: Where am I right now?

My room.

46:If I were drunk & can’t stand, who’s taking care of me?

I guess either my friend Adam or my friend Derrick. I don’t think I’ve ever been drunk to the point of not being able to stand though lol.

47:Do I like my music loud or at a reasonable level?

Reasonable. Protect your ears, kids.

48:Do I live with my Mom and Dad?

Unfortunately.

49:Am I excited for anything?

Florida!

50:Do I have someone of the opposite sex I can tell everything to?

I think so!

51:How often do I wear a fake smile?

Mostly when I go to work lol. 

52:When was the last time I hugged someone?

The other day, I believe.

53:What if the last person I kissed was kissing someone else right in front of me?

Well, that would be pretty messed up I guess since we haven’t talked in months. I would probably try to ignore them like the coward I am.

54:Is there anyone I trust even though I should not?

Probably.

55:What is something I disliked about today?

Some of my friends weren’t able to hang with me today, one of which is soon going on a cross-country road trip for who knows how long, and I would like to see him before he leaves.

56:If I could meet anyone on this earth, who would it be?

There’s so many, but meeting Zlatan Ibrahimovic would be pretty dope. Also Cindy Sherman.

57:What do I think about most?

Sexy ladies and general thirsty thoughts, Magic: The Gathering, professional wrestling, what I’m going to eat next. Totally normal things

58:What’s my strangest talent?

I can make this weird belching/farting noise by puffing out my cheeks.

59:Do I have any strange phobias?

No clue. None that I can think of.

60:Do I prefer to be behind the camera or in front of it?

Both! I’m very much a performer, and I also love taking photos.

61:What was the last lie I told?

I told my friend I don’t know what my plans are tomorrow when I have sort of an idea.

62:Do I prefer talking on the phone or video chatting online?

I guess video chatting because you can get visual cues to know when to speak.

63:Do I believe in ghosts? How about aliens?

Yes, and yes.

64:Do I believe in magic?

Yeah, to an extent.

65:Do I believe in luck?

Also yeah, to an extent.

66:What’s the weather like right now?

It was a little cool today, but it’s gonna be warmer tomorrow.

67:What was the last book I’ve read?

This really fucked up comic series called Crossed. I last read the first issue of Crossed: Badlands. Please do not look up Crossed. There is a lot of gore, rape, and other horribly unpleasant things. It’s very morbid. 

68:Do I like the smell of gasoline?

I do!

69:Do I have any nicknames?

None that I’d like to admit online lol…

70:What was the worst injury I’ve ever had?

I almost broke a rib while wrestling my friend once

71:Do I spend money or save it?

I spend it. I’m definitely going to start saving soon.

72:Can I touch my nose with a tongue? 

Nope.

73: Is there anything pink in 10 feet from me?

Yup. A couple of Mega64 posters, one of which is the new one they sent out for their Patreon.

74:Favorite animal?

I like snakes.

75:What was I doing last night at 12 AM?

Probably scrolling down this hellsite.

76:What do I think Satan’s last name is?

Christ ooooooooooooooooohhhhhhhhhhhhh

77:What’s a song that always makes me happy when I hear it?

I can’t think of any specific ones at the moment. Probably older songs that trigger nostalgia for me.

78:How can you win my heart?

Gimme dat s u c c

In all seriousness, just be compatible with me and maintain interest in me.

Although given dat s u c c wouldn’t hurt.

79: What would I want to be written on my tombstone?

“He did a lot of what he wanted to do in life and was as happy as he could be.”

80:What is my favorite word?

aka (prounounced awka)

I can’t think of a more serious answer that isn’t that Donnie Darko scene where the girl says “cellar door” is the most beautiful phrase in the English language.

81:My top 5 blogs on tumblr?

My blog x5

82:If the whole world were listening to me right now, what would I say?

I have no idea what I’m doing. Please send help.

83:Do I have any relatives in jail?

Not that I know of, but who knows with how often my dad keeps secrets of his side of the family hidden.

84:I accidentally eat some radioactive vegetables. They were good, and what’s even cooler is that they endow me with the super-power of my choice! What is that power?

Photosynthesis

85:What would be a question I’d be afraid to tell the truth on?

Probably a few things…

86:What is my current desktop picture?

D.C. United’s logo with their entire regular season schedule

87:Had sex?

Hahahahahahaha nope.

88:Bought condoms?

Hahahahahahaha yeah.

89:Gotten pregnant?

I would hope not. Ya know. Since I don’t have a uterus.

90:Failed a class?

Yeah

91:Kissed a boy?

No

92:Kissed a girl?

Absolutely

93:Have I ever kissed somebody in the rain?

Maybe?

94:Had job?

Yeah

95:Left the house without my wallet?

Probably

96:Bullied someone on the Internet?

Nope.

97:Had sex in public?

Please refer to question #87

98:Played on a sports team?

Not in any sort of program. I’ve only played on recreational soccer teams. Those aren’t anything serious though.

99:Smoked weed?

Yeah

100:Did drugs?

Weed is a drug, so technically yeah.

101:Smoked cigarettes?

Yeah. They’re disgusting

102:Drank alcohol?

Yup.

103:Am I a vegetarian/vegan?

No

104:Been overweight?

Yes indeedy

105:Been underweight?

Nope. I’ve only ever been a fatty.

106:Been to a wedding?

Yes

107:Been on the computer for 5 hours straight?

Of course

108:Watched TV for 5 hours straight?

Definitely

109:Been outside my home country?

Nope :(

110:Gotten my heart broken?

Hahahahahahahahahaha yes

111:Been to a professional sports game?

Absolutely

112:Broken a bone?

Thankfully, no.

113:Cut myself?

Not on purpose

114:Been to prom?

Twice.

115:Been in airplane? 

No

116: Fly by helicopter?

No

117:What concerts have I been to?

Let’s see if I can remember them all! I’ve been to a bunch of local shows since I’ve been in a band!

DC101 Chili Cookoff 2009

Linkin Park/Mutemath

Tool

Fozzy

Alice in Chains/Jane’s Addiction/Coheed and Cambria/Circa Survive

The Protomen

Powerglove

Iron Maiden/Dream Theater

DJ Cutman

Probably a bunch of other things

118:Had a crush on someone of the same sex?

I mean, I guess so? Nothing I would have wanted to act on though.

119:Learned another language?

I can sort-of speak German!

120:Wore make up?

I put on eyeliner one time but my mom made me take it off before we went home so my dad wouldn’t see it and be pissed lol.

121:Lost my virginity before I was 18?

Please refer to question #87

122:Had oral sex?

Yep.

123:Dyed my hair?

Nothing more than my bangs. And even then, it was such a shitty dark blue, you could hardly tell it apart from my normal hair color. My parents weren’t very fun.

124:Voted in a presidential election?

Yeah

125:Rode in an ambulance?

No

126:Had a surgery?

Nothing besides getting my wisdom teeth removed

127:Met someone famous?

Only people that are famous on the internet

128:Stalked someone on a social network?

I mean, who hasn’t???

129:Peed outside?

Yeah

130:Been fishing?

Yeah

131:Helped with charity?

Yup

132:Been rejected by a crush?

Eventually

133:Broken a mirror?

Loooooooool yeah

134:What do I want for birthday?

To be able to go to Gamedays

135:How many kids do I want and what will be their names?

No more than two. I like the name Julia for a girl, and I have no idea what I would name a boy haha. I do like Max and Sebastian, but those are such stereotypical overly proper white parent names. Hopefully, I’ll have plenty of time to figure that out!

136:Was I named after anyone?

Nope.

137:Do I like my handwriting?

Eh. It’s unique, I guess?

138:What was my favorite toy as a child?

Video games

139:Favorite TV Show?

I don’t really keep up with TV all that much anymore, but It’s Always Sunny In Philadelphia is one of the funniest god-damned shows on the planet. I love it so much.

140:Where do I want to live when older?

Somewhere in which I’m happy and financially secure.

141:Play any musical instrument?

I play the drums! I’ve been playing for about 11 years.

142:One of my scars, how did I get it?

My right ring finger is a little swollen and purple from what I believe was when I had a door get closed on it when I was a child.

143:Favorite pizza topping?

White sauce, chicken, and bacon. There’s also nothing wrong with a classic pepperoni.

144:Am I afraid of the dark?

Sometimes, the dark is very terrifying all alone

145:Am I afraid of heights?

Not really

146:Have I ever got caught sneaking out or doing anything bad?

Lol yep.

147:Have I ever tried my hardest and then gotten disappointed in the end?

That’s basically my life

148:What I’m really bad at.

Picking up signals from girls that might be interested in me. I’m always just assuming that people are just friendly, and I have low self-esteem when it comes to my date-ability 

149:What my greatest achievements are.

Finishing college.

150:The meanest thing somebody has ever said to me.

Why you gotta make me think about that?

151:What I’d do if I won in a lottery.

Pay off my student loans

152:What do I like about myself?

The fact that I’m a triplet, my butt, my drumming ability, my art

153:My closest Tumblr friend.

@it-was-real-horrorshow

154:Something I fantasies about.

Mostly inappropriate things

Holy fuck, that was a lot to answer! Thank you for the interest, I guess!